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Children’s dinner | Cowboy food

6 July 2011

I take no credit for this meal, which is Thomas’s creation. He makes lentils with a fried egg and calls it “cowboy food,” because apparently cowboys ate beans and eggs; so naturally, lentils and eggs… In any case it’s a great meal, a brilliant name, and I have fallen for it, too.

I have decided to write about the easy, quick, weeknight dinners I prepare for my children, and it seemed fitting to start with “cowboy food,” which is an uncontested favorite. The other day as Balthasar asked what I was preparing and I replied “something with egg” (I hadn’t yet made up my mind), completely unprompted – and somewhat surprisingly as we haven’t had lentils for a while – he cheerfully exclaimed “cowboy food!”

I had mentioned cowboy food before in connection with a two-step lentil recipe. This is the quick version of lentils – the whole meal takes only about 35 minutes to prepare, and most of that is the lentils simmering away by themselves.

***

Two cups make a lot of lentils, but it’s always great to have lentil leftovers. They can easily be reheated, or made into a salad.

2 cups green lentils (preferably Castelluccio or du Puy)

1 small onion

Some vegetables: for example 1/2 bulb fennel, one or two stalks celery, a carrot

A few sprigs of flat-leaved parsley

2 bay leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Very good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice to serve

1 egg per person

***

The lentils

Pick through the lentils to look for small stone intruders that must be discarded. To wash the lentils, cover with cold water and drain in a fine mesh sieve.

Peel and cut into large chunks the onion and the vegetables.

Place lentils into a large saucepan with 4 cups (double the volume) water. Add the vegetable chunks, the parsley, and the bay leaves, bring to a boil and let simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes. Remove from heat when the lentils are done to your liking – I like them al dente, with a bit of bite.

Discard the sprigs of parsley, bay leaves, and vegetable chunks. Season the lentils with salt, pepper, good olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. Taste and adjust.

The eggs

**It’s better to cook the eggs once the lentils are ready, because while the lentils are just as delicious warm, the egg should be eaten straight off the pan.**

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan. Once hot, crack the eggs into the pan. Season with salt and pepper. Fry until the white is set but the yellow still runny. Serve over the lentils.

*

Related posts

Lentils

Finger food | Leek and manchego frittata

Lentil and fennel salad with parsley

 

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Posted in Children, Easy, Eggs, Lentils / Chickpeas / Legumes, Year-round | 2 Comments »

At the market | Rhubarb (Rhubarb compote recipe)

27 June 2011

I could have spoken about rhubarb two months ago, when it first appeared at the market as the very welcome distraction from the last winter apples and pears; rhubarb makes those last few weeks before the first berries of summer bearable.

But it’s already the first week of summer, berries abound everywhere, and while I’ve eaten pounds of strawberries — plain, in tartes, or churned into ice cream — as well as raspberries and blueberries even, I am still craving — and eating — rhubarb.

Rhubarb is one of those vegetable that I cannot resist buying so it often ends up as compote (recipe below) because I’ve usually purchased it without a plan and compote only takes a few minutes to prepare. However the other day I felt an irresistible urge to make rhubarb ice cream. It was good beyond all expectations, and barely more work than a simple compote.

Rhubarb is technically a vegetable, though in our part of the world it is often used as a fruit, in crumbles and tarts. Wild rhubarb originated in Asia and its root has been used medicinally in China, Asia, and eventually Europe for thousands of years. But it was not until the nineteenth century that the stalks of rheum rhabarbarum were cultivated and used as a food, particularly in England and the United States, where rhubarb became known as “pie-plant.”

Rhubarb can be any shade of red or green, and while the red variety looks pretty, apparently there is no significant difference in taste. The stalks should be neither too big nor too small, always firm and crisp, not soft and flabby. Rhubarb is available from mid-spring through the summer. It thrives in cooler climates where the soil freezes in winter, which is another reason to love it — a delicious vegetable/fruit that grows best in my part of the world!

Rhubarb compote recipe

The quantities are an indication. The weight ratio of 1 part sugar for 4 parts rhubarb makes a compote that is not too sweet with a clear tart rhubarb taste. It can be adapted as desired. Serve with yogurt or crème fraîche, or with busy-day cupcakes.

3 1/2 cups (400 g) rhubarb cut into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces

1/2 cup (100 g) sugar

*

Cut off the ends of the rhubarb stalks as well as any parts that are bruised or blemished. Wash the stalks before cutting them into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces. (Now is a good time to measure the amount of rhubarb to calculate the amount of sugar needed.)

Place the cut rhubarb into a medium saucepan. Add 3 tablespoons of water, then the sugar. Bring to a boil and cook until all the pieces of rhubarb have become soft, about 12 to 15 minutes.

That’s it.

*

Related posts

Rhubarb ice cream

At the market | Quinces

At the market | Celeriac aka celery root [Remoulade salad]

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Posted in At the market, Dessert, Easy, Spring, Summer | Leave a Comment »

Busy-day cupcakes

22 June 2011

I’ve made this recipe so often in the past month it’s not even funny.

I was looking for a simple vanilla cake for a friend’s sixth birthday and remembered reading about this cake when I first came across a mean-sounding poppy seed cake on Lottie + Doof. The busy-day cake caught my eye because of the name, and because it came from Edna Lewis, a Southern cook whom I know through the lovely cookbooks she has written. I own one, The Taste of Country Cooking, which I read as I would a collection of short stories. Each recipe recalls a memory, a way of life, a moment in time.

The book is organized by seasons and menus. There were many lovely excerpts to choose from, but I liked this one because of a personal memory – the first time I had shad roe in Portland, Maine. The menu is called A Spring Breakfast When the Shad Were Running. The introduction begins: “Because shad was practically the only fish we ever ate and spring was the only time it was ever seen, we were always much too excited to wait for dinner, so we’d cook it for breakfast whenever it was caught…”

A “busy-day cake” sounded just like Edna Lewis. It is very easy to make and delicious – light and moist, simply scented with vanilla and nutmeg. And it lends itself very well to cupcakes.

Both Leo and Balthasar were born in June, so I made these cupcakes twice, for each of their birthdays. And one more time because a fierce summer storm hit New York and postponed the party. I’ve lost count – it was a lot of baking and (cup)cakes in one month. I have promised to bake a marble cake for a picnic on Saturday but at this point all I really want to do is roast chicken and make rhubarb ice cream.

***

Barely adapted from the Busy-Day Cake on Lottie + Doof. The recipe is doubled and makes about twenty-eight 2 1/2 inch (6.35 cm) cupcakes.

1 cup (225 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 cups (400 g) sugar

6 eggs

4 cups (400 g) flour

1 cup (250 ml) buttermilk*

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

3 tsps pure vanilla extract

4 tsps baking powder

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

*

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).

With a wooden spoon beat the butter and sugar thoroughly, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring to incorporate each one before adding the next. Then add, alternately, about a third of the flour, half of the buttermilk, another third of flour, the second half of the buttermilk, and the last part flour, stirring to combine the ingredient every time. Finally add the salt, vanilla extract, baking powder, and nutmeg.

Scoop a large spoonful of batter into each cupcake cup (the batter should barely reach the top of the cup – it will rise.).

Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the batter is just set and as soon as a toothpick comes out clean.

* An easy substitute for buttermilk is to stir 1 Tbsp lemon juice into 1 cup of milk and let sit for 5 minutes

I made mascarpone lemon icing for the cupcakes:

2 cups (500 g) mascarpone

1/2 cup (40 g) icing (confectioner’s) sugar

1 or 2 untreated lemons, depending on the yield of your grater

Mix the mascarpone with the icing sugar, grate one lemon and blend the zest into the mascarpone. Taste, add some zest if you want a stronger lemon flavor. Ice the cupcakes just before serving and add a thin strip of lemon rind or a raspberry for decoration.

*

Related posts

Poppy seed and almond cake

Oatmeal raisin walnut cookies

Banana cake

Orange almond cake

 

 

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Posted in Children, Dessert, Easy, Year-round | Leave a Comment »

Finger food | Leek and manchego frittata

16 June 2011

Louise is now 15 months, she walks around like an independent little person, and she eats what her older brothers eat. The days of puréeing are already over, and as such my days of “baby food” posts. But since the children usually eat separately, especially during the week, this will be the transition into the world of children’s dinners.

As much as I oppose the concept of children’s food, in particular as it implies anything yellow and battered, I do believe in adult meals. This means that our children have dinner together, earlier, and go to bed at eight. It’s not about a different kind of food, it’s about timing. Ideally, children’s dinners should be easily prepared on a weeknight with homework and soccer and a toddler who really should be in bed by seven puttering about resignedly.

So as a bridge away from baby food here is the ultimate anytime any-age family meal – frittata.

It is ideal because it basically consists of staples and anything else that happens to be in the kitchen: eggs; an onion or leftover leek, garlic; cheese (gruyère, manchego, parmesan, ricotta, mozzarella); perhaps diced ham, pancetta, or some smoked salmon; peas, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, spinach, potatoes; herbs…

The possibilities are endless, and the result not only very tasty but a full meal in one dish that the children always like.

***

This quantity makes a lunch frittata perfect for one adult and one toddler. Adjust the quantities as desired. I usually count 2 eggs per adult, 1 per (young) child, plus an extra one overall “for the pan.”

2 leeks

Olive oil

A small knob of butter

1 clove garlic

3 eggs

Manchego cheese, a piece approximately 1 inch (2.5 cm) cube

Pepper

***

Preheat broiler (grill), or oven to 425°F (220°C).

Trim leeks on either side and remove one or two layers of the tougher dark green outer leaves. Wash off excess grit under running water. Slice the leeks into slices 1/2 or 1/4 inch (1 or 1/2 cm) thick. Wash well in cold water to remove any persistent dirt, and strain.

Thinly slice the garlic clove. Thinly grate the manchego.

In an ovenproof skillet, heat a little olive oil and small knob of butter, enough to comfortably coat the pan once the butter has melted. Add the leek and cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until it softens and becomes translucent but before it gets brown. Add the thinly sliced garlic and cook for just another minute.

Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Add the cheese and a little pepper if desired (manchego is very salty so no additional salt is required).

Stir the cooked leeks and garlic into the eggs, just enough to combine, then return the egg/vegetable mixture to the pan (there should be enough oil left but if not, add a dash).

Cook on the stove over low heat, loosening the eggs at the sides with a spatula from time to time (don’t go anywhere, this will just take a few minutes).

When you can see the eggs starting to set underneath, but the top is still quite runny, place the pan in the hot oven. Leave it for barely a minute, just enough for the top of the frittata to set but no longer.

Cut into wedges (or cubes) and serve with a large green salad.

*

Related posts

Finger food | Carrots

Children’s dinner | Cowboy food

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Posted in Easy, Eggs, Fall, Spring, Summer, Winter | 5 Comments »

Trout in a paper package (“en papillote”)

3 June 2011

A trout so fresh* it is practically still winking at you when you cook it /
Courteously seasoned with salt and pepper, lemon and thyme /
Wrapped tightly in a parchment paper package /
Cooked gently, not a minute too long /
With small boiled potatoes tossed in very good butter.

***

Quantities per trout, one small trout per person

Trout, scaled and gutted

Maldon or other flaky sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 slices untreated lemon

2 sprigs fresh thyme

Parchment paper

*

Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).

Season the trout cavity with salt and pepper. Place in it two slices of lemon and two sprigs of fresh thyme.

Place the trout at the center of a piece of parchment paper large enough to be wrapped comfortably around the fish, i.e about 8 inches larger than the fish on either side, and about 4 inches longer than the fish at each end. Pull up the sides of the parchment paper around the trout and fold it over itself tightly three times, then fold the ends over under the fish. This should create small airtight packages.

Place in an ovenproof dish and slide into the oven. The cooking time depends on the size of the trout, but it will be fast, probably about 12 to 15 minutes. The best measure is to open one package and check the trout – sooner rather than later.

*Available on Wednesdays at Union Square Greenmarket in New York, from Beaverkill Trout Hatchery, a little stall close to 16th Street

 

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Posted in Easy, Fall, Seasonal, Spring, Summer, Winter, Year-round | 4 Comments »

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