vegetarian « DinnerCakes

More Cabbage (Roasted Stuffed Turnips)

November 14th, 2008

by Chef Edwin

It’s a cold wet day here in DinnerCakes land. Perfect for staying indoors to cook; and I use the term ‘perfect’ loosely. I hate the cold. Hate it. People who love winter are nuts to me. It’s only November and I’m counting down the days till May. Yeah the whole snowy landscape looks charming an wondrous; but that’s just until you get outside and you realize you’re freezing and you can’t feel your face. But I digress…

I volunteer at a cooking store in Bethesda every now and then called L’Academie de Cuisine. I’m not “living the dream” of quitting my job and becoming a full time chef (let’s face it people, dreams don’t usually translate well to real life), but working there as an assistant gets me some great exposure to different kinds of cooking along with meeting a wide variety of chefs. Recently I volunteered for a class under Christine Ilich in which we made some really great soups (which I will have to write about some time). She was great to work under and really emphasized variation and adaptation with cooking. We actually didn’t completely follow any recipe passed out to the attendants that day and the soups were still amazingly tasty. A true sign of culinary prowess.

Christine had brought some vegetables from her personal garden for the class and some of them just weren’t used. I, never one to turn down free food, gladly took these off her hands (score). One of the things I took back with me were a couple of turnips. Turnips, it turns out, are part of the cabbage family. So if cabbage is the black sheep of my made-up lettuce family, then turnip is like the uncle that you never call. You never talk about turnip. You know he’s there, but you consider it a good year when you’ve minimized your time with him as much of possible. However, I am not one to waste food. Ever. Unless it is spoiling, by god, I will find a use for it!

Smitten Kitchen has this excellent post for roasted stuffed onions. These things are amazing. I have often just eaten them as the main (and only) dish for dinner. Screw chicken, man, just give me another friggin’ onion. Inspired by Christine Ilich’s excellent soup variations and by Smitten Kitchen’s mouth watering onions, I decided to try my own adaptation.

Looking back, I would have added some more seasoning. These things are good, but nowhere up to the level that is the roasted stuffed onions.

Roasted Stuffed Onions
adapted (loosely) from Smitten Kitchen
3-4 turnips
1 celery stalk; chopped
2 garlic cloves; minced
2 cups roasted bread roughly the size of crutons (or croutons)
1 onion; chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
8oz baby spinach; coarsely chopped
1 cup peas; frozen or fresh
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tablespoons butter; melted

Preheat the oven to 400°F.

Prepping the turnips
Scrub the turnips. If old (rough, brown skin), peel them. Cut off the tops and bottoms, about a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch. Core the turnips using a melon baller (it’s really easy). Leave a 1/4 to 1/2 an inch thick wall. Try not to go through the bottom, but don’t lose any sleep over it if you do. Take the “innards” and roughly chop them, then combine with a 2 tablespoons of oil and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Place on a baking sheet with the hollowed turnips and let roast for 20 minutes.

The filling
Prepare a heat-proof bowl with the spinach, bread, stock and melted butter. Once the turnips are out of the oven, reset the oven to 350°F. Saute the onion, celery, garlic and turnip “innards” until soft; approximately 5 minutes. Add to the prepared bowl and mix together.

Stuff the turnips with the filling. If you have extra, no worries. Throw it in the pan as bedding. It’ll still be quite tasty. Roast the turnips for 20-25 minutes, until the turnips are softened, slightly browned.

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Winning Over Skeptics Everywhere – Spicy Lentil Walnut Burgers

November 13th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

Without a doubt, this is my favorite dinner in the rotation.

At first I was skeptical. I’ve never been a crazy lentil-lover like Edwin. And as I’ve hinted, despite my passion for cooking and baking, my palate isn’t terribly adventurous! When Edwin gets excited and exclaims to me that he found green candied cherries for baking Christmas cookies, I respond with, “bleh!” When my husband suggests to me that I make a fajita for lunch using leftovers, I look at him with horror (I don’t really like eating leftover meat… it’s a weird thing, I know).

So, when searching my favorite, tried and true cookbook for something new and delicious, my eyes only lingered over “Lentil-Walnut Burgers” long enough to conjure images of frozen veggie burgers and strike fear into my heart. The next time I picked the book up I paused over this recipe again, considering it. And so it went like this for a few weeks until I finally found the courage to dive in.

This story also illustrates a fact about me that friends over the years have found enormous pleasure in teasing me about – apparently, if there’s ever something that I react to immediately with vehement hate, chances are in time I’ll grow to be head over heels in love with it. I’ll never admit this to be true, but I can’t exactly say they’re wrong either…

Ghost Baker’s Favorite Dinner, Putting the Spice in Spicy:

I’ve made this recipe several times since the first time, and I’ve even made it for dinner guests. Be warned that my recipe for these little dinner cakes is spicy! I adore spicy food and lots of garlic, but I do like to serve them with milk. I add two more cloves of garlic than the original recipe calls for, as well as more red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

I also love the texture – they should be just a tad crumbly and grainy. The second time I made them I mixed the ingredients a little too much and I think you lose something. The recipe says to use a food processor; however I don’t have one and I don’t think one is absolutely necessary (again, you don’t want to over-blend). It also suggests serving with a yogurt-cilantro sauce, but I don’t do cilantro.

My husband enjoys these burgers with the same accoutrements you would add to a hamburger, I like mine plain on the bun, and one of my dinner guests once asked for cheese on his – so have fun with it! We typically accompany these with a side of Szechuan green beans or couscous.

*Note – I would have taken a photo of all four burgers together with some toppings and sides, but when I turned around I caught a glimpse of my husband running into the other room with a burger in one hand yelling, “Take a photo of THIS!” and stuffing it into his mouth…

Spicy Lentil-Walnut Burgers
adapted from Everyday Food: Great Food Fast

Makes 4 burgers (serves 4), Prep time about 40 min, Cook time about 20 min

3/4 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed
3/4 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
5 garlic cloves, minced (or use a garlic press)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 large egg
4 Hamburger buns

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Place lentils in a small saucepan, cover with an inch of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover, and cook until the lentils are tender but holding their shape, 15 to 20 minutes (it’s important that you don’t overcook them and make lentil-mush). Drain and cool.

Meanwhile, spread the chopped walnuts on a baking sheet to toast in the oven for about 10 minutes. They should be a little darker and very fragrant. Set the walnuts aside to cool.

When the walnuts have cooled I like to chop them a little more finely. Then combine them in a large bowl along with the breadcrumbs, garlic, cumin, coriander (if you have whole instead of ground, just put them in a plastic bag and crush with the flat side of a meat tenderizer or even a can), red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Mix with a wooden spoon. It should appear finely ground except for some pieces of walnut.

Add the lentils and 1 tablespoons of the oil. Don’t be afraid to be a little rough in your mixing – the contents of the bowl should appear chopped and fully incorporated but with some lentils remaining whole.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and add it to the lentil mixture. Mix well, but be careful here not to mix it into mush. Divide it into 4 equal-size parts and roll into balls; flatten with the palm of your hand into 3/4-inch-thick patties.

Heat a large nonstick skillet and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of oil. Add the burgers and cook over medium-low heat until crisp and browned, turning carefully with a thin-edged spatula, 8 to 10 minutes per side. Do not turn more frequently or else they will start to crumble. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain any excess oil.

Add to your bun and serve!

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An Adventure In Cabbage (Cabbage Rolls)

November 8th, 2008

by Chef Edwin

Good. Lord. it’sbeenalongexhaustingweek. Sometimes I think I’m too awesome; that I have too much amazing for even me to contain. Then I laugh and remember who we’re talking about here. But I digress. In short, this was a long work week with a lot going on and not a whole lot of time. No cooking, no baking. Just salads, leftovers, and take out (once). Sadness.

Friday was well received. No plans. No commitments. No obligations. No nothing.

I had recently signed up for produce delivery service from Washington’s Green Grocer. Sadly, I had to cancel their service. The produce was great, but with demanding schedule a few too many items were spoiling before I could get to them. Alas. Perhaps some day in the future…

My last delivery with them included a large head of cabbage. I’ve never done much with cabbage, considering it to be the disappointing child of some kind of lettuce family (“Your brother Romaine made an excellent salad today. Why can’t you be more like him?”). This is probably heavily biased from my childhood when my mother would cook red cabbage in traditional German style. There was no escape from the horrid smell emanating from the kitchen. Guh.

Doing a little research on cabbage I eventually came across a dish called dolma; a rolled or stuffed cabbage. Remembering my recent discovery of the awesomeness that are stuffed grape leaves, I found my Friday plans. I decided to prepare a quasi-indian meal and create a rolled cabbage recipe from scratch (with a little inspiration from the wonder that is the internet).

Overall, I was pretty happy with the results of my concoction. The filling seemed weak until I added the lemon sauce; so that is something I will definitely explore in the future (and encourage you to as well). This recipe does not make full use of a head of cabbage, so either double/triple the recipe or save the cabbage for a soup or stew (I know I will).

Rolled Cabbage, quasi-indian style, with lemon sauce
Makes about five rolls of cabbage.

Ingredients:
1 head of cabbage
1/2 cup red lentils, cooked and drained
1/2 cup curried rice, cooked
1 large carrot; chopped
1 large shallot; chopped (onion would work too)
2 cloves of garlic; minced
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 cup mushrooms, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
salt to taste
2 eggs
3 teaspoons of corn starch
1/4 cup of lemon juice

Prep:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Core the hard part of the cabbage (the stem mostly) from the base. Boil in a large pot of boiling, salted water. In about 5-10 minutes, when the leaves begin separating, remove from the pot, saving a one cup of the water. Let cool.

Filling:
Sweat the the carrots, shallots, garlic and celery in a medium sized pot; about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms, rice, lentils and spices. For lack of a better word, let “mingle” for 5 minutes on low heat then remove from heat.

Place approximately two heaping spoonfuls of the filling onto one end of a cabbage leaf. Roll, following the length of the stem, then fold over the other sides. Please the roll onto the baking pan. Repeat until no more filling.

Place in the oven and cook for 45 minutes; until the leaves are tender. While roasting, prepare the lemon sauce.

Lemon Sauce:
Whisk/mix the lemon juice and corn starch together. Bring the reserved water to a boil. Reduce the water to the lowest heat and add the lemon slurry. Beat the eggs in a small heatproof bowl and mix in the almost-lemon-sauce. Use this as a dressing. Enjoy

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Delightfully Spicy Black-Bean Cakes

October 27th, 2008

by Heather (Ghost Baker)

For someone that lists cooking and baking as her two favorite hobbies, I’m probably not as much of a food snob as I should be. I love going out to a fancy dinner, but when I’m cooking, I’m mostly interested in something that’s healthy and relatively quick.

Thus, my favorite cookbook is Everyday Food: Great Food Fast, From the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living. Several of the recipes found in this book are staple dinners in my home.

Last night we enjoyed Spicy Black-Bean Cakes (hey, they’re DINNERCAKES!). These crispy bean cakes are broiled rather than pan-fried, and the recipe doesn’t use much oil (click here for more information about using the broiler on your oven). My only complaint is that the prep time lies, lies, lies! If you can grate a large sweet potato, finely chop and thinly slice your ingredients, drain, rinse and mash two cans of black beans, and flatten 8 patties in 20 minutes, then my only explanation is that your kitchen is magical like Fantasia.

Ghost Baker’s verdict and serving suggestions:

I’m a garlic lover, so I upped the recipe to 8 garlic cloves in my garlic press instead of 6 (just make sure you have a toothbrush handy for after dinner). If you like your food hot, don’t be afraid to add a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, though these cakes are already quite spicy as is.

The recipe calls for a lime sour cream sauce to pour over the cakes, but in the interest of cutting down on fat content (and because I don’t love sour cream to begin with), I just cut this part out. I served these cakes over a leafy salad with a side of corn.

Spicy Black-Bean Cakes
Makes 8 cakes, Prep time around 45 minutes, Cook time about 15 minutes total
adapted from Every Food: Great Food Fast

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 scallions, thinly sliced
8 garlic cloves, pressed
2 jalapeno chiles, finely chopped (you can remove the ribs and seeds if you like less heat)
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne (optional)
2 cans (15 oz cans) black beans, drained and rinsed
Coarse salt and
fresh ground pepper
1 large sweet potato, peeled and coarsely grated (about 2 cups, be prepared for tired arms!)
1 large egg, lightly beaten 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs

In a small skillet over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil. Cook scallions until softened (about 1 minute).

Add the garlic, jalapeno, cumin and optional cayenne – cook about 30 seconds or until fragrant, stirring continuously. You may want to make sure you have some ventilation – all the spices combined on the stove got to me a little. Transfer contents of the skillet to a large bowl.

Add the rinsed and drained beans to the bowl. Mash beans with a potato masher or fork, leaving about 1/4 of the beans whole. Season with salt and pepper.

Move an oven rack to the top of the oven and heat the broiler, leaving the oven door slightly open.

Fold in the grated sweet potato, egg and breadcrumbs. Divide into 8 balls of equal size, then flatten into patties.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper, and brush the paper with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Place the patties on the sheet about 1/2 inch apart.

Broil on the top rack until golden brown, about 10 minutes. With a thin metal spatula, carefully turn the cakes after 10 minutes. Broil for another 3 minutes, then serve!

2 Comments »