Romano Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette and Walnuts

Posted on May 24, 2018 by melsmosaic

Another new recipe! This one came from Bon Appetit’s May Issue. The first one I have tried (several others on the list) is the Romano Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette and Walnuts. One thing I’m glad I noticed before getting started is that the recipe serves 8. I cut it in half because I was making it for 2.

Ingredients

1 cup walnuts
3 lb. Romano beans or green beans, trimmed — used a bag of the frozen green beans from Trader Joe’s
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 garlic clove, finely grated
2 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
½ lemon
¾ cup very coarsely chopped parsley
Freshly ground black pepper

Recipe Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°. Toast walnuts on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. — I always just do this in a small frying pan on the stove, so much faster

Cook Romano beans in a large pot of boiling salted water until bright green and tender, 8–10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl of ice water and let cool. Drain and pat dry.

Meanwhile, mix vinegar, mustard, garlic, and 2 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl to combine. Let sit 10 minutes for flavors to come together.

Add walnuts and Romano beans to dressing. Finely zest lemon over beans and add parsley. Season with salt and lots of pepper and toss to coat. Transfer to a platter and drizzle with more oil.

What I loved about this recipe is that pretty much all of it can be prepped. Then you can toss everything together 5 minutes before it’s ready to be served. I cooked my beans in the afternoon and toasted my walnuts while that was happening. I mixed the ‘dressing’ in a jar and just let that sit. Then I served everything as a salad vs on a platter.

It needed a bit more lemon ‘zest’ than what the recipe calls for, so I added some juice to the leftovers. This was served with the Turmeric and Coriander Chicken. Another great summer recipe.

Shaved Fennel Salad with Croutons and Walnuts

Posted on May 18, 2018 by melsmosaic

More cooking magazine flipping for recipes. This one from a few months ago in the April issue of Bon Appetit. Just sounded too good. Love fennel, love bread, throw in some nuts and cheese. Bring it on! This is another one where I find ways to make substitutes if I can enjoy the majority of the ingredients. So I used Manchego for the parm. The sharp taste was perfect!

Ingredients

2 cups coarsely torn sourdough bread
½ cup walnuts
6 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, divided, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt
3 Tbsp. sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, finely grated
¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
2 fennel bulbs with fronds
¾ cup torn mint leaves
½ lemon
2 oz. Parmesan, shaved (used Manchego)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°. Place bread on one side of a rimmed baking sheet and walnuts on the other side (they cook at different rates). Drizzle bread with 3 Tbsp. oil; season with salt. Toss, squeezing bread with your hands to help it absorb as much oil as possible, until evenly coated. Bake until walnuts are golden brown and croutons are deeply browned and very crisp, 8–10 minutes for walnuts, 12–15 minutes for croutons. Let cool, then coarsely chop walnuts. **I usually just toast my walnuts (or any nut) on the stove in a pan, CAREFULLY watching them, tossing them occasionally. Because they go from not done, not done, close to done, BURNT if you’re not paying attention.**

Meanwhile, combine vinegar, garlic, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Let sit 10 minutes to let garlic mellow and flavor the vinegar.

Whisk 3 Tbsp. oil into vinegar mixture, then add croutons and chopped walnuts. Season crouton mixture with some salt and toss to coat and let croutons soften slightly; set aside.

Remove stalks and fronds from fennel bulbs. Remove fronds from stalks and coarsely chop; thinly slice stalks. Place in a large bowl. Cut fennel bulbs in half and thinly slice on a mandoline (if you have one; if not, practice your knife skills). Add to same bowl along with mint. Zest lemon half over salad, then squeeze in juice. Season with salt and toss to combine.

Divide reserved crouton mixture among plates and top with half of the Parmesan. Arrange fennel salad over; top with remaining Parmesan and drizzle with oil.

I tossed all of it together as a salad; I didn’t get fancy with the presentation as it mentions. This salad was delicious. With the fennel and lemon, you get so much tang. Then the crunch from the fennel and walnuts. And with the cheese that extra tang. This one is staying high on my list.

Marinated Beans with Celery and Ricotta Salata*

Posted on May 13, 2018 by melsmosaic

Recent cooking magazines have had so many great spring salad recipes in them.

Even if the title doesn’t sound like something I can totally eat or the quick glance of ingredients doesn’t seem right because of my lactose intolerance, I always see how I can alter it. So many times olive oil can be substituted for butter, or there is only a splash of cream that can be nixed.

This one sounded so good, and was so quick and easy! And in this one, for instance, it calls for Ricotta Salata. I thought of ways to change that content. I have, in less than a week, made this recipe twice. Once with no cheese, and once with goat (or Chevre) cheese. Both were awesome!

So, this recipe is Marinated Beans with Celery and Ricotta Salata from the May issue for Bon Appetit.

Note: the recipe is for 8 servings, and it’s a hefty 8

Ingredients

4 15-oz. cans cannellini (white kidney) beans, navy beans, and/or black-eyed peas, rinsed
4 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 Tbsp. coarsely chopped thyme, plus more for serving
Kosher salt
4 oz. ricotta salata (salted dry ricotta), crumbled (used Chevre from
Trader Joe’s)
Freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Toss beans, celery, oil, vinegar, and 1 Tbsp. thyme in a large bowl to combine; season generously with salt.
Just before serving, transfer beans to a shallow bowl and top with ricotta salata, pepper, and more thyme.
Do Ahead: Bean salad (without celery and ricotta salata) can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Non-Cheese:

Cheese:

Definitely keeping this recipe around and will make it several times this summer. Just so delicious. I also nearly doubled the amount of celery to add more veggie content.

Seared Radicchio and Roasted Beets

Posted on March 29, 2018 by melsmosaic

Was looking for a new recipe for Christmas dinner and wanted something colorful. Came across this one when flipping through Bon Appetit magazine – Seared Radicchio and Roasted Beets.

Ingredients

6 medium beets, scrubbed
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
2 small heads of radicchio, cut into large wedges through root end
1 cup pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
½ cup pomegranate seeds
Flaky sea salt (for serving)

Directions

Preheat oven to 450°. Toss beets with 1 Tbsp. oil on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet; season with kosher salt. Roast, tossing once, until skins are charred and beets are tender, 40–50 minutes. Let cool.
Meanwhile, heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook radicchio wedges on cut sides until browned, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter.
Add pomegranate juice to skillet; bring to a boil and cook until thickened and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar; season with kosher salt.
Tear beets open and place around radicchio; spoon dressing over. Top salad with pomegranate seeds, sprinkle with sea salt, and drizzle with remaining 2 Tbsp. oil.

You can roast the beets early to knock that off your list, since that takes awhile. That was helpful. I found that it took longer than 5 minutes to thicken the pomegranate juice.

Regardless, in the end, the recipe turned out great. It had the eye-catching red/bright colors for the evening and was delicious. And, had leftovers (which tasted wonderful). Definitely saving it for future use.

Brassicas Bowls

Posted on March 14, 2017 by melsmosaic

When I make birthday dinners for friends I always aim for new recipes. I was flipping through a Bon Appetit and there was a recipe at the very beginning that was from a chef or that somebody had submitted. It just sounded great and was definitely up my friend’s alley based on ingredients — you can’t go wrong with stuff like hummus, kale, Brussels sprouts, avocado (a lot of green here) and more… It was Brassicas Bowl.

Ingredients
4 Servings

4 large eggs (I didn’t use these as I opted to serve the dish with pan seared tuna)
1 bunch broccolini, trimmed
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
½ bunch curly kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into 2-inch pieces (about 8 cups)
8 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed, thinly sliced lengthwise
Freshly ground black pepper
½ cup unsalted, roasted sunflower seeds, divided (great to grab them from salad bars if you don’t want a whole bunch)
½ cup hummus
1 avocado, quartered lengthwise
2 tablespoons finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Crushed red pepper flakes (for serving)

Preparation

Cook eggs in a large saucepan of boiling water for 7 minutes (whites will be set and yolks still slightly soft). Drain; transfer to a bowl of ice water and let sit until cool. Drain; peel eggs and cut in half lengthwise. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 500°. Toss broccolini with 1 Tbsp. oil on a rimmed baking sheet and season with salt. Roast, turning occasionally, until crisp-tender and charred in spots, 8–10 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop.

Whisk shallot, vinegar, mustard, and remaining 4 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl (large bowl is key because of all the other ingredients you’re going to add — I had to change the bowl several times because of the volume of greens!) until emulsified; season with salt. Add kale and Brussels sprouts and toss to coat; season with salt and pepper. Massage kale until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Add roasted broccolini and 2 Tbsp. sunflower seeds; toss again.

Swipe some hummus along the inside of each bowl with a spoon. Divide salad among bowls and add an avocado wedge and 2 reserved egg halves to each. Top with chives, sesame seeds, and remaining sunflower seeds; sprinkle with red pepper flakes.

This salad was delicious. So many flavors and very hearty. The tuna on top was great, so much more flavor than an egg! Will definitely be making this again. And it was enjoyed with a bubbly red (one of my favorite types of wines, and hard to find sometimes). It was the I Quercioli Dolce Reggiano Lambrusco DOC. Some nice bubbles, not overly sweet and some nice fruit notes.

Kale and Cucumber Salad with Roasted Ginger Dressing

Posted on January 16, 2017 by melsmosaic

Does the name of the recipe not say enough? This was from a recent issue of Bon Appetit. Kale, love it, cukes, well, I will say I don’t absolutely love them solo (not as much as tomatoes), but when with other stuff, bring them on, and I love ginger. And, I’d never roasted it.

Ingredients

Dressing
8 ounces fresh ginger
1 green or red Thai chile (I used a couple dashes of tabasco b.c of my low heat tolerance)
1 garlic clove
3 tablespoons fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil (I used olive oil)

Salad
1 bunch small Red Russian kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn into bite-size pieces (ended up using baby kale)
1 English hothouse cucumber, very thinly sliced
3 Persian cucumbers, very thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 teaspoons sugar
Kosher salt
1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (love cilantro)
¼ cup store-bought fried onions (nixed these)

Preparation

-Heat broiler. Broil ginger in its skin, turning once, until very dark brown and beginning to scorch in places and a paring knife passes through the center with relative ease, 40–50 minutes (if skin is getting too dark before flesh is tender, turn down the heat or move to the oven). Let cool; slice (leave on the skin).

*This really does take this long, and I had a smaller piece. I would highly recommend putting it on foil on your baking sheet as it can ‘scar’ the thing — make major black marks. I’m not saying cookie sheets are all about looks, but it does leave evidence of what was there. Come the end, the skin of the ginger is very crackly and also bulbous, is the best way to say it. Quite cool! Forgot to take a picture.

-Pulse ginger, chile, garlic, fish sauce, sugar, oil, and 2 Tbsp. water in a food processor, adding additional water by tablespoonfuls if needed, until a smooth paste forms.

Do Ahead: Dressing can be made 3 days ahead. Cover and chill.

Assembly

-Toss kale and ¼ cup dressing in a large bowl to coat; massage with your fingers until kale is slightly softened.

-Toss English and Persian cucumbers, onion, lime juice, and sugar in a medium bowl to combine; season generously with salt. Let sit 10 minutes to allow cucumbers and onion to soften slightly.

-Add cucumber mixture to bowl with kale and toss to combine, adding additional dressing if desired. Serve topped with cilantro and fried onions.

This was a very nice salad — very fresh! Can definitely be paired with a variety of food. It’s fairly light and has a great flavor. And fun to make since the roasted ginger isn’t your everyday affair. And a side note, it was enjoyed with the wild boar burgers highlighted in another post.

Citrus-Cured Salmon

Posted on July 12, 2016 by melsmosaic

Finally made a recipe the other day that I’d been eyeing for awhile. Had to plan ahead because it needed at least 24 hours to be ready. It’s the Citrus-Cured Salmon from Bon Appetit.
Ingredients:

5 ounces kosher salt (1 cup Diamond Crystal or ½ cup Morton)
⅔ cup granulated sugar
⅓ cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 pound skin-on, boneless salmon fillet, preferably wild king
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
½ teaspoon finely grated lime zest
½ teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Prep:

Combine salt, granulated sugar, brown sugar, peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl.

Spread half of curing mix in the center of a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet roughly the same size as the fish. Place fish, skin side down, on curing mixture. Spread lemon zest, lime zest, and orange zest evenly over fish; cover with remaining curing mixture. Bring edges of foil up and over salmon and crimp to enclose.

Place another baking sheet on top of salmon and weigh down with several large cans or a heavy pot. Chill, unwrapping and flipping fish halfway through, 24 hours.

Rinse fish and pat dry; place, skin side down, on a cutting board. Using your longest, sharpest knife and wiping down blade with a moist towel between slices, cut on a diagonal ⅛”–¼” thick, leaving skin behind.

Do Ahead: Salmon can be cured 3 days ahead. Cover tightly and chill.

Overall very good. But problem on my end is that I ended up getting fish with no skin. At first didn’t think it would matter. Come the end I realized that this meant the salt got into the salmon full strength from both sides. So, this was some salty fish. The flavors were all very nice, but do remember to get the skin-on salmon. Will have to try it again with the proper cut/side of fish.

A Green Staple

Posted on March 4, 2016 by melsmosaic

I love seafood, I love cilantro, I love avocados, I love olives. What does one do when they all come together? Melt, find their happy place, eat way too much and then just share — oh not the food, just the recipe.
I found this Ceviche Verde Recipe in Bon Appetit several years ago and just can’t get enough of it. It’s almost a Green Staple to me. So many things in it that I just love. When halibut is sort of affordable (Costco, I love you) it’s amazing, but using another, affordable fish is just as good. It might not look super eye appealing but it is appealing to the taste buds!

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh Pacific halibut or other firm-fleshed fish
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 ripe avocados, peeled and pitted
3/4 cup green olives, sliced
1/2 cup tomatillos, diced
1/4 cup onion, very finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced (optional)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Tostadas or tortilla chips

Directions:

Chop fish into 1/2″ cubes; place in medium bowl. Add kosher salt; toss to coat. Add lime juice; toss to coat. Marinate until the edges of the cubes begin to turn opaque, tossing occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Dice avocados; add to bowl along with green olives, tomatillos, onion, cilantro, and jalapeño Add olive oil and season to taste with salt.

Serve over tostadas or with tortilla chips for dipping.

Saffron Fish Stew

Posted on January 23, 2016 by melsmosaic

Even before this crazy snow started falling (so last week), I was searching for soup. It was actually while needing to sit on the couch for several hours watching football. So a recipe I came across to check out was Bon Appetit/Epicurious’s Saffron Fish Stew with White Beans. I love getting something with that sharp color of saffron (and you can find it for a great price at Trader Joe’s). When I came across this recipe it has so many of my favorite herbs. Anything with seafood is wonderful!

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup pre-chopped onion
1 teaspoon ground fennel (love it!)
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (heaven)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 thyme sprig
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh orange rind
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crushed
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups clam juice
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 pound flounder fillet, cut into (2-inch) pieces (for this I just threw in a bunch of stuff from my freezer — some white fish, scallops, langoustine tails. I also had a bag of mixed stuff from TJ’s that I’ll use next time)
1 (14-ounce) can great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
Fresh thyme leaves

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel, coriander, garlic, and thyme sprig; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in rind and saffron; add water, clam juice, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in salt, fish, and beans; cook 5 minutes. Top with thyme leaves.

This was so quick to make! Served it with some rosemary bread (can’t take credit for making that). Delicious.

Ratat-oooo-ille

Posted on January 12, 2016 by melsmosaic

Was in the mood for something hot and veggie-y and for some reason ratatouille came to mind. Hadn’t made it for awhile and couldn’t find a recipe on hand, so what else to do than google it? Came across a recipe on Bon Appetit that received many stars.

Ingredients

1 onion, sliced thin
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 tablespoons olive oil
a 3/4-pound eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 3 cups)
1 small zucchini, scrubbed, quartered lengthwise, and cut into thin slices
1 red bell pepper, chopped
3/4 pound small ripe tomatoes, chopped coarse (about 1 1/4 cups)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/8 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup shredded fresh basil leaves (totally forgot to grab this so had to use dry)

Preparation

In a large skillet cook the onion and the garlic in 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and heat it over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking.

Add the eggplant and cook the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes, or until the eggplant is softened. Stir in the zucchini and the bell pepper and cook the mixture over the moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 12 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and cook the mixture, stirring occassionally, for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Stir in the oregano, the thyme, the coriander, the fennel seeds, the salt, and pepper to taste and cook the mixture, stirring, for 1 minute. Stir in the basil and combine the mixture well.

The ratatouille may be made 1 day in advance, kept covered and chilled, and reheated before serving.

I added some extra tomatoes (had some canned ones that were easy to throw in). I also added plenty of extra garlic, which never hurts. This recipe hit the spot! The first time I had it, it was enjoyed with some roast chicken and delicious french bread at my friend’s place.