Chestnut soup

I kept a few chestnuts back from my last chestnut-cooking foray. Then started brewing up this recipe for soup. I might have used celeriac (or maybe celery) instead of celery seed if I had it, but the celery seed was quite effective as an essence of celery.

6 medium-large chestnuts
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, fairly finely chopped
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp anise seed
few grinds of white pepper
1/4 cup champagne (or white wine)
1/4 cup apple sauce (would have used fresh apple but had none)
1 bay leaf
~1/2 tbsp chopped parsley (and more for garnish)
1 cup veg stock
salt

Submerge the whole chestnuts in boiling water and leave for ~30 min. Cut each in half and remove the outer shell and as much of the inner shell as you can, then resubmerge in boiling water for another 10 min or so before removing the rest of the skin (which can be a right fiddle - don't do this in a hurry).

Once the chestnuts are peeled, heat the oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened and transparent but not coloured. Grind the anise and celery seeds then then add to the pan, stirring until fragrant (~ 1 min). Add a little white pepper, the champagne, apple, bay, parsley, peeled chestnuts and stock, bring to the boil and then simmer gently for ~30 min, until the chestnuts are soft.

Remove the pan from the heat, transfer the contents to a blender and blend until very smooth. Taste for seasoning and add salt to taste. Reheat gently to serve, and sprinkle with a little chopped fresh parsley.


Very creamy and satisfyingly savoury. If I had more chestnuts perhaps I'd have added a few more and / or scaled up the recipe - this made just about enough for a taster for two, but not much, and it could have been a tad thicker / more chestnutty.

Christmas: Lion's Mane 'crab' cakes

A gave me a bag full of Lion's Mane for my birthday. A very thoughtful (and tasty) present. I managed to take it home with me from the party (after rescuing from a drunken food-marauder), and then decided it was appropriately fancy to become part of our Christmas meal.

When I cooked it previously I wasn't too enamoured of the texture of it just sauteed. Also, this bagful was quite wet. So roasting seemed to be a smart place to start. Then I remembered seeing that Mycoterra Farm (who grew them) often use them to make 'crab' cakes. So I looked up a recipe and thought this one (and this one) sounded like exactly the right kind of thing.

(makes six little cakes)

To roast:
200-400g (approx 1/2 lb) Lion's Mane
~2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
salt+pepper

Rest of the cake ingredients:
2 tbsp vegan mayonnaise (used vegan cream cheese as we had some leftover from the birthday cake S made me)
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 egg*
~ 1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp paprika
~ 2 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

coconut oil for frying

For the sauce:
3 tbsp vegan cream cheese (or vegan mayonnaise - reduce the lemon juice a bit if using)
1 tsp olive oil
1-2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp white pepper
~1 tbsp cider vinegar
pea-sized blob of wasabi
few drops hot sauce
~1 tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper

Heat the oven to 350F. Tear the Lion's Mane into little pieces and put in a roasting dish. Add the whole garlic cloves, olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for 30-40 min, until the garlic is cooked, much of the liquid has evaporated, and the mushroom is brown. Remove from the oven.

While the mushroom is in the oven you can make the sauce - mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl with a fork. Taste for salt, pepper and acid and check consistency.

Mix the Lion's Mane (and roasted garlic - be sure to chop and/or mash up so it can spread through the mixture) together with the remaining cake ingredients in a mixing bowl.  Shape into little round burger shapes.  Heat coconut oil in a frying pan over medium heat and cook the cakes until browned on both sides. Eat while hot.


These were quite successful. S really liked them (especially the sauce), and while the total prep might be a bit much for an average day, the roasting method seemed to be a good way of cooking the Lion's Mane - better than sauteeing.

*think linseed-water mixture would be a fine vegan substitute

Kohlrabi and apple salsa-salad

Not sure if 'salsa' is the best description for this - perhaps it's more like a finely-diced salad. Either way, the idea is that it can easily be scooped up with tortilla chips or bits of bell pepper. It is for our lab happy hour (apple themed), and I thought of making it after the success of this mango and sweetcorn salsa.

I used kohlrabi because we had some in the fridge and it seemed like it would go well with apple. Think jicama would also be good - similar crispy freshness.

1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and finely chopped
2 tart, medium-sized apples (Granny Smith or similar), peeled and finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp nasturtium seeds, finely chopped*
~2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
1/2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp light soy sauce
salt to taste

Prepare the apple and kohlrabi and toss with the lime juice immediately to prevent the apple from browning. Add the remaining ingredients and taste for seasoning. Refrigerate until needed.

*I might have used some finely chopped green chilli and / or finely chopped root ginger as well / instead.

Radish relish (and radish pickles)

Came by lots of watermelon radishes. The words 'radish' and 'relish' seemed to fit together so beautifully I had to make it happen. This also turned into an experiment in canning processing - can I can using my basic kitchen equipment?


Radish Relish 
(based on this recipe)

1 lb (2 medium sized) watermelon radishes, peeled and shredded*
1 medium onion, diced
2 inch piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cup coconut vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tbsp red Hawaiian salt
1/2 tbsp coriander seed
1/2 tbsp yellow mustard seed
1/4 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp white peppercorns

Combine vinegar, sugar, salt and spices in a large pan and bring to the boil. Add the radishes, onion, ginger and garlic. Bring back to a simmer, stirring until heated through. Remove from the heat.

Spoon relish into sterile jars, leaving ~0.5cm space at the top and poking down with a clean knife to remove bubbles.  Put lids on cleanly and tight. For canning process, you need a large, tall pan with enough space to place a holder in it so that the jars don't touch the bottom of the pan, and still have space for 1-2 inches of water on top of the jars resting on the holder. My tallest pan combined with a metal steamer rose and squat jars allowed me enough space to process two ~400ml jars. Fill the pan (with the steamer in it) with water and bring to the boil. Carefully place the jars in it, bring the water to the right height and bring back to the boil, then simmer for 15 minutes (covered if possible). Remove jars carefully and allow to return to room temperature. The button on the lid should pop down if a seal has been made successfully.


Radish Pickles
(based on this recipe)

2 medium sized watermelon radishes, chopped into thickish slices 1-2 in diameter*
1 cup water
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup cider vinegar
2 tsp sea salt
2 tsp honey
1/2 tsp crushed peppercorns
½ tsp brown mustard seed
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced longitudinally
1 small green chilli, halved longitudinally

Bring the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar or honey to a boil in a medium saucepan and simmer until the sugar and salt are dissolved. Remove from heat and add the peppercorns, mustard seed, garlic and chilli. Pack the radishes in two sterile ~500g jars and pour the hot liquid over them, dividing the garlic and chilli between the jars. Put the lids on and let cool to room temperature, checking if the button on top has popped down - if it has they are sealed. They should be ready to eat after 24 hours. Whether or not they have sealed, it is probably wise to keep them in the fridge.

*could use red radishes (no need to peel then) or daikon instead


One sad thing is that the colour all leaches out of the radishes. It remains in the liquid, so there is still prettiness, but you do lose the breathtaking beauty of the freshly sliced watermelon radish. They are a lovely pink, but I don't love them. I prefer the sweeter radish relish (also prettier due to the shreds), but think the white pepper was a mistake - it smells weird. I'm trying really hard to like it as it was hand delivered to me all the way from Borneo though, so I can deal. The other one smells weird too - just a vegetably, radishy smell, but strangely offputting (I notice a similar smell from prepared horseradish, there must be some chemical reaction happening...).


Notes on water bath processing:

As far as I understand, the aim of water bath processing is to create a seal. This is particularly important when you are jarring up something that is high in neither sugar nor vinegar. So I am a little unsure about whether it is really necessary for something like this relish, which is high in both sugar and vinegar. Also, since putting hot stuff in hot sterile jars usually gives me a good seal anyway (button on lid pops down), I do wonder whether the water bath processing is needed for this or not. Plus, if the stuff has gone off it should be obvious? However, botulism is nasty, and I wouldn't want to get it or cause it. So I am still trying to figure out when water bath processing is necessary (and what for).

My pan+steamer system worked fine, but I can only process squat jars (or jars laid on their side) in the water bath as my pan isn't very tall. I could in theory process a whole lot, although only 1-2 at a time. To be really efficient about this I would need a taller pan (perhaps one day I will buy myself a proper preserving pan) and some accoutrements (tongs, rack etc). But for now I am happy to have worked out a system using regular kitchen equipment.

Chinese Spring Festival meets Pancake Day: Scallion Pancakes

With all the snow and the pre-Valentines baking I got distracted from the fact it was Chinese New Year at the weekend: happy new Year of the Snake!

And then Pancake Day was already upon us (yesterday), demanding a pancake feast... Scallion pancakes seemed to be the perfect way to celebrate both at once, in food form (of course... both celebrations seem to be mainly about food, perhaps that's why I like them so much...).

I mainly referred to this recipe, also this one.

(makes 4 fairly large pancakes)

For pancakes:
2 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup scallions (aka spring onions aka green onions - about 4), sliced
1/2 cup veg oil mixed with 1 tbsp sesame oil
salt+white pepper

For dipping sauce:
1/4 cup light soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sliced scallions (about 2)
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp chopped root ginger
1 tsp sugar

Mix flour and baking powder together in a bowl with a fork. Dribble in the boiling water gradually and steadily, mixing with a wooden spoon the whole time. Bring together into a ball of dough and then let rest (covered with a damp cloth) for 30 min or so.

While the dough rests, chop the scallions and prepare the dipping sauce by mixing all the ingredients together in a small bowl.

To make the pancakes, roll the dough out on a floured surface into a large rectangle about 8 mm thick. Brush the rectangle with the oil mixture, sprinkle the chopped scallions all over, then season with salt and ground white pepper. Next, carefully roll the rectangle up as if rolling up a swiss roll, going from a long side, so you end up with a long sausage shape. Cut the sausage into four. Take one piece, pull it out and squish it a little, twist it three times, then wrap it round into a flattened spiral. Roll it out into a thick (~8 mm thick), round pancake, about 5-6 inches diameter. Repeat with the other three pieces.

Heat any remaining oil mixture (or additional veg oil) in a frying pan. When hot, place a pancake in it and cook on one side until browned, then flip and brown the other side. Eat hot, cut into wedges and dipped in the dipping sauce.


Wow. These were quite delicious. I probably won't get around to making them again til some Pancake Day in the distant future, but damn they were good. The dipping sauce was a great idea: its spicy / salty / sour / sweet ness really cut through the greasy, stodgy (in a good way) pancake beautifully. Despite the large quantity of scallions used, there was no lingering onion taste.