Stilton Borscht

Similar to my experience with coq au vin, making borscht was a matter of knowing what could be done with two large, excessively fresh and earthy beets. Plus both results are purple. But that's just a cool coincidence.

Though there are probably thousands of recipes for this traditional Eastern European dish, I adapted mine from one of my soup & stews cookbooks. Here then is my version of borscht. Note that most of the ingredients were just things I threw in because I had them on hand. Sort of like cleaning out the fridge sort of thing. This recipe is definitely not set in stone. Whatever tickles your own fancy.

Stilton Borscht

1 large onion, chopped
1 large garlic clove
2 medium to large beets, peeled and chopped small (about 2 cups)
1 carrot, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1 cup or so of chopped daikon radish (I just had some of this on hand)
500ml box of organic vegetable stock (the stuff I buy is very rich...almost a soup in itself)
1 medium onion, peeled and left whole
2 bay leaves
2 tsp. sweet paprika
spicy chili flakes or powder of choice to taste
1 tbsp. tomato paste or 1 small can of tomato sauce
2 tbsp. dijon mustard
3/4 bottle of amber to dark beer (I used a Scotch beer)
a little less than 1/4 cup's worth of stilton or other blue cheese (goat's cheese would also be lovely and obviously milder)
generous handful of asian greens (I substituted these for cabbage...they look like lettuce but apparently they are related to cabbage)
salt and pepper

sour cream, for serving

1. In a medium pot, cook onions in hot oil till they start to brown. Add all other vegetables and sweat covered, stirring occasionally till vegetables are softened.
2. Add all other ingredients and cook till flavours have developed and all vegetables are soft.
3. Puree the soup with a hand blender (or you can do it the hard way with a regular blender).
4. Adjust seasoning and serve with a very generous dollop of cold sour cream.

This soup can be eaten hot or cold and as with any soup or stew, it only get's better with time. You can even freeze or can this stuff. Plus it looks really cool. I'm sure kid's would have a blast with this...especially seeing as the very healthy veggies are disguised as a Barney coloured puree.

Stilton and Lentil Soup with Goat Meat Pastilla

I had broth left over from a chicken we'd cooked the other day. When combined with a cold day, this broth becomes an inviting opportunity to make a delicious warming soup. So I cooked up an onion and some bacon strips. Added a mased garlic clove. Poured in the gelatinised chicken broth with it's beautiful little layer of fat (both marks of a good leftover broth). Spooned in two tablespoons of pesto. Dropped in two cups of cauliflower chunks, a large lump of stilton cheese, a quarter cup of red lentils and let the whole thing simmer away till the lentils were cooked and the soup looked delicious. I love adding a strong cheese such as stilton or blue in a soup because it's flavour gives the whole thing a bit of umph. It doesn't scream out at you but you know that its there. Season and enjoy.

Another treat for that night's supper was pastilla, a small prepared dish we bought at the farmer's market from the Belgian cheese lady and her son who have their kiosk by the French meat man's kiosk. This pastilla, she informed us, was of North African origine and made with goat meat which is slowly cooked overnight. She wanted to expose people to the potential deliciousness of goat meat (she makes the best fresh goat's cheese). And oh was it ever delicious! In true North African style, the dish was both sweet and savoury without seeming overly bizarre. The whole was wrapped in phyllo dough, cooked for 15 minutes at 400 degrees, dusted with icing sugar and cinnamon. Simply delicious.

Stilton Steak with Pesto Spaghettini and Endive Apple Salad

A good steak is even better when it's stuffed with a strong cheese like English stilton. All things considered, pretty much everything is better when either covered or stuffed or accompanied by a good quality cheese. Here in particular, the cheese melts nicely in its little beef pocket as the steak browns in the cast iron pan and then finishes off with a nice long bake in the oven. The result is a nice jus and cheese sauce. And if you stuff the beef properly, the cheese will ooze out as you start cutting it. It's wonderful to have such a delicious alternative to barbecue sauce ladden steak.

Along with the steak, we made our little accompanying dish, pasta with pesto. Now store bought pesto is a very far cry from homemade pesto prepared at the peak of the basil season but it's still a nice side dish that beats making something from a box.

In addition, we used the green leaves of the Belgian endive, cut up a pink lady apple and tossed with the simple lemon oil my girlfriend's so fond of. This, I found, was a nice flavour mixture since you have tart, bitter, and sweet all with the underlying smoothness of the olive oil. All in all, this was a nice meal.