It’s going to be too hot to do much cooking, again (!) this week, in my house at least. So most of the recipes in this week’s post are for room temperature dishes. Pick up a bunch of dill and mint and a few tomatoes and a sweet onion if you’re at a market this week. They’ll be put to good use in the salads below. And if you’re having a hard time staying on top of all the gorgeous lettuce check out the “lettuce management” post below.
Fava Beans with Parsley Oil
Fava Bean and New Potato Pasta “Risotto”
Tabbouleh
Sweet Onion and Parsley Salad
Cabbage and Kale Slaw with Dill
Broccoli with Mustard and Cumin Seeds
Lettuce Management: Storage, Salad Additions & Dressings
Fava Beans with Parsley Oil
I made this dish with favas that were on the bigger side and the bright parsley oil enlivened the sweet, starchy beans. You can certainly omit the bacon and just add a little more olive oil to the pan. And if you have a handful of basil leaves by all means add them or substitute basil for parsley if that’s all you have.
Serves 4 as a side
2 1/2 cups fava beans, shelled, blanched and peeled (see below)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 slices bacon, cut into small dice (optional, see headnote)
1/2 bunch parsley (add a handful of basil leaves if you’d like or sub basil for parsley)
1/2 cup olive oil
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice or red wine vinegar
Salt
Shell the fava beans and drop them in a pot of lightly salted boiling water and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Pinch the skin off each individual bean.
Heat the oil in a heavy skillet. Add the onion and bacon, if using, and saute for 3 minutes or so until the onion is soft and the bacon has rendered. Add the fava beans and about 1/2 cup water and a few pinches of salt and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5 minutes until the liquid has mostly evaporated.
Meanwhile remove any tough stems from the parsley–there’s no need to pick off each leaf as the smaller stems are just fine to keep. Process the parsley in a food processor with the oil and some salt and finally the lemon juice or vinegar. If you’re doing it by hand finely chop the parsley and put it in a bowl and stir in the remaining ingredients. Taste and adjust with salt and or lemon/vinegar. The sauce should be quite thin.
Fava Bean and New Potato Pasta “Risotto”
I heavily adapted this dish from Dorie Greenspan’s wonderful book Around my French Table a few years ago with cauliflower and then I made it with Brussels sprouts and bacon and then with winter squash and sage. I remembered the technique when I had 25 minutes to get dinner on the table and I had fava beans and new potatoes (and basil). It was fantastic.
And finally, as cookbook author Dorie Greenspan notes, “this is risotto” the way that finely sliced apples are carpaccio, which means not at all. . .” but the technique is just enough reminiscent of risotto that I appreciate the reference and continue to use it. My version might not be recognizable to Dorie but it’s a keeper in our household
1 – 11/2 cups shelled blanched fava beans (shell and cook in salted boiling water for 4-5 minutes, drain, run under cold water and pinch of skin from each bean)
½ onion, diced
1 – 1 1/2 cups scrubbed, diced new potatoes
1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
1 1/3 cup tubetti (or ditalini or other small pasta)
4 cups flavorful vegetable broth or chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated Parmesan or other hard, grating cheese (Asiago Stella is a good, cheaper alternative)
Salt
Plenty of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped basil or parsley
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions, potatoes and a few pinches of salt and cook for 7 to 8 minutes, stirring often. You may need to reduce the heat a bit. Now add the broth or stock and bring to a boil. Add the pasta, stirring well and then simmer for about 10 minutes uncovered. Now add the blanched, shelled fava beans, and cook for another 3-4 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. At this point add the cream and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper. Cook uncovered for about 3 minutes until it thickens slightly.
Stir in the Parmesan and the basil and adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
Tabbouleh
–adapted from Davidlebovitz.com
This is by far my favorite version of this classic Levantine Arab Salad. It’s mostly herbs with just a little bulgur. With the freshest of herbs and a good sharp knife you have everything you need for this classic dish. I realize we don’t have tomatoes yet in our share but local ones are already available in many farmers markets so pick some up if you can.
Serves 6-8
3 tablespoons bulgur
3 medium firm ripe tomatoes, cut into small dice
2 green onions, trimmed and very thinly sliced
1 large punch parsley, most of the stalks discarded, leaves washed and dried
2 cups mint leaves (no stems), washed and dried
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon finely ground black pepper
Salt to taste
Juice of 1 lemon, or to taste
About 4-5 tablespoons olive oil
Put the bulgur in small bowl and cover with boiling water. Cover and steam for 10 minutes. Drain well and put in a large salad bowl. Stir it with a fork to help it fluff up.
Put the diced tomatoes in a bowl and set aside while you prepare the herbs.
Using a very sharp knife, grab as much of the parsley and mint as you can handle in a bunch, and slice them very thinly, to end up with nice, fluffy slender strips.
Add the tomatoes to the bulgur as well as the spring onions and herbs. Season with the cinnamon, allspice and pepper. Add salt to taste. Add the lemon juice and olive oil and mix well. Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Serve immediately.
Sweet Onion and Parsley Salad
This is so refreshing a delicious.
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1 small to medium Walla Walla Sweet, halved and thinly sliced lengthwise
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups lightly packed parsley leaves
¼ cup salt-packed capers (or brined), rinsed and drained
¼ cup best olive oil you have
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Zest from one lemon, finely grated on a micro-plane
Grilled crusty bread, to serve
In a medium bowl, toss together mint, onion, lemon juice and salt and pepper; let sit until onion softens, about 10 minutes. Add parsley, capers, oil and zest, and toss until evenly combined. Serve immediately with grilled or toasted bread.
Cabbage and Kale Slaw with Dill
As is often the case, this is more simple technique than real recipe. It easily scales up and down and you can change the ratio of kale to cabbage so use however much you want. The below quantities are just suggestions. If you’re like me you have cabbage leftover from last week and this is a great use for it, combined with this week’s kale.
Serves 6 or more (it keeps well)
½ small green or red cabbage, core removed and sliced as thinly as you can
1 small bunch kale, well washed, ribs or tough stems removed and sliced as thinly as you can into ribbons
1 carrot, grated on the large holes of a box grater (optional)
1 small hot pepper, deseeded and minced (or keep the seeds if you like it hotter)
2 tablespoons minced onion or shallot
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1/2 cup toasted, salted sunflower seeds (toast on a sheet pan in a 300 degree oven tossed with just a little oil and sprinkled with salt until nice and golden brown and toasty smelling about 10-15 minutes) (optional)
Dressing:
3 tablespoons mayonnaise, sour cream or Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard (or more)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 tablespoons cider or red wine vinegar
Juice of half a lemon (or more vinegar, to taste)
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Put all the vegetables and herbs in a big bowl. Whisk together the dressing ingredients mix well with the veggies. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Broccoli with Mustard and Cumin Seeds
This dish is loosely inspired by Kumi Rao of Ruchikala. Kumi cooks spectacular Indian Fusion food. I was MC’ing a cooking demo she did of a classic Indian vegetable dish that inspired this, much simplified version. Chopping the vegetables small and cooking over fairly high heat to brown the vegetables is what sets this dish apart. My son proclaimed this the best broccoli he’s ever had. . . he does love Indian spices/food . . . You could make a meal of this by serving it over rice or lentils and topping it with some yogurt or an egg.
Serves 4
2-3 tablespoons coconut, peanut or olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
4-5 cups broccoli, finely chopped (or other vegetables, see headnote)
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon toasted, crushed coriander seeds (optional)
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper flakes or part of a fresh, minced hot pepper (quantity to taste)
Salt
1/2 up cilantro, chopped
Whole milk plain or Greek yogurt, for serving (optional)
Heat the oil in the largest skillet you have over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring often until browning. Add the garlic and the spices and cook for another minute or two or until the mustard seeds starting making popping sounds and the spices are fragrant. Add a bit more oil if it looks dry. Add the vegetables and a few good pinches of salt. Stir well and cook, over fairly high heat, stirring often until the vegetables are tender. You can cover the pan to speed things up a bit, just check often to make sure you’re not burning the spices. When the vegetables are tender stir in the fresh cilantro. Taste and season with salt, more hot pepper, etc.
Lettuce Management: Storage, Salad Additions & Dressings
Staying on top of lettuce takes a little work. It’s completely worth it but here are a few tricks/methods I employ to keep things interesting on the salad front . . and keep those beautiful heads from going slimy and brown.
Washing and storing:
If you’re having a hard time staying on top of the lettuce, wash enough for two big salads soon after you pick up your share. My preferred way to store the washed lettuce is rolled up in clean, dishtowels. This is actually my preferred drying technique and it stores well that way, or a couple of days. You can put the rolled up lettuce-filled towels in a plastic bag and store in the fridge.
Crunchy additions:
Keep sunflower and/or pumpkin seeds, and/or walnuts or hazelnuts on hand. Pumpkin seeds take just a few minutes to toast in a dry skillet and sunflower seeds toast best in a 300 degree oven with some salt and olive oil. Walnuts and hazelnuts toast well in an oven—no salt or oil needed—as well. And they all add so much to salads.
If you have a slice or two of nice crusty bread that needs using you can toast it and then tear it into little pieces and add it your salad for a little chew and heft.
Pickled additions:
I keep a jar of thinly sliced onions or shallots covered in red wine vinegar in the fridge at all times. A few slices of these pickled onions brightens up salads and many other dish too.
Onions in red wine vinegar–a bright addition to salads.
I sometimes chop up some kimchi and add it to salads, especially ones that include cooked beans.
Fruity additions:
Add chopped sweet cherries, strawberries or blueberries to your green salads. If you have a little goat cheese or feta, that would be a good combo as well.
Dressing variations:
The classic vinaigrette I make is about 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar (red wine, cider, sherry), 3 tablespoons good olive oil; sea salt, freshly ground pepper and if I’m feeling fancy 1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard and a little minced shallot or garlic and some minced thyme or tarragon. You’ll want to scale this up for larger salads and change the ratio to suit your taste. I don’t ever measure as you can easily adjust as you go and no two salads are every the same size. Make about triple this amount and keep it in a jar in the fridge.
Add a couple of teaspoons of heavy cream, mayonnaise (homemade or store bought) or Greek yogurt to a classic vinaigrette (above) for a slightly creamier dressing. Dress your lettuce with this, add ½ cup of toasted sunflower seeds and some thinly sliced onions for a robust salad.
Add ground cumin, lime or lemon zest and some red pepper flakes to a typical vinaigrette or the creamy version above. This is particularly good for slaws and black bean salads.
Add a couple of tablespoons of smashed avocado to your dressing. Lime or lemon juice and some minced garlic is a good combination for this variation.