Borscht

At this point in my life, I find it odd that I wasn't sure if I I'd even tried borscht, let alone made it myself. I think I assumed that it wasn't that good and why would I bother? Then borscht was brought to my attention twice last week and I pulled out my Russian cookbook to find a recipe.

I decided to make the "Classic Ukrainian Borscht" for the full effect. You will need a bit of time to pull this soup together. Luckily, I had enough beef stock in the freezer to get started. If you need to make a beef stock, see the note at the end of the recipe.

This recipe makes a big pot of soup. My friend Elaine told me that she packages her borscht into small Ziploc bags and freezes them. When she wants borscht for a quick lunch or dinner, she snips the bottom off the baggie and the serving of soup slides right out into a pot, ready to heat up. I had already divided my borscht up into 1 litre containers and put them out on the deck for a pre-freeze, before moving them into the big freezer.

I found myself taking my first taste of the borscht tentatively. Pretty good. Later at dinner time, another bowl. Then a bowl for lunch the next day. Flavours were getting better and better. The sour cream is an important element. I don't think borscht is meant for eating without it. Now, if I could just get my family to try it....


Borscht

3 litres beef stock
1 lb. beef, cut into chunks
2 or 3 large beets (just over a pound)
4 medium-size potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
1 16-oz can diced tomatoes
Salt, to taste
1/4 c. sunflower oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into small matchsticks
1 large green pepper, cored, seeded, and diced
4 cups shredded green cabbage
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice, or more to taste
3 T. tomato paste
5 or 6 dried prunes, chopped
1 t. sugar, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped
3 T. fresh dill, chopped
Lots of sour cream

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Wash and dry the beets and wrap each one individually in tin foil. Bake the beets until tender, about 1 1/4 hours.
3. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the beef until brown on all sides, over medium-high heat. Remove from the pan, let cool, and slice into very small pieces. Set aside.
4. Allow the beets to cool, until you can handle them, then stem and peel them and grate on a box grater. Set aside.
5. Bring the beef stock to a boil in a large stock pot. Add the potatoes and tomatoes, and season with salt. Reduce the heat and simmer until the potatoes are almost tender, about 10 minutes.
6. In a large skillet (the same skillet you used for the beef would be perfect), heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, and green pepper, and saute for about 5 minutes. Stir in the cabbage and continue to saute the veggies, stirring occasionally until the cabbage is softened, about 10 minutes more. Add the veggies to the soup pot.
7. Sprinkle the beets with the fresh lemon juice and add them to the soup. Stir the soup and simmer for about 10 minutes.
8. Add the tomato paste and prunes. Season to taste with sugar, pepper, and additional lemon juice and salt, if desired. Simmer for another 7 minutes.
9. Add the beef to the soup pot. Remove the soup from the heat and sprinkle with the chopped garlic, parsley, and dill. Let stand for at least 15 minutes before serving.
10. Serve garnished with extra chopped parsley and dill and lots of sour cream. Borscht tastes even better the next day.

* For the beef stock:
In a large soup pot, bring 1 1/2 pounds beef, 2 beef marrow bones and 3 litres of water to a boil, skimming off the foam as it rises to the top. Add 1 onion, 1 peeled carrot, 1 rib celery, 3 parsley stems, and 10 black peppercorns. Simmer, partially covered, until the meat is tender, at least 45 minutes.
When the stock is ready, remove the meat and bones, but save the meat. Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pot. Discard all the solids. Continue the borscht recipe from the start.

Greek Frittata

I had no idea how much I've come to rely on my Le Crueset cast-iron skillet (pictured above). Were there ever to be a fire, it would be one of the first things I would grab (yes, I would get the kids and the dogs out first).

A few weeks ago we went to my friend Brenda's house for a beautiful dinner. The main course was rack of lamb served with duck-fat roasted potatoes (Nov. '07). She supplied the lamb; I brought my cast-iron skillet and the duck fat. After a truly delicious evening of drinking and eating, I ended up leaving the pan at their house. Must have been the Mojitos, which her husband has turned into an art form (he seemed reluctant to have me put the recipe on the blog, but I'll work on it).

I called Brenda the next day and we discussed getting together for lunch so she could return the pan. We weren't able to pin down anything for the following week, so it was almost 2 weeks that I was without my beloved pan.

The first morning without my pan, I found myself in a pickle. I had recently ex-communicated my only non-stick pan because it had been scratched, and you know what they say about scratched Teflon... (you can read what they say on Google). Without my trusty little cast-iron pan, I was out of luck for our breakfast stand-bys and my kitchen seemed a like a sad place to be.

On Tuesday, I was meeting up with Brenda for the pan hand-over. I sent her a reminder email in the morning, something to this effect...
"I'm sure you have already put my pan in the car, but just in case, please don't forget the pan. Looking forward to seeing you (and my pan) for lunch. Love Moira Ps. Maybe you should run the pan out to the car now, while you're thinking of it. Strike while the cast-iron is hot! Ha ha ha... but seriously, don't forget the pan. Please."

The pan did turn up at the rendezvous restaurant (thank you, Brenda), and I'm happy to say it has been in use ever since.

The first item on the agenda was a frittata. I basically went through the fridge and a definite Greek theme emerged. One of the keys to a good frittata is take it out of the oven just as it is finishing cooking. Leaving it in too long will result in an over-cooked, rubbery meal that has very little going for it.

Greek Frittata

1 large Yukon Gold potato
3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. fresh tomatoes, chopped with seeds removed
3 T. fresh parsley, chopped fine
1 green onion, chopped
1/4 c. Kalamata olives, chopped fine
1/2 c. Greek feta cheese, crumbled
6 eggs, beaten with 1/2 c. milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potato and cut into small chunks. Place in a small pan with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil potatoes until soft, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and drain. Set potatoes aside.
2. Heat the olive oil in your trusty cast-iron skillet (mine is 8 or 9 inches across) over medium-high heat and add the cooked potatoes. Turn occasionally, cooking until the potatoes are golden and sort of crisping. Add the tomatoes, parsley, green onion, and olives. Cook for two minutes over medium heat.
3. Pour the egg & milk mixture into the pan. Sprinkle with the cheese and place the pan into the oven. Bake for about 10 minutes, until the eggs are just set. Remove the pan from the oven and cut into wedges. Serves 3-4 people, depending on how hungry they are.

*Leftover potatoes are perfect for using in this recipe. Just skip the part about boiling the potato.

Ham-ster Rolls

I received a phone call from my son, Gavin, on the weekend. He had made lunch with his dad and sister. He was very excited to tell me that he had invented a new recipe, with a really cool name. The "ham-ster roll" was born out of Gavin's imagination, and you can be sure that I'm a very proud mother.

Gavin isn't too keen on yellow mustard, but Ellen is. Gavin has made the allowance that some people will enjoy a line of mustard on their ham-ster roll. He also suggests that should you desire another topping - mayo, thinly sliced dill pickle, Grandma's mustard relish, even a leaf of lettuce - feel free to top your ham-ster roll as you like.


There are a few reasons why you should try these. They are perfect for someone who is following the South Beach diet. Not a carb in sight. They are very quick, for those times when you are starving and need a little meal in a minute or two. It is a great recipe to get your children interested in cooking (I do realize there is no cooking involved) and preparing food. Read the recipe for yourself. To me, it is just short of brilliant!

Ham-ster Rolls - recipe from Gavin, as told to his mom

1 slice Black Forest ham
1 slice Havarti cheese
1 squirt yellow mustard, optional

1. Lay the ham out flat on a plate.
2. Lay three or four little pieces (or one big piece) of Havarti cheese on top of the ham.
3. If you like mustard, you can put a line on the cheese right now.
4. Carefully roll it up and eat with clean hands.

Dark Chocolate-Sour Cherry Ice Cream

We invited my father-in-law, Max, over for dinner tonight. He suggested that we make ice cream, and you can be sure that we were all for it. Max has an old barrel-style ice cream maker. The ice cream ingredients go into a metal canister with a paddle, which is then put into a wooden barrel. Between the canister and the barrel, ice and rock salt are mixed to form a very cold, slushy soup that freezes the ice cream. A top with a crank is placed on the ice cream canister and the churning begins. It takes about 20 minutes of turning the crank, something the whole family can take turns at.

Max's recipe doesn't call for cooking a custard beforehand. Lover of custards that I am, I would be quite happy to make a custard ahead of time, but this is definitely a quicker method. We had little packages of Lindt 70% dark chocolate, which we smashed into little pieces. The cherries were from a jar of sour cherries in juice. We cut the cherries up into little pieces, finding and removing a few pits in the process. We drained the cherries really well and then dried them fully with a paper towel. You don't want to add extra liquid to the ice cream mixture. After the ice cream was finished, we transferred it into plastic containers and stuck them in a snowbank on the deck.

The vanilla can be done a couple of ways. If you have vanilla beans, scrape the inside of half a bean and add the little bits into the cream. Save the vanilla bean for the next time you make chai tea (Dec. '07) or baked custard (April '08). If you are making an ice cream from a cooked custard, add the whole bean and remove it after the custard is finished cooking. If you don't have vanilla beans on hand, use 1 or 2 teaspoons of pure vanilla extract.

After a dinner of roast chicken with an apple stuffing, wild rice with oranges & pecans, and frozen Harrow sweet corn, we felt like royalty, enjoying our homemade ice cream. It was a great activity for everyone to get involved in and we all went to bed last night, dreaming of the flavours we would like to make next time.



Dark Chocolate-Sour Cherry Ice Cream

3 extra-large eggs
3 c. whipping cream
1 1/2 c. milk
1 1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, split & scraped
1/2 c. sour cherries, pitted
1/2 c. dark chocolate, cut into small chunks

1. Beat eggs and sugar together in large bowl. Add cream and milk. Split the vanilla bean in half, and using the back of a small knife, scrape the tiny vanilla seeds into the cream mixture.
2. Pour the cream mixture into the ice cream maker. Freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions. When the ice cream is almost finished, add the cherries and the chocolate. Mix a little bit longer and move ice cream to another container. Eat immediately or store in the freezer.

Chicken Fattah

One of the new cookbooks that I received (or did I buy it for myself??) for Christmas is Bonnie Stern's newest offering "Friday Night Dinners". There are so many recipes in this book that I want to make. I came across this recipe on Monday, ran out to pick up a few missing ingredients, and served it that night.

Each part of this recipe can be made ahead of time. This would make a great dinner for company or a couple of dinners for a small family. It does take some time to make all of the different elements, but once you get going it rolls right along.

While the rice & lentils were cooking, I rubbed the chicken thighs with the lemon-garlic mixture. I got the barbecue going (I think it's safe to say that barbecuing boneless-skinless chicken thighs tastes better than baking them!) and grilled the chicken. I would have been happy to have just the grilled chicken for dinner. The lemon & garlic rub was delicious. Then I got the tomato sauce and the tahina sauce going. At this point, I was almost dancing around the kitchen, fully aware that I was making a spectacular dinner for my family.

Fast forward to 6 o'clock, and we are sitting down to a dinner that I would be proud to serve anyone. "Yuck! What is that? I'm not eating that. What are those black things? (they were the lentils)" Eyes narrowed and frowns on, both Ellen & Gavin were, shall we say, reluctant to eat their dinner. I didn't give up, though. I used the homemade chocolate pudding (July '08) as leverage, and they managed to eat most of what they were served. Two nights later, they ate the leftovers (with slightly less coaxing) and I think in the end, they actually enjoyed both meals.

I have a habit of doing this. I come up with some wonderful menu, completely forgetting that I have a 6 and 3 year old that are not always as adventurous as I assume. This time, it worked out in the end. How will they know that they like it until I force them to try it? That's my philosophy and sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't...

Chicken Fattah

Mujedrah
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
3 large onions, thinly sliced
2 c. brown basmati rice
1 c. green lentils, rinsed
5 c. water
2 t. kosher salt

Chicken
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 t. kosher salt
2 t. grated lemon peel
2 t. minced garlic
4 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts or a combination

Moroccan Tomato Sauce
2 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. ground cumin
Pinch hot red pepper flakes
1 28-oz can diced tomatoes with juices
1 T. honey
1 T. lemon juice
Salt & Pepper to taste

Tahina Sauce
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1/3 c. tahina
1/4 c. lemon juice
1/2 c. water
1/2 t. hot red pepper sauce
Salt to taste

Garnish
Chopped fresh cilantro
3 T. toasted pine nuts

1. To prepare mujedrah, heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until very brown. Remove half of onions from pan and reserve.
2. Add rice to onions in skillet and cook for a few minutes. Add lentils, water and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and cook gently for 40 to 45 minutes, or until just tender. Taste and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
3. Meanwhile, to prepare chicken, combine oil, salt, lemon zest and garlic in a small bowl. Rub into chicken. Grill or roast chicken until cooked through and tender, about 8 to 10 minutes per side on the grill or 30 to 40 minutes at 400 degrees.
4. Meanwhile, to prepare tomato sauce, in a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook for 5 minutes, or until tender but not brown.
5. Add cumin and hot pepper flakes and cook gently for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cook gently, uncovered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until thick. Season with honey, lemon juice, salt and pepper.
6. To prepare tahina sauce, in a food processor, combine garlic, tahina, lemon juice, water and hot pepper sauce until smooth. Add salt to taste.
7. To assemble, spread rice and lentils on a large platter. Arrange chicken on top. Spoon tomato sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with reserved onions, cilantro and pine nuts. Drizzle with tahina.