Butternut Squash Wheatberry Fauxsotto

I won’t call this a risotto because it’s not. It takes much less time than a traditional risotto and doesn’t quite achieve the ability of risotto to “stand-up” when it’s ready. What this is is one of the most flavorful dishes I’ve prepared in a long time and yet it is so incredibly simple it can easily be made on a weeknight when time is minimal.

Butternut Squash Fauxsotto

adapted from Peanut Butter Fingers

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c wheatberries (mine are from the Whole Foods bulk bins)
• 3 c broth (I used chicken but use whatever you prefer)
• 2 c butternut squash, chopped
• 1 t fresh Thyme, chopped
• 1 T olive oil
• 1/2 onion, chopped (optional, I used dehydrated onion flakes)
• Salt and Pepper, to taste
• Parmesan Cheese, for topping

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and Thyme until onions soften (if you use dehydrated onions you don’t really need to wait) add wheatberries and cook, stirring often, for just a few minutes.

Turn up heat to medium-high, add 2 c broth and squash. Stir constantly but allow pot to simmer.  The squash will break down and the broth will absorb. After 2 c of broth is absorbed, begin adding a little more broth at a time until it is absorbed. Repeat until last cup of broth has been added. When the fauxsotto has thickened, it is done.

Serve with fresh grated parmesan on top and optionally add sprigs of fresh Thyme for garnish.

Serves 2

Blood, Bones & Butter

Over vacation I discovered that I can borrow e-books from the library and read them on my laptop using Kindle for PC. A few I titles I was interested in were already “checked out” but Blood, Bones & Butter: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef was available and it sounded worth my time.

What a great read! I couldn’t “put it down”. It’s a memoir written by Chef Gabrielle Hamilton of Prune restaurant in New York City. She starts by reminiscing of her childhood and her family’s annual pig roasts and the imagery is just incredible. As an adult, she marries an Italian and spends a month every summer in Italy – so as you can imagine, her descriptions of her time there are fascinating.

Though I had never heard of her prior to reading this book, I am definitely a fan of her approach at cooking (and eating!) as it is much similar to mine (I’d like to think, anyway) in that she takes a “no frills” approach. She believes that food should be straight forward and that the flavors should come from the quality of the food itself and not by adding “foams” or “emulsions”.

If you are a fan of memoirs, especially ones that involve food, you will enjoy this book. The author’s journey to becoming a chef was both an accident and an adventure.

Side note: I totally recommend the e-book feature from the library – getting a book to read for free (for a 14 day rental period) without even leaving my house? Sounds good to me!

Vegan Lentil Pâté

If you’ve had pâté before, the animal kind, and enjoyed it – then you will most likely be a fan of this vegan version. As you may know if you eat lentils, they almost mimic meat in that they are protein rich and super filling. While the flavors in this create a pâté that is unique, it is remarkably reminiscent of it’s animal-based counterparts.

If you’re skeptical, I don’t blame you. There are a bunch of less common, perhaps even intimidating, ingredients in this recipe. Finding Umeboshi paste (plum paste) took a trip to the local Asian Supermarket where I could not find it, a trip to my local health food store where it was too expensive for my wallet and finally a trip to Whole Foods where I splurged on it because I had a gift certificate. The Mirin (sweet cooking sauce) and Miso I picked up at the Asian Supermarket for quite a bit less than the regular supermarket/health food store. The French lentils I picked up in the bulk bins at Whole Foods and they were even cheaper at my local health food store. So all in all, it’s not a cheap dish but you’ll only be using a bit of the more expensive ingredients so you can make it many times (and I suspect after one taste you will want to) over.

If it’s the actual idea that this is pâté that makes you reluctant, perhaps you are vegan, don’t let that deter you. It doesn’t taste “meaty” by any means, it is reminiscent of pâté in that it has great depth of flavors.

Vegan Lentil Pâté

from Bojon Gourmet

Ingredients:

• 3/4 c dried green lentils (sometimes called “French lentils”)
• 3 c water
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 T olive oil, divided
• 1 med yellow onion, chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 1 T Mirin
• 1 1/4 c walnuts (I used a combination of walnuts, pecans and cashews – what I had on hand), toasted in oven at 350 for 10 minutes and cooled
• 1 T fresh thyme, chopped
• 3 T miso (I used the yellow/brown variety)
• 1 1/2 T Umeboshi paste
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Olive oil for drizzling

Add water, lentils and bay leaf to a sauce pan. Bring to a boil then cover partially and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes until lentils are tender but not mushy. Stir occasionally to ensure lentils don’t stick to bottom of pan. When lentils are done, drain and allow to cool completely. I suggest putting them in the refrigerator, spread on a plate, to speed up the process.

While lentils are cooking, add 2 T olive oil to another pan heated over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until onions are golden, about 15 minutes. Stir in the Mirin and remove from the heat. Allow to cool completely, I put mine in the refrigerator to speed this up.

Add the toasted and cooled nuts to the food processor and process until they have become the consistency of nut butter. Add the lentils and onion-garlic mixture and process until smooth. Add in the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Drizzle with olive oil and additional fresh herbs for serving. I served mine with a baguette cut into thin slices.