Beautiful Cabbage

Posted in Salads, Veggies by sallybr

Don’t tell me you are a cabbage-hater!

I would not hold it against you, because cabbage has a bad reputation: poor thing, it’s totally unjustified. A plump, red cabbage is a thing of beauty! I admit that members of the Cruciferae family tend to emit a nasty smell as they cook, but this recipe will not offend your senses. I’m talking about raw cabbage, in a sweet and sour concoction that will amaze your taste buds. I promise. Give this recipe a try, cabbage-hater, and don’t be ashamed of changing teams 😉

SWEET CABBAGE SLAW
(adapted from Bon Appetit, June 2008)

3 T sugar
3 T rice vinegar
1 small serrano pepper, thinly sliced
3 cups red cabbage, thinly sliced (see my comments)
2 cups Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
2 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 T orange zest
chopped cilantro leaves, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
fresh lemon juice (optional)

Stir sugar and vinegar in a small saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar dissolves, no need to boil it. Remove it from the heat, add ginger and serrano pepper and mix.

Place both types of cabbage in a large bowl, add the orange zest and cilantro, mix to combine, add the reserved dressing and toss to coat the cabbage. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If it seems too sweet, add some fresh lemon juice.

Let it sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature, tossing it a few times to distribute the dressing. You can also put it in the fridge for several hours, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Enjoy!

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5Jul2009

Tomato Confit with Arugula and Zucchini

Posted in Salads, Veggies by sallybr

The recipe comes from “Simple to Spectacular”, a great cookbook by Vongerichten and Bittman. The book picks one basic ingredient and shows 3 or 4 recipes of increasing complexity. I was looking for a nice dinner salad and came across their “tomato confit” series.

The tomato confit is essentially a slow-roasted tomato, but if you say you made “tomato confit”, your friends will be a lot more impressed. 😉

The preparation of the confit might seem too long, because you need a couple of hours to make it. But it’s 120 minutes of just waiting for the oven to perform its magic…no work. Plus, it is a low oven (275F) that won’t overheat your kitchen. Trust me, the results are worth every minute of the time. If you are not yet convinced to try this recipe, then make sure to read my additional comments.

tomatobefore

Choose ripe (but not overly ripe) tomatoes, make a small cross-cut on their skin, drop in boiling water for 20 seconds, then shock them in cold water to peel them easily. In the oven, together with garlic, thyme, and olive oil, they will be transformed into delicious bits of sweet and juicy red jewels that will amaze your taste buds and shine in many different kinds of recipes. Yes, I am in love…

click here for the full recipe and additional comments

23Jun2009

FROM BACKYARD TO KITCHEN

Posted in Veggies by sallybr

zucchini2

Two of our three zucchini plants got so sick I had to cut them, but the other one seemed to shape up, maybe afraid of following the neighbors’ fate. Yesterday, as I stared at the pantry considering my options for a quick dinner, it occurred to me to go check our veggie garden. I knew the cherry tomatoes had to be ripe by now, but the two cute zucchinis were a nice added bonus. Let’s hope this is just the beginning of a great harvest! 😉

Veggies fresh from the garden (as well as from farmer’s markets) are so much better than those tired beings at the grocery store, that I like to keep their preparation very simple. One of my favorite quick dishes for zucchini comes from a great blog, Smitten Kitchen. I make it quite often, actually, changing it slightly according to my mood.

Here is yesterday’s version, served as a side dish for barbecued brisket that will definitely show up on Bewitching Kitchen sometime

QUICK ZUCCHINI SAUTE WITH ROASTED PEANUTS
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen, original recipe from Red Cat, New York)

2 small zucchini (preferably from your own garden!)
2 tsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
squirt of lemon juice
lemon zest to taste
1/4 cup roasted, salted peanuts

Julienne the zucchini, not too thin (zucchini tends to turn into mush fairly easily). Heat the olive oil in a non-stick pan until you can detect a little smoke forming. Add the zucchini, salt and pepper. Saute until it starts to get light brown in some spots. Lower the heat, add a squirt of fresh lemon juice, some lemon zest, and incorporate the roasted peanuts. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary.

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