spring greens – dandelions.
April 9, 2013 § 4 Comments
Dandelion greens are a bit controversial around here. I guess it takes an acquired palette to enjoy them. I really enjoy them, others, maybe not. Dandelion greens are bitter. Every time I eat them I feel I am eating something really good for me. I noticed these purple stemmed dandelion greens at the market the other day. I was already inspired because I had just discovered a lovely blog, irenasdots, and found this recipe. I thought I should cook them according to Irena’s recipe. Once I brought the greens home I realized I forgot potatoes! Rather than run back out to the market I decided to use another method. The first time I had dandelion greens was in San Francisco and this is how it was prepared. Simply steamed, with a lemony garlic dressing. I do plan on revisiting the idea of the recipe with potatoes and boiled eggs…
What you will need:
- large bunch of dandelion greens, rinsed well
- 1/2 lemon
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- salt
Prepare lemon dressing. In a small bowl whisk together lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt.
Place 1/8 cup water and dandelions greens in a large skillet. Cover and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Drain. Transfer to a serving dish.
Drizzle lemon dressing on top and serve.
bitterly serves 4
buon appetite.
carrot soup w/carrot top pesto
April 6, 2013 § 7 Comments
The other day I had a huge bunch of carrots and being the soup person I am I went looking for a carrot soup recipe. I’m not a fan of curry or ginger in my carrot soup and up to then I really didn’t have it any other way. My usual “go to” soup recipe involves sautéing onion in olive oil, adding whatever vegetable I’m using, chicken broth and boiling for 15 minutes until vegetables are tender. Sometimes I use a hand blender to make it smooth, sometimes not. I decided to keep it simple and just do the “go to” method.
I remembered reading, at some point, the green tops of the carrots are edible. Well, I love pesto in my soup. I used the green tops to make a simple, garlicky pesto and topped the soup off with toasted pecans. Simply delicious.
What you will need:
- 1.5 lb. carrots with tops
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
- 1 quart broth, chicken or vegetable
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- salt
- 1/3 cup toasted pecans, chopped
Method
Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a soup pot, add onion and a little salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes until soft. Remove carrot tops, peel carrots (optional) and roughly chop and add to pot. Stir until carrots are well coated with onions, add broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat to medium and simmer until carrots are tender, about 15 minutes.
While carrots are cooking, either finely chop carrot tops or use a food processor and whizz until fine. Add the minced garlic, remainder of olive oil and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
Place 1/3 cup pecans in a non-stick skillet on medium high heat. Occasionally move the pecans around with a spatula until toasted, approximately 10 minutes.
Purée soup in a blender, working in batches, until smooth. Or use a hand blender directly in the soup pot.
Ladle into bowls and top with carrot-top pesto and toasted pecans.
serves 4.
buon appetite.
spring soup deux (potage aux primeurs)
April 3, 2013 § 7 Comments
I posted a spring soup a few weeks ago. Here is a second spring soup choice.
I stumbled across the most beautiful site today. Manger. All I could think was, stunning, charming, romantic, gorgeous. A recipe for a spring soup (potage aux primeurs) caught my eye and I knew right then I had to make it…tonight. I decided I wanted to experience the soup exactly how she created it. I would not go astray from her recipe. I went to the market and gathered all the ingredients. Sadly, fresh fava beans were not available, so, I had to omit them. Unswerving, I drove home looking forward to preparing what I thought will be a perfect soup with fresh, in season vegetables.
This soup and the spring soup I featured a few weeks ago are very similar. Particularly adding the whisked egg, to thicken, at the end. I thought the Manger soup was easier to put together and I especially loved the turnips. Turnip are so much lighter than potatoes. This soup brought such contentment. Very clean and fresh. This perfect soup is sincerely flawless.
I did add one ingredient. Fresh pea sprouts. I had them on hand from the other night and it was quite nice.
Thank you Manger for your recipe.
Ingredients:
- 2 leeks, white part only, cut in julienne strips
- 1 cup green peas (preferably fresh peas, but frozen are fine too)
- 1 cup fava beans (shelled)
- 1 large carrot, cut in julienne strips
- 2 turnips, diced finely
- 2 quarts chicken or vegetable stock
- A handful of celery leaves, chopped
- A handful of parsley, chopped (to be sprinkled on soup when served)
- Salt and black pepper, for seasoning
- 4 egg yolks
Croutons
- Half a stale baguette/ small country bread
- Olive oil
- Salt
- 1 garlic clove
Slice stale bread into small cubes. Place in a bowl, add the ground garlic, salt and drizzle with olive oil. Mix well. Place on a baking tray (lined with parchment paper) and place in pre-heated 350° oven.
For the soup
Wash all vegetables, slice and chop according to ingredients list. In a large pot, bring the stock to a boil and add all the vegetables. Turn the heat down and leave to simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
Whisk egg yolks in a small bowl, add a few tablespoons of the soup to blend. Take soup off the heat and add the egg yolks, making sure to whisk continuously to avoid any egg curdling.
Spoon soup into bowls, season with salt and pepper to your taste, sprinkle a few parsley leaves and croutons. Serve immediately.
Serves 4
buon appetite.
this potato soup will hug you…be comforted.
April 2, 2013 § 1 Comment
I thought twice about posting a potato soup today. I mean, after all…it is spring. Well, it is cloudy. It is 50° outside. I decided to post it anyway.
I am fond of tradition. And I love family recipes. So, years ago I called my mom-in-law and asked her what my guy’s favorite birthday dinner was when he was growing up. She said he always asked for potato soup. She dug around and found the recipe and here it is! It is nice to top it off with some crispy bacon and chives. I topped this particular one with crispy sage leaves. (Heat some olive oil in a non-stick skillet and cook whole sages leaves on both sides, using tongs to turn, until crispy. Salt them a little.)
What you will need for this dish:
- 4 russet potatoes
- 1 onion, any color
- little olive oil
- 3 celery stocks
- cube of butter
- 1/2 cup flour
- powered mustard
- 2 cups milk
- steak sauce (like A-1)
- 6 oz. cheddar cheese
- salt / pepper
- small handful of parsley
- crispy bacon…optional
- chives…optional
- sage leaves….optional
grandma’s potato soup
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion, any color, diced
- 1/2 cup celery, diced
- 4 russet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 4 cups boiling water
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 teaspoon powdered mustard
- 2 cups milk
- 3 tablespoons steak sauce
- 6 oz. cheddar cheese, shredded
- small handful of parsley, chopped fine
- salt / pepper
In a large pot heat the olive oil over med high heat and cook the onions and celery until softened. Add the potatoes and mix together coating the potatoes well. Season with salt and pepper. Continue cooking for 5 minutes. Add the boiling water, increase to high heat and bring back to a boil. Lower heat to a slow boil and continue to cook 15 minutes until potatoes are tender.
Meanwhile, melt the butter in a sauce pan. Whisk in the flour until smooth and thick. Stir in the mustard and add the milk continuing to whisk until a smooth sauce forms. Stir in the steak sauce.
When potatoes are tender pour the buttery sauce into the soup pot and stir well. Add cheddar cheese and parsley, stir until cheese is melted. Serve topped with your choice of crispy bacon, chives or crispy sage leaves. (or all three!)
Generously serves 4.
buon appetite!
chicken enchiladas
March 19, 2013 § 4 Comments
My first job was working in the kitchen of a mexican restaurant my neighbor owned. It was a tiny little place call El Burro. The place was chockfull from the time the doors were unlocked until the closed sign was turned. The owner would spend all day making tamales and she was the person out front serving tables and collecting the cash. There were only two of us in the kitchen. The cook and me. I was the dishwasher! This was quite an experience for a 15 year old. Yes, I was only 15! It was a summer job. I got to the point where I would show up early just so I could watch and learn how to prepare the frijoles. Everything was made from scratch. I enjoyed watching him stuff the chile rellenos, roll the enchiladas and prep all the fresh sideline (my made up word) condiments. He prepared his own enchilada sauce. I loved it so much I could drink it! It had an orange hue to it. And for years I would always wonder how he made it. I have not tried to make my own enchilada sauce, however, I have found one pretty close to the one he made. It’s Hatch. I buy the medium spiced one. It is orange and it is delicious! At El Burro he placed shredded iceberg lettuce and a dollop of mashed avocado on the side of the plate. Knowing the nutritional value is higher in the darker lettuces, I usually avoid iceberg. Except when I make enchiladas. The flavor takes me back to when I was a kid. My mom made iceberg lettuce salads with thousand island dressing. Since we don’t use the whole head of iceberg with the enchiladas, a few days later, I end up making a salad with it and mixing up some 1000 island! For the tortillas, I have used both corn and flour. I think either one is good.
The ingredient list appears a little lengthy. It’s a very easy process once you get it all together.
What you will need for this dish:
- 2 chicken breasts
- little olive oil
- 1 onion any color, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, pressed
- 1/2 serrano pepper, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chili powder, or more to your liking
- 1 tablespoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 lime
- 4 oz. shredded cheese, cheddar/jack blend
- 1/4 brick of cotija cheese
- 1 -15 oz. can chopped black olives
- 1-15 oz. can enchilada sauce-Hatch!
- bunch scallions, chopped
- bunch cilantro, finely chopped
- sprinkling of salt / pepper
- 10-12 good quality corn or flour tortillas
- 2 avocados, smashed
- 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
- cup of sour cream or greek yogurt (optional)
For the chicken. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a non-stick skillet over med-high heat. Add the chicken breast. Fully cook and brown the chicken great 5-7 minutes each side. Remove chicken to a cutting surface, let cool. Keep the olive oil/chicken bits concoction in the skillet.
While the chicken is cooking…
If you have one, use a food processor and chop the onion, garlic and serrano all together. Otherwise, dice, press and chop them. Using the same skillet the chicken was cooked in, cook onion mixture over medium high heat. Cook for 5 minutes until aromatic. Turn heat down to low.
Meanwhile, chop the chicken into small broken bits. Add chicken to the skillet, turn up heat to med high and mix well with the onions. Add chili, cumin, oregano, and smoked paprika. Mix and coat well. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lime on top, mix in well. Salt and pepper to taste. Sometimes I end up adding more spices. Especially chili powder after tasting. Turn off heat.
For the tortillas. Warm another non stick skillet on medium low heat. Heat each individual tortilla until warm and soft. Keep them on the side in a kitchen cloth. For a quicker, easier heating method, place your tortillas in enough foil to completely cover, sprinkle a few water droplets on top and place in 350° oven for 10 minutes. Water droplets keep tortillas moist.
Bring your shredded cheese, chopped olives, chopped scallions and cilantro to your work area.
Rolling your enchiladas. Using one tortilla at a time, layer two large tablespoons chicken, sprinkle cheese, olives, cilantro and scallions on top and roll. Place the rolled enchilada, open side down, onto a 9 x 12 baking dish. Continue the process until you have 8-10 enchiladas packed in tight. Pour enchilada sauce over the top drenching them all. Top with the left over olives, cilantro, scallions and a sprinkling of Cotijta cheese. Cover with foil, bake 30 minutes in a 350° oven.
Uncover and let cool for 10 minutes. Serve with shredded lettuce, spoonful of smashed avocado and a dollop of sour cream or greek yogurt.
Serves 4 generously
buen apetito
COTTAGE GROVE HOUSE 