In Season Now! Chilled Roasted Beet Soup and Persian Carrots

As featured this morning on Beverley Watson's CBC Weekend Morning Show.

1.Chilled Roasted Beet Soup

4-5 large Beets
1 head roasted garlic
1 large yellow onion, medium chopped
2-3 tbs good olive oil
1/4 cup champagne or sherry vinegar
1/2 - 2/3 cup orange juice
2-4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

On a hot BBQ or in oven, roast peeled beets wrapped in foil until soft, turning to prevent burning. Roast garlic at the same time.

In a large skillet or soup pot, sauté onion in olive oil on medium heat until soft and translucent. Add cut up beets and squeeze out garlic into pot. Sauté until vegetables have softened. Add soup stock and season with salt and pepper to taste. If using golden beets, use white pepper.

Remove soup from heat and add orange juice and vinegar. Using an immersion blender or food processor, purée until smooth. When soup has cooled, chill in refrigerator at least over night. Top with a dollop of Creme Frâiche and sprinkle with a few threads of saffron.


2.Persian Carrots

4-5 medium carrots, sliced on the diagonal
1 medium onion, chopped
2 tbs butter
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup chopped dates (wonderful fresh dates found at Halal Meats and Specialty Foods on Maryland)
1 inch grated fresh ginger
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbs brown sugar

In a sauté pan on medium high heat, sauté onions in butter until beginning to soften. Add sliced carrots and stir. After a few minutes, add the raisins, almonds, dates, ginger and salt and pepper. Continue cooking for several minutes until the carrots begin to soften. Add brown sugar and reduce heat until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

In Season Now! Kerala Cabbage Thoren and Saag Paneer

(photo from www.pachakam.com/.../Indian%20Cooking.html, from left;
Carrot Thoran, Cabbage Thoran, Beetroot Thoran, Potato Thoran and Beans Thoran)
I found an image that illustrated the versatility of Thoran


As featured this morning on Beverley Watson's CBC Weekend Morning Show.
The first recipe is from Kerala, a Cabbage Thoren (dry coconut based
dish)

Cabbage Thoren
2 cups finely shredded cabbage
salt, to taste
2 tbs oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tsp black gram dhal or urdad dal *
1 large onion, finely chopped
1-2 green chillies, sliced thinly in rounds
a few curry leaves *
1/2 cup finely grated coconut *

1. Heat oil in a pot on medium high heat and add the mustard seeds.
The seeds will pop. Then add the dhal and fry until it becomes golden
brown. Add onion, green chillies, curry leaves and sauté. When
almost translucent add grated coconut and stir for a few minutes.
2. Toss in the cabbage and add salt to taste. Gently sauté until
water has been absorbed or evaporated.

Note: red and green chillies have a lovely appearance. Cauliflower,
beans, carrots and other vegetables can be prepared similarly.

Enjoy!

Saag Paneer

1-inch cube of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped
6+ cloves of garlic, peeled
1 fresh hot green chili, sliced roughly
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbs "curry powder" spice blend (I make my own but several excellent ones are available commercially)
1/4 tsp garam masala
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
~ 4 tbs vegetable or olive oil
6-8 cups chopped mixed greens (spinach, kale, chard, beet greens, sorrel, arugula, mustard greens, etc)
1 - 2 chopped tomatoes
1 cup yoghurt
1 tbs butter (optional)
salt, to taste
paneer (homemade or available at Dino's on Notre Dame in block or frozen)
1 tsp brown sugar

Place the ginger, garlic and green chili into a small blender with a few tablespoons of water and purée until you have a smooth paste. In a large, heavy pot, heat the oil and add the onion. When the onion is translucent, add the spices and cook on medium heat until the spices are soft. Then add the chopped tomato and the ginger, garlic, chili paste. When they have softened, add the greens, slowly so as to let them cook down and stir all together. Add the salt. When the greens have cooked down, add the yoghurt, butter if desired and remove from heat. Using an immersion blender or a blender, mix all of the ingredients into a purée. Return to heat and add the fried or non-fried paneer. Cook slowly with a lid so as to not have the hot vegetables bubble up and burn you.

Serve with rice or naan or other flat breads.

Enjoy!

Tomatoes are added to the recipe so as to allow the body to access the rich iron and other nutrients in the greens. Otherwise, the body would not absorb them.


* Wonderful spices, flat breads and other ingredients are available at Halal Meat Centre & Specialty Foods at 206 Maryland Street, Winnipeg and at Dino's Grocery Mart at 460 Notre Dame Avenue
Winnipeg