Waldorf-ish Salad, Caramelised Leek Tart & A Mushroom Stew
plus, tips and thoughts for the season ✨
Allô! 👋
Happy New Year! I hope you were able to enjoy some relaxing days between the end of December and the start of January. On my end, I had a very pleasant holiday. We spent a fair amount of time outside, did lots of sledding and hiking, enjoyed a lot of music, and I got to read a few new cookbooks (including this brick of a beauty about Nordic cooking and this colourful chronicle of a Montreal institution's classics – thank you to my family for sending it along with other goodies all the way from Canada).
The book on Nordic cooking, aptly called The Nordic Cookbook, is a fascinating combination of history, anthropology and sociology all told through the lens of regional and local recipes, both old and new.
Something the author (a Swedish chef, but no, not the Swedish Chef) wrote about the typical number of meals consumed in a day really struck me. He reported that on long labour-intensive summer days, it was not uncommon for people in the Nordics to eat as many as six or seven meals in a day. In contrast, winter was a period of rest where most of the work took place indoors. During those slow dark periods, people often ate only two or three meals each day.
I found this particularly interesting because it does seems quite logical that people who can adapt to their environment are best able to thrive in it – in this case, changing eating patterns with the seasons. Yet, this is not something we necessarily do today. We often think of ingredients as being seasonal, but perhaps less often of meal types as having seasons (e.g. heavy roasts and hearty stews in winter and light salads with raw or barely steamed veg in summer), and even less of meal times as being dependent upon the time of year.
Personally, I've noticed that I don't really get hungry for breakfast once the days get noticeably dark in the fall, and things stay that way until late winter or early spring once the early morning light has returned. And breakfast is my favourite meal of the day! When it comes to dinner, my family's meal times also tend to shift with day length: in summer, dinner at 7pm or 7:30pm quickly becomes the norm, whereas 5:30 seems perfectly acceptable in the deep depths of winter.
All this to say, if you happen to be finding winter a little bit difficult (perhaps this year more so than most), my unsolicited recommendation would be to lean into the season. Winter is historically a time for rest, so if you feel like you need a break, take it (a raging pandemic also happens to be a pretty good time for diversifying your indoor activities – I say, bring back the 1000+ piece puzzle!). Whether it's giving yourself permission to take a nap on the couch, or committing to going outside at least once a day (be it for a short stroll or a full-blown nature adventure), I think making time for rest this season is just the sort of thing we need to give ourselves a chance to refuel and get ready for the year ahead.
If there's one way I know how to look after myself – be it this January or literally any other time of year – it's to cook good food, get enough sleep, move my body (outdoors, preferably) and keep in touch with friends and family. Another is to find joy and comfort in the little things (the days are getting longer, people!). Yet another is simply to be kind to others.
So although I probably can't help you with your sleep or exercise, my wish is that I might be able to feed two birds with one scone* by simply (and kindly) helping you find inspiration in your kitchen this weekend. I've shared recipes for meals I made over the holidays below, so keep on reading, and hopefully you'll soon find yourself feeling motivated to cook up something deeply comforting, restorative and delicious.
Sending warm wishes from my home to yours,
👋simone
*I've stopped saying “kill two birds with one stone” ever since discovering this much kinder (and funnier) expression
it's winter: what's in season? ❄️
If you live in the Northern hemisphere like I do, it's now early winter. And although I'm not the first person to observe that most supermarkets are essentially season-less and incredibly lacking in diversity, I'm also not the only person to have a hard time remembering what actually is in season every time she goes into a large grocery store (mind you, I will never not be irritated upon seeing fresh strawberries in January).
Here's a quick guide to help us all:
Generally speaking, we should keep an eye for these types of foods:
alliums: garlic, leeks, onions, shallots
brassicas (members of the cabbage and mustard family): broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbages, cauliflower, kale, kholrabi, pak choi, mustard greens, turnips
fruit: apples, pears, citrus (clementines, oranges, lemons, pomelo, etc.), cranberries, persimmons, pomegranate, quinces
greens: chicory, endive, escarole, frisée, iceberg, radicchio, romaine
winter squash: acorn, butternut, Hubbard, kabocha, kuri, pumpkin, spaghetti
root vegetables: beets, carrots, celeriac / celery root, horseradish, parsnips, potatoes, rutabaga / swede, sunchokes / Jerusalem artichokes, sweet potatoes
winter squash: acorn, butternut, Hubbard, kabocha, kuri, pumpkin, spaghetti
other plants: celery, fennel, mushrooms
winter fish and seafood (with sustainability certification like MSC): cod, haddock, herring, mussels, oysters, pollock, red snapper, sole, trout
cured and preserved meats (choose organic if you can): bacon, ham, sausages, etc.
mature cheeses (choose organic if you can): comté, gruyère, cheddars, stilton, raclette, etc.
What is available will of course depend on where you are, but remember also that winter is prime season for consuming preserved foods! Jams, pickles, dried foods (including herbs and spices), fermented foods, as well as canned and frozen goods are all ideal for winter cooking. And remember: seasonal always tastes best.
Happy shopping!
recipe for a waldorf-ish salad 🥗
makes enough for 4 servings as a meal, or 8 servings if served as a side
Okay, okay, this first recipe isn't exactly a recipe. More of a detailed description that can hopefully lead you to make something similar. Like most of the things I make, this salad started with the very broad idea of “I want to make this type of dish” + the dreaded question of “what do we have that could go into that type of dish?”.
•••
It all started when I said I’d make a quick salad to go with the meal – should take no more than 2 minutes, tops. I wasn't at home, so I opened up the fridge and perused the cabinets and drawers to see what could be used.
Next thing I know it’s been well over two minutes and I’ve managed to assemble this beauty of a beast with lettuce, carrot, broccoli, bell pepper, yellow cheese*, celery, apple, raisins, walnuts, and almonds. All lovingly tossed in a creamy and herby preparation of shallot, garlic, lime juice, red wine vinegar, chives, parsley, mayonnaise, olive oil, sugar, salt and pepper.
I’ve never had or made a Waldorf salad before, but I think this might be close to one. Whatever you call it, it was delicious and totally worth having to reheat the rest of the meal because I took so long to make it. So please find below my attempt to quantify all these ingredients – if not for you, then for me – as this was, at the very least, a salad that I would like to eat again. Just know that the quantities are most definitely not exact.
*yes, there is a cheese in Norway simply called “yellow cheese” (gulost)
•••
FOR THE SALAD
• half a head of crisp lettuce (like iceberg, romaine or little gems), roughly chopped
• one large carrot, cut into thin diagonal coins
• about half a head of broccoli, cut into teeny tiny florets
• one red bell pepper (to be honest, this is optional, but there was one going soft in the fridge that I couldn't help but use), cut haphazardly into medium-small pieces
• one or two stalks of celery, cut thinly on the bias
• one crisp red apple, cut into four around its core then thinly sliced
• a small handful of red raisins or sultanas
• about ½ cup grated mild hard cheese, like Cheddar or Cantal or Edam or Jarlsberg or Emmental
• a small handful of walnuts, roughly chopped
• a small handful of almonds, roughly chopped
Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl.
•••
FOR THE DRESSING
• 1 pink shallot, or half a small red onion
• 1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic
• the juice of half a lime
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
• freshly ground black pepper
1. Peel and thinly slice the shallot across its width into fine rings. Place it into a small bowl or mug.
2. Grate the garlic into the recipient then add the lime juice, vinegar, salt and sugar. Stir to mix and let sit for a minute or two while you finely chop the chives and parsley. The acid, salt and sugar will all help to mellow the bite of the raw shallot and the punch of the raw garlic.
3. Stir in the mayonnaise and olive oil. Add the herbs and crack in a few turns of the pepper mill.
•••
FOR THE ASSEMBLY
Pour the dressing over the salad, and use a large fork in one hand and a large spoon in the other to toss the dressing through. Toss longer than feels appropriate, to ensure the salad is well coated. Taste a piece and finish with an additional sprinkling of chopped herbs, pepper and/or salt if desired.
Tadaa! That's it. Happy salad munching :)
recipe for a caramelized onion, leek and potato galette with cheese & chive crust 🥔
makes enough for 2 very hungry people, or 4 regular servings if served with a vegetable side
I made a really nice salad to pair with this dish, but there are sadly no pictures and I don't remember what I did well enough to give you a recipe. It did include pomegranate, orange, raw cauliflower and cucumber though, plus loads of fresh dill, and a citrusy vinaigrette made with fresh orange, lemon and lime juice. Hopefully that inspires you to try something! In any case, here's how to make the galette:
THE CRUST
• 177g (1½ cups) flour
• about 2 Tbsp fresh chives, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 114g (8 Tbsp) butter, cubed and cold
• 60g (½ cup, grated) of a mild hard cheese, grated or cut into very small pieces (I used Jarlsberg, Cheddar would be lovely too)
• 71g to 85g (5 to 6 tablespoons) water, cold
1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, chives and salt until evenly distributed.
2. Work in the butter with your fingers, rubbing it into the flour and flattening it with your fingers until the mixture looks uniform-ish and crumbly (ideally no piece of butter will be much larger than your thumbnail). Stir in the grated cheese.
3. Drizzle in 5 tablespoons of water, stirring gently with your hand until everything is evenly moistened. Add the rest of the water if necessary to make a cohesive dough.
4. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap it snugly with a clean plastic bag or a damp cloth, and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes while you work on the filling.
THE FILLING
• butter and/or olive oil*
• one large white or yellow onion
• one large leek
• two or three small potatoes
• 65mL (about ¼ cup) stout, porter or brown ale
• 250mL (1 cup) vegetable broth
• 4 large sprigs fresh thyme, finely chopped, or 2 tsp dried
• salt and pepper
* I tend to use more olive oil than butter in my meals, but in this recipe the balance is reversed and I used mostly butter; as a general rule, the butter gives a nice flavour and the oil prevents it from burning, so using a combination of the two is often a win
1. Put a large frying pan on medium-high heat. While it warms, peel and slice your onion into medium-thick rings. Add enough butter and/or olive oil to generously cover the bottom of your pan and, once the fat is hot, add in the onion. Season lightly with salt and stir.
2. While the onion starts to soften, cut your leek in half lengthwise, rinse out any sand or soil that might be caught between the leaves, and chop each half widthwise into strips. Add the leek to the onions and and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent and lightly golden on the edges, 20 to 25 minutes. If the pan starts looking a bit dry, add more butter and/or oil.
3. While the broth is cooking, you can cut the potatoes into very thin coins – either with a sharp knife or a mandolin. Once the onion and leek are nice and soft, add the beer. Let some evaporate, but not all, then add about ⅓ to ½ of your sliced potatoes plus the vegetable broth, half the thyme, and some salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are browned and the liquid has mostly evaporated but the mixture is still saucy (almost jammy), 15 to 20 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside to cool for at least 30 minutes.
THE ASSEMBLY
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan / 220°C / 425°F. On a lightly floured work surface, gently roll the dough into a 30-33 cm (12-13") circle, then carefully transfer it to a parchment- or aluminum-lined baking sheet.
2. Spread the cooled caramelized onion, leek and potato onto the dough, leaving a 5 cm (2") border. Fold the bare edges of the dough toward the center and over the filling.
3. Arrange your remaining potato slices over the top of the filling, starting from the middle, shingling them outward such that they barely overlap while also leaving no gaps between them. Tuck the potatoes on the outer edges under the newly folded flap of dough. Drizzle the potatoes (but not the crust) with just enough olive oil to lightly moisten them.
4. Sprinkle the remaining thyme over the galette, plus a final light seasoning of salt and pepper, and bake it in the centre of the oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the crust and potatoes are golden brown and the filling is bubbling a bit.
5. Remove the galette from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.
Enjoy with or without salad, with or without pleasant music in the background, and with or without a candle or two flickering by your plate :)
recipe for a hearty mushroom stew 🍄
makes enough for 4 hungry people, or 4 large servings (you may want to have leftovers on purpose, this is one of those dishes that gets better with time)
Quite a lot of you asked for instructions on how to make this when I shared pictures in my Instagram stories. Lucky for you and me, I actually remember how I made it.
THE BOURGUI-NON
I called this stew a “bourgui-non” because, despite being reminiscent of a boeuf bourguignon, it is decidedly not a boeuf bourguignon. For one: there's no beef. Secondly, no wine in sight.
• butter and/or olive oil
• about 125g each of small white button mushrooms, small cremini mushrooms, and small oyster mushrooms
• about 300g of whole, peeled tiny onions or small shallots, but not pearl onions (the ones I used are called “gourmet onions”, “delicacy onions” or even sometimes “star onions” in Norwegian but I haven't figured out the English equivalent yet... maybe boiler onions?)*
• the white and light green parts of 1 leek (save the dark green tops for stock or for another dish)
• 2 medium carrots, or a very large one
• 1 stalk of celery
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 Tbsp double-concentrated tomato paste, or 2 Tbsp regular tomato paste
• 4 Tbsp flour
• about 2 Tbsp soy sauce (if you're not vegetarian, Worcestershire sauce would likely work well too)
• 3-6 sprigs chopped fresh thyme, or 1-2 tsp dried thyme (depends on how much you love thyme)
• 1 large bay leaf, or 2 small ones
• 400mL stout ale (e.g. Guinness)
• 400mL vegetable broth
• salt & pepper
*small onions can be especially difficult to peel – one trick is to put them in a bowl and cover them with recently-boiled water. after about a minute or two you can pour out the hot water, swap it for cool water so you can handle the onions, then proceed to peel them easily
1. Put a large Dutch oven or heavy pot on medium heat. You can clean your mushrooms with a quick rinse, rubbing them against one another to remove pieces of soil, while the pot warms. Add enough butter and/or oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan.
2. Once the fat is hot, add in about half of your mushrooms and half your onions, creating a single layer in the bottom of the pot. Let them sit, undisturbed, for about 4 minutes until they have nicely browned. Season with salt and pepper, then stir everything and let the mushrooms and onions brown on their other side for about another 4 minutes. Transfer them to a bowl, leaving as much fat as possible in the pan, and repeat with the other half of ingredients.
3. While the mushrooms and onions are cooking, you can prepare your carrots, leek, celery and garlic. Cut the carrots in half lengthwise, then slice them thinly across their width. Cut the leek in half lengthwise, then slice it into medium strips across its width. You can slice the celery across its width as thinly as the carrots or as wide as the leeks – this depends on what you're in the mood for (I went for thin). Chop the garlic as finely as you're comfortable doing.
4. Transfer the rest of the mushrooms and onions out of the pot and into the bowl. Turn the heat down to medium-low. Add a bit more olive oil to the pot if the bottom is looking a bit dry, then transfer in the carrots, leek, celery and garlic. Add the thyme and bay leaf, then season with a bit of salt and a lot of pepper (the soy sauce will also bring saltiness to the dish, so best under-salt now and add a bit more later than be stuck with an overly salted dish). Cook, stirring occasionally, until the carrots have softened and the leek is looking vibrant, about 5 minutes.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and let it warm through, cooking for about 1 minute. Add the soy sauce and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the flour and cook for a further 2 minutes. Pour in the stout ale and the vegetable broth, scraping up any browned bit from the bottom of the pot. Return the mushrooms, onions and their juices to the pot. Partially cover the pot with a lid, turn the heat down to low, and let simmer for 30-35 minutes until the sauce has thickened nicely and the onions and carrots are tender. Taste at the end to adjust seasoning as desired (with salt, pepper, soy sauce, thyme, and/or garlic, or literally any other ingredient you feel would make the dish pop). Enjoy!
THE MASH
You can, of course, make your usual potato mash – it's honestly hard to go wrong with mashed potatoes. We had a cauliflower in the fridge and had just picked up some pre-cooked butter beans at the store, and I have a habit of adding nearly anything pale and starchy to mashes (parsnips, chickpeas, celeriac, kohlrabi and sunchokes come to mind), so potato, cauliflower and beans it was. And boy was it tasty.
Note: if you're not in the mood for mash, you could make the stew extra hearty by adding an extra 400mL of vegetable broth and a 1/2 cup of pearl barley in the 5th step, letting it come to a brief boil before simmering down for 30-45 minutes.
• 2 small potatoes, cut in half or into quarters (so they'll cook faster)
• 1 small cauliflower, broken down into larger chunks
• 1 can, or around 380g, cooked and drained butter beans
• 1-2 tsp garlic powder, or 1 whole bulb of fresh garlic (8-12 cloves)
• butter
• salt
1. Put your potatoes and cauliflower in a medium pot, cover with water, add a generous sprinkle of salt and bring to a boil. If using fresh garlic, you will add the peeled cloves along with the potatoes and cauliflower.
2. Once the potatoes and cauliflower are tender, about 15 minutes, drain the water from the pot (keep the garlic!).
3. Add the beans to the pot, and mash everything together as roughly or smoothly as you please. Add in a generous amount of butter and some salt and garlic powder (if using), mash them in well, and taste. Continue adding butter, salt and garlic powder, mashing them through, and tasting until you achieve a flavour you find irresistible. That's it, you're good to go!
THE GREENS
You could use whatever greens you have on hand and enjoy: frozen green peas, leftover braised cabbage, Brussels sprout leaves delicately cut into ribbons and steamed. It really is up to you. We had some broccoli and some lovely curly kale. So that's what I used, prepared somewhat in the way of Raymond Blanc.
• fresh broccoli florets
• fresh kale, removed from the stem and torn into large pieces
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 Tbsp water
• flaky salt, for finishing
1. In a small saucepan, add the olive oil, water and broccoli florets. Cover and bring to a rapid boil to soften the broccoli, about 3 minutes.
2. Remove the lid and reduce the heat to medium-high, stir the broccoli and add in the kale. Add a bit more olive oil if the pan is looking dry. As soon as all the kale has turned a vivid green, remove the pan from the heat.
3. Sprinkle lightly with salt (crushing the flakes between your fingers), and serve.
Bon appétit! ♥
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