Easy Tahini Cilantro Carrot Salad

This is a very simple and easy to make salad. You can easily add a variety of proteins to the salad. I would recommend black beans, fried tofu, hunks of grilled white fish, spicy grilled shrimp, or even roasted chicken pieces.

Dressing
Juice from one lemon
Olive oil
2 tbs. Tahini
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 heaping tsp. Sea salt (or kosher)
Pepper to taste

To Make the Dressing
You will not use all of the dressing for this recipe unless you make a very large batch of carrot salad.  It will keep for several days in the refrigerator and you can also use it to dress green salads. In a jar, add salt and lemon juice.  Mix to dissolve salt.  Add all ingredients except oil.  Mix vigorously to combine.  Pour in olive oil.  You should use the same amount of oil as there are other ingredients in the jar.  (In other words: if there is half an inch in the jar before adding the oil, add a half inch of oil)  The oil will sit on top of the other ingredients, making this simple.  Incorporate with a fork.  Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously.

Salad Ingredients
Carrots, julienned
Black sesame seeds
White sesame seeds
Cilantro, coarse to finely chopped
Cooked black beans (optional)
Sesame oil
Lemon juice
1/2 tsp. Honey
Jalapeno pepper, finely diced

Assembling the Salad
Toss the carrots, sesame seeds, jalapeno pepper, black beans (if using), and enough dressing to coat. Mix the honey and lemon juice together to blend. Blend with carrots and add a drizzle of sesame oil. Mix in cilantro and toss again.

Serving Suggestions
Serve as a side to falafel, grilled white fish, or spicy tacos. Pairs well with a dry Riesling or a full bodied rose.

Roasted Yam Is What I Yam!

Well, if it's true, why fight it?! The New York Times had a brief article about baby sweet potatoes five days ago. The paper told New Yorkers where they could procure New England-- as well as California-- baby sweet potatoes. But really!! Why would you prefer those options over Southern yams? Sweet potatoes, often called yams (even though they aren't the same species) thrive in hot, moist climates and have long been associated with Southern cuisine. Anyone who has ever tried a Louisiana yam knows they've tasted the tastiest. And if you haven't tried one, lucky for you it's harvest time down South!

The following recipes call for Southern yams. This time of year you can find sweet potatoes (a.k.a. yams) at farmers markets anywhere in the South.  If you aren't down in our neck of the woods, ask your grocer to order Louisiana sweet potato "yams."  Even groceries located in the Colorado mountains can get them in, so don't be afraid to ask!  Here are a couple of great savory yam dishes.

Roasted Yams
Yams
Olive oil
Salt & fresh cracked pepper
Herbes de Provence
Garlic (optional)
Fresh herbs (parsley or tarragon)

Turn oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.  Cut yams in half lengthwise.  Cut in half again lengthwise.  Cut into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces.  Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs de Provence.  Place in a single layer in a roasting pan, cookie sheet, or cast iron skillet.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Pull out of oven and mix to keep them from sticking to the baking surface.  Return to oven.  Continue to bake 20-30 minutes until cooked. When ready to serve you can toss them in a bowl with olive oil, diced garlic and chopped, fresh herbs.

Roasted Sweet Potato Spears
Cut sweet potatoes into spears.  Then follow the above instructions for cooking.

Menu Suggestions: Start your meal off with a kale salad. Follow that with a whole, baked flounder and roasted sweet potatoes.  If you don't have access to flounder, try another delicate white fish.

Pairing Suggestions:    If you are opting for the above suggested menu, consider an Alsatian Pinot Gris or Blanc.  I love Trimbach's 2007 Pinot Gris Reserve ($23), but it might be hard to find that vintage still on the market.  If you are serving these along side poultry, black beans or a bean stew, open an earthy Rhone red to drink. Go for a Rasteau if you can find one! Otherwise a Cotes-du-Rhone will work well. You could also go for a dry Douro from Portugal.

Enjoy!

Addictive Kale Salad

I know, it's hard for some to imagine:

1. kale in a salad and
2. the addictive quality of kale.

But this salad will prove the above title good and true to all doubters.  Plus, kale is one of those cold-hardy greens that gets sweeter and tastier as the temperature outside turns colder.  You can serve this as a main-course salad, but be forewarned, it is truly addictive.  You, and your guests, will just keep eating it until it is gone.  It would also make a nice introduction to a whole roasted chicken.  (You'll have to find a recipe for that elsewhere: I don't dish yard birds!)

Ingredients
1/3 cup Pine nuts
1/4 cup Currants
1/2 cup loose, shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano
1 bunch Kale, washed, stems removed, cut down the middle, and finely sliced cross-wise into thin slivers. Dried.

Dressing
Juice from one lemon
Olive oil
1 tbs. Brewers yeast (flakes)
1 tbs. Dijon mustard
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 Avocado (optional), mashed
1/4 heaping tsp. Sea salt (or kosher)
Pepper to taste


To Make the Dressing
You can make this dressing ahead of time.  It will keep for several days in the refrigerator, but is best used quickly.  In a jar add salt and lemon juice.  Mix to dissolve salt.  Add all ingredients except avocado and oil.  Mix vigorously to combine.  Pour in olive oil.  You should use the same amount of oil as there are other ingredients in the jar.  (In other words: if there is half an inch in the jar before adding the oil, add a half inch of oil)  The oil will sit on top of the other ingredients, making this simple.  If using, add mashed avocado.  Incorporate with a fork.  Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously.

Composing the Salad
In a salad bowl, combine kale and desired quantity of salad dressing.  Toss.  Add cheese and toss again.  Add pine nuts and currants to the top.  Serve!

Pairing Suggestions:  Try this salad with a crisp, dry white wine such as an Italian Friulano.  Or, as always, my own weakness: a dry, light rose.

You Say Shrimp, I Say Ceviche!

So it's no longer the season of hot summer days.  But that doesn't mean the shrimp aren't still running!  My fresh-off-the-boat shrimp the other day were so delicious that all I could think was: I want to eat these raw!  But I'm a scaredy-cat (and I've never seen raw shrimp sashimi!--although I'm sure it's out there).  Needless to say, I decided I would make ceviche.  It has taken three days for me to catch another boat coming in with shrimp available, but ten pounds of shrimp later, my ceviche is a reality.  You may need to adjust the quantity of shrimp and lime juice, but this is roughly what I used.  Make sure you have extremely fresh shrimp as shrimp are quickly contaminated with bacteria that lime juice won't kill.  This is a very tasty, light meal.  Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 1/4 cup fresh squeezed lime and lemon juice (I used 8 limes, 1 lemon)
4 lbs. shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 Jalepeno, finely minced
4 Shallots, minced
1 Tomato, chopped
1/2 cup Cilantro leaves, chopped
2 Cloves garlic
Worcesthershire Sauce
Olive oil
Crystal Hot Sauce (optional)
Salt & Pepper

Putting It Together
In a glass bowl mix shrimp and lime juice.  You should have enough lime juice to completely cover the shrimp,  if you don' t, squeeze more juice.  The shrimp and juice will turn pink almost immediately.  (When I first mixed the shrimp in I had a lot of extra juice, so I added more shrimp!) Let chill in the refrigerator at least 3 hours.  Remove and add solid ingredients.  Mix.  Return to refrigerator.  One hour before ready to serve, add a  couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt & pepper to taste.

Serving It Up
Pour into a chalice (or a bowl, if you don't happen to own a chalice!).  Garnish with radishes, lime wedges  and slices of avocado.  Serve with organic (or non-GMO) tortilla chips.

Pairing Suggestions:  How about a Negra Modelo?  Or else try a crisp Vinho Verde or Sauvignon Blanc.

Healthy! Farro Stir Fry with Bok Choy and Jerusalem Artichokes

Jerusalem Artichokes. Topinambour. Sunchokes. Earth Apple. Sunroot.  Whatever you choose to call them, they are delicious, and in season, right now!  So for a half far away,  half home-grown recipe this one strikes a nice, healthy balance.  I cooked it up vegetarian style, with no protein.  You can easily add some chicken or other protein to this recipe and it would be quite good.  Bok choy is also fresh at the farmer's market now and it goes amazingly well with the sunchokes and farro (from Italy)--and helps this dish win points in the healthy aesthetic department.  This recipe could benefit from a touch of sweet chili sauce, but I didn't have the ingredients for that on hand.  If you were good at Asian mustard sauces that also might add a nice kick.

Ingredients (Serves two as a main dish)
1 Cup Farro, rinsed
1 1/3 Cup Water
8 Heads medium sized bok choy, cleaned, chopped into 1/2 inch slices, keeping the stems and leaves separate
10 Jerusalem artichokes, cleaned, thinly sliced
4 Medium cloves garlic, peeled, chopped
Red pepper flakes, salt, and freshly ground pepper to taste
Olive oil

Making Dinner 
Bring Farro and water to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and lightly simmer for 15-20 minutes until al dente. Drain if necessary.  Mix with a fork. 

If using a protein (chicken, beans, prosciutto) with this dish, cook them first in the saute pan and then set aside.  Add back into the dish just before you add the bok choy leaves.  In a saute pan over medium-high heat, add olive oil, bok choy stems and sunchokes.  Add red pepper flakes.  Saute approximately 5 minutes until stems are bright green and chokes are al dente.  Add bok choy leaves.  Stir until leaves are partially wilted.  Push to one side of the pan.  Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to empty side of pan. add garlic and saute until just begins to turn colors.  Mix vegetables into garlic.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Add cooked farro and mix.  Serve hot!  If you have some hot sesame oil a drizzle of that would enhance this dish.  I also added a squeeze of lemon juice to my bowlful.

Pairing Suggestion:  A nice chilled sake will go wonderfully with this dish.  So would a village-level Beaujolais.

Anchovy Dressing and Tart Green Salad

This is my classic dressing with a tart and savory twist.  It is simple to make and quite tasty.

Ingredients
Four anchovy fillets
1/3 cup olive oil
Three cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Juice from one lemon
One tablespoon Dijon mustard (preferably Maille)
One tablespoon brewer's yeast flakes
One teaspoon sea salt
One head of escarole (or a mix of escarole, radicchio, and romaine; just make sure the majority of your greens are from the chicory family), cut or torn into bite size pieces, washed and dried.
Optional: one cup of fresh basil leaves

Making the Dressing
In a small sauce pan put the oil, anchovies and garlic.  Heat on low until the anchovies are fully melted and the garlic has just started changing colors.  Let cool.

In a glass jar put lemon juice, salt, mustard, and brewer's yeast.  Mix thoroughly.

Pour the cooled oil mixture into the jar.  The level of the lemon juice mixture and olive oil mixture should be identical; if they are not adjust as needed (by adding either olive oil or lemon juice).
Put the lid on the jar and shake vigorously to emulsify.

Dress your salad in a large salad bowl and
Enjoy!

Tart Green Salad

This is a very tasty, eye-pleasing, belly-filling salad! Lynne Rossetto Kasper's salad of the same name provides the inspiration for this dish.  The tart greens pair beautifully with the warm garlic balsamic dressing.  It is quite an easy salad to make once you are habituated.  Make sure to serve the salad on a platter and not in a bowl: the diversity of colors and textures makes this a stunning salad.  The warm dressing will be drizzled over the top (and not tossed in).

Ingredients
One medium red onion, sliced into thin rings

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

Mix of greens: radicchio, escarole, romaine, curly endive cut or torn into bite size pieces
1 cup fresh basil

1 cup fresh flat leaf parsley leaves

4 scallions (white and green parts) thinly sliced on the diagonal

1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
One loosely packed cup Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved with a vegetable peeler
6 large cloves of garlic, thickly diced
3/4 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar (I used vinegar from my own barrel, but a good red wine vinegar will work)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
Optional: Prosciutto di Parma, cut into bite-sized squares; cooked and then lightly sauteed white beans

Preparation

Soak the onion in the 1/2 cup of red wine vinegar for 30 minutes (this will tame its bite).  Wash and spin the greens, basil and parsley.  Mix the greens with half the pine nuts, most of the scallions, half a cup of shaved Parmigiano, half the prosciutto and/or white beans (if using).  Arrange on a platter.  

Making the Dressing

In a medium sauce pan cook the olive oil and garlic on low heat until the garlic just begins to color (take care not to overcook the garlic).  Remove the garlic from the oil and reserve.  Turn up the heat to medium and add the vinegars and lightly whisk together.  Add the brown sugar.  Let the dressing slowly bubble for a minute.  Taste for sweet/tart balance.  Stir in reserved garlic.  Season with salt and pepper.  Whisk everything together vigorously.  Set aside until ready to serve, reheating to warm if it has cooled off.  This dressing can be made several hours ahead of time.  (I had left over dressing and used some the next day and it was quite good then as well.  However, it is best made fresh.) 

Salad Assembly

Spread the drained red onions across the salad greens.  Sprinkle the remaining scallions, pine nuts, Parmigiano, prosciutto and white beans across the top.  Spoon the warm, thoroughly whisked dressing over the salad.  Enjoy immediately!

Pairing Suggestions: I would serve this with a crisp white from Friuli, or a young Chianti.  A good, fruity Beaujolais could also work.  If you do go for a red I would serve it slightly chilled!

Indian-Style Ratatouille

I came up with this recipe after talking about India with someone at the Glenwood Springs Farmer's Market. When I went home to make dinner I felt like diverging from my traditional Mediterranean based diet. (But not too far off, as you'll see!)

Ingredients
1 Onion (small), diced
1 Zucchini (large), cut into bite size pieces
1 Eggplant (small), peeled and cut into bite size pieces
Tomatoes, rough cut
Garlic, crushed
1 Cinnamon stick, whole
Turmeric
Curry powder
Olive oil
Cayenne pepper

Heat oil in a large cast iron skillet. Add cayenne pepper and cinnamon stick. Add diced onion and saute until soft. Add Eggplant and Zucchini and a bit more olive oil. Saute. Add turmeric and curry powder. Stir well. Add garlic and any other desired herbs. Add cut up tomatoes and continue to cook. Serve with rice and chutney.

Wine suggestions: What else but a riesling! (From the Mosel of course)