Kale Salad with Chickpeas, Tahini Dressing and Crispy Bread Crumbs
Potato Salad with Parsley and Red Onion
One-pot Pasta with Sweet Peppers and Delicata
Onion Jams
Salsa Verde
Sweet Pepper (Sausage) and Onion Pizza
Miso-roasted Delicata, Onions and Carrots
Kale Salad with Chickpeas, Tahini Dressing and Crispy Bread Crumbs
This salad is so surprisingly good, quick, hearty and adaptable. You can add grated carrot and some toasted sunflower seeds or different beans or spices. Adapt to suit your taste and pantry.
1 bunch kale, washed
2 cups cooked chickpeas
1 garlic clove
1 slice good, crusty bread, well toasted and torn into small bits (optional) or toasted seeds or nuts
1/4 teaspoon sea salt or more to taste (you’ll likely need more)
3 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste)
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1-3 tablespoons water to loosen dressing if it gets too thick
Trim the bottom few inches off the kale stems and discard. Slice the kale into ½-inch ribbons. You should have 5-6 cups. Place the kale in a large bowl.
Use the side of a chef’s knife, pound or mince the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into a paste or grate the garlic on a micro-plane. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl. Add the tahini, yogurt, the oil, lemon juice, pinch of salt, pepper flakes and whisk to combine. You may need to add some water to loosen the dressing a bit. Pour the dressing over the kale and toss very well (the dressing will be thick and need lots of tossing to coat the leaves) or work it in with your hands. Then add the chickpeas and the toasty crumbs, if using. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes or more to soften.
Potato Salad with Parsley and Red Onion
This is a lovely combination of flavors whether you use a creamy (yogurt or sour cream) dressing or a vinaigrette.
1/4 of a medium red onion (or more), sliced in half and then sliced into thin, half rounds
1.5 lb (or more or less), potatoes, scrubbed well
Generous ½ cup parsley, washed and chopped
Creamy Dressing:
½ cup Greek or plain whole milk yogurt or sour cream
2 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar (or more to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons good olive oil
Vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons red wine or cider vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard, whole grain is great if you have it
4 tablespoons good olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Soak the onion slices in a bowl of ice water for 20 minutes (this removes some of their bite) or longer.
Cook the whole potatoes in plenty of water until just tender. It’s easy to overcook them so test regularly and take smaller potatoes out first. Let the potatoes cool—you can speed up this process but slicing them into rounds while they’re still hot and spreading them out on a board. You just don’t want to dress them when they’re really hot.
When the potatoes have cooled, drain the onions well and toss them with whatever dressing you made. Adjust for seasoning with salt, pepper and vinegar.
One-Pot Pasta with Sweet Peppers and Delicata Squash
It makes good leftovers and can be adapted with spices, herbs and other vegetables or meats even depending on your taste and/or what you have on hand. You can change the ratio of vegetable to pasta and if you add the fennel (as suggested below) you could reduce the pasta by ½ cup and reduce the liquid by a bit as well, in case you have fennel leftover from last week.
Generously serves 4-5
Oil
1 onion, diced (or 1 large leek, well washed, halved and thinly sliced)
2-3 sweet peppers, trimmed and chopped
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into small dice (optional–see headnote)
1 small-ish delicata squash, scrubbed but not peeled, halved, seeds and strings removed and cut into small chunks
1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme (optional)
1 ½ cups small pasta such as small elbow macaroni or ditalini (tiny tubes)
3 ½ cups water (or vegetable broth or chicken stock)
Salt
½ cup or so grated cheese (Parmesan or sharp cheddar or whatever grate-able cheese you have)
Black pepper
In a large heavy skillet heat about 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and thyme, sweet peppers and fennel, if using, and cook for about 5 minutes until the vegetables soften. Add the squash pieces and a few pinches of salt and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring often. Add a little oil if it starts sticking. Add the pasta and the water and about ½ teaspoon of salt. Stir well, bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer. Cover and cook for about 8 minutes. Check occasionally to see if there is enough liquid. When the pasta and the vegetables are almost tender add the escarole and cook for 2 more minutes. Most of the liquid should be absorbed at this point. Take it off the heat and stir in the cheese and add some black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt if need be. Cook for another few minutes if at all watery. You want to have a silky sauce coating the pasta.
Red Onion Jams
–from the Minimalist (Mark Bittman in the NYTimes)
I promise it will not be hard to find ways to enjoy these savory jams!
Red Onion Jam with Red Wine and Rosemary: Thinly slice at least two large red onions (add more if you have them since they reduce a lot in the cooking and you can add any other kinds of onion or shallot as well) and cook them in olive oil until very soft. Add chopped rosemary and red wine, and cook until the jam thickens.
Onion Jam with Bacon and Bourbon: Thinly slice at least two large red onions (add more if you can and add any other kinds of onion or shallot since it will reduce significantly in the cooking) and cook in olive oil with chopped bacon (just a slice or two) until soft. Add a little bourbon and brown sugar to taste and cook until the jam thickens.
Salsa Verde (Italian Parsley Sauce)
This is a versatile, zippy Italian sauce. I often just make it with parsley, garlic, lemon juice or vinegar, oil and salt but the addition of capers and little onion makes it even more fun. Some versions include a couple of anchovies so by all means use them if you have them. And some include a hard boiled egg, the yolk mashes and combined with the other ingredients and the white, finely chopped and stirred in at the end.
You don’t need to use a food processor and I actually prefer the slightly rougher texture of it when all is chopped by hand but I often use the processor.
1 medium bunch parsley, well washed and stems removed (but don’t bother picking all the leaves off the remaining stems)
Grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 small shallot or chunk of onion, finely diced (optional)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed (optional) and chopped up a bit
2 small garlic cloves, minced
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or white or red wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Either finely chop everything and zest the lemon and mix well or combine all the ingredients except the oil in the food processor and pulse until fairly uniformly and finely chopped. You don’t want to end up with a puree so don’t over do it. Drizzle in the olive oil and pulse a couple more times. Taste and adjust with salt, pepper, lemon juice or vinegar if needed.
Suggestions for using it:
- Drizzle generously over roasted veggies
- Use as a spread for sandwiches
- Dress hardboiled eggs, canned Oregon Albacore and boiled potatoes
- Use as a dressing for a pasta or rice salad
- Dress white beans with it or stir it into a white bean puree for a delicious spread
- Stir a few tablespoons into a soup when serving.
- Delicious with sautéed shrimp or other seafood or grilled beef
Sweet Pepper (Sausage) and Onion Pizza
Sweet peppers, sausage and onions are a classic combination and probably my husband’s favorite pizza topping. You can also skip the sausage and use more onion and herbs. And late summer/early fall is the time of year to take advantage. I often use the whole wheat pizza dough from Grand Central Bakery, though I was a whole wheat pizza dough skeptic for a long time, I’ve been totally converted. But by all means make your own if you have time.
1 (14oz) ball pizza dough
3-4 sweet peppers, washed, halved, deseeded and cut into ½-inch slices
½ a large red onion, thinly sliced
1 4-ounce (more or less) pork sausage, spicy or mild, crumbled or sliced
3 tablespoons fresh herbs such as oregano, parsley and basil (I use these if I’m not using sausage but you could certainly do both)
Scant ½ cup Parmesan or Asiago Stella
Olive oil
Salt
Preheat oven (or grill) to 500 degrees with a pizza stone if you have one.
In a large skillet heat a little olive oil. Add the peppers and onion and a pinch or two of salt and cook rapidly, stirring often over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes until softening and browning. Add the sausage and cook for another 4-5 minutes. It doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through as it will finish in the oven.
Flour a pizza peel or the back of a cookie sheet. Stretch out your dough into a nice big round-ish shape and place on the peel. Working quickly brush the dough with a bit of olive oil and then evenly distribute the remaining ingredients, ending with the parmesan. You can also hold off and add the Parmesan at the end when you take it out. If you’re using fresh herbs, add them just before the pizza is done. Sprinkle the whole thing with sea salt.
With a decisive but careful couple of jerks of your wrist transfer the pizza directly onto the hot stone. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the edges are browned and the toppings are beginning to brown as well.
Miso-Roasted Delicata, Onions and Carrots
This is a recipe that is delicious with a great variety of vegetables and handy to turn to when you have a random assortment of things that need using up. This is delicious with kohlrabi, celery root, winter squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, turnips and pretty much any other vegetable that takes well to roasting. The quantity and combination of vegetables is completely up to you and you can easily scale the below recipe up or down.
You could serve this with/on some simply braised kale without some grilled sausages for a lovely fall meal. I also like to add chickpeas to the vegetables, adding another dimension and texture.
Serves 4
about 2 lbs vegetables: thickly sliced onions, sliced or cubed delicata and chunks of sweet pepper
1 cup drained chickpeas (optional but very good)
2 tablespoons miso (I typically use yellow or red–red being a bit stronger but use any kind you have on hand)
1 tablespoon soy sauce or Tamari
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey (or maple syrup) or more to taste
2 tablespoons oil of choice (I use olive or grape seed)
Chopped parsley to finish
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Put the vegetables and chickpeas, if using, in a large bowl. In a small bowl whisk together the remaining ingredients, except the parsley, and drizzle over vegetables. Toss well and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast, tossing the mixture occasionally, for about 35-40 minutes until the vegetables are very tender and caramelizing around the edges. Serve topped with herbs.