Wild Rice, White Bean, Kale Soup

Man it’s been chilly here in Marin, and all over the SF bay area. Low 40s at night, Jesus! So I needed something with a little body-heating firepower, and came up with this easy and pretty healthy soup.

Chop a big onion, a big carrot, and a big knob of ginger, and saute in plenty of olive oil and butter, along with some umami blasts: shiitake powder and dried tomato powder. Add wild rice and beans (quantities don’t really matter, but I keep them on the modest side) and spices (ground star anise, coriander, black peppercorns), and add stock, water, or a combo of each (I used chicken stock), plus a small hit of fish sauce, soy sauce, and Bragg’s Amino Acids. Bring to a boil and let simmer, covered, for a good hour, or until the beans are soft, then add a large bunch of trimmed kale, and cook for another 15 minutes or so. Taste for salt — it shouldn’t require too much, thanks to the fish sauce and soy sauce, but you will need some; I finished this pot off with some buddha’s hand salt.

Soups like this are really low-effort, and high-payoff. Freezes well too, if you can’t polish off the entire pot in two days.

But enough of this cold already — I’m ready for some scorching summer!

Posted by Eric | 4:54 pm 05/28/2010 | Posted in Dishes | 5 Comments »

Green Miso Soup

Think miso soup. What comes up? A bowl of brown, oddly separating soup — half is clear, and half isn’t! simultaneously! — with perhaps some squares of white tofu, maybe some wakame (sea kelp), possibly another veggie or two, yes?

Today I was really in the mood for some miso soup, but had to move a gigantic pile of chard to get at my tub of miso in the back of the fridge. Out came the chard. It looked so nice on the cutting board. Hmm, I wondered what would happen if I made my green soup the usual way — saute leeks in butter/oil, add chard, add stock, and puree — but just added miso at the end? Would it fulfill my jonesing for miso?

I’m ecstatic to report that yes, it did! I added about two tablespoons of miso to the last little batch of pureed soup, and mixed that into the rest of the soup. Satisfying, and then some. And just for a little textural fun, I julienned the chard backbone and sauteed the strips in breadcrumbs and ghee, and tossed that on top. This one’s going to be going into the regular rotation, and definitely into the new vegetarian book.

You could use any kind of stock for the broth; today’s was duck stock, but it would be equally good with veg stock or chicken stock.

I’m finding myself using more and more miso these days, in all kinds of dishes. I used to be a fan of the gutsy red misos from Nagoya, but lately I seem partial to the more delicate white misos from Kyoto. Less intensity, but more layered flavor.

Anyone use miso in unusual ways? Let’s hear about it!

Posted by Eric | 3:16 pm 04/13/2010 | Posted in Cooking ideas, Dishes | 7 Comments »

Matcha Soba With Veggie Medley, PLUS Exciting Matcha News!

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I’ve described a similar “matcha soba salad” before, but it’s so easy and so good, and I’ve been making it so often, that I just can’t help myself. Here is what I do:

put a big pan of water to boil the noodles
root around in your fridge, and pluck out whatever vegetables you find
chop them up and saute in some olive oil, ghee, or butter (or a combo of all three). Season to your liking with plenty of good salt and pepper.
While the veggies cook, add the soba to the boiling water, and cook until al dente. Drain, and thoroughly rinse with cool water (this reduces the considerable starch of soba so that the noodles don’t clump together)
Gently combine the soba and the veggies. You may wish to tart it up with some umami by adding a splash of Bragg’s amino acids (or, you can achieve increased umami by adding some pulverized shiitake and/or pulverized dried tomato to the veggies as they cook), or make it tangy by adding some citrus zest and juice or a small drizzle of your favorite vinegar. Top with fresh herbs for the full effect.

I’ve made this with every conceivable vegetable: Chinese long beans, broccolini, cauliflower, edamame, sweet peppers, habaneros (yes!), lotus root, all the winter greens. It’s that versatile. Give it a shot! You can buy matcha soba in most Asian markets, but certainly all Japanese markets have it. Not expensive — I think it’s a little over two bucks for a pack of three servings.

But do the noodles really taste like matcha? No, they don’t. They’re just pretty, and it’s somehow comforting knowing there’s matcha (albeit a lower food-grade matcha) in them. If you really want to taste matcha in this dish — and you should! — top it off with matcha salt.

And speaking of matcha: I’ve written to just about every company in Japan that makes the really good stuff, asking for samples so that I can conduct some blind tastings. It’s been extremely educational (not to mention fun). Some are sublime beyond belief. I’m currently striking a deal with the blind-test winner to make me a special blend that will be called (what else?!) “breakaway matcha” that I want to share with anyone who’d like to try this remarkable and ridiculously healthy tea. Stay tuned for more on this very exciting development!

Posted by Eric | 6:51 pm 02/03/2010 | Posted in Dishes, matcha | 13 Comments »

Making Automatic Chicken Broth: Star Anise Vegetable Soup with Green Tea Soba

I’ve lately developed a little habit that I’d like to share with you. Everytime we have chicken, there are always bones left at the end, either the whole carcass if I’ve roasted a whole bird or if I’ve purchased an already-roasted one (yes, I sometimes do that), or just the thigh bones from the bone-in thighs I sometimes make. After dinner, as we’re cleaning up, I’ll just chuck every bone into the pressure cooker, chop up an onion and maybe a carrot, toss in a dried shiitake or two, season with some s&p and whatever else beckons, and saute the massacre in some olive oil. I’ll then add some water, bring it to a boil, secure the lid, and cook under pressure for about 30 or 40 minutes. All of this has become so automatic that I don’t even think of it as extra work — it’s part of the cleanup, almost.

The payoff is the next day: I’ve got some incredibly flavorful broth with which to make a simple vegetable noodle soup. You just saute a sliced onion, a carrot, and whatever other veggies are laying around your vegetable crisper: chard, kale, green beans, fennel, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever. I saute the veggies in some olive oil, and usually add a generous pinch of dried shiitake powder (made by pulverizing a few whole dried shiitake in the spice grinder or, even better, in the Vita Prep blender, which turns them to dust in no time flat) for the extra umami hit. If I’m in a hurry I’ll add a small ladleful of the broth to cook the veggies faster.

While the veggies cook, heat up a small pot of water for the noodles. Udon and soba are my two favorite noodles to use in soups, but you could use egg noodles, rice noodles, even spaghetti. I used to cook the noodles in the boiling broth, to save time, but that method creates too much starch for me, so I cook the noodles separately, and then just lay the al-dente noodles in a heated bowl, followed by the veggies, followed by plenty of simmering broth, followed by chopped up fresh herbs and salt. In the photo above I’ve used green tea soba, fennel, carrot, onion, and chard sauteed in plenty of freshly ground star anise, and topped off with purple basil and kaffir lime salt.

It’s hard to overestimate how good this kind of soup makes your body feel. The hardest part of making soup this good is making good broth. But if you can mentally link the making of a quick, easy broth as just part of your chicken dinner cleanup — and it really does just take a few minutes of active prep — it’s a snap. The broth freezes nicely in ziplock bags too, just in case you don’t have time to use it the next day.

Posted by Eric | 11:27 pm 11/01/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 11 Comments »

Pumpkin Curry With Galangal and Fresh Turmeric

I picked up a 20-pound French pumpkin (they’re called cinderella pumpkins, photo here) at the farmers market a few weeks back, and it was time to deal with it. Man does a 20-pound pumpkin contain a lot of meat! After roasting the entire thing in sections, on four baking sheets, we had a boatload of tasty roasted pumpkin. Pureed some and froze, ate some as a side dish with chopped herbs, gave some away, and … made a beautiful pumpkin curry out of the rest.

Had metric quantities of young ginger, fresh turmeric, and galangal leftover from last week’s video sessions (more on these to come), so those got added to the pot, along with a huge onion, chopped apple, a few carrots, and the usual curry suspects: freshly ground coriander, cardamom, star anise, and curry powder, all sauteed in ghee (also from last week’s video on making ghee). What a nice smelling house this combo produces! To that I added a can of diced tomatoes, about three cups of pureed pumpkin, and, toward the end, about 1/2 cup of coconut milk. It is THE mid-autumn food. Served with rice and pickles (daikon and persimmon — that pickle got a video, too!).

Made at least a gallon, half of which I’ll freeze. Going into a slight “fill up the freezer” mode, in prep for the arrival of our new family member! Baby daughter arrives in about three weeks, yikes!!

Posted by Eric | 5:43 pm 10/28/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 10 Comments »

Watermelon Radish GORP

Remember Good Ol’ Raisins and Peanuts? The classic trail food. There’s something very satisfying about the crunchy-chewy combo of nuts and raisins. Delia was keeping a bowlful of almonds, walnuts, and raisins around as snack food, and I had a few watermelon radishes out, waiting for inspiration, when it dawned on me that these would actually be great together, bound by a simple vinaigrette. A lightning-fast salad that is as fun to eat as it is beautiful to look at. A real energy boost as well.

watermelon radish, cut into one-inch batons, or whatever size turns you on

handful of raisins, currants, and/or dried elderberries (I love these — they’re like intense little blueberries)

nuts toasted in a dry cast iron pan. I used whole roasted almonds, walnut pieces, and pecan halves

simple vinaigrette of good olive oil, fruity vinegar (like blood orange, pickled ginger, lemongrass, pear, or something similar)

Combine and enjoy!

Posted by Eric | 4:27 pm 10/26/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 17 Comments »

Eggplant Parmesan, Redux

Couldn’t resist some gorgeous rosa bianca eggplants I saw at the farmers’ market the other day. My standard eggplant dish sautes chunks of eggplant with ginger, fish sauce, and mint, but I was thinking something more casserole-ish for our little rain spell.

I ate quite a bit of bad eggplant parmesan as a kid. Remember the red-soaked supergooey version? Is there any other? There has to be! And if not, well, let’s make one.

The basic idea behind eggplant parm is to first salt some sliced eggplant to draw out excess moisture, then fry them in batches, then layer them into a baking dish along with layers of parm, and tomato sauce. It seemed like it would take too long to fry the slices in batches, so I just loaded up two baking sheets with silpats, rubbed the eggplant with olive oil, and dusted them with a combo of shiitake dust (pulverized dried shiitake) and flour, and baked in a hot oven until they browned a bit, about 15 minutes per side.

While they cooked, I made a quick sauce with about six cups of chopped fresh tomatoes and garlic confit and reduced it to about a third its original volume. Also had on hand plenty of fresh oregano from the garden, green onions, and two beautiful persimmons, my first of the season! So when the eggplant was done, I got out the Chamba and layered as follows:

layer of sauce
eggplant
parm
thinly sliced raw zucchini
green onions
eggplant
oregano
persimmon wheels
sauce
parm
eggplant
fresh tomato on top
parm

Nothing red and gloppy about it! It bursts with umami. Topped with lavender salt and plenty of black pepper. The rosa bianca eggplants are really nice — they’re creamy, and have far fewer seeds than the standard eggplant. Ask the farmer to show you how to identify male and female eggplants — you want the males, because they have fewer seeds. I got a lesson, but she was pretty unclear about it. Does anyone know how to definitively do it? And: any other favorite eggplant dishes? We’re late in the season, I know, but I’m eating as many as I can before it shuts down altogether!

Posted by Eric | 3:43 pm 10/21/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 6 Comments »

Spicy, Floaty Zucchini Bread

We’re at the end of summer squash season, but I couldn’t help but snap up a big bag of beautiful yellow and green zucchini at the market yesterday with the thought of making a big loaf of light, superspiced zucchini bread.

Anyone who’s ever planted zucchini knows that it likes to grow, grow, and grow some more, until you have so much zucchini that you can’t give it all away. One of my favorite zucchini stories is from my friend Victoria, who told me that you have to be careful in some parts of Canada during peak zucchini season: if you happen to leave your car unlocked, it’s not unusual to find a box of zucchini on the back seat!

Zucchini bread is the classic answer to that problem, since it typically takes anywhere from two to five cups of shredded zukes for a loaf. I like some zucchini breads, but I find most of them to be very heavy, so I’ve been trying to create a lighter version that’s not as sweet as the usual ones, and maximally jazzed up with some Indian-inspired spices.

I think I finally hit it. It’s made in a cast-iron pan with LOTS of grated zukes (six cups) and a combo of turmeric, cardamom, ginger, and ancho. It’s so light it almost floats! And it has a nice tang, with a great range of colors. It’s especially good toasted, with a hot cup of chai.

As most of you reading this know, I don’t normally provide full recipes, in the belief that it’s much more useful to think about the procedure and thoughts that go into making good food than a simple instruction sheet with exact measurements. But baking, of course, is different: it’s pretty much impossible to say “baking soda, to taste,” for example. So here it is, in full cookbook style glory. Hope you like it!

6 cups grated zucchini ( a food processor is a nice tool to accomplish this, but a sturdy cheese grater works well too), plus some kosher salt
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon turmeric powder
3 tablespoons powdered ginger
1 teaspoon ancho powder
2 teaspoons freshly ground cardamom
1 teaspoon salt
3 eggs
1 cup cane sugar or light brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or extract
½ cup (1 stick) melted butter

1. Place a large, well-seasoned 3-quart pan, ideally made of cast-iron, with high sides (aka a “chicken fryer”), or earthenware/claypot into the oven and preheat to 350.

2. Spread the grated zukes on a baking sheet, salt them liberally with kosher salt, and set aside for about 10 minutes while you do the next steps.

3. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking soda, turmeric, ginger, ancho, cardamom, and salt, and mix. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl and using a hand-held electric mixer, beat the eggs on high speed for about a minute (you can also use a stand mixer, if you prefer), and add the sugar. Beat thoroughly for another 30 seconds or so. Add the vanilla, and beat a little more. Add the butter and beat still more, for another 20 seconds.

5. Gather the salted zukes into a ball and squeeze as much water as you can out of them. Really get lots of moisture out – the more, the better.

6. Add the zukes to the eggs and mix gently with a rubber spatula. Add the flour mixture to thoroughly incorporate, but don’t overmix. Spoon into the pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove and let cool for a bit on a rack.

Posted by Eric | 5:33 pm 10/19/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 11 Comments »

The Breakaway Vegetarian Burger

Stuart over at Toque Blanche recently requested that I take a shot at a vegetarian burger. I’m not fan of attempting to make foods look like other foods, especially where meat is concerned, but, since I’ve never had a veggie burger that I’ve actually liked, I thought it might be fun to give it a try. The problem with most fake burgers isn’t really taste — I’ve had some homemade ones that tasted pretty good — it’s texture. They’re always kinda mushy and overprocessed, or something. So my biggest challenge right off the bat was getting a texture that really felt like ground beef, and all its crumbly, juicy glory.

As usual in my kitchen, I didn’t set out with a fixed idea. I had some leftover brown rice in the fridge, and some leftover cooked red beets. That seemed like a promising beginning, since it would give it a crazy color (good), be crazy healthy (good), and would cost just pennies. It would of course require large does of umami to taste good, so I had to think about that, too. That’s why I always have a jar of pulverized shiitake dust sitting around. Sauteed onions are almost always a good thing too, so they would be part of it. I think I had the taste aspect pretty down, but I was worried about texture.

It turned out that the following four ingredients, in equal proportions and diced very finely, gave me the just the crumbly meaty texture I was after:

cooked red beet
cooked brown rice
sauteed onion
TJ’s English muffin bread (though I’m betting almost any bread would work), soaked in the juice of one meyer lemon

To that I added one egg, a handful of chopped fresh oregano, a tablespoon of shiitake dust, and a tablespoon of flour. I then stuffed a half-cup measuring cup full of the mixture to shape it, and toasted both sides in a hot cast iron pan. It held together beautifully, and tasted great — such a nice change from a regular beef burger! The bun was the same TJ bread, lightly toasted, served with mustard and chutney, with a side of pickled ginger and pickled carrots.

Some of you know this, but I’m hard at work on a vegetarian cookbook, which I hope to finish by spring. Lots more on that to come! In the meantime, if anyone has specific requests that they’d like to see given a breakaway treatment, please let me know. Also: would love feedback on the title. For now it’s The Breakaway Vegetarian Cook: An Umami-Intensive Journey Into Vegetables.

Posted by Eric | 5:42 pm 10/16/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 12 Comments »

Late Summer Udon — Cool, Easy, Perfect

We’re having a mini heatwave again. You’ve got to love a climate (northern CA) that gets its best weather in mid to late September! When it gets this hot, I immediately think of cool, slippery, chewy udon, the thick wheat noodle from Japan that can be enjoyed both hot (usually in a dashi-based broth) or cold (read on).

I’ve found that dried udon, cooked like pasta, is far superior to the frozen udon sold in bags at Japanese markets. Cooking udon until al dente, draining, and then rinsing under cold running water produces a clean, slightly chewy noodle that takes beautifully to light, vibrant sauces. Imagine fresh figs mixed with fruity green olive oil in the blender; that pesto-like sauce is then gently tossed with the cool udon and topped with good salt and pepper. You could do the same with plums, apricots, pluots, nectarines, or any other summer fruit. It’s the coolness of the fruit and olive oil against the cool noodles that makes it so refreshing.

Another favorite is a sauce made from plenty of herbs, lemon (Meyer lemons work especially well here) and young ginger to really wake it up. Combine about a cup of mint, a cup of fresh coriander, a teaspoon of diced fresh young ginger, the juice and zest of a lemon, some olive oil, and perhaps a little yogurt to ensure that the blender can do its job. The dish is so light and vibrant, it almost floats away! The entire dish, start to finish, should take no longer than 15 minutes.

Can you imagine any other combinations for udon? Try some, and report back here!

Posted by Eric | 8:36 pm 09/17/2009 | Posted in Dishes | 4 Comments »

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