ruby tuesday

I saw this recipe for Transilvanian-inspired Spelt Risotto with Beets and Horseradish in the October issue of Saveur (http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Spelt-Risotto-with-Beets-and-Horseradish). It was a warm afternoon and I was perched on one of the benches out front habit coffee in downtown Victoria.  I just finished a long bike ride and was catching the last rays of summer sun while sipping my americano.   Maybe it was the fact that I had just burned a lot of calories, but everything on those pages looked so good! Especially this risotto... I was so inspired! I love beets and I often try making non-rice "risottos," so this recipe was perfect. To top it off, the story of Transilvanian travels that this recipe was written into completely sold me. So, I took it down, resolved to make it on one of the autumn evenings that were just around the corner.

Last night, after a quintessentially November Victoria day, with gale-force winds and layers of clouds visibly passing each other in all sorts of directions and at various speeds, I tried to follow the recipe. I tried. Well, at least I read the recipe. But there were SO many steps... The whole thing seemed just a little too complicated for an impromptu Tuesday-evening meal. And we were hungry. So I took a good look at the photo (hail the internet and good food photography!), took in the colours and the textures. I imagined the smells and the flavours... I skipped some steps, and improvised.  Nothing new here... I tend to do that. Recipes are an inspiration, surely. But reality of what is available, in terms of time, ingredients, and bodily needs, tends to take over in my kitchen.  Thankfully, the results are usually not so bad. And no, I don't claim to have some special touch with food.  Not at all!  Instead, I really believe that good ingredients, lots of love, and a little imagination always yield good results.  

And the results last night were indeed, quite tasty and just as lovely to look at as the Saveur picture. The delicate taste of fennel, the sweetness of the roasted beets, the toothsome crunch of the spelt kernels, make this a delicious and wholesome dish.  And the roasted beets and the red wine combine for a lovely hue that make this a Ruby Tuesday worthy meal! 

Oh yes! While I obviously invite and encourage you to try my recipe (or the Saveur one, which I am sure is absolutely divine though probably much heavier), I will not take offence to modifications. I could not, since that's probably what I would do myself.  And if you do modify and improvise, please share. Write a comment and let me know what you've changed!  And I will do the same.  When I have more time and patience, I will try the Saveur recipe and will let you know how it compares.

Whole Spelt Risotto with Roasted Beets and Fennel

2-3 medium size beets, diced
1 leek, sliced thinly
3-4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 bulb of fennel, sliced thinly, green leafs reserved and chopped
1/2 cup of oyster mushrooms (brown will do as well)
1 cup of spelt kernels
1/2 cup of red wine
3-4 cups of veggie/herb stock
coarse sea salt
2 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 1t dry)
shaved Parmesan (optional)
olive oil

Toss the diced beets in some olive oil, place in a baking pan and roast at 450F for 10-15mins.
In a heavy skillet or pan, heat olive oil, saute the leeks and garlic, with a sprinkling of sea salt (about 3-5minutes).
Add the sliced mushrooms and half the rosemary.  Saute for another 3-5 minutes.
Add the fennel and cook for another couple of minutes.
Now, add the spelt kernels, saute for 1 minute, then add the wine to deglaze the pan.  Stir and when the wine begins to cook down, gradually start adding the broth and letting it cook down, as if you were making risotto;  about 1/2 cup at the time and stirring.  After about 20 minutes, add half of the roasted beets and continue cooking with another 1/2-1 cups of broth.
All together, the cooking should take about 35-40 minutes.  The spelt kernels will become soft and chewy, with some starchy creaminess.
You can season this risotto with more sea salt and a little more rosemary.  Garnish it with some roasted beets, chopped fennel leaves and shaved Parmesan, and/or a sprinkling of olive oil.

carmelized heaven, or the (almost) classic french onion soup

I bought a bag of yellow onions at the grocery store the other day. They were on sale, and i adore onions! Their scent, particularly when caramelizing, reminds me of my mom's kitchen because onions make their way into so many Polish dishes.  But seeing this particular bag at the grocery store didn't make me think of Polish food. Instead, all I saw, was a big bowl of French Onion Soup.  

French Onion Soup! Yum! I love French Onion Soup, but never order it out because the classic recipe utilizes beef stock, and I am vegetarian.  And I have not made it for years. In fact, come to think of it, I don't think I ever made French onion soup at home.  I have had it at people's homes, and I have had it if I was lucky enough to find it at a vegetarian restaurant.  But can't actually remember ever making it myself. So with thoughts of my first, home-made, veggie caramelized soup heaven, I snatched the big bag of onions and biked home. 

That evening, I quickly scanned some recipes on line - from Julia Child's to Martha Stewart's. It seems that every chef has one, all slightly different and all "classic".  Unsure of which to pick, I took a cue from Chef Michael Smith, who said that French onion soup is best when personalized - any chef and every home cook will and should put their own spin on it.  So, I did.  I took bits and pieces, from here and there and threw together a soup that was absolutely delicious!  And so very filling, WOW!  Now, I know that the classic French onion soup is rich and filling - all that beef broth and cheese will most certainly do that! But my soup was pretty "healthified" and edited.  I didn't douse it with cheese, I merely used some fresh grated Parmesan for flavour, and my broth was a light, herb broth. But the soup was still pretty satisfying! How does half a bag of onions, some broth, a few herbs and a sprinkling of Parmesan translate into a rich dinner? Well, this is how...

The "Not-So-Cheesy" French Onion Soup

5-6 medium to large yellow onions, thinly sliced

1/3 cup white wine (red will work too, if that's what you have on hand)

4-5 cups veggie/herb stock (i often use hot water and 1 cube of vegan herb bullion)

1T thyme, or 4-5 sprigs of fresh thyme

2 bay leafs 

sea salt

black pepper, coarsely ground

1T miso

2-3 slices sourdough bread

1/3 cup shaved Parmesan

fresh thyme to garnish

In a large pot, heat some olive oil.  Saute thinly sliced onions, with a sprinkling of salt, over medium heat, for 20 minutes, until caramelized.  Add the red wine to deglaze the pan, add the stock, thyme, bay leafs and some pepper.  Bring to a low boil, turn down the heat and simmer, under cover, for another 15 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  In a small cup, stir the miso with a ladle full of broth.  Add the mixture to the soup.  Taste and season accordingly to preference.

Pour the soup into an oven proof, deep glass or ceramic dish.  Arrange the toasted sourdough on top and top with the shaved Parmesan.  Bake in the oven, uncovered, at 400F for about 10 minutes or until the cheese has melted, bubbled and turned golden. "Cut" the toast/cheese "lid" and serve, taking care to include some broth, onions and the soaked/cheesy toast.  

layers, pretty layers

So long lettuce, welcome root vegetables and winter greens! Grated or chopped, raw or roasted, root veggies make for delicious salads that are more filling and nutritious than a plate of leaves.  But this kind of a salad is not only healthy, it also lets you take advantage of all the local goodies that are available in the Fall and that keep well over Winter.  And because appearances do matter when it comes to food, a salad that uses grated carrots and beets also looks very pretty when served in a clear glass bowl.  If I have not yet convinced you and you need another reason to try it, here is it: this salad keeps much better than a green salad, so if you can't finish it all tonight, you can always eat it for lunch tomorrow.  Now, you can't do that with lettuce, can you?!

The idea is simple: you grate and chop various veggies, season them, and layer them one on top of the other. Beets, carrots, cabbage, fennel, endives or radicchio are some colorful ideas. The more colours you use, the prettier the salad will be, especially if you alternate them.  To add some protein power, you can use some lentils or beans as one of your layers.  White kidney beans tossed with some parsley pesto are particularly delicious.  Also, to make the salad more filling, you can add a layer of grains like spelt, quinoa, millet or buckwheat.  Finally, make a nice creamy herb dressing or some guacamole to top it off.  

 

I made two of these last week because they were so good. Here is one idea: 

Layered veggie salad with spelt kernels and herbed white beans

3 carrots, grated 

2 large beets, sliced 

1-2 Belgian endives, sliced into rounds

1 leek, the white part

1 can white kidney beans

1 cup spelt kernels or pearl barley

2 cloves garlic

1-2 avocados

1t coriander seeds

1/2 bunch cilantro

juice of 1 lime, and 1 lemon

1/3 cup olive oil

1-2t cumin 

sea salt 

Brush the beets with olive oil, sprinkle with coarse salt, place on baking sheet and roast for 15-20minutes.  When done, cool slightly and dice into small pieces.  Add a little balsamic cream or balsamic vineger and salt.  If you prefer to go more raw, just grate the beets instead and season with the same, vinegar, salt and olive oil. 

In a small pot, cook the spelt kernels in a cup and a half of water.  It will take about 15-20mins. Set aside. 

Grate the carrots.  In a small pan, toss the coriander seeds with 1T of olive oil until fragrant - about 1 minute. In a small bowl, mix with a squirt of lemon juice, the tossed coriander and the oil, and a dash of cumin and sea salt. Set aside. 

Slice the endives, slice the leeks into thin rounds.  Mix the two with a little lemon and salt. 

In a food processor, mix the coriander with 1/4 cup of olive oil and half the lime juice.  Add grated almonds or pinenuts and process more.  It will be like a pesto but without cheese.   Drain and rinse the beans.  In a small bowl, mix them with 2T of the pesto.  Set aside. 

Finally, make a quick guacamole.  With a fork, mash your avocados, add the garlic, the remaining lime juice, a dash of salt and a little cumin. 

Now, time to layer! In a glass bowl layer all the goodies starting with the farro, beets, endives, beans, carrots and top it all of with the layer of guacamole.  If you like, you can also add some of the pesto sauce on top. Let sit for 10-15 minutes before serving.

liquid gold

 Halloween crept up so fast this year.  I didn't even see it coming, and POOF, it was already gone.  But I still have its lingering reminder in my refrigerator.  A pot of  pumpkin sage soup; creamy and satisfying, as only winter squash soup can be.  And golden, as liquid gold!

But before the pumpkin soup in my fridge, there was a party.

My current home is neatly tucked away in a rather lush corner of Oak Bay, a suburb of Victoria that is really its own municipality.  As the name suggests, Oak Bay is overgrown with Oak trees.  Gerry Oaks, to be precise, with their gnarly, twisted branches, that are covered with moss and lichen because the moist air and proximate ocean tend to make everything here green-tinged and mossy.  All these twisted Oak trees against the incredible Victoria sky, make for a dramatic landscape.  Particularly at dusk, or on those dewy mornings when the raising sun illuminates the fog and all is enveloped in soft pink mist.

Another thing about my lovely hidden corner of Oak Bay is that it is rather dark.  There are no streetlights at my end of the road and I often stumble home in the dark, my pace quick but careful, expecting the unexpected.  No, its not entirely pleasant and can be a little spooky, so coming home one night it occurred to me that my home would be the perfect site for a Halloween party - I won't even need to decorate!, I thought.  So I sent out some invites, and asked my guests for carved pumpkins as the ticket in. "Let's illuminate this dark Oak Bay corner," I called.  The vision of Jack-o-Lanterns strewn all over the lawn was too good to pass.  And I certainly didn't have time to carve all those pumpkins myself.

The party came and went.  It was wonderful, though the vision of my illuminated lawn didn't quite materialize because pumpkins sold out in Victoria.  Yes! Pumpkins. Sold. Out. On Halloween. I, the host, didn't even have a pumpkin to carve! That's what I get for waiting to the last minute, I suppose.  Luckily, Marc Oliver exudes positivity and even though he was not so keen on carving pumpkins and dressing up to begin with (Halloween is not a tradition in Germany), the sight of my disappointed face stirred some serious creativity and he was running around, decorating with other means and with all his might.  Also, some of my friends were more organized and there were a few carved pumpkins to reminds us of the fact that this was indeed a Halloween Party.  Not to mention the fantastic costumes that those with a great sense of Halloween-spirit came clad in.  Those, of course, were the other reminder.

After the party, I was left with some Jack-o-Lanterns to compost but also with a rather large pumpkin that was uncarved.  The next day, still very full of the yummy snacks and the apricot brandy cocktails from the night before, soup was all I dreamed of. So, pumpkin soup it was.  And this one was delicious! 

I topped it off with some roasted pumpkin seeds and spelt bread-olive oil croutons.  To make it even more velvety, I added some chilled thickened coconut milk (in lieu of cream). Try it! If there are no pumpkins left in your neighbourhood store, try it with any other squash. I think butternut would be best.  Or wait til next year, but don't wait too long, the pumpkins may just sell out again!

Cream of Roasted Pumpkin and Sage Soup

1 medium size pumpkin
1 white onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of white wine
2-3 cups herb or veggie stock
1T dried sage, or 2-3T fresh sage
1t dried thyme
coarse sea salt
bay leaf or 2
ground black pepper
olive oil, about 1/3 cup
1/2 cup coconut milk

seed (reserve the seeds) and chop the pumpkin into large pieces, leave the skin on. place on oiled baking sheet - you'll probably need two, or just do it in two batches.
brush some olive oil on the pumpkin pieces and sprinkle some coarse salt.
roast in the oven, at high heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until the pumpkin is soft and edges blackened.

   peel the skin - it should come of easily now.  chop into smaller pieces and set aside in a bowl.

in a large pot, heat some olive oil and saute the onions and garlic.  when onions become translucent and garlic fragrant and golden,  splash some of the wine, to deglaze the pot and release the flavours.   add some herbs and add the pumpkin. add the remaining wine, the stock, the bay leaf.

simmer on low to medium heat for about 20minutes. 

 

while the soup is simmering, rinse the pumpkin seeds.  tap dry with a tea towel, toss with some olive oil, smoked or regular paprika and some sea salt.  place on the baking sheet and bake for 20minutes or so.  set aside and use as garnish (or just enjoy as a snack).

set aside to cool a little.  after 10 minutes or so, transfer the pumpkin, some broth and coconut milk into a food processor, or using a hand blender, blend until smooth and creamy.

taste and adjust flavouring. you may add more salt and black pepper, but it is important to do this after the soup is blended, as blending all that pumpkin will change the flavour of the broth.  pumpkin itself is not all that flavourful and it is a bit on a sweet side.  this is a savory soup, so season it accordingly once the blending is done.  but don't over do it, it should still taste like pumpkin!

serve garnished with chunky croutons, roasted pumpkin seeds, a dollop of coconut cream and some fresh sage leaves.  it is also delicious with a generous squeeze of balsamic cream (or your own home made balsamic reduction).