Recipes

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup water
3 leeks, white parts only, sliced into rounds
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and quartered
1 celery root, trimmed, quartered and sliced
1-2 teaspoons nutritional yeast (optional)
½ teaspoon sea salt
6-7 cups stock of choice
½ to 1 cup light cream
freshly ground pepper
inner fennel leaves, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Melt the butter with ½ cup water and add the leeks, fennel, celery root, nutritional yeast, if using, and salt. Give everything a stir; then cover and stew very slowly for 20 minutes. Check once during cooking to make sure there is ample moisture in the pot and add a little more water or stock if there is not.
2. Pour the stock over the vegetables, bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for 15 minutes more. Let cool briefly before blending the soup for a full minute, in two or more batches, to make it smooth. The soup may have quite a bit of air in it at first, but after a while it will settle down to a more creamy, less fluffy consistency.
3. Stir in the cream. If the soup is too thick – celery root will cause it to thicken as it sits – thin with additional cream or stock. Taste for salt, add more if necessary, and season with pepper. Stir in the chopped fennel fronds and stir to combine.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
6 small beets
3 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish
1 small onion, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
sea salt and freshly ground pepper , to taste
2 tablespoons minced parsley

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Tightly wrap beets in foil-lined with parchment paper and roast on a baking sheet until tender, about 1½ hours. Vent the beets by opening the foil package slightly. Allow to cool for 15-20 minutes.
2. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel then grate them into a medium sized bowl. Add the grated horseradish and onion.
3. Whisk the olive oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper together in a small bowl and pour over the beets, stirring to combine.
4. Stir in the fresh parsley and garnish with extra parsley if desired.

Serves 12

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter
1 pound carrots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon honey
1 small minced chipotle pepper
2 teaspoons adobo sauce from can
3 peeled and chopped tangerines
snipped fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots. Cook for 10 minutes, or until carrots are soft, stirring frequently. Stir in honey, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce, and tangerines. Cook for 5 minutes more. Add more adobo sauce for extra heat. Garnish with snipped cilantro.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 pounds butternut squash, peeled, cut into ½-inch cubes (about 4 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
sea salt
freshly ground pepper
5 sprigs of thyme
1 cup ricotta
3.5 ounce feta cheese, crumbled
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon chopped parsley
½ teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or more if you like a bit of heat)
8 sheets phyllo pastry, thawed according to the package directions
¼ cup melted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread squash over a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt , and pepper. Toss to coat. Scatter the thyme sprigs and bake for about 20 minutes, until the squash is soft and beginning to brown.

2. In a bowl, combine the cheeses, chopped thyme, parsley, chili pepper flakes, and remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add the squash and lightly mix until all the ingredients are evenly distributed.

3. Grease a 9-inch cake tin or pie dish.

4. Lay 1 sheet of pastry down, long edge toward you. Lightly brush the entire surface with melted butter and place another sheet on top. Spoon ¼ of the butternut mixture along the bottom edge of the pastry. Brush the rest of the sheet with melted butter, trying to cover as much of the surface as possible. Roll the pastry log up starting from the filling end. Tuck the edges as you roll so the filling doesn’t come out. Make 3 more rolls.

5. Coil the rolls snugly in the cake tin and brush each with butter. It doesn’t matter if the middle roll breaks as you bend it – just patch it up with a few small pieces of phyllo. Bake for 35 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
Ghee or butter for greasing the baking dish
10 eggs
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons dulse flakes (optional)
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
2 pinches sea salt
2 pinches freshly ground pepper, or to taste
1 bunch chard
1 tablespoon butter or ghee
2 large leeks, cleaned and thinly sliced into half moons
½ cup pitted and sliced kalamata olives

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×9 baking dish with ghee or butter.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, parsley, turmeric, dulse, nutritional yeast, salt, and pepper. Set aside.
3. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Blanch the whole chard leaves and then remove them immediately to a bowl of ice water. Drain. Remove the stems and chop. Set aside. Using a towel, squeeze any extra liquid out of the chard leaves then chop them. Set aside.
4. Heat a large pan on medium heat and add 1 tablespoon butter or ghee. Saute the leeks for about 10-15 minutes, until caramelized, stirring to make sure they don’t burn. Add the chopped chard stems and allow to soften but still retain a little crunch. Turn off the heat and mix in the chard leaves. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Stir the chard mixture into the eggs. Stir in the olives.
6. Pour into the baking dish and cover with foil. Bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes, uncover and bake for another 15 minutes until firm and golden. Check by inserting a knife into the middle. If it comes out clean, it is done. Cut and transfer pieces to a serving platter. Garnish with extra herbs.

Serves 12

Ingredients:

Dressing:
¼ cup olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons cranberry sauce
½ teaspoon sugar
¼ teaspoon sea salt

Salad:
1-2 bunches kale, stemmed and cut into bite-size pieces
½ cup thinly sliced green onions
4 tangerines, peeled, sliced, and quartered
½ cup roasted pistachios kernels

Directions:
1. Whisk together all dressing ingredients in a large bowl. Add kale and toss well to coat.
2. Add onions and tangerines to the bowl; toss lightly and sprinkle with pistachios. May be refrigerated up to 30 minutes before serving.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:
3 large parsnips, top and bottom trimmed
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon zest
2 teaspoons Meyer lemon juice, or more to taste
2 teaspoons honey
½ cup plain yogurt, preferably whole milk
6 walnuts, cracked and chopped

Directions

1. Peel the parsnips. Cut them in half. Grate them with a box grater without bearing down too hard so the pieces will be thin. Keep your eye on the top of the parsnip and stop grating when you get to the core.
2. Toss the grated parsnip with ½ teaspoon salt, some pepper, the lemon juice, zest, and honey.
3. Cut each date half into four pieces. Add these to the parsnips with the yogurt and toss well. Taste for salt and lemon, adding more if needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve then toss once more with the walnuts.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
½ cup pine nuts, toasted
sea salt
1 head frisee
1 fennel bulb, top removed, bulb halved and cut into very thin slices
2 small apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 small pomegranate
1/3 cup fresh mint leaves, torn into small pieces
3 scallions, including all the greens, thinly sliced
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or lemon juice, or more to taste

Directions:

1. Toast the pine nuts in a small skillet until golden. Immediately drop them into a bowl and toss with a pinch of salt.
2. Separate the frisee leaves at the base, discarding the tough outer leaves. Wash and dry.
3. Quarter the pomegranate and gently pry the pieces apart so that they don’t spurt. Pick out the seeds from the membranes.
4. Toss the greens with the mint, scallions, fennel, and apples.       Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and toss again. Pour the oil over them and toss until everything is coated. Add the vinegar or lemon; toss well and taste for tartness and salt. Divide among salad plates and garnish with the pine nuts and pomegranate seeds.

Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 slender leeks, including part of the green
6 carrots
1 bunch parsnips, with their greens
1 bunch radishes
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
1 tablespoon fresh Meyer lemon juice

Directions:

1. Slice the leeks crosswise about ¼-inch wide then rinse them in a bowl and drain. Cut all but ½ inch of the carrot greens off, and slice them lengthwise. Leave ½ inch of the parsnip greens attached; leave smaller ones whole ands cut larger ones in half lengthwise. Half the radishes lengthwise then soak them briefly in a bowl of water, especially the stems.
2. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil and add ½ teaspoon salt. Blanch the carrots, parsnips, and radishes for 7 minutes, then scoop out and set aside.
3. Melt the butter in a 8 or 10-inch sauté pan. Add the leeks and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add ½ cup of the vegetable cooking water, the blanched vegetables, half the herbs and ½ teaspoon salt. Simmer until the vegetables are fully tender, 10-15 minutes, adding more water in increments so the pan won’t dry out; there should be a little sauce.
4. Add the remaining butter and lemon juice. Raise the heat and swirl the pan back and forth until the butter has melted into the juice. Remove from the heat, add the rest of the herbs, season with pepper and serve.

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1 teaspoon honey
1 cup plus 1 teaspoon coconut milk, divided
1 butternut squash, stem sliced off
1 tablespoon olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1½ cups brown basmati rice (or your choice)
about 15 cilantro leaves plucked from the stems
Toasted cashews
Unsweetened shredded, toasted coconut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack on the upper third position.
2. In a small bowl, whisk the red curry paste, honey, and 1 teaspoon of the coconut milk until smooth.
3. Half the squash lengthwise, scrape out seeds and strings, and halve lengthwise again to form 4 long quarters. Set skin-side down on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, rubbing to coat. Now place the pieces on their sides.
4. Roast for 20 minutes, or until the undersides are nicely browned. Flip to the other side and roast another 10 minutes longer.
5. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine the rice, the remaining 1 cup of coconut milk, 1 cup water, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and gently simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 30-40 minutes, depending on the rice you are using. Remove from the heat, keeping covered.
6. When the squash is ready, remove it from the oven and switch on the broiler. Brush the squash thickly with the curry mixture. Broil face up until the paste bubbles and darkens, watching carefully, about 2 minutes. Serve the squash and rice in shallow bowls, sprinkling with cilantro, coconut, and cashews.

Serves 4 as a side