Posts tagged ‘walnuts’

Sep 15

2 Recipes Eating Clean And Special Walnuts For Fiesta Friday #33

Fiesta Friday

Eating clean, I’ve heard the term but never really grasped what it means, it’s quite simple really, read about it here in an article on Cooking Light, in a nutshell you eat unprocessed whole foods, nothing new really we should all eat like that, the term is new but not the concept. I receive emails from Martha Stewart living and really love some of the recipes from her site, I always have admired Martha’s business acumen and respect how she has built her empire and she also has some amazing recipes. This particular email had recipes that focus on eating clean, the recipes are always simple and are prepared on video by Shira Bocar. The salad contains Tuscan Kale (use tuscan its more tender when eaten raw), apples, beets and walnuts with a dressing made from avocado, white wine vinegar, dijon mustard and oil. I don’t have a mandolin which is what you are supposed to use to cut the beets paper thin, so as a result my beets were a bit too thick and raw beets really need to be thin, next time I will roast my beets for a little while and then slice,or get over my mandolin phobia and get one of those.

In the same email there was a recipe (I guess you can call it that) for broiling broccoli rabe and chick peas. This was a revelation for me, I always steamed it and the florets become overcooked while the stems are still hard and stringy, I wanted to give this a try, the key is for the broccoli rabe and chickpeas to be dry so plan in advance and let your vegetables and chickpeas drain and dry completely. I must say I love Martha’s clean eating video’s here is the one with the broccoli rabe. Shira serves with some fresh ricotta drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes.

The walnuts in the salad were a gift from Patty Nguyen, I love her blog, she is a photographer and a great cook, she also has the most adorable little dog. She came to NYC to visit her brother and we met at the Brooklyn Flea, These walnuts (Chandler walnuts) were hand cracked and are amazing, fresh and delicious. I told Patty I would use them in a recipe and post it, so Patty, here it is. Thank you for the delicious walnuts and I so enjoyed meeting you.

Chandler walnuts

I am bringing both of these healthful vegetable dishes to the party, Angie@The Novice Gardener is hosting this gathering of friends and great cooks, imagine the line up with so many great and talented cooks preparing the food, The co hosts this week are Andrea @Cooking with a Wallflower and Sylvia @Superfoodista enjoy the clean food my dear friends.

Creamy kale salad

Creamy Kale Salad

Ingredients
1 ripe avocado, halved, seed removed
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar (You could also use lemon juice) I added an extra tbs of vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons walnut oil or extra-virgin olive oil (I used walnut oil)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 bunch kale (8 oz.), stemmed and coarsely chopped
1 small red beet, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a golden beet also)
1 sweet, crisp apple, cored and cut into thin wedges
1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped
Directions
Combine avocado, vinegar, mustard, and oil in a food processor. Pulse until smooth. (It will be thick.) Season with salt and pepper.
Combine kale, beets, apple, and walnuts in a large bowl. Toss with avocado dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately. Suggestion: Add Farro, freekeh or some whole grain to the salad, it will be filling and delicious.

salad

ready for the broiler

Broccoli Rabe and chickpeas

1 bunch broccoli rabe cleaned and trimmed (Be sure to keep the leaves, they crisp beautifully in the broiler)

1 can chick peas drained and dried

6 tbs olive oil (If you use 2 small sheet pans 3 tbs per tray)

thinly sliced garlic 2 cloves

salt

Really important to make sure your broccoli rabe and chick peas are dry, moisture is the enemy for this dish Place dry broccoli rabe on sheet pan, don’t over crowd. Add the chickpeas and garlic. Spoon or drizzle oil and massage into the broccoli rabe and chick peas, sprinkle with salt and place in heated broiler for 2 minutes, take out of the oven and turn the broccoli and place back in the oven for another 2 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.NOTE: I washed and dried my broccoli rabe and chickpeas the day before I made the dish, just bagged and refrigerated and they were perfectly dry. I think it depend on your oven how long you leave in to broil. I found that after the prescribed 4 minutes in the broiler the broccoli rabe was still quite raw a bit too crunchy, it is probably my oven, I’m sure in the Martha Stewart test kitchen they have commercial grade ovens that have more BTU’s than mine. So I put it in an extra 6 minutes. It was done perfectly, a little toothsome but still tender. So the cooking time will vary.

ready to eat

Dec 22

61 Comments

Rosemary Walnut And Plum Rugelach

Rugelach

I make rugelach every year for the holidays and every year I try to come up with a new flavor profile. Last year I did chocolate hazelnut which was really nice. This year I wanted a subtle herbal note and an altogether different jam I was kind of stuck on apricot. I thought that buttered walnuts and rosemary would make a nice combination and I made some spiced plum jam this summer, the combination sounded really good to me so I gave it a go. The walnuts have a very subtle rosemary taste (I am not a huge fan of strong rosemary) and the plum jam with gently spicing was wonderful with the walnuts. The crust is my standard cream cheese rugelach recipe, it never fails.

Rosemary Walnuts

1 1/2 cups walnuts

2 tbs butter melted

1 tbs fresh rosemary chopped

Pre heat oven to 350. place parchment sheet on small sheet pan. Mix walnuts, melted butter and rosemary in mixing bowl, pour onto sheet pan and roast for 15-20 minutes, they are done when you can smell the nuts. Remove from oven and let cool.

Makes 4 dozen

The Dough and filling:

8 ounces cream cheese at room temperature

2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature

1/4 cup granulated sugar + more for sprinkling on cookies

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cup rosemary walnuts

1/2 cup plum jam

1/4 cup light brown sugar packed

In stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment cream the cream cheese and butter until light. Add the sugar, salt and vanilla. With mixer on low add the flour and mix just to combine. Dump dough onto work surface form into a ball cut into four quarters and wrap each in plastic wrap, refrigerate for one hour
Chop walnuts and add brown sugar, mix together.
Remove one of the dough quarters from the refrigerator, roll into a circle on floured work surface. I use the lid of my dutch oven to cut an even circle. Spread jam on the dough round, sprinkle nut/sugar mixture on top of the jam and press down gently with your hand. Cut into quarters and cut each quarter into 3 pieces. Roll from widest end to smallest.

Looks like pizza right??

Place each rugelach on parchment lined baking sheet. Put in freezer for 15 minutes before baking. While they are in freezer pre heat your oven to 350 degrees.

Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown. Remove to cooling rack.

Yum!

Feb 10

7 Comments

Featured Recipe-A Sage and Honey Walnut Milkshake (With a Vegan Option)

Almost every day I have a shake or smoothie for breakfast. It usually has the standard list of ingredients, fruit, soy milk, yogurt, and a whole grain whizzed in the blender. It’s good but get’s boring after a while and I want something different. I volunteered to test this recipe for a Community Pick on food52, it was submitted by Annalyse, her cooks name on food52 is Sagegreen. I was intrigued by the use of avocado, walnuts and sage, I had it for breakfast and am hooked. I enjoy this shake at least once or twice a week now. It’s packed full of healthful oils from the avocado and walnuts, its only slightly sweet and I get my daily dose of fiber also from the walnuts. This shake is thick and creamy and so delicious, believe me it’s addictive. Annalyse is an accomplished cook and a University Professor and you can view her more than 300 recipes, (yes 0ver 300!!) on food52, and I have to mention that she is one talented mixologist, her drinks are creative, beautiful and so delicious. Please check them out: http://www.food52.com/cooks/12307_sagegreen

Beautiful and Delicious Shake, photo by Sagegreen

Serves 1-2

1 oz. shelled organic walnuts

3-4 one inch long fresh organic sage leaves

1/2 ripe organic avocado

1 cup lowfat, but real cultured buttermilk (or almond milk with a splash of cider vinegar for vegan option)

1 1/2 tablespoons chestnut honey (or grade B maple syrup), to taste

optionally, a few crushed ice cubes

In a heavy heated pan like a cast iron skillet, toast the walnut pieces for about 2 minutes, just short of smoking. Pan fry the sage leaves for about 1 minute. With the bottom of a smaller pan, or other heavy instrument, crush the walnuts. Shred the sage leaves. Add these to a blender.
Add the avocado, buttermilk, and chestnut honey. If you like a chilled drink include a few crushed ice cubes. Process until smooth. Pour into one or two glasses. This could be part of a New Year’s resolution you could keep.