Yes, I think it’s really fall now. Lots of fall-like dishes here this week. Pick up a bunch of cilantro and cook some white beans (for two of the dishes this week) if you’d like. The Cilantro, Chard and White Bean Soup is really one of my all time favorite meals. And I have been so enjoying all the sweet peppers and below are a couple of my favorite pepper recipes.
Portuguese Chard, Leek, White Bean and Cilantro Soup
Radicchio, Beets, Filberts/Walnuts, Goat Cheese/Blue Cheese
Hubbard Squash Note
Roasted Squash and Beets with Dukkah and Thyme
Roasted Pepper Salad with Cumin, Sherry Vinegar and Jamon Serrano
Quick-Pickled Sweet Peppers with Rosemary
Romesco with Roasted Potatoes
Leeks and White Beans with Sausages
Portuguese Chard, Leek, White Bean and Cilantro Soup
This is my favorite soup, I believe, of all time. If you have cooked (or canned) beans on hand this soup comes together in 20-30 minutes and is one of the most satisfying one-dish meals I know.
1 cup dried white beans, soaked (cannelini, great northern, Ayers Creek white beans of any kind, Rancho Gordo Marrow beans . . . ) or 1 14 oz. can of cannelini or other white beans
2 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 leeks (about 2 generous cups, chopped), well washed, cut in half lengthwise and cut into half-rounds
5 large cloves garlic
6 cups home-made veggie bouillon broth or vegetable stock
2 cups packed cilantro
1 large bunch chard, stems removed, coarsely chopped (about 4 cups)
sliced crusty bread (4 slices)
4 eggs
Salt and pepper, to taste
Good olive oil for drizzling
Cook the soaked beans in water with a clove of the garlic until soft about 25 minutes if small. Drain and set aside. You could also use canned beans.
Heat olive oil in a large pot. Sauté the leeks in olive oil until limp. Add three cloves of garlic, minced. Continue sautéing until the garlic is soft but not brown about 2 minutes, lower heat as needed. Add four cups of the stock and bring to a simmer. Add the beans and continue to simmer for a minute or two. Add the chard to the pot and cook for a few minutes. Blend the cilantro with the reserved 2 cups of bouillon in a blender. Add the cilantro mixture and season with salt and pepper. Bring mixture to a rapid simmer. Crack eggs into soup, cover and let poach about 5 minutes until the yolks and whites are just set.
While eggs are cooking toast the bread slices and rub with remaining garlic cloves. You can rub one or both sides of the toast with garlic–depending on much you love garlic. Lay the bread in the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle the soup over. Top with poached egg. Drizzle with good olive oil and grind some pepper over the top.
Beets, Radicchio, Goat Cheese/Blue Cheese and Filberts/Walnuts
I made this with the addition of the last bit of lettuce from last week’s share but it was 90% radicchio. I used filberts and goat cheese and it was wonderful.
A classic and wonderful combination of ingredients.
3 roasted or boiled beets, peeled and diced or cut into bite-sized wedges
About 4 cups radicchio, washed, dried and torn or chopped
½ cup or more toasted walnuts or filberts, roughly chopped
2 ounces fresh goat cheese or blue cheese, crumbled
1 tablespoon sherry or red one vinegar (more to taste)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Toss the radicchio and nuts with the dressing ingredients. Add the cheese and beets and gently toss again. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Hubbard Squash Note
I love Hubbard squash. Its dense, rich meat is great in “pumpkin” pies as well as stews, mashes, sautés, etc. If you have some time or can do it in advance, you’ll make it easier on yourself if you bake the squash whole (or halved and seeds and strings removed) in a 400-degree oven for 20 minutes or so which softens it enough to peel and cube it more easily.
Roasted Winter Squash and Beets with Dukkah and Thyme
I love this combination of creamy, sweet roasted squash and beets and the warmly spiced, crunchy Dukkah. Dukkah (the spice and nut mixture) is delicious sprinkled on most anything—roasted vegetables, salads, grilled meats, you name it. This dish makes a lovely side or lunch with some hummus and toast and/or a green salad. You can use other vegetables as well but this combination is particularly beautiful and delicious.
This is a little bit of a project–timing the toasting of the spices and then letting them cool but it’s well worth it and it makes enough for quite a few dishes/meals.
Dukkah:
1/2 cup almonds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
1/4 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Roasted winter squash and beets, cut into bite-sized chunks, warm or at room temperature
1 teaspoon thyme leaves, fresh or dried, chopped or crumbled a bit
Olive oil
Salt
For the dukkah: In a medium skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds until golden, about 4 minutes. Transfer the almonds to a work surface to cool, and then finely chop them.
Put the coriander and cumin seeds in the same skillet and toast, stirring until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer the seeds to a spice grinder and allow them to cool completely before coarsely grinding.
In a medium bowl, combine the almonds with the ground spices.
Put the sesame seeds in the same skillet and toast them over medium heat, stirring until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer to the spice grinder.
Toast the coconut in the skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly until golden (be careful not to burn!), about 2 minutes. Add the toasted coconut to the grinder and let it cool completely.
Grind the sesame seeds and coconut to a coarse powder. Combine with the almond and spice mixture and season with salt and pepper. Store in an airtight container. Dukkah will keep for 1-2 months but will begin to loose its fragrance after that.
Toss the roasted vegetables with a bit of olive oil and a little salt. Sprinkle generously with dukkah and thyme. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve.
Roasted Pepper Salad with Cumin, Sherry Vinegar and Jamon Serrano
This is a Spanish-style composed salad. I make it several times a year when peppers are abundant and varied in the early fall. It’s a beautiful, even elegant dish and worth all the roasting and peeling time.
8 peppers, ideally a sweet Italian roasteres—broiled until blackened and blistered and seeded and peeled and coarsely chopped
4 – 5 roma or other sauce-type tomatoes, quartered, sprinkled with salt and roasted in a very hot (450~) oven until soft and browning around the edges, about 15 minutes
1/4 of a medium (red) onion, sliced as thinly as you can
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 hardboiled eggs, finely chopped
Salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons sherry or champagne or red wine vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper
8-10 slices Jamon Serrano or Prosciutto
Arrange the roasted peppers and tomatoes on a platter. Scatter over the slivered onions and sprinkle the hardboiled eggs over the vegetables.
In a small bowl mix the cumin, salt, olive oil, pepper, garlic and vinegar. Drizzle the dressing over everything and top with the slices of jamon. Enjoy with some good bread.
Pickled Sweet Peppers with Rosemary
These simple pickled peppers are fun to have around to serve on burgers, as part of an antipasto plate, or on egg salad crostini or sandwiches.
For about 3-4 pints:
3 lbs sweet red and/or yellow roasting peppers
A little olive oil
Salt
Brine:
2 1/2 cups white wine vinegar
2/3 cup sugar
Handful of fresh rosemary leaves
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Combine the vinegar, sugar and rosemary leaves and red pepper flakes in a saucepan. Simmer covered for about 3 minutes. Set aside.
Preheat the broiler and position the rack about 8 inches from the element. Wash and dry the peppers and cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds and veins. Rub peppers with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Arrange peppers, skin side up on baking sheet and broil until skin is blistering and peppers have softened a bit, about 6-10 minutes. Check and reposition peppers to ensure even broiling. When cool enough to handle peel the peppers as best you can—it’s fine if some of the skin sticks to the peppers. Pack the peppers into jars and add the still-warm brine. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. They’ll keep for many months.
Romesco
This sauce is quite forgiving. The important thing is that it has a good bite from vinegar, the texture from the grilled bread and the sweetness of the slowly fried garlic and ground almonds. Many combinations of peppers will work.
2 sweet peppers, broiled until black and blistered, deseeded and peeled or 2 dried New Mexican chilies
1 large tomato, fresh or roasted and frozen (and then thawed)
1 fresh or dried Aci Sivri pepper (Ayers Creek farm in Gaston Oregon grows and sells these mildly hot Turkish peppers at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market, near Portland) (optional)
1 small fresh hot pepper (Czech Black, Serrano etc) roasted and peeled and deseeded or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, fried slowly in olive oil until golden brown and soft
1 thick slice crusty bread, fried in the garlic oil until dark brown and crisp
2 tablespoons toasted almonds (marcona almonds if you have them, though I never do and regular ones work fine)
2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar or a combination (or less if you’re using the New Mexican chiles)
1/3 cup olive oil, or more as needed
Salt
If you’re using dried New Mexican chilies destem and seed them and simmer them with 3/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar for 5 minutes. Drain most of the liquid but reserve the rest in case you need a bit more kick. And if you’re using New Mexican chiles then only add 2 teaspoons of vinegar since the rehydrating liquid will have infused the peppers with some vinegar.
Process the toasted bread, garlic and almonds in the food processor until well-chopped. Add the remaining ingredients except the oil. Process everything until smooth, finally adding the oil. Taste and adjust seasoning. It should have a good vinegary kick. Thin with more of the re-hydrating liquid if desired.
Romesco with Roasted Potatoes
Good for a crowd, good at room temperature and just robust and beautiful and tasty! You can scale this however you want but it’s worth making a good amount and the potatoes can always be warmed up the next day if you have any leftover, and you could use leftover potatoes to make a hash or add to a scramble and top with more romesco.
2 1/2 lbs (or more–see head note) waxy potatoes
2-3 bay leaves
8 cloves garlic, unpeeled
Salt
Olive oil
Chopped fresh parsley
1 cup (or more) Romesco (recipe above)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Scrub the potatoes and cut into large chunks or leave whole if small. Toss the potatoes with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt, garlic and bay leaves. Put potatoes into a large cast iron skillet or other oven proof dish or sheet pan. (You will finish the dish on the stove top so using something that can be in the oven and on a burner saves a step.) Cover the pan tightly with foil and roast for about 35-50 minutes until tender.
Remove foil and remove pan from the oven and set on the stove top. Smash the potatoes gently to flatten a bit but so they stay in one piece more or less. Cook over medium high-heat, undisturbed for 6-7 minutes until deeply browned. Remove bay leaves and discard. Put potatoes on a serving dish and squeeze roasted garlic out of its skins and toss with potatoes. Top with chopped parsley and romesco.
White Beans with Leeks and Sausage
I made up this dish a few years ago with some large, creamy, and amazingly delicious beans (mortgage runner beans) a friend grows. The flavor and texture combination is worth trying with whatever white bean (or borlotti/cranberry type) you have on hand. Be sure to soak them over night and then cook them slowly with a bay leaf, garlic clove and chunk of onion, until tender. And make sure to let the beans cool in their cooking liquid for at least an hour or two before using. This vastly improves flavor and texture of the beans. And this is why I never cook the beans when I need them in the moment but I cook them when I’m making something else and in the kitchen anyway and am not in a rush for them.
This is more technique than recipe and is one of those that can be endlessly adapted and is thus what I call a CSA heavy hitter. Use kale or onions instead of leeks, or all three; change the ratio of vegetables to beans. Use bacon instead of sausage or leftover chicken or no meat at all. The beans have plenty of protein and richness. Change the herbs to suit your taste/what you have on hand. Add spices, maybe chili flakes or cumin and coriander. Add a teaspoon or two of Dijon mustard and some garlic. Scale it up or down . . .you get the idea!
Olive oil
3 cups cooked beans, drained (see headnote)
2 pork sausages, spicy if you like, sliced into rounds or crumbled
2 large leeks, trimmed, well washed, cut in half lengthwise and then cut into thin half moons
1 teaspoon of fresh or dried thyme, savory or sage
Salt and pepper
In a large skillet heat a little olive oil over medium high heat. Add the leeks, sausage and herbs and a couple of pinches of salt. Stir well and sauté for a few minutes until the leeks start taking on a little color. Turn the heat down if things are browning too much. Cover the pan and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the leeks are soft. Stir in the beans and cook long enough to heat through. Season with freshly ground black pepper and ad salt if needed. Serve with another drizzle of good olive oil.