Eat Simply, Eat Well

Healthy recipes & tips to help you live the good life. by Ann Plough

Meatless Monday: Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

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Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you’ve noticed that I love the cruciferous vegetable family in all of its forms:  Brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, to name just a few of the wonderful vegetables in it.

Now I have a new one for you to try and this is close to the top of the list for nutritional value deliciousness potential.

Bok Choy (also Buk Choi, Pak Choi or combinations thereof) is one of the healthiest of the entire group, but can be a bit harder to find here in Helsinki.  My favorite spot to buy it is from the Asian grocery story; in the US and the UK it’s a bit easier to come by in your neighborhood store.  It has high levels of 21 nutrients including omega-3s and zinc, and also includes 70 antioxidant phenolic substances.  It has high amounts of beta carotene and vitamin A, C and K.  This is a vegetable you want to be eating.

In the spirit of “Meatless Monday”, I wanted to use an vegetarian protein source and chose Du Puy lentils for their outstanding flavor, speed of cooking, and because they too, are a nutritional powerhouse.  The high amounts of magnesium they contain help your body absorb calcium and keep your heart happy as well. They are also full of folate, protein, fiber, iron, and a number of all nutrients that make for a strong digestive system, stable blood sugar levels, and steady energy.

Maybe it’s because Bok Choy is a chinese cabbage used widely in Asian foods that I leaned toward Asian flavorings in this dish as well.  The cabbage is mildly sweet with a tender crunchy texture when cooked properly (read: not overcooked) and pairs really well with the ginger and mushrooms in the savory, slightly spicy sauce.  The lentils round out the meal to make a satisfyingly hearty dish without being heavy.  And the best part is, it takes

The thought of missing meat won’t even cross your mind.

Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

Bok Choy, Ginger and Mushrooms with Lentils

1.  Cook the lentils:
1/2 cup whole dried lentils: Du Puy, Brown or Green
1.5 cups water
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon soy sauce, or more to taste

Combine all of the ingredients except for the soy sauce in a small saucepan.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  Cover.  Cook for 20 minutes or until lentils are tender.  Drain the lentils and remove garlic clove.  Stir in soy sauce; taste; if desired add more soy sauce.

2.  Cook the vegetables
2 tablespoons rapeseed or other cooking oil
1 onion, diced
1/2 liter of shiitake or dusky wax cap mushrooms, cleaned, trip, and cut into large pieces
1/2″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
2-3 teaspoons of Schiracha sauce, depending on how spicy you like things
5-6 heads of baby Bok Choy, root ends removed, washed, and cut into large pieces
salt and pepper to taste
black sesame seeds to serve

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the onions and mushrooms.  Cook until the onions are tender and translucent and the mushrooms have released most of their liquid.  Add the ginger and garlic and cook 2 minutes more.  Add the broth, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow the mixture to simmer for 8 – 10 minutes.  Add the Bok Choy, cover the pan, and cook for another 3 minutes until lightly steamed and crunchy tender.  Remove the lid and stir the vegetable mixture so the Bok Choy is covered with the sauce.  Taste to check the seasonings and add salt and pepper as needed.

3.  Plate it up
Divide the lentils between two plates.  Arrange the vegetable mixture over the top and sprinkle with black sesame seeds.

Serves 2.

 

Roasted Celeraic with Wild Mushrooms and Pearl Barley

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Roasted Celeraic with Wild Mushrooms and Pearl Barley

I’ve bet you’ve seen celeraic:  the knobby, bulbous, root covered vegetable looks a bit like an unshapely brain or turnip gone awry.  This root vegetable is grown the world over and its taste is reminiscent of the celery stalk.  It can be roasted, fried, boiled or eaten raw – and adds a wonderful flavor to soups and casserole.  Sometimes called celery root – it’s really not the same thing.  I bought one celeraic at the Slow Food Farmer’s market in Fiskars last weekend and have been waiting all week for the chance to cook it up (Jenny’s beautiful pictures captured the market scene so well – thanks Jenny!).  

Faces of Celeraic, part 1
Faces of Celeraic, Part 2

Thanks to Jamie Oliver and his book Save with Jamie, which I picked up during a recent business trip to London, today I tried celeraic roasted in a cast-iron casserole dish on a bed of barley & wild mushrooms.  Jamie’s new book is fantastic – I highly recommend getting it and perusing the pages with an eye not simply for saving money, but in search of inspiration:  as is often the case when people look to get a delicious but low-cost meal on the table, Jamie uses a lot of vegetables in his recipes.  In fact, many of the recipes are vegetables only, letting the flavors of high-quality vegetable shine, just as they should, especially this time of year when many vegetables are being harvested at their peak of flavor and ripeness, and should be celebrated.

In the spirit of highlighting the vegetables, I made a riff on Jamie’s roasted celeraic, which he descriptively calls Zombie Brain, but instead of cooking it up as two dishes that were combined for serving, I put everything in my trusty 2-liter/quart cast iron covered casserole dish and shoved it in the oven for a good long roast.  I also skipped the truffle oil, cream and mustard because I didn’t want to use them,  and changed the quantities of the herbs, used wild mushrooms instead of button and generally had a good time playing with the recipe.

Still on the stovetop, butter just added.  Now into the oven…

Because of the flavors of the wild mushrooms, the variety of vegetables and herbs, and the long roast, there is no need to add any sort of broth to this dish.  Plain old tap water will serve you well here, and the dish comes out of the oven fragrant – smelling of herbs and garlic and a scent I couldn’t quite name, with a flavor deep with umami and very satisfying.  Fresh out of the oven, the celeraic looks for all the world like a little mini pork roast, and can be sliced up into thin slices in the same way.

Sliced celeraic served with roasted barley, mushrooms and vegetables

Make this on a weekend; or alternatively, make this some weeknight when dinner is over and you’re planning to spend the evening lounging on the couch with a good book.  It comes together in 10 minutes or so, and can be refrigerated to be reheated the next day.  It’s the perfect Fall or Winter dish.

Note:  if you use dried mushrooms instead of fresh, rehydrate them by pouring boiling water over the top and allowing to sit for 5 minutes.  Add both the mushrooms and the soaking water to the casserole dish and proceed with the recipe, subtracting the amount of soaking water from the amount of water in the recipe below.

Up close & personal:  Roasted Celeraic with Wild Mushrooms & Pearl Barley


Roasted Celeraic with Wild Mushrooms and Pearl Barley
inspired by Jamie Oliver’s Save with Jamie

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil
one onion, diced
1 liter/quart wild mushrooms or 1 cup dried & rehydrated with 1 cup boiling water (I used yellow foot mushrooms / suppilovahvero)
3 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 cup large potato, peel on and cut into chunks
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
10 grinds of fresh ground pepper or heaped 1/4 teaspoon
1/2 cup pearl barley (could replace with brown rice to make gluten-free)
1/2 liter water / 2 cups water
1 celeraic
1 tablespoon butter, optional (omit to make recipe vegan)
salt and pepper to sprinkle

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F.

Heat a 2 liter/quart cast iron casserole dish over medium-high heat (you can also do this in a separate pot if you are using a ceramic casserole dish instead).  Add the oil, onion and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms start to release their liquid, about 2 minutes.  Add in the remaining ingredients except for the celeraic, and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Scrub the celeraic under cool running water to remove and dirt around the roots.  Turn off the heat, stir the vegetable mixture well, and push the celeraic, root side up, down into the mass of vegetables.  Place the butter on top of the celeriac, if using.  Sprinkle the celeraic with a pinch of salt and a grind or two of pepper. Place the lid on the casserole dish and place it in the oven.

Allow to roast, undisturbed, for 90 minutes to 2 hours until the celeraic is golden brown and can be easily pierced through with a butter knife.

To serve, slice the celeraic into thin slices as you would a pork roast, and serve up the slices with spoonfuls of the mushroom barley mixture.  Finish with a sprinkle of fresh chives.

Serves 4.

Chanterelle Soup

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Chantrelle Soup

Summer is slowly fading away here:  the days are still sunny and long, but there is a crispness to the air that means Fall will soon take over.  Yes, I know that it is only early August.  I’m having a hard time accepting that the hot warm days are over.  I am just not ready for this.  Summer was good to us with long, relaxing days at the cabin – the quintessential “mummon mökki” or “grandma’s cabin” in central Finland.  Late nights, sleeping in, sauna & swim, fishing, berry picking, relaxing in the sun & rain.  Yes, it has been a good summer.

Lupine growing in front of the log cabin, painted the traditional red

 

Views of the buildings in the yard: traditional smoke sauna behind the apple tree on the right

And even though the best of summer is behind us now, there is a perk to the change in weather:

Top to bottom:  Chanterelles, white hedgehog,  red boletus

There are mushrooms everywhere.  And their arrival is coinciding with harvest time in Finland, which means that I also have loads of fresh vegetables:

Harvest from the cabin garden:  Swiss Chard, beets, potatoes
Chanterelles are incredibly versatile.  You can fry them in a little butter, salt them lightly, and serve them with freshly caught pike as E did.  You can add butter & onion to the above combination and serve them over new potatoes.  You can add them to a Zucchini casserole dish or to risotto for a wonderful flavor.
Lake views and dining under the pines
Lake Päijänne pike and chantrelles picked behind the cabin

 

Since there is no oven at the cabin – just a single hot plate that plugs into the wall – and no running water, we keep meals simple there.  One-pot meals and as few dishes as possible is a good rule, though I still don’t like using paper plates even if it means spending an extra half an hour doing the dishes.  It’s way more fun to eat off of “real plates” rather than dealing with the sogginess of the paper versions and plastic utensils, not to mention the waste factor.
Hot plate with a view

There aren’t many meals simpler than a one-pot meal made of stuff growing in the garden or in the woods behind the house served with bread, cheese, and garden lettuce.

Table set for a simple supper

 

Fresh herbs add flavor and color

Chanterelle Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion + onion greens if you have them, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced

Heat the oil in the soup pot and add the onion and garlic.  Cook until the onion is tender and beginning to turn golden brown.  Add:

6 dl / 3 cups hot water (preheat in a kettle)
500 g / 1 lb new potatoes, chopped small, skin on

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and let the mixture bubble until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork.  Using the back of the fork, mash the potatoes roughly.  Don’t worry about a smooth mixture:  you are aiming for rough chunks of potatoes.  Add:

1 liter / quart of fresh chanterelles.

If the chanterelles are small, leave them whole.  If they are large, pull them apart with your fingers or chop them roughly with a knife.  You want bigger pieces of chanterelle.

Let the mixture bubble for 5 minutes to allow the chanterelles to cook.  Add salt and pepper to taste, then add:

1 tablespoon each fresh chives, oregano and sage, diced.  
1/2 dl of ruokakermaa / 1/4 cup half & half

Stir the soup to incorporate the herbs, remove from heat, and let it sit for a minute or two to infuse the soup with the flavor of the herbs.  Serve with fresh bread.

Serves 4 for a light supper.

Eat local.