Mother-Daughter Chard Challenge

The Picky Eater was home on furlough for a few weeks recently and was cooking in overdrive, trying  to take advantage of all the great summer produce. One Sunday we were entranced by the baby chard offered by a vendor at our farmers market, which led her mother to conceive of the Chard Challenge. We purchased a double bag of chard and were off to the races, as it were, with a week of green & purple tinged leaves flying around the kitchen.

While it may be true that my daughter is a certified picky eater, the chard challenge provided ample evidence that her mother is a certified picky cook. While the Picky Eater whipped up a delicious white bean and chard soup with ease, her mother ran through three different recipes and used up about 6 pounds of chard, not to mention quantities of onions, eggs, butter, etc, and countless hours of her time before she got it what she thought of as right!

So, let's start with the Picky Eater's recipe, which will provide good hearty eating from now until next spring. Just be sure to cook the beans a little longer than she did- apparently she likes them crunchy, not soft and toothsome, as her parents (and the rest of the world) do.

Roasted tomato sauce
5 medium tomatoes
1 shallot (peeled)
5+ cloves of garlic (peeled)
Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Roast the tomatoes, shallot and garlic until they have caramelized and slightly shriveled about 40 minutes. If the garlic or shallots get really dark before the tomatoes are done, pull them out so they don't burn.  Chop the lot up with a mezzaluna or food processor (if doing it by hand, remove large bits of skin), add more salt if you think it needs it.

Infinitely tastier than something from a can!

White Bean & Chard soup  [dorm substitutions in brackets]
Makes 4 servings

1 carrot
5-6 cloves of garlic
1 rib of celery
1 teaspoon olive oil
4 sundried tomato halves
1/2 pound white beans
Enough water / stock to cover plus 2"
1/2 chard bundle, stems removed

Chop the carrot and celery up fine, then saute them and the garlic cloves (left whole) in olive oil over low heat until they are soft and slightly fragrant.  [If you're working with limited facilities, I suggest buying dried vegetable flake and substituting about 1/2-1 tablespoon and adding that when you add the beans.]

Add the beans, chopped tomato mixture, and stock / water (I use one can Swanson's chicken stock and add water until it's the right height) [powdered stock or bouillon cubes work well if you make them 1/2 the concentration the directions say].  Simmer (BARELY and UNCOVERED) until the beans are the consistency you like (creamy but not mushy or crunchy).  If necessary (depending on the saltiness of your stock) add additional salt after ~1.5 hours of cooking, when the soup starts to smell like beans and not like vegetables.  You may need to add more liquid, just keep it from going completely dry.  Relax.  This is really flexible.

When the beans are just about done, chop the chard leaves into long strips.  When the beans are actually done, add the chard ribbons and stir around until wilted.  Remove from heat. [Let cool, ladle into 4 plastic bags and freeze.  You can reheat it over the next 2-4 weeks for dinners]

Nothing to it, right? Prepare yourself for my travails.

I started with the "Torta d'Erbe" from Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It used a yeasted pastry crust, which only required a quick rise, no pre-baking, and was less rich than a traditional pastry dough. Filling ingredients were chard, sorrel, scallions, parsley, ricotta, eggs, milk, gruyere cheese ... I was good on everything but the sorrel and ricotta, so I decided to omit them and go for a quiche style filling.  Cross checked the recipe against a Leek & Swiss Chard Tart from Smitten Kitchen.  So far, so good.  Crust rolled out like a breeze, filling went together, no sweat. Popped it in the oven.

Looked like a photo from Bon Appetit coming out of the oven. Took a couple of bites.... disappointment! Soggy bottom crust more or less ruined everything else, and the chard had an unappealingly strong metallic taste. Should I try it again- pre-bake the shell? Paint the bottom using Dijon mustard or beaten egg white as a sealant? Forget it? Time to move onward and upward.

Spent more time marking recipes in Veg Cooking for Everyone while waiting to pick up Picky Eater at dance class. Couldn't decide which to go with. The Picky Eater suggested trying a variation on a giant spinach, mushroom and ham turnover (Pantin aux epinards, Simone Beck) in From Julia Child's Kitchen that I had reminisced about making in the distant past. Okay, let's try it with the yeasted pastry and chard. Had some Canadian bacon to substitute for the ham. Stop at the grocery for a couple more pounds of chard and extra gruyere. Make the pastry, cook the chard, make the onion flavored bechamel, saute the mushrooms with the ham and cooked chard. Roll out the pastry into a 12" x 18" rectangle. Spread out the filling (which is looking a little meagre.) Seal, brush with egg wash, and bake the tart.

Pantin unfolded.

Kitchen looks like a disaster area.

Looks impressive coming out of the oven. Proof (or lack thereof) is in the eating- filling to pastry ratio is too slight, as expected. Chard still tastes tinny. Time to admit defeat? Never!

A little more filling would have been nice.

Guests coming over for dinner on Sunday. Another chard opportunity. What about gnudi, aka gnocchi verdi from Canal House Cooking vol. 7, substituting chard for spinach and serving with tomato sauce in lieu of sage butter? Splurge on artisan whole milk ricotta. Dig some homemade tomato sauce out of the freezer. Prepare mixture the day before. Poach immediately before serving. YES!! They don't disintegrate during cooking, the tomato sauce is light and doesn't mask the flavor of the gnudi, which isn't metallic. Wish I had chopped the chard more finely. Success at last!

Gnocchi aka Gnudi Verdi
Love the word gnudi! It refers to the fact that these are basically a ravioli filling standing on their own, not encased in a pasta prison.
Adapted from Canal House Cooking volume 7 byMelissa Hamilton & Christopher Hirsheimer
Serves 4-6

This dough must be refrigerated 3 hours or more (overnight) before cooking. Once you have the chard prepared the dough comes together very quickly.

2 pounds fresh chard leaves
1 1/2 cups (16 oz) whole milk ricotta
1 Tb melted butter
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
Salt & pepper 6 Tb of flour

4 Tb additional butter, melted
Grated Parmesan
Fresh tomato sauce (recipe below)

Cut away the leaf sections of the chard from the stalks, and discard the stalks, Wash the chard leaves in a colander without shaking dry, and place them in a large saucepan. (The water clinging to the leaves is enough to cook the chard in.) Cook over medium heat until just tender. When cool, squeeze the chard  dry by the handful over the colander. Finely mince and place in a large bowl.

Mix together the chard, ricotta, 1 Tb melted butter, Parmesan, and eggs with a rubber spatula. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper. Sift the flour through a sieve into the chard mixture and use the spatula to mix it just enough to incorporate the flour. The dough will seem soft and a little sticky.

Refrigerate in a covered container for at least three hours, or make it the day before and refrigerate overnight.

About 20 minutes before serving heat the tomato sauce over low and keep it warm. Fill a wide pan with water to a depth of about 3 inches. Season the water with salt and bring it to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Adjust the heat to keep the water barely simmering. Fill a measuring cup with cold water and pull out two tea spoons. Retrieve the chilled gnudi dough. Dip the spoons in the water and use one to scoop up some dough. Use the other spoon to shape the dough into an oval dumpling shape aka quenelle. Hold the spoon in the simmering water for a second and the gnudi will slide off and sink to the bottom of the pan. Cook 6-10 gnudi at a time until they float to the surface and feel firm, about 4-5 minutes. Hold the gnudi in a buttered & covered casserole in a warm (250 degree) oven until they are all cooked, serving as soon as possible.

To serve, smear a generous spoonful of warm tomato sauce on the bottom of a flat soup dish. Attractively arrange 3-5 gnudi on top, drizzle them with a little melted butter, and toss on a sprinkling of grated Parmesan and a bit more salt and pepper.

Forming / poaching the gnudi.

Fresh Tomato Sauce
(from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison)
Makes 2 1/2 cups

3 pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered
3 Tb chopped fresh basil or 2 tsp mixed dried Italian or Herbes de Provence
Salt & pepper
2 Tb olive oil

Put the tomatoes in a heavy saucepan with the herbs. Cover the pan and cook the tomatoes over medium-high heat, keeping an eye on them to sure that they don't scorch. When they have broken down, after about 10 minutes, remove from the heat, cool slightly, and briefly puree the tomatoes in a food processor. If the sauce is not as thick as you want, return it to the pot and cook over low heat, stirring often until it is the desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the olive oil.

Freezes nicely.

Garlic Harvest 2013

"The Garlic Braider" c. 2012

Just a few weeks ago the estate gardener, aka the Daddy, brought in the 2013 garlic harvest, our third in as many years. Space for cultivation being at a minimum on our suburban property, and suffering the vagaries of hardpan-esque soil, he chooses to sow his garlic cloves in containers, assuring us a small but successful crop. Amid much admiration for his talents in the field, the manor house cook tries to utilize as many cloves as possible on a daily basis, in that inevitable race with spoilage. You may laugh, but the first year's harvest went off before it was used, mainly because the cook was convinced that the homegrown garlic should only be used for "special" recipes. Go figure.

If you are interested in planting your own garlic at home, our gardener recommends these instructions for growing garlic from Love Apple Farms, produce supplier to David Kinch's famed Los Gatos restaurant Manresa.

It has always been a perplexing mystery to the Picky Eater's parents how she, who long eschewed anything besmirched with strong flavors, has always adored garlic. From late childhood and beyond one of her favorite go-to dinners was her dad's abbreviated version of America's Test Kitchen's  "Pasta with Garlic & Oil." Take the original recipe (below), remove the red pepper flakes, parsley, lemon juice, and Parmesan cheese, and you've got the Picky Eater's minimalist version.

Garlic and "goujons" - what a tasty combination!

Pasta with Garlic & Oil (adapted from America's Test Kitchen: The Best Recipe)
Serves 4 to 6

6 TB olive oil
12 garlic cloves, minced (about 1/4 cup)
Salt
1 pound spaghetti or pasta of choice
3/4 tsp red pepper flakes
3 TB chopped fresh parsley
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 oz Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup), optional

Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.

Combine 3 Tb of the oil, 3 Tb of the garlic, and 1/2 tsp salt in a non-stick 10" skillet. Cook over low heat, stirring almost constantly until the garlic foams and is sticky and straw colored, 10-12 minutes.

Fill a large serving bowl with hot tap water, and let it sit to warm up. Add 1 Tb salt to the boiling water and cook your pasta of choice until al dente. Reserve 1/3 cup of pasta cooking water and drain the pasta.

Off the heat, add the remaining raw garlic to the skillet, along with the red pepper flakes, parsley, lemon juice and 2 Tb of the reserved pasta water. Stir well or the garlic will clump.

Dump the water from the serving bowl and dry it. Transfer the drained pasta to the bowl; add the remaining 3 Tb of olive oil and pasta water. Toss pasta to coat. Add the garlic mixture and 3/4 tsp salt. Toss pasta again. Serve immediately, sprinkling with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

The Garlic Gala

Desiring to optimize our homegrown garlic utilization beyond pasta, we embarked on a weekend garlic gala, our domestic version of the famed Gilroy Garlic Festival without the beer consumption. With some festering chicken breasts from the freezer, an old favorite "Supremes de volaille en goujons, persillade" (Chicken breast strips sauted with parsley & garlic) was exhumed From Julia Child's Kitchen to accompany the garlic pasta, along with a "Southwestern Succotash" side dish from Gourmet (July 2005). Some amusement was derived from applying a blow torch to the chiles to remove the skins.

Don't try this unless you are a trained professional.

We decided to forgo a garlic tainted dessert and opted instead for a light and lovely variation of Deborah Madison's "Polenta Pound Cake" from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. If you don't have your own garlic harvest, pick up some cloves from the new crop at your local farmers market or reputable grocery store. (Chances are that outside of California they may even be trucked in from Gilroy.)

Supremes de Volaille en Goujons, Persillade
Serves 4
So many superlatives needed to describe these delectable morsels- buttery, crispy, moist, tender. Like fried chicken without the guilty grease factor.

Floured goujons about to hit the saute pan.

4-6 chicken breast halves, boned & skinned
2 Tb butter
2 Tb olive oil
Salt & pepper
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

Cut the meat into slices about 2 inches long and 3/8 inch wide.  Lay them in one layer on a large piece of parchment paper or flat tray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and sprinkle with flour to coat, turning to make sure that all sides are covered. In a small bowl stir together the chopped parsley and garlic cloves.

Melt the butter and olive oil together in a largish saute pan over medium high heat until foamy. Shake the excess flour off the goujons and put them in the saute pan. (Try not to crowd too many in, as they will start to steam rather than saute.) Toss and turn them frequently for 2-3 minutes until the meat feels springy instead of squashy and the flour exterior is golden brown. Toss in the parsley-garlic mixture and serve immediately.

Southwestern Succotash
(Adapted, skipped the cream and lime juice & added a few herbs, from Gourmet magazine, July 2005)
Makes 8 side dish servings


3 fresh poblano chiles (3/4 lb total)
2 Tb olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium red bell peppers, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano (regular is OK)
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 cups fresh corn (from 3 to 4 ears)
1 lb tomatoes, seeded & cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 lb zucchini squash, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 Tb slivered fresh basil
1 cup labne (thickened yogurt) or sour cream

Lay the chiles on their sides on a rimmed cookie sheet lined with foil, and broil in the oven, about 2 inches from the heat, turning so that all will sides char, for about 8 to 10 minutes. (Or, have a little pyromaniac fun and use a blowtorch.) Remove the pan from the oven and wrap the foil tightly around the chiles. Let them steam 10 minutes, then peel or rub off the skins and discard stems, seeds, and ribs. Cut the chiles into 1/2-inch pieces.

Heat the oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté the onion and red bell pepper, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic, black pepper, cumin, paprika, oregano and 1/4 teaspoon salt and sauté, stirring, until garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the corn, tomatoes, squash, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook over moderately high heat, covered, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just tender and have exuded liquid, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove lid and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes.

Just before serving stir in the basil and serve with labne or sour cream for dolloping on the side.

Lucky for these cakes that I had some random blanched almonds in the freezer!

Polenta Pound Cake
(Slightly adjusted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone)
Makes one loaf, serving 8-10 (or less at our house)

1/4 lb butter, softened, plus 2 Tb more for the pan
1 cup sugar
Zest from one lemon
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1/2 cup sour cream or yogurt (eat the rest with the succotash)
1/2 cup + 2 Tb cornmeal
1 cup flour, plus extra for the pan
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup blanched or not almonds, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 4x10" or 5x8" loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour.

Stir the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, and salt together in a small bowl.

Use an electric mixer to cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each, then add the flavorings and sour cream. Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing only until just combined. (I might consider doing that by hand.)

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and give the pan a sharp rap to remove any air pockets. Scatter the chopped almonds over the top and gently press them into the batter.

Bake the cake in the center of the oven until the top is firm to the touch and golden brown or a cake tester comes out clean, about one hour. Let the cake cool  for 10 minutes and then turn out on a rack to cool completely.
Delicious for dessert and breakfast the next day.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Favorite Cookbooks (In no particular order)

Blogger's note: Recommended recipes will be added as they are approved in our test kitchen.

Nature by Alain Ducasse

Why?  Beautiful, fresh, Mediterranean recipes, mostly vegetable based.  Slightly more intricate and fancy French than most of my other favorites.  Also a fan of the interspersed ingredient format—the colors are beautiful, and the ingredient list in the recipe saves you from constantly having to look up the amounts of things.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Summer Vegetable Gratin with Basil, Pan-Fried Chanterelles with Almonds and Lemon, Socca with Nicoise Style Vegetables

Japanese Farm Food, by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Why? “Naneth (the Picky Eater's obscure term of affection for her mother), this book is awesome!  I want to eat the whole vegetable section”
There’s also a chart that explains what Japanese cooking methods can use for what vegetables, so if you have something lying around and don’t know what to do with it—look there.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Salt-massaged Cucumber with Miso and Sesame, Spinach with Walnuts and Miso, Simmered Kabocha and Kombu, Sake-braised Shimeji Mushrooms (and the rest of the vegetable section).  White Peach Ice Cream brings back memories of Rome.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, AKA The Bible, AKA Awesome

Why?  Do I really need to explain this one?  It has everything.  Everything works, and is wonderful, unlike another “Everyone/thing” book I could name……

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Provencal Winter Squash Gratin, Sauteed Mushrooms with Spinach and Pepper, Chard Stems with Saffron and Tomato, Winter Greens with Fennel and Mushrooms

The Art of Simple Food  by Alice Waters

Why?  The ULTIMATE first cookbook.  Beautiful, simple, classic, everything I miss about cooking at home when stuck in the produce black hole that is Pittsburgh.  Read this cookbook, don’t just flip through it.  You can learn so much.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Ratatouille of Grilled Vegetables, Wilted Chard with Onion, Green Pea and Asparagus Ragout, Angel Food Cake