COTTAGE COOKING CLUB’S VEGGIE ADVENTURE
Read my lips: No new Cookbooks.
That’s the promise I made to myself a year ago when moving back to Colorado and into a very tiny condominium. I committed to keeping only my fave fifty which tucked neatly into my bookshelf. Unfortunately, sometimes promises and commitments just don’t fly. My stacks now sport a look of messy vitality. No buyer’s remorse, however, with these recent purchases.
Asparagus Pizza with a whole-wheat crust. Too good to imagine. I cut in square pieces and shared with The Gant’s staff.
Currently I’m loving what cookbook author David Lebovitz has to say in his newest blockbuster My Paris Kitchen. Chef Jody Williams, the self-taught cooking phenom who runs Buvette, a restaurant in New York’s West Village, just published a cookbook by the same name. It’s called Buvette, the pleasure of food. It’s terrific. A sleeper. (So is she.)
The star of my recent cookbook-buying frenzy is River Cottage Veg by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, a ‘well-known British chef, TV personality, journalist, food writer and real food campaigner’. That’s why today I am welcoming you readers to The Cottage Cooking Club, a monthly online cooking group dedicated to Fearnley-Whittingstall’s genius recipes.
The pizza, just before diving into the oven – note the thicker crust. Thinner is better.
The CCC was created by Andrea Mohr aka The Kitchen Lioness, whose impressive and well-photographed blog was chosen the Food Blog of the Year 2013 by Germany’s foodies magazine. Mohr has been cooking mouthwatering dishes from RCVeg since last August and has inspired others, including me, to buy this book. Many food bloggers in the States and across the Pond will now be joining The Kitchen Lioness to cook this book.
I’m betting you’ll love my first three recipes: Asparagus Pizza, a pie of three cheeses, caramelized onions and roasted asparagus; Radishes with Butter and Salt, a classic French appetizer born from the old-fashioned radish sandwich, an after-school snack for garçons et filles; and, Stir-fried Sesame Cauliflower, an easy stir-fry seasoned with chiles, garlic and ginger.
Add other crudités to this or just slice a baguette to serve as a more substantial appetizer.
I used my own whole-wheat recipe for the pizza dough and made two pizzas, one thin and one chunky. (Preferred the thin crust.) After sautéing two thinly sliced onions and spreading it on the rolled dough, toss slender asparagus spears on top. I covered each pizza with buffalo mozzarella, grated Parmesan and goat cheese and baked for 12 minutes at 450 degrees. To my mind, using a baking peel lightly coated with corn meal and pizza stone for baking certainly enhanced the product. I shared this pizza with The Gant’s front office staff and their critique was simple, “More.”
Stir-fried Sesame Cauliflower, a quick and easy side dish.
With the radishes (garden fresh and prettier than mine, I hope), be sure to use a sweet sea salt. I chose Maldon. Sometimes it’s nice to slice a baguette to serve with this appetizer. The stir-fry is quick and easy. After sautéing an onion in sunflower oil, stir in garlic, green chiles and grated ginger. Add the cauliflower florets and a half-cup of water and cook for ten minutes before stirring in sesame seeds, sesame oil, soy sauce and chopped cilantro. This is cauliflower like you’ve never tasted.
My California girls surprised me with a visit over the Memorial Day Week-end while Dad watched over the home front.
Although we cannot publish the recipes, I’d be happy to send the ingredient list/instructions to any of you. Try it. You’ll like it. You aren’t sold yet? Here’s another review from VegetarianTimes:
Why we love it: The author does right by veggies with boldly flavored, globally inspired dishes that’d outshine any steak on the table.The idea is not to replace meat but to ignore it. How many: More than 200 vegetarian recipes, about a third of them vegan. Who’s it for: Vegetarians looking beyond tofu cutlets and veggie patties; omnivores cutting back on meat. What to make right away: Baby Beet Tarte Tatin; Sweet Potato and Peanut Gratin; Herby, Peanutty, Noodly Salad; Vegetable Biryani.
My 13-year-old granddaughter and many of my friends are vegetarians so I look forward to cooking more vegetable dishes from River Cottage Veg and sharing the results with them and all of you.