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Asparagus Salad with Sweet Pepper Confetti
Grilled Shrimp with Mango Salsa
Other simple ideas for using your Farmers Market purchases.
Also, see the Online Community Cookbook at PhillyHealthInfo.org for more recipes using fresh fruits and vegetables.
Chick Pea Salad
Ingredients:
4 cans of chick peas drained
1 small red onion diced small
4 firm ripe fresh tomatoes seeded and chopped in small pieces
1 English cucumber cut in 1/4 inch slices and halved crosswise
1/2 cup fresh chopped dill
1/2 cup (or more if you like) apple cider vinegar
1/8th cup of good olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Mix and enjoy!
Submitted by Dena Lyons
Asparagus Salad with Sweet Pepper Confetti
Ingredients:
1/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
1 tsp. Dijon or grainy mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
2 pounds asparagus
1/2 red pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
Add the olive oil, red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, garlic, salt, and pepper to a small screw-top jar or plastic container. Shake it and set aside. To serve the asparagus cold, have a large bowl of ice water by the side of the stove. Bring a medium pot of lightly salted water to a rapid boil over high heat. Plunge the asparagus into the boiling water. Cook until it is tender but still firm, about 2 to 4 minutes after the water returns to a simmer, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. Drain and plunge it into the ice water. After about 5 minutes, drain and pat dry. Fan out the asparagus, tips facing the same direction, then drizzle with the dressing and sprinkle with the pepper "confetti." If you prefer to serve this warm, drain the asparagus thoroughly after boiling and lay it out directly on the platter.
Tomato Bruschetta
Ingredients:
4-6 fresh tomatoes
1 clove garlic, chopped fine
Salt to taste
1 loaf French bread or sourdough bagette, sliced and lightly toasted under broiler
Clean tomatoes and slice an X into the end opposite the stem. Drop tomatoes into a pot of boiling water and let cook for 1 minute. Remove tomatoes from water and plunge into a bowl of ice water; the skins should slide off easily. Cut into quarters, discard seeds, chop into small pieces, and place in a bowl. Stir in chopped garlic and salt to taste. Marinate, covered, in refrigerator for at least one hour.
Serve with toasted bread.
Appetizer variation: Pre-heat broiler. Place sliced bread onto a cookie sheet, top slices with a spoonful of marinated tomatoes and sprinkle with Pecorino Romano or feta cheese. Heat under broiler until cheese melts and serve hot.
Asian-Style Asparagus
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon rice wine (optional)
1 1/2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger root
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 bunch of asparagus, washed and trimmed
Whisk together first seven ingredients for a marinade.
Bring water to a boil and add asparagus, cooking until fork tender, about one to two minutes, depending on how thick the stalks are. Drain; toss hot asparagus with marinade in a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour. For an added kick, add a few drops of your favorite hot sauce. Serve at room temperature.
Carrot/Zucchini Ribbons
Ingredients: (2 servings)
Two carrots, peeled
Two zucchini
1 tablespoon butter
Salt and pepper to taste
Using a vegetable peeler, slice one side of the carrot into ribbons and place flat side down on cutting board. Slice ribbons from top of the carrot until it becomes impossible to cut more. Slice ribbons from zucchini, avoiding the seeded areas. Reserve remaining carrots and zucchini for other recipes, such as stuffing, soup, or to add to sauces.
Heat butter in a sauté pan until bubbling; add carrot and zucchini ribbons and cook, covered, until wilted. Serve with salt and pepper to taste.
Broccoli Rabe
Ingredients:
1 bunch broccoli rabe, washed, ends trimmed
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Hot pepper flakes (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste
Pecorino Romano cheese, to taste (optional)
Slice thicker stalks down the middle, if necessary, and chop broccoli roughly. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan and add red pepper flakes and garlic, cooking until garlic is slightly soft. Add broccoli rabe to pan and add a few tablespoons of water. Cover pan and cook until broccoli rabe is wilted and soft. Serve hot or cold, with Romano cheese, if desired.
Caponata Crostini
Ingredients:
3 small ripe tomatoes chopped
2 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 1/2 tbsp olive oil
1 small eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 1/2 tbsp sugar
1 small onion, chopped
3/4 tsp dried basil
1 small green pepper,chopped
1 French baguette
1/4 cup chopped pimento-stuffed olives
Olive oil
Combine first 11 ingredients in a Dutch oven, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes or until thickened; remove from heat, and cool. Cover and chill up to 24 hours. Slice baguette into 36 slices. Place slices on to an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Brush slices with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Spread each baguette slice with 1 tbsp eggplant mixture, bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve immediately. Yield: 3 dozen.
Eggplant mixture can also be served in a bowl, warm or cold, and used to top a variety of crackers, tostitos, or bagel crisps. Serve any remaining eggplant mixture over hot cooked pasta.
Watercress Sandwiches
Ingredients:
Sliced white bread (If you wish to experience the original!)
Salted butter, softened to room temperature
Watercress, cleaned, and ends of stems trimmed
Cut crusts off white bread. Roll flat with a rolling pin. Butter the bread lightly to the very edges. Place several stalks of watercress along one edge of the bread, with some leaves poking over the edges. Roll up and, if necessary, secure with a toothpick.
Nobby Apple Cake
Contributed by Betsy (Klingler) Burke, who says, “My grandmother’s note at the bottom of the
recipe reads: “Maureen Cheney of Brimfield won first prize in the National Apple Growers Association contest with this recipe in the 1950′s.” Brimfield, MA, is where Jim Klingler grew up.”
Ingredients:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons shortening (or butter)
1 large egg
3 cups diced apples
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Heat oven to 350°. Dust the nuts with a small amount of the flour.Sift together the dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, cream shortening, sugar, and egg. Add flour mixture and mix until well blended
(it will be thick and sticky). Remove beaters and stir in apples and nuts by hand until well blended. Turn into a 9″x9″ baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Let it cool a bit before cutting. Because the cake
is so moist, it is not easily removed from the pan to put on a nice plate, but it is not impossible. Serves 9.
Delicious served warm with ice cream. Great for breakfast the next day, assuming there is any left.
The Lansdowner
Contributed by Steve Wagner, who says, “Last year, when apple season rolled around, I invented a cocktail that instantly became one of my wife’s favorites.This is saying a lot, because my wife is quite the cocktail connoisseur. As my confidence with this recipe increased, I began to share it with other family members.They too were enthusiastic about the beverage. I called my creation ‘The Lansdowner’ and can state with fact that it was inspired by the lovely Winesap apples I would get each week from Shobers. I want the world to know not only the recipe, but its lore, and perhaps put Lansdowne on the map in yet another way.”
Ingredients:
1 ½ oz freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 ½ oz freshly squeezed Staymen Winesap apple juice (you can do this with an electric juicer, a handheld reamer, or any kind of juicer)
3 oz Belle de Brille (a pear-infused cognac available at our local wine and spirits shop)
Squeeze the lemon juice into a shaker, then immediately squeeze the apple juice into the same shaker.(Do this quickly; the apple juice will brown if it does not immediately mix with the lemon juice.) Add the Belle de Brille. Shake with ice and serve on the rocks.
Grilled Shrimp with Mango Salsa
For shrimp:
In a large bowl, toss 30 peeled large shrimp with ¼ cup each of olive oil and orange juice, along with 1 tsp each salt and pepper. Let rest in the refrigerator while the salsa is being made and the grill is being lit and preheated to 400-450 degrees (medium-high).
For salsa:
Combine 2 diced mangos, 2 supremed limes and juice from the peel, 1 supremed orange, zest from 1 lime and 1 orange, 8 or 10 radishes diced, 2 tbs chopped cilantro, 2 tbs olive oil, and I tsp Punjab red tandooriseasoning (available at Whole Foods) or your favorite chili powder. Toss in a bowl, then transfer one third of the mixture to a blender, along with salt and pepper to taste; blend until smooth. Combine this with the diced mango-radish mixture again. This constitutes the salsa.
To execute:
Grill your shrimp on both sides for a total of 10 minutes (I undertake this task with the shrimp on skewers; it just saves me from chasing shrimp all over the grill). Plate them up along with the salsa dalloped on top and more served on the side.
Chicken Stuffed with Herbs and Goat Cheese on Pasta with Deconstructed Pesto
For the chicken:
Pound two chicken breasts flat with a kitchen mallet (or the side of a wine bottle), and spread them with a mixture made from 4 oz goat cheese combined with 1 cup assorted chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley, basil, tarragon, and chives, which were coming on strong in my garden),plus salt and a heavy grind of black pepper.Put a tablespoon of butter at one side of each paillard (now covered in the goat cheese-herb mixture), and roll it up into a cylinder, tucking in any loose ends as you roll. Place the chicken on a piece of plastic wrap about 15 inches long, and roll the plastic tightly around the chicken. Twist the overhanging plastic wrap tightly on each side, with the meat firmly in the middle (like a piece of candy wrapped in plastic). Now fold in the two ends and secure the whole package in a rubber band or two. Place the wrapped chicken in barely simmering water for 15 minutes, then turn off the heat and let it sit in the water for another 10 minutes. Remove the chicken from the water and plastic wrap, and serve on top of the pasta.
For the pesto and pasta:
Cook a half pound of a bite-size pasta (like farfalle or rotini) according to the directions. Meanwhile, in a small pot over low heat, combine ¼ cup olive oil with 1 clove chopped garlic and ¼ teaspoon of red pepper flakes. Let the oil mixture warm for at least 10 minutes while you roughly chop 1 to 2 cups of fresh basil and mix it with ¼ cup blanched almonds and ¼ cup parmesan cheese. Then combine this with olive oil mixture and of course some salt and black pepper.Plate the pasta and pour the pesto on top.
