Swiss Chard Enchiladas Suizas

Listening: Chick Corea: Now He Sings, Now He Sobs )

If you have Swiss chard in your garden, like our friend the Eminent Botanist, you know it can be continually harvested throughout its growing season. It also has nothing to do with Switzerland. It is probably Sicilian. It was given the Swiss designation to distinguish it from French spinach in old seed catalogs. It is also related to the beet, except we only eat the leaves of the chard plant. Best of all, it is highly nutritious.

Bunches of different colored chard were on sale at the Jus Kiddin Around Farm stall run by Linda and Pete Kloss. They also happen to supply produce to the Curious Goods at the Bake Oven Inn, a restaurant run by my friend Chef Mark Muszynski and his wife, Catherine in Germansville, Pa. 

                                                 http://www.eatcuriousgoods.com/

Seeing the chard meant there was no better time to make these enchiladas filled with Swiss chard and roasted peppers. Enchilladas Suizas (Swiss enchiladas) are the creation of  Sanborn’s in Mexico City. Instead of being sauced with a chile sauce, they are made with a creamy, cheesy sauce based on the French béchamel. (Since it has cheese, it would be based on a Mornay sauce, but I digress). I had written the recipe using poblano peppers, but I found yellow bell peppers at the market and made the substitution.

The filling makes enough for four or five servings, with two enchiladas per serving.  The recipe can be prepared in parts (the filling and the sauce) and kept refrigerated until assembled.

Swiss Chard Enchiladas Suizas

This makes enough filling for 8 to 10  six” enchiladas

The filling:

1 bunch* Swiss chard

3 poblano peppers (or two medium red or yellow bell peppers)

2 cups chopped onion

1 or 2 cloves garlic, minced

salt and pepper

olive oil for cooking

1. Roast the poblanos or bell peppers under a broiler or, if you have a gas stove, they can go right on top of the burner.  Turn the peppers until blackened on all sides. Remove the peppers and place them into a bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and let cool.

2. To prepare the chard, strip the leaves from the stems. Set aside the stems. Tear the leaves into smaller pieces and rinse them under cold water. Slice the chard stems crosswise into ½ “ pieces and set aside.  Place a sauté pan with ½ cup lightly salted water over high heat. Cover the pan until the water comes to a boil. Add the chard leaves to the boiling water, cover and cook until tender, about 5 to 6 minutes. Stir occasionally as they cook. When the leaves are tender (taste to test), drain them in a colander, refresh under cold water and let stand to cool.

3. Return pan to the stove over medium-high heat. Swirl in 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the onions and cook for 4 to 5 minutes; if they brown a little, it’s alright; don’t burn them. Add the chard stems, season with salt and pepper and stir. Cover, reduce heat and cook until stems are tender, about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the garlic at the end and cook for 30 seconds. Remove from heat and let cool.

4. While the stems are cooking, clean the roasted peppers. Pull the stems out of the peppers and split each one in half lengthwise. Remove all of the seeds. Using the back of a knife, scrape off the charred skins. (Don’t be tempted to clean the peppers under running water. You’re washing away flavor) When the peppers have been cleaned, set aside 1 of the poblano peppers (or 1/3 of the bell peppers) peppers for the sauce. Slice the remaining peppers lengthwise into thin strips and add them to the stem mixture.

5. Squeeze excess water from the chard leaves and chop them. Place the stem mixture into a small bowl. Add the chopped leaves and the sliced roasted peppers and mix to combine. Cover and refrigerate. At this point the filling can remain refrigerated for 2 to 3 days.

Suiza Cheese Sauce

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups milk

salt and ground black pepper

6 ounces grated jack or Chihuahua cheese

1 jalapeno pepper (to taste) cut into small dice

Note: The reserved poblano peppers or bell peppers, cut into small dice will be added to the sauce at the end

1. In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Whisk flour into melted butter to make a roux. Lower the heat and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.

2. Add milk to the roux and whisk to combine. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, whisking throughout. When the white sauce has thickened, remove pan from heat. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper. Add the grated cheese, stir until melted and set sauce aside. If making the sauce ahead of time, cover the sauce with a piece of plastic wrap pressed directly onto the top of the sauce. (The sauce can be transferred to a container and stored in the refrigerator until needed. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the top of the sauce before refrigerating it).

To assemble:

8 to 10   6” flour tortillas

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees. Lightly grease a 9” x 13” baking pan.

2. Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm them in the oven; it will make them easier to roll. Lightly cover the bottom of the baking pan with some of the cheese sauce. Spoon about 2/3rds of the sauce into the Swiss chard mixture and stir to combine. Mix the reserved diced roasted peppers into the remaining sauce and set aside.

3. Remove the tortillas from the oven. Turn the oven up to 350 degrees. Divide the chard filling into eight or ten portions.   Place the filling onto bottom third of a tortilla and roll the tortilla closed. Place the enchiladas into the baking pan and repeat until all the enchiladas are made.

3. Spoon the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Place the enchiladas into the oven and bake for 20 minutes, at which point the sauce should be bubbling. Remove from the oven and serve.

*O.K., what do you mean by a “bunch” of Swiss chard? Well, that’s how you find it at the market or  in the store, of course. Does bunch size vary? I would guess that they’re probably consistent. The past two times I made this, the bunch I used weighed almost a pound. If you have it in your garden use a pound of chard leaves.

Peach Pie

                      “We abound in the Luxury of the Peach.”

                          - Thomas Jefferson to Martha Randolph, August 31, 1815

(Listening: Bobo Stenson:  Goodbye )

Along with tomatoes, I await peach season, specifically for freestone peaches since they make preparing peaches for pies, preserves, ice cream, etc. so much easier.

Thomas Jefferson grew over thirty eight different varieties of peaches in his South Orchard at Monticello. George Washington, never the “completist” as Jefferson, only noted having two varieties of peaches at Mount Vernon.

The peach was probably introduced from Europe to southern North America by either Spanish or French explorers in the mid 16^th century where it moved north. John Smith noted that peach trees were in Jamestown around 1629. William Penn found them near Philadelphia in 1683. Peach trees had naturalized so abundantly by the beginning of the 18^th century that British explorer, naturalist and writer John Lawson noted that peach trees grew like weeds.

Peach pies were far from the minds of colonial America. While I would guess that they were eaten, peaches went to fed hogs on many Virginia plantations. Typical of those heady, alcohol-fueled days, peaches were fermented into cider or distilled into brandy.

Since I have included pie dough recipes and directions in earlier posts, I skip them here but they are easily accessible. 

Peach Pie

For  one 9”  double crust pie

6 cups peeled, sliced ripe peaches (about 1 ½ quarts or about 3 pounds of peaches)

½ cup sugar

3 Tablespoons cornstarch

½  teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place the sliced peaches and sugar into a bowl and stir. Let the peaches stand for 30 minutes to release some of their juice.

2. Add the cornstarch and cinnamon to the peaches and stir to combine. Pour the peaches and their juice into the prepared pie shell. Cover with the top crust, sealing the edges. Cut a small steam hole into the center of the pie. Place the pie on a baking pan. Place the pie into the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower heat to 350 and continue baking for 45 to 55 minutes, until the filling is bubbling. Remove pie from oven and let cool before serving.

Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes with Penne

                                                    “Hot town, Summer in the City,”

Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes with Penne

This is a quick and easy pasta using a few fresh ingredients from the farmers market, one that doesn’t demand too much effort when it’s hot, but it beats take-out.  The vegetables simmer together and create the sauce that is ready in about the same time it takes the pasta to cook. While this uses penne, you could use your favorite variety of pasta. You could also use a different fresh herb.

You could also do this with eggplant. If you do, peel (or don’t peel) the eggplant and dice it into equal sized pieces. You’ll want 2 cups.  Eggplant soaks up a lot of oil when its cooked, so this method of precooking the eggplant in the oven* uses less oil. Place the diced eggplant into a bowl. Mix the eggplant with a few tablespoons oil, and season with salt and ground black pepper. Spread the eggplant out in one layer on a baking sheet lined with a sheet of parchment or a silicon mat (a non-stick pan will work, too). Roast the eggplant in a 350 degree oven until it begins to soften, about 10 minutes depending on the size of your eggplant pieces. If you make this with eggplant, start the sauce with the tomatoes then add the cooked eggplant to the tomatoes.

Zucchini and Cherry Tomatoes with Penne

For three servings:

4 ½ ounces dried pasta

2 cups zucchini, sliced lengthwise into quarters, then cut into 1/4” slices

2 cups assorted cherry tomatoes, cut in half, lengthwise

¼  cup chopped fresh basil

4 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into cubes

1 or 2 teaspoon chopped garlic (depending on your vampire index)

hot pepper flakes, optional

salt and ground black pepper

olive oil for cooking

 ½ cup pasta water

1. Cook the pasta in boiling salted water according to package directions.

2. Heat a large sauté pen over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, swirl in 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil. Add the zucchini; season with some salt and pepper. Cook the zucchini for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the cherry tomatoes and the hot pepper flakes and stir; if the pan appears dry, add a little extra olive oil. Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper. Sauté the tomatoes for 2 to 3 minutes, then add the garlic and stir; cook until fragrant.  Add ½ cup of the pasta water to the pan. Reduce the heat to low, stir in the fresh basil, cover the pan and let the vegetables simmer gently until tender, about an additional 3 to 4 minutes; if the sauce is ready before the pasta, remove the pan from the heat. Remember, the vegetables are creating the sauce for the pasta, so don’t let the pan dry out.

3. Drain the pasta. Add the pasta to the vegetables; gloss the pasta with a little olive oil. Scatter the fresh mozzarella over the pasta and stir together. Divide the pasta between three bowls and serve.

*I know. “If it’s hot outside, who wants to turn on the oven?” but this is a good method for cooking eggplant without using so much oil.

Apricots: Apricot and Blackberry Pie

“The apricots lying in moss had the amber glow of sunset shining on dark-haired girls.”*

Stone Love: Apricots

Apricot and Blackberry Pie

Sometimes when you set out to get the ingredients for a particular recipe, you find yourself detoured. It only took one look at the fruit set out by the Stauffer family at the farmers’ market to know what pie to make. As eagerly as we await a peach pie, it wasn’t meant to be, at least this week. While there were white and yellow peaches, they were the cling variety so they came home for eating. We’ll have to wait for the easier to use freestone variety for a pie.

But there were apricots and blackberries. The apricots were already soft and ripe, so they went into the refrigerator along with the blackberries. 

Stone fruits such as apricots and peaches may need a little extra ripening when you bring them home. Place the unripe (hard) fruit on a plate and let it sit a room temperature. Check it daily to see if the fruit yields slightly to the touch, the sign that it’s ripe. Place the fruit into the refrigerator where it will remain ripe and ready but will not ripen any further.

You may need to adjust the sugar in your pie. Both the apricots and blackberries were perfectly sweet (one advantage to locally grown fruit) and they didn’t taste as if they need too much extra sweetening.

Since I have included instructions for rolling a crust in previous pie recipes, I have omitted them here. You can always reference one of those recipes. Pie dough and crumb topping recipes are also available in other recipes.

Apricot and Blackberry Crumb Pie

For one 9” pie

1 recipe pie dough for a 9” pie

1 recipe crumb topping

1 pint apricots (2 cups pitted apricots)

1 pint blackberries (2 cups)

¼ cup sugar

2 Tablespoons cornstarch

1. Rinse the fruits separately. Remove and discard the pits from the apricots. If the apricots are large, you can cut the apricots into quarters. Place the apricots into a bowl. Add the blackberries. Add the sugar to the fruit, stir, and let stand for 30 minutes to release some of their juices.

2. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Add the cornstarch to the bowl of fruit and gently stir until the cornstarch is dissolved. Remove the prepared pie shell from the refrigerator. Spread the fruit and their juices evenly into the pie shell. Cover with the crumb topping. Place the pie on a baking pan. Place the pie into the oven and bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 to 50 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the crumb topping is nicely browned. Remove from oven and let cool. Some detours are well worth it.

* from The Belly of Paris by Emile Zola (translation by Mark Kurlansky)

Profiteroles au chocolat

It is with good reason why these little desserts are so often referred to as “profit-roles” in a restaurant; the “food cost” (i.e. the price of ingredients) is so low compared to the money you make from them (i.e. the profits).

Made from classic French pate a choux, they are the basis of many classic desserts (cream puffs and éclairs, Paris Brest, and the popular bistro dessert, profiteroles au chocolat). If  you omit the sugar and add some cheese  they make a great hot hors d’oeuvre, gougeres. It is also used for gnocchi a la parisienne. It’s a good dough to know.

I once worked with a chef who received his formal French training on the job at a restaurant in St. Helena, Calif. When I worked with him, he gave me his recipe which is pretty much the classic pate a choux dough recipe (they are all pretty much identical). He said he used to make the profiteroles for the restaurant everyday for 9 months. When I use the recipe I am reminded of the years we spent together.*

The flour is given as a weight, which was how he passed the recipe down to me. A typical pate a choux recipe will use equal amounts milk (or water) to flour. This has a little more. If you don’t have a scale, 5 ounces is about 1 cup and 3 tablespoons of flour.

For this particular take on the classic, I folded some crushed Oreo cookies into the completed choux paste, but you don’t have to. One day at work while I was crushing the Oreos with a hammer, someone walked by, stopped and seeing what I was doing said, “That looks like the way my mom must have packed my lunch for school. Or at least that’s how my cookies always ended up.”

I pipe the puffs with a pastry bag fitted with a ¾” wide tube tip. You could use a “zip-lock” type plastic bag or you could drop the pate a choux onto the baking tray with spoons. Since pate a choux is so sticky, spray the spoons with non-stick cooking spray.

Baked profiteroles can be frozen then thawed for future use. You can also warm the thawed profiteroles in a low oven to re-crisp them.

Pate a Choux

Makes 20 individual puffs, about 2” each

1 cup milk

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter                                                       

½ teaspoon salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

5 ounces all-purpose flour (approx. 1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons)

4 eggs

3 Oreo cookies, crushed (optional)

1 egg beaten, for egg wash

1. Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Pour the milk into a medium-sized saucepan. Add the butter, salt and sugar and stir together. Place the pan over medium high heat. When the butter has melted and the mixture is boiling, add the flour and stir with a wooden until the mixture comes together and forms a ball of dough (this is called a panade). Continue stirring over the heat until a floury film coats the bottom and sides of the pan. Remove pan from heat and let cool slightly.

2. Place the choux dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Turn the mixer on low/medium speed. Add the eggs, one at a time, adding the next egg only when the previous egg is completely incorporated into the dough. At first, the dough will “fall apart” but it will blend together as each egg is absorbed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix until all of the eggs are incorporated and the choux dough is smooth. Fold in the crushed Oreos, if using.

3. Line a baking sheet with either a silicon mat or sheet of parchment paper. Pipe the pate a choux onto the tray, about 1” apart. Brush each puff with the egg wash. Place the tray into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Lower the temperature to 350 after 20 minutes, rotate the baking sheet and continue baking the profiteroles for 25 to 30 minutes until browned. Remove the tray from the oven and let cool.

4. To serve, slice off the top of the profiterole and fill with a small scoop of vanilla ice cream. (I will get around to the ice cream post). Drizzle with warm chocolate sauce, recipe below:

Chocolate Sauce:

¼ cup heavy cream

¼ cup milk

¼ cup light corn syrup

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

8 ounces chocolate (semisweet or bittersweet), chopped

1. Place the cream, milk, corn syrup, and oil into a small saucepan. Place the pan over medium-high heat until the mixture approaches the boil. Remove from heat, add the chocolate and whisk until smooth. The chocolate sauce can be made ahead of time, kept in the refrigerator and reheated as needed.

*He was working at the restaurant (La Belle Helene) when my wife, youngest daughter, and I visited Napa years ago. We dined (almost) next door at Miramonte. He told me later when we worked together and found out about this remarkable coincidence that the kitchen staff from both restaurants used to hang out after hours. Small world.  

Fritters!

                                   “I say your young men’ll be frittern!

                          Frittern away their noontime, suppertime, choretime, too.”

Fritters!

Fritters are another way in which we prepared corn off the cob for our daughters. They can be made with just about anything. This recipe is for zucchini and corn fritters, but can be made with just one vegetable. You can also make them with fresh fruit by adding a little sugar to the batter mixture. And who doesn’t like something fried?

Unlike deep-fried fritters, there are cooked  using  a small amount of oil, more in the style of a pancake.

Corn and Zucchini Fritters

Makes about sixteen 2 ½ “ fritters                                              

2 ears corn

1 medium zucchini

¼ cup diced onion

2 or 3 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

salt and ground black pepper

Batter:

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking powder

(½  Tablespoon sugar, for fruit fritters)

½ cup cold club soda

1. Husk the corn. Cut the kernels from the ears. This is best done by standing the corn in a bowl and cutting the kernels off into the bowl. Place the corn kernels into a small saucepan and fill the pan with enough water to just cover the corn. Cook the corn for 1 minute; drain the corn into a colander and refresh under cold water. Set aside.

2. Grate the zucchini into a bowl; this will be about 2 cups grated zucchini. Add the onion, the cooled corn, and the basil: season with salt and pepper.

3. In a second bowl, mix the flour, baking powder and salt. Pour in the club soda and whisk until smooth. Pour the batter into the bowl of vegetables and mix to combine. This will make enough batter to coat all of the vegetables.

4. Heat a non-stick sauté pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, swirl in 2 to 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. Take a heaping tablespoon of the batter and add it to the pan, pressing the batter to flatten it. Fill the pan with just enough fritters to fill the pan. When the fritters are browned on the bottom, turn them over and cook until browned on the second side. Transfer the cooked fritters to a wire rack on top of a baking sheet. Repeat until all of the fritters have been cooked. Keep the fritters warm in a low oven until ready to serve.

From “Ya Got Trouble,” The Music Man, lyrics by Meredith Wilson

Rosemary, part two

Rosemary Smoked Grilled Swordfish with Orange  & Black Olive Relish

(Listening: Chick Corea: Piano Improvisations, Vol 1)

With the abundance of rosemary in our possession, I put this meal together, choosing to use some rosemary branches to smoke the swordfish as it grilled. Wanting to keep it light for the hot weather, I thought of a citrus relish for the fish. At first I thought of a preserved lemon relish but remembered I hadn’t bothered to post that recipe so I decided on one based on oranges instead.

You can of course use any woody fresh herb for smoking (thyme, oregano, marjoram, fennel branches, etc.).

Youngest daughter, not a fan of fish, had chicken, which is another alternative.

Grilled Swordfish with Orange & Black Olive Relish

The relish recipe makes enough for 3 to 4 servings

For two servings:

Two  4 to 6 ounce portions of swordfish

One navel orange

¼ red onion, thinly sliced

12 to 15 oil cured olives, pitted*

1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar

3 Tablespoons Extra virgin olive oil

Salt and ground black pepper

Fresh rosemary branches

1. Begin by grating the zest of the orange into a bowl. Cut the top and bottom off the orange. Place the cut surface of the orange onto a cutting board. Cut down around the orange exposing the segments. Continue around until all of the skin and white pith has been removed. Working over the bowl, use a paring knife to cut the segments from the orange. Slice the orange segments in half. Squeeze any remaining juice from the remaining orange membrane into the bowl. Add the pitted olives and sliced onion to the bowl. Add the vinegar, oil, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and set the relish aside.

2. Build a charcoal fire in a grill. When the coals are hot, spread the coals evenly onto the bottom of the grill. Rub the grill grate with vegetable oil. Scatter the rosemary branches over the hot coals. Place the fish on the grill. Cover the grill and let the rosemary smoke the swordfish as it grills, about 5 minutes per side for 1” thick swordfish steaks for well done, less time for medium. Because of the short cooking time, use plenty of rosemary to infuse the smoke flavor into the fish; add additional branches as needed. Remove fish from grill and serve topped with the orange relish.

*If the olives aren’t pitted, place the olives on a cutting board and press them individually with the bottom of a glass. This will crack the olive making it easy to remove the pits.