Kale, Quinoa and Roasted Mini Pepper Salad

Inspired by @kalememaybe’s quinoa and roasted mini pepper salad with crispy chickpeas, roasted red onion, feta, dill, and honey lemon vinaigrette

Make the dressing in the serving bowl: 3 tablespoons of olive oil; 3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar; 1 tablespoon of honey; juice of 1 lemon; 1 teaspoon of garlic powder (or 2 cloves of garlic, grated, or finely chopped); 1/2 teaspoon of cured sumac; and 1/2 a teaspoon of dried oregano

Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to it’s instructions

Remove large stems and chop 1 lb of Tuscan kale

Toss both quinoa and kale with the dressing and set aside for a few hours (or overnight)

Arrange 1 red onion, 1 rinsed can of chick peas, and 1 lb of mini bell peppers on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, salt, pepper and sumac and roast at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes; allow to cool

When ready to serve, add the roasted onions, chick peas, and peppers to the kale and quinoa, and also add 1/8 to 1/4 of a lb of crumbled feta and 1 lb of sugar snap peas, strings trimmed, and cut length-wise

Fig and Fennel Salad

Still making this fig and fennel salad that I had years ago at June Wine Bar; it also works well with pears if you can’t find figs.

Approximate quantities: 4 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced; 1 lb of fresh black figs, quartered; about 1/2 cup of maracona almonds, roughly chopped; about 1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated; and about 1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped drizzled with @ooliveoilandvinegar’s champagne vinegar, the juice of 2 lemons, olive oil, salt, and pepper

An I’m-Not-Cooking-Tonight Summer Fennel Salad

Approximate quantities: 4 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced; 2 d’anjou pears, thinly sliced; About a 1/2 cup maracona almonds, chopped and about 1/2 cup parmesan, shaved or grated dressed with the juice of 2 lemons, a sprinkling of a citrus white wine vinegar or I any simple, neutral vinegar, like apple cider, olive oil, salt and pepper

It’s also good with 1/4 cup or so of parsley, roughly chopped, but not necessary

It’s better if you can make it ahead and let it sit in the fridge—the fennel gets more tender, everything absorbs

Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

Molly Baz' Orzo Al Limone

This is a really great, super easy, poor man’s risotto from Molly Baz’ book that was excerpted on Cup of Jo. I totally get how cookbooks are supposed to give you new ideas and be aspirational and all that, but I also think that cookbooks are just not written for the person who’s doing 137 other things in a day and also making dinner. I.e., what’s the fastest, easiest, most efficient way to make this recipe? With the least dirty dishes and how can I maximize my time here? Maybe everyone doesn’t cook this way? Maybe other people like making a great big mess and taking the time to cook? Well. In an ideal world, yes, I’d like to take more time. But until I have a kitchen assistant or a fully staffed test kitchen, least messy, most efficient way to make something is always, always what I care about. So, without further ado, here is my tweaked-for-efficiency version of this recipe.

From Molly: Spaghetti al limone — a classic and supremely simple Italian pasta dish composed of lemon juice, butter, and Parmesan — gets a fresh take, featuring orzo instead of the spaghetti, which results in a dish that’s somewhere between risotto and macaroni and cheese, and I think it’s pretty special. The name of the game here is to avoid overcooking the orzo; leave it slightly al dente so that it doesn’t turn into a big pot of mush.

INGREDIENTS:
1 medium yellow onion or 2-3 shallots or a big handful of chives
2 lemons
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2½ ounces grated Parmesan cheese (about ¾ cup)
1 cup orzo
3 cups of water
1 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Finely chop 1 yellow onion — or blitz it in a mini food processor.

Set a large Dutch oven or pot on the stove and add the onion, 3 tablespoons butter, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and the zest of 1 lemon, cook over medium heat, stirring often, until onion is softened but not yet browned, 5 to 7 minutes.

Add 1 cup orzo and toast, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Stir in 3 cups water, 1 teaspoon of salt, and generous grinds of black pepper, and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Once the water comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally so the orzo doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot, until most of the water has been absorbed (there should still be some liquid at the bottom of the pot), 8-10 minutes.

Taste the orzo; it should be al dente but not crunchy.

Finish the orzo: Remove the pot from the heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons butter — I didn’t think this extra 2 tablespoons of butter is necessary, but if you like it extra buttery, by all means — 2½ ounces grated Parmesan cheese, zest from the 2nd lemon, and the juice from one or both lemons, depending on your taste.

I’d also note that this is a great recipe to prep or mis-en-place, you can set up with pot with the onions, lemon zest, butter, and olive oil, measure out the orzo and parmesan in the afternoon, and then leave it until 20-30 minutes before you want to eat

Another Greek-ish Salad

Approximate quantities: 1/4 of a head of purple cabbage, finely chopped; 1 green bell pepper, thinly sliced; 1 pint of grape tomatoes; quartered; 3 medium carrots, sliced into thin discs; 8-10 artichoke hearts; 2 can of chickpeas; and feta cheese drizzled with lemon juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper

Serves four as a side.

Kale, Spinach, or Baby Broccoli Pesto

This is adapted ever so slightly from Chris Morocco’s recipe. I’ve eliminated pistachios because they aren’t nut that I keep on hand, although, with the broccoli, I used almonds, which worked very well, and I’ve added lemon, because what don’t I add lemon too. And then, I’ve ever so slightly tipped the vegetable to pasta ratio by using 8 ounces of pasta rather than twelve.

Ingredients

1 large bunch Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, or 6 ounces of baby spinach or a large bunch of spinach, tough stems trimmed off, or 8 ounces of baby broccoli
8 ounces pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
zest or juice of lemon — for the spinach pesto, which I made last week, I used the zest, for the kale, which I made last night, I used the juice of the same lemon, both worked equally well
1 garlic clove
1 ounce Parmesan, finely grated, plus more for serving
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Freshly ground black pepper

Blend olive oil, zest or juice of lemon, garlic, Parmesan together in a food processor or blender

Bring medium or large pot of salted water up to a boil and cook the kale, spinach, or broccoli until bright green and wilted, about 30 seconds and the scoop out with tongs and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet or large mixing bowl; keep water boiling and add pasta, cooking to the packaging specification

Allow kale, spinach, or broccoli to cool slightly and then wring out excess water with your hands — if you are using broccoli, vigorously shaking works better than wringing

Add kale, spinach, or broccoli and 1/4 cup of pasta water — scoop it out of the pot while the pasta is cooking — to the food processor or blender and purée until smooth

A quick note about this, if you are using a blender, you’ll end up with more of a paste like Chris, if you are using a food processor, you’ll end up with more of a very fine purée

Scrape the pesto into the bottom of a large bowl

Reserving 1/2 cup of water, drain the pasta and then transfer it to bowl with pesto; do this, I don’t want to say as quickly as possible, don’t rinse the pasta, don’t worry about shaking all of the excess water, you want to add the pasta while it’s still hot and 1 tablespoon of butter and toss adding pasta cooking liquid by the tablespoon if needed

Serve with additional Parmesan and fresh pepper

Serves about 4, or 2 if you are hungry and don’t feel like making much more

Radiatore Al Limone with Sugar Snap Peas, Butter Lettuce, and Radiccio

This is probably what Food52 would call an off-road of Deb Perelman’s Simplest Spaghetti Al Limone or what Julia Turshen would call a small victory — last night, rather than make spaghetti al limone, sugar snap peas, and salad, I make a very satisfying one-pot dinner.

8 ounces dried radiatore or penne
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
100 grams Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or Grana Padano cheese
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon of butter
8-10 ounces of sugar snap peas
2 cups butter lettuce and radicchio, roughly chopped

Boil the radiatore in well-salted water according to package directions

While it boils, finely grate (with a rasp-style grater; here’s the most common one) the lemon zest into the large bowl you’ll use to serve your dish

Use the same rasp-style grater to grate the Parmesan, Pecorino Romano, or Grana Padano cheese into the large serving bowl

Add olive oil and butter and about 1/2 teaspoon salt and several grinds of black pepper and combine them with a whisk until very well mixed and as smooth as possible

Trim the sugar snap peas and cut them lengthwise and add them to the colander that you’ll use to drain the radiatore

When the pasta reaches the ideal texture, scoop out 1 cup of cooking water, set it aside, and then drain the pasta and the water over the snap peas to just barely blanch them

Quickly turn piping hot radiatore and peas to lemon-cheese mixture in bowl and use tongs or spoons to toss it until all of the strands are coated

Add the lemon juice and I don’t find it necessary to add any reserved pasta water, but if the sauce seems think or sticky add pasta water — 1 to 2 tablespoons at a time

Finally add the roughly chopped lettuce and toss one final time

Mediterranean Salad with Halloumi Croutons

Approximate quantities: 1 head of lettuce, roughly chopped; 2 large carrots, sliced into thin discs; 3 Persian cucumber, sliced into thin discs; 2 large marinated artichokes, sliced cross-wise; roasted red peppers, roughly chopped; and 6-8 sliced of pan-fried halloumi a la Nigella drizzled with Tuscan herb olive oil, citrus vinegar, lemon, salt, and pepper

Serves four as a side and two as a main.

Romaine, Sugar Snap, and Radish

Approximate quantities: 1 large head of romaine lettuce, roughly chopped; 10 French breakfast radishes, ends trimmed and cut lengthwise; 10 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed and cut lengthwise; 4 ounces crumbled feta cheese; juice of 1 lemon; olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste

Serves four as a side and two as a main.

California Nicoise Salad

Approximate quantities: 1 large head of romaine lettuce; roughly chopped; 1 avocado, cut into slices; 2 carrots, 2 medium sized carrots, sliced into thin discs; 1 watermelon radish, peeled and sliced into thin crescents; 1 can of tuna; 1/4-1/3 of a cup of roasted red pepper, somewhat finely chopped; lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.

Serves two as a main.