Category Archives: Vegetables & Whole Grains

Mama Kourtesi’s Beet and Green Salad

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This salad, which I learned from Mama Kourtesi in Greece, is the essence of “whole eating.” She boils both beets and their greens and tosses it all in a simple dressing of oil and vinegar for a surprisingly tasty, super-versatile salad or side dish.

beet-green-salad-recipe1-1/2 pounds baby beets with greens attached
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Trim the leaves from the beets a half-inch from the base of the stem. Wash, dry and chop the leaves.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add beet roots, lower heat to maintain a vigorous simmer, and cook for 20-35 minutes (depending on size), until the tip of a sharp knife can penetrate to the beet’s center without resistance. Using a slotted spoon, transfer beets to a bowl and let cool until manageable. Peel and cut into 1/2-inch wedges.

Bring water back up to a boil and add beet greens. Boil for 5 minutes, until greens are wilted and stems are tender. Drain well.

Mix together beets and greens in a large salad bowl ,and toss with olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 4

Flash-Roasted Carrot Sticks with Cumin-Carrot Yogurt Sauce

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Roasted carrots are a dinnertime staple, but this recipe spins them as more-ish finger-food appetizer or snack. The inherent sweetness of garden-fresh carrots is heightened by honey in this dish, and given a spicy kick from cayenne. Make the dip as spicy as you like with a little or a lot.

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Colcannon Soup with Oven-Roasted Kale

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This soup is inspired by colcannon, a traditional Irish dish of mashed potatoes and cabbage or kale. Buttery Yukon golds are medium-starch potatoes, which makes them particularly versatile. You could use russets or fingerlings instead. Leeks, too, have a wonderfully complex flavor and are a traditional component in colcannon. If you can’t find them, sub two yellow onions in the recipe. Yellow onions have more intricate flavor than white onions (and they tend to be cheaper). Roasting the kale enhances its flavor and yields a crunchy texture that makes it a pretty garnish for the soup. Use any variety of kale you find, from curly to dinosaur (also known as lacinato).

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Garlic Parsnip Fries

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Let the parsnip stand in for the potato in these healthy oven fries. Parsnips have an earthy sweetness, making them an interesting alternative to same-old, same-old spud fries. These, with sliced garlic and Parmesan, are downright addictive.

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Guatemalan Guacamole Avocado Salad

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This take on guacamole comes from a Guatemalan recipe for avocado salad. There’s nothing quite like the buttery flesh of an avocado, made even better by the fact that it’s loaded with healthy fats. Do be aware, though, that those same fats make this a calorically dense dish . . . so just be conscious of your bites.

guacamole-avocado-salad-recipe2 large, ripe avocados
1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and coarsely mashed
1/4 cup jicama, peeled and cut into a 1/4-inch dice
1/4 cup lime juice, divided
2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh hot chiles
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Scrape the flesh from the avocados into a bowl and roughly mash them with the egg. Mix in the jicama, 2 tablespoons lime juice, onion, oregano, chile and salt and pepper to taste. Mix enough to blend the ingredients, not so much so that it becomes smooth. This should be a chunky guacamole.

Serves 8

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Wok-Tossed Brussels Sprouts with Sweet Chile Sauce

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I was wary about the combination of Brussels sprouts and chile sauce when I saw this on the menu at Le Colonial in San Francisco, but it ended up being the hit of the evening. And with my find of Dragunara Sweet Chile Sauce the next day at the Fancy Food Show, I knew I’d be running home to try and re-create it. To make a meal out of it, add some sliced sausage or shredded chicken, and serve over brown rice. In fact, you could stick with the whole Fancy Food theme and use Field Roast Vegetarian Sausages and Village Harvest Frozen Brown Rice Medley.

brussels-sprouts-chile-recipe1-1/2 pounds Brussels sprouts, outside leaves removed and stem trimmed, halved lengthwise (if super-small, leave whole; if super-large, quarter)
3 tablespoons peanut oil, divided
1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms, cleaned, stemmed and sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced shallot
1/4 cup sweet chile sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro
Sriracha hot sauce (optional, for added heat)

Fill a wok with salted water and bring to a boil. Boil Brussels sprouts for 2 minutes, pour into a colander, rinse with cold water and drain well (don’t worry if some of the leaves fall off—they’ll be lovely). Dump sprouts onto a kitchen towel, lay another one on top and blot dry. Let them sit while the mushrooms cook. Wipe out wok.

Heat wok over high heat (note: keep the heat really high during all of the stir-frying) for 1 minute and swirl in 1 tablespoon oil. Add mushrooms and garlic, and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes, until browned and fragrant. Scoop into a bowl.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil and swirl around wok. Add shallots and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, until golden brown. Add Brussels sprouts to pan with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook, tossing constantly, for 5-7 minutes, until they’re charred and tender but not yet mushy.

Reduce heat to medium and stir the mushroom mixture back in. Pour in chile sauce and fish sauce. Toss to coat vegetables, sprinkle with cilantro and additional salt and pepper if desired, and serve with Sriracha (if using).

Serves 4

Roasted Root Veggies

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This basic recipe  for roasted winter root veggies is one we turn to again and again with different mixtures depending on what’s at the market. I love how, after about 15 minutes, the kitchen is perfumed with a deep, sweet scent that lingers well past dinner. These seasonal winter vegetables are super versatile too. Serve them with anything–or on their own–or fold them into pasta or a frittata. And it’s a perfect recipe to practice your knife skills.

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White Bean and Kale Ragout with Turnips and Sausage

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This ragout is meant to be a throw-together-fast-on-a-weeknight kind of meal. If you have sweet potatoes instead of turnips, use them. If you have Swiss chard in the fridge but no kale, sub it instead. You may be surprised by how much flavor you can coax, with the help of a well-stocked pantry, out of the ingredients you have on hand.

white-bean-kale-turnips-ragout-recipe1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 3 cups)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 Italian chicken sausages, cut into 1/2-inch slices
3 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups de-stemmed, chopped kale (about 1 bunch)
1/2 cup chicken or mushroom stock
2 (16-ounce) cans cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes

Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Saute onion and turnips for 8 minutes, or until bronzed. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, and add sausage and garlic to pan. Cook for 2 more minutes, then add kale and remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until kale is tender.

Serves 4

Umbricelli with Ginger-Chile Sauce

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There’s no denying, this pasta takes time; with three people it took close to an hour to roll out an entire batch. But if you’ve got a lot of hands you want to keep busy, it’s a perfect dish. The rolling becomes relaxing as conversation blossoms around the table, turning out thick and chewy strands that get bathed in a simple, spicy sauce. If you’re in a hurry, make the sauce from scratch and sub dried noodles for the homemade ones.

umbrichelli-chile-sauceUMBRICELLI
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 egg
salt

GINGER-CHILE SAUCE
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon chile flakes
2 cups crushed organic tomatoes
salt and pepper

Pulse together umbricelli ingredients in a food processor until the dough comes together into a rough ball. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 6-8 minutes, until smooth with a slight sheen. Form the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap and let rest for half an hour. Lay a piece of parchment paper on a cookie sheet and sprinkle with flour. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.

Roll the dough into a flat disc a half inch thick, then slice into strings a quarter of an inch wide. Cut each string into 1 inch long pieces. One at a time, lay a piece of dough on a (non-floured) wooden board and, moving from your fingertips to your palms and back from the inside to the ends, roll and stretch the dough until it resembles a 10-inch long piece of thick spaghetti. Place on the cookie sheet, toss with flour and repeat with the next piece of dough. Continue to fluff pasta with flour in between batches to prevent the strands from sticking together.

To make the sauce. Heat the olive oil over medium high heat and cook garlic, ginger and chiles for 5 minutes, until garlic is tender and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes.

When all the pasta is rolled, cook it for 4-5 minutes in rapidly boiling water, until just tender to the bite. Toss with sauce.

Serves 6

Endive Spears with Roquefort Mousse and Walnuts

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These little endive spears are crowd pleasers; packed with flavor despite their diminutive appearance. The cheese mixture keeps for up to five days, so you can prep everything ahead of time and then pipe the mousse into the endive leaves just before people come to the door.

endive-roquefort-spears-recipe6 ounces Roquefort cheese
1/4 cup cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons snipped chives
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
4 heads endive, 96 leaves
24 walnuts, toasted and broken into pieces

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. Chill for 20 minutes. Transfer Roquefort mixture to a pastry bag and pipe a teaspoon mound onto the end of each endive spear. Top each with a toasted walnut piece.

Serves 24 (4 spears each)