Split Pea Soup

 When temperatures drop into the forties in Chicago, I pull out my Le Crueset, fill it up with winter veggies, some kind of smoked meat, a legume and don’t stop till the tulips emerge in spring.  Soup weather has arrived and no one is as excited as my friends and family.  One of our favorites is Split Pea.  My recipe uses smoked turkey, which is a bit leaner than the convention ham hock and still yields a delicious smoky flavor.

Split Pea Soup

1 lb yellow or green dried split peas

1 smoked turkey drumstick or 2 smoked turkey wings

1 medium yellow onion

3 ribs of celery

4 carrots

6 garlic cloves

4 bay leaves

3 medium potatoes

2 tbsps marjoram

Start by rinsing the dried peas with cold water.  Then combine the peas in a large saucepot with 3 cups of water, 2 garlic cloves, 2 bay leaves and 1 tablespoon of marjoram.  Season with salt and pepper and cook at low heat for about 1 hour or till the peas are soft.

In a large soup pot, sauté 1 chopped medium onion, 3 chopped ribs of celery, 4 chopped carrots and 2 whole garlic cloves.   

Once the veggies are caramelized, add the smoked turkey, pealed potatoes, 2 bay leaves and a tablespoon of marjoram.  

Cover the ingredients with water and bring to a boil.  Add salt and pepper, and simmer at low heat for 2 hours. 

When the peas are finally soft, remove the bay leaves and using a hand mixer or blender, puree the peas and boiling liquid. 

 Return your attention back to the broth.  When the meat starts to pull away the bone, remove the turkey leg and bay leaves.  Using a fork and a knife to remove the skin, bones and tendons from the drumstick.   This should be fairly easy if the turkey leg has been cooked long enough.  Discard the bones, skin and tendons and save the meat.

  Skim off the excess fat off the top of the soup.  Using a potato masher, smash the potatoes and veggies in the broth.  I prefer smashing potatoes in soup as opposed to cubing them because I feel the cubed potatoes get hard after cooking for too long.  Return the turkey to the broth and add the pureed peas.  Continue to cook the soup for another 45 minutes. 

Finish the soup with a bit more marjoram and salt and pepper to taste. 

Alicja’s Croutons

Oregano

Day Old Italian bread

Garlic

Red pepper flakes

Ollive oil

Growing up my mom would make homemade croutons whenever she made split pea soup. My husband Scott loves croutons in his soup so I always recreate my mom’s crouton.  I use day-old Italian bread, which I cube, and sauté in olive oil with red pepper flakes, one grated garlic clove and oregano. 

Raw Brussel Sprout Salad

After a short hiatus I’m back with a great Brussels sprout recipe.  Yesterday, I enjoyed the last day of the outdoor Green City Market; next weekend we will visit the market at the Peggy Notebaert Nature Musuem.  The market was filled with Brussels sprouts yesterday; some venders were even selling the growing stalk with the Brussels still attached. 

I myself planted some Brussels sprouts on my roof top garden, although I planted them too late so I will not be able to harvest them before the first frost. 

I need to give credit to Michael Chiarello of Bottega for influencing this recipe.   I first had this salad several years ago on a trip the Napa Valley with the girls.  I have worked to recreate it for a couple of years and believe it’s pretty spot-on.  Maybe Michael could comment?

Raw Brussels Sprout Salad

1 lb of Brussels sprouts

1 tablespoon of chopped shallot

1 tablespoon of chopped roasted hazelnuts

1 large organic hard-boiled egg

1 lemon

½ cup grated Pecorino Romano

¼ cup of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (California*)

a handful of Italian parsley leaves

To start, make sure you find some really large Brussels sprouts, we will be using a mandolin to shred them and don’t want to recreate a scene from Saw V. Cut off the brown ends of the Brussels sprouts and pull off any yellow outer leaves.  Use a mandolin to shred the Brussels sprouts down to the core.  I have a pretty unsophisticated mandolin I picked at whole foods, if you do not have one, just carefully slice the Brussels sprouts by hand.   

In a separate bowl combine 1 tablespoon of chopped shallots, the juice of one lemon (~1/4 cup) and a ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil. Whisk these together and season with salt and pepper.  Ten minutes before serving combine the dressing, Brussels sprouts, Italian parsley leaves, Pecorino Romano and a chopped hard-boiled egg.   

Leave the salad to sit for 5-10minutes to allow the favors to mingle. As you bring the salad to the table sprinkle the roasted hazelnuts on top.  

*I prefer California Extra Virgin Olive Oil because it has a very woody flavor in comparison to the Greek and Italian Olive oils.   My favorite, Pasolivo is from the central coast of California, from a region of great food and wine, Paso Robles.  In Chicago it is sold at Olivia’s Market in Bucktown and FoodStuff in the burbs. 

Grilled Lima Beans

I love the idea of Edamame.  Nothing is better than the salty crunchy satisfaction of a healthy snack.  Unfortunately I have a soy sensitivity and stay away from all soy products, including Edamame.  For a while now I have been searching for an alternative and have finally found it…the elusive Lima Bean. 

I stumbled upon these mysterious beans during my last trip to the farmers market.   Hiding behind the rows of heirloom apples and squash was a case of beans that on a regular basis cause small children to cry at dinner tables across the country.  What I had planned for these little guys was not your mom’s succotash, but a delightful snack, seasoned with mint, garlic and rock salt.

Grilled Lima Beans

1 lb of podded Lima Beans

2 minced garlic cloves

2 tablespoons chopped mint

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

olive oil

Combine garlic, chopped mint, red pepper flakes with a tablespoon of olive oil.  Toss with the podded Lima Beans. 

Allow the Lima Beans to marinate for about an hour before grilling.  Spray the grill with a nonstick cooking spray.  Heat the grill to 550 or “sear” setting.  Grill the lima beans for about 15 minutes, remember to save the marinate.  

 They should have a nice charred pod and be soft on the inside.  Toss the Lima Beans back into the marinate and add a pinch of rock salt or kosher salt to season.  Serve hot as you would regular Edamame or toss them into a salad as I did. 

Fall Veggie Hash

 

Temps in the sixties, leaves glowing reds and oranges and a farmers market full of gourds, pumpkins, squash and apples.  The fall veggies are here and I am super excited to share my favorite fall veggie dishes.  Throughout the next couple of weeks I plan on indulging in these fabulous and healthy treats.

I believe my sister was the first to make a version of this brussel sprout, butternut squash salad.  It reminds me of a Thankgiving dressing sans the bread or even a hash.  I changed it a bit from Ana’s version by adding some kale to add some texture to this flavorful mix of veggies. 

Fall Veggie Hash

1 medium butternut squash

1 lb of Brussel sprouts

1 bunch of kale

1 lb of Whole Foods Italian Chicken Sausage

2 lemons

Pepper flakes

Olive Oil

Garlic

Salt and pepper

Fresh Thyme

Fennel seeds

To soften up the butternut squash for chopping, pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.  When it cools peel and chop the squash into ¾ inch cubes.  Place these on a baking sheet and sprinkle them with some salt, pepper, chopped thyme and pepper flakes.  Drizzle the squash with some olive oil and toss with your fingers to make sure every piece of squash is covered in herbs and seasonings.  Bake at 425 for about 35-40 minutes or until the squash is caramelized on the outside and soft to a knife.  

While the squash is baking, peel and split the Brussel sprouts.  In a large sauté pan, heat up some olive oil and add the Brussel sprout the hot pan, season with salt and pepper.  Allow the sprouts to develop a bright green color.  If the Brussel sprouts are browning too fast, yet not softening, add a little bit of water to the sauté pan and turn down the heat.   When they are al dente and have developed a caramel color remove them from the heat and place in a large bowl.

On to the sausage…remove the chicken sausage from the casing and add to the sauté pan that was used for the Brussel sprouts.  Add some fennel seeds to the sausage.  The chicken sausage is pretty lean so you might have to add some olive oil if it starts to stick to the pan.  Once it’s cooked place it in the same bowl as the Brussel sprouts.

The final veggie to hit the pan is the kale.  Rinse it well and then slice it into one inch pieces. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil, one grated garlic clove and some pepper flakes to the sauté pan.  Add the kale to the pan, season with salt and pepper and slowly begin to heat it.  Like spinach, kale cooks down quite a bit and can get pretty soggy.  I like my kale to have texture so I just heat it lightly.  When all the kale is coated in olive oil and is a bright green color, add the juice of one lemon and continue to heat/turn the kale for another couple of minutes.  Add the kale to the bowl with the rest of the cooked ingredients. 

The final dressing of the salad will consist of a drizzle of olive oil the juice of one lemon.   Tear some parsley and toss everything together, add additional salt and pepper if necessary.  

This salad is great with a roasted chicken, a glass of zin on a cold night.  

The Pork Pilgrimage Continues with a Grilled Pork Belly Banh Mi

 

After the successful Porchetta Challenge last weekend, I decided to continue my pork pilgrimage by recreating a sandwich I ate the day of my wedding.  Scott and I got married in the Central Coast of California this summer.  After a lengthy Catholic mass, we returned to our hotel room before the reception.  My sister Ana, brilliantly had a pork belly banh mi from Thomas Hill Organics (Paso Robles, CA) waiting in the room for us.  Unbeknownst to Scott and while still wearing my wedding dress, I inhaled the sandwich not leaving my new husband even one bite.  To this day I still salivate every time I think of that sandwich. With left over pork belly from Larder and Butcher in the fridge, I would salivate no more.  

 

Grilled Pork Belly Banh Mi

2lbs pork belly skin removed

Several sprigs of cilantro

Several sprigs of mint

Shredded carrots

Julienned cucumbers

Julienned red onion

Sliced avocado

2 Limes

1 red jalapeño or red Thai chilies

French baguette

Sriracha Aioli

1 tablespoon of cilantro

1 tablespoon of sriracha

1 tablespoon of Japanese mayo or regular mayo

¼ cup olive oil

1 grated garlic clove

Marinade for the belly

1 knob of grated ginger

2 cloves of grated garlic

1 stick of chopped lemon grass (bang it with the back of your knife first then chop it)

2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons of chopped mint

1 tablespoon of fish sauce

2 tablespoons of light soy sauce

2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce

2 tablespoons of pomegranate syrup (sub agave syrup)

1 teaspoon Sriracha sauce

½ cup rice wine vinegar

½ cup of olive oil

Combine all the marinade ingredients in a bowl and pour into a plastic Ziploc bag.  Cut the pork belly in half and place into the Ziploc bag.  Allow pork belly to marinate over night turning it frequently.

  

Heat up your grill to 500 degrees.  While you wait for the grill to preheat, prepare the Sriracha aioli.  Using a whisk, combine one tablespoon of chopped cilantro, one grated garlic clove, the juice of one lime, one tablespoon of Japanese mayo and 1 tablespoon Sriracha.  Slowly begin to add a quarter cup of olive oil, whisking while you add it. 

Place your marinated pork belly on the hot grill.  Grill five minutes on each side; be mindful of the flare-ups that can occur with the high amounts of fat.  Allow the pork belly to sit for ten minutes before slicing.  

To begin the banh mi construction, butterfly the French baguette in half being careful not to slice it into two.  Smother both sides of the baguette with the Sriracha aioli, place the hot sliced pieces of pork belly into the baguette and begin layering your veggies.  I like to put carrots on first, then the cucumber, cilantro, mint, onions, chilies and avocado.  Top the sandwich with a squeeze of lime.

My own Cochon 555

One butcher, one(well not quite one pig, more like a chunk), one home cook ... the challenge, to make the most perfect porchetta.   Whether you pronounce it porch-a-ta or pork-et-ta, it was just given the title of “The Years Greatest Dish” by Bon Appetite.  One thing is for sure, I have always admired this dish.  Whether at Delfina in the Mission neighborhood of San Fran or closer to home at Avec, the porchetta has haunted me, taunting me to put my cooking skills to the test and recreate this “Unicorn” of a dish at home.

I am not sure what happened on my drive home from work on Friday, but somewhere between the kosher butcher shop in Highland Park and Chicken Shack #34 I decided this weekend I would put my cooking skills to the ultimate test.

Act One / Scene One:  Where to get the meat?

My porchetta challenge began with a trip to Larder and Butcher (L&B) on Saturday afternoon.  I heard about them several weeks ago when I was at the Whole Foods (WF) on North Avenue looking for baby back ribs. As expected, they were all out.   Disappointed, I walked away from the meat counter defeated and needed to rethink my Labor Day BBQ menu.    As I sulked by the trail mix bar, a gentleman approached and mentioned he had overheard my conversation.  He suggested I visit his friend’s butcher shop, Larder and Butcher.   I gave them a call to see if they had any ribs in stock and unfortunately, no dice.  I decided my porchetta challenge would be a good excuse to try them again. 

Larder and Butcher has a minimalist storefront on Milwaukee Ave.  The storefront is inviting and screams “old world butcher shop”.  Larder and Butcher is the first whole animal butcher shop in Chicago, supplying all local, sustainable meat products.   Don’t expect to see a WF type meat counter.  L & B has a very small meat case and the rest of the store is a work counter.   My plan was just to purchase some pork belly that I would use to roll my pork loin in.   After ordering my pork belly, the gentleman returned not with one piece of pork belly, but two.  After further conversation with the butcher, I explained my goal of utilizing the pork belly to wrap my loin.  He said he had a better idea and ran back into his meat cooler.  He returned with half of a pig, ribs removed of course.  The piece he brought back had a pork loin already attached.  He explained this would make the rolling process easier.  Just then, the owner of the shop, Rob Levitt came out and spotted our scruffy dog waiting in our car outside.  He politely asked if she would like a bone and quickly retrieved a cow’s femur joint.  Greta was thrilled (26lb Schnauzer mix Vs 5lb femur joint…lol).  You can guarantee we will back for more, meat for human consumption and for more Greta bones of course.

Act One / Scene Two:  OMG it has nipples

Yes, it had nipples.  I sent the picture to my sister and she freaked out, bad, so I won’t post it.  Plus I am hoping to earn a PG rating from the MPAA.  BTW…it also had hair.   Now this might discourage the typical home cook, but in actuality it made me happy to know that this animal under went minimal processing.

24 hours before serving, I prepped my piglet.  The skin side of the pork belly was poked many times to tenderize the meat.  About 3 tablespoons of fennel seeds and 1 tablespoon of red pepper flakes were heated on low heat till they became aromatic; they were then grinded in a coffee grinder.  3 garlic cloves, 3 springs of rosemary and 2 springs of sage were minced and mixed with the fennel red pepper mixture.  The meat side of the pork was seasoned with salt and pepper and then the spice mixture was rubbed all over.  Some Italian chicken sausage from WF was removed from its casing and spread on the loin section.  I then wrapped the pork belly flap around the loin and secured it with some cooking twine.  My creation was placed in the frig, uncovered to rest and dry overnight.   

Act Two / Final Scene:  A long day of cooking

My morning began with some mathematics.  This porchetta would serve as a birthday feast for my mother.  

My parents were to arrive at 3, we would eat at 4, the porchetta had to sit at room temperature before cooking for 2 hours, then had to roast at 500 degrees for 40 minutes, then bake at 300 degrees for about 1.5 hours, another quick roast at 500 degrees for 10 minutes and then a 30 minute rest period before it is sliced.  Luckily I had a calculator handy and pulled my pork right on time.

After letting my porchetta sit at room temp for 2 hours I seasoned it with some salt pepper and chopped fresh herbs (Sage and Oregano).  I placed the porchetta on a rack and in it went, into a 500 degrees, preheated oven.  After twenty minutes I turned my porchetta to sear the other side.  Another twenty minutes later I reduced the temperature to 300 degrees.  As the porchetta roasted for about an hour and a half (internal temp of 145 degrees) I turned it periodically.  I finished it off with another high temp roast (500 degrees) for ten minutes, which left the skin crispy and brown.   

The hardest part had arrived, I was forced to allow my porchetta to sit at room temp to allow the juices to settle as my hungry family circled the kitchen like wolves (love you guys J).  Thirty minutes later, anxious to finally see if the porchetta 555 would be my last, I sliced my porchetta with a serrated knife.  The crowd went crazy!  No, they didn’t, but in my mind I was one step closer to the real Cochen 555. 

To accompany my porchetta 555 I decided to serve it with a roasted carrot and herb salad.  I simply tossed some Nichols Farm purple and red carrots in some olive oil, fresh basil, red pepper flakes and oregano and grilled them.  I then tossed them with some baby greens, cucumber, avocado, fresh parsley and a lemon juice vinaigrette.

The Tomatoes Have Arrived...Canning has Begun

It's not a farmers market in Chicago unless you see a tomato. I'm not saying that they are always delicious and plentiful but they are always there. Around late August when tomatoes are finally harvested around the Midwest the Chicagoland farmer markets fill their stalls with all varieties of tomatoes. Although I planted my own little tomato heaven upstairs on my rooftop, my harvest will not yield nearly enough tomatoes for canning. These tomatoes will be used throughout the winter months. So on this sunny Saturday afternoon I set out to the Lincoln park farmers market at LPHS to find some tomatoes suitable for canning.

First, I want to mention that I love the market at LPHS. It is smaller than Green City but the variety is great and it's well priced. On this particular outing I was looking for yield. Nichols Farm always has large crates of various tomatoes for around 14-20 dollars so that would be my first stop. Low and behold, there they were, crates of tomatoes for 14 dollars. I snatched up a crate, grabbed a peach for the road and headed back home to battle my 20 lb crate of toms.

I have struggled with canning in the past. I would slave away in my tiny kitchen canning crates of tomatoes only to have them explode days later, ridden with bacteria and fungus. Yuck!
This year I was determined to succeed. Luckily "Bon Appetite" happen to have an article in the August issue on canning.  I don't follow instructions well so here is my synthesized version.

Step 1. Sanitation.
Killing all the nasty critters both in the jars and lids is imperative. These can include E. coli and salmonella. This is simply done by boiling the ball jars and lids in a large stock pot of water for 10 minutes. The key is that the water needs to reach 100 degrees celcius and therefore needs to be boiling.

Step 2. Prep those tomatoes
While you sanitize, start prepping your tomatoes. Give them a quick rinse with cold water then begin scoring the bottom of each tomato with an x. This little x will help you remove the skin. Once you have a good amount of tomatoes scored, place them in a bowl and completely cover them with boiling water. Let them sit in the hot jacuzzi until you see the skins peeling away from the meaty flesh. Using a sharp paring knife start peeling of the skins and cutting off each tomato top. Do this over a bowl and collect any juices that escapes.

Step 3. Grab the basil and pack them in
Into each clean ball jar add a couple of clean basil leaves(I used mine from my garden) and start adding the peeled tomatoes. If you are using a small jar you could probably get 5-7 into each jar. The large jars hold 10-13. Add tomatoes to the rim of the jar. Fill the spaces between the tomatoes with any juice left behind or by smashing the tomatoes down. You do not want air packets between the tomatoes. A spatula can assist in the smashing process.

Step 4. Processing
Processing the jars is the key to a successful canning session. Place a lid on each jar and tighten the lid till it's finger tipped tightened, meaning you could unscrew it using little force. Place the jars onto a wire rack in a large stock pot and cover them completely with water. Bring the water to boil. Once it is boiling, begin timing. It is imperative that the jars remain at 100 degrees celcius for 10 minutes to kill any bacteria or mold lingering on the tomatoes or basil.
****Caution: some fruit and veggies need to be heated to 130 degrees celcius to kill C. botulinum, the bacteria that causes botulism. This high temperature can only be achieved with a pressure cooker.***
After 10 minutes of boiling carefully remove the jars from the boiling water and set them on a dish towel on the counter-top. Let them sit for 24 hours un-disrupted.

Step 5. The test
After 24 hours of rest, test to see if your jars are pressure sealed by pushing the little button on the lid of each jar. If it gives, your jars did not seal correctly and will need to be stored in the refrigerator. These should be consumed within 7 days. If there is no give...congrats you just successfully sealed your jars. Store these in a dark cool place to use in the winter. Make sure to check on these regularly just in case.

Look for recipes to come using your canned tomatoes.