Hi there.
Yes, I've been terribly terribly bad about blogging, it's not good. I've made some awesome things too! A granola bar with no eggs, no sugar. A leek and blue cheese quiche. A RIDICULOUS amount of really yummy salads!
My first blog after my brief hiatus, will be about what I made last night for dinner. My mom was here for a month and we cooked and went out to eat a lot. Hence, I have gained a couple of quite obvious poundage. *sigh*. It's mostly because of the insanely good wine and beer we have in this country, but I'm sure the large lunches and dinners didn't help much either. So last night I committed to healthy and seasonal.
My mom has family friends that live in a tiny village outside of Plzen, Czech Republic. One of the older ladies always picks and dries mushrooms, and gives them to us as gifts when they come. One kind has a delicious woody, earthy smell. The other kind, smells kind of fishy and pungent. This time, my mom received as a gift the fishy pungent ones. I've put these before in a potato soup, and I seriously thought that they ruined the soup. I was determined to try again, and decided to pair them this time with some asparagus I had. Asparagus have a nice assertive flavor that I thought would counter the mushrooms. I also changed the way I cooked them:
When I used them for soup, I just threw them in. This time (as you'll read below) I did something different.
White Asparagus with mushroom, onion, and garlic
1/2 kg white asparagus
1 small onion handful (about 1/3 cup) dried mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
Boiling water
Salt and pepper
grated Edam cheese (about 2 heaping tbs)
Method:
Cut the icky ends off the asparagus
Cut the asparagus into 2 inch long spears
Place in baking pan, and roast on high heat, shaking pan occasionally to make sure all sides are lightly browned
Place mushrooms in bowl, cover with b oiling water
Squeeze out mushrooms, and put them in a hot nonstick pan
Sautee on high heat
Add the mushroom water, and let the mushrooms absorb it
Add some more water, and let them absorb again
Throw in the onion, and turn the heat on low
Let the onion brown a bit, and slice the garlic into thin slices while it does
Toss in the garlic and saute a bit more
When the asparagus is done, take it out, and pour the mushroom onion garlic mix on it
Put the pan back on the stove, and pour more water in, scraping up any residue on the bottom
Let the water reduce til it just barley covers the bottom of the pan
Pour the water sauce over the asparagus with generous amounts of salt and pepper and toss in the roasting pan with the cheese.
The roasting pan also has some bits on it, so by pouring the water sauce in, you can quickly scrape those up too. Also, the heat from the pan melts the cheese. Mmmmm.
Mushroom and onion and garlic sauteeing goodness.
Finished product
So yum.
So I like to read the New York Times food section quite a bit, and a while ago read this post on braising pasta. I never measure the amounts of water (even though I know it's supposed to be quite a bit) when cooking pasta: I usually just pour water into a pan, and then shake some pasta in. I also read another post (can't remember where) about pasta water, especially from restaurants (who often use the same water to cook different batches) and how someone should really get into the business of bottling pasta water. Its starchy, thick, and has a great flavor one can use in sauces. So I bought some lovely salmon (on sale) yesterday, and also some Grana Padano (also on sale) this weekend and decided to make a salmon pasta in a mustard sauce. Using the pasta water. Except instead of just water, I used half homemade chicken stock (I keep freaking out that it's going to spoil) and half water. It was really, really good. And little cleanup as well.
Braised Pasta with Caramelised Onions and Salmon in Mustard sauce
3 large onions
200 g pasta (I used macaroni shaped pasta, but you could probably use orichette or penne)
350 g fresh salmon fillet (no skin and deboned) cut into chunks
2 tbs mustard (I used green pepper Maille brand)
1 tsp old bay seasoning
generous pinch salt
1-2 large cloves of garlic minced finely
40 g grated grana padano
About 500 ml chicken broth and 500 ml water
slice the onions into 2 cm thick half moons
Heat a saucepan, and on medium high heat, begin to caramelise the onions (throw them in, and don't disturb them for about 2 minutes. Then stir them around, and leave them alone again. This should take about 30 minutes, after which your onions should be a woody brown. If you want a darker brown, keep going)
Bring the chicken broth and water to a boil, and throw in the pasta. Reduce the heat to medium high and cook about 7 minutes
Prepare the salmon and the garlic and the cheese
Push the onions to the sides of the pan
Pour the noodles and cooking water in, and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom
Add the mustard, old pay, salt, garlic, and salmon, and stir gently to combine everything
Let simmer, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or so until salmon is just cooked through
Top with cheese
So I like to buy things on sale. There could be worse things in life.
This week, pork shoulder (no skin no bone) was on sale at Tesco, ($1.70 a pound) so I just had to buy and try. I looked up a lot of (American) recipes, and most use a barbeque or a smoker, and also use bone in skin on pork. Suffice to say, after reading most of these recipes it became pretty apparent that slow cooking was the way to go. I bought the pork on a friday to prepare, and things just fell into place after that. I love the idea of cooking something (especially meat) for so long that it falls apart and becomes amazingly butter tender. When you see the piece of meat hopping gently around in simmering cooking liquid, it looks so resilient and steadfast. After having cooked long enough though, a poke with a wooden spoon will send delicious ribbons off the previously impermeable meat.
Now, I looked up the nutritional content of pork shoulder, and it's not the healthiest piece of meat, but you can ask for (and also do it yourself) a defatted/lean piece.
Even though I've lived in Prague for over two years and have been eating Czech food since the age of 1, I never pretend to admit I know how to cook Czech food (except maybe Gulas, but mine is never as good as the restaurants. *sigh*) Anyway, I went with a very very eastern European flavor scheme here. I especially wanted to use these juniper berries I had recently bought at Marks & Spencers. I have GOT to find more recipes with juniper berries, what a lovely little taste they have. So as for the finished result, I wasn't a HUGE fan, but my boyfriend loved it. After a day though, I actually liked it myself a hell of a lot better.
Slow cooked pork
900 g boneless skinless pork shoulder
7-8 cloves garlic
6-7 juniper berries, crushed and minced finely
3 all spice, crushed and minced
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs dried rosemary
1 tbs dried thyme
1 tbs dried sage
generous pinch salt and pepper
1/4 cup pickle juice or 1/8 cup vinegar diluted with 1/8 cup water
2 medium onions roughly sliced
1 large parsnip sliced
Flour for dredging
Water or stock for cooking
Make a paste of the garlic, and next 7 ingredients
Cut slits in the pork shoulder and stuff the mixture in
Rub any remaining paste over the shoulder
Pour the pickle juice or vinegar over the shoulder and turn to coat
Let marinate over night
Dredge the shoulder in flour
Heat a sturdy pot over a burner
Sear the shoulder on all sides
Now, I didn't caremelize the onions, but suppose I should have. I think it would have added delicious flavor. So carmelize your onions and parsnips, my friends.
Deglaze with water, stock, or even a bit o' wine
Put the shoulder back in the pan, and almost cover with stock/water
Cover and simmer on med low heat for about 6-8 hours, or until poking with a spoon makes some of the meat start to slip off itself in shreds. While it's cooking, if you want less liquid, un cover the meat and let some of it evaporate off. If you keep it covered the whole time, it actually ends up being more like a soup/stew. Also, turn the meat occasionally or at least baste the uncovered parts.
Turn off heat
Let sit over night
Reheat on medium low heat
Serve with potatoes or dumplings and sauerkraut
By the way, I think next time, I'd rather cook it in a tomato-y sauce or maybe a mustardy sauce and not do anything to the pork itself. I think it's delicious on it's own, but it's texture lends it more to a thicker clingy sauce.
So I usually do the cooking in my home. Every now and then though, my boyfriend will make this dish (sometimes he subs peas for spinach, but I am not a huge fan of peas, so I always ask for spinach...)
It's quite good and quite cheap. I just don't usually like how much oil he puts in to start. You can also double the recipe. I call it "mess" because it's not the most attractive dish. However, like many unattractive things, it has a hidden quality: tastes delicious!!!
Petr's Spinach Mess
1 package frozen spinach
1 small can tomato paste
1-2 debrecinske parky (flavored hot dogs) sliced into rounds
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
assorted spices
1 egg
Defrost the spinach in a bowl in a microwave.
pour enough oil in a pan to cover the bottom
saute onion and garlic
throw in the hot dogs, cook for a bit
Then throw in the spinach (with any leftover water) and the tomato paste. Pour in about 1 cup (250 g) of water too.
Let it simmer for about 5-7 minutes til it thickens. While simmering, throw in any spices you want. There should definitely be about 1 tbsp of salt or podravka in it along with some pepper. We've thrown in garlic and onion powder, chipotle chile powder, Old bay, and he threw in some "mexicka gril" too. (literally, ALL of it. Trust me)
Personally, I think that some thyme, sage, garlic and onion powder would be good, and also any other poultry or fish seasoning
while the spinach is simmering, make a sunny side up egg.
Serve the spinach with the egg, and houskovy knedliky (or bread) Top with a dollop of plain yogurt.
I know the egg sounds weird, but it TOTALLY makes it so much better.
Red beans are delicious and a great source of nutrients, including cheap protein. Usually (I suppose) they're supposed to go with rice, but I like them just on their own, as is. I made them yesterday in preparation for a friend's visit today, but she's not coming so I guess I'll have to eat them myself (*sigh* rough life, really) I was going to serve them with a chicken/roasted red bell pepper/tomato saute, but that's too much effort for just myself.
The market was out of normal red beans, so I had to buy organic. I was just reading an epi post addressing the topic, and found the arguments quite interesting. Honestly, I am sooooooooooooo antiorganic. I think the whole idea is just a load of crap. Science and genetics are GOOD tools, not the spawn of Satan. They can make food healthier, more resistant to parasites and diseases, and just more consistent and available. Why not use them to help a world experiencing a bit of a food shortage? In the words of many anti-organics, I believe that eating organic is a tool that people with enough money use to appease their guilt about the plenty that is available to them.
Yes, I'm a huge huge fan of farmers markets, but if my farmer is going to use pesticides or genetically modified seeds, power to him. I'd rather support local business than try to make a half assed ecological statement. Point being, I had to buy organic beans, and they didn't taste any different/better than regular. I find this with most if not all organic foods, with the exception of wild vs. farm raised salmon. In fact, I might even call organics (even the beans) more bland...
Red Beans
1 cup (250 g) dried red beans
1 oz (40 g) chopped salami (I used Uherak, or Hungarian salami)
1 small onion diced
5-6 slices pickled jalepeno
2 garlic cloves mashed with 1 tbs salt
few cracks black pepper
Put everything in a saucepan
Fill with about 75 ml (3 cups) water
Simmer on medium low heat (I used 4 on my electric range) for about 2 hours, stirring sporadically
After two hours, the beans should be soft. If not, just keep cooking. You won't kill them.
Mash some against the side of the pan and stir to make the liquid thick
If you want more liquid, add more water and mash some more
I just eat it out of a bowl with some cheese sprinkled on it. Yum.
I bought a squash at Tesco the other day and made a lovely rice, corn, squash, and leek salad with some of the squash (the top) If you're interested, I cut the amount of rice in half and reduced the other ingredients by a quarter. Also used coriander (cilantro) instead of parsley and added a good teaspoon or two of garlic mashed with salt.
I still had the bottom (majority) of it left over, and a sprinkling of corn, so I thought I'd make a squash soup. I usually shy away from squash soups because they're pretty ubiquitous. Most, if not all, call for an apple or a pear along with nutmeg. I love the sweetness of squash, but don't want to try to pump it up with a fruit. I've recently mentioned my fondness for parsnips, and their sweet-ish delicious flavor. What better way to compliment a sweet-ish vegetable with another sweeter vegetable? Oh the heaven. I had this corn left over, and also some mushrooms that I bought at discount at Tesco. I also had some VERY VERY VERY sad potatoes that were demanding to be used before they turned into a moldy mess in my kitchen drawer, and I dreamed up this soup.
Due to my healthy eating attempt, I shunned cream/milk/etc. in favor of plain old water. I did this very complicated thing that I read in a recipe of boiling the squash seeds to extract as much flavor from them as possible. I'll leave it in the recipe, but do not feel like it's a necessary step. I tried searching for a Squash Chowder online, and every one had cream in it. I suppose a chowder by definition has to have cream in it. Kind of annoying. Anyway, hopefully anyone searching for a Butternut Squash Chowder recipe will come upon this one and delight in the fact that it is creamless (just realised it's vegan as well...hmmm) It's creamy enough as it is, and adding cream I believe totally overwhelms the flavor of the soup. Let the veggies stand alone by themselves, beautiful, sweet, tongue coatingly flavorful.
Squash and Parsnip Chowder
Bottom half of a Butternut squash (I KNOW the measure is so imprecise...lets say about 2 pounds (800 g) unpeeled butternut squash
1 medium onion cut into quarters
4 medium-small parsnips peeled and cut into thin rounds
3 garlic cloves
4 smallish (size of a tightly closed fist) potatoes, peeled and cubed
10 smallish cremini or baby bella mushrooms, sliced (not too thinly, they add nice chunky texture)
80 g (1/3 cup) corn kernels
generous teaspoon old bay seasoning
teeny pinch nutmeg (hypocritical, I know)
Cut Squash in half and scoop out seeds
Place squash face down on baking sheet with quartered onion
Roast on high heat until skin starts getting black bubbles
While Squash is roasting, put the seeds in a large pot and fill with about 2 cups (500 ml) water
Boil the water and simmer the seeds in it for about 10-15 minutes
Strain the water and remove the seeds, or be cool like me and fish them out with a slotted spoon
Add more water, and throw in the parsnips
Simmer them until the squash is ready
Smash the garlic cloves and make a paste with 1 tablespoon salt or Podravka
Add to the parsnips
At this point, the squash should be done or close to done (takes about 45 minutes)
Take it and the onions off the baking pan, and pour some water into the baking pan
Scrape up any squash and onion bits, and add them to the cooking parsnips and garlic
Peel and cut up the squash into cubes
Add it and the onion to the soup pot
Fill the soup pot to just under the level of squash pieces
Simmer about 5 minutes
Puree in blender or using an immersion blender
Add the old bay, nutmeg, and some black pepper. Also salt, if you think it needs some.
Throw in the potatoes, corn, and mushrooms, and simmer gently until potatoes are cooked through (about 10-12 minutes)
Adjust seasonings as needed
Serve with some nice bread, a sprinkling of finely grated Eidam cheese, and drizzled with some porcini and truffle oil (Yes, I'm a snob, just bought a bottle at Marks and Spencer's ) *smirk*
I almost feel bad blogging about this because it's really kind of easy. But, it was delicious and you can eat oodles of it without feeling guilty.
I made this in an attempt to do a fridge cleanout before I lost some veggies. I've recently had a bit of a love affair with parsnips. I think after having been fed too many carrots when I was little (mostly because of my own begging) I've tried to avoid cooking with the orange rod. I have also never, ever (even when I was little) been a lover of cooked carrots. Raw: fine, cooked: not so fine.
Parsnips on the other hand, are DELICIOUS to me when they are cooked (raw is ok, but not half as gorgeous as cooked) They have a sweet, starchy, slightly potatoe-y taste that is a perfect compliment to several other flavors including buttery beans, salty bacon, sweet apples...Not to mention they're incredibly healthy (more so than carrots, I've read)
So the parsnips were the main veggie to be used in my dish (I decided to make a soup because of the cold weather and my craving for something warm and saucy) There was a bit of leek left over, along with a head of cabbage that I've slowly been paring away at. So that was really all it took. The name is a play on the color of my sun starved skin and the whitish/green of the soup
Pale Winter Soup
1 cube veggie builion
8-9 cups (1 litre, +/-) water
3 medium peeled parsnips cut into cubes
4-5 leaves (1 and a half cups, 330 grams) shredded cabbage
1 small onion, diced
1 small leek, white and pale green parts cut into rounds
3-4 cloves garlic, minced and mashed with about 1 tablespoon podravka or salt
1 heaping tablespoon (or four fingered pinch) of herbes de provence
teaspoon pepper
splash of vinegar
Put the water and the buillion cube in a pot.
Bring to a boil
While water is coming to a boil, prep everything else
Throw everything into the pot, stir and simmer actively for about 10-15 minutes
Adjust seasonings as desired
Puree slightly with an immersion blender for a thicker soup
AH so easy! And yum! I think I had about 3 bowls.
I'd like to add right here that there is no sauteeing, no fat, no thickening, nothing. I made this soup when I was tired and lazy, and honestly, I don't think presauteeing the onion, garlic, leek, etc. would have done anything. It's a lovely simple soup that looks quite pretty too. I'll try to take a picture of the leftovers before I scarf them down.
So I know that I was attempting to eat healthy (go away, thunder thighs!!!) But I'm trying to introduce the boyfriend to fish. It's healthy, and I love it, and if you buy it here frozen, it's actually quite cheap and delicious. I also just got back from London, where I bought some absolutely lovely cheddar. So the other day I made this dish, and it was super easy and quick (with a bit of help)
Baked Pangasius with Cream Sauce
1 400g fillet of pangasius, frozen or fresh. (Pretty much any whitefish will do)
1 small onion
2 cloves garlic
150-200 ml heavy cream (you could sub light cream, but all I had was heavy)
1 tablespoon mustard
1/2 c. (120 g) grated cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
Rinse fish and pat dry
Place in baking pan
Sprinkle with salt and pepper
Bake at 350 F (175 c) for about 10 minutes, until fish flakes with a fork
While the fish is baking, make the sauce.
Process the onion and garlic in a processor
heat a bit of oil or fat in a pan sautee the onion and garlic until fragrant
pour in the cream and add the mustard
simmer gently
Add the cheese, and stir til the cheese melts
salt and pepper to taste
When the fish is done, pour the sauce over the fish. Serve with rice or veggies or potatoes
Finished product
So yum.
