Simple Roast Vegetable Dinner

Busy days here at the Nooney household. Presidents week is a hectic at work, a 50 inch snowstorm came rolling thru and then our son finally got home from Afgannyland. Relief. I'm sure your life gets just as busy. When this happens to me my diet suffers. No planning, just grabbin' and goin'. Time to make a nice meal for me. Easy breezy and fun to eat. I dig using my hands over utensils any day.

Let's see what went down in the AgaKitchen.

Roast Veggies and Barley Pilaf slow roast tomatoes, baked onions, broccoli, yellow squash and carrots with a side of red pepper barley pilaf mixed with dark kidney beans.

• Slow roasted tomatoes, click here for recipe, takes about three hours but can be made ahead
• Baked onions, click here for recipe, or simply wash and bake at 375 for about an hour, do not peel
• Barley pilaf, sweat 1/2 an onion small dice and 1/2 a peeled red pepper small dice, add one cup barley. add 1/4 cup white wine and 2 cups stock or water. Bring to a boil and let simmer until all liquid is absorbed. I throw it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Don't forget to season as you go
• Roast broccoli and carrots. Cut broccolli into spears and carrots into sticks, drizzle with olive oil, season and into a 425 oven for about 10 minutes
• Roast summer squash, pick out a small one, split lengthwise, season and into an oiled baking pan and in the oven with the broccoli and carrots, about ten minutes. I put a cool cross hatch pattern on mine but I like to show off. Look closely and you can see them. I t also helps the heat penetrate a bit deeper
• Simple vinaigrette, I used capers and lemon, 3 to 1 oil to vinegar ratio with a splash of wine and mustard

That's it, add some nice greens, I used some cool living greens upland watercress, and build a plate full of great tasting fun to eat healthy vegan food that carnivores will love.

Welcome home Sgt Nooney!

Mushroom Soup, Vegan Style (almost)

 

You get lucky living in a rural environment. Not like "me and my crew was chillin' at the club...." lucky. Like this phone call I took a few days ago from my friend John. " Hey Nooney I was at my Mom's house and she has a five pound puffball bigger than your head. Want me drop it off on my way by?"

I don't know,  a choice edible wild mushroom freshy fresh and dropped at my door? That's what I mean by getting lucky. Puffballs have a strong odor and a mushy texture. Not very desirable by that description. Often puffballs are sliced, breaded and fried. Do that and they will taste like fried stuff. I used the power of my Aga and dried them overnight in my Simmer Oven. The next day I made a classic Veggie stock using the dried mushroom. Very flavorful and worth the effort.

For the mushroom soup I used regular mushrooms, plenty of aromatic vegetables and some nice toothy barley to break up the textures. It's easy to run away from the vegan and add some cream, milk or other dairy. Do that with the leftovers. First time have it "au naturel" and work on your palate and seasoning technique. Try to taste all the flavors, the leeks, the wild mushroom, sweet carrot and celery. Avoid heavy herbs and alcohol. Remember season a small amount first and then move on to the bigger pot.

Soup season is upon us, fondue season must be around the corner.

Vegetable / Mushrooms Stock   yield 4 qts

• 6 qts spring water
• 1 five lb puffball dried overnite in your Aga or a 1oz package of dried wild mushrooms. I found dried porcini at Ocean State Job Lot for next to nothing
• 2 whole onions unpeeled and washed
• 6 big fresh carrots chunked up
• 1 head of fennel chunked up
• 1 head celery, no leafs and outside peeled, both are a little bitter, chunked up
• 1 nice leek, washed and chunked up
• 2 bay leaf
• 6 whole peppercorns
• 6 whole coriander seeds
• 3 or 4 branches of parsley

Don't be locked in here, you can add a turnip if you have one, parsnips, celery root. Just be sure to use good quality vegetables and lots of them.

Bring it all to a simmer for 2 hours and drain. Notice I left the onion whole. Whole onions uncut are sweeter than a peeled and diced onion. Taste and season.

*Aga Owners bring it all to a simmer on your Boil PLate and into the Simmer Oven overnite

 before and after

Mushroom Soup        yield 4 qts

Why make soup for two? Do up a decent size pot and share. My recipe follows but as long as you have a good stock, cook your mushrooms and season properly your good

• 2 packages white button mushrooms sliced thin
• 1 onion small dice
• 1 leek small slices
• 3 celery stalks, peeled small dice
• 2 nice carrots medium dice
• 1 cup barley cooked
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 4 qts veg stock

In a small amount of oil sweat your onion until soft and translucent

Add mushrooms and cook over medium low heat stirring often for 15 or 20 minutes. Be patient here, as the mushrooms cook and stick to the pan use your wooden spatula and other mushrooms to "clean" the sticky spots. This is called the "fond". No coincidence that fond is the root of the word foundation. This is where the flavor is. Concentrated mushroom goodness. The longer you can cook the mushrooms and concentrate the flavor the happier you will be.

look at the fond stating to build up

Add your diced vegetables and cook for another 5 minutes.

Add the sherry and let boil a minute

Add your stock and let simmer. Taste. Adjust.

To serve put a little barley in the bowl and ladle soup over the top. I swirl a little honey around the bowl as well. Sorry Mr. Vegan Man

Braised Romaine & White Bean Puree

imagine mario batali describing this dish in italian, magnifico!

I highly recommend visiting friends with large gardens before a frost. You leave with baskets full of the fresh. Maybe I missed out on the asparagus by a few months but raspberries, scallions, tomatoes, rosemary and big full romaine heads are just fine. With this pile of romaine in front of me I dug deep for a dish I made years ago at Hopkins Inn in New Preston, CT. We served braised romaine there and topped it with a bacon and onion concoction and rich demi glace. Let's lighten this up a bit and be a touch more seasonal. Remember bacon has no season and is always in style. Braised romaine is similiar to spinach and chard but the texture is much more agreeable than those sturdy greens. It can be cut with a fork. Here's what I made.

Braised romaine with a white bean & rosemary puree, roast garlic cloves, roast onions and roast cherry tomatoes. With the exception of the beans everything else came from my friends or my CSA. This also is vegan friendly, bonus! or not if you're in the cow business.

Here's how I did it

Braised Romaine serves 4

• 2 large heads of romaine
• salt & pepper

Wash your head (romaine) thoroughly by dunking it in a deep pot of water.

In a large pot of salted water add the romaine with the stem end in first. Simmer covered until very tender. A knife tip should feel no resistance. This takes about 45 minutes. Aga Owners can simply cover when it comes back to simmer and into the Baking Oven for 1 hour.

Remove from water and spread on a sheet pan until it's cool enough to touch. When cooled put the stem end on your right and push the core out with the back of a knife. Shape into a rectangle, season with S&P and fold the core end 1/3 of the way over. Flip the other end on top.

Slice into even pieces about 1 1/2 " wide. This is just the beginner recipe here. This lends itself to filling with cheese, smoked hams, prosciutto, spicy fillings on and on. It's very moist and holds up well. You can make this up to 5 days ahead of time.

Bonus Money Maker!  Bet a friend you can eat a head of lettuce in one mouthful. I get 10 percent of any action.

White Bean Puree

• 1 can or 3/4 cup dry white navy beans. If using dry add a clove of garlic, bay leaf and rosemary branch and simmer until done
• 1/4 cup good olive oil, extra virgin is fine
• 1/4 cup of very hot water
• 1 Tablespoon white balsamic or rice wine vinegar
• smashed garlic clove
• pinch of fresh rosemary
• salt & pepper to taste

Add drained beans and oil to food processor and puree, add water to smooth out puree, add seasonings and taste. Easy.

Free advice! White bean puree is a great substitute for mashed potatoes. Unless you are in the potato growing business.

I hope you try this, it's better than it sounds. Unique, healthy, seasonal and endless options for you to put your own twist on it. Braised romaine stuffed with............ could win you the next recipe contest put on by the Romaine Growers of America

Cook like you mean it, G