Wednesday Food Blogging

A side dish of Swiss chard

Win the trifecta with healthy, tasty, and versatile Swiss chard!

I love Swiss chard. It's surprisingly hard to find, though; it ought to be sold at every supermarket in the country. Why? Because it's healthy, for one. A close relative of beets and spinach, chard is one of the healthiest vegetables around. It's loaded not only with the standard nutrients (vitamins and minerals) but also with phytonutrients—those anti-oxidants that gobble up the oxidants in our body, caused by, well, breathing. 

Starting to sound a little too healthy? Then eat chard for the second reason: it's delicious! Unlike spinach, which wilts rapidly when cooked, chard stands up to a few minutes in the frying pan quite well, meaning more seared-in flavor. (Like the Swiss, chard is neutral in flavor, allowing it to absorb flavors from its neighbors.)

It's also sturdy enough to wrap around fillings, or to endure a three minute boil and come out the winner. All this makes it versatile, too—try it on pizza! Or as a bed. (Really!)

Chard cooks quickly, so for those of us who wait until the last minute to decide what to cook for dinner, this recipe should be in your repertoire. This sautéed chard with red onions, garlic and lemon juice is a perfect side dish, but if you want to turn it into a main, add a cup or two of white beans and find a grain to serve underneath. 

Printable directions here, or keep reading for more illustrative photos.

Polenta Cakes with Spinach and Sweetcorn

Polenta Cakes, a yummy summer side dish

We're eating a lot of fresh corn these days. My local grocer is carrying fresh ears in their produce section, which has improved vastly since the new Tesco is being built down the street. Yay for competition, is what I say, though many of my neighbors are furious about the new store—it's been the cause of much controversy since I arrived here six years ago.

But back to corn. I wanted to do something with polenta, which I seem to have collected a lot of, and my nice ears of corn, and maybe some of the spinach I'd bought too. The idea sprung from this recipe, but obviously without the bacon. And plus I made a lot more, which served as a main dish, alongside some black eyed peas and a salad. Sort of Southern, only dressed up for church. 

I think a spoonful of salsa would make a nice addition, if you're so inclined. (I hear Tesco carries it.)

For directions, read on: 

Pineapple Rice with Edamame

Pineapple Rice with Edamame: Some sunshine for your bowl?

There's nothing like pineapple to brighten up a dreary January day, is there? It's like sunshine with a rind. 

This recipe is a bit more complicated than it looks. But it's actually a perfect make ahead recipe, and with the addition of edamame, it can become a main dish rather than a pretty side. 

The rice needs to be cooked ahead of time, and then separated and left to chill. That makes it easier to stir fry than clumpy steamed white rice. But if you think ahead, you can prepare the rice in the morning and then quickly throw the dish together for an evening meal. You can also prepare the rest of the ingredients: Cook the edamame, peel the pineapple, slice the green onions.

If you keep a pot of cilantro (coriander) on you window sill during the winter, you're good to go.

I served this with a simple pak choi and mushroom stir-fry and some spring rolls.

Here's the instructions: 

Parsnip and Celeraic Rösti with Cumberland Sauce

A saucy Rösti.

The other day I saw a bottle of Oxford Sauce at the Co-op in Oxford and, curious, I read the label. Anchovies. So back on the shelf it went. A few days later I was reading about Cumberland Sauce, which is usually served with game, and I discovered Oxford Sauce and Cumberland Sauce are the same thing. Except when you make Cumberland Sauce, you do not add anchovies.

That's fortunate, since I really wanted to try Cumberland Sauce with the Parsnip and Celeraic Rosti I was making for dinner last night. Cumberland Sauce is a fruity sauce made with redcurrant jelly, which is not a sweet jam like blackcurrant jam. In fact, jelly in Britain is not the same as jelly in the U.S. Confused? If you're looking for redcurrant jelly, look in the condiment section, not the jam section of your supermarket. And, by the way, I don't think it's easily available in the United States, though I might be proved wrong.

As for the rösti, you should be able to find celeraic and parsnips at a well stocked supermarket. Celeraic is the root of the celery plant. Unlike carrots and potatoes, parsnips and celeraic don't produce as much water when grated, so this recipe needs the addition of some liquid in order for the patties to hold together. This recipe adds Indian spices (fennel and cumin) as well as gram (chickpea) flour, so the rosti has a faintly exotic flavor.

Served with the Cumberland Sauce, this is a far cry from Switzerland and Germany, where rösti hails from.They're best eaten hot, right from the frying pan.

For instructions, keep reading.

Asparagus with Sesame Seeds

Asparagus with Sesame Seeds: a quick and easy side dish

It's asparagus season in Britain, so we're eating a lot of asparagus. Almost every day I find myself staring at a bunch of local asparagus (my last bunch was from Herefordshire, near Wales) and trying to decide what to do with it.

The other day we were having a Chinese stir-fry, so I gave asparagus the Asian treatment. After breaking off the tough ends (simply hold them and break them at the natural breaking point) I cut the stems into 1 inch pieces.

I heated some sesame oil in a wok, and added the asparagus. Meanwhile, I toasted some sesame seeds in an iron skillet, watching carefully to see that they didn't burn.

When the asparagus was done, I removed it to a plate, and sprinkled the seeds on top. Voila! Nearly instant side dish to accompany our stir-fry.

The pieces were really nice dipped in the dipping sauce for the spring rolls, made with two tablespoons tamari and one tablespoon rice wine vinegar.

Asparagus season lasts throughout May. If you have any more ideas for cooking asparagus, please post in comments!

Lima Beans with Lemon and Garlic

Beans: Good for your heart!

Beans as a side dish? Vegetarians are more used to featuring beans in the main dish, but since discovering how useful they can be as a complement to a meal, rather than the centerpiece, I keep several cans of beans on hand for those nights when pasta isn't quite enough.

Lima beans, often called butter beans when canned, are a great source of fiber and protein, and like other legumes, can decrease risk of heart disease. Plus they're low in fat and calories. When combined with garlic, they're not only tasty but offer even more heart protective benefits.

But forget all that. They taste great, and are a snap to prepare. To find out how, keep reading.

Two by Two Roasted Roots

Winter whites pack flavor as well as health into a convenient stick.

I've been buying a lot of parsnips and turnips, two of my favorite root vegetables. They're so easy to pop into the oven, and taste delicious when roasted. If you've never had parsnips, which aren't very common in America, you'll love their creamy melt-in-your-mouth texture. Turnips, too, take on a special sweetness when roasted with olive oil, maple syrup, and lemon juice.

I actually would try this without the carrots, which add color but not as much taste bud excitement as their white cousins.

I've tried many different marinades for roasting roots, but this one is the easiest, and easy to remember: It's just two of everything: 2 carrots, 2 parsnips, 2 small turnips, cut into similar sized wedges or sticks. Place them in a baking dish and pour over a mixture of 2 tablespoons each: olive oil, maple syrup, and lemon juice.

Bake in a 200C or 425F oven for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft. About half way through, stir them around with a fork.

I originally served these with a bean cake that also baked in the oven, but they're a great side with almost any main dish. For a pretty and tasty garnish, sprinkle some tender young thyme sprigs on top.

Quinoa "Risotto" with Mushrooms and Spinach

From George Bush's White House to yours: Quinoa "Risotto"

The other day I posted a menu from the dinner at the White House for the G20. I noted the odd naming of "Quinoa Risotto", a misnomer, since risotto is rice and quinoa is an entirely different grain.

What they most likely did, I speculated, not having been invited to the G20 dinner, was give the risotto treatment to quinoa. Except you wouldn't want to insult the quinoa grains with the classic stirring involved in risotto. You'd end up with mush.

Eager to experiment, and with a bag of spinach, mushrooms, and English shallots at hand, I chopped and simmered and created my own version of Quinoa "Risotto". I insist on putting scare quotes around the name, however, since I wouldn't want to mislead anyone.

That Bush administration—misleading to the very end.

If you want to make your own G20 White House side dish, directions are below. You might want to ask one of your guests from the olive growing countries to bring along some nice fruity olive oil. (And if you're a liberal, you might want to experiment with arugula instead of spinach.)

Potatoes and Green Beans with Pesto Sauce

 

Lookee here! There's something else you can do with potatoes and green beans!

I am particularly fond of potatoes and green beans. But I've made this yummy salad so many times I could almost taste it in my sleep—indeed, when I trimmed the green beans and began boiling the small salad potatoes, for a moment I caught the scent of Dijon and dill—its key ingredients.

But this time I was using pesto, a jar of vegan pesto I've had sitting in my cupboard. The end result was still herby, though, and a more substantial side dish than either potatoes or green beans on their own.

With jarred pesto, this is incredibly easy to make. I won't even bother with a recipe. I simply boiled potatoes (I always plop the larger ones in first, then add the smaller ones to ensure even cooking) and then added the green beans to the same (salted) water after removing the potatoes.

My beans were short, so I didn't bother slicing them in half, but shorter pieces make for a better presentation.

Meanwhile I toasted some walnuts, and mixed three or so tablespoons of pesto with soy cream (I buy mine in France; lucky me!). I used about 3/4 cup of soy cream, though I think soy milk may work just as well.

Then I tossed sliced potatoes, green beans, the walnuts, and the pesto mixture together. I barely had time to photo it—when Daughter Number Two and her dad returned from the gym, they gobbled it all up.

My favorite part of this dish? It's so easy to make, and looks, and tastes, like you tried really hard.

Dijon Roasted Potatoes

Dijon mustard and potatoes. Made for each other.

So I was peering into my cupboards the other day, looking for something to cook, and I noticed several jars of Dijon mustard. We’d bought a cute Wine-goblet shaped jar in Cherbourg. Other choices included a Scooby Doo -themed juice glass, but being adults, we chose the wine glass. The mustard came in handy, as every night I mixed up a salad dressing using other jars I bought: Olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

I also brought home some French potatoes, a thin-skinned white potato I hadn’t got around to cooking while in Normandy.

Suddenly the idea of mustard and potatoes was irresistible.

I mixed up some mustard, olive oil, rosemary, and salt, coated the potato wedges, and a half hour later had some yummy baked potato wedges.

Here’s more:

White Asparagus with Vegan Hollandaise Sauce

Frou frou asparagus, in a frou frou dish

When I saw white asparagus at the French supermarket for 99¢ (about $1.59) I couldn't resist. I placed it gently in my shopping trolley, and brought it home across the Channel.

But I remembered reading somewhere that something special had to be done to white asparagus, unlike green asparagus.

I Googled and discovered that white asparagus has to be peeled, and then cooked for 20 minutes. So I peeled each stalk, a time-consuming process, and even then, I don't think I got all the peel off. After boiling it for 20 minutes, it still was tough and stringy, especially toward the bottom of the stalk. I should have broken them off, like I do with green asparagus, but instead I'd followed instructions to only cut off the last inch.

But the Hollaindaise Sause, made with French soya cream, was delicious. So I'm posting this recipe, with a caveat that white asparagus just isn't worth the effort. It doesn't have as much flavor as green asparagus, and takes a lot longer to prepare. Kinda makes me wonder why European farmers go to all the trouble of piling up the earth around the stalks to prevent them from turning green in the sunlight.

I also really wanted to show you my new serving dish I got at one of the frou frou shops in Noordwijk. It was 50% off, so I guess it was only frou.

Roasted Roots

A side dish of roots: Dig it!

Turnips really are one of my favorite vegetables. Despite harrowing tales of victory garden produce forced upon Britain's youth, it turns out turnips taste much better than their reputation would indicate.

So when I saw a bag of turnips at my local grocer for a pound, (£1) I snapped it up, knowing I could cook those winter roots any of several ways.

My favorite is to roast them. Since I had parsnips, and baby carrots too, I sliced them up, along with a potato, poured a generous amount of olive oil over it all, and popped it into the oven.

The result: melt-in-your-mouth root vegetable heaven.

Here's how:

Pilau Rice with Cauliflower

Now if only Daughter Number One would tell me how to make my photo not look washed out.

Daughter Number One loves Indian food, but Daughter Number Two isn’t such a fan. But DNT went into London with her friend for New Year’s Eve, so I took the opportunity to make Indian for beloved older daughter (who had graciously offered to babysit later for our neighbors).

With the spicy rich korma I served, I wanted a lively rice dish, and this more than fit the bill. In fact, my husband, ungrateful for the bounty of food I’ve been putting on the table lately, insisted that this alone would have been enough for a meal. No need for the korma, the raita, the samosas, the mango slices, the naan, the chutney—Readers, you’ll never know how close I came to hitting him on the head with the cauliflower stump.

He did do the dishes.

For easy directions on how you can turn your Indian meal into a feast, keep reading.

Potato and Parsnip Rösti

A simple side dish, for Hanukkah perhaps.

You could call these latkes, or not, depending on how badly you’re wanting to celebrate Hanukkah vegan-style. Then you’d have to serve them with applesauce and vegan sour cream, and jelly doughnuts. Or you could call them hash browns, but that brings up images of Mickey D’s and those pre-packaged, pre-formed Tater Tot-like patties.

So why don’t we just go with the Swiss, who call them Rosti? Or Rösti, if you want to get technical.

I formed my Rösti into three separate 6-inch pieces, but you could make one large Rösti  if you’d prefer. Technique is crucial: Slip the browned Rösti onto a plate, cover the plate with the frying pan, and invert to brown the other side.

If you have a food processor with a grater attachment, use that; it will make short work of the prep involved. But if you don’t, or prefer to work with your hands, then be sure to watch your knuckles. Bloody knuckles are no fun; I don't even think the Swiss have a cute name for them.

Hanukkah begins on December 4, if you'd like to skip ahead.