pancetta

Market Matters: Creamy Salsify Soup with Salmon

12 Dec 2011
creamy salsify soup

This week at the Hollywood Farmers Market I was on my weekly crawl to find something interesting. But I had a secret; I actually had a plan this time. I had my sites set on salsify.

What is salsify you ask? Maybe you know it better as oyster plant or goatsbeard. No?

It’s an ancient plant, long utilized as food. It is related to the sunflower and is in the family Asteraceae, which makes it, basically, a wildflower. But this information probably does not help you identify it because we don’t eat the flowers. Or at least I don’t eat the flowers…they’re just too darn pretty!

As a food, salsify is primarily a root vegetable. But the green grass-like leaves and stems are edible and often sold still attached to the root.

The root looks a lot like a big, skinny, hairy, parsnip. It is between six and twelve inches long. It is a cream colored with lots of little rootlets sprouting out of it in all directions. There is a black version, but botanically they are not closely related. Personally I have never seen the black type.

But why salsify...and more particularly why salsify now? Shouldn’t I be on the look out for mandarins or walnuts?  These are typically the prizes of the December harvest in Southern California.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Creamy Salsify Soup with Salmon

salsify soup with salmon
By jgreghenry Published December 12, 2011
Prep time: 45
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 4 T unsalted butter
  • 3 (1 oz) chunks, pancetta or slab bacon
  • 1 large onion peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
  • 1 fennel bulb, trimmed peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
  • 1 celery stalk, peeled, trimmed, and thinly sliced
  • 3 clv garlic
  • 1 pn each salt and white pepper, as needed
  • 1 oz bouquet garni made with 3 large basil leaves, 2 parsley sprigs, 1 thyme sprig and 1 bay leaf
  • 1 lb salsify root
  • 1 q chicken stock
  • 1 potato
  • 0.5 c heavy cream
  • 6 oz roasted salmon, torn into shards
  • 1 T dill leaves, chopped

Directions

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large casserole over medium heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook, stirring occasionally, until it renders its fat, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the onion, fennel, leeks, celery, and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Toss in the bouquet garni and cook, stirring occasionally, about 8 mins

Right before ready to use, run the salsify under cool water and scrub clean. Do not peel entirely, but you may break off some of the small rootlets if you like. Cut the salsify into one-inch chunks and add them to the pan. Cook them all together about 10 minutes more.

Pour in the stock, add the potatoes and a pinch of salt, and bring the mixture to the low boil. Lower the heat and simmer, about 30 mins. Skim off any scummy bubbles as you go. Remove all three pieces of pancetta or bacon, save them for another use. Discard the bouquet garni.

Add the cream. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until it is creamy. Strain the soup through a mesh sieve into a large saucepan and taste for salt and pepper. Adding as needed. Add the cream to the soup and bring to a low boil. Lower heat and serve warm, ganished with salmon shards and dill.

Baked Zucchini with Pancetta & Breadcrumbs- Because I am an Omnivore

14 Sep 2011
Baked Zucchini with Pancetta & Breadcrumbs

Am I bad?

I made a zucchini dish again. Baked Zucchini with Pancetta & Breadcrumbs.

Which sounds delicious. But you see, I am an omnivore (in theory).

I use this label (though I hate it) not because I eat meat and vegetable, but because I want the culinary world spread at my feet. I want to experience the exotic, taste the unusual. I want to travel to far away lands without even leaving my kitchen. I want it all and I want it on my plate (in theory).

Because (in theory) I am not the kind of person who chooses to limit myself, I can’t imagine, with all that life has to offer, why I would ever say to myself: “Oh, I no longer need those experiences. I am happy with just these experiences.” That’s the point of being an omnivore, right? The choices and experiences should be limitless (in theory).

But (in reality) I am a crappy omnivore. Sometimes I forget to even put meat in the dinner. Heck we eat vegan meals several times a week. Maybe my grocery skills are lacking? Just look inside my shopping bag. Too many of the same old things.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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Baked Zucchini with Pancetta & Breadcrumbs

zucchini al forno
By jgreghenry Published September 14, 2011
Prep time: 90
Yield:1 (Servings)

Ingredients:

  • 5 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 c finely chopped onion (about 1 large)
  • 2 sli white sandwich bread, torn into pieces
  • 0.333333 c freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano or grana padano cheese
  • 1 t finely chopped fresh rosemary
  • 4 medium zucchini, trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
  • 4 sli flat pancetta (about 4 ounces), cut in half crosswise (substitue with prosciutto or bacon slices)

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat 3 tablespoons oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a 12x12 baking dish and spread to make a bed for the zucchini.

In the bowl of a food processor, combine bread, cheese and rosemary. Pulse until bread is broken into chunky crumbs and mixture is combined. Put zucchini on top of onions in baking dish, cut-side up. Put 1 piece pancetta, prosciutto or bacon between each zucchini piece, then sprinkle with bread mixture and drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons oil.

Bake until zucchini is very tender, about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Belligerent Bean Balls in Crisis (Polpette di Fagioli Rossi in Salsa Picante)

31 May 2011
Polpette di Fagioli Rossi in Salsa Picante

Red Bean Balls. Sounds delish, huh?

Well how about Polpette di Fagioli Rossi in Salsa Picante? That sounds a bit more appetizing, or at least a bit more glamorous, yeah? Because this is a blog, right? Aren't I supposed to make things sound appetizing? Yeah... in theory I suppose.

Still, no matter how you slice it– Polpette di Fagioli Rossi is just a fancy name for Red Bean Balls. You can call them what you like. You don't need me to make them sound delish. They ARE delish. Besides, does what I say really make one whit of difference? You see lately I have been feeling like calling things as they are. Red Bean Balls in a Spicy Sauce. There I said it, in plain English.

Let me also say that I am aware of my belligerent attitude. I am sure you've noticed it too. I think I am having a mid-life crisis– and by "me" I don't mean ME. I had my mid-life crisis at age 12. Gay people are forced to look reality hard in the face at a very young age. Even before they fully understand what it is that makes them different. So gay kids have two choices (or at least gay kids from my generation). These choices are simple and they contain a lesson that applies to so many aspects of life. These choices are put up or shut up.

Sippity Sup Continues »
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