Inspired by Smitten Kitchen's Cauliflower Tacos and wanting some potatoes, I made this plate of deliciousness: pan fried potatoes, topped with pan fried cauliflower, and garnished with pickled red onions, cotija cheese, and cilantro. WOW! It was so good, that I had to make it three times in a week before I remembered to wait and get a photo before inhaling it!
Bonus points if you use potatoes that are red or purple on the inside, they just make it so much prettier. Do not skip the easy step of making the quick pickled red onion, it makes all the difference. And if you do it as the first step, they will be ready by the time you assemble your plate.
For me, black kale is tastier and has just that much more juice to its leaves than curly kale and is great for Asian style dressing such as the miso lime soy dressing used here.
At this time of year, shredding in some root vegetables such as turnips, carrots, or radishes of any sort is always a good choice. Even adding some shredded apple would be fun!
This dressing will taste strong on its own, but I find that it melds well with the shredded veggies which mellow out its sharpness, and its acid really tames the bitterness of the kale.
Most recipes will direct you to oven roast the broccoli, but I find that cooking it in a covered cast iron pan for the first ten minutes will give you that blackened crispy broccoli that you crave, and also steam it at the same time, without having to heat up a whole oven. Then, if you choose to got the extra step and make the simple garlic bread crumbs, you use the pan that the broccoli was pan seared in, and it is a one pan meal!
When you cut your broccoli, make sure to create lots of flat surfaces, keeping the stalks attached. You want to sear those flat surfaces on the hot oiled surface of the pan to achieve that crispy, blackened surface.
This meal was inspired by an old piece of blue cheese languishing in my cheese drawer, so I made homemade blue cheese dressing; feel free to use your favorite store bought.
I grabbed a blood orange, a ruby grapefruit and lots of limes to make this version, hence the pinkish purple hue to the fish. But lime and lemon are traditional, so don't feel the need to splurge on other citrus. Make sure at least half of the marinade is lemon or lime, the other citrus doesn't have enough acid to cure and thus transform the fish from raw to cooked.
My ceviche marinade always includes several cloves of garlic, at least half a jalapeno (deseeded and deveined if you like less heat) sliced in rounds, and some cilantro. But you can limit it to just citrus juice, if that is what pleases you.
Usually ceviche is served with chips, but here I wanted more fish and less chips, and a tostada worked perfectly.
Of course caramelized onions are delicious and when you add a really good mushroom stock to them, they achieve greatness. Dunking a hunk of toast with melted Gruyere cheese on top of it, well that's almost cheating!
I have been making a vegetarian Pho broth inspired by this blog, and since dried shiitake mushrooms are what give the broth its depth, I knew it would be perfect for a vegetarian version of French Onion soup. Yes indeed!
Make sure you use a crusty, rustic bread for your toast since any other less substantial bread will disintegrate too quickly in the hot soup. A range of cheeses will work, anything from Gruyere to Emmentaler to Swiss. I recommend making cheese toast rather than fiddling with putting your bowl of soup under the broiler.
For those who are curious, the glass of wine is Pouilly-Fuisse, and it was a perfect pairing!
It is a cruel trick of mother nature to make citrus season in the middle of winter, teasing us with the bright zippiness of citrus fruits and juices while we freeze are toes off. Living in California, we have access to great produce from south of the border, so making this salad isn't prohibitively expensive, but possible a bit of splurge. Hey, if it makes you forget the cold outside, I say it's worth it!
If you haven't cooked with daikon radish before, do not be concerned. It is a very mellow radish with lots of health benefits, and its crunchiness really adds to this dish.
Are you ready for zucchini season? Think I’m jumping the gun a little too soon? If you have planted them in your garden in the past, you know the green rascals grow exponentially, so begin stockpiling your recipes for using up their deliciousness now!
One of my favorite recipes for zucchini are pancakes made with chickpea flour. My first foray into this dish was as an Indian side dish, so I have kept the Indian spices, but don’t let that deter you if spice is not your thing, although these spices are not hot per say, just flavorful. The basics are a few tablespoons of chickpea flour with salt, oil and a little water mixed with diced zucchini, which you allow to rest and then fry up in a cast iron pan. It’s magical!
Chickpea flour makes great pancakes on its own - google Socca and see how the French and Italians eat it with just salt. When you add chopped veggies that cook quickly, like zucchini, then it’s a full meal and a quick one at that.
Have you ever seen an asparagus bed? No, that’s not a trick question, they do grow in “beds” and they are finicky growers, I’ve tried. So when you see local asparagus available, grab it up and thank your neighbor for bringing this delectable spring vegetable into the world, because it isn’t easy to get started. However, once they are going, they will last for years. Kind of a metaphor for being a mom!
Moms take care of us as babies, as toddlers, as teenagers and even as adults. It’s kind of pathetic that we only allocate one day a year to officially thank them, so make it a hearty and heartfelt one!
Asparagus fritters sound fancy but they are really simple and delicious. If curry isn’t your thing, dollop sour cream on top and sprinkle some chives to make it look pretty. Your mom deserves it!
Adding fresh herbs to your cooking repertoire seems to feel daunting and although cookbooks abound on the idea, don’t bother with them, just follow your taste buds. Mine led me to this amazing cauliflower dish that apparently originates from a famous New York chef. I just know it was so delicious I may have eaten a whole head of cauliflower for dinner that night!
Raisins, almonds, and capers with cauliflower is a traditional Sicilian pairing, truly, no lie. But add in a bunch of fresh chopped herbs and this dish is something special. Fresh herbs are like citrus, they enliven all that they touch!
The original recipe called for fresh breadcrumbs toasted in butter, and while it was good, I felt disinclined to make them the second time and I found I didn’t miss them. For me, the star of the dish were the raisins simmered in a vinegar butter bath that plumps them into delicious sweet tangy bites that are mind-blowing with the crunch of almonds and the brine of capers, alongside the cauliflower and assorted herbs! This is truly a dish where you will want to fish around to get all of those flavors and textures in each bite!
