Ingredients:
1 bunch broccoli or cauliflower, stems removed and set aside for another use
Sauce:
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 teaspoon chili paste
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup chicken or vegetable stock
½ teaspoon sweetener
1 tablespoon peanut butter
¼ cup hoisin sauce
¼ cup unsalted peanuts, ground
1 red chili pepper, seeded and minced
Directions:
1. Cook the broccoli or cauliflower in a pot of boiling water until just tender, about 3-5 minutes. Drain it under cold water. Break it into stalks, arranging the stalks around the outer edge of a serving plate. Cover and chill.
2. To Make the Sauce: In a small saucepan, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the chili paste, tomato paste, and garlic. Cook, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Whisk in the stock, sweetener, peanut butter, and hoisin sauce. Bring to a boil; lower the heat and simmer, stirring constantly, for about 3 minutes. Add the peanuts and chili pepper. Let cool and pour into a small bowl to be set in the middle of the broccoli/cauliflower plate.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1-2 carrots, cut into thin 2-inch sticks
2 tablespoons chicken or vegetable broth
1½ cups summer squash cut into thin 2-inch sticks
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
Directions:
1. Combine carrots and broth in a saucepan. Cover and cook over medium heat 10 minutes. Add the squash and cook an additional 5 minutes, or until vegetables are just tender. Add more broth, if necessary.
2. Stir in vinegar, honey, and mustard into the vegetables. Cook for just a few minutes until liquid cooks off.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 pound green beans, trimmed
½ pound snow peas, trimmed
½ cup un-skinned hazelnuts
1 orange
¼ cup coarsely chopped chives
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons hazelnut oil or other nut oil
coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bring plenty of salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Blanch the beans in the water for 4 minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon into a colander and run them under cold water. Leave to drain and dry. Repeat with the snow peas, but only blanch for 1 minute.
2. While the beans are cooking, scatter the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Leave until cool enough to handle then rub them with a clean towel to get rid of most of the skin. Chop the nuts with a large, sharp knife. They should be quite rough, some can even stay whole.
3. Using a vegetable peeler, remove the zest from the orange in strips, being careful to avoid the white, bitter pith. Slice each peace of the zest into very fine strips.
4. To assemble the dish, mix all ingredients together in a bowl, toss gently then taste and adjust seasonings. Serve at room temperature.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 bunch radishes
½ red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoon finely chopped cilantro
1 oz. preserved lemon, finely chopped (if you can’t find preserved lemon, use 2 or more teaspoons finely grated lemon zest)
juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
3 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 cup green tahini sauce* recipe follows
4 thick pita breads
sea salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Cut the radishes into 6 wedges each and mix with the onion, cilantro, preserved lemon or zest, parsley, olive oil, and cumin. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
2. To serve, pile a mound of salad in one corner of each serving plate, pour the tahini sauce into a small bowl and stand it next to the salad. Serve pita bread next to them.
GREEN TAHINI SAUCE
Ingredients:
2/3 cup tahini
2/3 cup water
5 tablespoons lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped
Directions:
1. In a food processor, mix together all of the ingredients except the parsley until smooth. Add more water if needed. Add the parsley and turn on the machine again for a second or two. Taste for seasoning.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
2½ cups red lentils
2½ quarts cold water
2 medium red onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 bunch chard
3 cups cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon cilantro seeds (coriander)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3½ tablespoons unsalted butter
grated zest of 1 lemon
sourdough bread (optional)
4 lemons cut into wedges
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Wash the lentils in plenty of cold water. Place them in a large saucepan with the water, bring to a boil, and simmer for 35 minutes, until soft. Skim off any scum as it rises to the surface during cooking.
2. Using a slotted spoon, remove about ½ of the lentils from the cooking liquid and set aside in a bowl. Add a generous pinch of salt to the lentils in the pan and process with an immersion blender (or in a food processor). Return the reserved lentils to the soup.
3. Peel the red onions, halve them and slice them. Place a frying pan over medium heat, add the olive oil, and onions and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4-5 minutes, until the onions soften and become translucent. Meanwhile remove and discard any large stems from the chard. Wash and rinse the leaves thoroughly, then chop them coarsely. Do the same with the cilantro, leaving a few whole leaves for garnish later.
4. Mix the cooked onions, chard leaves, and chopped cilantro into the lentil soup and season with the cumin, cinnamon, and some salt and pepper to taste. Reheat the soup and simmer gently for 5 minutes more.
5. With a mortar and pestle, or using the flat side of the knife, crush the cilantro seed and garlic together. Melt the butter gently in a small saucepan over medium heat, add the garlic and cilantro seeds, and fry for 2 minutes, until the garlic starts to color slightly. Stir this into the soup, remove soup from the stove, and cover with a lid. Leave the soup to rest for 45 minutes before serving.
6. Serve garnished with lemon zest and cilantro leaves and pass around some bread and lemon wedges. Make sure everybody squeezes some lemon into their soup.
Serves 6
Ingredients:
1 pound potatoes
1 pound Jerusalem artichokes
4 cloves garlic, crushed
3½ tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh sage
1 teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash the potatoes well, put them in a large saucepan, and cover with plenty of cold, salted water. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes, until half cooked. Drain, cool slightly, and then cut each potato in half lengthwise. Put them on a baking sheet.
2. Wash the Jerusalem artichokes, cut them into slices ¼-inch thick, and add to the potatoes. Add the garlic, olive oil, sage, salt, and pepper. Mix everything with your hands and put in the oven.
3. Meanwhile, thinly slice the lemon and remove the seeds. After the vegetables have been roasting for about 30 minutes, add the slices of lemon, stir with a wooden spoon, and return to the oven for 20 minutes more. Now add the cherry tomatoes and olives, stir well again, and cook for a further 15 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven and stir in some of the chopped parsley. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with the remaining parsley.
Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
Salad:
4 beets, cooked until tender, peeled and cut into ½-inch cubes
1 pound green beans, cooked until tender, and cut into 1-inch pieces
1½ cups cooked white beans
1 small red onion, diced
2 tablespoons capers
Dressing:
¼ cup fresh dill
2 cloves garlic
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
1. Combine beets, green and white beans, onion, and capers in a salad bowl.
2. To make the dressing: Place the dill, garlic, and vinegar in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. Add the oil slowly, until the dressing is emulsified. Season with salt and pepper and pour over the beet and bean mixture. Toss well to combine.
DRIED BEAN COOKING NOTE: Soak beans in water overnight. Drain. In a large pot of boiling water add 1 cup of dried beans, 1 small peeled onion, a bay leaf, and a teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper. Simmer, partially covered, about 45 minutes, or until tender. Drain and discard the bay leaf and onion.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1½ tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 glove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 summer squash, cut lengthwise into ½-inch thick slices
2 sweet peppers, quartered lengthwise
½ cup finely chopped red onion
¾ cup toasted Israeli couscous
1¾ cups chicken broth or water
3 tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil
Directions:
1. Whisk together vinegar, garlic, 2 tablespoons oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss squash and bell peppers with half the dressing in a large bowl, then marinate 5 minutes.
2. Preheat broiler.
3. Broil half of the dressed vegetables on an oiled rack of broiler pan 5-7 inches from heat, turning over once, until golden brown and tender, about 16 minutes total. Transfer to a cutting board, then broil the remaining dressed vegetables in the same manner. When cool, cut into 1-inch pieces.
4. While vegetables are broiling, sauté onion in remaining tablespoon oil in a 4-quart heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring until softened, about 2 minutes. Add broth and simmer, covered, until couscous is just tender, 8-10 minutes. Stir in broiled vegetables, basil, and remaining dressing, and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
1 pound chard, stems and thick center ribs discarded, (about 6 cups)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
¼ cup dried currants
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
1½ tablespoons fresh lemon juice
¼ cup grated parmesan
32 won ton or gyoza wrappers (square or round)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat- leaf parsley
Directions:
1. Cook the chard in a large pot of salted boiling water for 5 minutes then transfer to a colander. Rinse the chard under cold water for 3 minutes. Squeeze out any excess water with your hands and cut into ¾-inch pieces.
2. Cook onion in oil in a heavy 10-inch skillet over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until pale golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the green and currants and cook, stirring, until any liquid is evaporated. Stir in lemon zest, juice, parmesan, and sea salt to taste. Cool to room temperature.
3. Working with one wrapper at a time and keeping remaining wrappers in plastic wrap, mound 1 teaspoon filling in center. Moisten the edges of wrapper with water and fold wrapper in half over filling, pressing down all around the edges to force out any air. Seal edges well, pressing them with your fingertips. Arrange ravioli in 1 layer on a wax paper-lined baking sheet and keep covered with plastic wrap.
4. Heat butter in a 12-inch skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook the walnuts, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and golden brown, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt to taste.
5. Cook ravioli in a 5-quart pot of boiling water 2 minutes and transfer with a slotted spoon to skillet with walnuts. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid. Add parsley and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste to ravioli and toss to coat over moderately high heat, adding enough cooking liquid, ¼ cup at a time, to keep ravioli from sticking together.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
3 carrots, coarsely shredded
2 cups radishes, coarsely shredded
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
Directions:
1. Combine carrot, radish, green onions, and parsley in a salad bowl. Mix the remaining ingredients until well blended. Toss with radish mixture and season with salt and pepper.
Serves 4