vegetable Archives - Page 2 of 3

ROASTED ROMANESCO WITH PICKLED SHALLOT, CILANTRO AND GREEK YOGURT

Posted on November 4, 2021 by admin – By admin

I have a real love affair going on with full fat Greek yogurt. Yes, I like it like everyone else with granola and fruit or blended into smoothies, but my favorite way to enjoy it is in savory preparations.

I spoon a thick layer of it across the bottom of a platter and heap atop highly seasoned roasted vegetables like eggplant or the Romanesco here; a fresh salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions and plenty of mint; dressed grains, or simple olive-oil fried eggs dusted with smoked paprika. The smooth Greek yogurt has a way of both carrying and mellowing out flavors. It adds richness to whatever you put with it, making it feel decadent and filling. Continue reading “ROASTED ROMANESCO WITH PICKLED SHALLOT, CILANTRO AND GREEK YOGURT” →

KALE PESTO PASTA WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND MINT

Posted on November 3, 2021 by Laura Geraty – By Laura Geraty

Kale and squash are two of my kitchen staples in the fall and winter. In fact, they have already been so heavily in rotation around here that you’d think I was on a mission to see how quickly I can burn myself out. (For the record, I’m not even close.)

While they are a perfect match in salad, sometimes a girl just wants pasta – kale pesto pasta with roasted butternut squash and mint to be exact. The kale lends its signature grassy flavor to the pesto, which is captured by the curves and grooves of al dente fusilli. The deeply roasted butternut squash provides caramelized sweetness and the mint a hit of freshness.

Continue reading “KALE PESTO PASTA WITH ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND MINT” →

A Word on Smoothies

Posted on March 17, 2017August 23, 2018 by admin – By admin

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day–or so they say. I tend to start each morning full of healthy resolve but find that it crumbles with each passing moment. After an entire day of running around the city cooking delicious meals for other people, dinner often turns into a free-for-all in which I succumb to every craving.

With this honest acknowledgement, I have learned that one of the most successful and simplest routines to fall into is to start each morning on the right foot, with a quick, low-maintenance and nourishing meal. My ultimate to-go meal is a smoothie.

I love smoothies for many reasons. First and foremost, they are easy to throw together. Literally just toss the ingredients in a blender and whizz until it has reached a smooth consistency. Second, it is a great way to use anything in the fridge that may be on its way out. No discrimination against a slightly overripe banana or ugly avocado when everything ends up pulverized in the blender anyway. Texture trumps appearance. For example, avocados add creaminess to a smoothie, as does banana.

Most people are comfortable with fruit smoothies but are more hesitant to add vegetables to the mix. The key is to make sure that there is a good balance between some of the more strongly flavored veggies (such as kale or parsley) and the sweetness of the fruit. The addition of veggies provides an opportunity to get even more vitamins and fiber into one cup and cut down a little bit on the sugar and calories.

When making a smoothie, the main components are as follows:

A Base – Water, milk, almond milk, coconut milk or juice, etc.

Vegetables – Spinach, kale, cucumber, beet, carrot, celery, parsley, ginger, cilantro, avocado, mint, etc. I’ve been known to throw kale stems in here but this isn’t for everyone:)

Fruit – Endless but my favorites are apples, oranges, bananas, mangos, pineapples, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, grapes, etc. Using frozen fruit is great for texture.

Additions – Protein powder, nut butter, yogurt, dates, flax seed, chia seed, cinnamon, etc.

Combos can be mixed and matched from any of the above ingredients, and really the sky is the limit. If you are green smoothie/veg-fruit smoothie newbie, start with a lower veg:fruit ratio and slowly increase the ratio as your taste allows. I can’t begin to describe some of the more unusual results I have subjected my roommate Rian to sampling in the past. Laura won’t even try some of these but my tastes buds are happy. Below are a few introductory options that even the most green-smoothie-averse will enjoy. For our clients, we prepackage the italicized ingredients in ziplock baggies in the freezer and then they can simply dump them into their blenders and add in their other ingredients day-of for a quick, healthy, kid-friendly breakfast or snack option. They serve one person very generously or two kids. I hope you enjoy them too!

With love,

Kristina

Green Machine Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Banana

1 Cup shredded kale

1/2 Avocado

1/2 Apple

1 Tsp Chia Seeds

1 Cup Almond Milk (plus optional 1/2 cup plain Greek or regular yogurt)

Berry Green Smoothie

Ingredients:

1 Cup Strawberries

1 Cup Blueberries

1 Cup Spinach

1 Cup Almond Milk (plus optional 1/2 cup plain Greek or regular yogurt)

Green Monster Smoothie

Ingredients:

1/2 Cup Pineapple

1/2 Cup Mango

1/2 Banana

1 Cup Spinach

1 Cup Almond Milk (plus optional 1/2 cup plain Greek or regular yogurt)

Banana Date Smoothie (This isn’t a green smoothie but its such a big hit, I wanted to share in anyways.)

Ingredients:

1 Banana, sliced

4 Dates, chopped

1 Pinch Cinnamon

1 Cup Almond Milk (plus optional 1/2 cup plain Greek or regular yogurt)

Method: Tumble into a blender and blend for consistent texture. Enjoy! We prepackage the italicized ingredients in ziplock baggies in the freezer. Each recipe serves one person very generously or two kids.

Winter Wild Rice Salad with Charred Broccoli and Pickled Raisins

Posted on January 20, 2017January 20, 2017 by admin – By admin

The holidays are officially over. With the grind of the new year in full swing and the harshness of New York cold weather setting in, everyone is buckling down for the next few months. I’m trying my absolute hardest not to let the winter blues get me down, and I am finding that more often than not, I turn to food to bring me comfort.

While winter conditions definitely make it difficult to find fresh produce, the season still provides for many delicious and hearty meals. In fact, my very favorite vegetable is easily accessible this time of year. That’s right. Give me all the broccoli.

Broccoli is so versatile and can be addictive prepared in any way! Steamed, stir-fried, roasted, or even eaten raw, the possibilities are endless. One can even thinly shave the stems and use them in a salad or sautéed for a meal, but that is a conversation for another day. Today I want to talk about my favorite preparation for broccoli: roasting. Super simple and with a huge punch of flavor, I like to toss the prepped broccoli with seasonings and oil and then blast it in the oven set to a really high temperature. This ensures that the broccoli gets a healthy char while still retaining some crunch. Nobody wants to eat something that can be described as “limp”. Toss with some lemon zest and voila, you have brought life to something in this artic tundra.

Over the years I have learned that my own personal preference in flavor combination is to combine sweet with savory. Therefore, I have found great value in the use of fresh or dried fruit in many of my dishes. There’s nothing like the subtle pop of flavor in every few bites when you encounter something sweet. As of late, one of my absolute favorite additions to a salad is the ever persevered, simple and basic (drumroll please….) raisin. This traditional ingredient dates as far back in my memory as “ants on a log” in childhood snacks, but has now been reinvented by the chefs at What We Eat. Though a raisin in itself is a tasty little burst of sweetness, we sometimes opt to re-hydrate the chewy little grape into something else. This can be done using warm water, or if you like, you can opt to add an acid to the mix for a pickling effect.

Through experimentation, we have perfected a winning combination of spices to create an amazing pickling recipe for grapes and raisins. The result is an unbelievably sweet, tangy and slightly spicy treat. Think warm winter spices with a kick of heat from red chili flakes. Having this recipe in your arsenal is a sure-fire way to add surprise and curiosity to a salad or grain dish.

With love, Kristina

For the Wild Rice:

1 cup wild rice, rinsed

Cook rice according to package directions.

For the Broccoli:

1 head broccoli, cut into large florets

½ tablespoon olive oil

1 pinch red pepper flakes

½ tsp granulated

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

On the stove top, bring a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. Blanch broccoli for 30 seconds and refresh in ice cold water. Dry completely.

On a large sheet tray, toss the broccoli with a good glug of olive oil, granulated garlic, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper. Roast, undisturbed for 15 minutes. Take broccoli out of oven and flip (it should have a nice char on one side). Return to oven for another 15 minutes until crisp and caramelized. Remove and allow to come to room temperature.

For the Pickled Raisins:

2 cups golden raisins

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 cup water

1 cinnamon stick

3 cloves

1 star anise

1 tablespoon fennel seed

½ tablespoon sugar

1 tsp salt

Method:

In a saucepot, bring the water, vinegar, spices, sugar and salt to a slow simmer on medium heat for 10 minutes. Once the sugar has dissolved, strain the hot liquid over the raisins and allow to sit until cool.

When you are ready to build the salad, drain raisins and mix with the charred broccoli and wild rice. Add in a large handful of mint/cilantro/scallions and dress with a few tablespoons of the pickling liquid and some olive oil. Enjoy!

Other Uses for Pickled Raisins:

Chicken salad

Grain bowls

Breakfast parfaits with granola and greek yogurt

Cooking for Family Gatherings

Posted on November 22, 2016August 23, 2018 by admin – By admin

I’m the new girl at What We Eat so I’ll start by introducing myself. My name is Charlotte and I’m here because cooking is the single most consistent thread in my life. Not necessarily the subject of cooking, but the social and communal aspects of it. Growing up in Chicago, my mom wasn’t home most nights as the committed breadwinner of our household and my father’s cooking ability didn’t extent beyond basting chicken wings with a bottle of “Open Pit” over the Weber grill. Although home cooked meals weren’t a nightly staple, we made up for it on weekends, holidays, family reunions, or just about any excuse we could think of to sit people around our dinning room table. My fondest memories as a kid were, without a doubt, hosting wedding showers for my big cousins in our back yard and travelling to my grandparent’s house with our ETA scheduled the moment the Christmas ham came out of the oven. I understood from a very early age that the key to making people happy and being happy myself was eating well and sharing good food with the people I care about.

In college, cooking was what set me apart from almost everyone I lived with. I struggled to find the balance between expressing my predisposition toward cooking and going above and beyond for roommates who, for the most part, didn’t understand what was so great about homemade pizza crust. I (literally) fed off the satisfaction of pleasing others with food; no matter who it was or at what cost. I went out of my way to cook these elaborate meals for people that were just as content eating ramen for breakfast. I set ridiculous goals for myself and was always disappointed by the results. Ultimately, I lost touch with what cooking for others in a positive, fulfilling way feels like and knew it shouldn’t feel like I’m doing it to impress someone or make new friends. The food you bring to the table should be personal and it should reflect your taste, not just catered to what you think people will enjoy. With this attitude my menus evolved from simple spaghetti with tomato sauce to discovering my favorite combination of veal, pork and beef meatballs and spaghetti. My standards and tastes developed to appreciate new cuisines and adjust old ones. That being said the soul of my cooking originated from my most memorable family meals and to this day the most influential cookbook on my shelf was bound by my aunt and consists of a curated and expanding history of my family’s favorite, most craved and worshiped recipes. I still consult it’s oil-stained pages for my grandmother’s tried and true oatmeal cookies and my mother’s prized mushroom pate but I must admit that I’m motivated more and more by the excitement of trying new recipes with the tradition of family getting together the defining ingredient.

Now, I’m not saying that Thursday morning is the time to test out the cauliflower version of mashed potatoes or a deep fried turkey on your thanksgiving guests (or guinea pigs). So, stick to what you know but challenge yourself to come out of the green bean comfort zone. The easiest adjustment or addition you can make to the spread is to try a new salad or blend of roasted vegetables. It’s no surprise that salad is the most overlooked dish at the thanksgiving table. I mean who wants to compete with creamy mashed potatoes and savory stuffing? But after just three weeks at What We Eat, I’m a believer that salad could steal the show (not that we’re keeping score). Because salads are adaptable and easy to tweak, it makes them hard to screw up. This thanksgiving I’ve nominated myself to make the salad and based on the ones we’ve been making for clients lately, I’m pretty confident my family will be licking their salad plates.

Here are some rough ideas:

Crispy shaved brussels sprout salad with tender farro, pomegranate seeds, pickled red onion, currents with a honey-lemon vinaigrette

Roasted carrots and beets with a red-wine vinegar dressing, toasted pistachios and crumbled goat cheese.

Stay tuned for the results! With love, Charlotte 🙂