CORN CHOWDER, GNOCCHI, BROCCOLI SALAD
CORN CHOWDER, GNOCCHI, BROCCOLI SALAD
CHRONICLE: ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 2024
This week I’m cooking like it’s still winter. The vernal equinox may have been yesterday, but the wind has been howling here in central New Mexico where the Rio Grande and the Sandia Mountains collide. Sometimes, like this last week, the wind summons valley rain with snow at higher elevations. Dust, lots and lots of dust, always accompanies wind.
The one kind of weather I dislike with a passion is windy weather. If Bob Dylan thinks the answer is blowin’ in the wind, I’d like to know what he hears that I don’t.
During winter, I know how to layer up for warmth. In the summer I try to stay inside during the hottest part of the day, dress in light weight, light colored linen clothing. I have a small collection of wide brimmed hats I wear to help fend off too much sun. But I never know how to dress for combat against the wind. It stumps me. It seems impossible. And here in the southwestern desert of New Mexico, wind makes the ever present dust dance a discordant syncopated rhythm.
So, did I mention the dust here in New Mexico? Dust and desert go together.
Corn and green chile, BFF’s, go together too. Over the weekend, I made a green chile corn chowder, just the thing to salve the lashes brought on by the windstorm.
If you read last week’s chronicle, you know I’m not much of a menu planner. I go with my gut, pun intended. Last week’s wind, with gusts over 70 miles an hour, made my gut scream for an equally assertive chowder. So, I opened my freezer, defrosted some New Mexico green chile, pulled out the bag of frozen corn and got cooking.
A word of warning though. I made the chowder without thinking, not even once, about taking pictures. However, I do have a picture of New Mexico green chile growing in the Mesilla Valley and a short video of it being roasted during the fall harvest. The chowder recipe, more of an instruction guide, follows. Don’t worry. If you have trouble accessing New Mexico green chiles, use canned green chiles, or any other kind of hot pepper as a replacement. If you’re not a fan of spicy food, just omit them.
GREEN CHILE AND CORN CHOWDER
Serves 4
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ large onion, diced
3-4 large cloves garlic finely minced
2-3 roasted New Mexico green chiles, diced, seeds removed
1 small russet potato cut into small cubes
½ teaspoon Diamond kosher salt
A few grinds of black pepper
1 1-lb bag, frozen corn
Chicken or vegetable stock, about 3 cups
2 cups Half-and-Half (lactose-free these days for me)
In a 4-qt pot, warm the olive oil. Add diced onions and cook until just translucent. Add minced garlic, green chile, diced potato, salt, and pepper. Stir well and let cook for about five minutes. Add about 1 cup of stock and bring to a boil. Turn heat down to medium and continue to cook until potato cubes are tender. Mash with a potato masher or large fork to break up cubes. Add the frozen corn, another cup or so of stock, and the Half-and Half. Continue to cook on medium-low for about 15 minutes until the chowder begins to hold together.
Remove a ladle or two of chowder to a blender container or food processor and process until the corn is broken up and becomes mushy and creamy. Return corn mush to pot. Stir to combine and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Serve and enjoy.
Wind makes me a little bit crazy, fueling agitation and uneasiness, so I made a batch of potato gnocchi, Italian pasta-like dumplings, to brace myself against the apprehension the wind delivers. I think I may have mentioned I don’t enjoy the wind.
Here’s a video of me rolling gnocchi with a fork. I love making gnocchi because they are low-tech. They’re made by transforming unassuming pantry staples (potatoes, flour, salt, and an egg) into sauce grabbing dumplings. It’s the ridges that help the sauce, whatever kind you choose, cling to the gnocchi. Remember to warm the sauce in a large skillet so you can easily toss and coat the cooked gnocchi. I’ve only included the gnocchi recipe since you probably already have a favorite sauce, homemade or store bought, you’ll want to serve with your gnocchi. And in my book, serving gnocchi without freshly grated parmesan cheese is a sin.
Gnocchi are pretty easy to make. They only require four ingredients and a little bit of your time.
GNOCCHI:
4 Servings
1 pound Russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, cleaned but not peeled
1 cup flour, AP or Tipo 00
¾ teaspoon Diamond Kosher salt
1 egg at room temperature
Boil potatoes in a pot until tender. Remove and let cool to the touch. Peel and discard the potato skin. If you have a potato ricer or masher, mash them now. If you have neither, like me, use a fork.
Mix flour and salt together on a flat surface. Top with mashed potato. Make a well in center of this mixture and crack the egg into the well. Gently, mix together these ingredients until a soft dough forms. You may have to add in a bit more flour if it’s too sticky.
Once the dough is formed, move it to a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into quarters and roll each quarter into a rope. Now cut each rope into small pieces, about ½ inch long.
Roll a fork lightly over each piece to make ridges. Sprinkle with a little flour so they don’t stick together.
Let gnocchi sit for about 20 minutes before cooking.
To cook gnocchi, bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add gnocchi and let cook until they float to the top. This usually takes just a matter of minutes.
Drain the gnocchi using a slotted spoon. Add to your sauce of choice which is hopefully warming on the stove. Gently, toss gnocchi in the sauce for about a minute until coated. Serve with freshly grated parmesan.
I’m trying to eat more vegetables using what’s in my fridge and pantry whether it’s windy or not! Hetty Lou McKinnon’s Broccoli, date and pistachio salad, in all its bright green glory, is a salute to spring. I did have to buy fresh mint, which makes the recipe sing, but I had all the other ingredients.
Here’s Hetty’s recipe. You can find her on Substack at: To Vegetables, With Love.
Thanks so much for hanging out with me in the kitchen. And if anybody knows what’s blowin’ in the wind, can you please let me in on the secret?
Broccoli, date and pistachio salad
Serves 4
600g (21-ounces) broccoli
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper
1 x 425g tin cannellini beans or chickpeas, drained (drained weight 250g)
1/3 cup (80g) toasted pistachios or almonds, roughly chopped
12 regular dates or 6 medjool dates, pitted and torn
handful chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
handful mint leaves
Spiced vinaigrette
2 teaspoon ras el hanout, baharat or curry powder (or a single spice like ground cumin, coriander, turmeric)
2 tablespoons white wine or champagne vinegar
1/4 cup (60ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 small shallot (eschalot), thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, finely grated
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon red chilli/pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
In a bowl, combine the as el hanout, baharat or curry powder, vinegar, olive oil, shallot, garlic, maple syrup, red chilli/pepper flakes and salt. Stir to combine. Set aside to allow the shallots to soften.
Finely chop the broccoli flowers. Remove the woody exterior of the stalk and then finely chop it and add to the rest of the broccoli.
Heat a large frying pan (skillet) on medium high for 2 minutes. When hot, drizzle with olive oil and add the broccoli, season with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and lots of black pepper and toss for 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
To the broccoli, add the beans or chickpeas, pistachio, and dates. Add the dressing and toss to evenly distribute. Add the herbs, season with salt and black pepper and toss again.
Storage: The salad can be prepped ahead and stored in the fridge for up to 5 days.