Back to Butter: A Traditional Foods Cookbook - Nourishing Recipes Inspired by Our Ancestors (27 page)

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 eggs, beaten

FOR EVERYDAY TOPPING:

1 cup (150 g) crunchy pecan halves (
page 49
)

1 cup (150 g) crunchy walnuts (
page 49
)

1
/
4
teaspoon sea salt

1
/
2
cup (75 g) roughly chopped dried white figs (also known as Calimyrna)

2 tablespoons (28 g) butter, melted

TO MAKE THE CASSEROLE: In a medium-size pot, add the sweet potatoes and enough water to cover by 2 inches (5 cm). Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and maintain a rolling simmer for 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4) and butter an 8 x 8 glass baking dish.

Once the potatoes are tender, drain and place in a large-size bowl. Cool for 5 minutes. Using a hand mixer, beat on low speed to mash. Add the butter, sour cream, vanilla, and sea salt and beat on medium speed to combine. Add the eggs and beat again to combine.

Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared dish and bake for 30 minutes. Choose one of the two toppings below and follow the corresponding instructions.

TO MAKE THE EVERYDAY TOPPING: While the casserole is baking, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the pecans, walnuts, and sea salt. Pulse 20 times; the nuts should be in a uniform crumble, but not a paste. Pour into a medium-size bowl and set aside.

Without rinsing the processor bowl, add the figs. Pulse 10 to 50 times, depending on the dryness of the figs. Extremely dry figs may take about 50 pulses to result in a uniform crumble while softer figs may take only 10 pulses.

FOR HOLIDAY TOPPING:

1/3 cup (40 g) fresh-milled, sprouted whole wheat pastry flour (
page 55
)

1/3 cup (67 g) Sucanat (
page 64
)

1
1
/
2
cups (225 g) chopped crunchy pecans (
page 49
)

1
/
4
teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1
/
2
cup (112 g) butter, melted

Once the figs are adequately chopped, add the nuts back to the processor and pulse the combined mixture 5 times, bringing the nuts and figs into a uniform crumble. Return the mixture to the medium-size bowl and drizzle in the melted butter. Toss with a spatula until combined. The mixture will be crumbly and light.

After the casserole has baked for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and crumble the topping over the casserole. Return to the oven for 15 minutes, or until the topping is lightly browned. Cool for 5 minutes and serve.

TO MAKE THE HOLIDAY TOPPING:
While the casserole is baking, combine the flour, Sucanat, pecans, sea salt, and cinnamon in a small-size bowl. Drizzle in the melted butter and mix well by hand. After the casserole has baked for 30 minutes, remove from the oven and crumble the topping over the casserole. Return to the oven for 15 minutes, or until the topping is puffed and lightly browned. Cool 5 minutes and serve.

YIELD: 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

CHAPTER 11
FERMENTED FIXIN’S

MAKING CONDIMENTS AT HOME is a sure-fire way to make you feel fancy. As with store-bought salad dressings, commercial condiments are filled with unhealthy additives, refined oils, sugar, and corn syrup. Compare this to traditional cultures, which relied on basic whole ingredients and fermentation in their condiments, thus increasing digestion and the assimilation of the nutrients in the food. A simple meal of grass-fed hot dogs becomes extra special and nutrient-dense when accompanied by your own homemade fixin’s!

Traditionally, the purpose of serving condiments with meals was to aid digestion. Offering fermented condiments not only enhances taste but also provides probiotic cultures, produced during the fermentation process, which help us digest our food. Not only does our modern diet lack fermented condiments, but also many store-bought fixin’s contain refined cane sugar, which is known to disrupt, rather than aid, digestion.

1
/
2
cup (80 g) medium diced sweet onion

1 teaspoon minced garlic

2
1
/
2
cups (300 g) seeded and large diced English cucumber

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

1
/
2
teaspoon mustard seed

3 tablespoons (60 g) raw honey

3 tablespoons (45 ml) traditionally fermented green cabbage sauerkraut juice (see Resources,
page 216
)

8 teaspoons (40 ml) apple cider vinegar, divided

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the onion and garlic. Process until finely minced, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the cucumber, sea salt, celery seed, and mustard seed, and pulse until the desired relish texture is reached (about 10 quick pulses), scraping down as needed.

Pour the mixture into a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. Set aside for 30 minutes to drain. After resting, discard the liquid and scoop the mixture into the now empty bowl. In a measuring cup, whisk together the honey and sauerkraut juice. Pour over the cucumber mixture and toss with a spatula to combine.

Scoop the mixture evenly into two 1-cup (235 ml) Mason jars, leaving
3
/
4
inch (2 cm) of empty space at the top. Scoop the pulp of the relish into the jar first, then pour the juice over the top. Using the back of a spoon, push the relish down, so that the juice rises above it. Wipe down the sides and screw on the jar lid. Place in a shady spot at room temperature for 3 days, then refrigerate.

When ready to consume, fully stir 4 teaspoons (20 ml) of apple cider vinegar into each jar to arrest further fermentation.

YIELD: 2 CUPS (490 G)

Zesty Fermented Ketchup

Many ketchup recipes either require carmelizing onions before blending in the blender, which seems awfully laborious, or omitting onion altogether. By using “onion juice,” which is simply the by-product of a little grated onion, the onion flavor can be included with minimal hassle.

2 cups (520 g) tomato paste

1
/
4
cup (60 ml) traditional sauerkraut juice (fermented)

3 tablespoons (45 ml) sweet onion juice

2 tablespoons (40 g) raw honey

1 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon garlic paste (see Note,
page 69
)

1
/
2
teaspoon powdered mustard

1
/
2
teaspoon allspice

1
/
4
teaspoon

cayenne, optional

2 tablespoons (30 ml) apple cider vinegar

In a medium-size bowl, combine all the ingredients except the vinegar. Since all tomato paste brands are different, add water, if necessary, to achieve the desired thickness. Whisk well and scoop into a 1-quart (1 L) Mason jar. Allow a
3
/
4
-inch (2 cm) empty space at the top of the jar. Seal and store at room temperature for 3 days.

After fermentation, fully stir the vinegar into the jar and refrigerate. Because vinegar slows the fermentation process, it is added after the 3-day ferment.

YIELD: 3 CUPS (720 G)

RECIPE NOTE

• Traditional sauerkraut juice is a nutrient-rich aid to the fermentation process. To gather the juice, simply strain a bit of sauerkraut through a small-size mesh strainer into a bowl. If homemade sauerkraut is not on hand, we suggest some store-bought varieties that will work (see Resources,
page 216
).

• To make onion juice, set a box grater in the center of a flat-bottomed bowl. Grate the onion over the largest holes. Scoop the resulting pulp into a small-size, fine-mesh strainer set over a measuring cup and press down on the pulp to extract the juice.

Ballpark Yellow Mustard

Imagine a juicy grass-fed hot dog, straight off the grill. Strong, proud, and familiar, this mustard is fermented to enhance the digestion of that dog! Traditional green cabbage sauerkraut juice, unlike the juice from the red kraut recipe (
page 180
), is a necessary ingredient (the red juice would turn the mustard a funky color). If homemade sauerkraut is not on hand, there are store-bought varieties that can substitute (see Resources,
page 216
).

1
1
/
4
cups (295 ml) water

1 cup (145 g) ground yellow mustard seed

2 tablespoons (30 ml) green cabbage sauerkraut juice

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice

1 tablespoon (20 g) raw honey

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1 teaspoon sea salt

1
/
2
teaspoon crushed garlic

8 teaspoons (40 ml) apple cider vinegar

In a high-speed blender, combine the water, mustard, sauerkraut juice, lemon juice, honey, turmeric, sea salt, and garlic. Blend on high speed until smooth, about 30 to 40 seconds.

Scoop the mustard into a 1-pint (470 ml) Mason jar with a lid, leaving at least
3
/
4
inches (2 cm) of empty space at the top of the jar. Seal and store at room temperature for 3 days.