This was our first foray into fritters, and we felt they turned out fairly well. If you’re not familiar with them, fritters are basically flattened little patties held together with egg and flour and flavored with various main ingredients (depending on the type of fritter) such as corn, apple or, in this case, zucchini. Adding feta cheese, dill and green onions gives a little flair to the fritter flavor with a bit of tang and bite. Fast, easy to make and relatively healthy, zucchini fritters are a fun, filling, meat-free alternative main course — especially in summer, when you might be feeling like having lighter fare than you would during the more frigid months of the year.
Category: Vegetable
Asian Green Beans
We have a few go-to Asian recipes in our weekly menu rotation (Korean Chicken and Asian Pork Tenderloin for example), but sometimes struggle to find a good veggie side to round out an Asian meal. Sauteed snow peas are good, but get pretty boring after the fifth or sixth time you serve them. We were excited to try this recipe, which kicks up plain old green beans with Asian flavor subtle enough to complement the main course without overpowering it. What makes these beans so good is the sauce (of sorts) made with green onions, garlic, ginger, sesame oil and oyster sauce. Add some sliced roasted red pepper and garnish with toasted sesame seeds and scallions, and the green beans are anything but boring. Come to think of it, these same ingredients could take the snow pea to a whole new level as well.
Zucchini Slaw
Summer is here and vegetables such as zucchini and squash are in season. Summer is also a time when we try to cook more meals and side dishes that require little, if any, use of the oven, stove or grill. It’s hot here in the summer, is what I’m saying. So the less slaving over hot cooking methods, the better. Coleslaw is a good cold side dish and we’ve tried several different varieties (including celery and hot & sour), so we were intrigued by this recipe, which uses zucchini and squash instead of cabbage. Other ingredients include carrots, green onions, red bell pepper and parsley, as well as white vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes for the dressing. Although we adapted the dressing recipe a bit to make it more suitable to our tastes (less sweet), we liked how easy it was to make, and that it’s an interesting take on traditional slaw and unusual use of zucchini and squash (raw instead of cooked.) Most refreshing of all, it’s a lightly tangy and spicy side dish that requires zero heat to prepare.
Refrigerator Pickles
Something about “refrigerator pickles” says “summer” to us. Maybe it’s the name — “refrigerator” makes one think of grabbing a cool, crisp snack out of the fridge on a hot day. Or perhaps it’s because pickles go so well with summertime foods like hot dogs and hamburgers, consumed at backyard barbeques and gatherings. Could be because cucumbers are in season this time of year (our cucumber plants WERE at least, until they succumbed to the heat.) Whatever the reason, we’ve already made several batches of refrigerator pickles this summer, and they could not be easier or more delicious. All you need are cucumbers (small, pickling cucumbers work best), garlic, peppercorns, dill, white vinegar, water, salt and sugar. And patience to wait about 4 days for the ingredients to pickle. Continue reading “Refrigerator Pickles”
Tabouli
Tabouli is one of those dishes that always seemed (at least to us) a little mysterious and intimidating, as though it involved complicated preparation and exotic ingredients. Not sure why — maybe the unfamiliar name/spelling? (“Tabouli” may not be the technically correct spelling of this dish — I picked the spelling from the recipe we adapted. I’ve also seen it spelled “taboule,” “tabbouleh,” and “tabouleh.” Whatever — you don’t spell it, son, you eat it!) But we were pleasantly surprised that tabouli is actually quite easy to make with readily available ingredients: bulgur, parsley, mint, oregano, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt & pepper. In fact, the most “exotic” ingredient — bulgar — really isn’t that unusual at all. Especially after you finally ask the salesperson at Central Market where the cracked wheat is located and she points out that “cracked wheat” is the same as bulgur. And it’s available right in front of your face in the rice/grains section where you are currently standing, or in bulk in the bulk foods section. Awesome. In addition to being quick and easy to make, tabouli is a versatile side dish that pairs well with many different kinds of proteins (we’ve had it with both fish and pork) and tastes just as fresh and healthy as it actually is. If you’ve never tried it, tabouli is slightly similar to quinoa, but with a MUCH better texture (in my, possibly biased, opinion.)
Roasted Red Pepper Soup
Here’s a soup would be perfect for your next dinner party, or any occasion when you want to impress someone with an elegantly savory dish. As exquisite as this soup tastes, it is remarkably easy to prepare with just a few ingredients: butter, garlic, red onion, flour, a jar of roasted red peppers, a chipotle chile, fresh thyme, chicken broth, heavy cream and white bread for homemade croutons. Given the simplicity of the ingredients and the fact that the recipe comes from a book of “quick-from-scratch” meals prepared in less than 60 minutes, we were shocked by the complex, layered and delicious flavors. This is restaurant-quality soup: something you might expect from a quaint, yet still fancy, little French bistro. In France.
Greek-Style Roasted Red Potatoes
Apparently, once we have some success with a particular cuisine or style of cooking, we make a lot of recipes in that same style. Variety may be the spice of life, but Greek flavors seem to be the singular focus of our kitchen and blog these days. (Tabouli recipe coming soon!) We had some red potatoes on hand and needed a side to go with this Greek shrimp dish, so we did a search for “red potato” on the Epicurious site, then narrowed the results by clicking the “meal/course” and “side” categories and found this recipe, which we adapted by roasting the potatoes instead of just boiling them. The resulting recipe is similar to our regular roasted potatoes, but kicked up with Greek ingredients including kalamata olives, feta cheese and fresh mint. Combining these items with potatoes might seem odd, but all the flavors came together well in a fresh, slightly salty and tangy side dish that complemented the tomato sauce of the shrimp main dish very well.
Bean Sprout Salad
As promised, here’s the bean sprout salad recipe to accompany the recently-posted Thai-style pork patties. We adapted Cook’s Illustrated’s original recipe by adding more vegetables and some sesame oil and leaving out the chopped peanuts. It’s a ridiculously easy dish — just toss together bean sprouts, green onions, carrots, cucumber and cilantro with a mixture of vegetable and sesame oil, lime juice, brown sugar, sriracha and salt & pepper. The result is a fresh, slightly spicy and flavorful salad that would go well with pretty much any Asian-style main course. Or you could make it a meal on its own by adding leftover pork, chicken or shrimp for a filling lunch or even a light summer supper.
Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce
Here’s the final non-meat dish for this season of Lent, and we saved the best for last. You might be surprised to find that cauliflower can constitute an entire meal (we were), but there is enough going on with this recipe to create a more than satisfying and delicious dinner made up entirely of vegetables. We had heard of roasted cauliflower steak before and were intrigued to try it, but we (mostly me) were a little skeptical about how a slab of cooked cauliflower would actually taste. When I found this recipe incorporating olive relish and tomato sauce, I knew we had a winner — if olives and tomatoes can make fish appetizing (and they can), we were excited to see what they could do for cauliflower. Turns out they add a ton of rich, salty and tangy flavor to transform a roasted vegetable into an elegant meal. An easy weeknight meal with simple ingredients: cauliflower, olives, sun-dried tomatoes, olive oil, parsley, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, butter, Parmesan cheese, garlic, tomatoes and salt & pepper.
Continue reading “Cauliflower Steaks with Olive Relish and Tomato Sauce”
Tomato Orzo Soup w/ Spinach
We love a good soup, especially one that is hearty enough to be a meal all on its own. Bonus points for also being healthy and vegetarian. This soup (adapted from a recipe by Chef Michael Chiarello) not only fits these criteria, but also is delicious and easy to make with simple ingredients you most likely already have on hand: a can of whole tomatoes, olive oil, butter, celery, a carrot, onion, garlic, chicken broth, a bay leaf, orzo pasta and spinach. It’s a great dish for anyone avoiding meat on Fridays during Lent, or anyone who likes soup and is looking for a nutritious, meat-less, meal-in-a-bowl dinner.