Brussels Sprouts, Sweet Potato & Shallots

Here is a simple vegetable dish very similar to one I made 6 years ago, only with squash.  I hadn't realized  that it was so close to the time I held a 75th birthday/30 year anniversary party for my father and his partner when I made the first version. So much has changed since then. For the last 2 years, almost, they have both been either in the hospital or in a nursing home. And now, my father is dying and will probably be dead within the month. He is in so much pain and has so little quality of life left that I really kind of hope so. We literally wouldn't do this to a dog.

Well, that's a nice cheerful start to a recipe that was really very pleasant and deserves a better introduction. Not too much to say about the recipe, though; it's roasted vegetables, starch and green together and just needs a nice piece of protein to go with it to complete your meal. Baked chicken pieces make a lot of sense, since they could go in with the veggies and optimize your oven usage.


4 servings
1 hour - 15 minutes prep time

450 grams (1 pound) sweet potatoes
450 grams (1 pound) Brussels sprouts
6 to 8 medium shallots
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Wash, trim, and cut the sweet potatoes into thin (1/2 cm) slices. Toss them in a large roasting pan with the oil, and roast for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them in quarters (or slice them into coins). Peel the shallots, and cut them in halves or quarters, depending on their size. Whisk the soy sauce, vinegar and mustard together in a small bowl.

When the sweet potatoes have roasted for about 20 minutes, remove them from the oven. Stir in the Brussels sprouts and shallots. Drizzle the soy and vinegar mixture over the vegetables. Toss once more, and return to the oven to roast for a further 20 to 30 minutes, until the vegetables are done to your liking.




Ha ha! Last year at this time it was Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Cranberries & Pear; how does that always happen? Seasonal eating, I guess!

Rum Ball Bars

Rum Balls are one of my favourite Christmas treats, but I thought I would try to simplify them a bit this year, what with one thing and another. I'm calling for chocolate cake crumbs, but I have to admit I bought ready to use chocolate baking crumbs for these, as part of my effort to reduce the work. The texture is not as good, but they taste fine. Making bars is also much less laborious than dipping individual rum balls.

I have to say the marzipan is a bugger to roll out though. It's very stiff. I just worked on it off and on until I got it thin and even enough, which makes it hard to say how long it took me. I was tempted to try a graham cracker crumb crust and next time I might do that. On the other hand, marzipan is a traditional fellow-traveller of rum balls.

Now is the time to make these; they keep well for at least 2 or 3 weeks and in fact improve with sitting.

48 to 60 bars
45 minutes to an hour prep time,
not including making the cake

200 to 225 grams (1/2 pound) marzipan
4 cups chocolate cake crumbs
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut
1/4 cup finely minced preserved peel
1/4 cup finely minced preserved ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup rum
1/2 cup butter
4 ounces (100 grams) unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup apricot or raspberry jam
8 ounces (225 grams) semisweet chocolate
6 tablespoons unsalted butter

Roll out the marzipan, on a sheet of parchment paper, to fit a 9" x 13" baking pan. You will need to keep it thin and even. Trim the edges and patch to keep a neat rectangle. Place it in the bottom of the pan, with the parchment paper, when you are done.

Mix the cake crumbs, cocoa, coconut, preserved peel and ginger, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle the rum over the mixture.

Put the 1/2 cup of butter and the unsweetened chocolate in a heavy bottomed pot, and heat over very low heat until melted. Mix in the jam, then scrape into the bowl of cake crumbs and mix well. Press this mixture evenly over the prepared marzipan.

In the same pot, also over very low heat, melt the semisweet chocolate and remaining butter. Scrape it out over the pressed down cake mixture, and spread it out evenly, covering the entire pan. Set the pan in the fridge to set, then cut it into bars. Keep the prepared squares well sealed in a tin, in a cool, dry spot. Bring them up to room temperature before serving.




Last year at this time I made Baked Polenta with Cheese & Sausage.

Onions au Gratin

Creamed Onions seem to have mostly disappeared from festive menus, much to my disappointment. Maybe people find eating whole onions a little disconcerting? In that case, maybe these will do the trick - it's basically creamed onions, sliced and hidden under a slightly cheesy crumb topping. I will cheerfully eat either version. It's onions! And cream sauce! What's not to like; seriously?

If you make them in advance with the expectation of putting them in the oven to be baked just before dinner, keep in mind that if they go into the oven cool you will need to bake them for probably at least an hour or a little more. Also, don't add the crumb topping until just before they go in.

6 servings
1 1/2 hours - 45 minutes prep time

Make the Crumb Topping:
1 cup fine dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup (50 grams; 2 ounces) finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Put the above into a small mixing bowl and rub together with your fingers until well blended; in particular, keep track of that butter. Set aside.

Prepare the Onions & Sauce:
4 to 5 medium (750 grams; 1 1/2 pounds) cooking onions
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon soft unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon sherry
1/4 cup 10% cream

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Peel the onions and slice them into 1/4" thick slices. Put them in a pot with water to cover them, and bring them to a boil. Boil for just 1 or 2 minutes, then drain well.

Meanwhile, put the butter, flour, salt, pepper, and mustard into a pot (or directly into your casserole if it can go on the stovetop) and heat them over medium heat. Mix well and stir constantly until everything has blended and sizzled together for a few minutes. Slowly stir in the chicken stock, and continue stirring until the mixture thickens.

Either put the sauce into a shallow 1 quart (litre) baking dish, or not, if it is already there. Add the drained onions, spreading them out evenly and pressing them down into the sauce until it covers them. Sprinkle the bread crumb mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes until nicely browned and bubbly.




Last year at this time I made Pear & Cranberry Crisp with Granola Topping. 

Scotch Broth

This is quite a quick and easy soup to put together, providing you have cooked lamb and lamb stock on hand, but the best way to have cooked lamb and lamb stock on hand is to have had a lamb roast at a previous meal, so there's that.

 This will provide a certain amount of stock, and the meat you need too, but do make sure the butcher gives you the bones from the roast because you will need them to make additional  stock.

Roast the bones in the oven in a shallow greased pan  until fairly brown, then cover them with water, add a bay leaf, a small onion with the skin, and a stalk of celery, and simmer for several hours. Strain and cool, and remove the excess fat.

Or; you can always use some beef stock if you have it.

Finally, if you have neither lamb roast nor stock of any description, but still hanker for Scotch Broth, get a pound of lean stewing lamb and cut it into quite small pieces. Brown it in a little fat, then put in 8 cups of water and simmer very slowly and gently for 45 minutes to an hour. Strain out the meat and set it aside to use as  your cooked lamb, and you should  have about 6 cups of broth. If you have more broth, just put it in the soup. There will be no complaints, and at any rate the barley does suck it up as it sits. If you don't add it at the start, you may want to hang onto it to thin the leftovers.

But all this mucking about with stock making and lamb cooking happens on a prior day; that should be clear. Lamb stock also tends to be pale and weak looking even when it is really quite strong; Worcestershire sauce goes with it well and as a bonus it improves the colour quite a bit.

6 servings
45 minutes prep time, not including cooking the barley
OR making the stock, for that matter

Cook the Barley:
1/2 cup pot barley
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt

In the rice cooker, is how I do it. Fling it all in, turn on, wait. Or you can do it in a pot on the stove, over low heat once it has come to a boil, but you will need to watch it. Closely. Should cook in 45 minutes to an hour.

Make the Soup:
6 cups lamb broth, or mix of lamb & beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 large onion or medium leek
1 medium carrot
2 stalks of celery
OR 1 cup peeled, grated celeriac
1 cup peeled, grated rutabaga
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
2 tablespoons bacon fat or mild vegetable oil

2 cups diced cooked lamb
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
chopped parsley to garnish (optional)

Put the stock into a large soup pot, add, the Worcestershire sauce, and set it on the back of the stove.

Peel and chop the onion, or wash, trim and chop the leek. Peel and grate the carrot. Wash, trim and chop the celery, or peel and grate the celeriac. Peel and grate the rutabaga. Wash, trim, and shred the cabbage.

Add the cabbage to the stock, and bring it up to a simmer. Meanwhile, heat the bacon fat or oil in a large skillet, and add the onion or leek, the carrot, the celery or celeriac, and the rutabaga. Cook the vegetables over medium heat until they are quite soft and very slightly browned in spots. Add them to the stock, along with the diced cooked lamb. Add the salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Serve garnished with a little chopped parsley, if you can get it.

Squash Polenta

Here it is just about December and we have barely made a dent in the Great Wall of Squash in our laundry room. However, this was good and easy enough to give me hope that someday we may make some progress. Also it got thumbs up from Mr. Ferdzy, who loves polenta (and cheese) but not squash, really. So apparently 2 out of 3 is good enough. Nice to know.

Do I have to tell you how to cook squash? In this case, it should be butternut (in nearly every case it should be butternut, in my opinion) and you cut it in half, remove the seeds etc, rub it lightly with oil, and roast it cut side down on a tray at 350°F for an hour or so, until very tender. Preferably yesterday, if you want to do the polenta today. Don't forget to roast the seeds, although they only get half an hour. 

4 to 6 servings
1 hour 30 minutes - 10 minutes prep time
not including roasting the squash

1 medium onion
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cup corn meal
2 cups cooked mashed squash
4 cups water or chicken stock
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon rubbed savory, sage, or rosemary
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 to 1 cup diced cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Peel and chop the onion finely. Heat the butter in a small skillet, and cook the onion gently until it is very soft and slightly browned; about 10 minutes. Put it in an shallow 2 quart (litre) baking pan (8" x 10"). Add the corn meal, mashed squash, chicken stock or water, salt, and savory or other herb. Stir gently but well, then dot the mixture with the butter.

Bake the polenta for 1 hour. Stir gently, and mix the cheese into it, the quantity to depend on the type of cheese and what else you are serving with the polenta. Return the polenta to the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.




Last year at this time I made Wheat Crepes. And very good they were too...

"Sauer" Curtido

I did say I was going to try this. Attempt now underway!

I don't know why last time I made Sauerkraut I got 12 cups of vegetables into a litre jar, and this time I only got 8 to 9 cups. And yes, a litre jar is approximately 4 cups, so that is still some serious packing.) I made Sauerkraut in red and green as well as the curtido, and it was all pretty consistant.

You'll note that unlike when I made traditional short-fermentation Curtido, I did not add any fresh hot peppers. Firstly, they are no longer in season, and secondly, they got hot enough after a week in the fresh Curtido that I was a bit nervous about what would happen after 6 weeks. I'll add an update to this post once I know how this turned out...

1 packed litre - 16 servings?
1 hour prep time - plus 6 weeks fermenting time

Make the Curtido:
6 cups finely shredded white (green) cabbage
2 cups carrot, peeled and grated
1 cup sliced onion
1 teaspoon pickling salt
1 tablespoon rubbed oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot paprika or cayenne flakes

Put the number of litre canning jars you intend to fill into a canner and cover them with an inch of water. Bring them to a boil and boil for 10 minutes. 

Meanwhile, wash and trim the cabbage, and finely shred it. Measure it and put it in a large mixing bowl. Peel, grate, measure, and add the carrot. Peel the onion, and slice it in half from pole to pole. Cut each half 2 or 3 times again from top to bottom, as each half lies flat side down on the cutting board. Then, cut into thin slices the other way. Add these onion shreds to the bowl of veggies.

Add the salt, oregano, and paprika or cayenne to the vegetables. Using your very clean hands, massage the vegetables together until the seasonings are very evenly distributed throughout, and the vegetables feel limp and are giving up a little juice. When the jar is sterilized, drain it well and pack the vegetables into it, using a wooden or stone tamper to pack it all in. A funnel (dropped into the boiling water for a few minutes before use) may be useful. There should be about an inch and a half headroom at the top of the jar once it is all in.

Add the Brine & Seal:
1 cup filtered water
1 teaspoon salt

Put a lid and rim on to boil. They can be used, if they are in good condition.

Put the water and salt into a pot and heat until the salt dissolves. The water can be warm, but should not be very hot. Ladle this brine over the vegetables now packed in the jar. Once it is all in wipe the rim carefully and put the lid on, making good contact with the jar but not tightening it too much. Put it in a cool spot on a pile of newspaper to ferment for up to 6 weeks.

Check every few days. If the jars overflow and the vegetables become exposed to the air, top up with a little more brine made as above. Change the newspaper as well!

Once the curtido is fermented, keep it in a cool spot, and once you open a jar keep it in the fridge.




Last year at this time I made Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Mashed Parsnips.

Beets à la Marmalade

I've done beets with orange and ginger flavours before, but you can't beat (sorry) this version for simplicity and speed. Well, apart from the fact that beets still take 45 minutes to cook first. However, you can do that right before the meal, or up to a day ahead. It will just take a little longer to reheat them and get the sauce going.

4 servings
15 to 20 minutes prep time, plus 1 hour cooking time in advance

4 medium (500 grams, 1 pound) beets
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons orange or ginger marmalade
the finely grated zest of 1/4 orange
the juice of 1/2 orange
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Wash the beets and put them in a pot with water to cover them. Bring them to a boil and boil for about 45 minutes, until tender. Drain them and let them cool enough to handle, then peel them and slice or cube them.

Put them in a pot with the butter, marmalade, orange zest, orange juice, salt, and pepper, and bring up to a simmer. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the sauce thickens enough to coat them lightly, and they are hot through.




Last year at this time I made, uh, Sweet Roasted Beets. How about that. Yes, I like my beets a bit sweet. Bite me.

Cream of Leek Soup

Yes, I know it's a plain, unrelieved beige. It looks like wallpaper paste, as a matter of fact. But don't let that fool you, nor the fact that the ingredient list is fairly short and the technique simple. This stuff is delicious; so, so delicious. It's absolutely fine enough to serve at a very fancy occasion, perhaps even Christmas. Do try and find a sprig of parsley for it though, if you can, to gussy it up a bit. Unfortunately, mine is snowed under. Gack.

I put cream in mine because I had it in my head to put cream in it, but I have to say the taste I had of it before the cream went in was awfully good. If you are eschewing cream, it could be omitted with very little pain. 

6 servings
1 1/2 hours prep time

3 medium leeks
4 cups unsalted chicken stock
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium shallots
2 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons soft unbleached flour
2 tablespoons good sherry
a couple scrapes of nutmeg
1/3 to 2/3 cup 10% cream, OPTIONAL

Trim the leeks, and slice them. Wash the slices carefully and drain them well. Put them in a large soup pot with the chicken stock, the bay leaves, and the salt. Simmer for about an hour until the leeks are very tender. Let cool a bit, then put the leeks and stock into a food processor or blender. Don't blend yet, though.

Peel and slice the shallots and garlic. Heat the butter in a small skillet over medium heat, and cook the shallots and garlic gently until they are both ever so slightly browned; about 5 minutes. Stir frequently. Sprinkle the flour over them and continue cooking and stirring for another few minutes.

Slosh in a little of the stock from the stock and leeks, and mix it up quickly. Before it thickens, pour and scrape the shallots into the food processor or blender with the stock and leeks. Add the sherry and nutmeg, and purée until the soup is extremely smooth.

Pour and scrape it back into the soup pot. To serve, reheat to a simmer - let it thicken slightly - then stir in the cream, if you want it. Continue heating until it returns to steaming hot, but do not let it simmer again once the cream goes in.

Cornmeal Waffles

Goodness, all these waffles. This is what happens, apparently, when I have a working waffle iron. And very nice, too! 

You can cook the cornmeal just before you make the waffles, but it makes sense to use leftover cooked cornmeal from another meal if you can. You want to have about 2 to 2 1/4 cups of cooked cornmeal. If you can get the butter into the hot cornmeal to melt it, so much the better, but it works perfectly well to melt it later and add it.

about 18 waffles
1 hour 15 minutes prep time

Precook the Cornmeal:
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups water

Mix the cornmeal, salt, and water in a sufficiently large pot, and bring to a boil. Simmer, stirring constantly, until the cornmeal thickens; about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool, with the butter added so it will melt.


Make the Waffles:
1/4 cup unsalted butter
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/2 cups soft unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups soft whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup sugar, OPTIONAL
mild vegetable oil to brush the waffle iron

If your cornmeal was cooked in advance (leftovers), melt the butter and mix it into the cornmeal. Otherwise, once it has cooled enough not to set the eggs, beat them in one at a time. Slowly mix in the milk. Put your waffle iron on to heat.

Mix the dry ingredients, and put them in a large mixing bowl. I like to add 2 tablespoons sugar, but you can add more or none, as you like.

When the waffle iron is hot, stir the cornmeal mixture into the flours. Blend thoroughly, but do not overmix. Ladle the batter into the prepared (hot, and brushed with oil) waffle iron. Cook each set of waffles for 7 to 8 minutes. Keep warm in the oven at 200°F, or let the leftovers cool and freeze them for reheating in a toaster.




Last year at this time I made Pear & Celeriac Salad.

Beef with Brussels Sprouts

I've mentioned before that Chinese cooking really ought to call for more Brussels sprouts. They fit in so nicely! Nothing much to serve this with but steamed rice. 

4 servings
1 hour prep time

450 grams (1 pound) Brussels sprouts
100 grams (1/4 pound) shiitake mushrooms
2 large shallots
2 or 3 stalks of celery
2 or 3 cloves of garlic
450 grams (1 pound) lean beef steak
1 cup unsalted beef broth or water
2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Trim the Brussels sprouts and cut them into halves or quarters, depending on the size of them. Remove and discard the stems from the shiitake mushrooms. Peel and cut the shallots into slivers. Trim the celery, and cut it into bite sized pieces. Peel and mince the garlic. Trim the beef and cut it into thin, bite sized pieces.

Put the Brussels sprouts and broth or water into a large skillete and cook over high heat until the water is mostly absorbed. Remove them from the pan and set them aside. Heat the oil, and cook the shallots and celery until slightly softened, then add the beef and the mushrooms. Continue cooking, stirring constantly, until the beef and vegetables are cooked. Add the Brussels sprouts back into the pan, along with the garlic. Stir and cook for a minute more, then add the oyster sauce and sesame oil. Mix them in well, and turn out onto a serving dish once the sauces are absorbed into it.




Last year at this time I made Quick Braised Chicken with Leeks & Garlic.

Intruglia

Today we have another installment in the series, Obscure Italian Peasant Chow. I ought to make it a searchable feature; I've cooked enough of them.

Apparently this is a dish from the Versilia-Garfagnana area of Tuscany, and I'm not quite sure what it is. Soup? Polenta? Soupy polenta, I guess; thickened by the beans as much as the cornmeal. One recipe I found suggested  putting sausage in it, but I'd be more inclined to cheese myself.

Some recipes call for a potato to be added as well. If you would like that, I would cut it in small cubes and boil it with the beans for the last 10 minutes of their cooking time. 

2 to 4 servings
1 hour

Cook the Beans:
1 cup dried kidney or borlotti beans
water to cover x 2
pinch of salt

Cover the beans with boiling water and soak overnight. Drain, rinse and cook in 4 cups of water until tender, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add a pinch of salt during the last half hour or so of cooking. This can, and probably should, be done a day in advance.

Make the Intruglia:
1 large onion
1 or 2 stalks of celery
1 medium carrot
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon rubbed sage
1/4 teaspoon rubbed rosemary
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup tomato sauce
2 cups bean cooking water or broth
1/3 cup cornmeal
2 cups finely shredded kale or Swiss chard

Peel and finely chop the onion, celery, and carrot. Finely mince the garlic.

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Saute the onion, celery, and carrot in the oil until soft. Add the sage, rosemary, pepper, and garlic. Mash well 1 cup of the beans and blend into the sauteed vegetables, along with 2 cups of the bean cooking water. If you don't have 2 cups of bean cooking water, top it up with broth or plain water. Add the remaining whole beans, and the tomato sauce.

Bring the intruglia to a simmer and pour in the cornmeal in a slow stream, stirring constantly. Slow! Or it will be lumpy. Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the finely shredded kale or Swiss chard. Simmer for another 5 minutes, stirring frequently, then turn off the heat and leave the pot covered for another 5 minutes. And so serve it forth.




Last year at this time I made Quick & Easy Braised Tofu. 

Squash Glazed with Apple Cider

Still working my way through that bottle of apple cider... and also our laundry room full of squash. We planted a lot less this year than last year, but it did very well and we are again swamped with squash. Fortunately, since it was a lot warmer and dryer this year the quality of the squash is much better.

4 servings
1 hour 15 minutes, 15 minutes prep time

1/2 of  a large (900 grams; 2 pounds) butternut squash;
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 of a small nutmeg, finely grated
1 cup apple cider

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Peel the squash and cut it into centimetre thick slices.

Put the squash in a shallow roasting pan dotted with the butter, and sprinkle the salt, cinnamon, pepper, and nutmeg over it. Toss gently. Pour over the apple cider.

Roast the squash for about 1 hour, stirring once or twice. Towards the end of the cooking time the butter and cider with thicken into a sauce; watch carefully and remove the squash just as it is thick enough to coat it .




Last year at this time I made Freeze & Bake Pumpkin Pie. We enjoyed eating pumpkin pies all winter last year!