Leek-Potato Soup and Roasted Beet Salad
We ate vegetarian tonight, and it was pretty darn tasty! On the menu was leek-potato soup and roasted beet salad. I had a little leftover bread pudding for dessert. Mmm... bread pudding.
At any rate, my soup was one of those simple winter dishes that you can actually make from entirely local ingredients, even in Ithaca. For my soup, I started by sweating four leeks, half a celeriac (celery root), and three cloves of garlic in a bit of olive oil and butter with a pinch of salt. (Okay, the olive oil was Italian, but I could have used all butter. I just decided to avoid a little extra saturated fat.) Then I added 3 medium potatoes, cubed around 1/2" per side. I added enough water to cover the potatoes. I seasoned the soup with a little more salt and a lot of pepper. I brought my soup to a boil, then reduced the heat and let it simmer until the potatoes were soft. Then I pureed it with my immersion blender and added some milk to thin it a bit and to add a little more creaminess.
The beet salad was by far one of the best vegetable dishes I've ever had, and I didn't even know I liked beets until this fall. I started with two golden beets and with one red beet. I rinsed them and wrapped each in aluminum foil. I roasted them (on a tray--sometimes beet juices leak through the foil) at 425 F until they were fork-tender (I determined this by sticking a fork in them). In the meantime, I was working on the soup, and I mixed up a vinaigrette with 1 large, thinly sliced shallot, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp sherry vinegar, an overflowing 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. When the beets were finally cooked, I pulled the foil off and peeled them by rubbing them in an old, clean towel. Then I cut them into pretty little batons. There was some finger burning at times, but it works out all right. Then I just tossed my beets with my vinaigrette.
And that was it! Almost everything I cooked came from the Ithaca winter market. It was cheap, simple, and healthful. And nothing needs to be measured exactly.
At any rate, my soup was one of those simple winter dishes that you can actually make from entirely local ingredients, even in Ithaca. For my soup, I started by sweating four leeks, half a celeriac (celery root), and three cloves of garlic in a bit of olive oil and butter with a pinch of salt. (Okay, the olive oil was Italian, but I could have used all butter. I just decided to avoid a little extra saturated fat.) Then I added 3 medium potatoes, cubed around 1/2" per side. I added enough water to cover the potatoes. I seasoned the soup with a little more salt and a lot of pepper. I brought my soup to a boil, then reduced the heat and let it simmer until the potatoes were soft. Then I pureed it with my immersion blender and added some milk to thin it a bit and to add a little more creaminess.
The beet salad was by far one of the best vegetable dishes I've ever had, and I didn't even know I liked beets until this fall. I started with two golden beets and with one red beet. I rinsed them and wrapped each in aluminum foil. I roasted them (on a tray--sometimes beet juices leak through the foil) at 425 F until they were fork-tender (I determined this by sticking a fork in them). In the meantime, I was working on the soup, and I mixed up a vinaigrette with 1 large, thinly sliced shallot, 2 tbsp olive oil, 2 tbsp sherry vinegar, an overflowing 1/2 tsp dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. When the beets were finally cooked, I pulled the foil off and peeled them by rubbing them in an old, clean towel. Then I cut them into pretty little batons. There was some finger burning at times, but it works out all right. Then I just tossed my beets with my vinaigrette.
And that was it! Almost everything I cooked came from the Ithaca winter market. It was cheap, simple, and healthful. And nothing needs to be measured exactly.
posted by megan at
10:38 PM
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