July 14th, 2014
During our recent stay in Russia, we took the time to enjoy our home region of Northern Caucasus and fell in love with it all over again. To orient you in the landscape – there is widespread steppe that rolls Southward into green hills, which eventually transition into the Caucasus Mountains. On clear days, you can see Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, from an open point in my hometown.
Ours is an agricultural region, known for its fertile, black soil. The steppe is home to many wildflowers and medicinal herbs, like wild thyme and sage. The herbs get steeped into teas, which many people make at home.
Paloma and I frequented the local market, which was just a couple hundred steps away from my mom’s house. There too, mounds of spring greens and herbs – culinary and medicinal alike, were on beautiful display, asking to be taken home.
My mom is an amazing cook and I can never compete with her when it comes to traditional Russian dishes, so I tried my best not to interfere in the kitchen very much. That being said, I can never stay away from cooking for too long, especially once I got the idea to use some of the local herbs in an ice-cream. The bushes of tarragon at the market were especially tempting – the unique flavor of tarragon always intrigues and challenges me.
Our region is known as a melting pot of many ethnic groups – Armenians, Georgians, Azerbaijani, Karachays, Circassians, Russians and more – that have been living there side by side for many generations. Each group has a deeply rooted culinary culture, very often with a strong emphasis on herbs and spices, which make the food bright and distinct in flavor. Tarragon is one of the herbs that is in frequent use, but when I told the vendor lady at the market that I’m going to put it into ice-cream, she was clearly shocked. She hurried to let all of her pals know what she thinks about it all in Armenian. I would have payed good money to have a translator right there and then.
In the absence of an ice-cream machine, I turned to a no-churn recipe, which I learned about from Sarah. As usual, my first choice was to use coconut milk, but the only kind available wasn’t right in quality. I ended up with the recipe below which is very easy and amazingly delicious – you will not typically find these ingredients here at Golubka, but I was working with what I had at the moment. The ice cream was a huge success among friends and family.
Back home, I re-created the ice cream into a much lighter and vegan version that requires an ice-cream maker, so I’ve included both recipes here.
Tarragon and Mint No Churn Ice Cream
1 large bunch fresh tarragon – mostly leaves
1 large bunch fresh mint – mostly leaves
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
1 can condensed milk
pinch of sea salt
1. Bruise tarragon and mint with the back of a chef’s knife to help them release their oils. Place herbs into a medium saucepan. Pour the heavy cream over them and bring to a near boil.
2. Remove from heat, cover and let cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Strain the herbs out and cool completely in a refrigerator.
3. Combine the condensed milk with salt in a mixing bowl. Beat the chilled cream by hand or in the bowl of a stand-up mixer on high until stiff peaks form. Gently fold about 1/3 of the whipped cream into the condensed milk until fully combined, followed by the rest of the cream.
4. Pour into a loaf pan or another freezer appropriate dish. Cover and freeze until firm – about 6 hours or overnight. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Vegan Version
2 cans full fat Thai coconut milk
1 large bunch fresh tarragon – mostly leaves
1 large bunch fresh mint – mostly leaves (you can use just one type of herb if you wish)
pinch of sea salt
1/3-1/2 cups light agave syrup
1/2 teaspoon xanathan gum or 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
1. Bruise tarragon and mint with the back of a chef’s knife to help them release their oils. Place the herbs into a medium saucepan and pour the coconut milk over them. Bring to a near boil.
2. Remove from heat, cover and let cool at room temperature for 1 hour. Strain out the herbs, pour the infused milk into a blender with the rest of the ingredients and blend until fully combined.
3. Chill completely in the refrigerator, preferably overnight. Churn in an ice-cream machine according to the manufacturer’s instructions – about 25 minutes.
4. Transfer into a loaf pan or another freezer appropriate dish. Cover and freeze until firm, about 6 hours or overnight. Let sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before serving.
Tags: dessert, ice cream, mint, tarragon
Tweet
June 24th, 2012
This post is also available in: French
Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems that the shorter the season of a certain food, the more magical it appears. It’s true for figs, cherries, summer tomatoes, and most other jewels of the earth, really. It’s certainly the case with fava beans, those brilliantly green peas of the giants.
Seeing them in stores here in Florida is such a rare occasion, that when I recently ran across favas, I wanted to come up with a fun and bright salad to properly celebrate them.
I’ve heard about the surprising combination of vanilla bean and balsamic before, and finally decided to try it out in the dressing for this timbale. The two make for a very interesting vinaigrette – slightly sweet and incredibly fragrant. If you are a balsamic lover, increase the amount of it in the dressing, as I tried to keep it light.
I also thought it would be fun to present the salad in the form of timbale, it definitely makes the eating experience more special.
We just got back from San Francisco – talk about falling in love all over again. Plenty of fresh fava beans at the markets there, along with the sweetest of cherries, peaches, apricots, and a myriad of the most otherworldly greens. We’ll have a Travel Notes post up next week. Meanwhile, enjoy the favas.
Fava Bean Timbale
(serves 4-6)
1 cup fresh fava beans – shelled and peeled
1 cup fresh corn kernels
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon (optional)
2 medium cucumbers – peeled, seeded and cubed
1 cup purple cabbage – finely shredded
lime
8-10 radishes – cubed
handful cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons chives – finely chopped
2 tablespoons sesame seeds – unhulled and optionally toasted
zest of 1 orange – optional
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
I used raw fava beans in this recipe, but you can also blanch the shelled beans in boiling water for a minute before peeling them. Corn can also be boiled, as opposed to raw, for 4 minutes and then rinsed under cold water before cutting kernels off the corn ear. Chop fava beans into 2-3 pieces each. Mix them with corn kernels, tarragon, and a generous pinch of coarse sea salt, leave to soften.
Place the cucumbers in a colander, sprinkle with salt and leave to release juices. Mix cabbage with a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lime juice, massage for a couple minutes with your hands and set aside.
Vanilla Balsamic Vinaigrette
4 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 tablespoon each balsamic and apple cider vinegar
seeds of 1 vanilla bean
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
drop of sesame oil (optional)
sea salt and pepper
Whisk all the ingredients together in a small bowl.
Assembly
In a bowl, combine all the vegetables with the cubed radishes and the rest of the timbale ingredients. Pour in about one third of the vinaigrette, mix to incorporate. If making a timbale, place the ring mold of the size you like (I used 2 1/4-inch in height and 3 3/4 in diameter) on a plate and pack the salad inside the mold. Place a jar filled with liquid on top and let it stand for 10-15 minutes. Carefully remove the mold and repeat the process to make more timbale. Drizzle with remaining dressing, garnish with chives and sesame seeds. Serve with microgreens or any fresh salad greens.
Optionally, you can also serve timbale as a salad, without molding it. In this case, simply slice the cucumbers and radishes and leave fava beans whole. The rest of the recipe stays the same. Serve in a purple cabbage leaf for a nice presentation if you like.
Tags: fava, raw, recipe, salad, savoury, tarragon, vegan
Tweet
