dinner Archives • Ant & Anise

Squash and apple soup

Ta da…..squash and apple soup!

It’s only taken a few months to get a new post out. I think we should start calling this an, ahem, occasional food blog. Since Eve and I started this, over 4 years ago now, life has seriously gotten in the way of time spent creating Ant & Anise — to peruse, experiment, measure, write down precise instructions, photograph and, at the end of all that, have something meaningful to say about a recipe.

And maybe that’s okay.

Because it does take time. Hours and hours for each post. But hours to explore new food ideas and recipes is something I’ve been short of, in a serious way, for what seems like forever.

Ahem, okay probably more like six or eight months, if I cut the hyperbole. Yep, real life has taken oven. Don’t quit your day job is ringing in my ears right about now.

Big sigh. Deep breath. Another deep breath.

So many things I would like to do with this blog, and so little time to squeeze it all in. Something has to give.

One thing that gave, a lot, was squash from the CSA. Yes, way back in the fall. It’s been that long.

At one point I had four of them on the kitchen counter, and they sat patiently for a few weeks before I decided that’s it, we’re doing a blitz on roasted squash around here. I think I was tired of moving them around to wipe the dust off the counter. I’m like that.

Anyway, squash is one of those vegetables that I ~~don’t~~ didn’t rush out of my way to buy. Partly out of fear. It still kind of freaks me out. I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you I still have visions of having my chef’s knife taking a wrong turn and slicing my left hand open from wrist to fingertip.

Those rinds are hard suckers, no getting around it. Tackling four at once help to ~~squash~~ (sorry, bad pun) take away the fear, and I’m mostly over it now. In fact, I just bought a kabocha squash today, and it’s going on the chopping block this weekend.

The best advice I have for cutting into squash is to take it slow. Super slow. Have a decent cutting board and knife, keep your fingers safe, and don’t be in a rush. Once you’ve cut a squash in half, do a happy dance because the worst part is over. And the result will be so very, very rewarding.

The roasting blitz turned out to be a catalyst for a few new favorites around here. First up, squash and apple soup. It’s substantial for a blustery winter day yet not too heavy, creamy with the addition of coconut milk, and has a lovely depth of flavor from not only the apple, but from roasting the squash before it’s simmered with the onion, garlic and other soup ingredients.

Take a deep breath, and a sharp knife, cut into that squash rind, and don’t look back.

You can do this. And you’ll be very glad you did.

Roasted Squash & Apple Soup

Roasting the squash before you add it to the soup adds a subtle depth of flavor. An easy, yet impressive, soup to make for guests or for when you need to warm up from the cold. Adapted from John Bishop's Butternut Squash and Apple Soup from his Simply Bishop's book.

Ingredients

1 medium squash (butternut, kabocha), peeled and cut in 1-inch dice
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, cut in 1/2-inch dice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 Fuji apples, cored, peeled and cut in 1/2-inch dice
1/4 cup dry sherry
4 cups chicken stock
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
salt and pepper to taste
Garnish:
1/2 Fuji apple
slices of cambozola cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375F. Place squash cubes on foil-lined baking sheet, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and, using your hands, toss the cubes to lightly coat with the oil. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until browned.
In a large soup pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the butter over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add cumin, garam masala, and apple. Cook, stirring gently, for 2-3 minutes.
Deglaze the pan with the sherry, and stir to loosen the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add stock, bring to a boil on medium-high heat and then turn the heat to low. Cover and simmer until the apple is softened, about 10 minutes.
Add the roasted squash to the pot, stir in coconut milk, then remove from the stove and let cool for 15 minutes.
In batches, puree the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour the soup into a soup pot, and season with salt and pepper.
To serve, reheat gently over medium-low heat. Ladle soup into warmed bowls and top with julienned apple slices and a piece of cambozola.

Notes

If you like cambozola cheese (and who doesn't??), a lovely accompaniment to the soup is to serve crostini spread with cambozola cheese and thinly sliced apple. Heavenly....

Cauliflower Cheese Bake

It’s pretty much universal: Kids, of any age, like macaroni and cheese. Comfort food, pure and simple. My childhood memories of mac and cheese run to the boxed fluorescent orange Kraft Dinner variety, which I loved at the time.

Now my tastes run far, far away from packages of neon orange powdered cheese, and more to real foods. More as in 99.9% of the time. I also eat way less pasta than I used to. So now my go-to mac and cheese is actually cauliflower in a rich cheese sauce. Yep, cauliflower and crispy roasted leeks, covered in a sharp cheddar cheese sauce. I’m calling it cauliflower cheese bake, and it’s my new favorite comfort food.

Let’s get started.

First off, instead of steaming the cauliflower and leeks I roasted them with a drizzle of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Roasting teases out the natural sweetness in any vegetable. It also dries out the cauliflower slightly, so that it retains some crispness in its texture even when it’s cooked through.

I turned the cauliflower florets and stirred the leeks up about halfway through roasting so they browned evenly, more or less. I also separated the leeks from the cauliflower on my baking sheet, just in case the leeks started to get too crispy before the cauliflower was done. (Turned out they were fine. I like the crispy bits anyway….) Here’s how they looked when the cauliflower was done:

The cauliflower and leeks roast for about 20 minutes, which is ample time to make the cheese sauce. It’s a cooking school classic, a béchamel (white sauce) with shredded sharp cheddar melted in. If you’ve never made béchamel, don’t despair! It is really, really easy to make, and this post from The Kitchn has step-by-step instructions with photos. I would have done more detailed instructions if I had more hands, or else a helper to take the photos…

A finishing touch is sprinkling some dry bread crumbs (or panko) for a crunchy texture contrast to all the cheesy cauliflower and leek goodness below. If you want a gluten-free — and seriously kid-friendly — version, crushed potato chips or shredded Parmesan cheese would work well.

Pop this back in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until the cheese sauce is bubbling around the edges, and voilà — your next favorite comfort food:

So why the talk about making a kid friendly dinner, you may be asking? Let me explain. I was inspired to create a dish because my sister-in-law Carol-Ann Hoyte, has just edited a collection of poems targeted to eight- to twelve-year olds. Dear Tomato: An International Crop of Food and Agriculture Poems, is all about the strong connection real food plays in our lives.

If you live in the Montréal area, Carol-Ann is having a book launch on April 26, 2015 (Sunday) from 2:00-4:00pm at Livres Babar in Pointe Claire.

If you’re in Austin, Texas, Dear Tomato will be sold at the American Horticultural Society’s 2015 National Children and Youth Garden Symposium, happening July 9-11, 2015.

If you live outside of these areas, there’s always online: Dear Tomato is available from U.S. independent booksellers, Canadian independent booksellers, and from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, and Amazon.co.uk.

Also, selfishly, when I was thinking of healthy comfort food I thought of one kid in mind, my gorgeous nephew Thomas. He’ll be two years old in July and he is absolutely amazing. I’m sure he’ll love Auntie Kris’ cauliflower cheese bake when he’s a bit older.

Enjoy!

Cauliflower Cheese Bake

Serving Size: 4

Comfort food made from scratch, inspired by Dear Tomato, a new collection of kids poetry. Roasting the cauliflower and leeks gives a sweet, rich flavor that pairs well with the tangy cheddar cheese sauce. The sauce is easily made gluten free by using a gluten-free flour mix in the sauce, and Parmesan cheese (or potato chips) for the topping.

Ingredients

For the veggies:

1 medium cauliflower (about 2 lb untrimmed/1 lb 6 oz trimmed), cut into florets
2 small leeks, white and light green parts cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For the cheddar cheese sauce:

2 tablespoons flour {*for gluten free, substitute gluten-free flour mix}
2 tablespoons butter
2 cups milk
4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
pinch nutmeg (optional)
salt and papper to taste

For topping:

1/2 cup panko or bread crumbs {*for gluten free, substitute Parmesan cheese or crushed potato chips)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Place cauliflower florets and sliced leeks on a large foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil, and use your hands to coat cauliflower and leeks evenly. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in the oven for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Turn the cauliflower over and stir the leeks and place back in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until the cauliflower can be pierced easily with the a fork. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F.

For the cheese sauce:

Heat the milk in a medium saucepan over low heat just until simmering, then turn off the heat.
In a separate medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add flour and whisk until there are no lumps. Add 1/2 cup of the hot milk and whisk until smooth.
Continue adding the milk 1/2 cup at a time, whisking after each addition until smooth.
Add the shredded cheese, stirring constantly until the cheese is melted in. Stir in nutmeg (if using) and salt and pepper to taste. Remove from heat.
Place the roasted cauliflower in a shallow casserole dish in a single layer (I used an 8x8-inch square dish). Sprinkle the roasted leeks on top of the cauliflower, then pour the cheese sauce evenly over top. Sprinkle the panko (or Parmesan cheese, or crushed potato chips) over the casserole and place in the oven.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese sauce is bubbling and the top is browned. (If the top isn't browned enough to your liking, crank your oven up to broil for a few minutes to finish it off.)
Remove from oven and serve. Aaaahhhhh......comfort food.

White Bean Chili with Prawns

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a chili recipe that has prawns in it. Am I stretching the boundaries of chili a tad here? Maybe.

But you’ll forgive me once you find that this recipe takes less than 30 minutes, yet delivers a full-on, soul-warming, healthy dinner. Just what you need after spending a few brisk hours in the garden, raking and bagging leaves, only to come back inside and realize that it’s your turn to make dinner too. Sound familiar?

I really felt like making a big, full-on batch of hearty chili, but it was already 6 o’clock by the time I’d bagged all the leaves for the day. I was getting hungry, and didn’t want to slip into being decidedly hangry.

With no time to dash to the store to pick up ingredients, I turned to the pantry instead and sized up what I did have: A tin of white kidney beans, some frozen prawns, a bunch of gorgeous rainbow chard along with an onion and some garlic. Hmm….I bet I could do something with this.

So here’s what I was thinking: Use the white beans as a base, flavor them with cumin and chili powders, simmer briefly to blend the flavors and then toss in the chard and prawns to cook just before serving. That, plus a squeeze of fresh lime juice and sprinkle of cilantro, was my simple, lickety-split chili.

And wow, talk about flavorful. Punching about its weight I’d say, considering I only simmered it for just over 10 minutes.

This dish, with its elegant prawns and unassuming tinned beans, is kind of like tossing on a suit jacket to dress up your jeans; a study in contrasts. It might not impress your friends who are dazzled by the latest molecular gastronomy creations. But it’ll definitely impress your friends who know what good food is all about.

The leaves have almost all floated off from their branches for another season. A few more sessions of raking before fall firmly turns to winter. When I come in after clearing up the last leaves for the season, I’ll know just what to make.

White Bean Chili with Prawns

Serving Size: 2

If you're craving the flavors of chili but don't have much time, white bean chili with prawns is the answer. Prawns add an elegant touch to lowly tinned beans flavored with chili and cumin, making this a dish fit to share with friends on a fall evening. Or to keep all to yourself.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 medium sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon chill powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 19-ounce tin white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1-1/4 cup chicken stock
4 rainbow chard leaves, torn into 2-inch pieces
20-24 peeled prawns
juice of 1/2 lime
kosher salt & fresh cracked pepper
optional garnish: fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Instructions

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, garlic, chili powder, ground cumin and dried oregano leaves and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened. (If the mixture gets too dry before it has softened, reduce the heat or a few tablespoons of the chicken stock to prevent it from burning.)
Add the drained kidney beans and chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cover the pan. Let simmer for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, remove the cover and season to taste with salt and pepper.
Bring the heat up to medium-low, add the chard leaves and prawns, and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until the chard is wilted and the prawns are cooked through.
Ladle into two bowls, and squeeze the lime juice over each one. Sprinkle with a pinch of chopped cilantro (if using) and serve.

Spaghetti squash with spinach and feta

Confession time: Squash isn’t my favorite thing, no matter if it’s a summer or winter variety. (Have I said that already? Probably that last time I wrote a post about squash. Hmm…)

But you know, I’m warming up to it. Especially now that the cooler weather has come to stay for a few months. And especially when the winter squash is spaghetti squash.

I think my lukewarm feelings towards winter squash stem from the fact that they’re tough to cut. Intimidating, right? Even when I’ve spent a lot of years in kitchens, and even when I have a lovely, freshly sharpened chef knife, cutting through the skin of hard squash still freaks me out a bit.

But I found a simple trick which has, so far, saved me from needing any first aid: Cut a tiny bit off of each end before you slice the squash lengthwise. This way, you flatten out the end that’s going to sit on your cutting board and you don’t have to slice through a thick stem at the top. Whew!

I’ve used spaghetti squash before as a substitute for pasta — it does a great job as a grain-free stand in, especially with a chunky tomato sauce. But I was after a lighter dish, although something that would still qualify as comfort food. It is bucketing rain outside these days.

Spaghetti squash with spinach and feta hits the spot. There’s a very slight nod to Greek cuisine, kind of like a spanakopita without the phyllo. And with spaghetti squash added. (Okay, I suppose it’s only vaguely like spanakopita, but you see where I’m headed.)

The great thing is that you can make this dish in less than an hour, and almost all of it is roasting time. You could even roast the squash ahead: If you do that, it’s a dinner you can pull together in less than 20 minutes. Talk about speedy comfort food. And it’s good for you. Yes!

I like that this spaghetti squash-spinach-feta dish is easy, healthy and satisfying, and requires only a fairly minimal effort. Sure, the tang of feta cheese is always welcome to add some brightness, but the squash itself was really flavorful. I added a pinch of nutmeg, and found it added a lovely background note. Not strong enough to pick out a lot of spice, but enough of a hint to give your taste buds a little something extra to ponder.

And, who knows, with a bit more cutting practice I won’t be intimated by tough winter squash anymore. Now wouldn’t that be something?

Spaghetti squash with spinach and feta

Serving Size: 2

Roasted spaghetti squash combines with the Greek flavors of feta and spinach to make this a simple, healthy, flavorful dinner. It is very easy to put together, and if you roast the squash ahead of time, the rest of it takes only minutes to prepare.

Ingredients

1 2-pound spaghetti squash
1 teaspoon olive oil
salt and freshly cracked pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 green onion, thinly sliced
4 ounces spinach
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
3-1/2 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
freshly cracked pepper

optional garnish:

2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped

Instructions

First, roast the squash:

Preheat oven to 375F. Slice a small bit off of each end of the squash so that both ends are flat. Stand one of the flat end on a cutting board and slice lengthwise.
Scoop out the seeds with a large spoon, and place on a foil lined baking sheet. (You can put them skin side up or down; I tried both ways and found no difference in how they turned out.)
Drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper before placing in the oven.
Roast for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife easily pierces all the way through the skin. Set aside to cool slightly.
Using a kitchen fork, scrape the squash flesh into a small bowl and set aside.

For the spinach and feta:

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add garlic and green onion, and saute for a minute or until the garlic has softened slightly.
Add the spaghetti squash to the pan and mix it in. (I find tongs are a particularly good tool for this.)
Add spinach and saute for about 30 seconds, or until wilted. Remove from heat, add nutmeg and 2 tablespoons oregano and stir in.
Add the feta cheese and stir to melt. Season to taste with pepper.
For serving, cut a strip of spaghetti squash in half lengthwise and place on each serving plate. Spoon the spaghetti squash and spinach over the skin. As an optional garnish, sprinkle each plate with a tablespoon of Parmesan cheese and a teaspoon of fresh oregano.

Notes

If you roast the squash ahead of time, scrape the flesh out of its skin and keep refrigerated in a covered container.

Chickpea Flour Crepes {Gluten Free, Grain Free}

One of the best things about experimenting in the kitchen is that, just when you think you know all there is to know, a new ingredient makes itself known. And then *poof* you’re off on a brand new journey, making dishes that you never imagined.

It’s like the more I learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn. Even after all these years in the kitchen. Such is my story with chickpea flour.

Chickpea flour, flour made from ground chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans), came to my attention a couple of years ago, when I bought a gluten free flour mix for the first time. I had relatively good success with it in heavier baked goods, like brownies and cookies. Since then I’ve experimented with several gluten free substitutes: My own blend of flours, ground (gluten free) oats, coconut flour and, my favorite, blanched almond flour….

Portobello Mushroom Tacos

It’s no secret I’m having a love-in with tacos lately. If I’m not making them for dinner, I’m dreaming about making a bee line for the local taqueria a few blocks away. Dee-lish.

So when I saw Cinco de Mayo falls on a Monday this year, I thought hmmmm…. how about vegetarian tacos (portobello mushroom tacos, to be exact) that would also celebrate Meatless Monday?

I should clarify that I don’t follow organized food campaigns very closely. I’m more a devotee of the what’s-in-the-fridge-that-needs-to-be-eaten-before-it-spoils movement. But when I thought longer about Meatless Mondays and my repertoire of dinner entrées — ones where vegetables are the main event — it struck me that I don’t have very many of them. At all.

Gulp. I think it’s time to change that.

…