Medicinal eating to avoid flu and other calamities

Food as medicine is as old as human kind and despite all the hype, food is still the basis of our cures. It's not hard to eat and be well because Mother Nature always knows what we need and provides it just in time. That's why we get watery foods like cucumbers, melons and tomatoes when we're sweating; and tonic foods like asparagus and dandelion greens when we're shedding the weight of winter. And that's why there's so much Vitamin C sunshine loaded citrus available during these cold, dark winter months. That's why there are chlorophyll (sunshine) carrying and Vitamin A loaded greens like kale, chard, broccoli and spinach that grow in the cold. Mother Nature is fortifying your immune system.

Eating seasonally--heavily now on citrus and greens-- has always worked for me, even with advanced age. So here are a few of my favorite recipes featuring citrus and greens abundant in markets--foods not imported from summer climates. Some of these recipes have been posted before but are worth repeating because they're classics you should make again and again. If nothing else squirt lime or lemon juice on as much as you can and garnish like all get out with parsley, dill and cilantro. These seemingly frail herbs are powerhouses of critical winter nutrients.

Citrus Salad 

I posted two other winter salads back in early December (pomegranate and persimmon, winter salad with frisée and fruits); this is their mother, the most citrus of all.
Serves 8

1/4
1 navel orange, peeled
2 blood oranges, peeled
1 lg red grapefruit, peeled
4 clementines or seedless mandarins, peeled
1 small radicchio trimmed and cut into ½” wide wedges
1 c wild arugula, washed and drained,
1 bunch watercress, leaves only, coarsely chopped
1/4 c pomegranate arils
Slice the oranges into thin disks, then quarter each disk.
Pull the grapefruit apart in sections and cut each section into 3-4 pieces.\Pull the clementines apart into sections.
Combine everything in a serving bowl.

For the dressing
3 oz roasted unsalted almonds, roughly chopped
2 green chilies, deseeded and thinly sliced
2” fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tbsp coriander seeds*
1 tbsp fennel seeds*
1½ tbsp poppy seeds
¼ c good sherry vinegar
½ c olive oil
Coarse sea salt and black pepper

*if you can lightly crush these, great

To make the dressing: combine all the ingredients. Pour over salad slowly because there may be more dressing than you like.
Mexican Green Salsa with lime

This is my all time favorite sauce for everything. I found it at a real hole in the wall burrito shop in the Mission District of San Francisco, took some home and figured it out. Of course it's the perfect dip for tortilla chips--think Superbowl Sunday, but it's also fabulous on scrambled eggs, baked potatoes, polenta, salmon, pork, black bean chili and of course burritos. I know it requires imported ingredients but it's just the right color and nutrients for now and I love it. I have posted it before. It's worth repeating.

3 lg tomatilloes, skin off and chopped
1/4 sm/med avocado, skin off
1 sm garlic clove,
1/4 c red onion, chopped
1 lg lime, juice only
1 Serrano chili, seeded and sliced
1/3 bunch cilantro, leaves only
Sea salt to your taste

Combine everything in a food processor and blend to a thick sauce. Taste and adjust salt, lime and chili. (You can add a pinch of red chili pepper flakes if it isn't hot enough for you.)
 
Spinach with chickpeas (a specialty of Seville)

This is one of my favorite dishes and it has become a go-to for friends I've shared it with. Espinaces con garbanzos is as traditional an Andalusian recipe as you will find, still beloved and wildly popular. It's not only delicious and colorful, it's super nutritious, gluten-free and vegan to boot. What more could you want? How about easy and inexpensive to make! I've posted it before as part of my growing chickpea collection. In Seville, it's usually served alone as a tapa with crusty bread. I put it on a vegetable plate with rice or beside roast chicken.
serves 4-6

1 lb spinach leaves, stems off, washed and coarsely chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained but reserve the water
1/2 c olive oil
18 raw marcona almonds (any raw almonds, actually)
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp cumin seed
1/3 c chopped tomatoes, juice included
3 tbsp sherry vinegar or 2 tbsp sherry and 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp smoked Spanish paprika
½ tsp chili powder (unless you are using hot Spanish paprika)

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to your taste Heat the olive oil in a med pot/saucepan and over medium heat fry the slices of garlic and bread/almonds until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon, leaving the pot and oil untouched. Put the bread/almonds and garlic in a food processor, chopper or mortar. Add the smoked Spanish paprika (pimentón), the chili pepper, cumin seed, black pepper, and the coarse sea salt. Blitz or pound into paste. Add the vinegar and 1-2 tbsp chickpea water to thin the paste to the consistency of hummus. If necessary to thin it more, add 1 tsp vinegar.

Put the tomatoes and chickpeas into the pot/saucepan with the oil. Stir in the paste, adding another tbsp. chickpea water if necessary. Warm over medium heat. Add the spinach to the pot, lightly pressing it down. Continue cooking until the spinach is totally wilted. Stir the spinach into the chickpeas and sauce and continue cooking on low heat 8-10 minutes so the spinach is very soft. Stir so nothing burns. Taste and add salt or sherry/sherry vinegar and/or Spanish paprika if necessary. Serve warm with toasts or in bowls.

Pasta with Broccoli rabe, pine nuts and lots of garlic

Garlic is magical medicine for the lungs. You smell it on the breath because it never reaches the stomach. It stops in the lungs where it was historically known to kill demons, meaning it destroys bacteria and viruses in them. The killer is the sulfur, source of the odor and source of sulfa drugs. So pile on the garlic.

Broccoli rabe is the original broccoli plant with its leaves and small crowns. It's tastier than the larger more recently bred broccoli and more appealing visually. It's close cousin, also a substitute here, is broccolini, baby broccoli.

I eat this at least once a week not only for the broccoli green and garlic but because bitterness (which broccoli rabe is loaded with) helps open the sinuses and I need help with that. This is a vegan dish that cuts back on my meat eating so it's emotionally satisfying as well as medicinal. Plus it's pretty. And if you can't stand a meal without meat add sausage, pepperoni or chorizo to it.
serves 4

1 bunch broccoli rabe, chopped into large bite size pieces
1/4 c iodized salt (not to worry it's for the boiling water) 
1/2 c good quality olive oil (plus some at the end) 
1 med red onion, diced (I use red for the color; it you only have yellow, okay)
1/4 c pine nuts
4 lg garlic cloves, smashed and minced or grated
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt to your taste 
1/2 c freshly grated Parmesan or Asiago cheese
1 lb penne, pennino, cappelletti, orecchiete--any med or small pasta the length of a piece of chopped broccoli

Fill a large soup pot with water and the 1/4 c salt. Bring to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and boil 1-2 minutes. This removes the real bitterness and softens it. Drain but keep the water to keep the pasta.
Bring the water back to a boil, add more salt and the pasta. Cook according to package instructions: should be 12-15 minutes if it's good Italian durum wheat pasta.

While the pasta cooks, heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Over med heat, add the onion, pine nuts, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Sauté 3-5 minutes until onion is soft and pine nuts are golden. Add the garlic and well drained broccoli rabe. (If it's wet the oil will spurt up.) Stir to blend, add a pinch of sea salt and cook over low heat until pasta is finished.


Add 3 tbsp pasta water to the skillet, then the pasta. Season the pasta with sea salt to your taste, freshly ground black pepper and a splash of really good quality olive oil. Then blend it into the broccoli rabe. You may need more oil. Add the grated cheese. Taste for salt and serve right away with a fruity winter salad.
 
Spicy Lemon Lentils
Excellent with rice and braised greens or baked ham. This was very popular in the Mongolian Cafe I set up in Ulan Bator where meat eating people had to eat vegetarian. So I knew it was a winner.
serves 6

2 cups brown lentils, picked over
1 small cinnamon stick
3 whole cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter or ghee
2 lg onions, diced
2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1/4 tsp ground Cayenne
4 garlic cloves, minced
zest of 1 lemon, grated
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 sm medium hot chili, minced
salt and black pepper
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, leaves only, chopped

Put lentils, cinnamon stick and cloves in a large saucepan and cover lentils with water 1" over the top of them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook about 20 minutes or until lentils are soft. Drain and remove cinnamon stick and cloves.

In a large sauté pan or skillet, melt the butter over medium heat and add the oil. Add onions and sauté for 10 minutes until onions are soft and translucent. Add ginger, cayenne, garlic, lemon zest and chili. Sauté another 5 minutes. Fold in the lentils and lemon juice. Carefully stir once to blend. Heat just until the lentils are hot. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Stir in the chopped cilantro. Serve warm.


Cheap Thrills: Chimichurri, Cilantro Pesto. Salsa Verde
Don't forget, those inexpensive bunches of parsley and cilantro are nutrient powerhouses, storehouses of sunshine. Sauce them up and pour them over everything. Chimichurri is actually an Argentine steak sauce. Cilantro pesto is very peppery and brightens up spaghetti, scrambled eggs, tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, baked sweet potatoes and a root vegetable stew. I've posted these before but, again, they're keepers you need to memorize.

Chimichurri, Argentina’s famous parsley steak sauce
1/4 cup coarsely chopped parsley (leaves of 1/2 bunch) 
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar 
4 large garlic cloves, minced (2 1/2 tablespoons) 
2 tablespoons oregano leaves 
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper 
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

In a food processor, combine the parsley, vinegar, garlic, oregano and crushed red pepper. Process until smooth; season with salt and pepper. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and pour the olive oil over the mixture. Let stand for at least 20 minutes.
Make Ahead. The chimichurri can be refrigerated. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Cilantro Pesto
2 c fresh cilantro leaves (with some stems, no problem)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh black pepper
3 lg garlic cloves peeled  
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts
1 to1 1/4c olive oil
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

Combine all in processor and whir until smooth.

Salsa Verde
for those who want some "meat" to their sauce, this is the salty, fishy Italian sauce
(serves 4)
½ clove of garlic
2-3 anchovy fillets
1 tbsp capers
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
handful basil leaves
handful of flat leaf parsley leaves
handful of mint leaves
4-5 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Put the garlic in the food processor along with the anchovies, capers, Dijon mustard and red wine vinegar and blitz to a paste. Add the fresh herbs and use the “pulse” setting to incorporate. Add the olive oil and pulse briefly. Taste the salsa verde and season with salt and pepper as you like.

Superbowls and desserts next time.