kale, raddichio, white bean and halloumi salad

There is nothing like a refreshing salad with a great vinaigrette. Wait, check that. There is nothing like a refreshing salad with a great vinaigrette TOPPED WITH FRIED CHEESE. We combined some bitter greens that we love and usually keep around the house with a dressing made from some of our favorite fresh herbs, and tossed on some seared Halloumi just to knock it out of the park. This salad is hearty enough to have as a meal, but such a great palate cleanser that it could be used as a side as well. Since the greens are so hearty this salad can last dressed for a day or two in the fridge. We had the leftovers with some poached eggs and toast the next morning. OMG!!!

Ingredients:
Lemon, Parsley and Chive Vinagrette
Juice of 2 Lemons
Parsley, 1/2 bunch
6 Chives
3 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil
salt and pepper to taste

1 head radicchio, roughly torn
1 head dinosaur kale, roughly torn
1 can Artichoke Hearts, drained and quartered
1 can white beans, drained
1 package Halloumi, sliced into 1/2" slices, pan fried then cut into bite sized pieces

This one is fast! In your blender/food processor/magic bullet/ninja machine/whatever, combine all dressing ingredients and blend until smooth. Season to taste.

Wash and dry all of the greens and combine with the artichoke in a large bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss to combine. Top with beans and Halloumi and wait for it... wait for it... EAT!

chile infused beet and radicchio salad

Ingredients:

1 head radicchio, whole leaves

2 carrots, thinly sliced

1 lb beets

2 dried ancho chiles

1 tsp salt

8 small radishes

3 peppers

juice from 1 lime

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 1/2 tsp chili flakes

cilantro, whole leaves for garnish

1/4 lb queso fresco, crumbled

Add beets and ancho chilis to a pot of boiling water with 1 tsp of salt. Adjust to a simmer and cook for 35 minutes. Remove beets from liquid and cool. Remove the chilis. Slice radishes and carrots thinly, and peppers in a 1/4" dice. Mix olive oil, lime juice, chili flakes, and salt and pepper to taste, in a dressing shaker. Let sit while beets cool so that the chili can permeate the dressing. When the beets have cooled, add them over the radicchio leaves. Top with other veggies and dressing. Then crumble queso fresco over the dish, and top with whole cilantro leaves.

I ate this for dinner the other night, and for lunch the past two days. The dressing and dish flavor just gets better with age. Sweet, spicy, salty, and just damn delicious. I kind of wish we would get this all in the box again sometime soon.

ravioli with wilted kale and radicchio

We sauteed one bunch of kale and two heads of radicchio with four small cloves of minced garlic and half an onion, then tossed it with a package of Rising Moon Organics basil, asiago and pine nut ravioli. Kenny picked up some fake chicken meatballs from Layonna, the fake meat depot in Oakland. By the way, did you know there's a fake meat depot in Oakland?! Cuz I've lived here for almost two years and I just found out. It wasn't too long ago that I thought fake meat was totally gross. Actually... some of it truly is. But these meatballs weren't bad! They had little bits of watercress in them. Yum!

pizza with radicchio and red onion

Tonight I made pizza, super simple and fast. We used Whole Foods whole wheat pizza crust and Muir Glen pizza sauce. I'd love to learn how to make my own pizza dough but that's a project for another day. If anyone has any pizza dough tips or recipes, send 'em my way! Oh about the cheese- we used fontina and asiago because that's what we had, but radicchio pairs well with all sorts of cheeses, so you can really use whatever you'd like. I think traditional mozzarella with dollops of ricotta would be awesome!


Ingredients:
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 head radicchio, white core removed and roughly chopped
1 small red onion, sliced
1 whole wheat pizza crust
1/3 cup pizza sauce
1/4 cup fontina cheese
1/4 cup asiago cheese
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, to taste

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Heat olive oil in a skillet and cook onions with a pinch of salt until they are just begin to caramelize. Add the radicchio, then after just a minute or so, remove the pan from the heat. The radicchio will continue to wilt a bit from the residual heat. Spoon pizza sauce onto crust and spread it out evenly, then top with fontina cheese. Now spoon the radicchio and red onion onto the pizza, then cover with the asiago cheese. Season with salt, pepper and your favorite pizza seasonings. Place pizza directly on the middle rack of your oven and bake for 18 minutes.

kitchen sink risotto

Radicchio has been plaguing me. I've looked through my cookbooks, searched online and flipped through magazines. But the radicchio recipes are few and they all follow the same basic idea: radicchio + strongly flavored cheese + carb. Which isn't a bad thing! Trust me, all of my favorite foods feature cheese plus carb. I guess I was just hoping to try something a little more unusual.

But oh crap! It's Wednesday and the new box is here and we still haven't used half the stuff from last week's box. Time to face the radicchio! So I decided we'd make "Risotto with Radicchio" after looking through Amaranth to Zucchini one last time. I've never made a real risotto before and I was really looking forward to it.

Then Kenny decided (I think he was a little tipsy*... shh!): You know what? Screw it, let's just throw all the greens in. I was hesitant but I wasn't gonna argue with the man. So, "Risotto with Radicchio" became "Risotto with Radicchio, and Collard Greens, and Pea Shoots, and Arugula."

And it came out damn good! The risotto was creamy and rich, the asiago and lemon juice gave it balance and you still could taste each of the greens individually. Bitter radicchio and peppery pea shoots held their own. We served it with sourdough that had been dusted with herbes de Provence. I dub thee- kitchen sink risotto!

Ingredients:
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
1/2 an onion, diced
2 cups arborio rice
7 cups veggie stock
2 heads radicchio
1 bunch collard greens
1 bunch pea shoots
1 bunch arugula
6 cloves garlic confit, chopped
salt, pepper to taste
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon sage
1/2 cup asiago cheese
1 pint cream
2 tsp lemon juice

Start by getting the veggie stock simmering in pot. During that time, wilt the greens in a non-stick skillet, working in batches, then set them aside. In another large pot, heat the butter and olive oil and sweat the onions with a bit of salt, til just barely translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the dry rice to toast it a bit, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Then, add 2 cups of hot stock and stir the risotto until the stock incorporates.

Continue adding stock slowly, 2 cups at a time and stirring to incorporate. Add the garlic confit as well, it will break down and dissolve into the risotto. After 6 cups of stock have been added, the rice should be just about done, maybe a tiny bit crunchy still. Add 1 teaspoon of thyme and 1 teaspoon of crushed sage. Season with salt and pepper to taste- but remember the asiago will add salt and the pea shoots and arugula are peppery, so keep that in mind. Add the last cup to finish the rice and cook until the rice is tender. Then add the cheese and stir to melt. Add the greens and incorporate, then stir in the cream. To finish, add two teaspoons of lemon juice, which will perk up the flavors. Re-season with more salt and pepper, if necessary. Makes six servings.

*Kenny's note: yes I was tipsy, no I do not regret it. This is the best thing I have put in my mouth since wd-50 in NYC. It's just as good the next day. Everyone in my office is SO jealous, and there is more in the fridge!

empanadas

A few weeks ago, we went out to eat at a local Latin restaurant called Destino. The highlight of the meal was definitely the empanada sampler- one each of pork, chicken and vegetarian empanadas. I guess that's what got the idea in our heads to try making our own.

We used a recipe from Epicurious for the dough. It made enough dough for about 10 empanadas.

Ingredients:
Empanada Dough:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cut into small chunks (*note: We used smart balance instead)
1 egg
1/3 cup cold water
1 Tbsp white vinegar

Mix the flour and salt into a large bowl, then blend in the butter by hand until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated.

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

We made two different types of filling for our empanadas. We sauteed up both the fillings the night before to save time, since the dough takes a while.

Radicchio Filling:
2 head radicchio, leafy parts only, roughly chopped
2 small pink lady apples, sliced thinly
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 Tbsp sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (We used Canadian 5 year Aged, AWESOME!)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp thyme
salt and pepper to taste

Saute the onions until translucent over medium heat, 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and apples, then saute until soft, another 5-7 minutes. Next, add the radicchio and turn the heat down to low. Wilt the radicchio (it's fast, only takes a few minutes!) and stir in the spices. Season to taste and refrigerate.


Collard Green Filling:
1 bunch collard greens, roughly chopped
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 can cannellini beans
6 cloves garlic confit (*note: see bottom of post for garlic confit recipe)
1 tsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions until translucent. Add collard greens, and wilt thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Put in the refrigerator and allow to cool.

Rinse and drain beans, then add to a bowl with the garlic. Add in the lemon juice and mash it up! A potato masher would be great, but a fork works just fine.

When your dough is ready, put two oven racks in upper and lower thirds of your oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces then roll out each piece on a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin. They should be approximately 5 inches around and 1/8 inch thick.

For the collard greens filling, we spooned on a bit of the greens then topped it with the bean & garlic mixture, as shown above. For the radicchio filling, spoon on the raddicio mixture then top with some shaved cheddar cheese.

Fold each round in half, enclosing the filling and press the edges together to seal. Use the tines of a fork to make a decorative seal. Transfer empanadas to two baking sheets, which have been lined with foil and sprayed with your Misto. Bake until golden, about 25-30 minutes. Allow empanadas to cool at least 5 minutes before serving.

We served the empanadas with a pickled watermelon radish salad. It provided a great counterbalance of acid for the dish. Kenny's co-worker Ashley, who gets a CSA delivery from a different farm, had given him a gorgeous watermelon radish earlier that day,. I guess her husband hates radishes. Lucky for us!

Pickled Watermelon Daikon and Fennel Salad:
1 large watermelon daikon radish, thinly sliced
1 fennel bulb, shaved or thinly sliced
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1 pinch red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in container that can be sealed, shaken and set aside. Note: the longer it sits, the more the pigment will bleed from the daikon. The flavor will get spicier over time, so if you want a spicy pink salad, make it a day ahead of time. If not, make it while you have some downtime, like when the dough is setting. It's really super fast.

A note: Regarding garlic confit!
Garlic Confit:
20 cloves of garlic, whole
2 cups olive oil

To make garlic confit, add both the garlic and olive oil in a sauce pot, then turn heat on low. Let simmer until garlic is tender. The color when it's done will be similar to a peanut. Strain out garlic for use in any recipe that calls for roasted garlic.

SAVE THE OIL! I love this stuff! Not only is it easier and WAY less messy than roasted garlic- you don't burn your hands squeezing it out! The leftover oil tastes like liquid roasted garlic joy and is amazing in pasta, dressings, pizza, marinades, garlic bread, or just to dip stuff in. Since we have made this batch I (this is Kenny, don't think Katie is a weirdo) have opened the bottle just to smell it at least 5 times. It totally makes my day. (Katie says: What a weirdo!)

penne with radicchio and gorgonzola, leek confit

The following recipes are doubled. I made a lot of food so we could use up some produce and have leftovers to bring to work.

Penne with radicchio and gorgonzola:
Ingredients:
1 Lb whole wheat penne rigate
2 Tbsp olive oil
6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced lengthwise
2 heads radicchio, white core removed, leaves ripped into rough pieces
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp sugar
8 oz gorgonzola cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the pasta according to directions. In a large pan, heat the olive oil and cook the garlic for 2 to 3 minutes. On medium high heat, add the radicchio and cook until they begin to wilt. Stir in balsamic vinegar, lemon juice and sugar, if the radicchio is too bitter for your tastes. Drain any excess liquid. Add the cheese, stir together to form a sauce. Toss with pasta, season and serve. Serves six.


Leek confit: (from Bon Appetit, October 2008)
Ingredients:
8 large leeks, white and lightest green parts only, halved lengthwise then chopped into 1/4" slices
1/2 cup of butter
4 Tbsp water
1 tsp salt

Melt butter in large pot over medium-low heat. Add leeks; stir to coat. Stir in water and salt. Cover pot; reduce heat to low. Cook until leeks are tender, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Uncover and kick the heat up to high. Cook to evaporate excess water, 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly. Spread on crostini and sprinkle with black pepper. Confit will keep for 1 week refrigerated. If made in advance, spread the leeks on the bread and pop in a 350 degree pre-heated oven for 10 minutes before serving.