This is a vegetarian dish that meat-eaters in my family found very appealing as well, and it feels like the right sort of a dish in mid-winter.
Ingredients:
*cooked white beans
*floury potatoes
*mushrooms (I use button mushrooms because they are available all year round, but, when wild mushrooms are in season, use those for more interesting flavor)
*oil
*starch
*fresh herbs (I used parsley and dill)
*milk
*sour cream
*onions
*garlic
*parsley root
*salt and pepper
*optional-other vegetables (I added some diced and lightly fried red capsicum, as I love it, but you could try something else or use no vegetables at all)
Method:
Boil potatoes until tender, drain them and mash with some milk, salt and pepper until smooth. Start making the mushroom gravy. Chop onion, garlic and parsley root finely and brown it in oil. Add sliced mushrooms and fry them until they look nice and brown. Add sour cream and a cup or two of boiling water to make up the volume desired (there is no need to use instant stock, actually if there ever is a need for instant stock, something is wrong with the recipe). Mix some starch in cold water. If you are unsure about the amount, choose less rather than more, you want beans and mushrooms in nice, runny gravy rather than in some kind of goo. Add the starch mixture to the mushrooms and boil until it thickens. Add salt and pepper to taste. In a large oven proof dish mix the mushroom gravy, beans, lots of chopped herbs and optional vegetables, spread out the mixture in an even layer and top with the mashed potatoes so they cover all bean mixture. Make some nice pattern with a fork on the top of the mash and bake it in the oven for 35 minutes.
The filling of this cottage pie is loosely based on Alison Holst's vegetarian bean and mushroom pie filling.
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Sunday, 15 February 2009
Very Green Soup
Greens are good for you! I know, your mom has repeated it hundreds of times, but it is still true.
The green color of vegetables comes from an amazing substance called chlorophyll. If there wouldn't be any chlorophyll in the world, life might disappear soon, because, by using this pigment that contains magnesium ion, plants make chemical energy from sunlight. I other words this allows plants to grow by using only sunlight, water, air and simple minerals. And the growth of plants provides us a stable source of nutrients. So value your greens and cook this simple, quick and mild soup.
Very Green Soup
Ingredients:
*potatoes
*parsley root
*broccoli
*frozen or fresh green peas
*peppermint (fresh would probably be the best, but I simply opened a peppermint tea bag)
*parsley (I had it fresh, but dried would do as well)
*salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Chop parsley root finely and peel and dice potatoes. Peel and dice the hard stalks of broccoli as well. Put it all in a pot, cover with water and add the dried peppermint. Boil until potatoes are half done. Add the peas. When the potatoes are nearly completely done add the broccoli florets and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from heat, process with a blender until smooth, add salt and pepper to taste, bring back to boil and add fresh chopped parsley.
The green color of vegetables comes from an amazing substance called chlorophyll. If there wouldn't be any chlorophyll in the world, life might disappear soon, because, by using this pigment that contains magnesium ion, plants make chemical energy from sunlight. I other words this allows plants to grow by using only sunlight, water, air and simple minerals. And the growth of plants provides us a stable source of nutrients. So value your greens and cook this simple, quick and mild soup.
Very Green Soup
Ingredients:
*potatoes
*parsley root
*broccoli
*frozen or fresh green peas
*peppermint (fresh would probably be the best, but I simply opened a peppermint tea bag)
*parsley (I had it fresh, but dried would do as well)
*salt and pepper to taste
Method:
Chop parsley root finely and peel and dice potatoes. Peel and dice the hard stalks of broccoli as well. Put it all in a pot, cover with water and add the dried peppermint. Boil until potatoes are half done. Add the peas. When the potatoes are nearly completely done add the broccoli florets and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Remove from heat, process with a blender until smooth, add salt and pepper to taste, bring back to boil and add fresh chopped parsley.
Tuesday, 10 February 2009
Shrimp Soup with Rice Noodles
Again, this is not an authentic Asian dish, I just tried to create a bit of Asian feeling. This soup makes a substantial light but nutritious meal.
Shrimp Soup with Rice Noodles
Ingredients:
*frozen, peeled and cooked shrimp (~100g per person)
*water
*half of an onion
*garlic
*ginger
*parsley root
*kikkoman soy sauce (I'm a little bit obsessed with kikkoman at the moment)
*various vegetables (a large handful per person) I have used capsicum, celery stalks, green peas, Chinese cabbage, but I think other Asian greens, carrots, alfa-alfa sprouts and lots of other things would do as well
*Thai style rice noodles
Method:
Chop ginger and garlic finely, slice parsley root in thin strips, leave the onion whole. In the pot which you are going to use for soup pour some oil, put the frozen shrimp and thaw them on medium heat. When they are thawed, take the shrimp out and store in a container while you are cooking the rest of the soup. Leave the liquid that came out of the shrimp in the pot, add garlic, ginger, parsley, onion and enough water to make op the volume desired. Bring it to boil than add kikkoman and salt to taste (you are aiming for a rather strong taste). Let the broth simmer slowly while you prepare vegetables. Anything that needs to be cut, has to be cut or shredded in fine strips. Choose at least 3 different vegetables and add the ones who need longer cooking to the broth first followed by others. In another pot cook the rice noodles. Pile the cooked noodles in serving bowls, top with the cooked shrimp, and when all the vegetables are done, remove onion from the soup and throw it out, and pour the hot soup over noodles and shrimp.
Rice noodles are a complicated thing to eat, they are long, slippery and can be really annoying, if you feel obliged to eat nicely. Luckily there are a few solutions for this problem. At first, you can break the noodles up before cooking, shorter lengths are more manageable. Or you can eat them like Khmer do it with their noodles -spoon in the left hand and chopsticks in the right. But IMHO the best solution is to eat them at home together with your loved ones and don't bother about eating nicely :)
Shrimp Soup with Rice Noodles
Ingredients:
*frozen, peeled and cooked shrimp (~100g per person)
*water
*half of an onion
*garlic
*ginger
*parsley root
*kikkoman soy sauce (I'm a little bit obsessed with kikkoman at the moment)
*various vegetables (a large handful per person) I have used capsicum, celery stalks, green peas, Chinese cabbage, but I think other Asian greens, carrots, alfa-alfa sprouts and lots of other things would do as well
*Thai style rice noodles
Method:
Chop ginger and garlic finely, slice parsley root in thin strips, leave the onion whole. In the pot which you are going to use for soup pour some oil, put the frozen shrimp and thaw them on medium heat. When they are thawed, take the shrimp out and store in a container while you are cooking the rest of the soup. Leave the liquid that came out of the shrimp in the pot, add garlic, ginger, parsley, onion and enough water to make op the volume desired. Bring it to boil than add kikkoman and salt to taste (you are aiming for a rather strong taste). Let the broth simmer slowly while you prepare vegetables. Anything that needs to be cut, has to be cut or shredded in fine strips. Choose at least 3 different vegetables and add the ones who need longer cooking to the broth first followed by others. In another pot cook the rice noodles. Pile the cooked noodles in serving bowls, top with the cooked shrimp, and when all the vegetables are done, remove onion from the soup and throw it out, and pour the hot soup over noodles and shrimp.
Rice noodles are a complicated thing to eat, they are long, slippery and can be really annoying, if you feel obliged to eat nicely. Luckily there are a few solutions for this problem. At first, you can break the noodles up before cooking, shorter lengths are more manageable. Or you can eat them like Khmer do it with their noodles -spoon in the left hand and chopsticks in the right. But IMHO the best solution is to eat them at home together with your loved ones and don't bother about eating nicely :)
Saturday, 7 February 2009
Easy Vegetarian Stirfry
The only ingredient of animal origin in this stirfry is honey. I wonder if it could be substituted with syrup to create a completely vegan meal, but the distinctive taste of honey seems to be rather important, and anyway, I don't know any vegans so strict that they wouldn't eat honey. Soymeat can be omitted in this dish if you are going to serve it as a side vegetable dish of a meat containing meal, simply dilute the kikkoman and honey mixture with some warm water before adding the starch.
Easy Vegetarian Stirfry
Ingredients:
*dried soymeat pieces
*zucchini
*capsicum
*carrots
*kikkoman soy sauce
*honey
*garlic
*cumin seeds
*oil
*starch (potato starch or cornflour will do)
*salt
Method:
Boil the soymeat pieces according to the instruction on the packet. While they are boiling, in a bowl mix 2 or 3 minced cloves of garlic, kikkoman and honey. You should get slightly syrupy mixture. When soymeat has been boiling for the given time, drain it and put the drained pieces in the marinade you have prepared. While the soymeat is soaking up the marinade, cut all vegetables in strips. Drain the soymeat again and keep the marinade (you should get more than you started with, because soymeat is like a sponge and soaks up heaps of water when it is boiled and then releases it) Heat some oil in a wok and brown the soymeat pieces quickly, put them in a bowl. If wok looks dry, add some more oil and stir fry carrot and capsicum strips with some cumin seeds. Put them in the same bowl and in the wok stirfry the zucchini. Add a teaspoon of starch to the marinade, return everything from the bowl in the wok, pour the marinade over everything and stir for a couple of seconds. Done!
Easy Vegetarian Stirfry
Ingredients:
*dried soymeat pieces
*zucchini
*capsicum
*carrots
*kikkoman soy sauce
*honey
*garlic
*cumin seeds
*oil
*starch (potato starch or cornflour will do)
*salt
Method:
Boil the soymeat pieces according to the instruction on the packet. While they are boiling, in a bowl mix 2 or 3 minced cloves of garlic, kikkoman and honey. You should get slightly syrupy mixture. When soymeat has been boiling for the given time, drain it and put the drained pieces in the marinade you have prepared. While the soymeat is soaking up the marinade, cut all vegetables in strips. Drain the soymeat again and keep the marinade (you should get more than you started with, because soymeat is like a sponge and soaks up heaps of water when it is boiled and then releases it) Heat some oil in a wok and brown the soymeat pieces quickly, put them in a bowl. If wok looks dry, add some more oil and stir fry carrot and capsicum strips with some cumin seeds. Put them in the same bowl and in the wok stirfry the zucchini. Add a teaspoon of starch to the marinade, return everything from the bowl in the wok, pour the marinade over everything and stir for a couple of seconds. Done!
Tuesday, 3 February 2009
Cinnamon, Cloves and Turmeric
There are two ways how to jazz up an ordinary meal. You can travel a huge distance to a fancy shop and blow your budget by buying that very special, hard to get and recklessly expensive ingredient OR you can just play around with herbs and spices. I like both ways, but I have to admit that the second one is far more budget friendly. My collection of spices is still in the developing stage at the moment, but I'm working on it. It's winter here, so warm and sweet spices are on the top of my list.
Cinnamon is the dried bark of a tree Cinnamomum zeylancium that is sold powdered or as bark sticks. I like to keep both in my pantry, but if you choose just one, take the powder, it is more versatile. Sticks can be used more than once if you wash them un cold water and dry in a warm place after use. Cinnamon is often associated only with sweet dishes, but in the Middle East and Indian cuisine it is used foe savory dishes as well.
Cloves are the flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum- a tree native to Indonesia. However today most of the clove crops is grown in Madagascar. Cloves have a specific sweet'n'sour scent, but taste is rather hot. They are often used in pickling. An orange with cloves poked in it does not rot or go mouldy but dries out, has a nice smell and makes a good Christmas decoration. Normally cloves are safe to use, but pregnant women should avoid consuming large amounts.
Turmeric is dried, powdered root of Curcuma longa, a plant that is related to ginger. The powder has a rich yellow color and is sometimes called Japanese saffron because it is used as a substitute of the extremely expensive saffron. It is called a natural food colouring or E100 when used industrially, but it's taste is bitter and peppery and scent earthy. It is an important part of South Asian cuisine and many Indian dishes.
X-mas Flavoured Pumpkin Soup
My mum particulary loves this variation around the pumpkin soup theme.
Ingredients:
*aprroximately 1kg pumpkin (seeded, peeled and cut in chunks)
*2 medium onions
*3 cloves garlic
*one or two carrots
*root of parsley
*allspice corns
*black pepper corns
*cloves
*little piece of cinnamon bark
*bay leaves
*oil
*salt
Method:
Chop onion, garlic, carrot and root of parsley finely. Pour some oil in the pot you are going to use for making soup and cook the chopped vegetables until they are browned slightly. Take a piece of cotton cloth, wrap allspice, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and secure with cotton thread, so spices can't escape. Put pumpkin and the cloth in the pot where the vegetables are. Cover with boiling water and simmer until pumpkin is soft. Remove the cloth, blend the soup untit it is smooth, add salt and bring it to boil again. Serve with crusty bread.
Tofu Curry
This is deffinately not an authentic Indian curry, but it is rich, spicy and aromatic, and this combination makes me happy. I created this curry by improvising and do not remember the exact proportions of ingredients, so use the common sense and your taste buds!
*tofu (I used the ''Blue Dragon'' tofu simply because that's the only one I can find in ordinary supermarkets)
*red capsicum
*garlic
*plain yoghurt
*lemon juice
*ground coriander
*ground chilli
*sweet paprica powder
*ground cinnamon
*turmeric
*tomato puree
*oil
*salt
Method:
Cut tofu in cubes. Mix yoghurt with spices and lemon juice and pour over tofu. Let tofu marinate in the yoghurt for a while. Chop garlic finely and cut capsicum in chunks. Cook garlic in some oil, add capsicum and tomato puree, bring to boil and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Add tofu and youghurt and simmer for 20 more minutes. Serve with rice.
Traditionally Indian curries are served with raita and naan on the side. I will try to make them at home and publish my results as soon as possible.
Spicy Rolled Oat Cookies (makes 25-30)
They are wery simple and versatile cookies. The basic recipe stays the same, but instead of spice mix you can add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, citrus zest and other tasty things.
Ingedients:
*100g butter
*1/2 or 1 full cup brown sugar (depends how sweet you want the cookies, coarse demerara sugar makes them nice and crunchy)
*2 eggs
*1 cup flour
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*2 cups rolled oats
*vanilla esence or vanilla flavoured sugar
*cinnamon
*turmeric
*ground cloves (cloves are usually sold whole, to get ground cloves I use ancient electric blade coffee grinder)
Method:
Soften the butter,use fork to mix it with sugar. Add the eggs and spices and mix until smooth. Sift flour together with baking powder, add flour and rolled oats, mix well. Drop teaspoons of mixture on a greased or baking paper covered trau, bake in 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes or until hard.
Cinnamon is the dried bark of a tree Cinnamomum zeylancium that is sold powdered or as bark sticks. I like to keep both in my pantry, but if you choose just one, take the powder, it is more versatile. Sticks can be used more than once if you wash them un cold water and dry in a warm place after use. Cinnamon is often associated only with sweet dishes, but in the Middle East and Indian cuisine it is used foe savory dishes as well.
Cloves are the flower buds of Syzygium aromaticum- a tree native to Indonesia. However today most of the clove crops is grown in Madagascar. Cloves have a specific sweet'n'sour scent, but taste is rather hot. They are often used in pickling. An orange with cloves poked in it does not rot or go mouldy but dries out, has a nice smell and makes a good Christmas decoration. Normally cloves are safe to use, but pregnant women should avoid consuming large amounts.
Turmeric is dried, powdered root of Curcuma longa, a plant that is related to ginger. The powder has a rich yellow color and is sometimes called Japanese saffron because it is used as a substitute of the extremely expensive saffron. It is called a natural food colouring or E100 when used industrially, but it's taste is bitter and peppery and scent earthy. It is an important part of South Asian cuisine and many Indian dishes.
X-mas Flavoured Pumpkin Soup
My mum particulary loves this variation around the pumpkin soup theme.
Ingredients:
*aprroximately 1kg pumpkin (seeded, peeled and cut in chunks)
*2 medium onions
*3 cloves garlic
*one or two carrots
*root of parsley
*allspice corns
*black pepper corns
*cloves
*little piece of cinnamon bark
*bay leaves
*oil
*salt
Method:
Chop onion, garlic, carrot and root of parsley finely. Pour some oil in the pot you are going to use for making soup and cook the chopped vegetables until they are browned slightly. Take a piece of cotton cloth, wrap allspice, peppercorns, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and secure with cotton thread, so spices can't escape. Put pumpkin and the cloth in the pot where the vegetables are. Cover with boiling water and simmer until pumpkin is soft. Remove the cloth, blend the soup untit it is smooth, add salt and bring it to boil again. Serve with crusty bread.
Tofu Curry
This is deffinately not an authentic Indian curry, but it is rich, spicy and aromatic, and this combination makes me happy. I created this curry by improvising and do not remember the exact proportions of ingredients, so use the common sense and your taste buds!
*tofu (I used the ''Blue Dragon'' tofu simply because that's the only one I can find in ordinary supermarkets)
*red capsicum
*garlic
*plain yoghurt
*lemon juice
*ground coriander
*ground chilli
*sweet paprica powder
*ground cinnamon
*turmeric
*tomato puree
*oil
*salt
Method:
Cut tofu in cubes. Mix yoghurt with spices and lemon juice and pour over tofu. Let tofu marinate in the yoghurt for a while. Chop garlic finely and cut capsicum in chunks. Cook garlic in some oil, add capsicum and tomato puree, bring to boil and simmer for approximately 10 minutes. Add tofu and youghurt and simmer for 20 more minutes. Serve with rice.
Traditionally Indian curries are served with raita and naan on the side. I will try to make them at home and publish my results as soon as possible.
Spicy Rolled Oat Cookies (makes 25-30)
They are wery simple and versatile cookies. The basic recipe stays the same, but instead of spice mix you can add dried fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, citrus zest and other tasty things.
Ingedients:
*100g butter
*1/2 or 1 full cup brown sugar (depends how sweet you want the cookies, coarse demerara sugar makes them nice and crunchy)
*2 eggs
*1 cup flour
*1 teaspoon baking powder
*2 cups rolled oats
*vanilla esence or vanilla flavoured sugar
*cinnamon
*turmeric
*ground cloves (cloves are usually sold whole, to get ground cloves I use ancient electric blade coffee grinder)
Method:
Soften the butter,use fork to mix it with sugar. Add the eggs and spices and mix until smooth. Sift flour together with baking powder, add flour and rolled oats, mix well. Drop teaspoons of mixture on a greased or baking paper covered trau, bake in 180 degrees Celsius for approximately 30 minutes or until hard.
Sunday, 1 February 2009
Great bean patties
I had a sudden attack of inspiration this afternoon and, after eating ravioli (from frozen food aisle in the local supermarket, not home made) and sandwiches for two days, I boiled a big pot of white cannelini beans and improvised with a hope to make something good. The result was a really tasty bean patties.
Ingredients:
*A large handful of breadcrumbs
*A smallish onion (red is better)
*Fresh herbs (I used parsley)
*One carrot
*One egg
*Approximately 200g dried white beans
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Oil for frying
Method:
Soak the beans overnight, than boil them until they are soft. In a food processor pulse onion, herbs and carrot until everything is finely chopped. Put it in a bowl together with breadcrumbs. Mince the boiled beans in the processor. Add beans to the contents of the bowl, add the egg and mix well with your hands. Shape the mixture in patties. Shallow fry them in a large pan from both sides, until they are nice and brown.
I was really hungry, so I just ate lots of them with tomato sauce and some boiled cauliflower on the side, but, I reckon, they would do as vegetarian burgers just as well. (They deffinately tasted better than Subway vegie patties)
Ingredients:
*A large handful of breadcrumbs
*A smallish onion (red is better)
*Fresh herbs (I used parsley)
*One carrot
*One egg
*Approximately 200g dried white beans
*Salt and pepper to taste
*Oil for frying
Method:
Soak the beans overnight, than boil them until they are soft. In a food processor pulse onion, herbs and carrot until everything is finely chopped. Put it in a bowl together with breadcrumbs. Mince the boiled beans in the processor. Add beans to the contents of the bowl, add the egg and mix well with your hands. Shape the mixture in patties. Shallow fry them in a large pan from both sides, until they are nice and brown.
I was really hungry, so I just ate lots of them with tomato sauce and some boiled cauliflower on the side, but, I reckon, they would do as vegetarian burgers just as well. (They deffinately tasted better than Subway vegie patties)
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