Honeyed Parsnip and Ham Orzo

I love orzo. It’s a fantastically versatile rice shaped pasta that works well in soups, casseroles and anywhere you would use rice or pasta. It takes less time to cook than rice and has a really delicate texture and flavour too. 

This is one of those meals that tastes really special but isn’t at all difficult to make. Yes, there is a bit of peeling and chopping, but it’s worth it. And if you don’t eat meat or are serving vegetarians, please just leave out the ham. I only include it when I have leftover ham to use up anyway.

The sherry adds a beautiful flavour to this dish, but it is still delicious without it. If you would rather leave it out, just substitute more stock.

To serve four people you need:-

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

3 parsnips, peeled and cut in half inch dice

3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 teaspoons oregano

a couple pinches of pepper

1 tablespoon honey

1½ cups orzo

4 cups vegetable stock

¼ cup sherry

½ cup frozen peas

1 cup chopped cooked ham

chopped parsley or dried parsley

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large frying pan with a lid or a stove top casserole. (I use my shallow Le Creuset casserole dish.)

Gently sauté the onion over medium heat until it begins to soften. Add the diced parsnips, carrots, oregano and pepper and continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally.

When the vegetables all begin to soften a bit (this will take at least fifteen minutes), add the honey and stir to coat the vegetables. Now stir in the orzo.

Add the sherry and vegetable stock and bring the mixture to the boil, stirring constantly. Turn the heat down to a simmer, put the lid on the pan and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are tender.  Be sure to keep the heat low and stir frequently or the mixture will stick to the pan.

Stir in the ham and the peas, adding a bit more stock if the mixture needs it, and heat through for about five minutes.

Serve garnished with the parsley.

Meatless Monday - The 21st Century Housewife's Vegetable Biryani

This is more an ode to biryani than a proper authentic version - I am no expert on Indian cuisine and any dishes I create are highly flavoured with my own experience and my family’s tastes. This dish, however, does have echoes of the vegetable biryani I have eaten in Indian restaurants and a wonderful warming and comforting flavour that is perfect for cool autumn nights.

My family and I do like spice, but in its milder, more subdued form, so if you are a spice lover, the quantities of in this dish may seem small. They can, of course, be increased, although I recommend increasing them proportionately (ie. use the same amount of cilantro as garam masala, and half as much cumin) as the flavours really do sing out beautifully in those proportions. Saffron can be expensive, so if you would prefer not to use it, feel free to leave it out. However if you do have some on hand it definitely enhances the flavours in this dish so is well worth including. It also adds a gorgeous hint of colour to the cauliflower and to the rice.

You can vary the vegetables in this dish according to what you have on hand, although cauliflower is almost always a part of a vegetable biryani so I encourage you to use it if at all possible. Make sure your vegetables are cut small, and that florets are kept small too, so that it does not take too long to cook. Again, this isn’t strictly authentic, as many biryani dishes are cooked long and slow, but I like the subtle crunch it gives this dish.

My method of adding some of the rice to the vegetable mixture at the end is definitely something you would not find in a true biyani, but I like the texture and appearance it gives to this dish. However if you prefer, just keep all the rice separate and serve the vegetables over top of it.

Lovely served with a basket of warmed nan breads on the side if you can get hold of them, this recipe will serve four to six people, depending on age and appetite.

2 cups of rice, basmati if possible or whole grain if you prefer

2 tablespoons olive oil, or other mild vegetarian cooking oil

1 onion, finely chopped

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

1 cup cauliflower florets

1 cup broccoli florets

1 cup green beans

½ cup cashew nuts

¼ to ½ cup vegetable stock

(You can use hot water in a pinch, but stock is best - ready made or from a cube is fine.)

1 teaspoon curry powder (I use garam masala)

½ teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried ground cilantro (known as coriander in the UK)

2 pinches of saffron

freshly chopped cilantro or parsley to garnish, if desired

Cook the rice in lots of boiling salted water according to package directions, adding a pinch of saffron to the cooking water if desired.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a large frying pan and sauté the onion over medium heat until pale and translucent. Toss in the carrots, cauliflower and broccoli florets and stir fry for a few minutes.

Dissolve another pinch of saffron in a quarter cup of the vegetable stock (if you are using saffron). Add the quarter cup of the stock to the pan with the vegetables along with the curry powder, cumin and dried cilantro. Add the green beans. Pop the lid on and cook over low to medium heat for two or three minutes until the vegetables are tender but still crisp.

Remove the lid and add the cashews, stirring to warm through. Drain the rice well and add about a quarter of it to the vegetable mixture in the pan, stirring through lightly. Add a bit more stock if you feel it needs it.

Serve this mixture on a bed of the remaining rice.

My First Experience Cooking with Tofu

I’m not a vegetarian but I do enjoy meat-free meals, ordering them in restaurants and frequently cooking them at home, but one thing I’ve always been nervous about is cooking with tofu.  I have eaten it on many occasions, however up until last week I had never cooked with it myself. 

I had trouble imagining how I could transform the white, slightly slimy looking blocks I saw in the grocery store into something I could want to eat and the thought of having to press or drain it extensively and then marinate it always put me off.  Recently though I have noticed more and more ‘ready to use’ tofu in stores.  It is cut into bite size pieces and is already marinated which gives it a bit more appetizing colour. 

So last week I took my courage in both hands and bought one of the packages of ginger and garlic marinated tofu.  I was pleased to read it cooked in only five minutes, making it perfect to use in my cashew nut stir fry recipe in place of the cashews.  It turned out really well, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it, especially my long-suffering son who has been encouraging me to cook with tofu for ages!

1 to 2 tablespoons oil, sesame for preference

160 gram package (5 to 6 ounces) marinated tofu pieces (ginger and garlic)

2 or 3 leeks, finely shredded and thoroughly washed or 1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced

1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced

2 or 3 carrots, peeled and sliced thinly on the diagonal

2 to 3 packages ready to cook noodles or 2 or 3 nests of dried noodles, cooked, drained and tossed in a little oil

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok.  Add the leeks or onion, peppers and carrots and stir fry for about three minutes.  

Add the tofu and stir fry for five minutes.  

Toss in the noodles, heat through and serve. 

That’s it, a quick and easy meat-free meal to serve up to four people.  It was delicious and I’m sure I’ll be cooking with tofu again soon!

The 21st Century Housewife's© Pasta with Pancetta, Cauliflower and Cheddar Sauce

I’ve been making a version of this recipe for years, but the other day it evolved into the best one yet. I decided to make it healthier by using whole wheat penne, and the bonus was that this actually added a lot of flavour and body to the dish. I also used Italian pancetta instead of the chopped bacon I have always used to use before. You can buy packages of ready-cubed pancetta in most grocery stores now. I’ve used lots of different cheeses in my recipe in the past, but this time I decided to go for the unashamedly strong flavour of mature cheddar in the cheese sauce. It was the perfect foil for the whole wheat pasta.

Do please read the whole recipe before you start as it requires several pans and quite a bit of multi-tasking. Once you have made it the first time though, you will find a pattern of doing things that makes it very easy. For example, after I have drained the cauliflower and set it aside, I give the pan I cooked it in a quick rinse, dry it and use it to make the cheese sauce. (Anything to save on the dishes!) This dish is so delicious though it is worth the little bit of extra trouble it takes to make.

My recipe will serve three to four.

1 medium cauliflower, washed and broken or chopped into florets
250 grams whole wheat penne
4 ounces Italian pancetta, cubed
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons flour
approximately 300 ml milk
2 generous teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 generous handful of grated mature cheddar cheese

Cook the cauliflower in boiling water until just tender. I always add a teaspoon of sugar to the cooking water, as I like how it makes the cauliflower taste, but this is purely optional! Drain and set aside.

Cook the penne in boiling salted water according to package directions.

Meanwhile, start making the cheese sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir in with a whisk. Cook for a couple of minutes just to take the “raw” taste away from the flour. Stir occasionally and don’t leave the pan unattended. Now whisk in a tiny bit of milk. When the sauce begins to thicken, turn the heat up to medium and add the rest of the milk gradually, stirring constantly. (You may not need it all.) You want the sauce to stay fairly thick so don’t get carried away – you can always add more milk, but you can’t take it away once you’ve added it! Whisk in the mustard, and then stir in the cheese. Turn the heat back to low and allow the cheese to melt, stirring occasionally.

Now this is the tricky bit because you are doing two things at once (actually three if you count the pasta, although it does tend to look after itself). While you are making the cheese sauce and the pasta is cooking, cook the pancetta in a small frying pan over high heat until nice and crispy. Drain.

The pasta should be done by now, so drain it and return it to the saucepan. Add the drained cauliflower, the cheese sauce and the pancetta. Stir gently so everything gets coated in the yummy cheese sauce. Keep the saucepan over a very low heat just to ensure everything gets and stays piping hot, but don’t allow the mixture to burn.

Serve directly from the pan with hot crusty bread and / or a crisp green salad.

Warming Autumn Soup

My weekly organic vegetable box was delivered to my doorstep this morning, and as I put away the beautiful treasures contained therein, I suddenly realised I still had some of the vegetables from last week’s box. We’ve been eating out a lot this week and I just didn’t get them used up. Most of them were still okay, but they were beginning to look a little wilted and sad. As we are out again this evening, I was at a bit of a loss about what to do with them, but I did not want to waste them. Then I had it – soup!

Soup is delicious, filling, economical and comforting. It is also just about the easiest way to use up extra vegetables that I know of. Potato and leek, carrot and coriander (cilantro), celery, parsnip – all of these are favourites in our house. However, one of the easiest soups to make is a mixed vegetable soup – and all you really need are the vegetables lurking on the bottom of your fridge plus some stock and a bit of milk or cream.

You really can use just about any vegetables in this soup, depending on what you have. I do like to include an onion (even if the soup involves leeks) as I think a good onion flavour is an asset to just about any soup. Purists might deride me , but I use stock concentrate, stock cubes or ready-made containers of stock, whatever I have to hand. Like most other people, I just do not have time to make stock from scratch these days. If you are making a vegetable soup for vegetarians obviously you need to use vegetable stock, but if not, I recommend chicken stock as it gives any soup just that little bit more flavour.

Seasonings are entirely up to you. Ready made stocks can be high in salt, so do check before you add any more. Pepper is a nice addition to any soup; just add it to taste. I often use oregano and thyme as it makes the vegetable flavours more intense. You could also use spice blends – like an Italian seasoning blend or herbes de Provence. It does not matter whether the herbs are fresh or dried, however you may find you need less if you use fresh, as their flavour is more intense. A bay leaf could be added if wanted to imbue your soup with a deeper flavour -. just remember to take it out before you puree!

If I am using carrots I like to grate them in because it helps them to cook more quickly. Potato can also be grated, but I tend to add it in small slices as it is quicker for me. I do like to include a potato, just to give the soup some extra body, but it is not vital. Other vegetables should be as finely chopped as possible, or use a food processor if that is easier for you. I don’t mind a bit of light chopping if I have the time, but if you do not feel as I do or you are rushed, then a food processor is definitely the best option.

This is the soup as I made it today. The vegetables are literally what I had to hand. Feel free to be creative – with homemade soup just about anything goes!

The 21st Century Housewife’s© Easy Vegetable Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 white onion, finely chopped
3 leeks, washed and finely sliced
4 – 6 stalks of celery, washed and finely sliced
1 potato, peeled, halved and sliced in thin slices
4 -5 carrots, washed, peeled and grated
1 to 1-1/2 litres of stock
salt and pepper to taste
spices to taste (I like to use about a teaspoon each of oregano and thyme)
water, milk or cream (roughly 100 to 200 ml)

Heat the butter and olive oil together in a large saucepan. Add the onion and cook for two or three minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften. Add the remaining vegetables, and stir so they get coated with the buttery oil. Cook with a lid on over low heat for about twenty minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in the stock, cover the pot and cook for another half hour over low heat, stirring occasionally. Add the seasonings and herbs, tasting as you go. (Be careful, the soup will be very hot.)

Remove from heat and take off the lid. Allow the soup to cool a bit so that it does not damage your liquidiser/blender. Puree the soup in batches to your desired thickness. I like to leave it a little bit chunky so it has some texture, but if you prefer your soup very smooth, puree it just that little bit more. It is entirely up to you.

If you are going to serve the soup immediately, put the batches of pureed soup directly into a clean saucepan. Add more water, milk or cream to get the soup to your desired thickness and re-heat over medium heat until it is piping hot.

If you are making the soup ahead, put the batches of pureed soup in a container. Cool completely, refrigerating as soon as possible. The soup will keep (without added milk or cream) in the fridge for up to three days. You can then reheat the soup all at once, or a bit at a time as you need it, adding water, milk or cream to get it to your desired thickness. Be sure to heat the soup until it is piping hot.

This soup is lovely served with the Maple Syrup, Pecan and Apple Loaf (made without the cinnamon sugar topping) in the previous entry. Served spread with butter alongside a steaming hot bowl of this comforting soup, it makes for a gorgeous Autumn lunch.