Food & Recipes: January 2011 Archives

Haggis Pot Pie

1 small haggis
canola or olive oil, for cooking
1 onion, chopped
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 carrot, diced (optional)
1 Tbsp. flour
1 cup beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
mashed potatoes or thawed puff pastry, for topping

In a medium pot, place the haggis with a couple inches of water over medium heat; cover and steam until heated through. Meanwhile, heat a drizzle of oil in a heavy skillet set over medium-high heat. Saute onion for a few minutes, until soft; add mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture, then start to turn golden. Add the carrot, if you're using it. Remove the casing from the haggis and crumble it into the pan, cook until heated through, crumbling the haggis with your spoon. Sprinkle with flour and stir to distribute it, then pour over the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, adding a little extra stock or water if it seems too thick. Season with salt and pepper and divide among small ramekins or spread into one baking dish.

Top each ramekin or the baking dish with mashed potatoes or rounds of puff pastry; bake in a 400F oven for 20-30 minutes, until golden and bubbly around the edges. Serves 6.

Mashed Potatoes & Turnips with Whisky-Roasted Pears
Adapted from the November 2004 issue of Bon Appetit.

3 ripe but firm pears, thinly sliced or diced
1/4 cup liquid honey
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. Scotch whisky (optional)
3-4 lbs. thin skinned Yukon Gold potatoes, chopped
1-2 lbs. turnips, peeled and chopped
1/4-1/2 cup butter, softened and cut into bits
splash of milk or cream (to taste)

Preheat oven to 400°F. In a baking dish or on a rimmed baking sheet, toss pears with honey, butter and lemon juice; roast for 20 minutes, or until soft and caramelized. If you like, drizzle with Scotch whisky as soon as they come out of the oven.Meanwhile, cook potatoes and turnips in separate large pots of generously salted water until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain well. Puree turnips in a food processor until smooth. Mash potatoes with the butter and a splash of cream in a large bowl using a potato masher. Stir in the pureed turnips and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve immediately, topped with the roasted pears. (If you like, puree the pears and swirl them into the mashed potatoes.) Serves 6-8.

You're going to puree everything anyway, so don't worry about how you chop it.

canola or olive oil, for cooking
a blob of butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 ripe pear, chopped (don't peel it)
1 tsp. curry powder
6 cups chicken stock
2 lbs parsnips, peeled and chopped
1 small thin-skinned potato, chopped
1 bay leaf (optional)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. each pepper and nutmeg
1/2 cup half & half

In your soup pot set over medium-high heat, heat a drizzle of oil and spoonful of butter and saute the onion and celery for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add the pear and curry and cook a few more minutes.

Add the stock, parsnips, potato, bay leaf, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer and cook until the parsnips are very tender. Remove the bay leaf and puree with a hand held immersion blender (or transfer in batches to your blender) until smooth, adding the cream at some point. Serves 6.

Tuscan Baked Bread Soup
adapted from Saveur, Issue #46

canola or olive oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 celery ribs, thickly sliced
2 thin-skinned potatoes, chopped
1 large bunch swiss chard or kale, ribs removed and leaves torn or
coarsely chopped
1/2 small savoy cabbage, cored and coarsely chopped
1 796 mL can plum or diced tomatoes, undrained
1 L chicken or vegetable stock
3 thick slices day-old country-style crusty white bread
1 19 oz (540 mL) can white kidney or navy beans, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat a good drizzle of oil over medium heat and saute the onions for about 10 minutes, until soft. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, chard and cabbage. Add tomatoes and stock, cover, and cook for about an hour, until everything is soft.Tear the bread into chunks and add it to the pot, along with the beans. Cool completely and refrigerate.

The next day, preheat oven to 375º. Heat the leftover soup in the casserole in the oven, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until heated through, about 1 hour. For the last 30 minutes, do not stir; let soup brown lightly. If you like, top it with some Parmesan cheese. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.