Simple Roasted Radishes

Over the weekend, I finally had the opportunity to pour through the Saveur 100. In case you are not a subscriber, every beginning of the year Saveur lets readers share their favorite ingredients, chefs, tools, tips, etc., and they somehow narrow it down to 100. It is so enjoyable to read! Some standouts for me this year was #2: Eggs From Your Own Chicken (my dream), #7: Clarified Butter/Ghee (the best way for carmely cooked perfection), #11: Tastespotting.com (!) and #95: Nourishing Traditions (my cooking bible). The story that stuck out for me the most though, was #25: Foods That Inspire. In this segment, Donna Long from Weston, Missouri tells the story about her husband Doug, who not being much of a foodie, has an epiphany in a cooking class that he didn't want to be at in the first place. The instructor has them roast radishes for their first assignment, and Doug, who has never liked radishes, is so pleasantly surprised by how much he likes them roasted, hasn't stopped cooking since. Roasting a radish inspired him to learn about spices, perfecting cooked fish and how to make the perfect omelet, and it inspired me to do a post on Saveur's simple roasted radishes.

Radishes are so different when cooked, losing all of their bite and becoming sweet vehicles for salt, pepper, olive oil and whatever herb you decide to cook them with. This recipe uses thyme, a spice I adore. The healthiest part of the radish is actually in the greens, so don't throw them away when making this recipe and use them in another dish! The bulbs have great nutrients as well. Radishes and their greens are an excellent source of vitamin C. They also are a very good source of potassium, folic acid and the trace mineral molybdenum. Radishes have been used for centuries for liver disorders, to improve digestion and to maintain a healthy gallbladder and liver.

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INGREDIENTS

• 3 bunches assorted radishes
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 6 sprigs fresh thyme
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 425 F. Trim radish greens and wash the bulbs until clean. Pat dry with a paper towel. Toss radishes with the oil, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Pour into a shallow baking dish and cook for about 40 minutes. Turn them occasionally to ensure they don't burn. Enjoy the dish that inspired Doug Long to become a foodie. Do you have a dish that inspired you to become obsessed with food? I'd love to hear about it!

Golden Beet and Sweet Potato Soup....and a Side Table

This weekend I discovered my new favorite blog, Knock off Wood, where Ana gives instructions on how to make Pottery Barn, Crate and Barrel and other furniture knock offs. I love a good project so I was excited to get started right away! My first piece was a knock off pottery barn side table. It was really easy and inexpensive, thanks to Ana's great instructions, and I'm already looking forward to my next piece--a knock off pottery barn bed to match.

After I finished up with the table, I was hungry, and since it was cold and raining, I was really craving a good soup. I decided to make a golden beet and sweet potato soup. It is a great warming soup, that is naturally quite sweet. And it has cinnamon in it, which as some of you know by now, I am obsessed with. You don't need to include the apple juice, you can always use water instead, but I feel that it brings out the sweet earthy flavors of the beets and sweet potatoes. This soup is thickened and flavored with coconut milk, which I realize that I have cooked with quite often and not really discussed.

Coconut milk contains calcium, potassium, chloride, vitamin A and vitamin E. Due to the lauric acid present, coconut milk boosts the immune system and fights off bacteria and germs. This is due to it's anti-bacterial, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-viral properties. Lauric acid also helps to keep the arteries and heart clean and healthy, which makes it beneficial in the prevention of heart disease. Coconut milk has hydrating, moisturizing and repairing properties, which makes it great for hair, skin and nails, whether applied externally or enjoyed while eaten.

I would, of course, be remiss, if I did not mention the nutritional benefits of beets. Beets are an excellent source of folate (a B vitamin) and a very good source of manganese and potassium, dietary fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. Beets reduce inflammation, are an excellent blood tonic, have cancer preventing properties and are great for those who are at risk for heart disease. So make this soup and eat up!

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INGREDIENTS

• 6 yellow beets, peeled and diced
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/2 cup pure apple juice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• sea salt

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, then add beets and sweet potatoes. Saute, partially covered, stirring occasionally for 10 minutes. Add apple juice and continue to saute, about 10 more minutes, until vegetables are tender and caramelized.

Add the spices and cook for a minute. Then add the coconut milk, salt (about 1 teaspoon) and enough water to cover the vegetables (about 4 cups). Simmer for 5 minutes, then puree well in the blender or with an immersion blender. Sprinkle with cinnamon and serve!

Now, if only I had thought to take a picture of the bowl of soup on the table...

 

Vanilla Bean and Gurer Payesh (Rice Pudding)

Over New Years, K and I went to Seattle to stay with his family. His mom (who makes unbelievable mouth watering Bengali dishes) gave me short grain rice and gur from India to make payesh. She said to make it for a special occasion. I decided to make it for my day off, and I called and got her approval—that was indeed a special occasion! :) The recipe she gave me was very, "a little bit of this, a handful of that", just the way she cooks. I tried my best to follow her recipe exactly (we even have the same size hands) but I didn't use half and half and I added vanilla bean. I love vanilla beans and I can't imagine a creamy dessert without them.

What I love about this dish is the addition of gur mentioned above. I was so lucky that she gave me a huge mold of gur to use. Gur is a natural sweetener that contains high levels of iron, potassium and magnesium. It is made from the sap of palm trees and is boiled down for hours. The concentrated liquid is pored into molds to dry. To use, you take a knife, tap it with a hammer, and you get pieces of gur to sweeten your dishes. Gur stores very well, about 3-4 months in the refrigerator, and can also be used to sweeten curry sauces, chutneys and to prepare other sweets. I hope you enjoy it as much as K and I enjoyed my first attempt at payesh!

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INGREDIENTS

• 4 cups whole organic milk
• 1/3 cup short grain rice
• 1/3 cup gur (or other sweetener such as rapadura, sucanat, etc.)
• 2 cardamom pods
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 vanilla bean pod
• optional shelled and chopped pistachios

DIRECTIONS

Wash the rice and set aside. Slice open the vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds. Combine the milk, vanilla seeds, vanilla pod, cardamom and bay leaves in a heavy bottom saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring all the time, until milk has reduced and thickened, about 10 minutes. Add the washed rice to the pot. Cook the rice, about 25 minutes, and keep stirring. Don't stop stirring or the milk will burn! Once the payesh has thickened, remove the vanilla, cardamom and bay leaves. Stir in the gur and cook about 5 minutes more, until fully incorporated. Cool slightly and serve while still warm. Alternatively, cover and place in the fridge for a few hours for a thicker, chilled payesh. Top with optional pistachios.

Cinnamon Dutch Apple Babies

Every Christmas morning, my family gets together and makes Dutch Apple Babies, which are baked apple cinnamon pancakes with a wonderful egg-rich texture. I am not sure where this recipe is originally from (and I certainly have no idea where the name came from!), but ever since I was a child, it is a tradition we look forward to each year. The only problem with eating this sugar-rich dessert for breakfast is that, after we’re finished, all we want to do is sleep for the rest of the day! To avoid the perennial sugar coma, I decided to modify the recipe by cutting out refined sugars and making it gluten-free (you can, of course, substitute regular flour if you are not concerned about gluten).

I especially love the use of cinnamon in this recipe, as it has always been my magic spice. It has a regulatory effect on blood sugar (making it especially beneficial for people with Type 2 diabetes) and can lower LDL cholesterol. It is anti-microbial, which makes it a natural preservative, and has an anti-clotting effect on the blood. It is also been found to assist in cognitive function and memory and is a great source of manganese, fiber, iron and calcium. I hope you enjoy this special family treat!


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INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons butter, ghee or coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 large Granny Smith apple (peeled, cored and sliced thinly)
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup gluten-free baking flour
• 1/2 cup milk (I used goat's milk, but you can always use cow's milk if you’re not feeling too adventurous!)

DIRECTIONS


Preheat the oven to 425F. Using a 10-inch pan with an ovenproof handle, melt butter over medium-high heat. Stir in cinnamon and maple syrup and add sliced apples. Cook until the apples are translucent, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In a blender, blend the eggs and flour until smooth. Blend in the milk and pour the batter over the apples in the pan. Bake, uncovered, for about 15 minutes. Let it rest for 5 minutes then cut into wedges and enjoy!

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