Socca: Guilt-free, Gluten-free

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Ever need a flat bread or cracker with character to fill in as a snack with drinks or as an alternative bite with soup or salad?  This one is even gluten-free.

Socca is a fascinating chickpea based ‘crepe’ popular in the south of France.  In northern Italy, Farinata is a variation sold along-side pizza and focaccia.  No shaping or patting required, Socca is a simple batter built on chickpea flour, salt, water, and a bit of olive oil.

If time permits, let the batter rest overnight for it to relax and thicken. The flavor and texture will improve, resulting in a creamy interior and crisp exterior texture.  When ready, spread it into a pizza pan and bake in hot oven to set. Remove briefly, add toppings, and return to finish.

As you can imagine, this chickpea treat is full-flavored and needs little more than a light topping of olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt, fresh herbs, perhaps a few olives for embellishment…  Rosemary is one such herb that is assertive enough to do well here.

Or, if you are feeling adventurous, try Zhoug Sauce , a highly addictive condiment from Yemen made with cilantro, jalapeno peppers, chile flakes, garlic, cardamom, and cumin seed.  I was lucky enough to discover the sauce at Trader Joe’s recently and it was a big hit on a recent Socca batch.  Be prepared, Zhoug packs quite a punch.  I liked it so much, I even added feta cheese.  So much for keeping it simple.

Socca

Inspired by King Arthur Flour, Socca

Ingredients

Batter
3 cups chickpea flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/3 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil, more for the pan
Toppings
½ cup olive oil or sauce of choice
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped
3/4 cup pitted and sliced Greek olives
1 cup feta cheese (optional)

Directions

  1. Whisk the flour and salt together in a bowl. Add the water and olive oil and whisk until smooth. Cover and let the batter rest at room temperature for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
  2. Preheat oven to 450°F. Spread 9” pizza pan liberally with olive oil. . Place the pan in the oven to preheat for 5 minutes.
  3. Carefully remove the pan from the oven and pour in the batter, spreading to edges in an even layer. Bake for 7 minutes and remove from the oven.
  4. Lightly spread top with olive oil, fresh herbs or sauce of choice. Add feta cheese if desired, and return to oven for 7 minutes longer until the surface takes on color and browns. If the top doesn’t brown, turn the oven from bake to broil until crisp and blistered.
  5. Remove from the oven, cool for 5 minutes, then cut into wedges to serve warm. The top and bottom should be crisp, and the center creamy and moist.
  6. Store, covered, in the refrigerator for up to a week. Reheat in a preheated 400°F oven for 10 minutes before serving. Yield: 3 – 9” rounds cut into portions.

 

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Irish [Scotch] Eggs

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For a casual brunch following St. Paddy’s Day, I opted to configure some of my fabulous corned beef hash into a riff on Scotch Eggs.

Often eaten as a cold snack, Scotch Eggs are hard cooked eggs wrapped in sausage and deep fried.   As such, my version included just enough of the corned beef hash to tidily encase a hard cooked egg. It was then treated to a gentle sauté in a thin layer of vegetable oil until hot and crispy.

Since I had hard cooked eggs ready to go, this treat took no time at all.  My yolks were more cooked than I normally prefer— the perfect enhancement would be a slightly moist yolk.

Once I had a grip on the egg preparation this was a fairly effortless undertaking. The lively plates consisted of the highly entertaining Irish Scotch Eggs along with a mild mustard sauce, pickled onions, radishes, sharp cheddar cheese and warm soda bread slathered with cranberry apple jam.  Irish Eggs,  Scotch Eggs, Irish-Scotch Eggs… enjoy and call them whatever makes you happy!

Irish [Scotch] Eggs

Ingredients (per serving)
½ cup heaping, Corned Beef Hash (see blog recipe)
1 hard cooked egg, peeled
1/3 cup flour (approx.) lightly seasoned with salt and paprika for dredging
2 tablespoons vegetable oil for pan
Accompaniments:  mustard sauce (see below), pickled onions, cheddar cheese, radishes

 Directions

  1. Heat a skillet with oil over medium-high heat.
  2. Place flour in wide bowl and lightly dust the egg with flour.
  3. Mound hash in palm of hand and make an egg-sized indentation in the center. Insert the hard cooked egg into the center and mold the hash around the egg to completely encase it. Lightly moisten hands with water if it becomes sticky.
  4. Carefully dust the exterior with flour and place egg in hot pan. As the surface begins to take on color, roll it over slightly with spatula, continue until entire surface is crisp and lightly browned, 7 to 10 minutes.  Serve with accompaniments of choice.

Light Mustard Sauce: combine ¼ cup sour cream and ¼ cup mayonnaise, blend in 1 tablespoon deli mustard, or to taste.

Marbled Tea Eggs, pretty tasty

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Since Easter is rolling around the corner, now’s the time to take advantage of the crates of eggs stacked at the market, and get ready for the big holiday weekend.

Beyond colorful dyed eggs, here’s a creative and tasty variation for beautifying hard cooked eggs. In China, marbled tea eggs have been around for centuries. The concept is quite simple.  Simmer a flavorful marinade of soy, oolong tea, cinnamon, star anise, and perhaps a bit of orange.  Our marinade incorporates the heavy smokiness of lapsang souchong tea, but any oolong will do. Using the back of a spoon, crack the shells of hard cooked eggs into a series of spider webs, then soak them in the marinade.

The original marble tea eggs in China were simmered in a marinade for quite a while, then left to soak even longer. These days less tough and stinky eggs can be crafted with a brief simmer in the soy blend, then refrigerated in the marinade for a mere day or two.

Half the fun is the final egg peel unveiling the outcome of this process. It is always a surprise, perfected by practice. The soy marinade saturates via the egg cracks, artfully coloring and flavoring the eggs. For darker marbling and more pronounced flavor, allow a couple of days.  Pretty and tasty.

Marbled Tea Eggs

Ingredients
6-12 hard cooked eggs with shells intact, chilled (see below)
Marinade
1/2 cup soy sauce (I use a deep, rich mushroom soy sauce found at Asian markets)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 cups water, divided (more for the pot)
2 Lapsang souchong tea bags, oolong or other black tea
2 star anise, broken up
1 cinnamon stick
2 – 3” x ½” strips peel from mandarin or other thin skinned orange

Instructions

  1. Gently crack shells of hard cooked eggs all over with the back of a spoon to create webbing. Do not tap too hard.
  2. Prepare marinade
    Pour 1 cup boiling water over the tea bags and steep for 5-10 minutes.
    In a pan that will hold up the number of eggs in one layer, heat the soy sauce, salt, sugar to dissolve the salt and sugar. Add the brewed tea, additional 1 cup water, cinnamon stick, star anise, orange peel, and simmer gently 10-15 minutes to allow flavors to blend.
  3. Marbleize the eggs
    Gently lower the cracked hard cooked eggs in a single layer into the heated marinade and add enough water to barely cover the eggs and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool in liquid (about 1 hour).
  4. Marinade the eggs
    Store the eggs and marinade in a covered container in the refrigerator, discarding cinnamon and other seasonings. Let marinate in refrigerator at least overnight. For darker marbling and more pronounced flavor allow up to 2 days.  Peel the eggs and serve. Yield: 6-12.
    Note: reserve the marinade; it can be re-used.

Lip Smacking Good: Boston Brown Bread

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As mentioned in the previous post, when March approaches I get nostalgic. Much of this is brought on by St. Paddy’s Day, since I was raised outside of Boston.  I recall it as a hugely anticipated day-long event packed with celebrations, all culminating with aromatic corned beef, cabbage, and all the trimmings.

Another much loved food from those days is irreplaceable Boston Brown Bread, a must have accompaniment with famed Boston Baked Beans. Whenever I see a brown bread recipe, I automatically save it.  I’m not sure why I collect them, because there is nothing complicated about it:  just a basic bread using baking soda for leavener, with a combination of hearty flours like rye and wheat—and of course cornmeal.  Buttermilk is the standard liquid, and molasses is a key ingredient which supplies mild sweetness along with its signature flavor. Raisins or currants are negotiable.

Boston Brown Bread is a quirky boiled/steamed bread with a history that likely goes back centuries.  In more recent times, the practice of using a coffee can as a cooking mold has become linked with its now characteristic round shape.

I must confess until this March I had never made Boston Brown Bread.  I may have been caught up in its mystic, but the idea of boiling bread in a water bath for an hour just seemed a little too remote.

That is all pre-multi-cooker.  Now, I am so smitten by the Instant Pot’s flexibility that I seek out challenges—and what a ride it gave me this past weekend. Most certainly the IP was created for Boston Brown Bread.

This is inspired by Jasper White’s Boston Brown Bread recipe, which I have adapted to the PC.  The batter is divided between two 15 ounce pinto bean cans.  It’s a good idea not to fill the tins any more than 2/3 full to allow for rising space. Cover them with foil and secure with twine.  In 30 minutes,  the loaves are ‘baked’ and beautiful.

I will not gush, but will simply state that this is a bread worth investing in a multi-cooker.  It is just as good as I remembered!   Brown bread is great warmed in the morning, spread with butter or cream cheese.  It makes a great mid-day snack, an accompaniment to many entrees, and it is lip-smacking good as an ice cream sandwich.

Boston Brown Bread, PC

Adapted from Jasper White’s Boston Brown Bread

Ingredients
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup dark rye flour
½ cup medium grind corn meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup molasses or ¼ cup molasses + 2 tablespoons apple butter
1 cup buttermilk, or a half and half combo of milk + yogurt
½ cup raisins or currants
Accessories:  2 – 15-1/2 ounce cans top and labels removed and cleaned

Directions

  1. Grease the insides of two cans with butter or baker’s spray.
  2. In multi-cooker, insert trivet and pour in about 6 cups water.  Set pot to Saute or Simmer to begin heating the water.
  3. Combine the dry ingredients with a whisk in a mixing bowl.  Stir in the liquid, then fold in the raisins.
  4. Divide the batter between the molds. It should fill molds about 2/3s full.  Secure the tops with foil and tie with twine.
  5. Place the cans into the pot, adding more water if necessary to fill ½ way up the sides of the cans.  Do not fill the pot beyond maximum capacity mark.  Set to High Pressure and cook for 30 minutes.
  6. Allow bread to rest in pot with lid sealed for 10 minutes then slowly release pressure. Test for doneness:  a skewer inserted in center should come out clean.  Transfer molds to cooling rack and remove the foil covers.  Cool for about 45 minutes before unmolding.  Yield: 2 loaves.

Post Paddy’s Day

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St Patrick’s Day is one of my favorite days of the year—it’s right up there with another food day, Thanksgiving. Mid-March, my east coast roots tend to surface and the need for corned beef rages!

Of course, it wouldn’t be worth getting out of bed if I wasn’t secure in the knowledge that corned beef and cabbage were planned for later in the day.

Over the years, I’ve gotten in the habit of making more than necessary so there will be leftovers. One of the spoils of the day is the assurance that corned beef hash is also right around the corner.

Hash hardly requires a recipe. I used to grind the corned beef and vegetables in a meat grinder; later the grinder was replaced with the food processor.

Now, I simply mince up the cooked beef, chop up some of the boiled potatoes, carrots, onions—and perhaps toss in a bit of cabbage. Then, I give it a good mash to bind it all together, and drop it into a skillet, either in one mass or in separate patties, and cook until hot and crispy.

Add an egg or two and it’s a beautiful thing.

Post St. Paddy’s Day Corned Beef Hash

Ingredients
2 cups cooked corned beef, minced
2 cups mixture of leftover chopped potatoes, carrots and onions
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions

  1. Place the corned beef and vegetables in a mixing bowl and gently mash to form cohesive mass. There should still be plenty of texture.
  2. Heat 10-12” skillet over medium heat and form the hash into patties. Place in the pan and heat until crisp on bottom, about 5-7 minute. Turn and repeat on second side. Serve with eggs of choice. Yield: 4-6 servings.

Ultimate Kid Food, Part 2

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It is all a matter of taste, and opinions on the grilled cheese sandwich are legendary.

Folks are very picky about their sandwiches and you just don’t mess with this one. What about the cheese?  Should it have Swiss or American cheese? Or do we go off the deep end and prefer blue cheese and pears?  What about mustard?  Preferences here can run deep and strong; it’s a very hot topic, indeed.

Of course, the bread is an important factor.  Here, we begin with an inoffensive Buttermilk White Bread. It’s not too soft and not too dense. It’s a good size, not too big and not too small, but large enough to trim the crust – if an issue.

For the cheese, we stay in the middle with a compromise, and go with a slice each of Swiss and American, plus a light schmear of deli mustard in between for good luck.

The bread is lightly buttered on the exterior sides only.  That is it. Grill both sides over moderately low until crispy, golden, and gooey.Tom Soup, Grilled Cheese

Enjoy with a steamy cup of tomato soup and dip away!

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Ingredients
2 slices Buttermilk white bread
1 slice Swiss cheese
1 slice American cheese
½ teaspoon deli mustard
1-2 teaspoon butter

Instructions

  1. Over medium low heat, preheat grill/pan.
  2.  Spread butter on 1 side of the bread slices. Place one slice, buttered side down in pan. Layer it with Swiss cheese spread with a light schmear of mustard and then the American cheese. Top with 2nd slice of bread, buttered side up.
  3. Cook until the bread is golden brown, 2-3 minutes; turn and repeat; press and turn again until crusty and cheese is melted.  Cut off the crusts if desired, and slice into fingers or triangles.  1 serving

Ultimate Kid Food

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When it comes to comfort food, tomato soup definitely hits all the right spots. Call it the ultimate kid food, but the mild, sweet taste of tomatoes is inviting and incredibly soothing.

All sorts of memories come to mind with tomato soup.  On rainy or snowy days warming tomato soup will take away any chill.  Of course, the natural accompaniment would have to be a good ole grilled cheese sandwich.  What’s not to love about dipping a gooey toasted American cheese sandwich into a steamy cup of tomato soup?

Recently, I made a big pot of soup for an event that would have to hold for 2 to 3 hours.  Of course the Joy of Cooking has the right idea. Make a tomato base and add a white sauce for serious holding power. It worked like a charm.  It did not break down and stayed thick and creamy for the duration.

So if you are looking for a little comfort food, this one is for you!

P.S.  Coming up: a no-recipe-required grilled cheese sandwich as a bonus for anyone who needs one.

Tomato Soup with Basil Oil

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ onion, chop
1 carrot, chop
2 cloves garlic, mince
½ teaspoon dried basil
28 oz. canned crushed San Marzano tomatoes
3 cups or more chicken, vegetable stock or water, divided
1 teaspoon lemon juice
¾ teaspoon salt, pepper
White Sauce
3 tablespoons butter
2-3 tablespoons flour
1-1/2 cup liquid (1 cup stock, 1/2 cup evaporated milk)
salt, white pepper, nutmeg to taste
Accompaniments:  grated Parmesan cheese, fresh basil or Basil Oil Drizzle,

Instructions
1. Sauté the oil, onion, carrot, garlic and basil until soft.  Add the tomatoes and simmer 20 minutes, thinning as needed with about 1 cup stock or water. Adjust seasoning with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
2. Meanwhile, make White Sauce:  in sauce pan, melt butter over low heat.  Add flour and blend 3-4 minutes until cooked and smooth.  Slowly whisk in 1 cup stock to eliminate lumps.  Stir and simmer until thick and smooth. Add the condensed milk to the tomatoes and heat well. Season with salt, nutmeg and white pepper.
3. Puree the tomato base in blender or with an immersion blender, thin as needed with more stock or water and return to pot. Strain the white sauce into hot soup and heat well. Simmer on low heat for 5 to 10 minutes to blend flavors. Adjust seasoning.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, fresh basil or a drizzle of Basil Oil.   Serves 8.

Basil Oil
1 cup basil leaves
3-4 cups boiling water
cold water bath
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon salt

Blanch the leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds. Remove to cold water bath with slotted spoon.  Remove and blot, squeeze out water. Blend with olive oil and season with salt to taste, strain if desired.  Store in fridge. Yield: 1/2 cup.