Spiced Sweet Potato Bisque

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Soup always makes a rough day right. I have been working tirelessly on many a food project and by the time I roll home in the wee hours of the night, nothing does me right like a solid bowl of sweet potato bisque. I have recently fell in love with steaming veggies like squash and potatoes. I find that it gives you more control of the texture, in that you can easily check on them, you use half the water you would when boiling and you get an awesome concentrated stock out of the process! This soup is super easy and can be taken in any direction. I decided to add a little protein and used a chicken stock, but it can easily be vegetarian. I also went for really aromatic spices and suspect that this would also make a great curry. 

Spiced Sweet Potato Bisque  

3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and quartered

5 cups stock (vegetable or chicken) 

3 gloves garlic, minced

1/4 cup cream

1 teaspoons of turmeric, curry, cinnamon, cumin, chili powder

salt & pepper to taste

In a large pot with a steam basket, boil roughly 3 cups of water. Add quartered sweet potatoes and steam until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Remove basket and keep remaining liquid. Add potatoes and mash until smooth. Add cream and bring to a simmer. Season to taste and and top with garnish.  

Suggested Toppings

2 apples, diced

1 large onion, diced

cooked ground turkey or your favorite sausage

In a skillet sauté apples and onions until golden. 


 

 

Roasted Duck Breast

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As you may have noticed, I don't blog about meat or even cook it often. I'm a veggies kind of gal and although I will never entirely give up meat, I use it sparingly, and feel my best when I eat a primarily vegetable based diet. I appreciate the animals sacrifice and am a huge advocate of humane animal slaughter and husbandry.

However, man-oh-man, put me in front of anything with duck in it, I'm all over it like white on rice. Peeking Duck, Duck Pho, Duck Salad, Duck Fat Fries, Foie Gras....in every way imaginable, I could drink Duck Jus by the gallon, its definitely my favorite meat to say the least. My obsession for duck probably comes from my family, mostly my father, who has  cherished it and by default, always ordered it when dining out. It was only natural that when my mother asked him what he wanted for Father's Day dinner, he requested it.  

This is a full proof preparation of muscovy duck breast. The trick is to do a quick sear on the fat and finish in the oven. This ensures juicy perfection and is perfect for medium rare, as it should only ever be enjoyed at. Duck breast is a perfect addition to any meal such as salads, soups, or simply on its own with some greens and starches. Duck is also incredibly malleable to sweet additions, and goes well with pretty much any fruit you can think of. Grilled peaches & apricots is a favorite of mine, but strawberries & cherries also delicious. Be sure to save the excess fat and drippings from this dish, as duck fat is a out of this world flavoring for veggies, eggs, and can easily be turned into a outrageous jus. 

 

Roasted Duck Breast

3 Muscovy Duck Breast (roughly a half pound each) 

Salt & Pepper, to taste

Lay duck breast on a cutting board. With a proper knife, score the fat side of the breasts in a criss-cross pattern, seasoning with salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron grill pan or any other ovenproof skillet over medium heat. 

Lay breasts fat side down on grill pan and render off fat. Around 5-6 minutes. Reserve excess fat. Turn over for one minute and turn fat side down again and place in oven for roughly 8 minutes for medium rare. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Slice thinly and savor! 

DIY: Fresh Pasta

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There are few things that still intimidate me in the kitchen. The longer it takes, the more challenging and old world it is, the more I love it. However fresh pasta is something I have never mustered up the courage to make. The image of a disappointed Italian Grandma always haunts me when I contemplate the process. Pasta has always seemed daunting, easy to fail, and not worth it (considering you can buy the dried stuff for under $2 ) and who wants to disappoint my imaginary Italian Grandma anyway?

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Last week I  worked up the courage with the help of the wonderful Carina of Molto Carina, a fresh pasta pro. I finally had my supportive, beautiful and oddly young 'Italian grandma' at my side, to hold my hand through the process, to tell me "it's suppose to look like that", as I skeptically whisked my egg into my well, the older, harder way of making fresh pasta dough.

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Lets be real. Fresh pasta is in fact incredibly labor intensive, though there are some modern shortcuts. From mixing the dough, to rolling it out, to drying, the process took about 2 hours, though time flied by as Carina and I talked of our early years in College, and the ridiculous shenanigans we fell into. The hour it took me to get a smooth dough was the most trying, as the dough needs to be throughly kneaded, which I did all by hand. I thought the sticky wad of flour and eggs in my hands would never turn into a proper dough, but lo and behold it had. Grandma would be proud, and Carina approved. We finally rolled out the dough and decided to make pappardelle pasta, a favorite of my not so Italian father, which seemed only right since he had made the rolling pin I was using.

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Carina showed me how to roll the dough into a seudo burrito to make cutting a breeze. We hung our pasta on a make-shift rack, and I prayed it would taste half-decent. We bundled the pappardelle into nests and froze half the dough. The other half we made into a scrumptious veggie-mushroom pasta, that was seriously DELICIOUS. We both scarfed it down. Later, my better half and I made a ridiculous goat ragu to top the wonderful fresh pasta, and I have to say, fresh pasta is seriously worth the afternoon activity and elbow grease. Being able to taste the pasta in perfect harmony with sauce, truly makes the difference in the dish. So don't be intimidated! Get in the kitchen, and get the disappointed grandma off your back and get your hands sticky! Buon Appetito!

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Fresh Egg Herbes de Provence Pasta Dough

3 1/2 cup, sifted, unbleached all purpose flour (stone ground organic, if possible)

Add to well: 5 large eggs

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 cup minced Herbes de Provence 

Method

On a clean counter top or sheet of wax or parchment paper pour flour into a mound and shape into a well (sorta like how you make a well for gravy in your mashed potatoes). In well  combine eggs, salt, olive oil and herbes. Slowly whisk egg mixture, making sure to keep the walls of the well intact,l until blended, about 10 minutes. Knead dough until elastic and smooth, about 10-20 minutes. Divide dough into 4 pieces and wrap loosely with plastic and allow dough to rest for a minimum of 30 minutes.  

*You can also process the ingredients in a food processor for 15-20 seconds, method here.​

Roll out dough on lightly floured surface, gently stretching and pulling as you roll it into a thinner sheet, working with 1 quater of dough at a time. When pasta is about 1/8 inch thick. Flour both sides of the sheet and roll into a circle. Roll dough into 'burrito' and cut to desired thickness. I did about a 1/2 an inch for pappardelle. Unroll and hang on drying rack. Immediately cook or roll into bundles and freeze. ​

Recipe adapted from the Joy of Cooking

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Kale, Sweet Pea and Mushroom Pasta

1 onion, minced

3 cloves garlic, mined

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup peas

1 bunch kale

Parmesan, to taste

salt & pepper, to taste

In a skillet, pan with oil. When oil is hot, add onions, cook for 2 minutes, or until golden. Add garlic and mushrooms, and sauté for 5 minutes. Add peas and cook for 2 minutes. Add kale, and cook till wilted. Serve atop fresh pasta. 

Caramelized Onion Goat Ragu ​

3 onions, minced

1 pound, goat meat, cubed

5 cloves garlic, minced

3 carrots, diced

2 stalks celery, diced ​

1 cup stock, veg or beef

2 tablespoons herbes de provence ​

1 teaspoon coriander

1 teaspoon mustard seed

1 teaspoon curry powder

salt & pepper, to taste

In a medium stock pot, ​cover pot with oil, and add onions. On high heat add goat cubes. Sear till brown. Add garlic, carrots, and celery, cook for 10 minutes. Add stock, seasonings and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 4-5 hours. Serve atop fresh pasta.  

Photos by Molto Carina