Recipes

Climate Kitchen Seasonal Recipes

Valentines Day Buckwheat Financiers

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Makes 12 servings

Financiers on a white plate arranged around strawberry compote

Ingredients:

  • ¾ cup buckwheat flour
  • ½ cup bleached almond flour
  • ½ c. or 1 stick of unsalted butter
  • 1 cup sugar (granulated sugar is good, turbinado sugar provides more flavor)
  • 4 egg whites

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. In a medium sized bowl, combine the buckwheat and almond flours with the sugar. Using a spoon, mix until thoroughly combined and there are no clumps.
  3. In a small sauce pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. Make sure the heat is not too high, or the butter will burn. Once the butter is fully melted, continue to cook at a low heat, allowing the butter to go from a yellowish hue to a brown color.
  4. Remove the brown butter and pour over the flour-sugar mixture.
  5. Mix the butter/flour/sugar well and make sure that the mixture doesn’t clump. The batter should resemble the look of wet sand.
  6. With the whisk attachment on the stand mixer, beat the egg whites, first at a medium speed (for 1 minute) and then at a high speed until soft peaks form. These do not need to be stiff or glossy peaks, rather soft and moist.
  7. Fold the egg whites into the batter, one half at a time. Do not over mix -there can still be bits of egg white evident in the batter. Stop once all the egg whites have been incorporated.
  8. Spray a silicone mold with vegetable spray (ideally shaped in rectangles but if you have silicone muffin molds those will work). You can also use a bit of oil on a paper towel to grease the sides.
  9. Fill each cup ¾ of the way full. Place the mold on a sheet tray and using two hands, drop the sheet tray (from about 6” high) onto a countertop repeatedly, allowing the air bubbles in the batter to be released.
  10. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes, rotating the tray halfway through.
  11. Remove the financiers from the oven. Let cool to room temperature or place in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. Carefully remove from the silicone mold (you can twist the molds a bit or use a knife to loosen the individual financiers). 

(For best results, warm them back up before you serve)

 Read more about this recipe.

Harvest Meal Recipes

Stuffed Pumpkin

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Ingredients:

  • 2 kabocha squash or pumpkins, about 2-3 pounds each
  • 8 oz. stale bread, sliced thin, then cut into ½” chunks
  • 8 oz. Vermont cheddar cheese
  • 6-8 garlic cloves
  • 1 cup heavy cream
  • Freshly grated nutmeg
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Salt

Instructions:

  1. Preheat oven 350.
  2. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.  
  3. Cut cap off pumpkin/kabocha. Trim clear of seeds and strings (reserve seeds for salad). Leave the stem intact for a handle. Season with salt and pepper.  
  4. Mix the bread, cheese, garlic and pack this mixture into the two squashes. Season the cream with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, and pour over the bread in the squash. The filling should not be swimming in cream, but it should feel moist.  
  5. Top with the cap and bake about 2 hours, checking for doneness after 90 minutes. The bread mixture inside the pumpkin should be bubbly and the flesh of the squash should pierce easily with a knife tip. Remove the cap for the last 20 minutes to allow the top of the mixture to brown.

Turkey Rillettes

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Ingredients:

  • 1 turkey drumstick
  • ¾ c chicken or duck fat
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 8 sprigs fresh thyme
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2.5 cups turkey stock (from bone)
  • Black pepper, salt

Instructions:

  1. Season drumstick with olive oil, salt, pepper. Roast on baking sheet at 400 degrees until 165 degrees, 1-1.5 hours. Cool.
  2. Peel away skin and reserve. Cut turkey off the bone into large chunks. Use bone and cartilage for stock.  
  3. Melt fat in 3-qt saucepan. Add turkey and turkey skin, bay leaves, thyme, and garlic. Add stock to barely cover. Bring to brisk simmer and cook 1 hour, until most of stock has evaporated and a layer of fat has formed on the surface of the liquid. Cool to room temperature. Separate fat and set aside.
  4. Discard skin and herbs. Remove turkey from leftover stock with slotted spoon, draining well. Cut turkey in 1-inch pieces and pulse in food processor with reserved fat until finely shredded. Season with salt and pepper. Put in a crock, cover and refrigerate at least one night. Remove from fridge 30 minutes before serving.  

Turkey Stock

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Ingredients: 

Turkey drumstick bone 
Onion trimmings 
Mushroom trimmings 
Pumpkin trimmings 
2-3 Carrots 
1 head garlic 
Bay leaf 
Herbs (thyme, parsley, rosemary from lentil pate) 

Need 2.5 cups for rillettes. Extra, plus the mushy vegetables, to be saved for a blended soup sip. (Pick out herb sprigs, peppercorns, etc.). 

Mushroom, Lentil, and Walnut Pate

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Ingredients: 

100 g, about 1 c, button mushrooms, sliced (get x2 to have mushrooms for vegan salad) 
2 T olive oil 
2T butter 
1 small onion, diced 
2 cloves garlic, minced 
2 c. cooked small green (du Puy) lentils (made from 1 c. dried lentils – cook 1.5 cups to have extra lentils to add to vegan salad) 
1 cup toasted walnuts 
2 T fresh squeezed lemon juice (or sub apple cider vinegar) 
1 T soy sauce 
3 T minced fresh herbs (thyme, sage, parsley, rosemary all good)  
1 tsp brown sugar 
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper 
salt and pepper 

Instructions:

  1. Saute onions and garlic and cook in the oil and butter until translucent. Add mushrooms and cook until soft and cooked through. Take off heat.
  2. In food processor, combine cooked lentils, toasted walnuts, acid, soy sauce, herbs, brown sugar, and cayenne. Add mushroom mixture from the pan and process until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional salt, pepper, soy sauce, acid.  

Cover well and refrigerate until service. 

Rhode Island Cornmeal Cakes

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Ingredients: 

1 cup Corn Meal   
1 teaspoon sugar 
1/2 teaspoon salt 
1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups boiling water 
1-2 T. neutral oil  

Instructions:

  1. Gradually add between 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 cups boiling water to about 1 cup of your dry “mix”, mixing with the back of the spoon until all the meal is moistened, and then use the bowl of the spoon to continue mixing.  You know the consistency is right when there is a loose “plop” of batter off the spoon.
  2. Well oil a hot griddle.  Use a well-seasoned cast iron griddle or Teflon or T-Fal one.  Do not use cast aluminum, or the cakes will stick!
  3. Pour oil on the griddle to lightly coat it with fat. Spoon batter on to the griddle - one spoonful to a cake.  Tap spoon on the griddle to release batter from spoon and to control the shape of the cake.  One adjusts the size of the cake by changing the size of the spoon (Ice tea spoon - small; Tablespoon - larger).  Leave cake undisturbed until it becomes brown around the edges and firm - then leave a little longer.  If needed, place a few drops of  oil on top of each cake before turning over.  Turn cake over and pat down slightly to keep uniform thickness.  This side doesn’t need quite so much time to brown.  Don't be afraid to press them down. 
  4. When done remove to platter. Serve with the rillettes and mushroom spread.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

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Ingredients: 

1 jumbo cauliflower with leaves and stem intact 
6 T olive oil or unsalted butter 

Instructions:

  1. Bring a stockpot ¾ full of salted water to a boil. Lower in cauliflower headfirst. Cook for 6 minutes, then transfer to a colander to drain and cool.  
  2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place parboiled cauliflower on baking sheet, drizzle with the oil, and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast 1.5-2 hours, basting with olive oil, until tender and golden brown and leaves are crisped and charred.  

Roasted Mushrooms for Vegan Salad

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Ingredients: 

1 c button mushrooms  
2-3 T olive oil 
Salt, pepper 
Sprigs of thyme and/or rosemeary 
1 T chopped fresh herbs (as available) 

Instructions:

  1. Toss mushrooms with oil, salt and pepper. Spread on baking sheet. Sprinkle with herbs. Roast until release liquid, about 15 minutes. Drain into caramelized onion gravy. Continue roasting 30 more minutes until caramelized and browned.  

Caramelized Onion Gravy

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Ingredients: 

3 T olive oil 
3 large yellow onions, thinly sliced 
½ tsp. salt  
2.5 c hot vegetable stock 
2 T flour or 1T cornstarch 
Pepper to taste 

Instructions:

  1. Caramelize the onions in the oil until deep brown.  
  2. Add 1 c stock in increments, cooking between additions until the stock has mostly evaporated. Cook until onions are soft and mushy with a dark amber color.  
  3. Mix the flour with ¼ c. hot water or the cornstarch with ¼ c. cold water. Strain the mixture over the onions, stirring vigorously. Cook about 1 minute to cook out the starchy flavor.
  4. While slowly stirring, incorporate the remaining 1.5 cups stock. Simmer until at desired thickness. Can add more stock to loosen. Season to taste, blend with immersion blender.

Pickled Red Onions

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Ingredients: 

3-4 red onions 
1 c vinegar 
2 c water 
2 T sweetener (sugar or maple syrup or honey) 
3 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt 

Instructions:

  1. Slice red onions. Put in a large mason jar, fill jar with brine and refrigerate. 

Apple Upside Down Cornmeal Cakes with Whipped Cream

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Makes 6 

Ingredients: 

6 T unsalted butter cut in 1T pieces, plus butter for greasing tins 
3 apples (get 6 to make extra filling for vegan crumble)  
1/3 c light brown sugar 
1 T lemon juice or apple cider vinegar 
½ c chopped walnuts (plus extra for vegan crumble)  
¾ c flour 
½ c cornmeal 
1/3 c granulated sugar 
2 tsp baking powder 
¼ tsp salt 
1 large egg 
¾ c milk 
1-1.5 cups cream 

Instructions:

  1. Grease muffin tins. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Peel and core apples, cut in small dice.     
  3. Heat 2 T butter in skillet then cook apples, brown sugar, acid, stirring until liquid is reduced to a glaze and apples are tender. Stir in walnuts and divide among muffin tins.
  4. Pulse flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt in food processor. Add remaining 4 T butter and pulse until coarse with some small pea-sized butter clumps.
  5. Whisk together egg and milk in a large bowl. Add flour/butter mixture and whisk until just combined. Divide among muffins cups and bake until golden, 15-20 minutes. 6. Invert cakes onto plates. Top with whipped cream.

Vegan Apple Crumble

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Ingredients: 

Diced Apples 
Brown sugar 
Apple cider vinegar 
Walnuts 
Flour 
Cornmeal 
Coconut oil 

Instructions:

  1. Sauté apples with brown sugar in coconut oil. Acidulate with apple cider vinegar. Season to taste.  
  2. Make crumble topping with flour, cornmeal, walnuts, brown sugar, coconut oil.  
  3. Put sauteed apples in individual serving ramekins. Top with crumble. Bake until golden.

Climate Kitchen Harvest Meal

Climate Kitchen Harvest Meal

Watch this video to learn more about how the Climate Kitchen developed these recipes for a harvest meal that aligned with the tenets of sustainability.