on the side

Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

by Lisa on May 13, 2013

For the second year in a row, I served this on Easter. Sure, I could make this at another time of year, but there is something about getting asparagus in the spring, in the season it should be consumed where we live, instead of crops flown in throughout the year from other parts of the world. With few exceptions {like bananas!}, we eat the produce local to our area all year round so it’s a treat when asparagus shows up in the store and at the farmer’s market again! I love that this recipe allows the fresh flavor and texture of the asparagus to shine through. The browned butter sauce is rich but light enough to accentuate the asparagus instead of drown it.

This recipe should serve a crowd of six to eight people, but it’s so good that with four of us eating, we only had a few bites leftover. Having a last minute dinner party? No problem—this recipe comes together in 20 minutes. You guys all know how I love those quick and easy dishes. Plus, the asparagus is roasted, so it has a little bit of a charred flavor and still maintains a crunch. Seriously, you want to make this as soon as possible.

Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Keywords: roast side vegetarian asparagus spring

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

2 pounds asparagus, remove woody bottom and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 teaspoon olive oil
kosher salt
black pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
zest of one lemon

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, toss the asparagus with the olive oil and some salt and pepper. Spread in one layer on a lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes.

While roasting the asparagus, melt the butter in a small skillet. Continue to cook, shaking the pan every now and then for at least 3 minutes, until the butter starts to brown.

Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar.

Pour the sauce over the asparagus and toss to coat.

To serve, sprinkle with lemon zest. {I forgot to add it before taking pictures, but it makes the dish!}

Serve immediately, or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Recipe from Cooking Light.

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{ 1 comment }

Guacamole Quinoa Salad

by Lisa on May 10, 2013

Lately, I’ve been trying not only to stick closely to our meal plan, but also to shop my pantry before I do any grocery shopping. You’d be amazed at the quantity of quinoa I found in there. And the truth is, we’re not even the biggest fans of quinoa! Occasionally, it does the trick because quinoa is a blank canvas, which is a great thing, a dish with quinoa can go in any number of different directions. For this dish, I wanted to replicate the flavors of guacamole in a protein heavy side dish. Just because I had it on hand, I also added an ear of corn.

Two of my favorite words to associate with a meal are quick and easy. From start to finish, plus the additional elements of this meal, it took me all of 15 minutes to assemble {not counting the 10 minutes that it took to cook the quinoa, I did that while giving Caroline a bath}.

I loved how this salad came together. Creamy avocado, sweet corn, tangy lime juice and zest, and bright cilantro mixed in with tomato, red onion and perfectly cooked quinoa. As is, this is a vegan dish; we ate it along side salmon. With the addition of black beans, it would be a great vegan main dish.

Guacamole Quinoa Salad

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: n/a

Keywords: salad vegan vegetarian avocado quinoa

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

1 cup quinoa, prepared according to package
1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced
3/4 of an avocado, small dice
1/4 large red onion, small dice
1/4 cup cilantro, minced
2 ears of corn, kernels removed from the cob
Juice of 2 limes, zest of 1 lime
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Prepare the quinoa according to the package.

In a small bowl, whisk together the lime juice, lime zest, salt and pepper. While whisking, add the olive oil.

In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir well.

Serve immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Enjoy!

{ 6 comments }

Israeli Couscous Salad with Merguez and Preserved Lemon Dressing

by Lisa on April 26, 2012

Out of nowhere, I started received Food & Wine’s daily recipe e-mails. I don’t often take the time to unsubscribe from e-mail lists, I just delete them as they come in. Unsubscribing would make things easier, but then I could miss out on a gem like this recipe. My husband is a huge fan of merguez sausage, so when I see recipes that include it I always give them a try. Traditionally merguez sausage is made with lamb. I was intrigued when I saw buffalo and pork merguez at the farmer’s market, so that’s what I used.

The original recipe called for rice, but I prefer the texture of Israeli couscous. Have you tried it before? It’s one of my favorite ingredients for quick and easy dishes. Once you make this dish, I’m sure it will be one of yours too.

Note: I happened to find preserved lemons on the olive bar at Whole Foods, but you can also get them at specialty food stores.

Israeli Couscous Salad with Merguez and Preserved Lemon Dressing

by The Splattered Apron

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Keywords: salad entree side Mediterranean

Ingredients (serves 6-8)

1 1/3 cup Israeli couscous {prepared according to package}
salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 preserved lemon, rind only, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon harissa
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 fennel bulb, cored and sliced
1/3 cup pitted Picholine olives, chopped (2 ounces)
1 pound merguez sausage, sliced long, cut in half, then cut in 1/2-3/4 inch chunks
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 cup coarsely chopped flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

In a saucepan, prepare the couscous as directed. Fluff and set aside in a large bowl.

While the couscous cooks, prepare the dressing. In a bowl, whisk all but 1 teaspoon of the olive oil, lemon juice, preserved lemon, garlic, harissa and cumin. Combine the dressing with the couscous and mix well. Add the olives, fennel and season lightly with salt.

In a skillet, heat 1 teaspoon of oil. Add the sausage and cook over medium high heat until browned, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the sausage to a plate lined with a paper towel. Allow it to drain briefly, then add it to the couscous along with the tomatoes and parsley.

Toss to combine and serve.

This can be prepared ahead and served at room temperature.

When you make a recipe from Food & Wine, you expect it to be good. You don’t expect it to be this good.

This could work as a side dish, as a light dinner or lunch.

All of the flavors meld together beautifully. The harissa and merguez give it a spicy smokiness while the fennel, lemon and tomato cool it down a bit.

This has found a place in my permanent recipe collection. I’ll never skip the F&W Daily Recipe e-mail again.

Enjoy!

Recipe adapted from Food & Wine.

{ 4 comments }

Simply Summer {Grilled Vegetables}

by Lisa on July 28, 2011

I’m almost embarrassed to post this recipe as a “recipe,” because it is so simple and adaptable. We make this all summer, every summer—it’s not very pretty to look at, but it is delicious!

Despite the heat, we ventured to the farmer’s market pretty early on Saturday morning. Even if we don’t need a lot of produce {but let’s face it, that doesn’t happen} we like to go and walk around. I have a feeling this will be a fun family activity once our baby girl joins us! While there, we snagged some delicious summer produce and a buffalo steak for dinner.

Ingredients

1 zucchini, chopped
1 summer squash, chopped
1 eggplant, sweat, rinsed and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 package of mushrooms, rinsed and quartered
1/2-3/4 cup of olive oil
garlic
assortment of herbs, rinsed and minced {whatever is on hand, we used tarragon, sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme}
salt
pepper
2 lemons, juiced

Method

Mince all of the herbs and garlic. Use whatever herbs you want—Jeromy just went out back and picked these out of our garden.

Prepare all of the vegetables, then combine with the herbs, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Stir well to coat all of the vegetables.

Using a grill pan {or tinfoil if you don’t have a grill pan} cook the vegetables on the grill for 3-4 minutes. Then stir them up and continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes. They should be cooked through and slightly browned when removed from the grill. Only a grill or high-end range can put out the BTUs necessary to cook this much vegetable in 6-8 minutes. A regular range is going to need longer. Also, cooking on a grill gives the vegetables a nice smoky flavor that can be imitated with liquid smoke if this is cooked indoors.

Before serving, mix in the lemon juice.

This is a great side dish for a crowd and you can adapt it to suit what you like. Don’t care for eggplant? Sub with tomatoes! Don’t care for onions? How about peppers instead? Make this recipe your own—have fun with it!

We always end up with more grilled vegetables than we can eat in one sitting, but luckily, they make great leftovers. I love eating them for lunch over arugula with some feta cheese.

Enjoy!

{ 2 comments }

Simply Summer {Fried Green Tomatoes}

by Lisa on July 7, 2011

If you’ve been paying attention lately, I’ve been having a little thing for Southern cooking. Maybe because I’m pregnant and our baby girl will be born south of the Mason-Dixon line which kind of makes me panic? Don’t get me wrong, the south is great but if my child’s first word is y’all, we are packing up and moving to Boston. Where her second word will be wicked.

Despite my obvious Yankee bias, one of my absolute favorite southern dishes is fried green tomatoes. Last summer I tried baking them, but let’s be honest, it’s just not the same. Green tomatoes are not readily available most of the year so when I saw two huge ones at the farmer’s market this weekend, I snatched them up.

What I forgot was that green tomatoes eventually do become red tomatoes. I bought these on Saturday morning and by Monday night when I went to use them, one had started turning red. I treated it like a green tomato anyways.

{Fried Green Tomatoes with Balsamic Reduction}

Ingredients

2 green tomatoes, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
2 ripe tomatoes, diced
1 cup panko bread crumbs
1/4 cup cornmeal
1 egg
dash of sugar
salt and pepper
olive oil
1 cup balsamic vinegar
fresh basil, for garnish

{See the cutting board in the picture above? My husband made it for me! He is so talented }

Method

In a small saucepan, bring the balsamic vinegar to a simmer and allow it to reduce until it coats the back of a spoon. Set aside.

Prepare the ingredients for breading.

Slice the tomatoes.

Combine the panko bread crumbs, cornmeal, dash of sugar, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Scramble the egg with a dash of water in a shallow dish, then set up the breading station.

Heat up a pan for frying. I use our cast iron skillet to get a good, brown crust on the tomatoes. Add a thin layer of olive oil to the pan.

Dredge the tomatoes in the egg, shaking off excess. Then coat the tomato and egg in the bread crumb mixture. Gently place the tomatoes into the hot skillet.

Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until the tomatoes are browned. Then gently flip them over and allow to cook for another 3-4 minutes.

Remove the tomatoes from the pan and place them on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Repeat the process until all of the tomatoes have been fried; make sure to replenish the oil and allow it to heat up in between batches.

To serve, chiffonade the basil leaves. Lay the tomatoes on a platter and drizzle with the balsamic reduction. Spread the diced ripe tomatoes around them and sprinkle with the basil.

I’d be lying if I said I didn’t eat half of this platter myself.

I loved how the panko bread crumbs gave the outside a crispiness while allowing the tomatoes smooth and creamy texture to come through on the inside.

No knife necessary.

If you have access to a farmer’s market and can find some green tomatoes, I highly recommend this preparation. As with most of the recipes I’ve been posting lately, fried green tomatoes are not for every meal, but they are a great treat.