Esalen Cookbook (22 page)

Read Esalen Cookbook Online

Authors: Charlie Cascio

BOOK: Esalen Cookbook
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Serves 6 to 8
½ pound uncooked small white beans
or cannellini beans
1 tablespoon dry sage
1 tablespoon dry thyme
1 tablespoon dry rosemary
1 tablespoon dry savory
2 teaspoons sea salt
2 medium-size red onions, cut into
½-inch dice
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 medium-size carrots, cut into
½-inch dice
2 medium-size zucchini, cut into
½-inch dice
1 cup red cooking wine
1 pound Roma tomatoes, cut into
½-inch dice
3 cups water
1 cup reserved white bean stock
1 cup cooked small pasta (cooked al dente)
4 large Swiss chard leaves, chopped into
¼-inch ribbons
 
Sort the dry beans and discard any rocks, dirt clumps, or broken beans. Place beans in a 4-quart saucepan with 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then take off the heat and let sit for 1 hour. Pour beans into a colander and rinse well. Return the beans to the pot and add fresh water, sage, thyme, rosemary, savory, and salt. Cook beans until tender, about 1 hour. Drain and save stock.
 
Saute the onion in the vegetable oil over high heat until it turns translucent. Add the garlic and saute for 1 minute more, and then add the carrots and zucchini, sautéing for 2 minutes more. Add the wine and lower the heat to a simmer; let the mixture simmer for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes, water, and reserved bean stock. Turn up the heat to high, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and let the soup simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beans, pasta, and chard to the soup and let it simmer for another 10 minutes. Add salt to taste if needed.
 
Hearty Minestrone Soup
 
 
Chilled Gazpacho
Soup
 
CHILLED GAZPACHO SOUP
 
This chunky, ice-cold, uncooked soup recipe came from Barcelona, Spain. I taught natural-food cooking in this Mediterranean city, and on one of those visits I was a houseguest of a natural-food store owner. She prepared this raw soup for me one afternoon, and I was hooked. I had it every lunch during my stay.
 
Serves 4
2 pounds Roma tomatoes
1 medium-size cucumber, peeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium-size green bell pepper
2 stalks celery
¾ cup pitted, dry-cured olives
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1½ teaspoons sea salt
2 teaspoons ground cumin
 
Core the tomatoes. Place three-fourths of the tomatoes, half of the cucumber, and the olive oil in a blender and liquefy. Chop the remainder of the tomatoes and cucumber, along with the bell pepper and celery, into very fine dice. Chop olives in small rounds. Add all chopped vegetables to the liquefied tomatoes and cucumber. Stir in the garlic, basil, cayenne, cilantro, and salt. Heat the cumin in a dry frying pan until its bouquet of flavor opens up. Stir this into the soup and chill in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Serve cold.
CHANNA DAL OR MASOOR DAL
 
In India,
dal
literally means dried split lentils and split peas. Split peas and lentils are much faster cooking than the whole legume, and this is one of the main reasons Indian cooks use them.
Channa dal
is split baby chickpeas, and
masoor dal
is a salmon-colored split pea that is also known as red split lentils. Dal is often served over rice in India and as a soup.
 
AYURVEDIC DAL
 
Ayurvedic is a five-thousand-year-old science of medicine that originated in India. The Ayurvedic healing method acknowledges the importance of food in healing the body. One of our chefs, Liam McDermott, took an Ayurvedic cooking course at Esalen. He brought this very well-balanced soup recipe into our kitchen, sometimes serving it as a hearty breakfast.
 
Serves 4 to 6
2 cups channa dal or masoor dal
8 cups water
1 medium carrot, cut into ½-inch dice
2 tablespoons peeled and minced fresh
ginger, divided
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 tablespoons vegetable oil or ghee
5 green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup raisins
¼ cup tomato paste
1 can (14 ounces) coconut milk
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
 
Rinse the dal, or lentils, under running water until the milky colored water runs clear. The dal may lump, and you may have to break it apart with your fingers as the water is washing it. Place dal into a 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and add the carrot and 1 teaspoon of the ginger. Cover and let this simmer for ½ hour or until dal is soft.
 
Ayurvedic Dal
 
In a small, dry skillet over low heat, toast the curry powder until it has a strong, fragrant smell of curry. Set aside. Put oil in a saute pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add the green onions, remaining ginger, and raisins. Saute for 2 minutes, and then add the tomato paste and saute for 2 minutes more.
 
Add the toasted curry powder to the saute pan, mix well, and then add this to the cooking dal along with the coconut milk and salt. Simmer for 20 minutes, uncovered, over low heat. The consistency of the dal should be fairly thick; it’s almost a paste-like soup. It should not be made thinner. Take off heat and stir in the fresh cilantro. This soup will keep for 3 to 4 days in the fridge and will be as tasty as fresh-made.
SAUCES, SALSAS, AND SPREADS
 
HEALTHY HOISIN SAUCE
 
This recipe is a far cry better than the canned variety of hoisin sauce that is found in oriental shops and supermarkets. This sweet, sour, and spicy sauce can be used in stir-fries or as a marinade for meats, tofu, and tempeh.
 
Makes ½ cup
5 tablespoons red miso (soybean paste)
3 tablespoons dehydrated cane juice
or brown sugar
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon ground fennel
½ teaspoon chopped fresh garlic
½ teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
Pinch ground cloves
½ teaspoon roasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons frozen apple juice concentrate,
thawed
 
Dissolve the miso, cane juice, and vinegar in a blender. Add all other ingredients and blend until smooth. This sauce will retain its quality over several days when kept in a sealed container in the fridge.
CHIPOTLE CREAM SAUCE
 
This spicy cream sauce is a complement to any Mexican meal. We’ve used it alongside our Griddle Corn Cakes and Crab Cakes at Esalen. It uses canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that are found in the Mexican food section of most supermarkets.
2 teaspoons chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon half-and-half
Pinch sea salt
 
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. If a blender isn’t available, mash the peppers with a fork, then add the other ingredients and whisk until smooth.
TERIYAKI SAUCE
 
This is a classic Japanese sweet-and-salty sauce. It’s an excellent marinade for baked chicken or tofu and is great in stir-fries. Use it as a sauce the Egg Foo Yong recipe (see page 65).
 
Makes 3 cups
1 cup tamari soy sauce
1 tablespoon roasted sesame oil
2 cups Mirin rice cooking wine
½ cup honey
½ cup warm water
1 clove garlic, minced
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground black mustard seed
½ teaspoon wasabi radish powder
 
In a blender or with a whisk, blend the soy sauce, oil, wine, honey, and water. Add the garlic, cayenne, mustard seed, and wasabi. Blend well.
TERIYAKI GLAZE
 
We use this sauce in the Esalen kitchen to finish off many stir-fries. Simply add ¼ cup of arrowroot to the other ingredients for the Teriyaki Sauce and blend. It thickens as soon as it touches the heat and coats the stir-fry with a nice teriyaki glaze.
 
GREEN OLIVE & ROASTED ROMA TOMATO SAUCE
 
This is an old family recipe that was passed down from my Sicilian grandmother. It has the sharpness of green olives that contrast with the concentrated flavor of the roasted tomatoes. The addition of dried apricots and fennel seed helps to offset the acidity of the tomatoes. The only change I made to Grandma’s recipe was substituting maple syrup for the refined sugar that is used if the sauce still has a strong acid taste. This is a very versatile sauce that can be used with many Italian and Provencal dishes.
 
Makes 6 cups
3 pounds Roma tomatoes
1 small yellow onion, cut into ½-inch dice
Olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 cups canned tomato sauce
½ teaspoon fennel seed
½ teaspoon dried basil
½ teaspoon dried oregano
4 dried apricots, minced
½ teaspoon salt
2 cups pitted green olives, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Pare out the stem end of the tomatoes. Arrange them on a lightly oiled baking sheet and bake for about 30 minutes or until their skins start to crack and the tomatoes have a wilted, slightly dried appearance. Remove from oven and let cool. When cool, cut in half and scoop out the seeds and discard.
 
In a 4-quart saucepan over high heat, saute the onion in a small amount of olive oil until it becomes translucent. (Do not use an aluminum saucepan to make this sauce.) Add the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more. Add the tomato sauce, fennel, dried basil, oregano, apricots, and salt. Bring this to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer. Add the roasted tomatoes and puree the sauce. (You can use an immersion blender, food processor, or even a potato masher for this.)

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