Candied Citrus Peel

I first candied citrus peels when I was living in Florence. In fact, I'm not sure that I had even heard of candied citrus peel before. I was amazed to find out that the pithy, spongy white part of the rind could be miraculously transformed into something far better than edible.... I would even say delicious. Do not be put off if you have made the mistake of buying some sticky, mute candied citron and swore that you would never, never again give your support to such an assault on fruit. Citrus peels candied at home are indescribably better. Even candied, the zesty peels have enough kick to pack a serious citrusy bite. Most American pastry chefs seem to like to candy just the zest, but I'm a sucker for the thick slabs of peel cut into chunky little strips.

I wanted to get this post up before Christmas, as candied peels can make a laudable addition to many Christmas goodies. (While in Florence I fell head over heels for Panforte and Panettone-- both traditional Italian Christmas treats- and have made them every Christmas since. Though I am still searching for a recipe for a fabulous christmas cookie I stumbled across--a butter cookie with candied orange peel, hazelnuts, and coriander. Mmm.) You can use candied citrus peel in anything that uses dried fruit-- cake, cookies, muffins, breads. Save your citrus peels in a bag in the freezer until you have accumulated enough to make a full batch. Then , with just a little time and sugar, you can turn your leftover lunchbox scraps into one of my favorite confections. If you are feeling particularly hedonistic, candied peels are exquisite dipped in chocolate.


1 part Citrus Peels (any citrus peel except for lime will work)
1 part sugar (measure your complete volume of peels, and use the same amount of sugar)
1/2 part water
optional seasonings*- cinnamon stick, allspice, star anise, coriander, black pepper, vanilla, a slice of fresh pineapple.


Prepare the Peels: If you are saving peels that have been pulled by hand off of the fruit, you don't need to prepare them any further. If you have cut the peels off of the fruit then it is essential that you scrape off any of the fruit membrane that is remaining, you want only the white spongy interior. ( If there is any fruit left, then you will end up with an impossibly hard, leathery piece of peel.)

Blanch: The whole reason that citrus peel is palatable in this preparation is because of blanching. By boiling the peel in water several times, you dilute some of the bitterness in the peel. Put your peels in a saucepan cover with cold water. Cover the pan and bring it to a boil. As soon as the water comes to a boil, remove the pan from the heat and pour off the fragrant, lightly colored water. Once again cover the peels with fresh, cold water and bring to a boil, then pour off the water. Repeat the process once more-- a total of three times. I have seen some recipes specify blanching as many as five times, but I think the amount of just-slightly-bitter tang after three boils is just right, but you can go ahead and blanch a few more times if you want a milder end product.

Candy: Add the sugar to the drained peels. Then add water (half the volume of the sugar and peels) Cover your pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to the lowest setting that will maintain a simmer. Keep your pan covered and simmer for about an hour. Every so often stir the peels and check to make sure that the syrup hasn't cooked down too much (you want the peels to remain submerged in syrup). If needed, add a little bit of water. Take a close look at the peels-- you want them to be translucent all the way through, even at the thickest parts of the peel. When the peels are fully cooked remove them from the heat and allow them to cool in the syrup.

Dry: Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap. Then place a wire rack on top. Spread out the peels to dry. Let sit at least one day. (I find the oven a convenient place to store the drying peels undisturbed)

Store: At this point the peels can be stored as-is, but I prefer to cut them up into strips. Then they are ready to be measured for any purpose which might arise. If your peels are still moist and sticky, you can toss them in a bit of granulated sugar. Candied peels will keep at room temperature for several weeks-- I keep mine in the freezer where they last indefinitely.


*I only add the optional spices if the peel is to be in a starring role-- if it is just going to be mixed in with a bunch of other dried fruit or nuts, then the subtleties of the spice will be lost. But if you are going to have the peel as a centerpiece I highly recommend the combination of vanilla, pineapple and coriander. Your kitchen will smell more delicious than I can articulate.

Cabbage Stem and Fennel Salad

The stem from one small head of cabbage
one small head of fennel
half of an apple or pear
the juice from one lemon
salt
olive oil

Cut Veggies: Using a grater or a Japanese Mandolin, cut the cabbage stem into paper thin slices. Getting really thin sections of cabbage is a must for this application--it helps to avoid that harsh, raw-cabbagey bite. So if you don't have a mandolin, I'd rather just grate the cabbage. Thinly slice or grate the fennel and apple. Reserve the fennel fronds for serving (as in the photo) or for another purpose.

Season: Mix the sliced or grated cabbage with a half teaspoon of salt and let rest for at least ten minutes and up to an hour. Discard any liquid that the stems give up. Mix the apple and fennel together with the sliced cabbage. Season to taste. (Start with a tablespoon of olive oil and the juice from half of a lemon. Add more salt if necessary.)

Store: In the refrigerator up to a week.

Cabbage

Cabbages are wonderful vegetables for the winter.They typically maintain a low price when the popular summer favorites (tomatoes, cucumbers) have either disappeared from the shelves or jumped in price (these out of season crops are shipped from farther away or grown in pricey greenhouses). So cabbage is a great vegetable for these long months after the fall harvest and before you can even start to think of spring vegetables. Cabbages do pose a few challenges, though. The biggest problem is often, well, how big cabbages are--particularly if you often cook for small crowds. So I find it helps to have a couple of easy cabbage recipes on hand, that way you can throw together a quick salad with whatever you have left over, rather than letting half a cabbage wilt and turn gray in the fridge.

To prepare a cabbage, first peel off the first outside leaves and discard. Cut cabbages in half lengthwise and then cut out the center with two slashes, resulting in a v-shaped trench. Then you can slice your cabbage leaves according to the demands of your recipe. Cabbage trimmings are a vegetable excess that does not work well for making vegetable stock--but do save your cabbage hearts-- they can still be but to good use.

Cabbage Stems

If you are cooking any member of the cabbage family-- brussel sprouts, cauliflower, broccoli to name a few-- you probably cut off the leafy budded portions and discard the stem. The stems are more fibrous (and you are right to cut them off), but if you shave them thinly, you need only throw together a quick dressing and you'll have a tasty slaw. You can use the hearts/stems of cabbage in the same way. I use a Japanese mandolin to cut these stems into paper-thin slices. Then just throw in an acid (a little lemon juice or vinegar), some oil, and salt and you have a delicious cole slaw. I'm posting one recipe that I found to be quite good, but this is an ideal dish to play around with the flavors on-- I just experimented a few nights ago with fresh ginger and cilantro. Slaws will keep for several days in the fridge.

Pumpkin Mousse

This is one of those desserts that brings up the question as to what you mean when you say something is "light". The word light seems to have rather different meanings when applied to food. Sometimes light denotes lower in fat (like a salad) and sometimes it means airy in texture (like this mousse!) Often when it comes to desserts, the two meanings of light are at odds with one another-- mostly because cream, butter and egg yolks can be whipped into all sorts of delectable, airy consistencies. If this dessert is not light in the way that a salad is light (it is dessert, remember) it is spectacularly airy, and doesn't sit heavily in your stomach after a heavy meal. And it's easy, too! If you can whip cream and have made the pumpkin butter ahead of time, you can throw this dessert together in about ten minutes.

This is a recipe that fits into the "budget" side of things more as a way to improvise with what you have (I happened to have a bunch of squash and some cream cheese) rather than being composed of particularly cheap ingredients. Still, pumpkin is cheap and cream cheese and cream are not all that expensive. And if you're looking to make a dessert, you'll probably need to invest in some dairy anyhow and this dessert makes good use of a relatively small amount of dairy. The amount of sugar in this recipe is calibrated to my admittedly not-so-sugary palate. If you like things a bit sweeter, then you can either add more sugar to the pumpkin butter when you cook it, or add a liquid sugar (sugar syrup or maple syrup). I mention this because if you try to add granulated sugar at the end of the whole process, it won't incorporate.


1 c. pumpkin ginger butter
1 c. heavy cream
2/3 c. cream cheese
2t. brandy, rum or whiskey (optional)

to serve (optional):
chopped toasted walnuts
maple syrup
candied ginger

Yield: 4-5 servings

Soften the Cream Cheese: You will have an easier time if you allow the cream cheese to come to room temperature first. Using a spatula or wooden spoon, beat the cream cheese until it is softened and free of (almost) all lumps-- any lumps that you leave in at this point will be there to stay.

Incorporate the Pumpkin Butter: Starting with just a few tablespoons, mix the butter into the cream cheese. After you have worked a little butter in the cream cheese will loosen up and mixing will become easier. Continue mixing until all of the pumpkin butter is incorporated and you have a homogeneous mix. (This is the point that you can taste and adjust the sweetening to your liking.) If you are adding a liquor add it now.

Whip the Cream: Whisk very cold cream in a very cold metal bowl until it reaches soft peak. First your cream will start to look thicker and thicker, eventually leaving visible tracks from the whisk in the cream. When you lift the whisk out of the cream, the whisk should hold a little glob of cream. It can droop a little (this is the soft of soft-peak) but it shouldn't pour off the whisk in streams. When whipping cream sometimes just a few strokes can take your cream from soft peak to stiff peak to butter. So you definitely have to watch your cream carefully. I would err on the side of slightly under-whipping my cream rather than over-whipping. If you do ever find yourself having over-whipped cream (not that I would ever commit such a crime-- okay maybe just once or twice) then just continue whipping it until it looks thoroughly buttery and a watery substance is leaking out into the bottom of your bowl. Put the butter in a colander to drain. After it has drained wrap it and use it as you would any other unsalted butter.

Fold Ingredients Together: Begin by delicately folding in a third of the whipped cream into the pumpkin mixture. Once that is incorporated, fold in the remaining cream.

Serve: Scoop the mousse into bowls or, if you want a more fancy restaurant-style presentation, you can put your mousse into plastic wrap lined molds (bowls, muffin tins) and freeze it. Once the mousse is frozen solid, invert the molds and delicately pull off the plastic wrap. Transfer the mousses to dessert plates and let them sit at room temperature for about twenty minutes before serving. Whichever serving method you use, you can top the finished mousses with chopped toasted nuts, candied ginger pieces, a drizzle of maple syrup, or even just a simple topping of freshly ground nutmeg is lovely-- whatever you have on hand that strikes your fancy.