Pumpkin Soup With Cilantro For Kalyn's Last Weekend Herb Blogging

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Congratulations, Kalyn!

Regional French cooking classes, taught by chef Alex Begovic, have begun at Eureka's North Coast Co-op's Community Kitchen after a hiatus over the summer and I'm happy to be attending them again. One of the things I know I will always learn from Alex's classes is how to simplify and get the most out of the fewest ingredients.

The first recipe Alex made for us last week was a velvety smooth Pumpkin Soup with Cilantro. Now Cilantro just happens to be my friend and fellow blogger Kalyn's all-time favorite herb. So how could I not feature cilantro as Kalyn wraps up 3 years of being at the helm of her wildly popular blogging event, Weekend Herb Blogging? No way could I not.

The pumpkin soup, which I made following Alex's recipe to the letter, is surprisingly simple, using just three main ingredients - pumpkin (or squash), onions, and cilantro - enhanced by a little sherry, a little dry white wine, salt, pepper. Just before serving, the freshly chopped cilantro is added, which kicks the finished soup into the culinary stratosphere. And while I opted to make a cilantro oil to garnish my soup, I highly recommend using Alex's method of coarsely chopping the cilantro, stems and all, and stirring it into the hot soup just before plating. The pungent, fresh taste of the cilantro compliments the smooth, rich soup and is a treat that should not be missed.

I chose two smallish red kabocha squash called Sunshine at the farmers market last weekend then added one that I grew in my garden this summer, a French heirloom (in photo on the left) called Cinderella. As I learned from Chef Alex, they are easily peeled by cutting off both the stem and blossom ends, creating flat surfaces (rendering them looking much like a wheel of cheese) that can easily be grasped then peeled using a sharp vegetable peeler. Much, much easier and safer than trying to shave them with a knife.

Alex's Pumpkin Soup with Cilantro
Ingredients:
12 cups peeled, seeded fresh pumpkin, cut into large pieces
3 medium onions, medium dice
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Enough cold water to barely cover
1 large bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped, stems and all
Preparation:
Place a large soup pot over high heat and allow to get hot. Add the oil to the pot then the onions and 1/3 of the salt. Stir and allow to cook until soft and translucent. Lower the heat to prevent burning if necessary.
Add the sherry and white wine and let reduce for a few minutes.
Add the pumpkin, another 1/3 of the salt, some grindings of black pepper, and enough water to barely cover the pumpkin. Bring to a boil and let cook until the pumpkin is just tender but not mushy.
Remove the pot from the heat and puree with an immersion blender.
Add the rest of the salt if needed, a few more grindings of black pepper, and the chopped cilantro.
Serve immediately.

Cook's Notes:
Use your immersion on #6 speed and puree until the soup is completely smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, puree the soup in batches in a food processor, again, buzzing until the soup is completely smooth.

The cilantro should not be finely chopped as if you are making a pesto. Rather, chop it until the leaves and stems are small but still recognizable.

Be sure to visit Kalyn's blog this Sunday for what I'm sure will be the biggest Weekend Herb Blogging yet. And if you want to join in and be a part of history, you've got until 3:00 PM Utah time this Sunday so click here to see how to do it. Send your entries to kalynskitchen (at) comcast (dot) net.

And last but certainly not least, a very important announcement:

Haalo, of Cook (almost) Anything (at least) Once, is taking over the helm of Weekend Herb Blogging. Visit Haalo's post here to read about how you can join in beginning the week of November 3rd. Best of luck to you Haalo, you've got some big shoes to fill but I know you can do it.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Spicy Chickpea Stew With Eggplant, Carrots and Quince

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It's not often that I use a recipe from a magazine. I used to, certainly, it's how I learned to cook, but that was a long time ago. I much prefer the creativity of making up my own.

Recently however, as I was waiting in line at the checkout, the photo on the cover of the October issue of Vegetarian Times caught my eye - a tempting baked pumpkin holding a medley of stewed vegetables. Leafing through the magazine, I saw a recipe for chickpea tagine with cinnamon, cumin and carrots. I simply couldn't resist so here you have it: my version, of course, in which I added eggplant, substituted cilantro for the parsley, heaped on more honey, and used a quince. Mostly because I didn't have the currents called for, but also because I knew quince would compliment the rest of the ingredients. I love it when I'm right. The quinces below are this year's harvest from my fickle quince bush. Some years I get a lot, other years I get nothing. This is a good year.

The chickpea stew comes together very quickly. You can have it on the table in less than one hour from start to plating. The combination of spices sing North Africa and you can control the heat by using more or less cayenne pepper. I highly recommend putting a dollop of yogurt on each serving and that you ferret out the last of the summer's cilantro as a finishing touch. Make the dish vegan by using a dairy-free soy yogurt.

Spicy Chickpea Stew with Eggplant, Carrots and Quince

Adapted from the October '08 issue of Vegetarian Times magazine
Ingredients:
3 medium eggplants, cubed
3 large carrots, sliced
1 ripe quince (the size of a medium apple), peeled, cored, chopped, yielding 1/2 cup
1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped medium
3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups water
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon each ground turmeric, cinnamon, cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon honey, heaping
kosher salt to taste
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Non-fat Greek-style yogurt
olive oil for the pan

Preparation:

Drizzle large cast iron pan or large pot with about 2 teaspoons olive oil and heat over medium-high.

Saute the onions and carrots until softened, add the garlic and quince and saute until golden.

Add the eggplant, spices, honey, chickpeas and water. Stir, cover and simmer until the vegetables are cooked through but still hold their shape.

Season to taste with kosher salt if needed. Serve hot with a dollop of yogurt, sprinkled with the chopped cilantro.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Pink Himalayan Herb Salt

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Making your own herb salt is easy, fun, and best of all you get to control the indredients. Use your own dried garden herbs or buy organic dried herbs from your local grocers. Showcase a single herb or mix up a number of them to suit your taste.

There are so many great salts on the market these days. My favorites are coarse and fine kosher, Sel de Guerande, Maldon, and a wonderful sel gris with herbs from Zupan's Market in Portland.

I'd never tried pink salt before but after hearing someone rave about it, thought I'd give it a try. I like it! I especially like it mixed with herbs. Both the salt and the herbs used here were purchased at our local Co-op. The herb blend is Frontier's Organic Italian which I often use when my own herbs are in short supply.

Put 1 tablespoon of the salt plus 1 teaspoon of the herbs into a mortar and pestle then grind until the salt is the consistency you desire and the herbs are blended. And that's it. You can use any coarse salt and any combination of herbs you desire to match what you're cooking. The beauty of making your own herb salts is that you can make as little or as much as you want. I'll be posting a few more combinations soon.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Pan Roasted Eggplant Ratatouille

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[Ratatouille: from Food Lover's Companion: [ra-tuh-TOO-ee; ra-tuh-TWEE] A popular dish from the French region of Provence that combines eggplant, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, garlic and herbs-all simmered in olive oil. The vegetables can vary according to the cook. They can be cooked together, or cooked separately and then combined and heated briefly together. Ratatouille can be served hot, cold or at room temperature, either as a side dish or as an appetizer with bread or crackers.]

That's what came up on AnswersDotcom when I Googled ratatouille before entitling this post. Just to make sure my definition was correct. If you roast the vegetables, then combine them, is it still ratatouille? Turns out the answer is yes. Plus, the vegetables don't have to be swimming in olive oil to be ratatouille. And did you know that the original ratatouille, being a summer dish, didn't include eggplant, a more autumnal vegetable? True.

This dish was made from farmers market produce before the wedding (post coming soon), put together in less than 1 hour as an offering to a potluck party. Less fat, more flavor, kind to the budget; a vegetarian/vegan delight. The croutons are my way of putting the bread/crackers inside the dish instead of on the outside looking in.

Christine's Roasted Eggplant Ratatouille
Serves 8 as a side
Ingredients:
2 medium eggplant
4 patty pan squash
4 medium zucchini
2 large red bell peppers, seeded
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
1 cup large-sized croutons
olive oil
herbed salt*
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes

Preparation:
Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly oil a roasting pan with olive oil.
Beginning with the eggplant, slice off the stem and blossom ends then cut lengthwise into 1-inch wide strips. Cut each strip again into 1-inch wide lengthwise strips then finish by cutting crosswise into 1-inch cubes. This will become more apparent as you are cutting. Please forgive me for not providing a photo of the process.
Toss the eggplant cubes into the roasting pan, drizzle with a little olive oil and a sprinkling of herb salt, toss to blend then roast in the oven for about 10 minutes or until softened.
While the eggplant is roasting, prepare the rest of the vegetables, cutting the squashes, peppers and onions into cubes to match the eggplant, and chopping the garlic in a smaller, more refined manner.
Drizzle olive oil into a larger roasting pan then add the squashes, peppers, onions and garlic to the pan. Season with the herb salt.
Pull the eggplant out of the oven when it has softened. Set aside.
Put the squash mixture into the oven and roast for 15 to 20 minutes or until softened. Remove from the oven.
Add the eggplant, diced tomatoes and croutons to the squash mixture, toss well, season with more olive oil and herb salt if necessary then put the pan back into the oven for an additional 15 minutes or until all the vegetables have swooned into each other and are sightly caramelized.
Put into a pretty casserole dish and off it goes to the potluck, or on your dinner table.

Cook's Notes:
I use locally produced Brio croutons, made from leftover breads, infused with herbs and goodness.
The herb salt in this dish is one I made using Himalayan pink salt ground with organic dried herbs - post coming soon.

Oh the wedding. Have I got photos for you!

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Ever Spatchcocked A Chicken?

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Recently I had the good fortune to be a guest blogger on my friend Paz's blog wherein I demonstrated how to spatchcock then pan-roast a chicken. Intrigued? You can read my post and follow the step-by-step instructions and photos by clicking here. While you're there, check out all the other guest bloggers and their great recipes plus Paz's New York Monday photos and her myriad mouth-watering recipes. You'll be glad you did.

[Ed. note: I finally got around to posting this on my blog. Click here to see it.]

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Roasted Autumn Soup With Potatoes, Carrots And Leeks

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It happens every fall. The days grow shorter, the nights cooler, and grilling time becomes scarcer.

With no warning, no I think I'll make soup today, suddenly I must get out the large stockpot and begin to make that quinessential celebration of autumn: Soup.

Our soon-to-be in-laws, Vyrle and Dolly, generously sent us a bag full of purple, red, yellow and russet potatoes, freshly dug from their Oregon farm and hand-carried by Miles when he flew from Portland for a recent visit. Last week I roasted a pan of those beautiful potatoes with some carrots, always making enough for company (in this case Robert and Simona) and leftovers.

At the farmers market last Saturday I picked up fresh leeks, Walla Walla onions, garlic and a fat, happy jalapeno pepper. As always - beautiful, organic, and locally grown.

And there it was: Inspiration staring me in the face.

With grateful thanks to Vyrle and Dolly and, always, to our local farmers, I offer yet another iteration of my penchant for heart and soul warming fall soup.

Christine's Roasted Autumn Soup with Potatoes, Carrots and Leeks

Serves 8-10 as a main course

Ingredients:

16 small, medium and large garlic cloves, peeled, left whole

1 large Walla Walla onion, coarsely chopped

2 medium leeks and 5 small leeks (or whatever you have on hand to equal about 3 cups chopped), white and light green parts only, cleaned, sliced lengthwise, coarsely chopped crosswise

olive oil for the pan

1 teaspoon kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra-dry Vermouth for de-glazing the pan

10 cups vegetable broth or chicken stock (I used Pacific Foods Vegetable Broth, produced in Oregon

6 heaping cups previously-roasted potatoes and carrots, coarsely cut

1 rather large jalapeno pepper, charred, peeled, seeded, chopped

1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped

6-8 sprigs fresh thyme, leave whole

Juice from 1 very large Valencia orange, strained

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:

Have a large stockpot ready on the stove.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

Lightly oil a large baking pan, add the onion, leeks, and garlic and season with kosher salt and black pepper. Cover with foil and roast for 20 minutes. Remove the foil and continue roasting another 15 or 20 minutes or until the vegetables become golden brown and caramelized.

Remove the pan from the oven and scrape the vegetables into the stockpot. Immediately pour the Vermouth into the hot pan and scrape up all the browned bits, pouring it all into the stockpot.

To the stockpot add the broth or stock, potatoes and carrots, chopped jalapeno pepper, chopped oregano and thyme sprigs.

Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, partly covered, for 25 minutes.

Pour in the orange juice and stir to blend. Taste and add more kosher salt and pepper if necessary.

Remove the pot from the heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Fish out the now-bare thyme sprigs; they will have left their herby leaves in the soup.

If you have an immersion blender, get it out now. If not, you can puree the soup in small batches in a food processor.

With the immersion blender on 3, begin blending the soup taking great care not to splatter it on you. It's very hot. As you blend, the soup will thicken. Stop blending when the soup is the consistency you desire. If using a processor, place 2-3 cupfuls at a time in the bowl and pulse until it reaches the consistency you desire. Repeat. (See how easy it would be if you had an immersion blender?)

To Serve:

There are any number of ways one can serve this soup. One of my favorites is to add a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream thinned with cream, then sprinkle the dollop with fresh thyme leaves and/or toasted almond slices. Another way is to stir a cup or two of buttermilk into the soup just before serving. Don't let it boil, however, or it will curdle. Me and Mr CC: we like our soup unadorned, straight from the pot, with good crusty bread, a fresh-from-the-garden tomato and cucumber salad, and a glass of deep red wine from the southwest of France. Mais oui!

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Fig And Chevre Ice Cream With A 'Tot' Of Sherry

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[It took three intrepid tasters to convince me that this was a blogworthy ice cream. I liked it, but would others? My tasters convinced me that others would like it. Sometimes I need a lot of convincing.]

Figs are showing up in the farmers market and our local Co-op these days. Sun-ripened and sugary-sweet, now is the time to eat them out of hand, grilled with your favorite meats or vegetables, in an appetizer or salad with snowy white, soft goat cheese (chevre), or drizzled with maple syrup or heavy cream for dessert.

Or, as ice cream.

If you can pair figs and chevre in a savory way, why not make a creamy, cold version?

Well, why not?

Christine's Fig and Chevre Ice Cream with Sherry
Ingredients:
10 ounces (1 basket) brown Turkey (Turkish) figs, chopped
5 ounces soft white chevre, I used Cypress Grove's 11-ounce log and cut it in half
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons cream Sherry
1 1/2 cups 2% milk
1 cup half & half, I used Strauss Dairy's cream-top
1/2 cup fine sugar

Preparation:
Remove the stem ends of each fig then cut them into quarters, lengthwise, then into halves, making each fig into 8 pieces. This should yield approximately 2 cups of fig pieces.
Put the figs, eggs, chevre and sherry in a food processor and buzz until the mixture is very smooth.
Heat the milk, half & half and sugar to just under a boil.
Remove from the heat and, with the processor running, pour the milk mixture through the feed tube and process until it's all combined and smooth. Now you have an ice cream base.
Pour the base into a large glass bowl and refrigerate until very cold - at least 6 hours or overnight.
Process in your ice cream maker.

May be served soft right out of the ice cream machine, or packed into a container and frozen for a few hours.

Cook's Notes:
> This ice cream is only slightly sweet, relying on the figs, chevre and sherry to give it the flavors I was seeking. It ripens and mellows if allowed to freeze for 24 hours.
> If you don't want the tiny fig seeds in your ice cream, you can strain the mixture into your glass bowl before chilling. Personally, I like the texture of the miniscule, crunchy seeds.

> For me, the addition of Cream Sherry brings the flavors of fig and chevre together very nicely on the palate. Kind of like having a small glass of Sherry after nibbling on a plate of figs and chevre. Only colder.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved