Tzatziki Cucumbers

Either as a sauce or a dip—tzatziki is one of the classic cooling combinations of cucumber and yogurt, Indian raita being another. Though tzatziki is Greek in origin, it marries easily with anything form the Meditteranean world. I like tzatziki as a sauce with grilled falafel patties in pita pockets. You don’t have to follow this recipe exactly—use more yogurt and different herbs for your own condiment creation.

2 medium cucumbers, peeled and seeds removed

1 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice

8 ounces Greek yogurt

1 tablespoon chopped mint

Grate or chop the cucumbers and mix with the garlic, oil, lemon juice, yogurt and mint. Chill.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups sauce.

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Salad of Bianca Riccia Endive with Spiced Figs, Gorgonzola Cheese and Walnuts

We are getting a new (to us) green in our box this week. It’s one that’s known and used widely in Italy, but American gardeners are just discovering bianca riccia’s tolerance for cool weather and then hot—like it was in June and is now. Sweet and bitter all in the same mouthful is a wonderful way to enjoy this unique green. Thank you Anna Thomas for the recipe inspiration.

8 ounces dried figs, cut in half

2  cups dry red wine

3 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1/3 cup sugar

1 stick cinnamon

1 teaspoon plus ½ teaspoon anise seeds

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

zest of 1 orange

2 tablespoons orange juice

¼ teaspoon Real Salt

1 bunch bianca riccia endive, washed and trimmed

¼ red onion, cut into slivers

4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese

½ cup walnut pieces, lightly toasted

Freshly ground black pepper

In a non-corrosive saucepan mix the wine, 3 tablespoons of the vinegar, sugar, cinnamon and 1 teaspoon of the anise seeds. Heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the figs and simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the figs to steep in their marinade.

In a bowl, whisk the remaining tablespoon of balsamic vinegar with the olive oil, orange zest, orange juice, and salt. Crush the remaining anise seeds and stir them in. Taste and drizzle in a tablespoon or so of the fig marinade, as desired.

Tear the salad greens into pieces and toss with the slivered red onion. Scatter pieces of the cheese and the walnuts over the top. Drizzle with some of the dressing and toss everything together gently. (You will likely not use all of the dressing.)

Arrange on chilled plates or in a large salad bowl. And garnish with the marinated figs, about 4 halves per person.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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Basil and Cilantro

Sometime the herbs are what are left from the box when next CSA week rolls around. But if you took them out of the bag last week and placed them in a small jar of water, refrigerated or decorating your kitchen counter top, cilantro, basil and chives are just about as sprightly as a week ago. I try to be aggressive and use up the beet greens or any other leafy greens first, before the weekend, because I know I can continue to enjoy the herbs right into the next week. And there are so many international dishes that benefit and shine from their pungent flavor—from Latin American and Caribbean to Thai and Indian.

For us the basil is easy because we squirrel it away made into pesto. I keep walnuts and fresh Romano cheese on hand this time of year in hopes that John will bless us with his beautiful basil. If I feel like I am swimming in cilantro, I turn it into Latino pesto with toasted pumpkin seeds.

About a week ago I was cruising the deli counter at the Salt Lake Whole Foods and spied a fruit and jicama salad with a cilantro lime dressing. I was thinking about making such a salad over the weekend when supper in a hurry became a priority and since we had been gifted some beautiful farm fresh eggs—chilaquiles frittata (with ¼ cup of chopped cilantro) made the cut. Here is last night’s supper, which uses almost ½ cup of cilantro, a bit of basil and spinach greens as well as last week’s scapes. Deborah Madison once again provided the inspiration. In her book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, she describes this as a Vietnamese dish, though I am not sure about my version with turmeric curry powder and almonds.

Tofu in Curry-Coconut Sauce

1 pound firm tofu, cut into cubes

1 huge handful fresh spinach or other green, thick stems removed

1 tablespoon coconut oil or peanut oil

1 small onion

1 large handful garlic scapes

2 carrots

1 to 2 teaspoons Thai curry paste, red or green

1 to 2 teaspoons curry powder

½ cup canned unsweetened coconut milk

½ cup vegetable stock

½ teaspoon Real Salt

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped basil leaves

Pinch cayenne pepper

1/3 cup chopped roasted whole almonds or peanuts

Bring a saucepan of lightly salted water to a boil. Gently drop the tofu cubes into the water and let them simmer gently for 5 minute. Remove the tofu with a slotted spoon onto a plate draped with a couple of paper towels.

Drop the spinach leaves into the simmering water and blanch a minute or so. Drain and chop coarsely. Set aside.

Slice the onion thinly. As you would with asparagus, snap the tops and bottoms off the scapes, then cut them into ½-inch lengths. Cut each carrot in half lengthwise and then slice into 1/8-inch half moons.

Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet or wok. When it is hot, add the onion and scapes and stir-fry for a minute. Add the carrots and stir-fry a few minutes. Stir in the curry paste and powder, then add the coconut milk, vegetable stock, salt and tofu.

Simmer several minutes, then stir in the spinach, 1/3 cup of the cilantro and the basil. Season to taste with more salt and cayenne pepper.

Serve over quinoa rice*, garnished with the remaining cilantro and chopped almonds.

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

* Quinoa rice is half quinoa and half rice, steamed as you would for rice.

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Jicama Fruit Salad with Cilantro and Lime

Whole Foods mixed grated coconut into their deli salad—my inspiration for this recipe. This would be a fabulous dessert for a Mexican-theme menu.

1 cup chopped fresh pineapple

2 oranges

1 ripe mango

8 ounces jicama

2 limes

2 tablespoons agave nectar or sugar

3 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro leaves

Put the pineapple in a bowl, making sure to remove any eyes. Remove the peel and white pith from the oranges: with an orange standing on its cut bottom, slice down the sides, following the orange’s contour, completely removing the outside white pith as well as the orange peel. Remove the segments by cutting between the fruit and the membrane. Discard any seeds and add the segments to the pineapple.

To cut the mango into cubes, hold it with one of the more tapered sides (the sides that won’t lie flat) on a cutting board and slice lengthwise along the mango’s large seed. Cut the other side off the seed. Cut a cross-hatch into the pulp of each these sides, being careful not to cut down into the peel. Turn the diced pulp inside out in the skin and slice out the diced pulp. Cut the remaining pulp from the mango seed, then peel and dice it. Add the mango to the bowl.

Peel the jicama and slice it into rounds. Then slice again into narrow strips. Add to the bowl.

Grate the zest from the limes and add to the fruit. Juice the limes. In another bowl, whisk the lime juice with the agave nectar until it is mixed. Add the cilantro and pour over the fruit.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

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Savory Muffins with Dill

another muffin recipe on muffintalk–imagine that! Pastry Chef Mary Cech, who lives in Park City, has a Sour Cream and Dill Muffin recipe in her recently published cookbook, Savory Baking. Mary  suggest the muffins for breakfast, split and broiled until golden, then spread with soft cream cheese and topped with slices of tomato and smoked salmon. She makes hers with rich sour cream. I’ve substituted yogurt and cottage cheese for the sour cream, I think making these muffins equally as delicious as Mary’s yet higher in protein and lower in fat. Try them for dinner with a salad or soup.

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 ½  teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 ½ teaspoons Real Salt

½ cup finely chopped fresh dill

2 eggs

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

¾ cup Nancy’s lowfat cottage cheese

¾ cup plain lowfat yogurt

Dill seeds for garnish, optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat 12 muffin cups with melted butter or spray generously with cooking spray.

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together into a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk together the chopped dill, eggs, melted butter, cottage cheese and yogurt. Pour the dill mixture over the flour mixture and gently blend together. The dough will be relatively stiff for a muffin.

Divide the batter evenly between each muffin cup and sprinkle the tops with a few dill seeds, if desired.

Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until the tops of the muffins are golden brown and they spring back when touched with a finger. Cool for about 5 minutes, then remove from the pan. Serve warm.

Makes 12 muffins.

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Roasted Golden Beets and their Greens with Garlic Orange Dressing

This week we enjoy the first of farmer John’s garlic by roasting an entire head of garlic in the same casserole as the beets; turning the garlic into delicious buttery goo and infusing the beets with garlic essence.   I love these sweet roasted beets, juxtaposed with their barely bitter greens and tangy salty feta cheese–sweet, sour, salty and bitter all in one bite.  Make this recipe soon after you get the beets, because beet greens deteriorate more quickly than other greens, and the cheapatarian in me does not want to see them go to waste. Spread crackers or crostini with the roasted garlic cloves not used in the dressing.

1 pound golden beets

1 head garlic

3 tablespoons plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon Real Salt, or to taste

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice

1 tablespoon minced onion

Pinch cayenne pepper

¼ cup feta cheese, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Trim the beet tops, leaving a 1-inch tail, reserving the top greens. Scrub the beets. Break the garlic up into individual cloves, but don’t peel them. Put the beets and the garlic cloves in a small casserole, add about ½ cup of water and cover with a lid or foil. Bake until a knife slips easily into the largest beet, about 1 hour; the time will vary depending on the size of the beets.

Meanwhile tear the beet greens off the stems, discarding any yellowed or wilted greens. Cut them into 1-inch ribbons. Set aside.

When the beets are tender, let them cool enough so you can slip off the skins, then trim the tips and tails and cut the beets in wedges or slices.

Squeeze about half the cloves of the soft, cooked garlic into a bowl and mash it well with a fork. Add the 3 tablespoons of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, orange juice, minced onion, salt and cayenne, and whisk together well. Toss the beets with half of this dressing.

Heat the remaining olive oil in a skillet. Add the beet green ribbons. Cook and stir until the greens are wilted and tender to your bite. Toss in the remaining dressing. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer the greens to a serving plate.  Place the cut and dressed beets over the greens. Garnish with crumbled feta cheese, if desired

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Wilted Spinach and Green Lentil Salad

Wilted spinach salad walks the line between raw and Popeye-cooked spinach–you want to keep the integrity of the spinach leaves, just slightly wilted. Classic wilted spinach salad calls for hot bacon dressing and hard boiled eggs. Thanks to the Kerrygold cheese and butter people for the distinctive warm lentil preparation.

½ cup French green lentils

1 bay leaf

¼ teaspoon Real Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 cup very thinly sliced red onion

8 ounces fresh spinach leaves, washed and dried

1 tablespoon balsamic or sherry wine vinegar

3 tablespoons toasted pecans halves

Aged Kerrygold Cheddar cheese, optional

Rinse the lentils, sorting out any mini rocks. Put the lentils in a saucepan and cover with water at least 2 inches above the lentils. Add the bay leaf and salt and bring to a boil. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Be careful not to overcook them or they will loose their shape and texture. Drain, discarding the bay leaf. Toss with about half of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Keep warm.

Warm a non-stick skillet over very low heat. Add the remaining olive oil, and the red onions. Stir, keeping the heat low. Add the spinach leaves and lentils, all at once. Sprinkle on the vinegar and pecans. Gently toss until the spinach is just wilted and lightly coated with oil. Season with salt and pepper. Divide among individual serving plates. For the Kerrygold finish, shave the cheese, using a vegetable peeler, to garnish the top of the spinach and lentils . Serve immediately.

Makes 2 to 4 servings.

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