The SE PDX food co-op does a farmer’s market every Wednesday. I went yesterday, and ended up with some gorgeous Beets. More interestingly, one guy had a variety of mustard leaf called wave-form or something similar.
“this stuff looks good” I said.
“Try one.” said he–It was sharp and spicy unlike any mustard green I’d had, close to wasabi even. I was really into this stuff.
A loaf of bread, apple juice and some silken tofu later, I was out of there. In the stash I had some dried fava beans from Bob’s Red Mill. I’ve learned that Bob’s is the second best flour in the country, but their dry goods ain’t that hot.
As I was prepping the Beets and starting the broth, I thought back to the holy trinity of German flavors–apples, kraut and mustard. I wasn’t too keen for kraut, but a hefty vinegar reduction would do the trick. This was a multi-pan meal, good thing I invited friends who did the dishes. I’ll do this chronologically for you (N.B. I pressure cooked the beans to life, but I never recommend doing this–used canned or ‘normally’ reconstituted beans, which you shoulda started at least 24 hours before the instructions below):
clean up yer beets and put ‘em down to dry roast at 400 or so. These had unfortunately been top-chopped, so I bought ones that had as much stalk on as possible–you don’t want to pierce the skin at all until they’ve roasted.
In a large soup pot, put 9 quarts of water, some bouillon cubes and 16 ounces of Apple juice. Ok, about 12–I drank some. Bring to boil and let it concentrate.
(N.B.2. I used all the beans I had, around 5-6c cooked, but it wasn’t enough for the soup output. I suggest doubling everything for the bean mixture below)
Bean Mixxxxxxture:
slice two red onions into 1cm rounds, mince the nubs and toss in stockpot. In a 12inch skillet bring 2 tbsp of olive oil hot and add tsp of ground cumin, 1/2 tsp of sesame seeds and ground pepper. Add the onions and saute over high heat. Let ‘em sit, and prep your mustard.
prepping mustard: clean the bitches first, then fold each leaf against it’s stem on a cutting board. Take your knife (I’ll assume it’s sharp) and slice off the tough stem. Repeat, ad nauseum, then roughly chop the stems–toss them in the pot. Roughly chop the greens and set aside (I had about 2 quarts, roughly chopped).
toss yer onions, and add a bit of apple juice and apple cider vinegar. Reduce the heat a bit and let ‘em do their thing, tossing occasionally.
back to soup:
The beets should be about 1/2 cooked after 30 minutes or so, depending on size. You should be able to stab them and bring them out of the oven on your knife tip–peel them, chop into 1/8ths and toss in the now reduced to about 8qts broth. Let if roll for another 15 minutes or so, then get out the boat motor. Puree, and return to heat. Reduce heat to med-high.
beans:
by now your onions are so delicious looking you’ll want to pile ‘em on a piece of bread and go town. Don’t. Drain the pan into the mustard greens, and mix ‘em around a lil bit to start the wilting process.
Make a roux of olive oil and flour in the onion pan. Stir till light brown, remove from heat and add the greens/onions mixture. Stir to coat, then add your beans. Toss toss toss, return to super low heat, so beans heat through. You don’t want to overcook these greens-the sharp flavor diminishes as you cook them, and you want that mustard-bite to be very strong.
Back To soup. Take out 2c of soup and add 1/2 cup red miso, 1/4 cup whole grain mustard and a bit more apple cider vinegar. add back to soup, then Mori-nu, boat motor, 5 minutes @ low heat.
Plating is obvious, mound the bean/onion/greens in the center and fill the bowl around the mound with soup.
all I can say is:
okay, I’ll say more. The sharpness of the mustard greens matched beautifully with the sweet beet-apple flavors of the soup and the creamy, acidic beans–the miso and mustard in the soup, barely detectable on its own, advanced the cause of mustard/onions. sprinkled with good sea salt and sesame seeds, this meal was fan-fucking-tastic.
