Orange-Fennel Salad

The centerpiece of this easy winter salad from Cooking Light's series of recipes with five ingredients or less just might be one of my top five favorite vegetables.  Interestingly, fennel is also an herb and a spice, which perhaps gives it an unfair advantage over its veggie competitors, but I won't count that against it--it's right up there behind corn, carrots, and artichokes and neck and neck with other more obscure flora like upright elephant ears in my personal power rankings.  I find its crispy bulb, dill-like fronds, and licorice-tinged flavor to be positively delightful.  The salad was intended to accompany sauteed snapper but, true to form, we ate it with shrimp instead.

Recipe by Cooking Light, January/February 2010

• 2 oranges
• 1 medium fennel bulb with stalks
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Peel and section oranges over a bowl, reserving 2 tablespoons juice. Thinly slice fennel bulb; chop 1 teaspoon fronds. Discard stalks. Place orange sections and sliced fennel in a medium bowl. Combine reserved juice, fronds, olive oil, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over fennel mixture; toss well to coat.  Serve with your choice of simply prepared seafood.

Yield: 4 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not Given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 30 minutes

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Honey, Lemon, and Thyme Dressing

Growing up, I viewed brussels sprouts in an extremely negative light. They stank up the house when my mom boiled them, and if I was ever brave enough to actually put one in my mouth, I definitely didn't give it a fair chance to impress. However, in the past couple of years I've come around and realized that they can be one of the most delicious vegetables out there. Maybe it was the brussels sprouts with prosciutto breadcrumbs at Pizzeria Mozza, or the brussels sprouts salad at La Grande Orange... It seems like every time I order brussels sprouts at a restaurant they're amazing. The Gastronomer is a fan as well, so I didn't hesitate to choose this recipe as a side dish for one of her birthday meals. I had never made brussels sprouts at home before, but they turned out to be just as good as in restaurants! As far as vegetable dishes go, this one is just about perfect. Simple, sweet, well-balanced, and even, dare I say, addictive?

Recipe from Olives and Oranges by Sara Jenkins and Mindy Fox, reprinted in Food and Wine's Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes (Vol. 12).

• 2.5 pounds brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Preheat the oven to 400°F.  In a large bowl, toss the brussels sprouts with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper.  Spread the brussels sprouts on a large rimmed baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, until brown and tender.

In a medium serving bowl, whisk the honey with the lemon juice, thyme, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add the brussels sprouts, toss to coat, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not Given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 50 minutes
Substitutions: The original recipe recommended a 30 minute cooking time, but my brussels sprouts were well-browned and plenty tender in about 22 minutes.  The authors note that it is a good idea to try to purchase sprouts of uniform size so that they will all take the same amount of time to cook.

Herbed Carrot Salad

When I was looking for a recipe to try from Flatbreads & Flavors by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, the obvious choice would have been to attempt a flatbread. However, for some reason I settled on this selection from the "flavors" portion of the book instead. I think it was the mint--I'm obsessed with herbs. I planned to make this salad as part of a four-course birthday meal for The Gastronomer. When she heard the menu, she asked, "Are you sure you didn't choose that recipe for yourself...?" Indeed, I'm the one who is fond of carrots and the aforementioned mint, so perhaps she had a point. Fortunately, when we sat down to sample the salad, we both LOVED it. I'll definitely be making this one again in short order.

The recipe calls for freshly ground cumin--I'm sure that would make the flavor even bolder, but I used the ground stuff and it still turned out great. I did take advantage of the opportunity to bust out our rarely-used mortar and pestle to muddle the herbs.

Recipe from Flatbreads and Flavors: A Baker's Atlas.

• 1 teaspoon cumin seed [or ~3/4 teaspoon ground cumin]
  
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
  
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• pinch of sugar
• 3 tablespoons plain yogurt [I used Trader Joe's nonfat Greek yogurt]
  
• 2 pounds carrots, thinly sliced and steamed until just tender
• Fresh ground black pepper
• Leaf lettuce for serving

You will need a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, a bowl or glass jar with a lid, and a medium-sized bowl.

In a mortar, grind the cumin seed to a coarse powder. Add the cilantro, mint, and salt, and pound and blend well. Transfer to a bowl or glass jar. Add the oil, vinegar, and sugar and mix well. Alternatively, using a spice grinder, grind the cumin seed. Transfer to a bowl or glass jar and stir in the herbs and salt, pressing the herbs with the back of a spoon to crush them. Add the oil, vinegar, and sugar and mix well. Let stand in a cool place, well sealed for up to 24 hours to allow the flavors to blend.

To prepare the salad, stir the yogurt into the dressing. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl, and add the carrots and pepper to taste. Toss to coat the carrots well. The salad can be served immediately or refrigerated for up to two hours; bring to room temperature before serving. To serve, make a bed of leaf lettuce on a medium-sized plate, and mount the carrots onto the lettuce.

Yield: 6 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour (not counting time for the dressing to marinate)
Substitutions: We sauteed/steamed the carrots with a bit of water in a skillet with a lid on it. The original recipe said to steam the carrots for five minutes, but we found that they were still very crispy at this stage. The Gastronomer likes her carrots pretty soft, so we ended up cooking them much longer.

Stuffing with Red Mustard Greens

After valiantly cooking our way through our leafy CSA box for a solid week, we had used up the bok choy, tatsoi, Siberian kale, broccolini, romaine, arugula, turnip, radishes, and cilantro, but one stubborn vegetable remained. With their shockingly intense horseradish-like flavor, red mustard greens are a fascinating item, but not one that I would want to put in my mouth on a regular basis. The Gastronomer and I couldn't imagine a dish that they wouldn't ruin. Nevertheless, we had come this far and didn't want to waste anything, so I scoured the internet and found this stuffing recipe.

I was rather terrified to taste it when I finished, but was pleasantly surprised when I did. It was truly an excellent stuffing, with plenty of satisfying flavor despite the omission of sausages or the like. The taste of the greens was significantly tempered by cooking, and the raisins (which I used instead of currants) added a nice sweet balance. If you ever find yourself in the possession of some red mustard greens and wasabi is your thing, then by all means use them in a salad--otherwise, this recipe will do quite nicely for a mild alternative.

Recipe by Bon Appetit, November 2009, courtesy of Epicurious.

• 1 1-pound loaf pain rustique or other rustic country-style bread
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves; 1 pressed, 1 minced
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, divided
• 1/3 cup pine nuts
• 2 cups chopped onions
• 6 cups coarsely chopped stemmed red mustard greens
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 cups turkey stock or low-salt chicken broth
• 1/3 cup dried currants
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel
  

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Cut bottom crust and short ends off bread and discard. Cut bread into 3/4- inch cubes; place in large bowl. Whisk oil and pressed garlic clove in small bowl. Add to bread cubes; toss to coat. Spread bread cubes in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet; sprinkle with salt and freshly ground pepper. Bake until slightly crunchy, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly, then return to same large bowl.

Generously butter 13 x 9 x 2-inch glass baking dish. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat.

Add pine nuts; stir until golden, about 2 minutes. Add to bowl with bread cubes. Melt remaining 3 tablespoons butter in same skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions; sauté until brown, about 10 minutes. Add mustard greens, thyme, and minced garlic; sauté until greens are wilted and tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to bowl with bread cubes. Add 2 cups stock to same skillet; boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 5 minutes. Pour stock over bread mixture and toss. Mix in currants and lemon peel. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Transfer stuffing to prepared baking dish.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake stuffing uncovered until heated through and starting to brown on top, 20 to 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes and serve.

Yield: 6-8 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not Given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Substitutions: I didn't have any lemons on hand and left out the lemon peel--I figured it wouldn't matter too much since 1/2 teaspoon is a pretty small amount of zest to start out with. I also used dried thyme instead of fresh thyme (1/3 the amount) and raisins instead of currants. I used 2/3 of a leftover French baguette we had for the bread and cut down the other proportions accordingly.

Braised Turnip Greens with Turnips and Apples

Although we appreciate fresh local produce and support small family farms in theory, The Gastronomer and I have a notoriously poor track record when it comes to finding our way to farmer's markets on the weekends. Thus I recently decided it was time for us to try a Community Supported Agriculture delivery program. When Christmas came around, along with the hilarious new Stuff White People Like book, I gave The Gastronomer a present to help us be better white people: a subscription to the South Central Farmers CSA co-op. As part of the gift, I promised that I would take charge of figuring out what to do with the bi-weekly bounty of fruit and vegetables.

I picked up our first box at a local church on the Sunday after New Years. We were excited to open it--I expected to find a variety of beautiful winter produce: apples, oranges, squash, brussels sprouts, kale, etc. What we got was a truly staggering quantity of leafy greens, and little else. The lone elements of color in the box came from a large turnip and a bunch of small radishes. It was a bit disappointing, and quite intimidating trying to imagine how we would ever find a way to use it all.

After a bit of research, we had identified all but one of the vegetables in the box, and had started to come across some enticing recipes. I started my farm-fresh cooking adventure by using the turnip and its greens in this recipe. It turned out to be a really fantastic way to get our vitamins while beginning to make a dent in the pile of greenery on our kitchen table. To reach something close to 2 lbs of greens, I added our entire stash of the mystery vegetable, which looked something like green chard but lacked its thick white stem.To help resolve the mystery of the leaf's identity, I'm breaking with tradition and publishing a Stellar Recipes post with two photos.



Any ideas?

Recipe adapted from Gourmet, November 2009, courtesy of Epicurious.

• 2 pounds turnip greens or other braising greens (kale, collards, etc.), tough stems discarded and greens torn into small pieces
• 1 (3/4-to 1-pound) ham hock, rinsed
• 3 1/2 cups water
• 3 Gala apples
• 1 1/4 pounds turnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Bring greens, ham hock, water, and 1/4 teaspoon salt to a boil in a large heavy pot. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until greens are almost tender, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel apples and cut into 1/2-inch pieces.

Add turnips and apples to greens with vinegar, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper and cook at a bare simmer, covered, stirring and turning ham hock occasionally, until turnips and apples are tender but not falling apart, about 20 minutes more.

Remove from heat and strain the liquid from the pot into another saucepan. Boil the liquid to reduce it to 1/3 or 1/4 of its original volume, then pour it back into the original pot with the greens. Stir in butter and salt to taste.

Remove ham hock and finely chop any tender meat, discarding skin, bone, and tough meat. Add chopped meat to pot.

Yield: 8 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 2 hours. It took me forever to wash and tear up the huge quantity of greens--being fresh from the farm, they were quite dirty.
Substitutions: Boiling away some of the liquid was suggested by several reviewers on Epicurious. The dish would have been awfully watery otherwise.

Middle Eastern Lentil Soup

For days when you feel like eating extra healthy, you really can't beat a lentil soup. Every 35 g serving of green lentils has 11 g of fiber, 10 g of protein, and no fat. Pretty incredible. I chose this recipe, courtesy of fatfreevegan.com, because of it contains a stellar array of spices---I always get excited about diving into our spice cabinet. When I first finished making it and dug into a bowl, I found it to be a bit unsatisfying; the total absence of sweetness or richness hit me harder than I had anticipated. However, it held up better the next day, when I wasn't so tired from cooking and in need of some truly hearty sustenance. It would make a meager entree, but as a side dish or replacing a salad before a meal, this soup is really quite delicious.

Recipe adapted from fatfreevegan.com

• 2 cups chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 zucchini, chopped in 1/4 - 1/2 inch pieces
• Other vegetables such as eggplant, if desired
  
• 5 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 1/2 cups lentils
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon sumac

In a large pot, sauté the onion and garlic in 1/2 cup of the water for about 3 minutes. Add the zucchini and any additional vegetables and saute for 3 more minutes. Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute. Add the lentils and the remaining water. Simmer the soup for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked (the time may depend on what kind of lentils you are using). Stir in the salt, and add the parsley. Just before serving, stir in the lemon juice or sprinkle each bowl of soup with a little sumac.

Yield: 4 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish time: Not given
Actual Start-to-Finish time: 1 hour 5 minutes
Substitutions: The original recipe called for red lentils, but I couldn't find any so I used normal yellow/green ones, which are much more fibrous anyway. I didn't have any coriander or turmeric on hand, and I decided that purchasing one new spice for this simple weeknight recipe was enough. Deeming turmeric to be more important (if nothing else, the color of the dish would have been totally different without it), I left out the coriander. I added a bit of extra cumin to replace it. I took the easy way out and used lemon juice instead of sumac. If I make this again, I might try to find some---I'm curious what it's like.

Thyme Popovers

Popovers are pretty cool. Four simple ingredients, flour, butter, eggs, and milk, are transformed into magically airy treats that melt in your mouth like few bread products known to man. Add a bit of salt and minced herbs, and you have an irresistible snack. Even though it was 10:30 p.m. when these came out of the oven, The Gastronomer and I couldn't help eating three each.

Getting them to turn out right is a little tricky--it took me three tries to get satisfactory results, but even the "failures" tasted good. It's important to have the eggs and milk at room temperature before mixing in the flour, and the muffin tins must be coated with cooking spray and then dusted with flour or Parmesan cheese. The popovers' buoyant spirit is such that they try to climb right out of the pan as they cook, and if only cooking spray is used, they can slip and flip over on their sides, ultimately rising crooked. This happened to my first two batches; a dusting of flour on the third try seemed to anchor them enough that they could rise straight. Opening the oven door too early can also cause them to cave in. If you're hard core, there is such thing as a "popover pan", which really maximizes the rising effect.

Recipe adapted from Cooking Light, December 2008.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup 2% milk
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon butter, melted
• Cooking spray
  

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine milk and eggs in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk until blended; let stand 30 minutes. Combine flour, thyme, and salt, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add flour mixture to milk mixture, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in melted butter.

3. Coat 8 popover cups or muffin tins with cooking spray, then dust them with flour. Divide batter evenly among the prepared tins. Bake at 375° for 30-35 minutes (40 minutes for popover cups) or until golden. Serve immediately.

Yield: 8 popovers
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Substitutions: The original recipe called for dusting the popover cups with grated parmesan cheese, and then preheating the cups in the oven for 5 minutes before filling them with batter. I originally guessed that the preheating was just intended to melt the cheese, but I've seen the technique described elsewhere, so there must be more to it than that. In any case, I didn't bother with preheating my muffin tin and my popovers turned out fine, but perhaps they could have been even fluffier. Dusting with flour instead was an idea that came from the popover recipe in my mom's classic Joy of Cooking.

Rosemary Cream Biscuits

These are great biscuits--certainly not the healthiest bread product out there, but simple and just about perfect in taste and texture. They are extremely easy to make--the step that took me the longest was picking and cutting up the fresh rosemary.

The bottoms of the biscuits were browning a bit too fast, so I had to flip them over for the final five minutes of cooking. This led to a somewhat flattened appearance, but it was worth it to avoid a burnt layer.

Recipe by The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for the counter
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons minced rosemary or other fresh herbs
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and herbs together in a large bowl. Stir in the cream with a wooden spoon until the dough forms, about 30 seconds. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and gather into a ball. Knead briefly until smooth--avoid overworking the dough, as it will make the biscuits tough.

Pat the dough into a 3/4-inch-thick circle. Cut the biscuits into rounds using a 2 1/2-inch biscuit cutter of into 8 wedges using a knife. Place the biscuits on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Yield: 8 biscuits
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 30 minutes
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 45 minutes
Substitutions: I found the dough to be extremely dry and crumbly, so I ended up adding an extra ~1/4 cup of cream.

Scallion Crepes

These crepes from Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine go wonderfully with Mandarin Pork with Brandy-Infused Hoisin Sauce, and they’re hard to resist eating alone too! They have a nice soft texture, with excellent flavor enhanced by the salt and scallions. I found that it was hard to get both sides of the crepes to look nice and golden brown (the appearance might have been improved if I had chopped the scallions smaller so that the batter was less lumpy), but the taste was right on.

Recipe by Susanna Foo Chinese Cuisine

• 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ½ cups water
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon coarse or kosher salt
• 1 cup finely chopped scallions
• About ½ cup corn oil for frying
  

Combine the flour, water, eggs, and salt in a food processor and process until all the ingredients are thoroughly combined. Pour the batter into a medium bowl. Or to mix by hand, whisk the water and eggs together in a large bowl, add the flour and the salt, and mix well.

Add the scallions and mix thoroughly.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat in an 8-inch nonstick skillet. When the oil is medium-hot, ladle ¼ cup of the batter into the skillet. Tilt the pan so that the batter spreads evenly. Cook until the crepe is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes, then turn and brown on the second side, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a platter and repeat, using the remaining batter and oil as needed.

Serve warm; the crepes are best when freshly made.

Yield: 10-12 crepes
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: Not given
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 40 minutes
Substitutions: I used vegetable oil to fry the crepes, which worked fine.

Aromatic Curried Couscous

I'm a big fan of couscous, although I don't cook with it very often. I like the dry texture, kind of like Vietnamese com tam, and the Moroccan seasonings commonly used with it. Thus, when I found this recipe in The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, it seemed like a surefire winner. The bacon spinach salad I served before it was a tough act to follow, but the couscous held its own, displaying a sufficiently complex flavor profile to be enjoyed on its own while complementing my seafood entree nicely. Incidentally, I was informed by the Test Kitchen that couscous is technically not a grain but a pasta. Nevertheless, I am putting it in the "grains" category, as they did in the cookbook, because, well, you can't deny that it tastes and feels like a grain.

Recipe by The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 shallots, minced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon curry powder (for a little fusion action I used Vietnamese curry powder)
• 1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/3 cup raisins
• 1 cup couscous
• 1/4 cup minced fresh mint
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in the garlic and curry powder and cook for about 15 seconds, then pour in the chicken broth and add the raisins. Bring to a boil, then stir in the couscous. Remove the pot from the heat and cover it. After 5 minutes, the couscous will be cooked; take off the lid and stir in the mint and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Yield: 4 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 15 minutes
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 30 minutes

Sauteed Buttery Peas with Mint and Feta Cheese

After spending my first 24 years enjoying the fruits of others' labor in the kitchen while rarely making my own contribution to the dinner spread, my culinary career was jump-started when I decided to give The Gastronomer five 3-course dinners as a Christmas present last year. The menus were taken almost exclusively from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, a fantastic, foolproof resource for the beginning cook. These peas were served alongside salmon and leek pot pies for the main course of Menu #1.

Recipe by The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 shallot, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 pound frozen peas (3 cups)
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
  
• salt and pepper

Melt the butter in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallot, mint, and garlic and cook until softened. Stir in the peas (do not thaw beforehand) and the sugar. The Test Kitchen authors recommend frozen peas for their consistent flavor and ease of use. Cover and cook until the peas are heated through, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle with the feta cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Yield: 4 servings
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 10 minutes
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 20 minutes
Substitutions: We ate some of the peas without the cheese (shown above), as we found that it overwhelmed the flavor of the mint, but both ways were delicious.