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Light supper, vegetable centric breakfast, call it what you will. This is a flavorful dish that is good for you, and it is easy if you are using peppers that were grilled the day before. For the eggs, it is best if the yolks are runny, as they make a “sauce” for the vegetables when you poke the yolk and it runs out over everything.
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Tagged with: bell peppers • Corno di Toro peppers • eggs • fushimi peppers • Hungarian hot wax peppers • kale • oregano • peppers • tomatoes
The uncut turnips reminded me of eggs, the fluffy kale the nest. Sweet maple syrup with the slightly sharp turnips and the tart vinegar with the earthy kale and turnip greens (if you get them) combine to make a complex sweet and sour dish of humble origins. Try playing with the vinegars and sweeteners for variations to match other dishes in the meal.
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This is the basic method for doing breaded pork chops. This recipe is for baking them, although you could fry them if you wish. I find this method is less messy. I make home-made breadcrumbs in the food processor from older dried out loaves of bread such as ciabatta or French. The crumbs are way better than any of the commercial stuff out there.
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This recipe is for a salad that is used as a topping for breaded chops. The contrast between the hot crisp chop and the cool salad with its peppery bite and slight acid from tomatoes and vinaigrette makes for a wonderful dish. This salad is also excellent on its own, or as a topping for bruschetta.
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This dish is sweet, nutty, and “green”, with a sweet and funky base from leeks, garlic, and sage, and then is topped with a bread crumb Persillade. Both light and satisfying, if you add some cooked shelling beans and grains like barley or farro you have robust vegetable dish that can stand alone.
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Here, farro stands in for the rice in a little chewier, earthier rendition of risotto. Farrotto may actually predate risotto. This iteration, with the chard and plenty of garlic is quite down-to-earth, but you can use the same technique with mushrooms or lemon zest and juice to make it lighter flavored.
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Lacinato, also called cavolo nero (black cabbage), is a kale that benefits from long cooking. Its deep flavor and sturdy texture blend well with the chewy quality and sweet flavor of farro. This dish can be cooked with extra liquid to make a soupy dish, or cooked until dry as here. You could put the finished dish into an oiled gratin dish and crack eggs into it and bake it with cheese for a light entrée, or toss in sausage for a one pot meal.
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This dish can be made with any beets you wish. If you have red beets, and fuyu persimmons, this is a great combination, both for flavor and visuals. The contrast of cold persimmon and hot beets is another layer of interest. This dish can be served as a side or starter, but is hearty enough to be a main course, although the flavors are bright. This recipe was inspired by a dish from Gramercy Tavern.
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Fattoush dressings, like many other Mid-East dressings are loose with a higher acid to oil ratio than French influenced vinaigrettes. There are many, many variations, just as the salad itself varies from place to place. Use this dressing on tabbouleh, Israeli Salad, fish, chicken kebabs, or shrimp.
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Fattoush dressings, like many other Mid-East dressings are loose with a higher acid to oil ratio than French influenced vinaigrettes. There are many, many variations, just as the salad itself varies from place to place. The main difference between v.1 and v.2 is the addition of pomegranate molasses. This brings a deep flavor that has a haunting/addictive tart and almost smoky note to it. Some brands have a little caramel added, and this will lend a little sweetness and a little more of the smoky note. Look for Mid-East and Cortas brands. The latter is tarter.
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Fattoush, often considered Lebanese in origin, is one of those ubiquitous salads found pretty much anywhere flatbread is eaten and tomatoes grow. Like the Italian salad called Panzanella it was probably a way to not waste bread after it had gone stale. Of many iterations, the two constants it seem to be flat bread and tomatoes. The greens vary from romaine to butter lettuce to arugula to none at all. Cucumber? Peppers? Radishes? Some use pomegranate seeds, some have pomegranate syrup in the dressing, while some have none. Like so many dressings of the Middle-East, this one is “slack”, meaning it is not a fully emulsified vinaigrette, so be sure to mix it up one more time just before pouring it on.
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The combination of early season favas and mint is a vibrant flavor that speaks of spring. Young favas and romano cheese are a classic pairing, so romano is used in the risotto instead of the usual parmesan. If you have some very thin asparagus spears, you could cut a few diagonally into half-inch lengths and blanch them until just barely done and add them with the favas. Be sure to add the mint just before serving or it will turn dark and lose some of its brightness.
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This is a mash of fava beans studded with small bits of summer squash flash sautéed to crisp them up a bit. This dish could serve as a topping for crostini or something from the grill. Here it is served in small Romaine leaves as a mezze. This dish has flavorings more from the Middle East, but switching the cilantro for mint or basil, and removing the cumin will swing it towards Italy, France, and Spain.
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Tagged with: basil • cilantro • fava beans • mint • romaine lettuce • summer squash • vegan • vegetarian
Favas and mint are a classic combination, and you will find the two in many recipes. Here is another. The prosciutto is optional, but provides a nice bit of savory saltiness that goes well. This role could be filled by shavings of Pecorino cheese or fricco*, which is a sort of cracker or tuile made of melted cheese. This is the sort of salad that could be served as a course on its own or could be used as an accompaniment to a main course item such as grilled salmon or chicken.
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This is a great combination of flavors that all support and play off each other. Romano cheese is a classic pairing with early season favas, so if this is being used with pasta or as a dip add some grated or crumbled romano. This mélange is great for fish, grilled chicken, sandwiches of fresh mozzarella and salumi, or toss it with orecchiette pasta or some chunks of summer squash that have been grilled or pan seared.
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Here, fennel and onions are cooked to give a texture similar to the traditional apples of the original dish. This dish could be served as a dessert with some ice cream or cheese, or serve it as a savory course with a salad of lettuces and herbs such as flat parsley and fennel fronds.
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This is a variation on a theme for soup we call “Monday Soup”, which is a hearty vegetable soup, usually with sausage added, that can be eaten for 2-3 days after for lunches or whenever. This one uses a fair amount of fennel, and so will be a little sweet, which is countered by the greens and with vinegar added at the end.
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Tagged with: beans • braising mix • butternut squash • Carnival squash • carrots • celery • chard • fennel • grains • kale • mushrooms • soup • swiss chard • winter squash
Another version of a classic pairing, using blood oranges this time. If blood oranges are not in season, just use another orange or tangerine. The oranges are cut into “suprêmes”, or filets, rather than just rounds as they are more uniform and easier to eat. A mandolin is helpful for shaving the fennel.
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“Confit” is the term for slow cooking something to tenderness in a (typically) oil bath, and for whatever it is that has been cooked this way. This may seem like a lot of oil, but the oil is part of the yield of this dish, and is great for building other dishes. Use it with braised meats and for flavoring fennel poached fish, or use it to flavor spreads like tapenade or on a sandwich. The fennel confit can be used to top cocques and pizzas, as a base for fish or chicken, or in salads and sandwiches, among many other things, and is great for giving you a quick jumping off point for quick meals.
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If you have the marmalade ready to go in the refrigerator, this is a quick and simple dish to prepare. The flavor of the crust is nice, but if you put it on a couple days ahead of time and let the chicken “marinate” in the refrigerator, the flavor will permeate the chicken. Since you have carrots in the marmalade, serving carrots alongside the chicken makes a nice pairing.
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Having always been a stickler as to the definition of “pesto”, I have relaxed about this a bit, but still feel “pesto” should contain an herb, garlic, nuts, and olive oil. In this case the herb is the fronds from fennel combined with a little parsley for bulk, the nuts are coarsely chopped almonds, and the pesto is pretty runny. There is no cheese in this, although you could add some young Romano to the recipe if desired. This recipe was meant for Carrots with Fennel Jam, but would work well with chicken, fish, pork, pasta, or drizzled on spaghetti. Mortar and pestle is my preferred method for texture and longevity of end product, but a blender works, and the method for that is listed after the mortar method.
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Here is one use for the stalks of fennel that recipes always tell you to “reserve for another use”. Putting the salmon on the stalks of fennel allows the fish to cook a little more gently, preventing drying out and also imparting a subtle fennel flavor tinged with a bit of smoke. Top the fish with Quick Braised Fennel for Fish or Chicken to compound the flavors, and then if you wish, to take it further, put the salmon in a large bowl with braised vegetables such as carrots and cauliflower and then ladle Fennel Broth (see recipe) around the fish, top with braised fennel and drizzle with olive oil and serve.
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This is one of those really simple dishes that surprises with how much flavor it packs. The kale acts as a foil with its earthy flavor to the fennels sweet, but it has a sweetness of its own that adds depth to the dish. Adding fennel seed and pastis adds even more dimension. Cooking the kale a shorter time gives it a toothsome quality that is a welcome texture with the fennel. Crushing the fennel with your hands seems to make it sweeter and also tenderizes it.
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