Carrot Mash with Slow-Cooked Chard, Harissa Yogurt Swirl & Chopped Pistachios by Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan

      

May 21, 2020

 

It’s a cumbersome title, I know.  It’s just a description of a dish composed of flavors, textures, spices and crunch.

 

 It was delicious on its own. And while eating it, I thought a side of grilled lamb skewers would be a great accompaniment. 

 

To this end, I’m proposing a new “Me-Too-Vegetable” movement where meat and protein dishes accompany the vegetables in a reversal of hierarchy.

 

I recommend reading through the recipe to figure out how to best maximize your time and efforts.  For example, the carrot puree could be made the day before and re-heated. Dice all the onions for the recipe at one time (1 ½ cups) and divide to use.  Or the chard, when prepped, could be cooking at the same time as the carrot puree/mash.

 

 

  • Prep: 1 hrs
  • Cook: 1 hrs
  • Yields: 4 as a side dish

Ingredients

2 pounds carrots, organic is best

1 cup diced white or Vidalia onions (they are the sweetest variety)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

fresh ground pepper (a few twists from the pepper mill)

1 small clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced or mashed

½ teaspoon ground coriander seed

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon Aleppo or Maras pepper flakes (can also substitute Italian crushed pepper flakes)

½ teaspoon dried dill

4 cups water

slow-cooked chard

1 bunch rainbow swiss chard (I find the rainbow chard leaves are softer than the regular green chard)

½ cup Vidalia or white onions, finely diced

1 medium-clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced or mashed to a paste

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 kosher salt, divided into ‘pinches’

fresh ground black pepper

harissa yogurt

½ cup full-fat plain yogurt

2 teaspoons prepared Tunisian/Moroccan harissa paste **

Pinch of kosher salt

** Harissa paste is a traditional north African condiment made with a puree of hot chili peppers, garlic, olive oil and ground spices.

pistachios

½ cup shelled & toasted pistachios, coarsely chopped (choose un- or lightly-salted)

Directions

Begin by making the carrot puree (‘the mash’).

Peel the carrots and slice into ¼ inch diagonal slices. Finely dice the sweet onion and measure 1 cup, approximately. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the diced onions and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine. Continue to cook over low heat and cover the pan. This technique is known as ‘etuvé’: a French term for “steaming or sweating”. By covering the pan and cooking over low heat, the onions will soften and render their flavorful juices to the bottom of the pan. When the onions are translucent, add the sliced carrots, the prepped garlic, 1 tablespoon butter and ½ teaspoon of kosher salt. Again, stir to combine. Cover the pan and cook over low heat, for 15 to 20 minutes or until carrots are soft. Stir in the ground spices, the dill and a couple of twists of the pepper mill. Cook, uncovered over low heat until the spices are fragrant, just another minute or two. Add 4 cups of liquid, either water or stock. Bring pot to a simmer and cook until carrots are soft and mushy and liquid has reduced by about 25%.

Let the carrots cook for 15 to 20 minutes or more.

Turn off the heat when you have a thick soft puree and set aside.

prepare the swiss chard

Wash the bunch of swiss chard in plenty of cold water. Tear the leaves from the stems and drain the leaves in a strainer or colander. Save the stems.

Trim the chard stems. Trim the stems with a knife by cutting off and discarding the bottom ½ inch of thick end of the stem. Cut off and discard the thin spindly ends that held the leaves. You’ll be left with a pile of 4 to 5-inch pieces of chard stems that resemble celery. Cut across the stems into a small dice. If the stems are wider than ½-inch cut them in half lengthwise first to make them ‘thinner’ first. Set aside.

Finely chop the onion and measure out approximately ½ cup. Thinly slice or mash 1 medium-clove of peeled garlic. Warm-up a sauté pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and ‘etuvé’/sweat the onions over low heat. Add a pinch of kosher salt, stir the onions and cover the pan. Cook until onions are translucent and softened. Now add the garlic and continue to cook for another minute or two. (By adding the garlic after the onions have softened, we have protected the garlic from potentially burning.)

Add the diced chard stems to the cooked onions and garlic. Add a pinch of kosher salt. Stir to combine. Cook covered over medium-low heat for about 6-8 minutes or until chard stems have softened.

To chop the chard leaves: grab a small pile of washed and drained leaves and roll up loosely into a cigar. Cut across the cigar into ¼-inch ‘ribbons. Continue cutting all the chard in this manner.

Add the ‘ribboned’ chard to the sauté pan along with a pinch or two of salt. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan.

Cover the pan and cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring often. The goal is to render the chard into a soft and glistening pile of greens. Slow cooking the chard will achieve a silky result. Set aside.

harissa yogurt

In a small bowl, loosen the harissa paste with a teaspoon or two of water. This will make it easier to swirl into the yogurt. Add the yogurt to a second bowl along with a pinch of kosher salt, Add the harissa paste and stir to combine. Set aside.

Rough chop the pistachios by hand on a cutting board or pulse briefly in a food processor.

Assembly

Puree the cooked carrots in a food processor. Reheat and taste for seasoning.

Divide the carrot puree among 4 shallow bowls. Add a portion of chard greens to the center of the carrots. (n.b. leftover cooked chard greens would make a delicious frittata or omelet)

Swirl some yogurt harissa over the top.

Sprinkle chopped pistachios on top.

 

2 pounds carrots, organic is best

 

1 cup diced white or Vidalia onions (they are the sweetest variety)

 

2 tablespoons olive oil

 

1 tablespoon butter

 

½ teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste

 

fresh ground pepper (a few twists from the pepper mill)

 

1 small clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced or mashed

 

½ teaspoon ground coriander seed

 

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

 

¼ teaspoon Aleppo or Maras pepper flakes (can also substitute Italian crushed pepper flakes)

 

½ teaspoon dried dill

 

4 cups water

 

 

slow-cooked chard

 

1 bunch rainbow swiss chard (I find the rainbow chard leaves are softer than the regular green chard)

 

½ cup Vidalia or white onions, finely diced

 

1 medium-clove garlic, peeled and thinly sliced or mashed to a paste

 

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

 

1/2  kosher salt, divided into ‘pinches’

 

fresh ground black pepper

 

 

harissa yogurt

 

½ cup full-fat plain yogurt

 

2 teaspoons prepared Tunisian/Moroccan harissa paste  **

 

Pinch of kosher salt

 

**  Harissa paste is a traditional north African condiment made with a puree of hot chili peppers, garlic, olive oil and ground spices.  The traditional spices are coriander, cumin and caraway (!).  There are many prepared brands on the market in addition to lots of internet recipes on making your own.

 

 

pistachios

½ cup shelled & toasted pistachios, coarsely chopped (choose un- or lightly-salted)

 

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