Backyard Bounty

Marinated Spring Onions

We have received a very warm welcome into our new neighborhood vis a vis our friendly new neighbor - Paul. He is an avid gardener with little spare time to cook (on account of his very busy dog walking schedule). We are counting ourselves lucky to live in such close proximity to someone with such a wealth of gardening knowledge, and even luckier when we become the benefactors of his backyard bounty. Recently, he gifted us this beautiful bouquet of spring onions. 

Similar to our chimichurri recipe, these  green onions can be used as a condiment or marinade & they pair incredibly well with grilled meats. Using a sharp knife, slice the white parts of the spring onions paper thin. Toss together with 1 tbsp walnut oil (expensive, but worth every penny!), 1/2-1 tsp balsamic vinegar & a generous handful of fresh, chopped thyme. Let sit for a few hours -- for best results overnight. The walnut oil breaks down the bitterness of the onions & allows these onions to take on a delicate nutty flavor. We served with a grilled skirt steak, but this would also be great with grilled vegetables and perhaps feta cheese. Frankly, these are so good, we tend to snack on them alone. 

And we always reserve our scallion greens to make a Korean Seafood Pancake (Haemul Pajeon). It has taken us years to finally get this right - and this last time we nailed it (perhaps we have Paul and his backyard inspiration to thank)! I was feeling too spooked by the prospect of yet another failed attempt to document this particular round, but perhaps this recipe from Apartment Therapy's thekitchn can provide a springboard for experimentation, should you feel inspired to try this at home. 

photo credits:
#1: Andrei Sinioukov; #2: thekitchn

Feature Ingredient: Harissa

Harissa-Spiced Whole Wheat Fusilli Pasta 

with Swiss Chard & Red Onion 

Do you ever use harissa? On a recent whim, I bought a container of this Tunisian hot chili sauce. I am having a great deal of fun experimenting with it. Next time around, I will definitely try this homemade version from Saveur. I kept this recipe simple with a healthy dose of greens. However, this base recipe leaves plenty of room for experimentation with any of the optional ingredients suggested below.

Ingredients:
1/2 box fusilli pasta
1 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 bunch swiss chard, chopped
1/2 large red onion, sliced
1/3-1/2 cup harissa
salt & pepper, to taste
kalamata olives (optional)
pine nuts (optional)
1 can of chick peas (optional)
sliced chicken breast (optional)
fresh chopped parsley (optional)
4 oz goat cheese (optional)
1 cup diced roasted sweet potatoes (optional)
yield: 3 servings

1. bring a large salted pot of water to a boil & cook pasta according to package directions. 

2. meanwhile, saute the swiss chard & red onions in olive oil. add a pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness of the onions as they cook. 

3. drain the cooked pasta. add in the sauteed swiss chard, red onion, and 1/4 cup harissa. stir to combine. taste & adjust to desired heat level, adding 1 tbsp harissa at a time.

4. have fun experimenting with any or all of the optional ingredients!

Harissa and Sweet Potatoes

there is something particularly satisfying about the combination of harissa and sweet potatoes. check here, here, and here for some inspiration.

Harissa and Proteins

BBC's Good Food recipe index demonstrates how harissa can really shine with meat and seafood dishes as well, including chicken, prawns, salmon, and lamb. 

Feature Ingredient: Spring Greens

Pea Shoots

In DC, we seemed to have skipped straight from winter into summer. Either way, one thing that is really special about this time of year (besides the cherry blossoms!) are fresh spring greens. On a recent trip to Whole Foods, I was attracted to a box of pea shoots. I had no real plans for them nor even knowledge of how to use them, but suspected that these could inspire something interesting. So here goes.

They taste just like fresh spring peas, go figure. But their shape allows for a wide variety of uses, in much the same way one might use baby spinach - raw or sauteed, salads or soups or even sandwiches. Really the only limitation here is your imagination. I decided to lightly saute these with sliced garlic & a bit of olive oil. Afterwards, I tossed the sauteed pea shoots with some basil pesto we happened to have on hand. This was superb & the pesto helped lend a light nutty flavor.

Encouraged by these results, I experimented a bit more. We happened to have a sweet potato on hand, which inspired me to try a variation of a stuffed potato. I baked the sweet potato for about 45 minutes, until tender to the touch of a fork & then scooped out the orange insides.

I mixed the sweet potato insides with a generous handful of raw chopped pea shoots, approximately 1 tbsp mayo, 1/2 tsp sriracha, and a bit of salt & pepper.

Then we filled the sweet potato skins with this mixture & topped with pea shoots wilted with olive oil & garlic on the skillet. 

We served both the garlicky, sauteed pea shoots with pesto and the stuffed sweet potatoes with steamed cod (more or less following the recipe found here). Some flaky Maldon salt proved all the garnish this combination required. These results were light, refreshing & a nice welcome into a new season of flavors. 

Dont let your creativity expire with these few suggestions, check out some other enticing offerings here. Happy weekend all - any special plans? What's cooking this weekend? 

Parsnip Bread Pudding

Roasted Parsnip & Gruyere Bread Pudding
{loosely inspired by Martha Stewart}

This one was a fun discovery & definitely one to keep in active recipe rotation. A savory bread pudding using day old wheat baguette & some parsnips leftover from the root vegetable corned beef hash. Easy & healthy enough for weekday lunches, but elegant & pretty enough to serve to a brunch crowd. Some leafy greens would pair really well for a complete meal. 

ingredients:
5-6 parsnips
~2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 whole wheat baguette, cubed
2 shallots, sliced
7 eggs, divided
1/2 cup milk, divided
5 oz gruyere cheese, shredded
2-3 fresh thyme sprigs, coarsely chopped
1 tsp whole grain mustard
3-5 dashes of worcestshire sauce
handful parsley, coarsely chopped
2 oz parmesean cheese, shredded
salt & pepper, to taste

1. pre-heat the oven to 425F. peel & dice the parsnips and toss to coat with about 1 tsp of olive oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper to taste. bake the parsnips on a baking sheet until browned & caramelized, approximately 20-25 minutes. rotate half way through to ensure even browning on all sides.

2. meanwhile, saute the shallots in about 1 tsp of olive oil on the stovetop over low-medium heat until the shallots have softened & begin to brown. add a pinch of salt after tossing to coat with olive oil to bring out the natural sweetness of the shallots.

3. if planning to cook the bread pudding straight away, reduce oven to 375F once the parsnips have finished cooking. you could easily make this ahead of time & keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours.

4. lightly butter a baking dish, then line the baking dish with bread cubes (I used a 9 inch round baking glass baking dish). sprinkle cooked parsnips & shallots around the bread. 

5. whisk together 4 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, gruyere cheese, thyme, mustard, worcestshire sauce, parsley, and salt & pepper. pour the mixture over the bread & parsnips. use your fingers to make sure that the wet mixture really seeps into the bread. let stand for at least 20 minutes (or let sit overnight). 

note: I let mine sit over night at which point I realized the bread pudding could use more wet ingredients.

6. whisk together remaining 3 eggs, 1/4 cup milk, extra parsley, parmesean cheese, and salt & pepper. pour over the bread mixture.

7. cover the baking dish with a foil tent. bake for approximately 40-50 minutes until golden brown and puffy. our kitchen was consumed with the smell of this bread pudding as it finished in the oven. it tasted every bit as good as it smelled!

Weekend Breakfast

Banana Pancakes

{orginal recipe from oh joy! blog}

What do you do with overly ripened bananas? I stumbled across this incredibly easy & healthy recipe on oh joy! blog and could not resist. I would imagine this would be appealing to little ones, or even grown-ups with a preference for breakfast on the sweeter side. Its a brilliant way to use up overly ripe bananas, especially if traditional banana breads have become a bit tired for you or if find yourself in a hurry.

ingredients:

1 very ripe banana, mostly browned

2 tbsp almond butter (i used maple flavored)

1 egg

~1 tbsp flour

1 pat of butter
yield: 4 small pancakes

1. smash banana together with almond butter (feel free to use peanut butter as well), egg
& scant sprinkling of flour, stir to combine into a uniform consistency

2. melt pat of butter over low-medium heat in a non-stick skillet pan

3. pour out batter into skillet to form round pancakes. once you can see small bubbles surfacing in the pancakes, the bottom side should be golden brown & they are ready to flip. cook on second side for about 30 seconds.

4. if you doubled this recipe, remove the cooked pancakes from the heat and keep warm. 

5. serve with a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

note: I experimented with different jams and a drizzle of honey, but these were so sweet that I found them to be best just eaten alone.

Tailgate Season!

Black Bean, Mango & Avocado Salad

And so it begins! This past weekend marked the first pre-season home game for DC United. Tailgating is a seasonal ritual for our Club Echa Panza, which proudly claims some fantastic cooks. Every tailgate boasts a worthy spread of grilled meats with a wide assortment of beers & other goodies. Anticipating that there would be protein options aplenty, this time around, I made a vegetarian salad. This black bean, mango & avocado salad is fantastic served taco style in a grilled tortilla & complements a wide array of grilled meats.

The Inspiration Board

Black Bean, Mango & Avocado Salad 

with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

ingredients:
1 can black beans
1 mango, sliced
1 avocado, diced
1 tomato, diced
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/2 lime, juiced + more to taste
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
salt & pepper, to taste
1 tsp honey (optional)

1. place the beans in a colander & rinse thoroughly, until the water runs clear. then place the beans in a large mixing bowl.

2. one trick to cutting up a mango is to be mindful of the pit, which is a flat-ish oblong shape in the center of fruit. holding the mango upright with the fat, stem side down, cut the mango into thirds in line with the oblong shape. you will have 2 thick outer pieces with lots of fruit, and one center piece with the pit and a rim of skin around the outer edges. see here for a pictorial. add diced mango to the beans.

3. as with the mango, cutting an avocado is made a lot simpler when mindful of the pit. I always cut the avocado lengthwise in half. the large center pit should slide right out, or you can use a small paring knife to ease it out or if feeling extra fancy a large santoku knife to tap the pit & remove it in one fell swooping motion. with the skin still in tact, I dice the fruit, then use a large spoon to scoop the fruit out of the skin. see here for a pictorial. add diced avocado to the beans & mangoes.

4. fold the chopped tomatoes gently into the beans, mangoes and avocados.

5. whisk together the cilantro, olive oil, cumin, lime juice, & spices. taste to adjust. the mangoes add a natural sweetness to this salad, but if the dressing is tasting a bit acidic, you may want to add a drizzle of honey (~1/2-1 tsp) to the dressing to round out the flavors. 

6. serve in warmed tortillas taco style & add some grilled chicken, shrimp or even steak should you feel so inclined. this is also delicious as an alternative to a 7 layer dip with tortilla chips. for a more complete meal, serve over coconut rice. 

Quesadillas

Broccolini, Shallot & Parmesean Quesadilla

Quesadilla is such a fun word to say, you know the drill full pronunciation of the "L"s. But perhaps more importantly, this is a really fun food to eat. It is easy to pack a variety of vegetables into a quesadilla & the melted, cheesy goodness can right even the worst of days. This is comfort food at its finest.

ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 bunch broccolini, hard ends trimmed off
1 shallot, sliced
1 clove garlic, sliced
1/4 block parmesean cheese, shredded 
2 flour tortillas (we used whole wheat, flex seed variety)

1. warm the olive oil over medium heat. add broccolini, shallot & garlic. saute until shallot begins to brown a bit. set aside sauteed vegetables in a bowl.

2. place one of the tortillas into the same pan. if there is not enough of an oil sheen, add a sprinkle or two of olive oil more to coat the pan. as the tortilla toasts, pack the sauteed vegetables on top of the tortilla. then add shredded cheese to cover vegetables. top with the second tortilla.

3. wait for the cheese & vegetables to set and for the bottom of the tortilla to begin to brown before flipping. timing here is everything, but the more the ingredients have had a chance to set, the easier it will be to flip.

4. use a wide spatula to flip the quesadilla & allow the other side to crisp. once ready, I use a pizza cutter to slice the quesadilla into smaller pieces.

Its a Wrap

Dumpling Party

These dumplings really set the tone for a fun, interactive evening with a small group of friends. Involve your guests in prepping ingredients, wrapping the dumplings, tending to the crackling fire & ensuring everyone has a drink in hand. Below I offer a vegetarian pumpkin version along with a pork sausage version. At your next get together why not serve these along with other Asian inspired snacks, including edamame & shumai.

Thai-Spiced Kabocha Pumpkin Dumplings

Remember the soy braised Kabocha Squash we made recently? It is quite plentiful, so we roasted the other 1/2 of the squash with a sprinkle of olive oil & salt. The roasted squash scoops out quite nicely & saves well. Half of the squash provided enough filling for two rounds of these for two different parties.

ingredients:

1/2 kabocha squash, roasted

1/3 can coconut milk (feel free to use lite)

1 tsp Thai red curry paste

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 inch piece ginger, minced

2-3 drops fish sauce

1 package wonton wrappers (we used nasoya brand)

1 egg white

1. pre-heat oven to 350F to roast kabocha squash with a sprinkle of olive oil & salt. cook until squash is soft to the touch of a fork.

2. once cooked, let squash cool until easy to handle. once cool, scoop the cooked squash from the shell - the skin should peel off very easily. 

3. mix in coconut milk, curry paste, garlic, ginger & fish sauce until you have formed a very thick paste.

4. Fold into wontons according to these four easy steps below:

Step 1:

Fill each wonton wrapper with a spoonful of filling

Step 2:

Fold over the wonton wrapper into a triangle 

& using your finger seal with egg white

Step 3:
Press triangle ends together to form a dumpling shape 
& seal with egg white

Step 4:
Line on a greased baking sheet & 
brush dumplings with remaining egg white

4. bake for about 9-12 minuted until the edges have slightly browned

Maple Pork & Red Pepper Dumplings

ingredients:

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 white onion, diced

1 tsp olive oil

1/2 tube maple pork sausage (without casing)

1 package wonton wrappers (we used nasoya brand)

1 egg white

1. saute the red pepper & onion in olive oil until the onion begins to brown

2. add the sausage & cook through until browned on all sides

3. set aside the pork until it is cool enough to handle

4. fill the wonton wrappers following the 4 steps above & bake for about 9-12 minuted until the edges have slightly browned

Brown Bag Lunch: Tabouli Salad & Hummus

Quinoa Tabouli Salad with 
Hummus, Wheat Toast & Sliced Tomato

Quinoa Tabouli Salad

I am a sucker for tabouli salad, I always have been. When traveling far from home, I find tabouli to be a familiar taste & I find great comfort in this. This tabouli recipe uses quinoa, rather than bulgar or cracked wheat, as a base. Quinoa pumps up the protein & lends a distinctive texture.

ingredients:

1 cup quinoa
1.5 cups water
1 bunch fresh parsley, finely chopped
generous handful of cherry tomatoes, coarsely diced
4 scallions, diced
~12 fresh mint leaves, chopped (optional)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 lemon, juiced (plus more to taste)
salt & pepper to taste

1. combine quinoa & water in a medium sized pot. add a pinch of salt. cook over low heat until water has absorbed & small white rings have formed around the quinoa grains.

2. once the quinoa has cooked, add in parsley, cherry tomatoes, scallions, mint, olive oil & lemon juice. stir to combine. 

Hummus

Have you ever made hummus that takes just as great as readymade supermarket varieties or restaurant offerings? I have not. I have been making homemade hummus over the course of the past 10 years, and I can. not. get. it. right. Anyone out there have any trade secrets? Below was my most recent approach.

ingredients:

1 can chickpeas

1 garlic clove, smashed to release the paper skin

just under 1/2 cup roasted tahini

just under 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

1/4 cup water (plus more)

1/8 cup olive oil

1/4 tsp salt (plus more to taste)

pinch crushed red pepper flakes

yield: ~ 1.5 cups

1. in a food processor combine the chick peas, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, water, olive oil and salt & pepper.

2. add more water as needed in 1 tbsp increments, until you reach desired consistency.

note: one thing i have learned over the years is that using canned chickpeas as opposed to dried beans really helps achieve a smoother consistency hummus.

Lately Snacking On...Ricotta Cheese

Wheat Toast with 

Ricotta Cheese, Crushed Almonds & Honey

Do you ever eat ricotta cheese? I only recently discovered that its uses extend beyond simply layering it into a lasagna. Even though I may be late to this party, I am making up for lost time -- ricotta with crushed almonds & a honey drizzle on wheat toast is really hitting the spot lately. A prettier pairing and presentation on this same idea involves fresh berries in a range of colors. 

Egg Tacos

Egg Tacos 
with Refried Beans & Sliced Avocado

Eggs are an almost daily feature in our lives. For me, usually eaten in a tortilla, for Andrei, usually served alongside bacon. In Tanzania, fresh eggs were delivered to our doorstep by mayai touts on bicycle, as depicted in Sarah Markes' compelling Dar sketch series. I viscerally missed tortillas the 2 years we lived in Tanzania and I now appreciate ready access them. These egg 'tacos' make for a great weekend brunch offering or even an easy week night dinner.

ingredients:

2 eggs

1 tsp milk

1/5 tsp whole grain mustard

1 small pat butter

1 tbsp shredded cheddar cheese

salt & pepper, to taste

cilantro to garnish
yield: 2 tacos, very easy to double or triple

1. crack 2 eggs into a small mixing bowl. 

2. beat milk & whole grain mustard into eggs until whites have combined with the yolks  

3. melt butter over low-medium heat in a nonstick pan. tilt pan to coat with butter.

4. pour eggs into the pan & let them set. add cheddar cheese & continue to cook until cheese melts.

5. meanwhile, warm tortillas on stove top.

6. place eggs in warmed corn tortillas. garnish with chopped cilantro & hot sauce of your choosing. 

7. serve with refried beans & sliced avocado & lime wedge.  

Tea & Crumpets

Lemon Chia Seed Muffins

All hail the weekend! These muffins would make for an excellent companion to a pot of tea or coffee on a lazy weekend afternoon. A smear of lemon curd or this Goat & Cream Cheese topping would make these otherwise healthy muffins truly indulgent.

ingredients:

2 cups all purpose flour

heavy pinch of salt

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup chia seeds

zest of one lemon

1/2 cup sugar

3 tbsp walnut oil

1 cup water

1/3 cup applesauce
yield: 12 muffins

1. pre-heat oven to 350F

2. grease muffin tins with butter or line with oil and dust with flour

3. in a large bowl, combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, chia seeds & lemon zest. stir until ingredients are fully mixed.

4. create a well with the dry ingredients. add sugar, oil, water & apple sauce. stir to combine. be careful not to over combine. pour out batter into pre-greased muffin tins & let batter sit for a few minutes.

5. cook for 10-15 minutes, or until a tooth pick inserted into the batter comes out clean.

6. serve with a smear of lemon curd or this Goat & Cream Cheese topping

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photo credits: top collage, photos 1,2,3 Lonny