Quick real-food dinners
July 9, 2008
Sometimes when we want inspiration, we don’t want to follow and hour-long recipe, or make another trip to the store for some forgotten ingredient. Here are a couple quick-fix ideas for Market products that ensure no-fuss meal preparation. A slow-cooked ragout is absolutely delectable, but so is the quick roasted meat dish for a late summer night meal.
Chutney or Jam with Meat – Check out Home Sweet Homemade or Theresa Strolberg’s stand for chutneys and jams that go well with pork, chicken or beef available at M & M Organics or Nate n’ Annie’s Organics. Lather some plum chutney on top of a pork roast, top with several strips of fresh rosemary, salt and pepper, roast at 250 degrees for a couple hours (or a higher temp for a shorter time), and voila, a tasty meat dish. Serve slices with some of the cooked jam or chutney.
Pesto and Pasta – Grab a jar of Fair Mtn. Farm’s various pesto concoctions, and mix it with a package of Serenity’s Treasures fresh-made pasta. Add some extra olive oil or butter to make the pesto more sauce-like.
Spectacular salad – Grab a bag of arugula from any of the greens sellers, and mix in grated carrots and beets from Theresa Stolberg, sliced radishes from Prairie Sun Farm, blueberries from Waterwheel Gardens, and pesto from Fair Mtn. Farm mixed with olive oil and vinegar to make a dressing. Spicy arugula, fruity berries and crunchy grated veggies give this salad an overall new take, and the pesto dressing makes it a rich delight.
Breakfast of Champions – Take a baguette from Rasberry’s Catering and cut it into 1-inch thick slices. Dunk these slices into a mixture of two eggs (see M & M Heath Organics, WR Natural Foods or Fair Mtn. Farm), milk, cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg. These become mini-french toasts. Cook them in a skillet, with butter, and serve topped with Apple-Cinnamon jelly from Fair Mtn. Farm. Kids will love these bite-sized treats.
Orecchiette carbonara with english peas and pea shoots
July 9, 2008
Sunday Suppers at Lucques, a cookbook by Suzanne Goin, is easily one of my top three favorite cookbooks. Here is a great idea for pea shoots (you can find them at Shooting Star Farm booth, in Hailey and Ketchum).
2 Tbs olive oil; 4 oz. applewood-smoked bacon, diced; 6 oz pancetta, diced; 4 extra-large eggs; 4 extra large egg yolks; 1 1/2 cups grated Parmigiano-Reggiano; 1 1/2 pounds orecchiette pasta or spaghetti or penne; 1 1/2 cups finely diced onions; 1 Tbs minced garlic; 1 Tbs thyme leaves; 2 cups freshly shucked peas; 3 oz pea shoots; 2 Tbs choped flat-leaf parsley (see Prairie Sun Farms); salt and pepper.
Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Heat a large Dutch oven over high ehat for 1 minute. Swirl in the olive oil, and add bacon and pancetta. Turn the heat down to medium-high and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the bacon and pancetta are slightly crisped but still tender.
Meanwhile, whick the eggs, egg yolks and 1 1/4 cup cheese together in a large stainless steel bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Drop the pasta into the rapidly boiling water. Add the onion, garlic and thyme to the bacon, cook about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent. Just before the pasta is ready, stir in the peas, coating them well with the onion and bacon.
As the pasta cooks, measure out and reserve about a cup of the hot pasta water. When the pasta is al dente, drain it and immediately add it to the bacon mixture, with 1 tsp salt, tossing well. Grind lots of black pepper into the pot, and cook 1 to 2 minutes more, stirring well to incorporate. Add the pasta to the eggs, stirring vigorously to “cook” the eggs and coat the pasta in the egg “sauce”. Season with salt and pepper to taste. If the mixture seems too thick, add a little of the reserved pasta water. Toss in the pea shoots and parsley and transfer to a warm shallow bowl. Spring the remaining 1/4 cup cheese over the top.
For the mushroom lovers . . .
July 2, 2008
Did you happen to get morels in the hills this year? Well, if you are like me, you can never get as many as you want. But maybe you have more in your cupboards, dried and ready to get cooked into something fabulous. Whatever the case may be, fresh or dried, this mushroom pie recipe will treat you right. It also takes care of getting your greens in, in abundance!
First, soak your chopped mushrooms (about 1 1/2 cups worth) in some red wine and water. For the crust: (of course we recommend you make this quick idea yourself, but store-bought is also an option)
Melt 2 Tblspoons of butter in a skillet. Add 3/4 lb fresh, minced spinach (or other cooking greens), some salt, and saute quickly until the spinach is limp. Remove from the heat and add 3/4 cup white flour, 3/4 cup wheat germ or fine bread crumbs and some dashes of nutmeg. Mix well. Pat into an oiled 9- nor 10-inch pie pan. Prebake at 375 degrees F for 15 minutes. (No need to cool before adding the following filling). Easiest crust ever!
Melt 1 Tblspoon butter in a skillet. Add 1 cup minced onion, cook until it starts to soften. Add the drained mushrooms and 2 Tblspoons lemon juice and cook for several minutes at medium heat. Sprinkle in 3 Tblspoons white flour, 2 tsp dry mustard, 1 oz. chopped basil (or 1 tsp dried), a sprig of fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp dried), stirring all the while. Cook another minute, then set aside.
Beat together one egg, 1 cup firm yogurt (or 1 cup ricotta), black pepper, 3/4 cup grated cheese (Cheddar, Swiss, etc.), and 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley (optional). Beat in the mushroom sauce. Pour the filling into the prebaked crust. Top with extra cheese, and dust with paprika. Bake for 30 minutes and let cool 10 minutes before cutting. Serve hot or warm.
This recipe comes from The Enchanted Broccoli Forest, by Molly Katzen, a standard cookbook in my household growing up.
Pesto Perfecto!
July 2, 2008
Sometimes it’s hard to get variety into our diets. I often feel like I forget to cook with beans. I took some inspiration from Fair Mtn. Farm’s (Ketchum Market) pesto sauces though, and created a tasty side dish one night. Start with some of Mike Heath’s (M & M Organics – Ketchum and Hailey Markets) tiny white beans.
Cook up 1 cup of dry beans. Start by soaking them for most of a day, or you can cover them with about an extra inch of water in a saucepan, bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and cover the pan for an hour. After soaking or doing the pre-boil, rinse the beans well, put back into your pot and cook for about an hour and a half. Make sure to put a fair amount of water in – as the Moosewood Cookbook states, cooking beans is hardly ever a very specific science. Watch them and start with more water than you think.
When the beans are cooked, and you have drained them, stir in a whole jar of pesto (any kind will do!), some salt and pepper, several Tablespoons of Olive oil, and several Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar. You’ll end up with a side bean dish that could second as a Tapas dish too.
For Pesto sauce ideas, keep the basics in mind: a flavorful green (such as basil, cilantro or even parsley if you like some punch), salt, pepper, olive oil, good hard cheese (I adore exquisite Parmesan). You’ll need a fair amount of Olive oil to get the consistency more liquid-like.
A Poaching Lesson
June 26, 2008
Starting off the day with at least a smidge of quality protein is essential. Come sun, hike, computer screen or yard work, an egg is your best starting point. When I want a variation from the easy scrambled or omelette options, I find myself toying around with poached eggs.
To poach an egg, select your freshest on hand (see M & M Organics, Fair Mtn. Farm, WR Natural Foods and more at the Markets for excellent eggs). Fill a saute pan or skillet with roughly 1 1/2 inches of water. Add a large dollop of white vinegar (try experimenting with other vinegars too), swirl it around, and a dash of salt. Heat the water to a bare simmer.
To add the eggs to the water, you can either break cold ones from the refrigerator gently into the simmering pan (no more than 4 at a time to start!), or use a metal poaching ring (a canning metal ring lid works as well, providing a place to keep the egg in the pan – the whites will tend to feather out a bit if the egg is too warm). Once the egg or eggs are in the pan, cook for a minute, always at a bare simmer, then slide a rubber spatula underneath them to loosen them from the bottom of the pan. If using a metal ring, disengage the ring after a minute or two.
Cook only 3 to 5 minutes longer, always at a bare simmer, depending on your desired firmness. I prefer a runny yolk, so I take them out sooner rather than later. Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon or spatula. (Note: eggs will poach in a variety of liquids – tomato juice, broths, etc.).
And here is where the real cooking fun begins: serve with lots of things. Most recently, my favorite poached egg breakfast consists of sauteing lambs quarters, chard or any other sturdy sort of green – in butter of coarse – with salt and pepper and a dash of Worchestershire sauce, then placing the poached egg on top of a piece of toast, and topping it with some of the sauteed greens. Just yesterday I added roughly 3 large dollops of rich cream to the bunch of sauted greens, some sprinkles of flour and ground mustard, and voila – creamed greens served atop a poached egg. Bon Apetit!
Most Useful Cookbook of All Time
June 20, 2008
A relative recently gave me “Roast Chicken and Other Stories,” by Simon Hopkinson. Under the simple garlic drawing decorating the cover are the words “The most useful cookbook of all time.” Of course I was immediately intrigued. That is quite a large claim.
In fact, the cookbook takes quite a novel approach, reminiscent of the Joy of Cooking layout, but much more personal in recipe instruction. For example, here is an excerpt from the Cilantro chapter -
“This is a herb I came to late in life. I had tried using it in stews, as is the style of Indian cooks, and found the resultant taste muddy and bitter. It wasn’t until I discovered salsa, and some remarkably hot food in my initiaion to Thai cooking, that its magical taste finally appealed to me. So much so, that on paying a visit to a favorite Thai cafe-cum-restaurant in west London, desperate for my hit of cilantro, and discovering that it hadn’t yet been delivered, there seemed no point in staying for lunch. . . . I even find myself eating cilantro raw- whole clumps of it. I add it to far too many dishes, too often. I believe that cilantro should hardly ever be cooked and that if it is included in a hot dish, it should only be added at the very last moment. Its flavor is sharp, soapy, and metallic – not the most beguiling description but somehow it is a real spoiler for the taste buds. It seems to shout sharp and citrus and its flavor bursts open when combined with things spicy and hot-tasting. There is nothing like it. If I ever see a recipe again that suggests flat-leaf parsley as a substitute for cilantro, then I shall weep with frustration. There is no substitute. However, I know that there are many people who actively dislike its strident taste. And, incidentally, it is not a great partner to good wine.”
Hopkinson continues in this vein through chapters such as Chocolate, Garlic, Kidneys, Peppers, Scallops and Tripe, amongst many others. I enjoy that at those moments when one looks into the cupboard or refrigerator and sees one main item, this cookbook takes that item and offers a new twist. No looking in the index to see where it might be combined into a recipe in a different book.
Cooking becomes quite a journey on our Iron-Chef nights (we all do them – make do with what we have). Hopkinson’s British heritage adds yet another distinct diversity to his collection of recipe ideas. So set a fire in that stove, check out this book and begin a summer-long journey with fresh ingredients and ideas.
Info: Roast Chicken and Other Stories, by Simon Hopkinson; Published by Hyperion. See Chapter One or Iconoclast books stores in town to order.
Wild mushroom and potato flan
June 20, 2008
Any success while hunting for morels? Then you surely must attempt this exquisite dish with them. Remember: They also dry nicely, to be used mid-winter when you desire a musky taste of wet summer hills the most.
8 ounces fresh wild mushrooms, such as morels, washed and stemmed, and chopped.
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus some for the mold
2/3 cup coarsely chopped peeled and cooked potatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped
1 ½ cups milk
½ cup heavy cream
3 eggs
2 egg yolks
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Have a kettle of boiling water ready to use during the baking of the flan.
Place the mushrooms in a sauté pan and cook over high heat to evaporate any water left from cleaning. Add the butter and lower the heat. Sauté for several minutes, until the mushrooms are softened but still hold their shape.
Season the potatoes with salt, pepper and thyme. Generously butter a 4-cup ring mold (or 8 individual ½-cup custard cups) and set it in a roasting pan or cake pan.
Combine the milk and cream in a small saucepan and heat until just steaming to scald. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes or so. It should be very warm but not scalding hot. Slowly pour it into a bowl with the eggs and egg yolks, whisking constantly. Season well with salt and pepper and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a pitcher.
Pour a bit of the custard mixture into the prepared mold (or custard cups). Spoon the mushrooms and potatoes over the custard and pour in the remaining custard. Pour boiling water into the roasting pan to bring the level of the water about two-thirds of the way up the side of the mold.
Cover the roasting pan with foil and bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a knife inserted halfway down into the custard comes out clean. Do not over bake; the custard will continue to cook after it is removed from the oven. Let rest for 5 minutes in the mold, then unmold by running a knife around the edge and inverting the mold onto a plate. Serve warm.
Recipe from : American Artisanal, by Rebecca Gray
Asparagus soup – for all year
June 18, 2008
Already nearing the end of the asparagus season, some may be left with loads of the spears left over. Over the past winter, I’ve enjoyed asparagus soup several times. Either freeze the spears, or puree them after steaming, then freeze. From there, with your fresh ones still on hand or your frozen puree, here is a tasty idea. You’ll need:
1/2 pound asparagus – steamed and pureed (with stock of your choice);
1/2 onion, diced;
4 Tbs butter;
2 tsp Caraway seeds, salt, pepper.
Saute the diced onions in butter until translucent. Add the caraway seeds and saute 2 to 3 more minutes. Pour in the pureed asparagus (obviously now mixed in with stock), add salt and pepper. Warm to good eating temperature and check for taste. Possible additions include a couple dashes of Cayenne pepper, about 1/3 cup sweet corn (frozen from last year’s crop, or frozen from the store), and perhaps some diced up Italian sausage. This soup takes roughly 15 minutes to prepare.
Watercress, Strawberry and Asparagus Salad
June 12, 2008
Dressing: 1/4 cup lemon juice, 2 Tbs. Honey, 2Tbs. olive oil
Salad: 1 bag or bunch of Watercress, 2 cups fresh asparagus cut in 1″ pieces, 2 cups fresh strawberries
In a small bowl combine all the dressing ingredients and mix well. Chill the dressing until ready to use. Blanch asparagus in boiling water for 3-5 minutes or until tender, but still crisp. Drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, mix the watercress, strawberries and asparagus and toss with the dressing. Serve immediately. From: Chef Miki Knowles and www.watercress.com
Watercress with Ginger and Almonds
June 12, 2008
| 2 tablespoons soy sauce | |
| 1 tablespoon miso | |
| 1 tablespoon rice vinegar | |
| 2 tablespoons sliced almonds, raw | |
| 4 – 6 bunches B&W Watercress, washed, trimmed and cut into 2 – 4 inch pieces | |
| 2 tablespoons sesame oil | |
| 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped | |
| Directions: Combine soy sauce, miso, and vinegar until smooth. Set aside. Heat wok over high heat. Add almonds and stir-fry quickly until fragrant and toasted, about 45 seconds. Remove. Add sesame oil to wok and heat. Add watercress and ginger and stir-fry until tender, about 2-3 minutes Drizzle with miso dressing and serve immediately. From www.watercress.com |
