We got a veg share from the coop we just joined, and based our Christmas Day food around that. We ate:
Maple-roasted parsnips and celeriac (similar to this)
Roasted brussels sprouts with pomegranate molasses (a simplified version of this)
Red cabbage and sesame salad (similar to this, with coriander instead of chives and no carrot or radish)
Potato, mint and edamame salad
Tahini-lemon sauce
Zimtsterne (these take ages to make but keep very well)
S was in charge of Christmas Eve since that is the special day in Germany. We ate cheese fondue (which is apparently traditional) with broccoli, cauliflower, gnocchi, bread pieces.
Saturday, December 26, 2015
Wood Ear
Crunchy rice carpet with lentils, onions and pomegranate
I went to Cambridge to see Dad, S and B a couple weeks ago. I hadn't realised when I planned it, but it was so close to Christmas that it made a lovely Christmas warm-up. I got to have my first (probably only) mince pie of the year, and we ate well, played games and exchanged presents (still wrapped though!). I also got to buy a Saturday Guardian for the first time in years. This has been frustrating - it is available in Europe but they don't put the supplements in, so irritating. So anyway, I am still reading it on and off. And I came across a recipe for stuck-pot rice and thought why not just spend the afternoon making that because I can? I didn't really follow the recipe, but I liked my version.
rice:
180 g brown basmati rice, soaked for 1 hour
60 g butter
A few pinches saffron threads, soaked in 1 tbsp boiling water
lentils:
1 1/2 cups brown or green lentils
1 tsp allspice
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups water
onions:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
salt+pepper
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
to serve:
pomegranate seeds (optional but lovely)
yoghurt
chopped coriander (optional)
Bring a deep pan of salted water to a boil and cook the rice for about 15 min until al dente. Drain, then briefly rinse in water. Wipe out the pan, then melt the butter in it, and pour into a cup. Return the drained rice to the pan, stir in half the melted butter, then smooth the top of the rice. Pour over the remaining butter and saffron, cover with a clean tea towel, put on the lid and cook on the lowest heat for 30-40 min, until the rice is cooked, with a golden crust on the bottom.
While the rice is cooking, cook the lentils and onions. For the lentils, put them in a pan with allspice and bay, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer low until water is gone and they are done. For the onions, heat oil in a large frying pan, then add onions and cook medium-low for about 30 min, until they are brown and soft/crispy in places. Add pomegranate molasses and seasoning to taste.
To serve, put crunchy rice in a bowl and add lentils, onions, pomegranate seeds, yoghurt and coriander. Yum.
rice:
180 g brown basmati rice, soaked for 1 hour
60 g butter
A few pinches saffron threads, soaked in 1 tbsp boiling water
lentils:
1 1/2 cups brown or green lentils
1 tsp allspice
1 bay leaf
2 1/2 cups water
onions:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
salt+pepper
1 tsp pomegranate molasses
to serve:
pomegranate seeds (optional but lovely)
yoghurt
chopped coriander (optional)
Bring a deep pan of salted water to a boil and cook the rice for about 15 min until al dente. Drain, then briefly rinse in water. Wipe out the pan, then melt the butter in it, and pour into a cup. Return the drained rice to the pan, stir in half the melted butter, then smooth the top of the rice. Pour over the remaining butter and saffron, cover with a clean tea towel, put on the lid and cook on the lowest heat for 30-40 min, until the rice is cooked, with a golden crust on the bottom.
While the rice is cooking, cook the lentils and onions. For the lentils, put them in a pan with allspice and bay, cover with water and bring to the boil, then simmer low until water is gone and they are done. For the onions, heat oil in a large frying pan, then add onions and cook medium-low for about 30 min, until they are brown and soft/crispy in places. Add pomegranate molasses and seasoning to taste.
To serve, put crunchy rice in a bowl and add lentils, onions, pomegranate seeds, yoghurt and coriander. Yum.
White bean, white wine and kale stew
We made an epic ladcykel trip to Istanbul Bazaar the other week. S found a huge bag of white beans and insisted on buying it, on the condition that he cook them himself. A month or so later it became clear this would never happen, so I got started. I cooked a load of them, then we ate white bean things pretty much every night for a work week. See also white bean spread and white bean pasta.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cooked white beans
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
2-3 kale leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
salt+pepper
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and fry until softened. Add white beans, tomato and white wine and simmer until all is softened and the wine is mostly evaporated. Add kale and oregano, cook for a few minutes more and check for seasoning. Eat with crusty bread. Just as good if not better reheated.
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup cooked white beans
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
3/4 cup white wine
2-3 kale leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
salt+pepper
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and fry until softened. Add white beans, tomato and white wine and simmer until all is softened and the wine is mostly evaporated. Add kale and oregano, cook for a few minutes more and check for seasoning. Eat with crusty bread. Just as good if not better reheated.
Pasta with white beans, celeriac and sundried tomatoes
The last and best thing I made with my mound of cooked white beans. I never usually cook pasta for S as he always cooks it for himself, so he was especially excited about this. And I thought it worked really well. I took a little inspiration from here and here.
1 tbsp oil from sundried tomatoes (or olive oil)
1 small onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 very small celeriac, peeled and diced into 1 cm dice
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 cups white beans
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water or veg stock
5 sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
enough pasta for 2 people, cooked in boiling salted water until very al dente
4 kale leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp chopped oregano
salt+pepper
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until starting to soften, 2-3 min. Add diced celeriac and chilli flakes, cover and cook without browning until softened (about 15 min). Meanwhile cook the pasta (v al dente), drain and set aside. Add white beans, white wine and stock/water to the celeriac pan, heat and cook for 10-15 min. Blend using a wand blender until it is about half smooth, half remaining unblended. Add the sundried tomatoes, pasta, kale and oregano and cook for another 5-10 min. Taste for seasoning and serve in bowls.
I thought this was a triumph. Quick, hearty and warming, with a lovely combination of tastes and textures. Blending up part of the bean and celeriac mixture is the key - it makes a delicious sauce that coats the pasta, while the unblended parts keep it toothsome and interesting.
1 tbsp oil from sundried tomatoes (or olive oil)
1 small onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 very small celeriac, peeled and diced into 1 cm dice
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
2 cups white beans
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup water or veg stock
5 sundried tomatoes in oil, chopped
enough pasta for 2 people, cooked in boiling salted water until very al dente
4 kale leaves, chopped
1/2 tsp chopped oregano
salt+pepper
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic and saute until starting to soften, 2-3 min. Add diced celeriac and chilli flakes, cover and cook without browning until softened (about 15 min). Meanwhile cook the pasta (v al dente), drain and set aside. Add white beans, white wine and stock/water to the celeriac pan, heat and cook for 10-15 min. Blend using a wand blender until it is about half smooth, half remaining unblended. Add the sundried tomatoes, pasta, kale and oregano and cook for another 5-10 min. Taste for seasoning and serve in bowls.
I thought this was a triumph. Quick, hearty and warming, with a lovely combination of tastes and textures. Blending up part of the bean and celeriac mixture is the key - it makes a delicious sauce that coats the pasta, while the unblended parts keep it toothsome and interesting.
White bean and sundried tomato spread
Another option with all those white beans. This time a dip/spread we took to work to eat with carrot sticks and flatbreads. It was lovely and smooth. Although I added some sundried tomatoes to the blended mixture that time and I wouldn't recommend that as it ends up looking like taramasalata.
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans
1 small clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (use oil from sundried tomatoes)
juice of 1/4 lemon
salt and pepper
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
handful of toasted pumpkin seeds
Blend beans, garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Check seasoning, acidity and consistency and add salt/pepper, lemon juice or water accordingly. Put into tubs and top with chopped sundried tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds.
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans
1 small clove garlic
2 tbsp olive oil (use oil from sundried tomatoes)
juice of 1/4 lemon
salt and pepper
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
handful of toasted pumpkin seeds
Blend beans, garlic, olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper. Check seasoning, acidity and consistency and add salt/pepper, lemon juice or water accordingly. Put into tubs and top with chopped sundried tomatoes and toasted pumpkin seeds.
Kombucha
I tried and tried to grow my own kombucha mother / SCOBY from bottles of bought kombucha. But nothing worked. They didn't go wrong or go gross, just nothing grew. I asked around and noone knew of anyone making it. At last it arrived, from an unexpected source - S's PhD student has a friend doing some food science study with kombucha. So she got some mother for herself from her friend, and once it was big and strong enough she gave me some. Huzzah!
I started it nearly 2 weeks ago, on sweet Earl Grey tea. My first harvest was yesterday, after 12 days. The new mother was about 3 mm thick, and the kombucha was a little sweeter and less fizzy than I would have liked, but not too vinegary and really very good. Very pleased indeed!
You will need:
Large jar with wide mouth (ideally wide enough to fit your hand in)
Clean cloth to cover top of jar (clean tea towel is a good weave)
Rubber band to secure cloth
Bottle with lid to store kombucha after it is made
Jug or funnel to help with pouring kombucha into jars etc
Enough freshly-brewed black or green tea to fill the jar (mine holds about 1.5 litres; I used Earl Grey)
Sugar (about 5 tbsp for 1.5 litres)
about half a cup of kombucha from the previous batch
SCOBY
Method:
Do your best to keep everything clean and sterile - wash glassware in the dishwasher if you have one; dry upside down in a 110C oven; use while hottish.
Make the tea and let it cool to anywhere between room and body temperature. Add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Mix in the kombucha from the previous batch, then transfer the liquid to the large jar. Add the SCOBY. Cover with the cloth and secure with a rubber band. Leave at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. Remove a little with a spoon to test after a week and again later if not yet ready, but do not open too often to avoid contamination.
When the kombucha smells and tastes good (ie slightly vinegary and sour but not off), you are ready to harvest it. Remove the SCOBY and transfer to a bowl along with about half a cup of kombucha. If you do not want to make another batch immediately you can cover this and keep in the fridge for weeks. Pour the rest of the kombucha into a bottle, cover and store in the fridge - it is ready to drink!
Start another batch as before. If you don't want to make more kombucha right away you can store the SCOBY in some kombucha in a sealed container in the fridge until you do.
You can use any kind of green or black tea (or mixtures), and flavours such as ginger juice can be added when bottling. I am yet to experiment with adding flavours, and also with tweaking the recipe to optimize fizziness and sweet/sour balance - watch this space!
I started it nearly 2 weeks ago, on sweet Earl Grey tea. My first harvest was yesterday, after 12 days. The new mother was about 3 mm thick, and the kombucha was a little sweeter and less fizzy than I would have liked, but not too vinegary and really very good. Very pleased indeed!
You will need:
Large jar with wide mouth (ideally wide enough to fit your hand in)
Clean cloth to cover top of jar (clean tea towel is a good weave)
Rubber band to secure cloth
Bottle with lid to store kombucha after it is made
Jug or funnel to help with pouring kombucha into jars etc
Enough freshly-brewed black or green tea to fill the jar (mine holds about 1.5 litres; I used Earl Grey)
Sugar (about 5 tbsp for 1.5 litres)
about half a cup of kombucha from the previous batch
SCOBY
Method:
Do your best to keep everything clean and sterile - wash glassware in the dishwasher if you have one; dry upside down in a 110C oven; use while hottish.
Make the tea and let it cool to anywhere between room and body temperature. Add the sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved. Mix in the kombucha from the previous batch, then transfer the liquid to the large jar. Add the SCOBY. Cover with the cloth and secure with a rubber band. Leave at room temperature for 1-2 weeks. Remove a little with a spoon to test after a week and again later if not yet ready, but do not open too often to avoid contamination.
When the kombucha smells and tastes good (ie slightly vinegary and sour but not off), you are ready to harvest it. Remove the SCOBY and transfer to a bowl along with about half a cup of kombucha. If you do not want to make another batch immediately you can cover this and keep in the fridge for weeks. Pour the rest of the kombucha into a bottle, cover and store in the fridge - it is ready to drink!
Start another batch as before. If you don't want to make more kombucha right away you can store the SCOBY in some kombucha in a sealed container in the fridge until you do.
You can use any kind of green or black tea (or mixtures), and flavours such as ginger juice can be added when bottling. I am yet to experiment with adding flavours, and also with tweaking the recipe to optimize fizziness and sweet/sour balance - watch this space!
Veg onion soup
It's been a busy few weeks. We got our new place, we moved, got furniture, all of that. Then three weeks after moving in, there was a big storm with lots of heavy wet snow. It snowed all night and when we went out in the morning we found several huge (approx 80 cm diameter) branches broken off a tree in our yard. One was blocking the small road beside our place. So then we have been busy clearing that up and sorting it out - finding a tree surgeon, then dealing with all the fallen wood - we've been chopping it for next year's firewood.
Yesterday we finished tidying up (stashing needly bits in the bushes), then started stacking the wood and chopping it. S with an axe, me with a saw. It got dark but we carried on chopping in the garage. At some point he suggested I go in and make french onion soup instead. We'd bought a whole lot of onions at the best and biggest Turkish supermarket in town (Istanbul in København NV), and that had given him an idea... I went in and got going, using the recipe from trusty Delia's veg collection. What we hadn't realized before was that it takes about 3 hours to cook. So it was about 21:00 by the time we got to eat. But it was good.
1 lb 8 oz / 700 g onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 oz / 50 g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp sugar
2 pints / 1.2 l veg stock
10 fl oz / 275 ml dry white wine
salt and pepper
for the croutons:
6-8 1 inch / 2.5 cm diagonal slices of French bread (used bits of pumpkin seed bread as that's what we had)
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 oz / 225 g Gruyère, grated (used blue cheese instead as that's what we had)
Heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 350F / 180C. Prep the onions.
Place a large heavy-based saucepan on a high heat and melt the oil and butter together. When this is very hot, add the onions, garlic and sugar, and stir occasionally until the edges of the onions turn dark – about 6 min. Reduce the heat to low and leave the onions to cook slowly for about 30 min, until the base of the pan is covered with a rich, nut brown, caramelised film (bake croutons during this time - see below). After that, pour in the stock and white wine, season and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the base of the pan well. When it comes to a simmer, turn the heat to low and leave to cook gently without a lid for about 1 hour.
To make the croutons drizzle the olive oil on to a baking sheet, add the crushed garlic and spread the oil and garlic all over. Place the bread slices on top of the oil and turn over each one so that both sides are coated with oil. Bake for 20-25 min till crisp and crunchy.
Sprinkle the grated cheese thickly over the croutons and grill until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. Put soup in bowls to serve, with a crouton or two on top of each.
Yesterday we finished tidying up (stashing needly bits in the bushes), then started stacking the wood and chopping it. S with an axe, me with a saw. It got dark but we carried on chopping in the garage. At some point he suggested I go in and make french onion soup instead. We'd bought a whole lot of onions at the best and biggest Turkish supermarket in town (Istanbul in København NV), and that had given him an idea... I went in and got going, using the recipe from trusty Delia's veg collection. What we hadn't realized before was that it takes about 3 hours to cook. So it was about 21:00 by the time we got to eat. But it was good.
1 lb 8 oz / 700 g onions, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 oz / 50 g butter
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp sugar
2 pints / 1.2 l veg stock
10 fl oz / 275 ml dry white wine
salt and pepper
for the croutons:
6-8 1 inch / 2.5 cm diagonal slices of French bread (used bits of pumpkin seed bread as that's what we had)
1 tbsp olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
8 oz / 225 g Gruyère, grated (used blue cheese instead as that's what we had)
Heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 350F / 180C. Prep the onions.
Place a large heavy-based saucepan on a high heat and melt the oil and butter together. When this is very hot, add the onions, garlic and sugar, and stir occasionally until the edges of the onions turn dark – about 6 min. Reduce the heat to low and leave the onions to cook slowly for about 30 min, until the base of the pan is covered with a rich, nut brown, caramelised film (bake croutons during this time - see below). After that, pour in the stock and white wine, season and stir with a wooden spoon, scraping the base of the pan well. When it comes to a simmer, turn the heat to low and leave to cook gently without a lid for about 1 hour.
To make the croutons drizzle the olive oil on to a baking sheet, add the crushed garlic and spread the oil and garlic all over. Place the bread slices on top of the oil and turn over each one so that both sides are coated with oil. Bake for 20-25 min till crisp and crunchy.
Sprinkle the grated cheese thickly over the croutons and grill until the cheese is golden brown and bubbling. Put soup in bowls to serve, with a crouton or two on top of each.
Monday, December 7, 2015
Yellow cauliflower and chickpeas
Yellow potatoes has been a favourite of ours for some time. It's a most speedy and excellent way to use pre-cooked potatoes - essentially dry-fried; spicy and delicious. For some reason it had never occurred to me to cook anything other than potatoes like that, but S steamed a lot of cauliflower the other day and a lightbulb came on. Wouldn't cauliflower be delicious this way too? While preparing the spice paste chickpeas also came to mind - I usually have a supply of pre-cooked chickpeas in the freezer, so it was easy to throw some in. It made for an excellent combination.
approx. 1 1/4 lb mixed steamed cauliflower and pre-cooked chickpeas
fresh ginger ~2 x 1 x 1in, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp whole fennel seed (optional)
Chop cauliflower into approx 1 in chunks. Put ginger, garlic, water, turmeric, salt, cayenne in blender and blend to a paste.
Heat oil. Add fennel seeds. Sizzle for a few seconds, then add the paste. Stir and fry for 2 min.
Add cauliflower and chickpeas (direct from freezer is OK). Stir and fry for 5-7 min over a medium-high flame til they have a golden-brown crust.
approx. 1 1/4 lb mixed steamed cauliflower and pre-cooked chickpeas
fresh ginger ~2 x 1 x 1in, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp whole fennel seed (optional)
Chop cauliflower into approx 1 in chunks. Put ginger, garlic, water, turmeric, salt, cayenne in blender and blend to a paste.
Heat oil. Add fennel seeds. Sizzle for a few seconds, then add the paste. Stir and fry for 2 min.
Add cauliflower and chickpeas (direct from freezer is OK). Stir and fry for 5-7 min over a medium-high flame til they have a golden-brown crust.
Blewits
I had almost given up on finding any more mushrooms this season. We had one lucky find of a handful of chanterelles and oysters when we visited S's friend in Lyngby months ago, then our lives got subsumed by trying to find a house and moving into it and so forth. So much though I daydreamed about going to the woods all Autumn, we made it once to the Dyrhaven (which was beautiful), and then I thought Fall was over and that was our lot...
But then. There were these purple mushrooms growing under deciduous trees on the route from my office to the main science building. I passed by them every day, and every day I looked at them and wondered if they were blewits. Because every time I see a purple mushroom I look at them and wonder if they are blewits. And they never are. But I looked at these ones so many times, I really started to wonder... They are growing late in the season when it starts to get cold: check. They are purple fading to brown: check. They do not get slimy when wet: check. There is no white veil or ring or rust marks on the stem: check. They have narrow-spaced gills: check. They are growing in leaf litter: check. The more I read the more I convinced myself.
To seal the deal, I put some on paper in my office to make a spore print. If it is beige, they are almost definitely blewits. If dark brown or rusty, they are poisonous. It was clear and strong, and most definitiely beige. I was convinced! S said he had never seen me so sure about a mushroom ID. I had been looking at them and thinking about them for weeks! The thing is, the books say they are not for beginners. I realized: we are no longer beginners. We have found, identified and eaten more than a dozen kinds of mushrooms without making ourselves sick. I am proud of us.
And so we ate the blewits. The books said they should be well cooked because they can be toxic raw, and since it was our first time it was a good idea to just eat a little. So I sauteed them and we ate them with scrambled eggs and avocado on toast for breakfast. They were tasty. A nice texture, although they shrank a lot in the pan. The books said they have a distinct bitter taste, and S agreed, although I did not think it was all that noticeable. Unfortunately they lose the purple colour when cooked!
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