Savory Sweet – Review, Recipe and Giveaway
September 4, 2017 by Jenny
In Savory Sweet: Simple Preserves from a Northern
Kitchen, Beth Dooley brings us into Mette Nielsen’s old
world Danish kitchen where fresh ideas and the latest techniques
come together to ensure our pantry is stocked with homemade
goodness. The growing season can be challenging (read: short) in
the northern heartland of the United States and the recipes here
fall back on Nielsen’s Nordic heritage. Accordingly, whatever
length our season may be – we are assured to make the best of it.
Their approach combines the brightness and bold flavors of the
Nordic cuisines with an emphasis on the local, the practical, and
the freshest ingredients to turn each season’s produce into a
bounty of condiments.
From corn salsa to carrot lemon marmalade with ginger and cardamom, crispy pickled red onions to garlic scape pesto with lemon thyme, and caramel apple butter with lemongrass to puttanesca sauce to “Fit for a Queen Jam” – these recipes bring the best of the sweet and the savory to every menu. The authors rely on low tech chilling and freezing in lieu of the hot-water canning method which keeps flavors and colors bold and bright. They also ease up on sugar to make way for the true savory sweetness of nature’s finest food.
Savory Sweet is a beautiful book which pays attention to each detail from herbs and spices, equipment and more even including knife cuts. Vibrant photographs are sprinkled throughout and I am taken with the unique recipes that combine flavors such as apples with grapefruit and cardamom and black currants with candied ginger and lemon thyme.
Special thanks to the University of Minnesota Press and the authors for sharing this exotic twist on a basic condiment as well as providing three copies of this book for our giveaway – scroll down to enter.
Curried Ketchup with Star Anise
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MAKES ABOUT 4 HALF-PINTS
As this sauce simmers, aromas of curry, anise, and tomatoes will fill your kitchen. It’s so good, you’ll find yourself eating it from the jar with a spoon. Warning: this may spoil you-now the stuff in a plastic squeeze bottle just won’t do.
Try using a mix of different tomatoes-acidic, sweet, and mellow. We tested this recipe with yellow cherry, red paste, and black slicing tomatoes for stunning ketchup.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 11/2 cups medium-diced red onions
- 1 tablespoon medium-diced garlic
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 2 star anise
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 10 to 15 grinds black pepper
- 2 pounds mixed tomatoes, medium diced (about 5 cups)
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
In a 10-inch sauté pan, combine the olive oil, onions, and garlic. Sauté over medium-low heat until the onions are soft and translucent but not browned, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, star anise, curry powder, salt, and pepper, and cook until the sugar begins to caramelize, another 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and vinegar, and bring to a gentle boil. Lower the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 45 minutes. The ketchup is done when you can drag a large spoon across the bottom of the pan and the mixture holds its shape. Remove and discard the star anise.
Taste, and adjust the seasoning.
For a smoother ketchup, place a medium mesh sieve over a deep bowl. Working in batches, press the ketchup through the sieve, scraping the underside of the sieve with a clean spoon. Discard the solids left in the sieve.
Wash the jars, lids, and bands in very hot soapy water, rinse them well, and place them upside down on a clean towel to drain.
Spoon the ketchup into the jars, leaving a half inch of headroom to allow for expansion during freezing. Wipe the rims with a clean wet cloth or paper towel, add the lids and bands, and finger tighten the bands.
Label the jars. Cool completely before tightening the bands and storing the jars in the refrigerator or freezer.
QUICK IDEAS // This ketchup is a must on grilled lamb burgers and lamb sausage. It also makes a great base for a curry soup with coconut milk. Try it with grilled or roasted eggplant, sweet potatoes, and as a dip for pita chips.
From Savory Sweet: Simple Preserves from a Northern Kitchen by Beth Dooley and Mette Nielsen (University of Minnesota Press, 2017). Copyright 2017 by Beth Dooley and Mette Nielsen. All rights reserved. Used by permission of the University of Minnesota Press.
The publishers are generously offering three copies of this title to EYB Members in the US. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.
Which recipe in the index are you excited to try.
Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest
before posting or your entry won’t be counted. Please be sure to
check your spam filters to make sure you receive our email
notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the
publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at
midnight on October 7th, 2017.
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