Panini Press Grilled Tofu

This is a pretty standard, even stripped-down, tofu marinade. I've decided I don't like to add herbs, or spices, or in particular garlic, because mostly they are inclined to scorch, however cooked. More flavour comes in with a sauce that gets served over the tofu. In this case I used Ginger-Peanut Sauce, but there are quite a number that will be suitable. I've been making the Ginger-Peanut Sauce with less water and adding a bit of chile-garlic sauce to it.

I've tried baking marinated tofu, and I've tried pan-frying marinated tofu, and those both work perfectly well. It turns out, though, that this is the easiest to do and to clean up. It will take longer than you think, particularly if you want some nice dark grill marks on your tofu - I certainly do - and it will remove quite a bit of moisture from the tofu making it particularly dense and chewy, which I also really like. On the other hand, 20 minutes isn't long and you will need that time in most cases to assemble whatever you are going to serve with it, if not longer.

A waffle iron would achieve the same results as the panini press, only with cross-hatches. Eight slices cut in the same orientation as a loaf of bread is what fits into my fairly small one, but next time I think I would cut each slice into 2 to 4 pieces as well. It depends how you want to serve it. If I had put it into sandwiches for instance, the larger slices would have been ideal.

 

2 to 3 servings

1 hour plus to marinate

about 20 minutes to grill

 

400 grams (14 ounces) extra-firm tofu

3 tablespoons strong soy sauce (tamari)

3 tablespoons apple cider OR rice vinegar

1 tablespoon honey, maple syrup, OR very dark brown sugar, OPTIONAL

1 to 2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

 

Drain and blot the tofu quite dry. Cut it into 8 to 12 slices (keeping in mind how they will fit in your panini press). Put them in a zip-lock bag, or snug, flat bottomed bowl, and add the soy sauce and vinegar, and the sweetener if you are so inclined. Marinate for at least one hour, up to overnight. 

Brush the panini grill with oil, and pre-heat it. Drain and gently blot the tofu slices, and arrange them in the press in a single layer. Cook for about 20 minutes. Serve with rice or noodles, vegetables, and a sauce of your choice. 

Lasts year at this time I made Peanut Butter & Jam Crisp.

Patatnik - A Cheesy Potato Cake

Potato pancakes are popular all through Eastern Europe. This version is from Bulgaria, and it's pretty similar to most, although the addition of cheese is a little different. Normally, it would be sirene cheese but good luck finding that around here - feta is pretty close. The result is quite substantial, and we made it our lunch with a salad on the side. If you want to serve it with more dishes, you might want to cut back on the feta.

Feta is quite salty so be careful with adding more salt. It will need a little, but only a little. If you decide to omit the cheese you should add about 3/4 of a teaspoon of salt. You could replace the mint with basil in a pinch, but dried mint is actually an underused herb, in my opinion. It's worth getting it and seeing what you think of it. It's good with cheese dishes generally.

As with any dish made with grated raw potatoes, the difference between complete success and a soggy yet crumbly mess is *squeezing* those potatoes to remove as much liquid as possible. It makes all the difference. 

I actually broiled my Patatnik for 6 minutes at the end, and it looked like it. As a lover of dark crunchy potatoes I regret nothing; but I am recommending a somewhat shorter time.

 

4 servings

1 hour 20 minutes - 20 minutes prep time

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

600 grams (1 1/4 pounds) baking potatoes

2 tablespoons potato starch

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (consult the feta)

freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon rubbed savory

1 to 2 teaspoons rubbed dried mint

1/2 to 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

1/2 cup feta or sirene cheese, crumbled

1 large OR 2 small eggs

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, again

Generously butter a 9" pie plate or similar shallow baking pan. Preheat the oven to 400°F. 

Wash, trim, and grate the potatoes coarsely. Squeeze them hard over the sink by handfuls, to remove as much water from them as you possibly can. Put the handfuls of dried potato shreds into a mixing bowl. When the potatoes are all squeezed, add the potato starch and seasonings. Toss well to combine. 

Crumble in the feta cheese and mix. Break in the egg(s) and mix thoroughly. The potatoes should be coated enough to stick together, but not noticeably eggy. Scrape them into the prepared pan, and press them gently but evenly into a layer. Dot with the remaining butter. 

Bake the Patatnik for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown. If you feel it is done, but not quite as brown as you would like, put it under the broiler for 3 or 4 minutes. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving. 

This can be cooked on a griddle as pancakes as well; oil it well then ladle in thin pancakes. Cook until well-browned on both sides, adding more oil as needed. Expect to get 6 to 8 fair sized pancakes. I have not tried this as I tend to think that the oven is both easier and not much slower given that you are unlikely to be able to cook all your pancakes at once, but I'm putting it out there.

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Almost Whole Stuffed Cabbage. 

12th Annual Seed Catalogue Review

Wow! I find it hard to believe I've been reviewing the seed catalogues for 12 years now, but here we are. So, what seems to be new this year? 

Fenugreek grown for greens suddenly seem to be a bit of a thing, (and fenugreek as a seasoning is having a moment too, I notice). There continues to be high interest in colourful vegetables. For most of my life, the vegetables grown around here have been dominated by traditional British and German varieties; but that hold continues to weaken. Tomatonians and Beaniacs have long dominated in the seed world, but the Chileheads are picking up steam (!). 

The last obvious trend I see is prices going up. Not too surprising, since they've been pretty stable all the time I've been posting this, and as noted that's getting to be a while. Given inflation it's also no surprise. And finally, I'm concentrating on small seed producers who grow, clean, package, market, and mail their own. It's a lot of work, and prices need to reflect that, much as I'm sad to be paying more.

 

When I went to check the list of seed suppliers at Seeds of Diversity, I saw there are a lot of new-to-me companies. I'm concentrating on vegetable seeds, but there are are more garlic growers, more fruit and nut tree and shrub suppliers as both seeds and plants, more seed potato suppliers, and more suppliers of herbs and wild plants. (Still short on sweet potato slips, but they are easy to grow yourself.) The numbers amaze and delight me, even though it seems likely that most of these newer companies may not last for long. I hope, though, that this is a new wave of Canadian supplied garden material that will change and improve the gardening situation in Canada considerably. On which note; buckle up, people! This is going to be looooong, even though if you are looking for non-veg seed items, you should click through below because I don't get into them here.

The in-stock (or not) situation seems to have settled down some from the last 2 years; however, it looks like things are still moving pretty briskly - think about ordering as soon as you reasonably can. If you are looking for something specific and having a hard time finding it, as usual you should turn to Seeds of Diversity and check out their list of seeds available in Canada and which companies carry them. 

 

And finally, while the point of this post is to dream about the new, I was reminded as I found so many old, familiar seeds listed, that there is no deficiency in companies who do not change their lists from year to year. As a gardener and cook I have formed relationships with certain varieties; knowing their individual quirks for growing and eating allows me to get the best from them, and I'm sure the same applies to growers of seeds.

 

Beef Vindaloo

This famous Indian dish has its roots in Portuguese cooking; it comes from vinha d'alhos; meat (pork to be precise) heavily marinated in vinegar and cooked with plenty of garlic, popular throughout Portugal. There was a large Portuguese trading community in India, and the dish underwent a transformation into one that is intensely sharp and spicy. The usual meats are either pork or beef; neither one very common in most Indian cuisines. I prefer beef but you could certainly use pork.

There are quite a lot of Indian dishes that don't necessarily require a lot of heat, but this is really not one of them - it is widely agreed that Vindaloo should be hot. I have to say it is a favourite of mine, and I am looking forward to making it again soon. 

It's a funny quirk of culture that the Portuguese took to hot chiles with a fair bit of enthusiasm once exposed to them (think of Piri-piri sauce for instance) but the Spanish absolutely did not. One of the things I carried with me when we walked the Camino de Santiago was a packet of Cayenne pepper, and I was really glad to have it.

 

6 servings

20 minutes to prepare the marinade

2 hours 30 minutes to cook - 30 minutes prep time

NOT including marinating time

 

 

Make the Marinade Paste & Marinate:

6 cloves of garlic

1 1/2" piece of ginger

1 tablespoon coriander

2 teaspoons cumin

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, crushed

3 tablespoons sweet paprika

1/4 to 2 teaspoon hot red chile powder (to taste)

6 to 8 green cardamom pods

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 tablespoon amchur powder OR tamarind paste

1 tablespoon apple butter OR 1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 kilo (2 pounds) stewing beef (or pork) pieces

 

Peel and slice the garlic and ginger, and add them to the bowl of a food processor. If you have a smaller one, use that. Add the spices - the peppercorns should be crushed somewhat first - the apple butter or sugar, and the vinegar. Process until you have a fairly smooth paste, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary. 

Scrape the marinade into a non-reactive container with a snug lid. Add the meat, and turn it in the marinade until evenly distributed. Seal the container, and keep refrigerated for 2 hours to overnight.

Cook the Dish:

2 medium onions

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

1 cup water

cilantro to garnish

Peel the onions and cut them in half lengthwise. Lay them flat and cut each half lengthwise again, then cut into slices. 

Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot, over medium-high heat. Cook the onions until they are softened and reduced in volume, about 5 minutes. Add the meat, with all the marinade scraped in with it. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 15 minutes until the spice mixture is fairly well fried and shows signs of separating. The meat will not brown, not that you could tell anyway. Add the water and bring up to a good simmer. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 hours, stirring regularly, until the meat is tender and the sauce has reduced to coat it. 

 

It's best if you can make this in advance and re-heat it. Serve hot. 

Last year at this time I made Honey Braised Turnips.

Shalgam ki Sabzi

There isn't a lot to say about this; it's a nice tart and sprightly but not particularly hot dish of curried turnips. (I saved the blast of heat for this weeks final dish.) You could use rutabaga if you prefer, but in that case I suspect it would be a good idea to boil it for 20 minutes before you add it to the pan with the spices to finish cooking, as it takes so much longer to cook through. 

 

4 serving

45 minutes - 25 minutes prep time

Prepare the Vegetables & Seasonings:

3 cups diced (3 medium) white turnips

2 pods of green cardamom

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds, ground

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon red chile powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

a good grind of black pepper

1 good grate of nutmeg

1" piece of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

 

Peel and dice the turnips. 

 

Crush the cardamom pods and remove and discard the green papery husk. Grind the seeds with the fennel seeds and salt. Mix them with the remaining spices in a small bowl. Peel and mince the ginger and garlic, and add them to the bowl.

Finish the Dish:

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 cup of water

the juice of 1/2 lemon

Heat the oil in a good-sized shallow saucepan or a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds, and cook for a few minutes until they begin to sizzle and pop. Add the bowl of seasonings and mix in well, cooking for another minute or so. 

Add the turnips and the water, mixing well. Cover and cook until the turnips are tender when pierced with a fork, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the lemon juice for the last few minutes of cooking. 

Last year at this time I made Chicken, Leek & Mushroom Pie.

Patta Gobhi (Aloo)

Stewed cabbage; with potatoes if you like. I made Sweet Potato Roti and another dish with turnips, so I left them out. This is a simple but lively Indian-style dish, which I made as part of a meal that I will be posting about all week. It goes together very quickly, once the measuring and chopping have been done. It's amazing too, what a little spicing will do to give a new look to good old winter stand-bys.

 

4 servings

45 minutes prep time

 

 

Prepare the Vegetables:

4 cups chopped cabbage 

1 medium onion

1/4 teaspoon salt 

2 medium potatoes, optional

Chop cabbage and onion, mix by hand with salt and drain for 15 minutes. Rinse and drain them very well. Dice the potatoes into 1" chunks.

 

Prepare the Spices:

1" piece of ginger

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon red chile flakes (to taste)

1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds

1/8 teaspoon ground cloves 

1/4 teaspoon salt

Peel and mince ginger and garlic. Mix everything in a small bowl. 

 

Finish the Dish:

1 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

2 cups chopped or crushed tomatoes

 

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the cumin, mustard, and fennel, and cook until they sizzle and pop. Be careful with this; the spices can scorch very easily. Add the bowl of spices, and cook for another minute, stirring, then add the cabbage and onions. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring regularly, until lightly browned. Mix in the potatoes, if using, and the tomatoes. Add a little water if necessary to get the potatoes cooked, then allow the liquid to evaporate to a clinging sauce.

 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Yiahni Potatoes.

Carrot Cake Salad

Yes, it's a little sweet for a salad - but nothing like as sweet as actual carrot cake, about which I was dreaming when I decided to make this instead (or perhaps I should say, at all). As such, it won't go with everything, but plainish grilled chicken or tofu would be lovely, or certain kinds of sandwiches would go nicely alongside it.

My raisins are not rotating like they used to, and they used to sit long enough to get pretty dried out, so I soaked them in a little of the pineapple juice. I added the left over juice, but I don't think it's a good idea; the dressing came out a little thin. My pineapple came out of a tin, and that's perfectly cromulent, but if you happen to have a fresh one around, a slice could be chopped to mingle unobtrusively with the other ingredients, but even more deliciously. 

Salt and pepper absolutely required - I peppered enthusiastically - because this is a salad, and not a cake, after all.

 

4 to 8 servings

 

Make the Salad:

2 cups grated carrots

1/3 cup raisins

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

1/3 cup unsweetened pineapple tidbits 

1/2 cup unsweetened dessicated coconut

1/2 head greenhouse lettuce

 

Peel and grate the carrots, and mix them with the raisins, walnuts, pineapple, and coconut. Wash and dry the lettuce.

 

Make the Dressing:

1/2 cup thick yogurt

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/16 teaspoon ground cloves

1/16 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

the juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix the seasonings into the yogurt, then mix in the lemon juice. Toss the carrots, etc, with this dressing then arrange the salad over the dried lettuce leaves. 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Chocolate Cake with Roasted Strawberry Cream. 

Stewed Lamb Pie

You could, I suppose, serve the filling just as a stew, but somehow putting it in a puff pastry crust makes it clear just how special and delicious this really is. We got some lovely lamb from Wooldrift Farm this year, and this was our first big try-out, on Christmas day. It was definitely worthy of that special spot. We thought this hit the perfect spot between nicely seasoned, but letting the flavour of the lamb speak for itself.

I had made some lamb broth which no doubt added to the intensity of flavour, but if you can't get it beef or chicken broth would do. I also pre-cooked the lamb in our Instant Pot, but you could stew it slowly instead if you don't have one. Should I confess that I used the heart in this dish? Mr. Ferdzy "doesn't like it" but it's just a particularly tough cut of stewing meat, and if you order a complete lamb you will get one. I cut it to about 1/4 of the size of the other pieces and proceed - no one has yet detected them.

The filling should be warm when you assemble the pie - too cold and it will take a long time to bake, too hot and you will really struggle with the pastry, which will want to melt rather than fold around it. By using the full-sized sheets you will have eight points around the edge, which should be folded inward once tucks have been made in the upper sheet to seal the edges of the lower sheet.

 

6 to 8 servings

1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours to pre-cook the lamb - 30 minutes prep time

1 1/2 to 2 hours to cook the pie - 40 minutes prep time

 

 

Pre-Cook the Lamb:

1/4 cup barley or wheat flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons rubbed savory

3/4 teaspoon rubbed rosemary

2 bay leaves

freshly ground black pepper to taste

900 grams (2 pounds) stewing lamb

2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil

1 cup lamb, beef, or chicken broth  (can replace up to 1/2 with red wine) 

Mix the flour and the spices in a mixing bowl, then gently toss the prepared lamb in it - the lamb should be trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1" cubes, and if at all wet patted dry with paper towels.

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat, and brown the floured meat in two batches to allow it to be well spread out in a single layer as it cooks. Put the browned meat into a large stewing pot or Instant Pot as it is done. 

Add the broth or broth and wine. If cooking in a stewing pot, simmer gently for an hour to an hour and a half until tender. If using the Instant Pot, cook for 30 minutes and allow it to release naturally. 

This can be done up to a day ahead and refrigerated; and it's a good idea as that will allow you to remove excess fat while it is congealed.

Make the Pie:

2 medium carrots

1 large onion

2 stalks of celery OR 1 cup peeled diced celeriac

3 or 4 cloves of garlic

2 tablespoons lamb fat OR mild vegetable oil

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

up to 1 cup more lamb, beef, or chicken broth

450 grams (1 pound; 1 package) thawed from frozen puff pastry

 

Peel the carrots and cut them in dice. Peel and chop the onion. Wash, trim, and chop the celery or peel and dice the celeriac. Peel and mince the garlic. 

 

Heat the fat in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, onion, and celery, and cook gently for 10 to 15 minutes, until softened and tender. You may want to add a bit of water and broth to help cook the carrots, but not so much that it won't cook off in the allotted time. 

 

Add the garlic, Worcestershire sauce, and balsamic vinegar, and cook for a minute more, then add the stewed lamb along with any sauce that it is in. Add a little more broth if it seems dry. Heat the mixture through and simmer for a few minutes. It should be thick and saucy but not runny. Let cool for about 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Gently roll one sheet of pastry to expand it slightly. Place it in a 9.5" pie plate. The short sides of the pastry should come most of the way up the sides of the pie plate, and the corners will hang over. Fill it with the warm lamb filling. 

Roll out the remaining sheet of pastry in the same way as the first. Place it on top of the pie so that the corners of the top piece are in between the corners of the bottom piece. Lift them one at a time so that you can see the lower piece of pastry. Pull the lower piece of pastry away from the side of the pan and tuck the top piece down between them to seal it. The corner will stick up; fold it in over the pie. Repeat with the remaining three corners/sides. Cut some vent holes in the top of the pastry. Place the pie plate on a baking sheet, in case of leakages, and bake the pie for 50 to 60 minutes, until golden-brown. Let it rest 10 minutes before serving. 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Braised Oxtail with Dried Tomatoes, Peppers, & Beans. 

Korean Sweet Potato Noodle Salad

This is a perfect salad for the summer, being cool and refreshing yet relatively substantial without being heavy. But it is also a perfect salad for the winter, since it can be made with readily available winter vegetables. Carrots and cucumbers make a good foundation, then add such things and green onions, celery or celeriac, turnip or winter radish, bean sprouts or cabbage. I used a little cabbage; I had been thinking bean sprouts but whottasurprise, my local grocery store had none. 

If you can't find sweet potato noodles (which generally seem to come in bundles of about 200 grams) then you could use mung bean thread noodles. They tend to come in bundles of about 50 grams, so you will need 3 or 4 of them. The treatment is similar, but do check the cooking time - I think they might need a little less. 

I did not get around to making this as quickly as I intended (so just as well there were no bean sprouts) and my shiitakes got a little dried out. Therefore, I fried them briefly in a smidge of oil before adding them.

 

4 to 8 servings

Make the Dressing:

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 to 2 teaspoons sugar

1 to 2 teaspoons gochujang OR chile-garlic sauce

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds 

Put the rice vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, hot sauce, and sesame oil in a small bowl or jam jar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. 

The sesame seeds don't go directly in the dressing, but now is the time to toast them - a few minutes in a dry skillet over medium-high heat. Stir them as they toast and be prepared to scrape them out at once onto a plate to cool - they will go from perfect to scorched very quickly.

 

Make the Salad: 

150 grams to 200 grams sweet potato noodles (dangmyeon)

10 to 20 grams (1/2 ounce) dried wakame

8 to 10 shiitake mushrooms

1 medium carrot

1 or 2 small greenhouse cucumbers

1 cup other prepared vegetables (see introductory notes)

 

Put a fairly large pot of water on to boil. Boil the noodles as instructed on the package (probably for 5 minutes). LIFT them out of the water, keeping the water. Put the noodle in a strainer and rinse under cold water until cool. Drain well. Chop slightly to make them more manageable, if you like.

 

Meanwhile, put the wakame into the boiling water and boil for 3 minutes. Turn it over as it cooks several times, to allow it to re-hydrate evenly. You will need about a 3" x 8" sheet. Drain the wakame well, shred it into long thin "noodles", then cut it into bits about 2" or 3" long. 

 

Mix the noodles and wakame in a serving bowl. 

 

Remove and discard the shiitake mushroom stems, and shred the caps into thin julienne strips. Peel and slice the carrot very thinly, then slice the other way thinly to form fine julienne strips. Wash and trim the ends from the cucumber(s), and slice in the same way. Any other vegetables used should also be cut in fine julienne pieces. Toss them all with the noodles. 

 

Toss the dressing into the salad. Let it rest for 10 minutes before serving (it can be kept for longer in the fridge) then sprinkle the toasted sesame seeds over it and serve. 

 

 

 

 

Last year at this time I made Jerk Sweet Potatoes.

Fish Fillets in Potato Crust

When I made Gomel-Style Cutlets a while back I threatened to coat other foods to be pan-fried in grated potato, and now I've finally done it. This is a bit like fish and chips, chips included with the fish. A little cole slaw or other salad should finish the meal nicely.

This is a very simple way to cook fish, but I'd say there are two points to watch carefully for success. The first is to be sure your fish fillets are as dry as you can reasonably get them, or the potato crust won't stick well. The second is that while they are being cooked, do not press them down into the oil. I did that, and it packed the potato together too firmly - I believe it would have been a little more crispy if I had managed to refrain. Still, we all enjoyed these and I will try to improve my technique by making it again.

 

2 servings

30 to 40 minutes prep time

 

675 grams (1.5 pounds) white fish fillets

1/3 cup barley or wheat flour

freshly ground black pepper OR other seasonings to taste

2 large eggs

450 grams (1 pound; 3 medium-large) white potatoes

1/4 teaspoon salt

mild vegetable oil to fry 

If you start with frozen fish, it must be thawed. In any case, unwrap the fish fillets and lay them on a good pad of paper or kitchen towels; if kitchen towels preferably clean, but not your good ones. Let them blot and dry thoroughly while you prepare the other ingredients. 

Put the flour on a plate and mix in any seasonings you wish to use. I kept it simple with just some pepper, but a little paprika and thyme would be a good choice. Whisk the eggs on another plate. Wash, peel, and grate the potatoes. Mix them with the salt and let them sit for a few minutes, then squeeze them well to remove and discard as much liquid from them as possible. Put them on another plate. 

Heat a large skillet or griddle over medium-high heat. Pour in about 1/4" of oil. While it heats, coat each fish fillet in flour on both sides, then in egg on both sides, and then in the potatoes, ensuring an even coating of potato all over. Lay them in the hot oil and cook for about 5 minutes per side, until golden-brown. If they do not all fit in the pan (unlikely unless you are using a fairly large griddle) put them on a platter in the oven, kept warm at 200°F until they are all done. Add a little more oil to the pan as required in cooking them. Serve as quickly as possible.

Last year at this time I made Apple-Peanut Cole-Slaw with Coconut-Curry Dressing.

Celeriac Fritters (& Oyster Plant Fritters)

As you can see, this is a quick and simple recipe - and yet, not so fast. I feel obliged to note that I had a terrible time getting the temperature just right. I would move the knob about a millimeter, and it would swing from "way too cool" to "way too hot" or back again. I mean, my stove does that all the time, but it seemed particularly egregious with these. Celeriac is a bit touchy, is what I'm saying. In the end, though, they were very tasty if not quite as beautiful as I would have liked. 

The batter seems skimpy and runny, but persevere in mixing them as well as you can - once they are cooking it works just fine.

The bottom 2 fritters were not made with celeriac. They were made with oyster plant. This was the second year that we've grown some, although last time I just looked at them and thought, "Okay, now what?" Progress! With the spices, it was a little hard to assess their flavour. They are considerably milder than the celeriac, which was quite intense. They also had a softer and - I have to use the word - gummier texture than the celeriac. I quite liked it, but it is a texture more common in Chinese cuisine than in Western cuisine. They were more inclined to brown nicely without scorching, which I was also in favour of. I used 2 roots which yielded 1/4 cup each when grated. They wanted to discolour rapidly, so I threw them into some acidulated water while I finished mixing the batter.

 

6 to 8 fritters

30 minutes prep time

 

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds

1/8 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1/3 cup potato starch

1 extra-large egg

2 cups peeled, grated celeriac

about 2 tablespoons mild vegetable oil to fry

 

Grind the spices together and put them in a small bowl with the potato starch and egg. Mix well, working out all the lumps. 

Peel and grate the celeriac. Mix it into the batter. 

Heat the oil on a griddle over medium heat. Spoon the batter into even portions onto it once it is hot. Cook for about 3 minutes per side, until set and golden-brown. Add a little more oil when you turn them if it seems necessary. 

Last year at this time I made Paprika Braised Cabbage.

Turkey Meatballs Stewed with Vegetables

I'm on a bit of a roll with "things that get simmered in some kind of sauce or sauce-adjacent mixture" at the moment. Eggs, fish, chops, meatballs... simple and straightforward, and usually just needs a judicious quantity of carbs to round out the meal. I see some take on spaetzle or noodles with these, but potatoes or rice would be just fine, or even some good crusty bread. Actually, how about Rye & Spelt Naan? That would be lovely!

 

4 servings

Make the Meatballs:

1 medium leek

1 medium carrot

2 cloves of garlic

500 grams (1 pound) ground turkey

1 large egg

1 teaspoon salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 teaspoon rubbed savory or thyme

2 tablespoons barley or wheat flour

 

Wash, trim, and shred the leeks fairly finely. Peel and grate the carrots - you might as well do the ones that don't go into the meatballs at the same time, but keep them separated. Peel and mince the garlic. Put these in a mixing bowl with the remaining ingredients and mix well by hand. Form into 32 equal balls, putting them on a plate as you work. 

 

Prepare the Vegetables & Stew:

1 medium leek

1 medium carrot

4 cups chopped green or Savoy cabbage 

3 tablespoon mild vegetable oil

1 bay leaf

2 tablespoons barley or wheat flour

2 cups unsalted chicken broth

salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

If you have not already, wash, trim, and shred the leek, and peel and grate the carrot. Wash, trim, and finely chop the cabbage. 

 

Heat half of the oil in a large skillet and cook the meatballs until browned on all sides. Remove them back to the plate (but WASH it while they are browning, duh). 

Heat the remaining oil, and add the vegetables. Cook over medium heat until softened and reduced in volume. Add the seasonings once they are going well, then mix in the flour. Once the flour is well mixed in with no remaining specks of white, slowly stir in the broth. Return the meatballs to the pan, nestled down into the vegetables, and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through - it's a good idea to turn them halfway through. Serve at once.

Last year at this time I made Rye & Spelt Naan, which calls for Bread Spice.