On a day when most Chicagoans were shivering through a bone-chilling blast of winter, Darra Goldstein breezed into town and pronounced the downy white ground cover and invigorating snap in the air very much to her liking.
“I have an aesthetic appreciation of snow. I revel in wintry landscapes,” she said.
Goldstein’s habits and habitat lend credence to the remark. She lives in Massachusetts, one of the warmest of her recent homes, which have included Russia, Sweden and Finland. In each she has sought out the spare, still beauty of the harshest season, when “we feel–even see–each breath.”
Goldstein is a cheerful optimist in her view of winter. Food, assumed by many to be severely limited in this off-season, provokes excitement from Goldstein.
“The Vegetarian Hearth: Recipes and Reflections for the Cold Season” (HarperCollins, $26) documents her delight. In this, her third cookbook, Goldstein plumbs the depths of the barest bins, pulling from them a bounty of inspired recipes. That they’re meatless is incidental, a point that vegetarians will embrace and meat-eaters may barely notice.
“I’m not a vegetarian, just intrigued with the possibilities,” Goldstein said, although the project did convince her 6-year-old daughter to become one.
Goldstein, a professor of Russian literature at Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., said her foray into the wonders of the winter table was a happy accident. Her previous book, an exploration of Georgian Russian cooking, was alternately scholarly and highly personal. She set her sights on further adventures in Russian food, specifically a book on Tolstoy’s table. She describes him as a guru for Russian vegetarians.
“The more I looked into the foods that fed Russians during the cold season, the more interested I became. They ate very well, with grains and hearty vegetables. I thought that there had to be a way for Americans to enjoy what winter has to offer,” Goldstein said.
Thus began her enchantment with such stalwarts as rutabaga, kohlrabi, cabbage, parsnips and potatoes. Carrying out her meatless mission, Goldstein investigated legumes and grains, bringing barley, buckwheat, millet, lentils and chickpeas to the fore.
“The results were so surprising. It became clear that it was possible to have good food year-round, not just in the summer months,” she said.
A measure of whimsy adds charm to the book without detracting from its usefulness. Chapters include essays on rutabaga, Shrovetide, celebrations of light and, not too unexpectedly, Tolstoy’s table. The sum effect is a collection of interesting recipes brought to life by Goldstein’s infectious enthusiasm for an unforgiving season.
The recipes are carefully written and tested very well. And as she has intended, they provide a welcome measure of comfort to the winter table.
ONION JAM
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: 3 cups
Cooking time: 1 1/2 hours
In this recipe from her book, Darra Goldstein writes that trendy restaurants claim to have discovered onion jam but the Russians have known it for centuries as vzvar, a thick, sweet-and-sour vegetable confit. It keeps well in the refrigerator.
2 pounds yellow onions, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup port
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash cayenne
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 to 4 tablespoons honey (depending on the sweetness of the onions)
In a large skillet cook the onions in the olive oil until softened, 12 to 15 minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients and simmer the mixture until thickened, about 75 minutes. Serve at room temperature.
Nutrition information per 1/4 cup:
Calories … 60 Fat ………….. 2 g Cholesterol …. 0 mg
Sodium .. 35 mg Carbohydrates … 11 g Protein ……… 0 g
ROASTED RED PEPPER TART
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour
Chilling time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 servings
Crust:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut in pieces
2 tablespoons solid vegetable shortening
5 to 6 tablespoons water
Filling:
2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 large red bell peppers, quartered, stems and seeds removed
1 cup (4 ounces) grated Gruyere cheese
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground white pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1. In a medium bowl mix together the flour and salt. Cut in the butter and shortening until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Add just enough water for the dough to hold together, being careful not to overmix. Wrap in wax paper and chill 1 hour.
2. Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Roll out the dough on a floured surface to a round about 12 inches in diameter. Carefully lift the dough into an 11 1/2-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Trim the edges and prick the dough all over with a fork. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, until golden. Cool on a rack.
3. To make the filling, cook the onions in the butter over low heat until golden, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Heat the broiler. Place the quartered peppers skin-side up on a broiler pan. Broil close to the heat about 5 minutes, or until the skin is charred all over. Place the peppers in a paper bag and close it tightly. Leave them to cool, then peel them. Slice the peppers into thin strips.
5. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. To assemble the tart, sprinkle the cheese over the bottom of the cooled crust. Top with the onions, then strew the red peppers decoratively over the onions. Season with salt, pepper and thyme. Add the eggs to the cream and pour over the vegetables. Bake 45 minutes, until golden.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ….. 410 Fat ………….. 31 g Cholesterol … 165 mg
Sodium …. 485 mg Carbohydrates …. 23 g Protein ……… 10 g
OVEN-ROASTED RUTABAGA AND POTATOES
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Yield: 6 servings
Cooking time: 50-60 minutes
1 rutabaga (1 pound), peeled, and sliced crosswise then sliced again into 1/2-inch sticks
2 large potatoes (1 pound) peeled, and sliced lengthwise then sliced again crosswise into 1/2-inch sticks
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat oven to 450 degrees. Place prepared vegetables in baking dish large enough to hold potatoes in single layer. Toss with oil, sugar, salt and pepper. Roast until tender and browned, 50 to 60 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories ….. 145 Fat …………. 5 g Cholesterol … 0 mg
Sodium …. 200 mg Carbohydrates .. 24 g Protein …….. 2 g
