recipes
for glacier grist Issue #14
vegetarian borscht, deconstructed
This recipe was inspired by a traditional version in Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors
Like many soups, this one tastes even yummier the day after you make it, when the flavors have had time to meld and deepen. You can make a big batch, and then freeze half of the soup. Just thaw it out next time you have beets to add!
½ cup (about 1 ounce) dried porcini mushrooms
3 large onions
3 or 4 small russet potatoes, peeled (about ¾ pound)
4 celery ribs
3 carrots
finely chopped parsley
3 bay leaves
8 garlic cloves, chopped
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
2 parsnips or turnips (about ¾ pound)
1 tablespoon olive oil
4-5 cups shredded green cabbage
1 cup fresh or canned diced tomatoes
2 cups cooked chickpeas (see recipe, below)
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1 ½ pounds beets, peeled
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1. Cover the dried porcinis with 2 cups warm water and set them aside while you make a quick vegetable stock. If you prefer to use chickpea cooking water (I do, if I have it!), skip to step 3.
2. Wash all the soup vegetables thoroughly since you’ll be using the trimmings. Put the following trimmings in a pot with 2 bay leaves, 4 garlic cloves, 1/2 a chopped onion, and 1 teaspoon salt: potato peels, celery tips and leaves, carrot ends, and parsley stems. Cover with 12 cups water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer while you chop the vegetables for the soup.
3. Finely dice the onion. Chop the celery into ½-inch pieces. Dice the carrot into ¼-inch pieces. Peel the turnips or parsnips and dice into ½-inch pieces. Dice the peeled potatoes.
4. Heat a large soup pot and add the onion, celery, carrot, parsnip or turnip, potatoes, cabbage, and remaining garlic. Toss with 1 teaspoon salt, cover, and cook over medium heat until the vegetables have wilted, about 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, peel and cut the beets into long, thin batons. Steam them in a steamer basket until tender. The time will vary—anywhere between 15 to 30 minutes. You can also use roasted beets, if you make them ahead of time (recipe below).
6. Add the tomatoes and remaining bay leaf to the soup. Chop the soaked mushrooms and add them, along with their soaking liquid, to the pot. Strain the vegetable trimmings out of the stock, then add the stock (or the chickpea cooking broth) to the pot of vegetables and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas. Taste for salt and season with pepper. It will taste even better if you make this the day before you’re planning to eat it!
7. When the beets are tender, put them in a medium-sized bowl and add the red wine vinegar, horseradish, and enough salt to season well. Toss well.
8. When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Top with a big scoop of the beet salad and a sprinkling of parsley.
chickpeas & their stock
Two cups of dried chickpeas will make something like 4 to 5 cups of cooked chickpeas, so it’ll make more than enough for the borscht. So if you make a big batch (8 or 10 cups’ worth), just scoop out what you need for this soup, then freeze the rest in labeled containers. Use the cooking liquid for soup stock!
sea salt or kosher salt
2 cups dried chickpeas
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 bay leaf
1. Rinse the chickpeas in a colander. Dissolve 3 tablespoons salt in 4 quarts cold water in large bowl or container. Add chickpeas and soak, at room temperature, for at least 8 and up to 24 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2. Put the chickpeas in a pot and cover with cold water by a couple of inches. Add the quartered onion, garlic, and bay leaves, making sure the water covers the onions. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, until the beans are tender. This could take 30 minutes to 1½ hours, depending on the size of the beans and how old they are. The brining step really shortens the cooking time—so start checking at 30 or 40 minutes.
3. When the beans are tender enough to easily squish between your tongue and the roof of your mouth, turn the heat off. If you have time, let the beans sit in their liquid with the aromatics until cool. Remove the quartered onions and whole garlic cloves and discard. Drain the chickpeas, RESERVING THE LIQUID. Use this liquid for your borscht!
roasted beets
whole, unpeeled beets
Preheat oven to 400, or whatever is convenient, and put whole, unpeeled beets in a dutch oven and put ¼” of water in the dish. Cover tightly and bake them until tender when stabbed with a paring knife (40 minutes or longer). Remove from the oven. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip their skins off.
soy-glazed yams or sweet potatoes
This recipe is another winner based on one from Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors
3 large yams or sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese rice wine)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons soy sauce
¼ cup water
for garnish: 1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted in a skillet until golden brown (optional, but nice)
1. Scrub the yams/sweet potatoes and cut them lengthwise into quarters. Place them in a greased baking sheet or baking dish large enough to hold them in a single layer.
2. Combine the rest of the ingredients except the sesame seeds. Brush all of the resulting sauce over the yams/sweet potatoes, then cover the dish tightly with foil. Place in a COLD oven, and turn the oven to 400 degrees.
3. Bake until nearly tender; this will probably take at least an hour. Remove the foil, baste the yams/sweet potatoes with their juices, and return to the oven until the liquid has reduced to a glaze and the potatoes are fully tender, 15 to 2o minutes longer. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.
kale with red beans, cilantro & (optional) feta
To continue the theme, this recipe is similar to one in Deborah Madison’s Local Flavors
the beans
3 cups dried red kidney beans, soaked for 4 hours or overnight
1 onion, quartered
4 to 6 peeled garlic cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme leaves, fresh or dried
the greens
1 onion, finely diced
1-2 large bunches kale (use your beet greens to make up the other bunch!)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 ½ cups chopped cilantro
3 to 6 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (optional)
sea salt or kosher salt and freshly-ground pepper
1. Drain the beans, cover them with cold water to cover by at least an inch, and add the quartered onion, whole garlic cloves, bay leaves and thyme. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until tender—maybe 1 hour or 1 ½ hours. When they are done, just turn off the heat and let them sit in their cooking water—all afternoon if you like—the beans will soak the oniony and garlicky flavors from the broth and get even yummier and plumper. Whatever you do, do NOT drain the beans. This broth is gold! If you don’t use it all in this dish, use it in anything else that calls for vegetable stock or broth. When you’re ready to use the beans, remove and discard the quartered onion, garlic cloves and bay leaves.
2. Slice the kale and beet leaves from their stems, chop coarsely into 1- or 2-inch pieces and rinse well. Bring a few quarts of water to a boil, add salt and kale. Simmer until tender, at least 5 to 7 minutes. Scoop into a colander to drain. Cook the beet greens next, but they’ll cook much more quickly.
3. Heat the oil in a wide skillet. Add the diced onion, ½ teaspoon of salt, and 1 cup of the cilantro. Cook over medium-high heat until the onion has softened and is starting to brown, about 10 minutes, then add the kale and the beans with enough of the cooking liquid so that there’s plenty of sauce. I like it pretty saucy. Simmer together for at least 10 minutes, season with salt and pepper, then serve garnished with the optional crumbled feta cheese and the remaining cilantro.
4. Serve this with a side of garlic-rubbed toast (whole-wheat sourdough toast is our favorite!), or pile the beans and greens on top of the toast.