Potato and Daikon Curry

Daikon is an easy winter vegetable to grow and it is great for soil building, so I want to keep it around and find ways of using it for food. I came across this little gem, which is surprisingly tasty. The grated daikon kind of melt into a sauce, showcasing the potato and flavoring the dish.

2 Tbsps. almond meal

1” piece of fresh ginger, grated fine

2-3 hot green chiles, seeded and chopped OR ½ tsp chilli flakes

OPTIONAL: 1+2 Tbsps. cilantro, washed and chopped, in all

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground cloves

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/3 cup water

¼ cup veg oil

½ tsp caraway seed

1 tsp cumin seed

¼ tsp asafoetida powder

1 lb. potato, cut into ¼ inch dice

½ lb. daikon, peeled and shredded

1 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsps. ground coriander

1 tsp salt

2 tsps. lemon juice (subst. 1 tsp white wine vinegar)

1. Start by making a paste by combining meal, ginger, chilli, optional cilantro, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg in the water. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a heavy pan over high heat until almost smoking. Add in the caraway and cumin seed and stir fry, stirring constantly, until they begin to brown, about 20 seconds. 
3. Add in the asafoetida resin, stir fry for a few seconds, and then add diced potatoes. Sir fry for 2-3 minutes. 
4. Add the shredded radish and the paste. Stir fry for another 3-4 minutes. 
5. Reduce heat to medium-high and add the turmeric and coriander. 
6. Continue stir-frying until the potatoes are tender. Add in a few tablespoons of water at a time when the spices begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. 
7. Remove from heat and mix in the remaining chopped cilantro and lemon juice.

Soda Bread with Caraway Seeds

3 1⁄2 cups flour (535g)

1⁄2 cup sugar (100g)

1⁄2 tsp baking soda

2 tsps. baking powder

2 tsps. salt

2 Tbsps. caraway seeds

2 cups sour cream or yogurt 3.5%

2 eggs

Optional : 

1cup (2.5oz) sharp cheddar

3⁄4 cup raisins

1. Preheated the oven to 350ºF.
2. Combine dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl beat eggs and stir in sour cream.
4. Add the egg mixture optional ingredients, if using, to the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon.
5. Batter will be very thick and sticky.
6. Place batter in a greased 9 inch spring form pan.
7. If you find the dough too sticky, you can dust the top with enough flour so that you can pat the batter like a bread dough evenly in the pan without it sticking to your hands.
8. With a knife make a shallow crisscross on the top.
9. Bake for 50 minutes.

Slowly Cooked Spiced Red Cabbage Soup

This has Fall and Winter written all over it. All of the main ingredients are late season products or products that keep in the winter: bacon, onion, carrot, apple, cabbage. It has such a warming, comforting flavor, not quite like a dessert but it has all the earmarks of a soothing cold weather soup.

Number of portions: 6 servings
Serving size: ~540 g per serving
Calories per serving: ~410 kcal (mostly from bacon and stock fat)
Speed: Slow Food (hands-on cooking is moderate, but simmering is long and patient)
Experienced cook (active time): 35–45 min
Novice cook (active time): 50–65 min
Total elapsed time: 1 hr 30–1 hr 45 min
LHSS Score: 7.5 / 10

6 slices smoked bacon (approx. 190g), chopped en lardons
1 large onion (10oz/285g) finely diced
1 large carrot (4 to 5oz/145g) finely diced
1 firm, tart apple, finely diced
1½ tsps. caraway seeds
1 small head (1½ lbs.) cabbage, diced (preferably red but just for the appearance)
¼ tsp pepper
⅛ tsp nutmeg
In a cheesecloth bundle collect: 5 or 6 juniper berries; 3 or 4 whole cloves; 2 fresh bay leaves; a strip of fresh lemon or lime peel (grated instead, maybe?); 1 small cinnamon stick
1⁄4 cup plum vinegar or cider vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp dark brown sugar
6 cups chicken stock
2 cups water
1 tsp salt

1. In a soup pot render the fat from the bacon until the meat is crisp. Remove the bacon bits and set aside. If there isn't enough fat at the bottom of the pot, add some oil.
2. Add the onion, carrot, apple, and caraway and cook until the onion is soft. 
3. Add the cabbage and season with pepper and nutmeg. Cover and cook just to wilt the cabbage. 
4. Return the bacon to the pot and add the spices, the vinegar, brown sugar, stock, water and salt, and bring to a boil. 
5. Simmer uncovered until the cabbage is very tender and the soup has thickened/reduced, about 1 to 1½ hours.
6. Adjust the salt to your taste.
7. Serve with the Autumn Grain & Green Salad for a LHSS score of ~8.7–9/10.

The beginning of a sauce obsession - Caraway and Cream Sauce

Cook's Illustrated has an awesome Web site with amazing recipes. It's turned me on to sauces in a big way. I figure it would be great for a bistro - cooking the chicken ahead of time, a quick fry in a pan to liven it up, plate it, and drizzle with sauce. The following is a sauce inspired by one of theirs. I have made it to use with the recipe for Chicken Cutlets, but it could just as easily be made for a whole chicken cut into pieces and grilled as below.

For the chicken

2 to 3 Tbsps vegetable oil

1 whole chicken cut into pieces (either 4 or 8)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
2. Pat chicken thighs dry.
3. Add chicken pieces to the skillet, smooth side down; cook for 5-7 minutes without moving, and then turn over when the chicken easily releases from the pan on its own. Cook until the juices run clear, an additional 7-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the chicken piece.
4. Set the chicken aside and keep warm.
5. Remove all but 1 Tbsp of oil and immediately start to cook the shallot as per below.

For the sauce

1 Tbsp oil
2 medium shallots, minced

OPTIONAL: 1 Belgian endive or 5 large Romaine lettuce leaves, cut cross-wise, in thin strips

2 Tbsps apple cider vinegar

1 tsp caraway seeds

½ cup beef stock

½ cup heavy cream or crème fraîche

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Set the skillet over medium heat. Add the shallots (and leaves if using) and sauté until softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the caraway seeds and continue cooking until the shallots are lightly browned, an extra 1 to 2 minutes.
2. Add the cider vinegar and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon (remember, browned bits = flavor!).
3. Add the stock and cream; bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to a generous ½ cup, about 5 minutes. Stir in the Dijon mustard; season to taste with salt and pepper. Add the chicken pieces, spoon over the sauce and cook together another 5 minutes or until internal temperature of the breasts reaches 165°F. .
4. OR: Spoon the sauce over chicken cutlets and serve immediately.

 Originally published Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Turnip Torte - you gotta try it!

Whaaat? A delicious, comforting dish made from turnip? It's surprising but, yes, it's pretty darned good. Assembly is very easy, but it does require quite a bit of cooking time.

NOTE: next time I'll try adding a few sprinkles of either whole or cracked caraway seeds.
Response - it was good!

2 lbs turnip

1 Tbsp (½ oz/14gr) butter

½ lb havarti, grated

salt & freshly ground black pepper
Caraway seeds

1. Boil the unpeeled turnip in salted water until tender, about 20 to 30 minutes, depending on the size of the turnip(s); drain, cool, peel and cut into 1/4" thick rounds.
2. Preheat the oven to 375°F.
3. Spread the butter on the bottom of a shallow pie plate and sprinkle 1⁄4 of the cheese in the pan; top with 1⁄3 of the turnip slices, slightly overlapping them; season with salt, pepper and a light sprinkle of caraway, and repeat, salting, peppering and carraway-ing each layer of turnip until the last quarter measure of cheese is sprinkled on top.
4. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown; let it cool a bit before serving.
5. Goes very nicely as a main dish with some toasted, crusty rye bread.