Sunday, August 21, 2022

Tomato, chard and spinach with toasted almonds

 From Ottelenghi Simple

Serve room temperature or warm.  Serve over a grain.  Will try cooking with the lid off next time to try to avoid the chard turning dark green instead of bright (according to FOK). Lime with herbs was refreshing, but will try to better balance dill with mint.  It's much easier to get a large amount of dill from a bunch!

INGREDIENTS:

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1/2 tsp paprika

1.5 tsp caraway seeds

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

28 oz plum tomatoes

1 lb 2 oz Swiss chard, stalks thinly sliced and leaves roughly chopped

salt

4.5 oz spinach, roughly shredded

 2 limes, finely zest to  get 1 tsp and juice for 2 Tbsp

1.75 cups mint, roughly chopped

1.75 cups dill, roughly chopped (don't overdo it with this; balance with mint)

8 green onions, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces

DIRECTIONS:

1) Place a large saute pan with a lid over medium heat with 2 Tbsp of the oil, the almonds, and paprika.  Fry for 2-3 minutes, until the almonds are golden brown, then transfer to a bowl, discarding the oil once cooked.

2) Return the pan to medium-high heat with the remaining 2 Tbsp oil.  Once hot, add the caraway and garlic and fry for 1 minute until they start to sizzle and brown.  Add the tomatoes with their juice, chard, and 3/4 tsp of salt and stir through, crushing the tomatoes as you go.  Cover the pan (?) and continue to cook for 20 minutes, stirring every once in a while until the chard wilts and the tomatoes break down.  Remove from the heat, stir in the spinach, lime zest, lime juice, the mint, dill and green onions.  Serve with almonds sprinkled on top.

Can serve with grains, with or without yogurt, perhaps. 

Stuffed zucchini with pine nut salsa

 From Ottelenghi Simple - it's not so simple, but the salsa was simple and is delicious, especially to dip the leftover sourdough bread into.

Use large zucchini, mix of yellow and green, make the stuffing a day ahead, then can quickly stuff and grill (bake) the zucchini.  For the 'breadcrumbs', I toasted a few slices of sourdough, then tore small pieces, snacked on most of the crust, but did include some.  Liked the texture of the bread in the stuffing. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 large zucchini, halved lengthwise (1 lb, 2 oz

1/2 garlic clove, minced

1 large egg, beaten

1.5 oz (40g) Parm or pecorino, finely grated (I used Nutritional Yeast)

scant 1 cup/40 g fresh sourdough breadcrumbs, crust left on if soft

salt

3.5 oz cherry tomatoes, quartered

DIRECTIONS:

1) Preheat oven to 475 (I used 450)

2) Hollow out the zucchinis (I used a grapefruit spoon, careful to 'draw' the outline, then scoop), leaving 1/2 inch on all sides.  Transfer the flesh to a sieve and squeeze and discard as much liquid as you can.  Put the 1 cup or so into a medium bowl and stir in garlic, egg, Parm/nutritional yeast, breadcrumbs and 1/4 tsp salt.  Use your hands to crush the tomatoes well, then add them to the zucchini mix.  Stir to combine.

3) In a separate bowl, mix the lemon zest, oregano, and pine nuts.  Stir half of this into the zucchini and set the rest aside for the salsa.

4) Place the hollowed zucchini on a medium baking sheet or ovenproof dish, hollowed side facing up.  Drizzle 1 Tbsp of oil in total over the zucchini and season with 1/8 tsp salt in total.  Spoon the zucchini mix back into the hollows and bake for 15 minutes, until the filling is set and golden brown.

5) While they are baking, make the salsa.  Add the lemon juice, remaining 2 Tbsp oil and 1/8 tsp salt to the bowl of oregano and pine nuts.  Let the zucchini cool a little.  Spoon the salsa on top, sprinkle with oregano leaves, and serve.  

Five Spice peach and raspberry salad

 From Ottelenghi Simple

The peaches were delicious in this dressing.  Didn't taste the raspberries much.  Very simple to prepare.  

I had a lot of basil, so I tried it ...  skip it!  Maybe mint?  Or just the way it is.


The recipe recommends peaches that are not too ripe so the salad is not TOO sweet.  Works well at a barbecue.  Serves 4 as a side

INGREDIENTS:

1.5 Tbsp cider vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup

1/4 tsp Chinse 5-spice powder

1 Tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, thinly sliced

salt

3.5 oz raspberries

3 firm peaches, pits removed, 1/4 inch wedges (2 cups)

2 cups watercress

1/4 head radicchio, cut into 3/4 inch slices (2 cups)

DIRECTIONS:

1) In a large bowl, mix the vinegar, maple syrup, 5-spice, oil and shallot with a rounded 1/4 tsp salt.  

2) Add the berries, lightly crushing them with the back of a fork, then add the peaches, watercress, and radicchio.  Mix well and serve.