Deana's (soon to be famous) Cream of Broccoli Soup

This is from my friend Deana (whom I love!) who is always after me to post more. So here is her contribution to my recipe box, circa the early '90s. I hadn't made this in a while and was pleasantly surprised at just how satisfying it is, though quite simple. As you can see, the broccoli was bright green but when I added the carrots back in and pureed everything, the soup ended up having a slight orange tinge.

Vegetable stock:

1 tablespoon butter

2-3 carrots, chopped

2 small onions (1 medium?), chopped

(1-2 stalks of celery, chopped--my addition)

5 cups water

Melt butter in a large pot. Add carrots, onion & celery; cover pot and sweat vegetables for 10 minutes. Add water and simmer for 40 minutes. Strain broth, saving veggies.

Broccoli soup:

1 pound broccoli

stock/vegetables

3/4 cup milk

salt & pepper, to taste

Boil broccoli in vegetable stock until tender, but still green. Let cool. Throw broccoli, stock, and previously cooked vegetables (from stock) into a blender and puree. Serve as puree, or reheat with milk for cream of broccoli. As Deana says, "It's awesome!"

Carrots

I love carrots. But I do not like shredded carrot, for reasons unbeknownst to me. A few years ago I bought this implement under the assumption it was a zester.

I'm not sure if it technically is, but I do know that when I want to get some sort of citrus zest I use this implement:

So basically, this first "zester" has been a dud...until I found a new use for it--probably it's proper use--which is julienning!!! It's been a revelation... julienned carrots are so much better (and prettier) than shredded!
Without further ado, here is a recipe using julienned carrots: Sesame-Broccoli Salad. I haven't been making it that long, but every time I have it's been a big hit. (Adapted from an Eating Out Loud recipe here.)

2 heads broccoli, chopped (throw in sliced stems as well)

1 cup lightly packed cilantro, chopped

1/2 cup julienned carrot

2 green onions, chopped

3/4 cup toasted, slivered almonds

1/2 cup dried cherries (or cranberries, or raisins)

for dressing:

1/2 cup canola oil (I've been using peanut oil since that's what I had on hand)

1 tablespoon sesame oil

1/4 cup rice vinegar

1 - 2 teaspoons sugar

2 - 3 teaspoons soy sauce

Whisk dressing ingredients together, then pour over salad. Toss to combine and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to let flavors meld.

Brussels Sprout Salad

I am not much of a salad person. But this...it's my current addiction! Here's the original recipe/post if you have fancier ingredients. (For the life of me, where to get Marcona almonds?!) Be careful when toasting your walnuts. I've reduced the suggested temperature from 350 to 300 degrees because of a recent over-toasting incident--though I used the walnuts anyway and the salad was still delicious! Here's my guesstimate amounts for one person:

10 - 12 Brussels sprouts, trimmed of any dried leaves and at the root

1 - 2 tablespoons golden raisins

1 - 2 tablespoons walnuts

Parmesan cheese, shaved

olive oil

champagne vinegar (or whatever you like)

sea salt/kosher salt & black pepper

Dice the sprouts into about 1/4" cubes (many of the leaves will fall off in the process--that's fine). Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add some salt and throw in the sprouts. Blanch for a minute or two until bright green (do not overcook!). Drain the sprouts under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Meanwhile, toast walnuts in a 300 degree oven for 5 - 10 minutes until fragrant. Cool and coarsely chop. Mix together the sprouts, raisins, walnuts and cheese. Drizzle over the olive oil and vinegar, then sprinkle w ith salt and pepper. Toss and serve!

See, not diced exactly, often more wedge-y. Doesn't matter!

Stir-Fried Cabbage with Cumin Seeds

It's sad to think I wasn't introduced to Indian food until I was 20, in England. Similarly, I didn't get into cabbage and brussels sprouts until the past couple years. But now... I love them all! And this recipe addresses some of those things (though not the sprouts...I'll have to post on that another time). This is adapted from Madhur Jaffrey's Quick and Easy Indian Cooking.

1/2 head Savoy cabbage
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1+1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
pinch of cayenne
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 - 1 teaspoon garam masala

Cut out and discard core of the cabbage, then cut into long, thin shreds. Heat the oil in a wide skillet over high heat. When hot, add the cumin and sesame seeds. When seeds begin to pop, add the onions and cook, stirring often, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the cabbage and cook, stirring often, until wilted and lightly browned, about 5 minutes more. Reduce heat to medium, add salt and cayenne. Cook until cabbage is soft and sweet--should only take a few minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon juice and garam masala.

Tomato Pie

I think really fresh, ripe tomatoes might be my favorite food. So wait to make this recipe until you can get the best tomatoes. If you must, use decent tomatoes and supplement with some good canned diced tomatoes (I like Muir Glen). This recipe is adapted from the The Tomato Festival Cookbook (Storey pub., here in the Berkshires), and the recipe comes from Chaiwalla restaurant in Salisbury , Connecticut (which is not that far from me, so I really must get down there and try this in person!). The biscuit-y crust is a key component, though it can overwhelm the tomatoes so I like to pile the tomatoes really high. I often skip the chives since the ones you find in the grocery store can be rather insipid; I think thinly-sliced shallots would work well instead.

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons butter, cold & cut into several pieces

2/3 cup milk, more or less

1 pound (or more) ripe tomatoes, skinned and sliced

salt & freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons slivered basil leaves

1 tablespoon snipped chives

1 + 1/2 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese (I threw in some Parmesan as well)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder and salt. Cut in the butter until crumbly. (Some people uses forks, I use a pastry blender.) Stir in enough milk to make a springy dough. Spread some flour on your counter and roll out two-thirds of the dough to a size large enough to fit into a 9" pie plate. Place in pie pan, then put in a layer of tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, basil, chives, and some cheese. Repeat layers until all the tomatoes have been used. On the last layer, spread the mayonnaise over the top (a squirt bottle helps with this) before sprinkling on the remaining cheese.

Roll out the remaining dough and cover the pie. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the crust is golden. Serve warm.

Carrot Dill Soup

This is one of my favorite soup recipes, and has been for about 15 years. It's adapted from The New Basics Cookbook--a book with several great soup recipes in my opinion. I've added the lemon juice, which seems a nice way to accentuate the flavor of almost any savory recipe, and also the grated Parmesan.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 large onion, diced

2+1/2 pounds carrots, peeled & sliced
2 ribs celery, with leaves, diced
8 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup chopped dill
salt, freshly ground pepper
generous pinch of cayenne
fresh lemon juice
grated Parmesan

Melt the butter in a large pot. Add the onions and cook over medium heat until soft, about 10 minutes. Add the carrots, celery, stock, 1/4 cup dill and cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until carrots are tender. Let cool slightly. Puree the soup, in batches, in a blender. Return to the pot, stir in remaining dill and season with salt, pepper and a couple squeezes of lemon. Heat through and serve. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan, if desired.

Marinated Broccoli

As you may know, I like garlic. But last year I actually went a little overboard and made this recipe so many times--and with so much garlic--that I was done for the year. It's a new year, however, and I'm ready to jump on the marinated broccoli horse again. Adapted from the NY Times.

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 lbs. broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1/2 cup olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons roasted sesame oil
large pinch crushed red pepper flakes

Stir together the vinegar and salt; toss with broccoli. In a large skillet, heat olive oil until hot. Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in sesame oil and red pepper flakes; toss mixture with broccoli. Let sit at least 1 hour at room temperature, up to 48 hours (chill if you want to keep it more than 2 hours). Add salt if necessary.