Leek Barley Soup & Blueberry Cobbler

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I enjoy the time when I lift remnants of the last year from the garden, in order to prepare the beds for a new cycle to come. Every year, I am reminded of some of the amazing and sometimes mysterious works of Mother Nature. Lots of hopes, failures, disappointments, frustrations, patience, joy, appreciation, peacefulness and simple happiness–I get these feelings through gardening. Yet all sensory experience really physically kicks chemicals in my brain when working with living plants. They are something so basic and organic yet fundamental in humans’ life in this ever changing world. It is indeed as if I am learning about life itself. This experience has become so much more than just gardening to me. And at the end of the day, I know that there is always a good meal to follow using what’s in season. In fact, it is most exciting to transform these bits and pieces into something hearty and tasty. I begin to feel a sense of triumphant satisfaction regardless of the type or amount of produce on hand, be it a huge bunch of leeks or a handful of cilantro leaves.

In this post, I’m excited to share this soup made with the leeks that just came from a few feet away as a result of my spring cleanup. It was such a reward to turn the last bits of the “onion family bed” into something easy, delicious and soothing. Plus, indoor cleanup created this cobbler dessert thanks to some of last year’s precious blueberries.

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Leek Barley Soup

Serves 4

2 cups leek, sliced into ½ inch rounds

½ teaspoon ginger, finely minced

1 heaped tablespoon butter

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

4 cups water

½ cup pot barley, washed and drained

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Chopped scallions for garnishing

Melt the butter in a large pot and sauté the leek and ginger until softened.

Add the chicken stock, water and barley and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium low and simmer until the barley is soft, for about 40 minutes. Skim as necessary.

Adjust with salt and pepper and serve hot with scallions.

 

Blueberry Cobbler

Serves 6 to 8

Filling

1 ½ lbs frozen blueberries, thawed

Lemon juice from ½ lemon

1 teaspoon lemon zest

3 tablespoons cane sugar

1 tablespoon flour

Crust

1 cup all purpose flour plus extra for dusting

½ cup rolled oats

¼ teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

4 tablespoons cane sugar

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/3 cup cold butter, chopped into pea sized cubes plus more for greasing

1/3 cup 10% fat plain yogurt

1 tablespoon milk for brushing

Sour cream (optional)

Mix the blueberries, lemon juice, zest, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Transfer the blueberry mixture to a greased 9 inch round baking dish or shallow dish similar in size.

Preheat the oven to 375F with a rack in the centre.

Thoroughly combine the flour, salt, baking powder, and 3 tablespoons cane sugar in a bowl. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon cane sugar and lemon zest in a small bowl and set aside.

In a food processor, pulse the rolled oats until coarsely ground. Add the flour mixture and pulse a few times to blend. Add the butter and pulse until the dough becomes flaky. Then, add the yogurt and pulse until the dough comes off from the side of the bowl of the food processor and becomes a mass.

Dust the work surface with flour and knead the dough a few times, forming into a ball. Flatten the dough with a rolling pin into a 2/3 inch thick disk. Cut the dough into squares.

Place the squares on top of the blueberries. Brush the squares with milk and sprinkle with the lemon zest sugar mixture. Bake until cobbles become golden and juice becomes bubbly, for about 40 minutes.

Serve warm with a dollop of sour cream.

 

Chana Masala and Delightful Accompaniments

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A big thank you to my friend Paula, who recently threw a beautiful Bollywood-themed birthday party, for kindly sharing some of her delicious recipes. This event also inspired me to create a wonderful curry dish. Now I’m able to pass these delights on to you!

At Paula’s party, all of the guests appeared in colourful, gorgeous saris and brought with us tasty dishes to share. The night was filled with Paula and her talented musical friends’ tunes; in fact, Paula possesses an extraordinarily beautiful voice and melted all of our hearts with her singing. Sunshine, good company, irresistibly tasty food, enthusiastic music–what more can you ask for? Thank you again for the wonderful time, Paula!

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Chana Masala

Serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon canola oil

Spices

1 teaspoon fennel or anise seeds

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon Garam masala

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Pinch ground clove

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

¼ teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 large bay leaf, torn in a few pieces

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 small knob ginger, finely chopped

4 tomatoes, finely chopped and juice saved (makes about 2 cups)

About 3 cups cooked chickpeas (I use cooked ones from 1 cup dried chickpeas)

1 ½ cups chicken stock or water

1 teaspoon salt or to taste

Freshly ground black pepper

3 cups cooked Basmati rice

In a large heavy bottomed pot, melt the butter, add the oil and fry all the spices over medium heat. When the spices give off a nice scent, add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté until soft and onion becomes translucent.

Add the tomatoes and their juice, and cook until softened. Add the chickpeas, salt, generous amount of black pepper and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook for 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve with Basmati rice.

 

Spicy Blackstrap Chicken

This chicken is quite sweet, but adds a nice caramelized smokiness to a plate of Indian cuisine. Combined together with the curry and the below salad, it is just perfect.

Serves 6-8

6 to 10 pieces of boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut in about 2 inch pieces

1/3 cup unsulfured molasses

¼ cup cane sugar

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ tablespoon turmeric

½ tablespoon ground saffron

½ tablespoon ground cumin

½ tablespoon whole coriander seeds, freshly ground

Preheat the oven to 375F. Rinse the chicken and pat dry. Combine the molasses, sugar, salt and all the spices. Place the chicken in a large cast iron pan and pour over the molasses mixture. Roast until chicken produces a caramelized look, for about 35 to 40 minutes.

Serve hot along with below dishes.

 

Curried Apple and Celery Salad

Serves 6-8

¾ cup slivered almonds

4 sticks celery

2 medium apples (I like this salad with Granny Smith)

½ cup raisins or dried cranberries, or mixture of both

3 tablespoons parsley, chopped finely

Dressing

1/3 cup sour cream

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon curry powder or a mixture of small amount of following spices;

Turmeric

Ground ginger

Ground coriander

Ground cumin

Garam masala

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice (from ½ orange)

Chop the celery stalks into ¼ inch pieces or, using a food processor, make small slivers. Peel, core, and chop the apples into ¼ inch pieces. Make dressing by thoroughly combining all the ingredients in a bowl.

Combine the almonds, celery, apples, raisins, parsley and the dressing in a large bowl. Keep refrigerated until serving time. Serve with the curry and the chicken.

 

Fried Cumin Tortilla and Cucumber Raita

Make a large platter

2 packages of whole wheat tortillas

Olive oil

Ground cumin

Coriander, freshly ground is preferred

Brush a cast iron frying pan with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and add ¼ teaspoon of each cumin and coriander. When the pan is hot, add tortilla and fry until golden brown. Flip over and fry the other side. Repeat for the rest. Cut into wedges and serve around a small bowl of raita (recipe follows) on a large platter, pointy part facing toward the raita for a pretty presentation.

Cucumber raita

½ cup grated cucumber

¾ cup plain yogurt

¼ tablespoon ground cumin

½ tablespoon cane sugar

Salt

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Adjust the sugar and salt to your liking. Chill and keep refrigerated until serving time.

 

Katsudon – Pork Cutlet Bowl with Rice

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Unofficially, I ended up sorting through Japanese recipes here in my March posts. As someone who has moved from one country to another, from city to city, I have never felt that I had a place to really call home. Japanese cuisine and, of course, my partner, are essentially my home, allowing me to  feel most comforted wherever I am; maybe that’s what I’ve been needing lately.

Undoubtedly, when I think of comfort food, katsudon comes to mind. I recall working at one of the reputable tonkatsu (specializing in pork cutlets) restaurants, called Wako, in Shinjuku during my university year, honing my skills in the kitchen with an enthusiastic Japanese chef and another chef who had French cuisine training under his belt. I learned not only how to cook but also why we cook. The ultimate answer was the pleasure of serving good and delicious food to those who love to eat! This mentality has always been inside of me, both before and after this experience, and to this day I remain unchanged. I wish I could track down those colleagues who cooked the most intricate and delicious lunches for us employees every single day–we had the greatest team in the kitchen!

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Katsudon – Pork Cutlet Bowl with Rice

The key to restaurant-quality katsudon is all about using good quality pork and bread (plus the secret sauce). My soba sauce recipe is very similar to what I used to concoct every week in a huge batch within Wako’s kitchen. Thus, I still make batches big enough to last for a few months in my fridge, and I ensure that they keep moving with me, wherever I go! The best texture is achieved by making your own homemade panko on which you nestle the pork, creating a veritable bed of sweet, fluffy panko. The size of the skillet matters as well; try to use the smallest one in which you can fit all the ingredients in order to ensure even cooking during the shortest possible time.

Serves 2

2 pork centre loin pieces, about 1 inch thick, boneless

Salt and pepper

All purpose flour

1 egg + 2 tablespoons water, beaten well

2 cups fresh white bread, torn in large pieces (for making panko)

Oil for deep frying

½ onion, sliced into ¼ inch pieces

3 tablespoons soba sauce or more to your liking

Or a mixture of 1 tablespoon sugar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 1 tablespoon mirin

2 eggs, beaten very lightly

Green onions, scallions or chives, chopped finely

Cooked white rice

Rinse and pat the pork until dry. Season with salt and pepper. Place the bread pieces in a blender and roughly grind until they look like large snowflakes. Don’t grind to the size and texture of store-bought panko, as larger flakes are key to making the pork cutlet fluffy and textured.

Prepare the breading station by placing flour, beaten egg, and breadcrumbs in separate shallow bowls.

Do one piece at a time. Evenly coat the pork with flour, removing the excess, and then coat with egg. Lay the pork on the bed of breadcrumbs and cover the top with plenty of the crumbs as well. Press gently but firmly. Refrigerate, covered with a piece of clean wrung cloth or Saranwrap, for at least 10 minutes to moisten the breading. This makes breading adhere well and ensures an ideal texture.

In the meantime, warm oil to 345 to 355 F in a deep-rimmed pan, enough for deep frying.

Deep fry the pork until golden brown. Flip when halfway done. Test the doneness by slicing the thickest part. It is finished if the pork is light pink in colour and the juice is clear. Rest the pork on a rack for 5 minutes. Slice into pieces that are easy for you to eat.

Place the soba sauce, or the mixture of sugar and soy sauce, plus 2/3 cup water in a small skillet over medium heat. Cook the onion until tender. Place the sliced pork pieces in the skillet, and pour some sauce over top; cook for a couple of minutes. Pour the lightly beaten eggs over top, cover with a lid and cook for another 15 seconds, until eggs are half cooked. Serve over the cooked white rice, scattering the green onions on top.