Squash Fritters

October 21, 2013 - Elspeth Leave a comment

These were seriously one of the best things I’ve ever had. Something about the lemon-sage-squash combo blew my mind a little bit and I am really excited for breakfast to come back around so I can have more. Knowing leftovers are sitting in my fridge is driving me a little bit crazy….just….waiting to be eaten….NOMNOMNOM…..

My neighbor has this wonderfully generous habit of giving me excess from her CSA veggie box, so when some squash appeared in my hands from her I couldn’t resist the call of the frying pan. A lot of recipes I came across in my fritter research called for a bunch of eggs and flour, which seems like it would just mask the glory of the squash. No thank you, internet.

I would only maybe add a friend egg on top, but that’s only for frisky moments with adventure-seekers.

Go forth and conquer, foodies.

Squash Fritters

makes 8 fritters

2 small or medium spaghetti or butternut squash (about 2 c cooked, in the end), seeds reserved
1/2 c bread crumbs
3/4 c shredded Gruyere cheese
1 heaping T chopped fresh sage
1 t salt
1 egg
1/2 c vegetable oil
Sauce
2 T finely chopped chives
1/2 c greek yogurt
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of one lemon
1/2 t salt

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and bake cut-side down at 350 for 30-35 min, or until tender. Remove the squashy flesh from the skin and mash in a bowl. Toast the reserved seeds in the 350 oven for about 5-10 minutes, or until slightly brown and crunchy. Set aside. Add the bread crumbs, cheese, sage, salt, and egg to the squash and stir until combined. Divide the mixture into 1/4 c patties. Heat the oil in a cast iron pan over medium heat and cook the fritters until golden brown on both sides, about 4-5 min per side.

For the sauce, mix all ingredients in a small bowl until combined. Top the fritters with a dollop of the yogurt sauce, sprinkle with the toasted squash seeds, and serve immediately.

Chilaquiles

October 20, 2013 - Elspeth 4 Comments

The first time I had chilaquiles there were eggs, beans, a random sauce thrown in, and some chips. I thought, “Ok. Love me some chips. Not too shabby.” Then, I was taught a few things:

1. Nope. That ain’t right.

2. Really, really not how it’s done.

3. …You’re fired…

So after not passing Go, not collecting $200, and going straight to jail for that monstrosity, I was shown by some dear friends how it’s actually done. It was bliss. The real hero of this dish is the sauce, which is made with a myriad of peppers, onions, and lots of patience. At first I questioned the home-frying of the tortilla chips (because yea, I can be lazy sometimes. I’m American.) but that was a huge mistake– home fry. Do it. Do it now.

Chilaquiles needs no eggs, no beans, no elaborate fan fare. It stands on it’s own and the following is the only recipe you’ll ever need. Thank you, Tyna and Lowell, for showing me the WAY.

The following will feed about 5-6 people and takes about 2 hours to prepare.

Chilaquiles

from Tyna O., a champion of the home-fried tortilla chip, and Lowell, a lover of all good foods

18-24 tortillas, cut into sixths
3/4 c olive oil
3/4 c vegetable or canola oil
2 lb tomatillos, boiled for about 5 min or until tender and drained, with liquid reserved (you will need about 1 qt cooked, so you may want to prepare more to be on the safe side)
2 large onions, diced fine
7 dried California chilis
2 dried ancho, pasilla, negro chilis
1 chili japones or chili de arbol
1 dried New Mexico chili
1 chipotle chili
(NOTE: you can make your own combination of dried chilis. The beauty is that it’s probably going to be great whatever you pick, but if you have favorites go crazy.)
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1 – 1 ½ lb Monterey jack cheese, grated
salt to taste

Heat the oils over medium heat until hot (test with a single chip— when bubbly, it’s ready to go). Working in small batches (don’t overcrowd the chips), fry the chips until golden brown on each side. Some may be crispier, some may be chewier– this all adds to the beauty of the finale. Meanwhile, saute the diced onions until soft and brown. It is recommended to do this in two pans, because quite a bit gets added to the pan over the course of the recipe). Remove ALL seeds from ALL peppers by halving them with a knife and scrapping them out with your fingers or a knife. Place peppers, garlic, cumin, and tomatillos in a blender and puree until smooth. Add to pan with sauteed onions (divide between the two pans) and cook for 1o minutes, simmering.

After ten minutes, add a generous handful of chips to each pan and cover with sauce. Let them soften a bit and cook in the sauce before adding another handful. This process can take 20-30 minutes, so be patient. You may not be able to fit all of the chips in when things are said and done– that’s ok. Eat them on their own! Once you have a pan full of sauce and chips, sprinkle with cheese and let cook until melted (About 5 minutes). Remove from heat and serve.

NOM!

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

September 22, 2013 - Elspeth 3 Comments

Wake up and smell the pumpkin spiced lattes Northern Hemisphere, because fall has officially arrived. Maybe we get it a bit later in California and maybe we don’t feel it as acutely as the show-off New England crowd with their big fancy leaf festivals and their crisp breezes, but we FEEL fall just as much as the rest of you. And, to top it off, we don’t have to deal with that horrid snow stuff that turns to slush stuff and ice stuff and cold stuff.

But I will turn the conversation back to food, something we can all agree on is what keeps this party going.

Soup is THE best comfort food (aside from fattie delicious fried stuff) on a cold night and it has the added bonus of having a gagillion healthy options. Gagillion– that’s a technical term, by the way. You should probably write it down for future reference in a novel or something.

My friend is about to bring over some home made bread to go with this delightful intro-to-fall-soup-a-thon, so here it goes. Enjoy!

And isn’t that a beautiful bunch of purple kale?

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1″ cubes
2 t paprika
1/4 t cumin
3 T olive oil
1 large onion, diced fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T salt
pinch red pepper flakes
1/4 c rice
1/4 c lentils
1/4 c white wine
6 c stock, heated
1 bunch kale, de-ribbed and coarsely chopped
1 can garbanzo beans
grated parmigiano cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Toss sweet potato, 1 t paprika, cumin, and 1 T olive oil on a baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes or until sweet potato is fork-tender. Meanwhile, in a large dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot, heat the remaining oil over medium heat. When hot, add the diced onion and cook until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic, salt, red pepper flakes, and remaining 1 t paprika. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the rice and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the lentils and white wine, then the stock. Simmer until rice and lentils are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add kale, beans, and roasted sweet potatoes. Salt and pepper to taste, then serve with grated parmigiano on top.

Food Final Frontier

Main Course

Squash Fritters

Chilaquiles

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup