Summer Solstice Feast

The Summer Solstice has come!

This will be a short post, because I'm busy this season. And apparently so are a lot of other kitchen witches, to judge by the amount of questions I got on the lines of "I'll be hosting a Solstice festival/coven meeting/get-together/party, what can I serve?"

And since I'll be doing the same thing, I can still help you. Here's some quick ideas for your Summer Solstice Feast.

Not pictured: goat cheese and fresh mint frittata because I'll be making it later.

1. Go regional

A good Solstice Feast will celebrate whatever is naturally available in the region you are in. This is what the Summer Solstice is about - the climax of the natural cycle, the vitality and energy and fruit of natural processes. So just choose whatever is in season where you are at the moment, which is easiest achieved by going to a local greengrocer and just seeing what's there. Supermarkets have stuff imported from all around the world, but the slightly dirty shop on the corner doesn't.

In my case, this means strawberries, sweet cherries, french beans, fava beans, early tomatoes, young potatoes, things like that. Maybe some early opal plums if I have the money.

2. Go light

Contrary to winter celebrations, a good Summer festival should leave you energetic and ready to dance. Light foods are definitely preferable - fruit salads, simple vegetable affairs - because that's the summer feel. Leave the thick cream and lard-with-onions for the time of frost.*

3. Go personal

Festive meals are best if they mean something to the feast guests, or at least the host. For instance, on the picture above you can see a bowl of couscous with cucumbers and tomatoes. This is definitely not usual for my region or culture, but it means something to me, being a version of tabbouleh I was introduced to during one important summer.

I will also be making a frittata (egg-based Italian dish) for a similar reason, and also because it resembles the sun, being a golden disc. Plus, it's delicious.

And I will also make young potatoes with dill and onion, fried on butter and served with sour milk, which is a very traditional summer food in my culture. Thus including both things important to me personally and to the people I come from.

Oh, and also, ice cream. Seriously. It's summer. Eat ice cream. Do it.

[*If you happen to have bad weather on Solstice Day, you may like my "Bad Weather Beltane" ritual ideas, they're adaptable to Summer Solstice as well.]

Green Pastry Puffs

One of the things I've never mastered in the kitchen is making pastry. I'm hopeless at baking, I can't even make dumpling dough, and certainly not other, more complicated types of pastry. Fortunately, it can be bought in shops nowadays, so even complete pastry incompetents like me can bake something nice.

Of course, being too dumb to make the dough is not enough, I'm also too lazy to make any complicated stuffing for these things, which I call puffs (for puff pastry, and because they look like small pillows) but which would probably count as... small pies? I don't really know.

Anyway, if You can get Your hands on some ready-made puff pastry of sensible quality, You can make those easily. If not, well... I know of people who are actually able to make it, out of raw components, I've seen them do it even (mostly in France, as it comes from there, they call it pâte feuilletée, while we call it "french pastry." Original, I know), but it still looks like black magic to me. Or worse, because I have some understanding of magic ;)

It's easy to make and can actually impress some people, even if You don't pretend it's all Your work, because these things are rarely done at home. So, if You have guests coming and want to treat them to something less usual, these are a good idea. Plus, You can always make bats and other witchy patterns on them, Magrat-style.

Ingredients

• Package of puff pastry
• Green olives, shallots or leek - something green and strong-tasting (broccoli or cabbage don't work)
• Feta cheese or plain quark if feta is too salty for you - something white and cheesy
• Onion
• Garlic
• Olive oil
• Spices : I put rosemary and thyme because I had them, allspice is also good, but not too much of it. Basil, oregano, pepper, but go easy on the salt because cheeses have lots of it already. Generally, depending on the vegetables and cheese You choose the filling will need stronger or milder seasoning.

Preparation

Heat up olive oil on a frying pan. Dice, or slice, all the vegetables and cheese. Fry all the stuffing ingredients on the pan for just enough time  to melt the cheese - it's going in the oven anyway so there's no sense in doing the same work twice.  I usually dice the ingredients really small because I like a more homogeneous filling, but I know of people who like big, distinguishable bits of various vegetables, too.

Once You have something resembling a mass, take it off the fire. Spread the dough on a clean, flat surface, and cut it in rectangles. This can be done in several ways - You can cut squares, put the filling on their center, and fold the corners inwards. You can cut squares, match them in pairs and only put the filling on every second square, then mold them together. You can cut oblongs and place the filling on one half, then fold them over to cover it.

For this case I took the second method, and on the picture here you can see half of my dough with filling. When using puff pastry for pies with filling, it's a popular way to leave parts of the filling uncovered, but for this one I don't recommend it. You need to make more filling if you want it to show and it dries up too much.
So, mold your pastries however you choose, and put them in the oven over medium-ish to small heat. For this kind of dough (and, well, generally) it's always better to under-do than to overdo, because if it's not done yet you can always keep it in the oven a little longer, but once it's burned, you can't un-burn it.

A good rule of thumb for this kind of pastry is - if you can smell it from the oven, it's nearing completion. Take them out when their colour satisfies you, but be warned - letting it past honey-amber colour is a bad idea. Filling will be very hot, so watch out.

Crêpes aux Épinards

We all know that pancakes are great. I think there's no need to justify this opinion. But just to point out one of their many qualities - You can make them with anything You like and each time achieve a different dish. These particular pancakes were made for a spinach fanatic's birthday, and he liked them.

I ought to say, perhaps, that these are french crêpes, thin and large, rather than american "puffy" pancakes. The french variety can be used with different fillings and rolled up easily (or folded however You want them). They go just as well with sweet and spicy fillings.

Ingredients
I will not be giving necessary amounts for this recipe, because they all depend on how You want the pancakes to be. The first part is for the batter, the second for the filling.

• Flour - unbleached flour is the healthiest and it gives a more interesting taste.
• An egg
• Bran - if You don't have graham flour, I strongly advise enriching the flour with bran. It's healthier and tastier that way.
• Water - some people use milk instead, some use carbonated water, but plain old tap water has always been good for me.

• Spinach - fresh, canned, frozen, whatever You can lay Your hands on
• Onions
• Garlic
• Quark cheese
• Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation

Mix the flour (and bran) with a small amount of water first - just enough to get a thick mass. Add an egg (one should be enough, unless You are making a lot of pancakes or want them with egg aftertaste) and mix again. This will ensure that You get it mixed smoothly : if You just put everything in at once, You get water with round noodles. Once You have the egg distributed nicely, pour in more water. The batter for crêpes should be thin, with milk-like density.

With the mixture ready, You can see to the filling. Chop the onions and garlic and put them over medium heat with a drop of oil (olive oil will give them a nice finish). Add the spinach and fry it for some time. If You're using frozen spinach, fry it longer so You can eliminate water surplus. When You get a soft, green mass but with a visible "leafy" texture, mix the spinach with quark cheese in 1:1 proportion and You're done. Now all You need to do is fry thin pancakes and wrap the filling in them.

Crêpes aux épinards can be served straight from the pan, but You can also prepare them earlier and then heat them up in the oven. With some grated cheese and sunflower (or pumpkin) seeds on top, they can be even tastier that way.

Gratin Dauphinois

Du pain, du vin, du gratin
- almost a French proverb.

Winter hit us hard this year, probably to even the score with a particularly fine Autumn. When it's -16 Celsius (3.2 Farenheit) outside the window and a heavy layer of snow covers everything, it looks beautiful, but that's about it. The cold creeps into our houses, saps our strength and even grocery shopping becomes a feat of survival.
So what does a smart Kitchen Witch do in such circumstances?
Bakes gratin dauphinois.

This traditional French dish originates from the Dauphiné region and is only one of many bakes (or casseroles, if you wish) that French cuisine has to offer. It is also one of the simplest, and just perfect for the freezing weather that we are experiencing right now.
The delicious smell that accompanies its baking will, together with the warmth from the oven, instantly fill Your house with comfortable, cozy atmosphere. The aroma is also very delicate, so it will not linger unpleasantly. The dish itself is very sustaining, and of course delicious. It has the additional virtue of being gluten-free.

You will, obviously, need a casserole to cook this. Be prepared for some scrubbing afterwards, but I assure You, it's worth it (I use an old clay casserole that's been in the family for generations. It looks really menacing, all brown-black and with the words "heat-resistant ceramic" in heavy gothic script. Wonderful.) This is a very easy recipe and requires minimum supervision, so You can put it in the oven and go about Your business.

Ingredients

• Potatoes - about three per person, unless You're dealing with real potato fans (or huge potatoes).
• Sour cream - for covering the surface,  so the exact amount of cream depends on the dimensions of the dish.
• Milk - the amount of milk depends on the amount of potatoes.

Yes, those are all the ingredients You need. Don't add anything: no cheese (that would be gratin savoyard), no bacon, no salt, no pepper. Trust me. Or, at least try it once as it is before deciding whether it needs seasoning.

Preparation

Peel the potatoes and slice them. Not too thinly, because then the slices will stick together and won't allow milk to flow in between. Remember they will shrink as they bake. About 4 mm is a very good thickness here.
Oil up the casserole (or coat with butter if You're feeling generous) and fill it with layer after layer of potato slices. The best way to do this is to imitate the way bricks are being put, with edges overlapping and covering loose spaces. However, You don't have to worry about gaps too much.

Layers of potatoes, half-covered with cream. You can see the milk level on the left.

Actually, the slices sticking to each other flatly are worse than gaps, because when You're done with potatoes, You need to pour in the milk. Not as much as to cover them all and drown them, but about two-thirds of the whole height. It's best for the milk to flow freely between the potato slices, because their baking in it is what gives this dish its unique taste. Hence the need to avoid impenetrable potato walls and columns. All this looks confusing in writing, but shows plainly on the photo.

With milk sloshing around the potatoes, You can coat the surface with cream. As it bakes, it turns into a smooth, creamy golden blanket, the most delicious part of the dish, so You might want to be generous about it.

Baking

Once You've put on the cream, You're done! Just put the whole thing into the oven and watch out not to overdo the heat - You must remember that the whole dish should bake smoothly. Too big a fire would result in the bottom layers burning and the top ones still being raw.
Since the heat must be mild, it bakes slowly. The thicker the layer, the slower it cooks, so You need to plan Your timing. My "greatest" achievement in this field was 2 hours in the oven, but it was a huge portion put over a coward's fire - my first gratin. Still, be prepared for an hour+ of baking.

When the crust develops a golden tint with brown patches, it's ready.

Gratin dauphinois is a strong, filling meal and, in all probability, will suffice to feed a number of people on its own. The only company it needs is a salad, to supply vitamins and refreshment (carrot and sunflower salad goes great with this), and dry, white wine.

Zucchini Pancakes

I completely forgot I did not put this recipe on yet! I was sure the zucchini pancakes (also called fritters sometimes) were here since forever. Apparently not.

Zucchini season is more or less over now – any season is more or less over, apart from some mushrooms and nuts – but what the hell. This is something that never goes amiss.

These are made pretty much the same as potato pancakes, but using zucchini (surprise! ; it also works with courgettes/vegetable marrows and pumpkin). There are two important tips I have for you to make sure they’re great:

• let the zucchini mass rest for a bit to drain excess juice
• use wholemeal flour

I’m not a health nut, as you may have noticed, and though I like wholemeal flour, I don’t find it mandatory. For most baking recipes, white flour is indeed better, since it’s lighter and gives fluffier results. But the zucchini pancakes are so frail in form (and delicate in taste) that the heavy wholemeal flour makes them hold together much better and generally gives additional robustness.
So, here’s how you go about them.

Ingredients

• zucchini
• wholemeal flour
• egg(s)
• fresh dill
• salt

Preparation

Peel and grate the zucchini. Sprinkle the resulting mass with salt and leave off for a bit, preferably in a sieve or colander or something like that, to drain excess juice. Add flour in small batches (no more than half the volume of the green stuff!) and mix in the egg. While mixing, watch the texture – the firmer the better. Add more flour if too runny, always adding in small batches. Remember that you can always add if it’s not enough, but you usually can’t take it out again if it’s too much. Chop up fresh dill and add directly to the dough mix.

Heat up a frying pan and fry small pancakes. No matter how firm your dough, they will always be at risk of tearing, so the smaller you make them the easier it will be for you.

The taste is delicate and mild, so keep that in mind. They go really great with cream  or quark cheese or both.

Stuffed Peppers

Well, it's Autumn and no two ways about it.  The mornings are chilly and most of the summer fruit is no more. But much more delicious stuff is still available, and ready to make the coming cold more bearable. Of course, now that the sun grows dim, we have to prepare more complicated meals, to make up the lack of fire without with the fire within.

 So, as an autumnal treat, I have prepared one of my more complicated recipes for You : the Hungarian stuffed peppers. As with all stuffed dishes, it requires some work, since the stuffing has to be prepared first, and the actual meal later. However, it's not as demanding as it could be, because the peppers themselves are practically ready to go. Well, what did You expect? I like cooking, but I'm allergic to hard work, so 'more complicated' means, around here, 'requiring 40 minutes' preparation.'

The peppers used here are 'Hungarian wax' peppers, not the more popular bell peppers (capsicum annuum ; English nomenclature is quite confusing here. Apparently, C. Columbus is to blame), which have the best shape for what I have in mind right now.

Ingredients:

• Hungarian peppers - one or two per person, depending on their size.
• Rice - usually a glass (250 ml) is enough
• Onions - as much as You like
• Garlic - three cloves minimum
• Soy meat/meat/mushrooms - really, the last ingredient is entirely up to You. If You want it to be ready really fast, go with mushrooms, although this tends to give the dish a mild taste and somewhat spongy texture, as mushrooms do. If You're looking for optimal nutritious value, soy meat is perfect, and it will make the peppers keep longer if there are any left over than actual meat.
• Seasoning : cayenne pepper or chilli powder, oregano and basil, laurel leaves.

You will also need some tomatoes or tomato purée to prepare the sauce in which the peppers shall be cooked.

Preparation

First, prepare the stuffing. There are two ways this can be done, although one of them I have never tried. The old-fashioned way given by a Hungarian cookbook I have is to leave the rice raw while preparing the stuffing, and the other is to have it cooked beforehand. I will go with the latter, as this is the way I always do.

Frying the stuff

So, cook the rice. The actual amount of everything depends on how much peppers are You using, so I'm skipping quantities here. Dice the onions and cook them in a frying pan on a small amount of oil. Add some garlic and, as the onion changes colour (white to gold, never brown), put the third ingredient of Your choice. I always go with soy meat for a bit of protein. Fry all that for a moment, then add the rice. It can go straight from the pot, no worries here. Mix everything and season it to suit Your taste. ( Just a tip here - if You want the dish to be spicy, You have the choice of achieving this with the sauce or the stuffing. In my opinion, go for the stuffing. It's easier to counter a hot meal with a mild sauce then the other way around. Of course, if You want to make both extra-spicy, be my guest.) Good seasoning choices here include chili powder and all sorts of pepper, but also savory, oregano, basil and turmeric for extra colour.

Now that the stuffing is ready, leave it off the stove so that it won't burn, and prepare the peppers. They need to be hollowed out, but left intact to accommodate the stuffing. Of course, they are hollow in themselves, so what You really need to do is simply cut out the stems and the cluster of pips underneath. The easiest way to do this is to take a pointy knife, stab it vertically into the pepper and cut around the stem. (Be sure to dislodge all the remaining pips, they aren't tasty.)

Use a small spoon to put the stuffing inside the peppers and take care not to rupture them or they will fall apart during cooking.  This is where the difference between raw and cooked rice comes in : if You use cooked rice, it won't change its volume anymore (well, not significantly) so You can fill them up. When dealing with raw rice, You must allow for the volume change and leave some space.

Once filled, put the peppers in a wide, flat pan (do not try to cook them vertically, this never works) so that You can turn them around. Now, there are two ways this could go : You can prepare a real tomato sauce, with onions, garlic and all that, or You can just pour some water, add some tomato purée and spices and be done with it. What You prefer is up to You, but if the peppers themselves are well made, they don't really need an elaborate sauce. To get the best of two worlds, You can add a spoon of cream to the sauce near the end. Cover the pan and leave them to simmer in the sauce, remembering to turn them gently around from time to time. Don't let them stick to the bottom - You won't be able to free them without ruining the effect.

Serving

Serve them in their own sauce, accompanied by a salad or another vegetable - french beans are my favourite. Since they are stuffed with rice, these peppers don't need a side order of it. They are a meal in their own right, which is great.

The Material Side

If we didn't have to eat, we would all be rich
- Jewish proverb

One of the most important matters to be taken into consideration, when preparing our meals, is the quality of the ingredients. Obviously, if we want our dishes to be wholesome and tasty, we cannot make them from bad materials.

On the other hand, some exotic herbs, high quality oils and especially cheeses,  can be difficult and expensive to obtain. The best, if a little generic, advice to be given here is to scout out the market, keep a sharp eye for sales and price reductions, and to experiment. Does it have to be bad because it's cheap? Not necessarily. The most important thing here is to check everything, because often an inexpensive ingredient will be a nice surprise, but only if it's fresh.

Here are some tips for the beginner foodstuff scout:

• Vegetables : always touch them to feel how hard (or soft) they are. Carrots, cucumbers and celery roots should be hard and dense, but peppers (capsicum) or tomatoes can be bought ripe and soft or young and tough, depending on Your preferences. Ripe will be more savoury, young will keep longer.
• Pasta and other grain derivatives : look closely at them. Is the spaghetti thin, light, semi-transparent? Is the rice mixed with other substances, are there any signs of insect presence? Don't buy it then. You can also check the country of origin : China is a good place for rice to come from, but not for cannelloni.
• Cheeses : cheese lore is a science all on its own. A lot like wine in that respect. If I were to give some basic advice, it would be to smell them : a good camembert should have a strong smell, even somewhat unpleasant. One that does not will very likely have no taste either.
• Oils : olive and grape seed oils are the ones that I use. Olive oil is one of the best things You can have in the kitchen, but it is quite expensive. If You are tempted by a sale, lift the bottle up to the light, see whether anything is swimming in the oil or are there any solid residues on the bottom since You don't want these. On the other hand, if the oil seems opaque or hazy, there is nothing to be worried about. It only means that it has spent some time in a low temperature and should revert to normal when it warms up.

After some time spent on "scouting", You will gather enough information to be able to shop for your favourite ingredients at reasonable prices. Exchange information with others, pay attention to the places where You got high quality foodstuffs. Do not hesitate to tell the vendors that You are satisfied by their products - this will let them know that they have chosen a good supplier.
As is the case with all knowledge, its accumulation will give You wisdom and increase Your skills.

Pesto

After quite a wild time, I'm back in my kitchen and determined to tell You about something special. Considering how useful, and delicious, pesto can be, making it at home is quite a good idea. Of course, You can buy it, but food made with our own hands is a different quality altogether.

Pesto is a sauce, or a condiment - it depends on what do You mean by those words, really - that originated somewhere between today's France and Italy. There are numerous versions, since the name refers to anything that is made by pounding or grinding in a mortar. The word 'pestle' comes from the same root. This is the recipe for pesto alla genovese, or 'green' pesto.

Ingredients :

• Fresh basil - at least 20 leaves
• Olive oil - a teaspoon, hardly more
• Parmesan, grana or peccorino cheese - two spoonfuls of grated cheese
• Cashew or pine nuts (optional)

Tools :

• Mortar and pestle 

  
  

  Basil leaves ground with olive. Cheese to be added yet.

The exact amount of these depends on how much pesto You want to make, but it takes a lot of basil. Be ready to sacrifice a whole plant, since the quantities given above result in three spoonfuls.  And if You don't have any fresh basil, don't try to make pesto from dried leaves.  It won't work, so You'll only be wasting time and effort.

Preparation :

Making pesto is actually very easy. It only takes a lot of patience, but there's nothing complicated about it. Rip the leaves into small pieces, and be sure to do it by hand. If  You use a knife, the ethereal oil will evaporate faster and the herb will lose its aroma. Put them in the mortar. If You want to add nuts, do it now. Pour a drop of olive oil - not much, because the leaves will only swim around then - and start grinding. This will take some time, so it's best to make it while You have something else to think about, or if You are watching a movie. Slowly, patiently, grins the leaves using a circular motion. When the contents of the mortar start to blend, grate the cheese and add it to the mixture. Proceed with grinding until the ingredients produce a shiny, dark-green mass.

Serving:

Pesto can be served on its own, on sandwiches and in salads, or added to other dishes. It can be poured onto hot pasta and serve as a sauce all of its own, but it can also be added to, for example, napoli sauce, to produce a new interesting dish. It is of great help when decorating food or preparing party dips and canapes. I'm sure that as Kitchen Witchcraft progresses, You will be seeing it on the ingredient list from time to time.