Grilled Zucchini Variations
April 14, 2008
Grilled Zucchini Variations
For a refreshing variation on grilled zucchini: seek out a rotund zucchini, more squat and round (such as those sold at Dan Freeman?s stand); these seem to be sweeter than the baseball-bat shaped ones. Cut in half, scoop out the seeds, then cut in slices about an inch thick, to resemble melon slices. Drizzle sesame oil into the inside curve, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Finally, drizzle a bit more with olive oil to try to coat the outsides. Grill for roughly 3 minutes per side. I did this last night and the zuch turned out sweet and succulent. Seems the flesh is sweet and absorbs the oil very well.
Shepherd’s Pie
April 14, 2008
Shepherd’s pie:
Mashed potatoes (Cube 3 large potatoes, boil them till soft, then mash with butter, milk or cream, salt and pepper to taste); pat thin layer of mashed potats into the buttered bottom of a baking dish; brown 2 cups worth of ground lamb or beef; mix the browned meat with 2 cups gravy or broth, 1 small onion minced, 1 small green pepper minced, 2 cloves garlic minced, 2 tsp ketchup or tomato paste, 1 Tbs. vinegar, ? tsp each of oregano and savory, 2 Tbs. parsley and 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce (I recommend a bit more); now put this mix on top of potatoes, then put remaining bulk of the potatoes on top of this. Push aside a hole in the middle of the top, and put several pats of butter on the top as well. Cook at 400 degrees for about a half-hour, uncovered. This is a great way to hide vegetables within a meat and potatoes kind of dinner. Add veggie bits and decrease the meat quantity a bit if you?d like.
“Pumpkin” cake with pecan streusel
April 10, 2008
“Pumpkin” cake with pecan streusel
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut 1 Kabocha or butternut squash lengthwise and place on a baking sheet, cut side up. Done remove seeds yet. Cover with foil, roast about 1 hour, until very tender. Let col 10 minutes, scoop out seeds and discard or save for further roasting. Puree the squash through a ricer or food mill and measure out 1 1/2 cups. (You can rehead any leftover puree, season it with salt, pepper and butter and eat it for dinner). Turn over down to 350 degrees. Cut a circle of parchment paper to fit bottom of 10-in round cake pan. Brush bottom with little butter, the line with paper.
Place 8 TBS butter in medium saucepan. Slice 1/2 vanilla bean lengthwise down center, use paring knife to scrape seeds and pulp onto butter. Make sure not to lose any seeds, run your vanilla-coated knife through the butter. Add vanilla pod to th epan, cook butter over medium heat 6 to 8 minutes, shaking pan occassionally until butter browns and smells nutty. Remove vanilla pod and discard. Sift together 2 cups all purpose flour, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp nutment in a large bowl. Add 1/3 tsp salt, make a well in center. In another large bowl whisk reserved 1 1/2 cup squash puree, 1 1/2 cups whole milk, 1/2 cup heavy cream, 3 extra large eggs and 1 tsp honey to combine. Pour liquid into the well in dry ingredients, whisk until incorporated. Stir in brown butter, scraping with rubber spatula to get it all.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake 25 minutes, then remove cake from oven and sprinkle streusel (recipe below) evenly over top. Bake cake another 45 minutes, until topping is crisp and cake has set. Cool on rack for at least 15 minutes. Serve wth scoops of maple ice cream and whipped cream dollops too!
Pecan Streusel topping: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spread 1/4 cup pecans on baking sheet, toast 8 to 10 minutes, until darden slightly and smell nutty. When they have cooled, chop them coarsely, toss with 1 tsp grapeseed oil, 1/4 tsp salt. In food processor, pulse 4 TBS unsalted, cold butter cut into cubes with 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 TBS brown sugar, 1/4 cup plus 2 TBS all-purpose flour, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1/8 tsp nutmeg. Remove to bowl and stir in salted pecans. Chill until ready to use.
Moroccan squash tagine with couscous
April 10, 2008
Moroccan squash tagine with couscous:
Heat 2 TBS olive oil in a dutch oven (or thick, deep saute pan), add 2 chopped onions (about 4 cups), 4 garlic cloves sliced, 1 1/2 lbs pumpkin (or other squash cut into large chunks), 2 large carrots cut into 2-in. sticks, 8 small red potatoes halved, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp cinnamon and 1 TBS salt. Cook gently for 10 minutes, until mixture is softened and vegetables have released some of their juices. Add 6 tomatoes roughly chopped, cook another 3 minutes. Stir in 1/2 lb fresh fava beans or frozen lima beans, one 14-oz. can chickpeas, drained, 1 quart vegetable or chicken stock and a pinch of saffron steeped in 1/4 cup warm water. Bring to a boil. Lower to simmer, cover and simmer 30 mnutes. Finish by stirring in juice of 1 lemon, 1/4 cup roughly choped flat-leaf parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Mix small amout of broth with hot chilli paste to serve on side. Accompany with plates of couscous (cooked according to directions) . Prepare 1 lb to accompany the quantity of vegetabes prepared here.
