ORIENTAL TREASURES

Oriental Treasures

            A cluttered pantry is a sure sign of eclectic shopping habits. The one at our house most certainly qualifies for that description. When the cook likes to sample and reproduce food from different cuisines, the clutter can become a treasure trove at this time of our hunkered down living patterns.

            Procrastination was responsible for postponing my yearly ‘sorting-out’ of such clutter this January. Such serendipity was to be welcomed as I found a box, hidden away in the back corner, full of oriental ingredients. These were mostly dried items collected last year in a small cramped oriental food store in Portland, when I had searched ingredients for ‘Hot and Sour soup’. All those fascinating items labeled in different languages were enough to tempt any cook for future experiments in the kitchen. Maine grown sea weed, some oriental dried mushrooms, white miso, oriental noodles and even bonito flakes can be found in natural food stores, though others like dried lily bulbs still remain exotic, but not absolutely necessary for the recipes that follow.

                        Warm miso-soba bowl with shrimp

            In a medium bowl mix: 1 grated garlic clove and a grated 2 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger, 3 tblsp. rice vinegar, 3 tblsp. soy sauce, 2 tbslp. white miso paste, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, 1 tblsp. toasted sesame oil and 1 tblsp. lime juice (optional). Shred 1 peeled carrot in slivers with a vegetable peeler and set aside. In a plastic bag marinate 14 large peeled and uncooked shrimp with 2 tblsp. of the sauce for 10 minutes. While shrimp are marinating, cook 6 oz. soba noodles in unsalted water for 4 minutes (or package instructions), drain (do not rinse) and toss with the sauce in the bowl. Toss noodles with the shredded carrots. Remove shrimp from marinade and toss with 2 tblsp. cornstarch.  Heat 2 tblsp. canola oil in a pan and fry the shrimp in single layer 2-3 minutes on the side. Set on paper towels to drain. Blanch 1 ½ cups snow peas in a small pot of boiling water for 2 minutes and set aside. Divide the noodles in 2 shallow bowls, top with the fried shrimp, sprinkle with 1 sliced scallion, arrange the snow peas around the edges and serve.

            Dashi is a Japanese sea stock used in many Japanese recipes. It’s simplest form is a strained broth, obtained after soaking kombu (dried seaweed) in hot water with bonito flakes. The broth also gives a silky finish to beans cooked in it. I first learned of it in 2013 from Michael Pollan’s book “Cooked” and have been a fan of it since then. My various recipes for low calorie soups made with dashi have evolved to contain a variety of ingredients. It makes wonderful vegetarian soups, but is equally delightful with shrimp or even small scallops. There are several Maine Seaweed producers located along our coast and their Wild Atlantic Kombu is perfect for dashi recipes.

                                    Dashi-ginger-wild oriental mushroom soup.

            Bring to boil 5 cups of water with 2 dried shitake, 2 large wood-ear mushrooms and ½ cup of dried lily bulbs (optional), turn off heat and allow to soak for 30 minutes. Remove lily bulbs and mushrooms. Cut the shitake in small pieces and slice the wood mushrooms in small strips. Strain liquid through a paper towel lined sieve to remove any sand in a 3 quart pot. Add 3-4 cups more water, four 6 inch pieces of Kombu and a 2 inch piece of peeled fresh ginger cut in half lengthwise. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes, add ¾ cup of bonito flakes and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Set-aside the ginger pieces and strain the liquid into a bowl. Wipe out the pot and return the liquid, mushrooms, lily bulbs and ginger to the pot and cook on low heat 10-15 minutes. Stir in 2 tblsp. soy sauce, 1 tblsp. mirin, 1 ½ tblsp. rice vinegar and 1/2 carrot shaved with a vegetable peeler in slivers. Stir in a handful of Pemaquid baby sugar kelp (optional). In a separate pot cook thin rice threads in water for 2 minutes and drain. Serve hot in bowls: first some noodles, then ladle soup on top and finish by sprinkling with chopped scallions.

            Treasure hunts can be such delicious fun!

Ilga Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

"HUNKER-DOWN" TIME

“Hunker-Down Time”

          Snowstorms and even blizzards in early spring, that make you stick close to the hearth, are not un-known in Maine. The current one, created by a rogue virus and constant alarming news updates is different. There are no swirling white flakes. The roads and sidewalks are not in need of shoveling. It took a little longer to arrive in Maine, but suddenly our world has become inducive to staying close to the hearth.

          We find children on protracted leave from school. Vacations, most travel and social events are cancelled, and working from home has become mandatory in some cases. University classes and even some churches can only be attended ‘on-line’. Distancing has become the word of the day for the foreseeable weeks. It is “hunker-down-time”.

           This enforced relief from the ordinary rush of our daily lives may feel like a novelty for a time, but becoming a couch-potato can be debilitating. It is a bit too early to start a garden, but it might be an opportunity to try something new in your kitchen and surprise your family with something delectable.

          Our early spring is still cool enough to savor a hearty soup, especially one that improves with reheating and can provide multiple meals.

                             Portuguese black bean soup.

          Rinse ¾ lb. black beans, cover with cold water and bring to boil in a pot for 2 minutes. Set aside for 1 hour, drain and set aside. (Alternative: soak beans in cold water overnight). In a 4 qt. pot sauté chopped: 1 onion, 1 stalk celery, 1 carrot and 4 cloves of garlic in 1 tblsp. olive oil for 5 minutes. (If available – include a ham hock or ham bone.) Stir in: 1 tsp. oregano, 1 tsp. thyme, 5 cloves, 1 bay leaf, 6 peppercorns, 2 tsp salt, 1 16 oz. can chopped tomatoes or 8 oz tomato sauce and 4-5 cups water. Bring to boil and cook for 45 min. to 1 hour until beans are soft. Remove any ham bones and bay leaf. Stir in 1 ½ cups chopped chorizo, 2 tblsp. red wine vinegar and 1 tblsp. balsamic vinegar (optional). Serve hot with finely chopped chives or parsley on top.

          Dishes combining pasta and greens have a certain eye appeal, so I was recently intrigued by a recipe in Food & Wine magazine that combined pasta with radicchio. Unfortunately, the heavy cream and abundance of cheese in that recipe were designed for a lumberjack diner. Here is a slimmed down version for 2.

                             Baked pasta with radicchio

          Cook 2 cups short tube pasta or small shells in salted boiling water, drain saving 1 cup of the water and set aside. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large high-sided skillet sauté ½ thinly sliced red onion in 1 tblsp. olive oil and 1 tsp. butter for 10 minutes. Stir in: ½ small head radicchio thinly sliced, 1 chopped clove garlic, ½ tsp. salt and 2 tsp. red wine vinegar. Continue stirring and cook for 1 minute until radicchio is wilted. Stir in 1 tblsp. flour and the reserved pasta water making a sauce on low heat. Remove from stove  and stir in: ¾  cup cottage cheese, 2 oz. shredded Assiago cheese and the reserved pasta. Mix well and toss with 1 ½ cups diced smoked farmer’s sausage (or torn small pieces of 4 oz. prosciutto). Transfer to a greased deep pie dish and sprinkle with 1 oz shredded Gruyêre. Bake for 30 minutes until lightly browned. Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

          Spring will come and this too shall pass!

          (I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)

A RETRO-DINNER

A Retro-Dinner

          The burgeoning cookbook market and mad pace at which restaurant chefs compete with each other for new novelty recipes and taste combinations occasionally sends the home cook on a nostalgia trip.  A recent overnight visit from one of our sons gently nudged me in that direction.

The dinner had to be gluten free so after some Roquefort with rice crackers and a curried pumpkin bisque (nod to more current cuisine) we settled in for a homey dinner of cabbage rolls. An unlikely offering to be encountered in trendy big-city restaurants, but something he could remember from his growing-up years.

          Beef Cabbage Rolls

Lightly core a small head of green cabbage. To remove and soften the leaves immerse the cabbage in a pot with boiling salted water for 2-3 minutes, turning the cabbage head if the water does not completely cover it. Carefully remove the hot softened leaves and repeat the process until you have all the softened leaves. Do not discard the water. In a medium bowl mix: 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. salt, ½ medium onion finely chopped, pepper to taste, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce, ½ tsp. sugar and 1 lb. lean ground beef. Chop 2 large onions and set aside. In another bowl mix: 16 oz tomato sauce with 6 oz tomato paste, ¼ tsp. pepper, 1 tsp. salt, 2 tsp. sugar, 2 tblsp. vinegar, 1 tblsp. Worcestershire sauce and 1-2 cups of the reserved water. In a 3-4 quart pot put in ½ of the chopped onions and spread with some sauce to cover. To assemble the cabbage rolls:

Place a spoonful of the meat mixture on the thickest end of a softened cabbage leaf and fold the rest of the leaf around it as an envelope or a packet and place seam down in the pot. Continue placing additional rolls adjacent until the bottom of the pot is covered. Spread the rest of the onions on top and another thin layer of the sauce. Apply another layer of rolls and sauce until all the meat is used. Any left-over cabbage leaves can be thinly sliced and layered on top. The final layer should be the tomato sauce and any additional cabbage water to cover. Bring the pot to boil, partially cover and simmer for 2 hours, making sure that enough liquid remains to cover the cabbage rolls. Can be made ahead and the flavor will improve on reheating. Serve with dilled boiled potatoes.

          Retro-dinners deserve a retro-desert. When the boys were growing up, time in the kitchen was a premium. Tapioca pudding was a frequent desert at our house, since it was quick to make and could be varied with different toppings of fruit or jam. And these days it has the added premium of being gluten-free. A cranberry-pear topping made a colorful and tart topping.

 

                             Fluffy Tapioca Pudding

          In a medium pot lightly beat 2 egg yolks (set aside the whites in a small bowl) with ¼ cup sugar, 4 ½ tblsp. tapioca and 3 cups milk and allow to sit of 5 minutes. Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until soft peaks form and slowly beat in 4 tblsp. sugar until the eggs form stiff peaks.  Heat the milk and tapioca mixture on medium heat with constant stirring until the mixture comes to a full boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp. either vanilla or almond extract and thoroughly fold in the beaten egg whites. Allow to cool for at least 20 minutes before spooning in serving dishes. Parfait glasses are particularly nice for this, if you wish to add a spoonful of the topping in the bottom before filling and the just add a spoonful of the topping at the time of serving. Chill for several hours or overnight.

                             Cranberry-Pear Topping

          In a small pot bring to boil 1 cup washed fresh cranberries, 1/3 cup water, 1/3 cup sugar, 1 cored and peeled pear diced, 3 strips of lemon zest and 1 star-anise seed (optional). Cook on medium heat for 15 minutes until all the fruit is soft. Chill and use with the pudding or topping for any other desert or even French Toast.

          Groceries love to promote cabbage during March for St. Patrick’s Day. A true Irishman would never sanction this, but cabbage rolls could make an alternative for the traditional fare for that day. Naturally, Guinness and Jameson’s can have NO! alternative choices.

         

(I. Winicov Harrington lives in coastal Maine and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00 a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)