Carrots, two ways.

One of the first recipes that I remember making all by my lonesome was a delicious (and absurdly simple) rustic carrot soup that has since become a trusty favorite.  Many, many, nights I have whipped this up after a long day at work.  Served with some crusty bread and a side salad, this is a fantastic choice for an almost instant casual and fresh dinner.  I have also served it in an elegant dinner party setting, as a first course in tiny chilled soup tureens.  It is one of those wonderfully flexible recipes that can fit almost any occasion, be made vegetarian or not, and is equally good warm or chilled.  And it definitely gets a lot of play at our house during CSA season. 

Tonight, however, we decided we wanted to do something a little different.  We did not have to look any farther than the June 2011 issue of Food & Wine, which conveniently appeared in our mailbox yesterday.  Included was a feature in which the celebrated Richard Blais, who recently trumped all on Top Chef All Stars (we are dedicated fans), offered up several great-looking vegetable side dishes for grilling season.  If there is a flaw with Top Chef, it is that as the home viewer, your appreciation of the food is necessarily limited.  Blais' recipe for Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots offered the perfect opportunity for us to use our CSA carrots and see for ourselves why Padma and Tom and Company go all ga ga for this guy.  Spoiler alert: the hype is well deserved. 

Both recipes are below.

French Cream of Carrot Soup
(modified slightly from Jean Hewitt's International Meatless Cookbook (c) 1980)

3 tbs butter
1 medium-sized onion, finely chopped (1/2 cup)
1 1/2 lbs carrots (approx. 8 medium-sized)
1 small white turnip, diced
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme or 1/4 teaspoon dried leaf thyme
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup half & half

In a heavy kettle or Dutch oven, heat the butter and saute the onion until tender but not browned.  Add the carrots and turnip and cook, stirring 5 to 8 minutes.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and thyme.  Add the broth and bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.  Puree the mixture in batches in an electric blender or food processer and return to the kettle.  Stir in the cream.  Reheat but do not boil.

Can be served warm or chilled.

Ginger-Lime Baby Carrots
By Richard Blais, published in the June 2011 issue of Food & Wine

24 baby carrots, tops trimmed to 2 inches
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
Pinch of cinnamon
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon Sriracha
Salt
1 tablespoon furikake*
In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the carrots until crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain the carrots.

In a large skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the carrots, ginger and cinnamon and cook over moderate heat, tossing occasionally, until the ginger is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and boil over moderately high heat until reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and let cool for 30 seconds. Swirl in the butter, lime juice and Sriracha and season with salt. Arrange the carrots on a platter and spoon the ginger-lime sauce on top. Sprinkle with the furikake and serve.

*Furikake is available at Asian markets and many specialty food stores.  It is also delicious by its own on plain rice.

Pay no attention to the nose in the corner.

I heart kale for breakfast.

Lock your skepticism in the pantry.  In our house, we have just crowned this the Best Baked Frittata Ever.

Kale, Red Onion & Mushroom Baked Frittata
(modified from Kayln's Kitchen's Red Russian Kale and Red Onion Savory Breakfast Squares)

1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup sliced mushrooms
salt & pepper to taste
1 bunch kale
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
6 eggs, beaten well
salsa
sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cut stems off of kale, discard stems, and wash kale and dry well (a salad spinner works great for this, otherwise you can dry with kitchen towels).

Heat olive oil in large heavy skillet.  Add onions and saute for 3 minutes.  Add garlic and saute for about 2 more minutes.  Then, add mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, and sautee for approximately 2-3 more minutes.   Finally, add kale, sauteeing it until it is good and wilted (approximately 4-5 minutes).

Combine sauteed vegetables in a large bowl with soy sauce, cheese, bread crumbs, and beaten eggs.  Stir gently until ingredients are well distributed.  Spray square oven-safe pan with olive oil or nonstick spray and pour in egg mixture.  Bake 20-25 minutes until eggs are well set and the top is lightly browned.

Serve hot with salsa and sour cream on the side.

Lamb, I am.

I love the sassy, tangy taste of arugula, but it can be hard to put together a salad that stands up to its swagger. When this week's CSA box brought us another great big bag of the stuff (plus microgreens and carrots and strawberries, oh my!), I was ready with a twist on one of our old favorites: lamb burger salads. Trust me, its a good one. It combines our newfound love of grilling (and a definite plus of living below the Mason Dixon is that you really can grill practically all year round) and there is no better stage for all of its great Greek flavors than a whole mess of beautiful tangled arugula.

The recipe is originally from Self Magazine c/o epicurious. I made some very minor changes to convert it from a burger to a salad and added the Sriracha sauce to give it some additional flavor and a bit of a punch.

Greek Burger Salad with Arugula, Tomatoes, and Feta
4 whole-wheat pitas (6 1/2 inches each)
1/4 cup skim milk
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 generous tablespoons chopped fresh mint
4 generous teaspoons chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 pound lean ground lamb
4 cups arugula
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 cup peeled, seeded and finely diced cucumber
1/3 cup crumbled feta

Dressing
2/3 cup nonfat plain yogurt (I like Greek Fage yogurt)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
2 teaspoon chopped garlic
2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey

Sriracha sauce to taste.

Heat oven to 350°F. Cut 1/4 off each pita (a half-moon shape from 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock). Chop half-moons, transfer to a bowl and sprinkle with milk. Let soak 5 minutes. Drain and squeeze out excess milk.

Purée soaked bread, onion, garlic, herbs and lemon juice in a blender or food processor. Transfer purée to a bowl. Add lamb, season with salt and pepper and combine. Form into 4 patties.

Wrap pitas in foil and heat until warm, about 8 minutes. (Or place pitas between sheets of paper towel and microwave until warm, about 30 seconds.)

Cook burgers on the grill or on a skillet with teaspoons oil heated over medium-high heat until hot. Cook burgers to medium, 2 to 3 minutes on each side.

Whisk yogurt, mint, garlic, mustard and honey in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Prepare the salads. Divide the arugula between four plates. Break up the burgers and divide between the plates. Add tomato, red onion and cucumber to plates. Drizzle dressing over salads and add several good squirts of Sriracha to taste. Sprinkle with feta. Serve warm pitas and leftover dressing on the side.




Tip from M. Tumbleweed: once you have prepared the patties, make sure that you put them somewhere well out of reach of the dog.  Or else you will end up with three, instead of four, lamb burgers to go around.  (Tip from the dog: ignore those last two sentences entirely.)