Saturday, November 5, 2011

Weekend Cooking: Experimenting with new veggies

Well new to me anyway..... ;)

For the past two weeks I ordered an organic veggie bag and because of that I encountered some veggies I never ate before or not since I was very little. Of course I prepared those veggies and for this weeks Weekend Cooking, I am going to share two recipes with you :) I hope you will enjoy it as much as I did.


Beet Soup with apple: (Serves 4, from vegatopia)
- 500 gr pre cooked beets, cubed (save the juice)
- 2 shallots, chopped
- 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 sour apples, peeled and cubed
- 1.5 litre vegetable stock
- butter or oil
- salt and pepper
- creme fraiche
- balsamic vinegar (I didn't have it at hand so didn't use it)

Heat butter or oil in a pan and toss in the shallots and garlic. Make sure that they don't brown. Add the beets and bake them for a bit before you add the potatoes and apples. Also add the stock and beet juice and bring to a boil. Let it simmer on medium heat until the veggies are soft. Mash everything with a hand held mixer in the pan until you have a smooth soup. Add salt and pepper to taste together with the balsamic vinegar. Scoop the soup in bows and serve with a spoonful of creme fraiche.


For the next recipe I looked at some different site for inspiration and then created my own dish.
Jerusalem artichokes and potato casserole: (Serves 4)
- 400gr Jerusalem artichokes
- 400gr potatoes
- some white mushrooms
- 250ml cream for cooking
- some handfuls grated cheese
- fresh chives
- fresh thyme
- olive oil
- breadcrumbs
- lemon juice

Peel and slice the Jerusalem artichokes and potatoes. Cook them for about 10 minutes, they don't have to be fully soft, but you want to pre cook them a bit to shorten the oven time. Arrange the slices of potatoes and Jerusalem artichokes in an oven dish together with slices of mushroom.
Makes a sauce from the cream, 2 handfuls of cheese, some fresh chives and thyme and lemon juice. Pour this over the oven dish and put it in the pre heated oven for 30 minutes on 200 degrees. In the meantime make a mixture for the crust with the breadcrumbs, 2 handfuls of cheese, some olive oil and more fresh thyme. Crumble the mixture on top of the dish when the half hour is over and place back in the oven on 180 degrees for a bout 15 minutes. You will get the prefect crust that way without it being too dark.

If you are up for desert take a look at the Lemon Cake recipe that I posted yesterday. 

Don't forget to check out the other participants of Weekend Cooking. People share a lot of nice food related things, like books and recipes. 

14 comments:

  1. Wow -- both these dishes are right up my alley. I love beets but I've never combined them with apple. I bet that soup is fantastic. The Jerusalem artichoke casserole looks perfect for a cold winter's night. Serve a side salad and you have your meal.

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  2. Oooh so that is called a casserole? I will go and change that :) Sounds better than "out of the oven" :)

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  3. I can imagine that beets and apple taste good together! And the casserole looks delicious!!

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  4. Lovely combination of beets and apples. Never had the artichokes but it looks absolutely delicious.

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  5. I just had beets last night - the organic golden variety. Love them :)

    Years ago I bought something called "sunchokes" which i think might have been a variety of Jerusalem artichoke? I am going to keep your recipe as this sounds like something I would like to try. thanks!

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  6. @TheBookGirl: Yes, they are the same veggie. When I looked up the translation from Dutch to English, I saw both terms.

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  7. yet, I am another fan of beets, and beet soup sounds perfect this time of year.

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  8. I don't see Jerusalem Artichokes around here very often...this sounds like a totally comforting dish. And beets...ahhhh, how I love thee beets. Love the idea of balsamic w/ beets, sound rich and delicious :D

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  9. I am a huge fan of beets. I will have to try that soup.

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  10. I know people do it, but I can't quite imagine combining fruit and veg. in the same dish. I'll take your word for it that it was a good soup. :<)
    I used to boil my sliced potatoes before cooking them in a casserole, but ever since I bought my mandoline, I don't have to. More here, if you are interested:

    http://lettersfromahillfarm.blogspot.com/2008/11/mandoline-potatoes.html

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  11. Both recipes look good but I'm drawn to the soup. I like all the ingredients you've combined.

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  12. The soup sounds wonderful, and very colourful. I find that colour of my food is very important. If it doesn't look good then I don't expect it to taste good.

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  13. Nomnomnom! You're doing very well with your veggie bag veggies! So glad you're liking it :)

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  14. I have never had beet soup but would love to give it a try since I love beets. The artichoke casserole looks good too. I don't think I have ever had a Jerusalem artichoke either. I'll have to give them a try also! Both recipes look tasty!

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