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GRAINS AND GREENS Welcome to a new year, when we all have the chance to make a fresh start. In the kitchen, that usually means lighter and more healthful food for a while, as we take a rest from wine-soaked cakes, creamy truffles, lavish meals. But eating lighter doesn't mean eating poorly. It's winter, cold outside, dark early - we want food that is hearty, full of flavor and comfort, like something grandma would make if she only knew what too much fat did to your arteries. Grains of all kinds, paired up with leafy greens and cooked into stew, soup, risotto or gratin, are just the ticket. The mildly nutty or toasty flavor of most grains, along with a satisfying chewiness, is set off by the freshness and pungence of greens. Arborio rice with spinach and mushrooms makes one of my favorite risottos, and mushroom-barley soup has been a winter staple of mine since childhood. But barley can be cooked into a "risotto" as well - the starchy outer layer of the grain dissolves in hot liquid as the barley is stirred, and forms a creamy sauce just as arborio rice does. A barley risotto made with mushrooms, chard and kale, with perhaps a bit of some root vegetable, brings all the robust flavor of the forest and earth to your table. Polenta is another popular dish at my house, the foundation of many easy and tasty meals. This peasant's bowl of porridge can be elevated to a new status when polenta is made into a gratin with rapini - broccoli rabe - and some goat cheese. I start with a thick polenta and stir some puréed sweet winter squash into it, which enriches both the flavor and texture. The polenta is allowed to stiffen in a thick slab; then I cut it into slices and layer it in a gratin dish with sautéed greens, caramelized onions and crumbled feta cheese. The gratin is baked until the cheese is melting and browning on top, and served hot with a salad, and a glass of good red wine. Recently I tried a grain that is ancient in the Andes, but fairly new to me - quinoa. When it is dry it looks like tiny golden pearls. It cooks in about fifteen minutes, becoming light and faintly crunchy, with a lovely, mild flavor. I made a stew with quinoa, spinach, chard and two kinds of potatoes, carrying out the Peruvian theme. It was a perfect rainy day supper. And of course there is the classic joining of these elements, familiar to anyone who comes from a Polish family: stuffed cabbage leaves. Pale green cabbage leaves are wrapped around a filling of rice, barley or kasha, spiked with parsley and dill, mushrooms, nuts or raisins, and simmered in a sweet and sour tomato sauce. All of these dishes are the warming, pleasing foods we crave in the cold and dark of winter. They taste so good, are packed with the nutrients we need to survive the season, and are easy enough on the calories to fit in with the inevitable new year's resolution - eat well and be well. Have a happy New Year, productive and peaceful, and full of delicious things. |