Currently viewing the tag: "spinach"
This was made to go with steak in lieu of spinach. It has a similar texture, but doesn’t carry that oxalic acid texture that spinach sometimes has that makes the teeth feel furry. Also, mei-quin has a brighter flavor that goes well with hanger or flap steak and grass fed beef, and makes a nice foil to the flavor imbued by grilling.
Continue reading »
Mayonnaise is used for simplicity, as well as for its wonderful ability to brown up and form a nice glaze. If you wish for something lower calorie and lower cholesterol, you can use whipped egg whites instead, although it may not brown nearly as well. You could whip the whites and fold in the whisked yolk if you want loft and richness as well. If you do not have green garlic, just use a single clove of garlic minced or just season the pan by cooking the whole clove in the oil you’ll cook the spinach in. Don’t have oyster mushrooms? Don’t worry about it. Cook ¼ of a finely diced white or yellow onion and cook it until soft before adding spinach. Although the recipe looks long, it is really not. There are just lots of tips to ensure this is an easy dish.
Continue reading »
Be sure not to overcook the spinach. This recipe yields some nice color on the plate. The pepitas (pumpkin seeds) are there to provide a crunchy contrast, but if you don’t want to take the time to clean the seeds or if they are just too few to be worth the effort, use store bought or substitute toasted pine nuts instead. The ingredients list looks long, but half of it is just options you can choose from. This is a fairly simple recipe that can go in many directions with ease.
Continue reading »
Use these as a side or appetizer, or use Portobello mushrooms in lieu of the button mushrooms for a first course or main. This recipe calls for scallions because they are in the box this week, but if you don’t have them to hand, use white or yellow onions, or even shallots. These can be assembled ahead of time, with the exception of the bread crumb topping which should be added only at the last moment or it will be soggy. When choosing mushrooms, look for those that are still fairly closed and the gills have not darkened yet. Dark gills on button mushrooms are a sign of age, and they are bitter when cooked. If you have your heart set on this dish and the mushrooms all have dark gills, scrape out the gills with a spoon before beginning.
Continue reading »
Savoy spinach has a slightly more robust flavor than the flat kind, is well suited to cooking. However, the folds mean you need to be more attentive to washing it. Not a big deal really. Just use a large bowl to swish the leaves around in, then lift them from the water into a colander. Repeat as needed. To check that, look at the bottom of the rinse bowl for dirt, and bite a piece. That should let you know.
Continue reading »
Although the combination of may seem odd to some, the tomato forms the bridge here between the oxalic roughness of the spinach and the sweetness of the strawberry with its acid and sweetness. The crunch of the spinach and the plush softness of the berries and tomatoes is pleasing to the palate. The lettuce is used here to add loft to the salad and lighten it a little. Be sure to use enough oil to soften the bite of the acid in the dressing or it will team with the spinach to taste aggressive. If you have almond or hazelnut oil, use some in the dressing and add some roasted nuts to match the oil for added depth.
Continue reading »
This dish can be eaten hot or room temperature, as an appetizer or as a light main dish with a salad or soup. You can use other greens in this as well, such as arugula or spinach, and it is a great way to use greens that look less than perfect. If you do not have leeks, use onion. Garlic cloves can substitute for green garlic. The scamorza is a type of smoked mozzarella. If you do not have it, just use regular mozzarella and add Pimenton de la Vera, or smoked paprika from Spain.
Continue reading »
The carrot top “pesto” isn’t really that pesto-ish to my mind as there is no garlic in it, or basil, but there you have it. Roasting the carrots on sprigs of oregano will give them a lighter aroma and flavor than chopping the herbs and putting it all over the carrots, and this way the more delicate topping will come through without interference. Serving these carrots on sautéed spinach will point up the sweetness of the carrots, but is entirely optional as the carrots are fine on their own.
Continue reading »
This salad uses a dressing of Date Molasses, which is a thick syrup made of dates that has a tangy sweetness to it. The kabocha croutons can be made ahead. Be sure to use the green kabocha as it is drier than the orange.
Continue reading »
Although this dish originally was made to stuff chicken, it is quite good on it’s own as a side dish. The goat cheese is a nice option, but the dish is fine without it. Pine nuts work well in lieu of pistachios. This stuffing works great in whole chickens, chicken breasts, pork chops, fish, or even big pasta shells.
Continue reading »
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.
Continue reading »
INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch spinach, stems removed and washed 1 small onion, diced finely 1 large clove garlic, minced Light flavored olive oil as neededContinue reading »
This dressing was made to go with the Strawberry Spinach Salad, but will work to dress other things as well. This would work well on a salad of arugula, mizuna, mei quin, and mushrooms, or would be nice on grilled fish or pork skewers. Just remember to go easy with the sesame oil. Use just enough to detect it, but not enough to flat-out taste it. The same with the soy sauce.
Continue reading »
This is a variation of a southeast Indian dish. You can skip the chilies if you don’t want it hot, or add more if you like it really spicy. If you are not fan of cumin, use the curry powder option. The dish will be “sweeter” tasting, rather than earthier, but will still be just as delicious. If you do not have pink lentils (which are more of a salmon color, really) use another type that will hold shape once cooked. This dish has more texture than a dal that is simply simmered until the lentils disintegrate, which is why the lentils are soaked.
Continue reading »
We offer spinach both bunched and loose at different times of the year. Packed with nutrition and flavor, spinach can be quickly steamed or boiled. Or it can be served raw as a spinach salad.
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.
Continue reading »
This is a variation of Haricot Vert Salad that has a little more “pop” to it due to the lemon and yogurt in the dressing. Combined with the aromatic dill, this salad has plenty of presence. If you get tomatoes in your box, add some dice tomatoes to the mix, or see suggestions in Chef’s Tips. If you wish, you can substitute potatoes for the filet beans. If you get tomatoes in your box, go ahead and seed one or two (to yield a cup) and cut them into ¼ inch cubes and fold into the salad after everything else has been finished.
Continue reading »
This recipe turns on two other basic recipes – Roast Beets, and Braised Shelling Beans-for a fairly easy to make dish that is filling and pretty in a bowl. Although the beets may seem an odd fit here, the earthiness of the beets links to the earthiness of the beans and carrots, while the vinegar and natural sugars of the beets make them an excellent foil to the rest of the ingredients.
Continue reading »
Although this dish seems ridiculously simple, the flavors meld to yield a sophisticated tasting dish which dish is quite popular here, even with the kids, who normally don’t care for hot spinach dishes. The flavor of the mushrooms helps mitigate the sometimes strong earthiness of spinach. This dish is easy to riff on, making it flexible and fun to make. Add tofu and leftover grains for a one-dish meal. Some spinach has stems that are unpalatable-chewy or stringy-but some have tender, succulent stems. If this spinach falls into the latter class, by all means use the stems. You will have to chew on a couple stems to know if they will work. If they do not, just ignore the recipe instructions pertaining to them.
Continue reading »
INGREDIENTS:
Continue reading »
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.
Continue reading »
This recipe comes from my sushi bar days. This is based on the frugality typical of Japanese Buddhist cuisine. We used a lot of spinach and had a lot of stems sitting around. I had seen a recipe where the “root crowns”-the cluster of stems that gather into the root at the end of the bunch- were blanched and dressed and served as a little side dish. We served these as a little gift from the chef when people first sat down. The hardest part of this recipe is cleaning the crowns. Lots of water is the trick here. You won’t get a lot of these from a bunch, but they are worth doing as the take little time and are very good.
Continue reading »