Thyme Wild Mushroom Barley-sotto

I’ve been thinking a lot about acid lately.

We sat down for a lunch of this barley-sotto today, and while the flavor was nice, it felt like it needed just a little something to make it sing.  As much as I love the flavor of mushrooms, dishes that are mushroom-centric can seem a little muddy, especially those that cook for a long time.  JJ reminded me of my discussion with him about the importance of acid in food, and suggested we add a few drops of lemon juice.  That was it.  Perfect.

Acid’s role in balancing out a dish has been proven to me again and again in the kitchen as I am playing with food during recipe development.  Taste:  does it need more salt?  Taste again: more of a certain herb? more spice?  more pepper? It needs something…but I’m not sure what.   If this has ever happened to you, as it has to me hundreds of times, the chances are good that the missing component is acid.

I add acid to my borscht soup once the textures are perfect and just after I turn off the heat.  I use a mixture of lemon juice and red wine vinegar because I like the balance the combination these two acids provide against the otherwise heavy backdrop of cabbage, tomato, beets and beef.

I was making Asian Chicken Salad for a party the other day, and after tasting the dressing multiple times, I finally realized that it didn’t need more ginger or chili or sesame oil.  The missing ingredient was acid.  I added the juice of two limes and the dressing suddenly became 5-star.

I’ll add a bit of lemon juice to chicken noodle soup sometimes.  The cassoulet I made with Touluse Sausage didn’t taste right until I added lemon juice – the pre-acid version was simply too cloying.

Here are some other examples where acid enhances the flavor of your food:

• Papaya + lime
• Mango + lime
• Fish + lime or lemon & salt
• Avocado + lime or lemon and a little salt (especially important for Guacamole)
• Strawberries + balsamic vinegar
• Tomatoes + balsamic vinegar or salt & lemon juice
• Roasted root vegetables + red wine vinegar or tart orange juice
• Asian dishes with coconut milk + lemon or lime juice

Thyme Wild Mushroom Barley-sotto

Thyme Wild Mushroom Barley-sotto

French toast with wild raspberry syrup and greek yogurt

“Good Morning!” “Hyvää Huomenta!  “Guten Morgen!”

Those who know me we well know that I am not a night owl.  Not at all.  If given a very strong cup of coffee at an appropriately late hour, and if the stories are excellent, I can usually stay strong until about 10 PM.  Then I start to peter off.  I’ve fallen asleep on the couch of more than one friend while visiting. When I was in college, I’d fall asleep on the living room floor after coming home from work, feet propped up over the couch and the rest of me sprawled in front of the living room stove.  Nothing like a good power nap to give you the energy needed to go to bed.

But –  I love mornings.  Especially in the summer as the sun rises so early.  I typically get up around 5:00 these days, woken by the filtered sunlight through the blinds and the happy chirping of the busy birds outside my window  At this hour, there is little other noise.  No metro, little traffic, and presumably, no people either as most of the world is in bed.

Most days I start with a cup of coffee:  a large Americano with two shots of espresso and a bit of cream with hot water poured over to fill the cup.  Then I sit, steaming cup in hand, staring out the window and contemplating the day that lies ahead.

And then there are some mornings that I wake up because my stomach is growling already, and I am dreaming of something specific for breakfast.  That would be today.  I pulled on a bathrobe and paced to the kitchen, flipped on the espresso machine, put a cast iron pan over medium heat on the burner and got to work.

It had to be French toast.

I had picked up a loaf of Coquus bread on Tuesday from the Herttoniemen ruokapiiri.  We had sandwiches last night, but the bread, on day 3, was begging for a long soak and a good pan fry to make a mighty fine breakfast.  You can’t serve great French toast and not have syrup to go with it, and as summer is approaching, we’re working our way through the last containers of frozen berries in the freezer.  One of my favorite French toast toppings is raspberry maple syrup, so I got that bubbling while the French toast soaked and fried.  Easy peasy.  Fabulous start to the day.  Breakfast ready by 5:30 AM.

It’s gonna be a good day.

French toast with wild raspberry syrup and greek yogurt

French toast with wild raspberry maple syrup & greek yogurt
This recipe is as easy as could be, but makes the perfect quick breakfast that just happens to wow company (and me!) every single time.  The raspberry maple syrup is really something.  You could also substitute another berry:  blueberry, bilberry, blackberry, strawberry…

1 loaf of rustic sourdough bread, cut into slices
4 eggs
1.5 cups / 3 dl milk
2 cups / 4 dl wild raspberries (or really any raspberries are fine)
1/2 cup / 1 dl maple syrup
1/2 cup / 100 g greek yogurt

1.  Place a cast iron frying pan on the stovetop over medium heat.  Turn the oven on to it’s lowest heat (50°C is what I use).
2.  Combine the raspberries and maple syrup in a small pot and place over medium-high heat.  Bring to a simmer while you cook the French toast.
3. Whisk the eggs and milk together in a medium sized bowl
4.  Slice the sourdough bread into thick slices.  If the slices are long, cut them in half so they will fit into the bowl and the pan better.  Put two or three slices of bread at a time into the egg mixture.  Flip the bread over a couple of times to soak up the liquid.
5.  Put 1 teaspoon of butter into the frying pan and stir it around with a flat-ended spatula to cover the bottom of the pan.  Place the soaked bread slices in the pan and fry until both sides are golden brown.  Place the finished slices on a dinner plate in the oven to keep warm.  Repeat until all of the slices are done.
6.  Divide the finished French toast onto plates.  Pour the raspberry syrup over and top with a few large spoonfuls of greek yogurt.  Enjoy!

Serves 4-6.

Tabbouleh

I’ve talked in a previous post about my favorite little corner store just down the street from me.  Every now and again there’s an unusual culinary find – something I would never expect to see there.

On a recent trip, I spotted a bag of organic bulgar wheat.  I’ve been wanting to experiment with Tabbouleh recipes for a while, so I popped it into my basket.  Jyrkki smiled when he saw the package, and told me it was the Herttoniemen ruokapiiri’s gift to me.  Apparently they’d had it hanging around in the shop for a while – unsold because nobody knew what to do with it.  So here’s my gift back to the folks at my favorite corner shop, and to you, dear blog perusers:  Tabbouleh.  The best way to utilize the wonder that is bulgar wheat.   Now is a great time of year to make it, too, especially if you have a garden, because fresh herbs are at their finest right now.

Tabbouleh is a traditional Arab dish, often served with meze.  It is traditionally made with bulgar wheat, though some recent variations use couscous.  I’ve seen tabbouleh recipes using quinoa, and I’ve tried it with couscous as well – it works as a stand-in, particularly if you can find whole wheat couscous, but really, sometimes the real thing is what you need to make a recipe stand out, and this is one of those times.  Seek out bulgar wheat if you can find it, as the texture really is better in this recipe.

According to our friends over at Wikipedia, tabbouleh is originally from Lebanon and Syria and has since grown in popularity and is now loved throughout the Arab world.  Homemakers in Baghdad originally scoffed a bit at the dish, apparently thinking it was the cheapskate’s way to use less meat.  Now it definitely holds its own in the culinary world:  the dish has made its way to other parts of the world along with Arabs who have settled beyond their native countries, and through world travelers who have brought as souvenirs the flavors and food experiences home with them.  So beloved is this dish, there is even a series of World Records held by those who have made the largest quantity of tabbouleh at one time.  The current honor is won on November 13, 2009 and is held by Yaldy Association at Alaayen Elementary School in the Arab town of Shefa’-Amr in Israel.  It weighed 4,324 kg or 9,532 lbs 12 oz.  Now that’s a lot of salad.

Tabbouleh:  Lots of bits and chunks.  Full of fabulous fresh herbs.  A tang of lemon.  Oh my.

There are many, many variations of Tabbouleh out there.  Some include tomatoes, some include cucumbers and some include both, as mine does.  Some use more herbs than bulgar wheat – I actually like the texture, flavor and balance provided by putting a substantial amount of bulgar wheat in this salad.  There is garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and fresh herbs – definitely parsley and then some complementary herb like mint or basil (I prefer the former).  My herb pots on the balcony are overflowing with herbs right now, so a little trim will only do them some good.  Add a little pepper and some ground cumin if wish (highly recommended – it adds a subtle depth).  I used chicken broth instead of water, which is definitely not traditional, but do as you like.  You can serve it up immediately, or let the flavors blend together overnight.  It makes a great picnic or potluck dish and is great as a side dish or a main course.

Let’s get chopping.

Tabbouleh

Step 1:
2 cups / 4 dl chicken broth or water if you prefer the more traditional way
1 cup of bulgar wheat
Bring the chicken broth to a boil in a small pot.  Turn off the heat, add the bulgar wheat, put the lid on it, and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Step 2:
Meanwhile prepare the remaining ingredients:
4 medium size tomatoes, chopped, to equal 1.5 cups / 3 dl
1 large cucumber, peeled and chopped, about 1.5 cups / 3 dl
1 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
juice of one lemon to equal 1/4 cup / 1/2 dl
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Step 3:
Transfer the cooked bulgar wheat to a medium size bowl and fluff with a fork.  Add the remaining ingredients and toss well with a fork to fully combine.  Serve immediately if you wish, or for the best flavor, wait at least an hour or up to overnight before serving to allow the flavors to blend.

Serves 6.