Thursday, October 26, 2017

Taking in the garbage, aka refrigerator recycling

During this change of seasons, bits of this and that seem to pile up in the fridge. We've been trying to grab as much fresh produce as possible before frost disappears it for months. So we've got more than we can eat right away. Eventually that beautiful fresh food molders into "garbage." BUT before that happens, why not clean out the fridge and put all that buried treasure together into one delicious dish or another. Turn it into a free lunch. My own recent recycling efforts after clearing out and cleaning up the refrigerator produce these:

Minestrone Soup
I'm prejudiced toward this traditional Italian version of vegetable soup because it's such soul warming comfort, helped up the flavor heights by tossing in an old Parmesan rind. It's also vegetarian and gets hardy with the inclusion of white beans or chickpeas plus macaroni, ditalini or even orzo--any small pasta. Plus when serving you can top it all off with a spoonful of pesto--and use up the last fresh basil of the year.

There's no rigid rule for what vegetables you can use but it does help strengthen the flavor if you have a celery stalk and a carrot. Beyond that an onion. Then give it whatever you've got (cut into bite sized pieces): zucchini, green beans, corn, peas, tomatoes, bell peppers of any color, broccolini, cauliflower, kale.... If you've got fresh beans still in the pod, shell them and add.

What you'll need to proceed is olive oil-- enough to heavily coat the bottom of your soup pot, freshly ground black pepper, enough homemade or boxed vegetable broth or water to cover everything and make it soupy, half a can of white beans,  1/4-1/3 c small pasta depending on how much soup you have (it should not overpower the vegetables but just be one of them), 2 tbsp of tomato paste if you didn't have tomatoes to use, and a tsp of dried oregano. Optionally a tsp dried sage. Now further garbage recycling: a Parmesan rind; failing that about 2 tbsp grated Parmesan.  And finally in the end fresh flat leaf parsley and basil or pesto.

What to do?
Cover the bottom or a soup pot with olive oil.
Dice the onion, carrot, celery and any of its leaves. Toss into the hot oil with the Parmesan rind (not the cheese) and sauté on med heat while you chop up the other vegetables. Season the onion mix with freshly ground black pepper, oregano and sage. Add the other vegetables, stirring to blend. Add a pinch of salt. Pour in the broth/water, enough so that everything is submerged. Add the grated cheese if you didn't have a rind. Bring to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook 20 minutes until veggies are all tender. Add the canned beans and tomato paste, stirring to blend.. Bring the pot back to a boil, be sure everything is still submerged, adding liquid if not. Add the small pasta with a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low, cover the pot and cook 10 minutes until the pasta has enlarged and is soft. Be sure there is always enough liquid so you will have a thick soup.

To serve, top with freshly chopped flat leaf parsley and a dollop of pesto or else a sprinkling of chopped fresh basil leaves. You can also freeze this.


My inevitable trash torte, this time with celery leaves added.
To the left you see the mountain of greenery clogging my vegetable bin after getting detached from its roots: red beet greens, Hakurei turnip tops, radish greens, celery leaves, scallion tops. All this garbage was enough for a nourishing, low calorie 9" Greek style torte with cheese. The perfect partner for minestrone soup!

I've posted the trash torte recipe before and it got included in the magazine ZEST! where it's still quite popular, I'm told. All you need, as the picture says, is a pile of greens.  This time I found celery leaves added addictive flavor and using red beet greens put intriguing touches of red in the baked torte.I also happened to have excess fennel fronds that gave a hint of licorice.

Best to use a removal bottom cake pan or pie plate; if not a pie plate. Olive oil whatever you use so the slices lift off easily. Preheat the oven to 400º.

Chop the greens or blitz them in a food processor.If you have the scallions themselves, include them. Onion flavor helps. Add chives if they're still in the garden or pot. Ditto dill. Cover the bottom or a saute pan with olive oil, heat it, add a spritz of freshly ground black pepper and then the greens. Cook over low heat just until they wilt, maybe 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Salt to your taste.

Stir in a big handful (say 1/4 c) grated parmesan cheese and another of whatever cheese you may have around. I had some shredded mozzarella this last time and it worked fine.  Lastly, stir in an extra large egg to hold it all together. If it looks like you need two eggs, or have only large eggs so need to, no worries. Blend it all up and turn it into the oiled pan. Level the top. Sprinkle with nutmeg. I sometimes sprinkle a few breadcrumbs on top, sometimes not. Sometimes I add cheese on top. Whatever.  Bake at 400º until a cake tester comes out clean or the top doesn't accept a fingerprint, should be 12-15 minutes.

Slice in wedges to serve. You can serve hot or at room temperature.

Cozy vegetable paella, with or without bits of chorizo 
Paella is the Spanish word for pilaf, a rice mixture dish of any kind. My Catalan friend, a professional cook, long ago taught me how her family whips up a vegetable version for fast food that's very comforting. Everyone eats it right out of the pan. There is no strict recipe for this; you just give it all you've got. In Spain that might include artichokes and chickpeas. At my house this time around it was celery, carrot, red bell pepper, Tuscan kale, leek, turnip, onion and a garlic clove. You add glam/bling with a pinch of saffron.

To feed 4, you'll need about 3 cups of chopped veggies, 1 1/2-2c paella rice (this is short grain starchy rice that cooks fast and soaks up juices) and 4 c veg broth. You can use chicken broth if you're not vegetarian just as you can toss in a handful of diced chorizo for authentic flavor if you're not kosher or halal either. A pinch of smoked paprika enhances authenticity too. Nobody will suspect you're just recycling leftovers.

A paella or a large sauté pan is what you need. Coat the bottom with olive oil without being skimpy. Over med heat, warm it up and put in the chorizo if using it to flavor everything. Cook 60 secs, then add the crunchier veggies like onion, carrot, celery, turnip, bell pepper. Grind the black pepper over them to your taste. Cook 5 min to soften. Season with smoked paprika. Add the remaining vegetables, a tsp of salt, the rice and a thick pinch of saffron, Stir to mix everything. Raise the heat and pour in the broth. When it begins to boil, drop heat to low/simmer, do not stir the pot! But watch to see if it needs more liquid as the rice rises. Cook until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and blossomed all over the pan, 12-15 minutes. Test a piece of rice to be sure it's soft. Serve and enjoy your thrifty treat.


Garlic Croutons
This is my favorite way to deal with three-day or more old bread. It beats tossing it into the trash because it saves you from having to purchase croutons made from some industrialized stale bread and lets you always have emergency crackers on hand. I've found these croutons add immensely to a Caesar salad as well as a tomato salad, the bread based salads known as fattoush and panzanella, to all sorts of soups when served on top, and when pressed into action under soft cheese slathered with homemade chutney or hummus or eggplant salad serve nobly. I store them in a tin.

Baguettes, olive bread, walnut bread, pain de levain, rustic rounds...it all works.
Line a baking sheet** with tin foil and preheat your oven to 325º. Cut what you've got into 1/4" thin cracker size pieces. I thinly slice baguettes. Fill a bowl with enough olive oil to coat each piece and add a minced garlic clove. Pushing a large one threw a garlic press is good. Stir it into the oil. Quickly dip each piece of bread into the garlicky olive oil and lay it on the tin foiled baking sheet. Keep a single layer. When every piece is done, put the baking sheet into the oven and bake until the bread is slightly golden and hard, maybe 20-30 minutes. Cool and wrap in that tin foil and put away in a tin. Or put the tin foil into a zip tight plastic bag and put that in the fridge.

**if you don't have that much bread to process, you can use the tray of the toaster oven. I do that a lot.

And finally, if none of the above works, you can throw everything into a full swing omelet or frittata.

NEXT UP: CHICKPEAS PART 6

Thursday, October 19, 2017

The Celery Stalk: A Magic Wand in the Kitchen

Like Don Rickles, celery doesn't get much respect. It's cut into sticks for kids' lunchboxes or chopped into tuna salad just to add crunch. Dismissing it is a shame. A celery stalk is a magic wand.  It turns you into a kitchen wizard who performs miracles with just about anything stuck in the fridge or on the shelf. It perks up, soothes and sweetens --without adding a calorie. Plus it lasts a long time in the fridge. Best of all, it's cheap and easy to find. Little wonder Tuscan and French cooks start most of their favorite dishes by chopping and sauteing it. It's in the Holy Trinity at the heart of all that tasty Cajun food. It's a must have right now when mushrooms are popping up, a reach for when you want soulful pizazz in barley or farro. Here are eight examples of the fast magic you too can make with a stalk of celery, to convince you to keep some handy.

Pasta e Fagioli
Comfort food doesn't get more comforting than this classic, utterly simple Italian combination of beans, tomatoes and macaroni that can be either a soup or a bowl of pasta. It shows off the secret scent and sweetness of celery.

Serves 6

1 cup dried white beans  (Great Northern, Cranberry, Cannellini)**
2-3 tbsp olive oil (enough to cover the bottom of the pot)
1 sm yellow onion, diced
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1/8 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
2 sm or 1 lg carrot, peeled and diced
1 lg celery stalk, diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 cup chopped tomatoes in their juice (canned or boxed is okay)
4 cups vegetable or beef broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
¾ cup tubellini, ditalini, or other very small pasta
½ cup freshly minced flat leaf parsley
Parmesan cheese for garnish

**THE INSTANT WAY TO MAKE THIS IS TO USE A CAN OF COOKED CANNELLINI BEANS
The long way: soak the beans overnight. Then drain and rinse. 

Heat the olive oil in a medium soup pot. Add the black pepper, onion, carrot and celery. Sauté over medium/low heat 5 minutes until the vegetables are soft. Do not brown. Add rosemary, oregano and sage and stir to blend. Add the tomatoes and cook until they are hot and bubbling. Add black pepper, salt and red pepper flakes. Add the uncooked beans and broth and cook 90 minutes until beans are soft. Add the macaroni and cook another 10 minutes.

INSTANT WAY: Add the canned beans to the tomato mixture. Slowly add the broth. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook 10 minutes. Add the macaroni and cook another 12-15 minutes until it is soft and the soup is fragrant.

Remove from heat, stir in the parsley and ladle into bowls. Top with freshly grated cheese.
Braised Chicken with Celery and Mushrooms
Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil or butter
2 skinless chicken leg-thigh quarters
1 skin-on chicken breast, split to yield 2 halves 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper  
3 leeks, trimmed, cleaned and chopped
4 carrots, chopped
6 celery ribs, chopped, leaves reserved for garnish
1 lb fresh mushrooms, quartered or sliced
3 to 4 sprigs fresh rosemary or 1 tsp dried
2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp dried leaves 
2 c chicken stock

Heat oven to 350º. Put the olive oil or butter in a roasting pan or Dutch oven over medium heat. Sprinkle the leg quarters with salt and pepper and add them to the pan, flesh side down. Cook, turning and rotating the pieces as necessary, until well browned on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove, then add the breast halves, skin side down. Brown them well, then flip and cook 1 minute or so; remove to a separate plate.

Put leeks, carrots, celery, mushrooms and herbs in the same pan and cook until the vegetables are tender and beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

 Nestle the leg quarters among the vegetables, meaty side up (hold the breasts til later). Add enough chicken stock to come about halfway up the thighs. (The amount will depend on the breadth of your pan; add a little water if necessary.)

Put the pan in the oven and cook, uncovered, for about 1 hour, checking occasionally and stirring the vegetables  if they threaten to brown too much. When the thigh meat is tender, raise the heat to 400º and lay the breast halves on the vegetables, skin side up. Continue cooking 20 to 30 minutes longer until they are done.
   
Transfer the vegetables to a platter. Slice the breasts and and separate the legs from the thighs. Garnish with reserved chopped celery leaves.

Macedonian Bean Soup with Colored Peppers
A perfect fall dish when bell peppers are at high tide in farmers' markets. 
Serves 6

1 lb dried white beans (Great Northern, Kidney, navy, cannellini)
2 med/lg carrots, peeled and diced
2 stalks celery with leaves, diced
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1/4 tsp freshly ground or cracked black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
3½ cups vegetable broth
3 red bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 yellow or orange bell peppers, roasted and peeled
2 tbsp red wine vinegar (Balsamic is too strong)
5-6 tbsp olive oil
18-20 pitted Kalamata olives, slivered
Salt to your taste
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Pick over the beans. Soak in enough water to cover and refrigerate overnight.
  
Roast the peppers. Remove stems, skin membrane and seeds. Chop into small ¼” cubes.  Combine peppers, vinegar and 1 tbsp olive oil in a glass or ceramic small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Drain the beans. Put in a large pan, cover well with cold water and bring to a boil.
Boil for 5 minutes. Drain well.

In a large, heavy gauge soup pot, heat enough olive oil 4-5 tbsp to cover the bottom.
Add carrots, celery, onion, black pepper and sage. Sauté on low heat for 2 minutes or until vegetables are soft. Stir in the beans. Add broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 1½ hours until beans are tender.

Drain peppers. Add peppers and olives to the warm soup. Add salt to your taste and finally the lemon juice.
 Serve immediately.

Celery Date Salad
I've posted this before with other date recipes so now here it is with the spotlight on the crunchy celery.
8 celery stalks, thinly sliced on the diagonal. Chop the leaves too.
6 fresh dates, pitted and coarsely chopped
1/2 c roasted almonds, halve. Whole is okay too.
1/2 sm red onion, diced
2 tsp minced fresh mint leaves
pinch red pepper flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 oz shaved Parmesan cheese 
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1/4 c extra good olive oil

Combine celery and leaves, dates, almonds, onion and pepper flakes in a serving bowl. Moisten with the lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Add the cheese and olive oil and lastly stir in the mint leaves.

Persian Celery Stew with saffron
One of my all time favorites and my Eureka! about celery, this is in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, and I've posted it before. It's just sublime, divinely simple and absolutely perfect for that Thanksgiving turkey dinner.
Serves 6-8

1½ bunches of celery, stalks apart and cleaned
4 tbsp butter
1 lg red onion, peeled and diced
¼ tsp freshly cracked or ground black pepper
2 bunches flat leaf parsley, cleaned and chopped (at least 3 cups)
¼ tsp saffron
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tbsp dried crushed mint
¼ tsp salt
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut celery into 1” pieces, even leaves.
 Melt butter in a large saucepan or medium casserole. Sauté onion over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add black pepper and celery and continue to sauté 5 minutes.  Add half the parsley (1½ cups or one bunch), saffron and vegetable broth. Stir to blend. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes. Add remainder of parsley except for 1 tbsp. Add mint, salt and lemon juice, stirring to blend. Continue cooking for 10-12 minutes or until celery is soft.  Adjust for salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining chopped parsley to serve.  
 
Osso Bucco
Back to the northern Italians who just love to season with celery. 
serves 6

1 c yellow onion, finely diced
2/3 c carrots, finely diced
2/3 c celery, finely diced
4 tbsp butter
1 tsp minced garlic
2 strips lemon peel
1/2 c vegetable oil
4-6 sm veal shanks
3/4 c all purpose white flour
1 c dry white wine
1 1/2 c beef broth
1 1/2 c chopped Italian tomatoes with juice (boxed is fine)
1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
3 sprigs fresh flat leaf parsley
freshly ground black pepper
salt to your taste

Heat the oven to 350º. Use a heavy casserole with a tight lid large enough to hold the veal in a single layer, standing up is fine.

Melt the butter in that casserole over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery and sauté until they are soft, 6-8 minutes. Do not brown them. Add the chopped garlic and lemon peel and remove from the heat.

Put the flour in a shallow bowl and coat each veal shank lightly on both sides, shaking as you finish.
Heat the oil in  a large skillet over medium/high heat and brown the veal on all sides. Then put it in the casserole with the vegetables, standing side by side if necessary.

Skim the fat from the oil and add the wine. Boil briskly, scraping the bottom, for 2 minutes. Pour over the veal.  Add the broth, chopped tomatoes with juice, thyme, bay leaves, parsley, pepper and salt. Make sure the veal is just covered by the broth. Bring this to a boil, cover and place in the oven for 75-90 minutes--until the veal is tender. Try to turn and baste the meat at least once, twice is better. The sauce should be thick and creamy now too. Remove the meat to a platter. Remove the bay leaves from the sauce. If the sauce is not thick, put the casserole on medium high heat on the stove top and boil to the desired consistency. Pour over the veal and serve garnished with chopped fresh parsley.

Cajun Gumbo
Most Cajun soul food starts with a stalk of celery as it's part of the Holy Trinity at the heart of crawfish etouffee, jambalaya and all the gumbos: celery, bell peppers and onion. This is one of the most authentic recipes I could find to share.


1 c vegetable oil
1 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c chopped onion
1 c chopped green bell pepper
1 c chopped red bell pepper
1 c chopped celery
3 tbsp minced garlic
3 c chopped okra
1 1/2 c dark beer
6 c seafood stock
2 tbsp file powder
2 bay leaves
2 tsps Cajun seasoning
1 (8-ounce) container crab claw meat, picked free of shells
3 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 lb medium fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 lb red snapper fillets, chopped
2 (8-ounce) containers shucked oysters
1 (8-ounce) container jumbo lump crabmeat, picked free of shells
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Hot cooked rice
Garnish: chopped green onion

In an 8-quart stockpot, heat oil over medium heat 5 minutes; add flour, and stir together to form a roux. Cook, stirring often, until roux is the color of peanut butter, about 20 minutes.
Add onion, bell pepper, celery, garlic, and okra. Cook vegetables, stirring often, for 5 minutes. Add beer, stock, file powder, bay leaves, Cajun seasoning, crab claw meat, Worcestershire, salt, and cayenne. Bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer 1 hour.
Add shrimp, fish, oysters, and lump crabmeat to mixture. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until seafood is cooked through; add parsley.
Serve with rice, and garnish with green onion, if desired.

Mushroom Barley "risotto" with or without lamb
My version of traditional Scotch Broth.
serves 4-6

1 cup pearl barley
3 cups mushroom or vegetable broth
2-3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lg onion, peeled and diced (red onion adds color)
1 sm green bell pepper coarsely chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 sm pasilla pepper, roasted, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, washed and diced
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 tsp Szechuan peppercorns (don’t fret if you don’t have them)
1 tsp dried oregano
½ tsp dried rosemary
½ tsp celery seed
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground clove
½ tbsp butter
¼ tsp freshly or coarsely ground black pepper
½ lb mixed mushrooms (shitake, crimini, button, Portobello, oyster), cleaned
 ½ roasted red pepper, diced, or a 2 oz jar of sliced pimentos, drained
Optional: 1/2 lb lamb stew meat diced into 1" pieces
juice of a lemon
1 tsp salt
2-3 oz baby spinach leaves

Heat the oil in a medium stockpot or large heavy gauge casserole. Add onion and sauté over medium heat 3-5 minutes until it’s lightly brown and glistening. If using the lamb brown it with the onions 3 minutes.

Add the green pepper, Poblano pepper, barley, thyme, Szechuan peppercorns and oregano.  Continue sautéing for a minute, stirring so nothing sticks and the barley gets hot. Add the celery, rosemary, celery seed, cumin, clove and coriander, stirring to blend. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cover the pot. Simmer one hour on low. (You don’t have to worry about overcooking this.)

Slice and chop mushrooms into large bite-sized chunks. Melt the butter in a sauté pan over medium low heat and when it’s bubbling add the mushrooms. Add black pepper. Sauté one minute. Remove from heat.

When the barley has been cooking for at least an hour and is starting to be soft to the teeth, add the contents of the mushroom sauté, the pimentos or roasted red pepper, and salt. Blend into the barley. Continue cooking  until the barley is tender. Add liquid if necessary to prevent burning.

Stir in the lemon juice. Put the spinach leaves on top, cover, turn off heat and let the spinach steam 3 minutes.
Serve hot.


You will also find Celery, Fennel and White Bean Soup, plus Mirepoix Soup (mirepoix is the French starter seasoning made of celery, carrots and onion) in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking.




Monday, October 16, 2017

The skinny on season's eatings

(Six more fabulous, worldly chickpea recipes coming soon!)

The days are shorter, the air is cooler and the food should be heavier. Mother Nature's hints are everywhere. Gone are water-filled berries, melons, tomatoes and cucumbers--mainstays of a proper summer diet when a sweating body needs all the moisture it can get. They've been replaced from the ground up with roots like potatoes, rutabagas, turnips, celeriac and sun chokes plus all the mushrooms sprouting in tree shaded soil. Slowly but relentlessly, these foods have been absorbing all the minerals earth can offer, all the vitamins solar energy sends to their green shoots. They're here now to fortify us for the winter to come. Ditto slow growing cabbages, leeks and parsnips which slowly release their treasury of nutrients in our bodies. Times have changed but not excitement, flavor and color from farm to table.

Say goodbye to tomatoes by slicing them, brushing the slices lightly with olive oil, sprinkling with salt and a bit of garlic and roasting them at 350º until they start to turn golden and caramelize. Enjoy them straightaway on goat cheese, a pizza, polenta, grilled fish, with farro olives and scallions as a salad or in an omelet. Or store them in the freezer for a hit of Vitamin C in mid winter.
Or turn to green tomatoes:
Green Tomato Curry

2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 heaped tsp small black mustard seeds
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1 1/4 lbs green tomatoes
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp ground coriander 
1 tsp ground cumin
1-2 tsp red chilli powder more as you wish
Handful fresh cilantro chopped

Thinly slice the onion and garlic. Chop the tomatoes into 1" chunks.
Heat the oil in a wok or large saute pan that you might stir fry in.
When the oil is hot add the mustard and cumin seeds, Stir for a minute with a fork (not wooden spoon as this will absorb the spices you are about to add.) Add the tomatoes and the rest of the spices, Stir until all the spices are well combined.  Keep tossing the onions and tomatoes with the fork a few minutes, If anything sticks, add a little more oil or water. Do not overcook.  The onions should not go totally limp but have a bite and the tomatoes should keep their shape.
Pour into a bowl, top with the chopped cilantro and serve immediately.  This dish does not keep well so try not to have leftovers.

Make salads sturdier:

Fennel Orzo Salad
This is an oldie that's always in style this time of year.

Serves 4-6 depending on how much you like it.

2 fennel bulbs, cleaned and chopped, greens too
1 2/3 cups orzo (about ½ lb)
3 seedless mandarins, or clementines, peeled and pulled apart
1 lemon
½ lime
16-20 pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
salt to your taste

Put a few of the fennel fronts aside to chop for garnish.
 Cook the orzo according to package instructions, until just al dente.
 Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a small skillet and sauté the chopped fennel 4-5 minutes. Midway, add the garlic and blend.  Pour the contents of the skillet into a salad bowl.
Add the mandarins and prunes and blend.

Remove the zest from half the lemon and dice it. Add to the salad.
Juice the lemon and lime, mix and add to the salad.
 Drain the orzo. Salt them to your taste. Add to the salad
Stir to blend everything. Chop the reserved fennel fronds and top the salad.
Refrigerate an hour before serving.

Kale Celeriac Salad with Walnuts
This recipe from Ottolenghi with candied walnuts serves up to 6.


½ or less lb Tuscan kale, thick stalks removed and discarded, leaves cut into thick slices
1 garlic clove, peeled and roughly crushed with the flat of a knife
Finely shaved peel of 1 lemon, plus 2½ tbsp lemon juice
Salt and black pepper
½ large celeriac, peeled and coarsely grated
1 tbsp parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4c pomegranate seeds (about ½ from a medium pomegranate)

1/4 c maple syrup
2 tbsp caster sugar
1/4 c walnut halves, lightly toasted
Start with the walnuts. Put the syrup and sugar in a small, heavy saucepan on a medium heat. Stir in a tablespoon of water, then leave to bubble gently 5 minutes, not stirring, until the mixture is golden brown, foamy and bubbly-- the hard ball sugar stage. Quickly stir in the nuts, then pour everything onto a baking sheet or tray lined with parchment paper and let it harden into brittle. When it has, roughly chop and set aside. 

Mix the kale, garlic, lemon peel, lemon juice and ¼ tsp salt in a medium bowl, massaging it all together until the kale turns a bright, dark green and begins to soften and look cooked rather than raw. Set aside for 10 minutes, for the flavors to meld.
Pick out and discard the garlic and lemon peel from the salad mix, then add the celeriac, parsley, vinegar, oil, 1/8 tsp salt and a generous grind of pepper. Mix to combine, then transfer to a platter or individual plates. Scatter with the pomegranate seeds and the walnut brittle to serve.

Turn up the heat with slow cooking.

Tashkent Beef and Cabbage Soup 
serves 8-10 (half it if you prefer)

2 lbs beef brisket
9 cups water (2 qts plus 1 cup) or half beef broth/half water
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1/2 med green head cabbage, shredded
1 can/box (28 oz) whole peeled tomatoes with juice
2 tbsp tomato paste
10 prunes (dried plums), pitted
1/4 c golden raisins
salt to your taste but you may need a lot
1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
To serve: sour cream

Remove excess fat from the brisket and put it in a large cast iron pot of Dutch oven. Add the water/broth, bring to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to medium and cook 30 minutes. Skim off foam and impurities.

In a med/lg sauté pan melt the butter. Add the onion and sauté over medium/low heat until it's soft, 3-5 min. Add the cabbage and continue to sauté another 5 min. Add half the tomatoes with their juice. Continue cooking 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Pour the cabbage mixture into the beef pot and add the remaining tomatoes. Stir in the tomato paste, prunes, raisins, salt, lemon juice, brown sugar, honey and 1 tbsp of the dill. Bring the soup to a boil, drop heat to low, cover the pot partially and simmer 60-90 minutes until the meat is very tender and ready to fall apart. Remove the brisket from the pot and cut it into small cubes or shred it, whichever is easier. Put it back into the pot and heat the soup through.

To serve: add the remaining tbsp of dill and put a bowl of sour cream on the table for people to dab on top.

Go back to your roots. Every year this time I post great simple recipes that make them tastier than you imagine so scroll down to find root vegetable stew or potpie, potato-rutabage gratin, rutabaga timbales, potato tart, carrot soup and more.  For now here's Ottolenghi on parsnips:
Parsnip Gratin with Apples


1½-3/4 lb parsnips, peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled and halved
1 tbsp butter
125ml double cream
125ml creme fraiche
200ml whole milk
6 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
75g ground almonds
1-2 tbsp extra-virgin olive (or rapeseed) oil, to drizzle
For the aioli
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
3 tbsp cider vinegar
1 c mild olive oil
Heat the oven 400º. Thinly as possible slice 2/3 of the peeled parsnip (use a mandoline, if you have one) and coarsely grate the rest. Rub both cut sides of the garlic around a medium-sized baking dish, then smear it all over with the butter. Arrange the parsnip slices in rows over the base of the dish, overlapping slightly. Once you’ve used up all the slices, scatter the grated parsnip on top.
In a bowl, whisk the heavy cream, creme fraiche, milk and thyme leaves, then season with 1 tsp salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Pour this over the parsnips, making sure they’re just submerged. Sprinkle the ground almonds over the top. Drizzle with oil, cover the dish with foil and roast for 15 minutes. Remove the foil, lower the oven to 350º and bake another 30 minutes until the cream has been absorbed, the top is golden and the parsnips are tender.
While the parsnips are roasting, put the apple chunks in a small pan, cover with water and cook on a medium heat 8 minutes, until they are soft. Drain and transfer to a food processor with the garlic and vinegar, and puree. With the motor still running, add the oil a drop at a time, until you’ve added about 1/3, then increase pouring speed to a trickle, then a slow, steady stream, until all the oil is in the mix. Season generously to taste and serve in a bowl alongside the gratin.

Next time: Get out the grains! Way to go barley, farro, freekah, short grain rice and more.






Friday, October 6, 2017

Part 5: Chickpeas, the little black dress of the kitchen

There's no end to the worldly joys a can of chickpeas offers any time of year. Here are six to celebrate autumn. Coming soon in Part 6: Chickpea chaat, Arroz al horno, Moroccan Harira (lentil, beef and chickpea stew), Roman pasta with chickpeas and more! There's always more!

Catalan Braised Chickpeas with Almonds, Garlic and Tomatoes
serves 4
2 cans of chickpeas, washed and drained
6 tbsp olive oil
1 sm garlic clove, mashed and minced
1 sm yellow or white onion, diced
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
2 lbs tomatoes, peeled and chopped (you can used boxed)
1/4 c vegetable broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp pine nuts
2 garlic cloves
2 oz blanched almonds (1/8 lb)

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan and fry the onion until it's soft. Add 1 tbsp chopped parsley, the minced garlic clove and tomatoes. Simmer, crushing the tomatoes with the back of the spoon, until you have what looks like sauce. Add veg broth and chickpeas. Simmer 10 minutes.

While that's happening, grind the almonds, pine nuts and garlic into a "pesto" which in this recipe is called "picada."  Stir it into the chickpeas and simmer another 10 minutes. Add a tbsp of veg broth if it looks too dry. Stir in the final tbsp parsley, season with salt and pepper and serve with bread and cheeses.

Kale Chickpea Soup
A Tuscan (Italian) favorite


Serves 4-6
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp fennel seeds
1-2 tsp chili flakes
3-4 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp grated ginger
1 c chopped tomatoes (fresh or boxed)
Zest of ½ lemon
2 c cooked/canned chickpeas (drained weight)
1 1/4 lbs kale, shredded
1/4 c orzo pasta (or other small pasta shape)
4 c vegetable/chicken broth
Salt and black pepper
 To serve
Lemon zest
Extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add the fennel seeds, chili flakes, garlic and ginger. Cook gently a few minutes until fragrant. Add the chopped tomatoes and the lemon zest and continue to cook until tomatoes have softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the chickpeas, kale and orzo, stirring to blend. Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and cook until the kale and orzo are soft. Check for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste.

To serve, sprinkle with fresh lemon zest and drizzle with olive oil.

Asian Stir-fry Chickpeas
4 garlic cloves, smashed
1/4 c vegetable oil (canola, corn, sunflower, peanut,)
2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp soy or Tamari sauce
1 tbsp sugar
2 bunches gai lan (this is Chinese broccoli green), cut into 1" pieces
2 tbsp sweet chili sauce
1 tbsp Sriracha
juice of 2 limes
1/4 c peanuts (ground)
1/2 c coconut water
1 red chili, minced

In a large saucepan over medium heat, heat oil and stir-fry garlic 2 minutes. Add chickpeas, soy sauce and sugar. Continue to stir-fry until there's no liquid in the pot. Add the gai lan, chili sauce, Sriracha, lime juice, fish sauce, coconut water and minced chili. Stir-fry another 2 minutes just to heat everything evenly.

Spicy Roasted Pumpkin and Chickpea Soup
from Yotam Ottolengthi


Serves 6
1 small pumpkin or butternut squash, cut in half, seeds removed, peeled and flesh cut into bite-size pieces
¼ c olive oil
Salt and black pepper
2-3 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp ground cardamom
2½ tbsp harissa paste
½ tsp rose water
4 c vegetable or chicken stock
2 cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
7 dried apricots, thinly sliced
1½ small preserved lemons, cut in half, the flesh discarded and the skin roughly chopped or zest of two lemons
1 tbsp cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
1 c Greek yogurt

Heat the oven to 425º. Mix the pumpkin with two tbsp of oil, ¼ tsp salt and black pepper. Spread out on a parchment-lined baking tray and roast 25 minutes, until golden-brown and soft. Set aside.
Put 2 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan on a medium-high heat. Once hot, fry the shallots for 8 minutes, stirring a few times, until they are soft and caramelized. Add half the garlic, half the cumin, all the cardamom, a teaspoon of salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Fry 2 minutes, then stir in the harissa, rose water, stock, half the chickpeas, the apricots and the preserved lemon skin. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium and simmer 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the roasted pumpkin. Cover to keep warm.
Put two tbsp. oil in a medium frying pan on a high heat and, once hot, add the remaining chickpeas, garlic and cumin, ¼ tsp salt and lots more pepper. Fry 7 minutes, stirring occasionally and crushing some of the chickpeas until they are browned and crisp.
Warm the soup through and divide between six bowls. Sprinkle with the chickpea mix, scatter over some cilantro, spoon over the yogurt and serve.

Moroccan style Rice and Chickpea Salad with all kinds of dried fruits
 serves at least 4
1 c rice
1/4 c raisins
2 tbsp currants
3 tbsp brown lentils
1 tbsp split peas
8 dried apricots, chopped
2/3 c cooked chickpeas, drained
4 scallions. chopped
1 cup chopped spinach
1/2 c whole roasted almonds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
freshly chopped cilantro leaves for garnish
For the dressing:
3 tbsp orange juice
1/4 c olive oil
pinch ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp orange flower water
1/4 tsp orange rind

Cook the rice with the raisins, currants, brown lentils and split peas. When it's done, drain excess liquid. Stir in the apricots, chickpeas, scallions, spinach, almonds, salt and pepper to your taste.
Make the dressing by whisking together all ingredients. Pour over the salad. Garnish with cilantro leaves

Uzbek Meat and Chickpea Soup (Mokbora)
1 tbsp veg oil
1/2 lb stewing beef or lamb cut into tiny cubes
1 tsp ground cumin
1 sm onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced into half-moon rings
3 med carrots, diced
1 1/2 c crushed tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
6 cups beef broth or water
salt and pepper to your taste
2 med potatoes, peeled and diced into 1/2" pieces
1 c cooked chickpeas
1 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

In a heavy gauge casserole pot or Dutch oven, heat oil until it's very hot. Brown the meat on all sides over med/high heat. Reduce heat to medium, sprinkle the cumin over the meat and add the onions and carrots, stirring to blend. Cook until these vegetables start to soften, maybe 4-5 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes and tomato paste, blending. Cook over medium/low heat 5 minutes.  Add the water/broth, raise heat to bring it to a boil, then lower heat. Season with salt and pepper. Cover the pot and simmer 30 minutes. Add the potatoes and chickpeas. Simmer another 20 minutes. Taste for seasonings. Add the parsley and cilantro to serve. Have good flatbread ready!