Recipes
Sauteed Chard with Onions
Here's a basic chard/ braised greens recipe. To kick this up a notch, add mushrooms or some chopped celery.
1 bunch green Swiss chard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 medium onion, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
Handful of Garlic Chives, finely chopped
Cut stems and center ribs from chard, discarding any tough portions, then cut stems and ribs crosswise into 2-inch pieces. Stack chard leaves and roll up lengthwise into cylinders. Cut cylinders crosswise to make 1-inch-wide strips.
Heat oil and butter in a large heavy pot over medium heat until foam subsides, then cook onions and garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, covered, stirring occasionally, until onions begin to soften, about 8 minutes. Add chard stems and ribs, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until stems are just tender, about 10 minutes. Add chard leaves in batches, stirring until wilted before adding next batch, and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
Transfer with a slotted spoon to a serving bowl.
Spicy Celeriac and Carrot Soup
1 tsp olive oil
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup roasted, peeled, seeded, and chopped Poblano chilies (canned)
1 celeriac, peeled and diced (try subbing in potato for celeriac if no celeriac available)
1 pound carrots, peeled and diced
2 vegetable stock cubes made up with 7.5 cups boiling water
Fresh coriander, roughly chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the onion until softened. Add the garlic and red chilli and cook for a further minute. Combine the vegetables and add to the saucepan, allowing them to cook for a few minutes before adding the vegetable stock and half of the fresh coriander.
Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, partially cover with a lid and allow to simmer for 25 minutes.
Blend the soup in a processor until smooth. Return the soup to the saucepan, season to taste and warm through before serving, sprinkled with coriander.
Jamie Oliver's Smashed Celeriac
1 celeriac , peeled
olive oil
1 handful fresh thyme , leaves picked
2 cloves garlic , finely chopped
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
3-4 tablespoons water or organic stock
Slice about 1cm/½ inch off the bottom of your celeriac and roll it on to that flat edge, so it's nice and safe to slice. Slice and dice it all up into 1cm/½ inch-ish cubes. Don't get your ruler out – they don't have to be perfect. Put a casserole-type pot on a high heat, add 3 good lugs of olive oil, then add the celeriac, thyme and garlic, with a little seasoning. Stir around to coat and fry quite fast, giving a little colour, for 5 minutes.
Turn the heat down to a simmer, add the water or stock, place a lid on top and cook for around 25 minutes, until tender. Season carefully to taste and stir around with a spoon to smash up the celeriac. Some people like to keep it in cubes, some like to mash it, but I think it looks and tastes much better if you smash it, which is somewhere in the middle. You can serve this with just about any meat you can think of.
Sauteed Tatsoi
Here's a quick, tasty way to enjoy your tatsoi.
1 head tatsoi
Garlic
Salt
Olive oil
Slice the stems into 3/4-inch lengths and stir-fry them with some finely chopped garlic and a generous pinch of salt in olive oil for a minute or two, then add a couple tablespoons of water and steam them, covered, for a couple of minutes to soften them further. At that point add the whole leaves, stirring and turning them with tongs for about a minute, then add about ¼ cup water and another generous pinch of salt and steam, covered, until wilted and tender, about 3 to 4 minutes more.
You could give it an Asian flavor with ginger, soy sauce, and a touch of toasted sesame oil, but it’s just as delicious in a simple Italian-style treatment with garlic and olive oil.
Farmers Market Greens
This is a basic salad with a wonderful vinaigrette.
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped shallot
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 lb mixed baby greens such as kale, mizuna, tatsoi, mustard, arugula, and spinach (16 cups)
Whisk together vinegar, shallot, salt, and pepper in a large bowl, then add oil in a slow stream, whisking until emulsified. Add greens and toss until coated well.
Greens can be washed and dried 1 day ahead and chilled in a sealed plastic bag lined with paper towels. Vinaigrette can be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, covered. Bring to room temperature before using.
Winter Greens and Potato Frittata
Big pile of winter greens (6 large Swiss chard leaves, bunch of spinach, bunch of kale, etc.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium boiling potato or handful of smaller potatoes, peeled and diced finely
6 large eggs
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/4 teaspoon salt
Ground black pepper
1 teaspoon unsalted butter
Wash the greens and pat very dry. Cut off and discard the stems, then gather the leaves into a tight bundle and finely chop them.
Heat the oil in a 9- or 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté until the onion turns golden, about 10 minutes. Mix in the potato and cover the pan. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, until the potato is tender and the onions are brown, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the cover and pile on the greens. Cover again and cook, tossing occasionally, until the leaves are wilted, about 5 minutes. Scrape this mixture onto a plate and let cool. Wipe the pan clean.
Beat the eggs thoroughly in a large bowl. Beat in the cheese, salt and pepper. Stir in the cooled vegetable mixture.
Melt the butter in the skillet over low heat and swirl it around to coat the sides of the pan. Pour in the egg mixture. After about 5 minutes, when the edges begin to set, help the liquid egg pour over the sides of the frittata by occasionally loosening the edges with a rubber spatula and tilting the pan. It should take about 15 minutes for the frittata to become almost completely set.
Preheat the broiler. When the frittata is about 80 percent cooked, slide it under the broiler for a minute or so, until the top is set. (If the handle of your pan isn't ovenproof, wrap a few layers of foil around it before placing it under the broiler.) Let the frittata cool 10 minutes before cutting it into wedges.
Potato Pancakes [Latkes]
This classic latke recipe is a keeper.
1 pound potatoes, peeled
1 small onion (4 ounces), peeled
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
Peanut oil, for frying
In a food processor or on a box grater, coarsely shred the potato and onion. For longer strands, lay the potato sideways in the chute of your food processor. Transfer to a colander or wrap in a cheesecloth sling, and squeeze as dry as possible. Let stand for 2 minutes, then squeeze dry again.
In a large bowl, whisk the flour, egg, salt and pepper together. Stir in the potato onion mixture until all pieces are evenly coated.
In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil until shimmering. Drop packed teaspoons of the potato mixture into the skillet and flatten them with the back of a spoon. Cook the latkes over moderately high heat until the edges are golden, about 1 1/2 minutes; flip and cook until golden on the bottom, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with the remaining potato mixture, adding more oil to the skillet as needed.
Do ahead: Latkes are a do-ahead-er’s dream. You can also keep latkes warm in the oven for an hour or more, if you’re waiting for stragglers to arrive. Cooked, they keep well in the fridge for a day or two, or in the freezer, well wrapped, for up to two weeks. Reheat them in a single layer on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven until they’re crisp again. Bonus: If you undercooked them a bit or didn’t get the browning on them you’d hoped for, you can compensate for this in the oven.
Tartiflette - Alpine Melted Cheese, Bacon and Potato Gratin
This comfort-food dish is from the Alpine Haute Savoie region of France. This dish is traditionally made with Reblochon cheese. If you're not a fan of the Harbison, try using it in this dish.
2 lbs potatoes
1 large onion, peeled and finely diced
6-8 oz lardons streaky bacon, diced
1 oz butter
1 glass of wine
4 Tbsp creme fraiche or sour cream
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut in half
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 ripe Reblochon or Harbison cheese (or other Alpine style cheese)
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes whole, in their skins, for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the onion and bacon in the butter in a heavy frying pan over a medium heat; they should sweat but not brown. When they are cooked, discard the fat and add the glass of wine and the creme fraiche and mix well.
Drain the potatoes and as soon as they are cool enough to handle peel them (or don’t) — the quicker the better. Slice thinly across.
Choose an ovenproof earthenware dish and rub it well with the cut halves of garlic. Layer half the sliced potatoes across the base, season them with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then scatter over half the onion and bacon mixture.
Cut the cheese in half through the centre, leaving you with a cut edge and a skin/rind edge, then lay one half of the cheese on top of the potato, bacon and onion mixture. Add the remaining bacon and onion mixture followed by the rest of the potatoes and more seasoning.
Place the remaining half of cut cheese skin/rind side up on top of the potatoes.
Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to 350F for another 20-25 minutes. The Reblochon should melt within its skin and the cheese drip down throughout the dish, while the potatoes will become crispy and golden brown.
Tartiflette is a filling dish and all you really need to go with it is a mixed green salad, crusty French bread and a selection of pickles.
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