Christine Cooks: condiments

Showing posts with label condiments. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 8, 2012

Garden Fresh Recipe for Gremolata with Meyer Lemon and Capers

Gremolata with Meyer Lemon and Capers

Everything but the capers came from my back yard. This is the way I love to cook (well, alright ... chop): go outside, pick a lemon, pull a head of garlic, grab some parsley ... put it together and you have a bursting-with-flavors condiment that can be sprinkled on grilled salmon, a slow-cooker stew, roasted vegetables.

Please don't skip making this because you don't have a Meyer lemon tree, or parsley, or garlic growing in your garden.

Please. Make it anyway. It's so good.

Gremolata is a an Italian condiment traditionally made with garlic, lemon zest, and parsley. The capers are my addition to a fairly standard recipe. Leave them out if you wish.

Garden Fresh Gremolata with Capers
Ingredients:

Flat leaf parsley
1 Meyer lemon, or regular lemon if you prefer
several cloves garlic, fresh if possible
2 teaspoons capers, drained
sea salt to taste, optional

Preparation:
Coarsely chop enough parsley to measure 1-2 tablespoons.
Zest the lemon and chop to measure about 2 teaspoons
Peel and coarsely chop a few cloves garlic to measure 1 tablespoon (less if you find fresh garlic overpowering).
Finely chop the capers. Set aside.
Put the prepared parsley, garlic and lemon zest together on a cutting board and chop together until finely minced. Don't mince so much that the ingredients become wet; you want this to be on the dry side.
Add the capers and mix well. Adjust with sea salt if desired.
That's it!

Keep leftover gremolata in a plastic wrap-covered dish in the fridge. Use it within a few days so it doesn't get sad. :-(

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Kale Pesto

My vegetable garden doesn't produce much during our winters, but I can always count on kale.
After a while though, too much of a good thing can wear a bit thin and I struggle to come up with ways to use it.
Over the years, I've made my share of basil pesto, arugula pesto, spinach pesto, and even cilantro pesto but, until now, had not thought to make pesto out of kale, until I made a batch of kuri squash soup the other day and craved a spoonful of home made pesto to swirl into it.

Now, I ask you, what is pesto but green leafy things, garlic, nuts, cheese, and olive oil all buzzed up into a delicious paste? You can add a bit of lemon juice or a pinch of red pepper flakes to spice things up a bit, but those are the basics. So why not kale?

Turns out, why not kale? It makes a deeply green, healthful spoonful to swirl into your winter soups and stews. Plus, it tastes really, really good. I think you should try it.

Christine's Kale Pesto
print recipe
Ingredients:
4-6 cups (about 6.5 ounces) young kale leaves, ribs removed, coarsely chopped
1 large fresh garlic clove, smashed and coarsely chopped
3/4 cup coarsely chopped, toasted walnuts
3/4 cup grated parmesan
1/2 cup olive oil or walnut/olive oil mix
juice of 1 Meyer lemon
1/2 teaspoon gray sea salt
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Preparation:
Place the kale, nuts, garlic and cheese in a food processor and pulse until well combined.
With the machine running, drizzle the oil(s) through the feed tube until the pesto is uniformly ground and spoonably moist. You know, just like pesto.
Add the lemon juice and pulse a few times then taste. Adjust the seasonings with the sea salt and black pepper, pulsing until incorporated.
Remove from the processor and spoon into a lidded storage container. Use within a week.
Swirl into soups and stews, serve over hot pasta, shake into vinaigrette. It's all good and good for you.

I used both Russian Red and Lacinato kale for this recipe. Pick only the tender young leaves; the larger, older ones may taste too strong.
Tear the leaves off of either side of the central rib before using. (My chickens love the ribs.)
I like to freeze what pesto will not be used within a week. Here's a method that allows you to control the thawed portions: spray the cups of a plastic ice cube tray with a small amount of cooking spray, wipe gently with a paper towel then fill them with the pesto, pressing down to eliminate air pockets. Freeze until solid then pop out the frozen nuggets and place them in zip top freezer bags for freezer burn-free storage.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Oven Roasted Halibut Fillet with a Relish of Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon, Green Garlic and Spring Red Onion

Slender stalks of green garlic and tender spring onions are fleeting seasonal delicacies that should be snatched up from your green grocers or farmers markets while they are still available.

Green garlic is a mild immature version of its grown up dried self, pulled from the ground before its bulbs form, and can be used now in fish dishes, light soups, sauces, and relishes such as the one featured here.

Spring onions are simply yellow, white or red onion youngsters; slim and delicate, mild and sweet.

Pair these two kids with the puckery flavors of blood orange and Meyer lemon and you've got a mouthwatering topping for a thick mild white fish like halibut. Cod, rockfish and sablefish will work just as well, but may take less time to roast depending on their thickness.

The cooking method used here is fast and easy. Prepare the relish while the halibut is roasting in the oven; they will both be finished at the same time, ready to serve in about one-half hour from prep to plate.

A perfect springtime weeknight offering.

Roast Halibut Fillet with a Relish of Blood Orange, Meyer Lemon, Green Garlic and Spring Red Onion

Christine's original recipe
(print recipe)

Ingredients:

1-pound piece of halibut fillet

1 large Meyer lemon

1 small blood orange

1-2 tablespoons olive oil

3/4 teaspoon gray salt with herbs (sel gris aux herbes)

2 sprigs fresh oregano plus 1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves, chopped

1/3 cup dry white wine

1 green garlic stalk and 1 spring red onion stalk

Halibut Preparation:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Oil the bottom of a ceramic baking dish. Set aside.

Rinse fillet under cold water and gently pat dry.

Place fillet in baking dish, skin side down (skin removed) and rub the top with olive oil.

Sprinkle the fillet with the herb salt and cover the top of the fish with lemon slices. Reserve the remainder of the lemon.

Lay the oregano sprigs over the lemon slices.

Roast for 15 to 18 minutes or until the fish is cooked through but still very moist. It should be springy when pushed with your finger.

Meanwhile ...

Relish Preparation:

Wash both the green garlic and the spring onion stalks. Remove the outer layer of skin from each, slice off the root ends and thinly slice each one crosswise until you reach the neck. (The necks may be saved for soup stock.)

Using a sharp knife and working over a bowl to catch the juices, remove the skin, seeds, white pith and membrane from the blood orange and the remainder of the Meyer lemon. Chop each citrus separately, reserving juices.

Heat a skillet over medium low and add 1 teaspoon or so of olive oil.

Sauté the green garlic and spring onion slices for about 1 and 1/2 minutes, stirring to separate the rings, until they are softened but not browned.

Add both chopped citruses and their juice to the pan, stir and sauté 2 minutes more, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Add the white wine, stir, turn the heat up to medium high and cook until the liquid is reduced by one half.

Stir in the chopped oregano and continue cooking until the pan is almost dry, 1 minute more.

You may have to adjust the heat as you go along to prevent the relish from burning.

Remove the pan from the heat.

To serve, remove the oregano sprigs and lemon slices from the roast halibut and slice the fish into serving size pieces. Place on warm plates, top with the relish and a few more sprinklings of herb salt.

Enjoy!

Cook's Notes:
Sel gris aux herbes may be found in my Amazon store. Click on the link in the sidebar.

Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Cranberry Apricot Ginger Chutney

I came across the foundation for this condiment many years ago, wrote the recipe on a post card, folded it in half and stuck it in the yellow-orange plastic recipe box that I've had since I was in my 20s. Over the years I've changed the measurements and ingredients quite a bit from the original and in doing so have made it mine. I wouldn't for the life of me know to whom to attribute it anyway.
I like this chutney for its sharp tangy-sweetness and slight heat from the cayenne. It makes a wonderful addition to "day after" turkey sandwiches.

Fresh cranberries

Turkish Apricots, snipped

Organic crystallized ginger cubes, chopped

Cranberry Apricot Ginger Chutney
(Print Recipe)
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh cranberries, some coarsely chopped (chopping is not necessary though)
1/4 cup Splenda Brown Sugar Blend or 1/2 cup regular light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
1/4 cup golden raisins, left whole
20 Turkish dried apricots, snipped into pieces with kitchen scissors
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon allspice
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or 1/4 teaspoon if you like it hotter but be careful, too much can ruin the taste
3 tablespoons cranberry juice, such as one sweetened with apple juice, not sugar
tiny pinch kosher salt
1/3 cup toasted, roughly chopped pecans

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients except for the pecans, and place over medium heat.
Stirring often, cook the mixture until the brown sugar has melted, the berries begin to pop and the ingredients begin to meld together and become juicy.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pecans.
Allow to cool in the saucepan then remove to a lidded storage container and place in the fridge to chill.
Remove from the fridge about 1/2 hour before serving to allow it to come to room temperature.

Cook's Notes:
Low carb warning! If you are counting carbs this chutney will not appear on any low carb food list. Even with the use of the Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, it's loaded with fruit sugars.