We try new recipes all the time. But how often do we actually try new foods, rather than simply rearranging familiar ingredients into different configurations?
In 2016, let’s make a resolution to eat something we’ve never encountered before. And maybe even try doing that several times over, or perhaps every week or every month through the year.
The universe is filled with fruits, vegetables, sauces, condiments, spices, grains, varieties of rice or dairy products, and all sorts of wonderful ingredients to play with. You might be a bit leery of branching out, but why? You wouldn’t know you like chocolate cake, after all, if you hadn’t tried it once upon a time. (And if you don’t like chocolate cake, please keep that heartbreaking tidbit of information to yourself.)
Go on, take a bite of something new. You might love it.
Now don’t worry: no one here will be offering deep-fried crispy critters dunked in dark chocolate, or anything quite that novel and unusual. Although they’re an important source of protein in much of the world, we rather like our creepy, crawly things to keep creeping and crawling ... and to do so outside.
Some people are very brave eaters, and so the prospect of unfamiliar foods isn’t daunting; at the same time, it’s harder, then, to find something they’ve yet to encounter. If you’re more timid and prefer to keep to your culinary comfort zone, maybe such common items as rhubarb and catfish are exotic.
It’s especially fun to shop at international markets to find all sorts of items we’ve never heard of before. But you can even find new-to-you goodies at your regular grocery store without schlepping all over town. Of course, what’s new to you (quinoa, for example) might be a family favorite for someone else. That’s OK, as long as we’re all tempting our taste buds with something we’ve never tried before.
Today, we’re easing you into the challenge by cooking up familiar foods — granola, squash, and pudding cake — but updating them with new ingredients and surprising flavors. Our offerings are very benign and inviting.
We’ve all seen raisins in our granola. But how ’bout golden berries from Peru? They’re considered a superfood, full of vitamins, nutrients, and antioxidants. You might know them also as ground cherries, Cape gooseberries, or Inca berries, if you’ve heard of them at all. No matter what you call them, they’re related to tomatillos; and similarly, when fresh, they are a round fruit encased in a delicate papery covering.
Sweet with a hint of tartness, golden berries are often cooked down into jam or dried for use as snacks.
Do you like sriracha? Tabasco? Hot, rather than mild, salsa? Well, then, harissa is a new spicy condiment for you, a centuries-old classic from north Africa that offers a mix of peppers combined with cumin, coriander, and caraway.
Stir a bit of it into sour cream for a dip, spread it onto a sandwich, smear some onto chicken before roasting it, or add a dollop to oil before frying potatoes in a skillet. You can use it in traditional Moroccan or Tunisian stews, or you can celebrate its unique spices and heat in your own way.
Apples and citrus fruits are primarily what you’ll find in stores at this time of year. How lovely, then, that persimmons, which have been called “the food of the gods,” are still in season, brightening the dreariness for a few more weeks.
When you go shopping for persimmons, you’ll find two different varieties: Hachiyas are heart-shaped and must be very soft for eating, while Fuyus are flatter and somewhat smaller than the others and are edible at any stage. Persimmons can be pureed into a vinaigrette or a smoothie, added to a fruit salad, baked with fragrant spices, or simply eaten raw.
Let’s all be adventurous eaters in 2016, and start off the year with some foods we haven’t experienced before.
You might just find a new favorite.
Contact Mary Bilyeu at mbilyeu@theblade.com or 419-724-6155 or on Twitter @foodfloozie.
RECIPES
Granola with Golden Berries
Easy-to-make, good-for-you granola with the sweet-tart taste of a new fruit.
1 2-ounce package dried golden berries (see note)
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup dried blueberries
4 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 tablespoon chia seeds (see note)
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (see note)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Pinch of kosher salt
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine the golden berries, cherries, and blueberries in a small bowl; add water just to cover the fruit. Heat in a microwave for 1 minute; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the oats, almonds, chia seeds, flax seeds, cinnamon, and salt. In a small saucepan, combine orange juice, honey, and oil; bring just to a boil. Remove from heat, then stir in vanilla. Pour over oat mixture and mix well.
Spread the granola onto the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes, until most of the granola is dry and golden. Drain the fruits, then stir into the granola. Let cool.
Note: Golden berries are available at health food stores; so are chia and flax seeds, which can also be found in the health food sections of larger grocery stores.
Yield: 6 cups.
Source: Mary Bilyeu
Butternut Squash Tagine
“Substantial enough for a main meal, served with couscous and yogurt, vegetable tagines also make good side dishes,” writes Ghillie Başan. Tagine (pronounced tah-ZHEEN) is the name for both the traditional North African cooking utensil — a bowl-shaped dish with a conical lid – and the fragrant stews prepared in it.
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
12 shallots, peeled and left whole
8 garlic cloves, peeled, lightly crushed
2/3 cup golden raisins
2/3 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons harissa paste, or to taste (see note)
2 tablespoons honey
1 1.5-pound package butternut squash cubes
1-1/2 cups water
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Handful of cilantro leaves, chopped
1 lemon, cut into quarters, for serving
Couscous, for serving
Heat the oil and butter in a tagine or a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in the shallots and garlic; sauté for 2 to 3 minutes until they begin to color. Add the raisins and almonds; stir in the harissa and honey. Toss in the squash, making sure it is coated in the spicy oil. Add the water, salt, and pepper; cover. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to medium; cook for 10 minutes until the shallots are just fork-tender.
Sprinkle the cilantro over the top. Serve with lemon wedges to squeeze over the dish, and with couscous as an accompaniment.
Note: Harissa is available at Middle Eastern markets.
Yield: 4 servings.
Source: Adapted from Ghillie Başan, Tagine: Spicy Stews from Morocco.
Persimmon Pudding
“Eva Powell, a former elementary-school librarian in Mitchell, Indiana, has won the town’s pudding contest five times with her recipe for persimmon pudding with a crispy, cake-like crust,” say the editors of Saveur magazine. From Sept. 17 to Sept. 24, Mitchell will host its 70th annual persimmon festival.
4 tablespoons butter, melted, divided
2 cups pulp (from 10 very ripe Fuyu persimmons)
2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1-1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup heavy cream
Whipped cream, for serving
Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter.
Put persimmon pulp and sugar into a large mixing bowl; mix well. Beat in eggs. Combine buttermilk and baking soda in a small bowl; add to pulp and mix well.
Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Gradually add flour mixture to pulp, stirring until well-combined. Add heavy cream and mix well. Stir the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter into the batter.
Pour batter into the prepared dish. Bake until dark brown and a skewer inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour or slightly longer. Set aside to cool. Serve with whipped cream.
Yield: 12 servings.
Source: Adapted from saveur.com.
First Published January 5, 2016, 5:00 a.m.
