Side Dish Recipes

Recipes for Asparagus: Steam, Grill, or Roast and Enjoy!

This time of year, recipes for asparagus are as plentiful as tree pollen (but not quite as excessive as recipes for ramps).  The Accidental Locavore shares recipes and ideas for asparagus (to see how to pick asparagus check out the “How To” section).

No recipes needed to grill asparagus, one of my favorite ways to cook them. If they’re not too big, just toss them in some olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, and throw them on the grill for 5-10 minutes, turn after a couple of minutes and cook until they start to have grill marks, are flexible and cooked through. If you’re working with bigger stalks, you might want to steam them (I use the microwave) for 4 minutes, then toss in olive oil and grill, or skip the steaming and just cook them a little longer over slightly lower heat (charred is not good).

This may sound a little crazy: a great recipe for grilling asparagus is to marinate them in a mayonnaise mix, then grill them. This recipe is adapted from Food & Wine. Feel free to substitute and/or add things like mustard, hot sauce, or sprinkle with something like Parmesan Cheese before or after grilling. Added bonus? The asparagus won’t stick to the grill. 6 servings if you’re not too greedy.

• ½ cup mayonnaise (make your own-it’s easy and tastes so much better)
• ¼ cup olive oil (use a good quality)
• 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 garlic clove, crushed (use the back of a knife)
• 1 tablespoon sweet, smoked paprika (you can use the hot smoked paprika if you like, or substitute a little of the sauce from chipotles in adobo)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin (if you don’t have the smoked paprika, just use a little more cumin for that smoky taste)
• 1 pound thick asparagus, woody bottoms snapped off or cut

Light a grill. In a shallow dish, whisk the mayonnaise with all the other ingredients, except the asparagus. Add the asparagus, toss and let sit for 30 minutes. Grill the asparagus over moderately high heat, turning to cook evenly, until tender, about 5-10 minutes.

Asparagus are also good roasted. Same principle as grilling, just toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and roast them in a 400 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until they’re cooked through.

I’ve roasted them with sprinkles of goat cheese and herbs de Provence, ok but not great. Better is some lemon zest, and grated Parmesan (you can add before they go in, or sprinkle on before serving.

When you steam them (4-5 minutes in the microwave and they keep their color), or (steam them in a pan) on top of the stove, to jazz them up a little hollandaise sauce is delicious, decadent and easy to make. Recently I made an “homage to hollandaise” with about ½ cup crème fraiche, 2 tablespoons whole grain mustard and a little squeeze of lemon juice mixed together and served with roasted asparagus. Not quite the guilt of hollandaise.

What’s your favorite recipe for asparagus?

 

 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts With Asian Vinaigrette

The Accidental Locavore saw this recipe from Momofuku online and was intrigued. When I saw the mass of comments raving about the dish, I figured I had to try it. With a last-minute plea to bring Brussels sprouts to my friend’s Thanksgiving leftover party, it was a shoo-in. I’ve adapted it from the Food52 website. It can be served warm or at room temperature and will serve 4-6.

My Verdict: This was really good and when I took it to my friends, I never had a good taste of it (co-mingled with some great spare ribs, stuffing, etc) so I decided to give it another shot when I could just enjoy it at my leisure. With the second batch, I added the vinaigrette to the just-out of-the-oven sprouts, figuring that with potato salad it’s always better when you toss the warm potatoes with the dressing (it absorbs more of the flavor). Warm, they were great! A good kick from the chiles and a nice umami flavor from the fish sauce. What surprised me both times was the affinity between the Brussels sprouts and the cilantro; it’s quite a magic combination! Personally, I prefer them warm, but try them both ways and let me know what you think.

Notes: The original recipe called for 1-3 bird’s eye chiles with the seeds intact. Those little suckers pack a lot of heat! When I made it the first time with two chiles, I ended up trying to remove all the chiles because I thought it was going to be too spicy for a crowd. The second time, I used one chile and seeded it before I sliced it. It packed what I thought was the perfect amount of heat to make things interesting without taking away from the nuttiness of the Brussels sprouts.

Also, because the taste of fish sauce (click here to order) can vary widely, go easy on it, taste and add more if you like. I used a brand called “Tips”.

Two Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes

This year the Accidental Locavore snuck off to California and will actually be on an airplane for the big event. Which is not to say that I don’t have your back in the kitchen come next Thursday. If you want to know how gravy can go wrong, check out my post for The Daily Meal. And if you’re looking for a couple of delicious, no-fuss side dishes, here you go! The cranberry confit can even be made ahead.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

 

Mexican Green Rice

This is an easy way of jazzing up rice and works well with the Accidental Locavore’s Shrimp la Vieuda. You can use any combination of things that suit your fancy. This will serve 4 as a side dish.

Notes: There are a lot of things you could add – epazote, Mexican oregano, mint, lime zest, are all possibilities. If you’re heat-averse, omit the serrano or jalapeno. Diana Kennedy sautés white onion and the poblanos before adding them. Rick Bayless mentions adding peas towards the end. They both toast the rice before cooking it (like pilaf or risotto), but I’m lazy and this is how I’ve always made it.

Grilled Corn Salad

As much as the Accidental Locavore loves corn on the cob, there does come a time, later in the summer, when a little variety is welcome. This is a great side dish salad, adapted from Food & Wine. I served it with some grilled pork chops, but it would work with just about anything. Serves 4.

My verdict: This was a great, fresh side dish! I made it on a grill pan and it came out fine. It would probably be even better on a charcoal grill. I did use the maple syrup, but am not sure how necessary it is. Wondering how some cheese (feta or a Mexican queso fresco) would be. I find cutting the kernels off of corn more difficult in a bowl, but if you don’t want to be cleaning corn up, it’s neater that way. For this, I started in a bowl, but ended up on a cutting board. You can save the cobs and freeze them for corn chowder later on in the fall.

Moroccan Inspired Eggplant Salad Recipe

The Accidental Locavore’s friend Jamilla was describing how she makes eggplant while we had lunch recently, across the street from the Union Square Greenmarket. If I wasn’t already on the verge of looking like a bag lady, I would have dashed back and grabbed some eggplants. But being the mature individual I am (stop snickering), I waited and got a beauty from Stokes Farm a couple of days later. If you’re worried about heating up an oven, do it early in the morning, or grill the eggplant.  This will serve about 4 as a salad or dip.

My verdict: this was really good even though I messed up and forgot to season the eggplant with the cumin and coriander before roasting it. I added it afterwards while it was still warm and it tasted fine. Jamilla was concerned that it wasn’t going to be the same. Then I cheated and added some garlic confit to it before mixing it up (no such thing as too much garlic, right?). If you can be patient, this was even better the next day, sweet and jam-like.

How to Cook Corn: 4 Easy Ways Plus a Bonus

Have you ever noticed how much easier it is to shuck corn after it’s cooked? This is a not-so-subtle nudge to those who insist on shucking it before buying it, a habit the Accidental Locavore heartily condemns! While many a summer childhood was spent shucking corn before it was dumped into a big pot of boiling water, in later years, I’ve learned there are almost as many ways to cook corn as there are varieties of corn.

1. The traditional pot of boiling water (good for a crowd, but not my favorite method) has a few new twists, none of which I’ve personally tried, but all of which have their champions. One, recently touted on HuffPost’s Kitchen Daily (got to plug it since I’ve been posting for them!), said to bring a pot of water to a boil, add the shucked corn, bring to a boil again, and let sit until ready to serve.
2. Another party-friendly twist is to put the corn (shucked), in the bottom of a cooler, pour boiling water over it, cover and let sit. This requires a cooler, the kind that can take a gallon or two of boiling water, a piece of equipment the Locavore doesn’t have.
3. Keeping (sort of) on the steaming/boiling trail, the next way, one of my favorites, is to cook it in the microwave. I cut the stem end of the corn close to the cob, peel off the outer layer or two of the husk, and microwave for 1-2 minutes an ear, depending on the size and number of ears and the strength of your microwave. To see if corn is cooked, peel back a little of the husk. The corn should have lost its opaque luster and the kernels should be bright and almost shiny.
4. My favorite way to cook corn is simply to toss it on the grill, husk and all. We often just put it on when the grill is heating up and let it roast over on a corner, while grilling the rest of the meal. You’ll want to turn it occasionally, but not too often, as it’s better when it gets a little browned in spots.

For any of these methods, if you really want to show off, take a blow torch to the corn after it’s cooked and shucked. This is a trick I learned from my friend Kerry at Cafe Miranda. It browns the kernels, making them taste like popcorn, and will either scare or impress all of your guests! What’s your favorite way to cook corn?

 

Carrot Salad Recipe with Harissa, Feta and Mint

In sorting the recipes the Accidental Locavore had on the cloud, this salad sounded like the perfect accompaniment to steak tartare on a very hot evening.  Added bonus: our friend Jamila gave us a jar of harissa she made from a family recipe. It’s great, a little chunky, nice and spicy! This feeds 4 as a side dish, is quick to make but needs some marinating time for the flavors to really develop.

Notes: You can grate the carrots on a hand-grater on the big holes. It’s slow and carrot bits will be all over the kitchen. I pulled out the food processor with the grater blade and was done in less than a minute, however, cleaning it…The original recipe called for caraway seeds (and cumin seeds) to be ground. I didn’t think I had any caraway seeds so I used ground coriander instead.  If you don’t have friends making harissa for you, this is the Locavore’s recent favorite (and not because it comes from Provence): Domaine de Provence Harissa Paste. It’s expensive for a condiment, but worth it!

Verdict: I’ve always preferred raw carrots to cooked ones, so this along with the harissa kick was a hit in my book! I added a little more cumin and harissa than the recipe calls for and since we didn’t have any parsley, tossed in a little more mint. Frank really liked it, once he got over the initial surprise of seeing a plate with carrot salad on it. I’ll definitely make this again.

Quick update: I made this again, this time trying for more of an Asian inspiration. I used Sriracha instead of the harissa, juice of a lime, about 2 tablespoons of rice wine vinegar and added some chopped cilantro along with the mint, no cheese. It was good, very spicy, so next time I’ll taste before madly squirting in the sriracha.

Accidental Locavore Recipes for Roasting Beets

Here are two ways to roast beets, one from Serevan Restaurant, the other from the Accidental Locavore:

Serevan’s way: rub the beets with a very small amount of oil, season them with salt, place them in an oven-proof pan, scatter a few of your favorite spices — these will be the flavors you want to infuse your beets with — cover tightly with foil and bake in a 300-350 oven until the beets are tender. The slower they roast, the more the sugars develop.

My way: wash and cut the beets, leaving about 1” of the stems (supposedly keeps them from bleeding, not sure if anything keeps them from bleeding!). Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Take a good-sized piece of aluminum foil and put the beets on it. Sprinkle with olive oil and salt. Inspired by Serge, I also sprinkled them with a little white balsamic vinegar, tossed in about 4 whole cloves and about ½ teaspoon of cumin seeds. Seal the foil and bake for about 1 ½ hours until the beets are fork-tender. When the beets have cooled, cut the tops off and peel (the skins should slide right off).  Slice them and use for salad.

Your way?

The World’s Easiest Cauliflower Recipe

The Accidental Locavore’s friend Cozy had this as an appetizer in New Orleans and fell in love! You will, too, as it’s super-simple to make and roasting brings out the sweetness of the cauliflower (not to mention how cool it looks when you present it). One smallish head of cauliflower feeds 4 and the whole thing takes about an hour, mostly roasting time.

The verdict: this is one of those no-fail dishes! That being said, the better your ingredients, the tastier this will be. While it’s delicious on its own, a sprinkle of lemon and some cumin, or a dash of hot sauce might be interesting. The Locavore dehydrated some sriracha recently (more about that later) and that sprinkled on top would be worth a shot. Since it’s grilling season, par-boiling it and roasting on the grill seems like a no-brainer. What do you think?

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