In addition to a delicious sauce for falafels, this is one of my go-to salad dressings.
Ingredients
1/2 cup plain yogurt
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/3 cup chopped parsley or cilantro
1/2 teaspoon chili paste (like Sriracha)
1 garlic clove, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
- Combine all the ingredients. Use a blender if you want to make a smooth and creamy sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Preserved lemons are my new favorite things. They are much lemonier than a regular lemons and have a mildly tart and lightly salty taste. They are traditionally used in Moroccan cuisine but I’ve been throwing them into about everything from soup to birthday cakes!
This recipe is modified from Epicurious.com
Ingredients
5 organic lemons (use myers lemons if you can find them)
1/4 -1/2 cup salt
Freshly squeezed lemon juice (you may need a little extra)
1-quart mason jar
Method
This version is basically a garlic, saffron aioli or mayonnaise. If the idea of raw egg wigs you out, just mix mayonnaise with saffron, chopped garlic and hot chili sauce. This makes more than you will need, but it is so delicious you’ll be serving it with dinner all week.
Ingredients
3 to 4 tablespoons fish stock (or steal a bit of broth from your bouillabaisse)
1 clove garlic
1 to 2 teaspoons hot chili sauce (such as Sriracha)
1 egg yolk
Saffron, a pinch
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of salt (more to taste)
1/4 cup fresh bread crumbs (optional)
Method
Keeps refrigerated for three to four days.
Making stock is something I do all the time. If I’m chopping a bunch of vegetables, the unused ends go in a stock pot. If I have shrimp shells, I throw them in a pot with water and make shrimp stock. I feel like I’m throwing away good money if I don’t make stock out of the leftover pieces and parts of whatever I’m cooking.
The great thing about making your own stock is that you know exactly what is in it and can customize it to your taste. I don’t like thyme, so my stock never has to have it! Plus meat stock has a healthy dose of minerals. If you want to read about the health benefits of stock, check out Sally Fallon’s Broth is Beautiful article on WestonAPrice.org.
If you are short for time, put your stock-making ingredients in the freezer and make it later.
Ingredients
chicken carcass from a roasted chicken
Method
-Once the chicken has cooled, pick the meat off the bone.
-Add all the unused chicken parts (bones, skin, etc) to a large stock part and cover with water.
-Add peppercorns, herbs, garlic, vegetable ends, or whatever you have around. If you stuffed the chicken, be sure to add that (unless you stuffed it with citrus, I take that out). You don’t really need to add anything, but it will enhance the flavor.
-Heat over medium uncovered for at least an hour. I often leave mine on for several hours if I have time.
-Strain stock, discard everything but the liquid.
-Once the stock has cooled, divide into 1-2 cup portions. I pour the stock into freezer bags and freeze. You can also pour it into ice cube trays and freeze for quick inclusion into dishes.
It would be a shame to have all the good drippings from a chicken and not make gravy.
-Using your roasting pan, pour off all but 2 tablespoons of drippings from pan.
-Place pan across two burners and heat the drippings gently on the stove top for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. (Note: if you used a glass or ceramic dish to roast the chicken, transfer the drippings to a pot. Glass will likely break if heated directly on a stove-top burner).
-Add 2 tablespoon of flour and stir constantly for 1 minute. Use a fork to smooth out the lumps.
-Stir in two cups of water or milk and simmer, stir until thickened.
-Season with salt and pepper.
This is my new favorite ketchup. Adapted from Eating Well Magazine.
Ingredients
1 cup pitted sour cherries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Method
-Combine pitted cherries, raisins, vinegar, water, garlic, sugar, ginger, cardamom, cinnamon and cayenne in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat.
-Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the fruit is tender, 15 to 20 minutes.
-Let cool slightly. Transfer to a blender. Cover the lid with a kitchen towel. Holding lid securely in place, blend until smooth. (Use caution when blending hot liquids.)
-Transfer the ketchup to a small bowl.
-Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
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Excerpt from my column in the Register Star and Daily Mail:
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Grilling the strawberries brings out their sweetness and adds a nice hint of smokiness. It’s a tasty, colorful topping for grilled chicken, fish or pork.
Ingredients
12 large strawberries
Juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 cup chopped Vidalia onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon chopped jalapeno
1 tablespoon of sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
-Wash and remove caps from strawberries and place onto skewers (if using bamboo skewers, soak in water for 20 minutes before using to prevent burning).
-Place skewered strawberries on grill over a medium-hot heat for about 6-7 minutes, turning once. Set aside.
-Place chopped onions, chopped jalapeno in lime juice, let sit for 10 minutes.
-Chop strawberries and add to lime mixture.
-Add sugar and cilantro, mix lightly. Salt and pepper to taste.
-Let flavors meld for at least 10 minutes.
Serve over grilled chicken, fish or pork.
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Excerpts from my column in the Register Star and Daily Mail:
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The salad days are here. The garden is young, green and hopeful. Our salad bed is quite jubilant. We’ve been harvesting our dinner salad almost everyday. Though I rarely get tired of freshly plucked greens, it helps to have an extensive salad dressing repertoire to ward off potential boredom.
I usually quickly whip up a salad dressing fresh for each salad. Most of the recipes listed are just enough to dress a salad for four. A couple of the recipes will make enough extra to keep on hand.
Balsamic Vinaigrette
Everyone should have a solid vinaigrette recipe in his or her arsenal. This is a nice one from my friend Dori. You can substitute other herbs for the thyme. Rosemary and basil both make excellent substitutions.
Ingredients:
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1-2 garlic cloves
1 – 2 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Squeeze of fresh lemon (about 1/2 tablespoon)
Fresh thyme – 3 fresh sprigs, stripped (or 1/2 palm dried)
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Method:
Place all ingredients it in a mini-prep or blender. Blend until it creates a nice emulsion and let sit for at least 1 hour.
Makes enough for several salads. Keep refrigerated for up to two weeks. Bring to room temperature before using.
Simple Lemon Dressing
I’m particularly excited about our arugula crop. The peppery leaf is by far my favorite salad green. To dress it, I like to keep it very simple, allowing the flavor of the leaf to shine through.
Ingredients
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1-2 teaspoons sugar or honey
Salt/pepper to taste.
Method
Mix all ingredients well and toss with salad.
Yogurt Blue Cheese Dressing
This is a good one to make on the fly. It’s a nice creamy change from the vinaigrettes we usually have.
Ingredients
1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
Dash or two of cayenne pepper
Salt, pepper to taste.
Method
-Mash the blue cheese with a fork. Mix all ingredients until the consistency is creamy. Toss with salad.
Lemon Vinaigrette
My friend Jan made this one day last summer. We are both from Virginia but now she lives in California and I live in New York. We met at Bonnie and Earl’s farm in Wake, Virginia. I’m not sure if it was the idyllic setting or the toasted cumin that made this dressing so delightful.
This goes traditionally on a Fattoush salad but toss it with any fresh greens and vegetables, throw in some feta cheese and you have a winner.
Ingredients
1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic (about 1-2 cloves)
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon white rice vinegar
3/4 teaspoon toasted ground cumin
5 ounces extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
-Toast cumin in heavy small skillet over medium heat until fragrant, about 30 seconds. You can toast the ground cumin, or toast whole cumin seeds and then grind them.
- Whisk the remaining ingredients together and toss in salad.
Lemon Tahini Dressing
I love this simple dressing on a spinach salad tossed with chic peas.
Ingredients
2 tablespoon Tahini
2-3 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar or honey
1 tablespoon water
Salt/pepper to taste
Method
-Mix all ingredients well and toss with salad.
Vanilla-Pear Vinaigrette
My friend Sydney first made this vinaigrette for me a couple years ago. I was hooked at first bite. Luckily she gave me a bottle of it and the recipe so I could eat it to my hearts content. This dressing is great tossed with mixed field greens, thinly sliced red onions, walnuts and goat cheese.
Ingredients
1- 15 oz can pear halves in natural juice, undrained
1/3 c. white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash ground red pepper
Method
-Drain pears, reserving 1/3 cup juice
-Combine pears, juice, vinegar, and remaining ingredients in a blender, process until smooth
-Makes two cups and will keep for a couple months refrigerated.
If you are squeamish about eating raw eggs homemade mayonnaise may not be for you. I, like most people, have spent years not eating things with raw eggs. Not licking the beaters after making chocolate chip cookies was probably the hardest raw-egg situation to pass up. I used to take the beaters straight from the mixer and dump them in the sink so I wouldn’t be tempted. With the outbreaks of salmonella in pistachios, peanut butter, cilantro and spinach, I began to rethink the whole raw-egg scare. The devil you know is better than the devil you don’t know.
Besides, cage free chickens are less likely to carry disease. You can also buy pasteurized eggs, but where’s the fun in that.
Homemade mayonnaise will keep for about a week refrigerated, unless you add whey. Sally Fallon’s recipe in Nourishing Traditions calls for a tablespoon of whey. After adding the whey, you then leave the mayo out on the counter overnight to activate the good bacteria, which will increase the shelf life for several months.
Yes, Mom, I made something with raw eggs, left it out overnight and then ate it.
Making mayo is a bit tedious. To have the emulsion work, you have to add the oil very, very slowly, but it is worth the effort!
Here’s the recipe I adapted mainly from Just Hungry blog
(a great blog and detailed recipe with how-to photos, take a look).
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon whey
1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon of whey
-Place two egg yolks, lemon juice, whey, salt and beat well with stand mixer or electric hand mixer.
-Slowly, drop by drop, add the oil.
-After you’ve added about 1/3 of the oil, you may start to add the oil faster.
-Mix until it starts to thicken and looks like mayonnaise.
-Transfer the mayo to a jar with a lid. If you’ve added whey, leave on the counter overnight (7-8 hours) then refrigerate. If you did not add whey, keep refrigerated.
If you want to be fancy, add garlic and call it aioli. Ymmmm.
