Recipes

 

Winter Squash Fritters and Apple Chutney

 

 

Ingredients:

Winter Squash Fritters 1 medium butternut or other winter squash 1 small red onion 2 small carrots Stale bread 4 local pastured eggs Ground cumin seed Salt Cooking oil Optional: Grated cheese    Cooking Instructions: Winter Squash FrittersPeel the squash and remove pulp and seeds. Grate the squash meat and set aside. Chop or process the bread into crumbs. Add the bread crumbs to the whisked egg. Optionally, add some grated cheese, such as parmesan, measured to your tastes. The mixture should be quite thick, as it is the “glue” of the patties.  Thinly slice the onion. Shred the carrots. Mix the squash, egg-bread mixture, onion, carrots, a pinch of salt, and a pinch of cumin. The mixture should be viscous enough to make wet patties. In a large heated sauté pan, add a generous amount of oil and pan fry the patties until golden brown. Flip and brown the second side. Allow to cool in a colander or on a baking rack, with a towel or paper towel underneath to soak up excess oil. Alternatively, you may bake the patties on an oiled pan. ———– Ingredients Quick Apple Chutney 1 Tbsp. oil 1 small onion, diced 2 apples, diced 1 cup apple cider 1/4 cup honey 1 Tbsp. lemon juice 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper or 1/4 tsp. minced fresh chili pepper Salt

Cooking Instructions:

Quick Apple Chutney  Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Add oil and cook apples and onions for about 10 minutes. Add pumpkin pie spice, hot pepper and a pinch of salt and cook 1 minute. Add lemon juice, vinegar, sugar and cider and bring to a boil, scraping bits from bottom of pan, until cider is reduced and slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. If lemon juice is not available, simply use additional vinegar instead. Serve atop squash fritters.

Serves: 4-6 Calories Per Serving: NA Preparation Time: 45 minutes Difficulty: Average

 

 

 

Tuscan Minestrone with White Beans 

This soup recipe from Carol Field, author of Celebrating Italy and In Nonna’s Kitchen, comes from Riccardo and Gianna Bertelli, lifelong friends who she and her husband met when they first went to live in Italy in 1972. The two couples became great friends over many things, not least of which was Riccardo and Gianna’s dedication to serving traditional Tuscan dishes. Both came from old Tuscan families and they ate extremely well at home. Riccardo was Carol’s guru on the subject of Italian food, especially the food of Tuscany, and Gianna was and still is a fabulous cook. Adding pesto, the traditional dish of Liguria, was Carol’s own touch. Serves 6 to 8

 

• 2 cups dried white beans, soaked overnight in water to cover
• Sea salt
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 5 teaspoons tomato paste
• 1/2 head Savoy cabbage, shredded
• Small bunch kale (about 10 ounces), finely sliced
• 3 leeks, cleaned and finely sliced
• 3 zucchini, diced
• Small handful fresh basil, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Pesto Makes 1 cup
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves (about 2 small bunches)
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons pine nuts or toasted walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 1/2 garlic cloves, cut in half and coarsely chopped
• Big pinch salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Garnishes
• 6 to 8 slices grilled bread
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

 

 

Drain the beans and place them in a large deep pot with water to cover, approximately 3 quarts. Bring to a boil and simmer very slowly until they are tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Add 2 or 2 1/2 teaspoons salt to taste when they have finished cooking and not before. Drain, reserve the cooking water, and purée half of the beans in a food processor or blender. Set them aside. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan or large, deep pot. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic, and rosemary and sauté over medium-low heat until they are beginning to brown slightly, about 15 minutes. Dilute the tomato paste in a few tablespoons of warm water and stir it into the pot. Add the cabbage, kale, leeks, zucchini, basil, parsley, and the whole and puréed beans with their cooking water. Add salt and pepper to taste and a little extra hot water if the mixture gets too dense. Cook slowly until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. If you need more water, just add it. While the minestrone is cooking, prepare the pesto. Purée all the pesto ingredients in a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in a blender. (If you aren’t serving the soup immediately, refrigerate the pesto in a small bowl covered with plastic wrap until ready to use.) When you are ready to serve the soup, stir 1/2 cup of the pesto into the minestrone. Serve the thick soup poured over slices of grilled bread and drizzle a thread of extra-virgin olive oil over the top. Pass grated Parmigiano-Reggiano at the table.

Grandma Salazar’s Albóndigas Soup

Albóndigas is the Spanish word for meatball. Traci des Jardins, chef/owner of Jardiniere and Mijita restaurants in San Francisco, learned to make this soup with her Mexican-born grandmother. Grandma Salazar loved to spend time with Traci in the kitchen, and called her mijita, meaning “little one.” Traci now serves this soup at restaurant Mijita, where she serves the authentic Mexican food of her childhood. This recipe calls for Mexican oregano (which has a slightly smoky flavor), but any oregano will do. Serves 6 to 8

• 1/2 cup short-grain white rice
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided2
• white onions, diced
• 8 ounces ground pork
• 8 ounces ground beef
• 2 eggs
• 1 bunch fresh cilantro, picked and chopped
• 3 sprigs fresh mint leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 stalks celery, sliced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 8 ounces tomatoes, blanched, peeled, and diced or 1 can (12 ounces) peeled and crushed tomatoes
• 1 to 1 1/2 quarts Chicken Stock (page xx) or broth
• 1 zucchini, diced

In a small pot over high heat, bring to a boil 1 cup water and pour it over the rice. Let it soak for 20 minutes and then drain. In a sauté pan, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat and sauté half of the onion until soft. Remove from the heat and let cool. In a large bowl, combine the cooked onion with the pork and beef. Add the soaked rice, eggs, half of the cilantro, half of the mint, the oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Blend together well and form into 1-inch meatballs. In a large sauté pan over medium-high heat, put the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan and brown the meatballs lightly. Remove them from the pan and add the remaining onion, the celery, carrot, and garlic; sweat slightly and add the tomatoes. Add the stock and bring to a simmer, then add the meatballs and the remaining mint. Simmer until the flavors have melded and the meatballs are firm (but not so long that they fall apart), about 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper, add the zucchini, and cook for another 10 minutes. Garnish servings with the remaining cilantro.

ORANGE CURRY HUMMUS

A surprising favorite with our students, the recipe for this flavorful hummus came from my mom’s midwestern house. We’ve added more spices than most midwesterners will tolerate.

Ingredients: • 1/4 cup parsley leaves • 2-3 Tbs chopped onion • 2 garlic cloves• 1/4 tsp ground ginger • 1/2 tsp paprika • 1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice • 2Tbs Tahini • 2 Tbs rice or red wine vinegar • 2 tsp soy sauce • 1 tsp Dijon mustard • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric • 1 15oz can chickpeas, drained • 1/2 tsp ground coriander • Sea salt to taste • 1/2 tsp ground cumin.Chop parsley, onion and garlic in a food processor (or chop with a knife). Add the remaining ingredients to the parsley mixture and puree with a food processor or immersion blender, or hand mash until well mixed together. Add salt to taste.

 

HEALTHY RANCH DRESSING

Store bought Ranch can have over 30! ingredients, including artificial flavors and colors. Count our ingredients below and compare. Ranch is here to stay for now; it’s a little high in fat, but it gets the veggies in the kids. If we’re going to eat it, let’s eat the healthiest Ranch we can!

• 1 cup mayonnaise • 1 cup sour cream • 1 cup buttermilk and 1.5 tablespoons (more/less to get correct thickness) • 1 teaspoon each of dried chives, parsley, and dill weed • 1/2 teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder • 1/4 teaspoon salt and black pepper.

In a large bowl, whisk together all of the ingredients, adding.salt & pepper and spices to taste. Make thinner for dressing, thicker for dip by adjusting amounts of buttermilk, mayonnaise and sour cream. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.