Beet Fritters with Goat Cheese and Arugula

Every now and then my house starts to look more cluttered than usual (I was going to say cluttered, but the King of Soup would have called me out on that since clutter is common over here). For the past few weeks I have been in purge mode:

·      Magazines older than two months?

o   OUT

o   Except for the New Yorkers, of course

·      Summer clothes?

o   UNDER THE BED YOU GO

o   Until the 30+ degree weather started and the bin came back out

·      Kids’ schoolwork from 5 years ago?

o   GET RID OF IT OF IT

o   As my Grandmaman used to say

·      That really boring 700+ page book (By Gaslight) that I couldn’t get into?

o   DONATE IT

o   Let someone else be tortured

Yesterday I decided to attack the leaning tower of Food & Drink magazines that have taken up residence in my kitchen. For those of you who don’t live in Ontario, Food & Drink is a magazine published by the LCBO (Ontario Liquor Commission) and it’s packed with great recipes (and lots of information on what to drink with the food you prepare). Conveniently, many of the recipes can be found online now so logically; it shouldn’t be that difficult to get rid of these things. But first, I had to scour each one to ensure I wasn’t missing any potentially life-altering recipes.

One of the recipes I came across was for beet fritters. In the photo they basically look like a bright red latke. I love beets, and I love latkes, so I decided to tear this recipe out before tossing the magazine. It was from the Autumn 2015 edition, in case you’re wondering.

I made them today because I happened to have most of the ingredients on hand: beets, arugula, goat cheese, carrots, and onions – check. Pistachios – no, but let’s use almonds instead. The recipe is easy, and the end result is lovely to look at and even better to eat. The fritters are crispy on the edges, soft in the centres, and the tang of goat cheese adds just the right balance to the sweetness of the beets; a lovely marriage.

Without further delay, here is the recipe (my edits are in brackets).

Ingredients:

2 carrots, peeled and grated

3 medium raw beets, peeled and ends trimmed, grated

½ red onion, grated (I used sweet onion instead)

2 large eggs, beaten (always buy organic free range, please and thanks)

¼ cup flour

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Vegetable oil for frying (I used peanut because we are out of vegetable)

4 cups baby arugula

1 tbsp olive oil

pinch of salt

black pepper to taste

2 tbsp mint, roughly torn (I had no mint so I skipped this)

1 log goat cheese

½ cup pistachios, chopped (I used almonds and I toasted them)

balsamic reduction (I used balsamic vinegar but not too much)

Method:

Combine the grated veggies in a bowl and add the flour, salt, pepper and eggs.

Mix it all together until you can't see the flour anymore.

Use your hands to make small patties – I estimate that I used about ¼ cup of the mixture for each patty.

Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Wait until the oil is hot before putting your fritter in to prevent the beets from soaking up the oil. Test the oil by dropping a bit of the beet mix into the pan – if it sizzles, the pan is ready. 

Fry 4 fritters at a time. 3-4 minutes per side, then drain them on a plate with paper towel.

Put the arugula in a large salad bowl and drizzle with the 1 tbsp olive oil and the balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and the mint.

The recommended serving presentation is to stack the fritters, layering with the arugula mix, crumbled goat cheese, and pistachios. I didn’t do this. I just placed two fritters on a plate and tossed the arugula, goat cheese and almonds on top.

Serves 4-6 people depending on whether this is a main or side dish. If you make these bite-sized, you could also serve them as an appetizer.

Classic Vegetable Soup

I haven’t posted in a while. We’ve had a hard summer and the desire to post has just not been there. I am looking forward to forgetting all about this summer so it’s nice that Mother Nature is cooperating. The air is getting cooler. Our central air conditioning unit broke (again) last week and we haven’t felt the urgency to get it fixed. The past few mornings I have sent my kids to camp with hoodies on, and in the evening the breeze picks up and I enjoy the sight of the curtains billowing about the windowsills.

Logically, as it cools down outside, we feel the need to warm up inside. What better way to  accomplish that than with a piping hot delicious homemade soup?

Soup time is one of my favourite times of year, largely because The King of Soup starts to make some of his masterpieces again. The KoS is quite open to suggestions so I find myself browsing through cookbooks and websites, and proposing new options weekly. This process works well for me.

Even though I love when The KoS cooks, I also enjoy making soup myself. It doesn’t have to be fancy, it’s not technical, and you can generally combine many things that are already in your refrigerator and end up with something quite yummy.

This recipe came from my head, and was not prepared by The KoS. It’s a classic vegetable soup with some extra protein in the form of chick peas. And it was delicious.

Ingredients:

2 large carrots, sliced

2 large stalks celery, sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed (14 oz can) (or you could use lentils)

1 large can diced tomatoes (or take fresh tomatoes and pulse them a few times in the food processor)

A couple of handfuls of green beans, cut into 1 inch sections

Any other vegetables you want to add! (try zucchini, sweet potato or squash, peppers...)

Herbs (a combination of fresh and dried works well – try dried oregano, fresh basil, fresh parsley, or whatever else you’d like)

Salt and pepper to taste

Vegetable oil (2 tbsp should do the trick)

Vegetable stock cubes reconstituted with boiling water, or homemade stock

Method:

In a large stock pot, heat 1 tbsp of the oil. When hot, reduce the heat to medium-high and add the onions. Saute for about 5 minutes until translucent.

Add the rest of the oil and the celery and carrots and sauté for another 2 – 3 minutes. Add the garlic.

Add the chick peas and sauté for 1 minute. 

Then add the tomatoes and the dried herbs.

Finally add the beans and whichever other veggies you have decided to use. Add the stock (liquid should just cover veggies). You don’t want too much liquid because you won’t be letting this soup simmer too long or the vegetables will overcook.

If you have decided to use sweet potatoes, cube them and par-boil them first for about 10 minutes before adding them to the soup. If you have decided to try squash, add an extra layer of deliciousness by roasting the squash in the oven (in cubes) for 10 – 15 minutes prior to adding it to the soup. 

Add your fresh herbs and the salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with parmesan cheese, homemade bread, biscuits, or whatever else makes you feel happy and cosy inside. I made Challah and toasted it nicely. Yummy.

Peanut Veggie Stir Fry

The other day at work we had our annual holiday potluck. Rather than make something sweet, I decided it would be good to have some vegetables available for myself since potlucks in the past have tended to be rather meat heavy, and I am a vegetarian. To my great surprise, everything on offer at the event was vegetarian!!!

This is a very quick meal to make once your veggies are prepped. If you want to make it during the week and find yourself pressed for time, you could cut up the veggies in advance and keep them in the fridge until you’re ready to go.

 

For the sauce, the only items that might not already be in your pantry and fridge are sesame oil, and Sambal Oelek (Thai red chilli paste). The other magic ingredients are peanut butter and soy sauce.

As you prep your veggies, group them with other veggies that take similar cooking times (for example, celery and carrots together, beans and peas together, peppers and zucchini together). The more organized you are with your mise en place, the faster the cooking process will go.

Ingredients

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 large carrot, thinly sliced

2 stalks celery, chopped

A large handful of green beans, cut into bite sized pieces

A large handful of snap peas or pea pods, cut into bite sized pieces

1 small head broccoli, cut into florets (you can also add cauliflower if you like – I didn’t have any on hand)

1 small can water chestnuts

1 small can bamboo shoots, which have been julienned (you can buy them in a can this way)

1 medium zucchini, sliced

1 red or yellow pepper, sliced (or ½ a red and ½ a yellow)

You can add mushrooms as well if you like, I don’t care for them so I leave them out J

2 – 3 tbsp peanut butter

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 tbsp sesame oil

Crushed peanuts (optional)

Cilantro (optional)

Rice or rice noodles (optional)

Method

 

In a large wok or non stick pan, put 1 – 2 tbsp grapeseed oil and 1 tbsp sesame oil. When it’s hot, add onions and cook for about 5 minutes (you can lower the heat so they don’t burn). Add the garlic and stir for a minute or so. 

 

Add the celery and carrots. Stir for 2 minutes. 

 

Then add the beans and peas, broccoli and cauliflower (if using). Stir for 2 minutes. 

 

Then add the rest of the vegetables. Stir for a couple of minutes – don’t overcook.

 

Add 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Thai red chili paste, or if you can’t find Sambal, use another chili sauce). Add 2 – 3 tbsp peanut butter, and 2 tbsp soy sauce (approximately). Salt and pepper. Stir to combine the sauce with the vegetables. Taste it and adjust seasonings as you require.

You can serve it with rice, or rice noodles, or on its own. The julienned bamboo shoots look like noodles and have a similar texture so you might not even notice that the noodles aren’t there. You can add crushed peanuts on top when you serve it, and also cilantro if you have some around.

Enjoy!!