Recipes

Powerful lean-protein beans and legumes contain anti-inflammatory antioxidants called flavanoids. Kombu, a sea vegetable, contributes valuable minerals like magnesium.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 leeks, washed well and sliced
2 bulbs green garlic, minced
1 stalk celery, chopped
4 cups broth of choice
2 cups water
2 bay leaves
2 cups red lentils, washed
1 small strip kombu (optional)
1 tablespoon lemon zest
juice of 1 lemon
1 bunch chard, stems removed, leaves chopped
½ minced cup fresh parsley or cilantro
lemon wedges for garnish

Directions:
1. Heat oil in large soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, garlic, celery and cook for 5 minutes, or until leeks are clear. Add broth, water, bay leaves, lentils, kombu (if using), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender.
2. Add lemon zest, juice, and chard; cook for 10 minutes, or until chard is tender and wilted.
3. Before serving, remove kombu and bay leaves, stir in cilantro or parsley, and season to taste with sea salt and pepper. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

Serves 8

Ingredients:
4 pounds fava beans
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 bulb green garlic, minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
½ teaspoon lemon zest
sea salt and pepper to taste
Wedge of pecorino cheese, about 3 ounces
6 lemon wedges

Directions:
1. Shell the fava beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the shelled fava beans, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until skins begin to soften, about 20 seconds. Drain and cool.
2. To peel the beans, using a small knife, pierce the skin of each bean opposite end where it is attached to the pod. The bean will slip away easily from the skin. Discard the skins and set the beans aside.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, parsley, and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper. Add the fava beans and toss together. Using a vegetable peeler, cut the pecorino into thin shavings directly over the bowl. Toss the mixture gently.
4. Transfer to a platter and garnish with the lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

If you want to make this dish vegetarian, try substituting carrot juice for the broth.

Ingredients:
4 scallions, sliced
½ cup packed cilantro
2 cloves green garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
1¼ cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
¾ cup barley
1 1/3 cup broth of choice
½ teaspoon sea salt

Directions:
1. In a blender or food processor, combine the scallions, cilantro, garlic, ginger, and ¼ cup of the water. Process to a smooth puree.
2. In a large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the scallion puree and cook, stirring, until the liquid in the puree has evaporated, about 2 minutes.
3. Add the barley, stirring to coat. Add the remaining 1 cup water, the broth, and salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, cover, and cook until barley is tender, about 55 minutes.

Makes 4 servings

Whole grains and seeds such as quinoa digest slowly, avoiding the inflammatory blood sugar spikes. Dry-roasting quinoa and starting its cooking with boiling water helps grains to cook up fluffy and separate.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, washed and drained
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1¾ cups boiling water
1 bulb green garlic, minced
4 cups lightly packed chopped kale leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted

Directions:
1. Dry-roast quinoa in a medium saucepan, stirring until golden and fragrant, about 6 minutes. Add salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and boiling water. Reduce to low, and cover. Simmer for 20 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
2. In a skillet over medium-high heat, add the remaining olive oil and garlic, sauté for 30 seconds. Add the kale and sauté until deep green and tender, about 3-4 minutes. Stir in the cooked quinoa, lemon juice, pine nuts, salt, and pepper to taste.

Serves 4

This rich and creamy dressing works well in any situation where you might use a ranch-style dressing.

Ingredients:
3 bulbs of green garlic
15 ounces silken tofu
1½ teaspoons grated lemon zest
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon dark sesame oil
¾ teaspoons sea salt

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wrap the garlic in parchment paper then aluminum foil, place on a baking sheet, and bake until the foil package feels soft to the touch, about 30 minutes.
2. When cool enough to handle, unwrap, peel off the first outer layer and put into a food processor or blender.
3. Add the tofu, lemon zest, lemon juice, oil, and salt, and process until smooth. Store the dressing in the refrigerator.

Makes 1¼ cups

Ingredients:
2/3 cup skinned raw peanuts
1 Chinese cabbage
2-inch piece of ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
6 shallots, finely sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 fresh red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon brown sugar
juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
3 scallions, finely chopped
handful of fresh mint
handful fresh cilantro
sea salt and pepper

Prep Work:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put the peanuts in a single layer on a baking sheet, and bake for 4 minutes or until peanuts are golden brown. Remove from oven and cool then coarsely crush the peanuts with the flat side of a knife.
2. Remove tough outside leaves from the cabbage and discard. Cut the cabbage in half and remove the heart. Finely shred the leaves and put into a large bowl. Finely slice the ginger and arrange into stacks on the work surface and finely shred into matchsticks. Set aside.
3. Heat a large frying pan over medium-high heat and stir fry the shallots for 2 minutes or until they start to caramelize. Push the shallots to one side of the pan, and add the garlic and chili. Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. Add the brown sugar and half the crushed peanuts. Allow the sugar to melt and coat the peanuts. Mix everything together in the pan, remove from heat, and transfer to a bowl.

Directions:

1. Combine the lime juice, soy sauce, and rice vinegar. Pour over the caramelized shallot and peanut mixture.  Season with pepper and a pinch of salt. Check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. It will be hot, sweet, salty, and sour. Add 2 tablespoons water to thin the dressing.
2. Just before serving, mix the shredded cabbage with the remaining shallot, scallion, and ginger. Tear the mint and cilantro, and add the cabbage. Dress the cabbage with the warm peanut dressing and serve immediately, sprinkle the remaining peanuts over the top.

Servings 4-6

Ingredients:
1 package dumpling wraps
¾ pound ground chicken, pork, or turkey (or leftover roast chicken or turkey)
½ cup shredded Napa cabbage (if making vegetarian version)
5-6 shitake mushrooms, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 thumb-size piece of ginger, grated
3 spring onions, sliced
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 egg

Dipping Sauce:
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
squeeze of fresh lime juice
optional – fresh-cut chilies, or ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Prep Work:

1. Place a steamer or bamboo steamer on the stove. Line it with a banana leaf if you have them.

2. Place the first 8 ingredients in a food processor and pulse to create the filling.  Or simply mix all 8 ingredients in a mixing bowl until well blended. If making vegetarian ones, omit the meat and add ½ cup shredded Napa cabbage instead.

Directions:

1. Wrapping 6-8 dumplings at a time, lay out won ton wrappers on a clean working surface. You will also need a small dish of water. Spoon a little of the filling into the middle of each wrapper, then dip your fingers in the water and run them around the outside of the wrapper to moisten it.

2. Bring the sides of the wrapper up over the filling and press together to seal. If it doesn’t seal, moisten the edges with a little more water.  Pinch along the seal to create a decorative edge. Gently push down the dumpling to make it “sit”.  Set the finished dumplings on a plate dusted with a little cornstarch or flour.

3. To steam the dumplings, place dumplings in a steamer on high heat for 15-20 minutes.

4. While dumplings are steaming, stir all the dipping sauce ingredients together. Do a taste test, adding more lime if needed or sugar if you want it sweeter.

5. When dumplings are cooked, remove from steamer and serve immediately.

Optional last step – For chewier dumplings (goyza/potstickers) set a frying pan over medium heat with 1 tablespoon oil. Briefly fry steamed dumplings to brown bottom and sides.  Note – they will brown quickly.

Makes 4-5 dumplings

Ingredients:
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon honey
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup shredded carrots
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed, and chopped into bite-sized pieces
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons currants

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice, lemon juice, honey, oil, cumin, coriander, salt, and cinnamon.
2. In another large bowl, gently massage the kale with your hands, sprinkling with a little salt and a drizzle of olive oil to help tenderize; massaging about 3 minutes. It is important to not over massage because the kale will start to bleed and become limp.
3. Stir in the carrots, cilantro, and currants and toss to combine.
4. Pour the dressing over the kale and carrots and mix well to coat.
5. You can serve this at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 bunch radishes
1 small onion, sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 small green chilies, crushed
1 pinch of turmeric powder
oil for sauté
a pinch of mustard seeds
a sprig curry leaves (optional)
sea salt to taste
roll all of the radish leaves together and slice into “ribbons”

Directions:

1. In a pan, add some oil. Add the mustard seeds.
2. When the mustard seeds sputter, add curry leaves and onions. Saute for 3-5 minutes until the edges of the onions turn slightly brown.
3. Add the crushed garlic, chilies, and turmeric powder. Saute for a minute or less.
4. Add the radishes and mix well, add salt. Cook covered for about 3-4 minutes on medium-high heat.
5. Once the radishes seem soft, remove the lid and crank up the heat. Saute on high for a couple minutes more. The radishes will be soft, but crunchy.
6. After you remove the radishes to a plate, in the same pan, quickly sauté the leaves for a few seconds and add it to the top of the radishes.
7. For the best results, serve right from the stove.

Ingredients:
1 cup polenta or coarse ground cornmeal
3 cups water or stock
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, divided
¼ cup Parmesan grated, plus more for garnish
1 pound fava beans, in their pod
1 bunch asparagus (optional), trim into ½-inch pieces and discard the bottoms
1 tablespoon butter
1 clove garlic, minced
sea salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine the polenta, water, and salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, then turn down the heat to low. Simmer polenta, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until very thick and creamy, and tender, anywhere from 15-45 minutes (varies by grind). Add more water and cook longer if needed to achieve a creamy, tender consistency. When done, stir in 1 tablespoon butter, the Parmesan cheese, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Cover and set aside to keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. While the water heats, remove the fava beans from their pods and discard the pods. When the water boils, add the fava beans and cook 1 minute. Using a slotted spoon, remove the fava beans to a small bowl and set aside. With the water boiling still, add the asparagus and cook for 1 minute. Drain into a colander and quickly rinse with cold water.  Set aside.
3. With a sharp knife, trim a little edge from each fava bean to create a small opening in the waxy coating. Gently pinch the fava bean out of the coating, into a small bowl.
4. Melt the remaining butter in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook 2-3 minutes, until fragrant and softened. Add fava beans and asparagus and stir, sprinkling lightly with salt, and cooking for 2-3 minutes, until heated through. Serve fava and asparagus over warm polenta. Top with a few grinds of pepper and a shower of Parmesan cheese.
5. If you have leftover polenta, spread it into an 8-inch square pan and chill. Cut into squares and fry in oil or butter, and serve with a poached or scrambled egg for a fantastic breakfast or lunch.

Serves 2-3