Zucchini cakes and tomato dipping sauce

Love zucchini, but the bumper crop in my garden had me struggling what to do with it all without getting sick of eating it daily. Enter these cakes inspired by a recipe from Paula Dean's repertoire, and who , admittedly, needed much adapting for my tastes as she seems to put a stick of butter in everything and uses lots of store bought pre-made ingredients. Yuck.

• 3-4 medium zucchinis
• 1 cup bread crumbs-ideally used home made
• 1 cup shredded Parmesan or Romano cheese
• 1/3 cup finely chopped onion or minced shallot
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• fresh tarragon or dill, or both. Or oregano. Whatever fresh herb you like and/or have handy. Used dried if you must.
• sea salt to taste
• good twists of ground black pepper mill
•  frying oil. I sued Safflower but Canola would work as would olive oil but it may be a heavy flavor.

Grate zucchini leave in a colander over a bowl to collect the water for a few hours or overnight. I also put a heavy stone on top to squeeze it out, or you can just press it down. Don't be shy.

In a medium bowl, combine the zucchini with the rest of the ingredients. Shape mixture into patties, not too thick as you want to make sure they cook through, about one inch thick tops.
In a medium pan, add the the cooking oil to be about 3/4 of the way up the thickness of your cakes.  Heat to  medium high heat, you don;t want the outside to brown too quickly leaving the inside uncooked. Cook 3 to 4 minutes per side or until browned. Remove with slotted spoon and let drain on paper towel.
Serve with tomato dipping sauce, or a yoghurt/sour cream mint sauce.

Fava bean, green beans and mint salad

With fava beans in season, we get carried away with buying pounds and pounds of the stuff.  Normally, I steam them and just serve with cow-parsnip seeds sprinkled on top. But this go round I was inspired by the mint and parsley in my garden.

Fresh fava beans-shelled
green beans-cut into 1" pieces
fresh mint leaves
fresh parsley
chopped red onion or shallot
lemon juice (1 or  lemons to taste or depending on quantity. I use just 1 for 3 portions of salad)
garlic (chopped)
cumin seeds, toasted and ground
salt
olive oil
pecorino cheese grated (optional)

Shell the fava bans and steam over low heat until tender but still firm (about 20 minutes) with the lid on. In the last five minutes of the fave beans' cooking, add green beans to steam. If the beans are tasting close to done (still crisp), I like to turn off the heat and let the remaining heat of the water finish off the cooking.  Once the fava beans are cooled, you can peel the outer skin (it is tough and bitter tasting to me.)

Chop the leaves. In a bowl prepare the dressing of olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, cumin seeds, salt.  blend well with a small whisk.  Toss and mix with the beans, incorporate the leaves. Just before serving, sprinkle pecorino cheese.

Organic Red Cabbage Kimchi

Planning what to bring for the 1st San Francisco Swappers Food Swap, I wanted to make something familiar but with a twist. I was tempted to make my crowd pleasing pickles, but figured there would be a slew of pickle variations, so went for kimchi, a long favourite of mine since living in Korea a lifetime ago.  This go round, I opted for Red Cabbage vs. the traditional Napa Cabbage...never tried it before, so we'll see how it goes and if I actually have the courage to take it along next weekend!

As with all my recipes, measurements are rough and to taste, so have at it!

• Cabbage: traditionals use Napa cabbage, I used organic red cabbage. Cut into rough 2" pieces and smaller (knowing it needed to fit into the mouth of glass jars)
• Salt-lots of it. I used Korean sea salt from the Korean store (which abound in Oakland), but kosher, or even regular supermarket salt would work
• Red chile pepper powder-do not use the kind you over pour in pizza places!! They sell it in skads in Korean or Asian markets-that is, more finely ground, no seeds.
• Garlic cloves-lots of it
• Ginger-fresh, I used about 3" piece for 2 whole cabbage heads, but it's to your taste, just make sure it doesn't overpower the flavour of the paste
• Fish Sauce-about 1/3 cup but eye-balled it for the paste to make sure it was the right viscosity to macerate the cabbage in. Not too thick, not too runny. Juuuuust right.
• 1 Onion: I used red onions
• Spring onion or wild garlic. To colour and flavour a wee bit. I used 2 wild garlics and 3 spring onions (what I had in the fridge). Chopped into 1/4" pieces

Put the cut cabbage into a large bowl of heavily salted tepid water. Let soak, covered for minimum few hours to overnight. Because red cabbage is sturdier, I soaked overnight.  Rinse at least 3 times with clean water.

In a blender or food processor, put the chili powder, fish sauce, garlic cloves, ginger and onion. Blend well, adding fish sauce if needed to make it a loose paste-like wall paper or henna.

Poor the paste over the cabbage, toss in the chopped spring onion, and really work it into the cabbage until it is all coated and lathered in it. Put into cleaned, sterilized* glass jars with tops. Leave it for a week before serving. It will last even up to a year!  You can serve it up with a dash of sesame seeds, or make a kimchi soup with it.

* sterilize using large metal pot with a few inches of water, put jars in a metal steamer, colander, or  a strainer attachment. Cover and let water boil and steam the jars and lids for 15 minutes.

Baked fish with potatoes and onions

Super easy is one way to describe this. Delicious is another. I have very strong and fond memories of my mum making this when we lived in Puerto Rico when I was a child.  I heard a friend of mine who does not like fish, utter a soft "mmmmmm" when she ate this.

1-2 Potatoes (any at hand, I used Yukon) cut into rounds
Fish: white fish is best such as cod or sea bass, but use what is fresh and what you like. Cut the fish into the serving sizes. This is a great way to make a clean, de-boned side of fish go further too by cutting across and then in half.
1-2 yellow onions (red would work too) sliced into rounds
Bay leaf for each piece of fish being prepared
Optional: Tomato, sliced. Make sure at least one slice per serving

Pre-heat oven to 375. Butter a pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Line the bottom with potato rounds. Loosely scatter the onion rounds over the potatoes. If using tomato slices, layer them next. Place a bay leaf per fish piece on top. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Place each piece of fish on top. Salt again lightly. Drizzle with olive oil. Whack in oven for 20-25 minutes until fish is cooked or even starting to brown on top.  Potatoes should be cooked through from the moisture of the onion, tomato and fish juices being absorbed in.  Serve with salad or other veggies such as beans or peas.

You can be inventive with this dish: sprinkle fresh herbs such as oregano, chives, sage in the layers of potato and onion. You can add a dash of stock or milk to add flavour into the potatoes that will absorb the liquid. Or you can go balls out and make a bechamel sauce enough to just cover the potato layer.

Mushroom ragu with kick

I am actually not a fan of mushrooms, unless someone else prepares them. I just don't seem to have the knack to cook them well it seems, unless on a BBQ grill.  That is, until I turned my imagination to create this recipe which goes well with fresh pasta, I prefer tagliatelle, but knock yourself out with your preferred pasta shape.

4-5 tomatoes (I vary depending on what is fresh, Roma's are good)
olive oil
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2-3 onions chopped coursely (red or yellow)
2 bay leaves
1 large sweet red pepper
2 red chili peppers
1 lb mushrooms  chopped ( I use a variety of them, but one variety works too, though try to avoid boring buttom mushrooms. I find them lacking in flavour.)
1-2 Tblps chipotle pepper (the sauce of the can) or smoked pepper flakes (optional)
1 cup red wine (any kind)
Feta cheese (optional)
salt to taste

Boil water i a sauc epan. When boiled, drop the tomatoes in and let blanch for 2 minutes (until you see the skins pucker). Drain and let cool down a bit to handle. Slip off the skins and with a potato masher in a bowl, roughly mash them into a course sauce.

In a sauce pan, heat olive oil and when hot add the onions. Lower heat and let the onions sweat until they are almost caramelized. Add the sweet red pepper, garlic and chile peppers.  Cook through stirring and until they start to reduce and thicken. Add the mushrooms and bay leaves, cooking through until starting to reduce and thicken.Add the tomatoes and chipotle pepper sauce, cook to reduce. Add the red wine and continue cooking over  a low heat until well thickened.  Optional: add broken bits of feta to add texture, colour and flavour. If using feta, taste first before adding more salt.

I find sauces, soups and stews taste better the next day or two, so this is good to prepare in advance. Re-heat and toss in cooked pasta to coat

Variation: at the point when you have the onion and red pepper base, you can add chopped bacon to add flavour.

Chupe-my take on it

Freshly back from my trip to Peru and the cold snap here in the Bay Area prompted my making this soup.  It takes great just made, but for optimal flavour, make it one or two days before serving to let the flavours get to know each other and harmonize.

Fish stock:
I keep fish heads and shrimp shells from cooking other dishes in my freezer until it is time to make a stock.  In a large soup pot submerge the fish bones, shells etc with water. Toss in celery, pepeprcorns, onion, bay leaf and simmer over medium heat for 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.  Hopefully there are 4-5 cups of stock. If not don;t worry-we will use water to top up the liquid.



3 yellow potatoes diced or cut into rounds if on the smaller side (i.e if using fingerling potatoes)  I leave the skins on but you can peel them.
1 onion diced
1/2 cup rice
3 yellow peppers finely chopped 
3 tblspns of tomato paste or freshly blanched tomatoes, skinned
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon orégano
1 rocoto pepper, seeded and finely chopped or 2-3 red chili peppers
2-3 juiced lemons and a few strips of their zest
2-3 cloves garlic. if you like garlic, pile it on!
Seafood: clams, mussels, bay scallops, jumbo shrimp-any kind and size and combination that floats your boat


In a soup pot slowly sweat the chopped onion and then add the yellow pepper. Cook over a low heat to allow the pepper to soften and almost melt turning the mix yellow. Add the tomato paste and paprika giving it a good stir and a minute or two to blend.  Toss in oregano, chili pepper, lemon zest and garlic, cook until garlic glistens. Add the fish stock and potatoes, let simmer for 30 minutes or longer.  It should be a bright yellow soup base.   If yo are cooking a few days ahead, leave it at this stage and resume the rest on the day.  Resume by adding the lemon juice & shellfish and simmer until cooked.  It;s ready to serve but also note that in Peru they add whole egg yolks and milk at this stage, which yo can too if you want to be more authentic.


Disfrute!

Black Bean Soup

I made this gobsmacking and satisfying meal from left over black beans I had defrosted (nothing like coming home from holidays to an empty fridge and being forced to raid the freezer!) I usually make soups as soups from the get go, but this approach makes the black beans first and then turns it into a soup, so consider this a two-fer recipe! As always, proportions are loosy-goosy and to your taste

Black Beans
2 cups black beans, soaked in salted water at least a few hours or overnight and drained
2 carrots chopped in 1/4" or smaller pieces
1 onion chopped
2 stalks celery (optional)
2 jalapenos or seranos chopped
3 cloves garlic chopped
tomato sauce, paste or 5-6 whole roma tomatoes (blanched and peeled)
1 cup water (or stock)
1 tsp paprika, chili powder and turmeric each
bay leaf
optional: corn

Garnish: chopped cilantro, avocado, chipotle pepper, yoghurt (or sour cream or crema mexicana), lime spritz, toasted tortilla strips, grated jack cheese

 In large pot, heat up olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots and celery. Saute until they are translucent and soft (6-8 minutes). Add chilis pepper, let cook through (2-3 minutes). Toss in drained beans, stir. Add the tomato paste or whole tomatoes and crush them gently.  Add the liquid and spices and bay leaf. Make sure the liquid is enough to cover the beans. Over low heat let it simmer until the beans are cooked through (approx 1 hr). You may need to keep adding liquid.  Taste for salt.


If you don't eat it all with rice and tortillas, try to leave the beans to "sit" for a day for the flavors to settle and meld.  To make the soup, just add desired quantity of stock and bring to a boil.

To serve:
Granish with any combination of above or best-all of them. Serve with heated up tortillas (I like the hand made whole wheat ones from Trader Joes).

Farro, leek and kale soup

The kale in my garden has been doing well.  Too well, such that it inspires my throwing it into my cooking. Today I used it in a soup that was light but warming at the same time: perfect for this rotten cold/flu I have.


Home made chicken stock (carcass of a roast chicken, bay leaves, peppercorns and add other veggies in the fridge such as onion, celery, carrots etc in  a pot with water and cooked for an hour. Drain.)


olive oil
1 cup of farro grain
2 organic carrots, cut lengthwise and chopped into small pieces
1-2 leeks cleaned and chopped
1 onion (any kind) chopped finely
2-3 cloves garlic
3-4 strips of smoked bacon (leave out of vegetarian) chopped
6-8 kale leaves, roughly chopped

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onions and leeks until they sweat. Add bacon. When bacon cooked through, toss in carrots and farro. Stir to coat then add stock to cover. Simmer over medium heat until farro cooks through (approx 20-25 minutes.) Add kale and let wilt (2-3 minutes).

Serve with salad or toasted bread. Best the next day when flavours meld.

Turmeric potatoes with sweet chilis and onions

This dish is such a comfort food for any meal. I've had it as a stand alone for dinner with a salad, as a side with fish and it makes a great breakfast with eggs. It reheats well too, so it can be made the night and reheated stove top the morning of a brunch.  As always, servings and quantities vary based on taste and numbers eating, so don;t be afraid to embellish or adjust to your taste.


1-2 lbs Organic fingerling or yukon gold potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. You can peel them, but I don't.
8-12 sweet chilis (from Asian or Latino markets. They are about 4" long), sliced crudely across the width
1-2 onions (Vidialias, sweet, white, whatever you fancy)
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 TBLSP ground turmeric
salt to taste
olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a heavy cast iron (or whatever you have) skillet pan. Add the potatoes, stirring to coat them with the oil. Cook and stir occasionally over a medium heat, keeping the potatoes from sticking to the pan, or of they do, make sure to scrape the browned bits off.  Potatoes should cook through in about 25 minutes.  You can put a lid on to trap the moisture and accelerate the cooking.

Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Incorporate well into the potatoes. When the onions are cooked through, add the turmeric and salt. Ready to serve!

Braised Carrots make for a good final supper

I find it trying when I am about to head off on a trip and the fridge has a melee of vegetables and other scraps that don't seem to quite add up to a nice meal.  I stumbled upon the lovely organic yellow carrots that I'd bought only a few days prior but forgot about because a mound of black radishes that kept them from view.  I immediately savoured the prospect of braising them with orange, cumin and brown sugar, and then I found this recipe which seemed more balanced:

http://christiescorner.com/2010/03/04/honey-and-cumin-braised-carrots/

Thanks Christie.  They were lovely and could have made a meal on their own, but I also paired them with steamed artichokes in a chipotle dipping sauce.  Dee-lish.

Red Bean, Turnip, Rocoto and Swiss chard soup

The cold weather persists in Northern California and one look outside my window at the bursts of green Swiss Chard and rocoto chili plants provided the inspiration for this soup.  Lots of ways to substitute ingredients that I will flag below.  Enjoy.

For veggie broth:
1 onion
6 celery stalks
10-12 pepper corns
2-3 bay leaves
cumin seeds
If not a vegetarian, then throw in any chicken bone scraps or ham hock
4 Roma tomatoes

Put all the above in a large soup pot with plenty of water to cover. Simmer for 1+ hours over medium heat. Take off flame and plop the Roma tomotoes for 5-10 minutes until their skins split. Remove the tomotoes and when cool enough to handle, slide skins off, which should be very easy. Leave aside. Strain the rest of the stock and reserve.

Rest of soup
2 cups red beans (or kidney, pinto or black eyed etc. Anything but chickpea or lentil) Soak the beans in well-salted water until they swell (3-4 hours or overnight)
1 onion chopped (red or yellow)
4-6 garlic cloves
1  turnip cut into 1/4" pieces (or large potato, or 2 carrots)
1 finely chopped rocoto pepper (2-3 red serrano will do, remove the seds carefully and wash hand well after seeding them.)
10-12 Swish Chard leaves chopped into large strips

In new pot, coat bottom with olive oil and heat over medium flame.  Add chopped onions and sweat them.  If not a vegetarian, here is a good time to add some chopped bacon or ham hock pieces to cook through.  Add garlic and Roma tomatoes, gently mashing the tomatoes to 'disolve'.  Add the turnip. Drain beans that were soaking and add in with a stir.  Add the chard and cover for a few minutes to wilt the chard. Add the stock. Stir and cook until beans are cooked through.  Sometimes I add in a small 1/2 tsp of Vegemite if handy or a shake of Worcestershire sauce for added flavor, but not necessary. Because the red beans were soaked in salted water, no need to to add salt until the end and do so to taste.

My usual thing is to make the soup and let it cool to room temperature before heating again to serve, or better still make a day ahead, to let the flavors settle and meld.

Enjoy!

Lamb Ragu and pasta

I hosted a dinner party serving a roasted leg of lamb with preserved lemons. I panicked with the quantities of food I served and had quite a bit of lamb left over. Rather than eat lamb sammiches for the next 3 days, I made a ragu for pasta. 'EASY' is one word to describe this recipe. DELICIOUS is another word to describe the end result. This recipe can also work for most kind of meat leftovers actually.

1-lb of Roma tomatoes (I prefer organic)
olive oil
1 large yellow or white onion-chopped medium to finely
5-6 cloves of garlic-chopped
1-2 Bay Leaves
8oz-1 lb of cooked (leftover) lamb-can be any cut, but for this I had leg of lamb
1/2 to 1 cup red wine, any kind really, though I used a Rioja (because that is what I was drinking)
salt & pepper to taste


Set large pan of water to come to a boil. Plop the Roma tomatoes until their skins crack or pucker (about 1-2 minutes). Drain and let cool a bit before handling. When cool enough to handle, peel the skins off-they should just slide off easily. Place in bowl and set aside.

With the leftover lamb, cut roughly into cubes so that they can fit in a food processor. Roughly chop/grind the lamb until it is either coursely chopped or even reaches a thickish/lumpy paste consistency (I prefer the latter)

In a large (cast iron) saute pan(or sauce pan) heat up olive oil, enough to coat the pan over medium heat. Saute the onions until they glisten and are soft. Add the Roma tomatoes and with a potato masher, gently press and 'mash' the tomatoes to break them up. Careful as they can splatter if you mash them too hard. Let the tomatoes and onions cook down together, stirring, for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and the Bay Leaves, continuing to stir and break down the tomatoes.

When the base sauce looks 'together' and starts to thicken, add the lamb stirring to blend well. Add the wine, enough to loosen the mix a bit, but not render it soupy. Lower the heat to a low flame and let the ragu simmer down to a sauce consistency. Taste for any needed salt & pepper.

When ready to serve, prepare the pasta (I like farfalle or wide egg noodles, but any will do really), drain then add into the ragu to coat the pasta. Serve! The ragi will also keep in the freezer, so good to make in a large batch.