Summer Meals

Balsamic Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

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Balsamic Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

My idea of a perfect snack is a big bowl of steamed green beans. I really love green beans. My favorite way to eat them is actually the most boring: steamed and absolutely naked save a squeeze of lemon juice. Strange coming from a flavor freak/chili belly like me. I blame my true-to-form Gemini personality! This side dish (or snack) is incredibly simple, irresistibly tasty, and EASY. The key to maxing out the flavor and, thus, satisfaction is to buy fresh veggies, preferably from your local farmer’s market, and use the best oil and vinegar you can get your hands on. It sounds cliché, but the best food really does come from the best ingredients.

Balsamic Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes

Serves 2-4

One pint of Cherry Tomatoes, rinsed and dried
Half pound of green beans, rinsed and trimmed
About a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Two tablespoons dried basil
Good olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 350. Cover a cookie sheet with foil and spread the tomatoes out on it. Drizzle the tomatoes with about a tablespoon and a half of olive oil, sprinkle with a large pinch of salt, the basil, and pepper to taste. Bake tomatoes for 15-20 minutes, until just bursting.

Whilst the tomatoes are hanging out in the oven, steam your green beans. This should be done about 10 minutes prior to removing the tomatoes. Steam for about three to five minutes until bright green and tender (I like mine to have some crunch so I go easy on the steaming). Whilst the beans are steaming, prepare an ice bath in a large bowl with fresh water and ice and one tablespoon of salt. Upon removing the beans from the pan, plunge into the ice bath to arrest the cooking process and preserve the color of the beans.

Combine tomatoes and beans in a serving dish. Season with salt and pepper to taste (should not need much salt). Drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and the oil. Stir to coat well.

Blueberry and Artic Char Tartare

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The dog days of Texas’ summer are rough. Texans are now virtually either confined to our air conditioned houses or a body of water for the next six to seven months.  In my kitchen, I am noticing a trend towards raw, cold, crunchy dishes to offset the sweat I worked up walking from my car to the front door. Apart from the eggs the kiddos are cooking on the concrete, I really do not have much of a desire to be near my stove or oven for very long. This Tartare uses Arctic Char,  quite similar to salmon boasting a nice firm texture and is a bit more mild salmon taste. It also generally comes with a cheaper price Fresh Wild Coho Salmon (which is the only Salmon you should buy in stores). I picked some up because it was beautiful and the Coho was a little less than stellar that day. I needed to use up some fruit, green onion, and avocado. Given my love of all things raw, it really is not shocking that I threw fruit together with fish (particularly since I routinely eat salmon with apples and kale). This salad is light, refreshing, healthy, full of antioxidants, and – most importantly – stove-free.  I served this with Kale Avocado Salad and was a supremely happy and sweat-free girl.

Blueberry and Artic Char Tartare 

Serves One (or two smaller portions)

Four ounces Fresh Arctic Char, skinned and cut into dice
Half cup blueberries
One cup papaya, cut into small dice
One quarter avocado, cut into dice
Two green onions, diced
Two tablespoons Lars Crispy Onions
One tablespoon Ginger People Ginger Lime Sauce
Juice of One-Half Lime or Lemon
Pinch of Salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Adjust sauce and seasoning according to taste preference and serve immediately.

Mango-Jicama Slaw

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Mango-Jicama Slaw

Jicama salads are just plain good. Jicama is an awesome texture element providing great crunch without having any overpowering flavor. This is just one of thousands of variations of Jicama salad and feel free to add whatever you fancy to it to meet your personal tastes. I also like it with carrots, radicchio, or avocado. I went for the simple version on Cinco de Mayo because I already was making guacamole, black bean corn salsa and pico. Clearly, that is just not enough food, so was forced to add this slaw to the mix (or maybe I desperately needed to use up some leftover mango and Jicama). This is great as a topping for tacos or enchiladas, grilled fish/chicken/meat, or simply eaten on its own. To me the crunchy Jicama is is the yin to the soft, sweet, juicy mango’s yang.

Mango-Jicama Slaw

Serves Four to Six

One to two Mangoes, diced
One half to one whole Jicama, sliced into thin straws or diced
Three tablespoons red onion or shallot, finely shaved or diced
Two cups Cilantro
Lemon Juice (from one lemon)
One-half tablespoon White Wine Vinegar
Pinch of Salt

Combine Mango, Onion, Cilantro and Jicama in a serving bowl. In a small bowl mix together salt, vinegar, and lemon juice. Pour over fruit mixture and stir well to combine.

Simple Black Bean-Corn Salsa

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Simple Black Bean-Corn Salsa

It’s easy. It’s healthy. It’s Tasty. It’s versatile. I always serve some variation of this with enchiladas (as we know from my previous post that includes garlic, avocado and tomato). Lately, my favorite application for this summertime delight is to throw it into Mexican Quinoa (recipe coming soon). It would also be a great topping for a mexicanesque or southwest style soup.

Black Bean-Corn Salsa

Black Beans, one can drained and rinsed
Sweet Corn (feel free to use canned, frozen, or fresh charred corn)
Half-Red onion – small dice
One Half Red Bell Pepper – small dice
Sweet Corn
Lime Juice
One tablespoon Red wine vinegar
Spices (just a pinch each): Ground cumin, cayenne, adobo, salt
Two Cilantro to taste

Combine the red onion, bell pepper, corn, cilantro and black beans in a large bowl. Mix gently and well. In a small bowl combine the red wine vinegar, spices, and lime juice and mix well. Add the liquid mixture to the onion mixture and toss gently until incorporated. Adjust seasoning according to taste and if it is too bitter add a pinch of sugar.

Yep that is pretty much it, you are done. Enjoy!

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Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette

I was making dinner recently and one of my besties (and new neighbor) needed to do laundry. Being that I love to feed people, I was ecstatic to make her belly happy. She needed to use some raspberries that were almost bad, some spring mix and some arugula. I was determined to fit everything into the meal so the menu took on the form of a veggie lovers dream…our appetizer was brown butter roasted brussel sprouts and the main dish was spinach basil pasta packed with steamed asparagus, zucchini, squash, arugula and spinach with a pesto sauce and sides of steamed asparagus and mixed greens salad with Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette. The whole meal took about thirty minutes of actual cooking time and was delicious! I used less olive oil than I call for here (also know that you can use Grapeseed oil if you have it on hand) just to decrease fat and calories. Hey even if they are good fat calories, they still can add to the cellulite situation that creeps up in unison with age brackets. I also added more lemon and thought that the end result was a little to acid heavy, though really it was fine (especially for someone who likes lemon). I ended up throwing a pinch of sugar in as well to help sweeten the raspberries. If you make this in the summer you should not need to add extra sugar as the raspberries will be in season.

 Raspberry Champagne Vinaigrette

One pint Raspberries, very ripe
Half cup olive oil
Salt, start with a pinch then add as desired IN VERY SMALL AMOUNTS
Pepper, start with a pinch then add as desired
Pinch Cane Sugar
Juice of one half of lemon
Four Tablespoons champagne vinegar

Mix all ingredients except oil in a small food processor. Slowly add the oil to the food processing as it runs on a medium setting. Taste and adjust as desired.

Serve over mixed green salad and steamed or roasted asparagus.

Wine-Soaked Strawberries

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I am not a fan of traditional dessert, but I do have every affection desserts composed of fruit drizzled with something (or soaked in something). This is an adaptation of a recipe in Cooking with Italian Grandmother’s, which is the best cook book I have read since Ad Hoc. This dish was the capstone to girls night, which of course means that we served it with ice cream, in one bowl with four spoons. It was perfect with the summer sweet strawberries and the heavenly vanilla bean ice cream (thanks for picking that up Sarah).

Wine-Soaked Berries

Serves Four

One cup red wine (I used Malbec)
One carton Strawberries, cleaned and de-greened
Two Tablespoons Sugar
Cinnamon, to taste
Freshly torn basil or mint, chiffonade

Combine berries, wine, and one tablespoon sugar in a bowl. Soak for three to four hours. When ready to serve, strain berries and place in a bowl. Sprinkle with cinnamon, extra sugar (for crunch), a couple turns of ground black pepper; and basil. Serve with vanilla ice cream, whipped cream or on its own.

 

Sweet Corn Risotto with Scallop, Bacon-Corn Ragu, and Crispy Leeks

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In case you ever wonder what girl’s night consists of in Andiland, well, this is it. I made this dish for my most recent (and much needed) girls night at the aptly dubbed “Andi’s Cocina.”  I have to say thank you to Sarah for helping with the task of stirring! Thanks to her, this was the first time that I have EVER had the risotto finished before other elements of the dish. This was just a perfect get-together-and-catch-up dinner that we all enjoyed very much. The ragu, can be made in advance and warmed up right before serving, was the perfect compliment to the sweet corn and slightly sweet scallop. I topped everything with crispy leeks for a nice texture contrast.

Sweet Corn Risotto with Scallop, Bacon-Corn Ragu, and Crispy Leeks

Serves Four

One recipe Sweet Corn Risotto
One recipe Bacon-Corn Ragu
One recipe crispy leeks
Four scallops
Salt
Pepper
Fresh Basil, chiffonade (or other herb of choice)
Butter

Enlist the help of a hungry friend and prepare the risotto, asking your hungry friend to stir the rice. Once the risotto is about 15 minutes from being done (for one cup about 45 minutes but this depend on oven type – look for creaminess and taste to determine cooking length), prepare the bacon-corn ragu and heat oil for leeks. Once the ragu is done, transfer to a bowl and heat a half-tablespoon of butter (or oil) over a medium heat heat. Salt and pepper the scallops (after you have patted them well dry) and sear on each side for about a minute and a half to obtain a nice brown top. Plate the risotto, then top with one scallop, then spoon the bacon over the scallop and top with a handful of crispy leeks. Dress with fresh basil and serve immediately.

Bacon-Corn Ragu

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I used this ‘garnish’ as a way to add some salt and savory to a dish with sweeter elements. You can make this in advance and add it to loads of meals such as eggs or a southwestern salad. You can also add other elements to this such as red onion and cilantro and make it a dip (or top a creamy soup with it for some texture).

This makes a rather small portion so feel free to double it.

Bacon-Corn Ragu

One thick slice of pancetta, cut into crispy dice (can be crisped in advance)
Two slices bacon, diced
Three-fourths cup roasted corn kernels
One shallot, minced
One garlic clove, minced

In a medium skillet, saute pancetta and bacon on high heat until crisp and the fat is rendered. Remove from pan and add shallots and garlic and saute until glassy. Add corn and bacon and heat for a couple of minutes. Serve immediately. If you would like this to be slightly spicy, add a pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne.