The final allotment of “summer” share vegetables arrives this week. What a delicious and beautiful season it’s been. Thank you for all your comments, edits and notes. It’s been a pleasure cooking and writing my way through the bounty and bounty it is this week! Plenty of variety for our holidays meals and plenty of things that will keep well in a cool basement or on your kitchen counter. The Onion Jam would make a nice crostini as an appetizer, the Radicchio Salad a bright complement to richer dishes and the Scalloped Potatoes, Winter Squash and Celery Root Gratin and Mashed Root Vegetables all would make tasty Thanksgiving sides and the Kale Bruschetta is a lovely, simple dish for the day after Thanksgiving maybe, when you’ve had enough rich food. Happy cooking and happy holidays!
Braised Parsnips with Onions, Sage and White Wine
Beet and Chickpea Fritters with Mint
Radicchio and Carrot Salad with Sage and Parmesan
Celery Root and Winter Squash Gratin
Kale Bruschetta
Onion Jam
Scalloped Potatoes
Mashed Root Vegetables
Winter Squash, Black Beans, Avocado and Cilantro Salad
Pumpkin Pie
Braised Parsnips with Onions, Sage and White Wine
Parsnips are sweet, quick cooking, starchy and comforting. They don’t need much more than a sauté in a cast-iron skillet until nicely browned. But if you want to fancy them up just a bit, this is quick and very good. Parsnips get sweeter after a couple of frosts. If your parsnips are note very a sweet add 2 teaspoons of honey at the end of the cooking time or 1 tablespoon apple cider syrup.
Serves 4
Olive oil
4-5 cups sliced parsnips (scrub well first and then half or quarter the parsnips lengthwise and slice crosswise if large, if small just cut into ¼-inch rounds)
1 medium onion, cut in half and then sliced into thin half-rounds
3-4 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
¾ cup dry white wine or 2/3 cup water mixed with 1 tablespoon cider or red wine vinegar and 1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon apple cider syrup or 2 teaspoons honey (see headnote)
Salt
A bit more olive oil for serving
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in the largest skillet you have over high heat. Add the parsnips, onions, sage and several pinches of salt and cook on high to medium-high until things start to brown, stirring occasionally. Add the wine, it will spit and bubble, and stir well and cover the skillet and turn the heat down a bit. Cook for another 5 minutes or so until most of the wine has been absorbed. Remove lid and cook for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. If your parsnips are a bit bland add the honey or cider syrup. Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil.
Beet and Chickpea Fritters with Mint
I like to make fritters of most anything and these pack a nice punch from the hot pepper and are earthy and filling. The garlicky, minty yogurt topping delivers a bright, fresh kick.
You can either briefly process the ingredients in a food processor or chop finely and mash by hand with a potato masher or back of a spoon. Both work just fine.
Serves 4 (about 16 4-inch fritters)
About 1 cup cooked beets, peeled and chopped (finely, if you’re mashing by hand–see headnote)
2 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon, minced onion or shallot
2 tablespoons chopped mint and/or parsley
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (pimenton)
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes or a bit of minced fresh Serrano or Jalapeno
1/2 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Oil for pan frying
Topping:
1/3 cup (or more) Greek yogurt of whole milk regular yogurt
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt
1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves
Put the fritter ingredients in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until well mixed or process briefly in a food processor, keeping the mixture a bit chunky and irregular.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium high heat with 2 tablespoons oil. Use about 1/4 cup per fritter and fry on both sides until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side.
Meanwhile mix the garlic, salt, yogurt and mint in a small bowl. Serve the fritters hot or warm with the yogurt topping.
This is a fresh, robust salad perfect for a weeknight supper or Thanksgiving. You can scale it up or down and change the ratio of vegetables any way you’d like.
Radicchio, Orange and Olive Salad
This is a gorgeous salad with robust flavors.
Serves 4
1 small to medium head radicchio, washed, dried and cut into bite-sized pieces (you want about 4 cups of radicchio)
1 orange
handful of cured black olives, pitted
2-3 tablespoons parsley leaves (optional)
1-2 tablespoons thinly sliced red onion or shallot
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 tablespoon vinegar of your choice
About 2 tablespoons good olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Cut the top and bottom off the orange and set it on one end. With a sharp serrated knife cut away the peel and pith and then cut the sections way from the membrane. Reserve any juice to add to the salad.
Put the radicchio in a salad bowl and add the orange slices, halved, if large, and the remainder of the ingredients. Toss gently and taste and adjust seasoning.
Celery Root and Winter Squash Gratin
I suggest making a good amount of this since leftovers are wonderful. And if you don’t have thyme or sage you can use a little rosemary or dried oregano or even fresh parsley.
Serves 6
About 4-5 cups, peeled and sliced celery root
About 4-5 cups, peeled and sliced winter squash
1 – 1 1/2 cups liquid (any combination of milk or cream or half and half you want) or a bit more
2-3 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon fresh or dried sage, finely chopped (optional–see above)
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
3/4 cup grated Parmesan or aged Asiago (Asiago Stella) or other good, aged grating cheese
Preheat oven to 400.
Heat the milk and/or cream in a small saucepan with the garlic, mustard, thyme and black pepper and a good amount of salt (1/2 teaspoon at least) until hot. Be careful not to boil it over.
Put a layer of celery root in the bottom of a 9 x 13 or similarly-sized baking dish. Follow with a layer of squash, Pour half the hot milk mixture over the vegetables and sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat with the rest of the vegetables and milk and top with cheese. If the liquid seems skimpy you can also add a bit of milk or even a little water. The vegetables will give off some liquid (depending on the type of squash mostly–Butternut squash will not give off much). Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for about 35 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15 – 20 minutes or until tender. Run under the broiler to brown nicely.
Kale Bruschetta
Sauté chopped kale in olive oil with a clove or two of minced garlic and a pinch of salt. Add water to keep things moist. You want the kale silky but not watery. When tender, toast slices of crusty bread and rub each piece of toast with a whole clove of garlic. Pile the kale on the garlicky toast and top with plenty of good olive oil and salt to taste.
Onion Jam
You can make this luscious condiment with sweet or regular yellow or red onions. This is delicious with roasted meets or with eggs, on pizza, thinned down as a pasta sauce with some red pepper flakes and a bit of parmesan, or added to a scramble with some sautéed kale or other greens.
This is the very plain version. You can add thyme and/or a bay leaf or some hot pepper flakes or minced, fresh hot pepper. I do include the optional coriander version below that I learned from the brilliant chef and cookbook author Andrea Reusing of the restaurant Lantern in Chapel Hill, NC and of one of my favorite cookbooks Cooking in the Moment: A Year of Seasonal Recipes.
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 medium-large onions, cut into 3/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup dry red wine
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon toasted, ground coriander seeds (optional)
Salt
Melt the butter in a medium skillet. Add the onions and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until soft and just translucent, about 8 minutes. Add the sugar, wine and vinegar several pinches of salt. Cook over low heat, stirring, until the liquid thickens and coats the back of a spoon, about 35 minutes. Transfer the onion jam to a bowl and let cool.
The onion jam can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Let return to room temperature before serving.
Mojadra
This is a wonderfully satisfying dish that uses the most basic staples to delicious effect. It’s a great way to use lots of onions and they are the stars of the show, nicely caramelized. It’s also a simple dish to create with little time. Cook the rice and lentils in the morning while your making breakfast and then quickly finish the meal in the evening with the onions and toppings from the pantry.
There are variations of this dish from Egypt to Lebanon and Israel with many different spellings and iterations.
3 tablespoons butter or olive oil, divided
1 cup small French green lentils (or brown lentils)
1 cup long-grain brown rice
1 bay leaf
4 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 medium-large onions, sliced thin (about 4 cups sliced)
1 1⁄2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup full-fat plain yogurt or Greek yogurt
Harissa or hot sauce of your choice
Heat 1 1⁄2 tablespoons butter, ghee or olive oil in a 4-quart pot. Add rice and lentils and mix well. Sauté for a minute or two. Add bay leaf, water, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes or until both lentils and rice are very tender and all the water has been absorbed.
While the rice and lentils cooks heat the remaining oil or butter in a large skillet medium-high heat. Add onions and 1 teaspoon salt and sauté. When onions begin to soften, add garlic and spices. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until well browned and significantly reduced in volume, about 20 minutes. (Add a splash or two of water if necessary to prevent sticking or burning.) Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
Remove the bay leaf from the rice and beans and serve them topped with caramelized onions and a generous dollop of yogurt and Harissa. The Harissa (a North African hot chili sauce) is not a classic accompaniment but it’s really good but feel free to omit it and serve with your favorite hot sauce or none at all. Both Pastaworks and New Seasons carry, good jarred Harissa.
Scalloped Potatoes
Scalloped potatoes one of the first dishes I cooked for my family as a child. I learned from my mother to layer the thinly sliced potatoes, with herbs and spices, grated cheese, a thin dusting of flower and a few dots of butter. And I was extra generous with the black pepper–in each layer–in those days. These days I toss all the ingredients together in a bowl and then more or less level them out in the baking dish–same delicious result.
For a delicious variation substitute half of the potatoes with celery root.
Variations include lots of chopped herbs like parsley, marjoram, chives or oregano, diced bacon or slices of sausage, minced garlic, finely chopped greens or peppers, etc.
Serves 4-6
2 1/2 – 3 lbs Yukon potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced into rounds (blade on box grater works well)
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 1/2 cups grated sharp cheddar, emmental, gruyere, . . .
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika–spicy or mild)
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup flour
About 3 1/2 cups liquid: all whole milk, part milk, part cream, part half & half, part veg or chicken stock, but be sure it’s at least 1/2 milk
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put the potatoes in a large bowl. In a small bowl mix the flour and spices together. Sprinkle this over the potatoes and toss well. Add the onions and almost all of the cheese (reserving some for the top) and mix again.
Spread mixture in a 9 x 13 baking dish, pat down a bit with a spatula. Pour milk (or liquid combo) over potato mixture. The liquid should come about half way up the potatoes. Sprinkle the top with the remaining cheese, cover pan with foil and bake until potatoes are tender and easily pierced with a fork about 45 minutes. Uncover and finish under the broiler for a minute or two to brown the top.
Mashed Root Vegetables
This is a simple technique that can be used with most any root vegetable or better yet, combination of roots. You can change the ratio of vegetables to suit your taste or to what you have on hand. You can add herbs and/or spices–swap the creme fraiche for whole milk or cream or broth or cooking water. . . .
Serves 4, generously
2 large carrots, scrubbed and trimmed and cut into chunks
2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 parsnips, scrubbed and trimmed and cut into chunks
Salt
1/3 -1/2 cup creme fraiche, cream, milk, plain yogurt (for more of a tangy flavor), broth or cooking water plus a little butter
Pepper
Freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
Salt to taste
Put all the vegetables in a pot and cover with water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer and cook until nice and tender but not falling apart. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking liquid in case you need to loosen up the mash or if you’re using it instead of cream, etc. and drain the vegetables.
Put the vegetables in a food processor* with all the remaining ingredients and pulse/process until well mixed and you have your desired consistency. Add cooking liquid if it’s too thick to process well (or more cream, etc. ) I like it to have some texture and just process briefly.
*If your mixture includes potatoes you don’t want to process the vegetables in a the food processor for very long as potatoes get gluey really quickly. In the mix above I processed everything together briefly and it was fine. If your potato ratio is higher I would just mash them by hand and puree the other vegetables, if you want a smoother texture.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, nutmeg, herbs, etc.
Winter Squash, Black Beans, Avocado and Cilantro Salad
This is really just a suggestion of ingredients to combine and a loose technique. You can add sweet peppers, hot peppers, spices, other herbs and/or add cheeses or toasted nuts.
Quantities are completely up to you as are the ratios. Just taste and adjust with citrus and other seasonings.
Serves 4
2 cups cooked (or canned), drained black beans
1 avocado, diced
1/2 – 3/4 cup cilantro, leaves and stems, well washed, dried and roughly chopped
2-3 cups winter squash, roasted and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 tablespoons red onion, green onion, shallot or other onion, thinly sliced
1/2 a garlic clove, minced (optional)
Juice of 1 lime, more to taste
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
Toss everything together on a platter or in a large bowl. Taste, adjust seasoning and enjoy.
Pumpkin Pie
Making your own pumpkin puree is delicious. Pumpkin flesh can be a bit stringy so if you don’t have a food processor (in which to make the filling) you might want to mash the cooked pumpkin through a sieve for a nice smooth texture.
This is fairly classic pumpkin pie recipe, with the exception of the sour cream and optional rum.
I swear by the Chez Pim pie crust technique and recipe (nothing but butter, flour and water). Give it a try if you’d like or use your favorite recipe/technique.
Unlike many others I do not blind bake my crust for pumpkin pie. Instead I bake it on a pizza stone in a very hot oven (for the first 15 minutes) and then reduce the temperature. This way my crust doesn’t burn and get brittle (which I find if I blind bake and then add the custard which needs a good 45 minutes to bake itself) and the bottom crust does just fine. You always get a little sogginess with a wet custard like this but I think it’s just perfect.
Serves 8
1 9-inch single crust Pie shell, chilled (not partially baked using ½ of above recipe or your favorite pie dough)
1 ¾ cups pumpkin puree (from 1 small-medium pumpkin)
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 cup whole milk or cream
1/3 cup sour cream
or Greek yogurt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of ground cloves
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 tablespoons dark rum (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Lightly sweetened lightly whipped cream, for topping
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cut the pumpkin in half and remove all seeds and strings. Keep seeds and clean and roast for a snack if you’d like. Put the pumpkin/squash cut side down on a baking sheet and bake until very tender when pierced with the tip of a knife. Remove from oven, let cool and scoop out the flesh and mash or push through a strainer if stringy and you don’t have a food processor (see headnote).
Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 450°F. If you have a pizza stone, put it on the rack you’re going to use and then preheat. Setting the pie pan directly on the pizza stone helps the crust bake nicely and not get soggy, especially since we’re not pre-baking the crust.
Roll out your pie dough and place it in a pan, making sure to gently press the dough fully into the pan. Trim the overhanging dough with a sharp knife all around leaving at least a 1-inch overhang. Flour your fingers and crimp the dough by pushing your right pointer finger into a “v” shape created with the thumb and pointer of your left hand, holding the edge of dough. Repeat around the whole pie, re-flouring your fingers as needed, to make a pretty, crimped rim. Chill pie shell in the fridge while you make the filling.
Put all of the filling ingredients in a food processor and process for 2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice and pour the filling into the chilled pie shell. Alternatively whisk all the ingredients well in a bowl.
Bake for 15 minutes at 450, then reduce the oven temperature to 350°F and continue to bake for 35 to 45 minutes longer or until a knife inserted close to the center comes out clean. (If you don’t want to create a slash in your masterpiece, tap the pan gently—if the custard just jiggles a little bit in the very center, it’s done.) Transfer the pie to a rack and cool to room temperature.
Serve the pie with lightly sweetened whipped cream