Brooklyn Forager

The 2010 March Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Eleanor of MelbournefoodGeek and Jess of Jessthebaker. They chose to challenge Daring Cooks to make risotto. The various components of their challenge recipe are based on input from the Australian Masterchef cookbook and the cookbook Moorish by Greg Malouf.

This challenge excited me greatly as I absolutely love risotto and would like to make my own stock more often.  Check and check! I do tend to stick to my regular Red Wine Risotto with slight variations and so I took this as a sign from the universe to try something new.  I certainly couldn't post twice on the same recipe, not for a challenge!

But I am getting ahead of myself.  First, risotto requires stock.  And I've seen and heard many a time that the better the stock, the better the risotto.  Essentially, I hadn't seen anything yet! I made two attempts to collect a chicken for my stock.  The first stop was an NYC-based gourmet grocery shop that was on my way home from a yoga class.  I was shocked and astounded to see that a 3 lb. organic whole chicken cost well over 16 dollars.  Since organic, all-natural, well-treated chicken is the main way I'll eat it these days, I headed over to my local Trader Joe's.  There, I found a 4 lb. organic all-natural whole chicken for just over 11 dollars.  Much better.

I used the challenge recipe for the stock because I haven't yet settled on a way that I like to do it and I was intrigued by the use of lemon in the seasoning.  I was short on lemon peel at the time, but I did have some dried lemon zest and so that was the one substitution I made.  In went the rest of the seasoning (see recipe below) and off it bubbled for what seemed like forever.  The smells were very enticing. I removed the chicken which pretty much fell apart and used the meat in another dish coming later this week. 

Next came the risotto.  The use of lemon in the stock got my recipe improv mojo going since I've seen several lemon risottos over time that I wanted to try.  I do have the preserved lemons from the last Daring Cooks challenge, but I also wanted to use the brave little sage leaves that have lasted on our window sill winter.  By this time, I'd managed to procure actual lemons and so, sage and lemon risotto!

I used the recipe base recommended for the challenge, and tweaked it based on another that I found online. We didn't have quite as much happy sage on our plant as I'd hoped, so I think you could do with a lot more.  This is also a very subtle soothing risotto.  I knew I'd need to add a little pop to make it a hit in my house, so I sauteed some local hot italian sausage from Bradley's Farm that I picked up at the Grand Army Plaza Farmers' Market and sprinkled it on top of the risotto.  This gave the dish some extra spice that didn't overwhelm the sage and lemon favors.  I don't recommend adding it any earlier as it may have competed with the risotto. 

Chicken Stock

• 1 large chicken 3-4 pounds
• chicken bones 2-3 pounds (I didn't use, but this will make the flavor richer)
• 2 onions, roughly diced
• 1 medium leek - white part only, roughly diced
• 2 sticks celery, roughly diced
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp. peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves (fresh or dried, it doesn't matter.)
• peel of 1/2 lemon or good dash of dried lemon zest
• 1/4 tsp. allspice

1. Wash the chicken and bones and places in a large stock pot.  Cover completely with water and bring to a boil.  Skim away any scum as it comes to the surface.
2. Add the vegetables and bring back to a boil.
3. Add the rest remaining ingredients and simmer very gently, uncovered for 1 1/2 hours.
4. Carefully lift out the chicken, set aside. The chicken meat can be removed from the chicken, shredded off and used for other things like soup or enchiladas!
5. Simmer the stock gently for another hour. At the end you should have around 2 Liters.
6. Carefully ladle the liquid into a fine sieve, the less the bones and vegetables are disturbed in this process the clearer the stock will be. 
The stock is now ready for use. Freeze what you don't need for later use.

Sage and Lemon Risotto with Spicy Sausage

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 bunch sage, roughly chopped
• peel of 1/2 lemon
• 12 oz Arborio rice (about two cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 5 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
• 1/3 pound fresh hot italian sausage, casings removed

1. Heat oil in a pan and add onion. Fry for a few minutes until soft and fragrant.  Add sage and lemon peel. 
2. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes to coat each grain of rice with oil and toast slightly.
3. Add the wine and let it bubble away until evaporated.
4. Add enough stock to cover the rice by about an inch.
5. Cook on medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon from time to time, until most of the stock has been absorbed.
6. Repeat Step 5 until rice is slightly al dente and cooked through.  In the meantime, saute the sausage in a small pan, breaking into small crumbles.  Set aside.
7. Add lemon juice and pecorino to finished risotto.  Mix well.  Top with sausage.  (Remove lemon peel in the event there will be confusion. I left it in because it was pretty and continued to impart lemon flavor to the dish).

I've had a bag of Cayuga Pure Organics black beans in my pantry for quite some time waiting for the perfect use.  We do eat rice and beans on occasion, and beans certainly go in chili around here.  But it didn't seem right to use these beautiful beans in a supporting role.  I wanted them to be a star. 

Enter Smitten Kitchen and her Black Bean Soup with Toasted Cumin Seed Creme Fraiche.  She had me at chipotle pepper.  I go in waves with chipotles where I need to eat them in everything.  Alright, I lie, it's more like everything I eat could usually be made better with chipotles.  I love the smoky spiciness with just about everything.

 The other thing that made this soup attractive is that the heavy lifting is all done in the crockpot.  The beans go into pot with chopped vegetables, water, seasoning and magically turns into soup in just a few hours.  There was some discussion over at Smitten Kitchen about the different timing required by different crockpots.  Mine was just about the same as reported - 3 hours on high for well cooked beans, maybe just a bit longer. 

This soup is also very healthy and light.  To add a bit of indulgence, I decided to make the creme fraiche as well.  Trader Joe's carries a Vermont creme fraiche which makes this step equally easy.  I toasted cumin seeds and ground them in a converted coffee grinder.  Adding a good dollop of the creme fraiche gave another layer of flavor and creaminess to the soup without overdoing it. The original recipe included chopped sweet peppers which I omitted, but adding those in makes the soup even healthier!

I served the soup and its creme fraiche topping with warm (homemade) pita bread and green salad.  We also experimented with a bit of sharp New York cheddar as a different topping and enjoyed that quite a bit.

Black Bean Soup (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 1/2 lbs. dried black beans
• 1-3 tbsp. chopped chipotle pepper in adobe sauce (adjust for your preferred heat)
• 7 cups hot water
• 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper, to taste

1. Pick through dried beans to remove any suspicious-looking specimens.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.  Add onions and cook until soft and just beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes.  Add garlic and cumin and stir mixture for about 1 minute. 
3. Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker.  Add beans, chipotle peppers and 7 cups hot water.
4. Cover crock pot and cook on high for about 3 hours, until beans are very tender (it's okay to pick up the lid and taste them in order to check).
5. Transfer two cups or more (I did about half) the mixture to another bowl and puree with an immersion blender (or use your food processor or blender). Return puree to slow cooker.
6. Stir in lime juice, salt and pepper.  Serve in bowls with your favorite topping.

One year, I will be set up in both my larder/freezer and local food connections to take part in the Dark Days Challenge.  I'm finding some interesting ideas as I watch others follow through and trust me, locavores, I am taking notes.

For now, I take the day-by-day ingredient-by-ingredient approach to keeping things local and seasonal.  One recent lunch got me pretty close.  Upon examining the fridge and the pantry, I realized that I had New York apples, New York Cheddar and a jar of Passion Wasabi Mustard that was purchased for us locally in Hawaii.  My tortillas were from Trader Joe's, although a product of some far off place.  Altogether, not an unsuccessful impromptu local meal for a cold dark season. 

Apple and Cheddar Quesadilla with Wasabi Honey Mustard

• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 tbsp Passion Wasabi Mustard (or other favorite mustard)
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup freshly grated New York extra sharp cheddar
• 1 medium crisp tart apple, cored, halved and sliced 
• olive oil, in mister

1. On one tortilla, spread mustard within 1 inch of edges.  Sprinkle half of the cheese.  Top with apple slices.  Add remaining cheddar cheese and top with second tortilla.
2. Lightly mist a nonstick frying pan with olive oil and heat to warm.  Place quesadilla in pan and heat until slightly melted.  Flip and repeat. 
3. Enjoy!

IMG_0162, originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

(Please forgive the quality of the photos lately. Camera issues, so I'm relying on the old iPhone)

A quick breeze through the farmers' market over the weekend brought us a last blast spelt salad complete with all local ingredients. I found some beautiful heirloom tomatoes including a green zebra, some crisp cucumbers and radishes. With these, I chopped up some fresh basil and mint from our garden and tossed them all in a red wine vinaigrette. The final ingredient was some warm local spelt cooked in vegetable broth and white wine. I tossed the vegetables and the warm spelt together and got a nice warm grain salad with lovely crunch and late summer flavors.

Redux. , originally uploaded by Brooklyn Forager.

I've been meaning to do more meatless monday posts, especially as it seems that I'm eating more meatless meals worth writing home about (well, you know).

This week, I was looking for a quick dinner for one with the requirement of using up a couple of small tomatoes from our last terrace crop. Having learned about fry-poaching an egg over at thekitchn.com, I knew I had to try it.

The result was incredibly yummy and simple. To fry-poach an egg, start off your egg in a bit of oil or butter. When the white starts to firm up, throw an ice cube or a tablespoon or two of water into the pan and cover. The white steams lightly leaving a soft texture with just a hint of the fried-crunchiness that I love so much.

To put together the meal, I sliced tomatoes and layered them on a piece of warm wheat toast. I flopped the hot egg on top and smothered it with fresh black pepper and fresh-grated Pecorino Romano.

Poke the yolk so it runs, poached-style, over the sandwich and enjoy. Alongside this masterpiece of a meal for one, I sipped Vivallis Vigna Giere 2007, a Moscato Giallo with a hint of sweetness and citrus with some floral overtones. Overall, a nice pairing for a quick weeknight meal.