Author: Twin Cities Herbs

Hot and sour burdock soup

Spring is here! In the Midwest, one of the first edible foods in nature is Burdock root. A great way to include burdock in your diet is to make a soup with the roots. Asian cooks rave about their burdock soups that they make in the spring. I’m presenting a delicious burdock root soup here that is inspired by Rosaleedela Foret’sblog. There is really nothing exotic about this soup, all the ingredients can be found here in the US.

We tend to eat heavier foods during the winter months but our body is ready to embark on something lighter and easier to digest. As we transition from the winter into spring, it is important to pay attention to our Liver. Heavy foods consumed during the winter might be burdening our livers that can lead to some health problems in the spring, like fevers and tiredness. Our body tends to cleanse itself naturally as we eat less in the spring. In addition, it is nice to add some bitter plants that aids the liver to accomplish this process. Our ancestors ate a lot of bitters in the spring. One of these spring bitters is burdock.

The burdock’s earthy, heavier flavor pairs nicely with the carrot’s sweet and light flavor. In addition to the bitter flavor, the liver also needs the sour flavor for support. It gets the sour flavor from the vinegar. This soup is a big favorite in our family, yes even the kids like it. Perhaps, it is because of its interesting, well balanced flavors. In fact, it has all five flavors: sweet, salty, bitter, sour, and pungent!

The main ingredient in this recipe is burdock root. If you are familiar with burdock, you can harvest it yourself. Otherwise, it might be difficult to get at the stores. If you don’t have it in your backyard, it is available at farmers’ markets, health food stores or also from Harmony Valley in Veroqua, WI.

Instructions for boiling the eggs

Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Eggs straight out of the fridge need to warm up otherwise the cooking time needs to be changed. You might have to experiment with the exact cooking time as there are many variables that can effect it. It should be somewhere between 7 and a half and 8 minutes for 1 egg and more for additional eggs. The eggs should be semi-hard on the outside and be ‘semi-runny’ in the middle.

RECIPE

4 servings

INGREDIENTS
  • 10 cups stock (vegetable or chicken, pork).
  • 2 cups burdock root, cut into match stick pieces
  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into match stick pieces
  • 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp of ginger, minced
  • 1 cup mushrooms (like shiitake)
  • 3 Tbsp cornstarch + 4 Tbsp of water
  • 4 Tbsp of rice or white vinegar
  • 2 lightly beaten egg yolks
  • 1 Tbsp sesame oil
  • 1 bunch scallions, chopped
  • salt to taste
  • soy sauce
  • 4 hard boiled eggs
  • hot red pepper or sriracha sauce (optional)
  • 1 pkg ramen noodles (I used HakuBaku Organic Ramen )

METHODS
  1. Bring stock to a boil.
  2. Add carrots, burdock roots, mushrooms, crushed garlic and ginger. After it boils, turn it down to low medium heat and cook for about 5 minutes covered.
  3. In a smaller bowl mix vinegar, the cornstarch and water. Add it to the soup and continue to simmer while stirring until the mixture is thickened, about 2 to 3 minutes.
  4. Turn off the heat and stir egg yolk in gently. Add sesame oil, salt and hot red pepper. Mix.
  5. Make the hard boiled eggs. Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Bring some water in a pot to a boil. Add the 4 eggs at room temperature. Boil them for about 8 minutes. Take them out and put them into cold water. Peel the shells. (Please see my note above).
  6. Cooking the ramen noodles. In a medium sized pot, bring cold water to a boil and cook the noodles. according to its cooking instructions. Strain and discard water.
  7. Serve in a deep bowl. Add ramen noodles and eggs. Garnish with scallions and add soy sauce to taste.

Enjoy!

Sources:

Text and photo by Twincitiesherbs.

Kitchari recipe

Kitchari! A nourishing vegetarian dish to make in the winter or the summer … whenever you are looking for something easy to digest.

Now that the holidays are over, our bodies want to have a little break from all the rich, heavy foods. However, spring isn’t here yet so we can’t eat all the lovely seasonal vegetables. In fact, spring is nowhere in site, just the past week it was -40F here in the Midwest. Even if the prediction of the groundhog is correct, spring won’t start until April here. Many people start dieting now, removing nourishing foods from their diet but most fail because it is just too early.  So what can we do?  

I like to turn to the ancient Ayurveda cooking, in other words Indian cuisine! Most people associate Indian foods with something exotic. Yes, some of their dishes can be foreign to us, but their nourishing dish, the Kitchari can be made any time, anywhere and surely by anybody.  Really, Indians make it on a regular basis, serve it during holidays with the rich foods to help their digestion and even give it to sick people to recover from an illness. It is an inexpensive dish that millions eat on a daily basis in India. I asked my Ayurveda teacher if we could eat it during the cold season. She said yes even when it is -40F – just add the warming spices like ginger, cumin, and hot pepper. You can serve local vegetables like carrots, spinach, kale, cauliflower, onions etc. Of course, it would go nicely with some Indian rice and roti. 

This is a very healthy dish. Usually, Ayurveda practitioners advice their clients to eat kitchari if they have any acute or chronic issues. It just does amazing things… The three spices turmeric, cumin, coriander are used along with the mung beans. The kitchari diet should last for 1 week when one is only allowed to eat kitchari, rice, grains and vegetables. Of course all the fried foods, fried vegetables, paneer have to be left out. Mung beans are used but if you can get the yellow split moong beans, they are even better as they are easier to digest.

Recipe

Kitchari Ingredients
  • 2 tsp of ghee (I use home-made)
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 tsp of coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp of cumin powder
  • 1 tsp of whole cumin seeds
  • 1 cup of split mung dal (yellow) – soak for at least 4 hours
  • ½ tsp salt
  • about 4 cups of water or chicken stock
  • 1 inch of fresh minced ginger root, finally chopped
  • black pepper
  • cilantro to taste
  • yogurt
  • lemon
Indian rice Ingredients
  • 1 cup white Basmati rice
  • 2 cups water or meat stock
  • 2 tsp ghee (homemade the best)
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • little piece of cinnamon
  • pinch of  saffron (8-10 strings)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp little turmeric

Preparations
  • Clean and soak mung beans overnight but soak at least for 2 hours.
  • Discard water and use fresh cold water to cook the beans. Cook for 1/2 hour.
  • Making the gravy. Saute the onions on medium high heat. When you smell the nice aroma of the onion, add the ginger, cumin seeds stir and cook for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the garlic and the powders (turmeric, cumin, coriander), stir for 1 minute.
  • Add 1/4 cup of cold stock or water. Stir.
  • Add 1 cup chopped tomato and cook for about 5-10 minutes until it becomes saucy.
  • Add chopped carrots and other vegetables.
  • Bring to a boil, turn down and cook for 30 minutes.
  • Add in the cooked mung beans and cook for 15 more minutes or until done.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.
  • Serve with rice, roti, cilantro and lemon.

Indians cook the dish with the rice. I personally like to serve the rice on the side and prepare separate.

Enjoy!

Traditional Hungarian stuffed cabbage (töltött káposzta)

I don’t think it is an accident that stuffed cabbage is a Christmas dish.  You can surely serve it any time but it is the perfect dish for the holidays.

I smile every time I remember my daughter’s reaction. She was three years old when she saw stuffed cabbage on the Christmas table and screamed ‘YUCKY’.  However, after she tried it, she realized how delicious it was. Ever since then, she makes sure that it is on the Christmas menu.

Stuffed cabbage is a popular winter dish in Hungary even though our ancestors didn’t make it. It is a dish that was inspired by the Turks. They called it szárma from the Turkish word sarma. However, many of us today can’t imagine Christmas without it. My mom made it every year. 

I don’t think it is an accident that stuffed cabbage is a Christmas dish. You can surely serve it any time of the year but it is the perfect dish for the holidays.  In the old days, families butchered their pigs and the meat was ready to be used by around this time. Also, there weren’t too many vegetables available except for a few like cabbages and onions. Not to mention that the dish can be kept in the cold for a couple of days. In fact, it tastes the best after a few days. This was an important consideration, too. Christmas went on for days back in the old times. Also, according to traditional customs, people were not allowed to work during the celebrations.

The recipe is not too difficult, though it is time-consuming. Just remember you won’t have to cook for 3 days afterwards! There are many variations of this recipe but this is how I make it. Please feel free to experiment with it.

RECIPE

INGREDIENTS

Meat stock:
  • 1 -2 lb of beef bones (ox tail and beef bone)
  • 2-3 Tbsp of black pepper corn. I like to add a lot of peppercorns because they give a really nice flavor to the dish.
  • water
  • 4 bay leaves
  • 3 carrots
  • 2 parsnips
  • 1 large onions
  • few cloves garlic
  • 2 celery stalk or 1 medium sized celery root
For the cabbage rolls:
  • high quality oil (lard, sunflower seed oil)
  • 1 1/4 lb of ground pork (can be half beef)
  • oil
  • 1/4 cold water
  • 1 larger onion, chopped
  • 2 slices of bacon, sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 2 lb of sauerkraut, drained, divided
  • few strings fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 cup of uncooked rice, cleaned
  • 1 cup of cold water to cook the rice in
  • 1-2 heads of large Savoy cabbage or green cabbage or sour cabbage leaves (about 18 – 20 leaves)
  • marjoram
  • 2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika (make sure it is authentic)
  • 1 egg
  • sour cream
  • freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
  • Hot pepper flakes or Erös Pista to taste
  • smoked meat like kielbasa, sausages (optional)

METHODS

Meat stock

Place the onion, beef bones, pepper corns, garlic, carrots, parsnips, bay leaves , celery in a large pot. Add enough water to cover everything well. Bring to a boil, turn the heat down and slowly cook for 2- 4 hours covered. Set aside. (Omit if you already have it).

 

Making the dish

  1. Preparing the base of the dish. Sauté onion in oil on medium high heat for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add bacon and render for 5 more minutes. Add paprika and garlic, stir for 1 minute. Add 1/4 cup cold water (have it ready) and stir. Add 1 lb of the sour kraut. Mix. Set aside.
  2. Preparing the cabbage leaves. Fill a larger pot with cold water and start boiling it. This will be used to blench the leaves. Take the leaves off the cabbage gently one by one. When the water boils, add the leaves in the boiling water one at a time for a few minutes. Here we are parboiling the cabbage leaves quickly so make sure they get semi soft but not mushy. After taking the leaves out quickly immerse the leaves in cold water. Take them out and put them on a colander so the water can drain. (Omit if you have sour cabbage leaves). 
  3. Parboiling the rice. Bring 1 cup of rice in 1 cup of cold water to a boil. Turn the heat down and cook uncovered for 10 minutes. Set aside.
  4. Preparing the stuffing. In a larger dish, mix the cooked rice from earlier, crushed garlic cloves, marjoram, 1 egg and the meat together. Set aside.
  5. Assembling the stuffed cabbages. Fill the cabbage leaves in the middle with about 1 heaping tablespoon of stuffing or more if leaf is bigger and fold them on all four sides so the stuffing is tucked inside the leaves nicely. Be careful you don’t fold them too tight because the mixture will expand a little. You can close the leaves with a toothpick if you want but it is really not necessary.  This may sound like a difficult task but really what you do here is you tuck the filling inside the leaves and fold each side onto the stuffing so it is nested inside the leaves. Please, see the pictures for clarification above.
  6. Place the assembled cabbages on top of the prepared sour kraut mixture from earlier one by one, fitting each leaf snug next to each other. Place the remaining 1 lb sour-kraut on top of the stuffed cabbages. 
  7. Pour the meat stock over the stuffed cabbage leaves. Make sure the liquid covers everything in the pot. Bring to a boil and turn the heat down. Cook on very low heat slowly covered for 1 ½ – 2  hours or until the cabbage and the stuffing are cooked.
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste.
  9. Serve the stuffed cabbages on top of the sauerkraut along with sour cream, sliced kielbasa and hot red pepper flakes or Erös paprika.
  10. Add the meat if you wish.

Merry Christmas! Enjoy!  Jó étvágyat!

Text, photos and recipe by twincitiesherbs.