Miso and Cider Vinegar Roasted Vegetables
Chard and Chickpea Stew (with Chorizo)
Radicchio, Fennel and Carrot Salad with Parmesan and Sage
Spaghetti with Radicchio
Oven Roasted Carrot Fries
Beet Pesto
Chard and Onion Panade
Miso and Cider Vinegar Roasted Vegetables
Use whatever combination of winter roots, tubers and squash you have on hand. Toss in some chunks of onion for variety. Skip the fresh herbs if you don’t have any as it’s nice and bright even without.
Serves 4
1 delicata squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds and strings scraped out and then cut into quarters lengthwise and then crosswise into chunks
4-5 medium carrots, scrubbed, trimmed and cut into 1/3-inch slices on the bias
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 generous tablespoon white miso
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 small serrano pepper, minced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro or parsley
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Spread the vegetables on a sheet pan. Mix the remaining ingredients, except the salt, in a small bowl and drizzle over the vegetables. Be sure to use all the dressing/marinade and toss the vegetables so they are evenly coated. Roast for about 30 minutes, stirring several times during the roasting, until the vegetables are tender and browning in spots. Toss with the herbs, if using, taste and adjust seasoning with salt if needed. Serve hot or warm.
Chard and Chickpea Stew (with Chorizo)
Delicious with or without the chorizo, or any meat you want to add.
Serves 4
Olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, scrubbed and cut into small dice
2-4 ounces chorizo, either fresh or cured (use the smaller amount if cured), crumbled or chopped
1 bunch chard, well washed and chopped, stems washed and chopped fairly finely
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed (or 2 teaspoons ground)
1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1 minced, seeded Serrano or jalapeño pepper
1 cup diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
2-3 cups cooked chickpeas, drained (you can use some cooking liquid if you have home-cooked ones)
1 cup water or chickpea cooking liquid
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Greek yogurt for serving
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the onions, chard stems, carrots, and chorizo, if using, and sauté for about 10 minutes until softening and browning. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and red pepper flakes or hot pepper and cook for another 2 minutes or so. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and chard and water or cooking liquid, stirring well, and a few pinches of salt. Bring to a lively simmer, then turn down and cook gently for about 10 minutes so the chickpeas have a chance to absorb the flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning. You can add a squeeze of lemon juice at this point if you want. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt and enjoy.
Radicchio, Fennel and Carrot Salad with Parmesan and Sage
This is a fresh, robust salad perfect for a weeknight supper or holiday meal. You can scale it up or down and change the ratio of vegetables any way you’d like.
Serves 4-6 as a side
1 smallish head radicchio, halved and (core removed and tossed if there is one) and thinly sliced
2 small-medium carrots, scrubbed and cut into matchsticks or julienned (by all means use a mandolin if you have one)
1 fennel bulb, trimmed and cut into matchsticks
2-3 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1 ounce (or more) Parmesan or aged Asiago thinly shaved
1 teaspoon fresh sage, finely chopped
Dressing:
11/2 – 2 teaspoons apple cider syrup (reduced apple cider) or honey or maple syrup
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine or sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Put all the salad ingredients in a large bowl or on a platter. Mix the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and then pour dressing over salad. Gently toss to thoroughly mix. Taste and adjust seasoning with more vinegar, oil or salt and pepper.
This is a quick dish that pairs the robust, slightly bitter flavor of the radicchio with a little cream, Parmesan, lemon zest and juice and parsley.
Spaghetti with Radicchio
–Inspired by the radicchio, lemon, ricotta spaghetti recipe in The Lemon Cookbook by Ellen Jackson
Serves 4-6
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 head radicchio, about 3/4 lb, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 large red onion (or any onion/shallots you have), diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of half a lemon, more to taste
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
3/4 cup grated Parmesan
1 lb spaghetti
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and cook the spaghetti according to package instructions.
Meanwhile heat the olive oil in very large skillet (ideally the pasta will fit in it eventually) over medium-high heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook for about 5 minutes or until softening. Add the radicchio and a few more pinches of salt and a tablespoon or two of water. Saute for about 2 minutes, just until wilted. Add the lemon juice and mix in well. Add the cream and simmer for 2 minute until thickened. Stir in the lemon zest and the parsley and plenty of black pepper and taste for salt.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1/2 cup of hot, starchy cooking liquid. Add the pasta to the radicchio sauce, along with the Parmesan and a little of the hot, pasta cooking water. Stir well and add a little more water if it’s at all dry. Serve immediately.
Oven Roasted Carrot Fries
Carrots get even sweeter roasted in the oven with just a little spice.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Scrub but don’t peel carrots, however many you want, and cut into carrot sticks. In a small bowl mix together a bit of ground cumin, paprika or pimenton (smoked Spanish paprika) and salt. In a large bowl mix the carrot sticks with the spice mixture, as evenly as you can. Then mix in a tablespoon or two of olive oil and spread the carrots on a sheet pan. Bake, tossing occasionally until tender and crisped a bit around the edges.
Serve with a squeeze of lime juice and or homemade aioli or store bought mayo doctored with a little garlic and lemon juice, if you’d like.
Beet Pesto
This is a delicious and beautiful variation on regular pesto. And if you have cooked or roasted beets on hand it’s very quick to pull together. You can serve over grains, hardboiled eggs or other egg dishes or roasted veggies or as a spread or dip.
Yields about 1 1/2 cups
1 1/2 cups cooked, diced beets
Generous handful of walnuts, toasted or raw (or hazelnuts or almonds)
1 small clove garlic
About ¼ -1/3 cup grated Parmesan or other hard cheese
¼ cup good-tasting olive oil
Salt and pepper
1-2 teaspoons lemon juice or 1 teaspoon of cider, white wine or sherry vinegar
Process the cheese and nuts first until finely ground. Then add the remaining ingredients and process until smooth. Adjust seasoning to your liking.
To use with pasta, dilute with ¼ cup of hot pasta-cooking water before tossing with cooked pasta. Top with extra cheese.
Chard and Onion Panade
–Inspired by the Zuni Café Cookbook by Judy Rodgers
I love panades–stale bread and stewed onions slowly baked with stock and other vegetables. This one takes quite a while to bake so it might be a better weekend dish or prep it in the morning and then put in the oven the minute you get home.
Serves 4 as a main course or 8 as a side dish
1 1/2 pounds thinly sliced onions or use 3-4 shallots and 4 leeks
Up to 1/3 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
Salt
1 very large bunch or 2 smaller bunches chard, leaves cut into 1-inch-wide strips, stems thinly sliced
10 ounces stale, crusty bread, cut into cubes
Up to 4 cups chicken or good vegetable stock
or homemade veggie bouillon broth
6 ounces Gruyère or sharp cheddar, coarsely grated
Warm 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large pot and cook the onions or leeks and shallots and chard stems over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or so until they begin to soften, stirring often. Stir in the garlic and a few pinches of salt and lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are a pale golden color and tender about 15- 20. If at any point the onions look as if they may dry out, cover them to trap some of the moisture in the pan. Taste for salt.
Wilt the chard, in batches if it doesn’t all fit at once, in a large pan or pot, with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of water. This should just take a few minutes. Set the chard aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Toss the bread with a few tablespoons of olive oil, a generous 1/4 cup of the stock or broth and a few pinches of salt, to taste.
In a 3-quart Dutch oven assemble the panade in layers, starting with a generous layer of onions, followed by scattering of bread cubes (you don’t have to cover the onions completely), a second layer of onions, a layer of chard, and a handful of the cheese. Repeat until you’ve used up the ingredients, aiming for 2 to 3 layers of each. It’s pretty to have each item visible on the top layer, just for fun, and drizzle with any remaining olive oil.
Bring the remaining 3 3/4 cups stock to a simmer and taste for salt. Add stock slowly, around the edge of the dish. For a very juicy, soft panade, best served on its own, like a soup or risotto, add stock nearly to the rim; for a firm but succulent panade, nice as a side dish, fill to about 1 inch below the rim. Wait a minute for stock to be absorbed, then add more to return to the desired depth. The panade may rise a little as the bread swells.
Set panade on the stove top over low heat and bring to a simmer; look for bubbles around the edges (heating it here saves at least 30 minutes of oven time). Cover the panade with foil and put in the oven. Bake until the panade is piping hot and bubbly. It will rise a little, lifting the foil with it. The top should be pale golden in the center and slightly darker on the edges. This usually takes about 45 minutes but varies by baking dish and oven.
Uncover panade, raise temperature to 375 degrees, and leave until golden brown on top, 10 to 20 minutes. Slide a knife down the side of the dish and check the consistency of the panade. Beneath the crust, it should be very satiny and it should ooze liquid as you press against it with the blade of the knife. If it seems dry, add a few tablespoons simmering chicken stock and bake for 10 minutes longer.