Fennel and Carrot Soup

Posted on December 7, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was in the soup mood last night and remember tearing a new recipe out of the recent issue of Bon Appetit. Was the perfect time to make it — Fennel and Carrot Soup. I love fennel and enjoy carrots when they are cooked (or covered in hummus). For some reason I just cannot acquire a taste for them when they are just plain and simple, perfectly orange and raw. We all have our things.

Anyway, when I saw the recipe I knew I’d have to make a couple changes/eliminations, which is common in my world since I’m the lactard, but it would be simple.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (I used some olive oil here because of my dairy issue)
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (I used one+)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
1 small Yukon Gold potato, peeled, halved (I used a Russet)
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (Trader Joe’s boxes are perfect for this)
¼ cup coarsely chopped roasted chestnuts from a jar (I skipped these because I couldn’t find them anywhere)
¼ cup crème fraîche (skipped this step)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (ditto on the above)

Directions:

Heat 4 Tbsp. butter (or some oil) in a large heavy pot over medium. Add fennel, onion, carrots, potato, thyme, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if needed, until vegetables are soft but not browned and have released their moisture, 45–60 minutes (this will give them deep flavor). ***Right here I was staring at these delicious looking veggies and questioned sanity — WHY was there no garlic in here?!?! I quickly added some.

Add broth, bring to a boil, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until potato is falling apart, 8–10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Remove herbs.

Working in batches, purée in a blender until smooth. (Blender??? Immersion blender!!) Strain into a clean pot; season with salt and pepper.

(Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium. Add chestnuts and cook, stirring often, until butter is browned and chestnuts are toasted, about 4 minutes.

Mix crème fraîche and maple syrup in a small bowl. Serve soup topped with maple crème fraîche and chestnuts.

Do Ahead: Soup can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.)

I can’t speak for the last few steps but I’m sure they add quite a bit. But even without them, this soup is AMAZING! Flavor, flavor, flavor! Easy to make, great on its own or with some seafood or meat. I enjoyed it with some chicken. I would highly recommend it. Can likely be frozen, as well.

Carrot Salad with Coriander and Pistachios

Posted on May 13, 2014 by melsmosaic

Was flipping through my Bon Appetit magazine the other day and came across a great sounding recipe that I had to test last Sunday. It was their Carrot Salad with Coriander Vinaigrette and Pistachios from the recent May issue. Perfect for a sunny day!

Ingredients:

¼ cup unsalted, shelled raw pistachios
¾ teaspoon coriander seeds (thought I had seeds and realized too late I didn’t, went ground)
½ garlic clove, finely grated (only half a clove?!?! — yeah right!)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
⅓ cup olive oil
Kosher salt
1 pound carrots, peeled, julienned or coarsely grated (totally use the food processor with the right blade)
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems (didn’t keep much of the stems on and chopped it a bit)

For ease, take those carrots to the food processor. Throw them down the tube and get them shredded quickly.

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast pistachios on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing occasionally, until golden brown, 6–8 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop. Note: I normally just toast them on the stove, easier. And, second note, I had roasted ones to begin with so didn’t have to do anything — saved a step!

Toast coriander in a small dry skillet over medium heat, tossing often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Let cool; coarsely chop. — this is where I just threw some ground coriander in the pan and toasted it, worked just as well!
Whisk garlic, lemon juice, red pepper flakes, and coriander in a large bowl, then whisk in oil; season with salt. Add carrots, toss, and let sit at least 30 minutes. I sort of threw all those ingredients on top of the carrots and stirred — it worked.

Toss with cilantro and pistachios just before serving.

(DO AHEAD: Salad (without cilantro and nuts) can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.)

This was absolutely delicious! So quick and easy to make. Will be a great recipe for the summer for cookouts, BBQs, etc! And, it’s gluten and lactose free and vegetarian, so will work for many people.

Koper Pennie Wortel Slaai (Copper Penny Carrot Salad)

Posted on January 19, 2014 by melsmosaic

Last week I had my monthly supper club and the theme was Food From a Place You Want to Visit/Love to Visit. South Africa is on my (near future) itinerary so I did some searching for a dish from there. I finally decided on Koper Pennie Wortel Slaai (Copper Penny Carrot Salad). It’s fresh veggies and quite the ‘dressing’.

Ingredients:

Salad

1 kg Carrots
3 Onions (I used white)
3 Green Chillies or if you prefer Green Pepper (I did that — nice green bell peppers)

Sauce/Dressing (note — I did some major amount adjustments to these)

250ml water
1 packet of tomato cream soup (I used a can of tomato soup because of lactose intolerance, so eliminated the aforementioned water)
200 ml Vinegar – used about 2 tbsp white vinegar
250 ml Sugar — used about 2-3 tsp
125 ml Oil — used about 1/4 cup olive oil
10 ml Worcester Sauce — used about 1 tsp
7 ml Mustard — used about 1 tsp

To make:

Cut carrots and onions into rings. Boil carrots 15 minutes with a little salt. During the last 6 minutes, add the onions.

Dice green peppers or chillies. Add carrots, onions and chillies or green peppers in a low bowl. (Remember not to use stainless steel bowl, as it will cause a reaction due to acidity).

For the sauce/dressing, combine all ingredients and bring to boil for about 5 minutes.

Pour hot sauce over the vegetables. Refrigerate for at least one day. Enjoy!

For the balance of the meal, some food came from Italy with a Tuscan Bean soup, the Southwest with some great spicy beans, Northern Africa with some Moroccan Chicken. Delicious all around!

Wrap-up Dinner

Posted on December 2, 2013 by melsmosaic

The long weekend is over. Time to get back to ‘normal’ life. I wanted to make a healthy meal that both used some of the leftover turkey and would give me some lunch for the week. I remembered a recipe a friend passed along a few years ago and it was perfect for this time of year. It doesn’t actual call for turkey, but throwing the meat in at the end was a great addition. I used Ellie Krieger‘s Lemony Lentil Soup with Greens (from her So Easy, Luscious Healthy Recipes for Every Meal of the Week cookbook, 2009). It’s basic, nutritious and pretty quick. I made HALF (of all the noted quantities) and have tons. You could also easily make this a vegetarian dish by using veggie vs. chicken broth.

Ingredients

2 tsp canola oil — used olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
16 oz. green lentils
12 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
6 cups chopped kale leaves (about 6 oz)
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest