appetizer

Savory Blue Corn Muffins!

Jennifer 1 Comment

blue corn muffins

One of the major benefits of living in New York City is the food and a restaurant I sorely miss is Bobby Flay’s Mesa Grill, which closed years ago due to a ridiculous rent hike. Somehow it came up in conversation with my parents not too long ago that we used to love going to Mesa Grill for brunch. Upon ordering, they would bring out the best bread basket, filled with a variety of delicious baked goods. There would always be a cinnamon sugar coffee cake, tiny chive biscuits, and blue corn muffins, served with a pepper jam. The blue corn muffins always stood out because of their unique appearance and taste; they were half yellow corn and half blue corn. This recipe is completely blue corn**, but in order to get that striking effect, you could simply do ¾ cup yellow corn and ¾ cup blue corn and halve the other ingredients to mix in two separate bowls. Then when baking, you simply fill the muffin cups with half of each. Either way, they’re delicious and perfect for your next brunch gathering. Enjoy!

Yield: 12 regular muffins

Ingredients:
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup finely diced onion
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 cup milk
4 large eggs
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper
2 jalapeno peppers, finely diced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn, thawed
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro leaves (optional)
1 1/2 cups blue cornmeal (can substitute yellow)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar

Procedure:

1. Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Grease or line muffin pan.

2. In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add the onions and garlic and cook until soft. Allow to cool.

3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, bell pepper, jalapeno, corn and cilantro (if using). Whisk in the cooled butter mixture.

4. In a separate bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar. Mix into the liquid mixture.

5. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin slots and bake for 20 minutes or until set, turning the pan once for even baking. If making mini muffins, bake for 10 minutes or until set.

**Bob’s Red Mill has blue corn meal. This can usually be found at Whole Foods; otherwise a reasonable place to order online from is iHerb.com, which is where I bought mine.

Adapted from Bobby Flay’s Blue Corn Muffins recipe

 

Butternut Squash Soup!

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butternut-squash-soup

I made this soup as part of our Thanksgiving feast and wanted to share the very simple recipe. Although there are few ingredients, this soup is truly delicious and perfect for autumn!

Ingredients:
1 (2-3 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and diced into 1” chunks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
6 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
pinch of nutmeg
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:
1. In a large pot, melt butter or add oil. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 8 minutes.
2. Add squash and stock.
3. Bring to a simmer and cook until squash is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
4. Remove squash chunks with slotted spoon and place in blender to puree.
5. Return blended squash to pot and stir.
6. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper.
7. Enjoy!

 

 

 

Summer Bean Salad with Fregola!

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summer bean salad with fregola

Fregola is an oven-toasted Sardinian pasta, shaped like little pearls. A special pasta-making method, using bronze drawplates give it a rough, porous texture that captures sauces and dressings very well. If you can’t find fregola, you could substitute Israeli couscous. This shallot dressing is so delicious, as the shallots are cooked slowly in oil to bring out their natural sweetness. Be sure to mix in the dressing while the pasta is still warm, as it will be better absorbed. This is the perfect summer salad to bring to your next barbecue or potluck!

Ingredients:

Dressing:
2 large shallots, chopped
¼ cup avocado oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons vegetable broth
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
¼ teaspoon salt

Salad:
1 cup fregola
½ pound green beans, trimmed and blanched
½ pound yellow wax beans, trimmed and blanched
½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
½ teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. For the dressing: Place the shallots and avocado oil in a small saucepan over low heat and cook gently until completely soft, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.
2. In a food processor, add the cooled shallots and oil, the apple cider vinegar, broth, mustard, honey, and salt. Pulse until the shallots are finely chopped and the dressing is thick. Set aside.
3. For the salad: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the fregola and cook for 8-9 minutes or until cooked through. Drain well, then place in a large bowl. While the fregola is still warm, add the dressing and toss to coat. Allow the fregola to cool slightly before adding the green beans, wax beans, tomatoes, basil and salt; toss gently to coat.

fregola

Socca Flatbread!

Jennifer 2 Comments

socca flatbread

Socca originates from Provence, France and the neighboring region of Liguria, Italy. It is similar to a large pancake, but savory and naturally gluten-free. These can be topped with just about anything and are a great brunch idea. On this particular day, I was making them for breakfast, so I added an egg, ramps, arugula, and roasted tomatoes with a little balsamic drizzle. Be sure to add enough oil to the pan, so that the socca will get crispy. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
2 ¼ cups chickpea flour
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking
Salt

1. Whisk together chickpea flour, olive oil, and 2 cups of water. Season with 2 big pinches of salt.
2. Heat an 8-inch nonstick pan over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil and when hot, add in about ¼ cup of the batter. Cook for 3-5 minutes, or until the bottom is crispy and the top is almost set. Carefully flip the socca and cook for another minute.
3. Transfer to plate and repeat with remaining batter.
4. Add desired toppings and serve.

Roasted Garlic-Harissa Yogurt Dip!

Jennifer 4 Comments

roasted garlic harissa yogurt dip

Harissa is a blend of hot chile peppers, garlic, olive oil and spices and commonly used as a flavor base for curries and stews, as well as a condiment in the Middle East. Use it to add some spice in place of your regular hot sauce. The heat of the harissa, creaminess of the yogurt, sweetness of the roasted garlic, and acidity of the lime juice perfectly balance each other. This is versatile and works well as a dip or sauce with crudite, roasted veggies, and chicken.

Ingredients:
1 bulb roasted garlic, peeled and mashed
1 tablespoon harissa
2 cups plain full fat greek yogurt
juice from ½ lime
salt
mint leaves, garnish

Procedure:
1. In a food processor, add roasted garlic, harissa, and greek yogurt. Pulse until smooth.
2. Stir in lime juice and season with salt to taste.
3. Garnish with mint leaves
4. Enjoy!

Jicama Nori Rolls!

Jennifer 1 Comment

nori roll

Over the summer, my friend Lucy and I fell in love with this recipe that we learned through Matthew Kenney’s raw food program. Jicama is a starchy, root vegetable that is really crunchy, like water chestnuts and a good source of vitamin C. It’s refreshing and much lighter than rice in a normal handroll. This can be enjoyed as a sushi roll as well.

For Jicama Rice:
4 cups jicama, peeled, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons honey (non-vegan) or agave (vegan)

nori sheets
leafy greens
julienne carrot
julienne beet
sunflower sprouts

1. Put jicama in food processor and pulse until there are small pieces about
the size of rice. Using a nut milk bag or mesh strainer, strain out excess
water. Toss with remaining ingredients in a bowl.
Optional: Place sushi rice on non-stick sheets and dehydrate until slightly
sticky, about 2-3 hours.

2. Cut nori sheet in half. Place flat on dry cutting board with long side facing you, shiny side down.
3. Layer leafy greens in bottom left corner. This helps keep the moisture from the jicama from making the nori sheet soggy.
4. Then spoon about a tablespoon of the jicama rice on top of the greens, flattening it out.
5. Layer the julienned vegetables and sunflower sprouts on top..
6. From the bottom left corner, carefully fold at a 45 degree angle up to meet the top of the nori sheet, forming a point at the bottom of the roll. From here, just roll towards the right side and seal with water.
7. Enjoy immediately.

Butternut Squash-Red Lentil Soup!

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butternut squash-lentil soup2

For a long time, I only bought pre-cut butternut squash due cutting my finger while using a knife to remove the peel off over Thanksgiving one year. Since then, I’ve learned that you can actually use a peeler to get the skin off more easily and safely, as long as it is not a dull peeler. The best way to do this is to cut off the ends, cut the squash in half cross-wise, and then use the peeler on each of the sections. My favorite peeler is the Kuhn Rikon Original Swiss Peeler, which we were given in culinary school, and retails for under $3 each on Amazon. It’s sharp, lightweight, and comes in a variety of bright colors. Dicing this squash brought me back to my culinary internship when I had to dice 12 quarts of butternut squash every Friday for the restaurant’s popular weekend brunch hash. Thankfully, this recipe only requires dicing one squash, so you won’t be left with orange, sticky hands 🙂

The addition of red lentils adds protein as well as thickens the soup. Red lentils have a really beautiful, coral color, before turning yellow when cooked. They are also really thin compared to other lentils, so they break down and cook quicker than other lentils. When the soup is pureed in the Vitamix, the result is really silky and delicious, with a hint of spice.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons avocado oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 medium butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded and diced (about 3.5 cups diced squash)
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1 ½ quarts of vegetable stock
Salt
Black pepper

Procedure:
1. Heat oil over medium heat in large, heavy soup pot. Add onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add garlic, ginger, 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds to a minute.
3. Stir in turmeric, squash, red lentils and vegetable stock. Turn up heat, add salt to taste and bring to a boil.Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 35 to 45 minutes, until squash and lentils are tender. Taste and adjust salt.
4. Purée soup using an immersion blender or, working in batches, in a blender (pull a towel down over the top of blender to avoid hot splashes). Return to pot if using blender. Add black pepper, taste and adjust salt, and heat through.

Creamy Carrot-Ginger Soup!

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carrot-ginger soup

The other night, I was on my way home from a volunteer event and was hungry, but didn’t have the energy to cook anything. I stopped by my local supermarket and picked up a carton of organic cashew carrot-ginger soup which was delicious. However, I was appalled by the fact that the third ingredient was cane sugar! After that, I was determined to make my own healthier version. This uses Japanese sweet potato to both add sweetness and creaminess to the soup. Trader Joe’s recently started stocking them 🙂 I love the kick of the ginger that offsets the sweetness of the carrots and sweet potato. This soup is a good source of Vitamin A, especially from the carrots, and ginger is warming to the body, perfect for this chilly weekend! Hope you’ll cozy up to a bowl soon!

Serves 4

4 ½ cups low-sodium vegetable broth, divided
1 yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoons minced ginger
1 pound carrots, coarsely chopped
1 medium Japanese sweet potato or regular sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1 tablespoon sliced fresh chives

1. Heat 1/2 cup broth to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender, about 6 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Stir in ginger, carrots, sweet potato, and remaining broth and heat to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

3. In batches, carefully puree in a blender. Add water or broth if needed to thin to desired consistency. Reheat soup if necessary. Garnish with chives.

Zucchini-Avocado Tartare!

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tartare_blog

This month is super busy for me since I’m doing an online culinary program that is more intense than expected! But I will try to blog when I have free time 🙂 This is a recipe that I just learned and really love for its simplicity. You can easily impress guests with it! Because it’s raw, you’ll be absorbing more of the nutritional goodness. Lemon juice and olive oil help to make the zucchini nice and tender. Also, this is done best with a ripe avocado that is not too soft. Enjoy!

1 small zucchini, small dice
½ tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/8 teaspoon agave
½ tablespoon chives, minced
½ teaspoon salt
½ avocado, small dice

1. Toss all ingredients until well combined, saving avocado for last so that it doesn’t get mushy.

2. Press into a ring mold (using a spoon) to serve. Garnish with
chive points, fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.

Broccoli Carpaccio!

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broccoli salad

This recipe does not require cooking and comes together very quickly, making it ideal for summer. I personally love broccoli stems and for this recipe, be sure to trim and peel them before slicing thin. Broccoli is packed with phytochemicals that boost the immune system and antioxidants that fight cancer. While the toasted almonds are optional, they really add a nice earthy flavor and crunch on top. Enjoy!

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 lemon, zested
1 tablespoon freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
pinch freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup olive oil
1 pound broccoli, rinsed, trimmed, and sliced thinly (using mandolin or food processor)
sliced almonds, toasted (optional)

1. Whisk together the vinegar, zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt, and pepper in a large mixing bowl. While whisking constantly, gradually add the olive oil until uniform.
2. Add broccoli and toss to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator at least an hour before serving.
3. Before serving, toss again. Sprinkle with toasted almonds.

Haricot Vert Summer Salad!

Jennifer 1 Comment

green bean salad

French green beans are sweeter, crispier, and more elegant than ordinary green beans. They are also full of fiber, protein, iron, calcium, and various other vitamins and minerals. Slicing them on a sharp bias is really beautiful but also allows the beans to really absorb the delicious dressing. This is one of my favorite recipes that I had made many times years ago and had forgotten about, until I had an abundance of haricot vert. Enjoy!

1 pound french green beans
5-6 mini bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup avocado oil or EVOO
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add green beans. Cook for 1 minute. Remove and place in large bowl of ice water until cool. Drain well. Slice each green bean on the bias into 2-3 pieces, based on size.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, and spices.
3. Add green beans, bell peppers, and onion to dressing and toss until evenly distributed. Let stand at room temperature at least 15 minutes and toss again before serving.

Blistered Shishito Peppers!

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shishito peppers

In the office this past week, I overheard some guys talking about shishito peppers and how one of them was trying to grow them in his garden. He was eating them by the bowlful and thought it would be more economical to grow his own. I had been intrigued about these peppers in the past, but never really got around to trying them until today. I bought some at my coop this morning and then noticed them in Trader Joe’s too! These Japanese peppers are high in vitamins A and C. They’re generally not spicy peppers, but about one out of every ten is spicy (mild), which is actually a pleasant surprise. Unlike jalapenos, they are thin-walled, so they cook very quickly on the stove and are best eaten while still warm. Eat the entire pepper, except the stem. They’re delicious, making it easy to polish off the entire bowl, like I did. They make for a quick appetizer or snack, and even a nice side dish for brunch!

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons sesame oil
6 ounces shishito peppers
sea salt
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds

Procedure:
1. In a large dutch oven, over high heat, add sesame oil.
2. When hot, add shishito peppers and a pinch of salt. Toss to combine.
3. Saute for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the peppers are mostly blistered on all sides.
4. Toss with sesame oil and soy sauce until the peppers are evenly coated, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
5. Serve warm. Enjoy!