Saturday, October 31, 2009

Cauliflower with Almonds, Raisins, and Capers

Adapted from The Smitten Kitchen. A delicious and unusual way to prepare cauliflower - it combines (albeit in an odd way) salty, sweet, aromatic and crunchy. I simplified this recipe a bit so that it uses less oil, and so that there are fewer steps.


Ingredients

1 head cauliflower, trimmed of leaves and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 T olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh soft bread crumbs
3 tablespoons slivered almonds
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons raisins
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon capers
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
1 teaspoon finely sliced chives

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick pan, add cauliflower pieces and toss to coat. Saute until lightly browned on both sides. Transfer cauliflower to oven and roast until tender, about 15 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, in a small saucepan over low heat, combine raisins, vinegar and 3 tablespoons water. Simmer until raisins are plump and soft, about 5 minutes; drain and set aside.
3) Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over low heat. When hot, add bread crumbs and almonds and toss until toasted and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Transfer mixture to a plate and set aside.
4) Combine capers, raisins, parsley, and chives in a small bowl. Toss with cauliflower, and sprinkle with bread-almond mixture.

Friday, October 30, 2009

Mushroom Barley Soup with Yogurt

Adapted from the New York Times: Recipes for Health. This soup is Middle Eastern in origin, hence the yogurt, but has a distinctive spin with the hearty flavor of garlic and mushroom. It tastes amazing hot or cold. The cornstarch is used to stabilize the yogurt so that it doesn't curdle when it cooks.

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Ingredients

1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 portabello mushroom caps, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup barley
3 cups vegetable stock
1 T cornstarch
2 T water
3 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1/2 cup fresh chopped cilantro
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1) Heat the olive oil in a large, heavy soup pot over medium heat and add the onion. Stir often, and when the onion is tender and translucent, add the mushroom. Cook until the mushroom and onion are beginning to color, about 5 minutes more.
2) Add the garlic and the barley, and stir together until the garlic smells fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute.
3) Add the stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until the barley is tender.
4) In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch and two tablespoons water, and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Whisk into the yogurt.
5) When the barley is tender, remove soup from heat, and whisk in the yogurt mixture. Return to low heat and bring to a bare simmer, stirring. Do not boil.
6) Add salt to taste and a generous amount of pepper. Stir in the cilantro and serve.

Saturday, October 24, 2009

Fresh Blackberry Pie

This is a recipe for an improvised pie made from fresh blackberries hat I picked with some friends in a meadow near Oxford. I used the berries frozen, although I'm sure it would turn out well with fresh berries. This is a combination of several recipes - a butter crust pastry, a thick and sweet filling, and a crumbly oat topping. If I were going to make this again, I would follow Mark Bittman's recipe for pie crust.




Ingredients

Crust

8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into about 8 pieces
1 1/2 cups flour, more for rolling
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Filling

5-6 cups blackberries (depending on the size of the berry, use more for smaller berries)
1/3 to 1/2 sugar (depending on how sweet the berries are)
4 T lemon juice
1/4 flour

Topping

1/2 cup flour
2 T white sugar
2 T brown sugar
4 T butter, softened

Instructions

Crust

1) Heat oven to 400 degrees and butter a 9-by-13-inch or similar-size baking dish; set aside. In a food processor, combine 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, the salt and 2 tablespoons sugar; pulse once or twice.
2) Add butter and turn on machine; process until butter and flour are blended and mixture looks like coarse cornmeal, about 15 to 20 seconds.
3) Slowly add 1/4 cup ice water through feed tube and process until just combined.
4) Form dough into a flat disk, wrap in plastic and freeze for 10 minutes or refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (You can refrigerate dough for up to a couple of days, or freeze it, tightly wrapped, for up to a couple of weeks.)

Pie

1) For the filling: Mix berries, sugar, lemon juice, and flour together in a bowl and set aside.
Note: If you want the "perfect" pie, thicken the mixture with a combination of 2 tablespoons quick-cooking tapioca (ground) and one peeled and grated apple. The combination will yield a filling that is neither gummy nor runny.
2) For the topping: Mix butter into flour and sugars.
3) Spread the pie dough into the butter pie dish. Fill with blackberry mixture, and sprinkle with topping. Back 20-30 minutes, until pie filling is bubbling and topping is golden brown.

Monday, October 19, 2009

Hearty Squash, Cabbage, and Bean Soup

I had a butternut squash and some squash laying around, so I decided to make a soup combining the two. I brainstormed a squash-cabbage-bean combo, and then ran into this wonderful recipe on the blog Rachel Eats. It is a wonderful, warming combination of complex and aromatic flavors. Serve it with a thick slice of hearty bread, and it's one of those meals that just makes you go "mmmmmmmmmmmm."


Ingredients

2 T butter
2 tablespoons of olive oil,
1 large white onion, chopped
2 plump cloves of garlic, diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced roughly
1 large butternut squash, cut in rough chunks
3 large tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
1 litre of water or stock
1 parmesan rind
1 bay leaf
1 small sprig of fresh rosemary
1 12-oz can black-eyed peas
3 handfuls of roughly sliced cabbage
salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Instructions

1) Warm the butter and oil in a soup pan and add the onion, saute until it is soft and translucent.
2) Add the carrot garlic and squash, stir well to coat with butter/oil, then leave to soften, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.
3) Add the tomatoes, bay leaf and rosemary to the pan, stir well and allow to bubble gently for a couple of minutes before adding the water or stock and the parmesan rind.
4) Turn up the heat and bring the pan to a gentle boil, cover (putting the lid ajar so steam can escape), lower the heat and leave the pan at a gentle simmer for about 1 hours, stirring occasionally.
5) Once the soup has become a nice, thick consistency, add the beans and the cabbage, stir well and simmer for about 10 more minutes on medium heat.
6) Remove the pan from the heat, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Lentil Sambar

From Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. This can be served as a side dish, or as a veggie-licious main dish. Goes well with rice and yogurt garnish.


Ingredients

1 cup dried lentils
3 cups water
1 onion
1 small head cauliflower
2 sweet potatoes
1 red bell pepper
2 tsp canola oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 fresh green chile, minced, seeds removed
1 tbsp tamarind concentrate, dissolved in 1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp minced fresh cilantro

Instructions

1) Rinse the lentils, put them in a small saucepan with the 3 cups of water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Stir occasionally and add more water if needed.
2) While the lentils are cooking chop the onion, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and bell peppers into bite-sized pieces and set aside. Warm the oil in a pot and saute the mustard, fenugreek, and cumin seeds on medium heat, covering the pot and shaking it occasionally to prevent burning. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, stir in the turmeric, coriander, cinnamon, cayenne, and chopped chile and saute for another 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
3) Stir in the tamarind liquid, add the onions, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and salt and combine. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the bell peppers, cover and continue to cook for another 5 minutes until everything is tender.
4) Drain the cooked lentils and stir them in the vegetable mixture. Reheat if necessary, and stir in the cilantro. Ladle over basmati rice and serve with a large dollop of thick yogurt.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burrito

From Moosewood Low-Fat Favorites. A filling, healthy, and tasty twist on vegetarian burritos.


Ingredients

5 C peeled, cubed sweet potatoes
2 T water or broth for saute
3-1/2 C diced onions
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 T minced fresh green chile
4 t ground cumin
4 t ground coriander
4-1/2 C cooked black beans (or 3 15-oz. cans, drained)
2/3 C lightly packed cilantro leaves
2 T lemon juice
1 t salt
8 eight-inch flour tortillas (non-fat version)
tomato salsa for topping

Instructions

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.
2) Place sweet potatoes in pot with water to cover. Cover and bring
to boil. Simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
3) With 2 T water in a non-stick skillet, saute onions, garlic, and
the chile. Add water as necessary to keep from sticking. Cover and
cook on medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until onions are
tender, about 7 min. Add cumin and coriander and cook 2-3 min.,
stirring frequently. Remove from heat and set aside.
4) In food processor, combine beans, cilantro, lemon juice, salt, and
cooked sweet potatoes. Puree until smooth. Transfer to a large
mixing bowl and mix in cooked onions and spices.
5) Spray with nonstick spray a large baking dish. Spoon about 2/3 to
3/4 C. of the filling into center of each tortilla, roll closed, and
place seam side down in baking dish. Cover tightly with foil and bake
at least 30 min., until piping hot. Serve topped with salsa.

Fig, Blue Cheese, Carmelized Onion, Walnut Pasta

I can claim to be the genuine author of this recipe - I made it up a few years ago when I bought some really pretty looking fresh figs at a market. It's a surprisingly fast but gourmet meal. The flavors and textures work amazingly well together - the sweetness of the figs, crunchiness of the walnuts, tangy-bitter taste of blue cheese, and buttery texture of caramelized onions. I originally made it with really wide, seeded whole-wheat pasta from Trader Joe's, but anything will do.


Ingredients

1 pound of your favorite pasta (fusilli works really well)
1 cup figs, cut into small chunks
1 large onion, diced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
1 large hunk of soft blue cheese, cut into small chunks
3T butter
1 T brown sugar
salt to taste

Instructions

1) To carmelize the onions: heat butter in non-stick skillet, add onions and toss to coat with brown sugar (and a pinch of salt). Cook on low heat, uncovered, until very soft.
2) Boil water and cook pasta until al dente per the directions on the package.
3) Toss pasta with onions, walnuts, figs, and blue cheese. The blue cheese will melt onto the pasta like a sparse sauce.