IAN KNAUER | 2013 January

So Hearty You Won’t Miss The Meat. Promise.

On January 25, 2013

It’s the time of year when I start hankering for hearty stews and braises. The temperature has plummeted recently (the sink in my bathroom, where the pipes are close to the wall, has been spitting out ice crystals all week), and now that real winter is here, heaping bowls of steaming goodness are just what I want. Of course, braised meat is a thing of beauty; I’ll never kick a long-simmered short rib out of bed. Or for that matter, a bowl of beef stew or a chicken that’s slow-cooked in a bath of red wine. But a braise doesn’t have to be meaty to be satisfying, and many cultures have versions of vegetarian stews that really hit the spot. Bonus: Veggies are usually far cheaper than meat. Eastern Europe prides itself on borscht, a beet-centric peasant soup that can be served cold in the summer and hot this time of year. Mexico has posole, often made with pork or chicken, but it can also be made with just hominy, chiles, corn, and cilantro. The Japanese make kenchinjiru, a sort of enlightening Buddhist’s delight that contains burdock, taro, tofu and shiitake. But no one does vegetable stew better than the Moroccans. Nobody. The flavors of a warmly spiced Moroccan tagine, what with its cinnamon, bay, and cumin, among others, make your kitchen smell like the holidays, and the spices add an impressive amount of depth to anything you cook with them. Lamb is common in tagine, but this is the sort of dish where you don’t miss the meat. And you can use any combination of winter veggies to round out the stew. Like parsnips? They’ll add a nice sweetness. Turnips? Throw ’em in. Have fun with it, and know that you’ll have made a delicious, satisfying winter warmer at very little cost. Moroccan Vegetable Tagine Serves 8 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 2 large leeks, white and pale green parts, washed and sliced 5 garlic cloves, smashed Sea salt Freshly ground black pepper 4 bay leaves 2 cinnamon sticks 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 1 teaspoon turmeric 1 (32-ounce) can whole tomatoes in juice 1 medium butternut squash, cut into large chunks 5 large carrots, peeled and cut into chunks 1 (14 ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 8 pitted dates, chopped 6 cups water 1 bunch collard greens, cut into 2-inch pieces Toasted slivered almonds Chopped fresh cilantro Heat the oil in a large heavy pot over medium high heat until hot, then stir in the onion, leeks, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are golden brown, about 6 minutes. Stir in the bay, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, and turmeric, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, squash, carrots, chickpeas, and dates, and then add the water and season with salt to taste. Cook, covered, until vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Stir in the collards and continue to cook, covered, until the greens are tender, about 30 minutes more. Season the tagine with salt and pepper to taste, then serve topped with toasted almonds and cilantro.

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Cheese-Pushing B&T Cute-y Boo

On January 11, 2013

My local farm market is looking, well, wintery. The brilliant colors of summer – radiantly red tomatoes and light green basil – are no where to be found. Instead there’s a lot of dark green (kale, chard) and orange (squash and pumpkins of all shapes and sizes). This week I bought a pumpkin I’d never seen before. It was called Cheese. When I got home I looked it up on the interwebby and found that the full name is Long Island Cheese Pumpkin. Long Island Cheese Pumpkin!?!?! That sounds like it should be an Urban Dictionary submission. As in: A bridge and tunnel cute-y boo who sells drugs to Wall St. types after the market closes. I even looked it up on the website, sadly to no findings, except of course for these findings: Long Island Cheese Pumpkin. (If you only take one thing away from this post – make it the link for Cheese back there.) I also found some real facts. This variety of squash is more closely related to a butternut than a pumpkin and has been cultivated on Long Island since the 1800’s. Sometime in the 1960’s they started to disappear. Maybe they fell out of favor or maybe there was a blight that took the crop out. In any case, it’s taken a long time to come back, but thank goodness it did. In addition to being irresistibly cute (it’s shaped like a ridged, flattened wheel of cheese) it is much richer in flavor and color than the run-of-the-mill pumpkin. It’s squashier than butternut, too. This farmer uses The Cheese in pies and sells out. I can understand why. I wasn’t in the mood for pie, so instead decided to make pumpkin dumplings. These are very similar to gnocchi, but I can’t call them that because this dough is dropped into boiling water instead of being rolled and cut first. And with my dumplings, I made a sauce – in quotes – of locally made kielbasa and Swiss Chard. It’s in quotes because it’s not really all that saucy. This is a great cold-night dish. It feels healthy, but also a little piggy (read: delicious), and is a fun way to explore new (to me at least) type of winter squash. Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Dumplings with Swiss Chard and Kielbasa Serves 4 as a first course or 2 as a main 1 small Cheese Pumpkin 2 tablespoon olive oil fine sea salt 1/2 lb kielbasa 1 small red onion, sliced 1 large bunch Swiss chard freshly ground black pepper 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese 2 large egg yolks 1 teaspoon dried sage 1/2 cup all-purpose flour Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds with a spoon. Place a piece of foil on a baking sheet. Rub cut sides of pumpkin with 1 tablespoon oil then sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Place pumpkin, cut sides down on baking sheet and roast until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool. Separate chard leaves and stems. Cut stems into 1/4-inch pieces and tear leaves into large pieces. Cut kielbasa into 1/2-inch slices. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat, then brown sausage, turning, about 6 minutes total. Transfer sausage to a plate, reserving fat in skillet. Add onion and chard stems to skillet and cook, stirring, until softened, 4 to 6 minutes. Add leaves and cook, turning with tongs, until wilted, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and reserve. Scoop 1 cup of pumpkin into a bowl. Stir in cheese, yolks, sage, flour, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. (Batter will be sticky.) Bring a pot of boiling salted water to a boil. Drop teaspoon-sized pieces of batter into boiling water. Boil dumplings until they float, about 3 minutes. Transfer dumplings to Swiss chard mixture and stir to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste, then serve.

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