Traditional Holiday Recipes

Traditional foods are the foods of our great-great grandmothers—the foods of gardens and farms. They represent a system of balance, emphasizing the value of meat and milk, grain and bean, vegetables and fruits. The traditional foods movement celebrates the connection between the farm that produces the food, the cook who prepares it, and the individuals who eat it. It is a system of connection, emphasizing support for time-honored ways in farming, cooking and eating, and finding a place for fat and lean, animal and vegetable, raw and cooked. Emphasizing whole and minimally processed foods, the traditional foods movement calls you back to the kitchen, to real home cooking.

Roasted Pumpkin with Spiced Sorghum Syrup

Gluten-free sorghum syrup has a flavor resembling molasses, with subtle fruity undertones reminiscent of pineapple. I like the way it pairs with pumpkin and other sweet autumn squash. I typically use Black Futsu pumpkins, an heirloom winter squash with a deeply ribbed and beautifully bumpy skin. Like most winter squash, its flavor is strikingly sweet, though a subtle and faint nuttiness follows its sweetness. Of course, any winter squash should work well in this recipe. Serves 6

Roasted Pumpkin

1 pie pumpkin (about 6 pounds)

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp coarse unrefined sea salt

Sorghum Syrup

2 tbsp sorghum syrup

1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1 tsp ground allspice

½ tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp finely ground unrefined sea salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Scrub the pumpkin well to remove any residual dirt clinging to its skin, then split it in half and scrape the seeds from its flesh, composting or otherwise discarding the seeds. Slice the pumpkin into thin crescents about ½-inch thick and arrange in a single layer on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the melted butter and sprinkle with salt. Roast for 30 to 35 minutes until the flesh softens and the edges of the slices caramelize just a touch. While the pumpkin roasts in the oven, warm the sorghum in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the nutmeg, allspice, cinnamon, salt and cayenne and continue whisking for about 2 minutes. Plate the roasted pumpkin and drizzle with sorghum syrup.

Portugal Cake

Immensely popular in the 18th and early 19th centuries, Portugal cake fell from favor as white flour replaced the more luxurious, and expensive, blanched almonds. It’s a pity, really. A Portugal cake is an exquisite confection, incomparably rich owing to the inclusion of a pound each of butter, almonds and sugar. Spiked with sherry and rosewater and dotted with currants, a slice of Portugal cake tastes impossibly moist and rich and is best reserved for special occasions. This recipe makes two 8” cakes, and is easily halved to make just one cake. Makes two 8” cakes to serve 16.

2 c unsalted butter at room temperature, plus more for greasing

All‑purpose flour for dusting

2¼ c unrefined cane sugar

12 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp sweet sherry

2 tbsp rosewater

½ tsp finely ground unrefined sea salt

4 ¾ c blanched almonds, finely ground

1 c dried currants

Powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 8-inch cake pans.

Beat the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon until uniformly combined, then beat in the eggs and continue beating until the batter becomes light and fluffy. Stir in the sherry, rosewater and salt. Beat in

the almond flour ½ cup at a time. Continue beating the batter by hand until you’ve removed any clumps, then fold in the currants. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake the cakes for 45 minutes until their tops are a deep

mahogany brown but their centers remain a touch wobbly. Let the cakes cool completely in the pans, then invert them onto serving plates. If you like, dust the surfaces with powdered sugar before slicing and serving. Store the cakes

in an airtight container for up to one week.

Baked Anchovies with Fennel, Tomatoes and Basil

Anchovies, like sardines, are underloved by those who’ve yet to taste them prepared well. The small, silvery fish pair nicely with strong, robustly flavored

ingredients like the tomatoes, fennel and basil in this simple casserole. I serve these baked anchovies with a loaf of freshly baked

Bread. Once you’ve finished with the fillets, tear off a hunk of bread and sop up the remaining juices. Serves 4 t o 6

1/4 c extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and sliced paper thin

8 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

1/2 c dry white wine

2 bay leaves

2 lbs cleaned anchovies

1 tsp finely ground unrefined sea salt

3 Tbsp chopped fresh basil

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Warm the olive oil in a skillet over medium-low heat. Stir in the onion and garlic and sauté until softened, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the fennel and continue sautéing for 1 to 2 minutes, until fragrant. Stir in the tomatoes, wine and bay leaves. Increase heat to medium and simmer the sauce for 8 to 10 minutes,

until the tomatoes soften slightly. Turn off the heat.

Arrange the anchovies in a shallow 10-inch round casserole dish and sprinkle them with the salt. Pour the sauce over the anchovies and sprinkle with the basil.

Bake the anchovies for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Serve warm.