Kale Pesto
June 9, 2013
Margaux says…
I love pesto, but I’ve been wanting to try new things besides basil pesto. This kale pesto is really yummy, and can be used in a number of ways: on a sandwich, in an egg scramble, on chicken or fish, on pizza (which we did the night after we had it on pasta…yum!), or, of course, on pasta. This recipe is enough to cover a pound of pasta, plus extra for other things on later days. It really freezes well, too!
Kale Pesto
1 bunch kale, stems removed
1/3 cup toasted walnuts or pine nuts
1 clove garlic
zest and juice from one lemon
1/2 tsp salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
1/4 cup or more olive oil
Bring a large pot of water to boil, add kale and boil for about 30 seconds. Immediately drain kale and run cold water over it to cool it off. Squeeze off excess water and put in food processor, along with nuts, garlic, lemon juice and zest, salt and pepper. Process for about 30 seconds, until its all ground to a fine meal. Scrape down the sides and pulse a few more times. With the processor running, add the olive oil in a steady stream. Scrape down the sides again, taste, and add more olive oil if needed (and salt and pepper), and pulse a few more times. The consistency isn’t as creamy as basil pesto, and I found that I needed more olive oil than with basil pesto. I think I used almost 1/3 cup.
If making pasta, cook your desired type of noodle to al dente and place it in a large bowl, reserving some of the pasta water. Add about half the pesto to the pasta, and combine thoroughly, adding up to 1/2 cup pasta water as needed. Serve immediately, topping with parmesan cheese, and maybe a little toasted walnuts for garnish. It’s also really good with some halved cherry tomatoes stirred in.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
June 4, 2013
Margaux says…
I’m kind of a salad fanatic, and it’s one of the reasons I’m so excited about having warm weather finally! So far I’ve made this pasta salad, several quinoa salads, including this one and this (which is one of my favorites), and I can’t wait to make potato salads, especially this one. Platter salads are another favorite for us, and we’ve already had my favorite Cobb salad, even when it wasn’t that warm yet. I couldn’t wait.
This is a salad that has become kind of a summer standard here over the past few years. When my son was an infant and I was stuck to the couch for hours on end either nursing him or “napping” with him, I would watch endless amounts of TV, a lot of that being the Food Network. I’ve always liked cooking, but I think that’s when I really got my love of cooking, and I would try out tons of the recipes I saw on TV. This was one of them, on “The Neely’s” (a show I didn’t often watch, by the way, but I’m glad I caught this episode). I don’t really ever watch Food Network anymore, but I’m glad I did because a lot of my standard recipes came from that year of watching.
Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Ingredients
1 large tomato, diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 jalapeno, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar (I have also used white wine vinegar)
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 (15-ounce) cans black-eyed peas, drained (or 4 cups soaked dried beans…I think that’s about a cup and a half of dried)
Directions
Combine the first 6 ingredients in a bowl.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the rice wine vinegar, canola oil, sugar, and salt and pepper.
Toss all together and let marinate for at up to 8 hours in the refrigerator before serving.
Greek Quinoa Salad
June 2, 2013
Margaux says…
In the warmer months, we eat a quinoa salad at least once a week. Everyone loves it…including my picky son, it’s super quick and easy, and nice and healthy. I should really call this one “clean out the fridge” salad, because I often make it when I really need to go shopping and I have to just use up whatever is left in the fridge. We always have most of these things on hand because they’re all favorites of my son. I find that you can add or subtract any ingredient, based on what you might have on hand. Some other things that would be good tossed into this are avocado, parsley, chopped fresh spinach, mint, celery, zucchini, green onion, radishes, pine nuts or white beans.
Greek Quinoa Salad
1 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1/4 red onion, fine chop
1 can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup kalamata olives, halved
1/2 cup feta, crumbled (leave out for vegan)
1 lemon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 clove garlic, minced
Rinse and drain quinoa. Add water and quinoa to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. As soon as it starts boiling, cover, run down heat to low, and simmer 15 minutes. Dump immediately into a large serving bowl and allow to cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, chop your veggies. When the quinoa is cool, add all veggies and beans to it and mix.
Make dressing: Mix together lemon juice, olive oil, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper in a small bowl. Pour over salad and mix well. Carefully stir in feta. Serve at room temperature with warmed pita and white wine as a main dish. Also great as a side at a BBQ, or with chicken.
Garlic and Kale Linguine
January 18, 2013
Aunt Suzy says . . . .
The basis for this dish is a great recipe from Cook’s Illustrated for classic spaghetti with garlic and olive oil which I made recently. Last week I saw another recipe for spaghetti and kale with similar ingredients but without the scientific technique of the CI recipe. Randy and I both agreed that with or without the kale, the CI dish is outstanding. The kale makes it just that much better and healthier! This could be a main dish or a side. Shown is a main dish portion, and we have also served with sauteed boneless/skinless chicken breast. Either way, an Italian white, Orivetto or Pinot Grigio, is a great accompaniment!
Makes 4 main dish or 6-8 first course servings
4 garlic cloves, peeled and processed through a garlic press
1 teaspoon water
1/3 cup high quality EV olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, optional or to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 bunch lacinato kale, tough stems removed and cut into ribbons
1/3 cup pine nuts, toasted in a skillet
1/2-1 cup grated Parmigiana Reggiano (omit for vegan)
3/4-1 pound whole wheat, regular or GF linguine or spaghetti
Place processed garlic in a small bowl and add the teaspoon of water. Heat the olive oil to a little over medium in a saute pan. Add the garlic, optional pepper flakes and kale and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring regularly until garlic is golden and kale is soft. Set aside.
Toast the pine nuts in a dry small skillet over medium heat. Shake the pan regularly and watch carefully so they don’t burn! At today’s prices especially that would be a shame. Set aside.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta al dente according to package directions. Before draining, save 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water. Drain the pasta and rinse briefly. Put the pasta back in the pot it was cooked in and place over medium heat. Add the reserved kale mixture along with part or all of the pasta water and toss to combine thoroughly. Heat through, stirring.
Place on individual plates and top with a little cheese, if using, and some pine nuts. Alternatively, if you will be eating all of what was cooked, you can stir the cheese into the pasta before serving. Then top with the pine nuts.
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