Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegetarian. Show all posts

Monday, February 6, 2017

Enriched Sauces


Basically enriched sauces are a liquid that is emulsified with egg yolks.  The liquid can be one thing, like clarified butter in Hollandaise Sauce, or another sauce thicken or enriched, as with Allemande sauce.  These are rich sauces that should not be over used, a little goes a long way.  Often seasonings are added to the sauce.

 

Allemande or Hollandaise are the two most common enriched sauces.  And you should be familiar with making them.  You may even want to try to making or inventing your own enriched sauce. 

 

It is important that the eggs you use should be fresh.  Some sauce call for just the yolk, others for the whole egg.  Some sauces are cooked and others are not.  So inspect your eggs carefully and the fresher the eggs the better.

 

Types of sauces in this category are Aioli Sauce, Remoulade, Mayonnaise, Butter Sauces, Andalouse Sauce, Bearnaise Sauce, Bohemian Sauce, La Varennes Sauce, Tartar Sauce, Mousquetaire Sauce, Cambridge Sauce, White Wine Sauce, Gloucester Sauce, Gaibriche Sauce, Malliese Sauce, Noisette Sauce, Dijon Sauce, Choron Sauce, Foyot Sauce, Mousseline Sauce, Maltaise Sauce, and Russian Sauce.

 

This Week’s Challenge - Make a Hollandaise sauce

 

            Go online and research how you will use your hollandaise sauce. Then choose a recipe that will meet your needs.  Put together a meal around your hollandaise sauce.  Remember to record it in your journal

 

Tip for this Week – Mayonnaise

            Mayonnaise is a basic sauce and condiment and is very easy to make fresh.  This requires a blender or food processor.  You want to use very fresh ingredients.  Since you are making the mayo fresh, it doesn’t have the preservatives that store bought mayonnaise has and will not keep long in the refrigerator. The trend today is to use flavored mayo and you can do this with your homemade mayonnaise.

the Ingredients


1 whole very fresh egg

¼ t dry mustard, but prepared mustard can be used

½ t salt

Place in a blender and whip to mix.
 
 
Place the eg in the blender.bhgfg     vbnnn
 
 

            1 T lemon juice or vinegar

I use white wine vinegar, sea salt
and Dijon mustard.
The vinegar solution added to the egg
in blender.



Add half the vinegar and blend.

            ¾ C light oil like canola or safflower

I used canola oil, but try different oil.
The egg mixture will slightly thicken.


While the blender is going add about half oil is a continuous thin stream.  The mixture should thicken.  Add the remaining lemon juice and then continue with the oil until the oil is used up.  Flavorings can be added at the end.

Add the oil in a thin stream while the
blender is running.


            This makes about one cup of mayo.  The type of mustard you use, the kind of acid (vinegar or lemon juice) and the type of oil all add to the flavor of the mayonnaise.  I use dry mustard, prepared mustard has some vinegar in it.    I prefer lemon juice, but vinegar, particularly flavored vinegars, add flavor.  The oil is very important.  The lighter in color and weight the oil, the more white the mayo.  Oil does add flavor and any kind of oil will probably work.

The mayonnaise will thicken and turn white.

Remove the mayonnaise from the blender.


            Some flavorings I heard of are siracha, wasabi, sweet pickle juice (the flavoring in Miracle Whip) horseradish, hot sauces, mixing different mustards with the mayo, and the list can go on and on.


I flavored half the mayo with sirachi

A little sirachi goes a long way

It turn the mayo into a beautiful
light pink.




This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

 

Allemande Sauce


            This sauce is also call Blonde Sauce or Sauce Parisienne. It is basically Velouté sauce emulsified with egg and is good for use with veal, poultry, fish, shellfish, eggs and vegetables.  The recipe for velouté was posted on October 7, 2016.




Allemande Sauce
 

2 C      Velouté sauce, veal or chicken

¼ C     Heavy cream

1          Egg yolk

            Salt and white pepper to taste

            Squeeze of lemon juice

            Bread crumbs for garnish

 
The ingredients

1.    Make the velouté sauce and continue to cook and reduce to the desire amount.
 
Beat the egg yolk very thoroughly
.

2.    Beat the egg yolk in small bowl.  Temper the yolk with a tablespoon of the hot velouté.

3.    Add to the sauce and whisk quickly to incorporate the egg in the sauce.
 
I used chicken veloute.  Work quickly
to incorporate the egg yolk before it
curdles. 
 

4.    Add the cream, salt and white pepper and taste.
 
Whisk to incorporated the cream and
seasonings
 

5.    When the sauce has thickened, remove from the heat and add the lemon juice.

6.    Plate the meat or what you will be serving the sauce over.  Pour the sauce over.

I served the sauce of slices of roast turkey.


7.    Garnish with a dusting of bread crumbs.

8.    Serve remaining sauce in a gravy boat or side dish.

 

Turkey with allemande sauce, mushroom
 risotto and sliced baby bok choy.
 

 

Soup of the Week

Red Lintel Soup

 


2 T       Olive oil

1 lg.     Onion, peeled and finely chopped

2          garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

32 oz. Vegetable broth

8 oz.    Tomato sauce

¼ C     Red lentils

1 med Carrot, peeled and finely chopped

10 oz. Pumpkin or orange winter squash, diced, fresh or frozen

1 T       Cumin, ground

1/8 t     Cayenne pepper

            Juice of ½ lemon

            Salt and pepper to taste

¼ C     Plain yogurt for garnish

¼ C     Cilantro, peeled and finely chopped, for garnish

 
The ingredients
 

1.    In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.

2.    Add the onion and garlic and cook stirring occasionally until soft, about 5 minutes.
 
Saute the onion and garlic
 

3.    Add the broth, tomato sauce, lentils, carrot, pumpkin, cumin, and cayenne.
 
The carrot added to the onions
 
 
The broth added.  I used vegetable broth.
 

The tomatoes, lentils and pumpkin added.
I had some pumpkin in the freezer and used
it instead of winter squash.


4.    Increase the heat and bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium. 

5.    Cover and simmer until the lentils are soft, about 25 minutes.

6.    Stir in the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
 
I used a stick blender to puree the soup.

The finished soup
 

7.    Serve as is or puree in the soup pot until smooth.

8.    Add enough broth to cover and bring to a boil adding a little water if it is too thick.

9.    Serve in soup bowls and garnish with a table spoon of yogurt and sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

 
Serve with yogurt and a sprinkle of cilantro

From: The Ultimate Volumetrics Diet, by Barbara Rolls, p. 200

 


Happy Cooking!









 

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Vegetable Soups

            Vegetable soups have vegetable as the main, sometimes only ingredient. Usually water or vegetable liquids like tomato sauce for the main liquid, however meat broth can also be part of the vegetable soups.  Vegetable soups usually cook quicker than meat soups.  Vegetable soups are a very important part of your diet.  They add fiber and vitamins to your diet and should not be overlooked in a well-balanced diet.

 

Chunky soups are very common. Many vegetable soups are left chunky and vegetables should be cut into bite sized pieces that are easy to eat.

 

Tomato based soups have a tomato broth.  These soups can be pureed or have chopped tomatoes in the soup.  The broth is predominantly tomato.  These soups include the minestrone below, chilies and many soups made with vegetables on hand.  The tomatoes may be whole, diced, crushed or in sauce.

 

Pureed soups are simple pureed at the end of the soup process.  These can be just about any soup from cream of chicken to the tomato soup below.  Some soups lend themselves well to pureeing. 

 

Fruit Soups are usually served as dessert.  Often they are chilled.  Simply puree the fruit.  The soup should be thicker than just juice.  This can be a a very creative summer dessert.

 

This Week’s Challenge – Invent your own soup

            Check what you have on hand in the refrigerator, freezer and pantry.  Think of a soup you can make from what you have on hand.  You may use fresh ingredients or leftovers.  Be creative.

 

Tip for this Week – Counteracting acid

            Some people add sugar to spaghetti sauce to cut the acid from the tomatoes.  A very small amount of baking soda accomplishes this better.  Baking soda is alkaline and alkaline is the opposite acid. Try adding a pinch of baking soda to your tomato sauces and soups.

 

This Week in Punkin’s Kitchen

 

Minestrone Soup


 



2 T                   Olive oil

1 lg.                 Onion, diced

4                      Garlic cloves, minced

2                      Celery stalks, sliced

1 lg.                 Carrot, diced

1 ½ C              Green beans, Italian cut, frozen fresh or canned

1 T                   Basil, fresh and finely chopped

1 t                    Oregano, dried or fresh

                        Salt and pepper to taste

1 can              Diced tomatoes (28 oz.)

1 can              Crushed tomatoes (14 oz.)

6 C                  Chicken stock, vegetable stock or water

2 lg.                 Swiss chard stalks, chopped*

1 can              Kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained**

1 C                  Elbow macaroni

1/3 C               Parmesan freshly grated

                        More fresh basil for garnish

 
The ingredients

 

1.    In a large soup pot, heat the oil and sauté the onions until they begin to get translucent.

Use a large soup pot.
 

2.    Add the garlic, celery and carrots and continue to cook until tender about five minutes.

 
Smash the garlic and peel it.
Chop the garlic to a mince or use a garlic press.













The recipes says to dice, but I prefer to slice
the vegetables.


Saute until tender.














3.    Add the green beans, basil, oregano and salt and pepper and cook three more minutes.


I used frozen green beans so I rinse them before adding.
Green beans and seasonings added.










 

4.    Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the stock.  Bring to a boil and reduce to simmer for ten minutes.

I used chicken broth, but vegetable or even beef will work.

 

5.    Stir in the beans macaroni, and Swish chard.  Cook until tender about ten minutes.

I usually use red kidney beans or cannelloni
which are white kidney beans
Rinse the been before adding to the soup.













Slice it in strips lengthwise/
This was a very large chard leaf, so I removed
the stem vein.  Usually this is not need.













Cut cross ways so you have pieces about
one inch wide and two inches long.
Cook until the macaroni is done
 
6.    Adjust the seasoning.

7.    To serve ladle into bowls and garnish with the Parmesan and basil.

Ready to garnish and serve.
 

 

*Swiss chard holds up well in soup, but spinach can be used.

**Kidney beans are commonly used, cannellini beans are white kidney beans.  Other beans can be used garbanzo beans.

Minestrone recipes vary a great deal.  They are regional differences and family preferences.  I recommend that you try several recipes to find one you prefer.  This recipe is based on Ellie Krieger’s recipe from the food network.

 

 

Old Fashioned Tomato Soup

 
Chunky Tomato Soup with toast

 

1 can              Tomatoes, Whole and stewed

½ med.           Onion chopped        

2 T                   Butter

½ - 1/3 C        Milk

                        Salt and pepper

                        Pinch of baking soda

 


1.    Empty the stewed tomatoes in a sauce pan. 



Simmering tomatoes with shallots added
I used a shallot theis time, but I usually a red onion.











 

2.    And the onion, salt and pepper.  Simmer until the onions or cooked and the tomatoes break up. 
 
3.    Add the butter and stir until it is melted. 


Simmering tomatoes broken up with a wooden spoon
Butter added  and stirred to melt the butter
and incorporate it into the soup.










 

4.    Reduce the heat and add enough milk to make the soup pink.  Do not let it boil.


Add a pinch of baking soda, yes literally a
pinch between to fingers.  If you need a real
measurement use about 1/8 teaspoon.
Milk added.  The soup is chunky.











 

5.    Add the pinch of baking soda to prevent the milk from curdling and serve immediately.

 
I prefer the soup chunky like Grandmother Barnes served it.




This sounds really weird but I use to love this with grilled cheese sandwiches at Grandmother Barnes’s house.  She was not known as a good cook, but there are a few of her recipes that were great. 

 


 



Vegetable of the Week

 

Swiss Chard

 

            Swiss chard is very similar to spinach and cooks well as steamed, boiled or sautéed.  I use to grow it in my garden.  It is great added to soups.  This is can be a vegetarian meal.  It can bee serve with a side of protein. It is a nice lunch, too.

 

Penne with Swiss Chard

This can be a main dish or a side dish.
I often serve it with a broiled chicken breast
or baked salmon
 

1 C      Penne pasta for four people

            Water

One    Bunch Swish chard, or other greens, chopped

            Olive oil

2+        Garlic cloves sliced

¼ C     Broth, vegetable or chicken

½ C     Walnuts, roasted and chopped

½ C     Parmesan Cheese, grated

 
The ingredients

1.    Put the water on to boil for the penne.

2.    When the penne goes in to cook, heat the oil in a skillet and sauté the chard and the garlic, stirring to coat the greens. 


Pasta doubles in size when cooked.
If this is a side dish, I plan 1/2 cup servings.
If it is a main dish, I plan one cup servings.
 
Wash and cut the Swiss Chard as above, but
leave the stems on. It will shrink when
cooked, but not as bad as spinach.











 

3.    Add the broth and simmer until the chard reduces in size. 


The broth will take the bitterness out of the chard.
I like to slice the garlic and let it cook with
the chard in the wine.


 







4.    When the pasta is done, drain and set aside. 


The penne will continue to cook, so drain it
slightly before it is done.
 

5.    Drain the broth from the greens and return to the stove.  This removes any bitterness from the chard.

6.    Add the pasta and toss. 


Add the penne.
Add  the walnuts.  I like to leave them in halves.













Add the cheese and toss.
Add a little wine to make a sauce.  Be sure
the alcohol cooks out and serve.










 

7.    Add the walnuts and cheese and toss. 

8.    Makes four servings.  This is a meal in itself, but a broiled chicken breast or salmon goes very well with it.

 
 

Happy Cooking!