Water for Ethiopia (Zucchini and Mushroom Bombe with a Tomato Coulis)

It is all too common for people my age to rage about how kids these days are internet-absorbed, lazy, video game playing couch potatoes who are going nowhere fast.  With much self-congratulatory confidence we assure ourselves that we were soooo much better when we were young, forgetting all those times when we bagged school, grabbed a case and went fishing at the shore on a school day.  There are good and bad in every age and I can guarantee from personal experience that my group was not always gold.  Likewise, today most kids are great, some are slugs.  They party like rock stars, flunk tests, act out and listen to that “Damn Rap!”  They don’t really care about others.   While there are young people who do all that crazy stuff, Marta Djalleta is not one of them.  She is making a difference.

I met Marta, her sister and parents at our church.  Her mother is one of the talented music ministers and I cook chicken with her father every 4^th of July for our big neighborhood Jazz Vespers BBQ.  For her 16^th birthday, she raised money for Charity: Water to dig a well in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.  We’ll be getting the GPS coordinates and pictures soon.  Now, she is on to a new thing.  Here’s what Marta has to say:

“… I would like to tell you all that I am doing another Chairty: Water campaign for my 40-day veganism during Lent.  I have a small goal of $500, but I hope to soon surpass this goal!  As a reminder, 100% of your donations will fund the building of a well. My eggs and cheese-loving self would appreciate your support during this trying period of my life!  You can show your support by going to: http://my.charitywater.org/MartaGoesVegan and donating whatever you can!”

Send Marta your money!  Thirsty communities in the developing world are counting on you.  And as soon as you are done, whip up this vegan dish to celebrate and honor Marta and her effort to help the neediest in our world.

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Zucchini and Mushroom Bombe with a Tomato Coulis (serves 4)

2 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise into strips 1/4 inch thick

1lb. white mushrooms

1 28 oz. can of tomatoes, drained

1 tsp. fresh basil leaves, sliced julienne (long, thin strips)

1 small shallot

5 tbs. olive oil

salt and black pepper

Roughly chop the mushrooms and shallot by hand or in a food processor.  Be careful not to liquefy the mushrooms, you want them to be cut into uneven pieces about 1/4 inches in size.  Sauté the mushrooms and shallots in a heavy pan until dry, about 10 minutes.  Use a wooden spoon to keep them moving so they will not burn.  When fully cooked, they will be black and will clump onto the spoon as you stir them.  Move the mushroom stuffing into a bowl and reserve it while you do the next step.

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Spread 2 tbs. of olive oil on a baking sheet.  Lay the zucchini slices on the baking sheet, season with salt and pepper, bake for 10 minutes, until the zucchini cooks and begins to brown on the edges.  The mushrooms and zucchini can be cooked a day ahead and refrigerated until final assembly.

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Oil the inside of a small bowl or 6 oz coffee cup.  Lay the zucchini slices in the cups with the ends hanging over the outside of the cup.  Fill the cup with mushrooms to within 1/4 inch of the top.  Tap the cups to settle the mushroom mixture and drive out any air bubbles.  Fold the zucchini slices over the top of the mushrooms, sealing the Bombe.  Bake the Bombes in a shallow baking pan filled with 1/2 inch of water for 30 minutes, until they have heated through.

While the Bombes are cooking, puree the drained tomatoes in a food processor.  Strain them through a fine strainer into a 6 qt. saucepot.  Heat the tomato Coulis on high until reduced by 1/3.  stir in the remaining olive oil, add the julienne basil, adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, cover and allow the flavors to blend and marry for a minute.

Serve the Zucchini Bombes on a large dinner plate.  Briefly reheat the coulis.  Cover the bottom of the plate with 4 tbs. of the Tomato Coulis.  Turn the Bombe out of the cups in the center of the plate.  Serve immediately.

Leftovers and Transgression (dal patties with sautéed zucchini and mushrooms)

There is a shocking secret at the Farrell house. 

It is something that, in most folk’s opinion, shames us, makes us less in their eyes, sinful, people to be apart, shunned for what we are.  We accept an idea that is wrong to many, dangerous to most.   It has caused us to raise our children in an aberrant way.   We have chosen to set ourselves outside of society.   

You see, we do not own a microwave oven.  I’ve been militant about this.  My kids were underprivileged when they went to college.  Although they could pop popcorn on the top of the stove with real butter, not one of them knew the setting on a mic that would make the magic happen.  Oh, the humanity!

I know that’s hard to believe.  How could you get by, feed yourself properly without a microwave?  Actually, it is quite easy, but like everything worthwhile in this world, you need to think differently, about your health and your food.  Think for a moment about how you use your microwave.  My guess is that it is almost always used to reheat leftovers. 

Around our house, it is rare that something would be simply warmed up and served again.  Instead, we make something different.  For example, almost any cooked vegetable can be chopped up and cooked in an omelette.  Roast chicken can mixed with onions, celery, dried cranberries and mayonnaise to make chicken salad.  Bones can be cleaned of meat and used for stock.  Anything, well practically anything makes a good taco or enchilada.  Besides, those rays can’t be good for you.

A while back, I posted a recipe for curried turkey legs and a red lentil dal.  If you made that one, and you should, you probably had extra dal left over at the end of dinner.  You could do what everyone else, bang it in the microwave, spray it down with radiation and call yourself Chef of the Airwaves.  Or, with little extra effort, you could try the following recipe and make interesting food.  This would also be great with leftover rice pilaf or beans.

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Fried Dal Patties with Sautéed Zucchini and Mushrooms (serves four)

1# dal, cooked and cooled

1 ½ c. bread crumbs

2 tbs. olive oil

2 medium zucchini, sliced into thin rounds

8 button mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

2 tbs. parsley, chopped

½ c. heavy cream (optional)

salt and black pepper

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  With your hands, form 2 oz. patties of dal ½ inch thick.  Roll them in breadcrumbs and set aside.

In a sauté pan large enough to hold 8 dal patties, heat 1 tbs. of olive oil.  Sauté the dal patties for two minutes, turn then bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes, until they are well browned and warmed through.

While the dal is baking, heat the remainder of the olive oil in a large sauté pan.  Working quickly, sauté the garlic for just a moment, until its aroma is released, but before it browns.  Add the zucchini and mushrooms, season with salt and black pepper.  Continue on high heat, keeping the vegetables moving so that they do not stick.

When the zucchini and mushrooms are cooked through, pour in the cream and reduce it by 1/3, until it has thickened to a coating consistency.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, stir in the chopped parsley.  Remove the dal patties from the oven.

Spoon ¼ of the zucchini and mushroom sauce onto each plate and top with 2 of the dal patties.  Serve immediately.

If you are counting calories, leave out the cream.  Also, if you are trying to eliminate bread from your diet, it is perfectly acceptable to eliminate the bread crumbs.  Instead you should roll the dal in potato starch.  That will not hold the patty together as well as bread crumbs, so you should turn the patties carefully.