Better late than never to talk about THE MEAL and the menu that dare not be messed with. But there are plenty of fun, tasty and interesting dishes to go with the turkey.
Chief among them would be a winter squash stuffed with kale and mushrooms; it's on the Kale page of How to Fix a Leek... . This is not only great with roasted or barbecued or even deep-fried turkey, but a great offering to vegetarians.
I am always foolish for celeriac puree with roasted turkey and that recipe too, direct from my French "mother", is in How to Fix a Leek. Couldn't be easier or more low cal.
Another super easy and tasty dish is roasted sweet potato. And thanks to global warming, you can now find sweet potatoes at farmers' markets in the north. Just peel and slice into disks about 1/8-1/4" thick. Line a baking sheet with foil and turn the oven to 450º. Whisk together in a small bowl equal amounts of olive oil and soy sauce. Dip the sweet potatoes in. Set on the baking sheet and bake 12-15 minutes until they are lightly brown and soft. Serve as hors d'oeuvres or a side dish.
This year friends of mine are going to slow grill the turkey stuffed with Brussels sprouts, shallots, carrots, potatoes and turnip. Some of that veggie mix goes into the cavity while the rest goes under the turkey as bedding; both ways the veggies roast in the turkey juices, sucking them up. A lot of lemon juice, a pile of fresh thyme, tightly wrap the turkey and put it on a covered grill for hours.
I used to sauté shallots, leeks, celery carrots, Brussels sprouts and mushrooms with tons of thyme and sage. Then I blended the cooked vegetables with rice that had been half cooked in chicken broth, added chopped parsley, and stuffed the mixture into all the turkey cavities to roast. This stuffing was always a huge hit, a delightfully light and tasty alternative to leaden bread stuffing.
Consider stuffing apples with pureed butternut squash or yams, blended with coconut milk and cardamom, studding the apples with cloves and baking them on a cookie sheet at 350º until soft, about 45 minutes. Or you can microwave them in 4 minutes.
Consider braising a red cabbage with onions, caraway seeds, apples and balsamic vinegar for a really flavorful, colorful foil for that turkey. There's a recipe on the winter cabbage page of How to Fix a Leek that can serve as inspiration.
Don't forget the blueberry chutney, cranberry preserve with walnuts and raisins and a lovely crunchy salad of chopped fennel and pomegranate arils dressed with olive oil and a hint of balsamic vinegar.
Bon appetit to all! The eat goes on.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
From France with chives
It's cold and dreary here in France but the farmers' markets are still cheerful. What's most in season locally in the north are radishes, leeks, winter squash, lettuces, fennel and cabbage.
My French "sister" whose mother was my cooking teacher brought home a big bunch of those lovely French radishes that are cylinder shaped, pink fading to white. The bunches here are twice what they are in America and happily the radishes are small too, which makes for the best eating. Marie-France's way of preparing them for a first course was to mix soft, fresh goat cheese with a mass of chopped chives, a bit of parsley and lots of sea salt. Then we dipped the cleaned radishes in. The taste and texture combination was sensational and the preparation couldn't have been any easier: it was all in the shopping.
Marie-France and her husband have a 17thC farmhouse and cook in their massive fireplace, usually fish and duck. But I insisted we roast the leeks and they were a huge hit. I simply cleaned and halved them both ways because they were large, drizzled olive oil on them, sprinkled sea salt and wrapped them in foil to put on the fire. Twenty minutes on the coals gave us meltingly sweet leeks to eat with our grilled salmon. Its just as easy to perform this magic 15-20 minutes in a 450 degree oven on a baking sheet without the foil.
Again couldn't have been simpler: twas all in the shopping.
Farmers' market are the ace place when that's the case.
My French "sister" whose mother was my cooking teacher brought home a big bunch of those lovely French radishes that are cylinder shaped, pink fading to white. The bunches here are twice what they are in America and happily the radishes are small too, which makes for the best eating. Marie-France's way of preparing them for a first course was to mix soft, fresh goat cheese with a mass of chopped chives, a bit of parsley and lots of sea salt. Then we dipped the cleaned radishes in. The taste and texture combination was sensational and the preparation couldn't have been any easier: it was all in the shopping.
Marie-France and her husband have a 17thC farmhouse and cook in their massive fireplace, usually fish and duck. But I insisted we roast the leeks and they were a huge hit. I simply cleaned and halved them both ways because they were large, drizzled olive oil on them, sprinkled sea salt and wrapped them in foil to put on the fire. Twenty minutes on the coals gave us meltingly sweet leeks to eat with our grilled salmon. Its just as easy to perform this magic 15-20 minutes in a 450 degree oven on a baking sheet without the foil.
Again couldn't have been simpler: twas all in the shopping.
Farmers' market are the ace place when that's the case.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Hot Under the Collards
Collard greens, a Southern favorite, are going strong in the frozen north, being a tough cool weather crop. Don't ignore them. These may top the nutrient crop of all the cruciferous greens. They beat all in lowering cholesterol and do a very impressive job of keeping cancer at bay. Plus they're really tasty. So grab a bunch.
You'll have to strip the leaves from the tough stems and chop them coarsely. After that, you can do simple, yummy things. Easiest is to boil those chopped greens in heavily salted water for 15 minutes, then drain them well. Heat olive oil and a touch of butter in a large skillet, toss in the greens and three cloves of minced garlic. Saute 5 minutes over medium to medium low heat. Season heavily with fresh black pepper and salt and serve. This preparation is great with saucy meat, especially barbeque sauce.
Another equally simple option is to boil the greens 20-30 not with salt in the water but a ham hock or piece of smoked ham. Drain. Shred any ham meat. Then saute the collards and ham in olive or corn oil for 5 minutes. Season with fresh pepper and serve. This is seriously good with fried chicken.
I've seen recipes where people boil the greens and then saute them with soy sauce and sesame oil.
For a quick, colorful and seriously nutritious dish, I've chopped the greens more finely and boiled them 15 minutes. While they are draining, In a large deep skillet, I sauté in half butter half olive oil one diced onion and two minced garlic cloves until the onion is soft. I add a chopped tomato, sprinkle in red pepper flakes and stir in 1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili plus 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves. I put the greens in the skillet along with a 13 oz can of cooked black-eyed peas with their juice and cook over medium heat 5-10 minutes. Seasoned with fresh black pepper and about 1 tsp of salt, this is comforting food. Try it with a pork roast.
Just don't walk away from those bunches of flat leaf collard greens now at winter markets.
You'll have to strip the leaves from the tough stems and chop them coarsely. After that, you can do simple, yummy things. Easiest is to boil those chopped greens in heavily salted water for 15 minutes, then drain them well. Heat olive oil and a touch of butter in a large skillet, toss in the greens and three cloves of minced garlic. Saute 5 minutes over medium to medium low heat. Season heavily with fresh black pepper and salt and serve. This preparation is great with saucy meat, especially barbeque sauce.
Another equally simple option is to boil the greens 20-30 not with salt in the water but a ham hock or piece of smoked ham. Drain. Shred any ham meat. Then saute the collards and ham in olive or corn oil for 5 minutes. Season with fresh pepper and serve. This is seriously good with fried chicken.
I've seen recipes where people boil the greens and then saute them with soy sauce and sesame oil.
For a quick, colorful and seriously nutritious dish, I've chopped the greens more finely and boiled them 15 minutes. While they are draining, In a large deep skillet, I sauté in half butter half olive oil one diced onion and two minced garlic cloves until the onion is soft. I add a chopped tomato, sprinkle in red pepper flakes and stir in 1/4 tsp ground chipotle chili plus 1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves. I put the greens in the skillet along with a 13 oz can of cooked black-eyed peas with their juice and cook over medium heat 5-10 minutes. Seasoned with fresh black pepper and about 1 tsp of salt, this is comforting food. Try it with a pork roast.
Just don't walk away from those bunches of flat leaf collard greens now at winter markets.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Kale and Hearty
Now that the leaves have hit the ground and frost has turned the lawn brown, a bit of green on the table can cheer the soul. And if it's kale, the most nutritious green in the garden, it can actually fortify you for the onslaught of winter. Since the most common question i get is: "what do i do with kale?", here are a few hearty preparations for right now.
For Pasta: Kale with lemon, garllic and parmesan for 4-6
This is surprisingly rich. And the recipe is very flexible as to amounts.
1 bunch curly kale, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil (minimum)
1 lg red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 lg or 2 sm lemons
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano or Asiago cheese
salt to your taste
1/2lb penne pasta
optional: 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms and/or 1/2 cup canned pigeon peas or black-eyed peas, drained
Prepare the penne to boil in a large pot of salted water for whatever time the package says.
While that's happening, put 1/4 cup olive oil in the bottom of a deep large skillet and warm over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and cracked pepper and saute on medium heat until onions are soft and translucent, maybe 5 minutes.
Grate 1 tbsp lemon peel and add to the skillet. If you are using mushrooms, add now. Put the kale on top of everything and continue cooking over medium heat until it wilts. Then blend it in and stir. If you are using the canned beans, add now. Cook 2-3 minutes until kale is soft and shiny, beans are hot.
Add the juice of the lemon and salt to your taste. Blend. Simmer until penne is ready.
Drain the penne, keeping 1-2 tbsp of the cooking water. Salt the penne slightly.
Add the cooking water to the kale. Combine the skillet contents and the penne.
Add the remaining olive oil and cheese, mixing everything evenly. Add more olive oil if needed so the penne glistens.
Buttercup Squash stuffed with Kale, Rice and Black Beans for 4-5
I made this out of leftovers and everybody scarfed it right up.
1 large buttercup or Kabocha squash
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 purple onion, diced
1 lg garlic clove, diced
1 poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
5 kale leaves, stems removed, leaves chopped
1/2-2/3 cup canned black beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
salt to your taste
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup milk (skim or lo fat or regular)
Instead of the egg yolk and milk you can use 1/2 cup grated provolone or Jack or Havarti cheese.
Soften the squash in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut off the top to make a lid and clean out the interior. If you have the time to clean and roast the seeds to add to this please do. Spread the butter around the cleaned interior of the squash. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add black pepper, oregano, onions, garlic and poblano pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes until soft. Stir in the kale, rice and beans. Continue cooking over low heat until kale wilts and rice is hot. Stir in the cheese if you are using it, the cilantro leaves and salt to your taste. Turn off heat.
Whip the egg yolk into the milk if you are using them instead of cheese.
Stuff the squash with the rice/bean/kale mixture, pushing it in tightly til it comes just to the top. Pour in the egg/milk mix. Put the lid on the squash, put the squash on a flat baking sheet and bake at 350º for 40 minutes or until squash is soft enough to eat. Remove and let stand for 5 minutes.
Remove lid. Cut the squash in quarters or smaller wedges to serve. If you are not vegetarian, serve with grilled/sauteed linguiça or kielbasa sausage. Everybody can serve this with cornbread for a really colorful, nutritious and delicious dinner.
Raw Kale Salad
The recipe for this, kale with dried cranberries and other tasty tidbits, is in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. Serve it with roast chicken or turkey or pork loin.
You can also make a hearty soup from kale, potatoes and linguiça so don't stop here.
For Pasta: Kale with lemon, garllic and parmesan for 4-6
This is surprisingly rich. And the recipe is very flexible as to amounts.
1 bunch curly kale, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup olive oil (minimum)
1 lg red onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 lg or 2 sm lemons
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Romano or Asiago cheese
salt to your taste
1/2lb penne pasta
optional: 1/2 cup chopped mushrooms and/or 1/2 cup canned pigeon peas or black-eyed peas, drained
Prepare the penne to boil in a large pot of salted water for whatever time the package says.
While that's happening, put 1/4 cup olive oil in the bottom of a deep large skillet and warm over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and cracked pepper and saute on medium heat until onions are soft and translucent, maybe 5 minutes.
Grate 1 tbsp lemon peel and add to the skillet. If you are using mushrooms, add now. Put the kale on top of everything and continue cooking over medium heat until it wilts. Then blend it in and stir. If you are using the canned beans, add now. Cook 2-3 minutes until kale is soft and shiny, beans are hot.
Add the juice of the lemon and salt to your taste. Blend. Simmer until penne is ready.
Drain the penne, keeping 1-2 tbsp of the cooking water. Salt the penne slightly.
Add the cooking water to the kale. Combine the skillet contents and the penne.
Add the remaining olive oil and cheese, mixing everything evenly. Add more olive oil if needed so the penne glistens.
Buttercup Squash stuffed with Kale, Rice and Black Beans for 4-5
I made this out of leftovers and everybody scarfed it right up.
1 large buttercup or Kabocha squash
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cooked Basmati rice
1 purple onion, diced
1 lg garlic clove, diced
1 poblano pepper, roasted, skinned and diced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cracked black pepper
5 kale leaves, stems removed, leaves chopped
1/2-2/3 cup canned black beans, drained
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
salt to your taste
1 egg yolk
1/2 cup milk (skim or lo fat or regular)
Instead of the egg yolk and milk you can use 1/2 cup grated provolone or Jack or Havarti cheese.
Soften the squash in the microwave for 4-5 minutes. When cool enough to handle, cut off the top to make a lid and clean out the interior. If you have the time to clean and roast the seeds to add to this please do. Spread the butter around the cleaned interior of the squash. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
Preheat oven to 350º.
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium flame. Add black pepper, oregano, onions, garlic and poblano pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes until soft. Stir in the kale, rice and beans. Continue cooking over low heat until kale wilts and rice is hot. Stir in the cheese if you are using it, the cilantro leaves and salt to your taste. Turn off heat.
Whip the egg yolk into the milk if you are using them instead of cheese.
Stuff the squash with the rice/bean/kale mixture, pushing it in tightly til it comes just to the top. Pour in the egg/milk mix. Put the lid on the squash, put the squash on a flat baking sheet and bake at 350º for 40 minutes or until squash is soft enough to eat. Remove and let stand for 5 minutes.
Remove lid. Cut the squash in quarters or smaller wedges to serve. If you are not vegetarian, serve with grilled/sauteed linguiça or kielbasa sausage. Everybody can serve this with cornbread for a really colorful, nutritious and delicious dinner.
Raw Kale Salad
The recipe for this, kale with dried cranberries and other tasty tidbits, is in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. Serve it with roast chicken or turkey or pork loin.
You can also make a hearty soup from kale, potatoes and linguiça so don't stop here.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Beet Yourself Up
One of the best values at markets right now is beets. They're large, without greens, and generally sold loose by the pound. Since they're easy to preserve for winter eating, now's the time to buy a half dozen or more. Even if you can't get to preparing them right away, they'll hang on for weeks, waiting for you.
Beets are great with all other root vegetables equally available in bulk these October days: carrots, onions and potatoes. Also cabbage. Just visualize those cheery colors adorning your counter as days grow darker: magenta, orange, white, red (those potatoes) and green.
Think about combining the beets with the carrots, onions, potatoes and cabbage into a hearty, healthy borscht, with or without beef. Think: great, not only is this super easy to make but I can freeze some and effortlessly enjoy the bounty later as a really heartwarming winter meal.
Without meat, here's the simple way to concoct thick, nutritious borscht, a Russian way for 4.
Thinly slice or dice 3-4 red potatoes (you can keep the skin on for its vitamins if you scrub it first) and grate 2-3 peeled beets. Put this in a saucepan, cover with water (or vegetable broth) and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are just tender. Drain but SAVE the water.
In a heavy gauge casserole or soup pot, melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter and sauté 2 finely chopped onions until they are soft and translucent. Add 1 tsp caraway seed, 1 large carrot sliced into thin disks and 1/2 green cabbage finely shredded or chopped. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Cover this with the beet water or broth, and add more water to have enough for soup. Cover the pot and cook on low until the carrots and cabbage are tender.
Add the cooked potatoes and beets plus 1/2 cup chopped dill, 1 tbsp cider or wine vinegar and 1/2 cup tomato paste. Stir to blend. Be sure you have enough liquid now for a soup, adding if you don't.
Cover the pot and simmer on lowest heat for 30-40 minutes.
Serve hot with sour cream and chopped dill. Or cool and freeze in plastic containers.
For meaty borscht, boil in salted water flavored with 1 tsp ground cumin 1 lb short ribs until tender, 60-90 minutes. Remove the meat and scoop off any impurities bubbling around the top. Mince 1 garlic clove and rub it into the meat when it's cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile in a medium skillet, heat up 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Sauté 2 chopped large onions until they are soft and translucent. Pour the pot contents into the beef broth. Add 2 carrots thinly sliced in disks, 4 red potatoes in chunks, 3 beets peeled and grated, 1 small daikon peeled and sliced into disks, and 1/4 green cabbage shredded. Add 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp ground allspice. Stir to blend, cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender--maybe 12-15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped dill and 2 tbsp chopped parsley.
You can either shred the meat and return it to the soup or put it back whole and then dish it out first when you serve, putting it on a separate plate with horseradish. Your choice. To freeze, it's easier with the meat shredded into the soup.
Beets are also famously pickled to preserve them for winter use. Normally the spices used are dill and mustard seeds but you might try the Persian way with whole cloves, cinnamon and ground allspice, which is in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking.
And finally if you can't wait to eat those beets and want something right now, wrap them tightly in foil and bake at 400º until tender. Cool, peel and slice thinly or chop for a salad of beets, thinly sliced purple onion rings, fresh dill or ground up dill seed, and balsamic vinegar with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper. You can also add very thinly sliced fennel rings (take the core out to do this).
Beets are great with all other root vegetables equally available in bulk these October days: carrots, onions and potatoes. Also cabbage. Just visualize those cheery colors adorning your counter as days grow darker: magenta, orange, white, red (those potatoes) and green.
Think about combining the beets with the carrots, onions, potatoes and cabbage into a hearty, healthy borscht, with or without beef. Think: great, not only is this super easy to make but I can freeze some and effortlessly enjoy the bounty later as a really heartwarming winter meal.
Without meat, here's the simple way to concoct thick, nutritious borscht, a Russian way for 4.
Thinly slice or dice 3-4 red potatoes (you can keep the skin on for its vitamins if you scrub it first) and grate 2-3 peeled beets. Put this in a saucepan, cover with water (or vegetable broth) and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are just tender. Drain but SAVE the water.
In a heavy gauge casserole or soup pot, melt 2 tbsp unsalted butter and sauté 2 finely chopped onions until they are soft and translucent. Add 1 tsp caraway seed, 1 large carrot sliced into thin disks and 1/2 green cabbage finely shredded or chopped. Add 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp black pepper. Cover this with the beet water or broth, and add more water to have enough for soup. Cover the pot and cook on low until the carrots and cabbage are tender.
Add the cooked potatoes and beets plus 1/2 cup chopped dill, 1 tbsp cider or wine vinegar and 1/2 cup tomato paste. Stir to blend. Be sure you have enough liquid now for a soup, adding if you don't.
Cover the pot and simmer on lowest heat for 30-40 minutes.
Serve hot with sour cream and chopped dill. Or cool and freeze in plastic containers.
For meaty borscht, boil in salted water flavored with 1 tsp ground cumin 1 lb short ribs until tender, 60-90 minutes. Remove the meat and scoop off any impurities bubbling around the top. Mince 1 garlic clove and rub it into the meat when it's cool enough to handle.
Meanwhile in a medium skillet, heat up 2-3 tbsp olive oil. Sauté 2 chopped large onions until they are soft and translucent. Pour the pot contents into the beef broth. Add 2 carrots thinly sliced in disks, 4 red potatoes in chunks, 3 beets peeled and grated, 1 small daikon peeled and sliced into disks, and 1/4 green cabbage shredded. Add 2 tsp salt, 1 tsp black pepper and 1/4 tsp ground allspice. Stir to blend, cover and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender--maybe 12-15 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped dill and 2 tbsp chopped parsley.
You can either shred the meat and return it to the soup or put it back whole and then dish it out first when you serve, putting it on a separate plate with horseradish. Your choice. To freeze, it's easier with the meat shredded into the soup.
Beets are also famously pickled to preserve them for winter use. Normally the spices used are dill and mustard seeds but you might try the Persian way with whole cloves, cinnamon and ground allspice, which is in my book Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking.
And finally if you can't wait to eat those beets and want something right now, wrap them tightly in foil and bake at 400º until tender. Cool, peel and slice thinly or chop for a salad of beets, thinly sliced purple onion rings, fresh dill or ground up dill seed, and balsamic vinegar with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper. You can also add very thinly sliced fennel rings (take the core out to do this).
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
October eating
What's freshest and most abundant just now as the harvest season slinks to a close are hearty crops that take a long time to mature: fennel, celeriac, celery, leeks, storage potatoes and of course winter squashes. Some of these vegetables may seem out of the ordinary to those used to standard supermarket fare, so what to do?
Well, here's a quick, easy heartwarming soup to introduce you to most of them. It will have a subtle anise (licorice) flavor. Think of it as October in a pot. Serves 4-5.
2-3 tbsp olive oil (depending on width of your pot)
3 lg leeks, cleaned and finely chopped
5 celery stalks, cleaned and finely chopped
3 large onions, diced
1 lg fennel bulb, cored and finely chopped (you can save some of the fronds for garnish)
2 baking or 5 red potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
1 tbsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch of red pepper flakes
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup beluga or French green lentils (the black beluga will hold their shape and color better)
In a large heavy gauge casserole or soup pot, heat the oil over medium. When it's warm, add the leeks, celery, onion, fennel and potatoes. Sauté 12 minutes until soft and lightly colored, stirring from time to time so nothing sticks or burns. Add 1 tbsp oil if necessary.
Add broth, salt, pepper, coriander and lentils. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook 20 minutes.
Garnish with chopped fennel fronds to serve. (Options: if you want to puree the soup, cook the lentils in a separate pot and add after pureeing the soup.)
Think about roasting some of the red peppers piled high in the market right now, dousing them with a fruity olive oil and pinch of sea salt, then serving them with soft goat cheese and black olives along side this soup for a very healthy, colorful and memorably delicious meal.
You can find more fennel thoughts and what to do with that yummy but ugly looking celeriac in my book How to Fix a Leek and Other Food from Your Farmers' Market, so I won't repeat here. But right now diced or sliced fennel can star in crunchy salads that refresh the palate after a heavy autumn meat meal. (That crunch is refreshing after the softness of meat and mashed vegetables.) To go with the season's first brisket, I chopped fennel and mixed it with pomegranate arils, minced shallot, and a little bit of diced red pepper--dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
This is also the end of mushroom foraging season: time for mushroom paté or marinated mushrooms or yummiest of all, mushroom leek risotto (use mushroom broth in the recipe). I have recipes for the last two in my book: Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, available on Amazon (with 5 star reviews).
Well, here's a quick, easy heartwarming soup to introduce you to most of them. It will have a subtle anise (licorice) flavor. Think of it as October in a pot. Serves 4-5.
2-3 tbsp olive oil (depending on width of your pot)
3 lg leeks, cleaned and finely chopped
5 celery stalks, cleaned and finely chopped
3 large onions, diced
1 lg fennel bulb, cored and finely chopped (you can save some of the fronds for garnish)
2 baking or 5 red potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
1 tbsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp ground coriander
pinch of red pepper flakes
8 cups vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup beluga or French green lentils (the black beluga will hold their shape and color better)
In a large heavy gauge casserole or soup pot, heat the oil over medium. When it's warm, add the leeks, celery, onion, fennel and potatoes. Sauté 12 minutes until soft and lightly colored, stirring from time to time so nothing sticks or burns. Add 1 tbsp oil if necessary.
Add broth, salt, pepper, coriander and lentils. Bring to a boil, lower heat, cover and cook 20 minutes.
Garnish with chopped fennel fronds to serve. (Options: if you want to puree the soup, cook the lentils in a separate pot and add after pureeing the soup.)
Think about roasting some of the red peppers piled high in the market right now, dousing them with a fruity olive oil and pinch of sea salt, then serving them with soft goat cheese and black olives along side this soup for a very healthy, colorful and memorably delicious meal.
You can find more fennel thoughts and what to do with that yummy but ugly looking celeriac in my book How to Fix a Leek and Other Food from Your Farmers' Market, so I won't repeat here. But right now diced or sliced fennel can star in crunchy salads that refresh the palate after a heavy autumn meat meal. (That crunch is refreshing after the softness of meat and mashed vegetables.) To go with the season's first brisket, I chopped fennel and mixed it with pomegranate arils, minced shallot, and a little bit of diced red pepper--dressed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
This is also the end of mushroom foraging season: time for mushroom paté or marinated mushrooms or yummiest of all, mushroom leek risotto (use mushroom broth in the recipe). I have recipes for the last two in my book: Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking, available on Amazon (with 5 star reviews).
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Pumpkins not in pie
Pumpkins are now piled high at farmers' markets, either sold by weight or piece. Understandably those who need a Jack O'Lantern for Halloween aren't rushing to buy just yet. And those who hate pumpkin pie--I've met four people in the last few months--aren't rushing to buy either. But they're missing out. Pumpkins are great for a lot more than pie.
For starters, a big one--even with a shape more cylindrical than round, when hollowed out makes a perfect container for displaying a pot of mums in the house. The combo is especially delightful as a buffet table centerpiece.
A hollowed out pumpkin with a good shape makes a terrific seasonal serving bowl. I use a very round one to pass marinated mushrooms around, because at a stand-up party, it's easy to stick the necessary toothpicks for grabbing them right into the exterior of the pumpkin. It's also eye-catching filled with chili, particularly black bean chili. and if you still have one at Thanksgiving, use it as a colorful bowl for the stuffing.
A hollowed out pumpkin makes a great cooking vessel. In South America stews are made in it.
Essentially on top of the stove, you make a beef stew almost to completion, then pour it into the cleaned pumpkin, put the top back on the pumpkin and bake it on a cookie sheet at 350º until the pumpkin is soft. When served, the pumpkin flesh comes out with the spoon, becoming part of the stew. A beef stew with raisins, cinnamon and onions, Greek style, works really well in the pumpkin.
You can also bake the pumpkin until it's soft, let it cool, hollow it out and fill it up with hearty corn chowder. Inevitably in serving, small pieces of cooked pumpkin will become part of the chowder.
A medium to large pumpkin, hollowed out, can also be used to cook bread pudding in the oven. Since the bread pudding needs as much time to cook as the pumpkin does, you can put it into a raw pumpkin and follow the pudding's baking instructions.
In Thailand, a small pumpkin is hollowed out, filled with the simple makings of coconut custard and steamed on top of the stove. When the pumpkin is soft, the pudding should be firm. Sangaya, Thai coconut custard, is made from coconut milk, eggs and sugar--a boon to the lactose intolerant.
Finally,Turkish style, a large pumpkin or equal size red squash can be baked at 400º until it's almost soft, cooled, and stuffed with a cooked mixture of butter, rice, lamb, celery, raisins, pistachios, onions, parsley, dill and cinnamon.Then you bake it another 15 minutes until everything is warm. This is served by cutting 1/2" thick ring shaped slices from the pumpkin, putting one slice on each dinner plate and filling the ring's hollow center with the rice mixture. Vegetarians, there's a similar recipe in a blog post from last March about winter blahs.
For starters, a big one--even with a shape more cylindrical than round, when hollowed out makes a perfect container for displaying a pot of mums in the house. The combo is especially delightful as a buffet table centerpiece.
A hollowed out pumpkin with a good shape makes a terrific seasonal serving bowl. I use a very round one to pass marinated mushrooms around, because at a stand-up party, it's easy to stick the necessary toothpicks for grabbing them right into the exterior of the pumpkin. It's also eye-catching filled with chili, particularly black bean chili. and if you still have one at Thanksgiving, use it as a colorful bowl for the stuffing.
A hollowed out pumpkin makes a great cooking vessel. In South America stews are made in it.
Essentially on top of the stove, you make a beef stew almost to completion, then pour it into the cleaned pumpkin, put the top back on the pumpkin and bake it on a cookie sheet at 350º until the pumpkin is soft. When served, the pumpkin flesh comes out with the spoon, becoming part of the stew. A beef stew with raisins, cinnamon and onions, Greek style, works really well in the pumpkin.
You can also bake the pumpkin until it's soft, let it cool, hollow it out and fill it up with hearty corn chowder. Inevitably in serving, small pieces of cooked pumpkin will become part of the chowder.
A medium to large pumpkin, hollowed out, can also be used to cook bread pudding in the oven. Since the bread pudding needs as much time to cook as the pumpkin does, you can put it into a raw pumpkin and follow the pudding's baking instructions.
In Thailand, a small pumpkin is hollowed out, filled with the simple makings of coconut custard and steamed on top of the stove. When the pumpkin is soft, the pudding should be firm. Sangaya, Thai coconut custard, is made from coconut milk, eggs and sugar--a boon to the lactose intolerant.
Finally,Turkish style, a large pumpkin or equal size red squash can be baked at 400º until it's almost soft, cooled, and stuffed with a cooked mixture of butter, rice, lamb, celery, raisins, pistachios, onions, parsley, dill and cinnamon.Then you bake it another 15 minutes until everything is warm. This is served by cutting 1/2" thick ring shaped slices from the pumpkin, putting one slice on each dinner plate and filling the ring's hollow center with the rice mixture. Vegetarians, there's a similar recipe in a blog post from last March about winter blahs.
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