Its the week of thanksgiving, a time of year when the only food related stuff people want to hear about is turkey and stuffing. So here are a few takes on thanksgiving ingredients. Enjoy.
Sunchoke mash
This looks just like mashed potatoes, but it tastes like artichokes.
- 2lbs sunchokes
- salt
- 1/2 stick of butter
- 1/4 cup of heavy cream
- squeeze of lemon
Peel the sunchokes into cold water with lemon so they don’t oxidize. Once all of them are peeled. Place in a pot of cold water with 2 tablespoons of salt. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes or until they are very soft. Drain off the water and mash (or puree) with the butter, heavy cream and salt to taste.
Brussel sprout and wild rice salad
Oh God — raw brussel sprouts! If you marinate them, they won’t have the same stomach upsetting qualities.
- 1lb brussel sprouts
- 1/2 lb hand harvested wild rice
- 3 lemons
- 3 tablespoons of mollasses
- 1 Tablespoon champaigne vinegar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon ground black pepper
- salt
Thinly slice the brussel sprouts with a mandolin and add all of the other ingredients except the wild rice. Let sit for atleast 1 hour, but overnight would be even better. Place the wild rice in cold water and remove the small particles and shaft that comes to the surface. Replace the water. There should be three parts water to one part rice. Bring the rice to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes. Strain out the remaining water and let the rice cool. Mix with the brussel sprouts. THis would benefit from scallions, any dried fruit or toasted nuts, most herbs.
Celery Root Stuffing
- 1 large leek
- 1 celery root
- 1 stick of butter
- 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 1/4 cup of herbs – mixture of oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme and parsley. Minced (hold stems aside)
Cut a day old loaf of crusty bread into bite size squares. Dice one large leek and one celery root. Add 3/4 stick of butter to a pan and saute the leeks until soft, add the celery root, white wine and vegetable stock along with the stems of the herbs. Cook until the liquid has reduced by half.
In a sepperate pan, heat the 1/4 stick of butter until it is brown. Add the pumpkin seeds and sautee for one minute.
Combine and mix all the ingredients together in a caserole pan — except the minced parsley. Bake the stuffing at 350 for one hour. Remove and sprinkle with parsley.