The number of servings this recipe makes is 4-6, but once you get a taste of how the fresh herbs go with the balsamic vinegar and the smoky flavor of zucchini, you might want to eat it all yourself!
Ingredients
3-4 medium zucchini, sliced lengthwise, ¼-inch thick
3 basil leaves, chopped
2-3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1-2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar (regular or white)
1 garlic clove, pressed or finely minced
3-4 mint leaves, minced
Salt and Pepper to taste
Extra olive oil for cooking, about 1-2 Tbsp
Directions
Preheat grill to medium-high. Toss zucchini slices with 1-2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and sprinkle on a few pinches salt and pepper.
Once the grill is hot, using tongs, rub an oiled paper towel over the grates to clean and prep cooking area. Using tongs, place zucchini on grill. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes. Flip and continue cooking, covered, 2-3 minutes more.
When zucchini is tender, remove from heat and place in a bowl. Drizzle in EVOO and balsamic, then sprinkle in garlic and fresh basil and mint. Gently mix. Add more salt/pepper as needed.
Can be served immediately, and it’s also good served cold!
Grilling fava beans in their pods is simple and delicious. They get a subtle, smoky flavor that goes great with a squeeze of juice from a grilled lemon half.
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh fava beans, in pods
2 ½ Tbsp olive oil
Salt
2 lemons, halved
Directions
Toss fava beans in a large bowl, with olive oil and a few generous pinches of salt. Place lemon halves and beans in a single layer on your grill over medium heat
Grill about 3-4 minutes until there are nice spots of char. Flip over and cook another 3-4 minutes. If pods start to burn, move them to a cooler spot on the grill to finish cooking.
Transfer charred lemon and favas to serving place. Sprinkle with chile flakes or togarashi. To eat, tear open a pod, take a fava bean and pinch the skin to slide out the bright green beans. Be careful of the stream from the hot pod.
This traditional Ashkenazi stew is sometimes made with meat, but this one is all vegetarian. Sweet and comforting, it is a favorite dish served at Jewish holidays, and might become your favorite too. Feel free to sub out your favorite yam or Japanese sweet potato for the tried-and-trues.
Ingredients
5 carrots, peeled and sliced into ½” rounds
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
2 cups veggie broth
2 Granny Smith apples
¼ cup dried currants
¼ cup raisins
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped roughly
¼ cup mild flavored honey
½ tsp each salt and pepper
2 oranges, zested and juiced
2 Tbsp potato starch
2 Tbsp olive oil
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a saucepan over medium heat, cook carrots and sweet potatoes in the broth for about 10 minutes, until slightly tender. Remove from heat, drain.
While the root veggies are cooking, peel and core the apples, cutting into ½” wedges. In a small bowl, mix the dried fruit, honey, juice and zest, salt and pepper and potato starch. Pour root veggies and apples into a casserole dish and pour juice/fruit mixture over. Drizzle olive oil over. Bake for 30 minutes or until crispy and golden.
Colorful, cozy comfort food that warms you from the inside out. Using dried chiles gives this dish authentic flavor. Perfect for your holiday celebration table, or dinner anytime. The toppings give you great flavor and texture contrast, so don’t skimp on the fixins!
Ingredients
30 oz hominy, drained and rinsed
3-4 whole dried New Mexico chiles
2 tsp ancho chile powder
½ tsp crushed chile flakes
8½ cups vegetable broth
1 lb crimini mushrooms, sliced
½ medium white onion
2 large garlic cloves
1 tsp coarse sea salt, plus more to taste
1 tsp dried Mexican oregano (or sub regular)
1 large bay leaf
2 Tbsp olive oil
Toppings:
8 oz green cabbage, shredded
6 whole radishes, thinly sliced into rounds
Pinch dried Mexican oregano
Lime wedges – just a squeeze of juice
Non-dairy sour cream
Directions
Bring small pot of water to a boil. While water heats, use scissors to open chiles and remove hard stems, seeds and veins.
Once water boils, place de-seeded chiles, ancho chile powder, onion and garlic in the pot. Simmer at low heat until chiles have rehydrated and onion and garlic have softened.
Once softened, reserve boiling liquid. Place boiled ingredients in blender and add about ½ cup boiling liquid. Blend until you have smooth sauce. If needed, add more of the boiling broth to get smooth consistency. Strain sauce through strainer and set aside. Discard the rest of the boiling broth.
Over medium heat, add 2 Tbsp olive oil to large soup pot. Add mushrooms and sauté for about 8 minutes or until soft. Add in chile sauce. Add 1 tsp coarse sea salt and stir; add 1 tsp Mexican oregano and stir. Add hominy and stir again. Add vegetable broth and bay leaf, stir until well-combined.
Turn heat to medium-low, cover pot and simmer 30-45 minutes, until hominy is very tender. As pozole cooks, slice/chop toppings.
Taste/adjust seasonings. Cool slightly and serve with toppings.
Jumeokbap (say Joo-Moke-Bop) is an easy-to-make Korean dish, great for lunch or snacks, or as a side dish along with spicy foods. It’s very versatile; try adding veggies, meat or scrambled eggs and discover your own favorite combinations.
Ingredients
1 cup short-grain rice (like sushi rice)
1 cup plus 2 TBsp water and more for rinsing rice
2 inch square of kombu (optional)
3 toasted nori seaweed sheets (used to roll sushi)
1½ tsp tamari
½ tsp sesame oil, more for coating glove
Sesame seeds, for garnish
Directions
Make the rice: Rinse rice with cold water in large fine mesh strainer for 1-2 minutes, or until water runs very clear. Drain well.
On stovetop, briefly stir rice and water in saucepan. Place kombu on top of rice, cover saucepan with tight-fitting lid. Turn heat to medium-high and cook until water just reaches a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low to maintain simmer, cook for 16-18 minutes or until all liquid absorbed and rice is tender.
Remove saucepan from heat (lid still on) and let rice steam for 10 more minutes. Discard kombu.
Cut seaweed sheets into small pieces with scissors or process in food processor until coarsely shredded.
In medium bowl, mix rice, shredded seaweed, tamari and sesame oil until incorporated.
Put a plastic glove on one hand. Add a few drops oil to plastic glove so rice doesn’t stick. Don’t want to use a glove? Add a few drops oil to your ungloved hands. When rice is warm enough to handle (not cold), put 2-3 Tbsp rice on your palm and squeeze lightly until rice sticks together. Shape into a ball.
Repeat until rice is finished; garnish with sesame seeds.
