Posts by: Andrew Cohen
Croutons are a way to add crunch. Here, it is the romaine that is the crunchy part, with the butternut cubes crisped on the outside and sweet and melting inside as a foil for the crisp and slight bitterness of the romaine. The roasted pumpkin seed oil adds a nice flavor and a lot of depth to this salad.
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Watermelon radishes share many qualities with turnips. They cook up like turnips, but they are amazingly colored inside, like a late Autumn sunset. When cooked, the colors soften a little but are still vibrant. This cooking method softens the slight bitter quality and plays up the sweetness.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 pound filet beans, trimmed and washed 3-4 “spring” onions, halved through the root and sliced lengthwise into 1/8th inch wide strips ½ cup white wine such as chenin blanc, rousanne, chardonnay 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 4-6 ounces heavy whipping creamContinue reading »
INGREDIENTS:
2 cups cooked cranberry beans (see recipe for “Basic Braised Shelling Beans” on site) 1 bunch collard greens, stemmed and shredded 1/8th inch, washed 2-3 “spring” onions (1 cup) sliced thinly into shreds 3 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup diced ham, or a 1-inch chunk from the end of a prosciutto (Some delis will save these for you if you ask. They are excellent for seasoning dishes such as this.) slashed with a few deep cutsContinue reading »
INGREDIENTS:
1 head cauliflower, broken into florets and florets halved 1-2 bell peppers or Corno di Toro (any colors are fine), seeded and cut into ½ inch dice 1 tomatoes, cut into medium dice 2-3 “spring” onions, cut into medium dice (around ¾ to 1 cup) 2 cloves garlic, mincedContinue reading »
Here is my version of this fairly ubiquitous eggplant dish. It can be anything from sublime to downright nasty. The trick is to use good olive oil-not too much, fresh eggplant so the dish is not bitter, and grill the eggplant to get a nice charred, smokey flavor in there. If you can’t grill, use the broiler, but lower the rack so the eggplant has time to take on flavor before carbonizing. Also, be sure the tahini you use is fresh. This is the main culprit for nasty babaganoush. There is nothing like oxidized, rancid tahini to destroy a dish.
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This is for a salad of cilantro infused roasted beets with lettuce, but will work on things like shrimp salad, chicken (hot or cold), or shredded cabbage and/or jicama.
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These beets are part of a salad, but are great on their own as a side. The vinegar used for marinating the beets is also used as the base for the salad dressing. If making the dressing to go with the beets, double the amount of cilantro and vinegar and save half for the salad dressing.
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This is a fairly quick dish to assemble, especially if you have soffritto on hand. Since much of the flavor for this dish comes from the tomato and basil, be sure to use flavorful tomatoes and fresh basil. Having a spritzer/atomizer for oil makes this dish easier still to make, and I recommend one as it makes it so simple to get just the right amount of oil onto vegetables instead of soaking them. If you do not have one, use a small bowl or plate with some oil and use a brush. Although the instructions seem long, once you have done this it will be a snap the next time. I like basil for this recipe, but if you do not have any to hand, try it with something else such as a tablespoon of marjoram or oregano, or some sage, or whatever strikes your fancy.
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Béchamel is a classic and is known by many names. It is a sauce of butter and flour cooked together-this is known as a “roux”- that has milk added to it. There is a set ratio that works every time-1 tablespoon butter to 1¼ tablespoon flour, to 1 cup milk. I will add that this is very hard to do with less than 2 tablespoons of butter.
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This is a form of gratin that uses a béchamel sauce and includes bread cubes as part of the base. It is a hearty side dish good on cooler nights.
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The longest part of the prep for this dish is cooking the onions for the base. Other than that, this dish comes together quickly. If you have soffritto in the freezer, it is a snap to put together, and it looks as if you fussed for quite a while. If you have different colored tomatoes and/or squashes the dish looks quite festive.
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With summer here, the time is perfect for gratins. Sure, everyone is firing up the grill, but let’s face it-grilled vegetables only hold their appeal for a while, and then you want something with a little more depth of character. All those vegetables that are great on the grill are also great in a gratin. Easy to make, gratins can be made in advance and will keep overnight, and are good hot from the oven, or at room temperature. What’s not to like?
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This dressing goes on the Savoy Cabbage and Apple Slaw, but is also good on things like an apple arugula salad or a fennel apple salad. You could even dress cauliflower sautéed with apples with this.
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Cabbage and apples are frequently seen in each others company in recipes for a reason, and that is because they taste really good together. The crunch and sweetness of the apple plays up those same qualities of the cabbage, and the earthiness of cabbage plays up the floral aromas of apples. This slaw is quick, simple, and tastes great. This is a recipe where having a mandolin or Ben-Riner really helps. Apples such as the Hudson’s Golden Gems and Rubinettes are perfect for this dish as they are crisp, sweet, and have some acid to balance out the dressing and cabbage.
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This is along the lines of the thicker style blue cheese dressing, also known as Roquefort. Perfect for chunky vegetable salads, for dipping things in, or as the perfect dressing for the infamous “wedge” salad. It’s also great on baked potatoes. I like to use red wine vinegar, even though it tinges the dressing faintly pink. If you want pristine whiteness, just use white wine vinegar in lieu of red wine vinegar. Make this dressing whenever you have buttermilk on hand, because let’s face it, nothing uses a full quart of buttermilk (and it seems you can only get it in quarts nowadays). There is no salt added in this recipe as mayo and blue cheese both tend to be salty.
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Here is an updated take on the “Wedge” salad. The Moped of salads-you would never want your friends to see you on one, but they’re fun to drive. Moist and crunchy, rich, creamy and tangy, sweet and smoky, the wedge salad hits on so many of the components that make a great dish. Here, I sub in Little Gem lettuce for the iceberg, and it works well as long as the leaves are firm and crisp.
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The fresh rich flavor of the cooked down tomatoes is a nice counterpoint to the smokey, earthy flavor of the broccoli, and the sweetness of the tomato plays well with the sweetness the broccoli develops in the oven. This makes a nice side dish, but also can be used as a pasta sauce, pizza topping, or mixed with grains.
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INGREDIENTS:
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil
¼ C onion, minced-or-1 medium shallot, minced
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 roasted red peppers, peeled and seeded, diced
1 Tbsp vinegar such as red wine, rice, sherry, or even balsamic
2 Tbsp white wine such as sauvignon blanc, or chardonnay
Salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste
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