Salmon en Crout, Braised Parsnips & Red Cabbage, Stuffed Delecata, Cider Bread and Tavern Biscuits

Salmon en Croute
Often en croute dishes are made with puff pastry.  But not always.   This time I made the Two Ingredient Yogurt Tart Crust which I wrote about on August 25 (2 parts self-rising flour, 1 part Skyr or Greek yogurt).   I made a large batch of dough and quartered it.  One each for Sunday Brunch, and one for Sally to take as work lunches.   

Sally and her Mum wanted wilted spinach in theirs, and I put sauteed mushrooms in mine.  Both go equally well with salmon.  I added just a little freshly grated nutmeg, a 'salmon-friendly' spice.  

Sally gave me a great idea to get rid of the salmon skin.  IMHO you don't want to cook the salmon 'skin on' in this preparation.  Fry the salmon filets, covered, for a few minutes (5 or 6), skin-side down, in a barely oiled skillet.  The skin stays in the pan as you slide a spatula under the fish!  No more messy, frustrating, attempts to skin the filets!

I baked these for about 20 minutes at 400F, until I got a nicely browned crust, and served them with steamed broccoli.

Braised Parsnips
I got these absolutely HUGE parsnips from the Southwest Florida Produce Co-op (thanxs, guys!).   

I peeled and quartered the 'nips, and sliced an onion into strips.  I browned them in my electric skillet for just a couple minutes, then added a cup of white wine, a cup of water, and a tablespoon or so of vegetable base as seasoning.  Turned the temperature down from 350F to 225F and left the covered dish simmer about 2 hours.  I checked every 20 minutes or so to make sure the liquid didn't all cook away, adding a bit of water here and there.

Braised Red Cabbage 
This FOK recipe is a perfect Fall dish.  Simple and ever so tasty.  Real peasant food, in the best sense of the phrase -- inexpensive, hearty, and easy.

1/2 head Red Cabbage, sliced thin
1-1/2 cups Red Wine
3 cups Mirepoix = 1 cup each -- chopped Celery, Carrot and Onion
2 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
2 tsp dried Thyme
2 tsp Caraway seed
1 can White Beans, drained and rinsed.  I used Butter Beans, but use what you like.
1 Granny Smith Apple, chopped
Salt & Pepper to taste -- I didn't use any

Saute the mirepoix in a splash of oil until they start to soften.  Add the liquids.  Then top that with the cabbage, beans and herbs.  Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add a bit more wine/water if needed. Lastly add the apple and cook another few minutes until the apple is soft.  Fold everything together before plating.  

Goes well with a nice crusty bread, like the following Cider Bread!

Cider Bread
My latest take on simple two-ingredient Beer Bread.   

3 cups of Self-Rising Flour.  
1  12 oz Hard Cider (so many to choose from these days!).   

Bake at 400F for about 30 minutes to reach 190-220F internal.  This time I also tried a "focaccia" shaped loaf in a 9" cake pan.  Works well, too.   I'm going to use this shape for a dish next week -- sort of a thick, fluffy, flatbread.

Really nice.  just barely sweet.  Great crumb, as you can see above!

Stuffed Delecata
#MakeOverMyLeftover
This one is for my Makeover Leftover Chef friend Suzanne DuPlantis from Louisiana.  Leftover wild rice blend.  Leftover black beans.  Leftover home-made mushroom gravy.  Bring it all together in a pan, and top up the seasonings as it warms through.  Slice a delecata squash lengthwise, seed it and bake or nuke.  Top with the stuffing.  Yummmm!

Tavern Biscuits
Tavern Biscuits are a recipe that dates back as far as 1824.  A simple unleavened dough with a  bit of nutmeg and ground ginger.  Not quite a cracker, but not a modern biscuit either!  I made mine "slightly risen", using the same Yogurt Dough that I used for the Salmon en Croute -- with an added teaspoon of nutmeg and ginger.  The original recipe called for significant amounts of sugar.  To make these slightly sweet, I brushed them with a bit of whole milk and distributed a teaspoon of sugar over the batch.  

2 cups Self-rising Flour
1 cup  Skyr yogurt
1 restaurant Sugar Packet
Whole Milk

Combine the flour and skyr and knead on a floured surface to combine into a non-sticky dough.  Roll the dough out 1/4" thick and use a 2-1/2" biscuit cutter to cut rounds.  Roll out the scraps and repeat.  You should get 15-16 biscuits.

Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes until golden brown; or take the temp up to 400F and cook for 15-20 minutes.  

Really interesting and very tasty.  Great for soup!  Not quite a biscuit, but not quite a cracker either.  Crispy/chewy outside and a thin, soft inner layer.

For our WW friends, these are 1 point each!