pickled golden beets

 KAMI'S PICKLED BEETS

My old  friend Kami has been asking me for a pickled beets recipe for months . Inspired by some golden beets at the farmers market and the mound of tangerines in my kitchen this recipe is a welcome ray of sunshine in the winter. 

The  earthiness of the beets combined with tangerines and the slightly floral pink peppercorns results in a mildly sweet and tangy pickle. I used the David Chang/Momofuku technique reducing the sugar a bit to compensate for the beets sweetness.

Serve these along side rich meats, added to salad or on a sandwich or burger. Chopped finely they make a great addition to a remoulade or tuna salad.

If you have extra brine pour it over another vegetable, such as onion or carrots, whatever you have on hand, and pop it in the fridge to serve with the beets.

 NOTES:

• These are refrigerator pickles and therefore require no hot water bath or cooking. 
• This is a technique that invites experimentation, try different vegetables and spices using what you have on hand.
• Pink peppercorns grow on tree's in California and are available at gourmet markets , but can easily be replaced by regular peppercorns or omitted altogether.
• I used golden beets for this recipe, but any beet will work. 
• Peel the beets before trimming them, it's easier with with the greens attached .
• Golden beets are orange on the outside and yellow on the inside.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 bunches beets (about 9 medium beets) peeled and trimmed
• zest of 1 orange or two tangerines
• 1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
• 4 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups rice vinegar
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup kosher salt

METHOD

1.  Peel beets, then cut into very thin slices (less than 1/8 inch) with slicer and transfer to a nonreactive heatproof bowl with zest and peppercorns.
2. Meanwhile, bring water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. 
3. Remove from heat and pour hot brine over beets.
4. Cool to room temperature, stirring and pressing vegetables down occasionally (or keep them submerged with a small plate). 
5. Transfer beets with pickling liquid to a separate airtight container and chill, covered, shaking occasionally, for at least 1 week. Serve using a slotted spoon. 

easy microwave meyer lemon marmalade

In honor of of tigress in a jams can jam I put forth Easy Microwave Meyer Lemon 

Marmalade.

Eager to impress all my new canning pals in the can-athon, I devised a complicated  kumquat preserve but alas there were no kumquats to be had, the farmers markets were all rained out (it's pouring!).

With both my kumquat fantasy and my attempt at culinary pretension dashed, I decided to be sensible and use the meyer lemons on my tree.

Everyone seemed to like the microwave tangarine marmalade that I posted in December so I thought another microwave recipe would be in order.

I have been experimenting with this this technique which works wonderfully with thin skinned citrus. Do not bother making this with thick skinned fruit. You won't be happy with the results unless you trim away all the pith, and if you are going to all that bother you may as well make traditional marmalade.

The beauty of this recipe is its simplicity and speed. As I said in the  Tangerine post "this is not as complex or refined as a traditional marmalade, but is fantastic nonetheless, and a great addition to every jammers repertoire. Some might call it cheaters marmalade, but given the work/outcome ratio it’s a winner."

It is divinely easy, ZIP-ZAP-ZING

ZIP it in the the food processor, ZAP it in the nuke,and ZING it in the canner, (ok the last one doesn't really make sense, but it sounds good).

YEILD: 1 PINT

NOTES

• Use only thin skinned citrus. 
• Do not double the recipe, the microwave will not like it and you will end up with a giant mess. 
• Use a high-sided microwaveable container as the jam bubbles up. I like to use my 2-quart glass mixer bowl, which I can pour directly into the jars from. After you get the basic technique down feel free to play a bit adding a alcohol or spices. 
• This is a great way to use up those bits of dried up vanilla bean in your cupboard, but if you you don't have vanilla this still stands on it's own.
  
• My sincere apologies to those of you denied access to meyer lemons.
  
  INGREDIENTS:
• 
  
  
  
  • 1 lb meyer lemons (about 4 lemons) 
  • 1 3/4 cup sugar 
  • 3 inches vanilla bean
  
  
  

METHOD:

Start your hot water bath and prepare your jars and lids.

Cut of blossom end of lemons and slice lengthwise into quarters. 

Using a paring knife slice away the thin white membrane on the edge of the flesh.  This will allow you to easily remove the seeds.

Place cut lemon and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Puree, making sure that all the peel and section skins are reduced to a pulp. It will be quite liquid.

Pour into a high-sided microwaveable bowl adding vanilla bean cut into a few pieces. Cover tightly with saran wrap that you have pierced a few times to vent.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Stir; remove saran wrap and return to microwave for5- 7 minutes.  Remove, stir and check thickness. At this point, depending on the juiciness of your fruit you may want to return it to the microwave for another 2-3 minutes. It continues thickening as it cools.

Stir again and pour or ladle marmalade into your prepared jars, leaving 1/2-inch headroom and removing any air bubbles. Wipe rims and place lids on screwing on lightly.

Place jars in canner making sure they are submerged. Return to a boil and process 5 minutes (timed from the boil) for 4oz jars and 10 minutes for 8oz jars. Remove lid and wait 5 minutes before carefully removing jars. Place jars on towels or a cutting board to cool. Label,date and enjoy. 
 

The Years Bounty

BEST OF 2009

There wasn't a lot to be thrilled about in 2009, frankly I could have have skipped the year altogether. I'm not quite sure how that would have worked, an extended hibernation, time travel or perhaps a year in Tibet. They all sound good.

In a year filled with disappointments my Blackberry Hooch was an unmitigated success, something to sing about (especially if you have had a few snorts) .

Perhaps not my most ambitious or most successful canning foray (were one to rate these things), nor the trickiest, using new techniques, gadgets and ingredients, but certainly one of most the most gratifying. 
Overzealous harvesting one day at the U-PICK FARM left my kitchen counters littered with crates of blackberries ready to spoil in the summer heat. Desperate to not waste, I dumped the near-fermentation berries into my big half gallon BALL jars and covered them with booze. My intention was to make Blackberry Vodka but I quickly ran out (those jars are BIG!) and moved onto the gin remaining in the  liquor cabinet. 
Come December I pulled them out of the garden shed to bottle as holiday gifts. WOW, they were fantastic!  Smoother than the vodka, the gin was the clear winner even among sworn gin-o-phobes.
Perhaps it was the long gestation period or maybe just a happy accident. Sometimes the finest cooking moments are born from mistakes. Maybe that's the lesson of 2009, alchemy, baby ,alchemy.
I was going to do a top ten list but felt felt it was a bit vainglorious so instead I have listed three of my favorite posts and recipes from 2009. 

TURKISH SESAME FIG JAM

BALSAMIC PICKLED FIGS AND WALNUTS 

CHERRY BOMBS

 

 

Momofuku Pickles

 

My new years resolution is to post more often. I know I have been a slacker these past months with my infrequent posts. I vow to return to the kitchen soon, armed with the dozens of empty jars awaiting me in my garage.

I just returned from New York where I ate some fantastic food, the most exciting at chef David Chang's Momofuku dynasty. I ate at both Ssan Bar and Noodle House in the East Village and even managed to squeeze in a stop at Milk Bar for the ice cream which my daughter and I fought over despite the sub-zero weather. The cereal milk  soft serve ice cream truly is off the hook and worthy of all the praise heaped on it. The chocolate chip, marshmallow, cornflake cookies were insane and I don't even like cookies. Just the right balance of crispy, chewy, salty and sweet without being the least bit cloying.

Pictured above are the pickles from Noodle House, on the menu as a starter. Served in a mason jar, I'll take them any day over a bread basket. Let's start a new movement, pickles instead of bread. Who wants to fill up on dough before a good meal? Pickles pique the appetite without dulling it. 

Fresh, crisp and crunchy the Momofuku pickles are delish, the flavor of each vegetable distinct. The waitress told me each vegetable is brined individually and then combined for serving.

Using rice vinegar as opposed to cider or wine vinegar, produces a delicate brine that doesn't overwhelm and allows each vegetable to sing. Asian pickles are my new obsession, they are light, sweet, and tangy, perfect for the new year.

 

NOTES:

• These are refrigerator pickles and therefore require no hot water bath or cooking. 
• Each vegetable except the beets has a different spice to accompany it.
  
• This is a technique that invites experimentation, try different vegetables and spices using what you have on hand.
• I found the vegetables needed varying amounts of time to set up, depending on their size and density.
  
• Shichimi togarashi is Japanese 7-spice blend that typically includes red chile flakes, dried orange peel, white sesame seeds, black sesame seeds, nori , poppy seeds and ginger.
  

Below is David Chang's recipe as published in 2007 in Gourmet Magazine.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 medium beets (1/2 pound total), trimmed
• 4 bunches baby carrots (1 pound), peeled and stems trimmed to 1/2 inch
• 1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds, toasted
• 3 celery ribs, cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coriander seeds, toasted
• 1/2 small head cauliflower, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch florets
• 1 1/2 teaspoons shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven-spice blend)
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups rice vinegar (not seasoned; 12 fluid ounces)
• 3 cups sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon kosher salt

METHOD

1.  Peel beets, then cut into very thin slices (less than 1/8 inch) with slicer and transfer to a nonreactive heatproof bowl. 
2. In separate nonreactive heatproof bowls, combine carrots with caraway seeds, celery with coriander seeds, and cauliflower with shichimi togarashi.
3. Meanwhile, bring water, vinegar, sugar, and salt to a boil in a large nonreactive saucepan, stirring until sugar has dissolved. 
4. Remove from heat and pour 1 1/2 cups hot brine over beets, 2 cups over carrots, 2 cups over celery, and remaining liquid over cauliflower.
5. Cool to room temperature, stirring and pressing vegetables down occasionally (or keep them submerged with a small plate). 
6. Transfer each vegetable with pickling liquid to a separate airtight container and chill, covered, shaking occasionally, at least 1 week. Serve using a slotted spoon.

microwave tangerine marmalade

microwave tangerine marmalade

Tangerines and sugar, that's all it takes, add a food processor and a microwave and you have (almost) instant marmalade!

Beginners, if you are intimidated by marmalade this is a great recipe to try. Don’t get me wrong, I adore marmalade, but it is a lot of work. Just thinking about it, all the slicing, peeling and pith removal makes me tired. This time of year we all need a little extra time.

By utilizing the food processor and the microwave, start to finish, you can bang this out in thirty minutes, even faster if you use seedless tangerines and resist the urge to multi-task.

Not as complex or refined as a traditional marmalade, it is fantastic nonetheless, and a great addition to every jammers repertoire. Some might consider it cheaters marmalade, but given the work/outcome ratio it’s a winner in my book.

If you have a few extra tangerines lying around you can whip this up fast and seem like a star.

YEILD: 1pint

NOTES:

• Use the most flavorful tangerines you can find.
• Do not double the recipe, the microwave will not like it and you will end up with a giant mess.
• Use a high-sided microwaveable container as the jam bubbles up. I like to use my 2-quart glass mixer bowl, which I can pour directly into the jars from.
• After you get the basic technique down feel free to play a bit adding a touch of booze or spices.

INGREDIENTS:

• ¾ lb tangerines, (Satsuma, Clementine or Dancy)
• 1 ¼ cup sugar
• 1-tablespoon rum (optional)
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

METHOD:

Start your hot water bath and prepare your jars and lids.

Peel and seed tangerines (or get seedless) removing and discarding all the white stringy bits from the outside and down the center of the fruit.

Place peel, pulp and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Puree, making sure that all the peel and section skins are reduced to a pulp. It will be quite liquidly.

Pour into a high-sided microwaveable bowl adding rum and nutmeg. Cover tightly with saran wrap that you have pierced a few times to vent.

Microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Stir; remove saran wrap and return to microwave for 7 minutes.  Remove, stir and check thickness. At this point, depending on the juiciness of your fruit you may want to return it to the microwave for another 2-3 minutes. It continues thickening as it cools.

Stir again and pour or ladle marmalade into your prepared jars, leaving 1/2-inch headroom and removing any air bubbles. Wipe rims and place lids on screwing on lightly.

Place jars in canner making sure the jars are submerged. Return to a boil and process 5 minutes (timed from the boil) for 4oz jars and 10 minutes for 8oz jars. Remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes before carefully removing jars. Place jars on towels or a cutting board to cool. Label and enjoy. 

CANNED ASIAN PEARS

CANNED ASIAN PEARS

They say February is the longest month, but for me, it was November. My sincerest apologies for not posting in so long, but the last six weeks have been craaaazy. I will do my best to make up for it in the coming weeks. 
I have much to report on including a fantastic canning event I did at MEND (Meet Every Need with Dignity) with talented fellow canner Kevin West from Saving the Season, and the fabulous folks from Food Forward, but more on that later.
Below is my recipe for Thai Flavored Canned Asian Pears. Kevin sampled them at the MEND event and convinced me that it was post-worthy. Sometimes we need to borrow others taste buds, our own being confused or overwhelmed. Both Kevin and my daughter Isabel said it reminded them of lychee.

My desire for a crisp canned pear led me to develop this recipe. Asian pears don’t have a ton of flavor, but what they lack in taste they make up for in texture. I can’t think of another fruit that is simultaneously crisp and juicy. They retain that quality when canned and their delicate taste makes them the perfect foil for any number of flavors you want to impose on them. The thai trio of lemon grass, ginger and lime are a perfectly complement the pears.

The technique is the same as basic canned pears; peel and core, cook briefly in a simple syrup and can. Asian pears do not have sufficient acid so they require the addition of citric acid or bottled lemon juice to the jars before canning.

This makes a lovely light dessert served with sorbet or on its own. It’s a simple recipe with a big WOW factor.

CANNED ASIAN PEARS

YEILD:

4 quarts

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-gallon cool water
• 1-teaspoon citric acid or lemon juice (for water to prevent browning)
• 8-10 lb firm Asian Pears
• 21/2cups sugar
• 6 cups water
• 8 1/4” thick slices of peeled fresh ginger root
• 2 stalks lemon grass trimmed, lightly smashed and cut into 3-4” pieces
• 4 kafir lime leaves or 4 large pieces lime peel (with as little pith as possible)
• 8 tablespoons (2 per quart jar) bottled lemon juice or 2 teaspoons  (1/2 teaspoon per quart) citric acid

METHOD:

1.  Start your hot water bath canner and prepare your jars and lids.

2. Mix the water and citric acid or lemon juice together in a large bowl. Peel, quarter and core the pears (I use a melon baller) and place them in the water mixture to prevent browning.

3. Meanwhile in a large saucepan combine the sugar, water, ginger and kafir leaves or lime peel. Bring to a boil over medium heat stirring until sugar is dissolved. Reduce the heat to low.

4.  Place pears in a single layer (you may have to do two batches) in syrup. Cook over medium low heat for 5 minutes until fruit is heated through.

5. Add bottled lemon juice or citric acid to prepared jars. Using tongs or a slotted spoon pack pears into jars as snugly as possible (the fruit shrinks while cooking). Fill to the top squeezing in extra fruit if possible.

6. Divide ginger slices, lemon grass and  kafir evenly between jars. Cover the pears with the sugar syrup leaving 1/2-inch headroom. Remove any air bubbles. Wipe rims and place lids on screwing on lightly.

7. Place jars in canner covering with more hot water to submerge the jars by at least a full inch. Bring to a boil and process quarts for 25 minutes (timed from the boil). Remove canner lid and wait 5 minutes before carefully removing jars. Place jars on towels or a cutting board to cool.

QUINCE PASTE

A version  of quince paste in one form or another exists in many cultures. In the Middle East fruit pastes have been served to guests as a sign of hospitality for centuries. In Spain dulce de membrillo is served at breakfast with toast and cream cheese or as tapas with Manchego cheese. In France Pâte de coing is one of the thirteen deserts representing Jesus Christ and the twelve apostles served at dinner on Christmas Eve. And in recent years Quince paste has become an ingredient favored by chefs here in the United States.        

Quince paste is perhaps the earliest known preserve. Recipes for it date back to Roman times and versions of it appear in Martha Washington's Booke of Cookery. Marmelo is the Portuguese word for quince and marmelada is quince paste. Marmalade later became the general term for fruits cooked down and preserved in sugar. It wasn’t until the 19th century that Marmalade became a term referring to citrus preserves.

Quince paste usually requires hours of cooking and stirring to prevent burning while reducing the paste to the proper consistency. This wonderful recipe shortens the cooking and stirring by using the microwave oven. The microwave works like a charm, cooking down the hard quinces in a quarter of the time usually required. 

           MICROWAVE MEMBRILLO

YEILD:

6-8  4 ounce jars

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 lbs quinces
• 1 cup white wine or apple cider
• 1 cup sugar / cup of quince puree
• Glycerin or almond oil (to brush jars)

METHOD:

1. Peel and core the quinces, carefully removing any woody bits from the core. Cut them into ¾ to 1-inch chunks.
2. In a large microwave safe bowl place an 8 once canning jar upside down (this prevents the fruit from settling in the middle and burning). Arrange  the fruit evenly around the jar and add the wine. Cover with a vented lid or plastic wrap, which you have pierced a few times. Cook on high for 15 minutes or until quinces are soft when pierced with a skewer.
   
   
   
   
3. While the quinces are cooking, start your hot water bath boiling and arrange your canning workspace. Coat this inside of 8 4-ounce jars with glycerin or almond oil.
4. As the paste thickens it cools and becomes harder to work with, so have you canning jars and equipment ready.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. When the quinces are done remove the cover and let cool a bit before placing contents in the bowl of your food processor and pureeing.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. Measure your puree; you should have about 3- 4 cups.  Return puree and an equal amount of sugar to your microwave safe bowl.  Return bowl, uncovered this time, to the microwave.  Cook on high for 15-20 minutes, stopping every five minutes to stir (this prevents burning and helps the puree cook evenly).
7. When done the quince paste will have darkened and be very thick, not so thick that the spoon stands up in but way thicker than applesauce.
   
   
   
8. Working quickly and carefully (the puree will be very hot) fill your jars, leaving ½ inch headroom. Remove any air bubbles and smooth the top with the back of a spoon.
9. Seal and process in a hot water bath for 10 minutes.
   

P.S.

• The glycerin,which is a byproduct of vegetable oil, allows the dense paste to release easily from the jar.
• The 4 ounce jar size produces a perfect disc to serve on a cheese plate.
• Add quince paste to tangines and stews.
• Top tarts with thin slices or place slices on the bottom of pies.
• Serve alongside meat or game.