Rainbow Latkes

Latkes are a traditional part of celebrating Hanukkah, but I often see them make their way into Passover Seders.  And why not?  They are the ultimate crowd pleaser!  If you are planning on including them in your Seder this year and want to impress your guests with something a little out-of-the-ordinary, look no further! 

These Rainbow Latkes look like a major departure from the traditional russet potato version, but those who are die-hard fans of the original might find these to be surprisingly similar.  They take on a beautiful ruby hue thanks to the beets, but are also studded with carrots and purple potatoes to give you almost all the colors of the rainbow (once you sprinkle on the chives, all we’re missing is blue!).  The flavor is more complex and layered than the all-potato latkes while still maintaining that homey, comfort-food taste.  The parsnips add a hint of herbal sweetness and the beets lend a pleasant, earthy fragrance to the dish. 

I love to pair these latkes with MM Local Pear Sauce.  The rich, brown-sugar sweetness of the pears adds a wonderful contrast and feels unexpected and yet familiar at the same time.  MM Local items are unique to Colorado and are made entirely with locally-grown produce.  Their products are available in many markets across Colorado, but if you can't find the pear sauce, regular ol' apple sauce works just as well.  Once you try this version of the traditional side dish, you might just want to adopt a brand new tradition!

Rainbow Latkes
makes 12-14 latkes

1 medium russet potato

2 medium purple potatoes

1 large carrot

1 small parsnip

1 medium red beet

½ yellow onion

¼ cup matzo meal

2 eggs, lightly beaten

Salt and pepper, to taste

Vegetable oil, for frying

¼ cup chives, finely sliced

MM Local Pear Sauce

Scrub root vegetables well and peel, if desired.  Shred the potatoes, carrot, parsnip and onion on a box grater (alternatively, a food processor on the grater setting makes fast work of this step).  Place grated vegetables in a large bowl and set aside. 

Lay out some old newspaper to protect your work surface and grate the beet.  Set the grated beet aside in a separate bowl and toss with the matzo meal.  Add egg, salt and pepper to root vegetable mixture and toss well to combine.  Add matzo-coated beets and toss quickly with a fork to minimize “bleeding.”

Place a large frying pan over medium-high heat and add enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan well.  Once oil is hot, reduce the heat, slightly, to prevent smoking.  Wet your hands with cold water and form vegetable mixture into flat cakes, using about 1/3 a cup of the mixture per latke (you can use more if you like larger latkes).  Gently place each latke in the hot oil and fry until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.  Allow to drain on newspaper or paper towels and serve hot, with pear sauce (or applesauce) on the side and plenty of chives sprinkled on the top. 

Watercress and Pear Salad with Cashew-Coated Goat Cheese and Citrus Vinaigrette

Watercress is really a stunning salad leaf.  It has a pleasantly mellow and slightly peppery taste (not to mention, it looks so pretty on the plate!).  In addition, Watercress has been touted as a “superfood” for all of its nutritional benefits – a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition even found that a daily serving of Watercress can significantly reduce DNA damage to blood cells, which is considered to be an important trigger in the development of cancer.  

 

With all of its wonderful health benefits, I love pairing Watercress with something a little bit decadent – in this case, Cashew-Coated Goat Cheese!  Haystack Mountain has been making their Boulder Chevre since 1991 and it has been a staple in my kitchen for years.  It has that signature goat’s milk tang and pleasant notes of hay with a wonderful, creamy texture.  The fried goat cheese patties make a rich and flavorful accompaniment to this salad and give the dish enough heft to be a meal, in itself.  

Watercress and Pear Salad with Cashew-Coated Goat Cheese and Citrus Vinaigrette
serves 4

Salad:

2 Watercress bunches, rinsed well and cut from the root ball *see presentation note

1 pear (any kind), thinly sliced

4 oz (1 small log) Haystack Mt. Boulder Chevre

¼ cup Flour

1 egg

1 T milk

3 T panko bread crumbs

3 T finely chopped cashews

peanut oil

salt and pepper

Dressing:

1 garlic clove, chopped

Pinch of Meyer lemon zest

3 T Meyer lemon juice

Pinch of blood orange zest

3 T blood orange juice

1 T D’Anjou Pear Vinegar (may substitute Champagne vinegar)

½ tsp Dijon mustard

½ tsp honey

3 T extra virgin olive oil

salt to taste

Assemble the goat cheese patties:  Allow chevre to come to room temperature (let stand, unrefrigerated, for at least 30 minutes or longer, if possible).  Divide log into four equal portions.  Roll portions into little balls and then flatten, slightly, into a small patty.  Arrange the ingredients for the crust:  Place flour on a small plate, crack the egg into a bowl and lightly whisk together with milk, and mix together the bread crumbs, cashews, and a little salt and pepper in another bowl.  Working one at a time, dredge each cheese patty in flour, then quickly dip the patty into the egg mixture, allowing any excess egg to run off.  Place the patty in the bread crumb mixture and gently press the crumbs into the patty to coat well.  Allow to chill in the refrigerator until you are ready to fry.

Make dressing: Add all the dressing ingredients except the olive oil and salt to a blender.  Pulse a few times to blend, then slowly drizzle in the olive oil with the blender running.  Add a generous pinch of salt (or to taste) and blend.

Place a large, shallow pan over medium heat and add enough peanut oil to coat the bottom of the pan well.  When oil is hot, add goat cheese patties and fry until golden and crispy, about 3 minutes per side.  Remove from pan and allow to drain on a paper towel. 

Place Watercress in a bowl and drizzle with dressing (recipe makes more dressing than you will need - the leftovers will keep in the fridge for at least a few days).  *Presentation tip:  If you want to create a "bouquet" on your plate, as pictured, cut the watercress greens from the root ball while holding the stems together above the cut (kitchen scissors work best for this).  Place the leaf bunch in the bowl so that the stem bottoms are to your left and leaf tops to your right and gently roll the bunch into the dressing as though you were pushing a French rolling pin, making sure to get dressing on each leaf.  Arrange watercress on each plate, then dress the pear slices in the same bowl.  Place the fried cheese on the base of the stems and arrange pear slices in a fan formation.  Serve immediately.

Herbed Farro and Chickpea Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette

It is the first day of Spring!  Visions of farmer's markets, CSA shares, and herb seedlings perched in the windows are dancing through my head and yet, here in Colorado it is still too early for local produce.  Soon we will all be inundated with so many salad greens, spring onions, fiddleheads and asparagus spears that we won't know what to do with them, but for now we are patiently waiting...

But no matter, you can still make a dish that invokes the spirit of Spring using some of our friends from the late-winter produce family.  This wonderfully fragrant salad is bright with the flavors of blood orange and meyer lemon.  The farro is cooked in aromatic Herbs de Provence and tossed with locally-grown carrots (one of the few Colorado items available right now!) and sweet, chopped spinach.  The ensemble makes for a light, wholesome, and decidedly springy dish that is sure to cure your Spring Fever, if only for a day!

Herbed Farro and Chickpea Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette
serves 6

Salad:
3/4 cup Farro
3 cups water
1 T Herbs de Provence
cups cooked chickpeas
2 large carrots, shredded
2 cups baby spinach, roughly chopped

Dressing:
1 small garlic clove, grated on a microplane (or very finely minced)
Juice of 1 medium blood orange
1 tsp. meyer lemon zest
Juice of 1/2 meyer lemon
1 T D'Anjou pear vinegar
1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
4 T extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

In a medium-sized pot, add farro, water and herbs de provence and bring to a boil.  Lower the heat, slightly, to maintain a low boil and cook, uncovered, until tender and fragrant, about 20 minutes.  Drain farro in a colander and toss with a handful of ice cubes to cool the grains down.  Set aside.

Assemble the dressing.  In a small bowl, add the garlic, citrus juices and zest, vinegar and mustard.  Whisk ingredients together.  Continue to whisk and slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture so that it emulsifies.  Season with salt and pepper.

Toss remaining salad ingredients together in a large bowl and add as much dressing as desired.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  You may serve immediately, or, for a better depth of flavor, allow to chill for several hours before serving.  Garnish with citrus slices, if desired.

Not Your Ordinary Potato Salad with Herbed Yoghurt and Lemon Dressing

How do I know that Summer has finally arrived?  It isn't by looking at the calendar, but by peeking out into my Urban Jungle on the porch!  The sun is so warm and the days so long that my herbs suddenly seem to be bursting out of their window boxes and the tomatoes are up to the balcony ceiling!  I decided to celebrate by making the herbs the center of attention in this Not-Your-Ordinary Potato Salad recipe. 

I enjoy this recipe for a number of reasons.  Not only does it give me a chance to enjoy all the "fruits" or my labor, but I also think there's just nothing that says "Summer" quite like potato salad.  If that isn't cause for celebration enough, this recipe happens to be a dramatic departure from the unappealing, over-dressed and mayonaisse-laden potato salad that comes in giant tubs at the supermarket.  This version is fresh, low in fat, super tangy and wonderfully flavorful.  I add a generous helping of greens and some farm-fresh eggs to make it a meal, but in smaller portions it also makes a wonderful accompaniment to any sort of grilled protein or meat!

So here is a hearty and healthy salad made with lots of love, from garden to plate.  Really, I think that is what this time of year is all about.  Happy Summer, everybody!  :)

Not Your Ordinary Potato Salad with Herbed Yoghurt and Lemon Dressing
serves 4 as an entree

Dressing:
Juice of 2 lemons
1 cup Nonfat Greek-style yoghurt (I used Fage)
2 T olive oil
1/4 cup fresh chives, very finely chopped
1 garlic scape, very finely chopped (or 1 clove garlic, minced)
1/4 cup fresh mint, very finely sliced
salt and pepper to taste

Salad:
2 lbs red potatoes or fingerling potatoes, large-diced
6 cup fresh mixed salad greens, torn into bite-sized pieces
4 hard-boiled eggs, sliced

First, bring a large pot of water to boil.  Add the potatoes and a little salt and cook until just tender, about 7 minutes.  Drain and set aside. 

Whisk together all the dressing ingredients in a large bowl.  Add potatoes and sliced eggs and toss until completely coated.  Allow to cool in the refrigerator until potatoes are no longer warm (so as not to wilt the lettuce).  Once cool, add salad greens and toss lightly to combine.  Serve chilled or at room temperature.

Grilled Artichokes and Asparagus with Walking Onion and Basil Aioli

Wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, is there anything more awesome than the almighty egg?  The uses for this culinary golden child are seemingly endless!  There is, perhaps, no better example of the wondrous feats that an egg can achieve than aioli.  You start with eggs, lemon juice, and oil and somehow end up with a velvety, creamy, ultra-rich concoction that will make you swear off store-bought mayonnaise forever.

Admittedly, it isn't something I make often.  Aioli is not exactly what I would call "health food," but when you make it with locally-sourced, farm-fresh eggs, heart-healthy olive oil and enjoy it in moderation, there's nothing to feel guilty about!  There is also something very satisfying about making this flavorful condiment from scratch.  It is so simple and classic, yet always an elegant addition to any dish.

This recipe is full of Colorado's Spring harvest, including local walking onions from Red Wagon Farms (you can use green onions as a substitute), Penny's Eggs from Nunn, local asparagus, and some fresh basil from my porch garden.  Add a simple green salad and you've got yourself a meal (and a perfect way to celebrate a beautiful Spring day!). 

Walking Onion and Basil Aioli
makes about 1 1/2 cups

2 walking onions, roughly chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 cup fresh basil leaves and stems
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp coarse salt
2 fresh egg yolks
1 cup olive oil

In a food processor, add onions, basil, lemon juice and salt and pulse until combined.  Add egg yolks and pulse again to combine.  Scrape the sides of the processor bowl to make sure the mixture is evenly distributed at the bottom (so the blades catch as much as possible).  Switch the machine on and with the blade running continuously, very slowly drizzle in the olive oil, stopping periodically (about every 1/4 cup or so) to, again, scrape the sides of the bowl so that the aioli blends evenly.  Turn the machine off as soon as all the oil has been added.  Adjust seasoning, if necessary.  Transfer aioli to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Grilled Artichokes and Asparagus
Serves 4

2 large artichokes
1 bunch asparagus
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper

Prep artichokes by removing the first outer layer of leaves and trimming the pointed edges off the remaining leaves.  Cut the stem to about 1 inch in length.  In a large pot, add about 2 inches of water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, then stand the artichokes on their stems in the pot and cover.  Steam until they are just barely tender, about 20 to 25 minutes.  Cool the artichokes off by running them under cold water for about 30 seconds, then slice each one in half.

Turn the grill on about medium-high and allow to preheat.  Brush the artichokes and asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Start grilling the artichokes first (they take longer) by placing them on the grill cut-side down.  After 8 minutes, turn the artichokes 90 degrees to create a cross-hatch pattern and grill for another 8 minutes.  In the last 5 minutes, place the asparagus on the grill and cook each side for about 2 to three minutes.  Remove vegetables from the grill and serve hot or at room temperature with aioli on the side.