French Peasant Beets

A coworker of mine recently purchased a Rebel T2i, same camera I have, but chose to get the 50mm lens rather than the standard 18-55mm, the kit lens, and I have been seething ball of jealousy since seeing his first few pictures. Such clear quality in such low light! Every picture I took of these beets was met with disgust and so, after a quick check of my bank account, I gave in to desire and ordered a 50mm lens for myself. Can't wait!

No 50mm lens yet, but Picasa has instagram-style editing now!

For now, however: last Christmas I was given the Food52 cookbook, "140 winning recipes from exceptional home cooks" - a collection of winning recipes from Food52's weekly contests. Have you visited Food52 yet? Please take the time to pop over now. Amanda Hesser, of the immense and amazing The Essential New York Times Cookbook, and Merrill Stubbs, who assisted Amanda with the ENYTC, created Food52 first as a vehicle to create the "first crowd-sourced cookbook in 52 weeks" but it has since grown to a community where cooks of all caliber share recipes, tips, debate food news - there's even a real-time hotline to help you along any recipe's journey. Seriously, check it out.

Mighty Millet Pilaf

 

Millet. The word always makes me giggle because it invariably makes me think of "pellet", as in food pellets that you feed gerbils, guinea pigs and rats. My word/image association wants millet to look like pet food, as unappetizing as that sounds, but if you are unfamiliar millet is a round, tan little grain that looks either like over-sized couscous or the ugliest bead ever. Fortunately, it cooks somehow like rice (an initial toasting, add double the amount of water, then simmer until absorbed) and, like so many grains, adepts itself well to many flavors. Not that I have always known this, but since seeing millet in my sister-in-law's pantry (and subsequently cooking & eating it) I am able to sing the praises of this humble little bead of deliciousness.

And the Beet Goes On

No big build-up with this one: here is the recipe I submitted for food52's "Best Winter Tart Recipe" contest last week. It is a slight variation on a tart recipe my sister gave me years ago, albeit for summer vegetables, but it is easy to change to whatever season you like. I've made it with  my own crust; store-bought pizza dough; puff pastry; and phyllo dough. It's your choice, though the puff pastry and phyllo help make the tart a bit lighter - which is especially nice when using winter vegetables. One thing: on my food52 version I listed only 5 ounces goat cheese, but that small amount was overpowered by the beets and brussels sprouts. The tart won't be harmed with an extra few ounces of cheese, so I modified it as such for here. I also listed 10 sheets of phyllo but I had problems separating my sheets so I probably ended up using 15? more? It just makes for a flakier crust. Enjoy!

*This tart was chosen as an editor's pick on food52! Which means that 5oz of goat cheese works just fine, though if you are fan a cheese go ahead with the larger amount listed below.

Winter Vegetable Tart
Originally from something my sister read, but at this point all mine
  
3 beets, peeled, halved and sliced to 1/4inch thick  
2 leek2, roughly chopped  
1 cup brussels sprouts, quartered  
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped  
8 ounces plain goat cheese  
1 tablespoon chopped chives  
1 tablespoon chopped chervil  
1 garlic clove, finely minced or forced through garlic press  
1 tablespoon milk  
10 sheets phyllo dough  
3 tablespoons butter, melted  
salt & pepper  
olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place beets, leeks and brussels sprout on sheet pan and sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil and rosemary. Season with salt and pepper then, using hands, toss vegetables to coat. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until vegetables are fork-tender. 
 
2. Prepare the phyllo crust: place one sheet of dough on greased sheet (or pizza) pan and brush sheet completely with melted butter. Place next sheet of dough on top, brush with butter and repeat with next 7 sheets of dough (you will have one remaining.) 
3. Place final sheet of dough on top and brush only outer edges with butter (make about a 3-inch border.) Spread the cheese mixture in the middle, being sure the cheese touches the butter border. When vegetables have finished roasting arrange on top of cheese, being sure they are an even layer, then fold edges of dough over filling (to partially enclose the vegetables and cheese.) You can make this fold fancy or keep it in a square shape - your choice. Brush dough with additional butter and bake for 25 minutes or until pastry is golden brown. Serve hot.

 

Mushroom Risotto

Last night my sister-in-law chided me for the lack of a recent blog post, admitting she only signed up on Google's blogroll to follow my blog(s) and therefore keep up with how I (and Seth) are doing. I was touched, but could only think of the most pitiful excuses to explain the lack of posts: "I was packing and arranging things in Maryland"; "Seth and I have driven 2500 miles in a moving van over the past week"; "Moving van."

Really, no excuse at all, considering I do have a Jetboil and over the weekend we picked up Seth's camping stove. However, before the torture of driving (for a week) in the most uncomfortable of automobiles (I'd actually prefer a matatu over that Budget truck) I did manage to make a large saucepan of simple, creamy mushroom risotto, simultaneously satisfying my joy of cooking with wine (how I've missed it) and proving that I now truly dig mushrooms.

Ratatouille-esque Gratin

 

I hope everyone had a fantastic Christmas (if that's your thing.) My gifts all had a general theme - get your ass in the kitchen - but there are no complaints from me as I now have a new covered casserole, oblong baking ramekins, recipe card index, and three beautiful, saliva-inducing cookbooks for Moroccan, Thai and Chinese cuisine. They are from the "Food Of" cookbook series, the same as my Indian cookbook and, just like that one, they are fantastic. Large (11.5 x 9in), with fantastic pictures, detailed cultural and culinary histories sprinkled throughout and, of course, inspiring recipes; there is a pickled pig's feet recipe in the China cookbook I am particularly eager to try. And carrot soup with couscous from Morocco. And deep-fried quail form Thailand. As you can see I have been going through sensory overload reading through these books deciding which recipes to try first; it is exhausting.

Cossack Pie

During my short visit back to the States to see my sisters and their families I was struck with a bit of irony: while I enjoy staying with my sister Amanda (whose husband is a vegetarian) because I don't have to eat or cook meat every day (yay!) she looks forward to having another adult omnivore in the house. So while I spent my free time perusing the myriad vegetarian cookbooks in the kitchen Amanda would list the meat products she had bought (ground turkey, chicken breasts, roaster in the freezer - we could buy shrimp!) in anticipation of my arrival; we compromised with meat for lunch and vegetarian for dinner. Thank goodness, because it meant she was able to make the deceptively delicious Cossack pie for dinner one night, a simple (I suppose you could also call it "rustic") quiche-like dish that manages to be both light and filling. Imagine.

Spinach Kofta (with yogurt sauce)

Spinach Kofta
The Food of India

1lb spinach leaves (tough stems removed) or 1lb frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 1/2cups besan flour (I used brown flour because I had it on hand)
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 ripe tomato, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1tssp ground cumin
2tbsp cilantro leaves, chopped

oil for deep-frying

1. Blanch the spinach in boiling water for 1 minute and refresh in cold water. Drain, squeezing out any extra water your hands. Finely chop the spinach.

2. Combine with remaining ingredients and up to 1/4 cup water, a little at a time, adding enough to make the mixture soft but not sloppy. If it becomes too sloppy, add more flour. Season with salt, to taste. (Test seasoning by frying a small amount and tasting it.) Shape the mixture into balls by rolling it in dampened hands, using approximately 1 tablespoon mixture per ball.

3. Fill a large saucepan with oil and heat to 350F. Fry the kofta in batches, being sure to not overcrowd the pan, and fry until golden and crisp. Remove koftas as they cook, drain on a wire rack, and add to sauce.

Yogurt Sauce

1 1/2c thick plain yogurt
4tbsp besan flour (I used brown because, again, it was handy)
1tbsp oil
2tsp black mustard seeds
1tsp fenugreek seeds
6 curry leaves
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
1tsp ground turmeric
1/2tsp chili powder

In a large bowl whisk yogurt, flour and 3 cups water to a smooth paste. Heat the oil in a deep frying pan over low heat. Add mustard and fenugreek seeds and the curry leaves, cover and allow the seeds to pop for 1 minute. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute or until soft. Add turmeric and chili powder, stirring for 30 seconds. Add yogurt mixture, bring to the boil, then simmer over low for 10 minutes. Season with salt, to taste.

Radish Salad

Because I am never satisfied with simplicity I had to add a fourth dish to our Indian vegetarian "feast" a couple of nights ago. To be fair I was barely counting the snake gourd as a dish because I had no idea how it would be accepted and if it was nasty then there would only be spinach kofta and potatoes (and chapatis) to eat - totally unacceptable. So there I was, flipping through my cookbook when radish salad jumped out at me. I had glanced over it before but never gave it much thought other than, "Hey, I should try that sometime." With few ingredients and five minutes preparation, it was just what I needed to round off dinner. Oh, and it's really good, too.

Aloo Chaat (Potato Salad)

Finally I am back on a reasonable schedule. I apologize for the rushed posts of the past week, but NaBloPoMo has been killing me! Who knew it was so hard to post every day for a month? Okay, I could have guessed it would be difficult but I stubbornly refused to listen to logic. I am still not up to snuff with picture-taking skills: last night we had friends over for a dinner party with an Indian menu and I was far too focused on cooking to worry about documenting anything. Let me just say that I cooked snake gourd for the first time and it tasted like . . . nothing. Crunchy nothing. It was still foreign enough that I had to eat it with my eyes closed everyone present only ate the smallest amount, but it's a start! Bitter melon is next on the list.

Cabbage with Yellow Lentils

I hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween and that you visited many houses that gave out handfuls of candy. Seth and I had originally planned to go out but changed our plans at last minute and stayed home, leaving us candy-less for the hordes in our apartment complex.  I tried to simply ignore the knocks on our door, but as the background music on the tv grew into crescendo I cringed and went running into the bedroom. I figured the farthest corner in the room was the safest place in case the kids should storm in, demanding booty. There might have been blood when I tried to give away canned goods. When I was young my mom gave out Little Debbie snack cakes, usually oatmeal pies. Yes, we were that house. I don't think Mom gave out candy until I was in college.

Gajar Matar (Peas and Carrots, Northern India Style)

 I am consistently amazed at the way Seth's off-days become time warps that require an additional day of recovery. What did we do for the past week? I recall sleeping (a lot), watching some UFC, the first season of United States of Tara, daydreaming about GSP - oh yeah, and making what turned out to be the most uninteresting, muddled dish of peas and carrots my Indian cookbook had to offer.