soupnancy

What's cooking

The dish - Duck gnudi

'Gnudi' means ‘nu’ or ‘naked’, and here, it refers to a naked filling. I forget when and where I came across this; it went from a scrap of paper to the back of my mind a while ago now. When I saw it, I remember it consisting of greens with ricotta and egg, as in a ravioli without the pasta wrapper. I believe it was poached and then pan-roasted, but anyway, I loved the idea and decided I wanted to try it out one day with sea spinach. It’s not as if it’s anything revolutionary; like I said it is filling. More accurately, it’s a dumpling; add some flour or starchy potato and it is gnocchi, add bread and it’s fancy turkey stuffing, add meat and it’s a meatball. In any case, there was something about the naked name, so catchy and cute, and the appealing notion of straight stuff with no excess dough, most appropriate for certain dishes.

However, good ideas come and go, and I never got around to doing it, almost forgot about it. Until I was composing my duck event menu and looking for something to float in my soup, which of course is a duck broth. I love consommé au naturel, especially if extracted from duck carcass, but customers might find it boring. I have done the traditional stuffed pasta, noodles of all kinds, wild rice, the royale garnish, various vegetable garnishes, blah. I considered making duck egg noodles (but that’s still noodles) or doing a stratiatella with duck eggs, maybe some sea spinach and parmesan, but although delicious, what a mess it is to look at, and what a waste of consommé really. Since meatballs are the rage, I thought of doing duck balls, maybe even duck-matzo balls. No, that would be too heavy. What I wanted was for the consommé to remain intact, clear and flavourful, with a small separate package of flavour to surprise the guests. In came the gnudi idea. Maybe, I could deliver spinach, egg and parmesan without muddying my consommé.

So I mixed the wilted greens (plus some cooked garlic and shallot) with the ricotta, and added the eggs. Seeing that it is a duck menu, I decided to add some ground duck meat to the mix, and a little parmesan to bind. I dusted them in flour and poached them. They turned out just as I had imagined - a cloud of spinach, cheese and duck. If I whipped the egg whites separately, I could perhaps make them even lighter, more like a mousseline.  Even as is, I could brown them in a bit of butter for extra umph, or poach them in my broth. But to keep the flavours clean and my broth grease free, I prefer to poach them on the side and add them to my soup. I sautéed a few up on the side for myself with a drizzle of boletus oil – wow. They would be terrific as a main course, topped with some extra cheese, some more duck, or ham and tomatoes, or some lemon zest, parm and olive oil.

shaping the gnudi

tasty floaters

If you want to make my gnudi, go ahead; you could use ground pork or veal or even leave out the meat altogether and add more cheese. The moral of the story is - next time you’re making meatballs, consider lightening them up with some ricotta and greens, or if you’re making ravioli or manicotti, maybe skip the pasta making and stuffing steps. Naked is kind of fun, and easy.

Duck gnudi

12p  (or 6 main)

1 cup wilted greens (spinach, chard, kale, mustard greens ..), 6 cups fresh

s.q. butter/olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 French shallot, minced

2 cups ricotta

2 duck eggs (or 3 eggs) 

200g ground duck (or chicken, veal, pork..)

¼ c freshly ground parmesan

salt and pepper

pinch nutmeg

Sweat garlic and shallot in olive oil or butter over low heat for 5 min or so. Optional: Deglaze with a splash of white wine or lemon. Cool.

Blanch greens in lots of salted water, refresh, drain and squeeze dry. Chop.

Drain ricotta in a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth to get rid of excess moisture.

Mix all ingredients together.

Form into little balls, dust in flour.

Poach in boiling water (gently) for 3 minutes. Lift out and put on a greased tray or in a casserole dish (don’t stack).

Serve as is with a pat of butter, in a broth or sauce, or pan fry in with butter, topped with herbs and parmesan.

What’s cooking

Ingredient – Winter Squash

assorted winter squash

pink banana

squash salad: raw, marinated and fried, some greens, cheese and pickled day lily buds, cider crinkleroot vinaigrette

It might seem late for squash to be a source of inspiration, but not really.. You see, now that winter is here and nothing fresh and local is coming in at all, I have no choice to look to the piles of winter squash and roots from the last harvests waiting to be transformed. Because our winter is so long, I often wait to the last minute to start my long affair with the stuff that keeps. When the squash first come out, there is still plenty of other stuff around, so I’ll use them a little, but save the royal treatment for when they can be the star. Once the squash is knocked off, the roots will get their turn at being the center of attention veg wise, and by the end of winter I will be quite tired of both, yearning for crisp and green. Let’s forget about that for now..

Over the past month, I’ve made slaw, salad, mash, polenta, latkes, soups and several desserts with a variety of winter squash. Here are some simple examples with guidelines:

Squash slaw : Raw, marinated butternut squash (or acorn or pink banana) in a salad:

Julienne the squash and toss it with a pinch of salt, of sugar, a good cider or white wine vinegar, and a shot of olive oil and or nut oil. Serve it in a salad with almonds and herbs, or as an accompaniment. .

Spaghetti squash comme ça

Slice in two, seed, cover and microwave for 10 min. Scrape the ‘spaghetti’ off with a fork. Sauté in butter and garlic, a few chilli flakes. Or add a touch of cream and grated cheese and cook as a gratin..

Pancake, latke or roesti: Buttercup, Pink Banana or something starchy works best.

You could actually use any squash, but with a watery one, you would need to add potato or more flour. With a starchy variety like this, you get the full squash flavour and no gumminess. Grate it, mix it with a handful of flour, a pinch of salt and spice (I like curry and chili), some grated onion (squeezed dry) or minced shallot and a scant pinch of baking powder. Add a few beaten eggs just to bind. Drop into a hot pan with oil and sear on both sides cooking it like a pancake. Finish in oven if necessary. Serve as an accompaniment or as an appetizer or hors d’oeuvre topped with something like sour cream and smoked salmon or chutney and yogurt.

buttercup polenta, sautéed spaghetti squash

marinated pink banana

Fried pink banana

Soup: Use Hubbard or any combination of winter squash

Halve or cut into big pieces, seed and roast the squash in an oven at 400F until tender. Meanwhile, sweat a mirepoix (chopped onion, carrot, celery, leek if you want) in a little butter or oil. Add some garlic, some ginger, a pinch of chilli. Deglaze with a splash of white wine, cider, cider vinegar or sherry vinegar. Scoop out the squash meat and add, along with poultry stock (and/or water) to cover, but barely. Cook for another 20-30 min. Blend. Add a little cream or milk or water to rectify the consistency. Add salt and pepper, a spoonful of honey or more likely a squeeze of lemon to taste. Strain if you’re feeling fancy.

Purée : A starchy one is best, otherwise, add some mashed potato.

Roast in the oven, scoop out the flesh and pureé in a food processor (or pass through a food mill), adding a good measure of butter, maybe a splash of stock or milk or cream (not usually necessary especially if you have a squash with some water content). Season to taste (salt, a squeeze of lemon, a shot of Sambal or Tabasco ).

Fried: The starchiest ones again are best. If it’s too sweet, it will burn. You can always give them a water rinse or soak (but dry well) if you want to cook as fries. Squash is great in pakora, tempura works well too, but you can also just coat in flour and/or cornstarch and fry at a lower than usual temperature (275- 300F ). Too high a temperature and they will darken too much (and lose their sweetness), too low and they won’t be crisp. You also have to be able to leave them in long enough in order for them to crisp up.

Dessert : A firm, sweet one works in a dessert where you use them as you would fruit, as in a pie filling or crumble. The softer ones are best used puréed as in pumpkin pie, in compotes, or flan mixtures. Flavour wise, squash or pumpkin pairs well with apple, pear and spice.

My colleague, Isabelle brought in an apple-squash crisp as a staff treat, and I was then inspired to make a chausson. Either way, you want a squash that you can cut up raw, that cooks up well and somewhat retains its structure. Butternut works well. Almost any squash will work, you just may need to add a tablespoon or two of flour to the mix. You just add the diced squash to your apple mixture. At least that’s what I would do at home. But at the restaurant, you want everything to be cooked just so, so I sautéed the apples and squash cubes separately to make sure they were both cooked properly. I was looking for something aldente because the chaussons would finish in the oven. I added butter, sugar, honey, lemon, spices like cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger among some other wild things, some almond powder to bind (a good pinch of flour would have been fine too) and stuffed my phyllo pastry, cooked it at 400F for the first 10 min. and another 20min at a lower temperature. You could also just top the mixture with crisp topping or biscuit dough for a cobbler type thing.

I’m sure it would make a good ice cream too (in purée form), as it certainly makes good crème brulée, mousse and pannacotta.

Garlic Soup

I like to make this soup with day old bread à l’Espagnole, but I have found that it is more widely appreciated thickened with potato.

4 L

1 leek or onion, chopped

30 garlic cloves (5 bulbs)

1 tsp dry chilli powder (ancho or pasilla or any)

2 c white wine or sherry

3 L meat stock (chicken, beef, duck...)

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp rosemary or sage

2 c dried bread cubes or cubed potato

1 c cream

s.q. tabasco, worcestershire

s.q. lemon

s.q. salt, pepper

s.q. water

pinch nutmeg

s.q. olive oil

s.q. butter

Sweat the onion or leek in a bit of olive oil over low heat with smashed garlic cloves slowly for 20 min. Deglaze with wine or sherry, reduce down. Add herbs, stock, and potato if you’re using potato. Simmer for 30-45 min. Add dried bread and cream, simmer 5 minutes, blend. Finish with a pat of butter or extra virgin olive oil, thin with water or milk to desired consistency and rectify seasoning.

Garnishes:

Chorizo. Or any sausage.

A strong tasting cheese like an old cheddar, a blue, or a goat cheese.

A chopped bitter green (watercress, arugula, endive..)

Caramelized onions.

Squash soup

4 L

2 L squash chunks (Hubbard, butternut, sweet mama or potiron)

1 onion, minced

2 carrots, minced

1 stalk celery, minced

2 tsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger

pinch curry powder

pinch chili

1 c cider or white wine

2 L chicken stock

2 c milk

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp lemon juice

s.q. salt

1 Tbsp butter

s.q. olive oil

Toss squash pieces with a bit of oil and roast on a baking sheet at 400F for 30-45 min. Meanwhile, sweat mirepoix in a bit of oil until soft. Add garlic, ginger and spices, stir-fry, deglaze with wine, reduce. Add stock and simmer.

When squash is caramelised and somewhat tender, remove and add to soup.

When everything is cooked through, blend, season, thin with milk to desired consistency and finish with butter. Top with desired garnish.

Garnishes:

Crisp squash and fresh herbs.

Cooked bacon, ham or smoked duck.

Soft goat cheese or parm.

Mushrooms or mushroom oil.

Toasted coconut and sesame oil, coriander or basil.

Leek soup

4 L

½ onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, minced

3 leeks, sliced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1c white wine

1 tsp thyme

3 L chicken or vegetable stock

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 c cream

2 Tbsp fresh dill

s.q. salt, pepper

s.q. lemon

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp butter

Sweat onion and celery in oil over low heat until translucent. Add leek and garlic and sweat slowly for 10 minutes. Deglaze with white wine, reduce down. Add potatoes, thyme and stock. Cook 20-30 minutes until potatoes are soft. Add dill and cream, cook 10 more minutes, blend and season, finish with butter. Thin to desired consistency with milk. Serve and top with garnish of choice.

Garnish with:

Fresh herbs like chives or parsley or dill.

Cooked seafood, steamed clams or mussels (add juice), or smoked salmon.

Stewed leeks.

Truffle oil.

Bacon.

Asian style soup

First you need a flavorful light stock. A homemade duck, chicken, oxtail or beef stock is ideal. You can also make a good vegetable stock with onions, carrots, celery and mushrooms, some dried porcini or shitake.... If you use canned stock, I would definately add some vegetables or meat to the soup and watch the soy so that it doesn’t turn out to salty.

You make the soup base, then you can add noodles, wontons or julienned vegetables, a tofu or meat garnish, whatever you like. You can make it more like a hot and sour by adding some sherry vinegar or rice wine vinegar, a pinch of sugar and more chili. This can be served as a meal too, just pump up the garnish ...

4L ( 12 p)

225g mushrooms, sliced

2 Tbsp minced shallot or onion

1 Tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp minced ginger root

s.q. chili paste (like Sambal or Sriracha)

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp Chinese five spice or (star anise, coriander seed, cinnamon, fennel, peppercorn)

1tsp black bean paste

3 L Duck or chicken stock or beef stock or vegetable stock

1 c Bok choy or Napa cabbage, sliced thinly

2 Tbsp hoisin

1Tbsp fish sauce

2 Tbsp fresh lime juice

¼ c coriander leaves, chopped

1 bunch scallions, chopped

2c fresh bean sprouts

3c par-cooked rice noodles or wontons

s.q. salt, pepper

s.q. tamari

Sauté mushrooms, lower heat, add shallot or onion and cook a few minutes to soften. Add garlic, ginger, black bean paste and spices. After a minute, add stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes. Stir in the lime juice, the hoisin and season to taste. You might want to add a little vinegar or more lime, some tamari or soy, more chili or a pinch of sugar. Then add the cabbage, and any meat or vegetable garnish you are adding. Add your cooked noodles. You could use pre-cooked wontons instead. When hot throughout, check seasoning and serve, generously garnishing bowls with fresh coriander, scallions, and bean sprouts.

Mushroom and corn chowder with spinach

4 L (12 portions)

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced

1/2 leek, chopped fine

1 stalk celery, minced

500g mushrooms, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch chili flakes, thym, caraway seeds

1 c corn kernels

2 diced potatoes

10g dried boletus or porcini, rehydrated

100ml white wine

2L chicken stock

250ml heavy cream

2c spinach, chopped

2Tbsp chopped dill and/or parsley

s.q. milk

s.q. olive oil

s.q. salt, pepper

s.q. lemon juice

Rehydrate dried mushrooms in hot water for at least 20 minutes, while you prepare other vegetables. Chop mushrooms, decant soaking liquid and reserve.

In a soup pot, sauté fresh mushrooms in olive oil. When colored, add onion, celery and leek. Sweat over low heat for a few minutes. Add garlic and spice.

Deglaze with white wine and cook down. Add stock, potatoes, rehydrated mushrooms and soaking liquid. Simmer for 20 minutes until potatoes are just about fork-tender. Add corn, chopped spinach and cream, simmer 10 more minutes.

Finish with herbs, a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper. Taste and rectify. Thin with milk to desired consistency.

My favorite ways with tomatoes

Tomato salad with crinkleroot oil, smoked sea salt and greens, maybe some cheese or a poached egg to take it up a notch.

-Slice tomatoes, drizzle them with some good olive oil. I use crinkleroot oil (wild horseradish) for its arugula like bite. Sprinkle on some sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, a few chili flakes. Dress the greens the same, but with restraint, adding a splash of a good vinegar like balsamic or sherry. Add some fresh mozzarella or some Reggiano, any good cheese. If I want to make it more substancial, I’ll add a poached egg or some garlic toast, some smoked duck or some lardons.

Fresh tomato salsa, “tortilla soup”, and gaspacho

-Halve and seed tomatoes, squeezing out excess juice, and dice. Add some minced shallot, some freshly chopped coriander, a squeeze of lime and/or red wine vinegar, salt, chili, pure or in the form of tabasco, some olive oil. You might want to add a pinch of sugar depending on your tomatoes.

-When I’m alone, I don’t seed or juice them. It makes for watery salsa, but when I’m done, I have this tasty liquid into which I like to dump all the bits of chips from the bottom of the bowl to make “tortilla soup”. It makes a snack into a meal, perfect for midnight after a shift, in front of the TV.

Fresh tomato sauce

-Generally, I prefer a quick cooked tomato sauce, that has that fresh tomato taste, with lots of olive oil. Sometimes, I’ll pump up the mirepoix (vegetable) ratio, add wine, more seasoning, and cook it longer, if I want something more complex, or if I’m adding meat.

-In any case, start by sweating some onions. I usually add a bit of minced carrot and celery, some red pepper. Then garlic, a touch of white wine, good vinegar or lemon juice. Then the spices. I use chili, fennel seed, thyme and oregano. Then go in the tomatoes. Canned is fine, although I usually use half canned, half fresh. If you don’t like skin, then blanch and peel your tomatoes, seed them if you want. You might not want to use all the juice, especially if you won’t be cooking it long. Stick in a bay leaf, even a cinnamon stick if you’re feeling adventurous (particulary good with a pork based sauce). Simmer for 30 min or 1 hour, longer if you’re doing a big batch. Pull out the aromats, douse with a good measure of good olive oil, salt and pepper, and blend.

-With this base, you can play around.....

-add anchovy, olives and capres

-add bacon and mushrooms, (and cream or not)

-add beans, extra peppers and pork or not, spices (cumin, chili, oregano, thyme, cinnamon)

-add curry, yogurt, shrimp or chicken, coriander and coconut

-add tarragon, lemon and cream for mussels, any seafood or chicken

Roast tomatoes as a topping for fish, pasta, even meat

-Halve tomatoes (preferably Roma), toss with olive oil, garlic cloves, herbs of choice, and roast on a baking tray at 400F for 30 minutes. Pull out, peel off the skins if you want, and serve along with the pan juices to dress up fish, meat, pasta or eggs.

-You can do this over a very low heat (160-200F) for hours, and then you have confit, use in the same way.

Ratatouille

-Degorge (slice and salt) your eggplant for at least half an hour. Wipe dry.

Dice up all your vegetables ( 1 onion, 1 eggplant, 2 zucchini, 1-2 red pepper). Mince up 1 celery stick, a couple of cloves of garlic.

-In your big pot, sweat an onion, add a little minced celery, one or two diced bell peppers. Then goes in some minced garlic, some chili flakes, some cumin seeds, maybe some fennel seeds, some thyme, a little rosemary. Deglaze with a ½ cup or so of red wine, and a good shot of red wine vinegar.

-On the side, in a frying pan, saute your eggplant in a good measure of olive oil, toss into big pot. Sauté zucchini in more olive oil, and add to ratatouille. Add a good pinch of salt, sugar and pepper, and allow to simmer for 30min-1 hour. Throw in some fresh basil, and rectify seasoning.

-serve hot or cold, with couscous, pasta, lamb, sausage, eggs or poultry... anything