Even though it's not quite here yet, we're fast approaching the culinary dead-zone of winter. In order to avoid the mounting frustrations of only being able to find local organic produce in the shape of tubers and roots, I joined a winter CSA. This of course will not come with the overwhelming bounty of produce that my summer/fall CSA does, so they've filled in the blanks with other products like meat, canned tomatoes, pickled products, cheese, eggs, milk, yogurt and other random goodies. Because there is so much less available this time of year, we only receive our shares once a month instead of once a week. I won't start receiving those shares until about mid-December, but in the meantime I still have some of my old CSA products hibernating in the fridge. You see, after volunteering during the late shift of our final pick-up day, I was able to bring home double the loot. Many people didn't show up, leaving a hefty donation of food for the church where we do our food distribution, in addition to providing those of us volunteering with some extra loot. In addition to sampling the eggs, milk, yogurt and cheese that you can also sign up for (all of which are excellent), I got to take home a few extra pounds of beets, carrots and kale. That all sounded great at the time, but none of these items are all that easy to use day after day (except the kale, which I can eat by the handful).
And as you may have noticed from the lack of posts, I've been dealing with trying to cook with these vegetables all week. I've already roasted beets for pasta (see previous post) and roasted a whole chicken on a bed of gorgeous red fall carrots, which made for a really full-flavored gravy. I've made crispy kale on multiple occasions, not to mention my old standby of super garlicky kale with heaps of spicy red pepper flake and a dash of cider vinegar. By the end of last week I hit a root vegetable wall, not quite sure what to do with what was left. The beets had finally reached a ridiculous size, coming in at almost the size of my head. The carrots weren't as large but I still had three bags worth piling up in the fridge. After doing a bit of searching I found a recipe for (how convenient!) beet and carrot latkes. After reading reviews of the recipe it was suggested by almost everyone that while the latkes themselves were good, they were even better accompanied by a spicy apple-jalapeño salsa. Absolutely loving latkes, I was sold.
The first thing I did do was change up almost all of the spices and serving sizes. I'm a big fan of reading the recipe reviews on any website or blog (which is why I appreciate every single comment I get here), and Epicurious is no different. It seemed unanimous that both recipes made an overwhelming amount of food, so I immediately cut the recipes down by a third. It was also mentioned that the beet latkes were a bit bland, so I added in some more spices. As for the carrot latkes, I'm not a huge fan of cooked carrots and tend to get easily bored with them. But I love the way carrots are prepared at Indian restaurants, so I reduced the amount of ginger the recipe called for and threw in some curry powder (I only wish I'd had curry paste on hand) and a little cayenne for a spicy kick. I didn't change the salsa one bit, as it sounded like a simple stunner of a recipe (and it was). One thing I wish I'd done differently is to have used my food processor to shred the beets and carrots instead of doing it by hand on my cheese grater. While the recipe didn't take too long to prepare, the whole thing would have come together in under 45 minutes had I taken a little technological help. Here's what I finally came up with, but if you'd like to feed an army, the original recipes can be found here and here, as they appeared originally in Bon Appétit and Gourmet respectively.
Curried Carrot Latkes
adapted from Gourmet
3 cups coarsely grated carrots
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 teaspoons finely grated peeled fresh ginger
3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
canola or vegetable oil for frying
Place carrots in a large bowl; press with paper towels to absorb any moisture. In another large bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and pepper to blend. Mix in carrots, ginger, curry and cayenne, followed by the egg.
Heat enough oil in a large skillet to coat the bottom. Working in batches and adding more oil as needed, drop carrot mixture by the heaping tablespoon into skillet and spread into discs. Fry until golden, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer latkes to a paper towel covered plate to absorb excess oil. Serve with apple-jalapeño salsa and sour cream.
Spiced Beet Latkes
adapted from Bon Appétit
3 cups coarsely shredded peeled beets
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Place beets in large bowl; press with paper towels to absorb any moisture. In another large bowl, whisk flour and next 7 ingredients. Mix in beets, then the egg.
Heat enough oil in a large skillet to coat the bottom. Working in batches and adding more oil as needed, drop beet mixture by the heaping tablespoon into skillet and spread into discs. Fry until golden, about 3-4 minutes per side. Transfer latkes to a paper towel covered plate to absorb excess oil. Serve with apple-jalapeño salsa and sour cream.
Apple, Green Onion and Jalapeño Salsa
adapted from Bon Appétit
1 1/2 pounds Fuji apples (about 3 large), peeled, halved, cored
1/2 cup minced green onions
2 tablespoons minced seeded jalapeño chiles
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons honey
4 teaspoons lemon zest
Finely dice apples and transfer to a bowl. Whisk lemon juice, honey, and lemon zest in small bowl to blend; mix into apples. Season salsa to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and chill until ready to serve with latkes. Enjoy!
-Laura
There are only two things that really scare me (actually, three, but I don't see how I can eloquently weave the inherently frightening nature of clowns into this post). One of them is, as I've mentioned many times before, baking from scratch. The other is making fresh pasta, which much like baking generally involves making a dough, albeit a significantly more fickle one. While with baking you're generally safe sticking to a recipe and carefully measuring out your ingredients, pasta making requires a careful eye and an instinct for necessary adjustments. Despite having what I'd like to think of as a keen instinct for cooking, I've always been sure I'd never posses the same talent for pasta making. Having never known the proper consistency of fresh pasta dough, I felt it was reasonable to think that I must be lacking the instinct necessary for perfecting it.
This week however, something changed. Finding that my CSA had run its course (those five months flew by!) and that I'd soon be visiting the farmer's market and grocery store with growing frequency, I decided that I should continue to save money by using what was already in my home. After all, with a fridge full of produce and a few free extras from the CSA (it's good to volunteer on the last shift!), why dole out the cash for anything from the supermarket? And so I planned a meal of fettuccine with roasted beets, beet greens and toasted walnuts, only to realize on the way home that there was no pasta in the house. I considered other options but decided to stick with my plan. I'd spent some time catching up on my food show DVRing recently and learned from Lidia's Italy that you can easily make pasta dough in the food processor, and that it happens to be her preferred method. While I was still dubious about my ability to know how I should adjust the dough, I figured that even if my fresh pasta was a disaster, at the very least it would be a good way to use up all that flour taking up space in my pantry.
It was with feigned confidence that I carefully measured out three cups of flour and briefly pulsed them in the food processor. Then with the motor running I added in the eggs, water and a bit of olive oil. I was immediately set at ease when 20 seconds in, the dough formed into a ball--a sure sign, I'd been told--that I was doing a good job and well on my way to conquering my fear. A mere 10 seconds later I was knocked off my high horse when I stopped the motor to see that a ball of dough had indeed formed, but the rest of the mixture sat pooled at the bottom of the processor bowl. First panicking and then attacking the problem with my general 'I will break you' attitude, I reminded myself that pasta making was all about playing a game of cat and mouse with the dough. If part of the mixture was pooling, that meant it was too wet and sticky (which I confirmed by poking it with my finger and spending five minutes and 3 paper towels trying to get it off). So I added in a tablespoon of flour and continued to run the machine adding flour a tablespoon at a time until the entire mixture came loose and formed a big doughy ball. I poked it one final time and found that it was still moist, but no longer sticky. I'd successfully made what appeared to be good pasta dough.
Although it felt like an eternity, the whole thing took no more than 5 minutes. What I didn't know was that even though I thought the scary part was over, rolling out the dough was actually the hard part. I ignored a tip I'd read that mentioned cutting the dough into 8ths before rolling instead of the traditional 4ths. It didn't explain why so I ignored it, but a few minutes into rolling dough through my machine it became clear that by rolling a piece of dough so large I'd wind up with a three foot long sheet that was difficult to maneuver whist also turning the handle. So despite that one unexpected bump in the road, the whole thing went rather smoothly, and I already have tips for myself and others on how to make the whole thing go even smoother next time. Here's how to make the pasta step-by-step with my tips on how to make the process easier. And if you'd like the recipe for the dish I made with the pasta, just drop me a line--I'd be happy to post it or send it along your way.
Fresh Pasta
3 cups flour
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup very cold water
1. Add flour to the bowl of a food processor and pulse 3-4 times to aerate. With the motor running, add eggs followed by the oil and cold water. Run the processor until a dough starts to form in the shape of a ball. If the dough is wet and sticky, add a tablespoon of flour and continue to process. Repeat until the dough is no longer sticky. If the dough is hard and dry, add cold water a tablespoon at a time until the dough is moist but not sticky.
2. When the dough is the right consistency, carefully remove it from the food processor and place it on a lightly floured counter top or cutting board. Knead the dough for 1-2 minutes then flatten it into a disc and wrap it tightly in cling wrap. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. If you'd like to freeze it for future use, leave it in your freezer for up to a month (defrost it in your fridge and let it come to room temperature before rolling it out when you finally use it).
3. Divide the dough into 8ths and carefully roll it out using a pasta machine (or pasta attachment on your stand mixer). Begin on the widest setting and continue running pasta through each setting until it is at the desired thickness for the type of noodle you'd like to make. Make sure to toss your cut noodles with a light dusting of flour to keep them from sticking to each other (skip this for stuffed pastas). It shouldn't take more than 2 minutes to cook your pasta in salted, boiling water. Enjoy!
-Laura
Soooo...remember that whole spiel in the last post about how I now contain myself when I get the urge to make risotto? And how it's soooo hard because it showcases great ingredients so beautifully? Well...I had a minor self-control issue earlier in the week when I got the contents of my CSA. I know, I know, I should know better, right? After all, I'm a grown woman, well versed in not only cooking but in the myriad ways one could handle almost any ingredient. But much to my surprise I found that when confronted with two fat, juicy beets and their lovely greens, all I could think to do was make a risotto. Not that I was lacking in ideas by any means (a ravioli and a mixed drink also came to mind), but I didn't expect to be seeing beets for quite some time. I figured by the time late summer/early fall rolled around I'd be due for another big batch of risotto, fitting nicely into my plan of not making risotto too often. I'd had the beet risotto in my mind for at least a year and just couldn't bear the thought of passing up the chance to make it with my lovely CSA beets. After all, this could be a one-time shot, what if I never got beets in my CSA ever again? Right? Right? Who's with me?!?!
In any case, I had a vision for this risotto that did not translate very well on film (or, well, digital camera). Despite looking like minced meat or steak tartare in print, in person the risotto was a sight to behold. I was fortunate enough to get one gorgeous, deep red beet and one Chioggia, or Italian beet (they're also often called candy cane beets because of their red and white striations). Both were beautiful, with the classic red beet lending it's ruby hue not only to the rice but also to the lighter Chioggia beet, that ate it right up and blended into the rice. The whole dish turned pink, but the dark red beets somehow retained their coloring. The beet greens played an important role as well, flecking the dish with deep green pockets of earthy and rich green flavor. The last touch was to add goat cheese in place of the traditional parmesan. Not only did it keep the texture nice and creamy, but the cheese's slight tartness cut through the subtle sweetness of the beets perfectly.
I was fortunate enough to find a few different versions of beet risotto in my cookbooks and online, so I used an amalgam of all those recipes. A few called for roasted beets (I'll save that for a frosty fall night) and a few left them in huge chunks, which just looked strange and unappetizing. Another recipe used water instead of stock, which I don't particularly like. So in the end, I just came up with a bare bones, simple risotto recipe that used more of my cooking instincts and knowledge of risotto than anything else. Besides, with such great, flavorful ingredients, who needs all the extra effort? Here it is, and for the beet lovers out there, this is a must cook. And for the beet newbies, this is a great introduction. Oh, and if your beets don't come with the greens (sacrilege!), you can use any other hearty green you like (swiss chard, mustard greens or kale would be lovely).
Beet and Goat Cheese Risotto with Beet Greens
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
5 cups chicken, vegetable or pork stock, heated
2 large beets, peeled and diced, greens reserved, washed and chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1 package (about 5 1/2 oz) soft goat cheese
extra virgin olive oil
1. Heat olive oil, garlic and beets in a large non-stick skillet on medium heat. Cook until garlic is fragrant and beets are slightly softened.
2. Add rice and cook until white and opaque. Add a ladleful of stock and stir rice frequently until stock is absorbed. Repeat until rice is cooked through but still slightly al dente. Stir in goat cheese (saving a few crumbles for garnish) and stir to combine. Add greens and stir until just wilted (add more stock if needed for moisture or heat). Plate and serve topped with a few crumbles of goat cheese. Enjoy!
-Laura
As much as I'd like to say that I eat everything (which I almost do), I have to admit that we all have food phobias, myself included. Mine began as a child with frequent trips to what was, at one time, my favorite restaurant--The Sizzler. That's right, this foodie was once so excited by the sight of The Sizzler's all you can eat buffet, she almost passed out into her mountain of bottomless chicken fingers. It was once my great shame to admit just how much I loved this long mocked establishment, but I've come to realize that we all cherished some really embarrassing things as children (teddy bears, Sun-In, and The New Kids on the Block are all prime examples).
The one thing that stopped me dead in my tracks during every visit was the salad bar. Next to the crunchy iceberg lettuce and shredded carrots were these juicy, deep purple spheres. I'd never seen anything like them and nobody in my family ate them, so I ignored them. But on one visit a friend added some to her mound of salad, and noticing that the run off from the orbs' juices was staining her salad, I vowed never to go near these unnatural ingredients again. Forever turned off by purple food, I was stunned to find that I'd done such a good job of convincing my college roommate to start cooking, that she actually made a purple potato stew. Being a novice cook, she was unaware that purple Peruvian potatoes can stain the liquid they're cooked in, resulting in a less than appetizing slate colored mess. So, after a heaping bowl of purple potato stew I vowed to never eat purple or for that matter, gray food, ever again.
Cut to present day when I've learned that beets are the new portobello mushrooms and on the appetizer and salad menu of every popular restaurant. The pickled, mushy, radioactive disasters of the 80's appear to have been replaced with taught, smoky, roasted beets, that dare I say...look appetizing. Since I'm always crusading for people to try new things, I finally decided that twenty years was long enough to avoid eating something that plenty of people seem to love. So, the best way would obviously be to buy the freshest possible beets at the Greenmarket and go with the trend: roasted beet salad. Although the roasting took quite a bit of time (an hour and 15 minutes), it required no attention. Just wrap the suckers in foil, toss them in the oven and check on them after about an hour. A few segments of grapefruit, some thinly sliced shallots and a sprinkle of blue cheese later and I had a truly wonderful dish. My phobia was gone, and on top of it I learned something new. Here's how to cook up some purple stuff for yourself:
Roasted Beet Salad with Blue Cheese
5-6 beets, scrubbed, greens trimmed and removed
olive oil (not extra virgin)
1 large shallot or 2 small, thinly sliced
1 grapefruit, peeled and cut into segments
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese (I used English stilton)
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
salt
pepper
1. Preheat oven to 400 F degrees. Drizzle each beet with olive oil and cover individually with foil. Bake beets in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes (could be longer if your beets are larger).
2. Whisk together extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Slice beets (remove skins), top with shallots, grapefruit segments and crumbled cheese. Drizzle with vinaigrette and serve.
-Laura
P.S.--It's time to vote for the 2008 Bloggers Choice Awards, and I'm up for Best Food Blog! Last year it went to Ed Levine's excellent site, Serious Eats, so I'm in good company and just happy to be there. So if you have a few minutes, vote for me here, spread the word to your friends, and thanks for the support!
