Sautéed Kale With Garlic And Grilled Sweet Onions

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Is your garden overflowing with kale like mine is? Although it was quite some time ago that the tiny kale starts were planted, and it seemed like forever would happen before we could start harvesting,

if it weren't for the Cabbage and Sulphur butterfly worms taking their share I wouldn't be able to keep up, it's growing so fast.

I know it's hard to tell, but this is a very, very large bowl of two kinds of kale: green curly , very simply named, and a beautiful dark green, upright variety that has far too many names, among them lacinato, dinosaur, Tuscan, Italian Black Kale and cavolo nero. Kale is easy to grow in both cool and hot climates. Here on the north coast of California it will grow year-round, loving a kiss of frost in the winter. In hotter climes it's better as a fall through spring crop.

So far as I know, kale's only predators are the said beasties shown above. A sprinkling of diatomaceaous earth on the leaves will keep them at bay, at least long enough for you to get your share. Or, you can just plant enough kale so everyone's happy.

Kale is a member of the brassica family which includes cabbage, brussels sprouts, broccoli and more and is a highly nutritious vegetable. Grow it in your garden or buy it at your farmers market or organic produce store. As shown in the recipe below - a little garlic, some grilled sweet onions, a sprinking of balsamic vinegar, a poached egg and voilà. . . a light and lovely summer meal.

So let's start with the onions. To get caramelized sweetness out of a Walla Walla onion, grill it.

Here's a fun way: Cut off the stem and peel back the soft outer layer of the bulb. Cut the onion in half through the root end, leaving roots on each half to hold themselves together. Using a sharp knife, cut the onion halves into wedges, not cutting through the root end.

Rub each onion half with olive oil and grill both sides on medium heat until golden brown, slightly charred at some of the ends, and very soft - looking quite like something other than an onion: A peony, a mop head, a sea anemone, an extra-terrestrial, a muppet, are a few we came up with. Use tongs at the root end to move the onions around the grill. When you're ready to use the onions, simply snip out the root end using kitchen shears. The wedges will plop gently to your cutting board, ready to be cut and warmed in the pan.

Christine's Garden Fresh Sautéed Kale with Garlic and Sweet Onions
Ingredients:
Several large bunches of kale, curly and "lacinato"
4 large cloves fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon good olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
grilled Walla Walla or other sweet onion prepared as above

Preparation:

Wash the kale in cold water. Tear the leaves into pieces, discarding the larger, tougher stalks at the bottom of each leaf. You can cut these into small pieces and saute them with the garlic and onions if you wish, but I didn't.

Put one half of the olive oil into a large pot and heat it over medium high until it shimmers. Toss in the kale (it will spatter a bit because of the water on the leaves) and sauté, sprinkling with a pinch of two of kosher salt, turning with tongs, until wilted and tender but still bright green.

Meanwhile, using the rest of the olive oil in a skillet, sauté the grilled onion pieces and garlic until the garlic is golden brown and tender.

When the kale is ready, sprinkle with the balsamic vinegar and toss with the onion garlic mixture. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For a bit of protein, poach or gently fry an egg to put on top. Let the runny yolk dribble down over the kale. Eat it up while it's hot.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Barley Pilaf Salad With Three Basils Pesto

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First I made this.

Then I made this.

The combination of which resulted in this.

Personally, I think the first two photos are prettier but sometimes uglier is tastier and, in my humble opinion, this is one of those times.

Basil is one of my all-time favorite herbs and I've got three types growing in the greenhouse: Genova, Opal and Cinnamon. Combined with a nutty and delicious aged Italian cheese, they made a healthy, knock-out pesto and are the reason I'm submitting this post to Weekend Herb Blogging. WHB began over 3 years ago when my blogger buddy Kalyn... well, read here for the delightful and serendipitous explanation. WHB is being hosted this week by dear friend and neighbor Simona of Briciole. Check out her round-up this coming Sunday or Monday. If you'd like to join in the fun, read here about how to go about it. Then send Simona your link by Sunday, 3PM Utah time. You will be part of a multi-national group of food bloggers who post their fabulous recipes each week.

Basil holds a prideful place as one of the World's Healthiest Foods . And rightfully so. Not only is fresh basil packed with vitamins, it has so many healthful properties, among them anti-inflammatory, anti-oxident and anti-bacterial, that for me to write about them all would take so much time I wouldn't get to the recipe. So click here to read about what this humble easy to grow herb can do for your health, then come on back for a recipe that's not only packed with healthful goodness, I'm proud to say that all the ingredients are organic and come from within 50 miles of my kitchen.

Christine's Barley Pilaf Salad with Three Basils Pesto
Click here to print recipe

To make the Pesto:
Using a food processor, pulse 4 cloves of peeled garlic with 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt until the garlic is finely chopped. Next, place 2 cups fresh basil plus 1/4 cup toasted pine nuts into the processor bowl and pulse until coarsely chopped. With the processor running, slowly drizzle 1/4 cup good olive oil through the feed tube until a paste forms and the pesto leaves the sides of the bowl. Stop there. Scrape the pesto into a bowl and fold in 1/3 cup finely grated Piave Vecchio cheese. Set the pesto aside until the pilaf is assembled.

To make the Pilaf:
1 cup hulless red winter barley
2 1/2 cups water
golden cherry tomatoes, cut in halves
6 small radishes of different colors, thinly sliced
1 Armenian cucumber, thinly sliced
1 cup blanched corn kernels, cut from 2 cobs
1/2 fennel bulb, cut in half again and thinly sliced
Preparation:
The barley needs to be prepared the day before assembling the pilaf.

Put the uncooked barley into a large metal pot and cover with cold water. Give it a stir and skim off any hulls that float to the top. (Even though it's called hulless, but there will be a few strays.)
Let the barley soak for about 8 hours then rinse well.
Return barley to the rinsed pot, cover with 2 1/2 cups of water and bring to a boil on high heat.
Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until the water has been absorbed and the barley is just tender and chewy, about 50 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir to separate the grains and pour into a ceramic bowl or casserole dish to cool. Refrigerate overnight.

Several hours before serving, add the tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, corn and fennel to the cooked barley and toss well. Gently stir in the pesto until fully combined.

This pilaf may be served chilled or at room temperature, on the back deck or down on the beach, and would be a healthy side dish to grilled fish or stuffed chicken breasts. Bon appétit!

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Delicata Squash With Sautéed Greens, Pancetta And Honey Tangerine

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When you've been driving all day, some of it under rather harrowing conditions, this is the perfect quick-to-fix meal to warm you up and calm you down when you arrive home. A glass of red wine helps. Of course I'm talking about me...

The first part of my 6-hour journey home yesterday was easy - a little rain, a little wind - then it began to snow. Big fat fluffy flakes falling slowly at first, just enough to marvel at, then falling faster and faster until before I knew it I was queued up behind a number of cars being led through the snowy whiteness by a highway patrol car, the road becoming too trecherous to allow for the errant fast driver yet not icy enough to require chains. All of this occurred on the 101 within 50 miles of my home - a very rare occurrence for my neck of the woods as I live on the northern California coast in a maritime temperate climate zone. Not used to driving through snow, especially without chains, you can imagine my relief at arriving home safe and sound, if a bit hungry.

Honey tangerines (also called Murcott oranges) are in markets right now and their sunny goodness is a welcome ingredient to the winter palate. Wonderful in vinaigrettes and simple sautés, honey tangerine juice will also brighten roasted meats and bring elegance to winter desserts. Last night it rounded out all the ingredients of this sauté and made them shine.


Delicata squash with Sautéed Greens, Pancetta and Honey Tangerine
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
1 medium delicata squash, peeled, seeded and cubed
2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 cups mixture of winter greens, torn (see Cook's Notes)
1 and 1/2 ounces pancetta, cut into small squares
3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup honey tangerine juice, squeezed and strained from 1 tangerine
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil spray for the pan

Preparation:
Spray a heavy skillet with olive oil spray and set over medium high heat.
Add the pancetta to the hot pan and cook, stirring to break up the pieces, until crisp and browned. Remove to a plate.
Spray the same pan again and lower the heat to medium.
Add the cubes of squash and sauté until it softens and begins to brown.
Add the minced garlic and stir until the garlic has become softened and aromatic.
Toss in the torn greens. This is usually a mixture of winter greens: Chard in its many colors plus several kinds of kale, mustard greens and beet tops.
Stir everything together gently and allow the greens to wilt. A bit of additional olive oil may be needed to keep the squash from sticking to the pan.
Pour the honey tangerine juice over everything and stir well to combine.
When the greens are cooked to your liking, season to taste with salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
Serve on warmed plates and sprinkle with the crispy pancetta.

Cook's Notes:
For this dish I tore the greens into smaller pieces so as not to overpower the small cubes of squash nor lose the pieces of pancetta among them.


Plus A Small Rant:
(Not too long ago, last week I believe, I came across a complaint on the Internet about long, descriptive recipe titles on food blog posts. I don't take this personally as I'm sure the person who wrote it doesn't know my blog exists, but it still prompts me share this small rant. I'm only sorry that I didn't bookmark where I read the complaint as I would have loved to share it with you.)
I know that I'm given to long recipe titles and obviously am among quite a group of others who do the same. And I guess that this drives at least one food blogger critic a bit nuts. Personally, besides liking to be more descriptive than less, I also like it that people searching the Web for recipes are more apt to land on one of my recipes if I use said descriptive titles. And, duh, that's what we want, isn't it? So get over yourself. These are blogs for crying out loud.

Copyright © 2005-2008, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Fresh Green Pea And Shiitake Mushroom Risotto

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She doesn't know it, but Simona taught me how to make risotto. It's true. Several weeks ago I was standing in her kitchen watching her make risotto, a dish I'd never tried to make, and there was my lesson. Having thought for years that this was a labor-intensive endeavor, I'd shied away from it. But the way Simona prepared it made the whole process look easy and fun. I think mine came out rather well for a first try.

Fresh shelling peas, shiitake mushrooms, cipollini onion and Claudia's garlic, all from the

Arcata farmers market (which is overflowing with vegetable goodness this time of year), plus basil from my garden, gave this dish a symphony of flavors. The arborio rice, I used Il Riso Beretta, absorbed the stock in just under 20 minutes and was perfectly al dente. What fun it was to stand at my stove and watch this come together.

Fresh Green Pea and Shiitake Mushroom Risotto

with inspiration from my friend Simona

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken stock, heated

olive oil and butter for the pan

1 1/2 cups arborio rice

1 medium cipollini onion, minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

6 small to medium shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 cup freshly shelled green peas, blanched

several pinches of kosher salt

several grindings of good black peppercorns

3 tablespoons parmigiano-reggiano, coarsely grated

1 tablespoon basil, thinly sliced

Preparation:

To blanch the peas, place them in a colander and set them into a large pot of boiling water for about 2 minutes.

Lift the colander from the pot and immediately place it, with the peas, in a bowl of ice water to cool and maintain their bright green color. Set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken stock to a simmer. Cover and keep hot.

In a large skillet or wide-bottom pan, over medium heat, add several teaspoons good olive oil and a small spoonful of butter or Earth Balance, which is what I used.

When the butter has melted, add the minced onions and garlic and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté 3 minutes more. Adjust the heat, if necessary, so nothing browns.

Add the arborio rice and stir until every piece of rice is coated with oil then continue to sauté for about 5 minutes.

Turn the heat to medium-high and begin to add the chicken stock, 1 cup at a time, stirring until the liquid is absorbed before adding another cup. Keep doing this until the rice has become creamy and is just slightly resistant to your teeth.

Immediately remove the risotto from the heat. Check for seasonings, adding a pinch of salt and some freshly cracked pepper if desired.

Fold in the peas and the parmesan then sprinkle thinly sliced fresh basil over the top and serve.

This risotto is so full of good herby, veggie things that I can't help but to submit it to Weekend Herb Blogging. One of the most popular events among food bloggers, WHB is the brainchild of my friend Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and is coming up on its second year anniversary. WHB is being hosted this week by Myriam of Once Upon a Tart. Myriam will be posting the round-up next Sunday, Sept. 23rd so if you want to join in, click here for the rules, and send your post link to Myriam by Sunday, 3 p.m. Utah time.

Cook's Notes:

Now how easy was that? And my, oh my, was it good.

Yes, the peas are underwater in the photo. And if you look carefully, you can see a small piece of ice cube.

And it was darned hard to photograph the risotto. It kept wanting to come out yellow, when it really was a lovely, just slightly off, white.

I almost forgot: I heated 6 cups of stock but only used 4 1/2 by the time the rice was al dente, so please take that into consideration if you use this recipe. However, having more stock on hand is preferable to not having enough to finish the dish.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Heart Smart Summer Squashes: Two Ways

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With organic produce sparkling fresh from the farmers market, the more simply prepared the better is my approach. Let those sun-drenched flavors shine.

I've dished these up for Joanna and Ilva's HOTM4, a blog event devoted to heart-healthy recipes. Vegetables are the star of this month's event which will be posted on The Heart of the Matter after June 22nd.

I love vegetables. I love them roasted, grilled, sauteed, steamed and raw. The only way I don't like them is boiled. Both of these dishes were sauteed in heart-healthy extra virgin olive oil. No butter, no cheese. Blah, you say? No way! Fresh oregano and marjoram from my garden, some cloves of the coveted, local Claudia's garlic , and you've got a tasty and delicious feast fit for even the most finicky of dinner guests. All that, and your heart will go pitter-patter, in a good way.

Zucchini and Sunburst Squash Sauteed with Garlic and Herbs

Christine's original recipe

Ingredients:

6 or so summer squashes (depending on size), mixed varieties such as zucchini, sunburst or pattypan, cut into bite-sized pieces

4 cloves fresh, organic garlic, minced

2 heaping tablespoons minced fresh oregano and marjoram

kosher salt and freshly ground peppercorn medley to taste

extra virgin olive oil for the pan

Preparation:

Heat 2-3 teaspoons olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.

Add the cut up squashes and saute until beginning to soften.

Add the minced garlic, stirring so they don't stick to the bottom of the pan, and cook until the squash is just soft to the bite.

Add the fresh minced herbs and give a quick stir, allowing them to heat briefly, about 45 seconds.

Remove from the heat and season with the kosher salt and generous grindings of peppercorn medley. Serve immediately.

MMMMM. More veggies. Here I've used the last of the summer squashes from my trip to the farmers market last Saturday along with more of Claudia's garlic, which I simply cannot get enough of. Crisp white corn, red bells and protein-rich edamame from our local Co-op all helped to make this a heart- healthy and very satisfying platter of goodness.

A Medley of Squash, Red Bell Peppers, Corn, Edamame, Garlic and Herbs

Christine's original recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 to 1/3 cup chopped sweet onion

3 large cloves very fresh garlic, minced

3 ears fresh white corn, shucked and cut from the cob

6 small summer squash, such as sunburst, round zucchini, and pattypan

1 cup fresh or frozen edamame (green soy beans)

1 large red bell pepper, stem and veins removed, cut into 1-inch dice

2 tablespoon minced fresh oregano

kosher salt

freshly ground black peppercorns

extra virgin olive oil for the pan

Preparation:

Begin with the onions in a heavy skillet laced with about 2 teaspoons of olive oil and set over medium-low heat. Let the onions soften without burning, 4- 6 minutes.

Add the red bell pepper and give a stir. Saute about 2 minutes or until softened.

Add the edamame and stir to blend.

Add the minced garlic and a bit more olive oil if needed to keep things from sticking to the pan.

Cook gently until the edamame has softened. You can cover the pan if you wish and you can add a splash of white wine also, but not too much. (I didn't add the wine although I think it would be just fine to do so.)

Add the squash, stir and cook for about 2 minutes.

Add the corn kernels and the oregano and stir to heat through.

When it all looks done to your liking, remove from the heat and season with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

I'm looking forward to Joanna and Ilva's next Heart of the Matter challenge for July. Take a peek at the recipes that have been submitted to date.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Oatmeal And Eggs For Brunch

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There are folks who love me despite my predilection for culinary weirdness. Those are the dishes you will seldom see on this blog. And then again, sometimes they're just too weird to not show you.

Take today's brunch: Every morning Mr CC leaves oatmeal in the pot for me to have for breakfast. And like a good girl I almost always eat it, breakfast being "the most important meal of the day..." blah, blah, blah, and oatmeal (in our case, steel-cut oats) being so very good for you, blah, blah, blah. All very true and, sometimes, all very boring.

On days when I don't have to get up early and run off to work, the oatmeal will often sit in the pan until mid-morning, me not being a breakfast eater at heart. So as I walked into the kitchen sporting a few hunger pangs an hour ago, there sat the oatmeal, in the pan, with the requisite chunks of apple. And me craving eggs.

Now you can see where this is going, right?

Place your significant other's lunch taco skillet over medium low heat and toss in a teaspoon of butter or Earth Balance (which is what I use almost exclusively).

When the butter starts to sizzle, plop in the cooked oats and spread them around in a circle about 6-inches in diameter and make a hole in the center that will hold 2 eggs.

Break your eggs into the center, sprinkle the whole thing with freshly ground black pepper and some luscious coarse sea salt such as Sel de Guerande, place a lid over the pan and gently cook until the eggs reach your desired consistency of doneness.

Top with a dollop of your favorite salsa, I used Amy's Organic Black Bean & Corn.

Weirdness factor: high. Delicious and satisfying factor: Very high.

The apples? I ate them while the eggs were cooking.

I think this pretty much covers all the food groups with the exception of dairy. Drink a glass of milk.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Marrow Beans In Garlic, Olive Oil, Lemon And Oregano

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Another bean post. This time 'round I've cooked up the Marrow beans that I recently bought from Rancho Gordo's in Napa, California. In my last post about his beans, I forgot to tell you that Steve Sando, and his beans, may be found, fondled (yes!) and purchased Saturday mornings at the San Francisco Ferry Building farmers market.

And just in case Steve reads this and thinks I'm vying to be chosen to test recipes from his up coming book, Heirloom Beans: Recipes from Rancho Gordo, yes, I am. I didn't start out to, honest, but once I started posting about his beans, the idea did occur to me. I may as well be honest about it, right?

Lusciously creamy with a light taste that can take on the flavors of what it's paired with, in this case, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice, garlic and fresh oregano, this bean will keep its shape after cooking yet can be mashed into a light and fluffy spread for crackers or artisan bread.

I cooked the beans without bay leaves this time; just clean, fresh water after a 6-hour soaking. After they were cooked for about 45 minutes, I drained them (saving the cooking liquid) and allowed them to come to room temperature.

For this dish, I heated extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet then added a fresh bay leaf that had been torn in half and allowed to permeate the hot olive oil for about 5 minutes. After fishing the bay leaf parts out, I gently sauteed minced garlic in the olive oil. Fresh lemon juice, a bit of salt, freshly chopped oregano and some of the cooking liquid rounded out the ingredients. The beans were then tossed with this mixture and I've got to say, the combination was delightful.

Marrow Beans in Garlic, Olive Oil, Lemon and Oregano
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Rancho Gordo dry Marrow beans soaked and then cooked in fresh, cold water
For each 1 1/2 cups of cooked beans:
1 fresh bay leaf, torn in half
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tablespoon (or more to taste) fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh oregano, finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons bean cooking liquid
kosher salt to taste
Preparation:

Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium low heat. Add the torn bay leaf and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Keep the heat low so the oil does not smoke.

Remove the bay leaf pieces from the skillet and add the minced garlic, cooking until just fragrant and slightly golden, about 2 minutes.

Off the heat, pour the skillet contents over about 1 1/2 cups of the cooked beans, tossing gently. Add the lemon and the bean cooking liquid, 1 tablespoon at a time until the consistency you desire.

Gently stir in the chopped oregano and season with the kosher salt.

Serve warm or at room temperature along side your main dinner dish, or with crackers as an appetizer.

Dare I enter two bean posts, back to back, to Weekend Herb Blogging? Since I'm going to be gone this weekend, and this will be my only post until next week, yes is the answer. Back with our fearless originator this week, the wonderful Kalyn will post her round-up on Sunday. Be sure to check it out! Want to join in the fun? Click here to see how it's done.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

A Mother Of A Bean

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Up until recently, I'd never been much of a bean person. I actually can't remember my mother ever cooking a pot of beans. Maybe that's where my indifference came from.

Not that I've never cooked beans before. In the 70s and early 80s when I decided to be vegetarian and Molly Katzen came out with the Moosewood Cookbook, I made her Black Bean Soup a lot. Over the years, though, my bean cooking had fallen off to just short of never.

These days, however, with all the attention on getting one's fiber, eating more whole grains, beans, etc., I've re-examined my ho-hum attitude toward the lowly bean.

Did you know that beans are a high fiber, complex carbohydrate, low glycemic food that are high in B vitamins and many minerals? Or that Beans have been shown to lower cholesterol, prevent diabetes, and lower the risk of colon cancer when eaten as part of a regular diet regimen? Neither did I until I did some research.

And if health factors alone were not enough to get me on the bean wagon, discovering Rancho Gordo has also helped to renew my interest. Steve Sando is so enthusiastic about his beans he practically could make a convert out of anybody. Including me. Here is my most recent purchase of a trio of beans from the man himself: Good Mother Stallard, Black Valentine and Marrow.

These beans are clean, people! No dust, no rocks. And I found just one bean that wasn't absolutely perfect. How many of you can say that about your store-bought beans?

Firmly on that bean wagon now, this morning I began with the Good Mother Stallard: A swirl of purplish burgundy on a creamy background encases this sturdy, plump bean which holds its shape even after cooking. The taste is nutty and earthy, the mouthfeel creamy and smooth. This is a bean to dress simply so its lovely flavor and texture are not muddled. And please don't throw out the cooking liquid. It's pure gold.

Cooked with fresh (or dried) bay leaves (I'm so lucky to have a bay tree growing outside my kitchen door!) and a covering of cold water, the finished beans needed nothing more than a drizzle of olive oil, some lemon zest and a sprinkling of Maldon Sea Salt to make my eyes light up and my tongue do its happy dance.

A quick rinse under cold water and these were ready to soak. A 6-hour soak was all they needed.

They cooked to a perfect consistency in less than 1 hour.

There's no particular recipe here. I simply did the following:
Rinse the dry beans under cold water.
Place them in a large pot and cover with cold, fresh water. Throw in 3 fresh or dried bay leaves. DO NOT salt the water. This will retard the cooking of the beans and you'll end up with hard rocks. Ditto on using stock. Just use plain, cold water and you'll be rewarded.

Place the pot over high heat and bring to a boil. When a boil is reached, lower the flame to maintain a simmer, on my stove, that was low.

Allow the beans to simmer until they've reached the consistency you desire. These were well cooked in just under 1 hour. In fact, I may have overcooked them just a teeny bit.

Remove the pan from the heat and drain the beans, saving the pot liquid! The liquid these beans make, in and of itself, is worth it. Use the liquid for soups, stews, or to add back into the beans if you wish.

Discard the bay leaves.

To achieve the finished dish (photo at top of page), drizzle beans with good, extra-virgin olive oil, a teaspoon of fresh lemon zest (go ahead, squirt in some juice if you want) and a sprinkling of good sea salt. Serve warm or at room temperature.

This is my entry for Weekend Herb Blogging. My post is not really about an herb per se, but WHB includes plants, veggies, and fruits as well. Plus, I'm so excited about beans, I simply must share.

Weekend Herb Blogging is the brainchild of my blogger buddy Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen and is being hosted this week by Ellie of Kitchen Wench, way down in Australia. To read about WHB and how to join in, please click here. Ellie should have her round-up posted on Monday. I can't wait to read all the entries!

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved

Mediterranean Red Pepper Coulis

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People go nuts over this sauce whenever I make it. It's fast, fresh, delicious, versatile, vegan friendly and about as heart-healthy as it gets.

We put it over roasted veggies, stir it into soups, dollop it on steaming bowls of stew, use it as a dip for crisp, raw veggies. If he's lucky enough to find some left over in the fridge, Mr CC puts it into his lunch tacos.

Recently, I used it in several ways: As a sauce for the as-yet-to-be-posted Stuffed Mexican Hat Pasta, and then again as a topping for the soup that was made from the left over Mexican Hat Pasta stuffing. Posts are coming soon.

I call this Mediterranean because the ingredients taste and smell like that warm, sunny region to me. And coulis is simply a more exotic French term for a fresh sauce. See my notes below for a few variations.

Mediterranean Red Pepper Sauce
Christine's original recipe
Ingredients:
2 large red bell peppers, charred, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1/2 sweet onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 to 1/3 cup olive oil, divided
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
fresh Italian parsley (optional)
fresh basil (optional)

Preparation:

Set the whole red peppers over a gas flame set on high and char until the skin is blackened and blistered all over, using tongs to turn them. You will know when the blistering begins because the skin will give a popping sound.

When charred, place the peppers into a paper bag, fold down the top and let sit for about 15 minutes.

Remove peppers from the bag and, using your fingers, push and peel the skin from the fruits. Do not put under running water to do this as you will wash away much of the flavor. It's okay for bits of charred skin to remain on the peppers, I think it gives them character.

Cut off the tops of the peppers and remove the seeds and veins.

Chop peppers coarsely and set aside.

Saute the onions in the 1 tablespoon of olive over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the chopped garlic and stir for about a minute more.

If using the fresh herbs as I did for this recipe, chop them coarsely now.

Place the chopped bell peppers in a food processor and pulse 3 or 4 times, just to break the peppers up.

Add the chopped herbs, the onion and garlic saute along with whatever oil has remained in the pan, and pulse until the mixture is finely chopped.

With the machine running, pour the 1/4 to 1/3 cup of olive oil through the feed tube in a small, steady stream, using enough oil to create a thick, smooth sauce.

Stop the machine and taste the sauce. Add salt if needed and pulse to incorporate. Add the lemon juice and process until incorporated.

Keep in a glass bowl or measuring cup. This can remain at room temperature for several hours but should be refrigerated if being kept longer.

Cook's Notes:

Here you can see another version of the sauce with no herbs. You would think character would be lost but it's not so. It's different and just as delicious.

Going south-of-the-border, you could make this sauce by substituting red onion for the sweet one and lime juice for the lemon.

Spice it up with charred, peeled jalapeno.

Leave out the garlic if you wish.

Don't saute anything. Just add it fresh to the food processor.

Add spices like cumin and corriander.

My preference is to keep it as simple as possible so the freshness of the ingredients shine.

Copyright © 2005-2007, Christine Cooks. All rights reserved