SEASON FOR PUMPKINS, MUSHROOMS AND APPLES

 

                Season for pumpkins, mushrooms and apples

           The supermarket isles continue to feature berries, vegetables and greens throughout the cold months, giving the home cook limitless possibilities for meals regardless of season. However, the home cook values the fresh produce locally in season and relishes seasonal recipes that emphasize our connection to the annual cycles of mother nature.

          Pumpkins decorate our homes in Oktober, butt were bred as sturdy winter squash with good keeping quality for centuries. We all savor pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving, but other dishes with pumpkin are less common. Years ago, I discovered a delicious pumpkin gratin recipe in a French Bistro cookbook and a lovely old German grandmother taught me how to make pumpkin strudel. My friend Ingrid first introduced me to “Pumpkin, bean and sausage soup” several years ago and it has graced our table every fall since then. Cooking with pumpkin is commonly done with the canned variety, unsuitable for either gratin or strudel, but even the following soup will benefit by baking a pie pumpkin and scraping out the colorful flesh for the soup. 

                                Pumpkin, white bean and Linguica soup

          Halve a small pie pumpkin, scoop out the seeds and wipe the cut surfaces with vegetable oil. Place pumpkin cut side down on a rimmed baking pan and bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. When cooled, scrape out the flesh and mash or puree with some chicken or vegetable broth to a thick vibrant yellow puree.

          Soak ½ cup cannellini in cold water overnight, drain and cook 40 minutes with a bay leaf and 4 cloves and save for the soup. Alternatively drain two 15 oz cans cannellini for the soup. Remove the casing from one linguica sausage, slice thinly and set aside.

          Sauté ½ cup chopped onion and 3 minced garlic cloves in 1 tbsp. olive oil and 1 tbsp. butter for 5 minutes, stir in 1 cup finely chopped mushrooms, 1 tbsp. oregano, 2 cups of the pumpkin puree, 4 cups chicken broth, drained cannellini without cloves and bay leaf, Linguica, 1 cup edamame or small frozen Lima beans. Bring to boil and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes. Stir in 1 cup half-and-half and simmer for 15 minutes with stirring. Serve warm garnished with chopped parsley.

          Fall is the optimal time for gathering wild mushrooms in the woods or looking for them in farmer’s markets. Many supermarkets have added shitake and several other kinds to their displays and there are always dried wild mushrooms in a pinch.

                                      Hungarian mushroom soup

          This recipe was adapted from “Food and Wine”, filled with umami flavors. Soak 2 oz dried porcini and shitake in hot water for 30 minutes. Remove mushrooms and chop in bite size pieces, discarding the tough stems of shitake. Strain the soaking liquid through a paper towel lined sieve and set aside.

          Sauté 1 chopped medium onion in 3 tbsp. butter with 8 oz sliced fresh mushrooms and 1 tsp. kosher salt for 8 minutes. Stir in 3 tbsp. flour (rice flour for GF), 1 tsp. thyme, 3 minced garlic cloves and 2 tsp. Hungarian sweet paprika. Stir on low heat until flour is well distributed and gradually add 4 cups of chicken broth and the strained mushroom liquid. Add 1 ½ tbsp. Worcestershire sauce, bring to boil, set heat to medium low, add the rehydrated mushrooms and cook until the soup is thickened for about 20 minutes. Stir in ¼ cup heavy cream. Dilute ¼ cup sour cream with 3 tbsp. simmering broth and add this to the soup as well as 2 tbsp. chopped dill. Serve hot garnished with fresh dill. 

                                              Apple and walnut pie

          Line a 9-inch pie plate with pre-made crust from the Deli. In a small bowl stir together ½ cup flour, 1/3 cup brown sugar, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, ½ tsp. cinnamon and with a pastry cutter blend in ¼ cup cold butter. Stir ¼ cup Grape nuts in the crumble.

          Pare, core and slice 3-4 large apples. Combine ¼ cup sugar with 1 tbsp. flour and spread over the pie crust. Layer ½ of the sliced apples over the sugar, cover with a layer of chopped walnuts and top with the remaining apples. Sift ½ cup sugar over the apples and then cover evenly with streusel.

          Bake in 450-degree preheated oven for 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350 degrees and continue to bake for 35 minutes more. Cool for 2-3 hours before cutting. 

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

 

FOND FAREWELL TO SUMMER

 

                                Fond Farewell to summer

 

          We are already in October, but mother nature only seems to flirt with the approach of autumn, with alternating days of chill winds, followed by a spate of sunny warm days interrupted     in turn by unseasonable heat. Still, there are no complaints since the farmer’s markets brim not only with the expected mounds of colorful winter squash, cabbage, cauliflower and eggplant, but also maintain a good supply of string beans, corn, heirloom tomatoes and even strawberries.

 

                                                         Caprese salad

Slice a large heirloom tomatoes, garnish with fresh basil leaves and pitted Kalamata olives. Scatter a couple of ounces of fresh mozzarella torn in bite size pieces on top. Splash some olive oil and balsamic vinegar on top and serve.

                                                 Blackened salmon

          preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lay ¾ or 1 lb. of salmon, preferably with skin, on a baking pan lined with non-stick aluminum foil large enough to wrap the salmon. Prepare the salmon rub by stirring together: 1 ½ -3 tsp. chipotle chili powder depending on the amount of heat desired, ½ tsp. powdered garlic, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. brown sugar and ½ tsp. lemon pepper.

          Brush salmon with olive oil and lime juice. Spread the rub evenly on salmon, pressing down lightly to adhere to the fish. Allow to sit at room temperature for 10 minutes, close the foil securely around the fish and bake at 375 degrees for 12 minutes. If the salmon is very thick, increase the baking time to 14-15 minutes. Remove from oven, carefully open up the foil and return the fish to the broiler for 2 minutes. Transfer the salmon on a serving platter and let it rest for 5 minutes. Serve pieces of fish with colorful vegetables and lemon wedges on the side.

                                         Portuguese string beans

          Blanch 1 lb. fresh trimmed and washed string beans in salted water by cooking for 3 minutes. Cut the cooled beans in 1-inch pieces. Sauté 1 medium chopped onion in a 2-3 qt. pot for 5 minutes on medium heat, stir in 2 minced garlic cloves and cook for an additional 2 minutes. Stir in 8 oz. tomato sauce, ¼ cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes, ¾ cups beef broth, ½ tsp. salt, ¼ tsp. pepper and ¼ tsp. smoked paprika. Bring to boil and cook partially covered on medium heat for 30 minutes, maintaining beans fully covered by adding more broth as needed.

          It may seem incongruous to bid such a fond farewell to summer when the culinary world is focused on October Fest, but there is still the rest of October to satisfy our cravings for seasonal German fare.

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