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October 1, 2005
What to do when your vegetables threaten to go to the great crisper in the sky
Same thing as you do with every other perishable - make soup or sauce.
Both these recipes are rather good. They're improvised, so feel to improvise further.
Red pepper-mushroom sauce
1 1/2 large red bell peppers - halved lengthwise
8 oz. fresh mushrooms
2 T olive oil
1/2 onion. sliced lengthwise
1 Tb minced garlic
1/2 medium tomato, diced about 1/2 in thick.
1T chopped parsley
1/4 c. cooking sherry
1 c. chicken broth
3 T sour cream
2 oz evaporated milk
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp salt
tabasco, pepper
Core the peppers and place them in a greased tin in a 350 degree oven to roast until the skin can be eaily removed (about 45 minutes). (Note: This recipe would probably work with roasted red peppers from a jar. You'd probably need about 3). Remove the skin. Slice the peppers into strips about 3/8 inch x 2 inches (cut once in half crosswise, then slice)
When the peppers are roasted and cooled enough to handle, slice the mushrooms thickly (I think mushrooms taste best sliced about 3/8-1/2 in. thick - 3-4 cuts for an average mushroom. Less than that and they frizzle. ) and fry in oil. When they've started to give up liquid (Added 10/3/05 See the discussion in the comments about frying mushrooms), add the onion and minced garlic. Continue frying at medium heat and let the mixture dry out.
When the onion are translucent add the peppers. After about a minute add the chopped tomato and parsley. Add the liquids, bring to a boil and let condense down to thicken slightly. Season to taste. I served this over penne rigati.
Lettuce Soup
I never think of lettuce as a green for cooking, but it's quite delicious and similar to escarole or bok choy. Use a more substantial lettuce for this than iceberg. Again, I used what was on hand. Feel free to add what's left of a different herb or liquid. This soup is very simple to make.
1 medium onion
a few scraps of leftover ham
1 small carrot
1 rib celery
1 tsp garlic
1 T parsley
1 T cilantro
2 T oil
1 head romaine lettuce, cleaned and trimmed, but no ribs removed
11 oz. evaporated milk (can you tell it was the rest of the can from the recipe above?)
3 cups chicken broth
Salt, pepper, tabasco to taste.
Take the first group of ingredients through the cilantro and chop finely in a food processor. Saute in the oil. Cut the lettuce into fine chiffonade. Add to pot, and let wilt. Add the milk and broth. Bring to a low boil, reduce heat and cook about 30 minutes. The lettuce should be tender but have some crunch from the rib.
Season to taste.
Posted by Leigh Witchel at October 1, 2005 9:16 PM
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Comments
You're absolutely right about cutting mushrooms nice and thick, but I think you may not be brutal enough about frying them till they turn brown and caramelized. Turn on the kitchen fan; if you're frying 'em hot enough, they'll smoke. Cook them HARD and they will reward you with a lovely depth of flavour that you'd never expect from a quiet, shy little white mushroom!
Posted by: Grace at October 1, 2005 10:08 PM
I agree entirely - the way I think about is that I fry mushrooms until they lose their liquid and start frying again, rather than stewing. They taste tons better that way.
Posted by: Leigh Witchel at October 3, 2005 3:39 PM