I do not like parsnips. So, I struggled here on parsnip day of Grape Harvest month. Turning to the lovely River Cottage Year by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (winner of most british-sounding name). Just glancing at the River Cottage website turns up another parsnip recipe – parsnips with blackberries and chicory. I chose Hugh’s Parsnip Risotto recipe and found it delightful.

Parsnip Risotto 

2 medium parsnips

1/2 onion

3 1/2 cups chicken stock

1 cup arborio rice

2 tbs white wine

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

First, peel the parsnips and chop them into a small dice. Chop the onion as well. Heat 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat and cook the onion until tender. Add the parsnips and cook until they are tender. Heat your chicken stock in a separate pan until simmering.

Add the rice to the onion/parsnip mixutre along with the white wine. Cook until the wine has been absorbed by the rice. Slowly add quarter cups of hot chicken stock to the rice and stir until absorbed. Continue until all the stock has been absorbed. Add the grated Parmesean and some fresh black pepper. Enjoy!

 

Amaranth, mes amis.

After a fair amount of online searching for amaranth recipes and searching in grocery stores for available amaranth products, I settled on Alegria, a mexican dish eaten on day of the dead. Awesome skull shaped alegria here. I had seen some indian recipes using amaranth leaves and other baked goods using amaranth flour, but the only version I could find was the grain itself. It turns out that you can pop amaranth like popcorn – teensy tiny popcorn.

Alegria

1/2 cup amaranth grain

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup sugar

1 tbs molasses

1/8 tsp salt

Heat a larger pot with a small bit of canola oil. I had trouble getting the heat to just the right popping temperature and burned several tablespoons of amaranth in the process. In tablespoon batches, pop the amaranth for about 30 seconds. Pour each batch out and pop the next tablespoon. Toast the pumpkin seeds in the same pot for a few minutes. Add those to the popped amaranth.

In a separate pan, heat the sugar until it starts to melt. Add the tablespoon of molasses and mix quickly with the seeds and grain. Add the salt and mix. Hurry the mixture into a square pan lined with parchment paper. Let it cool and break into chunks. Enjoy!

We have skipped over the quintidi and sextidi of the first decade of Vendemiaire as those celebrated Horse and Impatiens, respectively. I, too, celebrate them, but could not think of a way to cook them. So, we arrive at carrot day! Carrot soup with ginger, coconut milk, pumpkin seeds and… za’atar.

Carrot Ginger Soup  

1 1/2 lbs carrots

2 inch nub of ginger

1/2 onion

1 cup chicken broth

1 can of coconut milk

few sprigs of cilantro

2 green onions

2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

1/2 tsp za’atar

First peel your carrots and slice them roughly. Mince the garlic ane roughly chop the onion. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the onions on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the carrots and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the ginger and cook for one minute more.

Time for liquids – put the broth and coconut milk in the pot. Cover and cook for 5 minutes. While the soup is cooking with the liquids, put a tablespoon of olive oil on a half sheet pan. mix the pumpkin seeds with the oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt and za’atar to taste.

Blend the soup until very smooth. Spoon the soup into bowls and top with sliced green onions, cilantro and za’atar-y pumpkin seeds. Enjoy!