This recipe separates the dark leaves from the lighter heads of the bok choy. The heads are grilled, but the leaves are sautéed. The result is a great combination of textures and flavors.
For an Asian-flavored variation, use soy sauce instead of balsamic vinegar, orange juice instead of lemon juice, and sesame seeds instead of pine nuts.
Thanks to Eat Drink Better for this recipe!
Ingredients:
- 3 heads of baby bok choy
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced (not minced)
- Salt and pepper
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- Handful of pine nuts or chopped walnuts
- Romano cheese, grated
Directions:
- Slice heads of baby bok choy in half length-wise (leaves to stem). Soak in cool water for 10 minutes to perk them up and remove any grit hidden inside. While heads soak, heat olive oil in small frying pan. Add thinly sliced garlic and stir until just golden brown (about 1 minute). With a slotted spoon, remove garlic to a paper towel and take pan off heat.
- Take baby bok choy out of water and gently shake/pat dry. Slice off upper dark green parts of the leaves from the lighter heads. Coarsely chop leaves and set to the side. Brush both sides of heads with garlic-infused oil. Place with cut side up and sprinkle with lemon juice, salt and pepper.
- Place seasoned heads on grill heated to medium with cut side down. Cover grill for 5 to 8 minutes. Remove cover and turn heads over. There should be a nice golden color starting to appear. Drizzle balsamic vinegar over cut sides of heads. Cover again for 5 minutes.
- Remove cover and turn heads one last time back to the cut side. Remove from grill when fork-tender.
- After flipping the heads the first time, heat up the remaining oil in the small fry pan. When hot, add pine nuts or walnuts and toast slightly for a minute or two. Add chopped baby bok choy leaves and salt and pepper. Stir constantly until wilted, but still very green (about 2 minutes). Remove from heat.
- To assemble the dish, put heads on plate and top with leaves, nuts and a sprinkle of cheese. Add more balsamic vinegar if desired.
UPDATE: Last night, I made this with blanched asparagus but into pieces instead of snap peas, and it was even better!
I was excited to use fresh herbs from my new garden to add the flavor for this dressing.
Ingredients:
- 2 teaspoons minced shallot
- 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons greek yogurt
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
- 4 radishes, thinly sliced
- 20-25 sugar snap peas, cut in half
Directions:
- Combine all ingredients through dill for the dressing. Toss with the radishes and snap peas.
The warm weather is really here, hopefully to stay. One of the joys of warm weather is eating alfresco, particularly a meal cooked on the grill. Since I have spent my whole adult life (until recently) as a vegetarian, I know how the typical BBQ options go.
I’m in the midst of administering state tests to my students, so I will present the multiple choices to you…
a. Pile up your plate with cole slaw , stick a pickle between a hamburger bun, and get a slice of pizza on your way home.
b. Gnaw on a hockey-puck style store-bought veggie burger dished up by some well intentioned but carnivorous grill master.
c. Fill up on beverages.
The following two sandwiches are sure to make a vegetarian feel more welcomed at your next BBQ. Both of these can also be made in the oven. I have no pictures because they got eaten too quickly. Hopefully next time I’ll snap a photo in time.
BBQ Portobello Burger with Bell Pepper, Mozzarella, and Caramelized Onions
You can make the caramelized onions the day or two before, and keep them in an airtight container in the fridge. The recipe below makes 4 burgers.
Ingredients:
- 2 medium onions
- 4 portobello mushrooms, cleaned, stems removed, gills scraped off with a spoon
- your favorite BBQ sauce–enough to cover the mushrooms.
- mozzarella cheese: enough to have one slice per mushroom.
- 2 yellow bell peppers
- olive oil
- cooking spray
- salt and pepper
Directions:
- Caramelize onions.
- Heat grill to medium-high.
- Place mushrooms in a large shallow dish. Brush both sides with BBQ sauce.
- Cut the peppers in half, seed and derib. Brush the peppers with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
- Put the mushrooms cap side up on foil sprayed with cooking spray. Grill mushrooms and peppers (peppers direct only grill) over heat for approximately 4 minutes per side. In the last minute of cooking, top mushrooms with cheese. (They should now be cap side down so the cheese will not slide off. Allow peppers to cool before slicing into 2-3 slices.
- Assemble burgers: Layer peppers and onions on top of mushrooms on your favorite rolls.
BBQ-Worthy Bean Burgers
These are delicious plain, or with a slice a cheddar cheese and pickled jalapeños on top. The recipe below makes 4 burgers.
Ingredients
- 1 (16 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed
- 1/2 green bell pepper, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1/2 onion, cut into wedges
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon Thai chili sauce or hot sauce (I used Sambal Oelek, so my burgers were quite spicy)
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
Directions
- If grilling, preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil a sheet of aluminum foil. If baking, preheat oven to 375 degrees F, and lightly oil a baking sheet.
- In a medium bowl, mash black beans with a fork until thick and pasty.
- In a food processor, finely chop bell pepper, onion, and garlic. Then stir into mashed beans.
- In a small bowl, stir together egg, chili powder, cumin, and chili sauce.
- Stir the egg mixture into the mashed beans. Mix in bread crumbs until the mixture is sticky and holds together. Divide mixture into four patties.
- If grilling, place patties on foil, and grill about 8 minutes on each side. If baking, place patties on baking sheet, and bake about 10 minutes on each side.
There’s something I’ve been wanting to say: I am now over 50 posts into a food blog and have avoided using the word “yummy.” It is on my list of most hated words for adults to use. Now that I got that out of the way, I’m excited to share this ricotta technique with you.
Making fresh ricotta is so easy that it makes me wonder why EVERYONE isn’t making their own ricotta. So far, I’ve enjoyed it on fresh ciabatta with honey and on homemade pizza with eggplant. Other ways I plan on trying (recipes to follow throughout the season):
- with mint and spring vegetables on pasta,
- in pancakes,
- in lasagna,
- by the spoonful…
If you have an interesting way to prepare ricotta, please forward your recipe!
I learned this technique at Peter Berley’s cooking weekend in February, and the picture below is from his beautiful kitchen on the North Fork.
The milk and cream are from Ronnybrook Farm’s stand at the Grand Army Plaza farmer’s market on Saturday morning. It was exciting to see the market in full bloom. My lack of posts recently is a direct result of being less than inspired the past few weeks by what’s available in Brooklyn in March/early April. As Barbara Kingsolver puts it, we’re just “waiting for asparagus.” I guess I’ll just eat a whole lot of cheese until then.
Ingredients:
1/2 gallon whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions:
1. Bring milk and cream to a boil, stirring often to prevent scorching. Once it boils, it will get really big–so use a large pot.
2. Once boiling, add lemon and salt, and reduce heat to a simmer. Curds will form within 2-3 minutes (it’s magic, really).
3. Once the curds form, remove from heat and ladle the curds into the cheesecloth to strain. You should put the cheesecloth over a colander which is over a bowl. I learned that what’s dripping out is whey, and you can use it for watering the plants.
4. Allow the ricotta to strain for a while. Then, chill in the fridge.
Really, that’s all.
Last week, Fishkill Farms was offering pasture-raised lamb at the Carroll Gardens Farmers Market. As relatively novice meat eaters, we were unsure what to order. We went with the lamb sausage. We picked it up this morning, and made this salad this evening. I got the recipe from the Whole Foods app, and it’s spicy and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 1/3 cups pearl couscous (also known as Israeli or Middle Eastern couscous)
- 1 3/4 cups water
- Zest and juice from 1 large lemon
- 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4 lamb merguez or other lamb sausage links
- 2 yellow bell peppers, seeded and quartered
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded and quartered
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Directions:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add couscous and cook, stirring frequently, until toasted, about 5 minutes. Stir in water and salt and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer until water is absorbed and couscous is just tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
2. While couscous cooks, whisk together lemon zest, juice, remaining 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Remove 2 tablespoons dressing and set aside for basting.
3. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat. Grill sausages and peppers, basting with the reserved 2 tablespoons dressing and turning frequently. When sausage is cooked through and peppers are tender, 10 to 15 minutes, remove from grill. Slice sausage into 1/2-inch-thick rounds and peppers into bite-size pieces. Put in a bowl with couscous. Toss with olive oil-lemon dressing and parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve warm or at room temperature.
This recipe comes from Food and Wine’s March 2012 issue. The kale, carrots, and garlic came from the Carroll Garden’s farmer’s market.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup long-grain brown rice
- 1 cup red quinoa
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 carrot, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
- 1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps thinly sliced
- 1 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
- Salt
- 1 head of broccoli—stems peeled and sliced into coins, heads cut into small florets
- One 12-ounce bunch kale, large stems discarded
- 1/4 cup tahini, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons warm water
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 1 ripe avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts (I omitted these)
Directions:
- In a medium saucepan, cover the brown rice with 2 inches of water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over low heat until the rice is just tender, about 40 minutes. Drain and return the rice to the saucepan; keep covered.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the quinoa with 2 cups of water and bring to a boil. Cover the saucepan and simmer over low heat until the quinoa is tender and all of the water has been absorbed, 20 minutes.
- In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the carrot and cook until starting to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the shiitake, cover and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Add the zucchini, season with salt and cook, stirring a few times, until tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Add the broccoli, cover and cook over moderate heat, stirring a few times, until deep green, 5 minutes. Add the kale, cover and cook, stirring a few times, until the broccoli and kale are just tender, 4 minutes. Season with salt. Stir in the other vegetables.
- In a small bowl, whisk the tahini with the lemon juice, garlic, warm water and crushed red pepper. Season with salt.
- Transfer the brown rice and quinoa to bowls. Top with the cooked vegetables, diced avocado and bean sprouts (if using). Serve, passing the tahini sauce at the table.
I recently got back from a wonderful weekend of cooking at Peter Berley’s kitchen on the North Fork of Long Island. The theme of the weekend was cooking with local foods in the winter. This salad stood out to me because of its unusual combination of flavors that seemed to go perfectly together. I had a healthy serving of it with some homemade foccacia for lunch on Sunday at the workshop. I enjoyed it so much that I made it on my own again Sunday night for dinner with friends. Every last piece of parsley was eaten up. Prior to trying this salad, I was not a fan of the fennel. However, shaving fennel with a mandoline helps to keep the flavor mild and delicious. This salad is a light and fresh complement to any meal.
Thanks to Peter Berley for this recipe and many others throughout the weekend. Your creativity in the kitchen is very inspiring!
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup shaved or very thinly sliced red onion
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 very large or 2 medium fennel bulbs, shaved or very thinly sliced
- 1 cup loosely packed cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped celery leaves
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- 24 pitted green, brine-cured olives, such as Picholine, sliced
- shaved parmesan to sprinkle on top (optional)
Directions:
- Toss the onion with 1/4 cup lemon juice and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes.
- In a large bowl, toss the fennel, parsley, olives, and celery leaves with the olive oil and the onion and its liquid. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste.Taste and adjust seasoning, adding more olive oil or lemon if needed.
- Sprinkle with parmesan (optional) and serve.
This is a salad adapted from a delicious Mexican Pie Dip traditionally served at my family’s Thanksgiving and famous for spoiling my appetite for dinner several years in a row.
Individual servings of the salad can be made in one bowl (as shown in the picture), or you can make a giant salad in a large pie pan.
NOTE: If you want to make the dip, it is is made without the lettuce. Instead of crumbling the chips on top, just serve chips alongside the dip. It also is made with double the sour cream/mayo/taco seasoning mix and less tomatoes. Really, you can adapt quantity of the different ingredients to your choosing.
Ingredients:
- one container of black bean dip of your choice
- homemade gruacamole (3 avocados mashed up, 1 tablespoon finely diced red onion, 1/2 teaspoon cumin, juice of half a lime, salt and pepper)
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
- 1/4 packet taco seasoning mix
- 3 cups bibb lettuce (or your favorite lettuce)
- 1 tomato, chopped
- 1 scallion, chopped
- 1/2 small container sliced black olives
- 10-15 tortilla chips, crumbled
Directions:
- Make guacamole by combining ingredients listed above (or buy store-bought guac)
- Mix taco seasoning mix with the sour cream and mayo.
- Layer ingredients in a large pan in the following order: bean dip, guacamole, cheddar cheese, taco seasoning mixture, lettuce, tomato, scallion, olives, chips.
- Dig in.
This simple salad was inspired by dinners at Frankie’s 457, including two of their salads: One has arugula and pecorino, and the other has a cipollini onion vinaigrette. My version uses balsamic vinegar and vegetables that can be found at the winter farmer’s markets including arugula, shallots, radishes, and carrots. Although I don’t crave fresh, crisp greens quite as much during the chilly winter months, this pretty salad balances out a heavy meal. You can definitely substitute your favorite greens in place of arugula.
Ingredients:
4 cups arugula
1/4 cup thinly sliced Pecorino Romano
2 carrots, shaved (just continue to peel the carrot in long strips)
3 radishes, cut into matchsticks
1 shallot
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
Directions:
1. To make the dressing, peel and roughly chop the shallot. Pulse the shallot in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper, and pulse again. Add the olive oil and blend until smooth.
2. Layer the arugula, carrots, radishes, and romano on 4 plates. Drizzle with the dressing and serve.
Yesterday morning, the farmers were so cold that they had to pass the time by having a catch (or playing catch, depending on where you’re from) with a sweet potato and tongs. I am so thankful that they come out no matter the weather. The sweet potatoes and scallions in this recipe are from that market.
Not only does this recipe highlight winter vegetables, but this was also a good way to use up some cans of beans that seemed to be multiplying in my pantry. I used a recipe from Real Simple which was made for slow cookers. Since I don’t have a slow cooker, the cooking times are changed. I also used fire-roasted tomatoes with spicy chiles, but the recipe does not call for the spicy kind.
As with most chili, this one gets better the next day or the day after that. I like to make a big batch, and then heat some up the next morning to put in my thermos. I love this one for work because it even comes with its own little folding spoon…how adorable! Keep the “fixins” in a separate container so they don’t get soggy. It makes for a much more exciting lunch than pb&j.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
- 1 green bell pepper, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 28-ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
- 1 15.5-ounce can black beans, rinsed
- 1 15.5-ounce can kidney beans, rinsed
- sour cream, sliced scallions, thinly sliced radishes, and tortilla chips, for serving
Directions:
- In a large pot over medium heat, combine 1 tablespoon oil, the onion, and the sweet pepper. Stir occasionally until onions are soft, about 5 minutes.
- Add the peppers and cook an additional 2 minutes.
- Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, cocoa, cinnamon, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Stir constantly until fragrant, about one minute.
- Add the tomatoes, beans, and 1 cup water.
- Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, until potatoes are tender.
- Serve with thinly sliced radishes, sour cream, scallions, and tortilla chips.
fresh from brooklyn 