Tag: vegetables

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Julia Child’s Baked Cucumbers

I had a bunch of cucumbers from my garden and a Julia Child recipe for baked cucumbers so I cooked up a batch. Not my favorite but it was interesting.

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This recipe comes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, 1961. ‘If the natural moisture content is now withdrawn beforehand, cucumbers exude so much water as they are heated that you usually end up with a tasteless mush and swear never to cook cucumbers again. Blanching for 5 minutes before cooking will remove unwanted water, but also most of the cucumber flavor. A preliminary sojourn in salt draws out the water and also the bitterness, if they are the bitter European type, yet leaves the flavor, which a little vinegar and salt accentuates. We have found the following method delicious, and suggest it for all cooked cucumber recipes. Baked cucumbers go with roast, broiled, or sauteed chicken or veal.

Ingredients Nutrition

6 US

Directions

  1. Peel the cucumbers.
  2. Cut in half lengthwise and scoop out the seeds with a spoon.
  3. Cut into lengthwise strips about 3/8 inch wide.
  4. Cut strips into 2 inch pieces.
  5. Toss the cucumber in a bow with the vinegar, salt and sugar.
  6. Let stand for 30 minutes to several hours.
  7. Drain and pat dry in a towel.
  8. Preheat oven to 375.
  9. Toss the cucumbers in a baking dish with the butter, herbs, scallions and pepper.
  10. Set uncovered in the middle level of the preheated oven for about an hour, tossing 2-3 times, until cucumbers are tender, but still have a suggestion of crispiness and texture. They will barely color during cooking.
  11. Variation One: Parslied Cucumbers.
  12. In a warm vegetable dish toss with 2 Tbsp minced parsley.
  13. Variation Two: Creamed Cucumbers. – This is the version I made
  14. Boil 1 cup whipping cream until it has reduced by half. Season with salt and pepper, fold into the hot baked cucumbers, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

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Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

HUNGARIAN RATATOUILLE – LECSÓ

This one turned out to be almost as good as Nagymama’s.

You need medium sized sweet yellow Hungarian wax peppers and fully ripe, sweet tomatoes to make authentic Hungarian lecsó. The Jim grows these with varied success, giving me a few weeks of lecsó making opportunity. Keep in mind that no Hungarian pepper grown in our Kamloops garden can come close to the peppers grown on Hungarian soil. Of course most North Americans don’t even know what Hungarian peppers look like, except for the tiny hot things they sell in the supermarket. But those aren’t Hungarian peppers. Moving onto the tomatoes, the sweetest of tomatoes, are the round vine ripened varieties. They cost a bit more, but their flavour is superior even when the rest of the tomatoes are in season. I have been trying to break through the availability barrier and to come up with a year around version of Hungarian lecsó, but that will be a different topic.

In terms of volume I tended to use 1/4 tomato to 3/4 pepper to balance out the acidity and to reduce the liquid in my lecsó. Onions give body to stews, so I thought I would increase the onions, because lecsó should not have soup like consistency. The recipe I used over the years called for half an onion. But since the onion is the one that binds the peppers and tomatoes together, I figured there should be more of it. An additional benefit is that onions bring natural sweetness to lecsó. So gradually I increased the onions I used. Now for every 6 medium Hungarian wax peppers and 6 medium tomatoes I use 2 fairly large onions. That’s a lot of onions, but you need it. I also add Hungarian paprika to my lecsó, but only a couple of teaspoons. Lecsó is not about the paprika.

  • 6 Hungarian wax peppers*
  • 2 large onions,
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 3 Tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 5 medium ripe tomatoes sliced
  • 2 tsp Hungarian paprika
  1. • Chop the peppers into strips.
  2. • Chop the tomatoes, removing the green centers.
  3. • Dice the onions into large bits, but don’t cut them too fine.
  4. • Place 3 Tbsp olive oil in the pot on medium heat.
  5. • Add the onions and garlic and sauté until onions are soft, but not brown.
  6. • Reduce the heat and add the peppers.
  7. • Add the salt and the pepper now.
  8. • Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally for a 3-5 minutes.
  9. • Add the tomato and the Hungarian paprika.
  10. • Simmer uncovered for 1-2 minutes.
  11. • Serve with rustic white bread.
    Yields: 2 servings

*In terms of flavour, the yellow bells are the closest to the Hungarian wax. The smallest they are the better, the big ones release too much liquid and they tend to finish up soggy.

Posted on » by Dana & Nancy » Theme:

Teriyaki Portabella Mushroom Kabobs

Teriyaki Mushroom Kabobs

Teriyaki Portabella Mushroom Kabobs
Recipe from The Mushroom Channel

Ingredients:
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 cup mirin
1 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 teaspoon sriracha sauce
4 large portabella mushrooms
1 fresh pineapple
1 large red onion
olive oil

Directions:

To make the teriyaki sauce:
Place the brown sugar, mirin and soy sauce in a small saucepan and place over medium heat, and stir to dissolve the sugar.  Reduce the heat and gently simmer, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened.  This will take 40 – 50 minutes.  Remove from the heat, stir in the sesame oil, and then let cool.

Core the pineapple and onion into even sized cubes.

Using a paper towel or mushroom brush remove any dirt from the mushrooms.  Remove the stem, and then cut into quarters.

Evenly skewer the mushrooms, pineapple and onions.

Preheat the grill to 400.  Lightly spray or drizzle olive oil on each skewer, then place on the grill.  Baste with some of the teriyaki sauce.  Grill until lightly browned, about 3 – 5 minutes.  Turn over the kabob, baste with more teriyaki and grill another 3 – 5 minutes until the mushrooms and onions are cooked throughout and the pineapple is caramelized.