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.