comfort food Archives - The Curated House

Foodie Friday | Sausage, Bacon + White Bean Cassoulet

As I mentioned with last week’s Roasted Carrot + Ginger Soup, I am in serious nesting mode. After all, what do you get when you combine colder weather + a woman who is 31 weeks pregnant? Comfort food. Lots of it. And an abundance of dreams about warm and inspired destinations. Like the South of France.

The sum total of the comfort food + inspired destination dreaming this week meant a foray into making Cassoulet for the first time. It turned out to be such a hit with my guys that I thought I’d share it with you. I am still dreaming of traveling to France {sooner rather than later} to once again drink in and eat up even more of the foodie inspiration that incredible country has to offer, but for now I have mason jars full of Cassoulet in my fridge to keep the dream alive.

Here’s the recipe for this hearty, heart-warming and flavourful dish:

SAUSAGE, BACON + WHITE BEAN CASSOULET

THE INGREDIENTS:

1 lb bag of dried white beans such as Navy Beans, soaked in water overnight
30 slices double-smoked bacon
1 lb Andouille sausage {I bought mine at Whole Foods and it was fantastic}
1 large white onion
5-6 cloves garlic
1 head of celery
1 bulb of fennel
1 lb of carrots
12 cups organic chicken broth
1/2 bottle dry Chardonnay
3 Tbsp Herbs de Provence

THE METHOD:

After soaking beans in water overnight, rinse thoroughly and simmer in chicken broth, wine and herbs in a large stock pot for 1h. Meanwhile, lay out bacon slices on a cookie sheet {or two} and bake at 375˚F for 10-15 until browned but not too crispy.

Place sausage, onion and garlic cloves in an open roasting dish and bake in 375˚F oven for 30 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes. {I was lazy and chopped my onion and garlic after they were roasted, but you can definitely chop yours before roasting.}

Peel the carrots and chop along with celery and fennel. Using a small amount of the fat that rendered off the bacon, sauté the vegetables until softened. Cut the cooked sausage and bacon up into small chunks and combine with veggies, beans and broth in a large roasting pan.

Roast in the oven at 400˚F for 1 hour. Garnish with fresh or dried herbs and ENJOY!

Note: This makes a large batch, worthy of freezing a jar or two for later. If you would prefer not to have so much on hand, just cut the recipe in half.

Wishing you a cozy and comforting weekend, friends!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|November 8th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Friday | Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Baked Prosciutto: A Simple Autumn Comfort Food

I must confess that I have a love-hate relationship with this time of year. I love that Graham and I were married on the first day of Fall, so for me it will forever be a season of romance. I love the changing colours, the crisp air and the warmth of the sunshine. I love the harvest vegetables and the season of hearty, heart-warming cooking and natural gatherings with friends and loved ones. I love pulling out all the blankets and cozy sweaters and spending evenings snuggled up by a roaring fire. I strongly dislike the fact that winter is on Autumn’s heels. Every year. Without fail.

Rather than focus on what I don’t like {note that I didn’t actually say “hate,” because I actually hate the word “hate”}, I am increasingly aware of the power of focusing on what I’m grateful for. It’s possible in any season – weather it be a calendar season or a season of life – to find gratitude that outshines the proverbial “winter of our discontent.” Some days it may feel like a stretch. OK, lots of days it does feel like a stretch to sort through the struggles to find those gratitudes. But it’s the right kind of stretch, like an amazing yoga class or Pilates session after a stressful week. It stretches me in the right direction. I need to stretch more.

Today’s soup is a gratitude for me. A gratitude because of the flavourful comfort of simple and delicious ingredients. A gratitude because it’s something I can make on weekends and have in mason jars in my fridge for quick and easy lunches during the week. A gratitude because I have friends and family to share it with. And a gratitude because my 10 year old really, genuinely loves this soup. It’s a mama win, and I’ll take it! After all, have you tried getting a kid to eat cruciferous vegetables recently and be happy about it? Exactly.

I made a few of batches of the soup in my “test kitchen” before posting this recipe because I wanted to get the balance of flavours just right. My first batch produced a really pretty photo using red onions, and while I loved the slightly blush colour of the puréed soup, the sweetness of the roasted red onions added to the subtle sweetness of the roasted cauliflower was just too sweet for me in the end. I wanted more of an earthy, savoury undertone to compliment that naturally delicate sweetness of the roasted cauliflower. So, a couple of simple tweaks, and here’s the recipe!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

with baked prosciutto

THE INGREDIENTS:

1/2 head of cauliflower, sliced into 1/2″ thick wedges
1 large vidalia onion, sliced into 1/2″ thick wedges
8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 c. butter, cut up into knobs
salt + pepper
1 c. organic whole milk
2 c. organic chicken broth
1/4 c. Greek yoghurt
2 c. finely and freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh or freeze-dried herbs
2 slices of Parma prosciutto per person for garnish

THE METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Place the wedges of cauliflower and onion and the garlic cloves on a baking sheet and distribute knobs of butter on top. Finish with salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes. Once you’ve pulled the veggies out of the oven, bake the prosciutto slices {laid flat on a cookie sheet} for 5 minutes until crisp.

Place roasted veggies, milk, broth and Parmesan cheese into a good quality blender {I use a Blendtech} or add everything to a large soup pot and combine using an immersion hand blender. After blending, reheat gently, being careful not to let the milk and cheese burn.

Garnish with freshly chopped chives or freeze-dried herbs and break up the prosciutto into pieces to garnish. I like leaving the pieces big enough to crack with my spoon because it reminds me of the experience of breaking the surface of gorgeous crème brulée {which I can no longer eat}. Sometimes it’s the little things, right? You can also crumble it up into tiny bits, which Noah loves to do. Either way, that caramelized salty goodness is the treasure hunt in this creamy soup, providing the perfect contrast to the natural, savoury sweetness.

It really is fast, easy and super delicious and I hope you’ll try it in your own kitchen sometime soon!

Wishing you time with friends and loved ones over a bowl of something comforting this weekend. And more than anything, I’m wishing you the awareness you need to gather the gratitudes and recognize the meaningful moments that punctuate the season you’re in right now. They are there if you look for them. I promise.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 27th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Friday | Coq Au Vin

The weather this week has had me all discombobulated. If today was at all like the weather from Wednesday I would be posting some kind of fresh and light salad in hommage to Spring {and Summer on its heels}! But February seems to have decided that it will indeed subscribe to winter’s expectations and be cold and white and wet. So, comfort food continues to be most prominently featured on the menu in my little kitchen these days.

I’m not sure if I’ve confessed this to you yet, but j’adore Paris. Architecturally I think it is one of the most elegant and visually stunning cities in the world. And the very next thing I think of once I have dreamily remembered the spectacular cityscape of limestone structures is {quite naturally} the food. Oh Paris. You sure know how to win a girl’s heart.

Today’s recipe is something of a working-girl’s rendition of Coq Au Vin. It’s elegant comfort food and pairs just beautifully with Cauliflower Purée and Carmelized Fennel.

COQ AU VIN

Coq Au Vin would more commonly be made with bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, but I decided to use chicken thighs for a budget-friendlier version and we all loved the result! The dark meat is moist and tender and marries beautifully with the rich flavours of the wine, bacon and shallots. Our son was pacing the kitchen waiting for dinner to be ready when he caught a wiff of the gorgeous aromatic goodness coming from the oven!

THE INGREDIENTS
1/2 package reduced sodium bacon {sugar-free}
6 chicken thighs
6 shallots
2 cloves garlic
3 c. chicken broth
2 c. dried shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 c. dry red wine
Salt + pepper
Pinch of Herbes de Provence
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp Cup4Cup flour

THE METHOD
Preheat oven to 375°F. Pour the chicken broth into a saucepan and bring to boil. Add dried shiitake mushrooms and reduce to a simmer. Roughly chop bacon into 1/2 inch pieces and brown in a sauté pan over medium-high heat. Remove bacon to drain on paper towels and strain off the fat from the pan, leaving just enough to brown the chicken. Lightly season the chicken with salt and pepper and brown on both sides.

While the chicken is browning, peel and quarter the shallots and chop the garlic. Once the chicken has browned, remove to a small Dutch oven or roasting pan. Next, add garlic and shallots to the sauté pan. Once the onions and garlic are translucent, add the red wine to de-glaze the pan. Add in the chicken broth and mushrooms and bring to a boil. In a small bowl, combine the butter and Cup4Cup flour and then add to the sauce and stir in to thicken. Finally, add the bacon back to the sauce and pour over the chicken in the Dutch oven or roasting pan. Roast in the oven for another 45 minutes.

CAULIFLOWER PUREE

THE INGREDIENTS
1 head cauliflower
1/4 c. or less of butter

THE METHOD
Steam cauliflower until tender and falls apart when prodded with a fork. Transfer to blender along with butter and purée. Finish with salt + pepper.

CARAMELIZED FENNEL

THE INGREDIENTS
2 bulbs of fennel
Large dollop of butter
1/4-1/2 c. chicken stock

THE METHOD
Using the same pan you used to create the sauce, add a dollop of butter over medium-high heat. Cut 2 bulbs of fennel into 1/4-1/2 inch thick slices and brown on both sides. Once butter is absorbed, pour in just enough chicken broth to simmer without immersing the fennel. Cook down, flip the fennel and repeat until it is golden and caramelized. Finish with salt + pepper to taste.

As you know, I’m all about plating the food. It’s the little things, right? For this meal, I simply plated the cauliflower purée next to the fennel and then topped the cauliflower with the Coq Au Vin. Simple, hearty and satisfying.