SIO Recipes for Week 24
The Castelfranco Chicory (Radicchio) is a beautiful treat this week. I give you a risotto recipe for it but you can by all means make a salad with it. If your sensitive to the slight bitterness soak the leaves in ice cold water for a while. And dress is with a nice strong vinaigrette with mustard, a little garlic, a little sweetener of some kind–I love a little syrup made be reducing apple cider–and good olive oil.
Carrots with Ginger, Curry, and Cilantro
Risotto with Beans and Castelfranco Radicchio
Roasted or Sautéed Celery Root
Long-cooked Chard and Onions
Spiced Butternut Squash with Lentils and Wilted Chard
Root Vegetable Soup (Carrots, Celeriac, Parsnips)
Parsnip and Carrot “Latkes”
Carrots with Ginger, Curry, and Cilantro
One-line recipe from Chef Jenn Louis of Lincoln Restaurant and Sunshine Tavern:
Melt a bit of butter, add curry powder, garlic and fresh ginger. Add blanched carrot coins, sea salt and cilantro leaves.
Risotto with Beans and Castelfranco Radicchio
This is creamy, delicious and perfect for blustery weather.
You could add a diced sweet pepper to the onions at the beginning or use spinach instead of radicchio, skip the beans entirely or substitute diced winter squash, use barley instead of rice. . . you get the idea.
Serves 3 to 4
5 cups vegetable broth (or homemade veggie bouillon broth) or chicken stock
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1 cup pearled risotto rice (arborio, carnaroli, etc.)
1 cup cooked beans (borlotti, pinto, white, etc. )
5 cups chopped castelfranco radicchio
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or Assiago Stella cheese, plus more for serving
2 tablespoons butter
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Bring the stock or broth to a low simmer. In a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the onion and thyme and cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Add the rice and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the wine if using and cook, stirring until mostly absorbed, about one minute. Add a couple of ladlefuls of stock and cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly absorbed. Continue adding the stock a ladleful at a time when the rice starts drying out. Cook until the rice is tender then add the beans and a bit more broth–you want it a bit soupy as the beans will absorb some liquid and you want it nice and creamy. Cook for a couple of minutes and then add the radicchio. Cook for another minute or two until wilted and tender and then stir in the cheese and butter and taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Long-cooked Chard and Onions
This is a bit of an atypical way to cook chard since you cook it for a quite a long time. It is well worth it though—silky and rich.
Wash a large bunch of fresh chard. Separate the leaves from the stems and reserve stems for another use or slice them thinly and use them in this dish. Cut the leaves into 1-2 inch ribbons. Slice a large onion and begin stewing it and the stems, if using, in some olive oil in a good-sized sauté pan. When the onion has softened a bit add the chard, season with salt and pepper, cover and stew, stirring occasionally for 20-30 minutes. The moisture from the leaves and onions should be enough to cook it, slowly, but if it gets too dry you can add just a little water. Remove from heat when the vegetables are silky and tender.
I’ve used this as a pizza topping with some feta, as a pasta sauce or just a side to whatever else I made for dinner. It’s also wonderful with eggs.
Roasted or Sautéed Celery Root
The first of the season’s celery root gets treated in one of two ways in my kitchen. Either I cut it into thick, French fry-like batons and sauté it with our without a little bacon in my largest cast iron skillet until tender. It needs plenty of salt.
Or, I roast batons or dice, tossed in olive oil and salt on a sheet pan in a 400 degree-oven until tender and browning. I might then dress it with some minced garlic and chopped parsley or eat it just as is.
Spiced Squash, Lentils and Chard
This is my idea of a perfect winter dish. I typically make this with fresh arugula but wilted chard or spinach is a lovely alternative.
Serves 6 as a side
¾ cup French green lentils
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1-inch pieces
3 teaspoon olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons smoked Spanish paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt (more to taste)
1 small bunch chard, leaves separated from stems (reserve those for another use), washed and chopped
2-3 ounces feta or soft goat cheese, crumbled
1 – 1 ½ tablespoons red wine vinegar
Preheat oven to 375ºF. Place squash on a baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons oil, cumin, paprika, and salt. Roast 20 minutes. Turn squash over. Roast until tender, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile cook lentils in boiling salted water until tender but firm in a large pot, about 25 minutes. About 5 minutes before the lentils are done add the chard. Drain everything well and let cool just a bit.
Combine lentils, chard, squash, and oil from baking sheet with vinegar and 1 tablespoon good olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Toss well. Gently stir under cheese when ready to serve.
Root Vegetable Soup (Carrots, Celeriac, Parsnips)
This is just a template, an idea, of how to use the lovely roots that are showing up in a nice, warm soup.
If you have time roast all the vegetables and then sauté a bit of onion, add the roasted veggies (or roast some onion along with the other veggies instead) and enough broth and a few sprigs of thyme or a bit of chopped sage. Simmer for 10 minutes and then blend with an immersion blender or regular blender or food processor or just coarsely mash by hand. Add salt a squeeze of lemon juice or splash of cider vinegar or soy sauce. Add more broth or water if it’s too thick—keep cooking it if it’s too thin.
Top with crouton, toasted seeds or nuts and chopped fresh herbs with olive oil salt and maybe a little garlic.
Parsnip and Carrot “Latkes”
This is also more of an idea/technique than a recipe and it’s not an authentic latke. Be that as it may it’s a great, great way to enjoy winter (especially root) veggies.
The quantities listed are approximations and can be adjusted based on what you have on hand, your taste, etc. For the below recipe you want about six cups of packed, grated veggie.
3 small parsnips, scrubbed and grated on the large holes of a box grater or shredded with a food processor (you probably won’t need to peel them or remove the core but see if either seems very fibrous)
3-4 medium carrots, scrubbed and grated (same as parsnips)
½ a medium onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (or oregano, mint or chives or about a teaspoon of chopped sage or thyme, fresh or dried)
2 eggs
¼ cup flour
1/3 cup half and half, cream or whole milk (or water)
Salt (at least 1 teaspoon sea salt)
Freshly ground pepper
A few tablespoons of oil for pan-frying
Greek yogurt or sour cream for serving
Let the grated veggies rest, sprinkled with a little salt, in a large bowl while you prepare the batter (you can also skip this step and I often do). In a smallish bowl whisk the egg(s) with the flour and cream (if using), salt and pepper. Squeeze out any excess liquid from the veggies with your hands, a big handful at a time. Return to the bowl, add the onion and herbs and finally the batter. Mix well. Taste for seasoning before you start frying. Under salted latkes are no fun.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat with a tablespoon or so of olive oil. Scoop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot pan. Flatten each one a bit with a spatula. Leave them alone for a few minutes until the sides start getting crispy and golden. Flip carefully and continue cooking until both sides are nicely browned. Eat hot topped with Greek yogurt or sour cream.