Easy as Vegetable Pie

Last night we had pie for dinner. I had other plans but it I had left my wallet at work. So it was a matter of foraging in the fridge. Luckily E wasn’t at work earlier in the week and had been out doing his hunter-gather thing. He had bought us individual pies at a local bakery. They were very nice (once we had worked out which one had meat in it). We don’t usually have pies frequently but it seems pies are hard to avoid at the moment – they were even featured in my novel I was reading last night. Last week even more unusually, I baked pies from scratch. Yes, I even made the pastry!

As I have said before I don’t really like making pastry much. It is too fiddly and prone to falling apart. But I know there are some who dislike it for its high fat content. A former housemate of mine used to make a pastry from my A Vegetarian Feast cookbook (by Vikki Leng) because it was lower in fat than most pastries.

This pastry has been on my mind for a while because I have fond memories of it. I was inspired to share the recipe by Helen from Food Stories who has been experimenting with low fat pastry. What’s not to love about a pastry that is not likely to fall apart, doesn’t need blind baking and tastes good without being full of butter. So I finally made it last week.

If you expect this to taste like a melting buttery pastry, you will be disappointed. But if you want to try a pastry that is substantial and chewy, that resists the sharp knife rather than crumbling under it, and that is more scone than tart, you will find it pleasing. And it is not just me who enjoyed it. We hadn’t finished our first piece of pie when E was asking that I make this more often.

This is a great healthy pie. Easy to make and packed with vegetables. The vegetables could be changed according to whim and season. My main problem was that our pies were a bit lacking in seasoning and vegetables can be too sweet, especially pumpkin. But this is easily fixed and will not dissuade me from making them again. These pies are great winter comfort food, especially when the pastry presents so few challenges.

Vegetable Cheese Pie
(adapted from A Vegetarian Feast by Vikki Leng)
Serves 8

Vegetable Cheese Filling:
1 kg pumpkin, peeled and diced
1 carrot, scrubbed and diced
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g cauliflower (I used about 500g)
1 cup (155g) green peas
¼ cup (60ml) water
1 tsp stock powder
freshly ground pepper
sea salt
2 handfuls grated tasty cheese
seeds of choice for sprinkling (I used white and black sesame seeds)

Wholemeal Pastry:
2 cups (250g) wholemeal flour
½ tsp baking powder
30g butter, melted
1 tbsp oil
½ cup (125ml) water (or water drained from the vegetables)
additional flour

To prepare the filling, place all vegetables, water, and stock powder in a microwave proof bowl cover and cook in microwave on high for about 25 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to check if vegetables cooked through. Vikki suggests alternatively boiling the vegetables in a bit more water but I think pumpkin holds its shape better when you cook it in the microwave.

She also advises you cool and drain the vegetables once they are ready. A nice idea for those organised souls with time. I am sure cold vegetables are easier to drain than hot ones. But hot vegetables can be drained with a slotted spoon, oven mitts and preferably a helpful partner. I kept some of my excess water for the pastry. Set aside to cool while you prepare the pastry.

To make the pastry: Mix flour and baking powder in a medium bowl. Melt butter in a small bowl (in microwave) or saucepan (on stovetop) and add oil and water. Mix liquid mixture and flour mixture to make a stiff dough. Mine was so stiff I added a couple of spoons of extra water till it was pliable. Briefly knead dough on a lightly floured surface till smooth (about 30-60 seconds).

Cut dough into two pieces and roll out to about 12mm or ½ inch thickness (that is Vikki’s suggested thickness but I think mine was thinner). She suggests lining two family sized flan tins but I don’t have anything of the sort and just used 2 x greased 20cm diameter cake tins. This means my pastry only went halfway up the side and was more rustic than uniform but it still looked ok to my uncritical eye. (See photo above.)

Pre-bake pie crusts in a moderately hot oven (190 C or 350 F) for about 10 minutes. The pastry cooks only ever so slightly which is plenty for this type.

Now that the vegetable filling has cooled a little, check and adjust seasoning. Divide up filling between the pie crusts. Don’t worry if the filling is still hot, it will be fine. Sprinkle with grated cheese and seeds. Return to the oven for 30-40 minutes.

The recipe says to serve topped with parley and tomato slices. I preferred to serve it with a little salad and topped with some tomato sauce.

I put one of my pie crusts in the freezer after it had baked for 10 minutes and placed the filling in a separate container so it was an easy dinner to assemble in the week after work. Just make sure you drain the filling again after defrosting.

On the stereo:
Roxy Music: Roxy Music

My Vegetarian Lasagne

Well in my last post, I wrote about the issues of posting others’ recipes in the blogosphere. So tonight I thought I would write about recipes from scratch.

As I will readily admit, I don’t post many meals that I make with no recipe in sight. They often don’t seem so exciting. But I also find it hard to pin them down. They are a bit of this and a bit of that with maybe another few minutes here. Not terribly precise.

I have decided to post this lasagne because I noticed I have posted some lasagne recipes that have interested me as being a little different from my normal style. But not having posted my usual lasagne makes these others look like what I mostly eat. No. They are special treats. My bog standard is a variation on a vegetarian bolognaise sauce layered with pasta and some cheese sauce, topped with cheese and seeds, and baked till crispy golden.

I think I first learnt to make it when I lived in the student household where I became vegetarian many years ago. I don’t feel it is a recipe I own because I picked up a lot of it from housemates and recipes that I consulted before instinct kicked in. But I have made it enough to do away with recipes. The only thing that can be a challenge is getting the amounts right. It is different every time depending on what is in the kitchen.

So I decided to post it to show you one of my standards (which sit in my repeat repertoire along with meals like dahl, mexicale pie and tacos) and to make a record for myself for next time I am wondering about quantities. I make no claims for it being amazingly original or special. If you search the internet, I am sure you will find many similar recipes.

I swithered over how to write up the recipe. Should I make the recipe neat with the ingredients list showing all the vegetables already chopped or do I let the method reflect my style of chopping as I go? Should I give all the possible options or just do a snapshot of the night in question? Am I writing to reflect on what I did or to tell you what I should do?

I have tried to capture this moment but exact amounts are not needed in this sort of recipe. I often just grab a handful as I feel like it so the measurements are meant as a guide only. This includes my habit of using the empty tomatoes tin as a measuring vessel which I do to rinse the tomato juice from the tin in the most economical way. This recipe has quite a bit of flexibility. I often use dried lasagne sheets but have lately been enjoying using fresh lasagne sheets which are richer. I don’t always use tempeh and sometimes use other proteins such as tofu, more beans or nut roast. The vegetables are some of my favourites for lasagne but can be changed according to season and whim. While it takes a while to compile, it will last a small household almost a week.

Lastly I get struck by uncertainties about if I should give it a name to enlighten or entertain. In the end I stuck with the name I would use which is neither enlightening nor entertaining but is solid and comforting, just like this dish.

I am sending to this Susan at The Well Seasoned Cook for My Legume Love Affair event in August because I like beans in my lasagne.

Vegetarian Lasagne
Serves 8

Bolognaise Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 packet tempeh (375g)
1 carrot, diced add later
3 garlic cloves
2 x 400g tins of diced tomatoes
½ tin of red wine
½ tin of water
½ butternut pumpkin (455g)
1 x 400g tin kidney beans, drained
1 tsp promite
1 tsp seeded mustard
4tbsp tomato paste
Juice of ¼ lemon
2 zucchinis
1 red capsicum
1 green capsicum
200g mushrooms

White sauce:
2½ tbsp white sauce
3½ tbsp plain wholemeal flour
1½ cups milk
½ tsp seeded mustard
½ tsp soy sauce

To assemble:
375g fresh lasagne sheets
100g mozerella cheese, grated
50 g tasty cheese, grated
1-2 tbsp each poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds

To make bolognaise sauce: Heat oil in large stockpot over medium heat. Add onions and tempeh and stir for about 10 minutes or till browned. While these are browning, dice carrot, chop garlic and add both to pot. If mixture is sticking to the bottom of the pan, add a splash of water.

Add tomatoes, water and wine and cook for about 30 minutes. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer (mostly on low heat but I sometimes need to fiddle with the heat as vegies are added). While bolognaise is cooking, chop and add remaining vegetables, plus seasoning.

Alternatively, if you are not a mult-tasker with limited time who likes to chop vegies and keep an eye on the stockpot, you could chop all the vegetables prior to cooking. In this case, I would recommend adding all the seasoning, liquids, beans, and pumpkin when you add tomatoes, adding zucchinis and capsicums 10 minutes later and then mushrooms 10 minutes later. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.

To make white sauce: Melt butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Mix in flour and stir the mixture over low heat for 1-2 minutes so the buttery flour mixture browns ever so slightly. Add milk gradually, mixing as you add it. Bring to the boil so that the sauce thickens. Stir in mustard and soy sauce.

To assemble lasagne: Place a few small spoonfuls of mixture on the base of a large metal dish (I use my large roasting dish which is about 35 x 25 cm). Place a layer of lasagne noodle, then a spread a third of the bolognaise sauce over the noodles Top with another layer of noodle. Repeat layers of bolognaise sauce and lasagne noodle twice till you have finished with noodle on top. Pour the white sauce over the top layer of noodle and spread to cover. Sprinkle with cheese and seeds. Bake in 200 C oven for about 45 minutes or til top is crispy. If I use dried lasagne noodles I put a knife in to check the noodle feels soft and cooked but with fresh noodles, there is no concern that the noodle might not be cooked.

Eat hot. Serve with salad, garlic bread and/or steamed vegetables if desired. We ate this over 4-5 days and it kept in the fridge over that period.

On the stereo:
Book of Nods: Aidan Baker

Update August 2013: I have updated the top photo - this one was made with lentils and different vegies but used the same method.

Do I dare to cook with one less pear?

I was horrified at reading Melissa’s post (thanks for the link, Mary) last weekend about being told by America’s Test Kitchen that they did not allow their recipes to be modified in print because they are tested they up to 100 times. The implication that there is one perfect version of any recipe seems ridiculous, esp, potato salad which was the recipe Melissa had posted. We all have different preferences, different kitchens, and different diets, as I have written about before. No matter how many times you test a recipe for potato salad, my sister and I will always disagree on a perfect version because she loves bacon and boiled egg in hers and I will not eat either of these ingredients. This doesn’t mean we can’t each have versions that are perfect to each of us.

There are now 278 comments in reply to Melissa’s post which shows it has really hit a nerve in the blogging community. There is a lot of respect on blogs for not reproducing recipes verbatim – but the idea that you should not cite your sources of inspiration when you adapt a recipe seems wrong. Unfortunately, this is what America’s Test Kitchen seems to imply. But my experience of blogging is that we like to give credit where credit is due.

I like blogging because I like the interactive sharing of recipes. Melissa’s experience led her to read up on copyright. What she found is that a list of ingredients is not copyrighted, but the methods re copyrighted if they have literary merit (eg ‘bring to the boil’ does not but ‘watch the little bubbles rise to the surface of the water like a school of dolphins coming up for air' does).

I know there are bloggers who will only write up a recipe if they have modified the ingredients but I find that, even if I use the same list of ingredients, my method often is slightly different (and I always rewrite the method in my own style). I agree with Neen, that we are promoting the magazines or cookbooks. After all, even if I really wanted to, I would not be able to cook everything out of a magazine or a cookbook.

It seemed even sadder to read this last weekend because it was the Melbourne bloggers meet at Lentil as Anything in Abbotsford (followed by a drink at Handsome Steve’s Bar), organised by AOF. It was a relaxed get-together of a group of friendly and generous people. This is much more the spirit of blogging than America’s Test Kitchen. Fortunately for me I have much more to do with the former group than the latter and will continue to share recipes.

Which brings me to today’s recipe. I had made this Spanish Vegetable Casserole before reading Melissa’s post but had been pondering issues of reproducing it. I found the recipe in a Tesco magazine when I lived in Edinburgh probably about 6 or 7 years ago. I had been thinking that there shouldn’t be problems with putting recipes from this magazine on the net because it is so unlikely that most people would be able to find a copy of it, apart from in charity shops and doctors’ waiting rooms in the UK. Magazines are the ephemera of the publishing world and I really like how blogs dredge up old recipes that I would never find, because I didn’t buy the magazine at the time.

It is not just magazines where recipes are hard to find. Blogging has made me aware that there are local cookbooks which are hard to find outside Australia, and many cookbooks go out of print all too fast. (If you don’t believe me on this last point, check out this article on cookbook collecting in The Age newspaper last week.) Besides, my experience has been that I have been more likely to find out about and buy new cookbooks since starting blogging, and my reading of other blogs suggests I am not alone.

My second point, raised by the Spanish Vegetable Casserole, is the issue of modifying recipes. It calls for the addition of two pears. (As an aside, I have never thought of pears as particularly Spanish and was curious as to whether anyone knows of other savoury Spanish recipes with pears in them.) I love eating fresh pears but am a little dubious about cooked pears, which may be one of the reasons it took me so long to try this recipe, but I was curious. Now I have made it, I would only add one pear next time, because the pears added a considerable amount of sweetness to the sauce. But again, this is personal preference, rather than an imperfection in the recipe. I think I added more stock the second night we ate it but I would recommend this as a good hearty winter stew.

Update Sept 2009 - just saw this article from Not Quite Nigella today on ACP asking her to remove recipes from an Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook. Seems we have just as many problems in Australia.

Spanish Vegetable Casserole
(adapted from Tesco Magazine)
Serves 4

2 tbsp olive oil
1 Spanish onion, sliced
500g new potatoes, halved
1 tbsp paprika (I used mild but hot or smoked could also be used)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
180g green beans, trimmed and halved
1-2 firm pears, cored and roughly chopped
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
400g tin of chickpeas, drained
1 tsp vegie stock powder
300ml water
Seasoning

Fry onion in oil in a large saucepan for a few minutes over low to medium heat til translucent. Add potatoes, paprika and garlic. Stir for about 1-2 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 30 minutes or til potatoes are tender. Season and serve with bread or rice.

On the stereo:
An Embassy to Gaius: Thanatos

Paella with thanks

A new cookbook arrived in my mail box recently. Actually it was second hand but new to me and came courtesy of Rachel of the Crispy Cook. She has kindly decided to ask bloggers to put their names down each month to go into a draw for a nominated second hand cookbook from her Old Saratoga Books store. Oh how wonderful to have a shop of old books! If I ever had the pleasure, I hope I would be as generous as Rachel. And if you want to find gluten free bloggers she has an impressive list of GF blogs.

The book that I ‘won’ was Vegetarian Dishes from Around the World by Rose Elliot. This was published in 1981 before anyone discovered that we had our own recipes in Australia. Or maybe Rose just thought Antipodeans such rabid carnivores that she didn’t expect to find any vegetarian recipes in our midst. Sorry, had to have a whinge about that. Otherwise this is a great cookbook that I have been pouring over in anticipation of making many of the recipes.

I am probably getting a bit old in that 1981 doesn’t seem that far away but this book has a little of the earnest, fusty olde worlde vegetarian about it. I have quite a few Rose Elliot's books, as you can see on my cookbook list (which needs updating). This is an American edition so, unlike most of my other copies of her books, this is written with cup measures. But it does not make it seem any less British.

There are not too many other cookbook authors that I feel quite as passionate about. When I first became vegetarian I was advised to get a copy of her Vegetarian Cookery if possible. So it is interesting to note some of the personal tit-bits – such as that she was brought up vegetarian – and some of her preferences – for lots of colour in a meal.

The round the world theme is interesting. It seems more about finding comfort elsewhere than challenges. But then I suspect this is from a time when exotica such as Thai curry paste and miso were not everyday items in supermarkets. Indeed, her coverage of Asia seems limited to China and India. And as someone who has never understood the allure of French cooking, I find her praise of wonderful French vegetable dishes perplexing. She stresses the need for protein in a meal but this often seems to be cheese and eggs. Unlike some of Rose Elliot’s more recent books, this seems to hail from a time when life (and the pantry) was much simpler.

The first dish I chose to make is paella. Here is the moment to say that this book has no photos. So there were none of those lovely images of bright yellow rice with dark plump olives and the colourful jumble of peas, carrot and capsicum. Quite fortunate as the remains of the saffron in my pantry were a little dusty and did not produce much in the way of colour. Perhaps that is why I needed stock and not just salt for a little flavour. E chose to have his with tabasco sauce and cheese but I enjoyed mine as it came from the pot.

Like the book, the paella did not seem terribly exotic but tasted of wholesome goodness with brown rice and lots of vegies. I made a few changes to the recipe. I had chickpeas where she had roasted almonds and I added a few olives at the end but didn’t have as many as I had thought. Not a dish to transport you to the sunny shores of Spain, but one to make you feel you are doing something good for your body. And one to make me grateful to Rachel for her generosity in sending this book my way!

Paella
(adapted from Rose Eliot)
Serves 6

2 red onions, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
375ml (1½ cups) brown rice, rinsed
1 litre (about 3 ¾ cups) water
1 packet saffron (I used what I had left)
3 tsp vegie stock powder
Black pepper
2 large carrots, chopped
1 tin (400g) chickpeas, drained
1 large red pepper, sliced in rings
4 tomatoes, chopped (peeling is optional)
1 cup (250ml) frozen green peas
Handful black olives (chopping is optional)
Juice of ½ small lemon

Heat oil in large heavy based stockpot and fry onions on low heat for about 10 minutes till soft but not browned. Stir in garlic, rice, water, saffron, stock powder, carrots, chickpeas and some black pepper. Bring to the boil and reduce heat. Cover and simmer. After30 minutes scatter with peppers, peas and tomatoes. Cover and return to simmer for a further 10 minutes. If, unlike me, you have time and read the recipe properly, Rose advises to remove from the heat and leave covered an additional 15 minutes before fluffing rice with a fork. I just stirred and served without the recommended wait.

On the stereo:
The Ghost Sonata: Tuxedo Moon

Tabouli from the Tree

This title is not quite accurate. It is actually the lemon juice in the tabouli that came from our tree but I figured it is close enough.

We bought the two citrus trees in December. The lemon tree has thrived and the lime tree is hanging in there. One person told me if the trees are allowed to grow fruit in their first few years, they wont do well, and another told me that growing fruit in their first year would help. I don’t know the first thing about gardening and decided to grow a couple of lemons when the tree was blossoming. It has been most enjoyable watching the maturing of two large yellow lemons that were harvested last weekend.

I use lemon in my cooking but I am not a huge fan of lemons, especially in dessert. In fact, lemon meringue pie, lemon tart and lemon pudding would rank among the easiest desserts for me to refuse. So it is unfortunate to have our own lemons come at a time when have been given lemon from a few others’ lemon trees. We are slowly making our way through them. I have been adding them to casseroles and to steamed vegetables. But how to feature our first harvest?

E came up with an idea for our lemons last weekend. I had been out and about on Saturday and was driving home along Sydney Road thinking about what to have for dinner when I was struck by a yen for falafel after seeing this post of Lucy’s. She is a woman who appreciates the simplicity of a falafel meal.

Ever since my mum and I did a bakery tour of Sydney Road earlier this year, I have felt I should make the most of some of the excellent food available locally. Yet, my timing is usually off. I either have too much bread in the house, or have plans for dinner or it is too much effort to head out to the treasures of Sydney Road when it is warm and cosy in the house. But driving past these places as I headed home for dinner, I felt I had to seize the opportunity.

The first place I stopped at was a Middle Eastern grocery we had visited on the tour. But as I found a park, the closed sign went up. So I drove on and found the Saray (188 Sydney Road, Coburg) where I have eaten before. I bought falafel, hummus, tabouli and Turkish bread. It made a delicious easy dinner. Made me wonder why we don’t do this more.

We even had leftovers but not quite enough. E, who loves parsley, polished off the lemony tabouli. ‘Why don’t you make some?’ he asked. Now I have posted tabouli (also spelt tabbouleh or tabouleh) recipes before - beetroot and pomegranate and green bean and broccoli – but I have never posted the basic tabouli you could buy anywhere on Sydney Road. So to please E, to feature our homegrown lemons and to make sure we had enough for a second meal, I made some parsley and tomato tabouli.

I found the recipe on Taste.com, an Australian website that gives recipes from many of the local foodie magazines. But even a basic foodie recipe needed some minar adjustments, based on what is in the fridge. I didn’t use mint, not having any on hand, but if you have a backyard full of mint, I would recommend it. This tabouli didn’t have quite as much herbs as the Saray version but I was pleased with the taste. It was lovely with the soft Turkish bread, smooth hummus and substantial falafels.

If you are not lucky enough to have a wealth of Middle Eastern Shops close by you might like to visit recipes I have posted for hummus and falafels. If you would like more ideas for herbs in salads and soups, then I suggest you head over to Holler’s No Crouton’s Required event round-up at Tinned Tomatoes.

Tabouli
(Adapted from Emma Braz’s recipe in Super Food Ideas - November 2006, p 60)
Serves 2-4

¼ cup burghul (cracked wheat)
¼ cup plus 1 tbsp vegetable stock
2 generous handfuls parsley, chopped
¼ cup mint leaves, chopped (optional)
1 tomato, diced
1 spring onion, finely sliced
2 teaspoons olive oil
½ lemon, juiced

Place burghul in a small bowl. Pour hot stockover burghul and cover for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Season with salt and pepper.

On the stereo:
Rip it up and start again: post punk 1978-1974: compiled by Simon Reynolds

Chickpea cutlets and gluten strings

When I saw Cindy making these chickpea cutlets on Where’s the Beef?, I was curious. Apparently these are everywhere in the world of vegan blogging, but it seems they originated with Isa and Terry in Veganomicon and were posted by them on Chow.com.

But what interested me most was the gluten flour that Cindy had bought at Allergy Block in Carlton. I keep seeing vital wheat gluten in recipes and not really understood what it was. But when I saw I could buy it at a local health food store, I had to find out. These chickpea cutlets and a loaf of bread were a good way to explore this new substance. As I began to make the cutlets I read I was meant to knead the mixture till gluten strings formed. Huh? But once I did the kneading, even though it was a weird texture to knead, it made sense. Lo and behold, the gluten strings appeared. I took a photo of them because it was so weird.

This has opened up a whole world of new possibilities. Now I can try making my own vegetarian sausages, which means not always having to buy them from the supermarket. I dislike seitan (satan?) which is made from this wheat gluten so I am a little wary of it but am fascinated by the way it held the burger together with a hint of stretch in the texture. Isa and Terry say it is ‘vegan food you can eat with a steak knife’. True. But these burgers taste so much better than steak (a personal viewpoint I know).

The vital wheat gluten is not the only challenge in the ingredients list. I was a little unsure of putting so much soy sauce in but the end result is tasty rather than salty. I also don’t know what is meant by paprika – does it mean mild, hot or smoked. I suspect you could use any of these and get quite different tasting burgers. I decided to go with the gentle flavour of mild paprika. I also didn't get my burgers as nicely golden brown as Cindy but they still tasted great. They were lovely with leftover pasta the first night, and with salad, corn and toast the second night.

Oh and if you want to check out what fellow Melbourne vegetarian bloggers, Cindy and Michael from Where’s the Beef?, are eating at the moment, you will find that they are not posting many recipes right now. They are too busy experiencing the delights of the UK, including Edinburgh. I am enjoying a bit of armchair (deskchair?) travel and recommend you head over too if you like travel photos with a bit of food in the mix.

Chickpea cutlets
(adapted from Chow.com via Where’s the Beef?)
Serves 4

400g tin of chickpeas, drained (about 1 cup cooked)
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup wheat gluten or gluten flour
½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup vegie stock or water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon dried mixed herbs
zest of ½ medium lemon (about ½ teaspoon)
½ teaspoon mild paprika
shake of cayenne pepper
extra oil for frying or greasing

Mash the chickpeas and oil together in a bowl until all chickpeas are smashed into a smoothish mixture. Add the remaining ingredients and mix till a smooth dough forms. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, until gluten strings form. Divide the dough into four pieces and flatten them into patties, 1.5 cm thick (or thinner).

Bake or fry them. For both golden crunch and health, the best option is to fry in a little oil for 2-3 minutes or til golden on both sides and then bake a further 15 minutes at 180 C to cook through.

On the stereo:
Among My Swan: Mazzie Star

Vegetarian Cassoulet

I have a favourite cassoulet recipe I have been wanting to share on my blog all winter but when I made it a few months back, E complained about the powderiness of the topping. Then I happened across a piece on cassoulet by Waverley Root in Mark Kurlansky’s Choice Cuts: a miscellany of food writing. Waverley Root explained that there is a tradition that the crust should be broken seven times during cooking. The top photo shows how my epiphany about breaking the crust changed the texture and appearance from my below 'powdery topping'.

Of course, being vegetarian, I am well aware that I am often reinventing meat-centric traditions. Cassoulet comes from France, the land of rich meaty meals. Even so I was quite horrified at the traditional recipes which included pork sausages, pork, goose, duck, and sometimes mutton. Enough to turn anyone vegetarian!

I am happy to do away with the meat but I love the traditions. Cassoulet is said to have originated in the 14th Century in Castelnaudary in the south of France during the Hundred Years War. During a siege, the Provost Marshall apparently made this by putting all foods into a communal dish that was so hearty it gave the army courage face the surrounding British army. I can’t help thinking there wouldn’t have been many animals left in the village. But of course it is not a tradition without its doubters.

So much debate arose over the origins of cassoulet that Prosper Montagné of Larousse Gastronomique decreed in 1929 that "God the father is the cassoulet of Castelnaudary, God the Son that of Carcassonne, and the Holy Spirit that of Toulouse." It is also claimed that the true spirit of the dish is not in the town that created it, but in the magic of the sharing. Indeed it does seem like a dish that could feed a village.

A quick search of the web showed that this is a dish to be taken seriously and slowly. In France there is an Academy of the Cassoulet. I suspect they would be none too forgiving of a vegetarian version. More open to a vegetarian version is a chap called John Whiting who spends a week preparing cassoulet for his birthday dinner each year. Makes Julia Child’s 3 day version seem quick and easy. Whiting includes a vegan version in his notes full of wonderful flavours such as roasted vegies, sun dried tomatoes, wine.

Now I appreciate his version because I have done some searching for vegetarian version and many just seem to be beans, carrots and celery. Isn’t this just taking out the meat? I protest that a proper vegetarian version must include textures and flavours which impart some of the richness that meat gives to a dish. It doesn't take much imagination.

Traditional versions seem to include bean layers and meat layers. But there are debates about what meat and whether to include breadcrumbs on top. In fact there are so many versions that Whiting says that “if you go into an isolated Languedoc village and ask fifty housewives how to make a cassoulet, you will get at least fifty-one recipes.” You can easily find many recipes that include the traditional, the casual, without breadcrumbs, and without meat on the web.

According to Waverley Root, traditionally cassoulet would continually simmer in the pot – he quoted Anatole France who claimed the cassoulet he used to eat in his favourite establishment in Paris has been cooking for 20 years. When I told E about this, he thought it sounded like his sort of dish because there would be no washing up.

The version that I have been making for a few years is one I found on the internet and sadly am not able to credit because I have not been able to find it again. It is far superior to many versions I have found because it is packed with an interesting combination of vegetables and legumes. I would advise that the cheese and breadcrumbs are optional because it tastes so good without them but I do enjoy the creaminess when they are stirred in. It will not appeal to those who don’t like chopping veggies but once the veggies are prepared there isn’t much else to do apart from a little stirring. It is worth the effort and much quicker than 3 days or even a week. This recipe lasts E and myself for almost a week and is a complete meal.

I am sending this recipe to Equal Opportunity Kitchen’s Tried Tested and True recipe event. I thought this would be a good dish as they are asking for a health-promoting dish which is a lighter version of the original. Then I saw that they are judging recipes on visual appeal. Cassoulet is meant to be a blackened stew in a burn-out pot so I am sure they will appreciate that the appeal is in the tasting not the viewing!

Update July 2013: I cringed recently at the photos on this post so I have updated them after making the Cassoulet again recently.  It isn't the bonniest of dishes but I have attempted to imbue it with some peasant charm.

Vegetarian Cassoulet
Serves 6-8

1 tbsp oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 fennel bulb, chopped
3 large carrots, chopped
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 medium aubergine (eggplant), chopped
150g mushrooms, chopped
6 tomatoes, chopped
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp mixed dried herbs (eg rosemary, sage, thyme)
1 bay leaf
1 glass white wine
¼ pint (about 150ml) vegetable stock
1 can cannellini beans, drained (or other white beans)
125g red lentils
5 tbsp chopped parsley
175g parmesan cheese, grated
175g breadcrumbs
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in a large stockpot (preferably an ovenproof one like my le creuset stockpot) over low heat and add onions, garlic and fennel. Cook, stirring frequently for 20-30 minutes or til browned. NB The time while the onions brown is ideal to chop up the remaining vegetables.

Add carrots, celery, aubergine, mushrooms, tomatoes, tomato puree, mixed herbs, bay leaf, white wine, stock. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for about 10-20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add beans and lentils and simmer for about 10 minutes.

If your stockpot isn’t ovenproof, transfer to a large casserole dish. Scatter cassoulet with a mixture of parsley, parmesan and breadcrumbs. (You can keep some aside for later if you wish.) Place casserole dish or ovenproof stockpot in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes at a moderate heat (180-200 C).  Do not worry about the seasoning too much at this point because once the parmesan is stirred in it will have a lot more salt in it.

Remove dish from oven and use a wooden spoon to break the crust and stir into cassoulet. If you wish, you could scatter with some reserved parmesan and breadcrumbs mixture after stirring. Return to the oven for about 20 minutes. This time is fairly flexible and could be extended by hours if you wanted to try breaking the crust seven times! John Whiting advises it is best if made a day ahead and the leftovers were definitely excellent!

Update July 2013: when I made it recently I added another tin of beans but it was rather thick so I probably should have been more generous with the liquid.  I only baked it for 10 minutes after the first stirring in of the crust because it was late at night (3 hours after I had started making it at 8.30 with a few small interruptions).  The next day I baked it for a few hours on 160 C and it could have been baked longer.

On the stereo:
Way Out: Alessandra Celletti