Many of us cook foods on a seasonal rotation. I know I do. There are times when it’s healthy to get outside the box, and try something new. Ever since I started using Napa cabbage, I started digging a little deeper into Asian cooking, beyond stir-frys. We eat lot of soups during the winter, so when the temperature nosedived back into the 30’s the other day I decided to try my hand at a Chinese classic, Hot and Sour Soup. I’ve had it many times in restaurants, but have never tried to make it at home. Had I known how incredibly easy it is to make, I would have tried it sooner. You can keep it vegetarian using firm tofu, or you can make it with a 1/2 pound of cooked ground pork, or thinly sliced pork chops or pork loin. Either way, you will find it delicious!
HOT & SOUR SOUP
INGREDIENTS:
8 cups chicken or vegetable stock (using homemade stock will definitely give you a MUCH better result)
8 ounces shiitake or baby bella mushrooms, (I used bella’s), thinly sliced, stems discarded
1 (8 – ounce can) bamboo shoots, drained and julienned
1/3 cup rice vinegar, or more to taste
1/4 cup soy sauce (I use Bragg’s Liquid Aminos)
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 generous teaspoons chili-garlic sauce
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 large farm-fresh eggs, whisked
8 ounces firm tofu*, compressed dry with paper towels, then sliced and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
4 green onions, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
Kosher salt and white pepper
INSTRUCTIONS:
Set aside 1/4 cup or your chicken or vegetable stock to make a slurry for the soup.
Add remaining 7 3/4 cups of stock, mushrooms, bamboo shoots, rice vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, and chili-garlic sauce to a large stock pot, and stir to combine. Heat over medium heat until the soup reaches a simmer.
While the soup is heating, whisk together the 1/4 stock that was set aside with the cornstarch in a small bowl until completely smooth. Once the soup has reached a simmer, swirl in the cornstarch mixture pouring it in slowly. Continue to stir until soup has thickened, about 1-2 minutes.
Continue stirring the soup in a circular motion, then drizzle in the eggs in a thin stream as you stir the soup to create egg ribbons. Stir in the tofu, half of the green onions, and sesame oil. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
Serve immediately, garnished with extra green onions.
Serves: 6-8
*NOTE: Consider freezing your tofu before using. This step will help release additional moisture from the tofu, making it firmer.
“Real soup is to the body what peace is to the soul.” ~ Isabel Allende
It seems that cauliflower is having a moment. For decades this lowly forgotten vegetable was relegated to the back of the freezer section. I never had it as a child, as my mother preferred its green cousin broccoli. As far as a fresh head of the stuff, what? What do I do with this? Now it seems its having a well deserved renaissance. I have found it to be an extremely versatile vegetable. Yes, you can steam it, but you can also roast it, make salads with it, turn it into a cake, use it as a rice substitute, make tacos, pizza crust, fritters, even steaks.
But if you want to impress your company, I suggest you roast it whole and give it center stage. In this rendition a head of cauliflower is covered with lemon juice, olive oil and ground pistachios, then roasted. Once roasted a delicious pistachio cream sauce is drizzled over its crown. Cut in wedges with additional sauce and fresh parsley and listen for the ooos and ahhhs.
PISTACHIO-CRUSTED CAULIFLOWER
INGREDIENTS:
1 medium to large cauliflower head, trimmed of outer leaves, leaving core in tact
1/2 cup roasted and salted pistachios
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
8-12 cups water to fully submerge your head of cauliflower
Juice of one lemon
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
FOR PARSLEY PISTACHIO CREAM SAUCE:
1/4 cup roasted and salted pistachios
1/4 cup water (plus more to thin sauce if necessary)
1/3 cup loosely packed parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Using a food processor, grind 1/2 cup of the pistachios and add a few grinds of pepper, 2 teaspoons of olive oil and mix until combined. Set aside.
In a large stock pot, add 8-12 cups water (enough for your head of cauliflower to be completely submerged upside down in the water). Add juice from one lemon and 2 teaspoons of salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, submerge the cauliflower in the water upside down. Boil for 11-14 minutes or until a knife inserted into the core meets only a slight resistance. Transfer the cauliflower to a colander face up and let sit for 15 minutes to drain.
Place the cauliflower in an oven proof dish and drizzle 2 teaspoons of lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of olive oil and rub it all over the crown. Sprinkle with salt and a little garlic powder. Press the ground pistachios all over the crown and sides of cauliflower. Place on the middle rack of your oven and roast for 20-25 minutes until cooked through and golden. If the pistachios start to get too brown, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil.
Meanwhile, prepare the pistachio cream sauce. In a food processor or high speed blender, add the 1/4 cup pistachios, water, and parsley and process until smooth. Add the lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, and process to combine. If sauce is too thick, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until desired consistency is reached (you want to be able to pour it over the cauliflower).
Remove cauliflower from oven and let rest for 10 minutes. Place on serving plate and drizzle generously with cream sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley, cut into wedges and pass additional cream sauce.
Serves 4-6 (depending on your size of cauliflower head)
“Cauliflower is nothing but a cabbage with a college education.”
Twisted Basics 