Vegetarian Recipes

 

A Good Winter Salad

1 delicata squash, seeded and sliced into thin crescents
6-8 heads little gem lettuces, leaves separated
2 endives, shredded
2 medium cloves of garlic
1/8+ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
5 tablespoons melted butter
big squeeze of lemon juice
1/2 cups toasted pepitas
2 ripe avocados, slivered

Heat the oven to 375F, toss the squash crescents with a splash of olive oil, and roast until deeply golden. Remove from oven and set aside.
Crush the garlic with the salt into a paste with a mortar and pestle. Work the melted butter into the garlic paste, and finish with a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Taste and add more salt if needed.
When you're ready to serve the salad, arrange the little gems and endives in a large bowl. Drizzle with half of the butter and give a good toss. Add the pepitas, avocados, and squash, and more dressing, and give another gentle toss. Taste, and add more salt, and more dressing if needed.
Serves 4-6.

 

 

Pomelo Green Beans

6 medium cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 cup toasted walnut halves
scant 1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh herbs (oregano, chives, etc)
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 pound green beans (or hericot vert), trimmed
1 cup of pomelo or orange segments
1 small head of radicchio, finely shredded

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt well, and cook the garlic cloves for ten minutes. Remove with a strainer or slotted spoon and transfer to a mortar and pestle. Mash along with 5 of the walnut halves, the salt, and herbs into a paste. Gradually add the olive oil until the consistency is to your liking. Taste and adjust with more salt, if needed.
Cook the green beans in the boiling water until they are bright, just a minute or so. You want them a bit tender, but still with a good amount of structure. Drain, and transfer to a serving bowl. Toss well with the garlic-walnut dressing, then add the pomelo, radicchio, and remaining walnuts. Give a quick toss, and serve.
For a one-dish meal, add some sautéed tofu or a poached egg.
Serves 4.
Prep time: 5 min - Cook time: 8 min

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

This is the only way to eat brussels sprouts: cut in half and cooked until deliciously tender inside and perfectly brown and crusted on the outside.
Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.
Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.
Serves 4. 


 

 

Kale and Olive Oil Mashed Potato Recipe

For this recipe, be sure to wash the kale well (or spinach, or chard) - dirt and grit hides in the leaves. I don't like floppy leafiness in my potatoes, so I chop the kale quite finely. If you stir the kale in too much it can lend a slight green cast to your potatoes, so i just barely stir it in right before serving. Also, on the potato front - feel free to use unpeeled potatoes if you like something a bit more rustic (and nutritious). I picked up some yellow-fleshed German Butterball potatoes at the market last week and they added the visual illusion that the mashed potatoes were packed with butter. Didn't miss the real thing a bit.

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
sea salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch kale, large stems stripped and discarded, leaves chopped
1/2+ cup warm milk or cream
freshly ground black pepper
5 scallions, white and tender green parts, chopped
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, for garnish (opt)
fried shallots, for garnish (optional)

Put the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil and continue boiling for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, chopped kale, a big pinch of salt, and saute just until tender - about a minute. Set aside.
Mash the potatoes with a potato masher or fork. Slowly stir in the milk a few big splashes at a time. You are after a thick, creamy texture, so if your potatoes are on the dry side keep adding milk until the texture is right. Season with salt and pepper.
Dump the kale on top of the potatoes and give a quick stir. Transfer to a serving bowl, make a well in the center of the potatoes and pour the remaining olive oil. Sprinkle with the scallions, Parmesan cheese, and shallots.
Serves 6.

 

 

 

 

 

Vibrant Tasty Green Beans Recipe

The following recipe is best made just before serving time. But as I mentioned in the main post you can make/prep this ahead of time by cooking the leeks and dill first and setting them aside. Instead of cooking the green beans in the skillet, blanch them in a pot of boiling, well-salted water for about a minute. Drain the beans and dunk them in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain and place the beans in a bag or bowl in the refrigerator until ready to use. When ready, combine the components - you can do it at room temperature, or heated quickly in a skillet or pan.

4 leeks, well washed, root end and tops trimmed, sliced lengthwise into quarters and then chopped into 1/2-inch segments (see photo in main post)
1/3 cup fresh dill, well chopped
3/4 pound green beans, tops and tails trimmed and cut into 1-inch segments
extra-virgin olive oil
fine-grain sea salt

In a large thick-bottomed skillet of medium-high heat add a generous splash of olive oil, a generous pinch of salt and the leeks. Stir until the leeks are coated and glossy. Cook, stirring regularly until a lot of the leeks are golden and crispy. I stir every minute or two in the beginning, and more often as they brown using a metal spatula. All in all it takes me roughly 7 - 10 minutes to brown the leeks. At this point stir in the dill, and then stir in the green beans. Cook for a couple more minutes - just until the the beans brighten up and lose that raw bite. Turn out into a bowl or onto a platter and serve immediately. If you want to prepare these green beans ahead of time - read the head notes.
Serves about 6.

Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad Recipe

Choose a winter flavored ravioli, I used a fresh (but store-bought) sweet onion & red chard ravioli, but I suspect a butternut squash ravioli would be delicious as well. I sometimes precook the raviolis and keep them in a single layer on a parchment-lined baking sheet until I am ready to use them - this helps prevent the raviolis from melding into one another after cooking. I used a butternut squash version of the potato "croutons" shown here. Substitute butternut squash for the potatoes, you can make them a day ahead, but they loose some of their structure overnight. The flavor is still great, but you'll loose a couple points for eye-appeal. I sometimes do a big batch of the onions and keep them in a jar in the refrigerator to use in recipes like this one.

3/4 lb. raviolis (see headnotes)
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
fine grain sea salt
2 yellow onions, thinly sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, deveined and cut into 1/2-inch ribbons
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, freshly grated
1/2 cup hazelnuts, toasted and chopped
1 cup butternut squash "croutons"
zest of one lemon
1/4 cup chives, minced

Into an extra-large pot of well-salted boiling water add the raviolis. After a few minutes, when the raviolis float and are cooked through, drain them and toss with one tablespoon of the olive oil. This prevents them from sticking together. Set aside.
To caramelize the onions, heat another tablespoon of the olive oil in a large thick-bottomed skillet with a pinch of salt. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onions collapse and turn deep brown in color. You can do this ahead of time (or just before serving) - whatever you prefer. Remove from skillet and set aside.
Just before serving heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil, again in a big skillet over high heat. Add the raviolis. Stir in the onions, and then the chard. Wait until the chard begins to wilt, then stir in most of the cheese and most of the hazelnuts. Gently fold in the butternut squash and lemon zest. Remove from heat.
Serve on a big platter garnished with chives and remaining hazelnuts and Parmesan.
Serves 6.