Sunday, October 17, 2010

Spanish Rice

Ingredients
2 T oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 c chopped green pepper
19-oz. can tomatoes (about 2 1/4 cups)
7.5-oz. can tomato sauce (a little less than 1 cup)
1 1/2 t sugar
1 t salt
a few grains of cayenne
1 1/3 c regular long-grain rice

Method
Heat oil, saute onion and green pepper until tender.
Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid. Add water to liquid to make 1 3/4 cups. Add to onion and pepper. Add the tomatoes, chopped, along with tomato sauce, sugar, salt and cayenne. Heat to boiling, stir in rice, and pour into greased 6-cup casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 °F (180 °C) about 30 to 35 minutes, until rice is tender. Fluff rice with fork. Makes 6 servings.

Source
Clipped from newspaper. Where? When? Probably 1960s or very early 1970s. That’s all I know.

Comments
I must have saved this when I was quite young, and rice cooked any way other than plain and white had an exotic appeal. A little research shows that it’s probably called Spanish rice because it’s meant to imitate Mexican rice, and they speak Spanish in Mexico. Real Mexican rice with tomato is quite different though.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Tomato recipes

Squash and Tomatoes
Ingredients
1 large acorn squash (about 2 lbs/900 g)
1/4 c butter
1 c thinly sliced onions
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
3/4 t dried leaf basil
19-oz. can tomatoes (about 2 1/4 cups)

Method
Cut squash into half, remove seeds, slice about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Peel slices, cut into chunks. (Yields about 7 cups).
Saute onion in butter, stirring, about 3 minutes. Add squash, tomatoes and seasonings. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until squash is cooked, about 15 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Comments
You could do this with any winter squash, even pumpkin.

Tomato Vegetable Soup
Ingredients
2 T butter
1/4 c chopped onion
2 medium stalks celery, sliced thin
10-oz. can consommé (1 1/4 cup)
1 c canned tomatoes
1 c frozen mixed vegetables
1 c water
1/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1 small bay leaf, crumbled

Method
Saute onion, stirring, 3 minutes. Add celery and stir 1 minute more. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer until the vegetables are tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Comments
You could use homemade vegetable broth or powdered bouillon with water instead of canned consommé. Don’t follow the directions for salt slavishly; taste first and adjust. It may depend on how salty the consommé or bouillon are. Using oil (preferably olive oil) will make this soup vegan. And of course the tomatoes and/or vegetables can be fresh instead of canned or frozen. Don’t crumble the bay leaf; it’s better to leave it whole and remove it before serving than to subject diners to sharp little bits of bay leaf in their soup.

Spinach Balls in Tomato Sauce
Ingredients: Spinach Balls
12-oz. package frozen chopped spinach
1 1/4 c fine dry breadcrumbs
1/4 c wheat germ
1 tsp baking powder
1 t dried leaf basil
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1 t salt
1 1/2 c ricotta or small curd cottage cheese
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 clove garlic, crushed

Ingredients: Sauce
28-oz. can tomatoes (about 3 1/2 cups)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
5 1/2-oz. can tomato paste
1/2 c dry red wine
1/2 c water
1/2 t dried leaf oregano
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1 small bay leaf, crumbled
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese

Method
Cook the spinach, and drain in a sieve, pressing out as much water as possible with the back of a large spoon. Combine breadcrumbs, wheat germ, baking powder, basil, nutmeg and salt, mixing well. Add spinach with cheeses, eggs and garlic and mix well. With damp hands, shape into 32 balls (roughly divide the mixture in half within the bowl, divide each half into halves, and so on, five times in total), each ball about 1 1/2 inches (a little less than 4 cm) in diameter. Bring to a boil water 3 inches (8 cm) deep in a large saucepan. Reduce heat until just simmering. Place the balls, a few at a time, into the water and cook until done, about 7 minutes. Lift out with a slotted spoon and put into a casserole dish.
Meanwhile make the sauce. Pureé tomatoes, onion and garlic in a blender. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese. Cook 10 minutes, then pour over the balls, sprinkle cheese over top and bake 30 minutes at 350 °F (175 °C). Makes 8 servings.

Comments
I think I may have made this around 1982 or 1983. I vaguely remember the tomato sauce with red wine in it, and something about cheese and spinach balls. I don’t recall poaching the balls in water and then baking it as a casserole; I suspect I might have just cooked the balls in the tomato sauce.
Tips: 1) That’s a lot of salt. Nowadays I would taste before adding so much. The cheese may be salty enough. 2) If you don’t have small-curd cottage cheese, you can drain off the liquid from any cottage cheese and then press the curds through a sieve. 3) Again, don’t crumble the bay leaf. (See above recipe.)

Scalloped Eggplant
Ingredients
1 medium eggplant (about 1 1/2 lbs - 700 g)
salt
1 clove garlic, halved
2/3 c (approx.) olive oil (or other cooking oil)
1 c chopped onion
1 t curry powder
19-oz. can tomatoes (about 3 1/2 cups)
1/4 c chopped parsley
3/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 t dried leaf basil
1/4 t dried leaf thyme
2 c soft bread cubes
1/4 c melted butter
1/2 c grated parmesan cheese

Method
Slice unpeeled eggplant 1/4 inch (.65 cm) thick. Springle lightly with salt, let stand 30 minutes, then pat dry.
Heat garlic in 2 T of the oil. Remove garlic. Fry eggplant slices quickly on both sides until golden,  removing each slice as it is done, and adding more oil as needed.
If pan is dry, add oil to make about 2 t, then add onion and curry powder. Stir over medium heat 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, parsley, salt, pepper and dried herbs, and simmer 5 more minutes. Cut the eggplant slices into quarters, and layer half of them in a greased casserole. Put half the tomato sauce on top, then repeat both layers. Bake at 350 °F (175 °C) 20 minutes. Meanwhile, toss the bread crumbs, butter and cheese together. Top the casserole with this mixture and continue baking, uncovered, about 25 minutes more, or until bread is golden. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Comments
The curry powder is a strange addition to a recipe that otherwise sounds good. I’m divided between deep  scepticism and morbid curiosity. I’m also wary of including the eggplant peel; I’d be afraid it could remain tough and bitter.

Deep Dish Vegetable Pie
Ingredients
1 large stalk brocolli (to make 2 cups total)
oil
2 T water
7-oz. can corn (about 3/4 to 1 cup)
1 c green peas
1 c cooked fresh lima beans
1/2 c coarsley chopped dry roasted peanuts
1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms
1/4 c four
3/4 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1/2 t dried leaf oregano
19-oz. can tomatoes (about 2 1/4 cups)
pastry for single-crust 9" (23 cm) pie
1 egg yolk
1 T water

Method
Sauté thinly sliced broccoli stems in 2 T oil, stirring, 1 minute. Add 2 T water, cover tightly, steam 1 min. Add broccoli florets, with another tablespoon of water, if needed, and steam 1 minute more, shaking pan constantly. Turn into a large bowl and add corn, peas, lima beans and peanuts.
In clean skillet, sauté mushrooms in 1/4 c oil for 2 minutes, then add flour, salt, pepper and oregano and stir well. Remove from heat, mix in tomatoes, return to heat and stir until boiling, thickened and smooth. Add to vegetables and mix. Turn into a greased 2-quart (approx 2 L) casserole. Cover with pastry, rolled thin and sealed well to edges. Brush with egg yolk beaten with water (except at the edges). Cut slits in the pastry. Bake at 425 °F (220 °C), about 30 minutes, or until pastry is done and pie is hot and bubbling. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Comments
Of course you can use fresh or frozen corn instead. The peas and lima beans are frozen in the original recipe, but do you need to be told that? Just use what you have.
Peanuts are the intriguing unexpected ingredient here. I am curious now.

Source
Like the previous post, these recipes are from an article by Margo Oliver I clipped from an issue of Today Magazine, probably in 1982.