Basic Roasted Cauliflower
Shrimp Cabbage Rolls with Yogurt Curry Sauce
Ingredients:
For Cabbage rolls
2 pound head green cabbage
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup julienne carrots
1/2 cup julienne green pepper
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
8 ounces small cooked shrimp
1 cup lowfat Ricotta cheese
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 can (13 3/4 ounces) condensed chicken broth
Ingredients – Shredded Mixture
5 cups shredded cabbage
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup shredded green pepper
Ingredients – Sauce
1 container (8 ounces) lowfat plain yogurt
1/3 cup chopped red pepper
2 tablespoons minced green onion
4 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon curry powder
Method:
Core cabbage, leaving it whole. Steam 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly. Carefully remove 12 large outer leaves. Trim ribs so they are same thickness as leaves and can be easily bent; set aside. Use remaining cabbage for shredded cabbage in rest of recipe.
For cabbage rolls, melt butter in large skillet. Sauté 1 cup shredded cabbage, mushrooms, 1/2 cup carrot, 1/2 cup green pepper, soy sauce, red pepper flakes and garlic powder until all liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes; do not brown. Remove from heat. Stir in shrimp, Ricotta cheese and egg.
Preheat oven to 375°. Place approximately 2 tablespoons filling on each cabbage leaf. Fold over the ribbed end of the leaf, then fold over the two sides and roll up. Place 5 cups shredded cabbage, 1 cup carrots, 1 cup green pepper in bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish. Place filled cabbage leaves on top of shredded vegetable mixture. Pour condensed chicken broth over all. Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes. For sauce, combine all ingredients. Let stand at room temperature while cabbage rolls are baking. To serve, place some of cooked vegetable mixture on each of 6 plates. Top each with 2 cabbage rolls. Spoon sauce over each. Serve immediately.
Serves: 6 people
Source: Unknown
Napa and Carrot Slaw
This is a variant of an old standby around here, and is similar to what you get when you order Chinese Chicken salad. The dressing is good for many things-try it on sliced cucumbers. You can add things to this slaw to fancy it up easily; try chopped dates and peanuts, or raisins or green onions.
Fresh Shelling Bean Gratin
Bean, Swiss Chard and Barley Soup
This Swiss Chard, Barley, Bean Soup is a snap to make, and insanely delicious and warming on a cold fall or winter’s eve.
Shelling Beans and Greens
Fresh shelling beans (like cranberry beans or dragon’s tongues) and dark cooking greens (kale, collard greens, chard) simmer in broth and exchange flavors and textures. Add sausage, chicken, or smoked meat to make it a more traditional main dish.
Arugula Prosciutto Salad Rolls
Arugula Prosciutto Salad Rolls are simply slices of prosciutto wrapped around a bit of lightly dressed arugula salad – an easy and tempting appetizer.
Arugula Lentil Salad
Lentils cooked until just tender and ribbon-sliced arugula are tossed with a simple vinaigrette and topped with a bit of feta cheese in this Lentil Arugula Salad.
BABY ARTICHOKE CHICKEN SAUTÉ
Ingredients
16 baby artichokes
¼ cup olive oil
4 half chicken breasts, skinned, boned and cut into chunks
2 red or yellow onions, sliced thick
4 cloves garlic minced
1 tablespoon each chopped fresh basil and rosemary or 1 teaspoon each dried basil and rosemary, crushed
½ cup chicken broth
1 pound fettuccine, cooked and drained
Method
Bend back outer petals, snapping them off at the base. Continue snapping off petals until the leaves are half green (at the top) and half yellow.
Using a stainless steel knife, to minimize discoloration, cut the top cone of the leaves at the point where the yellow meets the green. (Green is fibrous.)
Cut the stem level with the base and trim any remaining green from the base of the artichoke. (Just like peeling the skin from an apple.)
Plunge into acidified water. cut into halves. Brown chicken in large skillet with 2 tablespoons oil; remove from pan and set aside. Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil and sauté onions until tender. Add artichokes to skillet with garlic, basil and rosemary. Cook until artichokes are tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in browned chicken and drizzle with chicken broth; heat through. Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over hot fettuccine.
Makes 4 servings
Courtesy of California Artichoke Advisory Board
Basic Braised Baby Artichokes
Baby artichokes aren’t “baby” really; it just refers to size, which is a result of where they grow on the plant. These come from lower down the stem inside the vegetation. For this recipe, the “chokes should be smaller, but this recipe will work just as well with medium sized artichokes. Continue reading »
Artichoke Preparation and Basic Steaming
Wash artichokes under cold running water. Pull off lower petals which are small or discolored. Cut stems close to base. ( Use stainless knives to prevent discoloration. ) Cut off top quarter and tips of petals, if desired. ( Generally, some people like the look of clipped petals, but it really isn’t necessary to remove the thorns. They soften with cooking and pose no threat to diners. ) Plunge into acidified water to preserve color. ( One tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice per quart of water. ) Optional: The trimmed artichoke stems are edible. Cut brown end about ½-inch. Peel fibrous outer layer to reach tender green of stem. Steam whole; for stir-fry or sauté, cut in half or quarter horizontally. If there are purple or pink leaves, cut them out. (Those leaves will be tough.) If the interior is white, the entire artichoke is edible. Stem may be steamed whole with the artichoke. Cut into rounds or julienne for salads or pastas.
Thanksgiving Carrots (Carrots with Cardamom, Cinnamon, and Vanilla)
Although these showed up on my turkey day table, they would be good anytime. The dish is a variation on a theme, but everyone commented on it, so I proffer it up here. It was supposed to be “Peas and Carrots”, but I forgot the sugar snap peas in the heat of the moment, but I include that as a variation here.
Pickled Filet Bean and Red Pepper Salad
Not truly pickled, these beans are what I call “quickles”. With the red pepper dice it is a colorful dish, and the crisp texture and bright flavors make this especially enjoyable when it’s hot out. This dish is great cold, but can be served hot as well.
Leeks in Vinaigrette
A riff on a classic French bistro recipe. Leeks are sometimes referred to as “poor man’s asparagus”, and this is a dish that can be as easily done with asparagus. Most recipes call for cooking the leeks in water, but I prefer to steam them. I feel it gives me better control of the cooking time and the leeks don’t absorb as much water, leaving them able to soak up more dressing.
Butternut Squash Gratin
This is a dish based on one I learned at Chez Panisse. The hardest part of the dish is peeling the squash.* Once that is done it goes together in a snap. I tend to go with savory seasonings, but you could use cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and orange juice as seasoning as well. These spices would go fine with garlic and pepper. Speaking of garlic, you can use a good quality garlic powder instead of the fresh if you wish.
Classic Potato Leek Soup
Probably the first soup I made. I remember thinking that I should make it because “Vichyssoise” was a funny name for a soup, and it was only much later (15 years?) that I learned that is the name for the cold version that has a dollop of cream added. This is one of those things that are easy to make, and it seems that if you are a person who uses leeks, there is always some in the refrigerator, just as there are always potatoes in the back of the pantry. This is my take on the classic from French cuisine.
Romanesco, Sauteed with Pine Nuts and Garlic
Talk about an identity crisis! Romanesco looks like cauliflower but tastes more like broccoli! AND appears to have arrived from a far and distant planet. Anyway, even though it looks too pretty to eat…please do because it is DELISHOUS!
Linguine with Leeks, Radicchio, and Walnut Pesto
Ingredients
8 ounces linguine
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
4 cups thinly sliced leeks (including some dark green parts)
1/2 cup (packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese plus shaved Parmesan for garnish
1/4 cup walnut pieces (about 1 ounce) plus additional for garnish
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 cups thinly sliced radicchio
Method
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.
Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add leeks; season with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until tender and beginning to brown, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Puree parsley, 1/4 cup Parmesan, 1/4 cup walnuts, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons oil in mini processor until coarse puree forms. Season pesto with salt and pepper. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. Add pasta, pesto, and radicchio to leeks; toss, adding cooking liquid by tablespoonfuls if dry. Garnish with walnuts and shaved Parmesan.
Bon Appétit | December 2007
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