make ahead – Mel's Mosaic

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.

Was in the soup mood last night and remember tearing a new recipe out of the recent issue of Bon Appetit. Was the perfect time to make it — Fennel and Carrot Soup. I love fennel and enjoy carrots when they are cooked (or covered in hummus). For some reason I just cannot acquire a taste for them when they are just plain and simple, perfectly orange and raw. We all have our things.

Anyway, when I saw the recipe I knew I’d have to make a couple changes/eliminations, which is common in my world since I’m the lactard, but it would be simple.

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided (I used some olive oil here because of my dairy issue)
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (I used one+)
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 carrots, peeled, chopped
1 small Yukon Gold potato, peeled, halved (I used a Russet)
2 sprigs thyme
1 bay leaf
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (Trader Joe’s boxes are perfect for this)
¼ cup coarsely chopped roasted chestnuts from a jar (I skipped these because I couldn’t find them anywhere)
¼ cup crème fraîche (skipped this step)
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (ditto on the above)

Directions:

Heat 4 Tbsp. butter (or some oil) in a large heavy pot over medium. Add fennel, onion, carrots, potato, thyme, and bay leaf; season with salt and pepper.

Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally and reducing heat if needed, until vegetables are soft but not browned and have released their moisture, 45–60 minutes (this will give them deep flavor). ***Right here I was staring at these delicious looking veggies and questioned sanity — WHY was there no garlic in here?!?! I quickly added some.

Add broth, bring to a boil, and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat and simmer until potato is falling apart, 8–10 minutes. Let cool slightly. Remove herbs.

Working in batches, purée in a blender until smooth. (Blender??? Immersion blender!!) Strain into a clean pot; season with salt and pepper.

(Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium. Add chestnuts and cook, stirring often, until butter is browned and chestnuts are toasted, about 4 minutes.

Mix crème fraîche and maple syrup in a small bowl. Serve soup topped with maple crème fraîche and chestnuts.

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

I can’t speak for the last few steps but I’m sure they add quite a bit. But even without them, this soup is AMAZING! Flavor, flavor, flavor! Easy to make, great on its own or with some seafood or meat. I enjoyed it with some chicken. I would highly recommend it. Can likely be frozen, as well.