CARBOHYDRATES FOR SPRING
With the first signs of spring, our thoughts, food wise, focus on a desire to eat lighter and we anticipate the arrival of fresh spring produce. However, those crops present a menu problem, because, save for the small fresh peas, tiny new potatoes and possibly baby carrots, none of them contain the carbohydrate density to give a meal enough sustenance to stave off hunger for more than a couple of hours. There are no legumes or starchy spuds and sturdy stuffings and rich, filling sauces for pasta and grains seem too heavy. (For recipes using spring vegetables, see last week’s posting Mar. 24, 2022. It also contains a full listing of past posts on the subject.)
The answer to finding nourishing carbohydrates for spring to balance our dinner menus is to devise seasonal ways to prepare the old standards, pasta, grains, bread and to make-over a few vegetables from other seasons. Using delicate pastas with light sauces, mixing fruits and vegetables into grains and even bread stuffings, serving beets cold or as filled nests are all solutions.
The recipes below are tasty examples of this type of created carbohydrates for spring menus. Moreover, they all illustrate how to personalize carbohydrate side dishes to compliment your specific menu for any season by adding different ingredients, vegetables, fruits, herbs or spices. They’re great outlines for your imagination.
It seems simpler to present the basic carbohydrates categorically, with notes, to show the variations for clarity, rather than just listing the recipes. So here goes….
RECIPES
Pasta is a good place to start because it highlights how small changes can make the difference. As stated above, use the___14 light and/or delicate shapes.
Cappellini con Agilo e Formaggio (Angle Hair with Garlic an Cheese) Serves 4
4 oz. pasta cooked
2 Tbs. Extra Virgin Olive Oil-this is important because here it is a taste factor
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Grated parmesan or Romano cheese to taste
Drain the hot pasta, toss with the oil and add the seasonings. Top with the cheese and serve at once.
Orzo with Lemon and Parsley: 4 servings- Also for Stellini, Rissoni, Anelli pasta shapes
Amount of pasta as directed on box for 4 servings
½ tsp. olive oil per serving
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice per serving
1 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley per serving, or cilantro
Couscous: Packaged couscous is an excellent time saver. Fast cooking, it comes flavored and is open to any amount of add-ins, which can be stirred into the pot after cooking and before fluffing
Mediterranean Couscous: Serves 6- From https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/packages/couscous-recipes This dish is wonderful with poultry, a favorite meat in spring.
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
13/4 cups Israeli couscous
3/4 cup beef broth
1 ½ tsp. salt
Heat olive oil in a medium pot over medium heat. Add the onions and sauté for a few minutes, until softened. Add apricots and couscous, and cook for 2 min. to toast the couscous. Add 1 ¼ cups water, beef broth and salt, and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to low, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender, 10 to 12 min. serve warm.
RICE: Rice and pasta are inter-changeable in most recipes but be sure of the cooking times of all the ingredients. Caterers often prefer minute rice because of its lighter, fancier appearance and quick cooking time. Brown rice is preferable to white due to its higher fiber and protein content but be aware of the difference in types of rice. The choice can result in big changes in the appearance and texture of the finished dish.
1. Long grain rice cooks up fluffy and separates easily
2. Medium grain rice is more moist and tender, but becomes stickier the longer it cools
3. Short grain rice is almost round. Moist and tender, it has a high starch content and becomes very
sticky when cooked.
Rice, Spinach and Peas with Almonds: Serves 4**
1 cup long grain rice
3 cups water
1 envelope beef or chicken bouillon granules
1 small bunch spinach
4 Tbs. butter OR 2 Tbs. butter and 2 Tbs. oil
2 cloves garlic minced
2/3 cup fresh or frozen peas thawed
Salt and pepper
¼ cup toasted sliced almonds
Cook rice in water with bouillon until tender, about 14 min.; rinse in cold water and drain well. Remove tough stems from spinach and cut leaves in 1 inch strips. Heat 1 Tbs. butter and 1Tbs. oil, if using, or 2 Tbs. butter, in a skillet over medium low heat. Add spinach and garlic and sauté until spinach wilts about 1 min. Add peas, rice and seasonings and toss. Add remaining butter and oil, cover and allow butter to melt, about 5 min. Toss again gently with almonds and serve.
NOTE: This can be made a few days ahead and kept chilled, covered, without the almonds. Reheat in the microwave and toss with the nuts before serving.
Scented Rice: Serves 4
1 cup long grain rice
2 cups broth-chicken or beef
1 Tbs. butter
¾ tsp. flavoring spice or herb*
¼ tsp. other herbs or spices*
1 large onion diced—preferably red
1 bell pepper diced
½ cup peas- thawed if frozen
1 Tbs. oil
Salt to taste
Sauté the rice in the butter until it’s shiny and a bit golden. Add the flavorings and/or spices with the broth, bring to a broil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed, about 20 min. Sauté the onion, peas and peppers in the oil, then add to the cooked rice. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot, but can be made ahead and stored covered in the refrigerator for several days and reheated in the microwave.
*This rice dish can be altered to fit any ethnic menu by altering the spices, herbs and flavoring in quoted amounts or to taste. For example: Mexican=3/4 tsp. cumin + ¼ tsp. EACH oregano and chili powder; French=substitute powdered rosemary for the cumin and marjoram and thyme for the oregano and chili powder; Italian –use basil, oregano and garlic. A simpler, but tasty combination is to forget all the herbs etc. and add 1-2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice and 2 Tbs. fresh chopped parsley to the cooked rice.
Grains: The recipes below are really more outlines than written in stone. The add-ins and flavorings can be changed to better compliment the rest of the menu, even so far as substituting fruits for vegetables. The grains can be altered to fit your preference, so long as you calculate the cooking times to avoid overdoing the additions
Taboule: Serves 4 — This is a traditional dish and though the basic preparation is the same, the optional choice of add-ins can change its presentation. I’ve had it with only tomatoes and lemon juice, although mint is usually present as well. I marked the optional add-ins in this recipe (*) but feel free to add any others you like.
½ cup bugler
1 medium tomato –diced
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
2 Tbs. olive oil
1/8 tsp. dried oregano
½ cup chopped fresh mint
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
½ cucumber-diced*
1/3 cup diced onion or thinly sliced scallions*
½ green bell pepper –diced*
¾ cup chopped fresh parsley*
¼ cup fennel- diced*
Cover the bugler with water and soak for 45 min. Drain well and squeeze in a towel to be sure it’s dry. Drain the tomato, and cucumber, if using, and pat dry if needed. Gently toss the bugler with the chosen vegetables and herbs and store covered in the refrigerator until ready to use. Mix lemon juice, oil, oregano, salt and pepper in a small jar and store chilled. When ready to serve, gently toss bugler, vegetables and herbs with dressing. Can be served cold or at room temperature.
Bugler with Mushrooms: Serves 4 – This is excellent with all roasts
1 cup beef broth
1 cup bugler
3 Tbs. butter
1 Tbs. oil
12 button mushrooms- caps and stems sliced
1 large shallot-diced
1 Tbs. thyme-fresh minced or 2 tsp. dried
Salt and pepper
Combine bugler and broth in a bowl and soak about 45 min. until tender then drain in a sieve to lose excess broth. Sauté mushrooms in oil and 1 Tbs. butter until starting to brown, about 8 min. add the rest of the butter and the shallot and sauté 5 min. more. Add bugler and thyme, seasonings and heat through. Serve at once or cover and freeze. To reheat thaw and use the microwave.
NOTE: With the addition of 1/3 cup thinly sliced celery sautéed in 2 Tbs. butter and 2 Tbs. chopped fresh parsley, this can be used as a stuffing.
NOTE: Any of 4 recipes above can be made with cooked orzo or couscous following the same directions for preparation, storing and reheating.
Bread Stuffings may seem out of place in spring, but this is light and wonderful with duck and also chicken, both favorite roasts for the season.
Raisin and Fruit Bread Stuffing: This is estimated for a 5-6 lb. bird and can be used with chicken or duck.
5-6 slices raisin bread-toasted and torn in ½ >1 inch pieces
½ small onion –diced
1 smaller inside rib of celery- stalk thinly sliced and leaves chopped
1 cooking apple, cored, peeled and sliced-slices cut in half
1 orange
1 tsp. sage
Salt and pepper
1 egg
milk
Put the bread, apple, onion and celery in a bowl with the seasonings. Cut the orange in half and add the meat from one half to the bowl and the juice from the other half. Mix in the egg and enough milk to keep the stuffing easy to toss but not wet or sticky. Fill bird, both neck and body cavities if there is enough stuffing. Any extra can be cooked covered in a dish, for half the time the bird roasts. Follow regular cooking directions, according to the size of the bird.
** Recipes adapted from ones in the U.S.P.C.A. files
New Potatoes: These are wonderful just boiled and served with butter and chopped fresh parsley, or peeled in a band around their midsection and popped in the oven with a roast.
New Potatoes and Asparagus: Serves 4**
6 new potatoes—red or other colors preferred over brown
2 lb. asparagus—fresh preferred
1 roasted red bell pepper slivered-jarred is O.K.
2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
½ cup olive oil
2 Tbs. Dijon mustard
1 small shallot in fine dice
4 Tbs. chopped chives
Salt and pepper
Boil potatoes until tender, drain cool and quarter. Cook the asparagus in 1/2 cup water in the microwave until crisp tender about 4-8 min. depending on thickness, drain and cut in 1 ½ inch pieces. Toss potatoes, asparagus and pepper together. Whisk mustard, oil, lemon juice and shallot in a small bowl and pour over the vegetables; toss gently. Serve at room temperature garnished with chives.
Note: Can be kept for a few days covered in the fridge. Lightly microwave to warm for serving.
My Nana’s Stuffed Potatoes: Serves 4–If the new potatoes aren’t in regular ones can be used. I like to peel brown skins, but redskins or other colors are decorative if left on.
4 potatoes
1 medium onion
4 slivers of butter—depending on roast and size of potatoes
Wash and prepare potatoes if peeling. Cut a sliver off the bottom so they stand up. Using an apple corer or vegetable peeler, scoop out the center of the potatoes, leaving at least ½ inch margin. Grate the onion (I use a mini-chopper) and stuff the potatoes making sure they are packed solid. If the roast is quick cooking and the potatoes are large, bake the potatoes, topping each with a sliver of butter, in a pre-heated 375 deg. oven until beginning to brown but be sure they have at least 30 min. in the pan with the roast being basted to finish. Otherwise, simply bake the potatoes with the roast.
Red Beets: Beets are an example of vegetables from another season which can be served in spring without seeming out-of-place. In fact their color fits right in. Zucchini, yellow squash and broccoli rabe, not broccoli, are others compatible with spring menus.
Pickled Beets: This can be made using freshly cooked beets or canned
Place cooked, peeled and/or sliced beets in a pot, covered in their juice. Remove half the juice and replace with vinegar. Add sugar and salt to taste. (Optionally other flavorings are added according to ethnic recipes, also to taste, cloves, caraway, peppercorns, allspice sliced onions and horseradish.)
Bring to a simmer, reduce heat and cook until the sugar dissolves and beets are heated through. Remove and allow to cool. Store covered in a cool place and allow to marinate for at least 36 hrs. These will keep for months properly stored. Serve well drained.
NOTE: After the beets are eaten the juice is a wonderful marinade to devil hard-boiled eggs. Put the eggs in a jar, covered with the juice and allow to pickle for at least 5 days. They should be a purple color. They are eaten whole, deviled and chopped into a salad. Don’t worry if they feel hardened, that’s to be expected.
Beets with Herbs: Serves 4
12 small cooked and peeled beets- canned-drained will do(save the juice to devil eggs)
4 Tbs. butter
½ cup sliced scallions
¼ cup chopped parsley
1 Tbs. fresh tarragon = 1 tsp. dried
1 ½ Tbs . sugar
¼ cup white wine vinegar
Salt and pepper
Leave whole or slice the beets. Melt the butter in a saucepan; add the beets and the other ingredients and heat through. Serve hot.
OPTIONALLY: Add 1 cup sour cream at the end and just heat through.
Beet Baskets: Per portion
The amounts vary with the choice of ingredients and the size of the beets, depending on their intended use. Small ones make canapés, medium ones are for sides and large ones can be entrees.
Boil and peel the beets, slice off a sliver of the bottom so they stand upright. Then hollow out the center, leaving at least a ½ inch shell on the large ones.
For 6 Servings:
6 medium beets prepared hollowed out- pulp reserved and chopped
1 cup chopped cooked beet greens*
1 hardboiled egg-chopped
1 slice of cooked bacon-diced
1 Tbs. chopped onion
1 Tbs. melted butter
Salt and pepper
Parsley for garnish
Mix all the ingredients but the parsley and stuff the beets. Place them in a flat bottom pan in a preheated 350 deg. oven and heat them through. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.
VARIATIONS:
Cold peas and chopped celery mixed with mayonnaise, or another creamy or boiled dressing
Chopped hard-boiled egg and chopped sweet pickle mixed with French dressing and a dash of mustard
Chopped hard boiled eggs mixed with tarragon chives and mayonnaise
The beet pulp chopped and mixed with chopped sautéed onions
Cheese flavored rice
Canned herring or mackerel can be combined with any of the above stuffings
Horseradish can be added to any of the stuffings where acceptable and horseradish dressing can be substituted for any suggested ones.
*NOTE: Beet greens are a wonderful vegetable by themselves, much like any other leafy green such as spinach and kale and like them 1lb. =2 servings.
1) Wash the greens well and briefly blanch them in boiling water. Drain them well and sauté them in melted butter with 1 Tbs. lemon juice and garnish with a pinch of nutmeg.
2) Wash and blanch them as above, then sauté in oil with chopped garlic.
