1 cup wheat berries (soaked overnight and drained)
3 cups water
sea salt
1 large (2 pound) acorn squash, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out
2 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons maple syrup
nonstick cooking spray
freshly ground black pepper
6 cups green leaf lettuce, cleaned and dried
¼ cup scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Go-To Vinaigrette
¼ cup pecans, toasted
1 ounce blue cheese, crumbled
¼ cup dried cranberries

Combine wheat berries and water with a pinch of salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes, or until tender. Drain off any excess water and set aside.

While wheat berries are cooking, preheat oven to 400. Place squash halves flesh side down in a microwave safe dish and cover with a paper towel. Microwave on high for 12 minutes (if your microwave doesn’t have a rotating dish, rotate the plate every 2 minutes). Remove squash (be careful of steam) to a cutting board and let cool flesh side up until cool enough to handle (1-2 minutes). Carefully cut into 1/2-inch wedges and peel off skin. Microwave the butter and syrup in a bowl for 30 seconds and stir to mix.

Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray. Lay the squash wedges down, brush with maple glaze and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Flip and repeat on the other side. Bake for 5 minutes. Carefully flip wedges over and bake another 5-6 minutes.

While squash is cooking, mix together lettuce, scallions and drained wheat berries and toss with vinaigrette. Divide evenly onto four plates. Top with squash wedges, pecans, crumbled blue cheese, cranberries and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.

Serves 4

½ cup low sodium chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
2 teaspoons reduced sodium soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon chile paste
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons canola oil, divided
6 cups savoy cabbage, thinly sliced
sea salt
½ cup onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked brown rice, break up any chunks
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups cooked shrimp or shredded meat
4 cups cooked bok choy, greens or mushrooms
1 cup frozen peas, (optional)
¼ cup cilantro, roughly torn

Whisk broth, water, oyster sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, chile paste and cornstarch together in small bowl and set aside.

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large wok or non-stick skillet over high heat. Add cabbage and a pinch of salt and saute for 5 minutes, until wilted and charred. Remove to a plate. Swirl in remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons oil and saute onion for 3 minutes, until softened. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add rice and stir-fry 2 minutes, until softened and separated. Push to one side of pan and pour in egg. Let egg set for 30 seconds and then chop coarsely with spatula.

Stir in meat, veggies, cabbage and peas and toss everything together to combine. Give sauce a stir to mix and pour into pan. Toss rice to coat. Cook 5 minutes longer or until heated through. Spoon onto serving dish or into bowls. Sprinkle cilantro over top and season to taste with additional soy sauce.

Serves 4

]]> http://nourishnetwork.com/2011/12/09/kitchen-sink-fried-rice/feed/ 0 http://nourishnetwork.com/2011/11/04/crispy-mashed-potato-cakes/ http://nourishnetwork.com/2011/11/04/crispy-mashed-potato-cakes/#comments Fri, 04 Nov 2011 20:02:37 +0000 Lia Huber http://nourishnetwork.com/?p=6714 I’ve always wanted a recipe like this, and I spent some time perfecting it. Would it be better to coat the cakes in panko? I wondered. It turned out to be too much trouble, and didn’t make the cakes that much crispier. What if I sprinkled cheese on the outside to make a crisp, savory crust? Nope. That didn’t add as much punch as I’d expected. This straightforward recipe–it takes just a few minutes to pull together–yielded the best results, and will be one I go back to again and again. I hope you do too.

2 cups Celery Root, Potato and Apple Mash
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 egg
¼ cup scallions, chopped
1-½ ounce gruyere cheese, grated (or a hard, aged gouda)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Stir together potato mash, flour, egg, scallions and cheese until well mixed (should be the consistency of a stiff batter).

Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Use a measuring cup sprayed with cooking spray to spoon a slightly heaping 1/4 cup potato mixture around the pan (allow space between them for air to circulate–you may have to cook in batches). Flatten gently with the back of the measuring cup.

Cook for 5-7 minutes, until bottom is crispy and browned when you peek, and then carefully flip each one. Continue to cook for 5-7 minutes on the second side. Remove from skillet and arrange on a platter or plates.

Serves 4

1 tablespoon peanut oil
1 cup onion, diced (roughly 1/3 of a large onion)
6 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups orange-fleshed sweet potato (also called garnet yams), peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (2 pounds, or roughly 2 large sweet potatoes)
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
sea salt
4 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons tomato paste
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup cilantro, chopped

Heat peanut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, sweet potatoes, coriander, cumin and a pinch of salt. Cook for 5-10 minutes, until onions are translucent.

Pour in 2 cups broth and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Add remaining broth, tomato paste and pepper flakes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, until sweet potatoes are soft, but not mushy. Season with additional salt (amount will depend on how salty your peanut butter is … you should add enough so that the flavors “pop,” but it doesn’t taste overtly salty).

Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Serves 6

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons shallot, minced
5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1-1/2 pounds wild mushrooms (or cremini), cut into thick slices
2 teaspoons thyme, minced
¼ cup dry marsala
2 tablespoons mascarpone cheese (optional)
sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and add shallot. Cook for 5 minutes, until shallot is a deep golden brown. Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes, until softened. Add mushrooms and thyme to pan and saute for 8-10 minutes, until mushrooms are golden brown.

Pour in marsala and scrape up any bits stuck to the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until most of the liquid is evaporated. Swirl in mascarpone, season with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4

1 large melon (any variety as long as it’s super fresh and ripe–the one pictured here is Gaia), peeled and seeded, and cut into 3/4-inch chunks (should have 6-8 cups)
1 lemon, juiced
coarse sea salt (my choice is Maldon)
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)

Toss melon with lemon juice and spoon into bowls. Sprinkle sparingly with salt and cayenne.

Serves 4

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1-½ pounds zucchini or other summer squash, Cut into 1-inch pieces
5 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Swirl olive oil into a large saute pan with steep sides and bring to medium heat. Add squash, garlic and onion to pan and toss to coat with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss to coat again. Cover and cook 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until squash begins to soften.

Remove lid and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pan and turning the squash over on itself, until squash is almost completely broken down.

Serves 4

1 cup water
1 cup fine- or medium-grain bulgur
4-5 tablespoons mixed chopped herbs (we like 2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley, 2 tablespoons finely chopped basil and 1 tablespoon finely chopped mint)
1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add bulgur. Cover, remove from heat, and let it stand for 10-20 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Stir in herbs and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

1 pound tomatoes
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 chiffonade fresh basil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut tomatoes in half. Place them, cut side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold them a single snug layer. Drizzle oil over tomatoes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and a generous grinding of pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft and the cheese is slightly crisp. Garnish with basil.

Serves 4-6

(Adapted from Tender: A Cook and His Vegetable Patch by Nigel Slater.)

Sort through the beans, discarding any stones or split beans. Place beans in a 6-quart pressure cooker and add water to cover by 2 inches. Lock lid in place and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce heat and cook 2 minutes. Release pressure using automatic pressure release OR carefully transfer cooker to sink and run cool water over rim until pressure drops. Remove lid, tilting lid away from you, to allow steam to escape. Drain beans.

Return beans to pressure cooker. Add water to cover by 2 inches. Add bay leaves and thyme sprig. Lock lid in place and bring to high pressure over high heat. Reduce heat and cook 45 minutes or until tender.

While the beans cook, place the bacon in a medium saucepan over low heat. Cook 5-7 minutes or until the bacon renders its fat and becomes crisp. Remove bacon from pan with a slotted spoon; drain bacon on a paper towel. Increase heat to medium-high. Add onion and serrano to drippings in pan; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add garlic; saute 30 seconds or until fragrant. Add tomatoes,   tomato paste and mustard, scraping pan to loosen any brown bits. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until thick. Stir in vinegar, salt and pepper.

Release pressure on cooker, using automatic pressure release OR carefully transfer cooker to sink and run cool water over rim until pressure drops. Remove lid, tilting lid away from you, to allow steam to escape. Sample the beans; if they’re not quite tender, replace the lid and bring the cooker back up to high pressure and cook another 10-15 minutes. If the beans are tender, drain them through a colander set over a bowl. Reserve 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Discard bay leaves and thyme sprig.

Stir beans, cooked bacon and reserved cooking liquid into tomato mixture. Simmer 20 minutes; adjust seasonings. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Serves 8