The Taste Traveller

spinach, split pea and lemon mash

MMM. Sounds good doesn't it? It's a recipe from my Vij's at Home: Relax, Honey: The Warmth and Ease of Indian Cooking too - so really, it has to be good! This easily makes for a good kid-friendly or baby food recipe too - skip the jalapeño if you prefer. I served this with a pork tenderloin dish from his book too, which I'll share with you another time. My two-year-old decided that she was not into the 'green dish' but when I finally got her to try it she didn't mind it at all. 

This dish is great with recipes that are not Indian too. This would also work well on it's own, served on top of rice or potatoes - but works as an alternative to them as well. Try it as an appetizer or snack with crackers, pita, naan or pappadom. 

Easy to make and keeps well for several days - you can't go wrong! 

I was not able to find the spice sumac or the dried mint in time to make this the first time. Instead I added a bit of fresh lemon juice, lemon rind and some paprika. I can't wait to try it with sumac and mint. I will try to remember to re-post about it when I do. I'm thinking that fresh mint would be lovely too. 

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups (355 ml) green split peas
• 3 1/2 cups (828 ml) water
• 1/4 cup (60 ml) cooking oil or ghee
• 1 cup (250 ml) onion, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons (22 to 30 ml) garlic, finely chopped
• 2 1/2 tablespoons (37 ml) or less jalapeño pepper (or less), chopped
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) salt
• 7 to 8 oz fresh spinach (1 bunch) with stems
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) ground sumac (if possible)
• 2 teaspoons (10 ml) dried mint 

Alternative seasoning:

• 2 tablespoons (30 ml) freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon rind
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) paprika (smoked or other). Or, just a pinch on top before serving.

Method:

Place the split peas in a colander and rinse and drain them several times. Sort through them to remove any rocks. 

Transfer the split peas to a medium-sized pot, add the water and soak for 2 hours. 

When they have soaked bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer the split peas for 15 to 20 minutes. The water should mostly absorb and the peas should be cooked with just a little water left in the pot. If there is still a fair bit of water left in the pot simmer for a bit longer or drain some out. My split peas were definitely cooked (soft) but there was still too much water in the pot. 

Remove the cooked peas from the heat and let cool. 

In a medium-sized saucepan, heat the oil or ghee on medium-high heat and then add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes, or until golden. 

Add the garlic and sauté for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until golden. 

Add the jalapeño (if using), salt and spinach. Stir well and cook for 1 minute, stirring to turn over the spinach. If the spinach wilts in less than a minute you can stop cooking. 

Remove the saucepan from the heat and set aside to cool. 

Purée each mixture separately. The spinach mixture is best roughly puréed with some spinach pieces still intact. The split pea mixture is puréed until smooth. 

In a suitably-sized bowl combine the two mixtures. Stir in the sumac and mint if using, or add the lemon juice and rind. Top with a pinch or more of paprika and serve. 

Top with a spiced almond and date mixture for added pizzaz! I'll post about this recipe in the next week. 

Will keep in a sealed container, refrigerated, for several days. 

Printer-friendly Recipe

 

split pea soup

Easter dinner leftovers. Mmm. We ate our way through most of them over a few days, then I made this soup using the ham bone. What flavour! This was the first time I've made a split pea soup. This was actually the first Easter dinner, first big occasion family dinner, that I've ever hosted too.

I adapted my mom's scalloped potato recipe to make it my own and I think I can say, modestly, that it was really really good! I will share it with you sometime, but frankly it was enough to get everything ready on time and served attractively. Taking time to get a good picture was just too much for me this time! 

This soup is fairly simple to put together and as with so many recipes, in particular with soups, you can give or take on some of the ingredients and add your own ideas easily. I looked around for ideas and a friend sent me a recipe she had. The basics are the same as many soup bases and the ham bone is what makes it particularly good and unique to this soup. Most recipes have common ingredients generally, as you'll find here, and you can further simplify by skipping the pre-cooking or softening of the vegetables and soaking of the peas and just allow a longer cooking time. I do highly recommend these steps though. As far as herbs are concerned, fresh is great but use dried if that's what you have handy. This is very tasty served with bread. I used whole cloves, whole garlic cloves - bundled in cheesecloth, and dried thyme. We enjoyed it with this yummy bread leftover from our Easter dinner.

Ingredients:

• 2 ¼ to 2 ½ cups (about 1 lb/just over 500 ml) dried split green peas, picked over and rinsed
• 1 ham bone
• 1 medium to large leek, white and light green part only, halved lengthwise and then thinly sliced crosswise. Optional.
• 3 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup/250 ml)
• 3 to 4 carrots, peeled and chopped (about 1 ½ to 2 cups/350 to 500 ml)
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon (2 ml) salt
• 1/4 teaspoon (1 ml) ground black pepper
• 1 pinch dried marjoram
• 1/4 tsp (1 ml) ground cloves
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) dried thyme leaves OR
• 4 sprigs thyme
• 2 to 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 cup (125 ml) chopped fresh parsley, plus 8-10 parsley stems.Optional
• 8 cups (2 US quarts) water
• 2 cups (500 ml) reserved ham, cut into ½ inch cubes. Optional.

Method:

Pick over the peas and remove any stones. Wash and drain the peas. 

In a large pot or Dutch oven, cover the peas with 2 quarts of cold water and soak overnight. Or, if you need a quicker method, simmer the peas for a few minutes and then soak for 1 hour. 

Drain and rinse the peas.

Meanwhile, heat oil in the large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onion, leek (if using), carrots and celery. Cook until the vegetables begin to soften, about 5 minutes. 

Return peas to the pot with the vegetables when rinsed. 

Tie the parsley stems (if using parsley), garlic cloves and thyme (if using fresh) together with kitchen string or bundle in cheesecloth tied in a knot. This is your herb bundle or bouquet. Optional.

Add 8 cups of water, the ham bone, dried or fresh herbs (bundled if using fresh), salt and pepper and bring to a boil. 

Reduce the temperature, cover and simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours, stirring occasionally. You may need to skim scum off the top of the soup at the beginning.  

Remove bone; cut off meat. (dice and return meat to soup if you want to include the meat). 

Remove herb bundle from the soup and discard. 

Purée the soup with a blender. An immersion blender is the easiest and works great, but a regular blender will work well too. Be careful if you are blending the soup hot though. Only fill the blender to about half full and hold the lid down while blending. You’ll need to blend in batches. 

Return the puréed soup to the pot and heat to serve. 

Add salt and pepper to taste.

If you would like to add a garnish, here are a few great ideas:

• croutons
• fresh or frozen peas, thawed and steamed or cooked just slightly
• freshly chopped chives or parsley
• combination of 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped, ¼ cup (50 ml) red onion, finely chopped and 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of cider vinegar. (I got this idea from Canadian Living)
• dollop of plain yoghurt

Printer-friendly Recipe

 

slow cooker oatmeal

I know I'm not alone in my love for my slow cooker. My only complaint is I think I could use a bigger one! I also love making my own hot cereal for breakfast almost every morning (except the weekends when I usually have something with eggs). So, it works out that we eat a hot cereal mixture about 5 days of each week. I make it for my 2 year old daughter too. She loves that we sit and eat our hot cereal together. So do I. So, this was one method I had to try. At one point I had been using my rice cooker to make my hot cereal. Then I switched back to a small saucepan on the stovetop. I thought it was time to try this slow cooker method as I understood the results were really creamy and smooth - unlike any stovetop method can produce and certainly not possible with instant hot cereals (which I buy for travelling). 

I also sometimes like to have oatmeal for dessert. It turns out this is a Scottish idea - traditionally the oats are soaked overnight in cream and layered with fresh fruit or stirred with honey and Scotch whisky into the oats. Now that's some cereal! 

The results of this were indeed 'creamy' or smooth, quite different than I get even with a longer simmer on the stovetop. This also made a lot so you could cut it in half to try it out if you are only feeding a few people. I would also add more apple than specified below - up to a cup would be nice I think. In the morning I turned the slow cooker off and added some raisins, then let it sit and the raisins soften for a little while. Of course I always enjoy a little bit of brown sugar stirred in (and maybe a little milk too) before serving. I've put 7-8 cups of water here as I wouldn't mind a thicker version than 8 cups of water produces. Play around with it by all means as everyone tends to have their own way they prefer hot cereal. I'd start with 7 cups of water and see what you think.

Next up I plan to make this with steel cut oats! Watch this space. 

Ingredients:

• 7-8 cups of water
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups oats
• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon (optional)
• 1/2 to 1 grated apple (optional) I'm a big fan of adding grated apple to my hot cereals.

 Note: for just a few people reduce the above amounts by half. 

Method:

Add all ingredients to your slow cooker. Stir. 

Set your slow cooker on medium (or low if there is no medium option).

7 to 8 hours later it will be ready to serve.

Try adding milk or ricemilk for an even creamier result - or stir in a little plain yoghurt before serving. 

Chop some banana or add raisins or your favourite berries on top! 

This will keep for a day or two - so you can use it over a few days if you like. 

Printer-friendly Recipe