Spinach and Mung Dal Fritters

From Fields of Greens, Annie Somerville, Bantam Books, 1993.

It was belting down rain outside with gusting wind that made an umbrella impossible to use. So I checked the pantry and found I just had sufficient ingredients to make these fritters.

I measured out a cup of mung dal and, after rinsing, soaked it in water for four hours. It was now drained and placed in a blender with ½ cup water. The beans were churned until they had formed a smooth paste. The bowl was now covered and left in a warm place for another couple of hours.

When it was time to cook the fritters the following ingredients were mixed with the paste: about ½ cup defrosted frozen spinach chopped finely, a handful of chopped coriander, a chopped red chilli, ½ teaspoon salt, a pinch of baking powder and the juice of ½ lemon.

The mixture was now dropped into hot oil about a teaspoon at a time. They browned quickly and were able to be stirred so that they browned on all sides. Once removed from the pan they were able to be eaten after letting them cool a little.

The mixture made quite a lot of fritters (I wouldn’t really call them fritters as they were more in the way of little dumping bites) but they soon began to go down as the eating commenced. They needed a sauce to go with them and went very well with a sweet chilli sauce or a fresh salsa verde.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔

Polenta Baked with Tomatoes, Corn and Basil

From Fields of Greens, Annie Somerville, Bantam Books, 1993.

I don’t often cook polenta but when I do I usually find that it’s so good to eat that I should perhaps cook it more often.

For this dish I needed to cook the polenta first. I brought three cups water to the boil and added ½ teaspoon salt to the water. When it was boiling well I poured in ¾ cup polenta, whisking it as it went in. It was now a matter of cooking it for ¾ hour while stirring frequently. While it was cooking I added some grindings of black pepper and a pinch of cayenne. When it was done I stirred in a tablespoon butter and about ½ cup grated parmesan cheese. It was now poured into a greased tray to let it set and get cool.

The tomato sauce was now made. I chopped two shallots and two garlic cloves and added them to a small saucepan to cook in a little olive oil. While it was cooking I sprinkled in ¼ teaspoon dried basil. When the onion was softened about ¼ cup red wine was stirred in and left to cook until almost all gone. Now a can of tomatoes and a bay leaf were added and brought to the boil. They were left to simmer for about half an hour. The tomatoes were broken up while they were cooking to reduce them to smaller pieces. The bay leaf was removed and the sauce checked for seasoning. It needed a little sugar to cut back the sharpness.

Now two cups corn kernels were added to a pan to cook for a few minutes in a little butter. As they were cooking I cut two tomatoes in halves and removed the seeds. They were then cut into pieces, placed in a bowl and a little olive oil dribbled over them and a sprinkling of salt. When the corn was cooked it was added to the tomatoes with some chopped basil and chopped jalapeño chilli.

The polenta was now cut into squares and the squares halved into triangles. The tomato sauce was poured into the bottom of a casserole dish and the triangles of polenta carefully arranged standing up in rows and slightly overlapped. The corn mixture was placed between the polenta pieces. A good amount of grated parmesan was sprinkled over and the casserole was placed in a 190ºC oven for 30 minutes.

I usually find that anything I make from Fields of Greens will turn out to be flavoursome and totally satisfying and this dish was. There was a reasonable amount of small tasks to do to prepare the meal but it was worth it.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔

Creole Mushroom and Pepper Stew

From Fields of Greens, Annie Somerville, Bantam Books, 1993.

I have great faith in the dishes from the Greens Restaurant in San Francisco after having an exceptional meal there. So I always look forward to what turns up when I make something from this recipe book.

I began by roasting some tomatoes, four in all, in the oven at a 130°C temperature for two hours. They were cut in half and placed cut side down on some baking paper on an oven tray. While the instruction called for the seeds to be extracted from them I prefered to keep them whole.

The mushrooms, about 130 g, were quartered and cooked with a sprinkling of salt at a high heat until golden. Then a little wine was added with some chopped garlic. When the wine had almost evaporated the mushrooms were taken off the heat and put aside in a bowl.

Now a red onion was cut into pieces and sautéed in the pan with a sprinkling of salt. After they had softened, a red capsicum (pepper) and a green capsicum, deseeded and cut into triangles, were added to the pan. Also a fennel, quartered and sliced, went in the pan. A bay leaf was added and a jalapeño chilli finely chopped went in. These were all sautéed until they had softened somewhat. Next a zucchini, halved and cut into slices, was added for a few minutes. Now the tomatoes and the mushrooms went into the pan and were sautéed for about 20 minutes.

The recipe called for the lid to be left off but I was concerned that the dish would be very dry so cooked them covered so that the juices would not all evaporate.

All in all this was like a variation on ratatouille. The chillies added a nice bit of heat to the overall flavour that had a slight, rather pleasant bitterness about it from the capsicums. I am glad I left the lid on for the juices that resulted mixed well with the rice that I had with the dish.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

Pasta and White Bean Stew with Summer Vegetables

From Fields of Greens, Annie Somerville, Bantam Books, 1993.

With the cold weather on us it seemed appropriate to investigate a few more stews. Fields of Green generally satisfied with its recipes so this looked like one to try even though it had summer vegetables in it whereas we were now in autumn.

While the recipe called for cannellini beans to be cooked, I decided to use a can to save a little time. There were other ingredients that had to be cooked prior to adding to the stew though. Green beans were dropped into a pot of boiling salted water. They only needed a couple of minutes so that they remained a little crisp. They were scooped from the water and put aside. The pasta was then added to the boiling water. I used penne. This was cooked until almost al dente and strained, given a little olive oil to prevent sticking, and saved.

Some tomatoes were peeled and cut up. The recipe called for the seeds to be removed but I usually ignore this.

Preparation now done, the stew could be put together. A chopped onion was sautéed in the pot with a little salt, and some dried herbs: basil and oregano. When the onion had softened, some chopped garlic (a few cloves) was added with chopped red capsicum. These were sautéed a little longer and chopped pumpkin was added (about 2 cups). Again a little more sauté before the tomatoes were now popped in.

The cannellini beans went in also at this time. If they had been cooked by myself I should have kept some of the broth but since I had used a can I had to also add some stock at this time. The penne went in too and some chopped fresh basil. This was all cooked for about 20 minutes and the green beans were added long enough to heat through. It was then served with some grated Parmesan cheese on top.

The stew was just right for the cold night. The flavour mix was perfect and the cannellini beans and the penne made for a satisfyingly filling. There was some left and it was eaten the next day. By this time the penne had become totally soaked with the liquid and was totally soft. Somehow I enjoyed it more the next day when all the flavours had infused and matured.

Taste: ✔✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔✔

As some of these books may be out of print if anyone would like a particular recipe, email me (alfcooksvege@ozemail.com.au) and I’ll send an abbreviated version. Of course, the whole book would be better; it’s loaded with other goodies.

                                                                                                                                    

Potato-Corn Chowder

From Fields of Greens, Annie Somerville, Bantam Books, 1993.

Recipes that come from the Greens restaurant have always been ones that have pleased. The restaurant stays as one of the top memories from a visit to San Francisco. So it was somewhat of a surprise to find that this particular recipe didn’t come up with the goods. It was all right but bland and with the amount of cooking involved should have been better.

To start a corn stock had to be made. The instructions suggested that a corn soup required a corn stock otherwise the soup would not maintain its colour. So corn was shucked from 4 cobs and saved for the soup while the cobs were broken into several pieces and tossed into a pot of water with some vegetables and seasonings and simmered for an hour. This was then strained and the stock was ready.

For the next stage half of the corn had to be placed into a pot with a couple of cups of the stock. Half of the total amount of potatoes were also placed into the pot with salt and pepper. This was cooked until the potatoes were soft. It was then pureed and placed through a sieve. This puree then went into the pot with the remainder of the stock. A bay leaf was added and the mixture was cooked gently for a little longer. The puree thickened the soup and meant that cream was not needed, as is usually the case.

The next stage was to fry chopped onion, dried basil and thyme in butter and olive oil with salt and pepper. When the onions had softened the remaining vegetables were added: garlic, celery, diced potatoes and the remaining corn. These were sautéed until tender. White wine was added and the cooking continued until almost dry. 

The contents of the frying pan were now added to the soup to simmer for another 20 minutes. Chopped basil was added and it was ready.

It was disappointing to have so much work turn out to be such a pale version of a corn chowder. There was nothing wrong with it but a lack of real flavour.

Taste: ✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔

Grilled Potato Salad with Chipotle Vinaigrette

From Fields of Green, Annie Somerville, Bantam Books, 1993.

I’ve had Fields of Green for some years now after it arrived as a Christmas present. I had said to family how I had enjoyed eating at Greens Restaurant in San Franciso. The result was the present which has been well used and equally well appreciated. The recipes generally always seem to be worth making and usually turn out well.

This particular salad was a little more work than usual. The potatoes had to be baked first. They were then cut into smaller pieces and grilled with red onions and red capsicums. Care had to be taken for the onions needed a little more time than the others so they had to be watched and the potatoes and capsicums moved lower in the oven.

Once the grilling was done the vegetables were tossed with the vinaigrette and some coriander. They were then placed on some salad leaves and served.

The chipotle vinaigrette was the hero. I had never thought of using chipotle puree in a dressing but it works extremely well. The smokiness and heat of the chillies highlighted the vegetables and the lime juice and Dijon mustard added an extra tang. Loved the dressing.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔