Best. Leeks. Ever.

October 19, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Vegetable Recipes at 1:51 pm | Comments »

leeks

Ah, leeks. I love how affordable, yet deliciously luxurious, they are. That’s right, I said luxurious- and if you don’t agree, you will once you’ve tried this recipe for Melted Leeks. There’s something about cooking these green and white stalks this way that makes them unbelievably rich, and perfect for many applications: spoon them on top of some roast chicken, or just serve them as a side dish:

Melted Leeks

2 tablespoons olive oil
some butter
7 medium-sized leeks, sliced thin, white and light green parts only
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chicken stock
kosher salt, to taste
freshly-ground black pepper

In a saute pan over low-ish heat, melt about two to three tablespoons of butter. Add the leeks, and stir gently, around five minutes. Add the garlic, and cook around a minute more, until everything’s soft and your kitchen smells like heaven. Add chicken stock, raise heat, and bring to a boil. Then immediately lower heat to simmer… you want to reduce the liquid until it’s nearly evaporated, and the leeks have absorbed all of that flavor. Season with kosher salt and pepper, and a bit more butter if you’re feeling extra naughty.

Ya Gotta Eat Yer Spinach

July 10, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Vegetable Recipes at 8:17 am | Comments »

Perfect Spinach

I never understood the aversion to spinach that so many people have. Spinach has always been one of my favorite vegetables- perhaps my very favorite leafy green ever- and I’ve only ever looked upon a large bag of fresh spinach with much anticipation of deliciousness to come. I love how affordable and versatile it is as well: chop some up and throw it in a frittata, add it to your stir-fries, bake it in a souffle, sprinkle with lemon juice and seasoning for a salad- there’s so much to do with spinach.

But this, this simplest of ways to prepare the leafy green, is in my humble opinion the perfect way to enjoy spinach:

Perfect Spinach

Ingredients:
5 cups fresh spinach
4 cloves fresh garlic, sliced thinly*
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Prepare your spinach by removing any thick, hard stems. Discard these, or hand them to your family dogs in exchange for many puppy kisses. In a large saucepan, heat around 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the garlic in this lightly, until just very lightly browned. Add the spinach, tossing it to make sure it’s properly coated with olive oil and garlic. Cover. Lower heat, and let this cook for around four to five minutes… after which time, you’ll wonder where all the spinach went. It’s wilted, and that’s fine- that’s what you want. Season with salt and pepper, and maybe a little more olive oil.

And that’s it. When I’m feeling veggie, I’ll have this for dinner with a nice hunk of bread, or maybe over some plain pasta with olive oil- but it’s great as a side dish to any meaty entree as well.

* Ever since I saw Mario Batali prepare his garlic by slicing it thinly, this has been my favorite way to cook with garlic. It cooks more evenly, and looks better than regularly-bruised garlic.

You say tomato, I say tomatillo

May 23, 2009 | Posted by Lorraine as Recipe, Vegetable Recipes at 1:19 pm | (1) Comment »

The first time I ever heard of a tomatillo was from Bobby Flay on his Hot Off the Grill show (remember that one?) He made fish with tomatillo sauce, and at first I thought I could simply interchange it with good old regular tomatoes- then I decided to do some research.

Tomatillos are related to tomatoes. They’re called tomate verde in Mexico (literally, green tomato) and- here’s where they differ enormously from tomatoes- they have husks. You know, like corn husks. Only not. For this reason, they’re also called husk tomatoes.

These babies have a sweet slash tart flavor, and are a bit fruity. They’re particularly awesome in sauces and salsas- you’ll be surprised at what a difference they make from using regular tomatoes- but are also wonderful just grilled or roasted, sprinkled with a few drops of extra virgin olive oil and some sea salt.

Finally, let me leave you with a quick recipe for delicious Tomatillo Salsa:

Crush two cloves of garlic with a teaspoon of kosher salt. To this, add a coarsely chopped yellow onion, some chopped serrano chiles to taste (if you want it mild, remove the seeds before chopping), and around four to six large tomatillos which have been roughly chopped. Mix in some chopped cilantro to taste, and cubes of avocado if you wish.

Grilled vegetarian sandwich

November 11, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Vegetable Recipes at 4:45 am | Comments »

Ingredients

1/4 cup mayonnaise
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 cup olive oil
1 cup sliced red bell peppers
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 red onion, sliced
1 small yellow squash, sliced
2 (4-x6-inch) focaccia bread pieces, split horizontally
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

What’s next

In a bowl, mix the mayonnaise, minced garlic, and lemon juice. Set aside in the refrigerator.
Preheat the grill for high heat.
Brush vegetables with olive oil on each side. Brush grate with oil. Place bell peppers and zucchini closest to the middle of the grill, and set onion and squash pieces around them. Cook for about 3 minutes, turn, and cook for another 3 minutes. The peppers may take a bit longer. Remove from grill, and set aside.
Spread some of the mayonnaise mixture on the cut sides of the bread, and sprinkle each one with feta cheese. Place on the grill cheese side up, and cover with lid for 2 to 3 minutes. This will warm the bread, and slightly melt the cheese. Watch carefully so the bottoms don’t burn. Remove from grill, and layer with the vegetables. Enjoy as open faced grilled sandwiches.

Grilled Mediterranean Sandwiches

September 5, 2008 | Posted by Lorena as Bread Recipe, Vegetable Recipes, Weight Watchers Recipe & Handy Info at 6:26 am | Comments »

sandwich

Ingredients

1 eggplant, sliced into strips
2 red bell peppers
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 portobello mushrooms, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
4 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 (1 pound) loaf focaccia bread

What’s next
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Brush eggplant and red bell peppers with 1 tablespoon olive oil; use more if necessary, depending on sizes of vegetables. Place on a baking sheet and roast in preheated oven. Roast eggplant until tender, about 25 minutes; roast peppers until blackened. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and saute mushrooms until tender. Stir crushed garlic into mayonnaise. Slice focaccia in half lengthwise. Spread mayonnaise mixture on one or both halves.
Peel cooled peppers, core and slice. Arrange eggplant, peppers and mushrooms on focaccia. Wrap sandwich in plastic wrap; place a cutting board on top of it and weight it down with some canned foods. Allow sandwich to sit for 2 hours before slicing and serving.

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