I had a big, lovely head of green cabbage from my CSA, and I wanted to use it for something other than slaw. At first, I considered this Hungarian cabbage strudel, and I still may try that eventually. But, then I saw the recipe for cabbage and mushroom galette in Vegetarian Cooking for Everone
, and that was how this cabbage was meant to be used. This savory galette is made with a yeasted tart dough, filled with sauteed cabbage and mushrooms, and given a little kick with the horseradish sour cream sauce. I have to tell you about the dough first. It’s a lot like a pizza dough except that an egg is added. The dough was mixed and left to rise for about an hour, and that one, little egg made the dough very tender. It was less elastic than pizza dough when being shaped, and it was flakier than pizza crust once baked. This was a tart dough I’ll definitely use again.
For the filling, minced onion and sliced shitakes were sauteed in butter with thyme and dill. Then, the sliced cabbage was added with a little water, and the saute pan was covered while the cabbage cooked for about 15 minutes. The cover was removed, and the heat was raised to evaporate remaining moisture from the pan. Last, parsley, a chopped hard-boiled egg, and some sour cream were stirred into the vegetables. At this point, I transferred this mixture to a bowl and left it in the refrigerator for a few hours. I had also rolled out the dough into an oblong, rectangular-ish shape, placed it on a baking sheet, covered it with a kitchen towel, and placed that in the refrigerator as well. At dinner time, I assembled the tart while the oven warmed. The filling was placed on the tart dough leaving a border of a few inches. The border was folded up and over the filling and was brushed with melted butter. For a savory tart, I like to spinkle the top edges with sea salt. The tart baked for about 30 minutes while I made the horseradish sauce.
The recipe in the book suggests peeling and chopping fresh horseradish root and then partially pureeing it in a food processor with water. Then, it was to be drained and combined with the other ingredients in the sauce. I took a lazier approach and simply peeled the horseradish and grated it on a microplane into a bowl of sour cream. Then, I added chopped chives, salt and pepper, and white wine vinegar. You could also just use prepared horseradish and skip the added vinegar in the sauce, but I do like the bite of just-grated, fresh horseradish. The sauce was perfect with the cabbage and mushroom filling, and this hearty galette was perfect for fall.
As I was sorting last week’s CSA vegetables and making plans for them, I came upon a couple of eggplants that left me stumped. Although they were eggplants of the Mediterranean variety, I just wasn’t in the mood for ratatouille or eggplant parm. What I really wanted from those eggplants was a Thai kind of curry, and then I found this dish in The Vegetarian Table Thailand. When big chunks of eggplant get to simmer in a coconut milk-based sauce, they become tender and enriched with flavors from the spices and herbs. They become silky-textured, almost buttery chunks that absorb all the flavors around them, and this is possibly my favorite way to eat eggplant. The recipe has a very long ingredient list but it’s actually very simple to prepare.
First, the eggplants were chopped and salted and left in a colander for 10 minutes before being rinsed and dried in a towel. Then, coriander and cumin seeds were toasted and ground to a powder. Coconut milk was warmed with red curry paste and the ground spices. Meanwhile, tofu chunks were fried, and then the dried eggplant chunks were fried. Once the fried items were all draining on paper towels, some chopped shitake mushrooms were stir fried with peanuts, and then the tofu and eggplant were added to the pan. The coconut milk mixture was poured over the vegtablesa and tofu and that was all left to simmer for a few minutes. Thinly sliced kaffir lime leaves, basil, sliced chiles, and a little soy sauce were added while it simmered.
You really can’t go wrong with the combination of coconut milk, lime, and chiles. The tofu and eggplant acquired that mix of flavors and the mushrooms and peanuts added dimension. The curry just got better as the leftovers sat in the refrigerator overnight, and it was even more delicious for lunch the next day.
When it comes to preparing any kind of Asian cuisine, my success rate is about 50%. It’s getting better considering that in the past it was about 10%. Still, I need more practice and probably more books. For months, I had wanted to try making bibimbap. When I saw this New York Times article, I decided the time was now. I followed the recipe linked in the article exactly with only one change. I added some yellow summer squash just because I had it. This was my very first attempt at cooking Korean food, so I followed the instructions carefully and was thrilled with the result. I used zucchini, daikon, carrots, and yellow squash from Hands of the Earth Farm and only needed to purchase a few other ingredients. I didn’t find the Korean chili sauce, gochujang, at my regular grocery store and wondered about using a substitute. A quick online search led me to believe there isn’t a good substitute, so I stopped by our nearby Korean market to get it.
There was a considerable bit of prep work involved. The zucchini, shitake caps, daikon, carrots, and yellow squash were all julienned. Then, the zucchini, squash, and shitakes were each sauteed separately with sesame oil and garlic. Also, bean sprouts and spinach were blanched separately and then tossed with sesame oil and sesame seeds. The daikon was tossed with chili flakes, sesame oil, a pinch of sugar, and salt, and the carrot was left plain and raw. The rice cooked while all of these items were being prepped. I’m sure this process could be vastly simplified, but given my track record I stuck to the recipe. When the rice was cooked, a non-stick skillet was heated with vegetable oil. Half of the rice was flattened into the skillet and pressed into a large pancake. This was left to brown for a few minutes, and then it was turned to brown on the other side. My turning skills were lacking, but it didn’t matter in the end because the crusty rice was broken into pieces and topped with the remaining cooked rice. The prepped vegetables were arranged in wedges on top of the rice, and all was adorned with gochujang. To serve, the skillet’s contents were gently mixed and transferred to plates.
Crispy rice bits, well-seasoned sauteed squash and mushrooms, crunchy carrots, and sesame seeds were just some of the varied textures. And, the garlic and sesame with the chili sauce was a delicious blend of flavors. The gochujang was a little spicy but also somewhat sweet and vinegary, and I see now that it was worth the trip to the Korean market. It really is different from other chili sauces. Bibimbap is often served with a fried egg on top, but we had indulged in a large frittata for brunch earlier in the day so I skipped the egg. It may also be served with beef or chicken, but I stayed with the vegetarian approach of the recipe. I’m kind of proud to have successfully created a bibimbap and I’ll definitely be making it again.
On Monday, I started the story of last weekend’s dinner party. The chilled soup course was followed by roasted sockeye salmon with nasturtium jalapeño aioli and a salad of beets, beet greens, and carrots with a horseradish-orange vinaigrette. Also served with the salmon was this polenta with sauteed mushrooms. This dish was inspired by one seen in the December 2007 issue of Bon Appetit. As seen in the magazine, it was served in small squares with the mushroom ragout placed on top of each piece of polenta. Since seeing this over a year ago, I kept it in mind for a future party because it could be largely prepared in advance and would be easy to serve in pre-made portions. I made a few changes to the recipe in hopes of making the dish a bit lighter and more spring-like.
The original mushroom ragout included creme fraiche and grated Comte cheese. I opted to make the mushrooms dairy-free and flavor them with green garlic, shallots, and truffle salt instead. I used local blue oyster and shitake mushrooms. One day early, I made the polenta with all milk for the liquid and a half cup of grated parmigiano reggiano stirred in at the end of the cooking time, and I let it set up overnight in the refrigerator. The day of the party, I cut the polenta squares and cooked them in butter and olive oil in a non-stick skillet for a few minutes on each side. Once crispy on top and bottom, they were transferred to paper towels to drain. Then, they were kept warm in the oven until needed. When the salmon was ready to be served, I placed some mushroom mixture on top of each polenta square and sprinkled the truffle salt on top.
Crispy surfaces on the polenta squares gave way to tender middles full of parmigiano reggiano flavor. That richness carried the mushrooms nicely, and the truffle salt was a subtle, additional boost to the topping. I’m sure the creamier version with cheese in the mushroom ragout would also be delicious, but this spring version worked well for our meal.
Pasta, mushrooms, and cheese is one of my most favorite combinations. Regular criminis, any old pasta, and domestic parmesan would make a very satisfying meal for me, but elevating it by using local, organic shitakes, organic cream, premium pasta, and excellent quality parmigiana reggiano makes me a very, very happy diner. So, this meal had no chance of disappointing, but I’ll go further and suggest that there isn’t a bad pasta dish to be found in the book I was using. I’ve written about it before and I’m sure I will again, because everything I’ve cooked from it has been outstanding. In my opinion, On Top of Spaghetti by Johanne Killeen and George Germon can do no wrong. I’ve never visited Al Forno, but I would consider purchasing a ticket to Providence, RI just for that purpose.
In the book, this dish is found under the title Ziti Baked with Mushrooms, Cream, and Parmigiana Reggiano. I found skinny, little pennette that I couldn’t resist and used that instead. Other than that, I made two small changes to the recipe. To the sautéed onion and shallots, I chose to add garlic. Then, the fennel and mushrooms joined the sauté pan with fresh bay leaves, parsley, thyme, and marjoram. I omitted the mint as I often do. My fall herb garden is beginning to take shape, and all but the parsley came from it. Once the mushrooms are cooked, a liberal portion of cream and the parmigiana were added. Half cooked pasta and a little pasta water were stirred into the mix, all was transferred to a baking dish, into the 500 degree oven it went for all of 10 minutes, and dinner is served.
Upon tasting this, Kurt inadvertently performed the climax scene of every food tv show by tilting his head and murmuring mmmmmmmm. But, he meant it. How could he not; it was warm, melty, and richly satisfying. The fennel had cooked down to its mellow, sweet state and served to round out the character of the onion, shallot, and garlic. The mushrooms’ earthiness interplayed with the parmigiana as perfectly as it always does. This certainly didn’t need any additional embellishment, but if my bottle of truffle oil hadn’t been empty a drop or two would have been sublime.
I had a big, lovely head of green cabbage from my CSA, and I wanted to use it for something other than slaw. At first, I considered this Hungarian cabbage strudel, and I still may try that eventually. But, then I saw the recipe for cabbage and mushroom galette in Vegetarian Cooking for Everone
