Borscht

I love the comfort of a hot soup, when the temperature starts falling. Borscht especially conjures the fantasy of red flames against cold snow. I imagine a Russian princess wrapped in furs gliding in her sled. It must be the combination of earth tastes, cabbage, beets and a cheap cut of beef, with the sharpness of red vinegar tempered by sugar. Dill, more often associated to fish, works beautifully to freshen the whole dish. A dollop of cream brings both esthetic and sensory pleasure.
Leftover soup freezes well, especially prior to the addition of potatoes.
Cabbages of all colors store beautifully. Once the outer leaves removed, wrap the head in newspaper and keep in a cool, dark place for several months. If you are not willing to try, use the second half of the cabbage as coleslaw.

Borscht

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef oxtail rinsed, or beef shin with bone
1 small onion, skin on, cut in half
2 medium carrots peeled, I grated, 1 quartered
3 medium red beets well scrubbed
6 tablespoons tomato paste
4 medium cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 half red cabbage, shredded
2 medium tomatoes, cored, peeled and coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1 lbs firm potatoes, peeled, cubed and cooked in boiling salted water until tender
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1/3 cup chopped dill

Material:
1 4-quart saucepan or slow cooker
Slotted spoon
Strainer
Salad bowl
Paring knife and cutting board

Place the beef, the onion and the quartered carrot in a 4-quart saucepan. Cover it with 6 cups cold water and set on the medium setting of the stove.
Bring to a boil. Skim any impurity rising to the surface with the slotted spoon.
Lower the heat and simmer gently for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
Place the strainer over the salad bowl and strain the liquid. You should obtain 4 and ½ cups of beef stock. Discard the carrots and onions. Place the meat on the cutting board to cube it when cool enough to handle.
Return the stock to the saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the beets and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the beets with tongues and cool them in cold water. Peel them and cut them in small pieces. Return the beef and beets to the boiling stock.
Add the tomato paste, grated carrot, cabbage, tomatoes, bay leaf, vinegar and sugar. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally for 1 hour 30 minutes.
Add the cubed potatoes, salt pepper and the ½ cup dill. Return to a boil for 2 minutes, or alternately, if you know you will freeze a part of the soup, warm up the potatoes and dill aside.
To serve, ladle the soup in 6 bowls. Top with a dollop of kefir, yoghurt or sour cream.


Note that the cooking time is roughly is 4 hours, of which preparation time is ½ an hour. A slow cooker, although certainly not indispensable, is an appreciable time savior.

Red cabbage coleslaw

Ingredients:

Dressing
1 yoke
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup olive oil
½ cup kefir or 0% yoghurt
6 sprigs chives
Salt and pepper to taste

½ cabbage head shredded

Material:
Food processor
Salad bowl
Eggbeater

Place the yoke into a salad bowl. The secret is to keep all the ingredients for the mayonnaise at room temperature. Add the mustard. Beat with the yolk and mustard with the eggbeater until well mixed. While beating, add the oil in a light stream. The mixture should solidify. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the kefir or yoghurt. Cut the chives finely and add to the sauce.

Shred the cabbage using the shredder attachment of your food processor, any other implement or a good knife and cutting board. Add to the sauce and toss well.

A Fall dinner for 6 with leftovers

To take advantage of the last farmer markets, I pick Brussel sprouts as greens and a very tasty root, celery, and compose my meal around the delicate crisp flavor of this wonderful tuber. Pairing it with chestnuts and mushroom gives it a meaty and woody taste.
The balance of the main dish is built around a similar variation with a twist. The addition of orange and cinnamon sweetens the combination.
The dessert is both tart and sweet and takes advantage of the still bountiful crop of apples.

Chestnut and Mushrooms “cappuccino”

Ingredients:
12 chestnuts (from a preserve) cut in pieces. 4 reserved
1 lbs ½ porcini, chanterelle etc…mushrooms cleaned and picked through to remove any branches
1 small onion peeled and diced
3 large garlic cloves, crushed with the side of a knife and peeled
2 oz Prosciutto cubes or pancetta
¼ cup diced celery root
1 bouquet garni
5 cups beef stock
2 cups Brussels sprouts leaves, shredded fine
1 cup carrot peeled and cut very fine

Material:
1 3-quart pot and cover
1 saucepan
1 slotted spoon

Put the Prosciutto bits and a tablespoon of oil in a large pot and cook until browned about 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel.
Add the onion, garlic and celery to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until soft. Add the cut chestnuts, the bouquet garni, and the stock. Bring the liquid to a boil. Cover the pot, lower the heat and simmer for 15 to 30 minutes.
Bring a pot of water to boil, dip the Brussels sprouts leaves for a minute. Remove them and cool them in iced water. Repeat the process with the carrots.
Puree the soup very fine. Heat it up with the reserved chestnut, bacon bits, Brussels sprouts and carrots.
Divide the soup in 6 bowls.

Celery root purée

Ingredients:
1 celery root
3 Yukon potatoes
1 tablespoon of butter
¼ cup of milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Material:
1 peeler
1 paring knife
1 cutting board
1 saucepan
1 strainer
1 food processor
1 electric rice cooker

Cut the top off the celery root. Peel the root and slice it in ½ inch slices. Peel the potatoes and cube them in 2-inch pieces. Place the peeled tubers in the saucepan. Cover with cold water and set on the medium setting of the gas stove. Cook for 20 minutes or until the celery and potato pieces can be easily pierced with a knife. Strain and place in the bowl of the food processor. Add the tablespoon of butter and pulse until well mixed. If the consistency is too thick add the milk little by little. Salt and pepper to taste and pulse one last time.
You can start the purée one hour before serving dinner. If you want to prepare it longer in advance, place the finished purée in the bowl of a rice cooker and set the machine on warm.

Daube or Mediterranean beef stew

Ingredients:

For the marinade, the day before cooking:
4 lbs of beef shanks or any beef for stew
½ bottle of full bodied red wine such as Côte du Rhône or a Pinot noir
½ yellow onion peeled and sliced
2 large carrots peeled and sliced
The juice of an orange and its peel
1 stick of cinnamon
10 black peppercorns whole
1 laurel leaf

For the dish, the day of the meal:
½ cup flour
½ tablespoon of salt
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 cup beef stock

Material:
1 colander
1 large salad bowl
1 cutting board
1 large frying pan
1 6-quart slow cooker or a 6-quart saucepan

The day before the party, place the beef shanks or beef stew cut in two-inch pieces in the large salad bowl. Add the onion and carrot slices, the orange peel, the cinnamon stick, black peppercorns and the laurel leave. Pour the wine and orange juice in the bowl. Cover with a plastic film and refrigerate until the next day.
Six hours before the party, remove the meat from the marinade. Dust the cutting board with flour and salt, and roll each piece of meat in it.
Place the frying pan over the medium setting of the gas. Pour the olive oil and sauté the meat in batches. Place the browned pieces of meat in the slow cooker. Cover with the marinade. Add the beef stock. Set the slow cooker on the lowest setting for 6 hours. After 5 hours, check the consistency of the sauce. To thicken it, remove the cover and bring the settings to high.
To keep the dish very warm, place the slow cooker on a serving table and set it on warm.
Serve 6.

Note: if using a conventional pan, cook for 2 hours and 1/2. Remove the meat on a cutting board and check the thickness of the sauce. Leave the sauce on the gas until you reach the desired consistency. The sauce should evaporate till you have 1/3 remaining.

Meatloaf Gratin

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon of olive oil
A smudge of butter
Meat leftovers from beef stew (or roast…)
2 Yukon potatoes
½ cup of Gruyere cheese freshly grated
½ onion

Material:
Saucepan
Frying pan
Peeler
Paring knife and cutting board
Ricer or electric masher
Ovenproof baking dish
Food processor fitted with a blade

Peel the onion and slice it fine. Pour the olive oil in the frying pan and on medium setting of the gas range for 1 minute. Lower the fire and add the onions, stirring constantly until soft. Remove from the fire and pour into the food processor bowl. Add the meat leftovers and pulse until just ground.
Butter lightly the baking dish and cover it with the content of the food processor.
Turn the oven on at 350.
Peel and cube the potatoes. Pace them into the saucepan and cover with cold water. Set the saucepan on the medium setting of the gas stove. After it boils, cook for 20 minutes, until the potato pieces can easily be pierced with the paring knife. Using the ricer or the electric masher, purée the potatoes. Layer the purée on top of the ground meat. Finish up with a layer of Gruyere.
Place the dish in the oven. Add the grill function of the
Oven. Cook for 20 minutes, until the top is golden.

Serve two with a green salad for lunch.

Autumn Compote

Ingredients:
5 Fuji apples
Quince jam (recipe follows)

Material:
Cutting board
Peeler
Paring knife
Strainer
Saucepan

Filter the syrup of the quince jam over the saucepan, reserving the quince cubes. Set the saucepan on the low setting of the gas stove.
Peel quarter, core and cube the apples. Add the apple pieces and cook for ten minutes or until just soft. Check for doneness by piercing easily the fruit with a sharp knife. Remove from the stove and cool.
To serve, place in individual bowl and sprinkle the quince cubes on top. The glimmering orange quince cubes over the yellow apple pieces form a festive and slightly tart dessert.

Quince jam

Ingredients:
2 or 3 quinces
1-inch piece of ginger
¾ of the weight of the fruit in crystallized sugar
1 lemon per 2 lbs of fruit

Material:
Salad bowl
Juicer
Peeler
Strainer
6-quart heavy-bottom pan
Wooden spoon
Glass Jars

Juice the lemon and pour half of it in a large salad bowl. Add cold water and mix. Reserve the rest of the juice.

Weigh the fruit. Whatever number you obtain, measure ¾ of the weight in sugar.

Peel the quinces. Use some lemon to prevent the quinces from darkening. Remove the hearts of the quinces and put them along with the ginger in a little cloth purse tied with the kitchen tie. Cut the quinces in 1inch cubes, dumping them in the lemon water as you proceed.

Pour the same weight of water than sugar in the heavy-bottomed pan. Add the sugar. Mix well. Place the pan on the medium range of the stove and bring to a boil stirring constantly. When the surface of the water is bubbling all over,
add the fruit to the boiling syrup. Place the purse in the middle. Let it boil again and cook for another 45-50 minutes, stirring episodically. If impurities or moss come to the surface remove them with a slotted spoon.

Sterilize the glass jars and their cover by boiling them for 5 minutes. Remove them with a set of tongues and let them dry over a rack.

When the fruit turn orange rose, remove from the fire. The jam should still be slightly liquid. Remove the cloth purse.

Pour the jam in the clean pots. Close the pots and turn them over until they are totally cool.