Mindful Plate

Winter Greens

Posted by Sheila

Winter doesn’t seem to want to let go here in the Pacific Northwest,and the morning frosts I had found so charming are really beginning to look like a whole lot of NO VEGGIE GROWTH!  It is frustrating in the way that only weather can be amidst all the far surpassing and countless joys of gardening.  So as we walk the fields here every day like the cold night temperatures may have been a dream and we may see wild and vibrant miraculaous growing from the day before, we take comfort with what the rest of this season gives us in the kitchen.  More often than not, soups are served in November, December, January for sure, and this year, well into the Valentine’s month.

Leeks

With these tried and true winter veggies and a really well made stock, bowls upon bowls of smooth, buttery deliciousness fill our family’s bellies.  And although the preperations are simple and to be honest, not that varied in our home, each new pot of soup is a pleasure to eat, and a great quick lunch for the next day or two.  Now, the key to this soup nirvana is indeed a well made stock, and it just so happens that well made stocks, both of the vegetable and the bone order, are also one of the best tasting mineral supplements to be had.  The process of slow cooking either your odds and ends vegetable pieces or the bones of your meat draws out the minerals from each and from parts of both you weren’t going to be eating as is.  We make both at our home, and although we do have a preference for bone broths, we love being able to make use of things like the washed leek rootlets and long leek green tops, vegetable skins that are too tough or knarly to serve, and sometimes just to add extra nutrition to meals that we just don’t want to overload with veggie matter (say, for example, when the littlies don’t want to eat heaping platefuls of greens as a side and including them with something would throw the dish off).

Bone broths…simple, simple: bones, a little veggie matter for a well rounded taste.  Add a splash of vinegar to draw out the minerals, let it sit for a bit, and bring to a boil, reduce heat and cook for a good long time (we cook chicken for 24 hours, beef and lamb for 36-48 hours.  Recipes call for throwing some parsley in at the end which is great for flavor and added nutrition, but not necessary.  Veggie stocks are equally simple, but I think that more detail has to be paid to what you are putting in depending on what flavor you are going for; some veggies are going to dominate the flavor of your stock if you let them (or want them to).  I tend to either do a simple oniony stock with onion skins, garlic, leek tops and rootlets just to make use of these parts and get some added flavor and nutrition, nothing I would use as a base for soup, but would add to soup or cook grains with, etc.  Rather, when I want a veggie stock for soups I break tradition and use a well loved cookbook as my guide.  The cookbook is The Greens Cookbook, the recipes that follow are adapted from there.  This cookbook also has a great, very detailed section on the elements of veggie stock, how they work and what they do.

Winter Veggie Stock

• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 1 onion, diced into 1/2 inch squares
• 1 cup leek greens, roughly chopped
• 4 medium carrots, just the peelings
• 1 cup winter squash seeds and skins
• 1 cup chard or beet green stems, cut into 1 inch lengths
• 1 cup potato parings
• 1/2 cup celery root parings
• 1/4 cup lentils, rinsed
• 6 branches thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 handfuls borage leaves or nettles (or chard leaves or lettuce)
• 3 sage leaves
• 10 branches parsley, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
• 8 cups cold water

Heat the butter or oil in a wide pot, add the veggies, herbs, garlic, salt, nutritional yeast, if using, and 1/2 cup water, stew over medium-low heat for 15-20 minutes.  Pour in the 8 cups cold water and bring to a boil; then simmer, partially covered, for 1-2 hours.  At this point, pour the stock through a sieve and press out as much of the liquid as possible.  Use as is, or reduce further for a richer flavor.

Wild Mushroom Stock (Wild and Woodsy! And excellent base for potato-leek soup)

• 1 ounce dried mushrooms (porcini, shiitake, morels)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 ounces fresh mushrooms, chopped (optional)
• 4 medium carrots,  just the peelings
• 1 medium onion, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1/2 cup leek greens, roughly chopped into 1-inch pieces
• 4-6 thyme branches or 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 branches parsley, roughly chopped
• 3 sage leaves or large pinch dried sage
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 9 cups cold water

Cover the dried mushrooms with 1 cup hot water and set them aside.  Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, add the vegetables, herbs, garlic, salt, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.  Next add the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid plus the 9 cups cold water, and bring to a boil; then simmer for 45 minutes.  Strain stock, use as is, or reduce to intesify flavor as much as desired.