Roasted Cauliflower, Sage and Almond Risotto - Donna Hay

Donna Hay is an empire.She covers it all.  Think: The Essential NY Times Cookbook, or Martha Stewart. She is Australia's leading food editor and bestselling cookbook author.

(Photo from Donna Hay Biography)

Her meteoric rise as a food stylist and food editor at age 25 for Marie Claire is documented here. The wealth of her recipes are here. She is an equal-opportunity recipe developer - with recipes from around the globe that encompass small bites and full menus. 

Of course she has her detractors. If you are wildly successful, someone will detract. (Mozart had too many notes, Shakespeare had too many words, Meryl Streep has too many pauses.) "She's a food stylist, not a chef!" claim her critics. And so she is. She also has a feel for classic dishes done simply without an inordinate amount of ingredients that will break the bank. No wonder people love her - the recipes are accessible.

Donna Hay's output gave us a lot of choice for this week's Gourmet Women Game Changers. I chose to make her roasted cauliflower risotto. The "sea of white" seemed appropriate for January and as Minnesota has plunged into the North Pole zone (we are currently searching the sky for flying reindeer), a warming, comforting dish was required. Nothing eases winter's fury like risotto.

The problem with roasting the cauliflower first is - you nibble. There was not quite a head of cauliflower by the time I was stirring the risotto!

Roasted Cauliflower, Sage and Almond Risotto (from Donna Hay Website)
(Note I will give you my measurements - they are not exact equations! Simply what worked for me)

Ingredients
500 grams cauliflower, trimmed and chopped (I used one medium head)
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and cracked pepper
40 grams (1/4 cup) chopped almonds
1 bunch of sage, leaves chopped
1.5 liters warmed chicken broth (I only needed 5 cups - use vegetable broth to keep it vegetarian)
60 grams butter (I used 2 tablespoons of Earth Balance Butter)
300 grams (1-1/2 cups) arborio rice
125 ml (1/2 cup) dry sherry (I used dry white wine)
40 grams (1/2 cup) freshly-grated Parmesan
100 grams (I only used 1/2 cup) Taleggio (I used a triple cream Brie) - sliced

Preparation

 Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F). Place the cauliflower, oil, salt and pepper on a baking tray and toss to coat. Roast for 15 minutes, add the almonds and half the sage and roast for a further 5–8 minutes or until golden and crisp. Set aside and keep warm.

  Place the stock in a saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes or until soft. Chop the remaining sage and add to the pan with the rice and sherry. Cook, stirring, for 1–2 minutes or until the sherry is absorbed. Gradually add the stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring continuously for 25–30 minutes or until the stock is absorbed and rice is al dente. Stir through Parmesan, salt and pepper and spoon into serving bowls. Top with Taleggio and the cauliflower mixture to serve. Serves 4. Unless you've nibbled quite a bit.

It lived up to its hype. The Taleggio (an earthier, aromatic version of Brie cheese from Northern Italy) which appears at my grocer's once a month was gone - but the triple cream Brie did the trick. And to tell you the truth - the dish is rich enough without the added cheeses, so if you want to go vegan - do it. You won't be disappointed. Slightly caramelized cauliflower, sage and almonds all add texture and flavors - the cheeses just add "oo la la" flair to the dish.

You can't go wrong with risotto and for all of you who declare,

"I'm not stirring for 35 minutes!"

Well, neither do I. I add the broth in 1/2 cupfuls, give it a few stirs, answer an e-mail or read my horror-scope and go back and give it a stir, add another 1/2 cupful, stir, chop an onion, come back and stir and then dance to Camera Obscura (the cat enjoys that)... you get the picture. I take frequent stirring breaks.

As for the recipes of Donna Hay - I will be back. She has the same sensibilities in her recipes that I look for - classic, unfussy with a surprising texture or flavor here and there.  And it's good for me to leave my food cocoon and continue to journey. Sometimes I remind myself that the title of my blog is "Journey of an Italian Cook" and not  "The Italian Cook has Arrived."

The verdict is very good when a dish encourages nibbling. Nibble and dance - to Honey in the Sun! Risotto and Camera Obscura brought the sun into my kitchen.

Please check out what the other bloggers are doing for Week 31 of Female Chef Gourmet Game Changers. And if you want to join in the fun, e-mail Mary at  One Perfect Bite. Mary started this delectable journey. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed

Susan - The Spice Garden, Heather - girlichef,

Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living, 

Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me

Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts

Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds, 

Linda A - There and Back Again, Martha - Lines from Linderhof, 

Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen

Annie - Most Lovely Things, Alyce - More Time at the Table; Amrita- Beetle's Kitchen Escapades

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Swiss Chard

I had this for breakfast.

I even had to fight the cat for it.

These days I am immersed in the exploits of the Polar explorer/physicist/mathematician Otto Schmidt.

While forging a new trade route, his ship - the Chelyuskin got mired in ice and sank - stranding 100 passengers (including women and babies born on board) on an iceberg for three months. I bet he would have liked some of this soup. 

It is ten degrees out and the temps are only going down. The arctic air is here - Minnesota's meteorologists are thrilled - proclaiming the first polar air of the season. Minnesota's meteorologists are a decidedly odd bunch. 

The soup hails from Tuscany via Cooking Light. You don't need a blast of arctic air to enjoy it. This will warm the cockles of your heart. And come together in 30-40 minutes. What more do you want? Grab a pot and start cooking.

Tuscan Bean Soup with Swiss Chard - adapted from Cooking Light Magazine* (Serves 4)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 yellow or white onion chopped
5 garlic cloves - minced
2 cups vegetable broth (for vegan or vegetarian) can use chicken broth
1 cup water
2 teaspoons chopped rosemary
2-15 ounce cans cannellini beans (rinsed)
1 1-2 ounce Parmesan rind (omit if Vegan - it adds substance but is also good without)
2 chopped carrots
1 bunch Swiss Chard - chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt - optional - the rind adds salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
6 tablespoons freshly shaved Parmesan cheese for garnish (again, omit if vegan)

*Consider using kale or spinach. Cooking Light used escarole. Mix up the beans - the seasonings. Add or subtract onions. Use shallots instead or all garlic - consider the list of ingredients a guide.

Heat a large Dutch oven or stockpot over medium heat. Add oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add onion and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add broth, water, rosemary, beans, Parmesan rind and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes - until the carrot is tender and all is winningly combined. Stir in Swiss Chard (or other greens) and simmer for ten more minutes. Stir in red pepper, salt (if using), black pepper and vinegar. Remove rind. Serve, with shaved Parmesan.

Keep away from cat.

It has color, varied textures and magical properties as all soups do. And you don't need to be stranded on an iceberg to enjoy it.

Gourmet's Top 50 Women: #30 Barbara Tropp - Strange Flavored Eggplant

(Photo by Michael Maloney)

Barbara Tropp is noted for her book The Modern Art of  Chinese Cooking, and her Chinese restaurant in San Francisco The China Moon Cafe which opened in San Francisco in 1986. In 1997, she sold the restaurant while battling cancer. It would be a battle she would continue to fight for many years until 2001 when the disease took her. She noted ironically, that she lived the "cancer-prevention" diet for most of her life (vegetables, fresh fish). Unfortunately genetics would trump diet.

But she made her mark in a field she was passionate about. In a high school art class, she discovered Chinese art and culture and never looked back. She studied Chinese in college and then went on to doctoral studies at Princeton. During a two-year study-abroad in Taiwan, she was lucky enough to be placed with host families who were passionate about their food. Tropp paid attention and when she returned to the states, she left her thesis project behind ("I had picked a helplessly obscure topic in Chinese poetics and was in way over my head." From: Wikipedia) She moved to San Francisco to be closer to authentic Chinese markets and found her calling. She worked at recreating the foods she had in Taiwan and was amazed how little truly authentic Chinese restaurants existed. With her book and restaurant, she changed all that.

Information on her remarkable life can be found here and here.

I choose to make her "Strange-Flavored Eggplant" (aka Eggplant Caviar) which I found at Culinate. The recipe is from The China Moon Cookbook based on the dishes she served at the China Moon Cafe. 

As Italians are great eggplant-lovers and roast it, chop it, fry it, grill it, bread it and cheese it, I thought it would be interesting to see how it would be prepared in Chinese cooking.   I made it for Epiphany (taking down the tree) when there are expectations of savory hors d'oeuvres to offset the sweetness of the holidays. It did not disappoint. 

NOTE: Everyone (everyone but the cat) is "mindfully eating" in my home - including my husband who is on the first diet of my life (and his wails and trials and tribulations could feed a book, sorry honey - you're talking to an ex-actress who had to diet when she was a size 8!). And even when mindfully eating, nobody wants a platter of carrots and celery in front of them. That is so 90's. 

Ignore the title of the recipe - there is nothing strange about the flavor (except that it is brown and does not have a good side to photograph). It is silky, earthy with just enough garlic and ginger and sesame to keep you interested. It is best served after being refrigerated over night - and be still my heart - just continues to improve with time! My kind of recipe. You don't have to eat it all in one fell swoop. But we did.

Strange-Flavor Eggplant 

Eggplant

1 to 1-1/4 pound eggplant (any style)

2 tablespoons corn or peanut oil

1/2 teaspoon Japanese sesame oil (I used toasted sesame oil)

- garlic croutons - (sorry, I skipped those - that "mindfully eating thing")

Aromatics

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1 tablespoon finely minced garlic

1/4 cup thinly sliced green onion

1/2-1/2 teaspoon dried red chilie flakes

Sauce

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons packed brown sugar (I used half of that; I don't have a sweet tooth)

1 teaspoon unseasoned Japanese rice vinegar (I used plain old unseasoned rice vinegar)

1 tablespoon hot water

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F and place rack in the middle of the oven. Prick the eggplant all over with a fork and remove the leaves. Bake on a baking sheet for 20-40 minutes turning once until fork tender. (I baked it for 30 minutes.) Remove from baking sheet and slit in half to speed up cooling process.

While still warm, scrape eggplant pulp away from the peel and ends. (I scraped away some very seedy parts.) Process with baking juices on a food processor (I think you could also mash it very well.)

Combine aromatics in a small dish.

Combine sauce ingredients in a small dish stirring to dissolve the sugar (yes, there are a few dishes - this is Chinese cooking!).

Heat a wok or large skillet on high heat (a droplet of water should evaporate when it touches the skillet). Add corn or peanut oil. Swirl and reduce heat to moderately high. Add aromatics and stir 15 seconds being careful not to scorch (lower the heat if you see that happening). Add the sauce and stir well to blend. When it simmers, add the eggplant and combine well. Remove from heat and taste. If necessary add more vinegar, chilie flakes or sugar. (I didn't - but of course - I had no idea how it should taste so went with trusting the recipe.) Stir in the sesame oil. Allow to cool.

Store airtight in the refrigerator overnight allowing the flavors to blend. To serve: sprinkle scallions over the top and serve with croutons (I did a wheat-flax pita). It would also be good with those aforementioned crudites (notice I didn't say carrots and celery).

Note: it is a fair amount of work for a small appetizer. Also noted - it got scarfed down. Would I do it again? Maybe. I am seduced by sesame oil. Whenever I cook with it, the kitchen comes alive with people (at this point they are immune to garlic). And I am always intrigued when I leave my Italian comfort zone - where I "know" how things should taste and explore other flavors, other textures, other worlds. It's a New Year. New worlds are welcome.

If I Only Had a Brain Note: Yes, it would have been more attractive with scallions scattered over it.

Please check out what the other bloggers are doing for Week 30 of Female Chef Gourmet Game Changers. And if you want to join in the fun, e-mail Mary at  One Perfect Bite. Mary started this delectable journey. Next week is Donna Hay.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed

Susan - The Spice Garden, Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Heather - girlichef,

Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living, April - Abby Sweets

Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud, Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me

Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen, Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts

Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds, Amy - Beloved Green, Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Linda A - There and Back Again, Martha - Lines from Linderhof, Nancy - Picadillo

Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen

Annie - Most Lovely Things

Lemon Chicken

The thing is - I keep my resolutions - pretty much. (I make them in November having learned that if I can keep them during the busy holidays - I can keep them all year). These days you will find me going through my home "bird by bird," "word by word," "file by file," and "t-shirt by t-shirt." I used to thrive in clutter - all those years directing with kids - if you didn't thrive in clutter - you were toast.

But I cannot write in clutter. My office is so filled with piles - I need to get outside to think. Luckily the weather has cooperated. But 40 and 50 degree degrees days in January are not the norm, so before winter again grasps us (Wednesday), I  have been simplifying.

This philosophy also pertains to dinner time. I want few ingredients, one graceful meal without a lot of clean-up, a supper that delivers in taste but leaves me feeling that all is in place and the evening is for reading, music, conversation and cat purrs. This lemon chicken has been appearing on my table a lot. There is a lightness of being, an ease of preparation and it satisfies all quirky appetites (we have that in my home).

Nothing says Italian better than the classic combination of lemon, rosemary and garlic.The ingredients are bright enough for spring, but the comforting aroma makes it perfect for January - a soft blanket to keep you warm and snuggled.

Lemon Chicken (This is from Saveur - The New Comfort Food - served at Los Angeles's Angeli Caffe)
Serves 4
3-1/2 pounds chicken cut into 8 pieces
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup fresh rosemary leaves
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (I used the juice of 1 lemon and called it a day)
10 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 lemon peel - pith removed and pulp chopped (I just zested the lemon before juicing it)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

1. Toss the chicken pieces with the olive oil, rosemary, lemon juice, garlic, lemon zest and salt and pepper in a large bowl. Marinate for about an hour (I did longer).
2. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F. Arrange chicken in a 9x13 baking dish (or as you will) and cover chicken with remaining marinade. Roast, turning once until cooked through - about 30-40 minutes (mine took 40 minutes.)
3. Serve.

During the day, I have fallen in love with "Green Soup." I made a huge batch on Saturday, and it seems to be a tonic - to good health - to well-intentioned resolutions. It gives me a lightness of being. Just simple greens really (kale, spinach, chard, cooked  with caramelized onions and pureed in broth). And did I mention it's utterly delicious? Most important. It's the caramelized onions that transform it.

Find it here: (Try it, you'll like it.)
http://www.publicradio.org/columns/splendid-table/recipes/basic_green_soup.html

If you have a resolve to eat healthier, get a wee bit leaner, this well help you. I am all for anything that will help me!

The moon appears around 4 p.m. I always have to stop what I am doing to see it - and say a moon poem to myself. The more I rid myself of "stuff," the more I see.

Not much later, the sun sets and I have to see that also.

I like the shimmer at the end of the short day. A last blazing moment - the sun does not disappear quietly. Why should it?

And after dinner, the evening star has been outshining the moon. Is it no wonder I want dinner to be simple? I want time for this.

50 Women Game Changers (in Food) #29 Betty Fussell - Green Bean Salad

Green beans - with apologies to my adopted state - are not supposed to drown in a cream of mushroom casserole. Nor do I believe that their destiny is a puree. "Cream of green beans" does not compute. It was not what this vegetable was put on this earth for - it is made for crunch. It is made for simple. It is assertive enough that if you gussy it up with too many things, it complains.

So for this Week's Game Changer (Betty Fussell), I am going with green beans. Does a person who blogs twice a week really need to pick the simplest recipe on the planet? Yes. When it works. And while I have been simmering celeriac, beans, tomatoes, carrots, garlic and onions in a minestrone, I have been chomping away at the green beans. And it isn't going to make it to dinner, because I'm not the only one chomping away - daughter and husband have been sneaking the beans from the plate when they think I am typing and stirring.

Betty Fussell is a scholar, a writer and her connection to food is how it connects with our culture - with the American way of life. Her writings often have a feminist twist and she is not afraid to have her say on the corn industry, the beef industry, the Madison Avenue's advertising establishment or the way Americans feel about the food they consume. She is opinionated. Savvy. And in a sense a food anthropologist - but writing of the present in context of the past. Her Master's Degree is from Radcliffe, her PhD is from Rutgers and she has taught literature and film at the New School for Social Research and writing at Columbia University. Ms. Fussell wears many hats and looks exceedingly good in all of them. 

(Betty Fussell photographed by Norma Jean Roy for Vogue, August 2008)

Her numerous accolades and awards can be found here. But if you really want to have some fun, read her 
interviews - the leave you wanting more of the conversation. Find them here. And you have to know I loved, loved, loved that her book My Kitchen Wars was turned into a one-woman play. 

For those who read cookbooks not just for recipes, I think Ms. Fussell's quote below will resonate with you.

"Cookbooks are much more than collections of instructions to get dinner on the table. From our earliest culinary records  through the present (and beyond, we predict), cookbooks document culture,  technology, identity, and even aspirations. What makes cookbooks a unique  resource for historians, anthropologists, sociologists and others is that most  cookbooks do this unconsciously; that is, in the guise of filling a  practical need for practical instruction, cookbooks teach the careful reader about  the values, needs, and desires of the cookbook audience."

Fussell sees no need for take-out when simple recipes such as these green beans can be made in a few minutes. She calls it bistro fare and it is my favorite way to eat. I have always been partial to bistros and trattorias - there's a simplicity that begs for "in-season" and food that does not have jet lag. I have been eating this salad for decades. Sometimes I throw on some chopped red pepper, it's also good with a few tablespoons of pesto. Below is Fussell's version. This will not work with frozen or canned string beans.

Green Bean Salad with Walnuts

2 pounds green beans 

1/3 cup walnut oil (I used less)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (she also suggests 1 tbl of balsamic - I suggest champagne vinegar)

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup chopped, toasted, walnuts

Parboil the green beans for 3-10 minutes (I did 3) in salted, boiling water. Drain and rinse thoroughly with cold water. In a small bowl, combine oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper - whisk. Pour over green beans and toss. Scatter chopped walnuts over all.

To get a sense of this exciting Game-Changer, take some time to view the video below. "The People Who Feed Us" a film by Staci Strauss & Craig McCord chatting with Betty Fussell in her NYC apartment.

Please check out what the other bloggers are doing for Week 28 of Female Chef Gourmet Game Changers. And if you want to join in the fun, e-mail Mary at  One Perfect Bite. Mary started this delectable journey. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne - Eats Well With Others, Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed

Susan - The Spice Garden, Claudia - A Seasonal Cook in Turkey, Heather - girlichef,

Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette - Healthy Living, April - Abby Sweets

Katie - Making Michael Pollan Proud, Mary - One Perfect Bite, Kathleen - Bake Away with Me

Viola - The Life is Good Kitchen, Sue - The View from Great Island, Barbara - Movable Feasts

Kathleen - Gonna Want Seconds, Amy - Beloved Green, Linda - Ciao Chow Linda

Linda A - There and Back Again, Martha - Lines from Linderhof, Nancy - Picadillo

Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits, Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen

Annie - Most Lovely Things