Lactose-free Popovers

Travis is home for a few weeks for the holidays, so we’ve shifted into lactose-isolated cooking mode. It’s easy enough to use olive oil rather than butter, or if a dish has cheese, say feta on a salad, to serve it on the side. I usually avoid baking when he’s home because so many recipes use milk and butter, but last night had a craving for popovers to go with the vegetable stew we were making.

Popovers use a simple egg-milk-butter flour, and a dairy-free version would need to substitute something for the milk. I made cornbread for Travis at Thanksgiving, substituting water for milk in the batter, and while the flavor was okay the texture was a bit tough. Milk adds something to the recipe that water does not, and my guess is that the protein and fat in milk are important in baking. I’m haven’t researched this, but in thinking about the texture of water-based baked goods like bread, as opposed to milk-based baked goods like cake, logically the composition of milk makes a difference. Credit to Aaron on the solution for the popovers; he suggested adding an extra egg to add protein and fat, and reducing the amount of water accordingly.

The substitution worked. The popovers really popped -- they were well puffed, light, crisp and delicate. The flavor was slightly more eggy than normal, but in a pleasant, subtle way.

If you need a recipe, try Mark Bittman’s version from the New York Times. To make the recipe lactose-free, substitute 1 cup milk with 1 egg and 3/4 cup water. (You’ll have three eggs total, then.) Also, substitute olive oil for butter in the recipe, and also in preparing the pan. By the way, a little oil or butter goes a long way. He suggests a teaspoon per muffin-cup, but I find this makes the popovers greasy and instead just generously oil the cups.

Red Sauce Three Ways

I made enchilada sauce from scratch for the first time this summer. I’m not sure why I’d not made it before, perhaps because we rarely eat enchiladas, or perhaps I thought it would be a long, complicated process. I (more or less) followed a recipe from Annie Somerville’s “Field of Greens” cookbook, which describes a basic red tomato sauce (marinara) with appropriate seasonings of oregano, cumin, ancho and chipotle chile and lime. The sauce was quick and easy to make, and incredibly delicious not just on the stuffed peppers (the original destination) but on scrambled eggs the next morning.

Then in November while in New York, we ate some of the best patatas bravas ever at Buceo 95. The sauce was over the top: spicy, flavorful, addictive. The chef said he used paprika as the only spice. I wanted to make a batch of the sauce to go with latkes for the holiday meal this year, sort of a Jewish/Spanish fusion, so researched recipes to get a sense of how to proceed. The recipes that most closely resembled the sauce at Buceo 95 follow the same idea -- a basic red tomato sauce with spice. (Traditionalists have no fear. There is sour cream and applesauce to go with the latkes as well.) The main variation in this sauce is that after cooking I put it through the food processor to make a puree, a departure from the chunkier enchilada and marinara versions.

Marina is a staple ingredient in my kitchen, not just for pasta, but for poaching eggs, tossing with vegetables and tofu, or whatever. It only takes about 15 minutes to make a batch from scratch, using fresh tomatoes in the summer and good quality canned tomatoes in the winter, and freezing leftovers for an even quicker meal later. I hadn’t thought of red sauce as a multicultural ingredient, and am intrigued by how many ways it can be varied. The recipes are more of a “throw things in the pan” experience than an engineering project, but some ideas are posted here.

Recipe: Red Sauce Three Ways

A simple red sauce, seasoned for marinara, enchiladas, and bravas (spicy)

Two pounds of summer tomatoes, vine ripe and tender, chopped,
or
a 28oz can of San Marzano tomatoes (including the juice). Use either crushed tomatoes, or chop the tomatoes if they’re whole.

One onion, 1/4-inch dice
A few cloves of minced garlic
Spices (see below)
Balancing acidity (see below)

Saute the onions for about five minutes in olive oil until they are fragrant and soft. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the spices, and saute for 1-2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, then put a cover on the pan and let it simmer for 10 minutes. If using fresh tomatoes, add a pinch of salt with the tomatoes to the pan, but if using canned tomatoes, wait on the salt for now. The tomatoes will break down into a sauce.

Check the spice level, adjusting if need be, and add the balancing acid. One note is that if you want the sauce to be hotter, add the acid first and then the extra chile. The acid tends to make the spiciness more pronounced. Add salt at the end to suit your taste.


Spices: Suggested amounts follow, but vary these according to your taste. In particular, you might like more or less heat. If you’re not sure, use an easy hand at the beginning of the recipe. You can always add more spice after the sauce is cooked.

Marinara: 1 tsp dry basil, or ten leaves fresh basil. A good pinch of red chile flakes

Enchilada: 1 tsp cumin powder (or crushed seeds), 1 tsp oregano, 1 tsp each of ancho and chipotle chile powder. If you don’t have both ancho and chipotle, it’s okay to use one or the other. Half-sharp and smoked paprika are also good substitutes, and while the flavor will be a little different, the sauce will still taste good.

Brava: 1-1/2 tsp sweet paprika, 1 tsp half-sharp paprika. If the sauce isn’t spicy enough after you cook it, add a good dash of cayenne.

Balancing acidity:

Acids help bring out the spice as well as make the sauces more piquant. Canned tomatoes taste more acidic than fresh, so you may not need as much additional acid, perhaps none at all. The amount to use varies depending on the acidity of the tomatoes, so add just a tiny bit at a time and taste as you go. Overall, you’ll probably only use 1-2 tsp total for fresh tomatoes, and perhaps less.

Marinara: No acid needed. If you used canned tomatoes and the sauce tastes acidic, add 1/4 tsp of sugar.

Enchilada: A squeeze of fresh lime juice. Squeeze a bit in, stir and taste, and add touch more if it’s needed.

Bravas: Sherry vinegar. Again, add just a touch, say 1/2 teaspoon, stir and taste, and add a touch more if needed.

Recipe: Leek and Celeriac Soup

Recipe: Leek and Celeriac Soup

6 leeks, trimmed, sliced and washed, white and light green parts only

1 bulb celeriac, peeled and cubed

6 cups vegetable stock

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon tarragon

Salt and pepper to taste

Dash of cream or half and half, optional

Saute the leeks gently in butter or olive oil until they are fragrant and soft.   Add the celeriac, tarragon and stock, and simmer until vegetables are tender, approximately 20 minutes.  Using an immersion blender or food processor, process the soup until it is creamy and completely emulsified.  Stir in the mustard, a pinch of salt, and a good grind of black pepper.  Taste and adjust the seasonings to your liking, but use a gentle hand so the flavor of the leek and celery isn't masked.

When serving, add a tablespoon or two of cream or half and half, if you like, and swirl.

Ten days of soup, part 2

After a break of a few days while we worked through leftovers, the “ten days of soup” project resumed.  We’ve been able to expand slightly beyond soup, happily, though not too far beyond, while Aaron progresses through his orthodontic adventure.  The goal of the project is to make food interesting and tasty given the soup limitation.

All the soups start with a homemade vegetable stock. For now, most soups are blended with an immersion blender.

Day 6: split pea, made on a cold, rainy day.   I started making split pea soup in the pressure cooker a few years ago.  This has two advantages.  The beans don’t need to soak and cook quickly, so it only takes an hour to make a pot which means I don’t need to plan when I want to make it.    The other advantage is that the soup tastes great, better even, than the traditional long-cooked method. I think this is because pressure cooker holds flavor in rather than releasing it.

Day 7: leek and celeriac.  I cooked with celeriac for the first time last week and just loved it.  This week, I sauted 10 small leeks (a few cups), then added the celeriac, stock and tarragon.  The soup was finished with just a bit of dijon mustard and cream.  View the Recipe

Day 8: parmesan souffle with marinara sauce.  I had a parmesan souffle a few weeks ago at Le Monde in New York.  It was served with a heavenly sauce, but in looking at recipes this week I discovered the sauce tasted so good because it was based on butter, rounded out with cheese, cream, and lemon.  I like the idea of a sauce with souffle but needed to lower the guilt level.  In late summer I made and froze a big batch of marinara, made with ripe summer tomatoes from the farmers market, to tide us over through the winter.  It made a perfect sauce for the parmesan souffle, balancing the richness with some acidity and freshness.

Day 9: Polenta with chard and chevre -- comfort food.  It wasn’t a soup, but close enough.

Day 10:  Beet, tomato and cabbage with a Hungarian flair.   The beets roasted with red onions, olive oil and sweet paprika to caramelize the vegetables and toast the paprika.  This was simmered and pureed smooth in stock, and then crushed San Marzano pomodoro and regular green cabbage, finely chopped, went in.  The soup was finished with half-sharp paprika to give a bit of heat.

Ten days of soup, part 1

Aaron can’t chew for at least ten days, a byproduct of orthodontic work, and is limited to smoothies and pureed soup for the while.  I love soup so this is no problem for me, and have taken on the challenge to make the ten days of eating the same thing as interesting as possible, varied and tasty. 

Because the soups need to be pureed, all rely on a homemade stock and cooked vegetables, blended with the immersion blender. 

Day 1:  Butternut squash, flavored with the chipotle-adobo sauce I’m so enchanted with, and finished with a dash of half-and-half to smooth the chile flavor. 

Day 2:  Celeriac.  I hadn’t cooked with celeriac before, but had it on the list to try since last year’s trip to Paris, where it is served as a side salad in many cafes.  I used it as the main flavoring in this soup, and it has a lovely, delicate celery flavor.  The soup was finished with a touch of dijon mustard, a play on the typical french style of dressing served with the raw vegetable.  Celeriac is my new favorite soup base, not only because of the flavor, but because it has a silky texture when pureed and a fraction of the calories and carbs of potatoes.  It’s a perfect replacement for potato in soup.

Day 3: Mushroom, made with portobello and crimini in a long-simmered stock and pureed into smithereens.  I added chanterelle toward the end and did second, lighter puree.  Finished with just a touch of dry sherry and cream.

Day 4: Tomato-pepper, with roasted red and yellow onions, garlic and red peppers with olive oil and a teaspoon of half-sharp paprika.  The paprika toasted while the vegetables roasted.  If summer tomatoes were available I would have roasted them as well, but used a can of San Marzano pomodoro, which are a lot more flavorful than winter tomatoes.

Indian-American Fusion Thanksgiving

Holiday meals are a group affair in our home. Cooking is the main event, with friends and family hands on in the kitchen, hanging out nearby to visit, or taking kids outside to play while others work.  This year was particularly fun because my friend Shashi guided the day’s menu. Shashi and I met in 1994, and while we’ve eaten each other’s cooking over the years, in fifteen years of friendship this was the first time we cooked together.  It was a real pleasure to cook with her, and certainly a pleasure to eat her food. We put together an Indian-American Thanksgiving fusion meal, which consisted of (for the most part) traditional American ingredients done with Indian flair.

Shashi arrived with four bags of groceries, and along with Aaron, Travis, and three of his friends, we settled into an afternoon of cooking.  Nearly every dish started with the same four ingredients, a mix of diced onion, garlic, ginger and green chiles. However, spices varied the flavors so each dish was unique and savory.  Shashi guided us through several dishes and accompanying chutney, including eggplant stuffed with peanuts and coconut, green beans, cauliflower and tofu balls, and a fabulous pumpkin and turnip soup with North African spices. All of her cooking is done by feel, with tasting along the way to balance the heat and spices.

One interesting note is that each dish balanced heat, sweet, savory and salt for a complex flavor.  For example, we made chapati with a base of zucchini, mint, cilantro, garlic and chile, pureed in the food processor, then kneaded with whole wheat flour, rolled into flat bread and grilled.  The chapati were flavorful with a background sweetness and heat from the mint and chile, and a calm counterpoint to some of the more robust flavors.