Strawberry Kompot

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Bulgarians call Kompot “summer in a jar”. It’s like capturing the sun and the sweetness of the fruit at that one right moment when all the flavors are alive and make you feel like you never tasted a fruit like that before. 

Kompot, just as Lutenitsa, was my favorite preserved foods when I was a child. My mom would come home with bags of fruit from the farmers market, put her favorite music on, close the kitchen door and do her magic. Each time I would walk by the kitchen I could smell the sweet strawberry fragrance filling the air and just as a dog follows the trace of a scent, I would follow the sweet, fruity smell, open the kitchen door and wonder around the kitchen while stealing fresh strawberries or dipping my fingers in the sweet Kompot water or the warm jam. When the Kompots were done she would store them in the cellar for the winter when no fresh fruits and vegetables were available. But I could never wait all the way to the winter to have a glass of Kompot. And in moments of impatience I would sit in front of the row of hot jars waiting for them to cool down and inspecting for bulging lids – a proof that the jar didn’t seal properly, which meant we had no other choice but to drink the fresh Kompot.

If you are starting to wonder what Kompot is and what it tastes like, it is a very simple technique of mixing fruit, sugar and water where the wonderful flavor and juices of the fruit get extracted by quickly sterilizing (by boiling) the jar with all the ingredients and then letting it to cool and sit for a day or more, so the fruit flavor deepens. The process is very gentle due to the fact that the fruit is enclosed in a jar which keeps the gentle fruit from rapid boiling or falling apart. The final result is a wonderful, flavorful drink that captures the best flavor and aroma of the fruit and is very refreshing when poured over ice. Any fruit packed with flavor can be turned into Kompot but my personal favorites are strawberry, raspberry, pear and quince Kompot. 

Kompot has one secret just as anything beautiful and real on this earth, the fruit has to be grown with love under the warm sun, picked just at the right moment when ripe, full of flavor and sweetness and turned into a Kompot the same day the fruit is harvested so all the flavors, juices and goodness are preserved.

As summer goes by and early fall approaches many fruits come at their best. And if you are fortunate as I am, there might be a fruit picking farm nearby where you live. Grab your friends and spend a weekend trip picking delicious fresh fruit. Crispy apples, pears, cherries, or peaches add some sugar, pop them in a jar and make a Kompot. This might become your new favorite drink!

xoxo

Strawberry Kompot Recipe

Ingredients:
• Granulated sugar
• Fruit
• Water
• Orange or Lemon rind (optional)

Equipment:
• Jars with brand new lids (screw or twist-off lids)
• Large pot (tall enough to allow at least 1-inch above the jar lids)

Sugar Proportions:
• 1 tbsp of sugar for every 6oz. (200ml) jar

Directions:

1. Fill the jars halfway through with fruit. Add the sugar (see Sugar Proportions above)and lemon or orange rind, if using. Fill the jars with cold water by leaving 3/4-inch (2 cm) headspace (the easiest way to figure the headspace is by leaving the jar’s neck clear of liquid). Wipe the lip of the jars with clean towel to remove any sugar. Close really tight with the lids

2. Place the jars in the pot with the lid side up. Fill the pot with water making sure that the water is covering at least 1/2-inch above the jars. Bring to gentle boil and sterilize for 5 minutes. Start timing when the water starts to boil. 

3. To remove the jars from the hot water carefully pour some of the hot water. Using a kitchen mitten or a layered towel, grab each jar, place them upside down on a wire rack or a towel and let them cool completely. Turn the jars lid side up and let them stand at room temperature for at least 1 day before serving.

Store Kompot jars in a cool place. They will be good for up to 1 year after making.

To enjoy Kompot, fill a glass with ice and pur some of the Kopmot liquid leaving off the fruit (some people like to eat the fruit). Store opened Kompot jars in the refrigerator.

Happy canning!

Swiss Chard Caesar Sald

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On my latest visits to New York I have been stopping by a fabulous, small, wood burning pizza place with a cozy atmosphere, wonderful, yummy pizzas and the most delicious crab cakes and Swiss chard Caesar salad on this planet. Every time I am there I tell myself that I will try something new and every time I am faced with the impossible choice – if I order something new, then I won’t be eating my favorite crab cakes and chard salad, which I have been dream-drooling for months. But if I order my favorites, then I won’t be trying something new, which could be as equally fabulous as the crab cakes and the salad. Some could argue that I should order all; my cakes, my salad and something new. And believe me I have done that, but to be honest, a girl can’t really eat that much food at once or her tummy will be hurting. The thought of not having (but constantly thinking of) the buttery crab cake and the lemony-parmesan chard salad is killing my food loving soul so, at the end, I do order my favorites, as you might have guessed. 

Ever since the first time I had the creamy-lemony-parmesan dressing on the chard salad, I was blown away how something so simple can be so yummy and how wonderfully it complements the tender Swiss chard leaves.  After my last visit I began my usual journey of trying to recreate this yummy salad so I can enjoy it ALL the time. First, I started with the dressing and I made all bunch of different versions of a homemade Caesar dressing, but the result was either too garlicky or too fishy or mustardy – something was not quite right and not quite as I remembered it. Then I started again from scratch, ignoring the classic Caesar recipes and went by taste memory. I started with a whole egg for a whiter, thicker consistency. I added lemon rind and a generous amount of lemon juice for freshness and a handful of grated Parmesan cheese for complexity. The final result was a creamy, lemony aioli which married so well with the delicate young spring chard leaves. I also added snap peas and asparagus to the salad since they are abundant at the farmers market at this time of the year. I finished the salad with warm sourdough croutons, tossed in the lemony dressing for yumminess. I was so happy with my recreation that I ate the salad for lunch and dinner every day for a whole week. And the dressing is just so delicious – I have been making a jar every week and spreading it on sandwiches or dipping chunks of bread while enjoying a class of wine when standing at the kitchen counter and watching reruns of Frasier.

So my dear friends, I do hope with all my heart that you will gather your courage and try this salad. And even if you don’t, I do hope that you grab a canvas bag andstop by your local farmers market, find some fresh green things, get inspired – either by me or other people and make something fresh, local and yummy.

xoxo

Swiss Chard Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
Serves 4 (medium size salads)

Dressing
• 1 large lemon
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup of olive or sunflower oil
• 1 really small garlic clove, crushed
• 1/3 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper

Salad
• 1 bunch of rainbow chard (preferably, tender and young leaves)
• 1 bunch fresh asparagus (about 16 asparagus), hard bottoms trimmed
• 2 handfuls of snap peas, strings removed
• 2 thick slices of sourdough bread
• Fresh Parmesan shaves for serving

Directions:

1. Grate the rind of the lemon and set aside.

2. Break the egg in the food processor and whizz once or twice. Add the garlic. With the motor running on low start adding the oil slowly so it drips trough the top of the food processor. When all the oil is incorporated add the lemon zest, the juice of 1/2 lemon and the Parmesan cheese. Whizz until incorporated and add salt and pepper to taste. Taste again and add more lemon juice if you like it lemony (like me). If the dressing runs thin add 2-4 tablespoons of oil and whizz until it thickens. Be careful not to make it thick (like mayo) and if it gets too thick add a 1-2 tablespoons of water or lemon juice. Place the dressing in a jar and refrigerate.

3. Heat a small pan over medium-high heat. Tear the bread into uneven 1/2-inch chunks, toss liberality with olive oil and add to the pan. Turn the heat on low and toast the croutons by flipping them a few times until golden brown.

4. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the asparagus. Remove the asparagus after 2-3 minutes and drop them immediately in a large bowl of ice cold water to stop the cooking process and to preserve their bright green color. Remove from the water after 2-3 minutes, pat dry, cut in half and set aside in a large bowl.

5. Clean the Swiss chard, wash and dry really well (this will ensure a nice coating of the dressing). Remove the stem and the central vein, tear the leaves into 2-inch chunks and add to the asparagus. Add the snap peas, the croutons and half of the dressing. Toss well with your hands, taste and add more dressing if desired (I like my salad smothered with dressing). Divide into 4 plates and top with the shaved Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Roasted Cauliflower with Za'atar and Lemon

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As a child I was obsessed with cauliflower. It was this rare and somehow special and magical vegetable that would come in the fall and will be around for a little bit and then it will disappear, in the same magical way as it appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. I never heard of anyone growing cauliflower, my family didn’t grow cauliflower, I didn’t see any crops of cauliflower and then, boom – out of nowhere, cauliflower shows up at the farmers market for a few days and then it will be gone. How strangely magical I thought. How I loved the cauliflower crunchiness. And how I wanted to eat it all the time. As you are reading this, perhaps you might be thinking that this itself it the strangest story ever, especially if you live in the United States and cauliflower is available all year around and it is as common as bagged lettuce. But you see, it was not like that in Bulgaria when I was a kid. I would only see cauliflower in the fall when my father would bring it home, from the market, in big plastic bags He will then wash it and separate the flowerets, sitting on his chair by the kitchen sink whistling to some traditional Bulgarian song (or a German marching song!), piling the cauliflower florets in a big bowl and happily popping some of them in his mouth. I remember standing by him, all mesmerized by this strange, flower-shaped vegetable and impatiently waiting for him to hand me a floret or a center of a cauliflower stem so I can taste this crunchy, nutty and cabaggelike goodness. I thought that this was the coolest vegetable ever and I couldn’t wait for my father to finish making the winter Giardiniera – the only way I remember Bulgarians from my childhood eating cauliflower.

Then I moved to United States, to what it seemed to me, to be the cauliflower paradise. Cauliflower everywhere. And all the time! Then I tried some of the conventional (or shall we say, food industry) ways of eating cauliflower; boiled, steamed, tasteless and mushy, and I thought to myself that Bulgarians might have been right all along, that the only way to enjoy cauliflower is in the fall and only marinated in Giardiniera. And my love affair with this vegetable started to slowly fall apart, with the exception of occasional cream of cauliflower soup or cauliflower mash. Then, one day, at a restaurant, whose name I don’t remember, I had a warm cauliflower side dish and I was blown away. The cauliflower was cooked, but not over-cooked, and it was deliciously nutty and semi-crunchy, slightly charred and tossed with lemon rind and Parmesan. I ate the whole thing. And I kept thinking about this cauliflower in the days to follow and I was on a mission to recreate the dish. Night after night I will cook and eat cauliflower, until I got the recipe to my taste. And in the process of the eating and cooking and eating, eating, eating my beloved cauliflower and I got reunited.

I took notes of the cauliflower as I remembered it and I have adapted and changed the recipe over time to my taste. I don’t grill the cauliflower (simply because I don’t have a grill) and to achieve its smoky blackened exterior, I cook it in a nicely heated pan where at the end I add a teaspoon of smoked mushroom butter. If you like your cauliflower softer and especially if you have to make it for a large crowd, pop it in the oven on a baking sheet at 425F for 30 min. It still would be quite delicious.

As people say – true love never dies. So go into your kitchen, pour yourself a glass of wine and make something that you love with all of your heart.

xoxo

Ingredients:

Serves 4 (as a side dish)

Ingredients:
• 1 lemon
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 tbsp Panko bread crumbs
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small cauliflower, torn or cut in 1-inch florets
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp smoked mushroom butter (or 1 tsp smoked paprika)
• 1 tbsp Za’atar spice (recipe below) (or store bought)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Za’atar Spice
Combine 1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp fresh (or dry) thyme leaves and 1 tbsp sumac. Store in an airtight container (if the thyme is fresh let the container open for 2-3 days so the thyme dries). 

Directions:

1. Grate and juice the lemon, place in separate bowls and set aside.

2. Melt the plain butter in a large non-stick pan, add the bread crumbs and toast until golden-brown, about 30 sec. Set aside in a bowl.

3. Return the non-stick skillet to the stove, heat it very well on high heat. When nice and hot, add the olive oil, the cauliflower and the salt. Stir well to coat the florets evenly, lower the heat to a medium-high and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden brown without disturbing. Turn (or stir) the florets on the other side and cook for additional 2-3 minutes, until nice and brown (the more charred on the sides tastier they will be). Add the red pepper flakes and the smoked butter (or smoked paprika) and cook for additional minute.

4. Place the cooked cauliflower in a large bowl, add the lemon zest, half of the lemon juice, the Za’atar spice, bread crumbs, Parmesan and the parsley. Mix well to combine. Taste and add more lemon juice, Za’atar spice or seasoning if needed.

Plate and enjoy.

Tip: This is a wonderful side to poached eggs or roasted chicken. Make a rice bowl of it by adding cooked grains, avocado, tomatoes, sliced cucumbers and a spoonful of yogurt tahini.