Corner Shop Spanakopita, one of my December Cottage Cooking Club choices from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s River Cottage VEG cookbook.
If you’re of my mindset, you may wish to take a deep-breath, settle yourself and enjoy a time-out. For five or ten minutes, at least. Even the best holidays ever can tax the jolliest among us. That’s why my last blog post of the year is a recipe-of-relief. Ready for a break from richness, sugar and sweets, calorie-laden fare and stuffing yourself? Add this easily-made entrée to your menu plan for this coming week.
Happy New Year from Me to You.
Corner Shop Spanakopita is a recipe from Englishman’s Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s’ River Cottage VEG cookbook. Every month the Cottage Cooking Club, an international circle of Hugh-groupies, choose ten recipes to share with our readers. While I cooked several vegetable dishes this month, I am posting only one because I really, really (the word fervently works here) want you to try this.
Spanakopita is a classic Greek speciality and featured in my favorite chapter of River Cottage VEG entitled Comfort Food & Feasts. It’s spinach & feta pie. Hugh was challenged by friends to simplify this recipe, using only ingredients available from the average convenience store without losing any of its taste or flavor.
To loosely paraphrase fellow Brit, Eliza Doolittle,“I think he’s got it”. Corner Shop Spanakopita has a clean, pure taste. Peculiar adjectives for an entrée, huh, but that’s what comes to mind. Served with a crispy green salad or fruit bowl, this is a perfect respite from holiday overkill.
Because this recipe is already posted on the Internet, I can provide it to you.
Corner Shop Spanakopita
River Cottage VEG cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 (2-pound) bag frozen whole-leaf spinach
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin, fennel, or caraway seeds (whichever is handy)
1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or a few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves only, chopped
A squeeze of lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 1/2 ounces soft goat cheese or feta, broken into small chunks
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted (or coarsely chopped cashews)
13 ounces all-butter, ready-made puff pastry (ideally ready-rolled)
METHODS
1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Put the frozen spinach into a saucepan with a splash of water. Cover and heat gently stirring from time to time, until completely defrosted. Tip into a colander or sieve to drain off all water, pressing with a wooden spoon to help it along.
3. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the spice seeds and let them cook for a minute or two, shaking the pan frequently, then add the onion and sauté for 5 to 10 minutes, or until soft and golden. Add the thyme. Remove from the heat.
4. When the spinach has cooled a little, squeeze as much liquid out of it as you can with your hands, then chop it coarsely. Combine it with the onion, along with a squeeze of lemon juice and plenty of salt and pepper. Set aside 2 to 3 tablespoons from the beaten eggs for the glazing and stir the remainder into the spinach and onion mixture.
5. Spoon half the spinach mixture into an 8 by 10-inch or a 9 by 9-inch ovenproof dish. Scatter over the cheese and toasted pine nuts, then top with the remaining spinach. Brush a little of the reserved beaten egg around the rim of the dish.
6. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry to a thickness of about 1/4 inch if it’s not already rolled. Lay the pastry over the dish and trim off the excess overhanging the rim. Press down the edge of the pastry so that it sticks to the rim of the dish. Brush the pie with the reserved beaten egg and bake it for about 25 minutes until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
Serve immediately.
Happy Holidays from Glory Hole in Aspen, near the base of Ajax Mountain. Hoping you get all your ducks in a row to welcome in the New Year.
The Cottage Cooking Club is a virtual international group cooking its way through Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s excellent River Cottage VEG cookbook. Please join us in our adventure if you wish. To see what delicious fare my colleagues created this month, go here.
“I’m just too busy to read Mary’s blog right now.”
Orange & Olive Salad – an easy alternative for the holidays to your leafy greens.
Admit it, I know that’s what you’re thinking. Resist that thought. First, this post is short, mostly photos, and secondly, you will love, need and make this citrus salad over the holidays. Orange and Olive Salad, this week’s French Friday’s recipe choice, is a no-brainer, a sure-fire alternative to a leafy, green salad.
Donna, our leader, wants to get us on-the-move. Our host, Carol, is on the right. My smile is fake.
Buy some “meaty” navel oranges, grab a red onion from the pantry, get some olives out of your fridge and you’ve almost put together a platter or single-servings of a mouth-watering appetizer or side dish. Do it all ahead so you can put together, adding olive oil and salt/pepper, at the last minute. This recipe along with Dorie’s interesting tips are printed below.
Seriously?
Despite my trepidation about returning home in 2013 to Snow Country, this year’s snowy conditions have proved easier. Last December I took two scary falls and Old Man Winter successfully chased me indoors. No fun. This month, equipped with proper clothing, Icebugs (cleated shoes), cross country skies and snow shoes – purchased, donated and loaned, I’ve made my peace with him. After last week’s activities, maybe the mountain woman I was has reemerged…..kinda.
After reaching the cabin, emptying the two sleds and discarding our packs, we snowshoed up towards the Markley 10th Mountain Division Hut. Why not? (We arrived back at the cabin just before nightfall.)
As you may recall I belong to a nature study group (the Valley Vixens) with four other women. We’re volunteer USFS rangers, belong to the Forest Conservancy and are longtime locals. Despite that tenure, there is still much to learn about flora, fauna and the expansion of the West so we take study/learning seriously. Our leader suggested a two-day retreat before the holidays (Gung-Ho!), held at a colleagues’ cabin (How Fun!), that is inaccessible by vehicle in the winter (Holy Cow!).
Our cocktail hour (or, two) and discussion of Theodore Roosevelt
Translated, that means everything necessary for a two-day retreat – our gear, food, books and libation – must be hauled in (uphill) by sled or backpack. We Valley Vixens, equipped with snowshoes, would be the haulers. (I had not been on snowshoes for ten years.) Our study sessions would entail a discussion of “The River of Doubt, Theodore Roosevelt’s Darkest Journey” about his disastrous South American trip, and sourcing the plants used for our retreat menus.
Early morning outside the cabin – the peak to the left is named Yellow Boy named for a Chinese cook who once lived in Ashcroft (now inappropriate, I know) and to the far right is Hayden Peak which is just above American Lake.
The mountain cabin, located above the mining ghost town of Ashcroft and below a spectacular waterfall, was built by our hosts, Carol and Tom Kurt, in 1979. Since they had graciously extended their hospitality to us, rudeness and opting out, albeit a consideration, was really not an option for me. Our leader, Donna, handed out assignments and graciously offered to haul my sleeping bag on her sled. The other Donna loaded up her backpack with “all” the wine. Call me The Little Engine That Could. And, did.
A morning hike, of course, before we head home.
Shortly after our return, with little recovery time, I participated in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Who could have anticipated a full-on blizzard with 6-8 inches of fresh snow when signing-up two months earlier? The Aspen Center for Environmental Studies was charged with counting birds in the 15-mile radius around Aspen. (Aspen’s expert birders spotted 40+ species on a snowy, windy day.) Roaring Fork Audubon handled the down valley habitats. The count must go on. And, did.
Now that the sleds were lighter, I volunteered to drag one down the hill.
On second thought, maybe not. Carole & Donna are experts.
You can understand why making this simple citrus salad was such a welcomed relief this week – nothing involved or complicated about it. That it was so delicious and such a good recipe for the holidays is only a bonus. French Fridays with Dorie is an international on-line group cooking its way through Dorie Greenspan’s, Around My French Table. To see what my colleagues are cooking up for the holidays, go here.
7:30am, at the Aspen Center for Environmental Studies – these Birders are ready-to-go for a day-long Christmas Count.
Liz Bokram is my loyal and enthusiastic birding buddy – what can I say.
2 tablespoons olive oil Niçoise or other small black olives, pitted or not
Salt, preferably fleur de sel, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
Remove a thin slice from the top and bottom of each orange to give yourself flat surfaces, stand the orange up, and, working your knife around the contours of the orange, cut away the peel, the pith and the tiniest bit of flesh. Once they are peeled, cut the oranges into rounds 1/3 to 1/2 inch thick, and arrange attractively on a large serving platter. If you’d like, you can cover the oranges and chill them before you finish and serve the salad.
Drain the onions and pat them dry. Drizzle the olive oil over the oranges, scatter over the onions, top with the olives and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
You can leave the onion whole or cut it in half. Thinly slice it, and separate the slices into rings or half rings. Rinse the slices and drop them into a bowl of ice water. If you’ve got the time, let them sit in their water bath for about 20 minutes — the rinse will wash away some of their bitterness, and the bath will make them crisp.
You may want to remove the zest and save it before peeling the oranges. You can remove it in wide strips, cut away the white pith on the underside, and freeze the strips; you can sliver or chop the zest or you can grate it. (Slivered or grated zest won’t freeze as well.)
Viande des Grisons is an air-dried beef which comes from the canton of Grisons, Switzerland. Since we’ve already made three other tartines on French Fridays ( veggie, salmon and goat cheese with strawberry), you already understand tartines are slices of country bread topped with something deliciously imaginative. Italy’s version is bruschetta. The Danes, smørrebrød.
Bresaola, Italian air-dried beef
Because this Swiss product is difficult to locate in America, our Dorie suggested we substitute with Bresaola, the Italian’s take on air-dried beef. Since this was all Greek to me, I switched into my research-and-source mode. That’s the reason this post is about 17th century Italian artisans, the personal chef to a former Italian Prime Minister and a small meat processing plant in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Take a look at that face. It has cured meat artisan written all over it. It’s in the eyelids thick from long nights spent shepherding his craft through the delicate stages of drying and fermenting. It’s in the intent eyes reflecting a passion and purpose for something he cares about deeply. It’s in the knowing smile of a man who has something to share that he’s certain you will enjoy. It’s Cristiano Creminelli and he’s come to America to share his craft and his passion with you.
TARTINE DE VIANDE DES GRISONS is an easily made recipe. It requires one very large piece of rustic bread, sliced 1/3” thick, toasted and slathered with butter. Enough air-dried beef to completely cover the bread. Walnut or olive oil to drizzle on top and walnuts for garnish. Unable to find Bresaola in my local markets, I decided to drive down valley to Whole Foods.
Now, Readers, it is very seldom I grumble and complain in this blog. In fact you’d be hard-pressed to find any downbeat or negative posts here. But last Tuesday I made my grocery list and drove the 38-mile round trip to Whole Foods to buy, among other things, rustic country bread and Bresaola. When I shop at Whole Foods I expect to pay top dollar but, in return, I have always found quality products and received first-class service.
When I walked into the store and approached the meat area, there were no customers at the counter and 2 or 3 butchers working behind it. It still took a few minutes for a young man to notice me.
“Can I help you?” he asked.
“I am looking for Bresaola,” I replied. “Do you know what that is?”
“Nope.”
“It’s an air-dried beef,” I said, helpfully. “Do you know what air-dried beef is?”
“Nope,” he answered, before turning to a colleague who said he had no clue either.
By now, it was apparent he was clearly uninterested in my plight to find air-dried beef. “Why don’t you try the deli?” he suggested, turning his back to me and walking away.
Before, when I’ve been unable to find a product at WF, whoever I ask always escorts me to the proper department, tries to suggest a suitable substitution or offers to take a special order. Clearly that was not going to happen here. So, somewhat intimidated, I wandered over to the deli area and asked the same question to another employee. He had never heard of Bresaola either.
“I may not know,” he answered enthusiastically, “but let’s go to the man who will. You’ve got me curious?”
We walked to the back of the store where I not only met Colin but also immediately spotted three links of cured, dried salami rolls labeled Bresaola in his meat case. Within the next 20 minutes Collin made up for the brush-off I had received earlier. I not only sampled his Bresaola, learning how to correctly pronounce it, but also received a brief tutorial on the various dried and cured meats he had.
Collin, a Whole Foods employee who loves his job, offers me a piece of Bresaola.
Those of you familiar with Italian cuisine may mock my naïveté regarding this product. The best thing about Collin, you see, was that he didn’t. He explained these meats were made and shipped from Creminelli Fine Meats located in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Creminelli family, he said, started making salame in Italy in the 1600’s, producing it first for local villagers and growing their reputation over the centuries. In 2007 Cristiano Creminelli, whose grandfather had also been a personal chef to a future Italian Prime Minister, brought his skills and business acumen to America. (Check out the company website – it’s a marvel. Thank you for the C. Creminelli picture and prose from the website.)
Guyomar Wine Cellar’s 2010 Monsignor, a red blend of petite sirah, zinfandel, syrah and grenache, recently touted by Wine Spectator Magazine. Guyomar is located in Templeton Gap on the Central California Coast.
After finding the ingredients, the tartine can be quickly put together. With a small green salad and glass of Guyomar Wine Cellar’s 2010 Monsignor, a red blend of petite sirah, zinfandel, syrah and grenache, it was a lovely and rather beautiful lunch.
French Fridays with Dorie is an international on-line group cooking its way through Around My French Table by Dorie Greenspan. To see if my colleagues found air-dried beef this week, go here.
Thinly sliced pieces of Bresaola or other air-dried beef (to cover the bread)
Walnut Oil or Olive Oil
Walnut Halves
Instructions
Lightly grill or toast the bread. Immediately slather it with butter. Cover the bread with the beef with the pieces overlapping slightly. Dizzle with a tiny bit of oil and strew with nuts. With a sharp, long heavy knife, cut in half if eating for lunch or a light dinner. If serving as an hors d'oeuvre, cut in 1”-wide strips.
This is a Hooray for Husbands! post. Last Tuesday it was Michael’s birthday. He would have been 86 years old. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and imbibing in Woe is Me, I decided to do what Michael loved best and invite friends to dinner. I asked two Aspen couples with a friendship history of 25 years, and another couple, who had only known Michael through my eyes, to join me.
I warned the gals about wearing lipstick, my code phrase for blogging purposes and photo ops and got down to the business of planning and cooking a meal. We neglected to mention to the men that this would be a work/blog dinner as well as, hopefully, a pleasurable evening.
…..which brings me to my French Fridays recipe choice, Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts. The Doristas made these in 2010 prior to my joining the clan. Since everything I was serving for dinner I’d never made before, these would be a simple and tasty cocktail nibble. If as delicious as anticipated, wouldn’t they be a great hostess gift when packaged in holiday finery?
The whole almonds after they have been mixed thoroughly into the frothy egg white.
Although you can use a variety of nuts, I chose only whole almonds. After beating an egg white to a runny froth, I swished 2 cups of almonds until all were coated and shiny. Then I poured in a mixture of sweet (sugar and cinnamon) and spicy (salt, chili powder and cayenne). After the almonds were thoroughly coated, I separated the last bit of egg white from the nuts and transferred them to a parchment lined baking sheet. Thirty-five minutes later at 300 degreesF, I had toasty brown almonds to serve my guests.
All shiny and covered with the spice mixture, the almonds are headed to my oven.
Fast forward to Tuesday evening. Picture the scene: we have our wine and have just settled down to deal with the appetizers. The first guest to go for the nuts was Steve Chase who hardly got one into his mouth before I said, “What do you think?”
“About what?” he asked.
“The nuts,” I replied. “Do you taste the sweet? The spicy?”
At this point, all conversation has stopped to hear Steve’s and my exchange. At this point, also, Steve is looking at me like I’m nuts. (He’s given me this look before so I’m unbothered by it.) By the way, during the conversation I am also clicking photos of Steve eating the almonds. His wife, Donna, jumps in to explain that ‘Mary made these and is blogging about them’.
Long story short, the two other husbands, Philip Salet and Don Wrigley, took a handful of nuts and the critiquing began: “some spice, not too much, however,” “festive,” “still salty but sweet,” “perfect with a light red,” and “I just like them.” Not to be outdone, Philip’s wife, Jessica, suggested, “How about profound? These nuts are profound.”
Brown and toasty. It’s time to cool off.
We all agreed, Dorie’s Sweet and Spicy Cocktail Nuts are “profound”. I’ll include photos and more about our dinner party in next week’s post when our recipe is Béatrix’s phenomenal Red Kuri Soup. In the meantime, if you would enjoy making these Profound Sweet & Spicy Cocktail Nuts, here’s the recipe:
2 cups nuts, whole or halves, but not small pieces, such as almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecans, or a mix
Instructions
Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Spray a nonstick baking sheet with cooking spray or line it with a silicone baking mat.
Mix the sugar and spices together in a small bowl.
Beat the egg white lightly with a fork in a larger bowl – you’re not making a meringue, just breaking up the white so that it’s liquid.
Toss in the nuts, stir to coat them with egg white, then add the sugar-and-spice mixture and continue to stir so that the nuts are evenly covered.
Using your fingers, lift the nuts from the bowl, letting the excess egg white drip back into the bowl (you can run the dipped nuts against the side of the bowl to de-excess them), and transfer them to the baking sheet, separating them as best you can. Discard whatever sugar-egg mix is left in the bowl.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the nuts are browned and the coating is dry.
Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer the nuts to another baking sheet, a cutting board or a piece of parchment paper, break them apart, and let them cool completely. The nuts crisp as they cool.
Storing: Kept covered in a dry place, the nuts will hold for about 5 days at room temperature.
Notes
Bonne Idée: You can swap the spices at whim. For a change, omit the chile powder and go for 5-spice powder (you can keep the cinnamon, if you’d like), curry powder (I’d use just a smidgen of cinnamon with the curry) or even cardamom (in which case, I’d cut out the cinnamon). You can also make herb-flavored nuts using finely chopped fresh herbs or dried herbs (just make sure your dried herbs are brightly colored and still fragrant). Keep the sugar and salt, drop the chile powder and cinnamon, and try mixing the nuts with fresh rosemary or thyme or dried herbes de Provence.
In America we generally call my French Fridays recipe, Beef Stew. Plain and simple. In France, it’s a Daube, a stew cooked in wine in a deep casserole. Dorie suggests it could also be named Boeuf aux Carottes. That gets my vote and here’s why.
Dorie’s Go-To Beef Daube, also called Boeuf aux Carottes.
It’s already snowed twice in Aspen. Old Man Winter is knocking at my door. I’ve never found the perfect beef stew recipe, a go-to winter meal. By chance I discovered that my French Fridays colleagues made My Go-To Beef Daube, a recipe from Around My French Table, in May, 2010. Unfortunately, that was before I joined FFWD. It seemed that it was Opportunity knocking at my door this week.
What interests me most about the recipe is there are very few stars in this production. The economical beef chunk roast, which gets a lazy, three-hour braise, is the meat of choice. The only other major players are carrots and parsnips. Being from the same family, Apiaceae, they dance well together. That’s what I love about this stew. It’s simple goodness.
While beef, carrots and parsnips may be the main ingredients, it’s the flavoring and spices that pack the wallop. Oh, yes, there’s that bottle of red wine. Before the beef chunks and veggies ever hit the pot, the heady, aromatic sauce is already bubbling nicely. Bacon, onions, shallots and garlic provide rich flavor and a bouquet garni lends the spice. Did I mention the Cognac? This stew is a keeper. I posted the written recipe at the end of this post.
The star players: beef, carrots and parsnips. C’est tout.
I’ve polished off the stew these past few busy days, happy for the tasty leftovers. We leave this week for another presidential library tour, this time to Texas. You may remember that I consider the 13 presidential libraries managed by the National Archives to be the uncrowned jewels of our country’s historical tourist opportunities. Very little is written about these treasures. I hope to change that.
With the completion of this journey, I will have visited 9 of the 13 libraries. The ones I haven’t seen will be: G. Ford, Ann Arbor, Michigan; J. Carter, Atlanta, Georgia; F.D. Roosevelt, Hyde Park, New York; and J.F.Kenndy, Boston, Massachusetts. Can you figure out where I have been?
Last fall my good friend and companion in all things presidential, Donna Grauer, accompanied me on the road trip to the midwestern libraries of Eisenhower, Truman and Clinton. This year she’s game for the fly/drive to Dallas, Austin and College Station. With Donna, our resident brainiac, it’s always an adventure. Stay tuned.
My colleagues made Osso Bucco à l’Arman this week. See their efforts here.
We are an international cooking group working our way through Dorie Greenspan’s Around my French Table, more than 300 recipes from my home to yours.
A bouquet garni—2 thyme sprigs, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 rosemary sprig, and the leaves from 1 celery stalk, tied together in a piece of cheesecloth
Instructions
1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350°F.
2. Put a Dutch oven over medium heat and toss in the bacon. Cook, stirring, just until the bacon browns, then transfer to a bowl.
3. Dry the beef between sheets of paper towels. Add 1 tablespoon of the oil to the bacon fat in the pot and warm it over medium-high heat, then brown the beef, in batches, on all sides. Don’t crowd the pot—if you try to cook too many pieces at once, you’ll steam the meat rather than brown it—and make sure that each piece gets good color. Transfer the browned meat to the bowl with the bacon and season lightly with salt and pepper.
4. Pour off the oil in the pot (don’t remove any browned bits stuck to the bottom), add the remaining tablespoon of oil, and warm it over medium heat. Add the onions and shallots, season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until the onions soften, about 8 minutes. Toss in the garlic, carrots, and parsnips, if you’re using them, and give everything a few good turns to cover all the ingredients with a little oil. Pour in the brandy, turn up the heat, and stir well so that the brandy loosens whatever may be clinging to the bottom of the pot. Let the brandy boil for a minute, then return the beef and bacon to the pot, pour in the wine, and toss in the bouquet garni. Once again, give everything a good stir.
5. When the wine comes to a boil, cover the pot tightly with a piece of aluminum foil and the lid. Slide the daube into the oven and allow it to braise undisturbed for 1 hour.
6. Pull the pot out of the oven, remove the lid and foil, and stir everything up once. If it looks as if the liquid is reducing by a great deal (unlikely), add just enough water to cover the ingredients. Recover the pot with the foil and lid, slip it back into the oven, and cook for another 1 1/2 hours (total time is 2 1/2 hours). At this point the meat should be fork-tender—if it’s not, give it another 30 minutes or so in the oven.
7. Taste the sauce. If you’d like it a little more concentrated, pour the sauce into a saucepan, put it over high heat, and boil it down until it’s just the way you like it. When the sauce meets your approval, taste it for salt and pepper. (If you’re going to reduce the sauce, make certain not to salt it until it’s reduced.) Fish out the bouquet garni and using a large serving spoon, skim off the surface fat.
8. Serve the beef, carrots and parsnips moistened with sauce.
9. Storing: Like all stews, this can be kept in the refrigerator for about 3 days or frozen for up to 2 months. If you are preparing the daube ahead, don’t reduce the sauce, just cool the daube and chill it. Then, at serving time, lift off the fat (an easy job when the daube’s been chilled), reduce the sauce, and season it one last time.
Baby Beet Tarte Tatin from River Cottage Veg, authored by Hugh Fearnley-Whitingstall, an October Cottage Cooking Club recipe choice.
By no stretch of the imagination would you call me a Vegetarian. My granddaughter, yes. Close friends, you bet. But, me, absolutely not. That’s why it’s surprising that lately Deborah Madison, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Yotam Ottolenghi and I have become best buddies. I’m in awe of these three cookbook authors whose recently published cookbooks make vegetables sexy.
River Cottage Veg, 200 inspired vegetable recipes, by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
For the past 6 months, since joining Cottage Cooking Club, I’ve been exploring Whittingstall’s River Cottage Veg, 200 inspired vegetable recipes. This month I baked his scrumptious Pumpkin & Raisin Tea Loaf (no butter, no oil) and Baby Beet Tarte Tatin. Both recipes were unique, compelling, flavorful and dinner guest-worthy. Visit my October 7th Post, devoted to his Tea Loafhere. Find the recipe here.
Pumpkin & Raisin Tea Loaf
Tarte Tatin is a classic, of course, if you use apples. With beets? Not so classic. “But,” as HF-W writes, “the principle of caramelizing some delicious round sweet things, topping them with puff pastry, then flipping upside down, works equally well in the savory interpretation.”
Baby Beet Tarte Tatin
I simplified the preparation by purchasing vacuum-packed, ready-to-eat baby beets. My puff pastry of choice is DuFour Pastry Kitchens, available in grocery stores. Basically, halve the beets, caramelizing them and then fitting snugly into an 8-inch ovenproof container. Having already cut out a puff pastry disk to fit the dish, place it over the beets, patting firmly and tucking its edges down the pan’s side. After 20 minutes in the oven, the pastry should be a puffy, golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes before inverting it carefully onto the serving plate. Top with the vinaigrette (recipe included) or crumbled feta cheese. Serve immediately.
Spicy Chickpea & Bulgar Soup from Plenty More, a cookbook authored by Yotam Ottolenghi
Baby Beet Tarte Tatin is an excellent appetizer, first course, entrée side or, as I found, delicious lunch. I enjoyed this with a bowl of Ottolenghi’s Spicy Chickpea & Bulgar Soup, a recipe from Plenty More, his latest cookbook published this month. What I love about Ottolenghi is his no-holds-barred attitude regarding ingredients. There’s a whole vegetable world out there with its accompanying flavorings and spices that I’ve never met.
Plenty More, Yotam Ottolenghi’s latest cookbook
For this soup I did have the spices on hand, cumin, coriander and caraway seeds. Garlic, onions, carrots and celery added flavor and crunch. Bulgar wheat was a first time-ingredient for me but Bob’s Red Mill brand carries all kinds of Natural Foods, Mixes and Flours in our grocery stores. Harissa Paste, I knew about but had never used. My advice? Perhaps, less heat? Use 1 TBSP instead of 2 TBSP. For stock, vegetable, chicken or water work equally well. Instead of the Creamed Feta Paste garnish, I cut calories and just sprinkled feta chunks on the top. This soup is goodness.
Spicy Chickpea & Bulgar Soup topped with Feta Chunks
Deborah Madison waded deeply into the veggie business in 1997 with the publication of Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, a James Beard Foundation Book Award winner, and, now, a classic. But it’s her recently published Vegetable Literacy, a celebration of the plant kingdom’s diversity, which has been captivating. Nostalgic moment, my mother often cooked with rutabagas. When the Indian Summer fades and our snow falls turn serious, I’m all over her Rutabaga and Apple Bisque and Winter Stew of Braised Rutabagas with Carrots, Potatoes and Parsley Sauce.
Quite often, when I finish a three or four-hour hike, my reward is to stop by the Woody Creek Tavern, an old Hunter Thompson hangout, and have a burger, fries and beer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. However, a journey down the veggie highway created by these three masterful chefs is well worth my time and effort also. Having it all is a good thing.
The Cottage Cooking Club is a virtual international group cooking its way through Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s excellent River Cottage VEG cookbook. Please join us in our adventure if you wish. To see what delicious fare my colleagues created this month, go here.
