Back to our roots

Digging it is in. Root veggies are flooding the farmers' market just as hours of sunshine shorten while air chills. They come to our rescue with slow released minerals and vitamins slowly absorbed all summer long. Plus they bring the bold colors of autumn to the table. So here are easy fixings for the most common locally grown roots. Learn them now and enjoy healthy, tasty, eye catching dishes all winter long. Recipes for celeriac and Japanese (Hakurei), aka salad, turnips coming soon.

Carrot and Potato Cake

This trio of the most popular roots--onions, carrots and potatoes-- is surprisingly simple to assemble yet a conversation piece to serve. It should be a crowd pleaser for kids, vegetarians and the gluten free. It goes with just about anything you want to serve, is appropriate any time of day and appears glamorous although it costs pennies. What more could you want? Orange carrots showcase the popular hue of autumn.
serves 6
1 med yellow onion, diced
4 lg or 7 med carrots, peeled and grated
5 tbsp unsalted butter
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp dill, finely chopped
3 med boiling potatoes (about 1 lb), peeled and very thinly sliced
pinch of saffron
1/8 tsp dried rosemary leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Use 2 tbsp butter to grease a 7" springform pan. If yours is 8", use an extra carrot and a large onion instead of a medium one so no worries. Preheat oven to 350º.Cut a piece of parchment or other grease proof paper into a circle the size of the prepared pan.

Combine 2 tbsp butter and 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet or fry pan, using an extra tbsp of oil if your pan is very large. Over med heat, melt the butter into the oil and when it starts to foam, add the onion with a pinch of saffron. Sauté 3-5 min until onion is soft and translucent. Stir in the carrots and dill. Sauté 1 min and remove from heat. Season with salt and pepper.

Put half the carrot/onion mix in the bottom of the buttered pan, leveling the top. Line the top with potato slices, covering everything. Overlapping slices work well. Put a pinch of dried rosemary on the potatoes. Press down lightly. Put the remaining carrot/onion mix on top and level. Top this with another layer of thinly sliced potatoes. Again press down lightly. Season the potatoes with a pinch of rosemary, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of salt. Break 1 tbsp butter into tiny pieces and sprinkle over the potatoes. Put the cut piece of

parchment over the top and press down once again.  Put in the oven and bake at 350º 25 minutes, Remove from oven. Lightly press down--you can use a glass jar or other aid instead of your hand because it's hot--one last time, then remove the paper. Run a small spatula around the rim to loosen anything that sticks to the pan. Release the springform.
   For a more spectacular presentation, serve atop a plate of steamed spinach or chard.




Radish Cucumber Salad

Here's a transition dish for the last of the cucumbers with the most overlooked common root. And note: it's dressing free!  I'm a huge fan of the oblong pink and white sweet French breakfast radish because rolled in soft goat cheese or butter then coated with sea salt, it's a divine mouthful anytime of day. Bright red globe radishes have more bite and can be hard to incorporate. This salad shows them off in splendor. Their crunch, pepperiness enhanced by the cilantro and color brightens everything in the meal. They also make an excellent palate cleaner, perfect transition from a meaty dinner to dessert. Serving it with the potato carrot cake, crusty bread and a platter of cheese makes a perfect vegetarian lunch or light supper right now.

serves 6
1 lg cucumber, washed, halved lengthwise and seeded (you don't have to peel it)
1 doz red globe radishes, medium size
1 bunch scallions, sliced in thin disks (NOTE: purple scallions up the color ante)
1/4 c dill fronds, finely chopped
1 lg bunch cilantro leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste
Optional: sprinkle of olive oil if you don't like dressing free salads

Cut the cucumber and radishes into bite-size chunks about the same size. Toss in a medium serving bowl with the scallions, dill, cilantro and red pepper flakes. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate to keep crunchy.
Glazed Red Beets with their greens

We now have golden beets and striped beets along with good old-fashioned red beets, lovingly known in Britain as "beetroot" and lovingly savored in the coldest countries of Europe as soup. This unusual, tasty and visually stunning recipe is from Central Asia and keeps those vitamin A rich greens with the beets. I posted it last year but it's worth repeating because it ups the appeal of the lowly red beet and you need a way to enjoy them without slow cooking borscht.

serves 4
4 medium red beets with greens attached
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1 red onion, thinly sliced in disks
4 garlic cloves, smashed
3 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon leaves or 1 tsp dried (if you prefer the flavor of dill use it instead)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

Wash beets and greens, then detach the greens with their stems from the beets.  Coarsely chop the greens and stems. Trim and peel the beets. Cut each into wedges (4-6). In a heavy gauge pan large enough to hold the beets in one layer, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté just until it softens. Add the beets and garlic. Drizzle the molasses over them and season with salt. Pour in just enough cold water to not quite cover the beets. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover with a lid, reduce heat to low/simmer and cook until beets are almost tender, maybe 20 minutes.  Remove lid, increase heat back to med/high and boil off the remaining liquid so you have glazed beets in the pan. Scatter the chopped greens around and over the beets, cover pan, reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes. Uncover, add the tarragon, freshly ground black pepper and salt to your taste if you think it needs more. Serve hot


Korean spiced carrot salad

I get glamour mileage jazzing up a Central Asian carrot salad by using all the colors of carrots now available at farmers' markets. My other secret is to slice them with the peeler used to remove the outer hairs so they form curly strips. My version is always a big hit. The hardest, longest part is peeling the carrots into strips. After that it's fast food. It should be made ahead so the flavors meld so you can get it out of the way early. I have posted this recipe before; it's a keeper to repeat.

serves 4-5

1 lb multicolored carrots, peeled and trimmed
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sesame seed
1 tsp coriander seed or 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin seed
3 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tsp good quality honey
1 garlic clove, smashed and minced
1 Serrano chili pepper, seeded and minced
2 tbsp sunflower, corn or other vegetable oil (not olive)
2 -3 tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped

Using the peeler, shred the carrots into long thin strips. If you have a spiralizer, use it instead. Put in a large bowl and toss with salt.  Set aside 1 hour.
  In a dry pan toast the seeds you are using. Pour into a small bowl and try to crack a few coriander seeds if you can. Whisk in the vinegar, honey, garlic and chili. Whisk in the oil. Taste and if necessary add vinegar or honey to get a sweet sour balance. Pour the dressing over the carrots. Let the salad sit a few hours to marinate. Scatter the cilantro leaves all over to serve.

Leek and Dill Pie

Instead of a whole how to fix a leek post this year I'm spreading the wealth across several autumn posts. This leek pie is an alternative to the leek patties I posted last week. It's easier to make.  

Serves 6

4 lg leeks

4 tbsp corn or vegetable oil

2 yellow onions, finely diced

1 c large curd whole milk cottage cheese

2 extra lg eggs, lightly beaten

½ c coarsely grated Muenster, Jack or Havarti cheese

1/3 c coarsely grated Parmesan cheese

2 tbsp fresh dill, finely chopped

Salt to your taste

¼ tsp ground cayenne or Aleppo pepper

to serve: minted Greek yogurt

Preheat oven to 350º. Use 1 tbsp oil to grease a 9” glass pie dish.

Cut the dark green stems and roots from the leeks. Slightly slit the stalks and wash them carefully under running water to get all the dirt out. (Putting them in a bowl of water puts the dirt back on the leeks.) Chop them into very thin rings.

In a med/lg skillet, heat 3 tbsp oil. On med heat sauté onion and leeks until soft and translucent, 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and blend well. Stir in the cooked leeks and onion. Pour into the oiled pie dish and level the top. Bake in the center of the oven 45 minutes or until the top is golden brown, you can’t make a fingerprint in it and a tester comes out clean.

   Serve with thick yogurt mixed with mint and lemon zest.

Solstice: the fall of summer

Markets overflow with colors and produce right now but it won't last long. So it's tempting to buy as much as you can. Local farm food is so much healthier and trustworthy than that industrial stuff in your supermarket, even Whole Foods. You want to hang onto it as long as possible. So what to do? I've posted freezer fixes and jarring solutions. What's here is a mishmash with emphasis on prolonging the life of fresh produce in the fridge, particularly the most fragile: tomatoes, peppers and corn. Hint: roast and oil.

Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

This is how to handle those full to the brim green cartons of luscious cherry tomatoes. (I like to call them cheery tomatoes.) It works best with the larger orbs, particularly the striped and more purple varieties. Roasting cherry tomatoes will revolutionize them for you: I can just eat them off the plate but they definitely jazz up a cracker or celery stalk stuffed with soft cheese, a cream cheese slathered bagel, a slice of grilled fish, a burger and pasta dishes. They bring vitamin C to mac and cheese and can garnish any stir fry.

Preheat oven or toaster oven to 400º.
Wash and dry the tomatoes. Slice them in thirds (have the stem end on your right) and lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil. Lightly cover them with olive oil, being sure every slice is oiled. Season with your best salt. Optionally, grate or mash a large garlic clove and sprinkle it over the tomatoes. Put tray of tomatoes in the oven and roast until they start to blacken at the edges, about 15 minutes but check every 5.
   To save this a week or more, pack them in a lidded jar and pour olive oil in. Store in the fridge.
   
Piperade

This is far from the first time I've posted this old favorite, a Basque tradition. It's also in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, served with a grit souffle. I can't praise it enough...for its vivid colors, vitamin boost,  flavor and versatility. Perfect for omelets, burgers, pasta sauce, in stir fry chicken, on pork chops or loin roast, with fish, beside rice and dhal, or in rice with hot sausage (Hungarian lescko). Plus can be frozen for that midwinter moment you are desperate for something colorful, quick and nutritious.

What you need for this:
fresh med/lg bell peppers of every color you can find (green, yellow, orange, red, purple)  Get at least 3 colors.
1 med Poblano or other mildly hot pepper like Fresno chili or Jalapeno.
For every 3 bell peppers you need 1 large red/purple onion and 2 lg garlic cloves.
1 tsp dried oregano
1 lg tomato (some prefer this without tomato so consider tomato optional)
Olive Oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

What you do with all that:

Remove stem and seeds from all the peppers. Wash and dry thoroughly. Slice them lengthwise into thin strips.
Peel the onion and slice it into very thin disks. Halve the disks.
Mince the garlic. If using tomato, finely chop it.
Heavily coat the bottom of a large sauté pan, wok or skillet with olive oil. Warm over medium/high heat. Add onions and cook 3-5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add peppers, oregano and garlic. Stir to blend with onions and oil. Be sure there is enough oil in the pan so nothing sticks and burns. Over medium heat, sauté peppers and onions, stirring occasionally until peppers start to soften, maybe 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato if you are using one. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Continue cooking until the peppers are very soft but still have their shape and the tomato has dissolved, 10-15 minutes.
OPTIONS: You can add a pinch of smoked paprika for an authentic Spanish/Basque flavor. You can stir in a handful of chopped fresh cilantro leaves just as you turn off the heat at the end. Or, for less peppery flavor, stir in finely chopped flat leaf parsley leaves. If you want this spicy hot, put a thinly sliced Serrano pepper or two in the mix.

Leek patties 

No annual fix a leek post this year so I include this beloved recipe from years past because it continues to be a lipsmacking crowd pleaser. And I love eating them. They can be served hot or at room temperature. They can be an appetizer, lunch, brunch, picnic, or part of a tapas/mezes presentation. Tightly wrapped, they can stay in the fridge 3-4 days although they might be a bit less crisp by then.  Traditionally they are served just with lemon wedges. I've found they can also be served with a dab of the red pepper sauce I posted under  Farm to Freezer 2 weeks ago and become more filling with tsatsiki/raita (yogurt cucumber sauce).

Makes 12, serves 6-8

6 lg leeks, white and light green parts only

1 tbsp fresh chives, minced

2 eggs, beaten

½-2/3 cup dried breadcrumbs

1 tsp coarse sea salt

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp corn or other vegetable oil for frying (olive oil will smoke up too fast)

1 lemon

Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and crosswise and rinse to clean.

Put leeks in a large saucepan, cover with water and bring to a boil.

Lower heat to simmer and cook uncovered about 25 minutes, until leeks are soft.

Drain well. Wrap leeks in a heavy towel to squeeze out as much excess water as possible.

Coarsely chop the leeks. Put in a bowl with the chives, salt and pepper. Stir in the breadcrumbs. (Enough to take up any remaining moisture in the leeks.) Blend in the eggs. 

Make 8 patties that are about ½ inch thick.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Arrange the patties in the pan so they don’t touch (you may have to do this in two batches) and cook until brown on the bottom side, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook another 1-2 minutes so both sides are evenly browned. Remove from the pan and drain on paper towels.

Serve with a squirt of lemon juice and a wedge of lemon.

Optionally sprinkle minced fresh flat leaf parsley on the plate.

Fennel braised with olives

This is the best intro to autumn. Fennel is often sliced into a crunchy salad with black olives, purple onion and orange or mandarin slices. It's light licorice flavor is refreshing. Sometimes it's roasted with olive oil, sea salt and then served meltingly hot with freshly grated parmesan cheese. Here's a new take: cooking it with lemon and olives. It's essentially a side dish, perfect for pork or roast chicken.

1 c olive oil
4 fennel bulbs, trimmed, and cut into wedges (save fronds)
5 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
1 lemon, peel only, in thin strips
1/2 bottle dry white wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
4 bay leaves
12 Kalamata olives (pitted is helpful when eating this dish)

Heat oven to 350º.
Heat the oil over medium in the deepest frying pan/skillet you have. Put in the fennel in the oil and sauté stirring occasionally until it's lightly browned. Add garlic and lemon strips. Cook another 4 minutes over low heat. Add wine, salt and pepper. Bring to boil and continue to boil 3-5 minutes. Add the thyme, bay leaves and olives. Transfer everything into a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes or until fennel is very tender to a fork.  To serve, finely chop the feathery fronds and scatter over the fennel.

Corn and tomato curry

A freezable finale to summer's finest. Vegan unless served with yogurt.

serves 4

Coconut or olive oil

2 tsp cumin seed

1 tbsp black mustard seed

2 tsp fennel seed

1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1" piece fresh ginger, peeled and grated

2 sm red chili peppers, seeded and sliced into thin strips 

4 ears of corn, huske, kernels cut off and saved

1 tsp turmeric

pinch of ground cinnamon

3 tbsp coconut cream

4 med/lg ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

2 lemons (juice of 1 only, other quartered)

fresh cilantro leaves (from a bunch)

  

In a large cooking pot, heat over med/high enough oil to lightly coat the bottom. Add cumin and mustard seed and once they pop, lower heat to med/low and add fennel seed and onion. Sauté until onion is soft and translucent, 5-8 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and 1 of the chilies. Continue cooking another 5 minutes until the garlic starts to brown. Stir in turmeric, cinnamon, coconut cream and tomatoes. Cook 10 minutes until tomatoes have become a sauce. Add corn plus 2/3 c water, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes or until the corn kernels are totally cooked.  Add lemon juice and stir to blend. Remove from heat. Scatter in the remaining sliced chili and cilantro leaves.  Serve hot with the quartered lemon, basmati rice, raita and flatbead. Or cool completely and freeze in airtight containers to spice up a cold winter day.

 

Farm to freezer

This moment of peak produce is of course the moment for peak preservation. So this post is a peek at the simpler of the two methods: freezing.  I'm sharing my all time favorite make now eat later dishes because they're simple to prepare, tasty and nutritious anytime, and definitely bring summer sunshine to a bleak winter day. In fact produce like peaches and tomatoes are sunshine "personified."

Provencal Tomato Soup
 I included this in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking because it's a worldly vegetarian delight.

It's also possibly the easiest, fastest, tastiest recipe ever. You don't even have to bother getting the skins off the tomatoes if you don't want to. You just put everything in the pot and cook 20-25 minutes. It's an authentic recipe from a French housewife who grew up in Provence and took it from her Mom when she married a man from Normandy and I have treasured it since she shared it decades ago. Winter seems warmer when I have a few containers of it in the freezer. I drink it from a mug or spoon it from a bowl, sometimes adding garlickly buttered croutons. It came immediately to mind when I found a farmer offering two pound bags of ripe tomatoes at the bargain price of $5 a bag. That bag made 3 containers of soup, each good for 2 mugs. So it's also cheap nourishment.
This recipe makes about 3 bowls of soup.

2 lbs ripe red tomatoes
1 lg yellow onion, finely diced
4 tbsp unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

2 lb bag of tomatoes

1 tbsp dried thyme leaves
1 medium hot whole red chili pepper or 1 tsp Aleppo pepper or 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (you want mildly hot)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
1/4 c flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped

In a medium sized heavy gauge casserole, heat the butter and it melts. Stir in thyme and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add onions, bay leaf and a pinch of ground black pepper. Stir to blend and sauté over medium low heat until the onions are soft and glistening.

Add the tomatoes and mix well. Drop in the whole pepper. If the tomatoes aren’t juicy, add ½ cup water to avoid burning. Cover and simmer on low for 20-25 minutes, until the tomatoes become soupy. (If the soup is too thick and pasty, add either another ¼ cup of water or dry sherry if you’d like.) Remove the bay leaf and whole pepper. Remove from heat.  If you want a smoother soup you can puree it at this point. You can also just leave it as it is. In either case, to freeze add the parsley while it's still hot, adjust salt and pepper to your taste and either serve with or without garlic croutons or put into plastic containers and freeze. 

Persian King of Eggplants

 Eggplant stuffed with fragrantly spiced lamb, the whole thing topped with tomatoes, is a moveable feast. Small Italian eggplants work best: you can figure one per person, which is a lot. You can half them if you prefer. This recipe is my own update from the one i included in How to Fix a Leek...the 2011 book. It has more fragrant spices and some tomatoes mixed into the lamb.

5-6 small eggplants

½ c olive oil                              

1 lg onion, chopped                  

1 lb ground lamb                      

3 tbsp pine nuts

¼ c chopped parsley

½ tsp ground allspice

1 tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp Aleppo pepper or chipotle chili powder

Salt and freshly ground pepper to your taste

6-7 med ripe tomatoes skinned and diced or 1  28 oz can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350º. Peel eggplants lengthwise at intervals to stripe. Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of a large skillet and sauté eggplants on all sides until golden. Arrange in a baking dish and salt. Slit lengthwise ¾” deep, without hitting the bottom to half them.

Add remaining oil to the skillet and over medium heat sauté the onion until soft, 4-5 minutes. Add lamb and nuts. Cook over medium heat until lamb is brown. Add parsley, spices, salt and pepper and half the tomatoes.  Stuff the lamb mix into the eggplant slits as much as you can. Cover them with the remainder. Mix the remaining tomatoes with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Pour over the stuffed eggplants. Cover the pan with foil and bake 45 minutes. Uncover and if there is too much juice cook 10 more. Now you can serve hot or you can cool and wrap each eggplant with as much stuffing as possible in foil and put the foiled eggplants in a large freezer bag for safe keeping. Defrost frozen in a 350º oven or defrost in the fridge and microwave to serve.

Peach and Pecan Crisp
 I know I said the tomato soup was the easiest, tastiest recipe ever but this one comes mighty close. For simplicity and speed, it beats pie and cobbler plus it's gluten-free. Sometimes I throw in a few raspberries for pzazz. To freeze, I use those disposal foil pie dishes. I let it cool slightly after baking, then wrap it tightly in foil and insert it into a large plastic freezer bag. An hour before serving, I heat the oven to 325º and when it gets there, I remove this from the plastic bag, leave the foil on and put it frozen in the oven to thaw and heat. Tastes absolutely freshly baked that way. It's all fruit and crunch, a real crowd pleaser and palette cleanser. I often serve one after Thanksgiving turkey.

for an 8" foil pie plate that will serve 6:
5 large ripe peaches, washed and dried
optional: 8-10 raspberries
1/2 lg lime, juice only
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp light brown or raw/turbinado sugar
For the crisp:
1 c pecans
4 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 c oats
1/2 c light brown or raw/turbinado sugar
pinch salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
 Preheat oven to 350º.
Slice the peaches into the foil pie dish, keeping them level as you get to the top. If using raspberries sprinkle them evenly around so every portion has at least 1. Sprinkle lime juice evenly over the peaches, then season with the spices and vanilla and 2 tbsp sugar.

with added raspberries

To make the crisp:
In a sm/med bowl, combine all ingredients. Mix with your hands to incorporate the dry ingredients with the butter until there are no masses of butter left. You want large lumps of sugar covered nuts and oats held together by butter.  Spread evenly over the crisp: try not to smother any area. If you have tiny gaps, that's fine: this is not pie. The juice will bubble up and make it look even more mouthwatering.
     You may want to put a baking sheet below to catch drips and save cleaning the oven. Bake at 350º 30-40 minutes until the top is golden brown and peach juice is bubbling along the sides.
     To serve now: get out vanilla or peach or butter pecan ice cream. To preserve, cool, wrap tightly in foil and slide into a large plastic freezer bag.

French Plum Torte

Another golden oldie that never gets old. I included it in the 2011 version of my book How to Fix a Leek... . You can also use this simple French butter cake recipe to preserve figs and pears. It's lovely coffee cake, a not sweet finale to a heavy meal, useful for quick breakfast and perfect as a hostess gift. Always handy to have in the freezer.

serves 8

12-14 plums, pitted and halved       

1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter

½ c white sugar

¼ c light brown sugar                                  

1 tsp baking powder

1 c unbleached flour, sifted         

2 extra large eggs

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp milk

¼ tsp cinnamon                             

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 tbsp light brown sugar

¼ tsp ground cloves

¼ tsp ground ginger

Preheat over to 350º. Butter a 9” springform pan. If yours is 8” or 10”, no worries.

Put the halved plums in a bowl with lemon juice, 1 tbsp brown sugar and spices. Stir to blend.

In or with a mixer, cream butter and sugars. Add eggs and beat to incorporate. Add flour, baking powder and salt. Beat just enough to incorporate everything. Fold in the milk to lighten the mix. The batter will be thick and it will seem meagre in the pan but it will rise!

Spoon batter into the buttered pan and level the top. Arrange the plum halves cut side down around the top. Bake 35-40 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool and release from spring form pan. This can now be frozen double wrapped in foil and sealed in an airtight plastic bag for later. Defrost and reheat in foil at 300º for 10 minutes.

Red Pepper Sauce

This is another old favorite --all that vitamin C and summer sunshine the red peppers bring to winter--I can't be without. The sauce beats ketchup any day on burgers, steak, fish, chicken, omelets or grilled veggies and it's divine pasta sauce to boot. A dollop brightens lentil or bean soup, especially if you got it from a box or can. I freeze this in small plastic containers because a little goes a long way.

This makes 1 cup so you can easily double it to store more.

 3 tbsp olive oil                          

3 lg/4 sml red bell peppers, seeded

4 garlic cloves, sliced               

1 mildly hot pepper (Poblano, jalapeno)*

1 tsp dried oregano                 

2 tbsp fresh basil OR coriander if you prefer more peppery taste

1 tbsp wine vinegar                  

1/8 tsp salt

 * to get more kick use a hotter Serrano pepper, seeded and diced

Slice red peppers into thin strips. Dice hot pepper. Chop your chosen herb.

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add bell peppers, garlic and oregano. Sauté 15 minutes on medium low heat. Stir in vinegar, hot pepper and salt. Sauté 10 minutes. Stir in the herb. Simmer 5 minutes. Purée in a blender or processor.

A jarring experience

Farm to freezer is one way to save the bounty of our farmers' markets right now. Stashing it away in sterilized jars is another. I'm talking jam, chutney, pickles--great sources of vitamins, minerals and ferment in the bleak of winter. Also fabulous gifts! I've already told you about blueberry apple chutney and rhubarb date chutney, superb partner for hard cheese, fig jam and more. So here are more ideas for putting up, as they used to say.

Tomato jam

still cooking: chunks will disappear

This is a new one for me. Decades ago i preserved tomatoes with citric acid in huge canning jars. Then I got over that and preserved them in spaghetti sauce and soup. Last year I managed to hold onto them by roasting and soaking in olive oil and putting jarred in the fridge: they made it a month and were sensational atop goat or soft sheep cheese. This year, hunting through a trove of stashed recipes, I found this simple version of Greek tomato jam--Greek because it contains cinnamon! It's a cinch to make, mighty tasty atop goat or sheep cheese or cream cheese on a bagel. 

Makes five 4 oz. jars. 

2 lbs ripe tomatoes
1 cinnamon stick (a fat one)
1/2 c cider vinegar (use good quality)
1 3/4 c turbinado, raw or granulated sugar
pinch of red pepper flakes

The slightly annoying part of this process is getting the skins off the tomatoes. To slip them easily, cut a cross in the bottom or each tomato, then submerge them in boiling water 1 minute. Remove and plunge into ice water or ice cubes or a combination. The skins should now slide right off. 
   Once that's done, remove lids from canning jars and submerge the jars in boiling water. Reduce heat to simmer while you make jam.

Quarter the tomatoes and combine with cinnamon stick in a deep pot. Cook over medium heat about 10 minutes until the tomatoes start to dissolve. Slowly add the sugar, vinegar and pinch of pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. and continue to boil and stir until the mixture thickens--15-20 minutes. You will know it's good to jar when the spoon goes through the bottom and exposes the pot. Ladle into hot sterilized jars, seal and submerge the jars in boiling water 12 minutes. (Raise the heat to med/high from simmer once you put the jars in.)

Roasted peach and pecan chutney

I posted a slightly different peach chutney recipe a few weeks ago. Then my favorite fruit farmer gifted me a box of peaches so I had to start all over. For something different, I roasted the peaches first: easy enough. You half them, remove the stone if you can, and lightly sprinkle sugar on them. Roast at 350º for 40 minutes or until they are soft. This is a great cure for hard rock peaches. At this point, you can make roasted peach jam and/or peach and pecan chutney loaded with fresh ginger, a lip smacking accompaniment to the Thanksgiving turkey.

peaches roasted without sugar

10 peaches, halved, stoned and roasted
1 c whole pecans, lightly roasted
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger root
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c raisins
3 cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp chipotle chili powder (this is smokey)
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 c raw, turbinado or light brown sugar
1/2 c raspberry or balsamic vinegar

 Put five 4 oz canning jars, lids off, in a pot deep and wide enough to hold them. Cover with water and bring to a boil to sterilize the jars. While this is happening, make the chutney.
When the peaches are cool, slip off skins and cut into chunks. Combine in a deep metal or stainless steel pot with everything else. Bring to a boil, stir and continue to cook on high heat, stirring until the mixture thickens. Spoon into hot jars, seal and boil under water 12 minutes. Remove and listen for the lid popping sign that indicates the jar is sealed. Label and shelve.

Pickled Plums
These are especially excellent with roasted pork or black-eyed pea dhal. Supposedly the recipe is traditional in Poland. The method is unusual but very convenient: while you're doing chores you can go back and forth to tend to this without time stress.

1 lb plums. cleaned and dry
2 c cider vinegar
2 c white vinegar
4 c water
2 1/4 c sugar (i like to include 1/2 light brown for the flavor)
4 whole cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp grated fresh ginger root

Put the plums in a glass or ceramic bowl where they can spread out a bit.
In a medium stainless steel or metal saucepan (not aluminum is the point) bring 2 c white vinegar and 2 c water to a rolling boil. Pour over the plums. Soak 1 hour. Pour liquid back into the pot, bring to a boil, pour over the plums and soak another hour.

In the same saucepan, combine cider vinegar, 2 c water, sugar and spices. Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar is thoroughly dissolved. Pour this over the plums and let them soak another hour.
Using a slotted spoon, pack the plums into sterilized canning jars (1/2 pint probably best to get the most). Bring the liquid in the pot to a rolling boil again and pour it over the plums filling the jars to 1/4" from the top. Seal. Submerge in boiling water 15 minutes. Remove. Check after 30 minutes to be sure the jars are tightly sealed. If not put them back under boiling water.
  The original instructions for this say: don't open for two weeks. And note: these plums will have pits.

Basic Spaghetti Sauce
This will make 3 pints so have 3 pint canning jars at hand. You can always double up for more.
A lot of ingredients but most are spices so no worries.

2 oz slab bacon or pancetta or similar
1/2 c olive oil
 4 lg garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1 med green bell pepper, diced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried sage
pinch red pepper flakes*
1 tbsp dried basil or 1/3 c basil leaves chopped
2 bay leaves
6 lbs paste tomatoes (Roma), peeled and chopped
2 sm/med carrots. finely chopped or grated
1/2 c flat leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste (more is good)
1/4 c red wine
4 oz. tomato paste
*for spicier sauce, add 1 med hot chili like Serrano finely diced

To peel the tomatoes, either try with a peeler or plunge them into boiling water for 1 minute, then into ice water and slip off the skins.
In a large heavy soup pot, render the bacon. (This means cook over medium heat to get all the juice/fat out of it onto the pan.) Remove the bacon. Heat olive oil. Add onion and green pepper. Sauté on medium heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Add oregano, pepper flakes, thyme, sage, basil, bay leaves and salt. Add carrots, tomatoes and garlic. Stir to blend. Cook over med/low heat until tomatoes start to soften,  5 minutes.  Add parsley, black pepper, red wine and tomato paste. Cover, reduce heat to simmer and cook 2 hours. Check from time to time that it is not drying out. If it is, stir in 1/4 water.  Remove bay leaves.
Ladle into hot sterilized jars, seal and submerge jars in boiling water 20 minutes. Alternately you can freeze this in plastic containers.                                     

Dilly Beans
This is the all time pickle favorite, especially for kids. It's terrific cocktail fare, great with roasted chicken and perfect for picnics.  Plus it makes the best gift. Kids can do this, so let them. This recipe comes from Nana Chef, me in a different incarnation.

4 1-quart canning jars with new lids

2+ lbs. green beans

8 lg garlic cloves, halved and smashed

2 tsp red pepper flakes

4 tbsp dill seeds

2½ cups white vinegar

2½ cups water

¼ cup kosher salt (not regular salt)

Sterilize jars in boiling water.

Pull the “twiggy” ends off the beans and wash them. Dry carefully. Put one into the jar to measure how long it can be to be slightly shorter than the jar and cut it. Use this to cut all the beans into that same length. Put 4 garlic halves, 1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes and 1 tbsp dill seeds in each jar. Fill each jar tightly with the green beans, trying to keep them all standing up in the same direction.

In a large saucepan, combine the water, vinegar and salt. Stir to dissolve salt and bring to a full boil. Ladle the hot liquid into jars, filling to ¼” of the top. Shake jars to remove air bubbles. Seal jars. Put back in boiling water 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Listen for the lids to “pop” so you know the jars are securely sealed