recipe: beets two ways

[Red stained fingers from the beets]

If you saw my recent Instagram photo of dinner ideas, you may be surprised by the photo above. I do have some big plans for later this week and as a result, I wanted to get my veggies in early. I have two recipes that make the most of fresh fruits and vegetables before spring is officially here. The first is an adaptation of Bon Appétit's Blood Orange, Beet, and Fennel Salad while the other is more a cooking technique than formal recipe. I couldn't stand to throw out the lovely greens that came attached to the beets. Turns out they taste almost identical to swiss chard! The stalk does leach a little red, though. 

Blood Orange, Beet, and Fennel Salad
For this salad, I most followed the prepareation according to the recipe, but changed the proportions. I felt the recommended amount of several ingredients, most notably the beets, is not nearly enough for two people, much less the 4-6 it is suppose to serve. My grocery only had mini golden beets so I used all red beets but mix it up if you can. I also changed the final step to serve the salad in a bowl instead of plated.


5 medium red beets, tops trimmed
5 medium golden beets, tops trimmed
3 blood oranges
2 medium navel oranges
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 small fennel bulb, very thinly sliced crosswise on a mandoline
1/4 red onion, very thinly sliced on a mandoline (about 1/3 cup)
Good-quality extra-virgin olive, pumpkin seed, or walnut oil (for drizzling)
Coarse sea salt,  freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves


Cut beets from leaves, set leaves aside for second recipe. Wash beets and wrap in foil, leaving some water on the beets. Bake at 400 for an hour. 


Juice two of the blood oranges. Add the juice of the blood oranges, lemon and lime to a bowl. Slice the other oranges, cutting away the white pitch and/or peel and use as wedges*. Add to the bowl. Once beets are done roasting, peel. Add the beets, fennel, and onion to the bowl of oranges. Drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper, and cilantro. Stir. Allow to sit for a few minutes then serve.  To store leftovers, transfer to covered container with only minimal dressing. 


*Mixing slices and wedges adds interesting textures to the salad and are visually fun. Slice the beets in a combination of wedges and slices as well. 

Sautéed Beet Greens 
leftover beet greens from 10 beets
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon garlic, chopped

Cut the leafy greens away from the thick stalks and roughly chop. Wash and dry. 

[You only need to remove the thickest part of the stalk]

Heat oil in large saute pan and add red pepper flakes and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes then add greens. Add one or two tablespoons water and cover, stirring occasionally. 

[Cover the greens to get them to wilt]

Cook for about 8 minutes, to desired texture. I like to leave them just wilted but you can cook them longer if you prefer. 

pizza

There are some things that I've wanted to make, that I've been told are really quite simple but that have always intimidated me. Making fresh pasta is one of those things. Homemade bread. Pizza dough. Are there foods you've been too intimidated to try?

I plan to conquer these fears, starting with pizza. I first made a pizza dough while at home but it was a no-rise recipe off the back of a special pizza yeast (the only yeast the grocery store had.) Here in Berkeley I got a packet of regular yeast, and Partner-in-Crime and I tried again. We followed a recipe for dough from Epicurious that involved a step where you slightly fry the dough. Definitely got a nice char taste that my oven alone couldn't impart. I used my trusty cast iron and it all went smoothly. The biggest thing I learned is you can never roll the dough too thin.

[My first attempt at hand forming the crust. Switched to rolling after this one.]

[Partner-in-Crime prepping the fennel and onions]

[Fresh heirloom tomatoes roasted and then added to olive oil and mozz pizza. Sort of sauce on top]

[The most succesful- sausage, fennel and onion]

[Potato, bacon and fontina. Sadly the bacon burned. I picked it off when the pizza was hot but the burned bacon actually tasted great on the cold leftovers the next day.]

recipe: pork tenderloin with preserved lemons over couscous

I tend to not cook much meat, especially nicer cuts of meat due to my fear of overcooking them. But when my parents visited and brought me a freezer full of frozen goods ranging from her homemade casseroles to a pork tenderloin, I knew I had the perfect accompaniment for the dish.

For Christmas presents for several family members, I had made preserved lemons. Preserved lemons are quite easy to make and I was able to bulk purchase Meyer lemons at Trader Joes. I made a jar for myself and they were just about ready to use when the bounty of meats arrived. Googling turned up a few recipes for pork with preserved lemons, but the most delicious sounding was one from Bon Appétit that didn't actually use preserved lemons. So naturally I had to adapt it just a bit. I ended up creating a new(ish) dish: Pork Tenderloin over Isreali Couscous with a Preserved-Lemon Butter Sauce.

Despite my fears and the possibility that I sliced the pork much thicker than an inch (it took far longer to cook than expected) the meal turned out great, one of my favorites for a long time. The preserved lemon tastes incredibly fresh and adds a sweet note to the meal and the vegetables crunch is complemented by the chewier couscous.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1-inch-thick medallions
• 4 or 5 tablespoons butter
• 2 cup chicken stock or canned broth
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons capers, drained
• peel of 1 preserved lemon, diced
• 16 oz Israeli couscous
• 1 cup red peppers, roughly diced
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

Cook couscous according to package.

Press pepper onto both sides of pork pieces. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium heat. (Or do as I did and cook in your bacon-fat seasoned skillet.) Season pork with salt. Cook until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer to plates and keep warm.

[Pork in the skillet.]

Add stock and preserved lemon to skillet. Boil until reduced to 1 cup, about 7 minutes. Whisk in remaining 4 tablespoons butter. Add tomatoes and peppers. Cook for 2-3 minutes more. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Place pork on top of couscous and pour sauce over both.

[Phone picture halfway through the meal. With roomie's green beans.]

Update: recipe for preserved lemons here.

cupboard cleanse: quick stir-fry

Last Thursday I started my CSA and I still have a healthy amount of veggies in the fridge. I don't have a totally normal CSA in that I still get to pick out what I want but I'm challenging myself to get vegetables I haven't cooked frequently. A stir-fry isn't the most original or challenging but this simple dish was incredibly statisfying and simple.

Stir-fry with Broccoli Rabe, Kale and Cashews

Kale
Broccoli Rabe
Minced garlic (1-2 cloves)
Oil
Red Pepper Flakes
Handful of Cashews

1. Blanch Kale and Broccoli Rabe in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until bright green
2. Heat oil, saute red pepper flakes and garlic.
3. Toss kale and rabe into the oil, cook briefly
4. Add cashews, let become coated with oil

I don't have amounts but I used about half a bunch of kale and a third a bunch of broccoli rabe because that was what I had.

Serve over rice.

dinner from the cupboard: polenta with sausage and spinach

My bank account is a little tight right now and so I'm trying to clean out my cupboards when I don't have meals planned instead grabbing dinner out. Tonight I was really down to almost nothing- no fresh veggies, almost no protein, lots of carbs. I'm defrosting some meatballs I made a while ago so didn't want pasta since I'm having spaghetti 'n meatballs tomorrow. So I whipped this together.

Sausage and spinach over polenta

Made with just these ingredients.

I took two sausages and cut them in half, just slightly still connected, and sauteed them in a pan.


Problem is my spinach was super freezer burned. I boiled it and then put in the pan the sausages had been cooked in to soak up their flavor. I tossed in some red pepper flakes too.


Sausages and spinach keeping warm while I cook the polenta.

I sliced it into rounds.


Pan fried, it had an amazing texture to play with in the pan. It took a while to warm through and I should have done this step first so it could crisp more.


The end result.
The spinach was actually really bad. I wish I had some fresh vegetables and will be keeping frozen veggies for stews and casseroles only. But the polenta and the sausage were great and super simple. It definitely felt better to have a dinner where I tried something new then just the same pasta and butter.

pasta with asparagus and sausage

Also found on my incredible vegetable buying extravaganza was a thick bunch of thin little asparagus. I came home from dance class last night craving comfort food but wanting to stay on the healthy side too. I decided to whip up an easy pasta dish. I've made something similar, from a recipe, so if this look familiar to you, please let me know what I first found the recipe. I've reconstructed below.

What I did:

Pasta with Asparagus and Sausage in a Lemon-Parmesan sauce
1 lb pasta
1 bundle of asparagus
4 sausages, cooked and chopped
1 lemon
3-4 tbs Parmesan cheese grated

Boil pasta. Add asparagus when you have ~3 minutes left to cook pasta and asparagus together. Drain, reserving 1 cup pasta water. Put pasta back in pot. Add cheese, squeeze lemon on top, add small amounts of pasta water until pasta is coated with lemony-cheesey goodness.

Simple? Yes. Delicious? Fairly.

I regret that I didn't start the sausages when I was boiling the water (instead I was doing yesterday's dishes.) So I just microwaved them, which really didn't do them justice. I loved it for dinner, the lemon made it so bright and fresh and that fact that there wasn't much sauce was refreshing. The next day for lunch, it was not so great. I should have added olive oil all over it, grated lemon peel on top and eaten it cold. I have some more leftovers and I hope that helps them. I could have added more cheese too but I was using up what I had.

Alternatives:
- Add spinach or other vegetables you love.
- Use chicken instead of sausage. Or try it meatless.