Potato Onion Soup

Chopped and boiled potatoes.

3 cups potatoes, chopped into 1" or smaller cubes
1 cup soup stock
1 cup leek or onion, chopped small
1 Tbls. butter
3 Tbls. cream cheese
1/2 cup grated or cubed cheddar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

Over high heat in a large pot, cover the potatoes and leek/onion with water and boil them until the potato pieces are easy to pierce through with a fork. Strain out the water. Turn the heat to low. Roughly mash the potatoes, then add the soup stock, cream cheese, and butter. Stir to melt the cream cheese and butter. Then stir in the cheddar cheese, salt, and pepper. Add more soup stock if a thinner consistency is desired.

Chicken & Leek Pie

Pie crust for double-crust 9" deep dish pie
4 lb raw chicken
2 leeks
salt, pepper, nutmeg or mace; or whatever your preferred seasoning mix is
1 1/4 cups chicken stock, made with bones so there is some collagen content
1/2 cup cream

Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare the bottom crust in the pie pan.

Cut the chicken into small pieces, removing bones and fat. Thinly slice the leeks from the bottom, up through about halfway of the green part (basically until there is no more yellow core).

Make layers in the pie--first chicken, then leeks, then a sprinkling of salt and seasoning, repeating until the pie is full. I used a Moroccan spice mix for medieval flavor. Pour the chicken stock into the pie.

Place the top crust. Cut a small circular hole in the middle, then make a pastry flower to form a lid on the hole.

Bake for 60-70 minutes, until the top is golden brown and the inside of the pie measures 165 F or greater.

Gently heat the cream until hot, not steaming. Remove flower lid from the pie, pour the cream into the hole, and replace the flower.

Mountain and Foothill Stew

From Mattimeo.

4 cups water or vegetable stock
2 cups diced potatoes
1 cup chopped carrots
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 Tbls. minced celery
1/4 cup oil
1 cup chopped leeks
1/3 cup minced onion
3 Tbls. cornstarch or whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. ground cardamom

In a medium pot, bring the water, potatoes, carrot, and celery to a low boil.

Meanwhile, mix the oil, garlic, leeks, onion, cornstarch/flour, salt, and pepper in a skillet over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the cornstarch browns. Stir into the stew.

Add the rest of the seasonings and allow to simmer over low heat until the potatoes and carrots are soft and the stew is thick.

Makes 4 servings.

Leek and Lettuce Pasties

1 batch of pie dough
2 Tbls. butter
1 cup finely chopped lettuce
1 cup chopped leeks
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. flour

 Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sautee the butter, lettuce, leeks, salt, pepper, and flour, until the leeks have started to brown.

Roll the pie dough out and cut into circles or squares, 4-5 inches big. Put some filling in each of them, fold in half, and crimp the edges closed.

Bake for 20-30 minutes, until the crust is golden.

Makes 4 pasties.

Barley and Beet Soup with Corn Dumplings

3/4 cup hulled barley or rolled barley
16 cups vegetable stock
2 tsp olive oil
2 leeks, chopped
16 oz. white mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
3 fresh beets, chopped
1 large fennel bulb, chopped
2 Tbls chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup corn

Dumplings:
1 1/2 cup white wheat flour
1 1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup oil

For hulled barley pre-cook it in a rice cooker with 4 cups of water.

If you are using rolled barley, you can just add it to the soup with the vegetables.

Combine the ingredients for the dumplings in a medium bowl and mix with a fork until combined.

Bring the stock to a boil, then add barley, dill, olive oil, leeks, mushrooms, garlic, beets, fennel and corn, and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.

Plop in the dumpling dough by the spoonful, cover the pot and let simmer for 10 minutes. Do not lift cover until dumplings have cooked for 10 minutes, but make sure it doesn't overflow. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve this soup garnished with dill sprigs.

Makes about 4 quarts