Winter Vegetable Stew and Peasant Bread

Well, it looks like we're in for another dreary, rainy weekend in the state that doesn't understand seasons (with one exception for blisteringly hot, ever-enduring summer months). I think I might have psychic, weather-controlling powers because every time I wear shorts, a skirt or even I dare say a tank top, the weather takes a turn for the cold, windy and rainy. But, no bother, because I have the perfect stew and spirits to lift your spirits.

I made this stew about a month ago - the first of many times I've had to toss a lovely spring menu plan in exchange for something that will warm us in a heat-free home. I've never been more glad about chilly rainy weather than that day.

I don't know about you but I'm always looking for a good thick stew that's as easy as it is flavorful. This winter stew delivers on all accounts, and it can be made with meat or without. Even better, I imagine any root vegetables you have lying around will suit the flavors just fine. I had my eye on parsnips, but with none available, turnips and a rutabaga were lovely.

Winter Vegetable Stew 

1 rutabega, chopped to 1/2 inch dice (or bigger if that's how you like your stew)
2 red potatoes, chopped to 1/2 inch dice
1 turnip, chopped to 1/2 inch dice
1 medium leek, julienned
2-3 carrots, chopped to thin rounds
3 celery stalks, thinly chopped
1 small yellow onion, diced
1/2 cup flour
2 ears of corn
5 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp. onion powder
1 cup (+) Guinness Stout or other stout beer, divided
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
4 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
small pinch nutmeg
2 bay leaf
pinch of sage, rosemary and thyme (fresh if you have it)
1 cup milk (optional - tasted good before and after this addition) 
Precooked rotisserie chicken, shredded (optional)

Instructions

1. Boil the rutabega, potato and turnip (or any root veggies you're using) in a mixture of water, soy sauce, onion powder, 1/2 cup beer and Worchestershire sauce until vegetables are barely tender. Time will depend on the size of your dice. Don't drain, and set aside.

2. Melt butter in a large pot and add onion, carrot, celery and leek. Saute until tender. Add flour, yeast, salt, black pepper, ground mustard, nutmeg, and herbs. Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Gradually add 1/2 cup of remaining beer as needed.

3. Increase heat to medium high and gradually stir in boiled root vegetables plus cooking liquid. Simmer, stirring frequently for 15 to 20 minutes. If you choose to, add chicken after about 10 minutes.

4. Add corn and milk and continue simmering for 5 minutes. 
5. Remove and discard bay leaf. Enjoy!

Of course, any decent stew deserves good bread and good beer to go with it. I recommend Guinness Extra Stout as you already have to purchase the beer to make the stew. But if you want to step it up a notch, we made Irish Car Bombs. All you need a bottle of Guinness, a shot of Bailey's Irish Cream and a shot of Jameson's Whiskey. Pour the beer into a pint glass and serve with the two shots in individual shot glasses. When it's time to drink, pour the two shots into the beer and drink as quickly as you can! I'd always been turned off by the curdling of the Irish Cream in this drink, but it actually tastes really good, and it's a fun take on shots with friends.

As for bread, any hardy wheat or rye will do. I had just gotten some rye flour from Sylvan Falls Mill at Athens Locally Grown, so I wanted to make a loaf to incorporate this. I ended up making the following peasant bread.

 

Peasant Bread

3 cups lukewarm water
1 1⁄2 Tbsp. dry active yeast
1 1⁄2 Tbsp. Kosher salt
1⁄2 cup rye flour
1⁄2 cup whole wheat flour
5 1⁄2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Cornmeal for dusting the peel

Instructions

1.Mix yeast and salt with water in a large bowl. Let proof for about 10 minutes. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients without kneading. You may have to use your hands to get the last bit of flour mixed in. Cover and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises, about 2 hours. Can be stored up to 14 days in the refrigerator.

2. Dust the surface of the dough with flour and cut off a piece about the size of a grapefruit. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter turn as you go. Allow to rest and rise on a cornmeal-covered surface for 40 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 450°F, with a baking stone placed on the middle rack. Place an empty broiler tray or a baking tray if it's all you have on the shelf below.

4. After 40 minutes, sprinkle the loaf liberally with flour and slash a cross on the top. Slide the loaf directly onto the hot stone. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake for about 35 minutes or until the top crust is deeply browned and very firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in baking time.

Peter Reinhart on Bread Traversing Life and Death

Speaking of bread, here's a very interesting TEDtalk from Peter Reinhart, author of The Bread Baker's Apprentice, a book that has been on my "to read and cook by" list for a while.

For the first half, he talks through his new "epoxy" method of making a great wheat bread. But if you don't have the time, at least listen starting about halfway through where he really gets into some deeper, mystical discussions about bread baking and what makes this food special.

He says "bread is a transformational food," meaning that it goes through significant changes in form in order to reach its final state. Starting from the harvesting of wheat is death, death to any future growth it seems as the seed kernels are ground into flour. Yet it is a return to life that instigates the magic. Yeast, the leaven, reawakens the dough, and we know there is life because the dough grows. And when this purpose is fulfilled, it is the ultimate death of the same live-giving yeast that enables the dough's final transformation into bread.

Groovy stuff.



The baker is the god of his dough.

One Fresh Loaf

The more I've experimented with bread baking lately, the less I can justify purchasing it from the store. Deep down I know this is silly really, and I'll still pick up a loaf in a rush, but it's just so easy and rewarding to make bread at home.

Most importantly, bread made at home is obviously as fresh as you'll get it. After you've managed to cover your hands in sticky dough, the counter in flour-hardened dough, and your shirt/pants/face in flour, the wafting scent of nearly done bread filling your home and the delight in pulling out a loaf from the oven that has miraculously risen and finished to perfection is a beautiful thing.

From the start, making bread at home can seem daunting because each recipe, and there are millions, varies slightly not only in ingredients but in seemingly very science-y ways such as exact temperatures in the environment, specific lengths of multiple rises, certain types of yeast, and a cultural debate over whether bread prefers to rise in an oil-coated bowl or a dry one. As an amateur bread baker at best, I can say that trying my best to follow a well-tested bread recipe and not over-thinking it, i.e. fretting too much if I am unsure whether it rose exactly twice its size or for exactly 45 minutes has led to some fine results.

Before the recipes, a few memoirs to comfort the reticent baker:
How Michael Ruhlman Overcame his Fear of Yeast
Breadmaking Tips from the Smitten Kitchen
And from Trailbraising, I say, simply, always read the recipe in full before starting out, taking note of how much lapsed rise time the bread will actually need. I will bold all significant time lapses in the following recipes. The worst disappointment comes when you've started a recipe, already tasting the dream of bread in your mouth, only to discover an overnight rise is only the beginning to the process.

A Quick and Easy Loaf: English Muffin Toasting Bread 

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 Tbsp. instant yeast [I used Dry Active in a pinch and it still worked out fine]
1 cup milk
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil or olive oil
cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan

• 12 3/4 ounces King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• 1/2 ounce sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• 8 ounces milk
• 2 ounces water
• 7/8 ounce vegetable oil or olive oil
• cornmeal, to sprinkle in pan

Instructions 

1. Whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and yeast in a large mixing bowl or in the food processor.

2. Combine the milk, water, and oil in a separate, microwave-safe bowl, and heat for a few minutes until it is hot but not scalding. to between 120°F and 130°F. The liquid will feel very hot (hotter than lukewarm), but not so hot that it would scald you.

3. Pour the hot liquid over the dry ingredients.

4. Beat on high or pulse for 1 minute, resulting in a very soft dough.

5. Lightly grease a loaf pan, sprinkling the bottom and sides with cornmeal to prevent sticking. Transfer the dough to the pan and level out.

6. Cover the pan with a dish cloth, and let the dough rise until it's even to slightly over the rim of the pan, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400°F.

7. Bake the bread for 20 to 22 minutes until it's golden brown. If you want to be exact, bread is typically done with the inner temperature has reached 190 to 210 degrees. Some simple, yet exotic rolls: Olive and Rosemary Rolls 1 tsp. dry active yeast 1 tsp. sugar 1 cup lukewarm whole milk 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour 1 tsp. salt 1 Tbsp. olive oil generous 1/2 cup black olives, remove the seeds 1 1/2 Tbsp. rosemary leaves all purpose flour, for kneading olive oil, for brushing Instructions 1. Mix together the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes or until bubbles appear on the surface. This process is called proofing. 2. Add the flour, salt and oil to the yeast mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding a little extra flour if the dough becomes too sticky. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled in size. 3. Brush a round cake pan with oil. 4. Tear the olives into pieces and knead the olives and rosemary leaves into the dough on a generously floured surface, incorporating extra flour to compensate for the wetness of the olives. Divide into 16 pieces and roll into balls. Place in the prepared pan, cover with a clean dish towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F. Brush the tops with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

And for a wow from the crowd: Grape Focaccia with Rosemary

3/4 cup warm water
2 Tbsp. milk, slightly warmed
1 1/2 tsp. sugar
1 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
6 Tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups halved Concord, red or black grapes (no seeds please!)
1 tsp. fresh rosemary needles
2 Tbsp. raw or coarse sugar
2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Instructions
1. Stir together the water, milk, sugar, and yeast. Let the mixture sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add the flour, salt and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil to the yeast mixture and mix well (either in a mixer with a dough hook, in a food processor with a dough blade, or by hand with a wooden spoon). This kneading should last about 6 to 8 minutes depending on your method.
2. Brush a large bowl with a generous amount of olive oil. Scrape dough into the bowl and brush the top with additional oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rise in a cool place until it doubles in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
3. Press the dough down with a floured hand. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide it into two balls.
4. Brush a large baking sheet with olive oil, place the balls of dough on it and brush the top with more oil. Set it aside for 20 minutes, lightly covered with a kitchen towel.
5. After 20 minutes, dip your fingers in olive oil and press and stretch each ball of dough into a 8 to 9-inch circle shape. Cover again with the towel and let it rise for another 1 1/4 hours in a cool place.
6. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Brush tops of dough with remaining olive oil and sprinkle top with grapes, rosemary, coarse sugar and coarse sea salt evenly over the dough. Bake for 15 minutes, until the crust is golden brown and puffed around edges. Serve warm or at room temperature.

 

My next goal is to forge my way into the world of "wild yeast" where you actually cultivate your own yeast. This is a common practice with sourdough breads in particular. When you make a starter, it's just a matter of creating the right condition to "awaken" the yeast that already lives on fresh grains. And, in the case of sourdough, collecting the bacteria that makes it sour. One you have a yeast culture, as long as you leave some remaining, the fungus yeast, which grows asexually by budding or fission, will be your own little renewable food resource in the household fridge.

But for those of you who still want to buy from the store, I recently learned that there's a secret code for bread freshness - the color of the twist tie or plastic fastener! Who knew?! If you have a poor memory, I would stash this easy key in your wallet. Or you can remember that bread is delivered daily from Monday to Saturday and the color code progresses alphabetically by day - Blue, Green, Red, White, Yellow. Neat.

Mondays are back!

 

 And yes, admittedly, I'm a little late on this, since there have already been 2 weeks of  Gossip Girl, but for me and my busy self this was the first week things returned to the norm. My roomie and I cooked up a delicious feast and watched the newest Gossip Girl over a bottle of red wine. C'est perfectament!

For this special inauguration of the semester, we cooked up something quite special indeed. On the menu: boiled artichokes with hollandaise, rosemary and olive rolls, and roasted vegetable lasagna.

Appetizer: Boiled Artichokes with Hollandaise Sauce
2-4 artichokes, depending on the crowd and your appetite
3 egg yolks
1/2 lemon of fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Dash cayenne pepper
1/2 cup butter, melted and bubbling

1. Start a large pot of water to boil with a dash of salt.

2. Cut the stems of the artichokes so they might stand flat. Then cut off the top inch-ish of the artichoke. Rub the cut edges with a lemon, to be used later in the Hollandaise Sauce, to prevent browning.

3. Plop the artichokes in the pot, and yes, they will float, but they need to be covered by the water. If someone has a trick to this I will love you forever. As for now I am risking my safety each time I come up with a new, probably unsafe, but heavy item to set on top of the artichokes to keep them down in the water.

4. Let them cook for about 45 minutes or until a bottom leaf pulls off readily and tastes done.
5. About 5 minutes before they are done or even just after they are done, start making the Hollandaise.
6. Add egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and cayenne pepper to the blender, and blend about 5 seconds. With blender running, and partially covering top, pour in bubbling hot butter in a steady stream. Blend until thickened, about 30 seconds. Serve immediately.

Bread: Olive and Rosemary Rolls
*Start these first because they have to rise for about 2 hours, plus prep/kneading/cooking*

1 tsp. dry active yeast [very important you use "dry active yeast" NOT "instant" or "rapid rise"]
1 tsp. sugar
1 cup lukewarm whole milk
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 cup-ish black olives, diced
11/2 Tbsp.-ish rosemary leaves, chopped
Flour, for kneading
Olive oil, for brushing

1. Place the yeast, sugar and milk in a bowl and mix to combine. Set aside in a warm place for 5 minutes, or until bubbles appear on the surface. [In my past breads this bubbling business has always happened, but for whatever reason it didn't for me this time. Have no fear though, this bread still turned out amazing. Conclusion: if you don't get bubbles, carry on carry on.]
2. Add the flour, salt and olive oil to the yeast mixture and mix until a smooth dough forms.
3. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes or until smooth and elastic, adding a little extra flour if the dough becomes too sticky, and luckily this dough is not too sticky to knead comfortably. Cover with plastic wrap, set aside in a warm place/on the table for 1 hour or until doubled in size. [Also to note, my dough didn't really magically double in size as usually happens in bread making, but it did expand some and this was fine too]

4. Brush 1 or 2 round cake pans with olive oil. Mine took 8in cake pan plus 2 rolls, so yeah.
5. Knead the olives and rosemary leaves into the dough on a generously floured surface. Divide into 16-ish pieces and roll into balls. Place in prepared pans, cover with a clean tea towel and set aside in a warm place for 45 minutes or until the dough is doubled in size. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F.
[Now that I think about it, I don't think we let them rise this second time officially. We probably left them out for a bit before sticking them in the oven, but none of this tea cloth and doubling again business. Oh well, again they were scrumptious and perfect.]

5. Brush with the oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden.

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna
One 28 oz. can of whole tomatoes
Two 14 oz. cans of fire roasted diced tomatoes
One medium onion, diced
Tsp-ish of fennel seeds
Tsp-ish of chili flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
Slice of butter
1 container ricotta cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Fresh grated parmesan cheese
1/2 package of Lasagna noodles
[All of the following ingredients could be increased, decreased, added to, eliminated etc, according to your preference and available veggies.]
4 delicata squash, halved longwise
3 thin eggplants, halved longwise
2 packages of whole baby bella mushrooms
1/2 cup of black olives, diced (leftover from bread)
1 package frozen chopped spinach
Artichoke hearts (leftover from appetizer)

1. Preheat the oven to 450F.
2. Cut up all of your veggies as described above. Spoon out the seeds from the squash. Rub the squash, eggplant and mushrooms with olive oil, pepper, salt and oregano. Stick them all on a baking sheet and put them in the oven to roast for about 20 minutes, or until they look done. Beware that eggplant will be ready first so check on them and take them out before they crisp...like I forgot to do a little bit.

3.  Start on the sauce. Saute in olive oil the onions, fennel seeds, chile pepper flakes, butter and garlic in a large pan. Then add the cans of tomatoes, including the juices, and bring it to a boil. Once boiling bring it down to a simmer and let it go until you taste it to be ready. [Some may puree it all at this point but I found that just mashing the whole tomatoes with my wooden spoon as it cooked resulted in a delightfully chunky sauce.]

4. Mix the defrosted spinach (just like Mama made it) into the ricotta cheese and add your leftover olives from the bread too. You might just add in some chopped up artichoke hearts that you have so cleverly already prepared for another purpose.

5. Get the pasta cooked and shred the parmasan.

6. Slightly mash up the squash (keep the skin or remove to your personal preference), chop the eggplant and half or quarter the mushrooms.

7. Now for the layers. Start with sauce, then add the ricotta mixture, then noodles, then roasted veggies, then parmesan, repeat. Finally top it off with chunks of fresh mozzarella to seal it all in and make sure no pasta is exposed because it will get all crunchy then.

8. Bake in a pyrex pan for 20-40 minutes. Just check on it and when the cheese on top begins to get lightly brown and bubbly, take it out.

9. Let it rest for at least 15 minutes before eating.

P.S. I dedicate this post to Charlemagne, my cat, who helped choose what to cook this week. See?