Eat Simply, Eat Well

Pumpkin and Roasted Red Pepper Puree over Black Rice Noodles

I sometimes get asked how I come up with recipes.  The truth is there is no real formula.  Sometimes it’s something that has been spinning around in my head for a while, sometimes I am inspired by something I’ve eaten somewhere and sometimes it starts with a single ingredient that I want to play with.

In the case of this recipe, it started with wanting to do something different with pumpkin.  We have a fair amount of frozen pumpkin puree in our freezer right now – which is a really good situation to be in.  There is always a good use for pumpkin. I’ve been wanting to put some new flavor notes into pumpkin – not  just the pumpkin pie side of things with warm spices like cinnamon and clove; nor was I in the mood to add sage or lovely, creamy coconut milk, although both are very good and I have used them with pumpkins many times in the past.

I wanted a change.  And I wanted pasta.

So that’s where it began.  I pulled out the pumpkin.  Decided a lot of good savory stuff starts with onion, carrot, garlic; simmer in oil.  So I did that.  Added the pumpkin.  Boring.  Very boring.  Let it simmer some more while I dug in the cupboard searching for noodles and inspiration.  Spaghetti?  No.  Whole wheat linguine? No.  100% Buckwheat soba? Mayb…and then my eyes settled on the Black Rice Noodles nestling just below the spaghetti near the bottom of the basket in which I keep my various varieties of pasta and things started rolling.

Preserved Roasted Red Pepper that I’d made following Hank Shaw’s recipe went into the pot. Together with a whisper of cayenne pepper the peppers completely transformed the dish from boring-tastes-a-bit-like-onion waste of culinary time to a sensory experience where the deep roasted flavor that comes from ripe sweet red peppers that have been blackened under the broiler, peeled, salted and soaked in vinegar and oil to preserve melded with the smooth sweetness of the pumpkin in a palate-pleasing balance.  There was just enough salt to enhance the flavor with out tasting salty.  The parmesan adds finishing touch together with a sprinkling of chives for charm.

You’ll likely dig into the beautiful mass on the plate before you with a mild hesitation, wondering what is exactly that you’re in for.  After the first bite, you’ll start shoveling in sauce-covered noodles, unable to get enough of that glorious flavor.  All too soon, you’ll realize with some sadness that the last bite is getting nearer, the plate nearly empty, and you’ve just had one of the most tasty, surprising meals in a long, long time.

This meal is far from complicated, quick to make, and is a joy to behold. If you don’t have your own roasted red peppers, buy a bottle from your local grocer and get rolling with this.  This is going into Winter rotation.  Oh – and those noodles?  An extra bonus if you or your guest has a grain or gluten allergy:  they are wheat-free and gluten-free.

Seriously. Black Rice Noodles. You need to try these.

Pumpkin & Roasted Red Pepper Puree w/ Black Rice Noodles

2 tablespoons rapeseed (or other cooking) oil
1/2 onion, minced
1 small carrot, peeled and diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup roasted red pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt + more to taste
parmesan to grate over at the table
125g black rice noodles (1/2 bag)

Get your water on to boil for the noodles.  Once it comes to a boil, turn off the heat, put on a lid, and wait until just before you are ready to serve to boil the noodles.  They only take 5 minutes.

In a small pot, add the oil; let it heat up; add the onion and carrot.  Cook until the onion is soft and translucent; about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic clove and cook an additional minute.  Add the pumpkin purer, red pepper, cayenne, black pepper and salt.  Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes to let the flavors heat up and combine.  Remove from heat, and using and immersion blender, puree the mixture until smooth. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer the hot mixture to a heat-proof blender container and process until smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed (don’t oversalt – you don’t want to mask the other flavors).  This will be a nice, thick, puree – this is what you want, so don’t be tempted to thin it out with water. Cover.

Bring your pasta water back to a boil.  Add 1 teaspoon of salt, then the pasta.  Cook for 5 minutes.  Drain.  Divide the pasta between two deep bowls.  Top with the Pumpkin and Roasted Red Pepper Puree. Grate fresh parmesan cheese over the top of each dish and sprinkle with some fresh, chopped chives for garnish.  Serve immediately, with extra parmesan at the table for grating.

Serves 2.  Doubles easily.

Beet, Goat Cheese, Thyme and Beef Broth Soup

It’s chilly and dark outside, and I am in the mood for soup.  Not to mention – I had a big pile of roasted beets to use up. Beets are often paired with goat cheese outside of a soup, and with beef in a soup, as with Borscht. With an empty space where my wisdom tooth used to be, I’m going for foods that require little to no chewing at the moment, so Borscht, as much as I love it, was off the menu.

I decided to pair beets with both goat cheese and beef in broth form (it was actually broth made from deer bones, but if you don’t have those, beef is the perfect and most likely substitute), and added a little thyme as it just goes so well with all three flavors.  This makes a smooth, thick, colorful, satisfying soup.  Neither the flavor of the beef nor the goat cheese stands out.  They are like the supporting cast, keeping the beet from being to saccharine sweet by adding umami and depth with the broth and a balancing tanginess from the goat cheese.  This soup tastes of beets at their absolute best.

This makes a very thick soup.  If you like your soups thinner than this one, stir in a little extra hot water after you puree it.  So delicious.  It’ll make you want to keep beets around all of the time.

Beet, Goat Cheese, Thyme and Beef Broth Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 carrot, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups beef broth
1 cup water
4 large beets, roasted*, cut into large chunks
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
100g /7 oz goat cheese**
salt and pepper to taste

In a heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high, heat your olive oil and add the onion and carrot.  Cook until the onion is soft and translucent; about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes more.  Add the beef broth, water, and beets and thyme.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.  Remove the pot from the heat and add the goat cheese.  Using a handheld immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, carefully pour the soup into your heat-proof blender container and blend until smooth.

Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve.  The reason I don’t specify an amount for salt in pepper here is that the seasoning level in beef broth varies a lot depending on the brand you choose.  I almost always make my own, and season salt it very lightly so I have better control later.  If you are buying beef broth, choose a low-sodium version if possible.

Pour into bowls and garnish with fresh time and a drizzle of olive oil.

Serves 4 generously.

*If you need to roast the beets, here is how to do it:  Heat your oven to 200°C/400°F.  Wash and scrub the beets clean of dirt, but don’t peel or cut them.  Prick each beet several times with a fork.  Wrap each beet in aluminum foil and place on a baking tray.  Roast 40 – 50 minutes, or until they can be easily cut into with a butter knife. Remove from oven.  Allow the beets to cool enough so you can handle them (wearing thick rubber gloves is a good idea), and then peel the skin off with a vegetable knife or peeler.  Proceed with the recipe.

**I have used both soft chèvre and goat cheese in a firmer, log form for soup.  Both work quite well.  I don’t trim the edges off the goat cheese logs as it melts down and smooths out once you puree it, but if it bothers you, you can trim it.  Just make sure you allow for the extra goat choose to make up for the lost weight when trimming.

Salted Vanilla Caramel Sauce and Amarosa apples

Caramel and Apples.  A perfect match.

When I was in elementary school and junior high school, one of my favorite snacks to have after school in the Fall was crisp, tart apple slices with caramel dip.  Back then, my brothers and I used to unwrap a massive pile of Kraft caramels, open up a can of Eagle Brand’s sweetened condensed milk (of course there were and are other brands of caramels and condensed milk, but it seems we always used these), and melt them together over a double boiler until the caramel melted completely and combined with the sweetened condensed milk to form a pourable sauce.  Great stuff, we were convinced.

Though it’s been a while since I’ve made an afternoon snack out of this combination, I still love the flavor of caramel and apple.  There is something about the sticky, oozing, buttery sweetness of caramel that pairs so well with apples (and, well, ice cream and nuts or chocolate cake).  I don’t miss the Kraft caramels at all (good thing, as you can’t get them here anyway); even back in Seattle I had graduated from the Kraft caramels of my youth, costing a couple of bucks for a large plastic bagful, to Fran’s dark chocolate gray sea salt caramels (seriously, if you haven’t tried this, treat yourself to some luxury and buy a few – they really are the best), purchased for a couple of bucks each, and far more satisfying.

Nowadays, with Fran’s as far away from Finland as a bag of Kraft’s caramels is, I make my own version of dark chocolate covered gray sea salt caramels every year at Christmastime.  My friend and I get together in my small apartment kitchen and get an assembly line going.  We’ve gotten a bit better at it: though the caramels don’t match Fran’s in appearance, I dare say that the flavor is right where I/we want it to be.

That doesn’t solve the problem of caramel dip or sauce, though…until I realized with a delayed “Aha!” that with a few adjustments, the sugar mass that becomes caramels in my Christmas treats could, in fact, be made into caramel sauce.

So with a wisdom tooth surgery just around the corner, and the knowledge that I would be eating nothing but cold, smooth food like yogurt and buttermilk and instant oatmeal for a few days, I settled in to make some caramel sauce to match with crunchy Amarosa apples for a new version of my childhood favorite.  Yes, I know – I understand the irony of making a sugary treat just before visiting my dentist, but hey, life is about balance, and my balanced life includes the occasional treat.

This sauce is easy.  Very easy.  It’ll take a bit longer than the Kraft-condensed milk version, but the results are way better and so worth it.  Just watch the sugar so that the color doesn’t get too dark.  If you fail the first time; try again.  You’ll get the hang of it quickly, and you won’t need a thermometer at all.  If, once you’ve added the cream, the mixture seems too thick, add a little more cream.   Once you chill it, it may be too thick to pour: just heat it up.  I like my caramel sauce warmed up anyway when I pour it over ice cream or use it for apple dip.  Oh – and for those of you making pumpkin cheesecake, apple pie or chocolate cake for Thanksgiving Day – this is a wonderful addition to the dessert table.  Make a big batch and let people go happy pouring this over their dessert.

So here’s to a bit of indulgence.  If you’re going to indulge, it might as well be with the best caramel you can find, created in your own kitchen.  If you eat it with apples as I did, make sure to pair this with tart, crisp apples rather than sweet, soft ones to get the best contrast in flavor and texture.

Oh – and if you’re looking for a hostess gift, look no further.  Put this sauce in a glass jar with a pretty label, and you’ll be making friends and influencing people in no time.

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Salted Vanilla Caramel Sauce

2 1/2 cups / 7 dl white sugar
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon Maldon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine the sugar and water in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.  Heat the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves completely.  If any sugar crystals stick to the side of the pan, use a wet pastry brush to push them back down into the mixture.

Once the sugar has dissolved, increase the heat to medium-high.  Allow the mixture to cook without stirring, until it turns a pale golden brown, about 10 minutes.  This means it is beginning to caramelize.

Now begin to watch the mixture closely as it transforms quickly from here.  Swirl the pan gently so that the sugar mixture cooks evenly.  Continue cooking until the mixture turns a dark reddish brown, smells distinctly nutty and caramel like, and begins to smoke just a little.  Remove from heat.

Stir in 1/2 of the cream.  The mixture will steam and bubble a lot – don’t worry; this is normal.  Once the bubbles have subsided a little, add the remainder of the cream and stir it in until it is completely combined and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the salt and vanilla until thoroughly combined.  All the mixture to stand and cool for 15 – 20 minutes.

Serve immediately, or store in a sealed glass container in the refrigerator for 2 – 3 weeks.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.