Showing posts with label savory. Show all posts
Showing posts with label savory. Show all posts

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Recipe: Savory Scones

Encouraged by how easy the lemon scones were to make, I adapted the recipe so I could try savory ones (a bakery favorite of my manfriend.) They're super fatty, and equally delicious.

You'll need:
3 rashers bacon
3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup onion, minced
2⅔ cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
few shakes red pepper flakes
1 stick butter, frozen
4 oz. cheddar cheese
1 cup broccoli florets, finely chopped
¾ cup sour cream
1 egg
few tablespoons chicken or veggie stock

1. Fry the bacon until very crispy, then blot with a paper towel. Use the bacon fat to sautée the garlic and onion, and drain away the excess grease. Set all this aside.

2. Preheat oven to 375° and move the rack to the lower middle position.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pepper flakes, and stir. Grate frozen butter and cheese into the mixture with a box grater, using the largest holes. Add chopped broccoli. Blend using your hands, until the mixture resembles a coarse meal.

4. In a separate bowl, beat together sour cream and egg. Crumble or cut the crispy bacon into tiny bits.

5. With a fork, stir the liquid mixture, bacon crumbles, and garlic and onion into dry mixture until large clumps form. With your hands, knead dough until there's no extra floury stuff at the bottom of the bowl. Add stock as needed, one tablespoon at a time, if mixture is too dry to form dough.

6. Divide the dough into two equal balls, and flatten to ¾-inch rounds. Divide each ball into 6 wedges. You can bake them all now, or freeze any unneeded wedges for another day.

7. Place dough wedges on a cookie sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 15–20 minutes. Let cool. These are best while they're still warm and steamy, and they pair nicely with tomato soup. Nom. You can imagine all the variations—chopped spinach instead of broccoli, sun-dried tomatoes, basil… Nom nom nom.

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Recipe: Lentil and Rhubarb Stew

I was skeptical too, but stay with me, here.

We just started getting the summer's veggie boxes from a local farm, and whoa is it ever rhubarb season. If you don't know much about rhubarb, as I didn't, it's a weird thing. I ate a raw slice and can only describe it as a cross between celery and a Granny Smith apple, in both texture and flavor. Sweet but sour and quite fibrous.

But when you think rhubarb (if you do) you probably think pie, and as you may know, I'm off sugar this month. Let me tell you, it wasn't easy finding a savory rhubarb recipe. I got lucky and stumbled across this one, which I had to rejigger quite a bit to work with the ingredients I had. It sounds weird, but trust me, it's delicious. The rhubarb gives the stew the most fascinating citrus-y flavor, and though there's no fat added, it's very savory and rich-tasting. I entered the recipe into my nutrition app and it's less than 300 calories per serving (makes about six servings).

Anyhow, love this. No longer afraid to find rhubarb in my weekly farm box. Bring it on.

1. In a large pot, add these together:

6–8 stalks rhubarb, cleaned and chopped
2½ cups dry yellow lentils (or dry split peas), rinsed
chicken, chopped into stew-sized pieces (I used 2 boneless breasts, but I think 4 thighs would taste even better)
½ medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced

I tossed in the following spices, but feel free to use whatever Indian-type flavors you prefer…
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. tumeric
½ tsp. chili powder
½ tsp. cumin seeds (can you tell I love cumin?)
lots of black pepper
[salt comes later]

2. With all that in the pot, add water, enough to cover everything by an inch…well, except the rhubarb, which floats. Bring to a low boil on medium-high heat, then cover and reduce to a simmer for 30–40 minutes, or until the lentils and rhubarb are soft. I stirred occasionally, though I'm not sure I was supposed to. It didn't seem to hurt anything.

3. It will look very unappetizing at first, but as the rhubarb stews it'll break down into sheer deliciousness, mingling with the lentils. When everything's softened, add a lot of salt and adjust the spices to your liking. I used too much water, but thickened it with a few shakes of corn starch.

4. Serve alone or over rice. Enjoy! Like I said, it tastes sooo much better than it sounds.