Pressure Cooker Split Pea Stew

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I feel more and more secure about using our pressure cooker even if I sometimes still think its going to explode. In this dish it may look like it actually happened, as it’s not a particularity attractive meal! However this hearty stew is perfect for lazy evenings when its freezing cold outside. It’s warm and delicious and shamelessly easy to make…

(for two people)

6-7 slices of bacon
1 medium onion
fresh or dried thyme
one small parsnip
one medium potatoe
a small piece of celery
1 cup (240 ml) dried split peas
2 ¾ cups (650 ml) of stock (preferable your own home made: veg., meat or chicken)
1-2 bay leaves
1 clove garlic
(salt and pepper)

Cut the bacon into thin slices and fry in a pan on medium heat until it starts to get a little crisp. Chop the onions and sauté in butter or with remaining bacon fat on very low heat until soft and almost transparent. At the end add some thyme (if using dried). Place onion, bacon, split peas (rinsed), chopped potato and parsnip in the pressure cooker. Add stock, bay leaves and press in some garlic. (If necessary season w/ salt and pepper). Stir everything and bring the mixture to a boil. Close the lid and bring pressure to high until the steamer begins to steam. Lower the heat and continue cooking for 15 minutes. Remove the cooker from heat and let cool. When the pressure has completely gone open the lid.

Serve the stew with a nice ale.

We use both yellow or green spit peas for this dish. However I have noticed that the yellow split peas gets mushier and at the same time drier. Therefore I cook them for only 13 minutes and use just a little bit more stock. You can also use other vegetables such as: turnip, carrot and celery. This recipe came originally from a soup recipe at cd kitchen.

Eggplant Cream

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(enough for 2-4)
one eggplant
olive oil
salt
¼ fresh poblano chili, finely chopped
1 teaspoon whole cumin, roasted and crushed
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed
2-3 teaspoons sesame paste (tahini)
(seasoning with lime)

Peel and cut the Eggplant into small pieces. Sauté on low heat with olive oil and salt until almost soft. Add the finely chopped poblano and continue until the eggplant is really soft and creamy. Add cumin and garlic and mix well. Pour the mixture into a blender, add the sesame paste and blend together. If necessary drip some more olive oil into the mixture. Season with lime juice (optional).

(For a more smoky taste you can bake the eggplant in the oven: Pierce the eggplant with a knife so the steam can evaporate while baking. Splash some olive oil on top and bake in the oven at 390ºF (200ºC) until the inside is really soft and the outside has become a little blackened and crisp. Sauté the poblano chili together with the cumin and garlic. In this option you must add olive oil at the end).

Works both as a starter with bread or as a side to sausages or BBQ-ed lamb.

This recipe was inspired by Simon Hopkinson’s recipe “Creamed Eggplant” in his book “Roast Chicken and Other Stories”. His recipe is very close to a classic baba ghanoush

Ragu Sauce

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As its impossible for me to write down a recipe on how I make a ragu sauce, I decided instead to make a flowchart with two feed options. For the minced meat I often use beef, lamb or wild boar. Sometimes I use a mix of minced beef and minced pork (common in Sweden). Lamb works especially well with the anchovy version and the beef with the ancho flavor. Sometimes I add one or two vegetables to the sauce, such as eggplant, carrot, parsnip, celery etc. For both options I add some stock, either my own or the vegetable base from “better than bouillon”  (organic). If the sauce at the end needs a touch of ‘bite’ or sweetness, you can season with some paprika powder or/and brown sugar.

Serve with your favorite pasta and top with fresh grated Parmesan.

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Tahini

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My favorite store has stopped selling tahini by the cup. Now I can only buy tahini in enormous and rather expensive containers. So I started to think it must be possible to make tahini yourself, as its just a sesame seed paste.

Sesame Paste – Tahini

50 ml  (¼ cup) sesame seeds
(a little water or mild olive oil)

Toast the sesame seeds until they start to pop in a skillet (the toasting gives the seeds a much richer taste). Pour them immediately into a mortar and start grinding (you can also use a food processor or even a coffee grinder). Add a dash of water or olive oil at the end to combine the mixture into a paste.  The paste can be stored in a sealed container in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

Tahini Sauce

eq. part raw tahini paste (see above)
eq. part cold water
some lemon or lime
garlic (pressed)
some parsley or oregano (optional)
salt

Slowly stir a little water at a time into the tahini.  At first the mixture will thicken, but it gets looser as you slowly add more water.  If you want a thicker tahini sauce, just use less water as described. Season w/ garlic lemon/lime juice, parsley and salt.

I serve the tahini sauce on sautéed spinach (or other green vegetables). More traditionally you have it with falafel but it works on salads and BBQed meat and vegetables as well.

Duck in Vermouth

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So we had duck this thanksgiving and I am really happy with how this recipe turned out.

(serves about 4 people)

one duck (about 5lb/ 2.5 kg)
½ lime
2-3 teaspoons salt
pepper

2 lb small potatoes (for example fingerling), cut in small pieces
2 parsnips, cut in small pieces

prune and fig stuffing

6-10 prunes
6-10 dry figs
1 cup dry vermouth
½-one pear
thyme

for the stock (will be used to baste the duck and for the sauce)

duck neck and giblets
one small onion, sliced
one small carrot, sliced
small piece of celery (or what ever you have at hand)
½ cup dry vermouth or white wine
sage
6 black pepper corns
salt
water

The day before: Cut the figs and prunes into small pieces and soak them with dry vermouth overnight or at least for 6 hours.

About an hour before you roast the duck you need to prepare the stock. Take out the giblets and the neck from the duck. Sauté the giblets in a saucepan. When brown add the sliced onion, carrots and pour in the vermouth. Let it bubble and reduce for a couple minutes. Add thyme, sage and some salt. Cover with water and let simmer for about an hour. Taste and season with salt if necessary.

Just before you are ready to stuff the duck, chop the pear in small pieces. Add the pear and thyme to soaked fruit and blend together carefully. Wash the bird under running water. Rub the duck inside and out with lime. Rub on some salt and pepper. Fill the duck with the stuffing.

Put the duck on its side on a rack in a roasting pan. After 30 minutes in the oven @345°F(175°C), turn the bird on the other side and pour 1/2 – one cup of warm stock over the bird. Let it cook for another 30 minutes. Turn the bird facing up and place the potatoes and parsnips at the bottom of the pan. If you think there is too much fat at the bottom of the pan, you may take some out. However I really recommend keeping the fat for another occasion as it’s  fabulous to fry potatoes in.  Put the bird back into the oven and cook for about 45-60 minutes. The breast should be gorgeously brown and the legs loose. Take out the bird and let it rest for a about 15-20 minutes before carving.
Serve the duck and baked potatoes/ parsnips with the prune and fig stuffing, gravy, gherkins and cranberry sauce.