Is it winter or spring? The sun made an appearance today but I don't know if I was convinced that it’s feeling like spring yet. However, I’ll take anything that I can get at this point. Everyone is craving the warmth, the freshness and rejuvenating qualities of being in the outdoors. While missing the sun, I crawled back into my winter ways and made cozy food as soon as I got home from work. Yesterday I made a batch of butternut squash soup and tonight I made a roasted chicken with braised cabbage. It's April 13th! Isn't there something wrong with this picture? Normally I would say yes, but on these past two chilled days these soul warming recipes felt so right. Enjoy the last harvests of these winter vegetables while you can.
Butternut Squash Soup with Labne
- 1 large butternut squash (about 6 cups)
- 2 ribs of celery
- 1/2 yellow onion (diced)
- 3-4 tbsp. olive oil
- 2-3 cups chicken stock (use vegetable to make this vegetarian)
- 1 cup milk
- 1/4 cup cream
- 1/2 tsp. cumin
- 1/4 tsp. ginger
- 1/8 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
- dash of ground sage
- salt and pepper to taste
Peel at cut butternut squash into cubes. Some people bake the squash to make this process a little easier but I think that some of the flavor is lost by doing this because you end up cooking the squash twice. Do as you must though. Cook the cubed squash, celery and onion with olive oil in a stock pot or large heavy bottomed pot over medium heat. Cook until well caramelized and soft; the squash should have browned a little and the bottom of the pan will have browned bits that you can scrape up. This will take about 20-25 minutes. Add your stock and stir to make sure the bits are off the bottom. Add the milk and cream and seasonings. Taste and add salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to low and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Puree the soup and run through a fine sieve. Heat the soup back up to temperature and serve with a dollop of Labne (kefir cheese), sea salt and a fresh grinding of pepper.
Roasted Chicken with Braised Cabbage
When I roast a chicken it really depends on my mood as to how I handle the process. Sometimes I fill the cavity of the chicken chockfull of fresh tarragon and lemons and stuff butter and garlic cloves under the skin. Roasted chicken really doesn’t need all of the fuss so tonight after a long day at work I did a simple self-basting roast chicken. Just as delicious in all of it's simplicity. Enjoy this recipe to accompany your spring, summer, fall and winter vegetables. It is just as great with a nice fresh and crisp salad as well as a hardy vegetable casserole.
- Organic or farm-raised chicken
- Olive Oil
- 1 lemon
- salt and pepper
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Remove the giblets and neck from inside the chicken. Wash the chicken under cool running water and dry well. Meat will not brown or get a nice crisp if it's not dried. Pull the extra fat pads off of the inside of the neck (these will be right in the opening of the cavity). Run your hand just under the skin of the breasts to loosen the membrane and center connective tissue. Place the fat pads under the skin so that the fat melts as the chicken cooks. This makes basting unnecessary. Slit holes in the lemon or fork the peel several times and place it inside the chicken. Pull the wings up and under so that they are secure underneath the chicken. No need to truss. Drizzle some olive oil over the bird and generously sprinkle kosher salt and a nice grinding of pepper of the whole thing. Rub it in a little and pop the chicken in the oven. I used a broiler pan tonight but I've used roasting dishes or casserole dishes.
You should allow for 20-25 minutes per pound. My 5 pound chicken was finished cooking after 1 hour and 35 minutes. You will know it's ready when the temperature is 180 degrees, when the joint of the thigh is pierced the juices run clear and the thigh joint easily moves around in the socket. Don't overcook - dry chicken is just as useful as undercooked chicken...both are inedible.
Time the chicken cooking so that your cabbage will be ready when it is. Keep in mind that the chicken will need to rest for 10-15 minutes and this cabbage will take about 25 minutes.
Braised Cabbage
Now this is definitely a cozy dish. Save this one for a chilly evening.
-1 large head of cabbage (tough outer leaves removed)
- 2 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 carrot, peeled and diced
- 1 onion, peeled diced
- 2 celery ribs, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 sprigs of thyme
- 2 garlic cloves, rough chop
- Salt and pepper
Cut the cabbage into half and then in quarters. Remove the core and then cut each quarter into thick strips. Season the cabbage with salt and pepper and set aside. In a heavy pan, heat oil and add the carrot, onion and celery. Cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the bay leaf, thyme, garlic and salt. Add the seasoned cabbage and combine with the other vegetables. Cook until the garlic is fragrant, about 1 minute. Now add about 1/2 cup of white wine and cook covered until the wine almost cooked completely out. This will take 7-9 minutes. Add more liquid, either 1/2 cup water or stock. Bring the liquid up to a boil and then turn it down to a simmer and cover. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add salt or pepper before serving if necessary.
I hope everyone is just as anxious to get out there and dig in the garden as I am. In the meantime, I'm inside cooking but I'll give that up in a heartbeat to be in the fresh air with soil under my nails and the sun pouring down on me like warm honey.
Daphne
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