Spicy African Peanut Soup with Ginger and Tomato

Posted on 2 March 2017 by Elizabeth

I first found this recipe in the New York Times; one version was by Julia Moskin and the other by Mark Bittman. I have made this several times and combined/changed things up to suit me. I like it because it begins with eggplant, and I always use the Japanese kind (so I can skip the salting step). It’s a good stew to serve over some rice, on a day when you just need something flavorful and hearty for dinner.

Ingredients
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
⅛ teaspoon cayenne
2 medium-size Japanese eggplants, peeled and cut into 1-inch dice
1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
¼ cup good quality oil, peanut oil (if you have it)
2 shallots, thinly sliced
2 inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 jalapeño chili, seeded and minced
1 onion, chopped
⅓ cup tomato paste
½ pound skinless, boneless chicken (about 2 thighs or breasts) cut into chunks
1 small (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably roasted
4 cups vegetable stock or water
½ cup natural unsweetened peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
1 medium-size zucchini, 6 to 8 ounces, cut in quarters lengthwise, then sliced 1/2 -inch thick
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons)
2-3 cups coarsely chopped greens, such as spinach or chard
⅓ cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves, plus whole leaves for garnish

Cooked rice, for serving

Chopped roasted salted peanuts, for garnish (optional)

Preparation

In a colander, toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt; set aside for 30 minutes [I skip this step if using Japanese eggplant]. Rinse, drain well and set aside. In a small bowl, combine cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne; set aside.

In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and fry, stirring often, until soft, and caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and continue cooking for another 3 or 4 minutes, until just starting to turn color. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shallots and chicken to a large bowl, leaving oil in pot (may need to add some more). Raise heat to nearly high and add eggplant. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with shallots/chicken.

Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add ginger and jalapeño and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add spices and cook, stirring, 30 seconds more. Add onion and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Add diced tomatoes, stock or water, eggplant, chicken, shallots and a sprinkling of salt. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Place peanut butter in a medium bowl, add one or two ladlefuls of hot soup, and stir until emulsified, then pour mixture back into soup.

Reduce heat to a simmer, add zucchini, cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender and chicken is done. Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice, chopped cilantro, greens; stir until greens are wilted. Let cool slightly and taste; add salt if necessary. Serve in bowls with rice, garnished with cilantro leaves and chopped peanuts, if desired.

Note: Can omit chicken and add 1 (15 oz.) can garbanzo beans, if desired. Can also add 1-2 thickly sliced sweet potato (as shown in the image above).

Peanut Soup_2

Persimmons

Posted on 24 December 2016 by Elizabeth

Fuyu persimmons are short and round, shaped just like a large tomato. They can be eaten raw and somewhat firm, without having a bitter, astringent taste. The Hachiya variety are larger, and teardrop shaped. Hachiya persimmons need to ripen until they are very soft. They contain a lot of tannins when they are immature, which make them taste very astringent as well as cause severe stomach problems if a person actually manages to eat one. As the fruit ripens the tannin level decreases, until the taste becomes very mild.

That’s why the hachiyas (shown above, with a pointy end) make you pucker up when they are unripe!

That website goes on to note: “Fuyu persimmons can be sliced and eaten raw, when they are soft enough so that they give just a little to the touch, like a ripe tomato. The skin is very fibrous so you will want to peel them before cutting them up. After peeling them they will be slippery, so slice in half and put the cut side down so they are laying on the flat edge. This way you can slice or dice them more easily.”

Some say to cook with the hichiya and eat the fuyus in salads, or raw, but one cook found that Fuyus work fine in making her Persimmon Bread.

When I made my bread, I waited until my hachiyas were this soft–or as someone said, like pushing in on a water ballon! And I didn’t peel them, throwing the cored persimmon whole into my food processor with the ripe pears. If one hachiya is not as ripe as the other, you can cheat by micowaving it until it is soft.

Alternatively, you can core them, then scoop out the jelly-like flesh. When I made my Pear-Persimmon bread, I simply cored them, then whirred the persimmon — skin and all — in the processor. We sometimes refer to them as “persey-mons:” once when we were staying in Bologna, I asked the hotel breakfast lady what kind of tree was just outside the breakfast room. “Persey-mon” was her reply, and so it stuck.

One way to serve the Fuyu persimmons raw is to core and peel them, then slice them across the width. Layer them into a shallow serving bowl. Whisk together some white vinegar with some honey, about 2 Tablespoons of each, or until the tart-sweet taste is balanced. Test and add more honey to taste, if needed. Pour this over the persimmons, then sprinkle with poppy seed. This is an elegant and easy side dish.

Another recipe I found (untested by me) is to make a salad using spinach leaves as a base. First, start by making a vinaigrette:

1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup orange juice
4 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon sesame oil
6 Tablespoons olive oil

Mix the rice vinegar, orange juice, honey and sesame oil in a small bowl. Whisk in the olive oil in a slow stream, whisking vigorously to emulsify the ingredients. Lay down some spinach leaves, then the cored and sliced persimmons. Sprinkle with toasted pecans, and dried cranberries, then pour the vinaigrette over all. (If you use 2 persimmons, it will serve 4 people.)

My New Favorite Roll Recipe

Posted on 25 November 2016 by Elizabeth

These are a basic roll recipe, without too much egg, so they are light, white and fluffy and taste very good. I made them last year as well as this year, and we loved them both times. This is from the Fleischman’s Bake It Easy Yeast cookbook, a staple in my house. Although it was published in 1973, and retails on Amazon for $196.00 (gotta love those bots), this recipe can also be found on Breadworld by Fleischman, which has many of the recipes I love.

4-3/4 to 5-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 envelopes yeast (or 4 1/2 tsp. yeast)
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg

For top, if desired: 1/4 cup butter, melted

Directions
Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, undissolved yeast and salt in a large mixer bowl. Heat milk, water, and 1/4 cup butter until very warm (120° to 130°F). Stir into flour mixture. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed of electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed. Stir in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cover; let rest 10 minutes. (Or, if desired, place dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in refrigerator for 12 to 24 hours.)

Divide dough in half; roll each half to a 12-inch square, about 1/4-inch thick. Cut each into 6 (12 x 2-inch) strips. Cut each strip into 3 (4 x 2-inch) rectangles. Brush each rectangle with melted butter. Crease rectangles slightly off center with dull edge of knife and fold at crease. Arrange in rows, slightly overlapping, on greased baking sheets, with shorter side of each roll facing down. Allow 1/4-inch of space between each row. Cover; let rise in warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 30-45 minutes. Take the time to let them get nicely risen.

Bake in preheated 400°F oven for 13 to 15 minutes or until done. Remove from sheets; cool on wire rack. Brush with more melted butter, if desired.

NOTE: I do not like the RapidRise yeast, as I feel the breads go too stale when using that (must be the conditioners they have in there, or something). Regular yeast is what I used, but made sure to allow a bit more time for the rising.

Mary’s Bread • from the Beachside Quilting Retreat

Posted on 14 September 2016 by Elizabeth

At our recent Beachside Quilting Retreat, Mary — our hostess — brought a loaf of bread to serve us that first night and we all raved over it, asking her lots of questions, jotting down the recipe. Two days later, when we went to Summerland’s antique store, where we found two pumpkin-shaped Le Creuset pots: I bought one and she bought the other, and that afternoon, we had a bread-making lesson in between all the sewing and quilting. While the ingredients are simple and easily whipped into a ragged-looking dough, it’s her cooking method that sets this bread apart. The heavy enameled cast-iron pot is set into a cold oven, which is then preheated for a long period of time. This is what she calls the “brick-oven” method of baking as heat and moisture surrounds the baking dough, ensuring a nice crust. This recipe makes three loaves.
Measure out 3 cups lukewarm water. Add 1 and 1/2 T. yeast (2 packages of regular yeast) and 1 T. kosher salt (table salt is okay); let it sit for a few minutes to “bloom.” Stir in 32 oz. flour, roughly 6 to 7 cups. Stir with big spoon and cover with plastic wrap, letting it rise in a corner of the kitchen. While it will rise for a total of 2 hours, after it’s risen for roughly 1 hour set the cast iron pot with its lid into a cold oven and preheat the oven for 45 minutes to a temperature of 475 degrees F.

When the dough has risen for two hours, divide into thirds by grabbing about one-third of the dough. Mary says it’s ragged looking, but keep going. Using lots of flour that’s been spread onto either a pastry cloth or a cutting board, shape it into a ball. Cut an “X” into the top of the dough using a sharp knife or razor blade.

Set ball into hot pan, being careful not to burn yourself. Cover with the preheated lid and cook for 20 minutes.

Uncover, and cook for 10 more minutes or until it is a nice golden brown. Either tip out the bread — or grab from the pot — onto a counter and/or rack; let cool.

Cook’s Notes:
On the second and third loaf (since the dough has been in the fridge), put the dough out onto the floured surface to come to room temp while the oven heats up. Mary says she has left the dough in the fridge for as long as 12 days. The only noticeable effect has been that the dough gets more sour-tasting.

Variations:

After rising, I divided the loaves into three, shaped the first one (lower left) and started it baking. I did cut an X into this one.

To the second blob, I added 1/3 cup sunflower seeds, massaging it through the mass. After shaping, I then pressed onto the top: pepitas (sunflower seeds), a shake of poppy seeds, a shake of sunflower seeds, a shake of kosher salt; no cutting of an X in the top. After the first loaf came out of the oven (I only have one pan), I baked that.

To the third blob, now quite sticky as it’s been rising a little more, I added 1/3 cup chopped high quality baking chocolate and 1/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans. (Don’t use white chocolate chips as you want the chocolate to melt into the bread, not remain intact; look for the bar type of white chocolate that has cocoa butter in it.) It’s a lot to mush into the bread dough, I admit, but when it was time to shape it, I concentrated on poking the bits back into the loaf, keeping them from emerging from the top. When it bakes, as I also didn’t cut an X in the top. The dark blobs (above) are the melted, baked chocolate that did emerge through while baking, but it tasted fine.

I did this loaf last in case there was residue of chocolate in the pan: there was, but it brushed right out. That would be something to check for if you are making all three loaves with the white chocolate.

I would like to try mixing the chocolate/pecans with the flour and incorporating it that way, but this time, I wanted three different loaves.

Panzanella

Posted on 30 August 2016 by Elizabeth

I’ve made all types of panzanella, but I think this recipe is really fabulous. I was traveling in Scandinavia, where the travel author Rick Steves says their favorite vegetable is a potato, and began thinking of my garden back home, wondering how many tomatoes would be ready to pick when I returned. In scanning the news one morning, The Washington Post published this recipe and I couldn’t wait to try it. So the first thing I did when we climbed out of our car after our long trip was to check the garden for tomatoes. But to my horror, the irrigation systems had been shut off while we gone, and my garden experienced the full force of 100+ degree temperatures: it was crispy and no tomatoes. So I used some high-quality tomatoes from Costco for this dish and it was still good. I can only imagine what it would have been with my own.

I purchased a sour dough loaf from Trader Joe’s for the bread, cutting off nearly half of to keep to the 8-ounce requirement.

Recipe adapted from recipes by chef-restaurateur Fabio Trabocchi of Fiola, and from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, culinary director of SeriousEats.com.

Ingredients
3 cups packed, torn pieces sourdough bread (including crusts; from an 8-ounce loaf)
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/4 pounds ripe heirloom tomatoes, hulled and cut into bite-size wedges
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, plus more as needed
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Freshly cracked black pepper
10 fresh basil leaves, stacked, rolled and cut into very thin slices (chiffonade)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Arrange the bread pieces on a rimmed baking sheet, then drizzle half of the oil over them and toss to coat. Bake for 15 minutes, until the bread is dried and fragrant but not browned. Let cool.

Meanwhile, place the tomatoes in a colander set over a mixing bowl. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the teaspoon of salt; let them drain for about 20 minutes (no more), gently tossing them every few minutes. Transfer the tomatoes to a serving bowl along with the cooled bread pieces; toss to incorporate. Reserve the tomato juices in their bowl; there should be a scant half-cup. [Note: I had more, and used it all.]

Add the garlic, shallot and vinegar to those juices, then gradually whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to form an emulsified vinaigrette. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Pour over the tomato-bread mixture; use your clean hands to gently toss and coat.

Scatter the basil over the salad; serve right away.

Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Posted on 9 August 2016 by Elizabeth

This recipe, found on the New York Times’ Recipe Site is a total winner, if you’ve got cherry tomatoes going gangbusters in the garden, which I do. Melissa Clark made hers with red tomatoes, but I always plant the little golden plum cherry tomatoes and they keep going when all the other toms in the garden have given up because of the heat. While she calls for fusilli pasta, any small shaped pasta will do. I adjusted the ratio of tomato mixture to pasta, using a little bit less pasta than she called for. Lastly, my garden’s mint wasn’t producing, so I omitted that as well, but I’m looking forward to trying it!

1 pound fusilli pasta
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
6 ounces pancetta, preferably thick cut, diced (available at Trader Joe’s)
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Fine sea salt and black pepper, as needed
1 quart cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons butter
Fresh ricotta cheese, for serving (optional)
3 cups whole mint leaves, torn (I didn’t use)
4 scallions, preferably red scallions for color, thinly sliced
Flaky sea salt, to finish

PREPARATION

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until 1 minute shy of al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1/2 cup pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat for 15 seconds, then add the oil and heat until it thins out and easily coats the pan when swirled. Add pancetta and cook until it starts to render its fat, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and a large pinch of salt and pepper and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until they burst, turn golden at the edges and shrivel up slightly, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add pasta to pan and toss with tomato-pancetta mixture; if the mixture looks dry add a little pasta cooking water a few tablespoons at a time. Cook over high heat until the pasta finishes cooking in the sauce. Add the butter and toss until it melts and coats everything.
Divide pasta among warmed pasta bowls. Garnish with dollops of ricotta if desired, and top with a generous mound of fresh mint and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt and more pepper before serving.

Zucchini Pasta

Posted on 19 July 2016 by Elizabeth

This dish came about because we had too much zucchini in our garden. Well — instead of too much — a bounteous harvest of zucchini. I found this recipe on the New York Times website, and followed it pretty much to the letter.

Ingredients
2 pounds zucchini
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan, for serving (more to taste)
¼ cup (approximately) light cream

Wash several zucchini from the garden; pat dry. Slice off lengthwise ribbons of zucchini, using a vegetable peeler. Peel off several ribbons from one side, then turn the zucchini and peel off more ribbons. Continue to turn and peel off ribbons until you get to the seeds at the core of the zucchini. Discard the core. You can also do this on a mandolin, adjusted to a very thin slice.

Heat 1 Tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick pan, over medium-high heat, and when it is hot, add about half of the zucchini ribbons, salt and pepper. Toss and cook, keeping the zucchini in motion until it is just soft and barely transluscent, but not browned (about 2-3 minutes). Set aside, and cook the second batch.

Put both batches back in the pan, and pour over a little bit of cream, then add the grated cheese, again tossing lightly over medium heat. Adjust salt and add freshly ground pepper to taste, and transfer to a serving dish.We topped ours with a fresh bruschetta-type tomato sauce.

Brined Porchetta Pork Chops

Posted on 9 May 2016 by Elizabeth

While looking for a recipe for the newly purchased pork chops from the Big Box store, I found this one. But every caution says to use a pork chop with the bone still in. . . but mine were boneless. So I compromised by brining them, and they turned out delicious. The porchetta part is a variation of Melissa Clark’s recipe from the New York Times.

2 bone-in pork chops, 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches thick
2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus a pinch–divided
1 cup apple juice
1 lemon
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons chopped rosemary
Large pinch red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
2 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds, more for garnish (nice, if you have them, but the recipe will survive without them)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Preparation

To brine: Put the chops in a quart freezer ziploc bag, or a container that is fits the chops snugly. Mix together 1 teaspoon kosher salt and the apple juice, and pour over the chops. Let brine overnight, then discard brine and proceed with recipe.

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Pat pork chops dry and, using a very sharp paring knife, cut a large pocket into the fat-covered edge of each chop. Season chops all over with 1 teaspoon salt, including inside pockets.

Finely grate zest from lemon and put in a small bowl. Cut lemon lengthwise in quarters for serving (opt).

Using the flat side of a knife, mash garlic with a pinch of salt until you get a paste. Add to the bowl with the lemon zest and stir in rosemary, red pepper flakes, fennel seeds, 2 tablespoons fennel fronds and 1 tablespoon olive oil.

Divide filling between pork chops, stuffing some inside pockets and rubbing the rest on the outside.

Heat a large ovenproof skillet over high heat and add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Sear pork chops on one side for 5 minutes, or until golden brown. Gently turn over chops and cook for another minute, then transfer skillet to oven. Cook until meat is just done, about 5 to 10 minutes longer (internal temperature should read 135 degrees on a meat thermometer). Transfer pork chops to a plate, tent with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fennel fronds and lemon wedges.

Judy’s Tomato Soup

Posted on 4 November 2015 by Elizabeth

This tomato soup had its origins in a basketfull of tomatoes from our garden, and the winter delivery of a care package from my friend Judy, who is an amazing cook. In her little dish was the best fresh tomato soup I’ve tasted, and it wasn’t until I was laid up with some surgery that she finally relinquished the recipe.

Wash and cut in half a number of Roma-type tomatoes; no need to core. Lay them skin-side down on a foil-lined rimmed cookie sheet or a broiler pan. If you have eating tomatoes, cut those into approximate sized chunks. Add one onion, chunked. Squish three cloves of garlic over the tomatoes. Drizzle some extra-virgin olive oil, and then liberally salt and pepper the tomatoes.

Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 40 minutes, until they are tender and even a little bit cooked down.

Place in a pot, and drizzle over some good-quality balsamic vinegar (about 1/4 cup). With a stick blender, whir the mixture smooth, adding chicken broth as needed to bring it to soup consistency (probably about 3/4 to 1 cup of broth).

Now adjust for flavor. Some things I usually add are:
fresh basil, snipped
heavy pinch of red pepper flakes
salt (to taste)
pepper
and if I have no fresh basil, I add about 2 Tbls homemade pesto.

Some garnishes are:
chunks of avocado
croutons
Hatch chiles, if they are in season (roast on BBQ, remove skins)

We roasted our tomatoes and onion, then placed them in a gallon-sized resealable bag and placed it in the freezer. To prepare, we thawed the tomatoes and proceeded with the soup, as above.

Quince with Cipollini Onions and Bacon

Posted on 3 November 2015 by Elizabeth

Another New York Times recipe, this is also interesting and delicious. It all started when I had a quince and apple pie at our quilter’s night (thank you, Simone) and then the New York Times did a fabulous feature on all these recipes from all over the United States, where I found this one. I think it’s a stellar side dish for Thanksgiving. Because there are two of us, I halved it, so that’s what you see in the photos.

Ingredients
1 pound cipollini onions
***Note: If you can’t find the cipollini onions, substitute golden pearl onions.***
2 ½ to 3 pounds quinces (about 5), peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch chunks
6 tablespoons pure syrup [Grade A, medium amber]
½ pound thick-cut bacon
4 tablespoons good quality balsamic vinegar
¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
Leaves from 5 sprigs fresh thyme

Preparation

Bring 2 quarts water to a boil, add the onions, turn off the heat and let sit 5 minutes. Drain and allow to cool. {NOTE: The packaging from the onions said to cut off one end, and then kind of “squirt” out the inner onion out of its skin. I did this.}

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Toss quinces with half the maple syrup and spread in a single layer in a large baking pan. Bake 25 minutes, until tender.

Peel and trim the onions. Quarter large ones; cut small ones in half. Fry bacon in a large sauté pan over medium heat until browned. Remove and drain on paper towels. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat. Add onions to the pan and sauté on medium until lightly browned, about 6 minutes.

Cut bacon strips in 3/4-inch pieces. Add to pan with onions. Reduce heat to low. Add remaining maple syrup and the vinegar. Fold in quince. Add nutmeg and season with salt and pepper. Add parsley and thyme. Gently fold ingredients together. Cook a few minutes, then serve warm.

Elizabeth Cooks

Author Archives: Elizabeth

Spicy African Peanut Soup with Ginger and Tomato

Persimmons

My New Favorite Roll Recipe

Mary’s Bread • from the Beachside Quilting Retreat

Panzanella

Pasta with Burst Cherry Tomatoes

Zucchini Pasta

Brined Porchetta Pork Chops

Judy’s Tomato Soup

Quince with Cipollini Onions and Bacon