Little luxuries
Short ribs, lemon risotto, black eyed peas, mung bean soup
We worked hard this week to make sure that the Christmas ham doesn’t turn into the Easter ham. There are thick packets of leftovers in the freezer, plus a ham hock I’m eying for split pea soup next week. In the meantime there have been full plates of Christmas dinner leftovers, and ham in all iterations: sliced into pasta with peas and garlic, piled onto sandwiches, chopped into soft scrambled eggs. The stock is daunting, but the ham (twice smoked) delicious, so we’re making quick work of it.
To cleanse our palates and bodies I made a mung bean soup that will go in the regular rotation. Warm with curry spices, thick with beans and potatoes, bright with a splash of lemon and sprinkle of cilantro, it hits a lot of notes.
There were short ribs this week, cooked low and slow, then refrigerated overnight to make skimming the fat easier. Short ribs always make me think of my cousin, Nettie, who instructed me to cook them for Chris soon after we were married. “It’s the easiest thing you can make!” she said. There was also leftover lemon risotto from Christmas Eve, a feast we topped with the very best lobster in New England.
For New Years Day it was a reprise of Christmas’ cinnamon rolls, the softest, squishiest you’ve ever tasted (thank you, always, Loopy Whisk). And then a build-your-own-bowl black eyed peas bar, served during the football game and eaten on the couch. Winter break, after all, is coming to an end, and we can luxuriate a little more still.
Mung Bean Soup
Gluten free, Dairy free
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 carrots cut into discs
3 cloves garlic grated
1 inch ginger grated
2 teaspoons curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin optional
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes add more or less to taste
6 cups vegetable broth or more if needed
1 can (15 ounces) crushed tomatoes
1 cup mung beans whole, dry, uncooked
1 pound potatoes peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
1 teaspoon salt or more to taste
2 twists black pepper
1 lemon the juice. Optional: top with fresh cilantro, Greek or non-dairy yogurt, pickled cabbage or pickled red onion.
Heat olive oil in a large pot, add onion (chopped) and carrots (sliced into discs) and sauté on medium heat for 5 minutes. Add garlic, ginger (both grated), curry powder, turmeric powder, ground cumin, and red pepper flakes and sauté 1 more minute until fragrant. Add vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, mung beans (rinsed), salt, and black pepper. Cover with a lid, bring to a boil, then crack the top open, lower the heat, and simmer for 10 minutes then add potatoes (peeled and cut into bite-size chunks), and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until potatoes and mung beans are tender. Stir occasionally. Taste and adjust for salt and spices. You can add 5 ounces/150 grams of spinach 5 minutes before the soup is done simmering, if you like. Top with a squeeze of lemon, cilantro, yogurt, and pickled red onion or cabbage, if desired.
From The Plant Based School.
Cinnamon Rolls
Gluten free, Dairy free option
15 g (3 tbsp) whole/rough psyllium husk
180 g (¾ cup) warm water
320 g Caputo fioreglut gluten free flour
50 g (¼ cup) caster/superfine or granulated sugar
6 g (2 tsp) instant yeast (If using active dry yeast, use 8g.)
6 g (1½ tsp) baking powder
5 g (1 tsp) salt
100 g (⅓ cup + 1½ tbsp) whole milk, warm (soy is ok)
1 US large/UK medium egg, room temperature
35 g (2½ tbsp) unsalted butter, melted (Earth Balance)
In a bowl, mix together the psyllium husk and warm water. After about 30-45 seconds, a gel will form. In the bowl of the stand mixer, whisk together the flour, sugar, instant yeast, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the psyllium gel, warm milk, egg and melted butter.
Knead the dough until smooth and all the ingredients are evenly incorporated, then knead for a further 5 minutes (if using a stand mixer) or 8-10 minutes (if kneading it by hand). Use a rubber spatula to occasionally scrape along the sides and bottom of the bowl to prevent any dry patches of unmixed flour.
85 g (¾ stick) very soft unsalted butter (Earth Balance)
100 g (½ cup) light brown sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
In a bowl, mix together the very soft butter, light brown sugar and ground cinnamon until you get a soft, spreadable paste. Set aside.
½ tbsp unsalted butter, softened, for buttering the skillet or baking pan (Earth Balance)
100 g (⅓ cup + 2 tbsp) heavy/double cream, warm (Silk non dairy works here)
Lightly butter a 10-inch (25cm) skillet or round baking pan, and set aside until needed.
Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape it into a ball. Roll it out into a roughly 11×15-inch (28x38cm) rectangle. Dollop on the cinnamon filling and spread it out into an even layer across the rolled-out dough, all the way to the edges. Cut the rectangle lengthways into seven 1½-inch (4cm) wide strips, so that they’re 15 inches (38cm) long. I like to use a pizza cutter for this, but a sharp knife will also work well. Roll up each individual strip into a roll – this will give you the perfect swirl. Arrange the cinnamon rolls in the buttered skillet or baking pan, they should only just touch each other.
Proof the cinnamon rolls in a warm place for about 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until about doubled in volume. Lightly cover them with a sheet of plastic wrap/cling film to prevent them from drying out during proofing. While the rolls are proofing, adjust the oven rack to the middle position and pre-heat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC).
Once the cinnamon rolls have doubled in volume, pour warm heavy/double cream evenly all over them. Cover the skillet or baking pan with a sheet of aluminium foil. Bake the cinnamon rolls at 350ºF (180ºC) covered with the aluminium foil for 20 minutes. After the 20 minutes, remove the aluminium foil and continue baking until the cinnamon rolls get golden on top – about 15 minutes more.
1 cup powdered sugar
1-2 tsp heavy cream (Silk non dairy)
Allow the baked cinnamon rolls to cool for 15-20 minutes while you prepare the icing by mixing powdered sugar with 1 tsp heavy cream, adding additional cream slowly to make a drizzle consistency. Drizzle icing over top of slightly warm rolls.
Adapted from The Loopy Whisk.
Black Eyed Peas and Wild Rice Bar (New Years)
Gluten free, Dairy free
1 pound black eyed peas, dry and unsoaked
1 onion, cut in half
1 carrot
1 celery rib
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon salt
Rinse peas and check for dirt or detritus. Put everything in a pot with eight cups water, or enough to cover by a couple inches. Bring it to a rapid boil for 10 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer for about an hour, or until peas are soft but not mushy.
Wild rice:
1 cup California wild rice
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute vegetables in a saucepan with oil, seasoning with salt and pepper. Add rice and toast it in the oil a bit, like you would with risotto. Add three cups water (or maybe a little more) and bring to a boil, then cover and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes. The rice is done when the grain splits open.
Kale:
As much kale as you like, or as much as you can fit in the pan. Chop it as small as you like.
Two garlic cloves, sliced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Red wine vinegar
Heat oil in a skillet. Add garlic and kale, season to taste with salt and pepper. Saute for a few minutes, then lower heat, cover and cook for five minutes or until kale is softened. Finish with a splash of red wine vinegar, to taste.
Short ribs
Gluten free, Dairy free
2 - 3 pounds short ribs, cut into four-inch chunks
1 onion, chopped
1 or 2 carrot2, chopped
1 or 2 celery ribs, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 or 2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 small can of crushed tomatoes
1/4 to 1/2 cup dry red wine
1 quart beef broth
Neutral oil
Salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 300 F.
Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a dutch oven or braiser and brown the ribs on all sides, working in batches if needed. Transfer the ribs to a platter. If there is more than a couple tablespoons of fat in the pot, drain some off.
Add the vegetables, season with salt and pepper and saute for a few minutes until softened. Add tomato paste and cook until it darkens. Add wine and cook over high heat until reduced and doesn't smell like alcohol. Add crushed tomatoes and cook a few minutes, until they start to thicken.
Add meat back to the pot, along with enough stock to almost cover the meat. Add thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover and place in oven for about two to three hours, or until the meat is fork tender. You can remove the cover in the last hour to reduce the sauce and add additional browning.
Remove the meat and transfer to a dish. Strain out cooked vegetables and discard. Let it cool and skim off fat. (This is easiest if you can let it sit in the fridge overnight.) Return to the stove and simmer to thicken the sauce. Optionally, whisk together a tablespoon each of corn starch and cold water, and add to the sauce, stirring over low heat until it reaches your desired thickness.
Serve with polenta or buttered noodles.