Roasted peppers with Kathleen Bellicchi

Potato Pancakes & Applesauce
My Mother loves Potato Pancakes and she was willing to stand at the stove while 9 hungry kids ate batch after batch, reserving the right to one pancake for every four she cooked. It is a labor intensive dish for the cook. The pancakes are best eaten as soon as they come out of the frying pan.

My mother who is 93 is also my editor. When she read my original copy above, I had written “My Mother loved…” “Hey”, she said to me, “I still love them and I can still make them”. And she can, yumm!

The recipe is so simple and delicious. The ingredients are potatoes and salt! Served with a little bit of butter that melts into the pancakes and a side of warm applesauce(recipe below), it’s one of the best meals you can eat on a cold winter night.

A starchy potato works best because it produces the least amount of liquid, use Russet potatoes or Yukon Gold potatoes. It’s also best to use a potato that’s been out of the ground for a while and has had a chance to dry out a bit. You’ll often find eggs in most potato pancake recipes, try these for a change.

Potato PancakesServes 2 — about 20 pancakes
(You can increase recipe as many times as you want)
4 cups grated potato (about 2 good size baking potatoes)
one-half teaspoon kosher salt
Canola oil

Peel potatoes and grate them on a four-sided box grater, use the side with a medium size hole; add salt and stir to combine ingredients. Grated raw potatoes will oxidize if left to sit; use a stainless steel, plastic, or ceramic grater, this will slow oxidation.

Heat a cast iron frying or non-stick pan over medium low heat while you grate the potatoes. Turn heat up to medium high, add 1 tablespoon canola for a 9 inch pan, swirl to coat bottom. Sprinkle a few drops of water on the surface of the pan, when the water pops off the surface of the pan you are ready to cook the pancakes.

Stir batter to mix grated potato and the liquid it generates each time you spoon batter into the pan. Drop by one-eighth cup / 2 tablespoons (a large serving spoon) into hot oil and spread with the back of the spoon to 3-4 inches, let cook about 3 minutes, when it’s golden brown and (in cast iron) you can turn the pancake without it sticking. Turn and cook another 3-4 minutes on the second side. In a 9-inch pan you can cook 4 pancakes at a time.

Have a plate warming in a 200 F. oven to keep pancakes warm. (Remember they are
B-E-S-T right out of the pan with a swipe of soft butter, although it is more practical to make a few batches before calling your diners to the table.)

Applesauce — makes about 4 cupsMy favorite applesauce is made from a combination of 50% Macintosh and 50% Cortland apples. (They are my preference for apple pie as well. Macintosh apples melt and Cortland’s keep their integrity and shape, the flavors meld perfectly.) A Mac and Cortland combo offers the essential taste of New England apple sauce or apple pie.

Applesauce
4 Macintosh apples
4 Cortland apples1teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
One-half cup maple syrup (or other sweetener)
One-half teaspoon kosher salt

Rinse apples, slice in half or just cut a slit in each apple. Place in a soup pot or any pan that will comfortably hold the apples, add remaining ingredients, turn to medium heat, bring to a simmer, lower heat slightly and cook until apples are soft to the core when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Pass through a food mill. Applesauce will keep in the refrigerator up to two weeks in an airtight container and it can be frozen for 2 months. Enjoy!

Over the Labor Day week-end I traveled with my cousin, Alan and his partner George, to visit friends in Cashiers NC. A beautiful house nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. A long porch faces a steep rock cascade where water courses down and runs beneath the house.

I prepared a load of food to bring with us, fresh tomato sauce and pesto, eggplant stuffed peppers, roasted peppers (of course!) all made with a backyard garden harvest – picking as much as I could before Hurricane Irene blew through. I made fresh pasta (cut papperdelle style for easy traveling) and brought along a Pannetone for breakfast toast. Laying in a supply of delicious meals that were quick and easy to put on the table made the week-end more enjoyable. I froze the tomato sauce and used 2 quarts of frozen chicken stock (frozen in flat quart containers) as ice cubes to keep the peppers and pesto cool during travel.

As a surprise Alan ordered 8 lobsters and a quart of whole clams from Grossman’s in Noank. They arrived Saturday morning and we had our NE feast Saturday night.

This past summer I rediscovered Noank (also called Rhode Island) Clam Chowder, no milk or cream. Ford’s Lobsters in Noank (just down the road from Abbott’s) has opened a lobster shack. They serve clam chowder, the B-E-S-T lobster rolls, hot dogs, and hamburgers, soft drinks. Lobster salad rolls and a just lobster roll made with lobster sautéed in butter on a toasted buttered Portuguese roll – YUM! The best lobster roll I’ve eaten that I didn’t make myself. The Noank clam chowder sans cream was also super tasty; a perfectly balanced briny salty broth, plenty of chopped clams (no sand), and not too many potatoes. My mouth had been watering for more and I knew exactly what to do with the clams that arrived in NC.

Noank Clam Chowder – serves 8
one-third cup minced salt pork – or leave as a slab
(you can omit salt pork if you wish)
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sweet onion – diced
4 Yukon gold potatoes (about 3 cups) – scrubbed and cubed in bite size (one-half inch) pieces
1 quart fresh clams – chopped
all the clam liquor
2 quarts water or stock

Place a soup pot on stove over a medium heat and add salt pork immediately so it won’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Render the fat, about 4-5 minutes (you can remove salt pork or leave in). Add butter then onion when the butter melts, sauté until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low, Leave the peel on the potatoes for a rustic look or peel them, add potatoes and sauté another 3 minutes. When you sauté the potatoes they release some of their starch and this slightly thickens the chowder (stir frequently, they’ll stick as they release the starch). Add the clam liquor, stock, and bring to a simmer over a medium low heat. Simmer for about 5 minutes then add chopped clams, simmer another 10 minutes.

Turn off heat and let chowder rest for a few hours. It tasted even better the following day. Re-heat and serve in heated bowls or mugs, pass oyster or pilot crackers.

You could add cream or milk to the chowder; heat cream, pour into heated bowl, ladle chowder over cream, stir and serve.

Leeks are at their best in the fall. So pretty and ornamental stately swaying in your garden through the summer, the tops often fade to a bluish green color (wish I could find a cozy cashmere sweater the same shade) as the weather cools. Unless you’ve had unusually dry weather you can use the whole leek from white stem to green top.

Invite your guests into the kitchen (or keep them out of the kitchen) with a flute of Prosecco and a splash of campari (lime optional) while you cook the pasta and arrange dinner on a platter.

Leeks w/ Roasted Chicken Thighs and PastaServes 4 (with leftovers – maybe)
Marinate up to 1 hour:
6 chicken thighs — bone in
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Grated rind of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lime
2-3 sprigs of rosemary

Pre-heat oven to 400 F bake
If you have an All-Clad sauté pan or other oven safe pan, brush the bottom with olive oil, (If you don’t use a cookie sheet with sides so fat won’t drip into the bottom of your oven). Remove the rosemary sprigs, place chicken thighs in sauté pan and place on the top oven rack, bake 10 minutes. If the tops are not browned turn oven to broil and watch closely while the tops brown, it will take less than a minute.

While the chicken is marinating clean the artichokes and make the sauce
Artichoke sauce
4 fresh or canned artichoke hearts
1 leek
1 clove garlic
3 plum tomatoes
1 bulb fennel
1 teaspoon dried fennel seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup reduced chicken stock or bouillon cube
1 cup white wine
1 lemon

Clean artichokes
Slice off 3 inches from the top of the artichoke. Pull back leaves to reveal heart. Use a spoon to remove the choke. Squeeze a lemon into a quart of cool water, drop artichoke hearts into water.

Remove any yellowish outer leaves on leeks, slice in half lengthwise and wash under cool running water fanning out leaves to remove any sand. Slice each half in half lengthwise then across in a small dice, use the whole leek. Slice fennel bulb in half lengthwise, bite into the fennel stalk to find out where it begins to get woody; use as much of the stalk as possible. Pull fronds off fennel stalks and set aside for a garnish. Slice fennel bulb in a one-half inch dice, slice stalk in similar size pieces. Mash or dice garlic, dice tomatoes and trim artichokes to reveal the hearts. Slice artichoke hearts in half lengthwise then each half in lengthwise pieces about one-half inch wide.

Remove chicken pieces to a platter and use the sauté pan to make sauce; bring to medium heat, add olive oil and leeks and sauté about 4 minutes, add fennel and sauté another 4 minutes, add garlic cook about 30 seconds, add tomatoes cook another 4 minutes, then add artichoke hearts and let it go for about 3 minutes. Turn heat to high for about 1 minute, then splash in white wine, let it bubble up for a minute, add bouillon or warm stock, nestle half-cooked chicken thighs in the sauce, cover and cook over a medium low heat for about 15 minutes. Add more wine or stock to keep thighs about one-third covered w/ liquid, lower the heat. Leave cover off during last 5 minutes of cooking, sprinkle fennel seeds on top when you remove cover. Optional: pop under the broiler again for a minute to crisp the chicken skin.

Cook Pasta
1 pound spaghetti
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups grated parmesan cheese

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta, reserve 2 cups pasta water.

Serve
Remove chicken thighs from sauce and set aside. Pour drained hot pasta into the pan with the artichoke sauce and toss or stir to mix pasta into sauce, mix in 1 cup of pasta water, heap onto large serving platter. Arrange chicken pieces around the outside of the platter, sprinkle with one-half cup grated cheese, then the fennel fronds, and finally use a microplane to grate the lime rind over the platter. Pass red pepper flakes and remaining grated cheese at the table.

Aromatic, pretty to look at, and luscious – just waiting for you to dig in!

You could also serve over polenta, alongside risotto, or on its own with a hearty salad.

Welcome back to you and me. It’s been 3 months since my last Roasted Peppers blog entry; sad news and some good news. Sad news – my husband Eric who is 64 and has dementia (frontal temporal lobe) is now living in a nursing home. On the bright side Roasted Peppers has been named by

Fair Trade USA

as one of the 300 best food blogs in the country.

The last months Eric lived at home we ate a simple and nourishing diet. Dictated by the time requirements of Eric’s daily needs and dietary recommendations it was a win-win. I went back to my macrobiotic roots, remembering recipes from the past and incorporating new learning.

Grains were our staple and (mercifully) kept Eric’s flora and fauna on an even keel. I kept Eric on the
B-R-A-T diet (banana, rice, applesauce, toast) with small amounts of vegetables. Living in the provinces of Connecticut afforded me great spring foraging (fiddlehead ferns, young dandelions, early purslane and nettles (before they get furry and sting when touched) and morel mushrooms.

We always had a pot of brown rice ready either warm from the rice cooker or waiting to be steamed or fried. We also enjoyed millet, barley, buckwheat, and refined grains – quinoa, couscous, and bulgher. I recorded lots of recipes as I incorporated old and new cooking styles and came up with a few duds (millet and broccoli for one).

I gave a number of impromptu and scheduled cooking classes to friends who came to visit with Eric and people I met at the Co-op and Farmer’s Market who asked “What are you going to do with the…”.

A skill, habit, method, doctrine (not sure which) that has become so ingrained I’m completely unaware of is how I cut and slice vegetables. The first principle of cutting a vegetable taught in macrobiotic cooking is preserving the energy and balancing the yin and yang in the vegetable. The bottom, root, or stalk end is yang (contracting force) and the top end, bud, flower, connector to the leafy top is yin (expanding force). To balance yin and yang in any vegetable cut open top to bottom and/or slice pieces on a diagonal.

For any vegetable, slice across on a slight diagonal rather than cutting round rings; diagonal pieces produce a pleasing shape on a dinner plate or vegetable dish. A good example is cutting a carrot julienne style. Cut the carrot in diagonal slices to the thickness you desire, then stack carrot slices and cut lengthwise into julienne style pieces. Another example – any type of squash; Slice in half lengthwise, scoop seeds from a winter squash, lay open side down on a cutting board and cut lengthwise slices to desired thickness, slice across on a slight diagonal. For summer squash – slice in half lengthwise, slice each half in widthwise slices to desired thickness, stack and slice lengthwise, then across on a diagonal to make cubes or larger chunks.

Try cutting vegetables in this manner and let me know what you discover. Do they taste different? How about their appearance? Other observations?

Zucchini and Cous Cous
I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago during zucchini overload week with a specimen that hid under the leaves and look at like a baseball bat when picked. The key – use these large vegetables immediately after picking (best to leave in the garden an extra day than harvest and cook the next day).

(Serves 2-4)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 cups unpeeled zucchini cut in one-half inch cubes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons bullion or one-half cup concentrated chicken stock
1 cup cous cous
1 cup water (one-half cup if using stock)
One-fourth cup thin sliced basil leaves or any other herb or combination
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Siracha – optional

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and turn to medium high, add zucchini and sauté 2 minutes, add garlic, turn heat back to medium and cook another 5 minutes, occasionally stir or swirl the pan. Add bullion or stock, cook 1 minute, add cous cous and water, stir to combine, cover, turn heat to lowest setting and cook 5 minutes. Remove cover (so zucchini will stay bright green) and let sit another 3 minutes. Fluff with a fork, fold in grated cheese, transfer to a serving dish or serve right from the sauté pan. Garnish with herbs; give each bowl a squirt of Siracha chili sauce if you like a little heat. You could easily double or triple this recipe to serve a crowd.

The Perfect Gooey, Chewy, Chocolaty Treat – Congo Bars

Congo Bars are easy to make. You only need one saucepan, a large wooden spoon and a baking pan. The best part is… you can prepare, bake, and eat Congo bars in an hour! My Mother made Congo Bars so they’d just be coming out of the oven when we arrived home from school. How perfect can life get?

Pre-heat oven to 350F.
Use the paper from the stick of butter to grease a 9 x 13-inch baking pan (glass or metal*)
1 stick butter
1 pound (box) dark brown sugar
3 eggs – room temp.
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
one-fourth teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips** (you can use more or less)

In a medium size saucepan melt butter over low heat so it doesn’t burn. Remove pan from heat, add sugar and stir until the butter absorbs the sugar. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Measure dry ingredients and add them along with chocolate chips to the saucepan, mix well to combine wet and dry ingredients. Scoop batter into baking pan, even out with the back of your mixing spoon. Bake 25 minutes for gooey texture, 30 minutes for a cakelike texture. Cut into small squares as soon as the Congo Bars come out of the oven.

* A Pyrex baking dish needs to bake about 5 minutes longer than a metal pan. After you make the recipe a few times you’ll match the baking time and Congo Bar texture to your liking.

** Quality of chocolate makes a big difference; Valrhona, Scharffenberger, or callibout taste very different than Toll House chocolate chips. I like the taste of bittersweet 60% cacao best. You can make shards of chocolate from a bar. Use a sharp knife and cut the bar at quarter inch intervals. Pieces will vary in size, large chunks and fine slivers, it all works. Enjoy!

Vegetable Summer Rolls makes 8 rolls

Give everyone a job and make this a participatory preparing and eating event! Ideal for a crowd, works for vegetarians, vegans, and carnivores.

Watch the accompanying video to learn how to prep and make Summer Rolls and cut julienne vegetables.

1 package Spring Roll Skins (rice paper) available at Stop & Shop (Banh Trang Deo) or Asian food stores
18-24 basil leaves
2 cups cooked rice noodles
2 scallions or chives, minced
1 seedless cucumber, peeled, cut in thin strips
1 carrot – cut in thin strips (julienne)
(Ingredients for dipping sauces follow after Summer roll Instructions)

These rolls are light, tasty, and easy to prepare. They do not require a stove, making them a cool treat on a hot summer day.

Prepare all the ingredients and lay them out on a platter. To cook rice noodles (also called rice sticks), boil water or stock, turn off heat, add rice noodles and let sit for 10 minutes. Drain noodles and spread out on a platter with toweling underneath so noodles will dry out a bit. (If noodles are wet, they will be too slippery to fold successfully in the rice paper.) Cut cucumber and carrots in thin slices on a diagonal (see video). Mince chives, set aside in a small bowl. Pick basil leaves and wipe with a damp paper towel to remove any grit or dirt.

Pour cool water onto a rimmed dinner plate. Place a round rice paper wrapper in the water, pat around the edges and into the middle to coat the paper with water – about 20 seconds, remove from water, place on a linen or cotton towel and pat dry.

Lay 1 softened rice paper round on a cutting board or sushi mat, lay basil leaves on a diagonal about 1/3 of the way from the top of the rice paper wrapper, lay about 1/3 cup of rice noodles along the middle of the wrapper, lay cucumbers and carrots on top, sprinkle with chives.

To roll, fold one-half inch of the outer side edges in towards the center, and roll up, beginning with the side closest to you, keeping it tight as you roll. You may want to secure your first efforts with toothpicks. Slice Summer Rolls on a diagonal into 2, 3, or 4 pieces, dip into one of the following sauces. Enjoy!

Ponzu Dipping Sauce2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar or Mirin (rice wine vinegar)
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger (squeeze juice into soy sauce mixture)

Heat soy sauce, water and Mirin just to a simmer, remove from heat and add ginger juice.

Tahini Dipping Sauce
2 tablespoons Tahini
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ginger juice

Spoon Tahini into a small mixing bowl, add soy sauce, lemon, and ginger; mix until smooth. Add a few teaspoons of water if the mixture is too thick for dipping.

Summer Roll Variations
You can use any vegetables you like. Steamed whole green beans, spinach (squeeze out excess water), shitake mushrooms – slice thin and sauté. Greens to use instead of basil – try mint leaves, shiso leaves, mizuna, or any type of lettuce. Add protein with seasoned grilled shrimp, scallops, chicken, tuna, salmon, any white fish fillet, steak, or grilled seasoned tofu. Following are my favorite summer Rolls, French twist on an Asian staple.

Lobster Summer Rolls
Lay mint leaves on a diagonal on the rice paper wrapper. Spread lobster pieces on top of the leaves, then add cucumber and chives or vegetables of your choice. Spoon 2 tablespoons of crème Fraiche on top of filling, sprinkle with soy sauce, lemon juice, and ginger juice. (If you can’t find crème fraiche, combine 4 ounces sour cream w/ 2-3 ounces heavy cream, add a squeeze of lemon juice.) Enjoy!

Authentic Swiss Muesli w/ Yogurt and Fresh Fruit Makes 4 cups

I learned this recipe the first time my Swiss sister-in-laws came to visit. Many recipes have a tip or a trick that turns a good tasting dish into something that is over the top in taste and texture. The secret to real Swiss Muesli is the addition of grated apple and lemon. This prevents the dish from taking on a gooey consistency; grated apple makes a great difference in texture and deepens the flavor. It’s another dish that can be increased in volume many times. It is a consistently requested dish whenever I prepare brunch for family, friends, retreats, and fundraising events.
Just remember 1-2-3-2-1: 1 cup rolled oats, 2 cups yogurt, 3 cups milk, 2 apples, 1 lemon

1 cup dry quick cooking oatmealone-fourth teaspoon kosher salt
2 – 4 ounce containers fruit or plain yogurt
3 cups milk*
2 peeled apple – grated; one on fine side of grater, one on larger side (McIntosh, Cortland, or Macoun, my faves)
one lemon rind – grated (on a microplane/rasp)
juice of one lemon
(optional) one-fourth cup maple syrup or honey (if you use plain yogurt)

Combine oats, yogurt, grated apple, lemon juice, maple syrup, milk, in a large bowl and mix well. Let sit overnight or at least 3-4 hours. Add fresh fruit before you serve the Muesli.

Muesli will keep in the refrigerator for 2 weeks in a tightly closed container

Variations:
Add toasted chopped nuts and fresh fruit just before serving
Use packaged Swiss Bircher Muesli instead of quick oats
* You can substitute soy yogurt and soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk

Creamy Polenta serves 4-6 as a side (for the Osso Bucco recipe, I’d prepare 1 ½ to 2 cups Polenta, depending on the appetites of your diners.)

One cup Polenta (course corn meal or quick cook Polenta)
3 1/2 cups chicken, vegetable stock, bouillon, or water
One teaspoon salt (omit if using stock)
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese1 tablespoon butter

Boil water in a heavy saucepan over medium high heat. Add polenta in a slow stream while whisking constantly to avoid lumps. Put a pot holder glove on your hand (to avoid getting burned by the “plopping Polenta” and continue stirring until the polenta thickens. Turn flame to low, cover and let cook about 25 minutes (quick serve Polenta will cook in about 10 minutes), stir occasionally or as frequently as you wish. Remove Polenta from heat, add grated cheese and butter, and mix well to combine. Let sit covered ten minutes. Pour Polenta onto serving platter.

Broccoli Rabe
1 Bunch Broccoli Rabe *
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
One teaspoon salt

Wash, pull florets and leaves off stalks, place stalks in a lock seal plastic for another use**. Heat water to boiling, add olive oil, broccoli rabe, and salt. Cover, turn flame to medium low and cook 4 minutes. uncover, let cook another few minutes. Spread out onto platter to cool so the greens will maintain their bright color. You can microwave for 3o seconds to 1 minute before serving. Optional: Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon lemon or balsamic vinegar before serving.
*You can substitute kale for Broccoli rabe, follow same prep and cooking instructions.

**The stems take longer to cook so it is best to prepare them separately. I save the stems and cook them to serve with another meal. Cut about 1 inch off the bottom of the stems and discard. Sauté remaining stems in 1 tablespoon olive oil over a medium heat. After about 3 minutes add a clove of thinly sliced garlic, one-half teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste), a sprinkle of hot pepper flakes or a squeeze of Sirachi hot sauce, cover, and cook over a low heat for about 10 minutes. Uncover and serve.
Serve the salad as a relief course after the Osso Bucco, Polenta, and Broccoli Rabe.

Winter Bosc Pear Arugula and Gorgonzola Dolce Salad

Refer to Roasted Peppers Blog post from May, 2010 Orange Arugula and pecan Salad.
Replace the oranges with 2 ripe Bosc pears. Slice pears in half lengthwise and remove core. Slice each pear half horizontally top to bottom in 4 slices. Slice across on a diagonal to make odd shaped julienne pieces. Prepare greens and dress. Sprinkle pears over dressed salad, then pecans, then cut (or pull with your fingers) Gorgonzola into small bite size pieces and strew over the top of the salad. Use a microplane/rasp and grate about a teaspoon of lemon over the top of the salad. Enjoy!