Mole Poblano Enchiladas

I slightly reinvented my mole recipe using hand ground chocolate and cocoa nibs. I usually make the enchiladas with a winter squash, but I wanted to experiment with fillings. I used a simple Oaxacan cheese filling with green chilies and fresh onions and “smoked” seitan (turkey is traditional).

Ingredients
3 packs chicken style seitan, drained and pressed dry
1 qt. no-chicken broth
½ t liquid smoke
1 t crushed red peppers
1 t salt
½ t ground pepper

3 dried ancho chilies
3 dried pasilla chilies
2 dried mulatos chilies (or more anchos)
2 dried guajillo chilies
1 dried chipotle
1 t coriander seeds
½ t black peppercorns
½ t anise seed
¼ t cumin seed
4 cloves
1 (1”) piece cinnamon stick (or ½ t ground)
1 bay leaf
3 T slivered almonds
2 T sesame seeds
2 corn tortillas, torn into 1 inch pieces
1 medium white onion, quartered
5 cloves garlic, peeled
3 medium ripe red tomatoes
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup yellow raisins
1 ½ T vegetable oil
2 cups vegetable stock
2 ½ T ground unsweetened chocolate
1 t unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T cocoa nibs
1 T honey (or to taste)
2 t red wine vinegar (or to taste)
salt

1 can green chilies, chopped
½ white onion, minced
1 T canola oil
32 corn tortillas
16 oz Oaxacan baking cheese, shredded
1 qt vegetable broth

Directions
Combine first six ingredients and refrigerate overnight.

For the mole:
Soak the dried peppers in hot water. You may need to weigh them down with a bowl or plate to keep them submerged. Leave them in the water until you are ready to add them into the sauce. Toast spices until fragrant, then grind to a fine powder. Toast separately the sesame seeds, almonds, and tortilla pieces. Roast the tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a comal or cast iron pan until there are back spots. Add roasted veggies, ground spices, and toasted nuts and tortilla pieces into a blender with the raisins and cilantro. Blend to a fine sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet or wok and fry the sauce, gradually adding the vegetable stock. Once all the vegetable stock has been added, mix in the chocolate, cocoa powder, and cocoa nibs. Then add honey, vinegar, and salt to taste. Set mole aside.

For the filling:
Sauté the onion in the canola oil until translucent. Add green chilies and drained seitan. Stir until combined.

To build the enchiladas:
Heat vegetable broth in a wide shallow sauce pan till steaming. Keep stove temperature at a level that will keep the broth hot, but not let it boil. This may involve periodically removing it from the heat. Spoon some of the mole mixture into the bottom of a baking dish so that there is a thin coating of the sauce on the bottom of the dish. Dunk a tortilla into the hot broth just long enough to make it pliable, then remove onto clean surface. Spoon 2-3 T of the seitan mixture, add a bit of cheese, roll, and place stuffed tortilla seam down in the mole coated baking dish. Repeat this process until the baking dish is full. Spoon additional mole over the top of the enchiladas. Sprinkle a little more cheese on top of the smothered enchiladas. Repeat entire process with second baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes in a 350° oven. Sprinkle with a little more cilantro before serving. Serves 12.

Lentejas Oaxaqueñas

This is a traditional lentil dish that combines the spices typical to the Southern part of Mexico, clove and allspice, with fresh tropical fruits of the Mexican coast, pineapple and plantain.

Ingredients
1 lb. lentils
8 cups water
10 large cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
1 T vegetable oil
2 yellow plantains, peeled and chopped
2-3 thick slices fresh pineapple, chopped
2-3 roma tomatoes, peeled and chopped
1/2 t ground cloves
1 t ground allspice
salt to taste

Directions
Place the lentils in a large pot with the water, half the garlic and half the onion. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over medium heat for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Season with salt to taste. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan and sauté the remaining onions and garlic until the onion begins to soften. Add the plantains, pineapple and tomatoes and continue to cook until the plantains soften. Add the spices, lentils, and some of their cooking liquid. Continue cooking until the mixture thickens, adding more cooking liquid as necessary. Serve in bowls, garnished with fried slices of plantain if desired. Serves 8-10.

Ensalada de Jicama Toronjada

This is a colorful jicama salad with grapefruit, orange, marinated onions, spinach, and spices. Provides a lively counter to the earthy flavors in the enchiladas.

Ingredients
1 red onion, thinly sliced into crescents
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 t ground cumin
1/2 t chili powder
1/4 t salt

2 grapefruit, sliced and peeled (membranes removed)
3 navel oranges, peeled (membranes removed)
2 cups jicama, cut into sticks (3 by 1/2 inches)
1 medium fennel bulb cut into match sticks
2/3 cup cilantro, chopped
salt, to taste
2 red jalapeno chile, seeded and diced
cayenne pepper

6 cups mixed salad greens

2 T white wine vinegar
4 T orange juice
3 T lime juice
4 T fresh cilantro chopped
1 t black pepper corns toasted and ground to a powder
1 dried ancho chilies toasted and ground to a powder
3 T olive oil

Directions
Combine first 7 ingredients, marinate overnight. Toss grapefruit slices, orange slices, onion slices and jicama, sprinkle with cilantro and jalapeno and season with salt and cayenne. Cover and refrigerate the salad for about 2 hours.

Make dressing by mixing white wine vinegar, orange juice, lime juice, and cilantro. Toast pepper and ancho chili in a cast iron pan until fragrant and chili is crisp, then grind into a powder using a coffee/spice grinder. Add spices to acid mixture. Whisk in oil.

Serve salad cold on a bed of mixed greens that have been tossed with 1/2 of dressing. Drizzle the rest of the dressing over top of the salad or serve on the side.

Platinos Fritos (AKA Amarillos)

This is simply plantains fried in butter and spices. It is commonly served along with meat and fish dishes in Mexico and S. America, or as a dessert. I'm very fond of it as a breakfast dish and it makes a nice sweet accessory to the spices in this meal.

Ingredients
¼ cup brown sugar
½ t cayenne pepper
½ t salt
1 t ground cinnamon
1 t chili powder
¼ t ground clove
6 completely black plantains
½ cup butter or vegan margarine

Directions
Mix sugar and spices together in a bowl, set aside. Melt butter in a non-stick pan or a comal. Once butter is sizzling, add plantains. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture over top of the plantains. Once the are golden brown on the bottom side, flip them over and sprinkle the other half of the spice mixutre over them. Cook till golden on both sides. Drain on paper towel before serving.

Irish Mock-Beef Stew

This is a grit recipe, a cookbook which has yet to fail me. It is a thick hearty stew featuring potatoes, stout, and a
meat substitute that should prove delicious. I am especially drawn to this recipe because of the quote underneath it in the book: "Drink remaining stout from open bottle and act lewdly until police arrive. Remove clothing and go into fetal position (it's been a long day in the kitchen)." Any excuse will do. Below is my version of this recipe.

Ingredients
2 packs frozen “Veat”
1 small carton Pacific vegetarian french onion soup
2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
2 cups carrots, peeled and sliced 3/8 inch thick
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 quarts boiling water
½ cup butter
½ cup all purpose flour
5 T nutritional yeast
¾ cup whole milk
¼ cup soy sauce
3 T Worcestershire sauce
3 T stout beer
2 ½ t salt
¾ t freshly ground pepper
¼ t rubbed sage

Directions
Combine Veat and french onion soup, set aside. Note: to use dry TVP instead of Veat, increase french onion soup to 3 ½ cups and bring 2 cups TVP to a boil remove from heat and set aside.

In large stockpot, vigorously boil potatoes, onion, carrots, and celery in 2 quarts water just until vegetables are tender, approximately 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan over low heat, heat butter until just melted. Stir in flour and yeast and whisk vigorously over just enough heat to make it bubble. Cook 4 minutes to form a roux. Add milk and soy sauce in 3 or 4 portions, stirring thoroughly after each addition, allowing mixture to thicken. When fully combined and thickened, remove from heat.

Gently stir roux into vegetable mixture and bring to gentle boil. Add remaining ingredients (Veat should be added without the onion soup, TVP will not need to be drained). Reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes or until vegetable are extremely tender but retain body. Serve immediately in warmed bowls.

Serves 8-10

Spinach Roulade with Tomato Compote

Fresh greens and veggies mixed with eggs and cheese. This is essentially an Irish quiche on steroids with no crust, rolled with creamy goodness, and swimming in a decadent tomato moat. I'm not sure what it is with me and preparing food by rolling it up, but I like it. This recipe requires a 13x9 swiss roll pan.

Ingredients
1 bag baby spinach
2 T butter
½ small yellow onion
3 green onions
¼ cup flour
2 cups milk
4 oz sliced mushrooms
1 T chopped parsley
4 eggs, separated
6 oz cottage cheese
1 T sharp Irish Cheddar, grated
1 T Parmesan, grated
salt and freshly ground pepper and nutmeg

For Tomato Compote

3 large cloves garlic, chopped
1 large onion chopped
1 tablesp, butter and 1 tablesp. olive oil
1 large carrot, cut into 3 inch (5mm) dice
2 lbs very ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2 cups dry red wine
salt, pepper and sugar
1 t. oregano and chopped fresh basil

Directions
To Make the Filling:

Melt the butter in a heavy pan,add the chopped onions and sweat over a gentle heat until soft 8-10 minutes. Stir in the flour, cook for a few minutes, stir in the milk to make a thick sauce. Put 1 tablespoon of this sauce into a bowl and keep aside. Season well with salt, freshly ground pepper and freshly grated nutmeg. Saute the sliced mushrooms in a little butter in a hot pan, season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add to the thick sauce with 1 tablespoon chopped parsley keep aside to fill the roulade.

To Make the Roulade:

Blend the spinach with the one tablespoon of the mushroom mixture and the egg yolks. Season and fold in all the cheeses gradually. Whisk the egg whites until they are really stiff, stir a few spoonfuls into the mixture and fold in the rest. Spread the mixture over a foil or wax paper lined Swiss roll tin. Bake for approx 15 minutes in a preheated moderate oven at 350°, and then remove from the oven. While it is still warm, put a sheet of wax paper over the roulade and invert it onto the table. Leave to cool for 5 minutes and remove the tin and foil.

Reheat the filling and spread it over the roulade leaving the edge free. Ease it gently into a roll, using the paper to roll it. Holding a hot serving plate close to the roll hold your breath and give the roulade a flip so that it lands on the dish with its join face downwards if possible.

To make the Sauce:

Heat the butter and olive oil in a saucepan, add the onion and crushed garlic and cook for 3 or 4 minutes then add the carrot, tomatoes and wine, breaking the mixture down with a wooden spoon, raise the heat and cook very fast, uncovered for 15 minutes. After 10 minutes add the seasonings and oregano. Add the chopped basil just before serving and pour the sauce around the roulade. Serve with a green salad.

Champ

Champ is served piled high on the dish, with a well of melted butter in the center. It is eaten with a spoon from the outside, each spoonful being dipped in the well of melted butter. I opted to serve it dry for fear my guests would drop dead of a heart attack. The stew made a good gravy of sorts.

Ingredients
4 lb potatoes
½ lb chopped scallions
¾ cup milk
1 stick butter
pepper

Directions
Peel potatoes and cook in boiling water. Simmer milk and scallions together for five minutes. Strain potatoes and mash thoroughly. Add hot milk, and the scallions, salt and pepper, and half the butter.

Fresh Bibb Salad with Fruit and Camembert Dressing

A Fresh green salad with apples, berries, walnuts, and a creamy rich dressing. Bacon is traditional with... well... everything Irish, so I had bacon available for my meat eating friends. The bacon should be quite crisp.

Ingredients
1 head butter lettuce (Bibb)
2 granny smith apples, cored and sliced
½ cups walnut pieces, slightly toasted
¼ dried cranberries

Camembert Dressing
2/3 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon apple cider
2 ounces Camembert-style cheese (preferably Irish), rind removed and chopped
Dash of cider vinegar

Directions
Pull the lettuce apart and wash it. Toss the sliced apples in a little lemon juice and toss them with the cranberries and lettuce.

In a small saucepan over medium-low heat, whisk together the sour cream, cider, cheese, and vinegar. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set aside. Drizzle the dressing over all and top with crisp bacon.

Fresh Baked Soda Bread

A moist loaf od slightly sharp bread. Perfect with the stew. Quick and easy to make.

Ingredients
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 T baking powder
½ t salt
1 t baking soda
5 T melted butter
2 eggs
1 ½ cups buttermilk

Directions
Mix dry ingredients well. Put eggs in melted butter and beat lightly, add to buttermilk.
Put wet ingredients into dry and mix well till a sloughy dough.

Put dough out on a floured board, and knead until smooth. Place on lightly greased and floured baking sheet and bake 35 to 45 minutes or until brown and hollow sounding. Use a 325 oven.

This week's Friday dinner has turned into a celebration of root vegetables. Root vegetables have a long history of saving people in times of severe famine, and are a real winter treat. One that I have long neglected.
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I have this wonderful vegetarian cookbook called "The Vegetarian Hearth: Recipes and reflections for the cold season" and in it are some neat little tidbits and histories of various foods. I stumbled upon a little section on rutabagas which included a poem that I thought I'd share (BTW, rutabagas are called swedes or swede turnip in Russia and parts of Eastern Europe).

Swedes

They have taken the gable from the roof of clay
On the long swede pile. They have let in the sun
To the white and gold and purple of curled fronds
Unsunned. It is a sight more tender-gorgeous
At the wood-corner where Winter moans and drips
Than when, in the Valley of the Tombs of Kings,
A boy crawls down into a Pharaoh's tomb
And, first of Christian men, beholds the mummy,
God and monkey, chariot and throne and vase,
Blue pottery, alabaster, and gold.

But dreamless long-dead Amen-hotep lies.
This is a dream of Winter, sweet as Spring.

Ukrainian Borscht

For every recipe that I found for borscht there were a dozen more variations. I finally decided to create a hybrid of a few different recipes. I wanted to include other root vegetables besides beets, and was in love with the idea of including tart apple in the soup. This recipe is probably not traditional, but it sure is tasty. A food processor with a shredding/grating wheel makes preparation quick and easy.

Ingredients:
3 T olive oil
2 yellow onions sliced into thin crescents
2 cloves garlic
2 carrots, shredded
1 small parsnip, shredded
1 small turnip, shredded
1 T Hungarian paprika
2 lbs.(2 large) beets, shredded
½ head of cabbage, sliced thinly
1 granny smith apple, shredded
8 cups water
2 T tomato paste
1 28oz can crushed tomatoes
10 black peppercorns
3 all spice berries
1 bay leaf
1 T lemon juice
crème fraîche
chopped fresh dill

Directions:
In a large stockpot, sauté the onions, garlic, carrot, parsnip, and turnip in the olive oil until soft (12-15 minutes). Add the paprika and stir until the contents are coated and the paprika becomes fragrant (3-4 minutes). Add the beets, cabbage, apple, and water. Add the tomatoes, and then stir in the tomato paste and remaining spices. Bring soup to a boil, and then reduce the heat, simmering for 1-2 hours. Just before serving, slightly process with an immersion blender (leaving plenty of large pieces), and add lemon juice. Season with salt, pepper, and brown sugar to taste (I left this part for the guests to do). Serve with crème fraîche and dill (I mixed the two together, and used a tofu sour cream as a substitute for the vegans).

Serves 12, freezes well.

Stuffed Red Peppers

Stuffed peppers have been a comfort food for me since I was a very young child. Traditionally stuffed with ground beef and rice, this is a hearty main course. This vegetarian (vegan without the cheese) version bakes up easily, and stores well in the fridge.

Ingredients:
4 red peppers (squat wide peppers are preferable)
1 t olive oil
1 ½ cups cooked brown rice
1 pack (4 links) apple smoked sage field roast sausage links, or other vegetarian sausage (not breakfast)
1 med zucchini, finely chopped
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained reserving the juice.
2 T tomato paste
½ t dried oregano
½ t dried basil
¼ t Hungarian paprika
2 oz sharp cheese (used a dutch aged gouda), shredded

Directions:
Cut tops from peppers by cutting downwards from the top, making a nice sized hole, but leaving as much pepper as possible. Cut small hole at the base of the pepper, remove all seeds, and rinse. Rub olive oil on the outside of the peppers and set them in a glass baking dish. Bake at 350° just until bright and juicy (app. 10-15 minutes). The idea is to get the peppers somewhere between raw and slightly cooked. Meanwhile process sausage in a food processor until the consistency of ground meat, and place in mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients, except cheese, and mix thoroughly. When peppers are done, remove from oven and stuff with sausage/rice mixture. Pour the reserved tomato juice into the bottom of the baking pan so that the bottoms of the peppers are sitting in juice. Place peppers back in oven and bake for another 15 minutes. Add cheese to the tops of the peppers and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve by slicing each of the peppers in half and top with sauerkraut (or leave it on the side).

Serves 8

Tangy Shredded Rutabaga Salad

This salad recipe was taken from my Vegetarian Hearth Cookbook, and is a nice tangy compliment to sweet borscht. I added daikon and Radicchio Rosso di Treviso to the salad to give it a little more nutritional depth. If you cannot find this kind of radicchio, use another kind or use arugula.

Ingredients:
4 cups (or 1 large) rutabaga, shredded
3 scallions, trimmed and chopped (including greens)
5 radishes, thinly slices
½ cup daikon, shredded
2 cups torn romain lettuce
1 head baby radicchio rosso, torn away from the base
Dressing:
2 t Dijon mustard
1 t dry mustard
1 t salt
1 t white pepper
½ t sugar
2 small garlic cloves
4 T white wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
2 T fresh dill

In a salad bowl, mix together the rutabaga, scallions, radishes, and daikon. Chill in the fridge. Just before serving, toss with the lettuce pieces and dressing.
Dressing:
mix together the first 7 ingredients. Gradually whisk in the oil to form an emulsion, then stir in the dill.

Serves 8

Sweet Potato Rye Bread (for the bread machine)

A dark rye would be the traditional bread to serve with borscht and stuffed peppers. However, I decided that a more colorful bread would accent the table better. This sweet potato bread (from the Bread Machine Baking cookbook) was the perfect accompaniment to the sweet and tangy dishes. It turned out a beautiful orange color, and is soft, sweet, and delicious.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup orange juice
½ cup room temperature water
1 T butter (or margarine)
3 T powdered buttermilk (optional if you are making the bread vegan)
3 T sugar
1 t salt
½ t ground nutmeg
½ t ground ginger
½ t ground mace
½ t freshly ground black pepper
½ cup baked, boiled, or canned and drained sweet potatoes, mashed (I processed mine in the blender).
Grated zest of 1 lemon
¼ cup rye flour
2 ½ cups unbleached white flour (plus up to an additional ¼ cup)
2 t yeast

Directions:
Place all ingredients in the machine, program for bread, basic bread, basic wheat, or white/whole grain, and press start. This is a typically wet dough, and should remain somewhat “sticky”. However, if the dough looks “soupy” and is not holding together, add more flour (up to ¼ cup). Remember that the dough will look tacky even after adding more flour.

Makes a 1 lb. loaf.