Simple german raw vegetable salads

Here are some recipes for some simple salads that Germans are very fond of.
I like to get these when I'm eating lunch at a restaurant in Germany and don't feel like ordering a Schnitzel & potatoes. I'm more used to a small mid-day meal of cold lunch, rather than the large German main-meal-of-the-day, so I might go for soup and/or salad. My best bet is to order the "Rohplatte" which translates to raw plate: it's a salad as a meal, often with meat or eggs for added protein.

Besides the usual salad using greens, tomatoes and cucumbers, German also make "salads" by grating root vegetables and adding a simple vinaigrette. Carrots, celeriac (celery root or knob celery), beets, even turnips. I've had a lot of these around lately, and the left-overs keep much better than your typical green salad.
A food processor is handy, but for small quantities, hand-grating works just fine. These salads, by the way, remind me of American "slaw" as in coleslaw, but they just don't contain any cabbage.

Carrot salad: finely grate carrots and add oil and vinegar/lemon juice, dash of sugar, salt.

Celeriac salad: finely grate celery root, apple, add cream, vinegar, sugar, salt.

Beet salad: finely grate beets, add either oil or cream, vinegar and horseradish (optional).

Russian-style beet salad: toss with garlic, blue cheese and hard-boiled egg.

HINT: Do not wear a white blouse while grating beets:)

these 3 salads are very pretty indeed, and can be added as a dallop on top of any green salad.

Beets for dessert!

My kids are, shall we say, rather "skeptical" of red beets. Something about that bright red color of borscht makes them uneasy. Until recently, the only dish they like is when I roast them (I cut them up and coat w/ oil & a wee bit of maple syrup before baking).

But today, I surprised them with a new recipe, and they barely believed me when told that they were eating their BEETS!!! My husband nearly dropped his fork... but our daughter did reassure him that mommy was pureeing a bunch of beets earlier in the day. It really does not taste beety at all -- just a very nice moist rich chocolate cake. TRY IT.

Red Devil Chocolate Cake (with a secret ingredient)
The recipe is originally from Moosewood Cookbook of Desserts, and was on the list from our CSA, Glacier Grist # 64)

14 oz beets (called for roasted, I boiled mine)
1/2 c water (I needed more like 1 c)
2 eggs
1.5 c sugar
1 t vanilla
1/2 c oil (can reduce by half)
1/2 t salt
1.5 c flour (I used 2 c)
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
1.5 t baking soda

1. Grease and flour pans (I used 2 8-inch round pans), and preheat oven to 350.
2. Puree the boiled or roasted beets with water -- I'm guessing mine came to somewhere around 3 cups, and I was worried it was too much! That's why I ended up using a little more flour.
3. In a large bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar and remaining wet ingredients, incl. beet puree, then fold in the dry ingredients.
4. Pour into prepared pans, and bake for 30-45 min, until toothpick comes out clean.
5. After cooling, you can frost cake, or dust w/ powdered sugar.
I served it with whipped cream and strawberries. Yummy.

Soups in Winter

During the cold months (which some would argue constitutes some 9+ months of the year here in Alaska), I love to have a pot of soup going on the stove and some bread baking in the oven. Soups can also be my "fast" food when I'm too busy to cook a full dinner: just defrost some soup, add salad or sandwich/panini.
I was surveying my freezer today, and I have a bunch of homemade stocks -- everything from fish to beef to chicken/turkey. Plus there are several types of beans, from white to black, from chickpeas to lentils. Now to some soup recipes -- no quantities, as usual -- soups are sooooo easy & perfect for using up left-overs.

First a few that are pretty much just vegetables, and cook up fairly quickly:

Apple-Onion soup
Sauté equal amounts chopped, peeled apples and onions in butter until soft. Add stock or water to cover, then simmer for 10 minutes. Cool and purée. Serve sprinkled with Stilton or other blue cheese.

Mostly-Red Mid-Winter Soup
I sort of "invented" this is one to use up those red chard or beet stems after cooking the greens, with inspiration from Glacier Grist recipes (see GG#52). Basically can make it with any winter vegetables hanging around the frig this time of year (good way to use that cabbage!)
Saute onions, add shredded cabbage, celery, fennel (if you have it), beets and beet stems, carrots. For flavor, it's nice to add garlic, ginger, pepper or paprika. Cover with stock & simmer until vegetables are tender. Blend into smooth paste, correct seasoning (salt, pepper), and serve with dollop of yoghurt or sour cream.

Sweet Potato-Kale Soup
Sauté chopped onion in butter, then chunks of sweet potato and stock or water to cover. Simmer until the sweet potatoes can be pierced with a knife, then add chopped kale and cook until wilted.

Leek-Potato Soup
Saute leek slices in butter, add potatoes and stock or water to cover. Simmer until potatoes are soft. Blend all ingredients, then add salt. pepper, cream and parmesan cheese to taste.

African Peanut Soup
from an old post -- see recipe here.

Legume soups take longer to cook when you start with dried legumes, but a shortcut is to use canned beans or to keep a variety of pre-cooked beans in the freezer. Legumes make good hearty meals with all that protein: I have quite a few soup recipes under legumes here.

NEXT IS FISH. Fish Soups are also very quick and easy to make. When I process salmon, halibut or lincod in the summer, I freeze the smaller pieces in bags labelled "Fish for soup".
Here is a new family favorite:

Bouillabaise
A french soup that can be made with most any firm-fleshed fish. According to tradition, there should be at least five different kinds of fish in a proper bouillabaisse. In Marseille, considered the mecca of bouillabaisse, they use at least seven, not counting the shellfish. There are lots of veggies in this soup,one of the key ones being fennel and zest of an orange!
Saute onions, leeks and fennel in olive oil, add garlic, zest of 1 orange, saffron (optional), thyme and /or tarragon, chile or cayenne pepper. Add fish stock or water, chopped tomatoes (canned ok) , diced red potatoes, carrots or parsnips, and seafood (such as cod, halibut, scallops, shrimp, clams, etc). During the last 5 minutes, add white wine, clam juice and/or lemon juice, plus salt and pepper to taste.
Traditionally served over french bread with Sauce Rouille (see full Bouillabaise and Rouille recipe complete with quantities here)

Roasted veggies

My new favorite way to fix veggies is to roast them. Flavors are intensified when veggies are roasted instead of boiled.

Here are a few simple recipes -- perfect for this time of year when I love to bake, and the oven is a welcome source of heat and good smells!

Note: Use oils that can take the heat: I use "light" olive oil-- not the extra virgin which smokes when heated -- I save that for salad dressings and drizzling.

Roasted Red Potatoes w/ Garlic
(Wolf's Favorite)
Red potatoes, skin on, washed, dried and cut into quarters
Olive oil
Salt, pepper
fresh squeezed garlic
Rosemary, optional

Toss the taters with oil and spices, then roast in 375/400F oven for a good long while (depends on how done and shrivelled you like them -- at least 30 min, preferrably 45.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes
sweet potatoes or yams, peeled and cut into cubes
oil
S&P, as desired
Optional: slivers of either onions or orange, for extra flavor

Toss and roast in oven --takes a little less time than potatoes.

Roasted Carrots
carrots, cut into big chunks
butter (or mixture of butter and olive oil)
balsamic vinegar, optional
brown sugar or maple syrup (Thanks, Patty P!) -- add near the end to prevent scorching

Toss and roast in oven. This takes less time than you think (less than potatoes) -- check w/ fork.
Note to self: don't bake in cast-iron pan -- gets too hot and burns.
Here's a great description from Chef Doughty on how to glaze carrots on the stove-top for a similar result. Carrots never tasted this good in the old days of boiling...

Roasted root veggies and sausage
Olive oil
Onions
Potatoes
carrots, turnips
celery root
beets
green beans or other green veggies that don't go mush!
Optional: sausage, such as Kjelbasa or Reindeer sausage

Cut up veggies, not too small. Potatoes can be smallish cubes, but keep faster-cooking veggies sized a little larger. Fry up the sausage, using oil as needed. Add veggies, coating well with oils.
Roast for 30 minutes or so...

Roasted cauliflower
Cauliflower, cut into florets
olive oil
curry spices
S&P

There are lots of other veggies that do very well roasted:
Jerusalem Artichokes
Brussels Sprouts
Asparagus
squash (summer or winter varieties --cooking times vary greatly)
Beets
Celery Root
Mushrooms

Toss with a good oil (light olive oil or one of the nut oils, such as walnut or hazelnut), and experiment with spices (oregano, thyme, basil, fennel, even wasabi or mustard) -- but often best plain.

Hurrah for Northern vegetables!

After a summer of shopping for produce at the Farmer's Market and growing our own garden, we're now back to getting the CSA box again! Here's what came this week:

From Alaska’s Glacier Valley Farm, VanderWeele Farm: Alaskan beets | Alaskan Brussels sprouts | Alaskan onions | Alaskan parsnips | Alaskan carrots From Outside: certified organic Red Canal pears | certified organic Cameo apples |certified organic cremini mushrooms | certified organic red kale | certified organic Honeyboat delicata squash | certified organic parsley

The CSA box comes with recipes (also available on-line), and there once again, there are some fantastic recipes!

Here's what this week's Glacier Grist #47 holds:

acorn or delicata squash filled with wild rice, golden raisins, & pine nuts

beet roesti with rosemary

parsley salad

honey glazed roasted parsnips and carrots

sauteed kale

I already made the squash with left-over quinoa instead of rice, and it was delicioso: the fennel flavor is wonderful! I also highly recommend the honey-glazed turnips & carrots!

Beets galore

Our CSA box contained red beets both this week and last: this week they came with the leaves attached, and those are very tasty (see last recipe below "Eggs in a Nest").

It's been a while since I've cooked with beets -- I'd forgotten how much I like them, and was pleasantly surprised that the Prof likes them too (still working on the kids-- they're suspicious of food that's this RED).

Borscht is not in my culinary background, but I did grow up eating cold "Rote Beete" picked beet salads. Here's the recipe from the GlacierValley CSA website, very similar to what I ate -- can be served hot or cold.

beet salad with horseradish dressing

You will LOVE this recipe, even if you’re a beet skeptic. It uses the beets, stems, and leaves—and the red wine vinegar and the sharp horseradish contrast really well with the sweet, earthy taste of beets. This recipe is adapted from one in Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian.

1 bunch beets, washed
the beet greens and stems
--------------------------
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
¼ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt, or to taste
1 garlic clove, finely minced

1. Put whole, unpeeled beets in a baking dish or dutch oven and put ¼” of water in the dish. Cover tightly with foil or the lid of the dutch oven and bake them until tender when stabbed with a paring knife. Usually they take 40 minutes or longer, but young beets might be quicker, depending on their size. Remove from the oven and let them cool.
(Note-- Germans just boil them on the stove in a pot of water, and test whether it's done with a knitting needle --I'm not making this up!)
2. While the beets are roasting and then cooling, wash the greens and cut the stems off the greens. Chop the stems into ½” pieces. Steam the chopped stems in a steamer until they are tender. Remove them from the steamer and then steam the greens until tender. Drain the greens and chop them up a bit.
3. When the beets are cool enough to handle, slip their skins off. Cut in halves lengthwise and then crosswise into ¼”-thick slices, or in wedges—as you prefer. Put them in a bowl with the greens and stems.
4. Mix up the remaining ingredients, pour the dressing over the beets and greens, and toss. Adjust the seasonings with more vinegar, salt, and/or horseradish. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I dug out my German recipe book, and here are some more things you can do with beets, and they are a bit richer!


Hot Beet Puree in Horseradish Cream
(from The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton)

2 pounds beets, boiled until tender, peeled and pureed
5 slices bacon (Canadian or other)
2-3 T freshly grated horseradish (or 1T prepared)
1/2 c sweet cream (use sourcream if you're using prepared horseradish)

Fry the bacon until crisp, add beet puree, horseradish & cream. Serve hot.

Raw Beet Salad
(from The German Cookbook by Mimi Sheraton)

6 medium sized beets
2-3 T vinegar (or lemon juice)
4-6 T sour cream or yoghurt
1 T finely minced onion
salt/ sugar to taste
2 t caraway seeds (chopped or crushed)
optional green herbs

Wash beets, peel and wash again. Grate beets and add marinade. Let sit for 2 hours before serving.

Last, but not least, here's a great recipe for the leaves, which you can use for just about any dark leafy greens (even the kids loved it, and that's saying something!). Our box also contained bok choy, so I put some in with the beet greens and spinach -- can use any combination of greens that appeals, even wild greens in spring.
Note: Leafy greens are extremely good for us: high in Omega 3's, anti-oxidants, iron, etc. -- but don't tell the kids!

Eggs in a Nest
(adapted from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver)

1 onion, chopped
garlic, chopped (optional)
olive oil
several carrots, chopped
dried tomatoes (optional)
1 really large bunch of dark leafy greens (chard, beet greens, spinach, etc)
4 eggs

Saute onions & garlic in olive oil. Add carrots, tomatoes w/ a little water as needed. Cover with lid and let carrots get soft. Add the greens, cover until wilted. Make indentations w/ back of a spoon. Crack eggs and place into dents. Cover w/ lid, and poach for 3-5 minutes. Serve over rice or toast.

Quick, easy & yumm!