LENTIL and KALE SALAD

Warm Lentil and Kale Salad

                        Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Good for You, by Dana Jacobi (Weldon Owen, 2013)

Serves:  6 
Prep Time:  15 minutes
Cook Time; approx 30 minutes 
Cooking Utensils : large sauce pan, medium fry pan, chef's knife, small colander or sieve 
 

Here, protein- and fiber-rich brown lentils star alongside roasted carrots, sautéed onions and earthy kale in a salad that shows off bold tastes, textures and colors. A small amount of crisped prosciutto lends meaty, savory flavor without much extra fat.  To do a vegan version, use vegetable broth and leave out proscuitto  It's still a great dish! 

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. olive oil

4 carrots, peeled and diced small

1 large red onion, thinly sliced (size of baseball or your fist)

1 1/4 tsp. sea salt, plus more, to taste

Freshly ground pepper,  to taste, plus 1/4 tsp.

Leaves from 1 large bunch Tuscan kale, thinly sliced

1 cup brown lentils, picked over and rinsed

2 fresh thyme sprigs

4 large garlic cloves, peeled but left whole

4 cups low-sodium chicken broth  or vegetable broth

6 thin slices prosciutto (if possible use Italian, NOT domestic prosciutto presliced)

1 tsp. sherry vinegar (use can use other vinegars, but sherry is sweeter)

Directions:

In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Add the carrots and onion, 1/4 tsp. of the salt and several grindings of pepper. Sauté until the onion is very soft and lightly caramelized, about 15 minutes. Add the kale and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 6 minutes. Scrape the contents of the pan into a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the pan.

In the same pan over high heat, combine the lentils, thyme, garlic, broth, 1/2 tsp. of the salt and the 1/4 tsp. pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, until the lentils are tender but firm to the bite, 15 to 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a fry pan over medium heat, cook the prosciutto until crisp and browned, about 7 minutes. Let cool, then tear into small pieces.

Drain the lentils in a colander, and remove and discard the thyme and garlic. Return the lentils to the saucepan, and stir in the kale mixture, vinegar and the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt. Taste and adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Transfer the lentil mixture to a serving bowl, top with the prosciutto and serve immediately..

[HJ1] 

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 [HJ1]

GREEN BEAN & PEA PANZANELLA

GREEN BEAN & PEA PANZANELLA

(taken from WSJ, Chef is Johnny Monis)

Prep Time: 30 minutes ( if everything prepared ahead except blanching of beans) * (see NOTES)

If all done at the same time it takes about 2 hours.

Serves: 4-6
Cooking Utensils:  4- Qt. pot, baking sheet, medium saute pan, large bowl, lots of ice, kitchen knife

INGREDIENTS

4 1-inch thick slices of day-old rustic bread or baguette

¾ cup olive oil

2 Tbsp roughly chopped garlic (4 large cloves)

Salt to taste

1 cup shelled fava beans, (par boiled/iced* and slipped out of their skins) You will need a lot of beans as

                 pods are very large.  Do not substitute ready-prepared favas as they are very salty and mushy.

1 cup English peas (shucked) You will need a lot of peas as pods are large and may contain only one or two peas. Frozen peas can be used, they're just not as flavorful . Do not cook peas only defrost

1 cup French or wax beans, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup sugar snap peas, cut into bite sizes

½ Tbsp Dijon mustard

¼ cup Sherry vinegar

½ cup thinly sliced purple onion (about ½ medium-size onion)

½ cup fresh mint, washed, dried and roughly torn, more if you like the taste

½ cup fresh dill, washed, dried, and roughly chopped, more if you like the taste

PROCESS

1. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil (for blanching vegetables)

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Tear or cut bread/baguette into rough 1-inch pieces.  Spread out on a baking sheet and back until golden, (approx 11-12 minutes, flipping once halfway through if necessary. 3. Heat ¼ cup oil and all garlic in a medium sauté pan over medium-low heat.  Cook until garlic is light colored (about 3 minutes). Pour garlic oil over croutons and toss well to coat. Season and set aside.  

4. Lightly blanch all beans in like batches until crisp-tender*(see below).  With slotted spoon, immediately transfer them to an ice-water bath.  Remove from ice-water and dry well on paper or cloth towels.

    *Here are suggested times for blanching vegetables

                Fava Beans (outer pod removed but inner shell still on) -  2-3 minutes at rolling boil. 

This is tricky (cooking time varies depending on the size and age of the beans), as you only want the beans to cook a little bit, so when you see the outer shell get puffy, drop on in the ice water.  If the outer shell sort of caves in try to remove it.  It should slip off easily exposing a bright green bean.  If cooked too long, the beans will be chalky-tasting and yellow.

                English peas - 2 minutes at a boil, drop immediately in ice-water, cool, and remove to dry

                French or wax beans - 2 minutes at a boil, drop immediately in ice-water, cool, remove to dry

                Sugar snap peas - ½ minute at a boil, drop immediately in ice-water, cool, and remove to dry

4. Whisk together mustard, vinegar and remaining ½ cup oil. Season with salt if needed.

5. In large bowl, toss croutons with onion slices, beans and herbs.  Lightly dress with half the vinaigrette.  Let sit for 5 minutes and taste.  Add more dressing of needed.         

NOTES:  You can substitute Romano, Broad or other green bean as well as use wax beans.  Use what’s available.  You should try to have peas, sugar snaps or other round or crunchy bean for texture.  Fresh fava beans can be hard to find.  Mid-summer is best and probably only at high-end markets.You can use fresh cranberry or lima beans as well. 

The croutons, dressing and shucking of English peas and fava beans can all be done a day or two ahead.  It saves about 1 ½  hour of prep time. (Bread/croutons – 25 minutes, dressing - 10 minutes, shucking fava beans or peas, - 25 minutes or so each) Probably not a good idea to cut green/wax/other or sugar snaps until after blanching and cooling. If possible don't assemble salad w/croutons & dressing until just before eating or will get soggy.

This is one of the best summer dishes I know of.  Well worth the time and effort.  Works well with all meats, fish or a stand alone meal. 

I’ve served it with a cheese plate and fruit for a light but really tasty supper.

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SHALLOTS

CHICKEN THIGHS WITH SHALLOTS

                                                       (adapted from a recipe by Rishia Zimmern/Sam Sifton, NYT)

Prep Time: 1 ½ hours

Yield: 4-6 servings

INGREDIENTS

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat

2 Tbsp flour

1 Tbsp sea salt

1 Tbsp ground black pepper

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

12-15 whole medium shallots, peeled, remove roots, but do not remove root base
8 cloves of garlic 

2 cups white wine

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

2 sprigs tarragon (more is OK, also can use Rosemary instead)

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half, (if using little cherry tomatoes, no need to cut in half)

PROCESS

1. Rinse chicken thighs in water, and pat them very dry with paper towels.  Sprinkle them with

     flour, salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in large, heavy-bottomed pot or skillet (12 inch) and set over medium-high heat.   

    When butter foams, cook chicken, in batches if necessary, until well browned and crisp on all

    sides. (this can take 12-15 minutes depending on how cold the chicken is) Set aside on a platter.

3. Add whole shallots to the pot/skillet and sauté in butter and chicken fat until they begin to

    soften and caramelize, (approx. 10-12 minutes, let them darken a lot, until they are kind of gooey)

4. Add wine to deglaze the pot stirring with large spoon, then add mustard and tarragon, then

    chicken thighs.  Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, checking often to make sure thighs
     aren't boiling! 

5. Remove lid, and allow sauce to reduce and thicken (approx 15-20 minutes) If you remove the chicken,
    the sauce will reduce quicker. 

6. Add cherry tomatoes to the pot, stir lightly to combine and serve. 

NOTES:  This is one of the yummiest, prettiest and easiest dishes I know of to prepare.  Great company food that isn’t too expensive to do for a bigger party.  Can be made ahead and served at room temperature.  Great served with rice, a simple green salad and some cheese and fruit for a really pretty, tasty meal.  
BEN's NOTE:  Shallots can be peeled while chicken is browning, but watch the chicken closely. 

Roasted Butternut Squash with Red Onion and Tahini Sauce

ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH  WITH  RED ONION AND TAHINI SAUCE
(Ottolenghi recipe from internet)
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
1 large butternut squash (around 1.1kg), cut into 2cm x 6cm wedges
2 red onions, cut into 3cm wedges (1 ¼ inch)
50ml olive oil (or 3 ½ TBSP)
Maldon sea salt and black pepper
3½ tbsp tahini paste
1½ tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp water
1 small garlic clove, crushed
30g pine nuts  (2 TBSP) there are 15 grams in 1 tablespoon
1 tbsp za'atar
1 tbsp roughly chopped parsley

PROCESS
Heat the oven to to 220C/425F/gas mark 7.

- Put squash and onions in large bowl, add 3 TBSP of oil, 1 tsp salt and some black pepper, and toss well. Spread, skin down, on baking sheet. Roast for 40 minutes until vegetables have taken on some colour and are cooked through. Keep an eye on the onions: they may cook faster than the squash, so may need to be removed earlier. Remove from oven and cool.

-Put tahini in small bowl with lemon juice, water, garlic and a ¼ tsp of salt. Whisk to consistency of honey, adding more water or tahini as necessary.

-Pour the remaining oil into a small frying pan on a medium-low heat. Add pine nuts and ½ tsp  salt, cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until nuts are golden brown, then tip nuts and oil into a small bowl.

To serve, spread the vegetables on a platter and drizzle over the sauce. Scatter the pine nuts and oil on top, followed by the za'atar and parsley.