Eatin' O' the Green 2019

Astronomical and meteorological Spring is supposed to be here forcing Earth to go green. Even if winter hasn't loosened its grip on most of us, we can still push forward and go green indoors at the table. The rich color is a sight for sore eyes and a tonic to stomachs. So here are a few ways to green up to get ready for Spring:

Moroccan baked Fish in Cilantro Sauce

The best part of this recipe, after the gorgeous color and blast of taste, is that you can use the cilantro sauce for many other different dishes featuring chicken, pork, eggs or black beans.  It's even good on baked potatoes.
serves 6

1 ½ lbs halibut or other thick white fish cut into six equal portions

2 bunches fresh cilantro, washed and patted dry

3 garlic cloves, smashed

1 serrano chili, minced

1 heaping tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp whole coriander seeds

2 tbsp paprika

2/3 c olive oil (to be divided)

3 tbsp fresh lime juice (2 limes)

2 tbsp unsalted butter

3 lg onions, sliced ¼” thick

pinch saffron threads

pinch ground cayenne pepper

zest of one lemon

1 c green or black olives, pitted

Salt and pepper

Lightly season the fish with salt and pepper.

To make the cilantro sauce:

Pull out a few cilantro leaves for garnish. Roughly chop the rest. Put in a medium bowl and add ½ tsp salt, the garlic, chili, ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp ground coriander, paprika, ½ c olive oil and all the lime juice.  Stir to blend.

Take ¼ c out of the sauce in reserve and pour the rest over the fish. Coat both sides of the fish in the sauce. Cover and leave at room temperature 1 hour or refrigerate several hours.               

(You can do this in advance too.)

In a wide skillet, melt the butter with the remaining olive oil over med/high heat. Add the saffron, then onions. Season with salt and pepper. Add remaining ground cumin and coriander, the coriander seeds, and pinch of cayenne. Stir to coat everything in the butter/oil. Once onions start to soften, reduce heat to med/low and cook, stirring occasionally, 15 min until onions are soft and starting to look golden brown. Stir in the lemon zest and olives. Cool to room temperature.

Heat oven to 400º. Put onions in a low baking dish and spread them around so they are about 1” thick. Arrange the marinated fish over them in one layer. Bake on the top rack of the oven 10-15 minutes—until the fish is just done, do not overcook.

To serve: put each fish portion on a bed of onions and top with a smear of the fresh cilantro sauce.  You could complete and color up the meal with roasted rosemary seasoned baby potatoes and a tomato cucumber salad. 

 

Georgian Spinach Paté

I've posted this before but here it is again because it's so vivid, tasty and useful. It's vegan AND gluten-free. Georgian here means from the country next to Armenia, not the southern state. Homecooks in that the Black Sea land turn many vegetables into "paté" and offer several at once with flatbread as part of a mezze/tapas spread to start a meal. Since home cooks might not have a lot of molds, they usually form their paté in available bowls, so I did that and got this green dome. You can use a small loaf pan if you prefer. I topped it with a candied walnut to indicate it contained nuts. That's vital because to nuts can be lethal to those with allergies.
1 lb baby spinach leaves, washed and dry

1 lg garlic clove
1/2 c walnut pieces or halves
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp ground chili (Aleppo works great)
1/2 tsp coriander seeds or 1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1/4 c chopped cilantro leaves
1 tsp cider vinegar

Black pepper to your taste
to garnish: walnut halves and/or pomegranate seeds or finely crumbled feta.

Blanch or steam the spinach until it wilts. Drain reserving 2-3 tbsp of the water and squeeze it as dry as possible. Chop it finely.
Put the walnuts, sea salt and garlic in a food chopper or processor and grind to an oil paste. This means grinding until the nuts release their oil. If it seems too thick add 2 tbsp spinach water to get it to the consistency of thick hummus. Grind in the chili, coriander, parsley and cilantro. Add the vinegar and push in the chopped spinach. Before you grind season with freshly ground black pepper. Grind everything into a smooth paté. (Note: this is my adaption using modern equipment. In Georgia cooks do a lot of pounding and pestling.)

Oil a small bowl and pack in the paté, pushing down and leveling the top. Put a pot lid or something

heavy the fits and put a weight on that. Wrap everything in a plastic bag to seal it, put it in the fridge overnight or for at least 6 hours. Using a small spatula to loosen the edges, unmold the paté onto a round plate. Garnish with walnuts and whatever else. Surround with bread and a knife for spreading.
This can also be a pitta sandwich filling which you can embellish as you wish with sour cream or cheese or chopped red onion and cucumber.

Tuscan Kale Chickpea Soup

Another treasure from my worldly chickpea recipe collection that lets you serve kale unpretentiously. This is a very nutritious, vegan soup lighter than winter fare. (Of course if you choose to use chicken soup it won't be vegan but it will be extra delicious.)

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tsp fennel seeds

1-2 tsp chili flakes

3-4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 c chopped tomatoes (fresh or boxed)

Zest of ½ lemon

2 c cooked/canned chickpeas (drained weight)

1 1/4 lbs kale, shredded

1/4 c orzo pasta (or other small pasta shape)

4 c vegetable/chicken broth

Salt and black pepper

 To serve

Extra lemon zest

Extra virgin olive oil

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, add fennel seeds, chili flakes, garlic and ginger. Cook gently a few minutes until fragrant. Add chopped tomatoes and lemon zest and continue to cook until tomatoes have softened, about 5 minutes. Add chickpeas, kale and orzo, stirring to blend. Pour in the broth. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and cook until the kale and orzo are soft. Check for seasoning, adding salt and black pepper to taste.

Spicy Chinese Green Beans

These Hunan style beans are an old favorite that never goes out of style and makes your kitchen more international. Without the optional pork, these are vegan.
serves 4-6

1 lb Kentucky Wonder green beans, trimmed and cleaned

2 c peanut oil                                      

2 sm chili peppers, seeded & minced

2 lg garlic cloves, minced                        

1 tbsp Hoisin sauce    

2” piece ginger, peeled and minced     

1 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry

3 scallions, finely chopped                    

1 tbsp dark soy sauce

Optional: ¼ lb ground pork

Heat oil in wok or deep saucepan until sizzling. Deep-fry beans 3-4 minutes, in batches if necessary, until slightly wrinkled. Remove and drain on paper towels.

Transfer 2 tbsp of hot oil to a clean wok or skillet. Add garlic, ginger, scallions and optional pork. Stir-fry 30 seconds. Add chili and stir-fry 30 seconds. Add remaining ingredients plus 1 tbsp water, stir to blend and warm over medium heat 1 minute. Add beans, blend with sauce and heat through to serve.

Persian Celery Stew

This is one of my all time favorites. It changed forever how I treat celery so I included it in Veggiyana, the Dharma of Cooking. A wallflower vegetable becomes a superstar with a pinch of saffron, a pat of butter and a pile of fresh parsley. And it's all so simple! I've had this turned into a main course with the addition of chicken so feel free to go there if that's to your taste. Use a skinless boneless breast per person, chop it in large cubes and put it in with the celery. This is a comforting side dish for roast chicken or turkey or pork. Some cooks add cubes of lamb to this.

Serves 6-8

1½ bunches of celery, stalks apart and cleaned

4 tbsp butter

1 lg red onion, peeled and diced

¼ tsp freshly cracked or ground black pepper

2 bunches flat leaf parsley, cleaned and chopped (at least 3 cups)

¼ tsp saffron

2 cups vegetable broth

2 tbsp dried crushed mint

¼ tsp salt

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Cut celery into 1” pieces, even leaves.

 Melt butter in a large saucepan or medium casserole. Sauté onion over medium heat until soft and translucent. Add black pepper and celery and continue to sauté 5 minutes. Add half the parsley (1½ cups or one bunch), saffron and vegetable broth. Stir to blend. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer 30 minutes. Add remainder of parsley except for 1 tbsp. Add mint, salt and lemon juice, stirring to blend. Continue cooking for 10-12 minutes or until celery is soft. Adjust for salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining chopped parsley to serve.

Pea, Broccoli and Mint Soup
Winter into spring greens here, blazing color and very tonic, this recipe adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi.

Serves 4
1 tbsp coconut oil or olive oil

1 onion, peeled
2 garlic cloves, peeled
3” fresh ginger (2 tbsp), peeled and grated
10 oz green peas (frozen okay)
10 oz fresh broccoli, stalks included, roughly chopped

2 c vegetable broth

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 can coconut milk

1 bunch fresh mint leaves

To serve
toasted pumpkin seeds
fresh mint leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
toasted sourdough garlic bread

Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a med/low heat. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, add them to the pan with ginger and sauté 10 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add peas and broccoli and sauté 5 minutes. Add the broth and season to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally so the soup doesn’t burn. Remove from heat and stir in the coconut milk and most of the mint, saving some leaves for garnish. Using an immersion (hand) blender or food processor, blend into a smooth soup.

Serve topped with a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds, mint, and a drizzle of oil. Have toasted garlic bread on the side.