SMOKED DUCK SOUP ANYONE/

 

                        Smoked duck soup anyone?

           Holidays invariably leave us with some leftovers, whether they be turkey, lamb, ham or in my case this year – smoked duck!  Like any thrifty cook, when faced with bones and a bit of meat, the urge is to look for a large pot to hold the bones, trimmings and search for complementary vegetables and carbs to create soup. Before you dismiss the following recipe as irrelevant unless you happen to have a smoked duck, it will undoubtedly serve well using a hambone or even turkey, though the latter may need some flavor adjustments with a dab of liquid smoke.

          Making soup with leftover bones from a duck requires a multiple step cooking plan;  First cook the bones with onions and some flavoring agents, pick meat off the bones that may be included in the soup, strain the liquid and refrigerate it to solidify the fat for easy removal and finally finish the soup with vegetables and carbs before serving. This may sound long, but the hands on time is quite reasonable when you do not count the 2-hr. cooking and overnight refrigeration time. The result is an incredibly rich and flavorful soup, well worth the effort. Any leftover lean meat makes wonderful sandwiches.

                                Smoked duck soup with mushrooms and barley.

          Stock. In a 4 qt. pot combine: duck bones and trimmings; 1 peeled halved onion, 2 peeled parsnips, 3 peeled garlic cloves, one stalk of celery with leaves, 1 bay leaf, 2 tsp, thyme, ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes,1 tsp. celery seed, 2 tblsp. double strength tomato paste, 6 cloves and 1 tsp. salt. Cover with water, bring to boil and simmer covered for 2 hours. When slightly cooled, remove parsnips, cut in bite sized pieces and place in a large bowl. Pick any lean meat from the bones, add to the parsnips and discard the bones. Strain the liquid through a sieve over the parsnips and meat and refrigerate.

          Soup prep. Wash ½ cup barley in 3 changes of water. Place in a small pot, add ½ tsp. salt, cover with 3 inches of water, cook for 30 minutes and then drain off any liquid. While barley is cooking, soak 3 oz. wild and 4 wood ear mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes. Remove mushrooms from liquid and cut them into bite size pieces. Strain liquid in a sieve lined with a paper towel and reserve for soup. Peel and dice two large carrots and cut 6 sundried tomatoes into julienne slices.

          Remove stock from refrigerator.  It will be rich enough to have a partially jellied texture, skim and discard the solidified fat from the top and return to the cooking pot. Add vegetables, mushroom liquid and barley, bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup of frozen peas, cook an additional 5 minutes, stir in 2 tblsp. red wine vinegar and adjust salt flavoring. Serve hot in shallow bowls. Can be reheated multiple times or frozen for later use.

           Savory buttered scones make a wonderful accompaniment to this soup. They also work well as sliced small sandwiches for any leftover smoked duck.

                                         Savory cheese and pecan scones.

          In a food processor pulse together: 3 cups flour, 1 tsp. salt, 1 tbslp. baking powder, ½ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. paprika. Add 1 and ½ sticks of butter cut in tablespoon sized pieces and pulse until butter is incorporated in rice sized crumbles. Transfer mix to a large bowl and toss with 2/3 cup chopped pecans, 2/3 cup grated Gruyère and ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese. In a small bowl combine 1 cup buttermilk

with 1 tblsp. thyme and 2 tsp. oregano and pour the whole in a depression made in the flour mix. Quickly mix the dough just until moistened, kneed on a board with a bit of flour and divide in half.  Flatten each half in a large 1-inch-thick circle on a parchment lined pan and divide the circle into 6 even wedges. Brush all with additional buttermilk and sprinkle with white or black sesame seeds.  Bake in a pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.  

          To quote a trite question from my husband: “Do you need to serve this soup with ’quackers?” The answer is up to you. 

   (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)

 

 

 

THE MANY GUISES OF PILAF

                                            The many guises of Pilaf

           The home cooks’ thoughts inevitably go to ham or lamb for the upcoming Easter dinner.  Even with my unorthodox choice of smoked duck as a substitute this year, rice pilaf will be an excellent and tasty choice as a side dish to any of these.

          Considerable debate remains to this day about the origins of pilaf, whether it came from India or Middle East Muslim cooking. In either case, pilaf is a rice or wheat dish that includes vegetables, meats, nuts and fruit, and is cooked so that the grains do not adhere to each other. Today there are five broad schools of pilaf cooking: Central Asian, Iranian, Indian, Turkish and Caribbean.

          The texture of pilaf is of utmost importance. Unlike risottos and puddings that depend on their creamy texture, pilaf should retain the texture of the individual grains after cooking. Thus, before cooking, the rice is washed in several changes of water to remove surface starch of the grains that contribute to stickiness. Central Asian pilafs are heartier and contain meat, Caribbean pilafs often contain seafood. In contrast old Persian (modern Turkey) recipes favor a lighter aromatic approach by addition of fruit and nuts. My following recipe for rice pilaf fits into that tradition as a side dish to strong flavored meat.

                                      Safron rice pilaf with nuts and currants

          In a large bowl wash one and half cups of Basmati (or long grain rice) in 3 changes of water, drain in a sieve and set aside. Chop ½ large onion and dice 1 medium carrot. Lightly toast ½ cup pine nuts in a pan over medium heat and set aside.

          Melt 2 tblsp. butter in a 3 quart pot with a tight fitting lid and sauté the onion and carrot for 5 minutes on medium heat without allowing to brown. Stir in the washed rice to coat for 1 minute. Stir in 2 ¼ cups chicken broth, ¼ cup dried currants, 1 bay leaf, 2 thin strips of lemon peel and ½ tsp. saffron threads. Bring all to boil, turn heat to simmer, cover and cook for 20 minutes.  Stir in the toasted pine nuts and remove from heat. Cover until serving and stir in another tblsp. butter before serving in a bowl garnished with a bit of finely chopped Italian parsley. This reheats well in the microwave.

          Wheat grain pilaf is favored by many in India and elsewhere. Another interesting source for gluten free pilaf besides rice is roasted buckwheat groats, or kasha. Kasha mixed with ground beef is sometimes considered Ukrainian comfort food. Kasha also is highly favored in Russia and is the basis for a tasty Jewish dish called Varnishkas. The grain holds up well and has a slightly nutty flavor that blends well with vegetables in a pilaf.

                                                  Roasted kasha pilaf

          Prepare the following: ½ cup chopped onion, 1 cup coarsely chopped fresh mushrooms, 1 diced medium carrot, ½ cup seeded and diced red pepper, 6 sundried tomatoes cut in julienne strips, 2 chopped garlic cloves. Set 2 cups chicken broth to heat in a small pot.

          Melt 2 tblsp. butter in a 3-quart pot with a tight-fitting cover and sauté the chopped onion, mushrooms, carrot and diced pepper for 5 minutes and garlic for another minute. Add 1 cup roasted kasha and stir to coat all the grains for another minute. Add 2 cups heated chicken broth, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper, bring to boil then reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 10 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed. Stir in ½ cup slivered almonds and 2 tblsp. chopped Italian parsley.  Serve as a luncheon dish with a green salad or a side dish with meat or fish. It keeps well for another meal reheated in the microwave.

          Pilaf cooking can become a treasure hunt for flavors to build with a variety of ingredients limited only by your imagination or ingredients at hand. Happy Easter and Passover or just enjoy pilaf and tempt your taste buds with new experiences.

    (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”; and "Uncharted Journey from Riga". website: www.winicov-harrington.com)