Chickpea Salad for Maria – Insalata di Ceci Maria

 

 

With my daughter Maria and her family coming over this evening for a Mediterranean dinner, I had to come up with one more dish to complement the others I had. Those other dishes included marinated roasted chicken kebabs, of Turkish origin, Ratatouille, the Provençal medley of summer vegetables, and rice. Still having fresh herbs in my garden, I opened a can of chickpeas and highlighted them, salad style, with olive oil, wine vinegar, fresh parsley and basil, black olives, tomato, garlic and sea salt.

Bowl by Maria Dondero, Southern Star Studio

 

All of those ingredients are common in Italy, where Maria often teaches ceramics both through the University of Georgia art program in Cortona, in Tuscany, and as part of a women’s cooperative clay studio in the same city. Chickpeas as a major food item go back to at least Etruscan times in central Italy, well before the Romans took over. Chickpea salads are made in various parts of the Mediterranean, including Italy. So this convenient, easy to make, dish seemed to fit geographically and historically, as well as culinarily, into what I needed to balance tonight’s meal. I’ll serve it from a ceramic bowl Maria made.

 

The recipe serves four to six as a side dish.

 

1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed twice

1 small tomato, cored and cut in narrow wedges

12 pitted black olives (such as Kalamata), halved crosswise

1 medium large clove garlic, finely minced

3 sprigs fresh parsley, leaves coarsely chopped

8 medium-large leaves fresh basil, coarsely chopped (or 1/2 tsp dry oregano)

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons wine vinegar, white or red

1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

 

In a mixing bowl, combine the chickpeas with the remaining ingredients. Stir well. Allow the mixture to sit for at least half an hour, mixing it occasionally. Taste and add salt and/or a little more vinegar to your taste.

 

Serve in a shallow bowl.

 

French Cucumber Salad with Sour Cream and Dill

 

 

I first had this dish many years ago in Lyons, France. It was prepared by an excellent cook who was also a medical researcher I was visiting. The salad was the cooling starter course for dinner on a warm summer evening. It’s easy to make, particularly if you use a vegetable slicer for slicing the cucumber. Although the salad was originally finished with crème fraiche (French cultured heavy cream), American sour cream or plain Greek-style yogurt do almost as well.

 

The recipe serves six as an appetizer course or side dish for dinner.

 

2 large regular cucumbers or one long (plastic sleeved) cucumber

8 ice cubes

1/2 teaspoon salt for preparing cucumber plus 3/4 teaspoon for seasoning the salad

1 small shallot or 1 large scallion (green onion)

1 tablespoon white vinegar (wine or distilled)

1 teaspoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons freshly minced dill (reserving 1 teaspoon of it for garnish)

1/4 cup crème fraiche, sour cream, or Greek yogurt

 

Peel cucumbers thinly, leaving some green color. Quarter them lengthwise. If the seeds are large, cut off and discard seed section. Slice cucumbers very thinly (a vegetable slicer makes this easier). 20 minutes before serving time, mix sliced cucumbers with ice cubes, enough water to reach the surface of the cucumbers, plus 1/2 teaspoon salt. Mix together gently and allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Drain well.

 

Slice shallot or scallion (green part also) very thinly and add to the cucumber. Add vinegar, sugar, pepper, most of the dill, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir well. Allow to sit at least 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for salt and add a little if necessary.

 

Just before serving, drain away the juices. Add crème fraiche, sour cream or yogurt and mix in well. Taste and adjust salt, if necessary. Spoon into a shallow, attractive dish and dust with the reserved dill.

 

 

Roasted Butternut Soup

 

I’ve loved butternut squash since I first encountered it as a kid growing up in southern New England. My father, skilled at farming, tried the then new vegetable in our family garden, where I used to tag along and “help.” Butternut seed had just become available about 1950 (please don’t do the math), and butternut quickly replaced the traditional Hubbard as the favorite winter squash. Butternut is now grown throughout the world because of its excellent eating and storing qualities.

 

As its name indicates, the squash is both buttery and nutty in flavor. These features are most pronounced when the fruits are fully mature, with the skin thick and uniformly tan and the stem hard and dry. The flesh is then rich orange and sweet. Its luscious intensity is further enhanced by baking.

 

Where I grew up, we ate most winter squash boiled, mashed and slathered with butter, or occasionally baked with brown sugar or maple syrup, butter and spices. My mother, a skilled cook but who with four kids didn’t spend time on complex dishes (“if it takes more than one bowl or one pot it’s too fussy”), kept it simple. By contrast, I’ve made soups with butternut, as well as curries, gratins, ravioli filling, other pasta and rice dishes, and even a roasted butternut salad.

 

Here is an evocative favorite for the fall season, roasted butternut soup. It is not too difficult and shows the squash off to advantage.

 

The recipe serves six, but extra soup stores well and seems even better after a day or two. While typically served hot, butternut soup can also be eaten cold like its non-relative, gazpacho.

 

1 large or 2 medium butternut squash (about 2 pounds), ideally ripe and hard

1 small onion, finely diced

A 6-inch piece of celery, finely diced

6 tablespoons butter

5 cups chicken broth (low salt) or vegetable broth

1 1/2 teaspoons salt plus more to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon oregano

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

A small pinch of ground cloves

(3 tablespoons cashew butter or ground cashews, optional)

Minced parsley or tiny sprouts (leafy parts) for garnish

 

Set oven for 350 degrees.

 

Cut butternut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds. Place squash, cut side up, on a baking sheet and roast it until tender when pierced with a toothpick. Let cool.

 

Meanwhile prepare the onion and celery and fry them gently in the butter using the pot in which you will make the soup. Stir frequently and fry until the vegetables are tender but not browned. Remove from the heat.

 

When the baked butternut is cooled somewhat, scoop all the flesh out from the skin. Place it, along with the fried onion-celery mixture and its butter in a food processor or blender (this may need to be in two batches), adding a little of the chicken or vegetable broth. Puree the mixture. Transfer it back into the pot. Add the remainder of the broth, the salt and spices (and cashew butter if used). Simmer for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste for salt, and add a little, if needed, to taste.

 

The soup can be served now, or refrigerated and served hot – or cold – later. Garnish with a little finely minced parsley or tiny leaves from baby sprouts.

 

Borscht – The beautiful beet soup

 

 

The classical “Russian” beet soup, borscht, is not actually Russian. Borscht was created in Ukraine in the 16th century, probably by Ukrainian Cossacks. It’s the beet variant of an earlier peasant soup of wild “hogweed,” from which the Ukrainian, and subsequently Russian, and our, name derives. In other words, that archetypal “Russian” soup actually came from the tough little country Russia is trying to take over. 

 

Borscht is widely loved throughout eastern Europe, particularly in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, and Poland. While the carmine-red beet version is the best known, there are also white and green borschts. The beet soup typically contains other flavorful vegetables and often meat or poultry. Celery root, “celeriac,” would have been the source of  the celery flavor, since borscht is a winter soup and few cooks in the old days had access to fresh celery in winter. The soup is usually made sweet-sour with lemon juice, citric acid (“sour salt”), or vinegar, and is typically enjoyed with sour cream -- “smetana” -- in both Ukraine and Russia.

 

The Jewish version of borscht (Eastern European Jewry closely overlapped areas where the beet soup is made) usually omits meat. Mosaic Law forbids combining dairy – like borscht’s essential sour cream – and meat. Borscht was introduced to the US by Yiddish-speaking Ashkenazi Jews who migrated in large numbers from Ukraine, Belarus and Russia in the early 20th century. Thus borscht here is usually thought of as a fairly clear, simple vegetarian beet soup, even though in its native Ukraine the soup is substantially chunky and meaty.

 

Here, in support of  the beleaguered country where the soup originated, is a meaty Ukrainian-style borscht. I also suggest  how to prepare a non-meat version. Whichever way you make it, serve borscht with a generous dollop of sour cream, and maybe some fresh dill, to stir in as you savor the soup.

 

There is a culinary trick for making the soup as red as possible. The beets are cooked in the soup broth whole and unpeeled. Some color will leach into the broth, but cooking lightens it. When tender, the beets are removed, cooled, peeled and diced or grated to be re-added to the soup at the end. 

 

The recipe serves six to eight, but leftovers are great later. Serve hot in individual soup bowls, with a dollop of sour cream for diners stir in.

 

Ukrainian-Style Borscht, with Meat

 

1 to 1-1/2 pounds pork with bones, such as shoulder steak or shoulder “chops”

2 quarts water

1-1/2 pounds red beets

1/2 pound celery root (“celeriac”)

2 large carrots

1 medium-large onion

1/4 head red cabbage (green can be substituted)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/4 teaspoon dry thyme

3 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

5 tablespoons white or cider vinegar (5% acidity)

3 tablespoons sugar

Sour cream for serving

Sprigs of fresh dill (optional) for garnish

 

Cut the pork into large chunks and keep the bones. Bring meat and bones to a boil with the water in a soup pot, then allow to simmer.

 

Rinse the beets, then without peeling them, add them to the simmering meat. Saving both the peels and roots, peel the celeriac and cut off the entangled root sections. Rinse the peels and roots in a bowl of water, allowing any sand to settle to the bottom. Add the peels and roots to the simmering meat and beets to flavor the broth. Allow the pot to simmer, covered, for half an hour or more, depending on the size of the beets. With a toothpick pierce several beets to test for tenderness. When they are tender, remove them with a slotted spoon to a bowl.

 

Remove and save the meat and bones. Strain the broth into a bowl, and discard the celeriac peels and roots. Measure the broth and return it to the soup pot, and add enough water to make 2 quarts.

 

Cut the meat off the bones and cut it into 1/4-inch pieces. Add the cut-up meat to the broth. Discard the bones.

 

Cut the peeled celeriac into 1/4-inch cubes. Peel the carrots and cut then into 1/4-inch pieces. Peel the onion. Halve it then slice it 1/4-inch wide then cut the slices into 1/4-inch pieces. Add these three vegetables to the broth and bring it back to a boil. Reduce the heat so that the soup simmers. Skim off any foam that forms.  Add the pepper and thyme but not the salt. Simmer, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, 10-12 minutes. 

 

Meanwhile, cut out the core of the cabbage, and cut cabbage first into 1/4-inch slices then crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces. Set aide. Peel the cooked beets and cut the beets into 1/4-inch cubes. Set aside separate from the cabbage.

 

When the simmering vegetables are tender, add the cut-up cabbage. Simmer it until it is becoming tender, 10 minutes or so. Add the salt, and simmer a few more minutes, until the cabbage is fully tender. Add the reserved, diced cooked beets plus the vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil and simmer one minute. Remove from the heat.

 

Skim off any foam from the surface. Taste the broth and several pieces of vegetable. Add a little salt if needed. Add a little more vinegar and/or sugar if needed to make it sweet-sour to your taste. The soup can be served now or, when cool, refrigerated and reheated later.

 

Serve hot in wide soup dishes. Place several tablespoons of sour cream in the center of each bowl of soup. If desired, place a sprig of dill on top of the sour cream.

 

Vegetarian Borscht

 

This version of the soup can be eaten hot or chilled. It is made without meat, but the “umami” quality is replaced by simmering in some mushrooms. Mushrooms, freshly gathered in the woods in summer, and dried mushrooms during the rest of the year, are common cooking ingredients in Eastern Europe.

 

Check the head notes at the start of the meat version of the soup, above. Follow that recipe, but omit the meat. Simmer the beets plus the celeriac peels and roots as above. Handle the beets as above, and strain out the celeriac peels and roots as above.

 

Add 1/2 pound of fresh mushrooms, either regular white or “Baby Bella,” cut into 1/4 inch dice to the other cubed vegetables in the recipe above.

 

Whether served hot or cold, add the sour cream to the soup bowls for diners to stir in.

 

Hot Blond Lentil Chili

 

 

“Hot BlondChili,” which I developed and won top prize with at a Super Bowl chili competition in Atlanta years ago is now a popular take-home dish sold from the freezer at our restaurant. (The recipe can be found elsewhere in this blog.) It is also a favorite among several of my grandchildren. But, since it contains meat (usually ground turkey plus bacon), it doesn’t work for several other family members who avoid meat. So here’s a vegetarian version of the dish, to close the gap. 

Lentils, one of my favorite food items, are a wonderful source of protein, dietary fiber, iron, and certain vitamins. They are also quick-cooking, easy to store, and inexpensive. I use them in two forms here, the green-tan whole lentils plus the split, hulled red lentils. They replace the ground meat. The smoky hint from bacon in the meat recipe is replaced by a chipotle chili, which is a smoked, dried jalapeño pepper. Otherwise, the chili is made similarly to the meat version. I usually make it with some real heat from the peppers.

 

 Most of the ingredients are available at supermarkets and natural food stores. Two items, chipotle peppers and ground annatto (called “achiote molido”), can be found in the dry chili and seasoning section at Mexican grocery stores. Habanero peppers are in some supermarkets, but always in the produce section of Mexican groceries.

 

The recipe serves six or more. Leftovers keep well and seem to taste even better at a later time. I like to serve chili with rice. Recently I’ve come to appreciate brown rice as an accompaniment.

 

1 cup regular green-tan lentils

1 cup split red lentils

2 (14-ounce) cans white Great Northern beans

1 medium-large onion

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 whole dry chipotle chili (available at Mexican stores)

1 yellow or orange habanero pepper, or 2 tabasco peppers

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground annatto (“achiote molido”), at Mexican store

Water as needed

2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste

1 cup sour cream

 

In two bowls, separately rinse then soak the two types of lentils in water several inches above the lentils. Set aside until needed. Open the cans of beans and drain off the liquid, but do not rinse the beans. Set aside until needed.

 

Finely mince the onion, or chop it finely in a food processor. In a heavy pot, fry onion in the olive oil over medium heat, stirring often, until softened and just beginning to brown. Mince the garlic cloves or put them through a garlic press and stir into the frying onions. Let fry lightly for a minute, Add chipotle, whole, the habanero or tabasco peppers, whole. Add 2 cups water then stir in the dry spices. Bring to a boil.

 

Drain the whole lentils (but not yet the split red lentils) and add them to the onion mixture. Cook them, covered, over medium heat, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot, until the lentils are becoming tender, 10-15 minutes. As needed to keep them very moist, add a little water from time to time.

 

Then drain the split red lentils and add them to the pot, along with enough water to just reach the surface of the lentils. Simmer, covered, stirring frequently and scraping the bottom of the pot, until red lentils turn pale yellow and become tender, 10-15 minutes. Add a little water from time to time as needed to keep the lentils moist.

 

When lentils are tender, but not disintegrated, add the drained beans and salt. Cook at a light boil, stirring frequently, for two minutes. Stir in the sour cream and simmer two minutes further. Remove from the heat. Taste and add salt if needed.

 

Serve now, accompanied by rice, or store and reheat for serving later.