Foraging 28: Stalking the Wild Groundnut, Again

Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant. – Robert Louis Stevenson

Groundnut in bloom this last August on our riverbank. Beans will follow.

This is post two of hopefully three about groundnut. I recently did an exploratory dig to find out what I would be dealing with when I gathered enough to make a recipe. As always, only harvest from an unpolluted spot.

Three stems emerging from the stony ground. The leaves are
small ferns and riverbank plants.

The digging was easy and the result impressive. I only stuck the shovel in once and up came a tuber about the size of an egg. This from a vine that was only about 4 feet long! Most of the vines where I will be foraging are substantially longer, and should have larger tubers at the end. Older tubers can reach grapefruit size but may not be as "choice.".

What is goundnut?

Groundnut (Apios americana), also known as hopniss or in Mi’Kmaq language sequbbun, is a perennial vine native to all of eastern North America. It bears edible beans and large edible tubers. It grows to 9-12 feet long, with leaves arranged in opposite pairs 3-4 inches long along the leaf stem. The flowers are red-brown to purple, resembling sweet peas, but in a much denser cluster. The flowers form edible beans.

From two adjacent stems.

The best tubers are medium-sized, young, very firm, and as smooth possible. The white fleshed tubers are crunchy and nutritious, with a high starch and protein content. This plant was one of the most important food plants of native North Americans, and is now being developed for domestication. Several plant stores sell both plants and seeds. A testament to their use follows:

A [native, I assume] woman will dig from a peck to a half bushel a day. The Indians eat them, simply boiled in water, but prefer them cooked with fat meat. – Philander Prescott, US Patent Office Report on Agriculture,1849 

Freshly dug, the bottom ball the size of an egg.

Groundnut is nutritionally sort of a cross between beans and potatoes. The tubers contain 11%-14% protein, which is far higher than potatoes or any other common root vegetable. They also match the protein content of wheat. The amino acid profile is like beans. Groundnut complements most grains to form a complete protein for the diet.

Groundnuts can be eaten raw or prepared several different ways. The taste is somewhat like a cross between a peanut and a potato. I’ll let you be the judge. One thing is for certain, they’re unique.

What to do with them

They come from the ground, so first you have to wash them. Also try to remove all the little roots that are on the surface. Like a potato, you peel them, and removing the roots makes the job easier. Discard any soft tubers and cut away any blemishes or dark spots from the remaining firm ones.

They need a good cleaning after digging,
perhaps with a vegetable brush.

Ground nuts can be boiled in salted water like any other vegetable. They can also be roasted like root vegetables and served as a side dish. You can make a meal by roasting them in an oven on low heat until completely dry. Afterward they can be stored for a substantial time. 

Once dried, they can be ground and the “flour” used in pancakes or other baked goods. Just remember they have no gluten so will not aid in rising bread.

Food for thought? 

It is best to cook groundnuts before eating because they contain trypsin inhibitors and cooking makes it more digestible. Trypsin inhibitors are chemicals that reduce the availability of trypsin, an enzyme essential to nutrition in many animals, including humans.

Undercooked groundnut, like beans, can also cause significant gas. Some people like the taste of raw groundnut. Most do not, which may be a good thing. I’m on the fence. I don’t know about the gas. I only ate a little to try it.

Groundnut is certainly one of the most important wild edibles we can discover. I am always amazed at what I learn when I open my eyes and look around at Nature’s bounty. We have forgotten so much...

The fruits of just one stem, and about 10 seconds work.

I’m still looking for something interesting to cook with these things. I've read they're at their best roasted and mashed with butter, salt and pepper, but that seems a bit boring... I’m sure I’ll dream up something soon!

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Recipe: Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

Not until we see the richness of the Hindu mind and its essential spirituality can we understand India. – Lyn Yutang

Butter chicken was not a traditional homemade meal, but the invention of a restauranteur.

It’s odd that a recipe called “butter” chicken doesn't necessarily have butter in it, don’t you think? I can only assume that the “butter” comes from the velvety smoothness and richness of the sauce.

Moti Mahal is now a chain of restaurants. This is one.
Photo: toyohara, Flickr ccl

Butter chicken, or Murgh Makhani, is an Indian dish that is popular all over the world. The dish, created in the late first half of the 1900s, can be traced back to a restaurant in the Indian capital of Delhi. 

As stated in a documentary on the Discovery Channel, butter chicken originated in a famous restaurant named Moti Mahal Delux in central Delhi, India. The restaurant is now a chain.

The owner, Kundan Lal Gujral, is famous for inventing tandoori chicken as well as other Indian dishes, including butter chicken and dal makhani. "Makhani" is a Hindustani word meaning "with butter."

Apparently, the restaurant recycled the leftover juices from their Tandoori chicken as a base for a marinade and added butter and tomato to the mix. (There's the butter!)

Butter chicken uses either cubed or bone-in chicken and can have varying spices which often include cumin, cloves, cinnamon, coriander, pepper and fenugreek. It nearly always has yoghurt, cream and tomato paste. 

There are as many versions of butter chicken as there are cooks. I hope you like mine. It is quite tasty and as far as making Indian food "from scratch" was a breeze!

Murgh Makhani

Prep: 10 min  |  Cook: 40 min  |  Serves 4

This is the sauce just after all is combined in the pot.

8 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in

1 medium onion

1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and diced

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tsp cayenne

2 tsp cumin seed

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cardamom

1/2 cup coffee cream

1 cup whole fat plain yoghurt

1/2 cup tomato purée (1 small can)

juice of 1/2 lemon

salt and pepper

1 cup basmati rice

2 cups water

salt

Place the chicken thighs in a large low saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and fry both sides until golden but not completely cooked, about 10-15. This will depend on the size of your chicken thighs.

Simmer the chicken while you make the rice. The colour changes
as the dish simmers. Compare this with the top photo.

Remove the thighs to a plate and drain off all but 1 tbsp of the collected chicken fat.

Peel and halve the onions. Then take each half and cut from top to bottom to make long slices. Add the onions and chopped ginger to the pan and cook until just beginning to soften.

Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the cayenne, cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon and cardamon and cook for 1 more minute.

Stir in the coffee cream and then the yogurt. Mix well. Then add in the tomato purée and lemon juice. Mix well and bring to a simmer. Nestle the chicken pieces into the sauce, cover and let cook while you make the basmati rice. The rice will take about 25 minutes.

Bring the salt and water to a boil. Add the basmati, stir and cover. Reduce heat to simmer and let cook for 15 minutes (17 minutes for brown basmati). After the water has been absorbed, remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes.

Serve the chicken and sauce beside the rice.

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Object of Necessity 5: Sam & Ella's Liqueur Label

Our names are labels, plainly printed on the bottled essence of our past behavior. – Logan Pearsall Smith

Click on the image to view full size and save to your desktop.

Just a quicke post... 

Here’s another free downloadable piece of artwork, this time for all your liqueur needs. The image above is for 500 or 375 ml bottles if you feel so inclined to use it. Of course it doesn't have to be booze in them...

Just click on the image and it will appear much larger in another window. The actual size is suitable for printing and is 300dpi. The reason it looks so large is your 72dpi screen is showing a 300dpi image. It saves to your desktop at 2" x 3."

After you save it change the colours from RGB to CMYK if you're able, and you’re off to the races. If not it will still print well.

This was really an object of necessity for me. I was getting so many liqueurs of similar hue I had to taste them to keep them straight. Woe is me...

Problem solved with this label. Enjoy!

Enjoy!

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Foraging 27 & Recipe: Blackberry Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

Just because you don't live near a bakery doesn't mean you have to go without cheesecake. – Hedy Lamarr

There were still plenty of blackberries on the canes in the country.

I was lucky this last weekend. I just hit the last flush of this year’s blackberries. The past several weeks have been “interesting” to say the least. As such I wasn’t on top of harvesting many foods when I should. I thought for sure I had missed them. But I didn’t!

I hope everyone enjoyed it. I think they did.

The berries were not as plentiful as they would have been at their height, but the ones that were still hanging were excellent.

I wanted to do something a little different than I usually do (freeze and make trifle at Christmas) so I dreamed this up.

I don’t want to write a whole lot of intro, as the recipe is rather long and involved. So let’s just get down to it.

I took this to work with me to share with my coworkers. They’ve put up with a lot from me over the last several difficult months. In a small way I hope that it says “thank you.” I really do appreciate them.

By the way, you could make your own Ricotta easily (search this blog for Ricotta). You can also make your own cream cheese (look here.) I was lazy. Making the cheesecake was enough for me for one day...

Blackberry Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake with Blackberry Glaze

Prep: 20 min  |   Cook: 1 hr 20 min  |  Serves 12

Tamp the crust down with a measuring cup to make it even.

Graham crust

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

4 tablespoons butter, melted

1 tbsp sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Cheesecake

300 g whole milk ricotta, drained 

2 8-oz packages cream cheese, room temperature 

1 cup sugar 

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tbsp lemon rind 

4 large eggs

1-1/2 cups blackberries

2 tsp cornstarch

Blackberry glaze

1-1/2 cups blackberries

1/2 c. sugar

2 tbsp lemon juice

2 tsp cornstarch

Make the blackberry purée for both the cheesecake and glaze by boiling the berries
and straining. Don't do them at the same time, but separately for each step.

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Wrap the outside of a 9-inch spring form cheesecake pan with a layer of heavy-duty foil. This will protect the cake during the hot water bath when it bakes.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, sugar and cinnamon in a food processor and process until the crumbs are moistened. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the prepared pan with a measuring cup. 

Bake until the crust is golden, about 15 minutes. Cool the crust completely on a cooling rack.

Add the blackberry purée to a reserved part of the batter.

Beat the ricotta in a mixing bowl until smooth. Add the cream cheese and sugar and blend well, stopping the machine occasionally and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add in the lemon juice and zest. 

With the beaters running, add the eggs one at a time and mix each just until blended. Remove and reserve 1/4 of the batter. Pour the rest into the graham crust.

In a small bowl, mash the blackberries, then strain through a sieve to remove the seeds. Add the cornstarch to the resulting juice and mix well. Combine the juice with the reserved cheesecake batter and mix well. The result will be thin.

Gently swirl the two batters together and bake. This after baking.

Pour the blackberry batter on top and swirl the two batters together with a knife without mixing too much.

Place the cheesecake in a baking dish large enough to hold the spring form pan with some room on all sides. Pour hot water into the baking dish to come halfway up the sides of the spring form pan.

Bake in the centre of the oven until the cheesecake is set and the centre still moves slightly when the pan is gently shaken, about 1 hour and 5 minutes. The cake will set up firmer as it cools. Let cool for 1 hour on a wire rack.

Pour the glaze over the cooled cheesecake and tilt it to spread evenly. You may not need all the glaze.

After the cheesecake has cooled, make the blackberry glaze. Crush the blackberries and mix with the sugar in a saucepan. Mash and cook until the juice is extracted and the sugar is dissolved. Strain out the seeds and pulp.

Pour the strained liquid back into the (washed) saucepan. Add the lemon. In a little dish mix the 2 tsp of cornstarch with 2 tsp of the juice. Pour back into the liquid and mix well. Cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens. Cool slightly then pour over the cheesecake.

This cheesecake is not too sweet with hints of lemon and berry flavours.

Refrigerate until the cheesecake is cold, at least overnight. Cut the cake into wedges and serve.

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Recipe: Cullen Skink, or smoked haddock chowder

When you fish for love, bait with your heart, not your brain. – Mark Twain 

West view over Cullen, Moray, Scotland. Photo: Telipogon, Flickr ccl

I’m reading a very interesting book called In Defense of Food, by Michael Pollan. In it he outlines how over the last many decades our dietary habits have been shifted from consuming food to consuming “nutrients.” By that he means foodstuffs that have been engineered or chemically combined to have a perceived benefit.

He also makes a strong case that the prevalence of disease in the Western world is due to this engineering. His belief is that there is a correlation between our ingestion of altered foods that do not have all the vitamins, minerals, etc., that naturally grown foods possess and chronic illness. Data does show that disease occurrence has risen as our use of prepared foods has increased.

One comment he makes that I tend to agree with is: “If a food makes a health claim, don’t buy it.”

So what’s the solution? 

First eat a better, more balanced diet with a higher fruit and vegetable content. Eschew the prepared foods section of your grocery, or better yet eschew the grocery as much as you can for your local farmers market. Make your own food at home, you know — like your grandmother did and her mother before her.

Delicious, healthy and filling. Perfect for four hungry people.

Look back to recipes that warmed your heart as well as your stomach. Don’t obsess over fat and carbs and the like. Eat a balanced meal full of all the nutrients your body needs. You’ll be better for it.

Look to the past for a better future

Here’s a time worn recipe from the north coast of Scotland; a place called “Cullen” if you can imagine.

Cullen is a small town in Scotland and the home of one that country’s most famous dishes, Cullen Skink. It is a hearty soup and traditionally made with smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. I have seen recipes that include corn as well, but I believe that is not part of the traditional ingredient list.

This is my version, which is a hybrid of the classic and a smoked haddock recipe that my mother still makes for me on a fairly regular basis. Her recipe is a wonderful memory of home. She's going to love this when I make it for her.

Maybe this recipe, and ones like it, will be the start of some heartwarming memories in your family too.

Docaitta’s Cullen Skink

Prep: 5 min  |  Cook: 18 min  |  Total: 25 min  |  Serves 4

3 slices bacon, chopped

2 leeks, white part only, sliced thin

3 medium potatoes, diced

1/2 tsp thyme

1 cup water

2-3 cups milk

4 eggs

1lb smoked haddock, cut into 1” pieces

1 can of corn niblets

1 tsp cracked black pepper

salt to taste

Once the eggs are in don't stir it or you'll break them up.
Essentially you're poaching them in the chowder.

Render the bacon in a large, deep stock pot. Add the leeks and cook on medium until they become softened, about 5 minutes. Remove the leeks and bacon from the pot and reserve.

Add the diced potatoes, thyme and cup of water. Cook on medium for 10 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Do not let dry out or stick to the bottom of the pot. Mash the potatoes and remaining water together in the pot.

Pour the milk into the mashed potatoes, add the leeks and bacon, and mix well. Bring to a simmer and add the haddock and 1 tsp of pepper. Add the corn, if using. Let cook for 3 minutes. Taste for salt.

Crack the eggs and drop whole onto the surface of the chowder. Do not stir unless you're really concerned about the chowder sticking to the bottom. If you do stir, do so very gently so as not to break up the eggs. Let the eggs poach until cooked, a further 4-5 minutes.

Serve each bowl of chowder with one of the eggs and sprinkle with parsley if desired.

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More hooch: Gingersnap Liqueur, never before seen!

A balanced diet is a cookie in each hand. – Anonymous

Mmmm... Cookie-ness...

After my foray into the world of Baklava liqueur I started wondering what else I could translate from baking to booze…

Steep for two weeks.

I have several other ideas that will probably see the light of day, but this recipe is the one I wanted to do first. You see, homemade gingersnap cookies are pretty much my favourite homemade treat. They rank right up there beside Dot Bolivar’s Tollhouse Cookies (search “Dot Bolivar” for the post).

What if you could instil the essence of a gingersnap cookie into a liqueur? Sounds daunting, doesn’t it? Well it wasn’t really, and I have pulled it off!

This liqueur tastes so much like the cookie it’s amazing. As you can see by the pictures, I only filled the bottles up halfway. No, it isn’t because I am cheap. There’s a method to my madness.

At Christmas I will tie a note to the top of each bottle with instructions to fill the rest of the bottle with coffee or cereal cream and shake. I can’t do it beforehand because the shelf life of refrigerated homemade cream liqueurs is not much more than a week.

Of course, they can opt to not add the cream. I can see this liqueur being stunning in a gingersnap martini, or perhaps as a mixed drink booster with club soda. I would avoid using fruit juice with this like the plague.

This liqueur is my own creation. You won’t find this recipe posted anywhere else, at least not yet anyway… I hope that you try it. It’s really one of the best liqueurs I’ve ever made.

Gingersnap Liqueur

Time: 2 weeks

Snazzy labels suitable for liqueur bottles. Download a printable
file for free here. They say "Sam & Ella's Cookin' School."

1/2 cup fancy molasses

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 cup water

2” cinnamon stick

4” fresh ginger, sliced (no need to peel it)

6 whole allspice berries

2 cups grappa or vodka

1 L Mason jar

Combine all the ingredients except for the vodka in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and keep at that heat for 5 minutes.

Let the mixture cool and then add it, with the vodka to a Mason jar.

Seal the infusion and let steep for 2 weeks, shaking occasionally.

After the 2 weeks, strain through a fine sieve and bottle. Makes 4 375 ml bottles, filled half-way.

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