All-purpose flour, for dusting
⅔ recipe Walnut Dough (see Note)
Extra-virgin olive oil
3 ounces pancetta, chopped
3 cups thinly sliced yellow onion (about 1 large)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
½ cup heavy cream or crème fraîche
2 ounces Gruyère cheese, shredded (½ cup)
Heat the oven to 400°F.
On a lightly floured work surface, roll the dough to a 13-inch round. Gently roll the dough around your rolling pin, transfer to a 10-inch tart pan with a removable bottom, and unroll. Gently press the dough down into the corner where the base meets the sides, and press the dough up the sides, leaving some above the rim. Pinch the dough to form a tidy, evenly thick rim.
Line the dough with parchment paper or foil and fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until the dough is set and the rim is light brown, about 10 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F. Carefully remove the parchment and beans, return the tart shell to the oven, and cook until the base looks dry and is light gold, another 20 minutes. Let the crust cool slightly. (Leave the oven on.)
As the tart shell bakes, heat a small glug of olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and as soon as it sizzles, reduce the heat and cook until the fat has rendered and the pancetta is starting to brown, about 7 minutes; don’t let it get fully browned and crisp.
Add the onion, season generously with salt and pepper, and cook gently until the onion becomes very soft and fragrant and is a rich golden brown, stirring and scraping the pan frequently, about 30 minutes. Cool the onion to room temperature.
Whisk together the egg yolk and cream in a bowl. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Fold in the Gruyère and onion. Fill the tart shell with the mixture, smoothing the top.
Bake until the filling is just set, about 20 minutes. Let the tart cool to warm before cutting and serving.
Note: Make the Pecan Dough with walnuts instead of pecans. You only need two-thirds of the dough here, so wrap and freeze the other one-third of the dough for another use.
Onion Bread Soup with Sausage
Taking inspiration from a classic pappa al pomodoro (tomato and bread soup), this soup is perfect with winter’s storage onions. This soup came to be during the cold Maine winter months while I was working on the farm and has been a staple at the restaurants and at my home ever since. Note that it’s easy to make it vegetarian simply by leaving out the sausage.
» Serves 6
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 pounds onions (use a mix of yellow and red if you can), cut into ⅛-inch-thick slices
1 pound sweet Italian sausage (optional), bulk or casings removed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 bushy sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
1 cup dry, unoaked white wine
8 cups rich meat or poultry broth, preferably homemade (see Note)
Three 1-inch-thick slices stale country bread, crusts on, each torn into 5 or 6 pieces
2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
Fresh horseradish root, for grating
Heat a very large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the olive oil and butter and when the butter has melted, add all the onions. Let them cook undisturbed for several minutes until the bottom layer is beginning to give off some juice and get soft. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Stir and fold over the onions so that the raw ones are on the bottom now. Keep cooking the onions slowly, stirring and folding frequently, until they are completely soft and a nice rich brown color. If the juices on the bottom of the pot seem like they’re going to burn, reduce the heat and add a little bit of water or white wine to deglaze. This process will take at least 30 minutes, probably more like 45 minutes.
Meanwhile, if you’re using the sausage, crumble it into a skillet and cook over medium heat until it is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels and set aside.
Increase the heat under the onion pot to medium-high. Season the onions with 1 tablespoon salt and a generous dose of pepper. Toss in the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Pour in the white wine and stir and scrape the pan to completely dissolve the onion juices on the bottom, and to slightly reduce the wine so the alcohol cooks off and the flavors concentrate, about 5 minutes.
Add the broth and simmer the soup over medium heat until the broth is nicely concentrated and flavorful, about 20 minutes. Add the sausage, if you’re using it. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Heat the broiler and adjust a rack so it’s about 6 inches below the heating element.
Distribute the bread pieces among 6 ovenproof 2-cup bowls. (Put the bowls on a baking sheet for easy maneuvering, if you like.)
Ladle the soup over the bread and let sit for 3 to 4 minutes so the bread absorbs the liquid. Sprinkle the cheddar over the top and put the bowls under the broiler. Broil until the cheese is bubbling slightly, 2 to 3 minutes. Grate on some horseradish. Serve hot.
Note: You can use store-bought broth if you don’t have homemade. A half-and-half mix of low-sodium chicken and beef works nicely.
In the field So-called sweet onions, such as Walla Walla or Vidalia, aren’t actually sweeter than a plain old onion. Their sugar content is about the same, but the sweets are much lower in pyruvic acid, which is the sulfurous stuff that gives you teary eyes. Sweet onions are grown in low-sulfur volcanic soil, which is responsible for the reduced pyruvic acid.
Braised Beef with Lots and Lots of Onions
This is one of those miraculous dishes that uses only a few basic ingredients, doesn’t require much technique or fussing, and yet produces a delectable and soul-satisfying dish that’s superb on its own but lends itself to leftover improvisation.
» Serves 4 with lots of leftovers (which you will want)
3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into two or three large pieces
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 pounds onions, sliced as thin as possible
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 small handful thyme sprigs
1 cup dry, unoaked white wine
Season the beef generously with salt and pepper, set it on a plate, and leave on the counter for about 1 hour so it comes to room temperature.
Heat the oven to 300°F.
Heat a large heavy ovenproof pot with a lid, such as a Dutch oven, over medium-high heat. Blot the beef with paper towels to absorb any moisture.
Add the olive oil to the pot and carefully lay the beef into the pan. Reduce the heat just a touch and cook without moving the meat until the first side is deeply browned, about 6 minutes. Turn the beef pieces and continue browning all sides. Take care that the pan juices don’t get too dark.
Once the meat is browned, add the butter, onions, garlic, and thyme sprigs. Season lightly with more salt and pepper. Stir everything around so that the butter and moisture from the onions deglazes the cooked-on juices. Scoot the onions so they’re mostly underneath the meat,
and cook until the onions are very soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Don’t let them actually get crisp and browned.
Add the wine and bring to a gentle simmer. Cover the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook until the meat is extremely tender and the juices are thick and tasty. This could take anywhere from 1½ hours to 3 hours, so be sure to allow enough time for thorough cooking.
When the beef is tender, transfer it to a cutting board and let it rest for about 15 minutes. Cut into thick slices, or pull apart into smaller portions, and arrange on a platter. Taste the onions, adjust the seasoning, and pour over the bee
f.
MORE WAYS:
Build a deconstructed stew: Cut the meat into pieces and fold everything with some boiled and smashed potatoes, celery root, and carrots. Add a touch of water or broth to loosen.
Make a hearty soup: Shred some meat, then combine in a pot with some of the onions and juices, thinly sliced turnips and carrots, and torn kale leaves. Add broth and simmer until all is tender. Serve with crusty bread.
Lay out a spread: Slice the beef and arrange on a platter, smothered with the onions and juices. Serve at room temperature with several different kinds of pickle, good prepared horseradish, and torn bread and butter.
Make my favorite Italian beef sandwich: Heat the beef and onions with their liquid, slice a baguette or roll in half, stuff with beef and onions, and dip it back into the liquid. This is a messy and perfect sandwich.
In the field To keep onions in good shape throughout the year, growers let them dry for about 3 weeks in a well-ventilated, warm spot until they lose some moisture and the outer skins separate from the onion and become dry and papery.
Parsnips
To think of parsnips as some sort of white carrot is like confusing a Canadian with an American. There are similarities, yes, but there are also fundamental differences. First of all, they’re noticeably starchier than their carrot cousins. They’re sweeter, too, with a nuttier flavor. But like carrots, they’re excellent any which way—roasted, mashed or sautéed, shaved into salads, simmered in stews, or, yes, folded into tender, sweet cakes.
Winter is their best friend. Parsnips first start appearing in markets in fall, but they get even sweeter as temperatures drop in winter, when the cold triggers the starches to turn to sugar. Some farmers will even intentionally “overwinter” some of their crop until spring, for maximum sweetness. Pick out small to medium roots that are firm, not flabby. But avoid the big guys, which have an unpleasantly woody core (if you do get one, cut it out and toss it in stock). Stored in plastic bags in the fridge, parsnips will keep for weeks.
Don’t peel. While I’ll often peel fall carrots because their peels are a bit tough and bitter this time of year, I generally leave parsnips alone. Much of the root’s flavor is right at the skin. Exposed surfaces of parsnips will darken when exposed to air, kind of like an apple or potato, so if you’re not going to cook them right away, toss them in lemon-spiked water.
Parsnips with Citrus and Olives
If you have a mandoline slicer, use it, but you can get lovely parsnip ribbons using a simple vegetable peeler. A soak in ice water will enhance their already crisp texture. Big mature parsnips can be woody in the center, so look for smaller specimens. Start peeling the thicker end first for easier handling.
» Serves 4
1 pound parsnips, ends trimmed
¼ cup white wine vinegar
3 Cara Cara or other navel oranges
1 cup pitted black olives, smashed and roughly chopped
3 scallions, trimmed (including ½ inch off the green tops), sliced on a sharp angle, soaked in ice water for 20 minutes, and drained well
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
Use a vegetable peeler to shave the parsnips into very thin ribbons; it’s fine if they’re not the same length, you just want them nice and thin. Put in a bowl of ice water with half the vinegar and soak for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, grate the zest from one of the oranges. Segment all three over a bowl to catch the juices.
Drain the parsnips very well (you don’t want them wet at all, so use a salad spinner if you can). Toss the parsnip ribbons with the orange zest, the orange segments and their juice, olives, and scallions. Season with salt and pepper, toss again, and taste. Let the salad rest for about 15 minutes, so the parsnips macerate a bit. Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and toss again.
Parsnip Soup with Pine Nut, Currant, and Celery Leaf Relish
For this soup, you “sweat” the vegetables by cooking them slowly in a touch of fat and their own juices. This creates a sweet and delicate parsnip puree as the base for a constellation of zingy flavors in the relish topping.
» Serves 2 as a main-dish soup, 4 as a starter portion
Extra-virgin olive oil
1¼ pounds parsnips, peeled and sliced into ½-inch-thick coins
1 large or a few smaller celery stalks, sliced into ½-inch pieces, leaves roughly chopped and reserved (about ¼ cup)
½ small onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup currants
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ cup pine nuts, toasted
¼ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
⅛ teaspoon dried chile flakes
Heat a splash of olive oil in a medium saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. Add the parsnips, celery, onion, and butter, and season lightly with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot, and cook the vegetables slowly without browning them at all, until they are getting tender, 10 to 15 minutes.
Add water just to cover (about 2 cups). Increase the heat to a simmer, cover, and continue cooking until the vegetables are fully tender, another 5 to 10 minutes. Let the soup cool a few minutes and then puree it in a blender. Add enough hot water until you have a nice rich but pourable consistency. Taste and adjust with more salt or pepper, remembering that the topping will have some zing.
While the soup is cooking, put the currants in a small bowl and pour over the vinegar. Soak for at least 15 minutes.
Toss the pine nuts, currants with their soaking vinegar, parsley, reserved celery leaves, lemon zest, lemon juice, chile flakes, and salt and black pepper to taste. When the flavor is very bright, add a nice glug of olive oil and stir to mix.
Serve a big spoonful of the relish on each portion of soup.
In the field Some vegetables are hardy enough to “overwinter,” meaning they start their growth in late summer or early fall and then stay dormant in the ground through winter. When spring comes, they are ready to harvest and are much larger and more mature than the new crop will be—and sweeter, too, as the cold increases their sugars. Root vegetables are ideal candidates, especially in snowy climates, where the blanket of snow acts as insulation.
Parsnip, Date, and Hazelnut Loaf Cake with Meyer Lemon Glaze
Zucchini bread, carrot cake—why not parsnip cake? The olive oil keeps this cake very moist so it stays fresh for days. To serve as a breakfast bread, just leave off the glaze.
» Makes one 8 x 5-inch loaf cake
Butter, for the pan
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
Freshly ground black pepper
½ pound parsnips, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup chopped dates
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¾ cup hazelnuts, toasted and finely chopped
Heat the oven to 325°F. Generously butter an 8 x 5-inch loaf pan. Add a few spoonfuls of flour, shake to coat all the surfaces, and tap out any excess.
Stir together the lemon juice and powdered sugar in a bowl. Stir in 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest and several twists of pepper. Set the glaze aside.
Put the parsnips in a food processor and process until they are finely chopped, like the texture of couscous; you want to have about 1½ cups. (If yo
u don’t have a processor, you can grate the parsnips.) Return the parsnips to the processor if you’ve taken them out to measure them.
Whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the dates and toss until the dates are coated with flour so they don’t clump together.
To the food processor, add the eggs, granulated sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and remaining 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest and pulse until smooth and well blended. Pulse in the oil to make a creamy consistency. Pour the parsnip mixture into the dry ingredients and fold until blended. Add the hazelnuts and fold until there are no more bits of flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until slightly risen and a pick or thin knife blade inserted into the center comes out clean, 35 to 45 minutes for a metal pan, longer for glass or ceramic. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then run a knife around the edges to release it from the pan. Set the warm cake on a rack set over a tray to catch the glaze. Drizzle the glaze all over the top while the cake is still warm.
In the field The “hunger gap” is the period between the end of winter and beginning of spring vegetables. You’re either sick of winter vegetables or you’ve consumed them all (if you’re eating from your own garden), and you can’t wait for the first radishes and lettuces of spring to appear. But the gap period does provide a few delicacies—in particular, overwintered parsnips, which have grown sweeter during their long stay in the ground.
Potatoes (Late Season)
It’s impossible not to love the tender, tiny new potatoes of spring, but they do have one drawback: They’re too perfect to mess with. Mature potatoes, on the other hand, are perhaps the most versatile (and therefore inspiring) vegetables you can possibly have at your disposal. (See early-season potatoes.)
Heavy or light starch? Whatever heat source or flavor profile you want to apply to your potatoes, they’re up for it. The only thing you really have to consider is their starch content. Russet potatoes are high starch. Their flesh soaks up liquids and falls apart into a fluffy, mealy texture. This is exactly what you want for baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potato soup, and French fries. But it’s not what you want in, say, potato salad, hash, or gratins. Basically, if you want to end up with discernible potato pieces, don’t go for russets. Instead, opt for medium- or low-starch potatoes, sometimes described as “waxy,” like the common yellow and red varieties, as well as heirlooms like German Butterball.
Six Seasons Page 32