These tartines (open-faced sandwiches) have become a staple in our house … in fact, they were our Christmas morning brunch this year. The cool thing is, they come together in about five minutes if you have some braised kale on hand; 15 or so if you’re starting from scratch.
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Spaghetti squash is easy to prepare, and it forms pasta-like strands when you rake the cooked squash with a fork. Sage provides the anchor for a hearty winter pesto that pairs beautifully with the squash and white beans; prep the pesto while the squash roasts. (I also love spaghetti squash with our Easy All-Purpose Tomato Sauce.) Serve as a side dish or with crusty bread for a meatless winter dinner.
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As Jonathan Bloom notes in his book, American Wasteland: How America Wastes Nearly Half of Its Food (DaCapo Press), bunches of fresh herbs are among the most common items languishing in our refrigerator crispers. Chances are, you bought some fresh herbs, only needing to chop a tablespoon or so for a recipe, and tucked the rest away with every intention of using it up. Pesto is easy to improvise with whatever herbs you have on hand. In this version, sage and parsley provide the anchor for a hearty winter pesto. Serve it over pasta, as a condiment with roast poultry or fish, or spread over crusty bread.
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If you’ve never tried roasted broccoli, give this recipe a try. A touch of Spanish paprika and garlic slivers that turn out golden and crisp give incredible depth of flavor through just two ingredients. As tempting as it may be to sit down and eat the whole pan-ful of this roasted broccoli, though, don’t. It’s good to practice hara hachi bu even with inherently “healthy” foods.
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Butternut squash and a whole-grain risotto are hearty match made in heaven. I came across this risotto technique in the wonderful Ideas in Food blog, by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot, who are also the authors of the new book Ideas In Food: Great Recipes and Why They Work (Clarkson Potter). They experimented with soaking arborio rice, then adding hot stock, and cooking it for 6 minutes to yield wonderful, creamy risotto. It’s a great technique to use with whole grains like farro or barley to reduce the cooking time yet enjoy creamy risotto-like results with tender yet al dente grains. In fact, this is now the only I make whole-grain risotto. The plan-ahead involves nothing more than putting the grains in a pot to soak before you go to work in the morning. To make the meal come together even more quickly on a weeknight, peel and cube the squash the night before.
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Kale chips are a hot snack these days. They’re also expensive when you buy that at the store. But they’re so easy to make at home. Oven-roasted kale becomes crispy and satisfies a yen for something crunchy that’s better for you than potato chips. It’s also a tasty way to win over kale naysayers. Serve these kale chips as a snack or use them as a garnish, as we do with our Colcannon Soup. Any variety of kale is fine, but choose organic, since kale is on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list of produce most likely to be contaminated with pesticides. You can change the flavor by using a different oil (sesame oil will take in an Asian direction) or adding different spices.
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Making a big ole pot of hoppin John is New Year’s Day tradition in the South and features two good-luck foods to start the new year: pork and legumes. Our version calls for brown basmati rice so you’ll start the year with a healthy whole grain (and because the rice swells as it cooks, it’s also thought to boost prosperity). This time of year, you can find containers of presoaked black-eyed peas in the produce section of many supermarkets. You also can substitute 2 cups cooked peas or thawed frozen peas. Serve with our Quick Collards (due to their color, greens are thought to bring money in the new year) and Skillet Corn Bread with Tomatoes and Sage.
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Traditionally, collards are cooked with pork fat and simmered for an hour or two. Our rendition calls for thinly (very thinly, as in a chiffonade) slicing the greens so they saute quickly and maintain their bright green color. They cook so fast that you can enjoy them as an any-night side dish, and this technique works with other hearty greens, such as chard or kale.
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We’ve adapted this no-knead homemade bread recipe from San Francisco-based cookbook author and cooking teacher Penni Wisner’s foolproof formula. A long fermentation and baking the bread in a preheated Dutch oven yields artisanal results at home. You can play with different mix-ins–sub golden raisins and walnuts for the olives and rosemary, for instance, or stir in chunks of bittersweet chocolate for a variation of pain au chocolat. For the best results, Wisner recommends using a kitchen scale to weigh the flour, salt and water. It’s an essential for great at-home bread-baking.
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Whole wheat fusilli and other pasta is a quick-cooking whole grain that pairs well with hearty ingredients like bold-flavored Brussels sprouts and a creamy dressing for a wintry weeknight dish. The liaison of egg yolks and a touch of cream lends the sauce a silky richness so it clings to the pasta. As winter gives way to spring, experiment with other vegetables, such as English peas in place of the Brussels sprouts. If you don’t happen to have pancetta on hand, substitute 2-3 slices of bacon. It’ll be just as delicious, albeit with smokier flavor. (Use the leftover egg whites from this recipe to make a batch of Saffron Cardamom Coconut Macaroons.)
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