Category: Winter

Winter

Hearty Winter Curry Pie

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Hearty Winter Curry Pie

Some days I just love a good curry.  They are usually days when I could use a little comfort.  The soothing flavors of coconut, cream, curry spice, and ginger just make me want to fill up, then sit back with a nice cup of tea, warm slippers, and a good book.

For all intensive purposes, curry should not spark this reaction.  First off, I can hardly call this a comfort food when we were only introduced in the last couple of years!  Comfort foods require fond childhood memories, I should think.  But perhaps I am wrong and they only need warm memories of moments past.  Which this dish certainly has.

I tried a similar curry pie at an Irish pub a few months back that invoked fond memories of my months in the Eire–summer months that were cool enough to invoke a heavily-spiced dish such as curry.  Add to that the fact that I was eating at that particular pub on the cool Oregon coast–when you are as likely to chance an outstandingly lovely day in February as you are in July.

For months I’ve been meaning to recreate the curry pie I had there and seemingly never could get around to it.  With all this cool, gray, rainy weather we’ve finally been getting in the Pacific Northwest lately, the time has come for a comforting dish that warms the inside with good spices and winter veg, and brings fond memories of both a lovely summer in Ireland, and warm beaches on the coast!

Hearty Winter Curry Pie, serves 2-3
drizzle of olive oil
1/2 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup bell pepper, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
3 large brown mushrooms, chopped
1 cup cooked kidney beans
3/4 cup frozen peas
1 cup light coconut milk
2 tbs. heavy cream
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 tsp. fresh grated ginger
2 1/2 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp. salt
pinch of cayenne pepper
small handful raisins
1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
  • Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and garlic and brown for a couple of minutes.
  • Add carrots, parsnips, bell pepper, celery, and mushrooms.  Cook for 8-10 minutes until golden brown and carrots begin to soften.  Stir in beans and frozen peas.
  • Add coconut milk, cream, lemon juice and spices.  Modify spices to taste by adding more ginger or cayenne, if necessary.  Stir in raisins and cook for 2 minutes more, until they begin to plump.
  • Spoon mixture into a small 2-quart casserole and lay puff pastry over the top.  Cut pastry and crimp to fit pan.  Dash steam vents in top of pastry.
  • Bake at 400 degrees F for approximately 25-30 minutes and enjoy!
Winter

Smoked Gouda Bacon & Turnip Frittata

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Smoked Gouda Bacon & Turnip Frittata

It was one of  those days when I arrived home, had nothing planned for dinner, opened the fridge and proceeded to pull out everything edible.  It resulted in turnip bacon frittata.   A winter delight.

This is a perfect “It’s cold outside and I’m tired” dish that satisfies in all the right ways.  Which includes the quick turnaround from “let’s clean this fridge out” to the “now I can relax in front of the fireplace”.  Unfortunately I do not as yet have a fireplace .   The turnip bacon frittata, however, can do all of the warming and comforting that for now, a fireplace cannot!

Smoked Gouda Bacon & Turnip Frittata, serves 2
1 large turnip, thinly sliced
1/2 large onion, thinly sliced
3 or 4 slices of thick, good quality bacon
4 eggs, scambled
1/2 cup peas
1/4 cup shredded smoked gouda cheese, or sharp cheddar
salt and pepper to taste
  • Cut bacon into small pieces and cook in large skillet until crispy brown.  Remove from pan and drain.
  • Sauté  turnip and onion in a small bit of bacon drippings until golden brown and starting to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
  • Add eggs, seasoned with salt and pepper, to pan and sprinkle bacon pieces evenly over the top.  Cook until nearly set and bottom is cooked, 8-10 minutes.
  • Add peas and shredded cheese and continue to cook 1-2 more minutes.  Under oven broiler, crisp top of frittata until eggs are set all the way through.
  • Remove from oven, cut into pieces and serve straight away!
Winter

Almost Spring Brown Bread Breakfast

by RebeccaLeave a Comment on Almost Spring Brown Bread Breakfast

I have been a fan of Irish Brown Bread since I moved away to college nearly six years ago, and wanting to make my own bread, but never having the time to knead and proof, fell back on a staple of the Old Country.  Brown Bread is wholemeal or wholegrain soda bread, and unlike the many American versions floating around this time of year, it’s truly the real deal.     Brown bread is always the best bread for a thick bowl of steaming vegetable soup, a quick yogurt and toast breakfast, and an open-faced sandwich with all the toppings.  In fact, I make it whenever the whim strikes or I have extra buttermilk hanging about in the kitchen, as was the case today.

Brown Bread is one of those national pastimes that arose out of necessity–due to the type of soft wheat grown in the cool Irish climate, which doesn’t yield an adequate rise for yeast bread, the abundance of buttermilk or sour milk left about in homes where there were always cows producing fresh milk, and the fact that it was filling and cheap during a time when the majority of residents were impoverished.

I’ve tried what seems like hundreds of brown bread recipes over the years in search of a perfectly moist loaf, as the bread can tend to be dry, all the while wanting a bread  that still has a sweet wholesome flavor, without sacrificing it’s simple nature.  After spending a Bank Holiday weekend last summer at Ballymaloe House in Shanagarry, County Cork, I found it–Myrtle Allen’s Brown Bread recipe.  It’s truly perfection.  I would expect nothing less from the famed woman who started the Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Myrtle Allen’s Brown Soda Bread
4 cups wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup steel-cut oatmeal, oat bran, or thick-cut oats
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2-4 cups buttermilk
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.  Grease or oil a baking sheet or large loaf pan and set aside.
  • Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
  • Make a well in the middle of the bowl and add the buttermilk, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough is soft but not too wet, with no dry flour left.  (About 2 1/2 cups of buttermilk but more or less may be necessary).
  • Turn the dough out on a floured board and shape into a round about 3 inches thick.  Alternatively, pour the dough mixture from the bowl into an oiled loaf pan and spread evenly.  Cut a deep cross in the top of the loaf with a wet or floured knife.  If making a round, transfer to a large baking sheet.
  • Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, until the the bottom is nicely browned and the bottom of the load sounds hollow.

For a beautiful tasty breakfast that makes me think of spring with all it’s fresh colors and flavors, thinly slice bread and toast.  Top with plain yogurt, sliced mango, and fresh blueberries.  Delicious!