Veggies galore, and a recipe for meatballs puttanesca

My dinner tonight was delicious, easy, and almost all local.

From top right:

Salad of local kale, shredded finely and dressed with evoo, balsamico, sea salt, and pine nuts, over a bed of mixed baby lettuces.

Watermelon radishes, roasted with evoo and sea salt until tender

Butternut squash, roasted then lightly mashed, plain

(While they were roasting, I also roasted up some beets that I'll eat tomorrow. Never waste oven space!)

Meatballs puttanesca (method below.)

Delicious, so filling, nourishing, and if you skip the meatballs and anchovies in the sauce, easily vegetarian or vegan. Vegans, add some cooked beans to the tomato sauce. Lacto vegetarians, throw on some Parmigiano Reggiano. Omnivores, read on!

Meatballs Puttanesca
Serves three to four people

INGREDIENTS

1 pound local grass-fed ground beef, mixed with seasonings of choice: I like salt, pepper, parsley, oregano, basil, but you will be just fine if all you use is a little sprinkling of salt.

Marinara sauce, either homemade or store bought and doctored up with whatever you like, including onion, garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, red pepper flake, ground fennel seed, thyme, and maybe just a touch of sage and rosemary.

Some anchovies (canned, jarred, or paste, whichever you have on hand)

Kalamata olives, sliced

Sun-dried tomatoes, cut into bite sized pieces. Dry packed and oil packed both work, so use the one you have on hand

Capers, just a little spoonful, drained

METHOD

This is so easy and quick if you've already made your marinara. Marinara is not hard, it just takes some simmering. Cook your onions in olive oil until they are translucent. Add garlic, stir it around. Add tomatoes, herbs and spices, and simmer until the flavors all come together.

While sauce is simmering, make your meatballs. Heat your cast iron skillet with a thin film of cooking fat - I used a little leftover beef fat skimmed from making a different sauce. Mix herbs and salt into beef, and form into balls. I like to divide in half, then in half again a few times until I have about 16 approximately equal pieces. You can redistribute as you need to; it isn't rocket science. Roll gently into balls. Place half of them in the hot pan. When they're brown, turn them. Repeat until they're reasonably brown all over. Remove to a plate to rest while you brown the other half.

Chop the anchovies coarsely, or just break them up with your fingers into the sauce. They'll pretty much dissolve in as they cook. Add the tomatoes, olives, and capers. Taste for seasoning. Add meatballs into sauce, and simmer ever so gently for just a few minutes, until cooked through. Serve with plenty of delicious veggies.

Happy MLK Day! And a cottage pie recipe

Happy birthday, Dr. King!

It is a beautiful day for the annual National Day of Service, taking place today as well. If you are not working today, you may consider participating in a service project in your community.

Today, I have a yummy recipe for cottage pie! Cottage pie is like shepherd's pie, but with beef instead of lamb. If you have ground lamb, feel free to use it because it is delicious!

You can prepare in advance for this recipe by cooking your sweet potato ahead of time. I baked it last night while making dinner, which included some delicious cauliflower patties that I'll write about later.

This recipe is totally scaleable. If you're using one pound of meat, use your 8 x 8 Pyrex baking dish. If you are using two pounds, use a 9 x 13. It is also totally adaptable to all sorts of different flavors. Any herbs and spices are great here. Almost any veggies you have on hand work in the filling, and any mashable root vegetable works on the top. Even a winter squash puree would be great on top! Want to use onions and celery in the filling and celery root mash on top? Do it. In summer, try bell peppers and zucchini in the filling and carrot mash on top. Want to make a vegetarian version? Just make a whole lot of veggies (with some properly soaked and cooked beans if you tolerate them), add a little saucy gravy, top with your puree and bake it off. Anything goes!

INGREDIENTS

1 - 2 good sized sweet potatoes (or equivalent amount of another mashable starchy veg like celery root, parsnips, carrots, turnips, squash, any combination of the above, or if you tolerate them, even regular potatoes.)
Some healthy fat, like coconut oil, olive oil, or rendered beef fat
1 - 2 pounds of grass-fed ground beef
Chopped vegetables. Today I used two big parsnips, five medium carrots, and a couple of chili peppers.
Seasonings of choice. Today I used thyme and parsley in the meat, and nutmeg, paprika and a touch of cinnamon in the sweet potato.
Sea salt to taste
1/4 - 1/2 cup homemade chicken or beef stock, optional
A spoonful of arrowroot starch, optional

METHOD

Cook your sweet potatoes. I steam-baked mine in a covered glass dish with some water last night. This is easy to do while you're roasting or baking something for dinner. You can also steam them in a pot on your stove, roast them dry, or even use leftover oven fries from another meal. Peel sweet potatoes then mash them up with some of your healthy fat and seasonings to taste. Set aside.

You need to cook the filling veggies and the beef. Which one to do first? Well that depends on the veggies you chose. If it's winter and you're using carrots and parsnips, sautee them briefly in a little beef fat, then cover to allow to steam briefly, and cook maybe halfway. Stir in the ground beef and brown it.

If it's summer and you're using zucchini or other veg that cooks a lot faster, brown the meat first and then add the veg. Use your judgement here!

Add herbs and other seasonings. Whisk the arrowroot into the stock and pour over, mixing in well. You don't have to wait for it to thicken much in the pan because you're going to bake it. Don't have the patience for this part? Skip it. It just makes it a little more gravy-like. It's still great without.

Put the sweet potatoes on top, smooth out, and use the back of a fork to make it all pretty.

Bake at 400 until hot all the way through, bubbly, and maybe browning just a little on top. Let cool a little so you don't burn your mouth, then try not to eat the whole thing at once! YUM!

Leftovers keep well in the fridge. Enjoy cold or reheated. Make this every week!

Love,
Chef Mary

Lamb Liver with Balsamic Thyme Caramelized Onions

Yesterday, at the farmers market, I picked up some beautiful local lamb liver from Stillmans at the Turkey Farm. I also picked up some lovely spinach. I had a few onions hanging around already. This morning I set about making an awesome breakfast!

The liver was frozen when I bought it, so I put it in the fridge to thaw overnight. Liver is easiest to cut when it's half-frozen, so don't worry about thawing it fully. Leave it a little frosty. If it comes to you not-frozen, pop it in the freezer for 15 minutes to firm up. You're going to want to slice it about 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick. (That's between 1/2 cm and just under 1 cm for you metric folks.)

How many does this serve? Well, that depends on the size of your liver, and your appetites. It's two to three servings if this is all you're eating for a big meal, four or more if this is one course or part of a bigger meal, with some cauliflower rice, roasted squash, or even topped with a poached egg. Eat until you feel kind of 80% full, and you're happy and satisfied, then stop. Follow your appetite, not my rules! Save your leftovers for pate, or just for yummy snacks later.

INGREDIENTS

A couple spoons of ghee or other fat that tolerates high heat
3 onions, thinly sliced
Salt to taste
Fresh or dried thyme, a teaspoon or to taste
One fresh or frozen lamb liver
1/4 cup or more balsamic vinegar
Fresh baby spinach, washed and spun dry

METHOD

Heat a big Dutch oven or other large pan with one spoon of the ghee. Add the onions, and stir around to coat thoroughly with the fat. Let cook on fairly low heat, stirring only very occasionally, until golden brown all over. If you keep stirring them, they won't caramelize. Season with salt and thyme. This can take 15 - 20 minutes. Be patient. The slower you do this step, the deeper the flavor.

Heat your cast iron skillet on fairly high heat. Slice lamb liver into nice thin slices, and sprinkle on all sides with sea salt. Add a spoon of ghee to the pan, and fry liver in batches, about two minutes on a side, until medium rare. Transfer to a dish to keep warm while you cook the rest of the liver.

Deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar, and make the reduction. Pour the vinegar into the hot pan. It should boil and reduce right away. When it's down to half its volume, pour some of it in the onions and stir to combine.

To plate: put a bed of spinach on each plate. Scatter onions over spinach. Top with a lovely mound of liver and a dollop more of onions. Pour the rest of the balsamic glaze over top. Devour!

Toad in a Hole, and Grain-Free Yorkshire Pudding!

Good morning!

Today, I have a great recipe for any meal of the day - toad in a hole!

Toad in a Hole!

I always used to call eggs in a basket toad in a hole. Inspired by Lillian's Test Kitchen, I looked up both terms and guess what - I've been saying it wrong all this time! Toad in a hole usually refers to sausages baked into yorkshire pudding, an amazingly simple and delicious treat for which I did not until now have a name. Egg in a basket (which does have lots of different names, and I'm not the only one calling it toad in a hole) is that thing we all grew up eating - an egg fried in the middle of a piece of bread. Now I know!

If you're looking for a super-easy grain-free bread recipe and the method for turning it into egg in a basket, check out Lillian's video.

If you are looking for a delicious Yorkshire pudding that can easily become a whole meal on its own, hang out right here! For a regular Yorkie to accompany a roast, just skip the sausages and serve with plenty of veggie sides.

Yorkshire Pudding

The first thing you have to do is get out your cast iron skillet, put it in the oven, and preheat to 400 degrees. You want your oven and skillet to be really hot, so do that first. It's okay - I'll wait.

Okay, now gather your ingredients.

1 - 2 T rendered beef fat (or chicken fat, or goose fat leftover from the holidays)
3 eggs
2-3 T coconut milk, or Coconut Manna melted and thoroughly mixed with some beef stock, chicken stock, or water
2 T arrowroot starch, also known as arrowroot powder or arrowroot flour
Pinch salt
Seasonings of choice, optional
One or two fresh or smoked sausages. Any kind you like will do, from pork breakfast sausages to good quality hot dogs from your local farmer to turkey Italian sausages. Just make sure they're not frozen.

Put the fat in the skillet in the oven so it can get nice and hot. Don't use vegetable oil or whole butter; they will be damaged by all the heat. Rendered fat is best, but refined coconut oil (not virgin) and ghee (not whole butter) work too.
In a big bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, eggs, arrowroot, salt, and any spices you might want. Ground mustard seed is great, but this is also great without any added seasoning. Let rest until your pan is really hot - about 20 minutes.

If you're using fresh, raw sausages, add them to the pan in the oven and let them start cooking, about ten minutes. If your sausages are smoked or leftover from another meal, you can skip that step.

Now carefully take the pan out of the oven, pour in the batter with the sausages, and put it back in the oven. Bake about 20 minutes. It will puff up and turn wonderfully golden during this time.

It may deflate a little when it comes out, but it should keep most of its shape.

This size pan will serve one very hungry, active person if this is all you're eating. It will serve two or more people who have a bunch of veggie accompaniments.

The Best Toad in a Hole You've Ever Had

Enjoy with gravy, soup, homemade sauerkraut, mustard, or just exactly as it is!

Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone! I'll be at the Somerville Winter Farmers Market from 10 - 2, promoting Cuisine en Locale's upcoming event, Valhalla. Swing by and say hi! Have a cookie! I baked them especially for you. (They are not GF - at CeL we use all local ingredients including local wheat and oats. At my company, Rather Crafty, I specialize in GF, grain free, and special diets. At my other job at CeL, we specialize in 100% local, and that does include wheat. At both companies, we avoid soy, peanuts, fake food, and weird additives of all kinds. Two approaches to Awesome Real Food!)

Love,
Chef Mary