Winter Salad with Cumin Vinaigrette

Last weekend in New York I had two fabulous salads. The first was a chopped salad incorporating crunchy hearts of romaine, green apples, corn, carrotts and other goodies with a cumin vinaigrette topped with a poached egg at the Home Restaurant. The second, a simple toss of fennel, cucumber root, and parsely in a lemony garlicky dressing reminiscent of my standard at home salad topper at Frankie's 17. When assigned the duty of making a salad for friendsgiving, I knew that crunchy veggies were the way to go. The resulting mélange was light, flavorful, and worthy of its own meal on other, less gluttonous, days of the year. Today I've made not one, but two meals out of its leftovers and Corrina's amazing cumin scented butternut squash latkes...And, as you might guess, I'm also embracing the hell out of stretchy pants. If you're seeking a light lunch over the next week of recovery, this might fit the bill...And, would probably turn into a satisfying dinner with the addition of some cooked garbanzo beans and a big slice of bread.

Ingredients (Salad)

1 celery root, peeled and cubed
1 fennel bulb, cubed
1 jicama root, peeled and cubed
4 large carrots, peeled and cubed
2 red bell peppers, cubed
1.5 large granny smith apples, cubed
1/2 red onion, cubed
1 large bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup cubed sharp cheese (I used Gruyere and Asagio)
1/2 cup cumin vinaigrette
ground cumin

Blanch the celery root, jicama, fennel, and carrots in boiling water for one minute. Plunge into an ice bath and drain when fully cooled.

Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Sprinkle lightly with cumin, season with salt and pepper and toss with the dressing.

Cumin Vinaigrette

Combine the following ingredients in a small jar and shake vigorously to mix. Its best to let the dressing sit and marinate for an hour or two before using.

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 lime juiced
1.5 teaspoons ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1 large clove of garlic (or a shallot), minced
pinch of salt

Pumpkin soup- Thai Style

While New York was beautiful, relaxing, and full of love and art, today found me exhausted after yesterday's travel disaster...2 hours on public transit to LGA (check.); 3 hours sitting on a delay at LGA (check.); 2.5 hour flight with screaming baby (check.); 1 hour ride on the L to get home (check.); etc...So, when I set out to shop for FRIENDSGIVING, I was feeling a bit less ambitious than usual. So, I decided on soup. This soup. Delicious, spicy, healthy soup. Soup that I could make ahead and then try to focus on papers until the eating begins.



While this soup is magnificent, it is still not quite where I want it to be. I've been trying for years to reverse engineer the thai pumpkin soup we served at Restaurant L while I worked there, and nothing yet matches the simultaneous richness and lightness of that perfect soup. I'm getting so close though, so close... I look forward to hearing what you think!

Step one: Roast some squash (I used 2 small sugar pumpkins and one medium sized acorn squash) in a 425 degree oven. I like to brush with olive oil and dust with sea salt and a little aleppo pepper.

Let the squash cool and then peel and cut into chunks. Set aside.




Step two:

Ingredients
Roasted squash
1 large sweet apple chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1 can of lite coconut milk
1/2 sweet onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
1 Fresno chile chopped
2 inches of fresh ginger peeled and diced
4 inches of lemongrass chopped
1/2 red bell pepper diced
6 T canola oil
2 T red curry paste (more or less to taste depending on your brand)
2 T Rice Vingegar
2-3 T brown sugar
1 lime juiced

Directions
Heat the canola oil in a large stainless steel stockpot over low/medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, bell pepper, onion, apple and chile to oil and cook until the onion is transparent.

Add curry paste. Stir to coat.

Add squash. Cook until warmed back through.

Add 4 cups of broth. Stir until squash begins to break down. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer on low for about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and purée with an immersion blender or in a food processor.

Taste and add salt, lime juice, brown sugar and rice vinegar.


Serve garnished with chopped thai basil, red bell pepper, toasted pumpkin seeds and fish sauce for non-vegan eaters. This makes about 3L of soup and it freezes well! Enjoy.




Variations:
Garnish with grilled shrimp/ scallops
Sub 1 cup of veg. broth for seafood broth
Include 1-2 fresh curry leaves and/or chopped thai basil while cooking. (Remove curry leaves before puréeing.)

Cider-Roasted Root Vegetables

Brian and I made these for my mom when she was in town. From my Fresh Every Day cookbook, recipes from a cafe I love in Chapel Hill, NC (I use this all the time). Perfect for cooking up mysterious or abundant root veggies. I used whatever I had on hand courtesy of my Fresh Picks box, which included scarlet turnips and rutabagas. To veganize, leave out the butter and double the EVOO. Roasted parsnips are incredible.

Serves 4-6

1/4 c. cider vinegar
1/4 c. unfiltered apple juice or apple cider
2 T. olive oil
3 T. unsalted butter, melted
1 T. Dijon mustard
2 T. chopped fresh rosemary or thyme or combo or both
2 small turnips, trimmed, peeled, and quartered lengthwise
4 small potatoes, halved
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2-in. wedges
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-in. pieces
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into 2-in. pieces
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
2 T. chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Whisk the vinegar, apple juice, oil, butter, mustard, and rosemary/thyme together in a large bowl (I skipped this step and dumped everything into the glass baking dish I roasted everything in). Add veggies and toss/stir to coat. Season with salt & pepper and spread veggies into single layer - as best you can. Roast for 45-50 mins, stirring veggies occasionally, until they are tender and light golden brown around the edges (note: I ended up roasting almost an extra hour, as I like my veggies so roasted they start to caramelize). Toss with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.

Pumpkin Risotto

Peter and I had a ton of pureed pumpkin leftover from a delicious pumpkin cheesecake he made last weekend for the season finale of Mad Men. I've been itching to make something savory with it all week and this is what I came up with. This recipe was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe for roasted squash risotto, but as you will see, I've doctored it up quite a bit.

Pumpkin Risotto

1/8 lb pancetta (optional)

1 large shallot, sliced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 c. arborio rice

1/2 c. white wine

4 c. chicken broth (vegetable of course would work just as well)

2 T oregano, chopped

1-1 1/2 c. pureed pumpkin or other winter squash

2 t chile paste

1/2 a large bunch of chard, coarsely chopped

1 c. pecorino, grated

About 8 fried sage leaves

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet, fry the pancetta over medium-high heat in a bit of olive oil until crispy. Remove and drain on a paper towel--don't clean skillet. Put 4 cups of broth in a small saucepan and heat keep warm over low heat. Add about a tablespoon of butter and a bit more olive oil to pancetta skillet (depending on how much delicious pancetta grease you still have in the pan). Add shallot and garlic and saute over medium heat until just softened (about 3-4 minutes). Next add in the arborio and cook until the grains are translucent. Stir in wine, and keep stirring until wine is absorbed. Begin ladling in the warm broth, about 1/2 a cup at a time. I don't usually stir as much as traditional recipes call for, just once when I stir in the broth. Allow the rice to absorb the liquid, then stir in more broth. When the rice is about 75% done, stir in the oregano, and the pumpkin puree, with a bit of broth. The pumpkin will become more liquid as it warms up and the rice will soak it up like broth. Check the seasoning and salt to taste. With the next addition of broth, stir in about 2 teaspoons of chile paste. We had leftover paste from the enchiladas Peter made earlier this week and it added a delicious hint of smoky spiciness to the dish. When the rice has just a few minutes left, stir in the chard to cook in the risotto. Finally, stir in the cheese and serve and garnish with fried sage leaves.

Enchiladas Reinvented

This started out as an invented chicken enchilada drenched in a fresh tomatillo-serrano salsa. Tonight I reconceived it with red enchilada sauce based on a Rick Bayless recipe. You can easily make the sauce a few days ahead. And of course, replace the chicken stock in the sauce with vegetable stock, and replace the chicken with whatever else.

Red enchilada sauce
6 dried guajillo chiles
6 dried ancho chiles
3 garlic cloves (not peeled)
1 ¼ cups chicken stock
1 T brown sugar
1 t. sea salt
juice of ½ lime

Dry roast the whole chiles and garlic cloves in a pan over medium heat, pressing the chiles down with a spatula until they blister on both sides. Soak the chiles in water for 2 hours. Reserve the water. Loosely chop the chiles (discard the stems but keep the seeds) and garlic, and add to a food processor. Pulse a few times, then add the stock, sugar, salt and lime. Process until mostly smooth (there will still be seeds and bits of skin). Adjust seasoning to taste; if it’s too spicy, add some more sugar. The sauce should be thick. Strain through a sieve to remove the seeds and skins, then set aside. You’ll have about two cups of sauce when finished.

Enchiladas
1 onion, chopped
2 fresh poblano peppers
2 garlic cloves, diced
2 chicken breasts, cut into slices
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp ground pepper
1 can black beans, drained
8 tortillas
4 cups shredded cheese (quesadilla melting cheese works great)
2 C. red enchilada sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil the bottom of a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Roast the peppers over open flame on the stovetop, turning frequently, until black and blistered in places. Allow to cool enough to handle, then scrape off the large piece of skin, discard the seeds and cut into narrow strips.

Saute the onion, poblanos and garlic until the onions are translucent. In a separate pan, cook the chicken until mostly done, then add to the pan with the onions and peppers. Add the cumin, ground pepper and black beans.

Heat some vegetable oil in a skillet over medium heat and fry the tortillas, about 15 seconds on each side. Drain on a plate.

To assemble the enchiladas
Place a couple of spoonfuls of the chicken/pepper/onion/bean mixture at one end of a tortilla. Sprinkle with cheese. Roll the tortilla and place it seam-side-down at one end of the baking dish. Repeat for the rest of the tortillas. Spread any extra filling across the tops of the rolled tortillas. Reheat the red sauce in a microwave for about two minutes, then spread across the tortillas. Cover all that with shredded cheese.

Bake for 30 minutes, broiling the top for a few minutes to melt the cheese, if needed.

Baja's Best Pinto Beans

It's no secret I love dried beans. Really good tasting, good quality beans. What could be healthier or more satisfying? So here's a staple pinto recipe that's refreshingly meat-free. 100% vegan these are. These have a mildly smoky, sweet flavor that's not quite bbq and so they go with everything. I particularly love them for breakfast con huevos y tortillas.

You will need to make these in the biggest pot you have b/c of all the water, and they'll need a few hours on the stove. They freeze well too. Enjoy!

Adapted from Bon Appetit, 2003
Serves 6 or more...

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup chopped white onion
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 large jalapeño chili with seeds, cut lengthwise in half
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 9 1/2 cups water
• 1 pound dried pinto beans, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons (packed) dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion; sauté until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, chili, oregano, and cumin; sauté 1 minute. Add 9 1/2 cups water and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer 1 hour.

Discard chili. Add sugar and salt to bean mixture. Simmer uncovered over medium heat until beans are tender and almost all liquid has evaporated, about 1 hour longer (or more). Remove from heat. Season with additional salt, if desired.

Yellow Split Pea and Basmati Rice Dal with Spicy Onion Relish

I'm sort of new to Deborah Madison- I grew up on Moosewood, the Vegetarian Epicure, and my mom's amazing ability to make veggie versions of Bobby Flay recipes. But, I'm quickly becoming a fan. This book is so useful when I find myself confronted with vegetables I don't often or have never prepared myself and when my dwindling bank account pleads for simple trips to the store.

This recipe is a one pot meal that I am remarkably impressed with. Madison's original recipe needed a little punch...So, I've made some changes to the spices and added a dash of vinegar at the end to brighten the whole thing up. If I had kept any of my cookbooks from college, you would see that I consider myself a collaborator with the author, and make copious margin notes as I go. This is one of the first of Madison's recipes that I've tried since buying the book...And, I couldn't make it as is. Perhaps if I had time to make her "Stock for Curried Soups" I wouldn't have needed to augment, but as it is...I'm very happy I made the changes I did. I think this would also be really lovely with a handful of golden raisins or dried currants tossed in toward the end of cooking.




Yellow Split Pea and Basmati Rice Dal

Ingredients
2/3 cup yellow split peas
1 1/3 cups brown basmati rice
3 tablespoons of canola oil (The recipe calls for Ghee, but I didn't want to clarify butter)
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 cardamom pod, gently crushed (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3- 4 cups water or vegetable stock (I used 2 cups of Imagine Organics No Chicken Broth and 1 cup water)
1-2 teaspoons unfiltered apple cider vinegar

Soak the peas in warm water for three hours and the rice in warm water for one hour. (This cuts way down on cook time and makes the peas and rice more receptive to the flavors of the spices.) Drain.

Heat the ghee or oil over medium heat in a heavy skillet or saucepan large enough to accommodate all the other ingredients.

Add the cumin seeds and cook until they become fragrant.

Add the peas and rice, stir to coat with the oil. Then add- cilantro, garam masala, tumeric, ginger, cardamom pod, 1 tsp of salt and 3 cups of liquid.

Bring to a bowl. Then cover most of the way and reduce heat to low.

Simmer until the peas are cooked and the rice is soft. You may need to add more water... Do so a little bit at a time. It will take 20 minutes or so to cook.

Remove from the heat and taste for salt, stir in 1-2 teaspoons of the unfiltered apple cider vinegar and serve with onion relish. I think that spicy pickled veggies would also make a great accompaniment.

Spicy Onion Relish

1 sweet onion sliced thin
1 jalapeno sliced into thin ribs (optional)
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground salt
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne
handful of chopped cilantro
handful chopped fresh mango (optional)

*If you're going to go the mango route, dice the onion and jalapeno instead of slicing them thin.

Mix ingredients in a medium sized bowl and use at will.