Scrumptious Street

Sweet Potato-Chickpea, Spinach and Cranberry Pie

Sometimes, like everyone, I need to peruse a cookbook or magazine to find ideas.  Often, what it does is jolt me into a direction and then I begin to freewheel from there, adding my own touch and flourishes to the dish.  I've learned that my food imagination is similar to painting and sometimes I can approach cooking like a blank canvas and other days I need to sketch something out first.  Another person's recipe, to me, is a sketch.  This sketch came from a great book I have from Chef Ana Sortun and is based on the principles of an Armenian or Turkish chickpea and potato terrine called topik.  My version, took that idea and turned it into "Sweet Potato-Chickpea Pie with Spinach, Cranberries and Apricots".  Here's a look at a slice of the "pie".

Now, some food is pretty and some food isn't necessarily so.  Let me urge you to give this dish a chance despite it's somewhat plain looks.  Its flavor and texture profile is fantastic.  Vegetarians who like interesting and bold flavors will celebrate over this one.  Meat eaters who like experimenting beyond singular starches or vegetables will be wowed.  This dish is terrific, despite looking quite uninspiring.  You can add pinches of the spices, recommended amounts, or handfuls... just depends on your palate.  Keep in mind that if you increase the quantity of spices, you must also increase the quantity of juices -- both ginger and tangelo.  The fresh cranberries are really part of what makes this so wonderful, it gives a lovely and delightful tangy pop.  Pomegranate seeds would also be a great choice for the same reason.  But, with the seedy pinenuts, I didn't want a second seed texture.

The dish is traditionally a terrine or jelly-roll, but in the spirit of rustic winter food, I made it into more of a cottage pie by using mashed potato and layering into a pie dish. Bear in mind, of course, this is neither cottage or shepherd's pie since there's no meat at all.  It's the method that's somewhat similar.  First spread out a layer of the sweet potato-chickpea purée (or mash), then the spicy vegetables and fruit and then another layer of the sweet potato-chickpea mash. Topik usually includes tahini, but I omitted it since I didn't want the dish to resemble hummus.  I love hummus, but wanted this to be my own experiment.  Also, I know many people substitute yams for sweet potatoes in dishes.  I would recommend that you DON'T do it in this dish.  The flavors and textures are distinct and sweet potatoes, not yams, are a key part of this dish's success.  Give it a try, and serve it with a nice spicy-sweet piece of pork, braised beef ribs or better yet, a lovely rack of lamb.

Here's my variation on Chef Sortun's dish.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8 as a side or first course

1 cup chickpeas, rinsed and drained if canned or soaked and boiled to tenderness of dried

1 small sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks

2 T. butter

Kosher salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

4 T. extra virgin olive oil

8 oz. stemmed and washed fresh spinach, roughly chopped

2 large cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 c. fresh cranberries, washed and cut in halves

1 fresh large tangelo or tangerine, squeezed for juice

1/2 tsp. fresh ginger

4-6 whole dried apricots, finely chopped

3 T. lightly toasted pine nuts
1 tsp. ground allspice

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cinammon

1/2 tsp. ground pepper

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Method:

1. In a small saucepan, bring the sweet potato and water to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently until the sweet potato is soft, about 15 minutes.

2. Drain the chickpeas well, whether canned or you've just soaked and boiled them according to dry package directions.  Pour the chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade.  Remove the sweet potato from its water, when soft and drain, reserving a few tablespoons of the cooking liquid.  Place the sweet potato back into the dry saucepan and mash gently with a fork, adding the butter.  Season with a pinch of kosher salt and black pepper, to taste.  Scrape the mashed sweet potato into the bowl of the food processor with the chickpeas.  Process the sweet potatoes and chickpeas until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Add 1-2 T. of the sweet potato cooking liquid and process another minute, until very smooth.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Scrape out the mixture and spread on a dish or platter to completely cool.

3. In a large saute pan add the olive oil and bring to medium high heat.  Saute the onion until it's soft and translucent, about 6-8 minutes.  Stir in the spinach and cook for about 5 minutes, until tender.  Stir in the garlic and cranberries and cook until they begin to soften.  Squeeze in the tangelo or tangerine juice and stir thoroughly.  Immediately add the apricots and ginger, then stir again.  Add the spices, in sequence, stirring and shaking the pan to evenly distribute the spices.  Taste and add any additional salt or pepper that's needed and adjust spices according to preference.  Remove from the heat and let cool completely.

4. Preheat and oven to 350˚F.  Spray a pie pan (preferable use a ceramic one or something that can go from oven directly to table) with non-stick cooking spray and spread in a layer half of the sweet potato-chickpea mash.  Use the back of a spoon or spatula to even out the first layer.  Spoon in the spinach and cranberry mixture, spreading evenly with a spoon.  Flatten and press firmly down on the pie.  Spoon on the second half of the chickpea mixture and spread evenly as the top layer or "crust" of the pie.  Cover with aluminum foil and place in the warm oven.

5. Bake the pie for 20 minutes covered, then remove the foil and bake another 5 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.  Cut with a knife into traditional pie-shaped and spoon onto plates.  Serve immediately and enjoy with a nice, fruity and bold red wine.

Persimmon and Green Bean Sauté

The late autumn and early winter produce here is still looking good and Persimmons are one of those I just love to use during the holiday season.  They are unique and delicious and provide a beautiful pop of orange color to dishes. I taste hints of banana and sometimes honey in them.  Beware, however.  These fruits can be awful if eaten unripe, whether the Fuyu or Hachiya variety.  They are very astringent and puckery tart when unripe and will leave you feeling like your mouth and teeth have been scrubbed with chalk.  Eat them when they feel heavy, are bright orange and the flesh springs back slightly when you probe it with your thumb.  You don't want them hard but don't let them get to the point of mushy-soft.  Thing of how a ripe, heavy tomato feels.  That's a good start.  Also make sure the stem-end is still green, you don't want to buy one that's gone black or dark brown on the ends.  Here's a photo of my Fuyu persimmons, raw and ripely ready to eat.

I like to treat them simply, and let their sweetness work with savory and vegetable flavors.  In this case, a simple sauté did the trick perfectly. I make variations of this green bean dish quite regularly, and always find something new to add or experiment with.  Sometimes, it's for crunchy texture. Sometimes it's something for color, other times, it's for a powerful flavor.  Or, a combination of these three elements will yield a new addition to my old stand-by.  In this case, using the persimmons, I wanted sweetness and color.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to photograph this as I wanted due to practical limitations.  But trust me the final dish, though not too beautiful, sure was tasty!  Here's my "Green Bean and Persimmon Sauté in a Brandy Cream Sauce."

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 lb. fresh green beans, washed, snipped and halved
3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, cleaned and quartered
1 head celeriac,(another of my favorites) peeled and cut into small dice
3 fresh leeks, washed and minced
2 T. fresh thyme, minced
2 small fresh Persimmons, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 c. brandy
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 T. heavy cream

Method:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and blanch green beans for 3 minutes, until they've just lost the raw taste but are still crunchy.  Drain and rinse with very cold water.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil to medium high and sauté the celeriac until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the cremini mushrooms and sauté until they turn a deep golden brown.  Toss in the green beans and leeks and sauté until the beans begin to lose a little crunch and the leeks are softening but not yet brown.

3. Toss in the thyme and persimmons and heat through.  Add the brandy to the pan and toss gently, stirring to mix ingredients together.  Lower the heat to medium and let the vegetables cook another couple of minutes, until the brandy is cooked off and the beans have a good, firm al dente bite.  Season with salt and pepper, tasting to adjust.  Add the cream and cook until it's thickened 1-2 minutes more.  Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Try this dish at your holiday table.  I promise it won't disappoint you or your guests.  It's delicious and memorable, a perfect special-occasion vegetable side dish. Happy Holidays!

Cranberry-Tangerine Sauce

I love real cranberries during the holidays but can't stand the canned stuff. My Mom makes a terrific homemade cranberry relish similar to this one that I love having whenever we visit them for the holidays.  But, I started doing my own thing on a quest for my ultimate cranberry sauce a while ago and have perfected my recipe in recent years.  This is much thicker than many sauces, but not like the canned "jellies" you see everywhere. Here is my "Cranberry-Tangerine Sauce", a perfect accompaniment to turkeys, stuffings and potatoes.

The sauce is both sweet and slightly tart, a little tangy and a little warm and spiced like a good spiced red wine.  It's full of flavor and depth and the consistency when fully set is like a loose jam.  Here in my photo it still hadn't set so it's a bit smoother and runnier in the picture.  This compote gets so much better as it sits in the fridge so make it the day before you want to eat it or first thing in the morning, the day of your meal!  Once refrigerated a while the tastes intensify and the texture becomes spreadable, perfect for slathering on poultry.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!

Ingredients
Serves 8-10

1 bag fresh cranberries
1 c. sugar
1 c. water
1/2 c. fresh tangerine juice, squeezed
1/2 stick whole cinnamon
1 whole star anise
zest from 1 tangerine (about 2 tsp.)
pinch of ground nutmeg
pinch of ground allspice

Method:
1. In a medium saucepan combine the cranberries, sugar, water, tangerine juice, cinnamon stick, and star anise.  Turn heat to medium and bring to a gentle boil.
2. Once the sauce is starting to boil and becoming thicker, about 4-5 minutes, you will hear the cranberries skins begin to pop.  At this point add the zest, the nutmeg and allspice and stir with a wooden spoon.
3. Let the sauce gently boil until the cranberries begin to break apart and the sauce becomes thick, like a runny jam, about 2-3 minutes more. Stir frequently but not continuously.  Break apart some of the cranberries with a wooden spoon.
 
4. Remove the sauce from the heat and pour into a heat and refrigerator-proof bowl.  Let the sauce cool until it stops steaming.  Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate until 20 minutes before serving.  Remove and let come to room temperature, serving in a bowl on the side.  Use as garnish, spread or any way you like it.  Enjoy!

Fig and Italian Sausage "Dressing" (not stuffing)

I admit it, this is a repeat from last year's star of Thanksgiving.  However, I've had so many requests for great Thanksgiving dishes, that I thought this is worth republishing. This is a fantastic recipe and result, the best side dish on your holiday table!

What's the difference between "dressing" and "stuffing"? Whether it's cooked inside the bird or outside.  This is dressing, since it's cooked outside the bird and actually great if you're not cooking whole poultry at all!  My "Fig and Italian Sausage Dressing" is a winner, hopefully you can try it either this week or in many of your holiday meals.

Here's the recipe, Happy Thanksgiving!

Ingredients
Serves 4

1 round of rosemary-olive oil Italian bread (wow, I found a recipe, next time I'll make the bread too)
2 T. extra virgin olive oil
6 leaves fresh sage, 4 minced and 2 whole
1/2 yellow onion, diced
12-18 dried mission figs, stemmed and quartered
1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage, removed from casings or ground
3 c. low-sodium chicken stock (or homemade turkey or chicken stock)
1/2 tsp. fennel seed, crushed
Kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Slice the crusts off the bread if desired and dice into cubes.  Leave out for a few hours in advance to dry out slightly.  Preheat oven to 325˚F.  Spread the bread cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast for 20 minutes, stirring once.  Remove from oven when toasted and let cool.  Increase the oven temperature to 350˚F.

2. Heat the olive oil over medium-high in a medium skillet.  Add the onion and 2 whole sage leaves and sauté until the onions are translucent, about 4-6 minutes.  Add the figs and toss until coated.  Remove from heat, take out the whole sage leaves and set the onions and figs aside.

3. Add the stock to a saucepan and gently bring it up to simmer.

4. Add the sausage to the skillet and sauté, making sure to break sausage into fine chunks and cook until brown on the outside and very little pink inside.  It should be browned as you would ground beef but slightly longer. Remove from heat when cooked through.  Drain any excess fat from the sausage.

5.  Place the bread in a very large bowl.  Add the fennel seed, the minced sage, onions and figs and the sausage.  Mix gently with a spoon.  Slowly add the stock, adding one cup at a time until the bread is completely moist but not soggy.  Depending on your bread, you may need slightly more or less than 3 cups.  Make sure all sides of the bread look coated, but not too wet.  Taste and adjust seasonings with a little kosher salt and ground black pepper.

6.  Spread the dressing into a heavy, dark baking dish and cover with aluminum foil.  Bake for 35 minutes covered.  Remove the foil and bake 10 minutes more, until crispy on the top and edges.  Serve immediately!

Roasted Golden Beets, Cippolini and Fresh Figs

One of my favorite and highly anticipated Autumn ingredients is fresh figs. Sweet, juicy, full of flavor and wonderful texture, they are a terrific addition to many dishes. Here in California, where many figs are raised, they have been the little gems of the Farmer's Markets.  Whether it's this vegetable side dish or my favorite holiday dressing, I love cooking with them. Recently I found some that were so purple and plump that they cried out for me to create a new dish. Here is my "Roasted Golden Beets, Cippolini and Figs".

I love roasting beets too, but this dish turned out very special because even though all of the major ingredients are vegetables, all three sweeten beautifully as they roast. The sugars develop so that your final result is satisfying and scrumptious, and works as a great side dish to pork or red meat. It's really a simple recipe but each ingredient is there to complement the others, so that a bite gives you a little of everything. You could also substitute the beets for any number of fantastic dark-fleshed winter squash or edible pumpkins. Let your imagination run! Typically when I prepare beets, I roast them first with skin on to develop maximum flavor and retain as much moisture as possible. In this case, however, I wanted all of the flavors to blend while roasting. So, I peeled the beets before roasting. Little differences in technique like this really determine how much your flavors work together or maintain their individual tastes.

Here's my simple and fast recipe.
Ingredients Serves 4 as side dish

4 large golden beets, peeled and chopped
8 cippolini onions, peeled and left whole
6 fresh figs, rinsed and sliced in half
3 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves only
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Method:
1. Wash and peel vegetables. Chop beets and place beets, cippolini onions and figs in a mixing bowl.

2. Add the thyme leave, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to the vegetables in the bowl and toss thoroughly. Spread them out flat on a rimmed baking sheet or shallow roasting pan so that everything is in a single layer.

3. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and roast in the oven 40-45 minutes, until the beets are just fork-tender but not soft. Remove from the oven and serve immediately.

Chicken and Vegetables, Almost Cacciatore

Now that summer is closing out, meals are giving us the chance to use up the last of the beautiful tomatoes and zucchini from gardens and farmer's markets.  While I always get melancholy this time of year knowing the bounty is coming to an end, it's also great to eke out the last summer freshness onto our plates.  This dish pays homage to Summer and introduces Autumn flavors.  It's simply my "Chicken and Vegetables, Almost Cacciatore". 

I called it "Almost Cacciatore" because it's similar to Italian Chicken Cacciatore in herbs, some methods and flavors but different by the use of ingredients such as Anaheim peppers and zucchini.  I also don't dredge the chicken nor do use enough tomatoes to make a real stew-like gravy.  Nevertheless, it reminds me of the dish and is a bit fresher and uses more of the last of those beautiful Summer produce.

Enjoy the recipe and let me know how you like it.  One thing I loved about this dish is its ease.  Another is the very unique flavor and texture the olives assume after being baked.  They are a little bitter, but they're such a different experience warm and soft.  They're necessary to the success of the dish here, in my opinion.

Ingredients
Serves 2

4 chicken thighs with bone-in and skin on
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
1 medium fresh anaheim pepper, chopped
1/2 medium zucchini, chopped
1 clove garlic, quartered
1 shallot, cut into chunks
1 dozen mixed green and black Sicilian olives, with pits
4-6 medium very ripe tomatoes, skinned
1/3 c. dry white wine, plus 2 T.
1 sprig rosemary, whole
1 sprig marjoram or oregano, whole
4 T. extra virgin olive oil

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F.

2. Season chicken thighs on both sides with kosher salt and pepper.  Heat a large skillet with 2 T. olive oil.  Add the chicken when the oil is shimmering hot and sear until the skin is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes.  When chicken is brown, remove it from the skillet and set aside.  Pour in 2 T. of the white wine and de-glaze the skillet, making sure to get all the good brown bits scraped off the pan's bottom. 

3. Put all the vegetables and herbs into a large oven-proof dish and toss with 2 T. extra virgin olive oil.  Add the chicken and pour the juices from the skillet and the rest of the wine over the chicken and vegetables.

4. Cover the dish and bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes, until all the vegetables are softened and the chicken is cooked until falling off the bone.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

Crispy Fresh Morels and Peas

It's that wonderful time of year again;  Morel mushroom season in North America.  Having grown up in a beautiful mountainous place where we foraged our own after rainy May days, morels are an "official start of Spring" for me.  I adore their hearty, meaty, rich flavor and their magnificent toothsome texture. 

I haven't hunted morels myself in years but after finding these perfect specimens at a local Farmer's Market I'm itching to get my rainboots and basket out and check out my Northern California forests.  It's easy to find them with a good guide after the first couple of days of sun following a little bit of rain.  They like to grow in forested or wooded areas and are as prized in some parts of North America as truffles are in Europe.  If anyone in the Bay Area knows where I can hunt them please let me know.  In the meantime, I'm hitting that market every week through May to stock up on more.

Morels are wonderfully adaptable to most cooking methods and tastes.  There always seems to be a joke floating around that morels "taste like chicken" but I couldn't disagree more.  They are a unique and distinct flavor that cannot be described, purely experienced.  All my years in New York, I depended on dried morels except on a few wonderful occasions when I found fresh ones.  However, these are so much larger, heartier, tastier and prettier than anything I found in New York ever.  I was so excited at the market I started shrieking and giggling, it's a good thing I was amidst other avid cooks and eaters who understood my joy!

My recipe is an adaptation of the classic way my Mom prepared them: fried with corn meal.  I took her basic recipe and added a few key ingredients and made a superb marinade to help tenderize them before frying.  Wow.  They rocked! Here are my "Crispy Spring Morels and Peas".

Here's my recipe.  It's just a small amount, for two people since the price of these mushrooms is astronomical.  They are a splurge but my memories and love of them are so profound that I couldn't resist them.  But, just tasty little side dishes, I only bought a little.

Ingredients
Serves 2 as small appetizer or side

8 oz. fresh Morels, bottoms trimmed off, halved and cavity wiped clean with moist towel
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. yellow corn meal
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/4 c. vegetable or peanut oil
1 medium Spring onion, minced
1/3 c. shelled fresh green peas

Method:

1. Prepare and clean mushrooms and soak in a salt-water bath for 10 minutes.  It's important to cut off the tough end of the stem and also to slice them open in half lengthwise.  You must do this to look for worms (always possible) and to clean out the inside gently with a damp towel.

2. Combine the Worcestershire sauce and buttermilk in a bowl by whisking together.  Add the cleaned morels to this sauce to act as a marinade and help tenderize the mushrooms.  Refrigerate 1-3 hours.

3. When mushrooms have marinated, put the cornmeal on a large, wide plate.  Add the salt and pepper to the cornmeal and mix with your fingers to spread through.  One at a time, dredge the mushrooms in the seasoned cornmeal.  Shake off any excess cornmeal and place on another plate in a single layer.

4.  In a large non-stick skillet, heat the oil on high and when shimmering and very hot, gently add the mushrooms.  Fry until they are very tender but crispy and brown on the outside from the cornmeal, about 6-8 minutes.  Toss in the spring onion and peas and fry another 2-3 minutes until the peas are just tender.  Remove from heat, and drain on a plate lined with paper towel if there's extra oil.  Add another pinch of kosher salt and enjoy immediately!

Packaged Asparagus and Red Snapper

I spend so much time waiting for Spring asparagus every year that I love doing many things with it for the peak weeks.  Sometimes, it's simply steamed and wrapped with Prosciutto or Jamón Ibérico (thank you, Gam, it's stunning!!) and covered with a two-minute poached egg.  Other times, they become the very important supporting ingredient in a wonderful main course like this "Red Snapper and Asparagus en Papillote" that I created recently.

I don't know which is more succulent; the fish or the asparagus.  But, they were both delicious.

If you haven't tried cooking fish in parchment paper before, it is honestly very simple and one of the tastiest, juiciest results for your fish.  You use at least some kind of acid, some kind of oil, some aromatics and some seasoning to get great flavor into the fish.  I also put various kinds of tender and flavorful vegetables with the fish.  Then you toss liquids, aromatics and veggies together and put the vegetables down first and the fish on top.  Drizzle with more liquids, season and a couple thin pats of butter.  Wrap it up like a package and then bake it.  The technique is steaming the food inside the paper and it comes out perfectly cooked, moist and full of whatever lovely flavors are inside the package.  If you like doing fish at home, this is a must-try technique!

Here's my recipe:

Ingredients
Serves 2

2 Red Snapper fillets or any white or pink delicate fish fillet
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. Chinese Five-Spice powder
1 bunch tender spring asparagus, washed and trimmed
1/2 ripe tomato cut into paper-thin slices
1 lemon; 1/2 juiced and 1/2 cut into paper-thin slices
2 chives, minced
4 T. extra virgin olive oil
2 fennel fronds
2 tarragon stems
1/2 T. tarragon leaves, minced
1 T. butter, thinly sliced
2 T. dry white wine

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325˚F. Season the fish with salt, pepper and Chinese 5-Spice powder on all sides. 

2. In a bowl, toss together the asparagus, tomato, chives, 2 T. olive oil, a pinch of salt and pepper and juice from half a lemon.

3. Tear off two large pieces of parchment paper and fold in half, creasing well.  Make sure one fillet will fit completely inside the paper when folded.  Brush the paper with 1 T. olive oil per paper.  Spoon the asparagus and tomatoes onto the middle of one side of the paper. Next, place the fennel fronds and tarragon stems on top of the vegetables.   Lay one fish fillet on top of each pile of vegetables, lengthwise so that the fish is parallel to the crease in your paper.  Sprinkle minced tarragon on top of the fish, place the lemon and butter slices on top of that and sprinkle both fillets with the white wine, 1 T. per fillet.

4. Fold the top half of the paper over your pile of vegetables and fish and begin rolling and crimping the paper so that it will hold together and make a nice half-moon or heart-shaped package.  I've got a photo of that from a previous post.

5. Place the packages on a large rimmed baking sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on your oven and thickness of fillets.  Remove the packages from the oven and slit them with a knife to let the steam escape.  Serve immediately from the package or remove and plate. One note: remove the fennel and tarragon stems before eating.  They're only there for flavor and are too tough to eat.

Have fun and enjoy the flavors of Spring at their most tender and moist!

Roasted Baby Artichokes, Fennel and Organic Carrots

One of my favorite ways to keep our meals from becoming repetitive is to constantly combine ingredients in new ways but use trusted and known techniques.  It's amazingly easy to do if you just use the same principles you know but throw in a new twist or flavor.   A great example of this is my "Roasted Baby Artichokes, Fennel and Organic Carrots".

Most people who cook have a repertoire of go-to dishes.  Roast chicken, for example, is a very common one.  But, instead of using carrots, onions and potatoes as your side of roasted vegetables, add at least one or two different ingredients to your classic method.  That's exactly what I did for this one and it turned out great.  The yellow, purple and orange organic carrots were so pretty that I knew I couldn't do the same old thing with them to eat with a roasted fish.  So, with a little thought -- "Hmmm, fennel roasts wonderfully sweet and is a good complement to the carrots.   Artichokes would provide a great less-sweet earthier flavor and different texture." I knew it would turn out wonderful.  This dish is so simple and a delicious mid-winter variation on the typical roasted vegetable side dish.

Ingredients
Serves 2

4 baby artichokes, peeled, trimmed and quartered
1 bulb fresh fennel, chopped
4 small organic carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
4 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon chopped
1/4 tsp. fennel seed
sea salt to taste
fresh coarsely ground black pepper to taste
1 fresh scallion, minced

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400˚F and wash, peel and prep all the vegetables.  Cut the pieces of fennel and carrot in roughly the same size.

2. In a large non-reactive bowl, mix the vegetables, olive oil, lemon, sea salt and pepper (use everything in the ingredients list except the scallions here).  Toss thoroughly to coat vegetables evenly. Spread into a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.

3.  Roast in the oven, on the middle rack, for about 45 minutes or until the vegetable are fork-tender and have a somewhat smoky flavor from the pieces that have slightly charred on the edges.  (This is GOOD flavor, don't go for a burn but some crispy edges as the photo shows.)

4. Remove the vegetables from the oven and drizzle a little olive oil, a squeeze of lemon juices and garnish with the minced scallions.  Serve immediately with roasted chicken or fish.

A note here about the artichokes:  they must be fresh and tender for this dish to work.  If they aren't the artichokes will be fibrous and chewy since they aren't pre-cooked or blanched.  If you don't have good artichokes try another vegetable with the carrots and fennel.  Good options are beets, portabello mushrooms or Brussels Sprouts.

Rainbow Chard and Golden Chanterelle Sauté with Chile-Lemon Pistachios

While I'm no hard-core Locavore, my move to California has seriously inspired me to eat as much as possible from within my county, or at least the state.  Let me tell you, it is so much easier to do this in the middle of winter in California instead of New York! I am in the heart of agricultural paradise and having a great time experimenting!  My appreciation is growing every week for the beautiful produce, crops and creatures raised or harvested nearby.  And for the farmers who grow them! This dish is a great example of what I'm talking about here and what I'm making in my Scrumptious kitchen.  This is my "Rainbow Chard and Golden Chanterelle Mushroom Sauté with Chile-Lemon Pistachios."

The gorgeous Rainbow Chard is grown all over California in various counties and easy to find this time of year.  While my photo here doesn't show all the colors, it's called rainbow chard because each of the stalks are a powerful hue of red, orange, yellow, pink or white.  Each stalk has only one color, but in a bundle they look just beautiful.  While I was tempted to make a gorgeous tabletop bouquet of them, I decided to devour them instead.

The Golden Chanterelle Mushrooms are also stunning and still available fresh along the northern California coast.  Lucky for me! Usually the fresh ones are done by now, but I'm assured these are grown and harvested within the state.

The last incredible ingredient in this dish is Chile-Lemon Pistachios from San Joaquin Valley Farms.  I drove through this adorable agricultural belt just two weeks ago on my way to a great skiing weekend.  Almonds and walnuts are also great products grown in the Valley.  These pistachios are delicious, crunchy and fresh (not that STALE taste you get from many others) and are absolutely addictive covered in this hot chile-lemon spice rub.  Wow.  It takes all my self control when I'm craving a snack to limit to just one handful!

So, these beautiful California ingredients came together in a lovely side dish that is fresh, mostly local and extremely healthy.  Don't forget all those anti-oxidants, vitamins and protein.

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
Serves 4

3 T. extra virgin olive oil
1 bunch fresh rainbow chard, chopped and separate stems from leaves
1 medium shallot, minced
4-5 oz. fresh Golden Chanterelle Mushrooms, chopped
1/2 fresh orange, juiced
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
kosher salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1/4 c. chile-lemon pistachios, chopped

Method:
1. Heat a large skillet with olive oil on medium-high and add the chard stems and shallots.  Sauté until just tender about 4-5 mintues, then add the chard leaves.

2. Salt and pepper to taste and add the cayenne pepper.  Stir to incorporate and continue sautéeing.  Add the Chanterelles and toss together.

3. When the vegetables are tender yet still full of body, about 8-10 minutes, squeeze in the orange juice and turn off the flame of your burner.

4. Toss in the chopped pistachios and gently stir together.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

I'm still no Barbara Kingsolver, but eating as close to home makes sense and is delicious when I'm living in this part of the world.