Green Polenta with Spinach and Herb Pesto

Don't get me wrong, I love a good, traditional pesto.  But sometimes I just don't feel like forking over $30 per pound for pine nuts and $20 per pound for Parmigiano Reggiano.  That's why I love this version, made with spinach leaves, garlic scapes, mint and parsley.  It's full of flavor from the pungent garlic scapes and sweet spinach and gets a nice tang from the addition of champagne vinegar.  A traditional pesto, this is not, but is it delicious?  Heck yes it is...

If you are somebody who has spent their days in fear of slow-cooked polenta, give this method a try.  It yields a fantastic result without you having to constantly stir the pot and compared with the instant stuff, the flavor is infinitely better.  My absolute favorite brand of polenta is Anson Mills Polenta Integrale, a coarse-milled heirloom flint that has a wonderful, complex flavor and toasty aroma.  If you can't get your hands on Polenta Integrale, just look for coarse cornmeal - you can find it just about anywhere.

Green Polenta with Spinach and Herb Pesto
serves 6

Polenta:
6 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups polenta grain
1 T salt

Pesto:
2 1/2 cups packed spinach leaves (about 1/2 a bunch)
1/4 cup garlic scapes (about 4 scapes), chopped
1/2 cup mint leaves (2/3 oz package)
1/4 cup parsley leaves
1/4 cup olive oil
1 T champagne vinegar (or lemon juice)
salt and pepper, to taste

Optional:
1 poached egg per serving


In a large pot, bring water to a boil.  Add polenta in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly to loosen any clumps.  Switch to a wooden spoon and stir until mixture returns to a boil.  Lower heat to medium-low, cover pot, and simmer, stirring well every 5-7 minutes, until much of the liquid is absorbed and the grain is tender, about 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the pesto.  Add spinach, scapes, mint and parsley to a food processor and pulse to chop.  Turn processor on and slowly pour in the olive oil.  Add vinegar, salt and pepper and pulse a few more times to combine.  Set pesto aside.

Once polenta is cooked add pesto and stir well to combine.  Remove from heat and allow to thicken, stirring occasionally, for about 5-10 minutes.  Serve while still warm, with a poached egg on top, if desired.

Two uses for Chimichurri

Parsley.  The word doesn't always inspire excitement when one hears it.  In fact, the humble herb has often been used for decoration rather than food!  Then we all found out about chimichurri...

This tangy and bright-tasting condiment hails from Argentina and is generally considered a sauce for meat, particularly beef.  It's similar to pesto in method of preparation but the result is lighter, more vinegar-driven and distinctly spicy thanks to the red pepper flakes.  Either way, it is an easy way to make parsley taste awesome and this recipe uses up a lot of the herb at once, which is great news for all my fellow CSA friends that have been getting the stuff in abundance from Grant Family Farms!

As with any popular recipe, there are lots of different variations.  This one uses only parsley, but I've seen chimichurri recipes that have the addition of cilantro, oregano, or even chives.  Most chimichurri calls for garlic but I used grilled garlic scapes, instead.  They add a wonderful, smoky-garlic flavor to the sauce and the extra step of grilling the scapes helps to mellow them out a little.

This recipe makes a little over a cup of chimichurri and I used it two different ways:  one was simply as a dipping sauce for some home-made breadsticks (thanks to some leftover pizza dough).  The second is in the recipe, below, as a dressing for a hearty, grilled vegetable and chorizo salad. 


Chimichurri

2 bunches of parsley (curly or flat-leaf)
3-4 garlic scapes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (or more, if desired)
1/2 cup olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat your grill to medium-high.  Wash garlic scapes and drizzle with a little olive oil.  Cook on the grill for about 2 minutes per side (scapes should get a little char but not too much or they will dry out).  Remove from heat and allow to cool, slightly.

Cut parsley leaves away from stems and add to a food processor.  When scapes have cooled, roughly chop them and add to the food processor along with vinegar and pepper flakes.  Pulse several times until parsley is well-chopped, then turn processor on and slowly drizzle in the oil.  Turn machine off and add salt and pepper to taste, then stir with a spatula to combine.


Grilled Vegetable and Chorizo Salad with Chimichurri Dressing
serves 3-4

1 large head lettuce (red leaf, romaine, or a mix of both), washed and chopped
1 medium zucchini
2-3 large red potatoes
1 8-oz Spanish chorizo (I used Palacios Hot), sliced
1/4 cup chimichurri
extra olive oil

Heat your grill to medium-high.  Using a mandoline, slice zucchini and potatoes into 1/4-inch thick slices and toss with a little olive oil.  Grill sliced vegetables until nice char marks form, about 2-3 minutes for zucchini and 4 minutes for the potato slices.  Remove from grill and set aside.

Place a small skillet over medium-high heat.  Add chorizo slices and cook until heated through and just barely browned, about 3-4 minutes.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk about a tablespoon of olive oil (or more) into the chimichurri to thin the mixture.  Toss half the dressing with the lettuce.  Portion the lettuce out into servings and top each with zucchini and potato slices.  Drizzle chimichurri on top of the vegetables, and top with chorizo slices.  Serve immediately.

Apricot-Almond Flaugnarde with Brown-Butter Apricot Glaze

Growing up in the central valley of California, almost everybody we knew had a fruit-bearing tree at their house.  My parents grew pomegranates, plums and citrus (not to mention a garden lush with tomatoes, garlic, squash and a lot more) but I always looked forward to the days when we'd swap something out for a big bag of apricots.  Those sweet little gems were and still are among my favorite things to eat with their peach-like sweetness, soft texture and fuzzy skin.

We've been getting apricots by the bagful from our CSA and they are delectably ripe and sweet.  I save the firmer ones for eating by themselves.  The softer ones are better for cooking - anything from jams and chutneys to meat marinades or desserts.  Apricot adds a bright, summer sweetness to a huge diversity of recipes.

Lately I have been experimenting with different ways to make Flaugnarde.  Some of you may be more familiar with the dessert called Clafoutis, which is traditionally made with cherries (if you really want to make it authentic, un-pitted cherries).  The same method applied to any other fruit is Flaugnarde and if you are a fan of fruit-forward and only slightly sweet desserts, this recipe is definitely for you.  The egg batter puffs up like a souffle as it bakes and then sinks down again as it cools to create a firm, almost custard-like texture.  By itself, it's lightly sweet and eggy with lots of crunchy almond.  With the rich and fruity glaze it becomes a rather elegant dessert.  Have the leftovers without the glaze for breakfast the next morning, as this dish will only keep for a day or so.  But let's face it, we probably would have finished the leftovers in one day, anyway! 

Apricot-Almond Flaugnarde with Brown Butter Apricot Glaze
serves 6

Flaugnarde:
3/4 cup slivered almonds
1 T butter
2 1/2 cups ripe apricots, sliced into small wedges
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups half and half
1 tsp almond extract

Glaze:
3 T salted butter
1 cup ripe apricot halves
agave or honey, to taste

Heat the oven to 375.  Arrange almonds on a baking sheet in a single layer and toast in the oven until lightly golden, about 6-8 minutes.  Keep the oven on and set almonds aside.

Butter a 9" pie pan or square baking dish and arrange apricot slices on the bottom of the dish.  In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt and sugar with a whisk.  Beat in the eggs, then gradually add the half and half and almond extract, whisking until smooth.

Pour the batter over the apricots and sprinkle the almonds over the top.  Bake in the 375-degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Allow to cool at least 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the glaze.  Add the butter to a small pan over medium-high heat.  Cook the butter, stirring often, until foam subsides and the butter solids get toasted and brown, about 8-10 minutes.  Add apricots and cook, mashing the fruit with a wooden spoon, until they gently caramelize on the outside, about 5 minutes.  Add a splash of agave or honey and puree mixture with an immersion blender (if your apricots aren't super-ripe you may need to add a little water to thin the glaze).  Taste and add more sweetener if necessary.  If you like it on the less-sweet side it will amount to about 3 T of sweetener.

Refried Bean Pizza and Romaine Salad, part deux

The fabulous thing about home-made pizza dough is that once you have all the elements (cheese, beans, salad fix-ins) it becomes the quickest dinner ever!  Heat your oven up nice and hot, roll out the dough, spread out the toppings and dinner is done in twenty minutes.  Boom.

This version has some extra elements of awesomeness with the addition of Haystack Mt. chile jack cheese (a tangy, spicy goat jack that's well worth the high cost!) and some fresh chorizo sausage from Marczyk's.  The only difference between this salad and last night's is that it's heavier on the lettuce and gains an extra depth of flavor from grilled garlic scapes and grilled corn.  It's a little more refined and quite delicious!

Refried Bean Pizza and Romaine Salad, part deux
serves 4

Pizza:
1/2 batch fresh pizza dough (or one large store-bought pizza crust)
2 fresh chorizo sausages
2 cups refried beans (homemade is preferable)
1/4 cup queso fresco, crumbled
1/2 cup Haystack Mt. Chile Jack cheese, shredded

Salad:
1 head romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1 bunch breakfast radishes (about 8-10 very small radishes), thinly sliced
1 red pepper, grilled and chopped
1 green pepper, grilled and chopped
2 ears of corn, shucked and grilled
1 garlic scape, grilled and sliced
1 avocado
juice of 4-6 limes
2-3 T champagne vinegar (or other white vinegar)
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat a large pan over medium-high.  Remove chorizo from casings and add in small pieces to the hot pan.  Fry until lightly browned and cooked through, about ten minutes.  Remove chorizo with a slotted spoon and reserve fat.

Place a baking stone into the oven and heat to 500 degrees.  Meanwhile, roll out your fresh pizza dough on a lightly floured surface until crust is about 1/4-inch thick.  Slide dough onto a large, lightly-floured cutting board.  Brush the crust with chorizo fat and spread on the beans in an even layer.  Top with queso fresco and chile jack and finish with chorizo pieces.  Slide pizza from the cutting board onto the baking stone in the oven and cook until crust is crisp and lightly browned, about 8-11 minutes.  Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, then slice.

Meanwhile, assemble your salad.  Slice corn kernals off the cob.  In a large bowl, combine romaine, radishes, corn, garlic scape, and peppers.  In a blender, combine the avocado with lime juice and blend.  Add just enough vinegar to loosen the dressing (it will be very thick).  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Toss salad with about 5 T of the dressing.  Serve salad alongside the pizza.

Balsamic Grilled Vegetable Salad

It's Summer and grilling season is in full swing!  This salad makes the perfect accompaniment to all things grilled - burgers, chicken, fish or just about anything else you can think of.  I used the beautiful lettuces, spring onions and parsley that we've been getting from our Grant Family Farms CSA share, but you can use just about any combination of vegetables that you have on hand.

The best thing about this recipe is that the "dressing" makes itself - no whisk or blender necessary!  Once you toss the oiled vegetables with the balsamic you have just enough moisture to lightly dress the lettuce when everything gets tossed together.  How simple is that?!  
 

By the way, if you prefer your salads dressed with a heavier hand, you can always drizzle some extra olive oil on the salad before you give it the final toss.  Enjoy!

Balsamic Grilled Vegetable Salad
serves 4

2 ears of corn, shucked
1-2 large red potatoes, sliced about 1/4 inch-thick
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
4 spring onions
1/2 head Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped
1/2 head red leaf lettuce, washed and chopped
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the grill on high for about 15 minutes, then clean the grates with a grill brush.  Blot a paper towel with vegetable oil and, using a pair of grill tongs, rub the grates with the oiled towel to create a non-stick surface.  Reduce heat to medium-high.

Meanwhile, prep the veggies for the grill.  Slice peppers into large, flat chunks and drizzle corn, potatoes, pepper slices and onions with plenty of olive oil.  Allow veggies to char on each side.  Peppers need about 5 minutes per side, potatoes about 7 minutes, and corn about 10.

Allow veggies to cool slightly.  Cut corn kernels off the cob, slice onions, and chop peppers into bite-sized pieces.  Set potatoes aside.  Place corn, onions and peppers in a plastic bag and add the balsamic vinegar.  Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes.

Add marinated vegetables and parsley to the chopped lettuce.  Season with salt and pepper and toss well to combine.  Place potato slices on top of the salad and serve.