Eggplant, Salmon, Lentils and Cauliflower "Brain"

My apologies...  I recently changed computers, and with that change, for some reason, I lost the edits I had made to the blog to display the correct fonts and line spacing.  I guess Microsoft truly doesn't give a rat's tail about making some of its products user friendly -- Blogger is NOT!  Anyway, I understand the only solution is to actually write each post in Blogger; rather than write it in a word processor and import.  So next week, I hope things will look better....

Eggplant With Mint, Honey and Sesame Seeds

Call this a side, or an appetizer; either way call it super tasty. I used to make this by cubing the eggplant before frying it, but recently I saw this “whole slice” method and thought I'd give it a try.  I love the presentation!

Eggplant, sliced 3/4” thick

Flour for dredging

Egg for dredging

Honey

Fresh Mint leaves, cut chiffonade

Sesame Seeds

Dredge the eggplant slices in egg and flour, and fry them in EVOO on medium-high heat, until they are just starting to get soft, and nicely browned. Plate the slices, drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cut mint and sesame seeds. One slice per person makes a nice side along with a protein and a starch.


Spinach Salmon Cheese Roll

I love this technique of containing the roll in parchment paper to keep it nice and round. The rest of the recipe is all my own invention!

1 package Crescent Roll Dough sheet

1/4cup chopped fresh Parsley

1 Tbsp chopped fresh Thyme

Cream Cheese or Ricotta

1/2 shallot, chopped

2 cups fresh chopped spinach

6 ounce baked Salmon filet, flaked

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Tbsp Butter

olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Roll out crescent roll pastry on a lightly floured surface into a rectangle approximately 12 by 15 inches. Spread with ricotta, and sprinkle with parsley, thyme, salt, and pepper.

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté the shallots until translucent. Add spinach and sauté for 3 minutes or until wilted. Remove from heat and cool.

Spread spinach over pastry, top with diced salmon, and season with salt and pepper.

Roll up pastry, tucking ends in as you roll, burrito style. Wrap the pastry in parchment paper buttered with 2 tablespoons of butter and tie it up with kitchen string to hold roll together. Rub outside of paper with olive oil. Place on baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes.

Note that I rolled the pastry out too thin, and the paper wrap was my salvation – it kept the filling from oozing out all over the baking sheet!

Unwrap, slice roll, and serve with dill hollandaise, remoulade or similar sauce.

  

Skyr-Roasted Cauliflower

This whole-head roast is based on a recipe from Siggi's Icelandic style Skyr company recipes.

1 Tbs Vegetable oil
1 head Cauliflower, whole, stem and leaves removed
1-1/2 cup Siggi'stm plain Skyr
1 Lime, zested and juiced
1 Tbsp Cumin
1 Tbsp Garlic powder
2 Tbsp Chili powder
1 Tbsp Curry powder
2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F. While that's going on...

Lightly grease a small baking sheet with a bit of vegetable oil.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the yogurt, lime zest, lime juice, chili powder, cumin, curry powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Mix well. Actually, what I did was just use Garam Masala spice blend instead of all those powders. It worked out just great.

Dunk the entire head of cauliflower into the bowl. make sure it’s well coated.

Set the cauliflower right side up on the baking sheet. Roast until the surface is browned and crusty, about 30 minutes. The skyrinade (skyr marinade) creates a beautiful and flavorful crust on the cauliflower. 

Let the cauliflower cool for about 10-15 minutes then cut into wedges to serve.

Lentil-Tomato Salad

One of the doctors where Sally works was celebrating a “workiversary” – X number of years at the clinic, so the staff threw him a party. Naturally, I was tasked to create something vegetarian but flavor-filled that everyone would like. This fit the bill rather nicely.

1 cup dried Lentils (preferably small French lentils)

1 large clove Garlic, chopped

1 tsp Salt, or to taste

3/4 lb fresh Tomatoes, diced (2 cups)

4 large Scallions, thinly sliced (or 3/4 cup sweet onion diced)

1/4 cup chopped fresh Dill

1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh Basil

1/4cup Red-Wine Vinegar, or to taste

1/4 cup EVOO

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Bring 4 cups water to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan with lentils, garlic, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until lentils are just tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

Drain lentils in a sieve, then transfer to a large bowl.

Toss the hot lentils with the tomato, scallions, dill, basil, vinegar, oil, pepper, and remaining salt.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Fall Comfort Food

Somehow I seem to have missed posting last Monday.  Mea culpa!

We're heading into comfort food season, where even here in Florida folks are getting ready for the (nominally) cool part of the year. Thought I'd bring you some of the dishes I've been making that qualify as comfort food.

Cheesy Chicken, Kale and Sweet Potato Skillet Meal

These flavors really go together well!

2 Chicken Breast*, boneless, skinless, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1/2 cup finely diced Shallot or onion

1 Red Bell Pepper, diced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

2 medium Sweet Potatoes, peeled and diced

1/2 cup low-sodium Chicken Broth

2 cups stemmed and chopped Kale

1/2+ cup shredded Monterey Jack or cheese of choice

S&PTT – Salt and Pepper to taste

Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and add to a medium-high skillet with a splash of EVOO.   Let the chicken cook without moving for 1-2 minutes. Turn, and continue cooking until no longer pink in the center, another 1-2 minutes.

Remove the chicken to a plate, keeping as much liquid in the skillet as possible, and return the skillet to medium heat.

Add a drizzle more oil if the skillet is dry. Add the shallot (or onion), red pepper, and garlic. Cook, stirring often, for 5 minutes, until the onions have started to turn translucent and soften.

Add the sweet potato, red pepper flakes (if using), and broth. Bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring once or twice so the sweet potatoes don't stick until they are tender. Add more broth as it cooks if the mixture becomes sticky or dry.

Add the chicken back to the skillet along with the kale. Stir and heat through until the kale is wilted.  Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.

Sprinkle cheese over the top and cover with the lid until melted or pop under a preheated oven broiler until golden and bubbly. Serve immediately.

*Ground turkey or beef could substitute for the chicken; or get fancy with some Gulf shrimp.

Mediterranean Sausage, White Bean and Spinach Bake 

Simple foods prepared simply – the essence of comfort food.

1 lb Sausages (4 nice bratwurst sized links)

2-3 cups stemmed, ripped Spinach leaves

1 can (15 oz) White Beans, drained and rinsed

1 small Red Onion, diced

3/4 cup Evaporated Milk

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1/4 tsp Nutmeg

1/4 tsp White Pepper

2 cloves Garlic, minced

4 tsp melted Butter

1/3 cup Breadcrumbs

Cook the sausage, drain and reserve.

In a baking dish combine the spinach, beans, onion, milk and half of the cheese. In another dish, combine the remaining cheese, butter and bread crumbs, and reserve.

Bake the spinach-bean mixture @ 375 for 30 minutes. Nestle the sausages into the cooked mixture. Turn oven to Broil. Sprinkle the reserved cheese-butter-breadcrumb mixture on top of the dish and broil for 5-7 minutes to heat the sausage through and brown the breadcrumb topping.

Spaghetti Squash Boats

Another easy-peasy dish, if you buy a jar of pasta sauce and doctor it to your liking.

1 Spaghetti Squash

1 jar Pasta Sauce – I like the Paul Newman brand sauces

3/4 lb ground Beef – preferably 90/10

Mushrooms, tomatoes, olives, bell pepper and other ingredients to doctor the sauce

Optional – Parmesan cheese for topping.

Brown the beef. Add about half the jar of sauce, and whatever you like to doctor things with. Simmer the sauce 30 minutes or so to marry the flavors. You don't want a really 'liquid' sauce here.

Sauce is still too 'wet' here...

While that's going on, slice the squash lengthwise and remove the seeds. Cook the squash, cut side down, until the skin is getting soft – you can roast it in the oven for 30-45 minutes @ 375F, or do like I do and nuke it in the microwave for 5-8 minutes depending on size.

Turn the squash cut side up and plate it. Ladle the cavity full of sauce, and top with Parmesan if you choose. Use your fork to pull shreds of the squash into the sauce, and enjoy. Some folks, like Sally, prefer the squash shredded and removed from the boat before topping with sauce like conventional spaghetti. I like to keep mine in the boat...

Simple Posole

Posole, to me is green chili with hominy added – green not red chilies, onion, tomatillos not tomatoes – and that unique corn product called hominy (white or yellow).   I don't mind spending a couple hours cooking this from scratch, but you can save yourself a ton of hassle, and start with a large can of Green Chile Enchilada Sauce from your local tienda or the ethnic section of your megamart.  

1 large can Green Chile Enchilada Sauce

1+ lbs Pork for stew, or a couple pork sirloin cutlets cut into 3/4” pieces

1 Tbsp Cumin

Hot Pepper Sauce to taste

1 can mild Green Chilies

1 Sweet Onion, diced

2-3 Poblano Chilies, chopped

2-3 Cubanelle Chilies or 1 regular green bell pepper, chopped

1+ Jalapeno Chili, chopped or seeded/veined and then chopped

1 large can White or Yellow Hominy, drained (reserve liquid to adjust liquid in the final stew)

Brown the pork with cumin, hot pepper sauce and a splash of EVOO in a large-ish pot. Throw in everything else, adding liquid as needed, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and and simmer for half an hour or so. Add water to get a nice stew consistency.  Perfect with a slab of corn bread or a couple tortillas. I also like it served over white corn tortilla chips as Green Nachos:

Gratuitous Photo
I made a fruit bowl for our Cabana guests last week and thought it looked really good, so I snapped this picture of grapes and oranges.

Scottish Sweets & Savory

I've never dedicated an entire post to desserts and snacks. It's about time, doncha think?

Tiffin Cake

Sally first had this when we were visiting Tracey's Mum near Findochty, Scotland. It took some sleuthing to discover that the delectable squares were called Tiffin or Tiffin Cake, or sometimes Refrigerator Cake due to its un-baked preparation.

1-1/2 sticks Butter
2 Tbsp Sugar
1/4-1/3 cup Golden Syrup*
2+ Tbsp Raisins
10 oz package of Rich Tea tm, plain or digestive biscuits**
12 oz bag Milk or Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

Some recipes call for coca powder to make these chocolate-y.  IMHO this is one time when chocolate is not necessarily a good thing...

Melt the butter, sugar and syrup in a large pan. Err on the side of excess -- a bit more butter, syrup and sugar will not go amiss here! Add the raisins and bring to the low boil. Allow to bubble gently for a couple minutes to thicken a little.

Crush the biscuits (in a plastic bag to cut down the mess),with a rolling pin. Don't leave pieces bigger than a dime, or the final product will tend to break up when cut. The finer crush the better.  Mix the crumbs well into the melted mixture, coating thoroughly.

Press the mixture into a lined 8x10 shallow “lasagna pan” and level out, pushing down the mixture well.

Melt the chocolate carefully (avoid boiling), a microwave works well here, and spread over the top.

Refrigerate for at least a couple hours, then cut into pieces with a sharp knife.

* Can't find Golden Syrup? Use the American equivalent – pure cane syrup (Steen's tm is a widely available brand)

** You could try this with any sort of un-frosted vanilla-flavored American cookies...

Although it's called "refrigerator cake", let it come to room temperature before eating it, otherwise the cold will deaden the flavor.

Aberdeen Butteries

Oh so good toasted, with butter and jam. Or use two to make the ultimate Bacon Butty. We first had these in Findochty, Scotland, on the Northeast coast. Ian would disappear in the early morning, visit a local shop, and come back with pre-packaged butteries, or rowies as they are sometimes called, for our breakfast. The recipe is strictly regional to northeast Scotland – ask for these elsewhere in Scotland or England and you'll get a blank stare...

Not a simple recipe, as it has multiple raises and foldings and rollings, and takes some time. But they are well worth the work a couple times of the year. Cooked, cooled rowies can be bagged in ziptops and frozen, to be eaten another day. This recipe makes about 16 cakes. The measures have been translated from Scottish for you!

1 cup or 2 Sticks plus 2 Tbsp Butter
1/2cup Lard
1 Tbsp Brown Sugar
1 lb AP Flour – yes you should weigh this...

1 Tbsp Salt
2 tsp Dried Yeast
2 cups warm Water (may not need all of this)
Pinch of salt 

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, sugar and salt until well combined.  
2. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and gradually add the water in a thin stream, stirring well, until the mixture just comes together as a dough. You may not need all of the water.
3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead lightly for 8-10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic.
4. Transfer the kneaded dough to a clean, greased bowl and cover with a greased sheet of cling film. Set aside in a warm place to rise for at least one hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, cream together the butter and lard until well combined. Divide the mixture into four equal portions.
6. When the dough has proved, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a further 1-2 minutes.
7. Roll out the dough into a 16” x 8”rectangle, about 1/2” thick.
8. Turn the dough so that the short edge is facing you. Spread one portion of the butter and lard mixture over the bottom two-thirds of the dough rectangle.
9. Fold the remaining one-third of the dough rectangle onto the butter and lard mixture to cover the center section of the dough rectangle. Fold the other end of the dough rectangle over the folded dough, so that the dough ends up three times its original thickness. Roll the dough out again to a 16” x 8” x 1/2” rectangle.
10. Repeat the process of spreading and folding with another portion of the butter and lard mixture, until all of the mixture has been used up and the dough has been rolled out a total of four times.
11. Preheat the oven to 400F.
12. Cut the rolled out dough into 16 pieces and roll each into a round, flat shape.
13. Transfer the disks to a lightly oiled baking tray and raise again for 40-45 minutes.
    
14. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until they are golden-brown and cooked through. Set aside to cool on a wire rack.

As you can see, mine didn't turn out too good – tasty, but flat. They should be at least twice s thick.  They were nicely risen when I put them in the oven, but went flat as they baked! It wasn't a problem with the yeast, as I had two good rises. I've never had that happen before! Must try again, until I get it right, as the originals were soooo good!

Treacle Flapjacks

Flapjacks, in the UK, are not those thin, round, sweet skillet breads that you get in America at places like IHOP. Over there, a Flapjack is a simple, decadent dessert bar made from butter, brown sugar, rolled oats, and (usually) Golden Syrup, a sort of thick version of our local Florida Cane Syrup.

This recipe uses black treacle (similar to molasses but much thicker). Fans of the Harry Potter books and the hilarious Discworld novels by Sir Terry Pratchett, will be very familiar with treacle in tarts, sandwiches and the mine under the city of Ankh-Morpork.

Treacle and Golden Syrup can be found in some mega-marts or other stores which have a lot of international foods. Our local Publix carries Golden Syrup, or can get it for you from a store which does.  I inherited a can of Black Treacle from my foodie friend Sara Peterson.

I suspect you could also make these from cane syrup or molasses, but the first cooking stage would need to be longer to thicken things up more. A bit of corn starch may help too.

1-1/2 sticks Butter

3/4 cup packed Light Brown Sugar

1/3 cup Black Treacle

3-3/4 cups Rolled Oats

Preheat oven to 350F.

Line a 6x10 or 8x8 baking dish, with baking paper or a liberal dose of non-stick spray. Do not use tinfoil as I did, it will be almost impossible to remove!! A silicon dish would be perfect for this application! This stuff is the definition of “sticky”!!

Put the butter, sugar and treacle in a sauce pan on medium-low heat and stir, just until things start to bubble and the sugar is melted.

Pour the mixture into the oats and stir together until the oats are well covered. Dump into the baking dish, spread it out, and flatten with a spatula.

Bake for 30 minutes, cool for 5 minutes. Score with a knife into bars, and let cool completely in the pan.

Scottish Haggis and more!

Don't worry, there are recipes below that do not involve internal organ meats...

I was wrong! For years I've been saying “there's no such thing as Scottish cuisine, there's just sheep guts and oatmeal (referring to haggis)”. Boy was I wrong!! Contemporary Scottish cuisine is right up there with the best of the best!

Traditional Scottish Breakfast -- eggs, toast, slice of haggis, bacon, beans and a Scottish pancake.  This is what Scottish cuisine used to be -- stick to your ribs and last all day, but not very fancy.

We had fabulous meals everywhere we went, from simple steak & mushroom pie and bangers & mash in a chain pub, through lots of local seafood, to potted rabbit (which I'd only heard of). Lanark White cheese, Heather Honey, Aberdeen Butteries, Tiffin Cake, and Rhubarb Fool, oh my!

Classic Pub Grub -- Steak & Mushroom Pie with Chips

Classic Pub Grub -- Bangers & Mash

A village "deli" serving local cheeses, meats, drinks, and a variety of sandwiches and sweets made with local ingredients 

Our first night in-country, in the Glasgow suburb of Paisley, we went to dinner at a local Italian restaurant with our friends Fiona and Toby, who'd driven North from England to spend a couple days with us. For a tiny restaurant that probably didn't seat forty people, the food was outstanding! Not at all like the Italian-American food we've come to expect in America. Because it was “odd dish out” on an Italian menu and it was our first meal in Scotland, I just had to have the Haggis appetizer – served with gravy and a sunny-side egg on toast:

Haggis and an egg on toast as an appetizer!

Sally had this beautiful and very tasty Salmon with shrimp and mixed vegetables

The next day we drove across the country to Edinburgh (175 miles). From our AirBnb we could see the Royal Yacht Britannia, now a tourist attraction. That night we ate at King's Wark, a highly rated pub-restaurant where I sampled Potted Rabbit and mixed seafood cakes while Sally had the Salmon plate.

 Potted Rabbit with pickled beetroot and cornichons

 Mixed Seafood Cakes with micro greens and a small salad

Sally's Salmon entree

While Fiona and Toby went back south to go to work, Sally's other girlhood friend Tracey and her husband Ian picked us up in Edinburgh and took us for a whirlwind tour of The Borders – the long (175 mile) narrow (20-40mile) strip of 17^th century no man's land between England and Scotland, where both Sally's and my ancestors hailed from. This rolling landscape, punctuated by higher, sharper hills is the 'breadbasket' of modern Scotland, source of meat, vegetables and grains.

Then Ian and Tracey took us up through the highlands to the northeast coast on the North Sea where we stayed for a few days and traipsed among the fishing villages along the coast there.

Although we didn't have any, we drove through the village of Cullen, home of Cullen Skink, a quintessential thick Scottish soup of smoked haddock, potatoes, onions and milk. The Cullen Bay Hotel hosts the annual Cullen Skink Championship cook-off every November. I was very tempted to enter, but would have had to come back in November for the cook-off!

Last night in Scotland, again in Glasgow, we had dinner at a small but eclectic restaurant called Fanny Trollope's. I had their seared pork fillet, with an apple, leek & Stornoway black pudding filled sausage roll, buttery mash potatoes, a Parma ham crisp, and a calvados lyonnaise coule.  Sally had an outstanding squash soup and salmon.  We finished the evening by sharing a Rhubarb Fool!

Lots of other adventures that aren't really germane here. We had a fabulous holiday! Lots of wonderful food, too, but enough for now. Let's cook!

Mustard Crusted Salmon

Inspired by the wonderful salmon we experienced on our trip. In case you didn't catch it, Sally really likes salmon... While farmed salmon is the sustainable choice, nothing really beats the texture and flavor of wild caught fish which has had to struggle its whole life to survive. Farmed fish, by comparison is soft and insipid...

Preheat your oven to 300F.

1/4 cup Mayonnaise or Skyr yogurt

3 Tbsp stone ground or other strong Mustard, to taste

1 Tbsp Lemon juice

optional - Panko

Stir the ingredients together. Line a baking sheet with baking paper or parchment, and place your fillets on the paper, skin side down. Spoon or brush the mustard mixture on the fillets and spread it out roughly 1/4” thick. Bake the fish for 15 minutes. For more of a crust, switch over to Broil and cook another 5 minutes or so. I topped the mustard mixture with sprinkle of Panko, thinking it would crisp up; but no luck. Tasty though. 

Next time I'll mix the panko in with the skyr-mustard mixture.

Avocado & Sardine Toast

We've been reading about Avocado Toast, one of the current “in” foods. Sally found a recipe for avocado toast topped with sardines. No, sardines aren't my cuppa tea, so I had something else for dinner that night, but she thought the meal was splendid – simple, inexpensive and filling. She had the leftovers for her lunch the next day.

2 cans Sardines in oil

2 Hass Avocados, ripe, not hard, mashed

1/4 cup EVOO

2 Tbsp minced Flat Leaf Parsley

2 Tbsp White Wine Vinegar

Red Pepper flakes to taste

4 slices multigrain bread

Mix the oil, vinegar, parsley and pepper flakes together and marinate the sardines in the mixture for at least 2 hours.

Toast the bread and spread it with mashed avocado. Top with marinated sardines and dive right in!

Raspberry Fool

You're nobody's Fool if you make this for dessert!

8oz box of fresh Raspberries (or blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, etc.)

1 pint of warm Custard

You can use that Jell-O stuff, but we prefer Bird's brand Custard, an English staple that you can find in the international aisle at your local mega-mart. Tastes much better. Less hassle to make.

Follow the package instructions (2 Tbsp custard powder, 2 cups of milk, heat, combine, simmer and stir, etc.) to make a 1 pint batch of custard. Before it sets up, fold in the raspberries, and let it cool. Mostly. Warm is good too. That's it.

Faux Haggis

I've made this for a number of years, for those who want the flavors of traditional Scottish haggis (lamb, oats, onion and a hint of nutmeg) but not the organ meats of the original... Think “poached meatloaf”. If you like lamb, you'll love this!

1 lb ground Lamb (lamb mince as they say across the pond)

1-1/2 cup steel cut Oatmeal (not that flat stuff)

1 White Onion, diced

2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1 Egg, beaten

Smoosh (a highly technical cooking term) the ingredients together in a large bowl, as if you are making meatloaf, being sure to get everything evenly distributed. Roll into a large log shape, and roll the log up in a couple layers of cheesecloth. Tie off the ends of the cloth, and you have a sort of giant sausage about 8” long and 4” in diameter. 

Not my faux haggis, but you get the idea...

Put a loaf pan on your largest stove burner turned to medium high and place the sausage in the pan. Add broth (chicken or vegetable if you can't find lamb broth), enough to come half way up the side of the log. Bring to a simmer, and cook – turning every 15 minutes or so – until the internal temperature reaches 145F. Allow it to cool a bit, then unwrap, slice and serve with HP Brown Sauce or Lizano (a similar sauce from Costa Rica of all places).

There are several Scottish and Icelandic recipes that I'll be working up and sharing with you over the next few weeks. Sláinte!