New Comfort Foods

Baked Purple Mash

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 40 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter, divided
3 pounds purple new potatoes, halved
3 cloves garlic, smashed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup heavy cream, warmed
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons shredded pepper jack cheese
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan, divided
1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Coat the bottom and sides of an 8 by 8-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon butter. Set aside.
In a large pot, add enough water to fill 3/4 of the way, and then add the potatoes, garlic and a hefty pinch of salt. Bring to a boil and cook until a fork is easily inserted, but the potatoes still hold their form, about 20 minutes. Strain in a colander and place back over the empty pot, allowing the remaining heat to evaporate some of the moisture from the potatoes and garlic, just a few minutes. Mash the contents of the pot well, and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and the heavy cream. Mash until smooth, but if you like it chunky, leave it chunky. Then stir in 1 cup pepper jack cheese and 1/4 cup Parmesan. Spoon into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly. Stir together the remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan, 2 tablespoons jack cheese and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the top of the potatoes. Bake in the oven until the top is golden brown, about 20 minutes. Serve warm.
Read more here

Quinoa-Bulgur Wheat Stuffing

My first attempts at quinoa resulted in our oldest calling it "the wrong cous cous". As in what not to make. The following recipe was a win when I combined red, black and white quinoa it with bulgur wheat and the savory flavors of stuffing. Read the recipe all the way through before beginning; I combined some steps to make this come together faster.

Serves 6
2 1/2 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup tri-color quinoa (not just the white quinoa)
1/3 cup bulgur wheat (or increase the quinoa by 1/3 cup)
2 ounces (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or nonhydrogenated margarine
1/2 onion, or 1 small onion or 3 shallots, chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots or 1 cup baby carrots, diced (diced butternut squash is a tasty substitute)
1/2 tablespoon fresh thyme or a couple pinches dried thyme
1 teaspoon minced fresh sage or a pinch of dried sage, if desired
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 scallion (spring onion), green and white parts, chopped
Salt, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350°F and melt butter in 13x9-inch "lasagne" glass or stoneware dish in oven until oven is ready, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, bring stock to a boil over high heat. After oven is preheated, stir in the onion, carrot and celery with butter and bake vegetables with a dash of salt until quinoa and bulghur wheat mixture is ready, about 10-15 minutes.

On the stovetop (while vegetables are cooking in oven), stir the quinoa and bulghur wheat into the stock and bring back to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes, or until the quinoa mixture has absorbed most of the liquid.

Remove the onion mixture from the heat and add the quinoa to the pan. Stir in the thyme/sage, a dash of salt if needed and pepper, then mix thoroughly. Transfer the quinoa mixture to glass dish and bake for 30 minutes, until tender and fluffy.

Garnish with parsley and scallions before serving.
Read the recipe that insired this here

Sweet and Sour Purple Cabbage

Purple cabbage with apples was one of my favorite ways to eat cabbage as a kid. A great side dish for rich meats or gratin potatoes.

Ingredients

Flavor Base:
4 cups apple cider
1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
4 whole black peppercorns

Braise:
1/2 cup thinly sliced Vidalia onions or red onions
1 head red cabbage, thinly sliced
2 apples, cored and thinly sliced

For the flavor base: Ushing a large pan with straight sides or a stockpot, add the cider, sugar, vinegar, red pepper flakes and peppercorns. Turn the heat to medium high and stir to dissolve the sugar.
For the braise: Stir in the onions and cabbage. Heat until the liquid begins to boil. Turn down the heat and allow the mixture to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Serve warm or chilled.
Read a variation from Sunny Annderson

"Try me anyway" Vegan Gluten-Free Cornmeal Pancakes (Adapted from a recipe from the NY Times, found here)
Makes 5 - 6 medium pancakes (can be easily doubled)
Non-stick cooking spray
3/4 cup cornmeal
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup non-dairy milk of your choosing
1 tbsp. olive oil
3 tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon
Toppings:  maple syrup, honey, jam, almond butter, cinnamon-sugar

Combine the cornmeal and salt, and then add the boiling water.  Let it sit for about 8 minutes to soften the cornmeal.  Slowly add the hemp milk bit by bit, stirring to mix well.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.

Spray a nonstick frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat.  When it is fully preheated (when a drop of water sizzles on it), spoon about 1/6th - 1/4th cup of batter per pancake onto the griddle.  Cook for about 4 minutes (until small bubbles start to appear or the bottom becomes nicely browned) and flip, cooking for another 4 - 5 minutes, until they are done all the way through. Serve with your favorite toppings 
Note: These would make a great accompaniment as hoe cakes for the sloppy Joe recipe I posted last week!