Time to Talk Turkey

Thanksgiving, the harvest holiday is upon us.  Markets are piled to the brim with pumpkins, squash, cranberries, root veggies, apples and the whole cole crop, of which Brussels sprouts seem to be most popular for the occasion. So here, without much ado or photos, are some recipes from my catering business to make your dinner eye popping,  delicious and memorable. You can get started on the shopping now and beat the last minute crowds next Wednesday.

Pumpkin Black Bean Soup

It’s gracious to pass around small mugs of hot soup while waiting for everyone to get to the table. It’s also traditional to have a first course before the grand turkey presentation. In years past I’ve posted salt cod recipes to keep the day focused on the food that brought America into being. Well there’s nothing more all American (I mean both continents of the New World) than pumpkins and black beans so here you go. This can be a two can recipe which means it’s speedy with no mess. Just the thing to bring if you’ve been invited out and don’t have time to spare. It’s also terrific to make the day after to go with the inevitable turkey sandwiches.
serves 4 as a bowl; 6-7 as a mug (double or triple it for your crowd)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
1 heaping cup cooked, mashed pumpkin (yes, you can use canned)
1 med onion, peeled and minced
2 lg garlic cloves, peeled, smashed and minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt to your taste
1/2 tsp curry powder or garam masala (whichever you have)
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 3/4 c chicken broth (if you’re vegetarian, use veg broth)
1/4 c unsweetened evaporated milk
1/2 c cooked black beans, drained (yes, you can use canned)
2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
In a large saucepan over med/high heat melt the butter. Add the onion, put the garlic on top of it. Reduce heat to medium so nothing burns and sauté until onions are soft and golden, maybe 5 minutes. Reduce heat to low, stir in pumpkin, spices, black pepper and chicken broth. Stir to blend. Cover the pot. Simmer 10 minutes. Add salt and black beans. Stir to distribute evenly. Stir in the evaporated milk. If the soup looks too thick to you, add 2 tbsp evaporated milk. Still on simmer, heat 5 minutes until it’s hot enough to serve. Do not let it boil. Stir in the chopped cilantro leaves to serve. You can also add a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche to each bowl when serving.

Rutabaga Timbales

This is another way to jazz up a tired standard: mashed turnips (aka rutabagas). You turn them into little custards that stand up on their own. If you don’t have ramekins or the like, you can use a muffin tin.
1 lb rutabagas, peeled
2 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¾ c light cream
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
¼ tsp salt
4 eggs
¼ c ricotta or soft cream cheese
1 star anise
Dice the rutabaga and cook it with a star anise in boiling water until very tender. Drain well. Remove star anise. Preheat oven to 400º and butter six 6 oz ramekins or Pyrex dishes. Boil 2 cups of water. In a small sauté pan, melt butter and sauté shallots 2 minutes until soft. Puree the rutabaga. Add shallots, spices, cream, cheese, salt and eggs to it, and process until smooth. Ladle rutabaga mixture into the buttered dishes, put the dishes into a large baking pan and pour the boiling water into the bottom of that pan to come 1/3 up the ramekins. Bake 25 minutes, or until center is puffy and firm. Remove from pan and cool 10 minutes. Carefully knock the bottom and sides of each dish to loosen the timbales. Shaking each slightly, invert them onto a serving plate and lift the dish away.

Pistachio-crusted Sweet Potato Balls

Here’s how to keep mashed sweet potatoes, almost required at these events, from getting tired, old and boring. Nobody can say “been there done that” with this version. And it’s really simple.
makes 4 1/2 doz
8 med sweet potatoes, baked* until just tender, cooled and peeled (you can do this ahead)
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cardamom
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper
1 tbsp + 1 tsp all purpose, unbleached flour
2 extra lg eggs, whites only
Freshly ground black pepper to your taste
1 1/2 c shelled, unsalted pistachios, coarsely chopped (you can use a processor)
Preheat oven to 400º. Lightly oil a cookie sheet. (For faster clean up, line it first with parchment paper.)
Coarsely mash sweet potatoes and stir in all ingredients except the pistachio nuts. Using a round tablespoon or soup spoon, form the mixture into walnut size balls.  Spread the nuts evenly on waxed paper or a large plate. Put the oiled cookie sheet into the oven on the lowest rack for 5 minutes. While it heats, roll the balls in the pistachio nuts and coat evenly. Place on the hot cookie sheet and bake 10 minutes. That’s it! Serve hot.

Chestnut Tart

This is a gift to the vegetarians in your crowd. It’s also very classy to bring to the hostess if you’ve been invited out. Chestnuts are coming into season so it’s perfect for right now.
serves 8
1 9″ buttery pie crust (You can buy it. If you want to make it, recipe is at bottom.)
1 c cooked chestnuts, pureed (you can find in cans)
3/4 c ricotta cheese
1/2 c heavy cream
2 tbsp beef stock (if you need this to be vegetarian use veg stock with a pinch of allspice)
2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 scallions, minced
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp (heaping) Parmesan or asiago cheese, finely grated
Preheat oven to 375º. Lightly butter a 9″ pie dish and line it with the dough. Flute the edges by squeezing dough through your first and second figures or just make a pattern using fork tines: whatever. Fill the dough with baking weights or another two pans as weights and bake it 20 minutes until the bottom is crisp.
Meanwhile, blend (you can use a processor or immersion blender or your own strength with a wooden spoon) all the other ingredients. Transfer the mixture into the warm tart shell and spread it evenly. Bake at 375º 25 minutes or until the center is set or a cake tester comes out clean and the top is slightly brown. The crust edges should be golden brown.
 To make your own butter crust: In the bowl of a food processor or mixer combine 1 stick unsalted butter and 1 1/2 c all purpose unbleached flour. Process to get a crumbly mixture--i.e break up the butter as much as you can.  Add 1 tsp vinegar (this makes flakiness) and 3 tbsp ice water and blend into a dough. You may need 1 more tbsp ice water but be sure because you don't want to ruin the dough.) Roll into a ball, refrigerate at least 10 minutes, then roll out to fit the pan. Work fast.

Turkey Stuffing

There is cornbread with corn, chilies and kidney beans. There is my old favorite rice with many vegetables and its variation: wild rice with mushrooms, leeks and cranberries. And this one that satisfies the nostalgia for traditional bread stuffing but wakes it up into something bright and tasty on its own.
for a 12 lb turkey (double it for big birds)
4 c bread cubes and crumbs*
2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp cracked or coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp ground cumin
pinch ground cinnamon
6 tbsp unsalted butter
1 med onion, peeled and diced
1 turkey liver (it’s inside the bird), chopped
1 sm Granny Smith apple, diced
1 celery stalk, diced
6 med/lg shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1/2 sm red bell pepper, diced
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped (be generous)
2 tbsp fresh apple cider
*If you aren’t buying bread cubes that are usually available right now, cut a loaf into 1/4-1/2″ cubes, saving all the crumbs. You can also put chunks of bread into a food processor so long as you just chop it until it is coarse but still in distinct pieces. Don’t go to breadcrumbs!
In a large skillet, melt the butter. Add onion and sauté 3-5 min  until it starts to soften. Add red pepper, mushrooms, turkey liver, sage, celery seed and black pepper. Sauté until everything looks soft and moist, 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, stirring to mix. Cover the pot and simmer 10-15 minutes until the bread is soft with moisture. If it looks dry, add 1/4 c chicken or veg broth. Taste and salt. The stuffing should be a soft, coherent mass.  Remove from heat and insert it into both cavities of the turkey when you are ready to roast it.

Big Mac Indian Pudding

This is an old favorite that still wins applause every year. It’s a gift to the gluten-free and about as traditional an all-American dessert as you can bring to the Thanksgiving table. This version is fancy: the pudding gets molded into cake form and then iced with cinnamon spice whipped cream for a real eye popping presentation. It’s also fabulous the next morning for breakfast. I love this so much I included the recipe in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking.
Serves 12 (cut in half for 6)
5 cups milk
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 extra large or jumbo eggs
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup light brown sugar (use ¼ if you half the recipe)
½ cup molasses
3 tbsp real maple syrup
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup raisins (dark ones show up easier)
2 Macintosh apples, peeled, cored and diced
Optional: fresh whipped cream
Preheat over to 325º. Butter a 3 quart soufflé dish or charlotte mold or other deep ovenproof baking dish. (Use a 1½ quart if you half the recipe.)
In a very large saucepan or medium casserole, scald milk. (This means bring it to a boil fast over high heat so a skin forms and bubbles appear.) Whisk in cornmeal and over medium or medium high (depending on the strength of your stove) heat, continue to whisk until the mixture thickens (90 seconds-3 minutes). Remove from heat. Whisk in butter, then carefully eggs. Whisk in brown sugar, molasses and maple syrup. Whisk in salt and spices. Stir in raisins and apples, distributing evenly. Pour mixture into baking dish, shake and level. Bake at 325 degrees in the center of the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until the center of the pudding is firm when you shake the pan. Remove from oven and cool.
To serve: spoon from the baking pan and top with vanilla ice cream. Or, invert the pan onto a cake stand or serving platter and “ice” with whipped cream. Sprinkle with cinnamon or freshly grated ginger to serve.

And finally, you will find easy, tasty recipes for potato/rutabaga gratin, grit souffle and pumpkin fritters in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. Recent posts have celeriac puree and butter braised fennel.  May your holiday be delicious.  Baking recipes next time.

ng to use this website, you agree to their use.

Now’s the time for heavenly earthy dishes

With all the light and weather changes between Halloween and Thanksgiving, that belated celebration of the harvest, we are continually reminded of being Earthly creatures.  So it’s a good time for earthy foods like mushrooms and watercress, leeks and potatoes. Light yet soul warming dishes that leave room and time for the heavy Turkey Day meal ahead. The recipes here are one I created and two I recently found stashed in old files that turned up when I was cleaning out my cottage. What’s so wonderful about these decades-old recipes is how perfect they still are for right now. There's also one from the book How To Fix a Leek... .

My Mushroom Celery Risotto

I spontaneously made this up as I often do when making a comfortingly creamy risotto for a rainy day. I like mushrooms and celery together and the perkiness red pepper brings. Risotto does require a half hour of continual tending, so it’s great for a rainy or weekend day. It’s one of those vegetarian meals that doesn’t scream at carnivores: the meat is missing! You lose! It presents as a traditional, Italian dish. It’s best eaten when it’s made but it does reheat well in a microwave oven.
serves 2 but you just double it all for 4
1 sm onion, peeled and diced
1 sm garlic clove, peeled and diced
1 stalk celery, cleaned, slit 3 times lengthwise, then dice
1/2″ wide strip of red bell pepper, diced
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary needles or a few fresh
1 tsp mildly hot chili powder like Aleppo or chipotle
1/2 c fresh or frozen green peas
1/2 c arborio rice
4 c beef or vegetable broth
pinch of saffron threads
6-8 shiitake mushrooms, cleaned and chopped
1 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 tsp ground cumin
Salt to your taste
handful cilantro or flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

In a med saucepan, heat the broth.
In a small heavy gauge pot, heat the olive oil on med/high heat. Stir in the onion, celery, red pepper and garlic. Reduce heat to medium so nothing burns and the oil doesn’t smoke. Add lots of freshly ground black pepper, sage, rosemary, chili powder and a pinch of salt. Stir to blend. Sauté 4-5 minutes until onions and pepper are soft. Add peas and rice, stirring to blend. Cook 1 minute to heat rice, then add saffron and a large ladle of hot broth. It will sizzle so stand back. Stir forcefully. From here to the finish it’s a matter of adding broth and stirring, adding broth as it disappears. You can add double ladles to buy time so you can saute the mushrooms:
In a small frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the mushrooms and cumin and stir fry 2 minutes to soften the mushrooms. Season with salt and add the contents of the pan to the risotto. Continue cooking the risotto until the rice is very soft and all the liquid has gone into it. Be careful not to overdue it and also add water if you don’t have enough broth to finish the job. Taste and adjust salt.
Serve immediately garnished with freshly chopped cilantro leaves, a few grinds of black pepper and grated parmesan cheese.

Pears, Green Beans and Bacon

This is an old German recipe I found cleaning my files and it’s perfect for right now when pears are at high tide and green beans are beginning to recede. It’s a side dish or hot salad perfect for an omelet.
serves 6-8
6 firm pears, peeled, halved and cut crosswise into very thin half-moon slices
juice of 2 lemons (1/4 c)
1 tsp grated lemon rind
pinch of ground cloves
1 lb firm green beans, stems off, beans halved
6 slices bacon
1/4 c sugar
2 tbsp red wine or balsamic vinegar
Put the pears in any medium non-aluminum pot with 2 tbsp lemon juice, lemon rind, pinch of ground cloves and 1/2 c water. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until pears are just tender, maybe 5 minutes. Meanwhile fill another saucepan with salted water, bring to a boil and add the green beans. Cook until tender, 5-8 minutes. Drain and refresh under cold water. Let dry.
In a large skillet, cook the bacon over med/low heat until it’s very crisp. Lift out of the pan to drain on paper towels and when it’s cool enough to handle, crumble it. Meanwhile put the sugar, vinegar and 2 tbsp lemon juice in that skillet. Boil over med/high heat stirring and scraping the pan until you get syrup. Add the pears and green beans. Warm over low heat. Stir and pour into a serving bowl. Top with the crumbled bacon, freshly ground black pepper and salt to your taste.

Italian Cream of Celery Soup
 I discovered the joy of celery a dozen year ago in a Persian homecooking purely celery stew. It’s a magical, sweet vegetable, with no calories to boot. The wow of that recipe came from saffron so I decided to cross cultures and put it here too.
serves 6
1 lb bunch celery stalks (about 2 lbs), washed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
1 med leek, cleaned and white part thinly sliced in rings (top green discarded)
4 tbsp unsalted butter
pinch of saffron threads (my addition to make this a wow!)
3 c veg broth
2 egg yolks
3/4 c heavy cream
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
In a med/lg deep heavy gauge saucepan or pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the vegetables and sauté over low heat 3-4 minutes to soften. Add 1 c hot water, cover the pot and cook until very tender, maybe 15 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender or in a processor and return to the pot. Add the veg broth and saffron, stirring to blend. The soup should have a slightly thick but still soupy consistency. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Simmer on low heat 5 minutes.
In a small bowl, whisk or beat together the egg yolks, cream and cheese. By spoonfuls, add this to the hot soup on simmer heat, stirring to blend. Serve immediately. If you still have the celery leaves, chop them for garnish.

Butter Braised Fennel with Parmesan

This is a traditional Italian recipe I included in the second edition of How to Fix a Leek.... It's simple, tasty and unique. Practice now because this could be terrific beside turkey.

Serves 4-6

4-5 small fennel bulbs or 2 lg               

3 tbsp freshly grated Parmesan cheese

5 tbsp unsalted butter                

Salt & freshly ground pepper to your taste

Cut bulbs lengthwise into ½” slices. Save some of the delicate fronds for garnish. Melt the butter in a large, heavy gauge wide pot and add the sliced fennel. Add just enough water or veg stock to almost cover it. Cook over medium heat 30-40 minutes until fennel is soft, adding ¼ cup of water if the pot runs dry. The goal is no liquid left on glossy, buttery fennel. Season to taste with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir in the grated cheese. Garnish with the saved fronds and serve hot. Goes well with roasted chicken or meat.

 

Tricks for Treats

Markets are still a color riot so as darkness descends and chill invades, we can still make our plates look hot. There's no theme here, just some easy ways to preserve or present the last colors of the year.

Tomato sauce

This is how I saved a mess of late paste tomatoes a friend brought from her garden: simple, herb filled tomato sauce for a pop up pasta dinner. It doesn't need a lot of tending while it cooks and only needs to cook about an hour. When it cooled, I put it in jars instead of plastic--this is one of 2. It's been in the fridge a week now doing fine. In plastic it could stay in the freezer for months.

  You can adjust this recipe to whatever you have. it's based on the tomatoes I was given.

  Makes 2 overflowing cups (about 17 oz)

10 paste tomatoes (these are the cylindrical ones), chopped

1 med/lg onion, peeled and diced

3 lg garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Aleppo or chipotle chili powder (or other gently hot chili powder)

1 tsp dried sage or a handful of fresh sage leaves, chopped

1/2 tsp dried rosemary or 1 short stem rosemary leaves off the stem

1 tbsp fresh basil leaves chopped or 1 tsp dried basil

1 tbsp fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1/2 c decent olive oil (and maybe a tad more)

1 tbsp red wine

Salt and freshly ground black pepper (lots of it)

In a medium heavy gauge pot on medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add onions, oregano, chili and a few grinds of the peppermill. Sauté 3-4 minutes until the onions are soft and translucent. Add tomatoes, garlic, rosemary, basil and salt. Stir to blend. Cover the pot and cook 20-25 minutes, checking and stirring every so often to be sure it isn't drying out or getting stuck on the bottom. Add olive oil if you need to. Stir in the parsley and red wine. Cover the pot and continue cooking another 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add oil if needed; you are making sauce!

   If you have an immersion blender put it in the pot and make a smooth sauce. If you don't put the pot contents into a processor or blender and create a smooth sauce. Return to the pot. Taste and adjust salt and other seasonings. The sauce may be watery at this point, so put it on low heat, covered for another 10 minutes to thicken. Cool before putting in containers. Or use right away!

  Never be afraid to put more olive oil in. You can't really overdo it here.

Braised Red Cabbage

This recipe comes from the How To Fix a Leek...book and before that from the north of Italy. No surprise it's the perfect pal of pork in any form, the favorite meat there. You could actually use this as a base for a full meal choucroute variation by adding potatoes, apples, Canadian style bacon, bits of ham and sausages. Or you can just enjoy its vibrant color on an autumn vegetable platter. This is a very homey, comforting dish that is simple to prepare so don't pass up a red cabbage in the market. It's got powerful antioxidants, hard to find Vitamin K and calms gastric ulcers. The fresh apple cider makes this very now.

serves 6

2 tbsp olive oil & 1 tbsp butter 
1 lg onion, chopped 
3 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed 
1½ lbs red cabbage, quartered 
1 tsp caraway seed
½ cup vegetable or chicken broth
½ cup fresh apple cider
3 tbsp balsamic or red wine vinegar
Cut cabbage lengthwise into thin strips. Heat oil and butter over medium heat in a large heavy gauge casserole or skillet. Add onion and garlic. Sauté until onion begins to caramelize, about 8 minutes. Add caraway, and 30 seconds later cabbage. Toss until cabbage wilts. Add broth and cider, cover and simmer on low heat 20 minutes. Add vinegar, blend, cover and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes, or until cabbage is thoroughly tender. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot.

Persimmon, Pomegranate and Arugula Salad

I threw fresh dates and black olives into this for vivid color, texture and taste contrast. It's a perfect side for pasta with the tomato sauce above, roast chicken, a gratin or any autumn meal. It's festive and very nutritious to boot. Also, as I've said before, I've discovered arugula, a bitter in the food chain, works wonders getting my blocked sinus open.

serves 4
4 handfuls arugula, washed and dry
1 Fuyu (the hard round one) persimmon, peeled, halved and sliced thin lengthwise
1/2 c pomegranate arils (about half a large)
6 pitted dates, chopped
1 sm red onion, peeled, halved and sliced into very thin half rings
6-8 pitted Kalamata olives
6-8 walnuts or pecans, toasted and broken into pieces
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the dressing:
 The basic olive oil/balsamic vinegar blend: 1 part vinegar to 3-4 pts best olive oil

Starting with the arugula as your base, put all the salad ingredients into your serving bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Dress lightly just before serving.

Corn, Tomatillo and Red Pepper Chowder

Serves 6

2 tbsp butter or ghee
1 lg onion, peeled and diced
1 pasilla pepper, roasted, skinned and diced
1 Serrano or other hot chili, seeded and diced
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground chipotle
1 tsp cracked or freshly ground black pepper
3 cups corn kernels (can be 4-5 fresh ears, frozen or canned corn)
3 celery stalks, cleaned and diced
2 cups water
3 medium potatoes (any color), peeled and cubed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp. diced pimento (roasted red pepper)
2 cups vegetable broth
2 tomatillos, peeled and coarsely chopped
12 oz. evaporated milk (not sweetened)\4 oz heavy cream
For garnish: chopped fresh chives, chopped fresh cilantro, shredded jack or cheddar cheese, toasted pumpkin seeds

If you are using fresh corn on the cob, cut the corn off the cobs and put the cobs into a pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil and simmer while you make the chowder.

Melt butter in a medium soup pot or casserole. Add onions, pasilla and chili peppers, sage and oregano. Sauté over medium heat until onions are golden brown, about 6-8 minutes. Stir in coriander, chipotle, black pepper and celery. Continue to sauté 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Puree one cup of corn with 1 tbsp vegetable broth and add to the pot, stirring to blend. Add potatoes, salt and the rest of the vegetable broth. Blend ingredients, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add 2 cups corn kernels, pimentos and tomatillos. If you have boiled corncobs in water, remove the cobs and pour the corn-flavored water into the soup. If you didn’t do this, simply add two cups of water. Continue to simmer covered on medium low heat for 5-8 minutes. (You don’t have to be exact.) Taste for salt and adjust to preference. Stir in evaporated milk and heavy cream. Cook over medium low heat uncovered until the soup is warmed thoroughly. Do not bring to a boil once the milk and cream have been included. Stir once to blend all flavors.
Ladle into large soup bowls and garnish with any or all of the ingredients listed above.
 
Cranberry Walnut Chutney

I post this every year because it's worth repeating. The raisins, walnuts and orange make this a standout version of cranberry "sauce." It also makes a great holiday or hostess gift. And cranberries are a gift because they have magic medicinal power. They have dietary fiber and Vitamin C and uniquely potent anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer phytonutrients. Cranberries may also strengthen the immune system against colds and flu.
This recipe fills 5-6 4 oz jam jars.

1 lb cranberries, cleaned 

1 c dark raisins or currants 

1½ c turbinado (raw) or granulated sugar

1 c water

1 tbsp orange peel

1/3 c orange juice

1 c toasted walnut pieces

¼ tsp ground cloves 

½ tsp ground allspice

Combine cranberries and water in a large saucepan and cook over medium heat until the cranberries burst. Add sugar, raisins, spices, orange peel and juice. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Continue cooking, stirring occasionally until mixture is as thick as jam, about 10 minutes. Stir in the nuts. Remove from heat. If serving soon, refrigerate covered in a serving bowl. If saving, ladle into hot sterilized jam jars, seal and put in a water bath for 10-15 minutes depending on size of the jar.

Scary Stuff

It's Halloween when we humans celebrate our fear of the onrushing dark and cold, the dying landscape and final food harvest. We've reach the annual moment the ghost of death brazenly stalks. In other words, it's scary time, what one elementary school is calling for its kids: a fright fest. So this seems the right moment to talk about frights and scary eruptions we get any time of year from our bodies, and how to trick and treat them. Yes, farmacy!

As it happens twice this past week I was literally called to help someone struggling with an agonizing physical problem. The first was a guy who hadn't been able for almost a week to leave the house because he couldn't go far from the toilet. Yes, it must have been something he ate and it did turn out, after I guided him, to be a bacteria traced to the oysters he'd consumed. But he had prolonged the problem by not fighting back sooner. I told him how to do that.

The magic cure is....yogurt! You can read all about this in my book, Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. We have thousands of years of proof that unadulterated active cultures yogurt interferes with diarrhea and often terminates it. When the king of France was dying of supposedly incurable dysentery, the Ottoman emperor Suleiman the Magnificent send his ally envoys with yogurt and that cured him. Thirty years ago in Rio de Janeiro, I told someone suffering turista to eat local yogurt twice a day and by day 2 he was miraculously cured. There's no mystery to why and how yogurt works or why you need it: those active cultures that created it are probiotics that attack unleashed bad biotics but more importantly, diarrhea quickly removes all the good bacteria that helps fight the bad and helps keep stuff in the stomach. This is why even after the bad bacteria has been washed away, gut muscles continue to contract and diarrhea goes on. You need to get the good bacteria back to work. Yogurt does that.

Yogurt also figured in the second problem of the week: seeming migraine headache. The woman was dosing herself with ibuprofen. That's fine BUT ibuprofen is known to be so acidic in the body, it eats away the stomach lining. So you have to get a protective coat on it. How? Alkaline foods like milk in all its forms: milk, ice cream, yogurt, whipped cream. If you don't do this you may cure the migraine and get stomach problems.

Other foods that can relieve diarrhea symptoms especially combined with pure yogurt are honey which is an antibiotic and turmeric which is antibacterial and supposedly anti-inflammatory, Other easily available probiotic foods that help restore that fighting good bacteria are miso, sauerkraut, beer, kombucha and pickles.  Common foods that can help stop the flow but not get to its cause are bananas, chocolate and white rice. Do not use brown rice: its bran scrapes away the already denuded and inflamed gut. Nice spongy white rice or even white bread. And finally it may be safer to use these foods to block the flow than pills like Immodium which are dangerous because locking up the flow keeps whatever bad bacteria that caused it dammed in the stomach.

No one seems 100% certain that active cultures can stay active after being heated, so I can't wholeheartedly recommend cooked yogurt dishes. Here are a few ways to have it out of the box:

ALL PURPOSE YOGURT GARLIC MINT SAUCE

You can put this on top of cooked carrots puréed with caraway seeds, cooked shredded beets sprinkled with lemon juice, baked hummus, scrambled eggs or a baked potato. Or you can put it under a poached egg like Turks do.To make the sauce:
2 ½ c thick plain yogurt
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
pinch salt
1/2 tsp dried mint leaves
Beat yogurt with garlic until the garlic is totally blended and absorbed into the yogurt. Stir in the salt and dried mint leaves. Optionally, you can also stir in ½ tsp ground Aleppo, Chipotle or mildly hot paprika pepper.

Now for the poached egg atop a bed of this garlic mint yogurt:
1 egg per person (this recipe is good for 2)
vinegar
1 tsp Aleppo, Chipotle, mildly hot paprika or some ground chili pepper to your taste.
2 tbsp butter or ghee
1 tsp dried sage leaves crumbled

Make sure the yogurt sauce is very thick so it will support the egg. Drain if not. Fill a small/medium plate with a 4” circle of yogurt about ¼” thick for every serving. For everyone being served poach one egg. (Do this in boiling water laced with vinegar to keep the egg white together.) Lift the eggs from the water with a slotted spatula so they drain well and carefully place one atop every yogurt “mattress.”

Quickly melt butter or ghee in a small skillet and chili pepper and sage leaves. Just warm, the remove from heat and pour over the eggs.

LABNI: YOGURT CHEESE WITH OLIVES (an appetizer or party snack)

You can strain yogurt to drier and drier forms from sour cream to farmers’ cheese to cream cheese. This is a Persian/Lebanese favorite “mezze.” You can also use it to stuff cherry tomatoes or small bell peppers.
 
16 oz plain yogurt
1/8 tsp salt
1/3c pitted black olives, chopped
1/3 c scallions, chopped
¼ tsp Aleppo or Cayenne ground pepper (this is the call for hot stuff)
1 tsp dried crushed mint

Mix yogurt and salt. Line a colander with cheesecloth, muslin or a handiwipe and fill with yogurt. Put colander over a larger bowl to get the drips. Refrigerate uncovered 10 hours draining and stirring at least once. Put your new labni into a serving bowl with all the other ingredients. Blend everything. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. It will keep 3-4 days.

Tsatsiki (Greek/Turkish Yogurt sauce/dip)

The Indian version, made with mint instead of dill, is known as raita and it is just as effective.

1 pint very thick plain yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 Persian or pickling cucumber, halve, seeded and sliced paper thin or grated and drained—they need to be as dry as possible
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
½ tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar or fresh lemon juice

Mix everything in a non-metal bowl and chill so flavors mingle.

Pakistani Yogurt Chutney

Normally you would avoid fibrous nuts if your stomach is suffering. The trade-off with walnuts is that they're known in Chinese medicine to strengthen the kidneys and the body's chi (energy).
a condiment for 6-8

  

¾ c shelled walnuts, lightly toasted

2 garlic cloves, peeled

2 serrano chilies, seeded and minced

½ tsp salt

2 c fresh mint leaves, clean and dry

juice of 1 lemon

4 oz very thick plain yogurt

In a food processor, combine walnuts, garlic, chilies, salt, mint, lemon juice with 1 tbsp water and make a smooth paste, remembering to scrap down the sides. (If the mix is too dry to congeal into paste, add an extra tbsp. water.) Put the yogurt in your serving bowl and with a fork, stir in the walnut paste.
Garnish with chopped mint and a whole shelled walnut to serve.

THE LAST WORD

If you suffer from any of these scary conditions, remember also you must drink lots of water. It's probably wiser to drink it boiled because boiling water is by itself a disinfectant and is considerably purer than tap water.
Back to autumn cooking (e.g. braised cabbage, tomato sauce) next time.

Taking the Trash In

Clean the bin soup

With the overwhelming wealth of vegetables at farmers' markets, I keep finding my fridge bins full of halves, bits, stalks and chunks that never made it into the original recipe. So about once a week of late I've been combining the leftovers into a very yummy and healthy minestrone. It's never the same but there are some key ingredients I don't vary and that's the trick to making the mess delicious. First is to throw in at the beginning a small piece of parmesan rind or if you don't have one, grate in about 1 tbsp parmesan cheese to get the same depth of flavor. Second the spices: sage, thyme, rosemary and Aleppo pepper (the mildly hot Syrian ground chili) for which you could substitute chipotle chili powder or a pinch of smoked paprika. Third, you have to toss in something starchy that will thicken the broth: leftover potatoes, small macaroni (tubettini, ditalini), fregola, or short grain rice. You can also add substance with canned beans like cannellini beans or chickpeas or red kidney beans--especially if you have some leftover from something else.  And finally, parsley or cilantro. All this sets up fabulous flavor and texture no matter what veggies you've got to work with.

What to do:

There is no fixed recipe here but you do need these basics:
 1 sm/med onion
1 med/lg carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery stalk or small piece of celeriac diced or 1 tsp celery seed
1" sq of Parmesan rind or cheese
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp dried thyme
 1 qt veg broth
2-3 c chopped vegetables (parsnips, cabbage, leeks, peas, mushrooms, corn, summer squashes including zucchini, sweet potato, white potato, green beans, green/red bell pepper, tomatoes etc)
1/4 c small lentils or 1/2 c cooked beans (cannellini or kidney or chickpeas)
1/4 c small pasta (fregola, tubettini, ditalini, orzo) or short grain rice or barley--whatever you have
handful freshly chopped parsley or cilantro or arugula or spinach or all or a mix
Optional: 2 tsp tomato paste

You coat the bottom of a medium sized pot with olive oil and warm it on medium heat. Add onion, carrots,

herbs and stir to coat in the oil. Add the remaining vegetables, salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste. For a bit of zip add a tsp mildly hot chili powder. Stir to blend and sauté 5 minutes. If you are using barley which needs time, add it now. Add the broth, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and cook 20-25 minutes. This is very forgiving so if you cook it longer, no worries. Stir in the pasta/rice and the parsley or whatever green you have. Cover and cook another 10-15 minutes until the pasta is soft.






Mixed Vegetable Slaw

This is not my photo. I can't find mine.

Again there is no recipe to follow here. You just need to grate whatever of these veggies you find in the fridge:
red cabbage
green cabbage
salad/Japanese turnip
kohlrabi
daikon
red radish or watermelon radish
carrot
golden beet
celeriac

Put whatever you grated into a serving bowl. Season this with
1 tsp dried tarragon leaves
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp dried oregano
salt and freshly grated black pepper

Dress the melange with:
2 parts cider vinegar to 1 part olive oil (I can't give exact measurements because everybody will have a different amount of grated veggies.)

Garnish with chopped cilantro or celery leaves to serve.

Parsnip Lentil Soup

This is a perfectly normal, flavorful and nourishing recipe I include here because when i went to make it, I didn't have enough of one kind of lentil. So i cleaned out my lentil jar by combining all the odds and ends that were never going to stand alone: French puy lentils, baby green lentils and red lentils. Turns out, the soup is forgiving. It works as long as you have 2 cups of lentils, mixed or one kind. It's super easy to make and very soul warming.

2 1/2 lbs parsnips, peeled and chopped in chunks
1 med yellow onion, peeled and quartered
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1/4 c olive oil (doesn't have to be top quality)
2 tsp ground cumin plus pinch of cumin seed
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp Aleppo or other mildly hot ground chili
2 c lentils (the original recipe called for red or baby green)
1 lemon, zest and juice from all of it
3 qts water or vegetable broth
1 tbsp salt
garnish: chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Put parsnips, onion and garlic in a food processor/chopped and whiz into a grated cheese consistency. (see photo) Warm olive oil in a medium soup pot over med/low heat. Stir in the spices. Add the parsnip mixture and stir to blend well with the spices.  Add lentils, lemon zest and juice. Add the water/broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, cover the pot and simmer until lentils are soft and the soup is thick, 45-60 minutes. Season with salt and garnish with chopped fresh cilantro leaves.





THIS IS A SHORT POST. I WILL HAVE MORE NEXT WEEK.

Celeriac, the wallflower that shouldn't be

The gnarly, hairy (the farmer barbered the one in the photo!) celeriac bulb is easy to pass by and pass up. It's relatively new to most of us and unfamiliarity is off-putting. I never knew it existed until my French "mother" who was my ad hoc cooking teacher in the mid 70s made it for Christmas dinner. I fell instantly in love and began to transport it from the worldly markets of Manhattan to Maine, particularly for Thanksgiving dinner where I got everybody hooked. Now it's so widely grown in the US, I can buy it at farmers' markets and supermarkets almost anywhere. And I do. I urge you too because it is a fabulous ball of flavor. Celeriac is the root, the bulb, of the plant which gives us the familiar above ground celery. In its case, the sprouts (that celery we know) are kept to a minimum to promote the bulb. So flavor-wise it's celery. You don't have to do anything complex: you can just peel and chop or grate it into stews and soups to add that flavor. Last week I posted the traditional French recipe for celery remoulade, which is the bulb grated and dressed with a sharply flavored mayonnaise, If you want to explore and enjoy more, here are a few ways including my first and still favorite, the mashed celeriac my French "mother" made every Christmas dinner to go with venison. I still serve it every Turkey Day because nothing beats it.

Mashed Celeriac
This is my basic go-to celeriac recipe for Thanksgiving and anytime I want a comforting foil to roasted meat. It's basically less fattening mashed potatoes without potatoes but with celery flavor. Very calming. This recipe is in my book How to Fix a Leek and Other Food From Your Farmers' Market.
serves 4

1 2-4 lb celeriac bulb                     

1½ c vegetable or chick broth

½ tsp celery seed                          

2 tbsp crème fraiche or sour cream*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste

*or thick yogurt or heavy cream or ricotta cheese—your choice here

Peel the celeriac bulb and cut away as much of the inner brown hairs as you can. If you can’t get them all out, just discard those parts. Chop the useable bulb into 2” chunks and put into a medium saucepan. Add celery seed and broth. Bring to a boil, lower heat and cook uncovered on low heat 30- 40 minutes or until celeriac is soft and liquid is reduced.  Pour contents of the pot into a food processor or blender. Add salt and pepper to your taste and the crème fraiche or your substitute. Process to the consistency of mashed potatoes.

Celeriac with Green Lentils and Mint

Dressed as it is with vinegar and oil, this could be a salad but I like it served warm on my main dish. There just aren't many recipes that put vinegar flavor on a dinner plate. So you can do it either way. If you are vegetarian, you can serve this with rice, fruit chutney and another vegetable for a colorful, tasty meal. If you have roast chicken or pork, put this alongside. Or should you be serving burgers on buns, spoon some out as a side--cold or hot. The combo of celery and mint is refreshing.

serves 4-6
3/4 c French green or puy lentils
1 sm/med celeriac bulb (see above: I used 2/3 of that)
4 c veg broth (use water if you don't have any)
2 bay leaves

French (green) lentils

2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp celery seed
2 tbsp roasted cashews or hazelnuts, skinned and chopped
3 tbsp chopped fresh mint leaves
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp sherry (Jerez) vinegar or apple cider vinegar
2 tbsp hazelnut or walnut or almond oil (if you don't have just use more olive oil)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh chives or flat leaf parsley

In a med saucepan, combine lentils, 3 c broth/water, bay leaves, thyme and sage. Bring to a boil, lower heat to med/low and cook 15-20 minutes until lentils are just tender. Drain.

While lentils cook, peel the celeriac bulb and slice it into thin disks. Then quarter each disk. Put the celeriac into a saucepan with celery seed, 1 c broth and enough water to cover it. Add a good pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, lower heat to med/low and cook 10-12 min until celeriac is tender. Drain. (You can save the celery flavored cooking liquid for risotto or pasta.) Drain.

Put the hot lentils in a serving bowl with the oil and vinegar, sea salt to your taste and lots of freshly ground black pepper. Blend. Stir in the celeriac, mint and nuts. Garnish with chopped chives or parsley to serve.

Celeriac Soup
This shows up its creamy texture when mashed or puréed. You can't do that with celery stalks.
serves 4-6

4 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lg onion, peeled and sliced into very thin rings
1 med leeks, cleaned and sliced into disks
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 lg celeriac bulb (about 2 1/4lbs) peeled and cubed
2 tsp dried thyme leaves
1 tsp celery seed
6 1/2 c veg or chicken broth
2/3 c heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste
chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

In a large heavy gauge saucepan or soup pot, melt the butter with the oil over medium heat. When it's bubbling, add onion and leeks. Sautée stirring 10-12 minutes. Don't let anything burn or stick. Add garlic, celeriac, thyme and celery seed. Season with salt and pepper. Blend everything well and continue to sauté 8-10 minutes.  Pour in the stock. Bring to a bubbling simmer. Cook (uncovered) 20-25 minutes until celeriac is very tender.

Ladle the hot soup into a blender or processor and puree until smooth. (Do in batches if you need to.) Return to the pot, stir in the cream and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Warm on low heat. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle chopped parsley on top to serve. Optional: top with small croutons.

Baked Celeriac with smoked fish

This is a fancier dish suitable for special event or nice luncheon or guest-filled brunch. It comes via London chef Yotam Ottolenghi from the north of Scotland with its abundance of smoked fish. Here the delicate celery flavor balances the smokiness and saltiness of the fish and calms the sharpness of the horseradish. All perfect autumn flavors! serves 4

1 medium celeriac, skin scrubbed but unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise
2 tbsp olive oil
4-5 thyme sprigs or 2 tsp dried thyme leaves
Flaky sea salt and black pepper
1/3 c creme fraiche
1 1/2 tbsp fresh horseradish, peeled and finely grated or  jarred "prepared" horseradish
2/3 lb sliced smoked trout or salmon, each slice cut into 1” wide strips
2 tsp lemon juice, to serve
For the salsa
1½ tbsp small capers (or normal capers, chopped)
1 tbsp parsley leaves, minced
2 tsp tarragon leaves, finely chopped  
1½ tbsp olive oil

Heat the oven to 350º. Put each celeriac half on a separate piece of foil large enough to wrap it in. Dribble a tablespoon of oil over each celeriac half, scatter the thyme and 1/2 tsp of salt on each half, and rub all over. Add a generous grind of pepper, then tightly wrap the celeriac halves in the foil. Bake 1 hr until soft, then unwrap and set aside 30 min to bring to room temperature.

Meanwhile, mix creme fraiche and horseradish with a pinch of salt and a grind of pepper. Refrigerate. Mix the salsa ingredients in another bowl.

To serve, cut each celeriac half into four even wedges. Put two wedges on each serving plate and spoon over  some horseradish cream. Lay a few fish strips on top and drizzle them with the salsa. Squeeze half a teaspoon of lemon juice over each portion and serve immediately.

Baked celeriac plain
This is about as easy as it gets and it's plenty tasty too.

serves 4
1 lg celeriac bulb (3 lbs), cleaned of roots and huge hairs
1/3 c olive oil
1 1/2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed with a knife
Coarse or flaked sea salt
1 lemon, in wedges
 
Heat oven to 350º. Using the tip of a small, sharp knife, pierce the unpeeled celeriac bulb all around about 20 times. Put it on a baking dish and rub generously with olive oil, coriander seeds and 2 tsp salt. Roast 2 1/2 hrs, basting every half hour, until it is soft all the way through and golden brown outside. Cut into wedges, sprinkle with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of salt and the juice of a lemon wedge to serve.