Lucid Food_ Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life - Louisa Shafia [18]
1 cup honey
Rinse the elderberries in cold water and remove any large stems. Place the elderberries in a glass jar. Add the vodka and honey and shake well. Seal the jar tightly and store, unrefrigerated, in a cool place for 6 weeks, shaking the jar once or twice a week.
Set a strainer in a bowl and line it with several layers of cheesecloth or a coffee filter. Pour the contents of the jar through the strainer, pressing the berries with the back of a ladle to extract all of the potent juice. Pour the strained tincture into a clean glass jar and store in the refrigerator, where it will keep indefinitely.
Buckwheat Crepes with Mashed Potatoes and Jack Cheese
Buckwheat adds a delicious sour note to crepes and breads. As a crop, buckwheat gives a boost to the environment because it suppresses weed growth and provides nectar for honeybees. It requires little to no chemical fertilization and actually adds nutrients to the depleted soil on which it’s grown. I like to fold these savory whole-grain breakfast crepes in half, but they can also be filled and rolled like sushi. For a spicier version of this dish, add red pepper flakes.
Makes 8 crepes
¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon buckwheat flour
⅓ cup white flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
4 cups Watercress Mashed Potatoes, or regular mashed potatoes
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
2 cups Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce
To make the batter, mix the flours and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, and 1½ cups water. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture and whisk until the batter just comes together. Cover the batter and let it rest in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
Preheat the oven to 425°F.
Heat a lightly oiled skillet over medium heat. When the pan is hot, drop ¼ cup of the batter into the skillet, immediately tilting and rotating the pan to spread the batter evenly. Cook the crepe for roughly 1 minute, until it is set on the bottom, then gently loosen the edges with a heatproof spatula and flip. Cook on the second side for 30 seconds, or until firm. Slide the crepe onto a plate and repeat with the remaining batter.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a crepe flat on a cutting board and place ⅓ cup of the mashed potatoes on one half of the crepe. Scatter 2 tablespoons of the cheese over the potatoes, followed by a pinch of salt, and fold the crepe over the filling. Place the filled crepe on the baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining crepes.
Lightly brush the crepes with a little olive oil and bake for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the tops are golden and the cheese is melted. Serve hot with the sauce poured on top.
Amaranth: A Vital Grain, Rediscovered
Amaranth, a nutty-tasting alternative to oatmeal, has more protein, fiber, and amino acids than most other grains. The tiny grains are sold in most natural food stores. The mild green and red leaves of the plant can also be prepared like spinach—look for them in Latin and Indian food stores. As more farmers return to old-fashioned crop rotation to improve soil quality and break insect and disease cycles, alternative crops like amaranth are being swapped in for wheat. Amaranth’s deep taproot has been shown to improve soil quality and boost production of whatever crop is planted subsequently. Amaranth’s growing role in agriculture means more of a presence on store shelves and in American cooking.
Although it may seem exotic, Amaranth is native to nearby Central America, probably Mexico, where it was once cultivated widely. Amaranth played a crucial role in the ceremonies of Aztec religion; statues of the Aztec gods were made from amaranth mixed with blood or honey and eaten, often as part of the ritual of human sacrifice. In his mission to destroy Aztec civilization and convert Mexicans to Christianity, the Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés banned the Aztecs from growing the grain on pain of death, so the amaranth fields were burned and amaranth’s existence obscured in what would later become American territory.