emily eats

It seemed like a good idea at the time to buy that big bag of parsnips but I soon I began to wonder just how many ways I could cook these bold flavored roots up.  Baked or in soup seemed the obvious ways to go, but I felt like something a little different today.  Something that reflected the dreary morning that we had awoken to and the actually quite pleasant evening the day had become. Something brightly flavored, but comforting nonetheless.

For the past few months I really fell out of the routine of creating proper meals.  Lunch has been various veggies dunked in an assortment of dips.  Dinner has been vegetarian Indian delivered to our door. Slowly though, I am coming back on track.  The more we settle in to our new home, the more inspired I find myself.  I knew I was on to a winner tonight too, for I had envisaged this dinner before I’d even left the office, let alone alighted the tube.  It is always a sure sign it’s going to be good when you’ve been contemplating and dreaming it up for the four hours prior, yes?

So no need to stand at the fridge and scratch my head in thought tonight.  This came together inside of an hour, in front of Gossip Girl, and with a glass of vino in hand.  The creamy parsnips had a piquancy about them having been blended with a goats cheese reminiscent of Parmesan and a hint of spicy nutmeg.  The caramelized onions lay in slumber over the top, and the roasted brussel sprouts to the side had been loosely tossed in maple syrup and sea salt crystals before plating.  Even Andy with his mouth full, unable to speak, indicated his enjoyment with a thumbs up! A success of the season, for sure.

Parsnip Polenta with Caramelized Onions and Roasted Brussels.

Serves 2

4 medium parsnips

Freshly grated nutmeg, to taste

1/8 cup (or thereabouts) crumbled hard goats cheese

1 and 1/2 red onions, cut into half and then sliced into half moons, separated.

2 cups of brussel sprouts

2 tbsp pure maple syrup

Sea salt

Coconut oil or olive oil or butter – about 3 tbsp total

Method

Pre-heat your oven to 180/350.

Put your onions in a non stick saucepan in a dab of oil of your choice (I used coconut oil) and place them on the stove on a low heat.  Put the lid on and stir occasionally.

Chop your brussels in half, and lightly cover in oil before placing in the oven for around 30 minutes, turning at half time.

Peel and chop your parsnips so that the pieces are around the same size. Boil until soft. I cut my parsnips in to thirds and kept them on the stove for a good ten minutes.

When the parsnips are soft, but not mushy, transfer to your blender with a few tbsps of the cooking water. Crumble the goats cheese in, grate some nutmeg over the top and add a little fat (around half a teaspoon). You could use butter or coconut oil depending on your preference. Blend until perfectly smooth.

Plate the parsnip puree as though it were polenta, in a big dollop in your bowl.  Top with the onions. Put the brussels in a bowl and toss gently with the maple syrup and salt before serving alongside.

Eat on the couch for the perfect end to an Autumn day.

On less organized week nights, I cook on the fly. I have no idea what we’re eating until I peer at the potential components and items start beaming at me or doing little dances on their shelves (the cinnamon is particularly good at this trick).  This midweek dinner arrived after an unplanned grocery shop and from a pantry that we’re clearing out before a change of home.  In other words, stepping out of the car tonight after our working days, we were arriving at Guess-ville  for supper.

I composed this warm and comforting lasagna inspired meal acting on the craving for a little Italian tonight.  The basil covered baked Roma tomatoes were studded with little balls of goats cheese, topped with a butternut cream and roofed with bell pepper tiles.  On a day when the local weather service has informed us that five or six layers of clothes were recommended to go outdoors, it was a plate of pure pleasure.

Kinda-Lasagna

Serves 2.

Ingredients:

Half a small butternut (the bulbous part) peeled and halved.

6 Roma tomatoes

2 red bell peppers

3oz (75g) soft goats cheese

6 halves sun dried tomatoes

1 sprig fresh rosemary

3 sprigs fresh thyme

pinch cinnamon

12 fresh basil leaves

Method:

Preheat your oven to 400F/205C.

Halve the Roma tomatoes and place them, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Place in the oven for one hour.

Rub coconut oil into the butternut and place, cut side down on a baking sheet. This will soften beautifully in about 45 minutes.

Place your sun dried tomatoes in hot water to reconstitute.

Place the bell peppers in the oven, whole and with the stem still in place. After ten minutes, turn them with some tongs. After another 15 minutes, pull them out and place in a glass bowl. Cover the bowl immediately with cling film and leave to steam for 10 further minutes. Peel, then slice each bell pepper into three segments, removing the seeds as you go.

Mince the rosemary and thyme with the reconstituted sun dried tomatoes. Place in a medium sized glass bowl. Pull the butternut from the oven and place on chopping board. Coarsely chop, then add to the herbs in the the bowl. Using an immersion blender, blend until integrated, smooth and creamy. Stir in the cinnamon.

Plate the tomatoes cut sides up on the plate (I made this two halves wide, three halves long on each plate).  Add some goats cheese to their slightly dehydrated middles and place a basil leave atop each half.  Place a scoop of the butternut cream across each pair of tomatoes (three scoops per plate) and cover each scoop with a slice of the red bell pepper.  Top with more flecks of the goats cheese and serve.

When I initially started arriving to the conclusion that I wanted to incorporate more raw food into my diet, I was hesitant to tell Andy. Honestly, I thought he would be alarmed and start looking side to side rapidly thinking “Oh my heavens, whatever next?”. I was wrong. After a few long walks around the waterfront in the evenings with my explaining what I’d learned from various books, he said he was willing to give it a go. And he has.

But some days those old familiar cravings still emerge.  The lust for dusky lit bistros or cozy nights eating on the couch whilst watching murder mysteries on television.

Here’s what happened today:  Andy awoke with a sore throat; it rained from the word go; the cold of Winter crept through every window in our house; and a certain someone wanted something warm and comforting.  Understanding this, I mused over what would be the most flavorful way to go. What would deliver the biggest hit.

I delivered to his lap a pasta dish with a herbed bell pepper sauce topped with roasted tomatoes, pine nuts and goats cheese. It was gone in a few mere minutes.  Did it hit the spot? Oh yeah.

Autumn Pasta

Serves 1.

2 bell peppers (red, orange or yellow)

1 sprig fresh rosemary

1 sprig fresh thyme

10 capers, rinsed

15 cherry tomatoes

An inch of a log of soft goats cheese

A handful of toasted pine nuts

Spaghetti (either in the traditional sense, or finely julienned zucchini ribbons)

Method

Turn your oven on to 180 degrees C/350 degrees F.

Wash & halve the cherry tomatoes and lay them out, cut side facing up on a baking sheet. Put them in the oven for around an hour.

Wash your bell peppers and pop them on a baking sheet as they are, stalk and all. Place those in the oven too.  Every 15 minutes, using tongs, turn your bell peppers around until all sides have gently browned and the flesh feels soft. This happens in about 30-40 minutes. When done, use your tongs to place them in a bowl and cover the bowls with plastic wrap for ten minutes.

Cook your pasta as per the instructions on the package.

Mince the fresh herbs and coarsely chop the capers. Put them in a medium bowl. Peel the peppers and add those to the herbs. Using an immersion blender, incorporate the peppers, herbs and capers in to a smooth sauce.

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Spoon the sauce onto the drained pasta and top with the baked tomatoes, goats cheese and pine nuts. Grind some black pepper over the top and present to your boyfriend on the couch and see a smile emerge accross his face.