BREAKFAST KALE, SWEDISH MEATBALLS AND STRUDEL

                    Breakfast kale, Swedish meatballs and Strudel

 

          If you are not exhilarated playing in the fresh snow or careening down ski slopes, the week between Christmas and New Years is a time of relative quiet after joyous excitement of holidays. For the home cook it is a time to resurrect favorite dishes from the past or envision a new one from ingredients on hand. 

                                  Breakfast kale with eggs and pancetta

          Unusual and healthy gluten free breakfasts are a challenge. Eggs are a mainstay for those and this version with kale is both satisfying and filling.

          Wash and de-rib 1 bunch of Lacinato or other kale and roughly slice the leaves into bitesize shreds. Sauté 2 oz. pancetta on medium heat for 5 minutes and drain on paper towel. Add 1 tbsp. olive oil to the pan and stir fry the kale with 1 medium thinly sliced onion, 1 tsp. salt and ¼ tsp. red pepper flakes until wilted. Stir in ¼ cup apple cider vinegar and ¼ cup water and pancetta. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in ½ cup heavy cream and with a spoon make 4 depressions in the kale, break an egg in each depression and cook until the eggs are set. To set the top of the eggs cover the pan briefly. Sprinkle the cooked dish with shredded sharp cheddar cheese and serve hot.

          For many years our traditional Christmas eve dinner was Swedish meatballs until other tempting dishes replaced it. Swedish meatballs is a lovely comfort food that needed to be resurrected in the current cold snap in Maine.

                                              Swedish meatballs

          Soak ¼ cup dry unseasoned breadcrumbs with ½ cup half-and-half.  Stir in 1 beaten egg, 1 tsp. salt, ½ tsp. pepper, ½ tsp. cardamom, ½ tsp. nutmeg, ¼ tsp. allspice. Finely chop 1 medium onion, sauté onion in 1 tbsp. butter 3-4 minutes, cool slightly and stir in the bread mixture. Add 1 lb. meatloaf type beef, pork and veal mix blending ingredients thoroughly with your hands. Chill for 20 minutes. Form small meatballs by rolling the mixture in your hands and fry in batches in 3 tbsp. butter to brown. Keep the fried meatballs warm. Wipe out the pan. Melt 3 tbsp. butter, stir in 3 tbsp. flour to make a roux and cook for 2 minutes to incorporate all the flour, then slowly stir in 2 cups chicken broth to make the gravy. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and return the meatballs to the pan. Cook on low heat for 5 minutes, stir in ¼ cup sour cream and serve hot on boiled potatoes or pasta.

          Strudel is one of those quintessential German and Austrian foods that one associates with cold winters, warm fires and general contentment. The rest of fresh pumpkin from my pumpkin gratin served to make pumpkin strudel. Since at the time I also made an apple strudel, here is my combined apple and pumpkin strudel recipe. Both are delicious.

                                              Apple or pumpkin strudel

          Thaw a package of phyllo dough according to package instructions. Assemble all ingredients beforehand since phyllo dough dries rapidly and needs rapid handling. Peel, core and slice both apple and pumpkin in ¼ inch thick pieces about ½ inch in diameter to make 1 ½ cups each. Toss both pumpkin and apples with 1 tbsp. lemon juice. For each strudel set aside ¾ cup raisins and ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans. For each strudel mix together: ¾ cups sugar, 1 tsp. cinnamon, ¼ tsp. nutmeg, 1/3 tsp. cloves and ½ tsp. lemon peel. Open a container of unseasoned fine breadcrumbs. Melt 8 tbsp. unsalted butter for 2 strudel.

          Assemble on a damp kitchen towel, keeping the unused phyllo lightly covered with another damp towel. Spread 3 sheets of the phyllo dough on the damp towel, brush the entire surface lightly with butter, sprinkle with 1 tbsp. breadcrumbs, spread out 1/3 of the apple or pumpkin, 1/3 raisins and nuts and sprinkle with 1/3 of the sugar mix. Layer with 3 sheets more phyllo and repeat the process twice. Fold back an inch of the short end of the dough. Using the towel, wrap the whole package lengthwise in a jelly roll form. Transfer to a baking sheet and brush the entire strudel with lots of melted butter. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes. Cool before slicing. Will keep carefully wrapped in aluminum foil and frozen.

Happy New Year!

 (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)