By Iron Chef Leftovers

A note to readers: It is really easy to make soup and unless you plan poorly, you should never have to buy pre-made soup.

Mrs. Iron Chef has a traditional hash brown recipe that calls for a can of Cream of Mushroom Soup. The store bought ones are not very mushroom-y and are loaded with sodium and generally they taste like crap, so I decided to make my own. It involves maybe 5 minutes of prep time, an hour of cooking and 5 minutes to blend it smooth, not to mention a few dollars worth of ingredients and a much better taste. The best part – you can make this a completely vegan recipe with very little modification.

I am including 2 recipes for the price of one – the first one is the one that I made which is a little more complicated but a richer soup which I will post today and the second one is slightly less tasty, but even easier and I will post that tomorrow.

The Software
2 tablespoons of butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 lbs mushrooms – you can use any kind you want
2 small or 1 medium Yukon Gold potato
1/2 oz dried Porcini (or any other kind of dried) mushrooms
4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
2 cups water
1/4 cup marsala or port wine
1/8 cup cognac
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and Pepper

The Prep
Rinse the mushrooms well to remove dirt – you don’t need to worry about soaking them with water – they aren’t going to be seared. Half any that are larger than a 1 inch diameter. Scrub the potatoes and cut into quarters for a small potato or eights for a medium one.

The Roux
In a pot large enough to hold all the ingredients, melt the butter over medium heat. Once melted, add the flour and whisk until combined. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring about every minute to a blonde color (you can keep cooking this as long as you want – the darker the roux, the more flavor, but that is for another show).

The Volute
Add 1 cup of stock in 1/2 cup increments to the roux, whisking as you add it. Once the 1 cup of stock is incorporated, add the remaining stock and whisk until the roux has been absorbed in the stock (i.e. you don’t see any pieces floating around).

The Soup
Add the mushrooms, potatoes, remaining stock, water, thyme, marsala and cognac to the volute. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 1 hour. If there is not enough liquid in the pot to cover all the dry ingredients, add a bit more stock or water to cover. Just a reminder, mushrooms do float, so it may look like they are not covered. If you are not sure, submerge them and see if there is any liquid on top of them.

The Finish
Puree the soup in three parts in a blender (BE CAREFUL, it is HOT). Taste and add salt and pepper. If you want a thinner soup, add additional stock or water. The soup is great on its own or add in some rice or pasta, maybe a few leaves of fresh thyme or a dab of sour cream or a dash of sherry vinegar and consume.

by A.J. Coltrane

Jamie Oliver’s English Onion Soup, mostly. Using chicken stock and the bread from the “7 Hour Rustic Bread” post to finish. The bread went under the broiler, which seemed to work well enough:

I didn’t really follow his recipe though:  1/2 red onion, thinly sliced. 1/2 large leek, thinly sliced, salt, pepper, and 6 mashed garlic cloves (remove garlic cloves at the end of the “saute”). Cook partially covered over low heat with 2 TBP extra virgin olive oil and 1 TBP butter for about 30 minutes. Remove lid and cook another 20 minutes until everything is brown. Add a 14.5 oz can of chicken stock. Heat through and add 2 TBP of butter to finish. Check for seasoning and fix if needed. Serves 2.

By Iron Chef Leftovers

With the extremely late arrival of summer in Seattle this year, all of my tomato plants ended up ripening at once instead of in stages. As a result, I had more tomatoes than I could possibly use, so after giving away a bunch of them, I was looking for new and exciting ways to use them (caprese salad is nice, but you can only eat it so many times before you end up getting bored of it, no matter how good the tomatoes).

I recently saw an episode of America’s Test Kitchen where they made Andalusian Tomato Gazpacho. It was an easy recipe, and really involves less than 10 minutes of hands on time to make, so I decided to give it a shot, with a few modifications.

The Software
2 lbs. tomatoes
1/2 red onion
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 cucumber
1 anaheim chili
2 tablespoons verjus (or sherry or red wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 cup of good extra virgin olive oil
1 slice good sandwich bread
2 sprigs of fresh oregano, stems removed.

The Soup
Seed the peppers and cucumber and remove the core from the tomatoes (leave the seeds). Roughly chop all of the vegetables into 1/4 to 1/2 inch pieces, place in a bowl and toss with salt. Transfer the vegetables to a fine mesh strainer and sit over the bowl for 1 hour to allow some of the liquid to be removed from the veggies. After an hour, add the bread to the liquid and allow to absorb as much of it as it will in about 1 minute (don’t worry if there is leftover liquid). Add half of the veggies, 1 tablespoon of vinegar, half of the bread and 1/2 of the oregano to a blender. Blend for about 30 seconds. With the blender running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Once it is all incorporated, blend for an additional 2 minutes. Push the liquid through a fine mesh strainer. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, adding any leftover liquid from the veggies that were sitting over the bowl. Refrigerate for a couple of hours (overnight is better). Taste, adding salt and pepper if necessary and serve cold.

Notes
I used verjus since the tomatoes were extremely sweet, so it cut the sweetness. You could probably use just about any kind of vinegar. I ended up using a combination of tomatoes since that is what I had on hand, but you can use whatever type of tomato you choose. The chili is optional – remove it if you don’t like chilis or add any other chili if you like something hotter. Don’t skip the salting – it removes the liquid from the vegetables. I garnished the soup when I served it with some diced tomatoes, diced chilies, a couple grinds of black pepper and a drizzle of red wine vinegar and olive oil. Some fresh herbs, onions, croutons, crème fraiche or goat cheese would probably work well also. This soup can probably be heated and served warm and be just as tasty.

I figure that I am going to try this recipe with the green tomatoes that are left on the vines since I doubt that they will ripen as fall is upon us. If you have green tomatoes and don’t know what to do with them, Green Tomato Salsa is wonderful and they can be pickled also. If you can’t be bothered with them, just give them to me, I would be happy to use them.

By Iron Chef Leftovers

A few weeks ago, Coltrane and I went to a cooking class at Le Gourmand and one of the items on the menu involved Jerusalem Artichokes, also known as Sunchokes. What is a sunchoke you ask, well here is your answer (from wikipedia):

The Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus), also called the sunroot, sunchoke, earth apple or topinambour, is a species of sunflower native to eastern North America, and found from Eastern Canada and Maine west to North Dakota, and south to northern Florida and Texas. It is also cultivated widely across the temperate zone for its tuber, which is used as a root vegetable.

Mrs. Iron Chef is not much of an advernturous eater, so I haven’t really played with Sunchokes over the last couple years and just forgot how good they were until the class. Well, flash forward to last Sunday – I am wandering through the Farmer’s Market in Ballard and what do I see, but some amazing looking sunchokes. I think to myself, “Iron Chef, those are calling your name for a nice sunchoke puree.” So I buy a pound and bring ‘em home.

Flash forward to tonight – I make my puree. Sunchoke puree is a flavorful, nutty, slightly sweet dream. A recipe so easy, a caveman can do it:

The Software
1 lb Sunchokes, rinsed. You can peel them but your don’t have to.
1/2 cup Chicken Stock
1/4 cup Vermouth (or any white wine)
1 teaspoon minced onion
salt and pepper

 

The Puree

Cut the sunchokes into 3/4 inch pieces. Combine all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered until sunchokes are easily pierced with a fork, about 8 minutes. Transfer the solids to a blender with half the braising liquid and puree until smooth. You are looking for the consistency of slightly thin mashed potatoes. Add more liquid if necessary to the puree. Taste. Season with salt and pepper. Server as you would mashed potatoes.

Notes

Personally I had mine tonight with some sautéed Fiddlehead Ferns, but turkey would work well too; if you want to be boring. Sunchokes are also delicious raw.

by A.J. Coltrane

I’ve tried making Potatoes Au Gratin using the Joy of Cooking recipe many times.  I’ve never been able to get it to come out “right” — it always comes out too “soupy” for my taste.

The picture above shows my latest go at it, using the Joy recipe as a jumping off point.  (The dish tightened up quite a bit after a few minutes of cooling — the finished product had almost no “liquid.”)

Here are the two ingredient lists, side by side:

Joy of Cooking	Coltrane’s Alternate
1 Clove Garlic	1 Clove Garlic
1 TBP Butter	1 TBP Butter
2.5 lbs baking potatoes, peeled	2 lbs “Red Skin Golden” potatoes, unpeeled
3 cups milk or half-and-half	2 cups half-and-half
1 tsp salt	1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper	1/4 tsp pepper
pinch nutmeg	pinch nutmeg
Cheese, bread crumbs, and dots of butter to cover.	1/2 cup shredded cheese

The potatoes in the Alternate are Jolly Green Giant “Red Skin Golden Potatoes.”  I think they’re just new red potatoes.  I also left the skins on, because I didn’t feel like peeling smallish nubby potatoes.  (Read:  Didn’t feel like the extra work or throwing away nutrients.)  It turns out that when the potatoes are sliced super thin the skins don’t have any substance left;  peeling the potatoes isn’t really necessary.   Besides, if anyone asks then the dish was intended to be “rustic.”

The recipe:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2.  Halve garlic clove and rub on interior of baking dish.  Rub the butter in the baking dish.

3.  Combine potatoes, milk, nutmeg, salt, pepper, and milk or half-and-half in saucepan.  Bring to simmer.  Simmer until liquid reduces slightly, about 5 minutes.

4a.  Joy recipe:  Pour mixture into the baking dish, top with the cheese, butter, and/or breadcrumbs.  (The butter and cheese are “optional.”)  Bake until the top is golden and the potatoes are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour.

4b.  Alternate recipe:  Pour half the mixture into the baking dish.  Top with half of the cheese.  Pour remaining mixture into the baking dish.  Top with the remaining cheese.  (This keeps the cheese from all sitting on top, as the Joy recipe calls for.)  Bake until the potatoes are tender, 1 hour.

The cheese can be a combination of chedder, gruyere, and/or anything else that shreds well.

This is another recipe that the thin slicing disk on the kitchenaid is the Best.  Thing.  Evar.  Total prep time was maybe 5 minutes, plus another 5 minutes of simmering the potatoes on the stove.

I’m guessing reintroducing the knobs of butter wouldn’t hurt the Alternate..

by Coltrane

The recipe is basically Mark Bittman’s, from How To Cook Everything, 10th Anniversary Edition.  I used french bread that I’d made the day before.  The bread hadn’t risen like I would have liked — it wound up relatively too dense to use as “bread”, so I repurposed it into these crostini.  

This crostini recipe didn’t quite use up all of the bread I’d made — the remaining bread became Bittman’s French Toast.  The French toast was also quite good.  That book has yet to let me down.

The crostini ingredients:

8” of	Baugette, cut into 1/2” rounds
15 oz can or	Whole Tomatoes, seeded and diced
6 large	Roma Tomatoes, seeded and diced
10 large	Basil Leaves, chiffonade
4 TBP	Blue Cheese, in small pieces
2 TBP	Pecorino Romano, in small pieces
1 clove	Garlic, minced
	Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
	Extra Virgin Olive Oil for brushing
	Garlic clove cut in half

I  used canned tomatoes in this recipe and it went over well.  Roma tomatoes would be good too.  My advice would be to go with whatever you have on hand.

Directions:

Place the tomatoes in a colander and drain for a few minutes.   Heat broiler and adjust the rack to 4″ from the heat.  Place the bread onto a cookie sheet or equivalent.  Lightly brush the bread slices on both sides with olive oil.  Place the cookie sheet under the broiler to lightly brown the first side of the bread.  (This will take 2-4 minutes.)  Turn and brown the other side.  Don’t walk away from the bread while it’s under the broiler, as the bread will go from “toasty” to “setting off the fire alarm” in about 30 seconds.  Rub the crostini with the halved garlic clove.

Combine the tomato, basil, cheeses, minced garlic, and the two tablespoons of olive oil.  Mix to combine and salt to taste (about 1/2 tsp).  Distribute the tomato mixture on the crostini rounds.  Finish with a drizzle of olive oil.

As for what happens when you get wrapped up in taking pictures and forget about the bread under the broiler…

by Coltrane

Chard arrived in the CSA box this week.  The chard, along with some leftover cheese, canned beans, and basil from the planter box become a very nice topping for crostini or crackers:

2 TBP	Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/3 cup	Shallots, minced
1 clove	Garlic, minced
1 lb	Chard, stems removed, cut into 1” pieces
1/2 15 oz can	Cannellini Beans rinsed and drained
1/4 cup	Chicken Broth
Pinch	Red Pepper Flakes
3 TBP	Pecorino Romano, chopped fine
6 large	Basil Leaves, chopped or chiffonade
1 TBP	Lemon Juice

Heat skillet over medium high heat.  Add Olive Oil, Shallots, and Garlic.  Saute until soft.   Add Chard, Beans, Chicken Broth, and Red Pepper.  Cook until the Chard is wilted and reduced.  Add cheese, basil, and lemon juice, heat through.    Salt to taste (the chicken broth and cheese both contain some salt.)

Serve over crostini, bruschetta, or crackers.

This recipe would work well with spinach instead of chard.   A lesser amount of onion may be substituted for the shallot.

By Iron Chef Leftovers

I don’t actually get a CSA basket (although I probably should), but I know plenty of people who do and I frequently get asked if I want the stuff they aren’t going to use or what can they do with the leftovers. I say, make a stir-fry. I am pretty sure that stir-fry is ancient Chinese for “take a whole bunch of shit and throw it in a pot to make something tasty.”

I love summer in the Northwest since we have access to some great quality and amazingly fresh ingredients. Here is my CSA inspired stir-fry from a farmer’s market shopping spree. There is really no recipe. I just cut up a bunch of stuff, cooked it and ate it. It really is that simple.

The Software
Zucchini
Bok Choy
Green Bell Peppers
Walla Walla Onions
Broccoli
Garlic – minced or sliced
Oil (any kind will do, I use olive)
Lime
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine Vinegar
Chicken Stock
Sesame Seeds

The Stir-Fry
Chop the zucchini, bok choy, peppers and onions to whatever size you want them to be. I personally like large pieces of veggies, so I chopped them very roughly. You are going to cook all of the veggies separately, so you will need a large sauté pan and a large bowl. Heat the pan over medium-high heat with about 1.5 tablespoons of oil. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Cook for about 1 minute until they begin to soften. Add a little soy sauce and toss the onions around in it. Continue cooking until less cooked than you would want to eat (they will continue cooking in the bowl). Add in garlic and cook for 15 -30 seconds more. Empty contents of pot into bowl. Return pot to heat, add oil until it is hot and add whichever veggie you would like to cook next (it really does not matter), just remember not to overcook them and add a dash or 2 of soy sauce for the last minute or so of cooking. Repeat the process until all of the veggies are done. Once all of the veggies are done, take a small amount of chicken stock and deglaze the pan (or you can use veggie stock, water, wine, beer – pretty much any liquid will work). Add it to the bowl of cooked veggies. Takes some rice wine vinegar, the juice of the lime and a handful of sesame seeds and add them to the bowl. Give everything a good stir and taste. Adjust the seasonings as needed. Eat. That is it; the whole thing takes less than 10 minutes.

Notes
You can add any veggies you want to this, the recipe is based on what I picked up and looked good. I like to serve this over some pan-fried yakisoba noodles, but you can serve it over rice, cous cous, pasta or just on its own. If you want some protein in it, this does work well with tofu or poultry. If you like heat, a nice chile sauce or some diced chile peppers are wonderful. Ginger is also nice with this too – just mince it and add it at the same time as the onions. Just remember – don’t overcook the veggies or you will end up with mush.