Salsa Verde

We make green sauce at least once a week and eat it on everything, though it really shines on stir-fry, fish or eggs. Our friend Kevin calls it farm crack. It’s very simple to make, especially if you have a good micro-planning grater and a decent blender. You can also make this sauce in a food processor, but it doesn’t seem to do as good a job of finely grinding the herbs, though a handheld blender works too. You can make salsa verde out of most any herb and it always seems to taste great. Recent batches have contained capers, lemon juice/zest, fresh marjoram and/or parsley.

-Chop up 2 cloves of fresh garlic then add it to the bowl of a blender and process.

-Zest 1 lime then juice it. 

-Add the zest to the blender along with 2 TBS walnut or olive oil, ¼ tsp salt and ¼ cup cold water.

-Wash and shake dry 1 bunch of cilantro. (If you have any chives or mint add that too.)

-Leaving the rubber band on the herbs, chop them up stems and all until you get to the very end of the bunch.

-Add all the herbs to the blender in handfuls, processing in between until all are incorporated.

-Let process until a smooth sauce develops. Best served fresh as the fabulous green color fades quickly.     

Salad Nicoise

-Cut 1 pound potatoes into thin slices and steam until just tender (don’t overcook). Set aside to cool.

-Hard boil 6 eggs and set aside to cool.

-Tip and tail ½ pound beans and blanch for 3 minutes until just tender, refresh and let cool.

-Pit and halve 20 Nicoise olives.

-Slice 1 cucumber (or 3 pickling cucumbers) in half the long way and then chop into half moon shaped pieces.

-For the dressing: soak 3-6 anchovies in water for 5 minutes. Drain and finely chop.

-Mince 1 clove garlic.

-Place garlic, anchovies, the juice from 1 lemon, ¼ cup red wine vinegar and ¾ cup olive oil in a small bowl and whisk together.

-Season with salt and pepper.

-Divide the potatoes, beans, onions, cucumbers and eggs amongst the 6 plates.

-Top with 2 cans of albacore tuna.

-Divide most of dressing amongst the plates.

-Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Salad Ideas

Blanch rainbow chard, then drain and shock in ice water. Squeeze it dry, chop it and toss it with toasted pine nuts, raisins, olive oil and a tiny bit of balsamic vinegar. Capers are good, too.

Roast beets whole, then slice or cube and toss with a little chopped garlic (or a lot of roasted garlic), toasted walnuts, orange juice and olive oil.

Make a crisp grilled cheese sandwich, with good bread and not too much good cheese. Let it cool, then cut into croutons. Put them on anything, but especially tomato and basil salad. This you will do forever.

Peel beets and grate them in a food processor. Mix equal parts plain yogurt and tahini and toss with the beets along with lemon juice and za’atar (a mixture of toasted sesame seeds, dried green herbs and ground sumac; you can make it yourself using dried thyme).

Cold not-sesame noodles: Combine about a half-cup peanut butter with a tablespoon soy sauce and enough coconut milk to make the mixture creamy (about a half cup), along with garlic and chili flakes in a blender or food processor. Toss sauce with cooked and cooled noodles, a load of basil, and/or cilantro, and lime juice. Shredded carrots, raw peas and chives optional.

Sort of classic pasta salad: Pasta, artichoke hearts, sliced prosciutto or salami, chopped tomato. Dress with olive oil and a bit of balsamic vinegar, perhaps with some mustard.

Cook short-grain white rice in watered-down coconut milk (be careful that it doesn’t burn) and a few cardamom pods. While warm, toss with peas (they can be raw if they’re fresh and tender), chopped cashews or pistachios, a pinch of chili flakes and chopped raw rainbow chard.

Toss cooked, cooled farro, wheat berries, barley or other chewy grain with chopped-up tomatoes. Add olive oil, lemon juice and thinly sliced romaine lettuce; toss again, with ricotta salata or feta.

Trim crusts if necessary from day-or-two-old bread (or even three-day-old bread), cube and marinate in black olive tapenade thinned with more olive oil. Add chopped capers and toss with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella. (Anchovies optional.)

Ronde de Nice Burgers

-Cut 1-2 large Ronde de Nice squash into ½ inch slices.

-Put about 1 TBS olive oil on a large baking pan.

-Put the squash slices in a heap on the pan and then sprinkle with another TBS oil and then carefully toss the slices to evenly coat them.

-Bake in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until nicely browned, turning the squash slice once halfway through.

-If you want to use cheese, top each squash slice with some. Cheddar or smoked goat cheese would be nice.

-Toast some buns (you can also use bread).

-Spread the buns/bread with a little Dijon mustard and some pickle slices.

-Other good additions are sliced tomatoes, cilantro chutney and sautéed greens.

 -Add a slice or two of the roasted squash and top with the other side of the bun.

Roasted Tomatillo, Sweet Corn and Avocado Salsa

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-Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.

-Remove the husks from 1 pound of tomatillos and then wash them (leave them whole).

-Take the skin off of 3 cloves of garlic, leaving them whole.

-Cut 2 jalapeno peppers in half the long way.

-In a glass baking dish toss all of the above together with 1-2 TBS olive oil.

-Shuck 2 ears of corn and remove the kernels.

-In another smaller baking dish, toss the corn with 1 TBS olive oil and then spread out the corn.

-Roast both pans for about 1 hour (the corn may need to come out of the oven sooner).

-Transfer the tomatillos/garlic/peppers to a food processor and add 1 tsp sea salt.

-Puree until almost smooth and transfer to a bowl.

-Let cool for ½ hour.

-Chop up 1-2 avocados.

-Stir the chopped avocados and the roasted corn into the salsa.

-Serve at room temperature.

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Roasted Salsa

-Heat broiler, with rack in top position.

-Add the following in a single layer to a rimmed baking sheet.

2 large tomatoes

1 medium white onion, halved

3 jalapenos

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled

-Broil until vegetables are blistered and slightly softened, rotating sheet and flipping vegetables frequently, 6 to 8 minutes (garlic may need to be removed earlier if it is browning too quickly).

-Discard garlic skins.

-In a food processor, pulse garlic and vegetables until coarsely pureed.

-Add 3 TBS fresh lime juice, (the juice from 1-2 limes)

-Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and pulse to combine.

-Transfer salsa to a bowl and stir in ¼ cup chopped cilantro.

-Serve warm or cold.

Roasted Red Kuri Squash with Olive Oil and Sage

-Cut 1 red Kuri Squash in half through the middle (the short way).

-Scoop out the seeds, then cut each half into fourths and then peel each piece.

-Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes.

-Toss the squash cubes with 3-4 TBS extra virgin olive oil.

-Toss with 4 TBS chopped sage and a bunch of sea salt.

-Put 1-2 TBS olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet and spread the squash out so that it is not touching.

-Bake at 325 for about 45-50 minutes until brown and crispy.

-Sprinkle with more sea salt before serving.

Roasted Potatoes with Flat Leaf Parsley

-Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

-Halve 5 potatoes the long way and season the potatoes with salt.

-Melt 4 TBS butter.

-Pour the butter in a large baking pan.

-Take some whole parsley leaves off of a bunch of parsley.

-Put 2-3 whole parsley leaf on the bottom of each potato before you put it cut side down in the pan.

-Sprinkle the potatoes with some more salt.

-Roast for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown on the bottom.

Roasted Beet and Butter Lettuce Salad with Chives, Blue Cheese and Walnut Oil Dressing

-Remove the greens from a bunch of beets.  
-Scrub the beets and then steam them until tender, about 20-25 minutes.
-Rinse the beets under cold water and slip the skins.  
-Cool and slice the beets into wedges or rounds.
-Wash and dry 1 butter head lettuce.  
-Tear the leaves into bite size pieces and place in a salad bowl.
-In a small pan, brown a handful of walnut halves.
-Toss the lettuce with a good amount of the Walnut Oil Vinaigrette below. 
-Crumble a few ounces of blue cheese on top of the salad and top with the toasted walnuts and some chopped chives.

Roasted Winter Squash and Red Onion with Tahini and Za'atar

-Heat your oven to 400 degrees.

-Cut a winter squash in half and take out the seeds and cut into 1.5 inch chunks.

-Cut 1 red onion into wedges.

-Put the squash and onions in a large bowl and add the following:

3 TBS olive oil

½ tsp sea salt

Some black pepper

-Toss well.

-Spread, skin down, on a baking sheet and roast for 40 minutes until the vegetables have taken on some color and are cooked through.

-Keep an eye on the onions: they may cook faster than the squash, so may need to be removed earlier.

-Remove from the oven and leave to cool.

-Put the following in a small bowl and whisk together:

3½ TBS tahini paste

1½ TBS lemon juice

3 TBS water

¼ tsp sea salt

1 small garlic clove, crushed

-Whisk to the consistency of honey, adding more water or tahini as necessary.

-Pour 1 TBS olive oil into a small frying pan on a medium-low heat.

-Add ¼ cup pine nuts and ¼  tsp of sea salt, cook for two minutes, stirring, until the nuts are golden brown.

-Then tip the nuts and oil into a small bowl.

-To serve, spread the vegetables on a platter and drizzle over the sauce.

-Scatter the pine nuts and oil on top, followed by the following:

1 TBS za'atar

1 TBS finely chopped parsley

Rice Salad with Arugula, Pine Nuts and Kalamata Olives

Put 2 cups long grain white rice in a collander with small enough holes so the rice grains don't fall through.

-Place the collander in a large bowl of water and rinse well, changing the water 3 times.

-Add 3 cups of broth (either chicken or veggie) and the rice to a medium saucepan.

-Cover then bring to a boil, then turn the head to very low so the rice is at a simmer.

-Cook until broth is absorbed, 17 minutes.

-Turn off heat and let stand 10 minutes.

-Fluff rice with fork.

-Transfer to a large bowl.

-Toast ½ cup of pine nuts in a toaster oven or cast iron skillet, watching them carefully so they don’t burn.

-Mix the following into the rice:

5 TBS olive oil

½ cup sliced and pitted Kalamata olives

The juice and zest of 1 fresh lemon

1 clove of minced garlic

The toasted pine nuts

-Toss well and add any/all of the following:

1 bunch chopped arugula

1/3 cup freshly grated Romano cheese or feta cheese

-Gently toss again and chill before serving.

Rice Pilaf

This is an incrdibly flexible dish, you can use any vegetables you like. If you don't have a food processor you can chop the vegetables finely by hand.

-Finely chop half an onion and half a fennel bulb in a food processor.

-Heat 1 TBS olive oil in a medium sized sauce pan.  

-Add the fennel and onions and cook until wilted, about 3 minutes, stirring often.

-Clean 1 bunch of beet greens then finely chop them in the food processor.

-Stir in 2 cloves of chopped garlic and the beet greens and cook 1 minute more.

-Add 1.5 cups of brown rice and stir to coat, about 2 minutes.

-Stir in a scant 3 cups of chicken or vegetable broth and cover.

-Add a tsp of Celtic sea salt. (If your broth is salty, add less.)

-Bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 60 minutes until rice is tender and all the water has been absorbed. 

-Let sit for 10 minutes covered, then fluff with a fork before serving.

Kale with Cannellini Beans

-Stem and chop 1 bunch of kale into thin slivers.  

-Put the kale into a large pan with a little water on the bottom, drizzle with olive oil and cook for 5-7 minutes until tender,

stirring occasionally.  Set aside.

-In a large skillet, sauté 1 finely chopped onion in some olive oil.  

-Add the following:

2 cloves minced garlic

A pinch of fresh or dried rosemary

Some red pepper flakes

-Cook for about 3 minutes.

-Add ½ cup dry white wine and cook until the mixture is a syrupy sauce, about 5-10 minutes.

-Add 1 can of well rinsed and drained cannellini beans, the kale and a little water.

-Heat through and add a little sea salt and pepper. 

-Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese.

Butterhead Lettuce, Radish and Pine Nut Salad

The citrus zest and toasted pine nuts transform this simple salad into something quite delicious.

-Toast ¼ cup pine nuts in a heavy skillet over medium heat for a few minutes until lightly brown, being careful not to burn them.

-Cut 1 bunch of radishes into thin rounds.

-Sprinkle gerneously with sea salt and let sit for 20-30 minutes, then drain.

-Wash and spin dry 1 butterhead lettuce.

-Tear into bite sized pieces.

-In a large salad bowl, whisk together the following:

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

¼ tsp grated lemon zest

¼ tsp grated orange zest

1 TBS fresh lemon juice

1 TBS fresh orange juice

A rounded ¼ tsp sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper

-Stir until salt has dissolved.

-Add lettuce and radishes and toss.

-Serve topped with pine nuts and some crumbled chevre goat cheese if desired.

Red Oak Leaf Lettuce with Balsamic Vinegar and Baked Chevre Goat Cheese

-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

-Coat a small baking pan with 1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil.

-Place ¾ cup bread crumbs in a flat bowl.

-Place 2 TBS extra-virgin olive oil into another small bowl.

-Cut 6 ounces very cold chevre goat cheese into 4 rounds.

-Dip each round into the oil and coat with the breadcrumbs.

-Transfer to the baking pan and proceed with the others.

-Bake until the rounds turn golden brown, about 8 minutes.

-Wash and dry a head of 1 head of red oak leaf lettuce.

For the dressing, whisk together the following:

1 TBS Balsamic vinegar

4 TBS walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil

Some salt and pepper.

-Drizzle the dressing over the greens and toss to coat.  

-Serve the salad on individual plates and top with a goat cheese round.

Red Cabbage with Bacon and Butter

-Chop up 6 slices of thick cut bacon (I used cowboy bacon).

-Heat a large pot over medium high heat.

-Add the chopped bacon and cook until lightly browned.

-Remove bacon from pan and set aside but leave the grease in the pan.

-Add 2-3 TBS European Style or pasture butter to the pan and turn the heat back to medium high.

-Chop 1 red cabbage in half, then take the core out of each half.

-Lay cut-side down and chop into thin ribbons. Use the whole cabbage unless incredibly enormous.

-Add the red cabbage, give the pot a good stir and cover.

-Let cook, stirring occasionally for 7-8 minutes.

-When tender, taste for salt and serve.

Red Cabbage Salad with Warm Pancetta-Balsamic Vinaigrette

-Place ¼ cup currants in small bowl.

-Heat 3 TBS Balsamic vinegar in saucepan over medium heat until hot (do not boil).

-Pour vinegar over currants; let soak until currants soften, 15 to 20 minutes.

-Thinly slice 6 cups red cabbage (about half a large cabbage).

-Place cabbage in large bowl; set aside.

-Heat large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

-Finely chop 4 ounces pancetta (Italian bacon).

-Add pancetta to pan; sauté until brown and crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

-Put 1 clove of garlic through a press and stir into pancetta.

-Then stir in currant/vinegar mixture and add 1 TBS olive oil.

-Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

-Pour pancetta mixture over cabbage and toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

-Let stand 5 to 10 minutes.

-Coarsely chop ½ cup almonds.

-Toast in a skillet or toaster oven until lightly browned.

-Add the almonds to the cabbage and toss to blend.

Red Ace Beet Gratin

-Cut the tops off of 1 bunch of Red Ace beets, reserving the tops.

-Roast the beets at 375 for 35-45 minutes until soft when pierced with a knife.

-Remove from the heat and allow to cool, then cut the ends off, slip off the skins and slice across the equator.

-Bring a large pot of water to a boil while you stem and wash the greens in two changes of water.

-Fill a bowl with ice water.

-When the pot of water comes to a boil, salt generously and blanch the greens for about one minute. (You can also steam the greens until they wilt, 1-2 minutes.)

-Transfer the greens to the ice water, then drain and squeeze out the water. Chop coarsely.

-Heat 1 TBS olive oil over medium heat in a medium skillet, then add 2 cloves of chopped fresh garlic.

-Cook for about 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.

-Stir in the greens. Stir together for a minute, season the greens with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.

-Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

-Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish with olive oil.

-Beat together 3 eggs, ¾ cup whole milk, 1 TBS chopped dill, ½ cup grated Gruyère cheese, ¼ tsp salt and some pepper.

-Gently stir in the greens and beets. Scrape into the gratin dish.

-Bake 35 to 40 minutes until set and lightly browned on the top.

-Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot, warm or room temperature.

Raspberries and Oranges with Lavender Honey

-Combine 1 cup honey and 1 tablespoon lavender blossoms in a small saucepan.

-Cook over low heat for 20 minutes.

-Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

-Strain mixture through a sieve over a small bowl, discarding solids.

-Combine 1/2 cup of the lavender honey mixture with the following:

2 cups fresh raspberries

4 cups orange sections (about 6 large oranges)

1 TBS grated orange rind

-Cover and chill for 1 hour.

-Spoon fruit mixture over frozen yogurt, regular plain yogurt, or ice cream and drizzle with remaining 1/2 cup lavender honey.

-Garnish with lavender if you like!

Rapini with Balsamic Vinaigrette

-Bring 3 quarts of water to boil in a large pot.
-Cut 1 bunch rapini in to 1 inch pieces then stir into the boiling water along with 2 tsp salt.
-Cook until wilted and tender, 2-3 minutes then drain and submerge the rapini in cold water to stop the cooking process.
-Drain again and squeeze well to dry.
-Whisk together 2 TBS Balsamic vinegar, 1 TBS maple syrup, 1 clove finely chopped garlic, ¼ tsp dry mustard and 6 TBS extra virgin olive oil together in a medium sized bowl. 
-Season to taste with salt and pepper, then add the blanched rapini and toss to combine.
-Serve at room temperature.