Fresh Organic Young Ginger Root

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It was a beautiful day at the farmers’ market. The stalls were brimming with the bounty of fresh seasonal produce. There were baskets of pomegranates and persimmons. Tender young greens were next to the last of the summer tomatoes. Interesting peppers could be found. I walked into one and what did I see, fresh young ginger. Fresh young ginger is very hard to find and the purveyor said she was only selling it this week. I could not let the opportunity to taste fresh young ginger root pass me by.

Fresh Ginger Root


Ginger Root, Leaves, Shoot

This was beautiful fresh ginger root. The ginger root still had the tender shoots and fresh leaves attached to it. I asked the purveyor about it. She said, she loves to grate it fresh over rice, put the leaves and shoots into soup. She even said she nibbles on it.

Fresh ginger root can be stored for up to 2 weeks in the refrigeration in a paper bag or sealed container. If you have not used it within 2 weeks you can put it in the freezer and keep it for many months.

To use the fresh ginger, clean it by running it under water and gently remove any soil. It does not have to be peeled as it is that tender and fresh. If you freeze it, you can take it out of the freezer and grate it frozen. Do not unthaw it.

Today I added it to a Japanese marinade. I just grated it with my microplane. It did not require peeling at all. It was really lovely, fresh, a tad peppery. Just delightful. I was licking my fingers after wiping the microplane clean as I did not want to waste any of the ginger yumminess.

I was really excited about the ginger leaves and shoots. They had a wonderful ginger essence. I’m going to add them to season a soup or perhaps when I poach some fish. I know that I am going to use them very soon to take advantage of the freshness.

As for freezing this ginger root…. I don’t think that is going to happen as I doubt that it will last two weeks in my house.

Fresh Ginger Root and Tender Shoot

Satisfyingly Sinless Seaweed, Snapper and Sablefish Soup

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I had picked up some seaweed at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco along with some very fresh fish at the Sunnyvale Farmer’s Market. Time for a soup ..

Seaweed, Sablefish and Snapper Soup

For the seaweed, I used wakame, arame and sea lettuce. Seaweed is very healthy and very good for you.

Wakame

Wakameis a seaweed that looks and tastes like a slippery spinach. It can be used in soup or added to salads. After being soaked in water it expands to 10 times the dried size. Recent studies have shown that the fibers in Wakame help prevent colon cancer and provides antioxidants. Daily consumption of small amounts of Wakame seaweed may lower blood pressure. The Japanese Journal of Cancer Research reports that daily consumption of small amounts of Wakame may be more beneficial in treating certain kinds of breast cancer in women than chemotherapy. It is one of the highest sources of calcium among the vegetables that come from the sea. It helps in reducing the bad cholesterol in the body when eaten with an acid (such as vinegar).

Arame

Aramehas a mild taste and it blends well with other flavors. It is a rich source of iron and can be steamed, sauteed, added to soup, or eaten in salads. It is also a rich source of calcium, zinc and iodine and a good source of Lignans which help fight cancer. It does contain sodium because it comes from the sea. I found one recipe that said to simmer the Arame with tamari, lemon juice and rice wine until tender and then sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Sea Lettuce

Sea Lettucecan be eaten in salads or used in soups. Nutritionally, it is very healthy. It is made of 15% protein, 50% sugar and starch, less than 1% fat, and 11% water when dried. It’s wonderful as roughage in the human digestive system. It is very high in iron, as well as high in protein, iodine, aluminum, manganese and nickel. It also contains vitamin A, vitamin B1, vitamin C, sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.

Three super healthy seaweeds and something I want to add to my diet on a regular basis.

The Recipe
Ingredients
2 tsp canola oil
10 shallots diced
1/2 red onion – diced
1/8c dried morels reconstituted
black cod (sablefish) – 4 oz.
red snapper – 8 oz.
salt 1/2 tsp
pepper – to taste
celery salt 1/2 tsp
1/4 oz. dried arame
5/8 oz dried wakame
5/8 oz sea lettuce
8 cups veg stock
1/2 c fresh peas

The Method
1. Saute shallots in canola oil 5 min.
2. Add red onions and continue sauteing.
3. Add salt, vegetable stock, celery salt, peas, seaweed and simmer 20 minutes.
4. Add fish and simmer an additional 15 minutes.

Serve piping hot with a drizzle of sesame oil! Yummy deliciousness.

The Finished Dish, Seaweed, Sablefish and Snapper Soup

Luscious Lentil Soup with Fresh Ginger Leaves and Shoots

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I love shopping at farmers’ markets as one always finds unusual fresh produce. Today proved to be one of those days. I scored lots of great produce. The big find was fresh young ginger complete with tender shoots and leaves. Given I hate wasting I thought it might be kind of cool to cook the shoots and leaves, well at least add them as a seasoning to soup.

Fresh ginger, leaves and shoot.


It was pouring rain outside so a perfect time to have a body warming soup. I love red lentils so it seemed like a perfect thing to eat on a rainy evening. This recipe was totally improvised and put together on the fly. Given I had no yellow onions, I used leeks and red onions. I thought some orange bell peppers would be nice and sweet so I put some of those into the soup. I did have some hot Ethiopian Berbere peppers so I added one small green one to the soup. But the star of the soup were the ginger leaves and shoot. They proved to be delicate and sweet. The soup itself was very delicate and yet flavorful. A perfect dish for a rainy evening.

The soup was garnished with some Indian Micro Greens from Baia Nicchia Farm and Nursery.

Luscious Lentil Soup with Fresh Ginger Leaves and Shoots

Ingredients
1 cup red lentils
2 cups chopped leeks
3/4 cup diced red onion
1 large clove garlic – finely chopped
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 cup vegetable stock
2 cups water
2 ginger root leaves
1 tender young ginger root shoot
1/4 tsp ginger root – grated on microplane
1 cup diced orange bell pepper
1 small berbere pepper – finely diced
2 tsp canola oil

garnish: Indian Micro Greens

Method
1. Heat canola oil in heavy bottom pan.
2. Add the leek to pan along with salt and saute for 5 minutes until softened.
3. Add the red onion to pan and continue sauteing until softened – another 8 minutes.
4. Add the bell pepper to pan, saute 5 minutes.
5. Add the berbere pepper to pan along with grated ginger root and saute 5 minutes.
6. Add the garlic to pan and saute 2 minutes.
7. Add the red lentils to pan and briefly saute.
8. Add the vegetable stock, water, ginger leaves, ginger shoot and cardamom.
9. Simmer for about 40 minutes until lentils are cooked.

Lentil Soup with Ginger Greens & Shoots

Serve piping hot garnished with Indian Micro Greens… Delicious.

It’s Really HOT!! – Ethiopian Berbere Pepper

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One of the local newspapers printed an article about the Ethiopian Berbere Pepper. The Ethiopian Berberes have been available dried and ground, but the fresh peppers are hard to find and not always in season. The paper indicated that they were now in season and available at the Menlo Park farmers’ market for a limited time.

Ethiopian Berbere Peppers

The young ones resemble the Padron in appearance. They have a mild, sweet flavor. The larger, older green ones are generally hotter.

Like a padron, young Berberes are fantastic when quickly sauteed in olive oil then sprinkled with sea salt. The Berbere becomes a beautiful purplish mocha color when mature and it develops thick, sturdy skin that is best removed after roasting.

I was hoping to find some young Berberes at the market to saute and also some more mature Berberes. This time I got more mature peppers some green and some very mocha in color. The purveyor and I started speaking about the glorious Berbere pepper and how to prepare them. She suggested, when green, that I dice them and saute them up and add garlic and a green of choice. She also suggested making a paste using the more mature pepper, roasting them, adding garlic and olive oil. With this preparation I would have fantastic berbere pepper paste all winter that would add heat to winter dishes.

I followed her suggestion and roasted all of the mocha colored Berbere peppers and removed the skins. I then added olive oil and fresh garlic (that had been sauteed) to the peppers and pureed everything to a paste.

WOW, what flavor. The peppers were wonderfully smokey and yes very hot!! But just a little bit is enough to add some wicked heat to an otherwise bland dish.

Ethiopian Berbere Pepper Sauce

Enjoy!

Japanese Influenced Tender Pea Shoots with Fresh Sablefish

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I went to the farmers market this morning. It was threatening to rain and held off for the most part of my visit to the market. But then the heavens opened and the rain came pouring down. I huddled under my umbrella and looked at all the beautiful offerings. A lot caught my eye including fresh chickens (slaughtered yesterday), female squash blossoms with the young zucchini squash attached to the blossoms, padron peppers and lovely fish. I wanted something for lunch so I picked up some gorgeous sablefish also known as black cod and pea shoots.

Pea shoots are harvested after 2-4 weeks, are tender and bursting with a distinctive pea flavors. Since the earliest times people have harvested wild leafy plants. In the middle ages salads were very popular when people looked to spring greens after eating salted meats and pickled vegetables all winter. Today salads are a regular part of our diet however many people are adding the pea shoot to the salad for a fresh taste.

Fresh Pea Shoots with Japanese Influenced Dressing

Pea shoots can be cooked or eaten fresh. They can be stir-fried, in a wok, as an addition to a healthy salad, wilted into a risotto or pasta dish, added to a marinade or sauce or on their own as a salad. Pea shoots are nutritious, delicious packed with vitamins A, C and folic acid. They will keep in the refrigerator for close to a month.

I love sablefish, also known as black cod. I have prepared it before and typically I like to do it with a Japanese type of seasoning. The fish purveyor at the market said it had been caught the day before. So I had to buy it as fresh fish is gorgeous. I thought it would pair beautifully with the fresh pea shoots.

I made a lovely Japanese influenced dressing that paired very well with the pea shoots. The sablefish was marinated with a similar Japanese marinade for about 30 minutes and then cooked in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes and finished under the broiler for about 3 minutes. The pea shoot salad was plated and topped with the sablefish and finished with sesame seeds and the pan juices from cooking the fish.

RECIPE

Pea Shoot Salad
1 cup fresh pea shoots
Pea Shoot Salad Dressing
1 tbl sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp shoyu
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp sesame seeds
1/8 tsp fresh grated young ginger
Method
1. Mix dressing ingredients together.
2. Dress pea shoots with the dressing.

Sablefish with Japanese Influence
Ingredients
4 oz. sablefish
Marinade for sablefish marinade
1 tsp shoyu
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp mirin
1/8 tsp fresh ginger

Method
1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Mix marinade ingredients together.
3. Marinate sablefish for 30 minutes.
4. Add sablefish and marinade to oven proof dish and bake for 15 minutes
5. Remove fish from oven and turn on the broiler
6. Broil fish for 3 minutes or until nicely golden

To serve: plate the pea shoot salad and top with fish and pan juices. Finish with sesame seeds.

Japanese Influenced Pea Shoot Salad with Fresh Sablefish

Enjoy!

Lentil Soup With Grains of Paradise

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I felt like cooking soup today and had some grains of paradise that I had purchased at Boulette’s Larder at the Ferry Market in San Francisco.

Grains of Paradise from Boulette's Larder in San Francisco


Grains of paradise are peppery seeds from the Aframomum melegueta plant. They have been used in their native West Africa for centuries, and in Europe since at least the 800s. Today, they are commonly in used in Northern Africa. Stores which specialize in spices may carry grains of paradise. They can also be ordered through companies which import spices.

This spice is also known as alligator pepper, Guinea grains, or melegueta pepper. It has a slightly peppery flavor, but the taste of grains of paradise is a bit more complex than pepper. The spice tastes a bit like coriander, ginger, and cardamom, with a bit of a citrus flavor. It is milder than black pepper, but it still packs a punch, especially when applied in large amounts.

Grains of Paradise


I had a few ingredients that I wanted to use up along with some home made veggie stock. I had not one onion in the house (I turned the veggie drawers over and could not find one) so I used leeks instead and that was a success as leeks are wonderfully sweet and complex. I also had some lovely small garnet yams in the fridge and added those as well for more sweetness.

The Recipe
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/3 cups leeks, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup carrots, finely chopped
2 cups diced garnet yams
8 ounces chicken breast cut into 1/2 pieces
1 cup red lentils
1 cup tomato sauce
8 cups vegetable stock
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon grains of paradise
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp ground dried thyme
1 bay leaf
parsley and pea shoots for garnish
Directions
1. Heat the olive oil in large pot and add the leeks and saute until softened, about 8 minutes.
2. Add the carrot and sweat until the carrots are softened, about 7 minutes.
3. Add the chicken breast and continue to saute until the chicken is slightly browned.
4. Add the remaining incredients and stir to combine. Increase the heat to high and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 40-50 minutes. Check from time to time and add additional stock (or water) if the soup is too thick.

I topped mine with a bit of parsley and some delicious pea shoots for some additional pepperiness. Be warned if you munch on a grain of paradise you will get a good hit of peppery flavor. But a lovely pepper it is.

Enjoy, serve with a side salad for a healthy meal.

Lentil Soup With Grains of Paradise

Finished Lentil Soup With Grains of Paradise

Magic Morel

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JR & Renee's Dried Morels


The joy of the hunt for wild mushrooms. Spring and fall brings the flush of the mushrooms and foragers hunting for these lovelies, one being the morel. But one has to be careful when foraging for mushrooms. One must make sure that they are edible and won’t send you to the hospital after a few hours of eating them. So one has to be educated in how to identify wild mushrooms as mushroom hunting is not for the misinformed. My friends JR & Renee are very knowledgeable as they are members of the Fungus Federation in Santa Cruz, CA a local mycological society chapter.

Morels are a feature of many cuisines. Their unique flavor is prized by cooks worldwide and are best when collected or bought fresh. Mine were even better. While not fresh, they were foraged by my friends JR and Renee and then dried for later use. These were absolutely gorgeous, large, plump morels. Very large in fact. JR & Renee gave them to me a while ago and thought it was time to cook them up and share them with my good friends.

One of the best and simplest ways to enjoy morels is by sauteing them in butter, cracking pepper on top and sprinkling with salt. I did a slight spin on them, although not that slight.

Because they were dried, they need to be reconstituted in water. It’s important to save that water as it is full of yumminess and can be used when making a risotto for added flavor. I reconstituted them in water, drained them and because they were so large I cut them in half.

Reconstituting Morels

Morels Being Reconstituted in Water


The morels were sauteed in butter (with some oil) until softened, and then freshly shucked peas were added. I continued sauteing and finished the dish with 35% cream. The finished dish was served on a bed of artisan porcini fettucini (provided by my friend Robert) with some truffle salt and a sprinkle of fresh pea tendrils. Very tasty.

As our mouths opened and tasted these lovelies, comments could be heard, a perfect dish, simple and each of the ingredients could be tasted and enjoyed. Very pure.

The dish paired beautifully with our selection of Pinot Noir: a 1998 Frederic Esmonin Clos Vougeot (from France), a 2008 Rhys Pinot Noir Alpine Vineyard (from California) and a 2008 Antica Terra Pinot Noir Botanica (from Oregon).

Very different wines, each brought out something in the dish and each quite wonderful.
Morels and Pinot Noir, it’s a beautiful thing.

The Finished Dish

Morels and Peas The Finished Dish