Fresh Pea & Spinach Soup with Coconut Milk

This lovely green soup is very loosely adaptated from a recipe in Deborah Madison's Local Flavors, recommended in response to a Facebook plea for interesting uses for the English peas my partner brought home from Trader Joe's. The prototype looked interesting but a little dull, and having already taken my friend's suggestion to substitute Thai curry paste for oh-so-pedestrian curry powder, I decided to just throw away the playbook (does this sound at all familiar?) and "fix" it. 

I didn't have any fresh cilantro on hand and decided to substitute dried basil, but a generous handful of either fresh herb (or even mint) wouldn't come amiss, especially if added late in the process, so I've included them in the ingredients list. You can either partially puree the finished product or blend it until completely smooth; I chose the latter approach, and although I served it hot,  I think it would also be nice cold or room temperature soup in the upcoming, swampy summer moths. 

Fresh Pea & Spinach Soup with Coconut Milk

Ingredients
~ 4 cups no chicken broth
~ 2-3 tsp. Thai red curry paste
~ 1 tbsp. coconut oil
~ 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
~ 1 large red onion, diced

~ 4 cloves garlic, minced
~ 1 tbsp. freshly grated ginger

~ ¼ cup white basmati rice

~ 1 tsp. each: salt, basil, garam masala
~ 2 heaping cups fresh, shelled English peas
~ 1 lb. frozen spinach, thawed and undrained
~ 2 cups coconut milk
~ ¼ cup fresh lime juice
~ A good handful of chopped, fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, mint, etc.)

Directions
~ In a large beaker, mix the broth with the curry paste and heat nearly to boiling. Set aside.
~ In a large, deep pot, melt the coconut and toasted sesame oils over medium heat, and add the onions. 
~ Cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes, and then add the garlic and ginger. Continue cooking for a minute or so, until fragrant.
~ Add the rice, salt, basil, and garam masala, and stir well to coat.
~ Pour in the broth/curry paste mixture, cover the pot, and bring just to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 10-15 minutes, until the rice is quite soft.
~ Return the soup to a boil, add the peas and thawed spinach, and cook another 5 minutes.
~ Remove from the heat, stir in the coconut milk, lime juice, and fresh herb if using. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth (you can add a little water at this juncture if it seems too thick).
~ Gently reheat the soup until hot but not boiling, and serve immediately with crusty bread.

Grilling "Cheese"

Yes, I realize that the image above is absolutely terrifying. But now that I've seen it, I'm not not about to keep it myself. (Sorry.)

Now let's talk about grilled cheese sandwiches: sometimes you just need one. I'm not generally a big buyer of commercial vegan cheese; lots of it is fine, some of it is great (OMG blue Cheezly when I can get it), but on the whole it's more of an occasional treat around here. So when that grilled cheese craving strikes and there's no processed analogue available, the options are limited: one can go shopping, give up on the idea entirely, or allow necessity to become the happy mother of invention. One recent craving hit on a day when I was disinclined to shop, and I really wanted that sandwich, so I chose option three and headed into the kitchen to see what could be done.

Google led me to the "gooey grilled cheese" from Jo Stepaniak's by-now classic Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, which I used as my basic model with one or two tweaks. The end result was a yummy, semi-soft, just spreadable  Welsh Rabbit/Cheez-Whiz hybrid, perfect for smooshing between two slices of bread and grilling. The finished product firms up as it sits, especially once it's been refrigerated, but softens quickly when heated; some additional liquid would give you an easy sauce for vegetables or pasta.

Grilling "Cheese"
Ingredients
~ 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
~ 2 tbsp. flour
~ 1/2 tsp. each: onion powder, salt, smoked paprika
~ 1/4 tsp. turmeric (for color)
~ 2/3 cup water
~ 3 tbsp. tahini
~ 1 tbsp. ketchup
~ 1 tsp. each: Marmite, prepared English mustard, vegan Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce (optional; I used Frank's)

Directions
~ In a mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients and set aside.
~ In a medium saucepan over low heat, combine the water, tahini, ketchup, Marmite, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce (if using). Mix well and keep stirring until the ingredients are beginning to blend together.
~ Gradually add the combined dry ingredients and keep stirring constantly, until everything is incorporated and the mixture is smooth.
~ Bring nearly to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens (this will only take a minute or two). You can add a splash of water if it gets too gloppy; we're going for a texture similar to a thick tahini.
~ Remove from heat and allow to cool for a few minutes before spreading between sliced bread of your choice and grilling until browned. Any further additions like sliced tomatoes, tempeh bacon, sliced onions, etc. are entirely at your discretion.
~ Refrigerate any remaining cheese in an airtight container for further use.

Risotto alla Milanese

We are shelves, we are

Tables, we are meek,
We are edible.

Nudgers and shovers
In spite of ourselves
Our kind multiplies:

We shall by morning
Inherit the earth.
Our foot’s in the door.

Risotto has an unfair reputation for being labor-intensive and time-consuming, but it's actually a pretty simple proposition: all it requires is that you stand at the stove and stir for a half hour or so. This makes it an ideal choice for those nights when you feel like hanging out in the kitchen, optimally with someone you enjoy chatting with (NB this person can also perform helpful services like refilling your wine glass, changing the music, and dealing with the pets who invariably begin begging the minute anyone gets busy at the stove). I make risotto fairly often, and have posted a number of different versions over the years, from the classic to the expedient to the iconoclastic and/or countercultural.

Today's iteration came about because I spotted some beautiful mushroom stock at Dave's Fresh Pasta in Somerville (a veritable Aladdin's cave of culinary riches) and immediately knew its earthy, starchy destiny. If you don't have access to prepared mushroom stock, you can easily make your own, or use regular vegetable or no chicken stock if you can't be arsed. (But let's face it, everything is more fun with fungus; as Ms. Plath notes above, resistance is futile.) However you choose to proceed, I encourage you to whip up a pot of this soon; in addition to its other charms, it makes great company food, because people imagine that you've slaved over it, and - especially at this time of year - all you need is a green salad and/or some roasted asparagus on the side for the perfect springtime dinner. 

Risotto alla Milanese

Ingredients
~ 6 cups strong mushroom stock (homemade or store-bought)

~ 1 tsp. saffron threads

~ 1 large bay leaf

~ 1 lb. mushrooms, sliced (I used baby bellas)
~ 2 tbsp. olive oil

~ 1 large yellow onion, diced fine

~ 4 cloves garlic, minced

~ 2 cups Arborio rice
~ 1 tsp. kosher salt
~ A few grinds black pepper

~ 3/4 cup dry white wine

~ 1/3 cup nutritional yeast

~ Juice of one lemon

Directions

~ In a saucepan, combine the mushroom stock, saffron, and bay leaf. Heat almost (but not quite) to boiling, and keep on a low heat.

~ Coat a skillet with cooking spray and sauté the mushrooms over high heat for 5-7 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Sprinkle with a little salt and set aside.

~ Place a large, deep saucepan or dutch oven on medium heat, and cook the onion in the olive oil for 7-10 minutes, until soft and golden but not browned.

~ Add the garlic and the Arborio rice, and cook for about a minute, stirring constantly so that the grains are coated.

~ Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, stirring well to remove any bits that may have stuck to the bottom. 

~ Once the wine has cooked off, discard the bay leaf and begin adding the mushroom stock to the pot by ladlefuls, stirring with each addition until the liquid is mostly absorbed.

~ Continue this process until you have only about a cup of stock remaining (this is the part where your helpful glass-refilling chum comes in).

~ With the last addition of stock, stir in the nutritional yeast, lemon juice, and reserved sautéed mushrooms. Mix well and continue cooking another 5 minutes, until the mixture is creamy but still retains a teensy bit of “bite.”

~ Serve immediately with a green salad, steamed or roasted vegetables, and more wine!

Selsig Morgannwg (Glamorgan Sausages)

The idea for today's recipe came from that perennial font of culinary inspiration, the Guardian's food section. Glamorgan sausages are a fixture on UK pub menus, and there are many frozen, commercial versions, but they always contain cheese and eggs so I never get to have them. I hadn't thought about just making some myself until Felicity Cloakes featured them in a recent "How to Make the Perfect..." column, and thought I'd give it a shot, the results of which I'm happy to share.

As with Welsh Rabbit, one has the feeling this meatless dish has its roots more in austerity than in ethics, but any alternative to eating ground-up sheep, pigs, and cows (or rabbits) is all right in my book, regardless of its generating impulse. The recipe originally called for Glamorgan cheese (made from the milk of Glamorgan cows, pictured above), but since the breed is now all but extinct, Caerphilly or cheddar are most frequently recommended. My version improves on its prototype by sparing the calves and chickens as well; substituting margarine, ground flaxseed, and Daiya cheddar shreds (Cheezly would be even better if you can lay hands on it) for their animal-sourced analogues.

The finished product is more like a croquette than a sausage, but that sounds dangerously French so never mind. Whatever you choose to call these crispy little darlings, they're deliciously addictive in that particular pub-food way, and eminently kid-friendly. (NB that they're traditionally fried, but I chose baking for maximal crunch and minimal grease. If you'd rather fry them, go for it, but I'd keep a close eye because the crumb coating could burn easily!)

Glamorgan Sausages
Ingredients

~ 2 tbsp. Earth Balance or other vegan margarine

~ 2 leeks, chopped

~ ½ tsp. each: salt, thyme, parsley
~ Dash nutmeg

~ A few grinds of black pepper

~ 2 cups grated vegan cheddar 

~ 2 tbsp. ground flax seeds

~ 6 tbsp. water

~ ¼ cup plain, unsweetened soy milk

~ 2 tsp. English mustard

~ 1 tsp. Marmite

~ 3 cups fresh breadcrumbs, divided

~ ¾ cup plain, unsweetened soy milk

Directions

~ Melt the margarine in a skillet and sauté the leeks over medium heat until well softened; about 5 minutes.
~ Stir in the cheese, salt, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper; mix well, and continue cooking until the cheese has melted. Remove from heat.

~ In a bowl or small beaker, whisk the flax seeds with the water until viscous (this will take a minute or two). Add the milk, English mustard, and Marmite, and stir to combine.

~ In a large mixing bowl, combine the leek and cheese mixture, the flax mixture, and 2 cups of the breadcrumbs. Mix well and set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
~ Shape the mixture into sausages (I made mine about 4” long), and chill in the refrigerator for ½ an hour.
~ While the sausages are chilling, preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.
~ Arrange the soymilk and remaining breadcrumbs in two separate dishes. Dip each sausage in the milk, and then roll in the breadcrumbs to coat.
~ When all the sausages have been coated, place them on your preheated baking sheet, and give the tops a good shot of cooking spray.
~ Bake the sausages for 20-25 minutes, turning once at the halfway point, until golden brown.
~ Serve immediately with mashed potatoes (I made champ), onion gravy, and the vegetables of your choice.

Tofu and Green Beans in Coconut Sauce

Okay, it's not that bad, but I have been a bit off the whole cooking (and blogging) thing lately. Between the semester winding down, with classes ending, grading to be done, summer plans to make, my son's college applications and decision (!), and trying to get some Actual Writing done so I can get going on More Serious Actual Writing, I haven't had much time or inclination to hit the kitchen. No one is going hungry, but meals chez nous have generally been fast, simple, and/or old favorites long since posted here. I'm anticipating my annual jolt of renewed energy once summer arrives, with its farmer's markets and piles of fresh produce; meanwhile, I've got enough on my figurative plate without worrying too much about the literal ones.

That said, I did MacGyver this tasty dish one recent night. It's not quite a stirfry, and it's not quite a curry: it's one of those things that come about when whatever's in the house winds up becoming dinner (hence the unimaginatively literal title of this post). Happily, it turned out to be delicious, and I'm sure it would lend itself to whatever other vegetables happen to be lying around; lightly steamed broccoli and/or snow peas would make nice substitutions or additions. Onward!

Tofu and Green Beans in Coconut Sauce 

The Tofu

Ingredients

~ 1 block extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into 1/2” cubes

~ 2 tbsp. soy sauce

~ 1 tbsp. each: lime juice, hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

~ 1 tbsp. each: crushed garlic, grated ginger

~ 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
~ 1 tsp. English mustard powder

~ 1/4 cup water

Directions

~ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

~ Mix all the marinade ingredients together in a wide, shallow bowl and add the tofu cubes, turning them a few times to make sure they’re thoroughly coated.

~ Set aside to marinate for at least half an hour.

~ When the tofu has had a nice, long soak, arrange the cubes on your prepared baking sheet.  (Be sure to reserve the marinade!)

~ Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes turning occasionally to make sure it browns on all sides.

~ Transfer the baked tofu to a plate and set aside, leaving the oven at 400.

The Vegetables and Sauce

~ 1 lb. green beans, washed and trimmed

~ 2 tbsp. canola or other neutral oil

~ Salt and black pepper

~ 1 large red bell pepper, cut into thin matchsticks and then halved

~ 1 14 oz. can coconut milk

~ 1-2 tsp. Thai red curry paste

~ ½ cup plain, unsweetened soy milk

~ 2 tsp. corn starch

Directions

~ Arrange the green beans on a baking sheet (you can just wipe down the one you used for the tofu) and coat thoroughly with the oil and a few grinds each of salt and pepper.

~ Roast at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, stirring them around periodically to be sure they don’t burn.

~ While that’s happening, coat a large, deep skillet with cooking spray and heat over medium-high flame. Add the red bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, until they are slightly charred (but not burned!).

~ Stir in the coconut milk, Thai red curry paste, and reserved tofu marinade. Combine thoroughly, turn the heat to medium low, and cook for about 5 minutes.

~ In a small bowl, combine the soy milk and the corn starch and beat with a fork until smooth.

~ Add the corn starch mixture to the sauce and cook another 5 minutes or so, until it has thickened a bit.
~ Add the baked tofu and roasted green beans to the skillet, mix thoroughly with the sauce, and allow to heat through.
~ Serve hot over short grain brown rice.

Okonomiyaki

I seem to be in a pattern of making/posting about things about which I know nothing at all, and today's offering is no exception. I had never even heard of okonomiyaki until this past Shrove Tuesday (i.e. pancake day), when I saw them on a "pancakes around the world" Buzzfeed list. But one look and I had to try one - or something like one - at the earliest opportunity. 

As luck would have it, when my partner was in grad school he lived upstairs from a place that churned them out in quantity, so I had an educated palate to give me feedback as I compared the relative possibilities and merits of various recipes. The end product was a sort of semi-crispy veggie frittata/pancake hybrid; my partner gave it the thumbs-up, and I'll admit that it was pretty damned good. And anyway, what could possibly be wrong with learning another way to eat pancakes?

Okonomiyaki

Batter

Ingredients

~ 12 oz. firm silken tofu

~ 1 cup plain, unsweetened soy milk 

~ 1/4 cup rice wine

~ 2 tbsp. mellow white miso

~ 1 tbsp. hot sauce (I used Sriracha)

~ 2 tsp. toasted sesame oil

~ 1/2 cup each: all purpose flour, chickpea flour

~ 1 tsp. each: chili powder, ground ginger

~ 1 tsp. black salt




Directions

~ Blend all ingredients in a food processor and transfer to a mixing bowl. You should have a texture similar to a pancake batter; add a little extra water if it seems too thick.




Vegetables

Ingredients

~ 1 large onion, quartered and sliced into thin crescents

~ 3 cloves garlic, minced

~ 1 red bell pepper, sliced into matchsticks

~ 1 cup sliced mushrooms

~ 3 cups shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, and/or brussels sprouts

~ 1 large carrot, shredded

~ 1/2 cup chopped scallions




Directions

~ Place a nonstick baking sheet in the oven and preheat to 300 degrees.

~ Coat a large, deep skillet with cooking spray and cook the onions, garlic, bell pepper,and mushrooms over high heat for about 5-7 minutes.


~ Add the cabbage and/or bean sprouts, carrots, and scallions, and cook another minute or two, until ever so slightly wilted. 


~ Remove from heat, add the cooked vegetables to the pancake batter, and mix thoroughly.


~ Set aside for at least 10 minutes.

~ Wipe out the skillet, place over medium-high heat, and add another coating of cooking spray.


~ Pour in half the okonomiyaki mixture and allow it to spread out to form a pancake.
~ Cook over medium-high heat for about 10-15 minutes, then flip (carefully!) and cook 10-15 minutes more, until browned and crusty. 

~ Remove the first pancake to the preheated baking sheet and cook the remaining half of the batter as above.


~ Cut the cooked okonomiyaki into wedges and serve with tonkatsu sauce and spicy mayonnaise. (I mixed 1/2 c. Vegenaise with a healthy shot each of hot sauce, soy sauce, and agave; not traditional, I'm sure, but good!)

Ričet (Slovenian Bean & Barley Stew)

I was inspired to make this when my lovely new friend Tina, who hails from Slovenia, posted about it on Facebook. Since I know little to nothing about Slovenian cuisine and am always excited to try something new, this bean and barley stew seemed like the perfect antidote to a cold, sleety, nasty day. (Also note that this was March 31, fully 11 days after the vernal equinox. Enough, already!) I consulted the prototype my friend had posted, did a bit of Googling to look at various recipes - most of which traditionally contain sausages, pork, and/or (gulp) lard - and came up with the following rendition. Since I've never had The Thing Itself, I can't comment on whether my dish remotely resembles the original, and take full responsibility for any egregious departures I might have made. But  it was certainly a delicious, hearty stew, and everyone in our house hoovered it up with enthusiasm; so thanks, Tina!

Ričet 
Ingredients
~ 1 cup red kidney beans, soaked overnight (or at least 8 hours)
~ 1.5 cup barley, soaked for an hour or two
~ 2 bay leaves
~ 10 cups "no chicken" broth
~ 2 tbsp. oil
~ 1 red onion, chopped
~ 2 large carrots, sliced into half moons
~ 2 large stalks celery, diced
~ 4 cloves garlic, minced
~ 3 fist-sized potatoes, diced
~ 1 tsp. each: salt, dill, thyme, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, parsley
~ 1/2 tsp. each: cumin, sage
~ A few generous grinds black pepper

Directions
~ Drain and rinse the kidney beans and barley, and place them in a large, deep pot. Add the broth and the bay leaves, cover the pot, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer and cook for an hour, stirring occasionally.
~ Place a large, deep skillet over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onions, carrots, and celery, and cook for about 5 minutes.
~ Add the garlic, potatoes, and dry seasonings. Stir to combine, cover, and continue cooking for about 30 minutes, until the vegetables have softened.
~ When the beans and barley have cooked for an hour, add the vegetable mixture to the soup pot, stir, and replace the cover. Continue cooking for another hour or so, until everything has softened and you have a thick stew. (If it seems too thick, you can add a bit of broth or water; if too thin, crack the lid and cook a bit longer, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't stick.)
~ Remove from heat, fish out the bay leaves, and serve. This stew is so substantial that it's really a meal all by itself, but to carb-loving people like us, a hunk of good crusty bread never comes amiss (we opted for rye).