Thursday, September 22, 2005

Adzuki Bean Stew, Roasted Vegetable Stock, Wild Ginger Salad Dressing



For a book that’s been hidden away for about a year, Fresh at Home is certainly getting a lot of play lately. Last night we had Adzuki Bean Stew that was awesome – spicy and wonderfully flavorful – accompanied by rye toast (to absorb some of the heat) and a chunky salad. I tried their Geisha Salad Dressing (couldn’t resist the name) but even though everyone else thought it was okay – “Okay” just isn’t good enough for me. So I’ve given you one of their other dressings that I’ve eaten at Fresh and is scrumptious.

Being a die hard carnivore, I’m not a big fan of vegetable stock as a base. If vegetarians come over, I use a boxed or canned version. Over the years I’ve tried many and found all of them insipid or overpowering and none had a taste I liked. But Fresh had a roasted vegetable stock that sounded amazing and it was soooooooo good and so easy (and smelled so delicious while the vegetables were roasting) that I’ll never even think of buying vegetable stock again. Check it out below.

Adzuki Bean Stew

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 tbsp olive oil
2 cooking onions, diced
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper (next time I’ll only use ½ - we’re wimps)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
4 cups cooked or canned adzuki beans (I used 2 19 oz cans)
2 tbsp tomato paste
¼ cup tamari (or soy sauce)
2 cups roasted vegetable stock (recipe below)

Directions:
1. Heat oil in a pot over medium heat.

2. Add onions and ginger and cook 5 minutes or so, until the onions are soft and translucent.

3. Add oregano, cayenne and cinnamon, stir and cook until you can smell the wonderful aromas (about 1 minute).

4. Add beans, tomato paste, tamari and vegetable stock.

5. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes and serve.

Roasted Vegetable Stock

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Roasting time: 20-30 minutes
Simmer time: 2 hours

Makes 8 cups
( I froze some in 2 cup portions)

Ingredients:
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
3 celery stalks, coarsely chopped (I like using the leafy part as well)
1 onion, coarsely chopped
2 large tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic
2 cups of mushrooms, coarsely chopped (I prefer cremini, but I bet reconstituted porcini would be great)
16 cups water
½ cup Italian parsley, roughly chopped
½ tsp whole black peppercorns

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F/ 200°C

2. Place chopped carrots, celery, onion, tomato, garlic and mushrooms on a baking sheet with a lip, sprinkle about ¼ cup of water over the vegetables.

3. Roast for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender and start to brown at the edges (it will depend on how chopped they are).

4. Remove vegetables from the baking sheet and place in a Dutch oven, stock pot or other large pot. Add water, parsley and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 2 hours. The smell is ambrosial!!!

5. Strain, and chill.

I freeze the stock in 2 cup portions to use as base for many stews etc. It’s awesome.

Wild Ginger Dressing (the one I DIDN’T use this time)

Prep time: 5 minutes

Makes about 1 cup and keeps in the fridge for at least 2 weeks

Ingredients:
½ mild onion, finely chopped
½ cup sunflower oil
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
¼ stalk celery finely chopped
1 tbsp tamari
1 ½ tsp sugar (they suggest raw, unrefined, but I just use regular)
1 ½ tsp lemon juice
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper

Directions:
Combine everything in a blender and process until smooth.

It’s so tasty!!!

Oh – and we had their strawberry lavender muffins once again. All in all, Fresh at Home a great cookbook even for carnivores.

19 comments:

Sara said...

Wow does that ever sound good! I have never had Adzuki beans before. I think I'll have to try it.

Michelle said...

Wow - this sounds fantastic. I'm going to try your stock this weekend because I just happen to have everything in the fridge! I'll also have to check out the adzuki bean stew - I've only had adzuki beans in mochi, which is my favorite flavor. Thanks!

Ruth Daniels said...

Michelle, what is mochi? - sounds intriguing.

Sara, this was my first time with adzuki beans - they remind me of regular baked beans - a little smaller than kidney beans and smoother flavor. - Delish

Kalyn Denny said...

Had a great time looking through your last few posts tonight. The Lime Roasted Sweet Potatoes sound fabulous.

Joycelyn said...

hi ruth, that looks fabulous... never thought to roast vegetables before using them for stock before - what a crafty idea!

Ruth Daniels said...

Kalyn, the lime roasted sweet potatoes were a find and will be on our table often.

J, I know - who'd 'a thought it, but it's fabulous

Michelle said...

Hi Ruth! from epicurious.com
mochi; mochiko
[MOH-chee, MOH-chee-koh]
A sweet, short-grained, very glutinous rice with a high starch content. Mochi is commonly used to make rice cakes, for which it is pounded in large tubs until it becomes extremely sticky. It is then formed into balls or squares, which can be found in Japanese markets. Mochi is also used in confections and rice dishes.

My favorite way is to have it is flavored mochi wrapped around ice cream...you can get it at almost any asian market.

Ruth Daniels said...

Thanks Michelle, I'll have to head over to our Chinatown - actually a multitude of Asian cultures shop here, so I'm sure to find some mochi.

Rachael Narins said...

That sounds (and looks) delicious! I dont know the last time I had adzuki's, I am inspired to go get some now though for sure! Thanks

Ruth Daniels said...

Rachael, thanks for dropping by.

Can't wait to try out braised ribs cookoff. Not really a celery fan, so I might improvise that part. Braised ribs on the other hand....mmmmh mmmmmh good.

Shauna said...

Ooh, I love it. I want to try adzuki (and just leave out the rye toasts). I actually made a roasted vegetable stock this week, in a recipe suggested by Kitchenmage in the comments section on one of my posts. It turned out gorgeous, and I'm making a tomato-fennel soup as I write this. Thanks for posting this!

Alanna Kellogg said...

Hi Ruth -- The vegetable stock sounds wonderful, I've featured it in a round-up over at A Veggie Venture. Thanks for the inspiration! Alanna

kickpleat said...

yum, the bean stew looks delicous and perfect for fall! i'm definitely going to try this one.

Ruth Daniels said...

Shauna, thanks and the tomato fennel soup sounds great. I love fennel, so I'll definitely check it out.

Alanna, thanks for including me in your round up.

Kickpleat, thanks for dropping by.

crunicorn said...

I discovered a tin of aduki beans in my cupboard that needed eating and googled them for a recipe to use them up and came across this one. Made it for lunch today and it was yummy!! Many thanks

Ruth Daniels said...

Glad it was a hit. Six years later, it's still a hit here! Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment.

Anonymous said...

Also searched what felt like the entire internet for a recipe to use up a random tin of Adzuki beans in my cupboard - this is an amazing quick store-cupboard recipe, thank you! The left overs, which are usually a bit drier, are a perfect filling for a baked sweet potato :)

Ruth Daniels said...

I have to admit, it's still one of my favorite stews. Thanks for the kind comments.

Tronnie said...

This looks amazing! Have heard about the amazing benefits of adzuki beans and been looking for a tasty way to incorporate them into my family's diet. Thanks!