recipe: savoy salad

It's officially too hot to cook in NYC this weekend, so this one goes out to all the cityzens sans central AC. Today's recipe came to me in the grocery aisle when I saw a giant head of savoy cabbage staring back at me. More crinkled and delicate in texture than its green or red cousins, the savoy brings an air of sophistication to the salad or slaw party. 

Following savoy's lead, I opted to grab some equally chichi ingredients: tarragon and fennel. Back at the house, I boiled a couple chicken breasts (with bay leaves and salt), shredded them and whipped up a slaw-like salad that screams less "backyard bbq" and more "tea sandwiches with the ladies."

Savoy Salad

Ingredients (serves 4-6 as a light lunch)

  • 3-4 chicken breasts
  • 1/2 large head of savoy cabbage
  • 1 large bulb fennel
  • 4-5 springs tarragon
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise (If homemade, you can reduce the amount of olive oil. I used one of those organic health food store "real mayo" brands.)
  • 2-3 tbsp dijon mustard
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

  1. Boil chicken breasts in salted water (optional: seasoned with bay leaves) until cooked through (About 10-15 minutes. Since they're cooked in water you don't have to worry as much about them drying out.)
  2. Meanwhile, shred your fennel bulb and savoy cabbage in a food processor or by hand.
  3. Once chicken is shredded and cooled, combine fennel, cabbage and chicken in a large bowl. Stem your tarragon and gently rip the leaves into small pieces (you can add more or less tarragon, depending on your taste preferences). 
  4. Mix olive oil, mayo, mustard and a generous pinch of salt. Dress salad and sprinkle with additional tarragon leaves for presentation.

Note: If preparing mise en place ahead of time, wait to dress the salad until about 10-15 minutes before serving. 

recipe: spiralized zucchini pasta

If you know me as a cook, then you know that I don't often cook pasta. Leafy greens, always. Spice-centric meat or fish dishes, occasionally. Rice or alternative grains, all the time. But pasta? It's a rare, maybe monthly indulgence. So let me start by saying that I find it very amusing that I'm posting two back-to-back pasta recipes on the blog.

That said, this second recipe isn't actually pasta as you know and love it. I'm jumping on the already well documented spiralizer trend with a recipe that you can eat like pasta, but, you know, sans the grains.

Being that I'm a pretty healthy cook, you're probably thinking, "Oh, she avoids gluten." Well, that was more or less true once upon a time, but these days the only thing I avoid is processed, industrial foods. Find me a crusty loaf fermented with old-school starter and I will always dig in.

Then why the spiralizing? It's simple: I despise using more pots and pans than absolutely necessary. Regular pasta involves boiling water, cooking the pasta, simultaneously making a sauce, etc. Doing it well isn't actually as instantaneous as mainstream food culture makes it out to be.

Which is why spiralized zucchini pasta is genius, because you can literally just throw it right in the pan on top of some oil, slivered garlic and spices. No boiling water, no need for two burners. Not to mention that the "noodle" texture didn't turn to mush the way I expected.

I'll stop rambling now and share the recipe—but seriously, just imagine what else you can do with a spiralizer. And if you proud omnivores need to assure yourself that you're not following the trends set by "those crazy paleo people," well, you can just sop up the remaining juices with some good ol' crusty bread.

Spiralized Zucchini Pasta

Ingredients (serves two as an appetizer, one as a entree)

  • 1-2 tbsp grapeseed oil or butter (I used a mix of both)
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • tsp rosemary
  • tsp herbes de provence
  • 1/2 tsp red flake pepper
  • 2 large zucchini (or other oblong summer squash), spiralized 
  • 2 tbsp yogurt
  • 2 tbsp grated parmesan (or grana padano, nutritional yeast, etc.)
  • salt, to taste

Instructions

Heat large sauté pan (I prefer cast iron or other non-stick for this recipe) and add your oil or butter. Slice garlic thinly and add to pan along with spices. As garlic just starts to brown, add spiralized zucchini noodles. Add a pinch of salt and occasionally toss noodles in pan, using a pair of cooking tongs. Once they're heated through, add your yogurt and parmesan and toss to create a sauce. Once noodles and sauce are heated through, remove from heat and serve immediately. (The sauce is delicious, so I advise toasting yourself some sopping up bread.)

recipe: radish pasta

About a year ago, I noticed a recipe for radish pasta on one of my favorite food websites. Within a week of that interaction, my ever wise fellow foodie Marie C. came over for a baking session. Spotting some radishes I had purchased at the Park Slope Food Coop on my counter, she raved: "Those are amazing! The tops are really delicious in pasta, you know."

Hence, the bug was in my ear. I checked out the recipe on said food website, whipped it up and was...totally nonplussed. That said, Marie's word is not one I take lightly, so I knew there was a way I could make it better. It just took a few tries.

A year later and a dozen attempts since, I've finally found a variation on radish pasta that I feel is worthy of my beautiful radish greens. Featuring a mixture of bright, briny and tangy flavors, it's a dish that satiates on many levels.

Radish Pasta

Ingredients

  • 1 cup dry pasta (I used quinoa, but you can go for the normal gluten-rich kind if you like!)
  • 4 anchovies (the grey kind, not the fancy ones)
  • 1 bunch radish tops, sliced into ribbons
  • 4 radishes, sliced
  • zest of one lemon
  • 1/4-1/3 cup labne
  • olive oil (for cooking)
  • extra virgin olive oil (for finishing)
  • freshly cracked pepper, to taste
  • parmesan, to taste

Instructions

  1. Boil a large pot of salted water. Wash and prepare mise en place for all ingredients.
  2. Heat a large pan and add a small amount of olive oil. (Better yet, if your anchovies were packed in oil, use that oil.)
  3. Once oil is warmed, add anchovies. Simultaneously add pasta to boiling water. (Set a timer for your pasta for 1 minute less than the box says it should cook).
  4. Once anchovies are heated through, break up into a paste. Add sliced radishes to pan and sauté.
  5. Once radishes are slightly translucent, add radish tops and lemon zest to pan. Sauté until radish tops are wilted.
  6. Remove pasta whenever necessary. Drain, retaining a small amount of pasta water. Drizzle with EVOO to prevent pasta from sticking.
  7. Once greens are wilted, add labne to pan to create a sort of cream sauce. Once warmed through, add your pasta to the vegetables/sauce. Mix well, adding reserved pasta water as needed.
  8. Plate your pasta and finished with freshly cracked pepper and parmesan, to taste.