Miscellaneous Recipes

Recipe for My Green Tomatillo Salsa

The Accidental Locavore has always preferred tomatillo salsa to the classic red variety. In the winter when tomatoes are awful, tomatillos are a lot more dependable, flavor-wise. This is an easy recipe and makes about 1 1/2 cups of salsa.

• 10-12 tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed
• 1-2 Serrano chiles (jalapeños are fine too)
• 1-2 good sized garlic cloves, not peeled
• 2/3 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• Salt to taste
• Lime juice to taste (optional)

In a medium pot, place the tomatillos in enough water to barely cover them. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until the tomatillos have changed from a bright green to more of an olive drab, about 5 minutes.

While the tomatillos are cooking, put the garlic and the chiles in a small frying pan over medium heat. Cook until they are starting to blacken on one side, turn and blacken the other side about 5-6 minutes total.

Remove the chiles and garlic from the heat. As soon as the garlic is cool enough to handle, peel it and put it in the work bowl of the food processor. Cut the stems off the chiles and add them one at a time to the work bowl. Drain the tomatillos, add them to the work bowl with the cilantro and a little salt. Process until the mixture is almost a purée, with a little texture. Taste and check for heat. Add the other chile if you’d like and/or lime juice. Serve and enjoy!

 

 

Accidental Locavore Recipe for Turkey Stock

Hate to waste the turkey carcass? Save all the bones and toss in a pot with some veggies. In an hour you’ll have delicious turkey broth. Use it for soups, gravy, etc. One turkey carcass will make about 4 quarts of stock. You can do the same with leftover chicken, just use 2 quarts of water.

• Turkey carcass and all leftover bones
• 4 quarts water
• Salt & pepper
• 3-4 stalks of celery, cut in ½” pieces
• 3-4 carrots, cut in ½’ pieces
• Herbs (fresh thyme, or a little fresh sage, tarragon)

If there’s a lot of meat still on the turkey, remove it and save it. Put the carcass and any bones in a big pot with the water, the celery, carrots, herbs, salt and pepper, over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Pour through a colander or sieve. Once the broth has cooled, you can freeze it, or refrigerate it for up to a week.

Recipe for Classic Vinaigrette

Usually the Accidental Locavore makes a vinaigrette using lemon juice and olive oil, but every now and then you need to revert to a classic  French vinaigrette.

• 1 small shallot or garlic clove, finely minced
• 1/2 cup good olive oil
• 1/4  cup good red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (smooth or coarse or a mix)
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 teaspoon herbs de Provence (optional)

Put everything in a jar and shake it up, otherwise, add everything to a small bowl or measuring cup and beat it with a fork until well combined. It will start to thicken as it becomes emulsified. Pour over salad greens, toss to mix well, serve and enjoy!

 

Accidental Locavore Recipe for Green Harissa

The Accidental Locavore loves harissa, a spicy North African condiment, usually red, so when I saw this recipe in bon appétit for a green version, I had to try it. I used it to make merguez, but if you’re not into making sausage, use it for lamb or chicken. It would probably work really well on zucchini too. Makes ½ cup and adapted from bon appétit:

• 1 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped ( I probably used 1 ½ cups because I love cilantro)
• 1 cup spinach, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 jalapeno or serrano chile, seeded
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon ground cumin
• ¼ cup olive oil
• Kosher salt to taste

Combine all ingredients except salt in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Add salt to taste and check seasonings for taste. If it’s too spicy, add more spinach, cilantro and a little more olive oil. Serve and enjoy.

The Accidental Locavore Recipe: Arugula and Basil Pesto

This is an old favorite of the Accidental Locavore, a lemony pesto with arugula taking the place of some of the basil. Adapted from the Silver Palate Cookbook.

• 1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted
• 6 cloves garlic (if they’re big, use 1-2 less)
• 5 cups arugula
• 1 cup fresh basil
• ¾ cup olive oil (you may not need quite this much, stop when it gets to a consistency you like)
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Salt and pepper to taste
• ¾ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

Put pine nuts and garlic in a food processor and process until a paste. Add the arugula and basil and process to a thick paste. With the machine running, add the olive oil in a thin stream (the pesto should be thick and spreadable, like a thick mayo). Add the lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste and process until combined. If you’re not going to freeze it, add the Parmesan and process until blended. Serve over pasta, fish or lamb and enjoy.

The Accidental Locavore: Recipe for Blue Cheese Compound Butter

As an official cheese taster for Point Reyes Farmstead, the Accidental Locavore was tasked to find food (and drink) pairings for the test cheese. We happened to be grilling a beautiful tri-tip that was aged for us by the local butcher; Quattros. While the meat was on the grill the locavore had the idea to try a compound butter with the blue cheese. It’s an easy thing to do and gives great flavor to meats and vegetables.

• 1/2 stick sweet butter softened
• about the same sized piece blue cheese, brought to room temperature
• 2 tablespoons crème fraiche (optional, but I had it on hand)

Using a hand mixer on low, combine all the ingredients until well mixed, about 1 minute (if the cheese and butter are really soft you can do this by hand). Place combined ingredients in the middle of a sheet of plastic wrap (waxed paper will work, but it’s not as flexible) in the shape of a log (you don’t have to be too neat). Take the bottom edge of the plastic wrap and place it over the mix. Starting at the bottom, roll up, tightly. Twist the ends, compressing the butter into a nice neat log. If you have time, chill in the refrigerator until firm, otherwise pop in the freezer for about 5 minutes. When you are ready to serve, unwrap the roll, slice into 1/8″ discs and top the meat. Serve and enjoy.

You can make all kinds of combinations. I’ve used butter with sage and garlic over pork, and cilantro butter with some hot sauce over corn on the cob.

Recipe for Eat-It-Now Rhubarb Ginger Chutney From The Accidental Locavore

A bunch of beautiful local rhubarb and the Accidental Locavore, ninety miles away from her canning gear and wanting rhubarb ginger chutney (instant gratification, you know). What to do?  The Accidental Locavore adapted the canning version of Ellen’s chutney into an eat-it-now rhubarb chutney and it was delicious! If canning scares you, try this. The only issue? You have to eat it up pretty quickly, however that won’t be hard. The canning version does have the advantage of letting the flavors mellow over time. You decide. The Accidental Locavore loves both ways. This made about 2 cups and took about an hour.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. rhubarb, washed, drained and cut into 1/2″ dice (about 8 stalks)
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped onions
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root (peeled)
• 3/4 cup raisins or currants
• 3/4 cup dark brown sugar (packed)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• ½  teaspoon ground allspice
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼  teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8  teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cup cider vinegar

Make the chutney.  In a large non-reactive pot or Dutch oven, combine all of the ingredients except the vinegar.  Mix well, and bring to a boil over medium high heat (believe it or not, you will have enough liquid to bring to a boil, no water needed).  Lower heat and partially cover to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.

Remove the cover.  Add the vinegar and cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the chutney is slightly thick and mounds up on a spoon, about 20 minutes. Let cool completely and put in an airtight container. You can refrigerate for up to a week, or freeze.  Serve and enjoy!

If you’ve made the canning version, which do you prefer?

 

Recipe for Rhubarb Ginger Chutney from the Accidental Locavore

The Accidental Locavore is rhubarb neutral. If you show me an interesting use for it like this rhubarb upside-down cake, great.  Otherwise, ho-hum. My cousin Ellen makes a delicious rhubarb chutney which marries the rhubarb with ginger, spices and brown sugar.  It’s a great accompaniment to grilled or roasted meats, sandwiches or burgers. Her favorite way to serve it is on a cracker with sharp cheddar cheese (like this Cabot Clothbound Cheddar).  The Accidental Locavore likes to wait until we’re back to winter squash and use it to top roasted butternut squash. Here, we’re going to give you the canning version of the chutney. If it looks too daunting, click here for the Accidental Locavore’s, fresh, eat-it-now version. A big thank-you to Ellen for this week’s locavore recipe!

A word about all the canning steps described: It seems like a lot of work, but every step has a purpose in preventing bacterial growth and keeping your food safe.  Ellen has her doctorate in Public Health, so she knows what she’s talking about. For example: people say jars will seal on their own without the water bath process.  This is true, but the purpose of the water bath is to sterilize the air-space in the jar, not to seal it—without the water bath, rogue bacteria in the air may poison your carefully prepared preserve.  And while it used to be safe and easy to sterilize jars in the dishwasher, today’s energy saving models may not have the sanitizing feature.

With canning, you really don’t want to fool around and make a potentially lethal mistake.  Don’t improvise, and don’t skip a step—no matter what your mother tells you.

Makes about 7 half-pints.

Special Equipment for canning:

• Canning jars (pint or half-pint), free of nicks or cracks, washed in hot soapy water (you can re-use jars and bands but not lids)
• Lids and bands, washed in hot soapy water
• A large pot with a lid and a rack for sterilizing and canning
• A metal bowl for sterilizing lids and bands
• A canning funnel
• Canning tongs

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. rhubarb, washed, drained and cut into 1/2″ dice (about 6-7 cups)
• 1 ½  cups coarsely chopped onions
• 4 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root (peeled)
• 1 ½  cups raisins or currants
• 1 ½  cups dark brown sugar (packed)
• 1 tablespoon non-iodized salt, or pickling salt (kosher salt is non-iodized)
• 2 teaspoons mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ½  teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 cups cider vinegar

Prepare the jars.  Select a large pot or kettle with a lid that will hold them all and fill it with water.  (With small jars I use a pasta pot with a strainer-liner.  Or you can put a rack in any pan so that the jars will not touch the bottom of the pan—they should be slightly elevated over the bottom of the pan, and when submerged water should cover them by about 2”.)

Make the chutney.  In a large non-reactive pot or Dutch oven, combine all of the ingredients except the vinegar.  Mix well, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and partially cover to simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onions are translucent.

Remove the cover.  Add the vinegar and cook over medium heat, stirring almost constantly, until the chutney is slightly thick and mounds up on a spoon, about 20-30 minutes.

While the chutney cooks, put the clean, empty jars in the canning pot filled with water.  Cover the pot and heat until boiling.  Boil the jars for ten minutes to sterilize, then either leave in the water, or remove them from the kettle and keep filled with water until right before you fill them (use canning tongs to move them).  To sterilize the lids and bands, put them in a large metal bowl and pour a kettle of water just below boiling temperature to cover them.  Let them sit covered in water until ready to use.

When the chutney is ready, use a very clean ladle or cup and the canning funnel to fill prepared sterilized jars to within 1/4″-1/2 ” of top.  Have a couple of clean kitchen towels handy.  Wipe jar rims, lids and bands.  Put a lid and band on each jar.  Screw bands on only until hand-tight.

Put filled, capped jars back in the kettle with water to cover 2″ above jars.  (Remove some of the water to accommodate the filled jars.)  Heat to boiling. Process by boiling 10 minutes for half-pints, and 15 minutes for pints.  Turn off heat and carefully remove  from the water bath using canning tongs, and cool on a rack.  Label, date and store. Store at least three weeks before serving to allow flavor to develop.

 

Recipe for Dad's Quick (& Easy)Pizza Dough

After the Accidental Locavore’s recent trip to Nice and a few lunches at le Safari, I was thinking about making pizza. Both of the locavore’s  parents are good cooks, however my dad tends to cook for show (wonder where the locavore got her chops?). Here’s a recipe for his quick and easy pizza dough. It’s so simple it will keep you from going out and buying pre-made pizza dough. How you “decorate” the pizza is up to you. A pizza stone really helps get a crisp crust (so would a wood burning oven…).

For the dough for 2 12″ pizzas:

• 3 cups flour
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 package dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Dissolve the yeast into the warm water, add the sugar and stir to mix well. In the work bowl of a food processor, add the flour, salt, and olive oil. With the processor running, pour the water/yeast mixture into the processor. Process until the dough has started to turn into a ball. You may need more or less water, just stop when the ball starts to form. Remove the ball from the processor, and knead until smooth and pliable (about 10 strokes). Put into a bowl, lightly greased with a little olive oil, and cover with a clean dishtowel. Let it rise for about an hour.

Remove from bowl, knead a few more times, and roll or stretch out for your pizza. Recently my dad got a lesson in throwing dough from our friend Moe. If you don’t have those kind of friends, check out this video.

If you’re not making two pizzas, the other half of the dough can be refrigerated for a couple of days, or wrapped and frozen so it’s always ready for your next “decorating” inspiration. Keeping a jar of good pasta sauce on hand and/or some mozzarella along with the leftovers in your fridge will make an infinite number of delicious pizzas. If you’re anything like the Accidental Locavore, you’ll find lots of fun stuff to toss on a pie. Don’t overlook potatoes, garlic, and the many jars of olives lurking in the back.

 

Recipe for Chilaquiles and an Easy Salsa Verde

Do you know what chilaquiles are? They’re one of the Accidental Locavore‘s favorite breakfast/brunch foods. Chilaquiles are a mix of (leftover) fried tortillas cooked with salsa and various add-ins. Delicious! This past weekend I was reminded of them when my friend and I had brunch at PS 450, where they do them with red salsa and eggs…perfect brunch. This morning as I was watching NY1 (a morning without In The Papers, is like a morning without caffeine) there was a report from Chow.com. Turned out to be all about chilaquiles. Alex Van Buren likened them to nachos, but eaten with a fork and knife and she’s right. They’re super easy to make, kind of like scrambled eggs with tortilla chips. Chilaquiles are good for using up leftovers. Much like nachos, you can toss anything into them and they’ll taste great. Here’s the version I made for lunch (for 1 person), but feel free to multiply and improvise. Start to finish this took about 10 minutes (not including the salsa).

Chilaquiles with Salsa Verde

• 1 egg beaten with a fork
• 1/2 cup salsa verde (recipe below)
• 1 big handful tortilla chips (purists are wincing, you can cut tortillas up into wedges and fry them, but why bother?)
• 1/2 chicken breast shredded (from a rotisserie chicken, dark meat works fine too)
• 1/2 cup monterey jack cheese, grated (any cheese you would use for quesadillas will work fine)
• dollop of sour cream (or Mexican crema)
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Mix the egg and salsa in a bowl, add the chips and chicken and toss to coat. Heat a large saute pan over medium heat, and add the chip mixture. Cook until the egg is cooked and the chicken is warmed. Plate. Top with the cheese, sour cream and cilantro. Red salsa will also work, but I always prefer green.

Salsa Verde

• 1 pound of tomatillos, husk removed and rinsed to remove stickiness
• 1-2 serrano or jalapeno chiles
• 2-3 cloves garlic-do not peel
• 1 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
• salt to taste

Put the tomatillos in a pot of water to cover, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until they change color, they will go from a bright green to an olive drab. Drain.

While the tomatillos are cooking, put the unpeeled garlic and the chiles in a small frying pan and toast them over medium heat until browned on all sides. Remove from heat and when cool enough to handle, peel the garlic. If you want you can seed the chiles, then coarsely chop them.

Put the cooked tomatillos, the garlic, chiles, and cilantro in a food processor or blender, and process until everything is combined and the consistency is to your liking. Taste and add salt, additional chiles and/or cilantro to taste. Start with one chile, and then add more depending on how hot you want it.

How do you like your chilaquiles?

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