I've decided that you can't really ever go wrong when making a pureed squash soup. Making one is a piece of cake, and they are infinitely adaptable to a variety of seasonings and supporting actors... whatever is lying around your fridge/pantry. This is my framework recipe for a killer squash soup. With the time savers noted, it only takes about 45 min. start to finish, including chopping. The only special equipment I really recommend is an immersion blender... there's a nice looking Cuisinart model on amazon.com for $29 (almost 50% off), and a 4 out of 5 stars Proctor Silex for only $13! Can't personally vouch for them though, the one I use was a gift from Andy's grandmother, I think she got it from QVC - it's actually great! I use it almost exclusively for soups, but all kinds: black bean, potato, carrot... and I think it's worth having for sure. This write-up got really long really fast ... so consider it a primer... you can read it once, carefully, and you will always know how to make squash soup because it's so forgiving. You can't mess this one up.
Ingredients - again I'm going with a framework, not a true recipe, so I'm not giving real measurements...
-1 medium to large squash or pumpkin (butternut, turban, rouge d'etamps, acorn, pie pumpkins, pretty much anything works except spaghetti squash)
-Liquid: stock, water, diluted apple or orange juice or cider, coconut milk, or a combination of these
-Fat: If you are watching your figure, you hardly need any! But some amount of fat will give a nice flavor and mouth-feel. Candidates include (again your choice depends on your overall flavor scheme!): butter, ghee, olive oil, peanut oil, plain old canola or veggie oil, bacon or duck fat if you want to get meaty and fancy!
-Aromatics: the equivalent of 1 large onion, could be a combination of leeks, shallots, onions, scallions, garlic...
-Supporting players: here's where we start to get creative... from 2-4 cups of things that taste good with squash: mushrooms, apples, pears, carrots, celery, peppers, spinach... depending on your choices you will probably only want one or two, maybe three, of these things. Or zero would be fine too.
-Seasonings: Almost anything goes. You could do a medley of "warm" spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, chiles, and cumin, a plain or fancy curry or garam masala powder, a traditional rosemary and thyme. Fresh herbs would be great too: cilantro or parsley for sure, oregano, thyme and sage are classics, even dill, mint, or basil I think would work. I can even see a "chai" spiced version with ginger, vanilla, and cardamon (although might want to put the ginger in with the onions if it's fresh). If you're finding salt boring lately, you could even substitute soy sauce, nuoc mam, or Worcestorshire sauce for some new flavors.
-Add-ons: (optional) swirl in some cream or half and half, creme fraiche, sour cream, yogurt at the end, garnish with homemade croutons (with or without cheese), olive oil toasted bread crumbs, sprinkle some roasted pumpkin or squash seeds, sunflower seeds, pecans or walnuts, pine nuts, or grate some parmesan or gruyere right into the bowl. Heck, throw in some bacon, sausage, small white beans, smoked or roasted poultry... (personally I would put these in after pureeing but you might disagree.)
See the notes on step 1 method comparison (*) and step 3 method alternative (**) below the recipe.
Directions:
1. (a) Peel and cube the squash OR (b) cut it in half, remove seeds, spread some oil on the flesh and roast in a 400 degree oven till soft (~1 hour) OR (c) cut in half, remove seeds, place in microwave safe casserole dish cut side down with 1/4 inch water, cover (plastic wrap is fine, pricked) and microwave for 12 minutes on high or until soft (may require more time depending on microwave and size/type of squash.*
2. Transfer squash chunks to stock pot, or if using methods b or c, scoop flesh into stock pot. Cover with liquid by an inch or two (a little more if you use methods b or c because it will have a smaller volume), and bring to a boil. If the squash is raw, it will need at least 20 minutes to soften, if cooked, it will need only about 5 minutes to soften a little more and for the flavors to meld. Overcooking it is not really a problem since we will be pureeing.
3. Meanwhile, heat up a sautee pan with medium heat, throw in the fat, and start sauteeing the aromatics. If you're using spices that benefit from a little hot oil exposure (chiles, cumin come to mind, just not any of the green herbs, especially if they're fresh) put them in now too. Throw in the supporting players when appropriate (carrots could go in right away, mushrooms or apples a bit later, but again, since we're pureeing, the texture of the sautee is negotiable, it's more to develop some browning reaction flavors.**
4. Once you've got some nice browning, scrape into the stock pot. Now, immerse the immersion blender, and blend to your desired texture. Some like it a little chunkier, some like it a little smoother. You may want to add more liquid too, depending on your thickness preference.
5. Add desired seasonings, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir in add-ons or add them at the table.
Notes
* Method a pros: it's probably the quickest. Cons: peeling and cutting the squash can make your hand hurt. Method b pros: develops a nice flavor, avoids the cutting and peeling hassle. Cons: takes the longest. Method c pros: also avoids hand pain, rivals method a for speed, but probably takes a little longer cause the squash has to cool a little before you can scoop. Cons: an extra dish gets dirty? Really there's not much to dislike about the microwave method since the times are pretty close.
** Alternatively, for an even easier preparation, instead of sauteing, you could boil the aromatics and supporting players with the squash. You lose some flavor, but avoid having to stir the saute and washing the saute pan, and if you go this route, you can completely skip the fat if you want.
Examples
The soup that inspired this post followed the method exactly, here were my choices:
Squash: 1 large butternut
Liquid: Turkey stock from the Thanksgiving carcass, diluted a bit.
Fat: butter, a good 2 or 3 T.
Aromatics: a few shallots, and 5 or 6 cloves of garlic. Did I put some leeks in too? Maybe, can't remember.
Supporting players: About 6 ozs. fresh cremini mushrooms
Seasonings: A simple combo: dry rosemary and thyme. I would go with powdered or ground rosemary, whole leaves might be a little tough. Salt and pepper.
Add-ons: Some grated gruyere, leftover from a different squash soup I made for Thanksgiving!
The soup I made for Thanksgiving was from Epicurious, but basically followed the same formula. For this soup I used one rouge d'etamps squash (instead of butternut/acorn), canned chicken stock, butter, onion & garlic, no supporting players, fresh thyme and sage, cream, and awesome gruyere croutons.
Here's another couple of ideas (the squash I feel are interchangeable, so I won't specify):
~Squash/coconut milk and water/peanut oil/onions and garlic/red bell pepper/curry powder or garam masala/pumpkin seeds
~Squash/diluted orange juice/peanut oil/onions, garlic, and ginger/carrots/a little ground coriander/fresh cilantro
~Squash/diluted veggie stock (BTB)/olive oil/leeks and shallots/an apple and a pear/cinnamon, cloves, and allspice/a little cream and chopped fresh parsley or chives.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
Rosewater walnut shortbread
I haven't been very experimental with dinner lately. Mostly just cooking from my repertoire and sticking with easy quick stuff as I've been really busy. And I was out of town all last week for a conference in what might be the Mecca of food towns: Portland, Oregon. Drool... I ate some really great meals there.
But I was craving something sweet and buttery today, so I made some shortbread. Shortbread is one of favorite kinds of cookies. It's so simple and good. I used the basic recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook and will probably tweak it a few more times before submitting it to a cookie contest on Michael Ruhlman's blog. So if you see me in the next few weeks, you can expect some shortbread. And if you have any suggestions, let me know! The changes are that I put in some flavors that are relatively new to me - the main one being some rosewater that I picked up at Savory Spice Shop... I think it goes great with the simple, buttery sweetness. I also made a halfhearted attempt to incorporate some whole grain and will likely play around with this a little more. Also thinking that chilling, rolling, and using cookie cutters will improve appearance, and that pine nuts might be better than walnuts.
As written this makes about 12 cookies. Which I could probably finish off in two days.
1/3 c. walnut pieces (or chopped walnut halves)
1 stick of butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar, ultrafine baker's sugar is best
1 t. rosewater
a scant 1/2 t. vanilla
a pinch of salt
1/2 c. white flour
1/4 c. semolina flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour.
1. Preheat oven to 350. Put nuts on a baking sheet, and bake for 7-9 minutes, till very fragrant.
2. With a fork or wooden spoon combine the butter, sugar, rosewater, vanilla, and salt. Mash till well combined.
3. Sift in the flours. Stir in till a loose dough forms. It's okay if it's not one cohesive ball.
4. Press into a rectangle on a baking sheet (make sure it's cool, if you re-use the one from toasting the walnuts) that is about 1/3 inch thick.
5. Press the walnuts into the dough.
6. Bake for 15 or more minutes, until the edges are starting to brown.
7. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack, and let cool for 10 minutes.
8. While still warm, use a sharp knife to cut into desired cookie shapes. Long "fingers" are traditional.
9. Try to prevent yourself from eating them while they're still warm. Fail miserably.
But I was craving something sweet and buttery today, so I made some shortbread. Shortbread is one of favorite kinds of cookies. It's so simple and good. I used the basic recipe from the Gourmet Cookbook and will probably tweak it a few more times before submitting it to a cookie contest on Michael Ruhlman's blog. So if you see me in the next few weeks, you can expect some shortbread. And if you have any suggestions, let me know! The changes are that I put in some flavors that are relatively new to me - the main one being some rosewater that I picked up at Savory Spice Shop... I think it goes great with the simple, buttery sweetness. I also made a halfhearted attempt to incorporate some whole grain and will likely play around with this a little more. Also thinking that chilling, rolling, and using cookie cutters will improve appearance, and that pine nuts might be better than walnuts.
As written this makes about 12 cookies. Which I could probably finish off in two days.
1/3 c. walnut pieces (or chopped walnut halves)
1 stick of butter, softened
1/4 c. sugar, ultrafine baker's sugar is best
1 t. rosewater
a scant 1/2 t. vanilla
a pinch of salt
1/2 c. white flour
1/4 c. semolina flour
1/4 c. whole wheat flour.
1. Preheat oven to 350. Put nuts on a baking sheet, and bake for 7-9 minutes, till very fragrant.
2. With a fork or wooden spoon combine the butter, sugar, rosewater, vanilla, and salt. Mash till well combined.
3. Sift in the flours. Stir in till a loose dough forms. It's okay if it's not one cohesive ball.
4. Press into a rectangle on a baking sheet (make sure it's cool, if you re-use the one from toasting the walnuts) that is about 1/3 inch thick.
5. Press the walnuts into the dough.
6. Bake for 15 or more minutes, until the edges are starting to brown.
7. Place the baking sheet on a cooling rack, and let cool for 10 minutes.
8. While still warm, use a sharp knife to cut into desired cookie shapes. Long "fingers" are traditional.
9. Try to prevent yourself from eating them while they're still warm. Fail miserably.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Scrambled duck eggs with piperrada
The summer produce keeps on rolling! Last week, we got about 2 gallons of peppers and a gallon of tomatoes. We also did a special order of a dozen duck eggs. I had never had duck eggs before this... so I wasn't sure what to expect. For our first duck egg breakfast, I just cooked them over easy and we had them with some toast and grilled tomato slices. They were only okay. I didn't love the texture; the yolks are a bit stickier than an over easy chicken egg yolk, and the whites were much firmer. But they were very rich. It made me think they'd be better scrambled. And I have to say, they definitely were.
I made this for breakfast by myself on Friday. I had some time to kill after dropping Andy off for the airport shuttle at 5:30am (he went to Montana, and his friends got their elk, he'll be coming home on Monday with a cooler full!) I love cream cheese in scrambled eggs, and at the risk of over-rich-ifying the duck eggs, added a small amount. I think they went great together. Inspired by a NY Times recipe, I stewed some of the peppers and tomatoes from the CSA, trying to mimic a Basque piperrada. Not sure how close I got, but it tasted great! I thought about cooking everything in the same pot, but decided against it cause I wanted to be able to control the heat on the duck eggs. Also had some leftover roasted red potatoes. Now that's a breakfast.
Piperrada (makes a good amount!)
1 T. olive oil
12 small peppers, cut into strips (probably equivalent to 8 medium sized bell peppers. Use a mixture of types, if possible, I think it imparts some depth... our CSA calls our peppers "Italian peppers" which look like bell peppers, and "chile peppers" which look like hatch or poblanos)
salt
4 tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. thyme
1. Heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the peppers and some salt and cook about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring only occasionally (longer's fine too, this is basically a stew).
2. While the peppers are cooking, boil a medium pot of water. Cut a shallow cross into the skin on the bottom of the tomatoes. Submerge the tomatoes in the water for about 15 seconds. Plunge the tomatoes into ice water. Slip the peels off. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, smoked paprika, and thyme. Cover and cook for 12 - 15 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
4. If it looks watery after 12 minutes, remove the cover and turn the heat up a little. There should be liquid, but you probably want it more sauce-y than liquid-y. Mine probably could have used a little more time but I was hungry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Scrambled duck eggs (serves 1, multiply as you wish)
1 t. butter
2 duck eggs (size? most of the ones we got were close to the size of chicken eggs... except for one giant one. I used the chicken egg sized ones)
2-3 t. cream cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Salt, Maldon smoked sea salt if you have it
1. Heat the butter in a sautee pan over low heat.
2. Whisk the ducks eggs, add in some salt and pepper.
3. Pour into sautee pan. Use a spatula to stir and break up the curds nearly constantly. You want to cook these guys slowly, it probably took about 5 minutes to cook my two eggs. More than 2 eggs will take longer. The texture at the end is closer to a small curd cottage cheese than, say, the egg patty you might get at a bagel shop on your breakfast sandwich.
4. When they're nearly done, add the cream cheese and break apart with the spatula. I like it mostly broken up but with an occasional tasty little chunk.
5. Season at the table with the smoked sea salt and more pepper.
Does anyone else have ideas on ways to cook duck eggs? I have 6 left. If you have an idea leave a comment!
 |
| The peppers and tomatoes that went into the piperrada |
Piperrada (makes a good amount!)
1 T. olive oil
12 small peppers, cut into strips (probably equivalent to 8 medium sized bell peppers. Use a mixture of types, if possible, I think it imparts some depth... our CSA calls our peppers "Italian peppers" which look like bell peppers, and "chile peppers" which look like hatch or poblanos)
salt
4 tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2 t. smoked paprika
1 t. thyme
1. Heat the olive oil over low heat. Add the peppers and some salt and cook about 10 - 12 minutes, stirring only occasionally (longer's fine too, this is basically a stew).
2. While the peppers are cooking, boil a medium pot of water. Cut a shallow cross into the skin on the bottom of the tomatoes. Submerge the tomatoes in the water for about 15 seconds. Plunge the tomatoes into ice water. Slip the peels off. Roughly chop the tomatoes.
3. Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, smoked paprika, and thyme. Cover and cook for 12 - 15 minutes, stirring only occasionally.
4. If it looks watery after 12 minutes, remove the cover and turn the heat up a little. There should be liquid, but you probably want it more sauce-y than liquid-y. Mine probably could have used a little more time but I was hungry. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Scrambled duck eggs (serves 1, multiply as you wish)
1 t. butter
2 duck eggs (size? most of the ones we got were close to the size of chicken eggs... except for one giant one. I used the chicken egg sized ones)
2-3 t. cream cheese
Freshly ground pepper
Salt, Maldon smoked sea salt if you have it
1. Heat the butter in a sautee pan over low heat.
2. Whisk the ducks eggs, add in some salt and pepper.
3. Pour into sautee pan. Use a spatula to stir and break up the curds nearly constantly. You want to cook these guys slowly, it probably took about 5 minutes to cook my two eggs. More than 2 eggs will take longer. The texture at the end is closer to a small curd cottage cheese than, say, the egg patty you might get at a bagel shop on your breakfast sandwich.
4. When they're nearly done, add the cream cheese and break apart with the spatula. I like it mostly broken up but with an occasional tasty little chunk.
5. Season at the table with the smoked sea salt and more pepper.
Does anyone else have ideas on ways to cook duck eggs? I have 6 left. If you have an idea leave a comment!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Rice cooker polenta! ... and ratatouille
I will be making polenta more often now. I made it in my rice cooker the other night, and I think it's better, and WAY easier, than making it on the stove. Traditional polenta calls for nearly constant stirring for 20-30 minutes. I think the reason for this is to prevent burning and clumping, not to significantly improve the texture, as is the case in traditional risotto. With the rice cooker, the heat is low enough so that it doesn't burn, and I'm willing to bet the tight seal and slightly elevated pressure quickens the cook time.
I'm pretty sure you could just throw in whatever seasonings, cheese, butter, etc. that you want. I used a 4:1 water to polenta ratio and used Bob's Red Mill Brand polenta. I thought it would take a while, so I put it in the rice cooker, flipped the switch to cook, and didn't check it for probably half and hour. It had already finished cooking and switched to "warm," and I think it had been done for a little while. But I don't think there's any harm in letting it stay in warm mode, making this a perfectly flexible side dish. The parmesan rinds imparted a nice flavor... I learned a trick at some point to save the rinds from wedges of hard parmesan cheese after I've grated the gratable parts for topping pasta and other things... just throw the rinds in a ziploc and keep them in the freezer. Then add them to risottos, soups, and apparently polenta for extra flavor.
We ate the polenta with ratatouille. It is based on a Cook's Illustrated method and recipe. I just discovered Cook's Illustrated. The website and magazine are by paid subscription only, but I really like it and think it's worthwhile. I love their emphasis on methods and explanations of why things happen as they do in a recipe. They approach cooking scientifically. I changed the recipe just enough to not feel bad putting it up here, but really the awesome method not at all my own. I used to make ratatouille just by kind of sauteeing everything together, and usually using canned tomatoes. The CI method of roasting the eggplant and zucchini first makes a much chunkier stew than I used to make, and I think that's a good thing, given my predilection towards vegetarian dishes with texture. So I think I'll stick with this method, it's still infinitely adaptable, and though it might take a little longer than a simple sautee, it's not any harder and more closely mirrors the traditional French preparation. Also any combo of fresh basil, oregano, thyme, or rosemary would only make the ratatouille better. Add them if you have them!
If anyone makes the rice cooker polenta and has thoughts on how it compares to a traditional polenta, I'd love to hear them. I don't make polenta often enough to know for sure how it compares.
Rice cooker polenta
1 c. polenta
4 c. water
1 T. butter
2 T. grated parmesan or pecorino
1/2 t. salt
a few parmesan rinds, if available
1. Combine in rice cooker. Stir once. Push down the switch to cook. Come back when you're ready for it (at least 15-20 minutes, probably).
Ratatouille
2 lbs. eggplant, cut up in 1" chunks
2 medium zuchinis (about 1-1.5 lbs), also cut up in 1" chunks
About 4 T. olive oil
5-6 small carrots (or 2-3 big ones), sliced into coins
2 bunches scallions or 1 medium or large onion, chopped (I would have used an onion but only had scallions)
2 large, very ripe tomatoes, cut up in 1-2" chunks
1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
1 t. thyme, dried
ground black pepper
1. Place eggplant in large colander set over large bowl; sprinkle with salt and toss. Let eggplant stand for 1 to 3 hours. Rinse eggplant well under running water to remove salt and spread in even layer on a clean towel. Cover with another towel. Press down firmly until eggplant is dry and feels firm and compressed.
2. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil.
3. Toss eggplant, zucchini, and 2 tablespoons oil together in large bowl, then divide evenly between prepared baking sheets, spreading in single layer on each. Sprinkle with salt and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until well-browned and tender, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through roasting time.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrot and onion (if using, if using scallion add in about 10 minutes after the carrot); reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes total.
5. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
6. Add tomatoes and cook until they release their juices and begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
7. Add roasted eggplant and zucchini, stirring gently but thoroughly to combine, and cook until just heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and thyme; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve over polenta.
PS - I would be remiss in not thanking Grant Family Farms for the incredible late season zukes, eggplant, and tomatoes. SO good!!
 |
| Kinda hard to see but I was trying to capture the creamy texture. |
I'm pretty sure you could just throw in whatever seasonings, cheese, butter, etc. that you want. I used a 4:1 water to polenta ratio and used Bob's Red Mill Brand polenta. I thought it would take a while, so I put it in the rice cooker, flipped the switch to cook, and didn't check it for probably half and hour. It had already finished cooking and switched to "warm," and I think it had been done for a little while. But I don't think there's any harm in letting it stay in warm mode, making this a perfectly flexible side dish. The parmesan rinds imparted a nice flavor... I learned a trick at some point to save the rinds from wedges of hard parmesan cheese after I've grated the gratable parts for topping pasta and other things... just throw the rinds in a ziploc and keep them in the freezer. Then add them to risottos, soups, and apparently polenta for extra flavor.
We ate the polenta with ratatouille. It is based on a Cook's Illustrated method and recipe. I just discovered Cook's Illustrated. The website and magazine are by paid subscription only, but I really like it and think it's worthwhile. I love their emphasis on methods and explanations of why things happen as they do in a recipe. They approach cooking scientifically. I changed the recipe just enough to not feel bad putting it up here, but really the awesome method not at all my own. I used to make ratatouille just by kind of sauteeing everything together, and usually using canned tomatoes. The CI method of roasting the eggplant and zucchini first makes a much chunkier stew than I used to make, and I think that's a good thing, given my predilection towards vegetarian dishes with texture. So I think I'll stick with this method, it's still infinitely adaptable, and though it might take a little longer than a simple sautee, it's not any harder and more closely mirrors the traditional French preparation. Also any combo of fresh basil, oregano, thyme, or rosemary would only make the ratatouille better. Add them if you have them!
 |
| I love eggplant even though it makes my mouth itch. |
If anyone makes the rice cooker polenta and has thoughts on how it compares to a traditional polenta, I'd love to hear them. I don't make polenta often enough to know for sure how it compares.
Rice cooker polenta
1 c. polenta
4 c. water
1 T. butter
2 T. grated parmesan or pecorino
1/2 t. salt
a few parmesan rinds, if available
1. Combine in rice cooker. Stir once. Push down the switch to cook. Come back when you're ready for it (at least 15-20 minutes, probably).
Ratatouille
2 lbs. eggplant, cut up in 1" chunks
2 medium zuchinis (about 1-1.5 lbs), also cut up in 1" chunks
About 4 T. olive oil
5-6 small carrots (or 2-3 big ones), sliced into coins
2 bunches scallions or 1 medium or large onion, chopped (I would have used an onion but only had scallions)
2 large, very ripe tomatoes, cut up in 1-2" chunks
1/2 bunch of parsley, chopped
1 t. thyme, dried
ground black pepper
1. Place eggplant in large colander set over large bowl; sprinkle with salt and toss. Let eggplant stand for 1 to 3 hours. Rinse eggplant well under running water to remove salt and spread in even layer on a clean towel. Cover with another towel. Press down firmly until eggplant is dry and feels firm and compressed.
2. Heat oven to 500 degrees. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with foil.
3. Toss eggplant, zucchini, and 2 tablespoons oil together in large bowl, then divide evenly between prepared baking sheets, spreading in single layer on each. Sprinkle with salt and roast, stirring every 10 minutes, until well-browned and tender, 30 to 40 minutes, rotating baking sheets from top to bottom halfway through roasting time.
4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add carrot and onion (if using, if using scallion add in about 10 minutes after the carrot); reduce heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes total.
5. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
6. Add tomatoes and cook until they release their juices and begin to break down, about 5 minutes.
7. Add roasted eggplant and zucchini, stirring gently but thoroughly to combine, and cook until just heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in parsley and thyme; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper and serve over polenta.
PS - I would be remiss in not thanking Grant Family Farms for the incredible late season zukes, eggplant, and tomatoes. SO good!!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Kohlrabi puree
Wow, I am so backed up on posts. I have about four I want to put up. Oh well, if I ever want to graduate I might need to not do everything I want to do, but I'll at least try to get my favorites up here.
Kohlrabi has really grown on me. I mentioned not too long ago that I was proud of myself for doing something with kohlrabi besides quick pickles. Well, here's another kohlrabi recipe! I think this is my favorite kohlrabi so far. It could be classified as comfort food for sure - especially when served with a nice over-easy egg on top, some good whole grain bread (this one was a free sample from our CSA hoping to sell more bread shares; it was great but I don't think we'd eat it all), and a nice little salad on the side (tomatoes, mint from the garden, balsamic and olive oil).
4 kohlrabi bulbs
1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful parsley
a few T. cream
salt and pepper to taste
1. Peel the kohlrabi, and cut the bulbs into ~1" chunks.
2. Boil some salted water, and add the kohlrabi. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until somewhat caramelized, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat, add the garlic and cook another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Drain the kohlrabi. Put kohlrabi, onions, and everything else in the bowl of a food processor. Purée until smooth.
Kohlrabi has really grown on me. I mentioned not too long ago that I was proud of myself for doing something with kohlrabi besides quick pickles. Well, here's another kohlrabi recipe! I think this is my favorite kohlrabi so far. It could be classified as comfort food for sure - especially when served with a nice over-easy egg on top, some good whole grain bread (this one was a free sample from our CSA hoping to sell more bread shares; it was great but I don't think we'd eat it all), and a nice little salad on the side (tomatoes, mint from the garden, balsamic and olive oil).
4 kohlrabi bulbs
1-2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 handful parsley
a few T. cream
salt and pepper to taste
1. Peel the kohlrabi, and cut the bulbs into ~1" chunks.
2. Boil some salted water, and add the kohlrabi. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté over medium-low heat until somewhat caramelized, about 10 minutes. Lower the heat, add the garlic and cook another 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Drain the kohlrabi. Put kohlrabi, onions, and everything else in the bowl of a food processor. Purée until smooth.
Friday, September 24, 2010
Split pea soup with potatoes and dill
Wow! This might be one of my favorite recipes that I've posted yet. As I started describing in the last post, this soup was born because I just wanted to cook all the veggies in my fridge at the same time and couldn't focus on one thing. The potatoes and dill were just begging to be cooked, and with the first chill of fall, they ended up in soup. I didn't know exactly where it was going while I was making it (so unfortunately, the amount on the liquids and potatoes might be a little off, cause I didn't measure, but they're close. You'll notice copious tilde use in the ingredient list.) The flavors are really great, so I encourage you to make this one, especially if you have good potatoes, dill, and parsley hanging around. It works best if you are completely distracted by cooking other things.
Makes about 1 gallon of soup (8 big servings)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
~3 qts. water
1 lb. of yellow split peas (green would be okay too)
~2 bay leaves
~1 T. Better than Bouillon veggie base
~1/2 lb. small Yukon gold potatoes, cut up in bite sized pieces (other kinds would be okay, but I LOVED the creamy sweetness of the Yukes)
~1/2 bunch parsley
~4-5 T. fresh dill
~1 c. buttermilk
Salt to taste
optional: chopped chives or green onion to garnish and for extra flavors
1. Heat olive oil over medium, add in the onion and sautee till soft and just starting to brown (6-8 minutes or so).
2. Add water, split peas, bay leaves, BTB. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook for ~15 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes. Continue to simmer for about another 30 minutes. Check occasionally towards the end. You don't want to cook it for so long that the potatoes start to disintegrate.
4. While simmering, chop up the parsley and dill; I used the food processor to get it quite small, but process the two separately so you can add the right amount of dill for your liking.
5. When the soup is done, stir in the parsley, dill, and buttermilk. Go easy on these and taste as you go. You don't want the dill to be overpowering (and I think people have pretty different levels of dill tolerance, I tend to prefer it on the light side), but you definitely want to taste it. For the buttermilk, I would suggest that you don't even want to really be able to identify it. Using just a small amount - a cup or so (compared to the 3 qts water) - gives the soup a creamy body and a very slight tang, but I wouldn't describe it as sour or acidic at all. 6. Add some salt if necessary (for once, I think I didn't add any extra at all!). Serve with chives or green onions if desired.
Makes about 1 gallon of soup (8 big servings)
1 T. olive oil
1/2 large onion, diced
~3 qts. water
1 lb. of yellow split peas (green would be okay too)
~2 bay leaves
~1 T. Better than Bouillon veggie base
~1/2 lb. small Yukon gold potatoes, cut up in bite sized pieces (other kinds would be okay, but I LOVED the creamy sweetness of the Yukes)
~1/2 bunch parsley
~4-5 T. fresh dill
~1 c. buttermilk
Salt to taste
optional: chopped chives or green onion to garnish and for extra flavors
1. Heat olive oil over medium, add in the onion and sautee till soft and just starting to brown (6-8 minutes or so).
2. Add water, split peas, bay leaves, BTB. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Cook for ~15 minutes.
3. Add the potatoes. Continue to simmer for about another 30 minutes. Check occasionally towards the end. You don't want to cook it for so long that the potatoes start to disintegrate.
4. While simmering, chop up the parsley and dill; I used the food processor to get it quite small, but process the two separately so you can add the right amount of dill for your liking.
5. When the soup is done, stir in the parsley, dill, and buttermilk. Go easy on these and taste as you go. You don't want the dill to be overpowering (and I think people have pretty different levels of dill tolerance, I tend to prefer it on the light side), but you definitely want to taste it. For the buttermilk, I would suggest that you don't even want to really be able to identify it. Using just a small amount - a cup or so (compared to the 3 qts water) - gives the soup a creamy body and a very slight tang, but I wouldn't describe it as sour or acidic at all. 6. Add some salt if necessary (for once, I think I didn't add any extra at all!). Serve with chives or green onions if desired.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Summer rice and veggies (on the first day of fall)
Because we had such a cold spring this year, what I think of as typical summer fruits and veggies - tomatoes, peppers, corn - were pretty late up at Grant Family Farms. But just in the last two or three weeks, we're finally getting a summer bounty!
I really was having trouble deciding what to make for dinner tonight. Almost all the veggies in the fridge were very inviting so I felt pulled in different directions. Unable to make a decision, I ended up making four things that I'm not going to pretend have any sort of theme: rice and summer veggies, an apple and kohlrabi salad, sauteed chard w/ garlic, and a split pea soup that I might put in a separate post. The soup we didn't have for dinner; I made that for future lunches (although I might go have some right now...). Despite a bit of discordance, the unifying theme is of course seasonal produce (whatever that means given our crazy seasons), so it ended up working out just fine. The rice and veggies I loved, the salad I liked a lot, so I'll put the recipe here but I don't think it deserves its own post. I am proud of myself for finding a tasty way to use raw kohlrabi. Up till now I've just be pickling it or putting it in a soup.
Summer rice and veggies (serves 3-4)
1 c. uncooked rice (brown basmati is nice)
6-8 green chiles (Hatch, anaheim, etc)
3 ears of corn
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 T. butter
Salt and pepper
2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved, if desired
edamame (optional)
1. Cook the rice according to directions with a little salt.
2. Preheat a grill or broiler. Place the chiles near the heat source. Cook until the skin is blistered, not completely blackened (if it's very black the flesh is probably burned). It should take maybe 5 minutes. Flip over and repeat. Once blistered on both sides, put in a zip-lock, tupperware, or bowl with saran wrap, and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Then you should be able to get the skins off; a bowl of water helps. Remove skins and seeds. Chop the roasted chiles.
3. Cut the kernels off the corn cobs.
4. Cook the kernels over medium-high heat in a dry skillet or sautee pan. Allow them to char (brown) a bit, stirring as needed.
5. When the rice is done, stir together the rice, chopped chiles, cilantro, butter, and season with salt and pepper.
6. Assemble on plate: rice mixture, topped with corn, topped with tomatoes. I happened to have some leftover edamame, that I forgot about till after I took the picture, but that seemed to go well too, made it succotash-like! Talk about a patchwork dinner...
Apple and kohlrabi salad (serves 4-6)
1 small kohlrabi
1 very large apple or 2 small to normal sized apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
**Ribs from one fennel bulb - optional, see note
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 t. sesame oil
salt and pepper
1. Peel the kohlrabi. Slice as thinly as possible into strips that are maybe an inch by half an inch.
2. Cut the apple into bite size chunks. Throw into a bowl with the kohlrabi.
3. Squeeze the lemon juice onto the salad, toss. Do this right after step 2 to prevent oxidation.
4. Add in the optional fennel, cilantro and sesame oil, toss, and season to taste!
**Note on the fennel - the fennel we got in the CSA is really weird. Instead of a big bulb that you could just chop up like an onion, it was composed of a thick, VERY fibrous, inedible (found that out the hard way) stem, surrounded by relatively thin layers of edible fennel bulb. So what looked like a big old fennel actually only yielded a small amount of edible fennel. I broke off the edible layers like ribs of celery and sliced them across the grain. It probably only yielded about 3 T. of sliced fennel ribs. It tasted nice, but you could certainly skip it. And it's strong when it's raw, so if you do incorporate it, be careful not to overload.
 |
| Left - apple and kohlrabi salad; Right - rice and summer veggies; Back - sauteed chard. |
I really was having trouble deciding what to make for dinner tonight. Almost all the veggies in the fridge were very inviting so I felt pulled in different directions. Unable to make a decision, I ended up making four things that I'm not going to pretend have any sort of theme: rice and summer veggies, an apple and kohlrabi salad, sauteed chard w/ garlic, and a split pea soup that I might put in a separate post. The soup we didn't have for dinner; I made that for future lunches (although I might go have some right now...). Despite a bit of discordance, the unifying theme is of course seasonal produce (whatever that means given our crazy seasons), so it ended up working out just fine. The rice and veggies I loved, the salad I liked a lot, so I'll put the recipe here but I don't think it deserves its own post. I am proud of myself for finding a tasty way to use raw kohlrabi. Up till now I've just be pickling it or putting it in a soup.
Summer rice and veggies (serves 3-4)
1 c. uncooked rice (brown basmati is nice)
6-8 green chiles (Hatch, anaheim, etc)
3 ears of corn
1/4 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 T. butter
Salt and pepper
2 c. cherry tomatoes, halved, if desired
edamame (optional)
1. Cook the rice according to directions with a little salt.
2. Preheat a grill or broiler. Place the chiles near the heat source. Cook until the skin is blistered, not completely blackened (if it's very black the flesh is probably burned). It should take maybe 5 minutes. Flip over and repeat. Once blistered on both sides, put in a zip-lock, tupperware, or bowl with saran wrap, and let sit for at least 10 minutes. Then you should be able to get the skins off; a bowl of water helps. Remove skins and seeds. Chop the roasted chiles.
3. Cut the kernels off the corn cobs.
4. Cook the kernels over medium-high heat in a dry skillet or sautee pan. Allow them to char (brown) a bit, stirring as needed.
5. When the rice is done, stir together the rice, chopped chiles, cilantro, butter, and season with salt and pepper.
6. Assemble on plate: rice mixture, topped with corn, topped with tomatoes. I happened to have some leftover edamame, that I forgot about till after I took the picture, but that seemed to go well too, made it succotash-like! Talk about a patchwork dinner...
Apple and kohlrabi salad (serves 4-6)
1 small kohlrabi
1 very large apple or 2 small to normal sized apples
Juice of 1/2 lemon
**Ribs from one fennel bulb - optional, see note
1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped
2 t. sesame oil
salt and pepper
1. Peel the kohlrabi. Slice as thinly as possible into strips that are maybe an inch by half an inch.
2. Cut the apple into bite size chunks. Throw into a bowl with the kohlrabi.
3. Squeeze the lemon juice onto the salad, toss. Do this right after step 2 to prevent oxidation.
4. Add in the optional fennel, cilantro and sesame oil, toss, and season to taste!
**Note on the fennel - the fennel we got in the CSA is really weird. Instead of a big bulb that you could just chop up like an onion, it was composed of a thick, VERY fibrous, inedible (found that out the hard way) stem, surrounded by relatively thin layers of edible fennel bulb. So what looked like a big old fennel actually only yielded a small amount of edible fennel. I broke off the edible layers like ribs of celery and sliced them across the grain. It probably only yielded about 3 T. of sliced fennel ribs. It tasted nice, but you could certainly skip it. And it's strong when it's raw, so if you do incorporate it, be careful not to overload.
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