Category Archives: Type of Food

Roasted Red Pepper Romesco Sauce

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Romesco sauce is delicious staple of Spanish cuisine. Our version of Catalonian tomato-red pepper romesco sauce boosts the ratio of roasted bell peppers. There are lots of ways to roast peppers and other items. Lia likes to do it on the stovetop in a comal (a flat griddle pan). You can also throw them on a hot grill (especially good and smoky if you add soaked wood chips to the coals or a smoker box), or use a pair of tongs to hold peppers over the open flame of a gas stove. Since this recipe calls for roasting a fairly large volume, we pop ‘em under the broiler. However you do it, the result is a simple, smoky romesco sauce that you can serve with grilled bread as an appetizer; as a condiment with fish, poultry, or meat; tossed with pasta; or even on pizza in place of traditional tomato sauce. It may just end up being your new all-purpose sauce.

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Corn and Quinoa Pasta Salad

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This pasta salad was a hit when Alison and I made up a giant batch of it to serve at the Taste of Sonoma event a few years ago. I first made this for a potluck picnic at church and no less than five people came up to me and said, “Did you by chance make that quinoa salad? It was de-LICOUS!” (when pondering what to name it, Sierra even recommended Really Yummy Pasta Salad). And here I was afraid the quinoa would freak people out. Truth is, there’s a lot to love about this salad: a healthy dose of whole grains in the form of quinoa and whole grain penne, a break from basil with chives and parsley, and a lip-smacking tart-sweet balance from the corn and lime juice combo. This pasta salad is a potluck winner, whether you’re making it for a backyard barbecue or a high-end event. And, yep, you can make this pasta salad a day in advance — in fact it tastes even better when you do because the flavors have time to develop.

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Salted Pistachio Brittle

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Traditional brittle recipes call for corn syrup, but we’re not exactly fans of the stuff. Agave nectar makes a good substitute. Since it’s twice as sweet as corn syrup, you can use half as much in this recipe, adapted from Chef Guy Reuge of Three Village Inn in Stony Brook, New York. You can use different nuts or seeds and add a dash of spice (Reuge’s original version uses pumpkinseeds and cumin with delicious results). Here’s your chemistry lesson for the day: baking soda is the key ingredient that gives brittle its characteristic snap. Our version uses pistachios and coarse sea salt for a salty-sweet treat that’s delicious on its own or crumbled over ice cream or our Chai-Spiced Amaranth Pudding.

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Cherry-Basil Buttermilk Sherbet

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This sherbet is like summer in a bowl: light, refreshing, sweet and perfumed with the quintessential summer herb (which has a surprising affinity for cherries). It’s also ridiculously simple to make. It can get icy when frozen too hard, so eat it fresh from the ice cream maker or leave it on the counter to soften a bit if pulling it from the freezer. And here’s a little food trivia for you: Did you know that sherbet goes back to the Middle Eastern fruit-juice-and-water drink charbet? It has evolved into a dessert that’s lighter than ice cream — though in this case, low-fat buttermilk lends it a rich, tangy note.

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Cold Salmon Sandwich with Lemon-Caper Mayo

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Buy a little extra salmon the next time you’re fillet-shopping and cook it all up at once. The next day, pair the cold leftover fish with a hit of lemon-spiked mayo and briny capers for a fancy-looking salmon sandwich that’s  perfect lunch for one.

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Kathleen’s Fresh Peach Pie with Toasted Walnut Crust

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By Kathleen Kanen

Ground nuts and a touch of whole-wheat pastry flour give this peach pie crust recipe a healthier edge. It also has less fat than traditional pastry, yet there’s enough to make it satisfyingly tender. As with any pastry, handle the dough gently (so it doesn’t get tough) and don’t skip chilling it for 30 minutes. That helps the gluten relax and makes a more tender pie crust. I use the chilling time to peel the fruit and assemble the filling.

For variety, you can substitute cherries and/or blueberries for half the peaches. Taste the fruit first and adjust the sugar in the filling accordingly. Same goes for amount of flour in the filling. Really juicy peaches may need an extra tablespoon of flour; not so juicy, use less flour. This peach pie is is the essence of summer!

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Grilled Fish in Parchment with Cherry Tomatoes & Corn

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This grilled fish in parchment recipe is a NOURISH Evolution classic. Flaky white fish, like sustainable barramundi or catfish, are tough to grill, but that doesn’t mean they need to be left out of the summer repertoire. Just wrap them up in parchment (a classic French technique called “en papillote”) with a handful of summer veggies and you’ve got yourself a whole meal on the grill. Not inclined to fire up the grill? You also can cook the fish in the oven at 450  F for 10-15 minutes.

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Spicy-Sweet Pickled Cucumbers

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These pickled cucumbers are inspired by the spicy-sweet pickles served at Saffron, a popular Thai takeaway in San Diego. Use thin-skinned Japanese, Persian, English or pickling cucumbers, and slice them as thinly as possible. If you have a mandolin or Japanese slicer, this a good time to use it; otherwise, just use a razor-sharp chef’s knife. Serve these pickled cucumbers as a refreshing summer side dish, or use them as a condiment in sandwiches and tacos. They’d be delicious on a sandwich or tortilla with Grass-Fed Beef Bulgogi and Fiery-Sweet Peach Salsa.

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Honey-Roasted Fig Tartine with Prosciutto

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I had a fantastic sandwich from Cowgirl Creamery while in Point Reyes, CA, this weekend that reignited my love of sandwiches … in particular, topless ones called “tartines.” I made this one with leftover Red Hawk from my visit, along with luscious figs picked up en route. Drizzling the fig with honey and popping it under the broiler gives it an impromptu jammy quality; especially good paired with gooey cheese and crisp prosciutto.

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