Sweet Corn Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

For the salad:

• 1 clove shallot, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 3 ears of fresh, uncooked corn, the kernels scraped from the cobs with a sharp knife (about 2 3/4 cup)
• 4 Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise into 1/2 inch dice
• 1 long red sweet pepper, seeded, ribs removed and diced
• 1 small handful fresh dill (about 4 smallish sprigs), minced
• 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
• Crumbled Feta cheese, rinsed, as a garnish

For the dressing:

• 1/4 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup plain European style thin yogurt, stirred
• 1 tablespoon white-wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons minced Vidalia or other sweet onion
• 1 small clove garlic, minced and mashed with a pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Salt the shallot slices in 1/2 t. salt and allow to sit about 20 minutes to draw out any harshness. Rinse well with water and pat dry with a paper towel. In a large bowl toss the corn kernels lightly to separate them, add the shallot and the remaining salad ingredients and toss again to combine.

In a smaller bowl combine the buttermilk, vinegar, onion, yogurt, and garlic and whisk to combine. Add the oil in a slow stream, whisking, until amalgamated. Season with freshly ground pepper and salt to taste.

Serve the salad slightly chilled, garnished with the feta cheese. Pass the dressing separately.

Serves 4.

VERDICT:  I did everything about this in the wrong/lazy way--I didn't salt the shallot or rinse the feta, and I used English cucumbers, a red bell pepper, and non-European-style yogurt.  And the dill I'd gotten the day before had already gone soft and brown, so I threw some dried dill in the dressing instead.  It still turned out very nicely.  Keep.

Buttered Radish Tartines

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, preferably a good French butter
• 1 tablespoon chopped black olives (such as niçoise)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• 16 (1/4-ounce) slices whole-grain French bread baguette
• 8 to 10 radishes, very thinly sliced
• 1/8 teaspoon fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt

Place butter, olives, parsley, thyme, and red pepper in a small bowl; mash with a spoon to combine. Spread butter mixture evenly over bread slices; top with radish slices. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve immediately.

Serves 8 (2 tartines); 69 calories.

VERDICT:  These were delightful--an excellent way to use up leftover radishes.  Keep.

Kale, White Bean and Savoy Cabbage Soup

• 1/2 cup dried cannellini beans or other white beans
• 6 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 3 1/2 cups diced baking potato (about 1 pound)
• 1 1/2 cups diced onion
• 1 1/2 cups thinly sliced leek (about 1 large)
• 8 cups thinly sliced kale (about 1 bunch)
• 4 cups chopped Savoy cabbage (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

To prepare the soup, sort and wash the beans, and place in a large Dutch oven. Cover the beans with water to 2 inches above beans; cover and let stand 8 hours. Drain beans. Return beans to pan; cover with 6 cups water. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 15 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon salt; simmer 15 minutes or until beans are tender. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium-low heat. Add potato, onion, and leek, and cook for 12 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 1 teaspoon salt, kale, cabbage, chopped parsley, pepper, and minced garlic. Cover, reduce heat, and cook 30 minutes. Add bean mixture; cook 30 minutes.

Serves 6.

VERDICT:  A little bland (you're supposed to serve it with garlic toast), but acceptable as a way to use up cabbage.  The thing that dooms it is that you make it from dried beans, which I don't have the patience for.  Toss.

Pardina Lentil, Green Apple, and Kale Salad

Salad:

• 1 cup (195 g) dry Pardina (Spanish brown) lentils
• 4 oz (115 g) kale, stems trimmed, thick inner ribs removed, and finely chopped (about 3 cups chopped small)
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium-sized crisp, tart green apples (I used Granny Smith apples), washed, cored, and chopped

Dressing:

• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 4 tablespoons (60 ml) olive oil
• 1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
• 1½ teaspoons honey
• 1 medium clove raw garlic, grated
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper

Sort through the lentils to remove any small stones or pieces of dirt, and then rinse with cold water in a colander. Add the lentils to a medium saucepan and fill about ¾ full with water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then cover the saucepan, turn the heat down to a simmer, and cook until the lentils are tender but not mushy, about 25 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water as necessary. Strain the lentils, then rinse under cold running water, and cool completely.

Whisk together all ingredients for the dressing in a large bowl, then toss in the lentils, kale, onion, and apple.

Serve or store in the fridge for the next day.

Serves 4.

VERDICT:  A simple, super-healthy recipe I can make ahead for lunches.  I threw some goat cheese on it, but I don't know that it needed it.  I also used the lentils I had in the cupboard, which I'm pretty sure were not Pardina.  Keep.  From An Edible Mosaic.

Cherry Tomato Pizza Margerita

• 1 refrigerated pizza dough
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 12-ounce bag cherry tomatoes, stemmed
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds, coarsely crushed in plastic bag
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• 1 4-ounce ball fresh mozzarella in water (ovoline), diced
• 4 ounces whole-milk mozzarella, diced
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh basil leaves plus small leaves for garnish

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat to 425°F.  Roll dough to about 12x8-inch rectangle, pinching any tears to seal--put on baking sheet. Fold over edge of dough to make border.

Heat large skillet over high heat 2 minutes. Add oil, then tomatoes; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until tomatoes are charred and beginning to break down, about 5 minutes. Transfer to large bowl. Mix in garlic, fennel, and crushed red pepper. Using back of fork, crush tomatoes in bowl, leaving large chunks intact. Season mixture with salt and pepper. Toss cheeses and chopped basil in medium bowl.

Sprinkle cheese mixture evenly over dough, right up to border. Spoon on tomato mixture in dollops, leaving some cheese uncovered. Bake pizza until crust is crisp and brown, 25 to 30 minutes.

Loosen pizza with metal spatula and slide onto board. Garnish with basil leaves.

Serves 4; 473 calories.
VERDICT: We made this twice, once with Lund's pizza dough, and once with refrigerated "artisan" dough in a tube.  The tube dough pizza was disgusting--the dough was like aerated cardboard--and stuck to the pan, but the Lund's-dough pizza was great.  The cherry tomatoes were fast and savory, and the pizza construction was unfussy.  Keep.

Green and Gold Quinoa Salad

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 tablespoons EVOO
• 2 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and sliced crosswise
• 1 bunch scallions trimmed, sliced crosswise
• 5 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
• 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• lemon wedges

 

Cook quinoa according to package directions; let cool. In skillet, heat EVOO over medium-high. Add zucchini and scallions. Cook, stirring, until zucchini is crisp-tender, 5 minutes; let cool. In large bowl, toss quinoa, zucchini mixture, corn and parsley; season. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. (Can be made 2 days ahead.) Before serving, toss in almonds. Serve with lemon wedges.

 

Serves 4.

 

VERDICT:  Easy, healthy, packable for lunches.  Don't be afraid to season and squeeze lemon liberally--otherwise, a little bland.  Keep.

Crackly Banana Bread

• 3 large ripe-to-over-ripe bananas
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup (80 ml) virgin coconut oil, warmed until it liquefies, or olive oil
• 1/3 cup (65 grams) light brown sugar
• 1/4 to 1/3 cup (60 to 80 ml) maple syrup (less for less sweetness, of course)
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon (5 grams) baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon table salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• Pinch of ground cloves
• Salt
• 1 1/2 cups (180 grams) white whole-wheat flour (or flour mixture of your choice)
• 1/4 cup (50 grams) uncooked millet

Preheat your oven to 350°F and butter a 9×5-inch loaf pan. In the bottom of a large bowl, mash bananas with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon until virtually smooth but a few tiny lumps remain. Whisk in egg, then oil, brown sugar, syrup and vanilla extract. Sprinkle baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves over mixture and stir until combined. Stir in flour until just combined, then millet.

Pour mixture into prepared pan and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes. Cool loaf in pan on rack.

Do ahead: Loaves keep well in the freezer, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap, for a month or more. Ours kept at room temperature for a record week, becoming more moist each day.

Yield: 1 loaf

VERDICT:  I was skeptical about the raw millet, but the crunch is delightful--we've been eating big hunks of this at a time.  I also love that it's made in one bowl.  This might be our new go-to use-up-bananas recipe.  Keep!  (Note: I used half white and half whole wheat flour.)