Curried squash soup

Sunday night, our English friends invited us over for a proper English dinner. Yorkshire pudding, rib roast, roasted parsnips and potatoes, bread pudding…you get the picture. It was all wonderful and such a treat after a busy weekend, to have no worries over making dinner on Sunday night.

For starters, they made a Curried Squash Soup, it was fantastic. Even my “so over squash…” husband was looking at me, sort of saying, “we can have squash again if you can make this.”
Given the five squash still in my possession from our CSA and the strong desire to try to replicate their fantastic recipe, I gave it a go. This version is good, but I think the spices can still be substituted. Curry is not my thing, I’m trying to learn. I’ll be sure to try and get the blend that they used and post it soon. The soup is obviously, very spicy… and really good. Now that the weather is changing, I could have soup every day.
I also want to share an Ina Garten, butternut squash risotto recipe that another friend made on Monday. We didn’t get pictures, but the risotto was wonderful; really complex with a few quality ingredients.

Curried Squash Soup
For roasted squash:
2 small butternut squash
1 acorn squash
2 small summer squash
3 T olive oil

For soup:
1 large yellow onion, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, crushed
4 T olive oil
2 T Hungarian paprika
1 T curry powder
1 t ginger powder
1 t cinnamon
1 t cumin
½ t cardamom powder
5-6 saffron threads
4 cups chicken broth (or more for a runnier soup)
1/8 c heavy whipping cream
Fresh cilantro

Set oven to 350 degrees. Peel, seed and chop the squash into 1-inch cubes. Toss in olive oil and spread across a baking sheet or large metal baking pan. Use more than one if you need to in order to spread the squash evenly to form a single layer. Roast for 30 minutes, toss and roast for an addition 20 – 30 minutes, until squash is caramelized and very soft.
**You can do this step ahead and refrigerate or freeze the squash until you’re ready to make the soup, it makes a quick dinner if the squash is already cooked.

In a large, heavy stock pot sauté onion and garlic over medium heat until opaque. In a smaller pot, heat chicken broth and saffron over low heat to release saffron flavors. In a small bowl, evenly blend spice mixture. Add spice mixture to onion and garlic, sautéing until the spices start to toast. It will be a thick. (I use a Le Crueset pan, which works very well. The spices stick to the enamel a bit, but with the addition of the chicken stock, release from the side of the pan.) Add about 2 cups of the chicken stock and stir for about 2 minutes so the flavors blend. Add the squash and cook evenly for another 2 minutes. Use either stick blender or puree soup in small batches in a food processor to process soup until smooth. Return to stock pot and add additional broth to achieve desired consistency. Cook an additional 10 – 15 minutes over low heat. The longer it cooks, the more the flavors meld.

Serve the soup with a drizzle of cream and a bunch of fresh cilantro.

Makes 6 – 8 servings.

Roasted fingerlings with red and yellow piperade

The November issue of Bon Appetit is stocked full of Thanksgiving recipes, definitely pick it up if you are planning to do the cooking for family or friends this year.

I wanted to try this side because we love fingerling potatoes and we received red and yellow bell peppers and onions in our last CSA box of the year. I will miss the weekly produce, but the City Market will still have produce on the weekends for another month or so. I used a combination of farm-raised fingerlings and Amy's organic fingerling potatoes.

The fresh herbs and vinegar at the end really made this a special side dish.

roasted fingerlings with red and yellow pipérade
Bon Appétit November 2007
Michael Lomonaco

Ingredients
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-wide strips
2 large yellow bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch-wide strips
1 large red onion, halved through core, thinly sliced crosswise
3 pounds fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1/4 cup Champagne vinegar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°F. Pour 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil onto large rimmed baking sheet. Spread all peppers and sliced onion over, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toss to coat. Roast 10 minutes. Place halved potatoes and remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in single layer atop peppers. Roast until potatoes are tender and beginning to turn golden, about 50 minutes.

DO AHEAD: Can be prepared 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm in 425°F oven for 10 minutes before continuing.Sprinkle chopped parsley and shallots over potatoes and toss to coat. Roast potatoes 5 minutes longer.

Transfer potatoes to large platter. Sprinkle with chives, basil, and thyme. Drizzle with Champagne vinegar and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pipérade refers to the classic Basque stew made with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and garlic.

Beef Biryani

Last night I tried another recipe from delicious. magazine, the wonderful Australian food magazine. The recipe was contributed by Ben O'Donoghue and he suggested that it was an easy curry dish for a Friday night. I really liked the idea of layering partially cooked rice, onions and fresh herbs over the curry in a dutch oven to finish cooking and steam the rice with loads of flavor. It is a great method and the basmati rice (purchased in the City Market at 5:45 last night) was wonderful.

This was a much more labor intensive recipe than I imagined, I find myself in this situation quite often, but it was worth it...especially to try something new.

Ben writes that biryani originates in the Hyderabad in central India, and more often than not, these dishes are vegetarian. The skirt steak is a cheap cut of meat, but when marinated and cooked in this manner, it is actually very tender.

I would change a few things if I make it again. For starters, the spices were almost overwhelming, especially the cardamom and cloves. I considered using ground cloves, but decided to honor the recipe. I also purchased cardamom seeds, rather than pods, so every bite of the curry had a whammy of clove or cardamom crunch and punch. If I had corrected that issue, I probably would be making this again next week. The best thing about trying something new is finding a new method; now I will try some different flavor and meat combinations.

beef biryani

Adapted from delicious. magazine, vol 4 issue 7

Ben O'Donoghue

Serves 6

18 oz beef skirt steak, thinly sliced

1/4 cup tomato paste

Pinch of saffron threads

1/4 cup milk

2 1/2 cups basmati rice

1 cup mint leaves, roughly chopped

1/2 cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped, plus leaves to garnish

Marinade

4 T peeled, grated ginger

10 garlic cloves

3 long red chilies, roughly chopped

2 T slice peeled papaya (optional)

2 T sunflower oil

1/2 cup natural yogurt, plus extra to serve

Juice of 1 lemon

1 T ground turmeric

Spice mix

1/2 cup vegetable oil

3 onions, thinly sliced

2 t cardamom pods, bruised with back of a knife

1 cinnamon quill, broken

2 t cloves

2 - 3 bay leaves

For the marinade, place ginger, garlic, chili, papaya, if using, and oil in a small bowl of a food processor, or use a stick blender, and puree until smooth. Pour into a bowl with the remaining marinade ingredients and stir will to combine. Place steak in a large bowl, pour marinade over and mix to coat, then set aside to marinate while you make the spice mix.

For the spice mix, heat oil in a large flameproof casserole or wide heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat until almost smoking, add two-thirds of the onion and fry for 5 - 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove onion from casserole and set aside. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cook remaining onion and spice mix ingredients for 3-4 minutes, until slightly golden.

Reserving the marinade, add the meat to the casserole with the spice mix. Cook over medium-high heat for 10 minutes or until meat is sealed all over. Stir in the tomato paste and reserve marinade, then simmer over low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 325. Stir the saffron threads into the milk and set aside to soak for 20 minutes. Wash and drain the rice. Cook in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 6-8 minutes. Drain and arrange over the meat, alternating layers with reserved fried onion, mint and cilantro. Pour the saffron milk over, cover with a tight-fitting lid, then bake for 15 minutes until the rice is cooked and beef is tender. Serve in bowls topped with the extra yogurt and coriander leaves.

Summer Harvest

Seriously, it has gone past the point of rescue. We have so much summer produce it isn't even funny. And I have forbidden myself to let a bit of it go to waste. I have 6 quarts of stewed tomatoes in the freezer for winter chili and tailgating. I've frozen pesto and an assortment of fresh fruit.

We're so fortunate to live near the City Market, which is a feast of fruits and veggies; and just last weekend my parents brought a ton of tomatoes, zucchini, bell peppers and green beans from their garden. At one point, we had at least 30 tomatoes in our possession. I didn't know what to do, my only thought was Vegetable Lasagna. Now, my husband (and father) are both meat and potatoes men, so I was concerned that this plan would leave them wanting more. I couldn't have been more wrong. In fact, as my mother and I were navigating the recipe and making our own changes, we realized we had a winner on our hands...so dinner for four, quickly spread and we invited our friends over to enjoy as well. Everyone loved it and I think you will too...if anyone is actually reading this!

Recipe note -- this would also be good with mushrooms, we just didn't have any. Saute the shrooms after the peppers and onions and set aside until time for layering. Also, while it takes forever, please do not skip the step of frying the eggplant and zucchini. Two things I do not believe in -- no cook lasagne noodles and mushy eggplant.

This would easily serve 10 with a fresh green salad and bread. The leftovers rock.

Vegetable Garden Lasagna

Adapted (very loosely) from "The New Basics Cookbook" by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins

1 eggplant

1 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt

1 zucchini

8 tablespoons olive oil

2 bell peppers (any color combination, I used 2 orange), cored, seeded and cut into Julienne

1 large onion, slivered

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

8 ounces lasagna noodles

3 cups tomato sauce (I used it from a jar, if I'd had more time, I would have the basic tomato sauce recipe from Smitten Kitchen and used my tomatoes)

12 ounces ricotta

1 cup tightly packed fresh spinach slivered

1/2 cup slivered fresh basil leaves

1 cup grated Parmesan

3/4 lb thinly slice provolone

Slice the eggplant into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Sprinkle them with coarse salt, and let drain in a colander for 1 hour. Wipe off the salt and pat dry.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the bell peppers and onion, and saute over medium-low heat until cooked through, but not browned, 10 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the peppers and onion from the skillet.

Slice the zucchini into 1/4-inch thick rounds. Add 3 more tablespoons olive oil. Dredge the zucchini with the flour, shaking off the excess, and saute the slices on both sides, over medium heat, until lightly browned, adding more olive oil as needed. Transfer the cooked zucchini to paper towels. Repeat this process with the eggplant.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

In a separate bowl, mix the ricotta, Parmesan, spinach and basil until smooth.

Bring 4 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot. Add the lasagna, and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, and drain again.

Spread a small amount of tomato sauce on the bottom of a deep 13 x 9-inch baking dish.

Arrange half the lasagna noodles over the sauce. Cover with the peppers, onion, eggplant and zucchini, in layers. Spread with half of the ricotta mixture. Top with more tomato sauce, and then another layer of lasagna noodles. Spread the remaining vegetables, then ricotta, top with remaining tomato sauce. Spread the provolone slices overlapping to cover the entire pan. *I used about 3 slices per row, but use to suit your taste. Shredded mozzarella would also work.

Cover the dish with aluminum foil, and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until brown and bubbly, another 15 minutes. *I actually didn't cover with aluminum foil and it was fine, if your use mozzarella, you'll definitely want to.