White Bean Dip with Dill

Six to eight appetizer-sized servings

Soaking the beans the night before drastically reduces the cooking time. And I’ll often cook extra beans, to maximize my energy-efficiency, and use them for soup. If using canned white beans, or making a big pot, you’ll need 2 cups (380g) of beans, drained for the dip.
Reserve some of the liquid, as indicated in the recipe for making the dip. You can use whatever herbs you like. Fresh basil works quite well, as does sage, and tarragon would add a nice sharpness.
Serve the dip with toasted slices of bread, or whole-grain crackers.

3/4 cup (6 ounces, 225g) dried white beans
One bay leaf
1/4 cup (60ml) bean cooking liquid
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
generous pinch of red pepper powder

Additional olive oil and fresh herbs, for garnish

Rinse the dried beans and sort them, checking for stones or debris. Soak the beans overnight in cold water. The next day, bring the beans to a gentle boil with a bay leaf, making sure there is plenty of water covering them. Cook until completely tender, 1 to 2 hours, depending on the beans. (If you live in an area with hard water, a pinch of baking soda can be added to the water to help the beans cook and soften.) Drain the beans, reserving some of the liquid. Puck out the bay leaf and let the beans cool until tepid. Put the beans along with 1/4 cup (60ml) of their cooking liquid in a blender or food processor, and blend with the garlic, dill, mint, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and red pepper powder. You’ll need to stop the machine a few times and scrape down the sides, but do puree it long enough for it to be completely smooth, which will take several minutes.Taste, and adjust for seasoning, adding more salt or olive oil if desired. If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon or so of the reserved bean liquid or olive oil. Garnish with a generous drizzle of olive oil and a scattering of fresh chopped herbs.

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Detox Sweet Potatoes with Quilites and Spinach

2 medium sweet potatoes
½ tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 bunch quilites, washed, stemmed and chopped
1 bunch spinach, washed, stemmed and chopped (about 3 cups)
salt
sliced avocado, optional

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Prick sweet potatoes with a fork and bake until tender, about 45 minutes. Slice onion and greens while heating a large pan over medium heat. Add olive oil. Once hot, add onion and cook until slightly caramelized, about 10-15 minutes. Add collard greens and spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 5 minutes. Add salt to taste. Serve potatoes split and topped with a mountain of greens and sliced avocado, if using. More salt, pepper, cayenne or a squeeze of lemon optional.

Adapted from: Source

julia child's soufflé au fromage: local dairy & spring asparagus salad

Spring Asparagus Salad

with Creamy Raw Milk & Goat Cheese Dressing

serves 2

For the Salad:

2 cups green, leafy lettuce (washed, dried, and chopped)

8-10 stalks asparagus, lightly steamed (about 5 minutes)

3 radishes, sliced thin

2 spring onions, sliced thin

For the Goat Cheese Chive Dressing:

1 egg yolk

1/8 cup goat cheese

splash of raw milk (or regular)

1 tsp chopped chives

salt and pepper to taste

Mix egg yolk and goat cheese with a fork in a small bowl until creamy but pieces of cheese remain visible. Add a splash of raw milk and stir to reach desired consistency. Mix in chives and salt & pepper to taste.

http://localmilk.blogspot.com/2012/04/julia-childs-souffle-au-fromage-local.html

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Fennel

2 sweet potatoes, peeled, quartered and cut into 1/2″ cubes

2 Fennel Bulbs, quartered

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoons sea salt

Pre-heat oven to 400ºf along with cookie tray

Toss all ingredients in a bowl to coat

Carefully remove hot cookie tray from oven and place vegetables on tray

Place on the lower middle rack of oven and roast for 45 min-1hr stirring once

Garnish with fennel tops

http://newsouthfoodcompany.com/roasted-fennel-and-sweet-potatoes/

Heart Beet Salad

Heart Beet Salad

2 large beets
6 oz fresh goat cheese
1 blood orange, segmented
1 teaspoon cara cara orange zest
1 cara cara orange, segmented
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 handfuls arugula
1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. Rinse the beets and trim off the greens (you can save them to sauté later if you want). Wrap in foil and roast until tender, about 1 hour. When they’re done you should be able to easily pierce the beets through with a knife. Remove from the oven, unwrap from foil, and let cool. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel the skin off. Slice the beets into 1/4-inch slices. You should have at least 4 slices of beets per person. Cut out a heart shape from the beet slices using the cookie cutter. Pat the slices dry. Make the napoleon stacks by layering the beet heart slices and goat cheese until you have two beautiful stacks. Try to spread the goat cheese evenly. Clean up edges with a paper towel. (Do not assemble this too far ahead of time because if your beets are juicy, they will color the goat cheese pink as they sit.) Zest the cara cara oranges and set aside a teaspoon for the dressing. Segment both oranges. After segments are cut, squeeze the juice out of the leftover pulp. Reserve for dressing. Make dressing by whisking together orange juice, zest, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Dress the arugula and orange segments. Arrange around the beet heart napoleon. Scatter hazelnuts around.
Special Equipment: heart-shaped cookie cutter; be sure that your cookie cutter fits within the circumference of your beets

Source

Pan-seared Radishes with Miso Butter

Pan-seared Radishes with Miso Butter

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red miso paste, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon togarashi powder
3 bunches medium radishes with their tops
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon rice vinegar

Place the butter, miso, and togarashi in a small bowl and mash with the back of a spoon until evenly combined; set aside.
Cut the leafy tops from the radishes. Coarsely chop, wash, and dry the tops; set them aside. Wash the radishes, trim the stem ends, and halve them (quarter them if they’re large) and set aside.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add the radishes and arrange them cut-side down in a single layer. Season with salt and sear until golden brown, about 4 to 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side until golden brown and the radishes are crisp-tender, about 3 to 5 minutes more.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the radish tops, 1 tablespoon of the water, and salt to taste. Cook, tossing occasionally with tongs, until the tops are completely wilted, about 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat. Add the butter-miso mixture and the remaining tablespoon of water and stir until the butter-miso mixture melts and coats the radishes and radish tops. Add the vinegar and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt as needed.

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Stir-fried Bok Choy with Mizuna and Tofu

Stir-fried Bok Choy with Mizuna and Tofu

3 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, divided
4 teaspoons Asian sesame oil, divided
3 1/2 teaspoons unseasoned rice vinegar, divided
1 14- to 16-ounce container extra-firm tofu, drained
2 tablespoons peanut oil
4 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
4 baby bok choy, leaves separated
A head of loosely packed mizuna (about 8 ounces)

Whisk 2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sesame oil, and 1/2 teaspoon vinegar in bowl. Stack 2 paper towels on work surface. Cut tofu crosswise into 3/4-inch-thick slices; cut each slice crosswise in half. Arrange tofu on paper towels and let stand 10 minutes. Pat top of tofu dry. Heat peanut oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu and cook, without moving, until golden brown on bottom, 2 to 3 minutes per side. Transfer tofu to paper towel to drain, then place tofu on sheet of foil and brush both sides with soy sauce mixture. Wipe out any peanut oil from skillet. Add 2 teaspoons sesame oil and place skillet over medium heat. Add green onions, ginger, and garlic. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add remaining 11/2 tablespoons soy sauce and 3 teaspoons vinegar, then bok choy. Toss until bok choy wilts, 1 to 2 minutes. Add mizuna in 2 batches, tossing to wilt before adding more, 1 to 2 minutes per batch. Season greens with salt and pepper. Add tofu to skillet. Toss gently to blend. Transfer to platter.

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