Green Rooibus-Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is a recipe that uses one of their teas as a foundation for a soup broth.

If you enjoy drinking non-caffeinated and herbal teas, then surely by now you have experienced African rooibus. And perhaps you’ve even learned how to pronounce it properly too (hint: ROY-bus). But have you tried green rooibus, yet? It’s an unoxidized version of traditional (oxidized) rooibus that tastes lighter, less sweet and more herbal compared to its counterpart. These qualities also make green rooibus infusions a perfect foundation for soup broth. Here I blend green rooibus with roasted butternut squash, garlic, onions and cream for a wonderfully rich and herbal wintertime soup. It whips up without too much trouble and freezes nicely if you’d like to have a meal at the ready as the busy holiday months approach us.

Green Rooibus-Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

serves 4

4 cups water
3 TBS Organic green rooibus tea leaves
2 lb butternut squash, split in half lengthwise and seeds scooped
3 cloves garlic sliced
olive oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
2 cups heavy cream
salt, fresh ground pepper and fresh ground nutmeg to taste


1. Bring water and organic green rooibus to a boil in a small sauce pan. Simmer for 5 minutes, then top with a lid and remove from heat. Allow rooibus to infuse while you proceed to the next step.
2. Preheat oven to 350° F.
3. Place the halved butternut squash on a roasting pan, sprinkle with the sliced garlic and drizzle with olive oil. Roast until slightly browned and soft, 45 minutes to an hour.
4. Heat a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onion until translucent. Turn off heat and set aside. Reserve saucepan, without wiping clean for the final steps of simmering the soup.
5. Scoop roasted garlic slices and squash from its skin into the canister of a blender. Add the sautéed onions and then strain the rooibus broth into the canister. Blend until completely smooth.
6. Pour the soup back into the saucepan and bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally and scraping up any browned bits left behind from sautéing the onions.
7. Add the cream, salt, pepper, and freshly grated nutmeg to taste. Bring to a simmer again and heat gently for 10 minutes more. Do not allow to boil.

Khanom Krok (grilled coconut rice cakes)

photo credit: D. Harrison

The grilled coconut rice cakes (Khanom Krok) from Marnee Thai were the most memorable thing I ate during my summer vacation in San Francisco. It's a seasonal appetizer (occasionally offered at the restaurant) that is delivered to your table with quite a lot of flair. The cakes arrive still sizzling in the special cast iron griddle in which they were cooked. You watch as the wait-person loosens each cake from the pan and divvies them among your plates. They're fluffy yet glutinous and sweet. I was completely curious (and baffled) about how the texture of the pancakes was achieved, so I asked for the recipe. A day later the chef, Chai Siriyarn, emailed me a word document with complete instructions! He mentioned that Khanom Krok is a favorite street food in Thailand that is normally served for breakfast or as a snack. It's quite sweet, like coconut pudding, and depending on how you decorate with toppings, could also be considered a dessert. I topped mine with a salad made from corn and okra in my farm share and the broccoli growing (and flowering) in my garden.

Khanom Krok (Grilled Coconut Rice Cakes) 

Ingredients

8 oz. rice flour (½ pound)
2 teaspoons tempura flour or all purpose flour
½ cup steamed rice (cooked very soggy until clumped)
1¼ cups coconut milk 
1½ cups water 
½ teaspoons salt
oil for brushing the griddle 

For the topping 

1¼ cups coconut milk 
¼ cup honey (or less depending on your sweetness preference) 
½ teaspoon salt 

Combine rice flour, tempura flour and water, stir to mix and let soak overnight. Soaking the flour for the rice batter overnight is recommended in order to allow it to ferment a little. This is what makes the cake texture  soft and fluffy. 

The next day, purée cooked rice with salt and coconut milk in a blender until the texture is smooth. Add the soaked flour and pulse a few times to mix well. If you'd like some texture to your cakes stir in a bit of extra  steamed rice. Set aside. 

Combine the ingredients for the topping in a sauce pan over medium heat and stir to dissolve honey and salt.

photo credit: D. Harrison

Heat a well-seasoned khanom krok griddle on the stove over medium heat. Test that the griddle is hot enough by flicking a bit of water onto the pan. It should instantly sizzle. When the griddle is hot, lightly but thoroughly brush each dimple in the griddle with a little oil. Pour the rice batter directly from the blender canister into each dimple to about ⅔rds full. The batter should sizzle when it hits the hot metal otherwise the cake will not be fluffy. Swirl the rice batter by rotating the grill with your hands. This will coat the rim of each dimple to form a crispy edge. Then add a dab (about 1-1½ teaspoons) of the topping mixture over top each cake. Cover with a domed lid and cook for a few minutes over medium low heat or until the cakes are firm and crispy brown on the bottom. When the hotcakes are firm and a little crispy, remove gently with a butter knife or a spoon and transfer to a plate or serving platter. 

Re-grease the griddle before making the next batch. Stir the batter well each time before making each batch because the batter tends to settle. Repeat the process until all the rice batter is finished. Decorate with finely sliced green onions or chives or cooked match-stick size slices of pumpkin or cooked corn-kernels or cooked taro. 

Coconut Corn and Broccoli Salad 

adapted from 101cookbooks 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter 
2 ears of corn, shucked 
2 okra, sliced 
fine grain sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste 
3 tablespoons fresh basil leaves cut into thin strips 
1 cup coconut flakes, toasted 
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted 
one half of a red onion, chopped 
2 cups broccoli florets 

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the corn and okra, season with salt and pepper, and stir to coat the corn kernels evenly. Cook for a few minutes, until the corn looses its raw edge, and then transfer to a large serving bowl. Stir in the coconut flakes, almonds, onion, and broccoli florets.

Matcha Ravioli filled with Spring Pea Garlic Scape Pesto and Italian White Bean Purée

I contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is another recipe I created using their matcha tea.

Matcha Tea, made from stone-ground, Japanese green tea leaves, has a body and flavor that is thick and rich and green with a slight bitterness. It’s thought to be even healthier than regular green tea, because the entire tea leaf is consumed, instead of just the infusion as with normal teas. And since it is a powder, it can be incorporated into just about any cooking recipe, swapped out for a little flour. Its deep green hue and flavor add a lot of appeal to homemade pasta.

Inspired by the green of the coming spring, I used Arbor Teas cooking grade organic matcha green tea to make matcha ravioli. I filled the pasta with a green pea and Italian white bean purée, and topped it with a garlic scape-kale pesto. So very green!

A more simple filling idea would be to use an herb-laced ricotta. After reading this post by Smitten Kitchen, I’ve taken to making my own. It’s really very simple to do.

Even simpler, cut the fresh matcha pasta into thin linguini strands, cook in boiling water, and top with your favorite sauce.

Matcha Pasta
(serves 3-4)

9½ ounces (scant 2 cups) all purpose flour
1 heaping tablespoon organic Matcha Green Tea
3 large eggs, beaten

Add the flour to the workbowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to evenly distribute. Add the eggs. Process again for about 30 seconds until the dough forms a rough ball. It’s OK if some small bits remain unincorporated. Turn the contents of the workbowl onto a floured surface and knead until the dough is smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for at least 15 minutes and up to 2 hours, allowing the dough to relax.

Dough that has the perfect amount of moisture will come together in one large mass. If the dough resembles small pebbles it is too dry; with the motor running, add water ½ teaspoon at a time until the dough forms a rough ball. If the dough sticks to the side of the workbowl it is too wet; add flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, and process until the dough is no longer tacky and forms a rough ball.

Using a manual pasta machine or a rolling pin, roll out the dough into thin, satiny sheets. It should be rolled thin enough that you are able to see the outline of your hand through the pasta. Lay the sheet of pasta on a clean kitchen towel and cover it with a damp cloth to keep it from drying out. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Leave the pasta as is for use in filled pastas or cut the pasta sheets into long strands to make fettuccine.

If making ravioli, place a dollop of the filling (recipe below) along the rolled sheet every few inches. Lay another sheet of dough directly over the filling and press down to seal the ravioli. Cut into squares with a pastry wheel. Place the cut ravioli on a floured baking tray and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.

If you don’t plan to cook the ravioli right away, place the baking tray full of finished ravioli (in one layer only) in the freezer. Once the ravioli have frozen solid (half an hour or so), you can transfer them into a zip-top plastic bag and continue to freeze until ready to use. When ready to serve, drop the frozen ravioli directly into a large pot of salted boiling water for 4 or 5 minutes. Carefully remove cooked ravioli with a slotted spoon and then toss with sauce.

Filling: Spring Pea, Garlic Scape, Italian White Bean Purée

¾ cup garlic scapes, diced
1 cup shelled peas
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
2 cups cooked white beans, drained

Lightly sauté the garlic scapes and peas in butter until softened. Transfer to the bowl of food processor. Blend the scapes, peas, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper until fairly smooth. Add the cooked beans and blend again. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Let cool before filling the ravioli.

Garlic Scape-Kale Pesto Sauce
Makes about 1½ cups of pesto
From 365daysofkale.com

1 cup garlic scapes, chopped
3-5 leaves kale, stems removed
⅓ cup pecans, toasted
¾ cup olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
Black pepper to taste

Process scapes, kale, and nuts in the bowl of a food processor until well combined and somewhat smooth but not completely pureed. Slowly drizzle in oil and process again until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Smoky Yerba Mate Lentil Burgers

I often contribute recipes to the blog of my friends' tea company, Arbor Teas. Here is the latest recipe I created using a few of their teas.

BBQ season is upon us! Will you have a vegetarian to feed in your group? Often meatless patties are dry and disappointing, especially the ones that come packaged from the grocery store. Veggie burgers are so easy to make in your home kitchen, requiring fairly minimal forethought and prep work. Here is a unique idea to impart a tea flavor into a vegetarian burger. This recipe combines the earthiness of Arbor Teas organic Yerba Mate with a bit of smoke from organic Russian Caravan Black Tea. The lentils are cooked directly in the steeped teas, gaining an extra boost of flavor as they soak up the liquid and soften. Black beluga lentils retain their shape fairly well when cooked, so they are worth seeking out. Other varieties may cook up too mushy, causing the patties to fall apart.

Happy Summer everyone!

Smoky Yerba Mate Lentil Burgers
makes 6 burgers

2 cups boiling water
1 tablespoon loose leaf organic Yerba Mate
1 teaspoon loose leaf organic Russian Caravan Black Tea
1 cup dried Beluga lentils, picked over and rinsed (will yield about 3 cups cooked)
4 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 small carrot, shredded
1 small clove garlic, minced
1 cup whole grain bread crumbs
olive oil, if pan frying

Pour boiling water over tea leaves in a medium bowl. Cover and steep for about 4 minutes, then strain tea into a large saucepan, discarding tea leaves. Add the lentils to the sauce pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed and the lentils are firm but tender, about 30-40 minutes. Cover the pan and let rest it rest off heat, until remaining liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the lentils, eggs, and salt. Pulse until the mixture becomes a thick paste, allowing some lentils to remain whole. Transfer the lentil mixture to a mixing bowl and stir in the onion, shredded carrot, and garlic. Next add the breadcrumbs and stir to combined. Let rest for a couple of minutes to allow the bread crumbs to absorb some of the moisture. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions and form into 1½-inch-thick patties.

Grill for 5-8 minutes on each side until browned and crisped on both sides.

Alternatively, if cooking indoors, heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium low, add the patties, cover, and cook for 7 to 10 minutes, until the bottoms begin to brown. Flip and cook the second side for 7 minutes, or until golden.

Hiyashi Soba and Vegetable Tempura

Interested in learning to cook Japanese food? Then I suggest watching some of the entertaining how-to videos made by Kumigar. She's an adorable, young Japanese woman, who posts self-produced clips of cooking demos on YouTube. Her enthusiasm for food, both cooking and eating, is quite apparent. It's reassuring to see that sort of honest and unabashed fervor in someone other than myself!

Along the way in preparing the recipes below, I learned a very helpful tip to prevent stove top spillovers. Pots boiling over are something for which I'm notorious, and it's even more of nuisance now that I have a flat-surfaced, glass-top stove. There's no burner pan to collect the run-off drainage. I learned to temper an overflowing boil with a cup of cold water (see cooking intructions for udon below for more details). Of course this takes careful attention on the pot (which is key to preventing all kitchen disasters in the first place).

The February 2011 Daring Cooks’ challenge was hosted by Lisa of Blueberry Girl. She challenged Daring Cooks to make Hiyashi Soba and Tempura. She has various sources for her challenge including japanesefood.about.com, pinkbites.com, and itsybitsyfoodies.com.

Hiyashi Soba
serves 4

Soba Noodles:

2 quarts water + 3 cups cold water, separate
12 oz dried soba noodles

Heat 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot over high heat. Add the noodles a small bundle at a time, stirring gently to separate. When the water returns to a full boil, add 1 cup of cold water. Repeat this twice. When the water returns to a full boil, check the noodles for doneness. You want to cook them until they are firm-tender. Do not overcook them.

Drain the noodles in a colander and rinse well under cold running water until the noodles are cool. This not only stops the cooking process, but also removes the starch from the noodles. This is an essential part of soba noodle making. Once the noodles are cool, drain them and cover them with a damp kitchen towel and set them aside allowing them to cool completely.

Mentsuyu - Traditional dipping sauce:

2 cups Kombu and Katsuobushi dashi or a basic vegetable stock
1/3 cup shoyu soy sauce
1/3 cup mirin

Put mirin in a sauce pan and heat gently. Add soy sauce and dashi soup stock in the pan and bring to a boil. Take off the heat and cool. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Spicy Dipping Sauce:

¾ cup green onions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons shoyu soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon English mustard powder
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste - roughly 1/3 a teaspoon of each

Shake all the ingredients together in a covered container. Once the salt has dissolved, stir in 2 tablespoons of water and season again if needed.

Tempura
serves 4

1 egg yolk from a large egg
1 cup iced water
½ cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dredging
½ cup cornstarch
½ teaspoon baking powder
oil, for deep frying preferably vegetable
ice water bath, for the tempura batter

Very cold vegetables that I used include:

Sweet potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
Fingerling potato, peeled, thinly sliced, blanched
Broccoli florets, blanched

Cauliflower florets, blanched
Fresh mushrooms
Onions sliced

Place the iced water into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg yolk and gradually pour into the iced water, stirring and blending well. Add flours and baking powder all at once, stroke a few times with chopsticks until the ingredients are loosely combined. The batter should be runny and lumpy. Place the bowl of batter in an ice water bath to keep it cold while you are frying the tempura. The batter as well as the vegetables have to be very cold. The temperature shock between the hot oil and the cold veggies help create a crispy tempura.

Heat the oil in a large pan or a wok. For vegetables, the oil should be 320°F.

Dip the prepared vegetables in a shallow bowl of flour to lightly coat them and then dip them into the batter. Slide them into the hot oil, deep frying only a couple of pieces at a time so that the temperature of the oil does not drop.

Place finished tempura pieces on a wire rack so that excess oil can drip off.

Serve immediately for the best flavor, but they can also be eaten cold.

Local Ingredients meet Culture Fusion

The August 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by LizG of Bits n’ Bites and Anula of Anula’s Kitchen. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make pierogi from scratch and an optional challenge to provide one filling that best represents their locale.

My choice for representing my locale: kimchi.

Nope, I don't live in Korea. There just so happens to be a new food vendor at my farmer's market, and I've taken it upon myself to get acquainted. For those of you who don't know, kimchi is an ancient Korean food made of various salted, lacto fermented vegetables (the bulk of which usually includes cabbage), hot peppers, and fish oil. It's a natural superfood that's high in dietary fiber, low in calories, rich in vitamins and minerals, and is full of probiotics. Because of its wonderful digestive properties, Koreans use it as sort of a palate cleanser during just about every meal. Due to it's distinctive flavor, Americans typically use it as a condiment. So much better on a hot dog instead of ketchup!

Since kimchi is mostly cabbage, it doesn't seem a far stretch to swap it into any recipe where cabbage or perhaps sauerkraut usually is involved. That's why kimchi on a hot dog is a good idea. That's also why it ended up as the filling in my pierogi. Pierogies often are filled with potatoes and cabbage. There seems to be a very fine line dividing the definition of a pierogi and a dumpling. It may have a lot to do with the filling ingredients (which reflects regional/cultural differences) and also a bit to do with the preparation. Do you steam? Pan fry? Deep fry? A quick poll of those I know with Polish heritage resoundingly said sauté in butter and onions. So that's where I began to play, replacing butter with sesame oil and keeping the onions. Lots of onions! While I was at it, I tweaked the dough recipe to include whole grains like spelt and buckwheat and whole wheat. At this point, I'm sure traditionalists might abandon calling this a pierogi, but I'm pretty sure, whatever the name, they'd still call it delicious.

Kimchi Pierogi Potstickers

makes 4-5 servings, around 40 dumplings

Dough:
1 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for rolling
½ cup whole wheat flour
¼ cup buckwheat four
¼ cup spelt flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
up to 1 cup lukewarm water (you won't use all of it)

Filling:
12 oz prepared kimchi, drained (reserve liquid) and chopped

In exchange for this jar below, I bartered half a batch of pierogi with The Brinery CFO, David Klingenberger. Thank you, David!

To cook:
1 white onion, sliced into super thin rounds

2 cups water
2 TBS sesame oil
1 tsp (or less depending on taste) salt
fresh parsley to garnish

Dipping sauce:

reserved liquid from kimchi mixed with an equal portion of shoyu (my preference) or soy sauce and a few drops of sesame oil

Method

Combine the flours and salt in a large bowl (or on a work surface) and make a well in the center. Break the egg into the well and add a little lukewarm water at a time (½ cup was sufficient for me). Bring the dough together, kneading well and adding more flour or water as necessary, but keeping in mind that you are aiming for soft dough. Cover the dough with a bowl or towel. Let rest 20 minutes.

On a floured work surface, roll the dough out thinly (about ⅛-inch thick) cut with a 2-inch round cutter. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of the filling into the middle of each circle. Fold dough in half and pinch edges with the tines of a floured fork to seal. Gather scraps, re-roll and fill. Repeat with the remainder of the dough.

At this point you can freeze the pierogi for later use. Freeze in a single layer on a sheet pan for at least 30 minutes. When completely frozen transfer to a freezer-rated zip-top plastic bag and store up to 3 months.

When ready to cook:

In a wok (or large skillet) over high heat, bring water, sesame oil, sliced onions, and salt to a boil. Add pierogies in a single layer. Reduce heat to med-high. Cook, uncovered, until all the liquid is absorbed and the pierogies begin to sizzle, about 15-20 minutes.

Continue to cook 3-5 minutes more, shaking the pan often without turning pierogies, until golden and crisp on the bottom. You may find you need to rearrange the pierogies for even browning, but resist the urge to turn them over.

Carefully pry the potsickers from the pan with a thin spatula. Serve with the kimchi-soy dipping sauce.

Nuts & Notions

For awhile I had a fascination with Coraline. She was my Halloween costume last year (yep, I submitted a pic to Evil Buttons) and the reason I now own a blue wig and yellow wellies. When I came across an idea awhile ago for Coraline-inspired button cookies, I tucked it away in my memory. I thought it'd be a welcome change from the usual criss-cross pattern used to decorate classic peanut butter cookies, and maybe an adorable idea for a cute-as-a-button-themed baby shower. Then last week my friend Lisa showed me another pretty blog with shortbread button cookies. With a directive from the Daring Kitchen to make something with self-ground nut butter, I decided this would be my chance to try out the button technique. My rendition, however, is made a little differently with hazelnuts that I toasted and then ground into a buttery paste. If I'd a had any cacao nibs in my pantry, I'd have tossed those into the food processor as well to make something akin to a chocolate-hazelnut spread. Nutella buttons! Maybe next time...

To tell you the truth, though, the nut butter cooking challenge wasn't supposed to involve something sweet. Dessert was an optional bonus I just couldn't resist. So with the extra credit out of the way, I did make something savory with ground nuts. Before washing the bowl of the food processor completely clean of the hazelnut butter, I tossed in more hazelnuts and roasted almonds and toasted bread and garlic. To that I added piquant spices, fresh basil leaves, a roasted red pepper, and fresh tomatoes from the farmer's market. What resulted was a Catalan-style Romesco sauce. This version is a great healthy and versatile (and vegan!) accompaniment to grilled or broiled vegetables, especially potatoes, as well as smeared on grilled polenta (as I did in the picture down below) or meats or fish. My plan is to freeze it in batches, to use all summer (or however long it lasts) as a fancy alternative to ketchup.

The July 2010 Daring Cooks’ Challenge was hosted by Margie of More Please and Natashya of Living in the Kitchen with Puppies. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make their own nut butter from scratch, and use the nut butter in a recipe. Their sources include Better with Nut Butter by Cooking Light Magazine, Asian Noodles by Nina Simonds, and Food Network online.

Hazelnut Buttons

makes ~11 dozen

3 cups hazelnuts
5½ cups flour
1½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
12 ounces unsalted butter, softened
⅔ cup granulated sugar, plus extra for flattening into rounds
2¼ cup dark brown sugar, packed
⅓ cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs plus 2 yolks
2 TBS vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375°.

Toast hazelnuts for 12-15 minutes until golden. When cool enough to touch, rub off as much of the skin as possible with a clean dishtowel. Process in a food processor until a firm, thick and grainy butter forms, stopping the machine to scrape down the sides as needed. This should take 2-3 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 350°.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine 1⅓ cups hazelnut butter, butter, sugar, and oil. Beat at high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and beat until just incorporated. Reduce speed to low, then add the flour mixture in three portions, mixing until well incorporated.

Scoop scant tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets. If the dough is very soft, chilling it for an hour or 2 will make this easier. Roll into balls and space about 1½ inches apart. Dip a small drinking glass into sugar and flatten each mound evenly to about ⅓ of an inch high. Use the non-business end of large diameter piping tip and the business end of a small tip to press button details into each round.

Bake until slightly puffed and golden around the edges, about 10 minutes. Before cookies cool completely, use the small piping tip to reopen the button holes that closed during baking.

Romesco Sauce

from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

makes ~3 cups

1 slice country-style white bread
Olive oil for frying
¼ cup almonds, roasted
¼ cup hazelnuts, roasted and peeled
4 garlic cloves
2 tsp red pepper flakes
4 Roma tomatoes
1 TBS fresh basil leaves
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 red bell pepper, roasted
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ cup plus 2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

Fry the bread in a little olive oil until golden and crisp. When cool, grind the bread, nuts, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a food processor. Add everything but the vinegar and oil and process until smooth. With the machine running, gradually pour in the vinegar, then the oil. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary.

Pâté for every occasion

Last month my friend and frequent cooking companion moved away to open a deli and a restaurant with some talented people in Madison, WI. As a final kitchen project before the move, we decided to make a classic pâté en croute from Michael Ruhlman's Charcuterie. It consisted of a pork tenderloin seared in clarified butter then wrapped in a spiced sausage we made ourselves from grinding pork shoulder and belly fat. This was then wound in prosciutto, folded over neatly with a decorative pastry crust, and finally baked off in a terrine dish. Though to some (me) it may seem a bit gratuitous porkgasm, it presented beautifully as a perfectly appropriate addition to the spread at the sendoff party. Unfortunately, no photos were taken to document the making of it. (bad food blogger)

Adding to the tragedy, the very next day I received the Daring Cook's challenge:

Our hostesses this month, Evelyne of Cheap Ethnic Eatz, and Valerie of a The Chocolate Bunny, chose delicious pâté with freshly baked bread as their June Daring Cook’s challenge! They’ve provided us with 4 different pâté recipes to choose from and are allowing us to go wild with our homemade bread choice.

Oh snap! Why did I not take pictures?!

Fortunately, another good pâté-eating opportunity (my birthday party!) was on my radar. This time around I chose to make a colorful, veg-friendly version that included roasted red peppers, white beans, and pesto. This recipe may be the simplest prep I've ever presented on this blog. It takes under 20 minutes to assemble, which involves opening several jars of good quality pantry reserves and mixing in a couple of best quality feta and ricotta cheeses. Super easy! Beautiful presentation! And, if you do well sourcing ingredients, amazing flavor! Exactly the sort of effort-little dish worth preparing in a time crunch.

Though we miss our friend, I don't think anyone missed not having pork in the pâté this time around. The platter was wiped clean before the end of the evening! With that sort of compliment, this just might be my go-to recipe for future events.

Tricolor Vegetable Pâté

from Bon Appétit Oct 1993 on Epicurious

Red Pepper Layer
1 7-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers, drained, chopped (I used a tapenade mix imported from Italy and available from Zingerman's that contained eggplant, olives, artichoke, mushrooms and peppers.)
¾ cup crumbled feta cheese (about 4 ounces)

White Bean Layer
1 15-ounce can cannellini (white kidney) beans, rinsed, drained thoroughly
½ tablespoon fresh lemon juice
½ tablespoon olive oil
½ tablespoon minced fresh oregano or ½ teaspoon dried
2 garlic cloves, pressed

Pesto Layer

(Fresh basil was not yet available at my farmer's market; I used a jar of prepared pesto made by a nearby company instead of mixing from scratch)

2 garlic cloves
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup fresh Italian parsley leaves
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
3 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup ricotta cheese, drained well

Good Food in Jars, Cans & Packages Makes Prep a Breeze:

Line an 8½ x 4½-inch pâté mold or loaf pan with plastic wrap overlapping sides.

For Red Pepper Layer:

Combine peppers and feta in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread pepper mixture evenly on bottom of prepared pan.

For Bean Layer:

Mash beans in large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, oregano and garlic and blend until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Spread bean mixture evenly over red pepper layer in prepared dish.

For Pesto Layer:

Mince garlic in processor. Add basil, parsley and pine nuts and mince. With machine running, gradually add oil through feed tube and process until smooth. Mix in ricotta. Spread pesto evenly over bean layer.

Cover with the overlapping ends of the plastic wrap to seal. Cut a piece of cardboard ¼ inch smaller on all sides than the tops of the loaf pan and place directly on top of plastic-covered pâté. Put 2-3 pounds of weight (heavy cans) on top of this and refrigerate overnight to firm for easy slicing. To unmold, invert pâté onto a serving platter. Peel off plastic wrap from pâté. Serve with a sliced baguette.

In defense of dried beans… and an ancient recipe

A friend recently said she didn’t see the merits of using dried beans. I used to feel the same way. Mostly I think because cooking beans seemed laborious and intimidating. It was so much easier to hurry the food prep process along by just cranking open a can. Then I stumbled upon Rancho Gordo and their amazing variety of heirloom beans. Almost instantly, I was converted. Yes, yes dried beans are economical and by cooking them yourself you can control the use of additives (like sodium or MSG). But beyond the well-worn black bean and pinto, etc., that are so easy to come by in a can, heirloom varieties offer a unique flavor and visual profile that hasn’t yet made its way to tins on grocery store shelves. If you want to partake in consuming these beauties, you’re gonna have to learn to cook them yourself.

There are many different methods/philosophies for cooking beans. But they all come down to a matter of simmering the pot until the beans are soft. A pre-soak speeds up the process but isn’t absolutely necessary. The cooking time will just take a lot longer. Adding a few savory vegetables, sautéed in some kind of fat or braised in stock, will make them more flavorful. Although, heirloom and heritage varieties really don't need a lot of fussing if they are used fresh. If you do soak the beans, keep the soaking water and continue to use it to cook the beans. It contains vitamins and flavor, leeched from the beans during the soaking period, so it’d be a shame to just throw that down the drain. I usually set the beans to soak overnight and then keep them at a gentle simmer in the background of morning spent doing other things. They hardly need any supervision and fill your house with a welcome, heady aroma. All this for the price of a little pre-planning! I’ve decided it’s completely worth it.

Last week, I cooked up Ayocote Morado beans, a rare Mexican runner bean, for use in a favorite Budín Azteca recipe I clipped from a Martha Stewart magazine several years ago. Budín Azteca, which translates into “pudding or pie of the Aztecs”, is a casserole-type dish that has roots as far back as the 16th century. My version has roasted poblano chiles and fresh, steamed spinach layered between corn tortillas dressed with a homemade salsa verde and bound with Mexican crema and queso fresco. I chose this because the Daring Cooks challenge this month was to make a stacked enchilada with homemade salsa verde:

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

One look at the given recipes for this sent me straight to my personal cookbook shelf. Funny how a picture shapes your perspective on how appetizing food will be. No matter how much cilantro you sprinkle as garnish on top, drab colors just don’t photograph well!

I firmly believe that some things are well-worth bending/breaking the “rules”. So this month, I did things a little differently. Here's my interpretation of the challenge:

Roasted Salsa Verde

makes 3 cups

1 teaspoon dried Mexican oregano
4 fresh Anaheim chiles (about 6 to 8-inches long)
1½ pounds tomatillos, husks intact
1 medium white onion, cut into ¼-inch thick rounds
4 large cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 serrano chiles
1 jalapeno
juice from one lime
salt
cilantro for garnish

In a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast the oregano until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, then remove from skillet and set aside.

To the same skillet, add the tomatillos, onion slices, garlic cloves, and chiles. (If not all fit at once in the same pan, then roast in batches.) Place the garlic at the hottest part of the pan as it will take the longest to cook. Cook slowly, turning occasionally, until soft and aromatic. The timing for each vegetable will be different, so keep a close watch that they don’t burn. As each item is finished remove it from the heat. Once cool enough to handle, peel the garlic cloves, cut the stems from the chiles, leaving the seeds if you prefer a spicy heat to your salsa, and remove the husks from the tomatillos.

Meanwhile, roast the Anaheim chiles over the open flame of a gas burner, under a broiler set close to the element, or on a grill. Turn occasionally until evenly charred. When black and blistered, remove from heat and place in a paper bag. Roll the bag shut and set aside until cool, about 10 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, peel away the skin and remove the ribs and seeds.

Combine the chiles, onion, garlic, tomatillos, and oregano in a food processor or blender or molcajete. Grind until well blended; yet allow some texture to be retained. Add the lime juice and salt to taste.

Budín Azteca (stacked tortilla pie)
serves 8-10

1 lb dried beans, picked over; I used Ayocote Morado but any Mexican-style bean will do
1 small white onion
2-3 garlic cloves

4 fresh poblano chiles
18 (6-inch round) fresh corn tortillas
7 TBS olive oil
10 oz fresh spinach, rinsed and tough stems removed
1 small onion, very thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
2¼ cups roasted salsa verde (see recipe above)
1½ cups queso fresco, grated

Rinse the beans in cool water and remove any debris. Place beans in a large pot and cover with several inches of cold water. Set to soak overnight or at least 4-8 hours. When ready to cook, do not drain soaking water, it has a lot of nutrients and flavor. Instead top off with more water to cover the beans by several inches and add a small white onion sliced into 3 parts and 2-3 garlic cloves smashed with the blade of a knife. Bring to a hard boil over medium-high heat. Keep the beans at a steady boil for 5 minutes, then reduce heat to low and cover the pot. Cook beans for 1 or so hours. When you begin to smell them cooking and as they start to soften, gradually add a generous heap (about a teaspoon) of salt to the pot. (Waiting to add the salt midway through cooking prevents the beans from splitting.) It takes awhile for the beans to absorb the salt, so go easy. Cover the pot and continue cooking for about 45 minutes or longer, until desired texture is reached. If the bean water starts to get low, add hot water from a tea kettle. These can be made several days in advance. Keep the cooked beans in their cooking liquid in a covered container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Roast chiles under broiler or over gas burner flame, until blackened and blistered all over. Transfer to a brown paper bag and roll closed. Set aside for 10 minutes. Peel and discard skins. Remove stems, seeds and ribs. Cut into thin, bite-sized strips and set aside.

Preheat oven to 425°. Brush or spray both sides of tortillas with oil. Arrange on baking sheets and bake just until tortillas begin to bubble, yet still remain soft, 5-7 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Wash the spinach and without drying add to skillet. Cover and cook until spinach has wilted, about 2 minutes. Season with a pinch of salt. Remove from heat, let cool slightly, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Coarsely chop and then set aside.

Heat about 2 TBS oil in the same skillet over medium heat. Add sliced onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook stirring occasionally until translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in poblano chiles cooking 1 minute longer. Transfer to a bowl.

Drain the beans, reserving the cooking liquid. Heat another 2 TBS of oil in the same skillet. Cook garlic for 30 seconds until golden and fragrant. Add beans and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, mashing and turning beans over in the pan to incorporate the garlic for about 2 minutes. If the mixture seems dry, add in a bit of the reserved bean cooking liquid and continue to mash until reaching the desired consistency. Remove the pan from the heat.

Line the bottom of a deep round baking dish with a third of the (~6) tortillas. I like to use two 6-inch round, 3-inch deep cake pans and stack 3 tortillas between each layer. Spread the chili-onion mixture on top of the tortillas, then distribute half of the bean mixture and half of the crema over this. Spread ¾ cup salsa on top and sprinkle with ½ cup of cheese. Repeat for the second layer using spinach instead of the chiles. Top with the remaining tortillas, ¾ cup salsa, and ½ cup of cheese.

Bake until heated through (45 minutes- 1 hour). Cover with foil if browns too quickly or is becoming too dry. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting and serve with extra salsa and crema.

I’ve never…

You know that party game, right? It’s about honesty, supposedly, or perhaps more aptly, it’s about daring and prowess. Well, I find myself “playing” it in the kitchen all the time—albeit with a different set of “rules” and definitely minus the binge drinking. In my relative adolescence as a cook and a baker, there’s a huge list of things I’ve never eaten and techniques I’ve never tried. Some of which are deceptively simple and others, understandably complicated. I’d like to do it all…eventually…and without paying tuition to a culinary school. But there is that notion of time and interest and duty, all of which take precedence in some sort of amalgamation to determine what challenge I tackle next. I consider it my personal adventure, that, yes, is often influenced by food trends and seasonal availability, but not swayed by other’s opinions. At least I’m trying not to be influenced by other’s opinions. When you blog about what you are doing in the kitchen, it’s really rather hard to ignore an imposed set of expectations. When so many others also blog about what they are doing in their kitchens, it’s even harder to set yourself apart from what’s “already been done”.

Take for instance this month’s Daring Cooks challenge….

The 2010 February Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Michele of Veggie Num Nums. Michele chose to challenge everyone to make mezze based on various recipes from Claudia Roden, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Dugid.

The mandatory recipes for this challenge were to make pita bread and hummus. Additional options, including recipes for cucumber raita, falafel, and preserved lemons, were also given. My mezze consisted of pita, hummus, falafel, baked kale chips, and preserved lemon.

Seemingly simple, made-from-scratch pita bread and hummus. Sure, lots of home cooks have done this already, but actually, I’ve never. Years ago I clipped a magazine recipe to make homemade pita, but I’ve never gotten around to making it. Sure, I make hummus all time, usually per request of my sister at family gatherings, but I’ve never made it using dried beans; always, they come from a can. Finally, I’ve never, ever tasted a preserved lemon, let alone preserved one myself. Until now. Thanks to this challenge, I can check a few more “I never’s” off the list. I'm actually kinda proud of my ingenuous naïveté. For if I’ve done it all (in the kitchen and in other aspects of life), then I'll no longer be adventuresome and youthful. And THAT (in spite of my calendar age) is surely something I plan to hang on to for quite some time.

Pita Bread

adapted from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid

2 tsp regular dry yeast, not instant
2½ cups lukewarm water

5-6 cups all-purpose flour
1 TBS table salt
2 TBS olive oil

Directions:

1. In a large bread bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Stir to dissolve. Stir in 3 cups flour, a cup at a time, and then stir 100 times, about 1 minute, in the same direction to activate the gluten. Let this sponge rest for at least 10 minutes, or as long as 2 hours.

2. Sprinkle the salt over the sponge and stir in the olive oil. Mix well. Add more flour, a cup at a time, until the dough is too stiff to stir. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Rinse out the bowl, dry, and lightly oil. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise until at least doubled in size, approximately 1½ hours.

3. Place a pizza stone, or two small baking sheets, on the bottom rack of your oven, leaving a 1-inch gap all around between the stone or sheets and the oven walls to allow heat to circulate. Preheat the oven to 450F.

4. Gently punch down the dough. Divide the dough in half, and then set half aside, covered, while you work with the rest. Divide the other half into 8 equal pieces and flatten each piece with lightly floured hands. Roll out each piece to a circle 8 to 9 inches in diameter and less than ¼-inch thick. Keep the rolled-out breads covered until ready to bake, but do not stack.

5. Place 2 breads, or more if your oven is large enough, on the stone or baking sheets, and bake for 2 to 3 minutes, or until each bread has gone into a full balloon. If for some reason your bread doesn't puff up, don't worry it should still taste delicious. Wrap the baked breads together in a large kitchen towel to keep them warm and soft while you bake the remaining rolled-out breads. Then repeat with the rest of the dough.

Hummus

adapted from The New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden

1½ cups dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight (or substitute well drained canned chickpeas and omit the cooking)

2 lemons, juiced
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
a big pinch of salt
4 TBS tahini (sesame paste)
1 TBS cumin

¼ cup olive oil

Directions:

1. Drain and boil the soaked chickpeas in fresh water for about 1½ hours, or until tender. Drain, but reserve the cooking liquid.

2. Puree the beans in a food processor (or you can use a potato masher) adding the cooking water as needed until you have a smooth paste.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Adjust the seasonings to taste.

Falafel

from Joan Nathan and Epicurious.com

1 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in cold water overnight
½ large onion (roughly chopped, about 1 cup)
2 TBS fresh parsley, chopped
2 TBS fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper

4 whole garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp baking powder
4 TBS all-purpose flour

tasteless oil for frying (vegetable, canola, peanut, soybean, etc.), you will need enough so that the oil is three inches deep in whatever pan you are using for frying

Directions:

1. Put the chickpeas in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover them by at least 2 inches. Let soak overnight, and then drain.

2. Place the drained, uncooked chickpeas and the onions in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the parsley, cilantro, salt, hot pepper, garlic, and cumin. Process until blended but not pureed. If you don’t have a food processor, then feel free to mash this up as smooth as possible by hand.

3. Sprinkle in the baking powder and 4 tablespoons of the flour, and pulse. You want to add enough flour so that the dough forms a small ball and no longer sticks to your hands. Turn into a bowl and refrigerate, covered, for several hours.

4. Form the chickpea mixture into balls about the size of walnuts.

5. Heat 3 inches of oil to 375 degrees F in a deep pot or wok and fry 1 ball to test. If it falls apart, add a little flour. Then fry about 6 balls at once for a few minutes on each side, or until golden brown.

6. Drain on paper towels.

Note: You can bake these on a nonstick pad (silpat or the like) at 325 F, just until they’re firm, about 20 minutes.

Preserved Lemons

from Paula Wolfert and Epicurious

5 lemons
¼ cup salt

Safi Mixture:
1 cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
5 to 6 coriander seeds
3 to 4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
freshly squeezed lemon juice, if needed for volume

Directions:

1. Special Equipment: 1 pint Mason Jar – Sterilized

2. If you wish to soften the peel, soak the lemons in lukewarm water for 3 days, changing the water daily.

3. Quarter the lemons from the top to within ½ inch of the bottom, sprinkle salt on the exposed flesh, then reshape the fruit.

4. Place 1 tablespoon salt on the bottom of the mason jar. Pack in the lemons and push them down, adding more salt, and the optional spices between layers. Press the lemons down to release their juices and to make room for the remaining lemons. (If the juice released from the squashed fruit does not cover them, add freshly squeezed lemon juice — not chemically produced lemon juice and not water.) Leave some air space before sealing the jar.

5. Let the lemons ripen in a warm place, shaking the jar each day to distribute the salt and juice. Let ripen for 30 days.

6. To use, rinse the lemons, as needed, under running water, removing and discarding the pulp, if desired — and there is no need to refrigerate after opening. Preserved lemons will keep up to a year, and the pickling juice can be used two or three times over the course of a year.

Notes from Epicurious:

• According to the late Michael Field, the best way to extract the maximum amount of juice from a lemon is to boil it in water for 2 or 3 minutes and allow it to cool before squeezing.

Notes from Paula Wolfert:

• Located on Morocco's Atlantic coast, south of Casablanca and north of Essaouira, the city of Safi is known for its seafood specialties.

• To most closely approximate the flavor of Moroccan lemons, Wolfert recommends Meyer lemons for this recipe. This lemon/mandarin orange hybrid, in season in January and February, has yellow-orange flesh, a smooth rind, and a sweeter flavor than other lemons.