Tag Archives: parsley

Smoky Eggplant Dip [Moutabbal] from smittenkitchen.com

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2 medium eggplants (about 1 pound each)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon coarse or kosher salt, or to taste
6 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste), well-stirred if a new container
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced or pressed
Juice of 1 lemon, plus more to taste, if desired
Pinch of cayenne or aleppo pepper
Pinch or two of ground cumin
2 tablespoons well-chopped flat-leaf parsley, divided
Toasted sesame seeds or za’atar for garnish

Heat oven to 375°F. Brush a baking sheet or roasting pan with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Prick eggplants a few times with a fork or tip of a knife. Over a gas flame, grill or under a broiler, evenly char the skin of your eggplants. I like mine quite smoky and like to leave no purple visible. Transfer to a cutting board, and when cool enough to handle, trim off stem and cut lengthwise. Place cut side down on prepared baking sheet and roast for 30 to 35 minutes, until very, very tender when pressed. Let cool to room temperature.

In a blender or food processor: Scrape eggplant flesh from skin and into the work bowl. Add tahini, lemon, cayenne, cumin and 1 tablespoon parsley. Blend in short bursts (pulses) until combined but still coarsely chopped.

By hand: Scrape eggplant flesh from skin and onto a cutting board. Finely chop the eggplant, leaving some bits closer to pea-sized. In a bowl, whisk together tahini, garlic, lemon, cayenne, cumin and half the parsley. Add chopped eggplant and stir to combine.

Both methods: Taste and adjust ingredients if needed. I usually need more salt and lemon.

To serve: Spoon into a bowl and drizzle with remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Scatter with second tablespoon of parsley, and some toasted sesame seeds or za’atar, if desired. Serve with pita wedges.

For a big delicious summer meal, you could serve this with a tomato-cucumber salad,ethereally smooth hummus and pita wedges. If you’d like to be fancy, grilled or pan-roasted lamb chops are wonderful here too. (I use this method, but just season them with salt, pepper, lemon zest and dried oregano these days. I finish them with a squeeze of lemon juice.)  Makes about 2 cups

Heirloom Tomatoes with Blue Cheese Dressing from Ina Garten

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3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, mixed colors and sizes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ pound Roquefort cheese, divided
1 cup good mayonnaise
1/3 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons tarragon wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (optional)

Core the tomatoes and cut the large ones into thick slices; halve or quarter the small ones. Arrange artfully on a platter and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

For the dressing, place half the Roquefort cheese, the mayonnaise, heavy cream, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper in the bowl food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until combined but still chunky.

Drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Crumble the remaining blue cheese over the tomatoes. Sprinkle with parsley, if using, and serve at room temperature. (Serves 6 to 8)

The Silver Palate’s Green Sauce

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  • 2 cups fresh parsley leaves
  • 3 scallions (green onions, white and green parts), sliced
  • 1/2 cup fresh dill sprigs
  • 3 anchovy fillets, drained
  • 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon capers, drained
  • 6t ablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 3/4 cups olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
  • 2 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped
  1. Mince the parsley, scallions, and dill in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Add the anchovies, garlic, capers, and lemon juice. Process until smooth. With the machine running, add the oil in a thin, steady stream. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove to a serving bowl and stir in the eggs. Makes 1 1/2 cups

A sauce in spring green that goes with everything from asparagus to salmon to Easter hams and lambs (and the perfect place to put those leftover hard-boiled eggs). Adapted slightly from The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook

Make a huge batch on Easter. Set it out on the table with your lamb or ham. The next day, spoon it over poached salmon. Bundle boiled new potatoes all up in it, then take them to work with you. Pool it on top of grilled chicken, or shrimp, or steak. Dunk spears of blanched asparagus. And radishes. And fennel.

There’s almost nothing you will cook for dinner this season (or the next) that you won’t want to cover in green sauce.

 

Pati Jinich’s Tortilla Soup

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For the Tortilla Soup:
3 Guajillo Chiles (stemmed; seeded and toasted)
1 pound ripe Tomatoes
1 Garlic clove
1/2 cup Onion (roughly chopped)
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
6 cups Chicken Broth use veggie broth
1 sprig fresh Parsley
1/2 cup Mexican Crema (creme fraiche or sour cream)
8 ounces Queso Fresco (diced)
1 ripe Avocado (diced)

For the Tortilla Crisps:
Vegetable Oil (for frying) try baking
6 5-6 inch Corn Tortillas (cut into wedges)
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Guajillo chiles (stemmed; seeded and broken into pieces)

For the Tortilla Soup: In a medium sauce pan, place the toasted Guajillo chiles, tomatoes, and garlic. Add enough water just to cover ingredients. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer 12 to 15 minutes, until tomatoes are fully cooked and mushy and the Guajillos have re-hydrated and plumped up.

Place the Guajillos, tomatoes, garlic and onion in a blender along with 1 cup of the simmering liquid and salt. Puree until completely smooth.

In a large soup pot, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Once hot but not smoking, pour in the tomato puree. It will sizzle and make noise and smoke. Let the puree cook and thicken, changing from a bright red to a darker red and thicker consistency, for about 12 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken broth and the parsley sprig and return to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer and season, cooking another 10 minutes. Remove parsley sprig before serving.

Serve into soup bowls, adding a handful of tortilla crisps, a few chile crisps, and crema, cheese and avocado to taste. Alternatively you can place all the garnishes on the soup plates, and pour the hot soup into the bowls at the table. You may add other more hefty garnishes, such as cooked shredded chicken on top.

For the Tortilla Crisps: To fry: in a deep 12-inch skillet, heat 1⁄2 inch of oil over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking—a tortilla piece dipped in the oil should bubble around the edges. Add the tortilla pieces in small batches and fry, turning once, until they are a rich golden brown and nicely crisped. For crisps and chips, cook for 20 to 30 seconds per side; cook tostadas one at a time for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes per side. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Sprinkle immediately with salt so it will stick to the surface.

To prepare Chile Crisps, flash fry the chile pieces in the vegetable oil for 2 seconds, then quickly remove to a paper-towel lined plate.

To bake: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Place the tortilla pieces (or whole tortillas) on the baking sheet. Gently brush the tops with oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 20 minutes, stirring and flipping them occasionally, until golden brown and crispy. Let cool.

Helpful Tips:
1. Guajillo chilis aren’t as spicy as other peppers, so it’s a crowd pleasing base. You could also use ancho or Serrano chilis. It’s important to rehydrate the ancho chili so it creates a paste.

2. To cut fat out of your diet, you can bake the tortillas into chips instead of frying them.

3. Save tortillas crisps in a plastic bag and use them at breakfast, lunch, or dinner. For breakfast: If you scramble eggs with cooked onions, jalapeno and tomato, just when the eggs are starting to fluff and firm up, you add the tortilla crisps and makes them like “migas” (a traditional Spanish dish with eggs using leftover bread). For lunch: use them as a garnish for a salad. For dinner: top any soup, stew, chili with crumbled tortilla. You can also add them to any cooked beans for a delicious side!

4. How to store soft tortillas: If homemade, store wrapped in a cloth and inside of a sealed plastic bag. If store bought, keep in the refrigerator

Cashew nut roast

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I now make this in a casserole dish rather than loaf pan. It’s much easier to serve!!



The roast:
2 tablespoons oil or butter
2 large onions, chopped fine (I used 2 med.)
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups raw cashews
1 1/2 cups bread-use stuffing bread cut up in cusinart
1 cup soup stock (or water)
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons lemon juice

The “stuffing”:
3 cups bread cubes, toasted
2 tablespoons margarine, melted but not hot
1/2 cup finely-chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
1/2 teaspoon sage
3 tablespoons parsley, chopped
salt to taste (I did not add salt)
chopped parsley

(From the first list:) Cook the onion and garlic in the oil or margarine until tender, and remove from the heat. Chop the cashews by hand or in a food processor; cut up the bread as well. Add the cashews and bread to the onion, then add the vegetable stock, salt and pepper, nutmeg, and lemon juice. Put half of this mixture into a greased casserole dish.

Mix together all the ingredients from the second list. Add some stock so it’s a bit moist or not bone dry.  Put the mixture on top of the stuff in the casserole, and add the rest of the first mixture so that there are three layers of food in the pan. Place the pan on a baking sheet (in case it overflows while cooking), and bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 45 min. The top should be browned.

Note: do not raise temp above 400, probably done after 45 min, check internal temp.

Let the roast cool for a few minutes, then turn the pan over and serve the roast on a plate. Serve with gravy if desired, keeping in mind that it is a very rich dish.

Serve with mushroom, miso, mustard gravy

Cat Fish – Helen Krafsur

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1 cup pimiento-stuffed green olives, drained, and chopped
1 Tbsp chopped capers
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, some hot red peppers (my addition)
4 (6-oz) catfish fillets
Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Stir together olives, capers, oil, zest, peppers, and 2 tablespoons parsley in a bowl. Arrange catfish, skinned sides down, in an oiled 12-inch nonstick skillet, tucking thinner ends of each fillet under. Season fish with salt and pepper, then mound olive mixture on top. Put a round of parchment or wax paper on top of olive mixture, then tightly cover skillet. Cook catfish over moderate heat until just cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with remaining tablespoon parsley.

Makes 4 servings.
Gourmet
November 2003