Food in Life

I’ve been trying to cook with the season and with local produce, as exemplified by the butternut squash risotto. I like the idea of cooking with what is available locally – aside from cutting down food travel distance, the food is fresher and it keeps me in touch with the season. I enjoy acknowledging the changes of season (living somewhere that has distinct seasons), and my food choices can be part of that.

This meal is about as far from the above ideal as one can get. The only things in this meal that are local are the goat cheese and the onions, and much of it is out of season. Alas, sometimes a craving comes upon you (or you realize you have focaccia that needs to be eaten). Hence, this dinner: Roasted Vegetable and Goat Cheese sandwiches on Rosemary, Onion, Garlic Focaccia with a salad of baby greens.

The focaccia was actually made for the risotto dinner, but was not integral, and wasn’t nearly as good as the risotto, so I ignored it. Here I’ll include a modified recipe (that I think will be better than what I made last weekend).

As for the veggies, the zucchini, portobello mushrooms and red bell peppers were tossed in balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper (with a dash of honey) then broiled. To assemble the sandwich, cut half of a round focaccia in half horizontally. Spread one half with goat cheese and the other with the balsamic vinaigrette that will go on the salad. Then layer the veggies, zucchini, mushrooms then peppers, and top with the other slice of bread. Cut into wedges. Quick easy and tasty!

The baby greens were tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette, including mustard and lemon olive oil, and finished with pine nuts. If you already have bread ready, this is a very easy dinner.

Here’s the focaccia.

Rosemary, Onion and Garlic Focaccia – makes 8 servings

Ingredients:

• ½ tsp Honey
• 1 c. Warm water; (scant)
• 1 pack Active dry yeast
• 1 ¼ c. Whole-wheat flour
• 2 c. All-purpose flour
• ¾ tsp. Salt
• 3 Tbs. Olive oil, divided
• 1 red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• rosemary
• salt

Instructions:

1. Stir honey into the warm water in a measuring cup or small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water and stir until yeast dissolves. Let mixture stand in draft-free area about 5 minutes or until yeast begins to bubble. Press garlic and chop rosemary.
2. Mix flour with salt and 1 T. oil until oil is evenly distributed. Pour in yeast mixture, add garlic and rosemary, and mix ingredients until a smooth, slightly sticky dough is formed, 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Knead dough by hand on a lightly floured board or pastry cloth until smooth. If dough is too sticky, add flour by the tablespoon until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Put dough in a bowl and cover lightly with oiled plastic wrap and aluminum foil or a kitchen towel. Let dough rise until it doubles in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour.
5. While bread is rising, thinly slice onion. Heat remaining 2 T. olive oil in a pan and saute onion with extra rosemary until just beginning to soften.
6. Punch dough down and let stand 5 minutes. Knead for a minute more on a lightly floured board or pastry cloth.
7. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a sprayed or oiled 9″ baking pan or spring-form pan. Dimple dough with finger tips and spread onion mixture on top. Sprinkle with salt and chile flakes if desired.
8. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F while focaccia rises a second time (only about 30 minutes). Bake focaccia in the center of the oven for 25 minutes or until it tests done.
9. The focaccia is done when a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out dry. It will be golden brown on top and firm to the touch. Remove from the oven and cool.

Note: this recipe is meant for whole wheat flour. I’m sure it can be made with all white flour, but you might want to check other recipes to see how it might differ. I made a modified version of an original recipe by Léon Brocard.

This long weekend has been full of cooking and baking experiments. Quite a treat after my recent propensity to stick with tried true and easy. Among the treats created were a cheesecake (recipe tomorrow I hope), some tea-infused truffles (no recipe as they weren’t quite up to par, but still not exactly a waste of chocolate) and tonight’s success, butternut squash and brown rice risotto.

I love risotto, hate making it, and am loathe to order it out due to white rice and frighteningly unknown amounts of cream. So my mission today was to create a risotto using brown rice instead, despite the extra cooking time. Just to make it challenging, I decided to create a recipe out of thin air (and quick glances at about 10 butternut squash risotto recipes on the web) and my memory.

The result earned me an extra special, “Mmmmmmmm” from Luis, so I think this one goes down as a success. Here’s what I did:

Butternut Squash and Brown Rice Risotto – makes 3 main course servings

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. olive oil (divided)
• 4 cloves garlic
• ½ butternut squash (2 lb)
• 1 Tbs. butter
• 3 shakes chile flakes
• ½ tsp. cumin seed
• 1 cippolini onion
• 1 c. short grain brown rice
• 5 c. broth
• 14 dried sage leaves
• ½ c. white wine
• 1 Tbs. heavy cream
• ½ tsp. fresh thyme
• 1 tsp. lemon zest
• ½ c. parmigiano reggiano

Instructions:

1. Cut squash in half, remove seeds and strings to a sauce pan. Add water and bouillon (if using, other wise, add broth of your choice) to sauce pan and bring to a very low simmer. (Make sure your broth is not overly salty, as it will be a very dominant seasoning.)
2. Reserve half the squash for another use. Trim and skin the remaining half and cut into 1 centimeter cubes.
3. Heat 1 Tbs. olive oil (lemon infused if you have it), add garlic and fry for 30 seconds, then add squash cubes. Cook covered, over medium heat until just soft. You may wish to add a ladle-full of broth to speed the cooking process.
4. While squash is cooking, heat remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil and 1 Tbs. butter. Add cumin seeds and chile flakes and let sizzle 15-30 seconds.  Add onion and cook until it is translucent.  Then add the rice and cook until rice begins to whiten.
5. Add broth to cover the rice (1-3 ladles full). Cook at a brisk simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally. When the squash is ready, add 1/3 of the cubes to the rice.
6. Let rice cook until it absorbs almost all the broth, then add 1-2 ladles-full until rice is just covered. Continue this way, simmering, adding broth, stirring occasionally until the rice is almost to your desired texture. Using brown rice, this may take an hour. (You do not have to stir constantly, just check every couple minutes until the rice is close to done, then stir more frequently).
7. While rice is cooking, chop thyme, lemon zest, grate cheese and prepare a salad.  Fry the sage leaves in olive oil for a garnish.
8. When rice is nearly done, add wine and let cook down, stirring constantly. Add remaining broth, if desired, along with reserved squash, cream, lemon zest, thyme and parmesan. Stir until the risotto reaches your desired consistency. It should be creamy and a lovely orange color with the rice still somewhat firm to the tooth.  Serve and garnish with sage leaves!

Enjoy with salad, rustic bread and wine!