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This recipe is from a friend, adapted from a recipe in David Chang’s Lucky Peach.
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Kohlrabi is unfamiliar to many people except as a very Seuss-ian looking vegetable at the store or Farmers Markets. The flavor ranges from very mild to a little sweet, with faint tones of turnip or daikon in the background. It crisp and sometimes almost succulent, and it can be chameleon-like in taking on the flavors of the surrounding seasonings. Here it acts as a foil to horseradish, with the crunch contrasting with the creamy dressing which plays up the inherent sweetness in the vegetable.
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Lamb neck can come as slices or chunks cut lengthwise and split. This is what I prefer. Although bony, the meat of the neck is very flavorful and is wonderful for braises and tagines. This recipe yields meat that is almost falling off the bone. The flavors can easily be varied, as can the vegetables. See the Chef’s Notes at the end for variations. Although the recipe seems long, it isn’t really, and once you’ve done it, it is easily done again. This is one of those dishes where the Ben-Riner mandolin knocks the time down to minutes.
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If you use purple cauliflower the look will match the aroma and taste for an interesting brain teaser, although this is good with any color cauliflower you have. Just be sure to not overcook the cauliflower when you blanch it. The Kimes Apiary grade C honey was excellent for this as the high moisture content allows it to coat really well, but any quality honey will do, although you might need to add a little water to help it spread out to coat the vegetable. Be sure to use a honey that is complementary to the lavender though, or at least will not conflict with it.
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Allioli, or Alioli (Catalan and Spanish) is Spain’s answer to the French garlic mayonnaise called “aioli”. Originally just pounded garlic and oil, typically it is made with egg yolk now. Here, I cheat and use jarred mayonnaise. Version 2 is a lower cholesterol version with bigger flavor based on a sherry vinaigrette. Allioli is used with fish, seafood, potato dishes, or grilled dishes.
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Peeling the squash before cutting makes it easier. Don’t worry about getting all the peel off; a little left on is fine and looks nice. Save the seeds to roast; just wash well and dry, then oil and sprinkle with salt and bake 10-15 minutes at 350°F or until done. Eat as is or save and use as garnish for this dish.
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A riff on a classic French bistro recipe. Leeks are sometimes referred to as “poor man’s asparagus”, and this is a dish that can be as easily done with asparagus. Most recipes call for cooking the leeks in water, but I prefer to steam them. I feel it gives me better control of the cooking time and the leeks don’t absorb as much water, leaving them able to soak up more dressing.
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Use this as a salad dressing for slaw, or on shellfish. It is also great on shaved fennel salads.
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This basic dressing uses lemon juice bolstered with vinegar for acid. The vinegar adds balance to the lemon juice, which can sometimes be harsh, especially when combined with a sharp Tuscan style extra-virgin olive oil. If your lemons are really tart, you could use all lemon juice. You can also use water to lower the acidity if you do not want to use a vinegar.
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This dish is great as a combination of two recipes, but the chicken is quite good without the stuffing, and the stuffing makes a nice side dish on its own, as well. Lemon infused olive oil is available at gourmet shops, better grocery stores, and you can find some locally made at various farmer’s markets. Agrumato is an excellent commercial brand and Colline di Santa Cruz is produced in the Santa Cruz area by Valencia Creek Farms. You can even make something that approaches it on your own by infusing oil with just the peel, but it is worth the money to have a bottle of this on hand.
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“Lemon Roasted” because Meyer lemon juice is used in the marinade for these. This is a dish that was designed for a cabbage and chicken salad, but could be used in soups, noodles, on fish, omelets, you name it. Try to find larger mushrooms for this, and using your hands to shred them means you will have rough edges that will caramelize beautifully. Trim the ends and any base clumps and save for making Roast Mushroom Dressing.
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This basic dressing uses lemon juice bolstered with a little rice vinegar for acid. The vinegar adds balance to the lemon juice, which can sometimes be harsh, especially when combined with a sharp Tuscan style extra-virgin olive oil. If your lemons are really tart, you could use all lemon juice. You can also use water to lower the acidity if you do not want to use a vinegar.
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My take on a classic. I think the lemon brightens the dish considerably. Yeah, I know, the dish has cream, but if you consider that you are only eating a couple tablespoons at a time, and it is on vegetables, it really isn’t so much. Reducing cream for the sauce is quicker than making a roux for béchamel, and doesn’t use any butter, so you come out ahead I’d say. This cream sauce would go brilliantly with peas.
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Lemony Grilled Squash
This is a quick and simple preparation that adds pizzazz to a vegetable that many see as pretty bland. Although marinating is something that is normally associated with meat, many vegetables benefit from marinating as well. Using salt here would result in flabby vegetables, so do not salt until just before grilling.
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This recipe calls for cooking the kales separately first so the greens keep more individuality. If you like the idea of the greens integrating into the lentils and melting down more, skip the part about removing them from the pot. Most recipes do not call for soaking lentils, but you can. This helps them cook faster, which means they don’t explode before they are tender, as well as making minerals more bio-available to the body. If you do not wish to soak your lentils, just rinse them and start the dish. This dish makes enough for generous servings plus some leftovers for lunch.
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These packets are three recipes rolled into one. It seems like a long recipe, but it is not really hard. It does require a little time, but the rewards are great, and the steps can be broken up over a couple days or more. This is an easy recipe to expand, and all elements of the dish freeze well, so making extras is a good idea. You can freeze the lentils alone or combined with the vegetables, or freeze the entire packets for another meal. Once you have done this dish you will find shortcuts or variations of your own. The recipe is three parts; the lentils, the vegetable hash, and the assembled finished timbales (another name for the finished packets). When cutting up vegetables for the recipe, just remember that everything should be around the size of the lentils-keeping in mind the lentils will expand a little when cooked.
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Inspired by Indian and Middle-Eastern cuisine, this dish has some heat to it coupled with big flavors. Make it without the chilis if you are not in the mood for heat. I use green Du Puy lentils here because they hold shape better than the more common brown lentil, but you can use either one.
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This is my take on a recipe from a friend. This is a dish where the cooking method combines with the main ingredients to provide the flavor. It is important not to crowd the meat when cooking so it browns, and the charring of the chilies provides flavor as well. The underlying flavor through it all is the cilantro and tomatillo. Using the stems avoids the soapy taste some people pick up from cilantro, and the leaves discolor where the stems do not. Eat this as a stew or cook down until fairly dry and use in tacos. This dish is poco picante. Adjust the number of jalapenos and serranos to make it hotter or milder.
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Let’s get this straight right off the bat. This is not a “light” dressing as in low-cal or dietetic. It is light in that it uses both regular and white balsamic vinegars for a lighter flavor and color. This is for when you want that wonderful complexity of flavor you get from balsamic vinegar, but you don’t want something as forthright as a straight-up balsamic vinaigrette, or there are elements of the salad that already have some balsamic vinegar.
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I was in the mood for salad, but wanted something a little creamer than the usual vinaigrette. I also wanted something a little light as I was dressing baby greens. My Meyer lemon tree had just given me an abundance of fruit also, so all these things were playing in my mind as I opened the refrigerator. Here is the result.
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Here is a “suite” of dressings that all turn on one basic dressing called “amazu”. Amazu is the dressing you get on your basic sunomono, or cucumber salad at Japanese restaurants. The rest are just variations on a theme. When it comes to oil, I keep it very light. Instead of the basic 3:1 ratio of vinaigrette, if I use oil with this dressing I go very lightly, making what is sometimes called a “slack” in restaurants. The idea is to use just enough to help the flavors stick to the food. Usually, this is something like a 1:1 ratio.
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“Lighter Flavored” refers to the lighter cilantro flavor, so it is a background note rather than a star. The use of cilantro seed powder enhances the dressing by adding a subtle citrusy aroma and flavor that works well with the other elements. Try this dressing with roast squash, as in the Orange Hokkaido and Kale Salad, or with fish and shrimp, or pork.
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