vegetables

Good Meals in Small Packages

Standard

I have a thing for fillings in dough. Turnovers. Empanadas. Burritos. Cornish pasties (these a traditional lunch of Scandinavian immigrants like my great-grandfather-in law, who mined iron ore in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula). But calzones are my current favorite. As easy to make as pizza, but better: every bite is surrounded by crunchy-chewy crust. Also, unlike individual pizzas, I can fit four calzones in my oven, so if I want Swiss chard and roasted peppers in mine, or some cheese other than mozzarella, well, I don’t have to negotiate with anyone about it (the one in the photo is chard and ricotta). It’s also a good way to use up small quantities of leftover vegetables, meat or cold cuts.

Calzones for Everyone

Make some pizza dough. I like Mark Bittman’s (a version here). One recipe makes enough dough for 4 large or 5 medium calzones. You can mix it up in about 5 minutes in a food processor in the morning and let it rise in the refrigerator all day, and bring it to to room temperature before proceeding. (OK, use store-bought dough if you must. But try making it. You won’t be sorry.)

Preheat your oven to 475 F.

Get the fillings ready. Almost any toppings that you like to put on pizza work inside a calzone. It’s best to use cooked vegetables rather than raw, however, or crust can get soggy. We like carmelized onions, strips of roasted red pepper, greens (such as chard or spinach) sauteed with garlic, broccoli, ham, pepperoni, salami, crumbled sausage. Cut any large pieces into bite-sized chunks. If you cook the vegetables in advance, or if they’re left over from another meal, this step takes no time.

Shred, or crumble, your cheese. You can use any cheese you would like on a pizza, but I like ricotta (although it can be runny when baked), chevre or feta more than the usual mozarella.

Tear off some dough and form into a ball slightly bigger than a fist, and shape it into a circle as you would a pizza.

Place the circle on a lightly floured (and clean) counter, cutting board, or your baking pan and push the dough around to fill any holes or very thin spots.

Mound the cheese and other fillings on the bottom half of the circle, leaving some room at the edges (as you would for a pizza). The cheese and fillings blend together nicely if you mix them together first. Use about 3/4 cup filling, or as much as you can fit and still be able to close up the edges. Stretch the top half over the bottom and press the edges together to seal.

Put the calzone carefully on a baking sheet or pizza pan and continue making the remaining calzones

Place the baking pan with the calzones on a rack in the center of the oven. Bake for 5 minutes, then turn the pan around and bake for another 5-6 minutes, until the crust is golden. (Note: You can also bake these on a pizza stone, if you have one, or on the grill. If you use a pizza stone, preheat it  when you start preheating the oven, and sprinkle some cornmeal on the stone before you put the calzones on it to prevent sticking. Use tongs to rotate the calzones on the stone halfway through cooking. In the summer, I make calzones on the gas grill. Set the grill on medium–475-500 degrees. Place the calzones directly on the grill and cook for about 4 minutes, rotate with tongs and cook for another 4-5 minutes, until the crust is golden. But pay close attention the first few times you do this, because not all grills are alike. If the calzones start to burn, they’ll burn quickly.).

Serve topped with tomato sauce (or not) and a green salad.

Corn in My Freezer Equals Chili

Standard

Toward the end of October last year, I started to think about how much I’d miss corn on the cob. Nearly every Saturday morning, I’d hover over the ears splayed on a white folding table at the farmer’s market. Usually, they went straight on the grill, wrapped in foil, then rolled on a slab of butter, with a generous shake of salt and pepper.

I didn’t think of hoarding them over the winter until I overheard Darcy, at the farmer’s market, talking with another customer about freezing the cobs: Leave the husk on, she said, pack them into a freezer bag and push the air out. Instead of defrosting them first, remove the husks and drop them directly into a pot of boiling water. And, voila, corn on the cob in January.

My skill at freezing things leaves something to be desired, or else it was in the freezer too long;  the corn straight up didn’t taste that great. It works just fine, however, in a vegetarian chili recipe that I’ve been making, and tweaking, for years.

We had it tonight. Not  just because it’s quick (one of the kids was in a play; I didn’t get home to make dinner until after 6 pm). Also because it’s time to clear the bits of summer and fall produce out the freezer. In addition to the corn, I still have some basil and mint,  a few Habanero peppers, a couple of pounds of cranberries (not sure what I was thinking), half a cup of pesto, as well as some grapefruit I froze before we went away over the holidays because I didn’t want to throw it away. I’ll probably use the basil to enhance a jar of tomato sauce. I can spread the pesto on a sandwich. Some of the cranberries can go into muffins. Habaneros into salsa, or maybe chopped up on pizza. Maybe I can use the mint to flavor tea? Or make a sauce for lamb. Not sure what to do about the grapefruit yet.

Foolproof Veggie Chili (Serves 4-6)
Adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites. The original calls for cooking the onions and garlic in 1/2 cup water for 5 mins, instead of using oil, which makes the recipe low-fat. And also does not lard it up at the end with cheese and sour cream. But this is what I like.

1 tbl canola or grapeseed oil
2  large yellow onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbl ground cumin
1 tbl ground coriander
1 cup jarred salsa. The spiciness of the salsa will determine the spiciness of the chili
2 green bell peppers
2 15-oz cans beans, drained and rinsed. I use black, pinto, kidney or a mix of them. Really depends on what’s in the pantry.
1 28 oz can tomatoes, with juice. I’ve used whole plum tomatoes, chopped up, diced tomatoes or crushed. Any of these work, though the texture of the final dish will be different. Crushed tomatoes make it thicker than either the whole, chopped, or the diced tomatoes.
2 cups corn (frozen kernels, or 3-4 ears, shucked)
2 medium zucchini or summer squash. Or one of each. (optional)
1 cup green beans, cut into 1-inch pieces (optional).
salt & pepper to taste
hot sauce, sour cream, chopped onions, shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack are good), chopped scallions and/or chopped cilantro for toppings

Heat the oil over medium heat. Cook the onions and garlic, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened. Add the cumin and coriander and stir until the onions and garlic are coated, about 1 minute. Add the green bell peppers and salsa. Stir, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add the beans and tomatoes with juices, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the corn and zucchini, summer squash and/or green beans, if using. Simmer, uncovered, for another 10 minutes or so, until the vegetables are tender.

This chili is good served over rice or pasta—especially if you have some left over from another meal. Also, tortilla chips. Leftovers make a great topping for nachos, with some cheese melted on top.