12/15 two winter soups

Have you ever looked into your refrigerator and been truly horrified by the amount of produce that is lurking therein? I guess I haven't been as vigilant as is needed on the cooking front, and this is the season of bulky, space-taking leafy greens (arugula, cabbage, spinach, beets and their greens, etc.)

This soup, of the roasted carrot variety, used up onions, carrots, and potatoes, roasted until very caramelized with garlic, bay leaves, and thyme. I pureed the soup, thinned it a little with milk, and topped it with goat cheese.

And here we have what I have decided is the new Christmas soup - borscht! Look at how lovely and seasonal the borscht appears with its ruby red broth, creamy white creme fraiche, and ivy green italian parsley. Into the borscht goes cabbage, potatoes, celery, onions, leeks, garlic, carrot, and of course, beets. Borscht is a real powerhouse at reducing an intimidating pile of produce into a ...well...giant pot of soup. Ohwell, at least I can freeze it.

The common element uniting both of these soups was a large batch of vegetable broth, started with a base of frozen bean cooking water and dressed up with the vegetable trimmings from both soups.

12/10 winter squash and seared radicchio risotto

Well this is a bit illogical, but I had about 4 butternut squashes which had arrived in my pantry over a series of weeks, so last weekend I cubed and roasted and froze all of it. The illogical part is that this recipe only called for one cup of roasted winter squash, and yet somehow I felt good about how I was making progress in "using up" an entire crop's worth of squash.

Here we have a simple risotto recipe with the addition of the cup of squash and one head of radiccho, cut into wedges and seared until caramelized a bit (about 10 minutes). For some reason I worried that I would mess up the radicchio and this would come out "gross" (in the parlance of our time), but it was actually awesome - just the right balance of sweet and bitter. I am no longer afraid of searing radicchio.

12/1 black bean enchiladas

I wanted to finish up the last of the year's crop of tomatillos (just for the record, these came in the CSA box at least a couple of weeks ago and have been "chillin'" in the fridge) and I also had about a cup of heirloom black beans that were lookin' for a place to do business. The inevitable result was black bean enchiladas. This was definitely a "weekend" meal. Its a lot of steps and a bit time-consuming. Just to fully reveal my process, I decided to document a more step-by-step narrative.

First, I had to make a black bean chili. Typical of recipes by Deborah Madison, this one involved making your own chile powder from ancho chiles and making your own chile spices from a toasted and ground medley of oregano, cumin, and cayenne. Here's a shot of the chili cooking (keep in mind I had already soaked the black beans all day). Also present are two cans of diced tomatoes, garlic, and three yellow onions:

I also made a tomatillo sauce with red onions, garlic, and cilantro, which was hand-pounded in my mortar and pestle. I did that because I hate technology. Here's a shot of the tomatillos cooking (they've already turned a nice cooked, "yellow" color):

You need to briefly heat the corn tortillas in hot oil so that they are nice and pliable. Here is the assembly line:
Last but not least, making the enchiladas. Yet another assembly line:

You can see the tomatillo sauce (middle) flanked by extra-sharp cheddar (left) and black bean chili (right).

At long last (15 minutes in a 400 degree oven), the enchiladas emerge in their full glory.
Here's a money shot, just to show how black beans + cheese=crazy delicious. This is what makes it all worth it: