Bulgur Kale Salad with Cranberries and Almonds

It's been a while since I've shared something from the "spatula" side of this blog's title, and while I have some more kids clothes posts in the works I thought I would just quickly post this in the midst, since it was really yummy and is just perfect for fall.  And I want to keep track of the recipe for myself for the future!

This salad was inspired by one from Whole Foods, but I added the almonds and I didn't actually look at their ingredient list so it may differ in other ways.  The orange juice and sherry vinegar balance each other well, giving it a bit of sweetness but also enough acidity.  I just threw it together, so this is actually less a recipe with formal amounts than a general idea, but it should be enough of an idea to recreate it I think.

Ingredients:

• Dried bulgur wheat (or grain of your choice)
• Dried cranberries
• Kale (smaller/more delicate leaves are preferable if possible)
• Slivered almonds
• Shallots (or red onion)
• Olive oil
• Orange juice
• Sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• Salt to taste

My favorite way to prepare bulgur wheat is to put it in a heat-safe bowl and pour boiling water over it to just a bit more than cover it, then let it sit covered until the water is absorbed - so that's what I did here, adding the cranberries in before the water so that they would get a bit rehydrated too.  Finely chop the kale (removing large pieces of stem), and lightly toast the almonds.  Finely dice the shallots (I used just a little bit of shallots - less than half of a small head).  Add all the ingredients to the bowl of bulgur and cranberries and toss!  If you are unsure how much OJ/vinegar/olive oil to use, I used about equal parts OJ and vinegar I'd say (maybe somewhat more OJ), and you can start with less than you think you'll need and adjust until it seems like enough.

Bulgur Salad with Mushrooms, White Beans and Arugula

I made this salad a number of times last summer and really enjoyed it, so it was a happy coincidence when I realized recently that I had all the ingredients sitting either in my fridge or in my garden and needing to be used up.  As you might expect with beans, mushrooms and bulgur, the salad is rich and earthy tasting (in a good way), but the arugula and paprika give it an interesting kick.  This is from the cookbook veganomicon which I use frequently although I am not a vegan - the recipes are great and stand well on their own, whether you are vegan or not.

I have modified the recipe pretty heavily from the original as I found it overdressed and kind of greasy when I first made it, and a bit too heavy on the red onion - but you can of course add more of either dressing or onion if your tastes differ.

I used baby arugula sprouts because I was thinning my arugula in the garden, but full-size works fine too.

Bulgur Salad with Mushrooms, White Beans, and Arugula
Adapted from Veganomicon

Salad:

• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups diced cremini or white mushrooms
• 1 1/2 cups white beans (canellini or navy), drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup finely diced red onion
• 2 cups arugula leaves, chopped

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1-2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 1 teaspoon paprika (I used spanish smoked paprika but regular is fine too)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• ground black pepper to taste

Put the bulgur in a small pot or heatproof container and cover with boiling water, then cover the pot/container.  Let sit for 20-30 minutes then drain most of the excess water, leaving moist.  While the bulgur is cooking, mix together all the dressing ingredients in a medium mixing bowl.  Add the mushrooms, beans and onions to the dressing and let them steep while the bulgur cooks, stirring occasionally.  Add the bulgur to the dressing mixture while still warm and stir, then add the arugula and mix well.  You can serve this warm or chill and serve cool - it improves when it has a chance to sit for an hour or two and keeps well for several days.

Sauteed Mushroom and Leek Crepes

I made these crepes for dinner a few weeks ago, and wasn't totally thrilled with the seasonings, so I made them again and tweaked the recipe this past weekend, subbing other herbs for the terragon.  I liked them a lot better this way, but Lawson says he liked the original way better, so I am including both variations... I guess it depends if you are a terragon person or not.  These are from a crepe cookbook that a friend gave me a few years ago, and looking through these recipes made me want to make crepes more often!  I am looking forward to experimenting with different fillings and different ways of wrapping/putting together the crepes.  We served the crepes for brunch with an old favorite french lentil salad, green salad and mimosas.  We're starting the new year off right around here!

I made the crepes with King Arthur Flour's white whole wheat, and I found that they had a full, nutty flavor but weren't as heavy as regular whole wheat (and I didn't use any regular all purpose mixed in, they were 100% white whole wheat).  King Arthur says it is a different variety of wheat than regular whole wheat, but is still a whole grain, so that is good news for those of us trying to incorporate more whole grains into our diets.  This is the second time I have had this flour, the first time was actually an accident - I had asked Lawson to get unbleached white flour at the store and this is what came home - so I used it a bit and decided I liked it.  I am looking forward to doing some more experimenting with this flour.

Sauteed Mushroom and Leek Crepes
Adapted from Crepes, Sweet and Savory Recipes for the Home Cook

For the crepes:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup flour - I used white whole wheat, if you don't have that, you could use 1/2 regular whole wheat and 1/2 white flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons melted butter, plus some additional butter for coating the pan

Blend all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor for a few seconds, stopping and scraping down the sides if needed to make sure that everything gets well mixed together.  Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours or longer (overnight is fine).  Stir the batter to mix it back up, then heat a crepe pan over medium heat until hot (if you don't have a crepe pan, you should be able to use a regular skillet, particularly if it is non-stick), coat the pan lightly with butter.  With the pan off the heat, pour 2-3 tablespoons of batter on one side and then rotate the pan to get the batter to spread over the whole surface.  Cook on the heat until the crepe is nearly dry on top and the edges start to brown - 1-2 minutes.  Use a metal spatula to lift the edge and flip the crepe, then cook the other side for 15-30 seconds, until lightly browned in spots.  Stack the crepes on a plate when they are done and repeat until you have used all the batter.  You can make the crepes in advance - they should keep in the fridge for a few days if covered with plastic wrap, or you can freeze them in zip-top bags.

For the filling:

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 5-6 leeks, washed and chopped (white and light green parts only)
• 6-8 ounces cremini mushrooms or wild mushrooms (if available), chopped
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup - 1 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded gruyere cheese
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves and 1/4 teaspoon dried marjoram 
• OR 1/2 teaspoon dried terragon instead of herbs above (depending on your preference)
• salt

To make the filling, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a medium to large skillet, then saute the leeks over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until they are soft and starting to brown.  Add the mushrooms and the herbs and saute until the mushrooms release their juices, 4-5 minutes.  In a large bowl, mix together the remaining ingredients together with the mushrooms and leeks.

Preheat oven to 350 F and and grease a 9'x13' baking dish.  To assemble the crepes, put 1/3-1/2 cup of filling in the center of each crepe and fold the sides in, and then fold the top and bottom over as shown above.  Place the folded crepes with the open side down in the baking pan and then either brush the tops with more olive oil, or spray with olive oil spray (this is what I did and it worked fine) - or you could probably skip the brushing/spraying and it would be fine.  Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, until fully heated through.  Enjoy - they taste best warm but would also be fine at room temp, I think.

Mushroom Barley Risotto

A couple years ago, I went on a risotto-making kick.  I made risotto once and was so excited by how delicious it was that I made it again and again for a few months, despite all the stirring involved.  I wasn't thrilled about the fact that the main ingredient in traditional risotto, arborio rice, is basically glorified white rice and has about the same nutritional value.  Not to mention that risotto usually involves a healthy amount of butter, cream, and cheese.  For these reasons and also just because my interest faded over time (especially because of all the stirring), I stopped making so much risotto.  The favorite by far of all the risottos I made during that time was a mushroom risotto with homemade mushroom stock, it was really sublime.

So, flash forward to last winter when I saw this on smitten kitchen, which inspired me to think about barley risotto, and this at the New York Times, which got me started making risotto in the pressure cooker.  These two ideas pretty much addressed my main concerns with risotto, the time and effort it takes to prepare, and the refined white rice issue (not that barley makes it a health food, but its certainly better).  As a result, I made a variation of barley risotto quite a lot last winter, usually with mushrooms and either beans or greens added (or both).

Making risotto of any kind in a pressure cooker is great since it cooks twice as fast, or more, and you don't have to stand over it and stir it.  It can be a bit scary, though, since you can't see what is happening and I have more than once accidentally burned the risotto.  I find that the best approach is to err on the side of adding a bit more liquid to make sure it doesn't burn, since you can always cook it off after you depressurize.  If you don't own a pressure cooker, I highly recommend it, both for risotto and for making beans (you can cook a pot of beans in 30-40 minutes without any pre-soaking), but you can also make this recipe the traditional way (you should be able to basically follow smitten kitchen's directions).  I have a fagor pressure cooker similar to this one which I got as a college graduation present and it is still going strong.

I usually go whole hog and make this using homemade mushroom stock rather than storebought, it really tastes much, much better.  The recipe for stock is below the recipe for the risotto and you can make a big batch in advance and freeze it to have on hand - it's also delicious for mushroom sauces, soup broth and I am sure many other things!

Mushroom Barley Risotto with White Beans

• Olive oil (and butter, optional)
• 1-2 shallots, finely diced (or 1/2 white onion)
• 2 cups uncooked pearled barley
• 1/2 cup white wine (optional)
• 6 cups mushroom stock, warm/hot if possible (see below for recipe)
• 4-6 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon dried or fresh thyme (or more to taste)
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups cooked white beans (from a can or previously cooked)
• 1/2 cup heavy cream, half and half, or milk
• 1/4 cup grated romano or parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper to taste

Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in open pressure cooker pot, add shallots and saute for a few minutes over medium heat until tender.  Add dry barley and stir to coat with oil, cook while stirring frequently for 1-2 minutes.  Add white wine if using and stir until absorbed.  Add mushroom stock and cover the pressure cooker and bring to pressure.  Cook for 25-30 minutes then turn off heat and allow to depressurize.  While risotto is cooking, saute mushrooms and thyme in another 1 tablespoon of oil (or oil and butter if preferred).  Cook until mushrooms release their juices, then cook for a few minutes more and then turn off heat.  After risotto is depressurized, open pressure cooker and stir, adding warm water or more stock if it seems dry.  Check the barley to see if it needs to be cooked longer (it will stay a bit chewier than a traditional risotto), and continue to cook if needed, adding water or stock as needed.  When barley seems adequately cooked, stir in the mushrooms and white beans, and stir to combine.  Turn off the heat and stir in the cream, grated cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm.

Mushroom Stock
Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

• 1/2 - 1 ounce dried porcini or other mushrooms (about 1/2 - 1 cup)
• 1-2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• 2 celery stalks, diced
• 2-3 cups chopped mushrooms (mushroom stalks are fine - I save mine in the freezer to use)
• 1 cup chopped leek greens (again, I save these in the freezer)
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 4-6 thyme sprigs, or 1/4-1/2 teaspoon dried
• 6-10 sage leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 4-5 stalks of parsley
• 2-3 bay leaves
• 2-3 teaspoons salt

Cover the dried mushrooms with 1 1/2 cups hot water and let rehydrate.  In a large stockpot, saute the onions, carrots and celery over medium high heat for about 15 minutes, until the onion browns.  Add the dried mushrooms and their liquid, all the other ingredients, and 10-11 cups of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer partially covered for 40-45 minutes.  Strain out the vegetables and herbs and keep the broth (you can discard the solids).  Use fresh or freezes well.

Mustardy Wheatberry Cabbage Salad

Suddenly it has started feeling like fall, and it just didn't seem right to make coleslaw out of the head of cabbage I had in the fridge.  Plus, we are basically out of mayo and I was trying to figure out what I could make with materials on hand.  This felt much more seasonally-appropriate and used only things that I already had in the fridge (and yes, I am the kind of person who keeps whole grain mustard and wheatberries on hand just in case)....  Overall, I was happy with how it turned out, it was nothing spectacular but it has been quite good for eating for lunch all week.

Mustardy Wheatberry Cabbage Salad
Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

• 2-3 cups cooked wheatberries (I cooked mine in my handy pressure-cooker, but you can also soak overnight and then cook on the stovetop in about an hour)
• 1/2 small or medium head of cabbage, shredded
• 1/2 small or medium red onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard
• 1/3 cup (or less - mine turned out on the oily side) olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

 Combine wheatberries, cabbage and onion in a large bowl.  Stir mustard, oil and vinegar together to combine, then toss together with the salad ingredients.  Enjoy!