Spinach Sauce

This is a recipe from my childhood.  Something my mom came up with that became a family favorite.  It is lightening fast-you can have the sauce done from beginning to end in the time it takes to cook dry pasta.  It’s also very healthful and absolutely delicious.  It sounds a bit odd, but just try it-you’ll be a convert!

I hate the texture of cooked greens, but love the flavor of spinach, so this is a favourite of mine.  It can also be done with an equal amount of pretty much any relatively tender green, like chard.   Use whatever type of pasta you prefer, we always had it on spaghetti growing up, but I put it on anything.  This batch we had with gorgonzola medaglioni, which was really super.

Recipe:

2 6oz bags spinach, baby or mature, it doesn’t matter

1 onion, roughly chopped

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

3/4 C milk

Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper to taste

1lb dry pasta

Put a pot of salted water on to boil for the pasta.  meanwhile, make the sauce.

In a large skillet, saute the onion and garlic until it’s translucent.  Add the spinach and cook until it has completely wilted. (add the pasta to the pot whenever it starts boiling)

Transfer the veggies to a blender and blend with the milk.  Check the pasta, and when it’s done drain it and put it back in the pot.

Toss sauce with the hot pasta and add Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 4-6

Spring Vegetable Pie

Is there anyone in the world who doesn’t like pie?  If so, they should probably be examined for sanity.

Pies are one of those infinitely versatile things.  sweet or savory, healthy or not, any ingredients you wish, pie can do it!  This is a slightly french inspired spring vegetable pie with a mildly creamy gravy.  It’s a perfect meal for those days when it feels like spring, but the weather is still chilly enough to want something substantial.

The pie crust here is the culmination of years of trying to figure out the secret to a really good whole wheat pie crust.  All too often whole wheat pastry tends to be soggy, or rock hard, or tough, or any number of fatal pastry flaws.  This crust, however, is nutty tasting, light and flaky, and BONUS-stays delicious even after the pie has sat for several days in the fridge.   You can substitute shortening for the butter and have an equally good crust-even flakier than the butter crust-but with the whole wheat flour I prefer the flavor that butter adds.   If you have a food processor, you’ll want to use it here.  It’s not hard to make a pie crust by hand, but the food processor does it so much better.

Recipe:

Filling-

2tbsp butter

2 leeks, rinsed and sliced

1 potato, scrubbed and chopped

2 carrots, peeled and cut into bite size pieces

2 C vegetable broth

1.5tsp dried thyme

1/2 tsp white pepper

1C milk

2 tbsp flour

8 stalks asparagus, cut into bite size pieces

1 C frozen peas

2 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced

1/4 C minced parsley

salt to taste

Crust-

2C whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 C butter

1 tsp salt

1/2-1C cold water

Preheat the oven to 350.

First, make the crust.  If you have a food processor, put the flour, salt and butter in and pulse till it resembles coarse crumbs.  Slowly drizzle in the water while continuing to pulse, stopping when the dough comes together into a ball.  If you do not have a food processor, cut the butter into the flour and salt with a fork or a pastry cutter, and then stir the water in tablespoon by tablespoon, until it is a dough.

Cover the dough and set aside to rest while you make the filling.

In a small to medium pot, saute the leeks in the butter until they’re just beginning to soften.  Then add the potatoes, carrots, thyme, white pepper and broth.  cover and simmer for 15 min or until the potatoes are almost done.  Whisk the flour into the milk and add to the pot.  Cook until it thickens, stirring to prevent lumps.  Once the liquid has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the asparagus, peas, parsley and green onion.  Taste, and add however much salt you think it needs.

Now back to the crust.  Cut it into two equal pieces and roll the first one out on parchment paper or a floured countertop.  Line the bottom of an 8 or 9 inch standard pie pan and trim the excess from the edges.  Pour in the filling from the pot, roll out the other crust, and lay it on top.  Trim off the excess crust and pinch the edges of the top and bottom crusts together.  Cut some vent holes in the top and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until it is golden brown and delicious looking.  Let it cool for about 10 minutes before cutting.

Makes 1 8 or 9 inch pie.  Serves 4-6

Tempeh Reubens

The Reuben on St Patrick’s day tradition has always seemed odd to me.  I know its exact origin is unknown, but it seems more like a German/Jewish invention to me(even though, yes, corned beef and cabbage are very Irish).    I don’t really care-any chance to eat a cheesy, gooey grilled sandwich is fine by me!

I used to marinate the tempeh, but I don’t feel like it makes a difference here.  The flavors of everything else in the sandwich overpower whatever you do with the tempeh.

It really pays to use good sauerkraut here.  Something from glass or plastic, not metal.  The metal containers react with the sauerkraut and make it taste tinny.  I used homemade sauerkraut I canned, but there’s no need to go that far if you don’t want to!

My recipe for russian dressing is a little more complicated than other recipes, but it’s worth it, I promise.  Serve sweet potato fries with your sandwich and use the extra dressing for dipping-Yum.

Recipe

For the dressing:

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/4 cup ketchup

2 teaspoons chopped curly parsley leaves

1 tablespoon minced Spanish onion

1 tablespoon minced dill pickle

1/2 teaspoon grated horseradish

dash Worcestershire sauce(vegetarian or traditional, either one!)

Whisk all ingredients together and set aside.

Sandwich assembly:

1 package of tempeh, cut into four flat “cakes”

8 slices rye bread

1-2 cups sauerkraut, drained

4 slices swiss cheese

4 tbsp(1/2 stick) of butter

olive oil

Russian dressing

Coat the bottom of a frying pan with olive oil and put it over medium-high heat.  fry the tempeh until golden brown on both sides and set aside.

Now turn the heat down to medium and put in the sauerkraut.  It’s already drained, but you want to drive out the last bit of moisture in it, otherwise it will make the sandwich soggy.  Once the last of the obvious liquid is gone, remove the pan from the heat and start assembling the sandwiches.
It goes like this: bread, dressing, 1/4-1/2C of sauerkraut(depending on your preferences), a piece of tempeh, a slice of Swiss cheese, and another slice of bread with Russian dressing.  Butter the outsides and grill in a frying pan over medium heat until it is golden brown and delicious on both sides.

Slice in half and serve with your preferred sides-I like coleslaw and sweet potato fries. You’ll want extra dressing on the side to dunk the sandwiches in.  Yum!

Makes 4 sandwiches. Serves 4(or 2, if you’re really hungry!)