Eat Simply, Eat Well

Porcini Thyme Tart

December 12, 2014 by aplough

If you were following this blog during the Fall season this year, than you already know that there was a bumper crop of porcini (boletus edulis, herkkutatti) in Finland this year. They were everywhere. The first few days after I heard they were out, I remember taking a turn down a country road out near the Sipoo national park, driving slowly, and peering left into the trees as I drove, trying to detect any signs of those domed mushrooms beneath the fir and pine. And then I saw it. A single porcini standing proudly in the middle of the pine duff about 15 meters from the edge of the road. I hit the brakes, parked the car just barely off the road, and ran down into the woods, mushroom knife in hand, to collect it.

Oh, I know that it was sheer dumb luck to spot the mushroom I was looking for from a moving vehicle; then again, the eyes see what the mind is focused on finding, and I was heavily tuned into finding these mushrooms. And as my Dad used to say: never underestimate the power of sheer, dumb luck.

The crop that day wasn’t spectacular: I came home with just under 2 kg / 5 lbs of mushrooms, but I knew that anyday now, they’d be in full flush. This was on a Tuesday. We planned a trip north for that Friday – up to the cabin where the competition for mushrooms was less and where vast, pristine, forests that Finland is known for were all around us – hopefully filled with porcini.

Saturday morning we headed out just before breakfast toward a couple of spots I’d scouted earlier in the summer. I was thinking, given my experience a few days earlier, that there wouldn’t be too many mushrooms, but maybe enough for a soup, a pie, and a few to dry for later. My, oh my, people! They were everywhere. At first I was a bit greedy – grabbing big and small like each one would be my last. Until I took a deep breath, slowly looked around, and down, and realized that there were #1 and #2 buttons everywhere, in perfect condition, and that there was no need at all to look at the larger, potentially worm-infested mushrooms. We quickly filled the two baskets we had with us, and then went out again, and again, and again.

I don’t know how many we eventually picked over the course of the next week – I do know that we have 5 or 6 liters of dried ones and 10 or 12 liters of frozen ones, as well several jars of the ones I put up, Italian style, dried with salt, boiled in vinegar and preserved in oil, and that’s after a eating a lot of them fresh and giving a pile away. My friend Anna Maija had told me several years prior that her sister had picked 50 kilos!!!! of porcini at their cabin. “How is that even possible?” said I, who had only ever found one or two, in total disbelief.

Now I know. Sometimes Nature really delivers. But she doesn’t wait. One week later, we were fighting with the worms for the best of the porcini mushrooms. Two weeks later, there were a couple of good ones few and far between the masses of giant, worm-infested, rotted out fungi. Game over.

But thankfully, the music plays on in my kitchen, where yesterday I reached into the jar of dried porcini to pull out 30 grams for a mushroom tart. This tart is so simple, so perfect, so full of flavor – it’s hard to imagine a better way to serve up this magnificent gift of the forest. The mushroom takes center stage, with onion providing full back-up, garlic a little depth, and thyme dancing around the edges adding the finishing touches. Served in a crispy barley crust (you could also use rye), you have a balance of crisp, flaky dough and soft, savory filling – the perfect dinner.

Porcini Thyme Tart

1. Prepare the mushrooms. In a bowl combine and let sit while you prepare the other ingredients:
30 grams / 1 ounce dried porcini (herkkutatti)
boiling water to cover

2. Make the crust.
1 teaspoon / 5 ml salt
2/3 cup / 150 ml cold water
3 cups + 2 tablespoons / 455g barley flour
1 cup + 5 tablespoons / 300 g very cold butter

In a small bowl, combine the salt and the water and stir to dissolve. Keep cold until ready to use.

You can make the dough in a food processor or by hand. To use a food processor, but the flour in the work bowl. Cut the butter into pieces and scatter over the flour. Pulse briefly until the mixture forms large crumbs, and some of the butter pieces are about the size of peas. Add the water-salt mixture and pulse briefly until the dough starts to form a ball, but is not completely smooth. You should still see butter chunks.

To make by hand, put the flour in a bowl. Cut the butter into pieces and scatter over the flour. Using your hands, a fork or a pastry blender (my preferred tool), work the butter into the flour until the mixture forms large chunks and some of the butter pieces are about the size of peas. Pour in the water-salt mixture and, using your hands, work the dough together so it forms a ball but is not smooth. You should still see some pieces of butter.

On a floured work surface, divide the dough into two equal balls and shape each ball into a disk about 1 inch / 2.5 cm thick. You will need only one disk of dough for this recipe wrap the other disk in plastic wrap. If you do not plan to use the other disk immediately, place the disk in a plastic bag, label with contents and date, and freeze. Remove from the freezer and thaw in the refrigerator one night before you’d like to use it.

Dust the countertop lightly with barley flour. Roll the other disk of dough out into a large circle, transfer to a 10″/25 cm tart pan, and press it into the bottom and the sides of the pan. Using your rolling pin, roll across the top of the tart dish to cut away any excess dough. This excess dough can be saved for a later use: wrap it in plastic wrap and store as above. Using a fork, poke a few holes into the bottom and sides of the dough in the tart pan. This will prevent it from puffing up when you bake it.

Place the dough lined tart pan into the freezer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, heat your oven to 225°C/425°F. Remove the tart from the freezer, place in the oven, and turn the oven temperature down to 200°C/400°F. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven. Leave the oven on at 200°C/400°F.

3. Prep the filling.
1 tablespoon oil (I use untested, unfiltered sesame oil or rapeseed oil)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
soaked mushrooms from step 1
leaves from 3-4 thyme sprigs to equal 1 heaped teaspoon
4 eggs
2 cups milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup grated mild cheese: Emmental, Gouda or Mozzarella work well here

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed frying pan (cast iron is best) and add the onion. Sauté the onion over medium heat for 15 minutes so it is very soft and slightly caramelized.

While the onion cooks, drain the mushrooms, saving the soaking water for a later use. (Chefs consider this soaking water ‘liquid gold’ – so full of umami flavor – so freeze it and use in risotto or soups.) Chop the mushrooms into large dice. Remove the onions from heat and add the mushrooms garlic and thyme leaves. Stir well to combine.

In a small bowl, beat the eggs, add the milk, salt and pepper, and whisk to combine well.

4. Assemble & Bake.
Place the tart pan onto a baking sheet to make putting it in and out of the oven easier.

Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the bottom of the baked tart crust. Spoon the mushroom mixture evenly over the top of the cheese. Pour the egg mixture over the mushrooms. Transfer the tart to the hot oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tart is slightly puffed and golden brown. Allow the tart to rest for 10-15 minutes. Serve warm.

Serves 4-6.

Kidney Bean, Kale and Barley Soup

December 10, 2014 by aplough

The wind is howling and puffing and blowing outside and it’s been doing that all day. I live at the top of an 8-story apartment building, and I can hear the whistling of the wind, the rattling of the window pane and the whole building feels like it may be swaying just a bit. Probably unlikely, though – this building has been here since the 1950s, so I don’t think we’re going anywhere.

I love a windy day – especially a day like this one when it really isn’t very cold outside. I just took a short walk, and love the way the wind gusted up around the trees and buildings, across my face, through the hat I was wearing and pushing my winter coat back against me. There is something about standing there, leaning slightly into the heavy gusts, looking out into the dark, starless night, that I found so enlivening and refreshing. Woohoo! Bring it on.

Here’s a hearty soup that’s well-suited for a windy winter day like this one. It takes a bit of pre-planning since you’ll need to soak the grains and beans, but you can pop them in a bowl with water before you go to bed and they’ll be ready to go by the time you need them the next day. Or you could use canned beans and pre-cooked grains leftover from something else, and then this comes together in about 20 minutes.

The soup has one secret, unusual, and completely crucial ingredient: the juice of one Clementine. This adds a bright, sweet note without the sharpness that lemon juice or vinegar might bring. Enjoy!

Kidney Bean, Kale and Barley Soup

1 cup kidney beans, soaked overnight, soaking water drained away, and rinsed
1/2 cup barley, soaked overnight, soaking water drained away, and rinsed
3 cups water
1 yellow onion, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
leaves from 4 thyme sprigs
2-3 kale leaves, ribs removed and chopped small
2 cups / 500 ml vegetable broth or 2 cups water + 2 tablespoons homemade bouillon
salt and pepper to taste
Juice of one Clementine

In a medium pot, combine the beans, barley and water. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook for 40 minutes.

While the beans and barley cook, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are very soft and beginning to caramelize, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme leaves and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the beans, barley and cooking water all at once. Add the vegetable broth or water+homemade bouillon. Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce to medium heat, and cook for 15 minutes. Take a bite of the beans and barley to make sure they are cooked. If they are done, add the kale, and continue cooking for 3-5 more minutes to let the kale soften. Remove from heat. Add salt and pepper if needed. Serve.

Serves 4

Tropical Sunrise Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl

December 9, 2014 by aplough

Who of us living in a place where the dark, cold months have descended upon us doesn’t dream of a tropical sunrise this time of year? We are fast approaching the longest night of the year here in Finland. Yes, I mean longest night, not the shortest day. It’s the darkness you notice when it seems to go on forever. It is still dark outside my window as I write this, and according to the weather app on my trusty old iPhone 4S (it’s still working well, so no urgency for an upgrade quite yet) the sun will rise this morning at 9:10 PM and set at 3:13 PM. That means that we’ll be spending 3/4 of the day in twilight and darkness.

When the sun does shine on Winter days like these, the sunrise and sunset are both wildly glorious, with yellow, orange, pink and red colors that streak across the horizon where the sky meets the sea beyond Helsinki, and sometimes up into the low-lying smattering of clouds just above. Beautiful and deceptive: though the sun beckons promisingly through the window with its bright rays, the temperatures are no where near tropical. But the sun doesn’t always shine, no matter the season.

It doesn’t matter. The best thing you can do is cook yourself a satisfying breakfast that will warm you from the inside out, topped with fresh fruit and nuts that remind you of warmer places and climates. Then wrap yourself up in a cozy winter parka, hat, scarf, gloves – and go on out there and embrace the cold and the season. Winter is a time for rest and renewal, and this breakfast bowl will help you make the most of it.

A few notes:

I highly recommend using steel cut oats or whole oat grains for this (and any oat porridge breakfast). The texture is far superior and so satisfying to eat. But if you are in a rush, the old fashioned rolled oats take just a few minutes and are a great substitute. Or, you can make the oats the night before and refrigerate, then reheat them in the morning for breakfast. I do this all the time if I know I need to get out of the door quickly in the morning. They also freeze well.
Toasting the oats is not absolutely necessary, but highly recommended as it adds a really nice depth of flavor to the finished porridge
Vanilla extract is best for this. If you can’t find it, you can use vanilla sugar, but the flavor won’t be as great.
Other unrefined sugars could be used in place of the honey

Tropical Sunrise Oatmeal Breakfast Bowl

For slow-cooked oats:
1 cup / 250 ml of steel cut oats or whole oat grains
2 1/2 cups / 600 ml water
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

For quicker oats:
1 cup / 240 ml old fashioned rolled oats
1 1/4 cup / 350 ml water
1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt

For the fruit topping
1/4 cup boiling water
3 teaspoons honey
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 Clementines, peeled, seeded, separated into segments; each segment cut in half
1 banana, diced small
1 cup diced pineapple
4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons raw cashews, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes

Make the oatmeal:
Place a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Once it is warm, add the oats and toast lightly in the dry pan, stirring often, for one minute. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add the salt. Lower heat to a simmer, cover with a lid, and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off heat, keep lid on, and allow to rest for 5 minutes.

If cooking slow-cooked oats, let rest for 30 minutes, then re-warm the oats slightly. The rest of the directions are the same as above.

Make the topping:
In a small bowl, combine the boiling water and honey and stir until the honey has dissolved. Add the vanilla extract and stir to combine. Add the fruit and coconut flakes and stir well to coat the fruit with the syrup.

Divide the oat porridge between two bowls. Divide the fruit mixture across the top of the oats. Spoon the Greek Yogurt into the middle of each bowl on top of the fruit. Sprinkle with cashews.

Serves 2.