With Mom & Dad visiting I wanted to do something really fun and special for Valentine's dinner. So I decided to go all red and pink and heart healthy for dinner. We even splurged and had dessert.
Beet risotto
3 medium red beets (reserve the greens for another use)
3 cloves garlic, choppped
4 C chicken broth
1 1/2 C arborio rice
Start about 2 hours before dinner by cleaning the beets and wrapping them in foil along with a drizzle of olive oil. Roast in a 425 oven for 45 minutes to an hour until very tender. Remove from oven, open foil, and let beets cool until they can be easily handled.
When beets have cooled, use your hands or the side of a fork to remove the skins. Either pulse in a food processor or run through a ricer to extract juices and get the beets into very small pieces. In a large fry pan over medium heat add 2 T olive oil. Add garlic and beets and beet juices and cook until garlic is fragrant. Meanwhile, heat the broth (I like to do about 4 minutes in the microwave). Add the rice and cook about 5 minutes to allow the rice to toast lightly and absorb the beet juices. Add 1/2 C broth and continue stirring the rice nearly constantly. Continue cooking adding the broth in 1/4 to 1/2 C increments until rice is creamy and has is no longer "sucking in" the liquid. You can test the doneness by tasting a few grains, it should be very smooth and creamy on the outside with just the slightest resistance as you bite through. It takes about 25 minutes. This is so thick, once its done you can turn off the heat and just leave it on the warm burner to hold while you finish the rest of your dinner, it won't cool much at all.
Salmon with dilly yogurt sauce
1/4 C plain yogurt
2 T fresh dill, chopped
splash of dill pickle juice
fresh ground pepper
At least a few hours before dinner, mix all 4 ingredients in a bowl until smooth, cover and refrigerate until dinner time.
4 4oz. salmon fillets
dried herbs (I have "fish mix" of garlic, salt, pepper, thyme and rosemary that I like to use)
Season salmon well and bake in 325 oven until cooked to your desired doneness. I did about 15 minutes for ours, they were cooked just perfect. My rule of thumb with salmon when they have a nice white liquid sqeezing out of them, they are done just right.
Top the salmon with the dill sauce and some fresh dill to serve.
Steamed spinach
On the plates I had the beet risotto, steamed spinach, and the salmon with the dill sauce garnished with fresh dill. I then served some toasted fresh baked break slices rubbed with garlic on the side.
Drunken raspberries
2 C fresh or frozen red raspberries
1 shot of chambord
Combine in bowl and mix well, cover and set aside at room temperature 2 - 3 hours.
Serve over vanilla ice cream or by themselves. I love to top these with some dark chocolate that I grate over it using my lemon zesting grater.
Blood orange mimosas
6 - 10 blood oranges juiced and strained
1 bottle brut sparkling wine
In champagne glass, fill 1/4 full with blood orange juice, top with champagne.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Roast beets with mixed greens and multi-grain pilaf
We were all in the mood for some vegetarian cooking on Thursday and I had lots of veggies to use from the farm share that we needed to use since we were going to a cooking demonstration on Friday night, so I came up with this to use up what I had left - swiss chard, candy cane beets, and spinach.
Multi-grain pilaf
2 cups multi-grain or rice mix (I get a mix that is brown & red rice, pearled barley, and rye berries)
4 C onion broth (or any other broth would work)
2 scallions, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
In large sauce pan, heat a bit of olive oil over medium high heat, add the scallions and the celery and cook about 5 minutes until tender. Add the grain or rice mix and stir to toast slightly about 2 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Allow to cook according to package directions for the grains. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
For the veggies:
1 bunch of swiss chard (seperate the stems from the greens)
a big pile of spinach roughly chopped
bunch of beets, seperate the beets from the greens and roughly chop the greens
First, cut the beets into a large dice, then chop the chard stems into chunks. Heat oven to 425. Toss the beets and chard stems with olive oil, dried thyme, and a bit of sea salt. Place in 13 x 9 pan and roast in oven for 30 - 40 minutes until tender.
When the beets are starting to get tender, roughly chop the chard greens and add to the other chopped greens. In a large fry pan over medium heat add 2 cloves of garlic chopped and a pinch of crushed red pepper, cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add the greens and cook stirring constantly until all the greens are tender, about 10 minutes.
Turn the greens out onto a serving platter, top with roasted beets, and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve with the multi-grain pilaf.
Multi-grain pilaf
2 cups multi-grain or rice mix (I get a mix that is brown & red rice, pearled barley, and rye berries)
4 C onion broth (or any other broth would work)
2 scallions, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
In large sauce pan, heat a bit of olive oil over medium high heat, add the scallions and the celery and cook about 5 minutes until tender. Add the grain or rice mix and stir to toast slightly about 2 minutes. Add the broth, bring to a boil, then cover and reduce heat. Allow to cook according to package directions for the grains. Season with salt & pepper to taste.
For the veggies:
1 bunch of swiss chard (seperate the stems from the greens)
a big pile of spinach roughly chopped
bunch of beets, seperate the beets from the greens and roughly chop the greens
First, cut the beets into a large dice, then chop the chard stems into chunks. Heat oven to 425. Toss the beets and chard stems with olive oil, dried thyme, and a bit of sea salt. Place in 13 x 9 pan and roast in oven for 30 - 40 minutes until tender.
When the beets are starting to get tender, roughly chop the chard greens and add to the other chopped greens. In a large fry pan over medium heat add 2 cloves of garlic chopped and a pinch of crushed red pepper, cook until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add the greens and cook stirring constantly until all the greens are tender, about 10 minutes.
Turn the greens out onto a serving platter, top with roasted beets, and sprinkle with fresh grated parmesan cheese. Serve with the multi-grain pilaf.
Turnip Soup
I know, I know, it has been a long time since I've posted. It's been a little crazy around here and it just kept slipping my mind until I talked to my sister this weekend and she told me I'd better update my blog since she's sick of looking at beet soup. So here we go.
My parents got into town last week and it was a pretty crazy day - work until 5, then a community council obligation, then off to the airport to pick up Mom & Dad. By the time we got home it was a little after 8 and none of us had eaten. I knew it would be nuts, so in the morning before work I had pulled out my 2 quart size crockpot and made some turnip soup.
4 - 5 cups of chicken or veggie broth (I used a combination since I make my own from leftovers and had only about 2 cups of chicken broth left)
1 bunch of turnips with greens (about 6 medium sized turnips
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs rosemary
Seperate turnips and tops trimming any dried tops off. Quarter the turnips and roughly chop the greens (I only throw out the area where the greens attach to the turnip since it normally has too much dirt to get clean). Dice the carrots and celery, roughly chop the garlic. Combine all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low 8 - 10 hours or on medium for 6 - 8 until the turnips are tender. Serve with grainy rolls or crackers.
My parents got into town last week and it was a pretty crazy day - work until 5, then a community council obligation, then off to the airport to pick up Mom & Dad. By the time we got home it was a little after 8 and none of us had eaten. I knew it would be nuts, so in the morning before work I had pulled out my 2 quart size crockpot and made some turnip soup.
4 - 5 cups of chicken or veggie broth (I used a combination since I make my own from leftovers and had only about 2 cups of chicken broth left)
1 bunch of turnips with greens (about 6 medium sized turnips
2 carrots
2 stalks celery
2 cloves garlic
1 bay leaf
3 sprigs rosemary
Seperate turnips and tops trimming any dried tops off. Quarter the turnips and roughly chop the greens (I only throw out the area where the greens attach to the turnip since it normally has too much dirt to get clean). Dice the carrots and celery, roughly chop the garlic. Combine all ingredients in the crockpot and cook on low 8 - 10 hours or on medium for 6 - 8 until the turnips are tender. Serve with grainy rolls or crackers.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Beet Soup
I got some more beets this week and the two that came up in my garden are ready, so tonight is beet soup night. It is a really simple recipe, I can't say I make it exactly the same every time because I pretty much do it by eye, but it is delicious.
4 - 6 beets, cut into large chunks
1/2 onion
2 stalks celery
garlic to taste
2 t chinese five spice
1 T fresh grated ginger
3 - 4 C vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste
In a stock pot over medium heat add the onion and celery, cook until it begins to get tender. Add the garlic, chinese five spice, and ginger, stir for about 1 minute. Add the beets and enough vegetable broth making sure to cover the veggies, bring to a boil, cover and cook about 45 minutes until the beets are very tender. Using blender or immersion blender, blend until smooth. Serve topped with some yogurt or sour cream, the braised greens, or some green onions (or any combination of them).
I was never a huge beet fan, but I've been learning to really enjoy them and this soup is incredible. It comes out to a gorgeous purple red puree, as always though with beets, make sure you don't drip it anywhere or you'll have stains forever. I love to have the leftovers with a small salad of field greens, pecans, and blue cheese.
4 - 6 beets, cut into large chunks
1/2 onion
2 stalks celery
garlic to taste
2 t chinese five spice
1 T fresh grated ginger
3 - 4 C vegetable broth
salt & pepper to taste
In a stock pot over medium heat add the onion and celery, cook until it begins to get tender. Add the garlic, chinese five spice, and ginger, stir for about 1 minute. Add the beets and enough vegetable broth making sure to cover the veggies, bring to a boil, cover and cook about 45 minutes until the beets are very tender. Using blender or immersion blender, blend until smooth. Serve topped with some yogurt or sour cream, the braised greens, or some green onions (or any combination of them).
I was never a huge beet fan, but I've been learning to really enjoy them and this soup is incredible. It comes out to a gorgeous purple red puree, as always though with beets, make sure you don't drip it anywhere or you'll have stains forever. I love to have the leftovers with a small salad of field greens, pecans, and blue cheese.
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