Carrot Gnocchi with Sage and Brown Butter

It's pretty amazing how simple ingredients, when treated right, can turn into something so delicious.  In this case, just five ingredients - carrots, flour, sage, oil, and butter - are combined into a truly wonderful meal - carrot gnocchi.  We've always been a little intimidated to make classic potato gnocchi because great gnocchi must hold together well yet be light and airy.  When we first came across this recipe as Joanne's choice for the food matters project though, it seemed accessible and straightforward so we gave it a try.

By substituting carrots for potatoes or cheese, these gnocchi become quite sweet and very tender.  They were easy to put together and as long as you don't over mix them (which would build up too much gluten), they seem pretty foolproof.

Meanwhile, the simple brown butter and sage sauce is a perfect savory compliment.  Brown butter is nothing but butter and olive oil cooked until slightly browned and richly flavored.  Adding some sage leaves to this combination makes it all the better.  While cooking the gnocchi in batches (to avoid crowding and cooling the water), toss the finished gnocchi with the sauce to let them get a little crispy on the outside - a great contrast of texture to the soft and chewy center.

Pick up some carrots and sage and warm up your next cold evening with this delicious dish.

Carrot Gnocchi with Sage and Brown Butter
From The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman

1 lb carrots, cut into large pieces
Salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Black pepper
Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
2 tbs olive oil
2 tbs butter
5-7 leaves of fresh sage, roughly chopped

Place carrots in cold water with a pinch of salt and bring to boil.  Boil until very soft, about 45 minutes, then drain.  Return carrots to pot and let them dry over low heat for 10 minutes.  Puree carrots in food processor or by hand and add nutmeg, salt, and pepper to taste.

Combine flours in mixing bowl and remove 1/4 of it.  Add carrots to mixing bowl and stir until just combined.  Pinch off a piece of the dough and boil it to make sure it holds its shape.  If it falls apart add more flour to mixture until gnocchi just holds together.

Turn dough onto floured surface and roll into 1/2-inch ropes.  Cut rope into 1-inch pieces and score with a fork to provide grooves which will hold sauce.  Arrange gnocchi, without them touching, on a baking sheet covered with a towel.  (At this point the gnocchi can be frozen on the sheet pan, then transferred to a plastic bag for 3 months.  Do not thaw before boiling.)  Refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 2 hours.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and heat oil, butter, and over medium low heat in a large skillet.  Cook a few gnocchi at a time in boiling water until 1 minute after they rise to the surface.  Transfer cooked gnocchi to skillet with sauce and repeat with remaining gnocchi.

Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Tempura

This past weekend we had friends over for a great sushi-making dinner party.  Vegetable sushi rolls have recently become one of our favorite entertaining dishes, as it's fun to make in a large group and much of the prep work can be done ahead of time - cooking the rice, prepping the vegetables, making the sauces.  And of course, making one of the best side dishes for sushi - tempura!

As it turns out, this weeks food matters project recipe was sweet potato and corn fritters, thus sweet potato tempura was a perfect recipe twist.

Tempura batter is incredibly versatile and can be used to add a perfect crunch to anything you fry.  We chose sweet potatoes because of their sweet flavor and contrast between soft interiors and crunchy shells created by the tempura batter.  It would be equally good with any number of other vegetables, including broccoli, onions, asparagus, carrots, green beens, and cauliflower.

We wanted to make the tempura ahead of time so we weren't making a mess while guests were over and in doing so stumbled upon a great trick to ensuring perfectly cooked vegetables.  After frying the sweet potatoes we put them on a cooling rack in a hot oven to keep them warm.  This also helped finish cooking the insides (which were slightly hard after frying) which resulted in super creamy interiors yet perfectly crisp exteriors.

Grab some local vegetables at your market and give this fun side dish a try!  Also check out Bittman's Sweet Potato and Corn Fritters on Dinner with Aura.

Butternut Squash Bisque

For the vegetarian cook, butternut squash is a staple winter ingredient, and a good butternut squash soup recipe is a must.  As the days have been getting shorter and the evenings getting cooler, here in Charlottesville we've been craving a comforting warm soup.  This is a great recipe to make on a Sunday afternoon and let simmer to develop the flavors and warm up your house (it also makes plenty to have for leftovers during the week).

In our minds the perfect butternut soup is rich and creamy but not heavy with cream and butter.  The sweetness of the squash is balanced by acid, in this case from apples and wine.  Once served the smoothness of the soup is contrasted by crunchy croutons.

We put a twist on the classic recipe by substituting almond milk for heavy cream, which added richness, but still keep it light.  We used granny smith apples and a dry white wine to provide a nice crispness while our garlic and balsamic croutons added the perfect crunch.

We will certainly be enjoying variations of this soup all winter long and hope you can enjoy it as well in one of the cold nights to come!

Spinach Tofu Burgers

This week was our turn to host the recipe for the food matters project.  We wanted to pick a recipe that was both accessible and versatile (not hard to find in Bittman's book).  But we also wanted a recipe that the other food matters project participants could customize in ways that reflect their favorite flavors and ingredients.  We thought that a veggie burger would be the perfect slate for us all to start with and embrace the food matters project ideals.

Typically, the veggie burgers we make are bean based (and delicious), so not including them in this recipe was a new concept to us.  We were also interested in the Asian flavors that went into this dish, as opposed to the usual earthy flavors in veggie burgers (chipotle, cumin, paprika, garlic, onion, etc.).  As the hosts this week, we followed Bittman's recipe exactly and loved the results.

These burgers were light, yet filling, with a crispy exterior (thanks to grilling them on a George Forman grill) and moist interior.  The Asian flavors are definitely unique, but proved to be refreshing and well balanced (particularly the crunch from the sesame seeds).

We topped our burgers with sliced tomato and our dill tofu mayo (from last weeks food matters project recipe) and placed it between two soft and grilled buns.

We hope that you enjoy this recipe as much as we did and look forward to seeing everyones take on it!

Spinach Tofu Burgers
From The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman
Makes: 4 servings       Time: 40 minutes

1 pound spinach (frozen is fine)
2 scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves
1 block firm tofu (about 1 pound), patted dry
1/2 cup bread crumbs, preferably whole grain and homemade, or panko
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 tbs soy sauce
2 tsp sesame oil
Salt and black pepper
2 tbs vegetable oil, or more as needed

Bring a pot of water to a boil and salt it; fill a large bowl with ice water.  Add the spinach to the pot, stir, and let cook for no more than a minute, then drain and plunge it into the ice water.  (If you're using frozen spinach, just let it thaw before proceeding.).  When the spinach is cold, drain it again, use your hands to squeeze out as much water as you can, and chop it finely by hand or in a food processor.  Transfer the spinach to a large bowl.

Put the scallions and garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times until minced.  Transfer them to the bowl, then crumble half the tofu into the bowl with your hands.  Put the remaining tofu into the food processor and let it run until the tofu is smooth.  Add it to the bowl along with the bread crumbs, sesame seeds, soy sauce, sesame oil, and a sprinkling of salt and lots of pepper.

Combine the mixture until all of the ingredients are evenly distributed, then form into 4 patties.  (You can prepare the patties up to a day ahead.  Cover them tightly and refrigerate; bring them to room temperature before proceeding.)

Put the oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  When the oil is hot, slide the patties into the skillet with the spatula.  Alternatively, place burgers on preheated indoor grill or panini press that has been sprayed with oil.  Cook, undisturbed, until they are nicely browned and easy to move, about 5 minutes.  Carefully flip the patties and cook on second side for 3 to 4 minutes more.  Serve on buns or over rice.