Authors: Charlie Cascio
Esalen Cookbook (13 page)
Serves 4
½ cup sun-dried tomatoes
2 cups hazelnuts
3 cups vegetable stock or water
3 cups half-and-half or whole milk
1½ teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon dry oregano
1 teaspoon dry basil
2 cups polenta
1 teaspoon minced garlic
3 green onions, trimmed and sliced into fine
rounds
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup Parmesan or Asiago cheese, grated
½ cup fresh basil, finely chopped
Soak the tomatoes in warm water for 20 minutes. Place in a colander to drain and set aside. Roast the hazelnuts in a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat until the skins began to crack. This is necessary because the dark brown skin is bitter and needs to be taken off. Keep stirring the nuts as you cook them, and roast until you see the skins start to crack and peel. Set aside and let cool. Once cool, rub the hazelnuts between your hands. Loosened skins will come away easily; some skins will remain, and that’s fine. Chop the nuts into coarse, small chunks.
Oil an 8-inch baking dish. In a heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat, combine the stock, milk, salt, oregano, and basil and bring to a boil. Be sure to stir so the milk doesn’t scorch on the bottom. Whisk in the polenta in a slow and steady stream to keep any lumps from forming.
When all the polenta has been added to the liquid, lower the heat to medium and continue to stir for about 15 minutes, or more importantly, until the grains are soft and not gritty to the taste. When the polenta is soft, stir in the following ingredients in the order listed: garlic, green onions, drained sun-dried tomatoes, butter, cheese, half of the fresh basil, and half of the hazelnuts. Quickly pour the mixture into the oiled baking dish and then smooth out the top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining hazelnuts over the top of the polenta and gently press down with your hands to fix the nuts on the surface. Let the polenta rest and set up for about 15 minutes.
Cover and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees F for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the polenta pulls slightly away from the sides of the dish. Cut into serving-size pieces and serve topped with a Green Olive & Roasted Roma Tomato Sauce (see page 176). Sprinkle with the remaining fresh basil.
VEGAN OPTIONTo make this recipe vegan, replace milk with soy milk and butter with margarine.
VEGAN RATATOUILLELamb Ratatouille can be made into a high-protein vegetarian/vegan dish by replacing the lamb with 1 pound of tofu or tempeh. Add the tofu or tempeh at the same time you add the rest of the vegetables.
After some research, we at the Esalen kitchen discovered the most natural meat came from animals that ate what the Creator had designed them to eat: grass. Grass fed animals are not as common as one would think in today’s markets. At the time I was in charge at the Esalen kitchen, we could only find New Zealand lamb to be guaranteed grass fed. All other red meat on the market was corn-fed, grown organically or not. I think the situation has changed since then. Grass fed red meat can be found in the market today. Ratatouille is the most famous Provencal vegetable dish, and in this recipe we’ve added tender juicy lamb. The lamb is permeated with the flavor of the Ratatouille while still remaining its own succulent flavor.
Serves 4 to 6
LAMB RATATOUILLE1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound lamb stew meat
1 large red onion, diced in ¾-inch pieces
2 medium red bell peppers, diced in ¾-inch pieces
2 medium green bell peppers, diced in ¾-inch pieces
1 large eggplant, diced in ¾-inch pieces
2 medium zucchini, diced in ¾-inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
4 cups tomato sauce
1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh oregano
2 tablespoons minced fresh basil
Place the oil in an 8-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan over high heat. Once the oil is hot, drop in the lamb, searing on all sides until brown. Add the vegetables, tomato paste, tomato sauce, rosemary, thyme, salt, and pepper; cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 1½ to 2 hours or until the lamb is tender. Add the fresh oregano and basil 2 minutes before serving. This is best served over Creamy Polenta.
CREAMY POLENTA2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1¼ teaspoons salt
4 cups milk
¾ cup polenta
In a 2-quart saucepan over high heat, add the butter, salt, and milk, and stir until the mixture boils. Slowly add the polenta to the milk as you briskly whisk the liquid. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, stirring often. Remove from heat and serve warm. Creamy Polenta is also excellent served with Grandma’s German Goulash (see page 97).
VEGAN CREAMY POLENTAFollow the same recipe for regular Creamy Polenta, but substitute soy milk for the milk and unhydrogenated vegetable margarine for the butter.
South Moroccan Lamb Couscous Tagine
This is the national dish of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, which are located in the northwestern corner of Africa. I learned this recipe from a woman who came from the Atlas Mountains in southern Morocco. She, along with her husband and their two small children, was my neighbor when I lived just outside Marseilles, France. I remember the day I walked into their house and was fascinated by the sweet and pungent smells of Arab spices. I was also fascinated to see for the first time a family living without Western furniture. They ate sitting on cushions at a small table low to the floor. This dish is an exciting culinary experience that you’ll want to share with friends.
Serves 6
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 onion, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 carrots, cut into 1-inch rounds
1 small celery root, turnip, or rutabaga, peeled and cut
into 1-inch cubes
1 small yam, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch rounds
1 quart vegetable stock or water
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 pound lamb, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 medium Roma tomatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ teaspoon saffron threads
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, finely chopped
VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN OPTIONTo make this into a vegetarian or vegan dish, eliminate the lamb. Instead use 1 pound of firm, well-drained tofu cut into 1-inch cubes. Saute the tofu in the same order as the lamb, adding 1 tablespoon of toasted cumin to the tofu as you saute it.
COOKING CHICKPEASI use the quick-soak method for cooking chickpeas. Check for any stones and remove them, then place chickpeas in a saucepan and cover with 3 times the water. Bring to a boil, and then turn off the heat and let chickpeas sit, covered, for 1 hour. Drain off the water and rinse the beans well. Discard this cooking water.Transfer them to a 2-quart saucepan with 6 cups water and cook over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon each of dry sage, oregano, thyme, and sea salt to the cooking water. Cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour.Save the cooking water to use as vegetable stock for the South Moroccan Lamb Couscous Tagine. Cooking chickpeas using this method gives the beans a more robust flavor.
COOKING COUSCOUSCouscous is semolina wheat that has been presteamed. Cooking couscous is not necessary ; all that is needed is to rehydrate the grain. To make 4 servings, place 2 cups of dry couscous into a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Rub the oil into the couscous by rubbing the grain between your hands. The grain will turn a shade darker when the olive oil has been rubbed in properly. Pour boiling water to about 1/4 inch over the grain and cover with a very tight seal such as a tight-fitting lid or aluminum foil. Leave for 20 minutes, uncover, and fluff the couscous by lightly scraping it with a fork.
In a heavy skillet over high heat, sear each vegetable, except the tomatoes, separately for about 4 minutes each. Place the vegetables, except the tomatoes, in a 6-quart saucepan over high heat, and add the vegetable stock, salt, cinnamon stick, cloves, cumin, and turmeric. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat to simmer and cover. Let the stew simmer for 1 hour or until the vegetables are half cooked.
After about 1 hour sear the lamb in the heavy skillet, cooking until browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add it to the saucepan along with the tomatoes. Bring to a boil again, and then lower the heat to simmer for another ½ hour.
Dry-toast the saffron in a small skillet over a low heat, stirring so it does not burn. The smell of the saffron will perfume the air. Stir the saffron into the stew along with the chickpeas and cook until the vegetables are done, about another 10 minutes. Add the fresh cilantrojust before serving. This dish is traditionally ladled over a bed of cooked couscous.
GRANDMA’S GERMAN GOULASHGoulash originated in Hungary and is traditionally a meat stew made with onions; its main seasoning is paprika—Hungarian paprika to be exact! Goulash is a common dish in many of the eastern European countries. This recipe comes from Marion Cascio’s East German grandmother. She remembers her Oma AnaLiza cooking this recipe, using wild boar meat instead of the traditional beef.
Serves 6 to 8
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1½ pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1-inch cubes
2 large yellow onions, cut in ½-inch half moons
2 large red bell peppers, cut in ½-inch cubes
2 large green bell peppers, cut in ½-inch cubes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon Hungarian paprika
1⅓ tablespoons sea salt
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup water
Preheat a heavy-bottomed 6-quart saucepan or cast-iron Dutch oven, and then add the oil and meat. Brown meat on all sides over high heat. Add the onions and lower the heat to medium. The meat absorbs the flavor of the onions as they saute together. Cook this mixture for ½ hour or until the onions have fully caramelized.
Add the bell peppers, tomato paste, paprika, salt, bay leaves, pepper, and water. Raise the heat and bring the goulash to a boil; then lower the heat to a simmer and cover. Let the goulash simmer for 1½ hours or until the meat is soft and tender. The goulash is best served over Creamy Polenta (see page 93). Add 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary just before serving.
Marion Gascio, Tina Wehr, and Andy GlazerVEGETARIAN AND VEGAN VERSIONTo make this version, eliminate the beef. Start by caramelizing the onion in the vegetable oil, and then add the bell peppers and cook together for 15 minutes. Add the tomato paste, 2 cups of tomato sauce, 1/2 pound tempeh, and the paprika, salt, bay leaves, pepper, and water. Bring to a boil and let cook for 20 minutes. Serve over Creamy Polenta (see page 93). Add 1 teaspoon of chopped fresh rosemary just before serving.
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