Persimmon, Blue Cheese, and Pistachio Salad

There are times when simple is better. If you're a home cook you might follow your own catalog of recipes and/or you may be the home cook who likes to follow the recipes of others in cookbooks, magazines, and blogs. But there are those times when you realize that you don't always need a recipe. You just need to follow a basic structure.

The basic structure for this posting is: Fruit, cheese, and nuts topped with a simple vinaigrette.
Let's look more closely at the ingredients.

Fruit = sweet

Cheese = fatty, savory, and salty

Nuts = crunchy, chewy, and salty

Vinaigrette = flavorful, oily, and a bonding element across all of the above tying it all together

This all started when a friend recently told us that his Fuyu persimmon tree was full of ripe fruit and he had a bag of persimmons for us from his backyard.

I originally went to my catalog recipe for Persimmon and Grilled Cheese Sandwich but I wanted something fresher and lighter.

We had recently checked out a Bon Appetit magazine from our library and there was an article in there that laid out the structure. I took that and ran with it.

But you can apply the same structure with other similar ingredients:

Fruit = Persimmon, apple, pear, oranges, Clementines

Cheese = Blue cheese, Gouda, Parmesan, ricotta

Nuts = Pistachios, hazelnuts, cashews, peanuts, walnuts, pecans

Vinaigrette = Any neutral oil, a neutral vinegar (rice wine), and seasoning (garlic, herbs, mustard, etc.)

For the vinaigrette, I used one of many in my catalog but next time I might use a different one.
Again, the structure is loose. Don't follow this verbatim but adapt as I did.

Persimmon, Blue Cheese, and Pistachio Salad

Ingredients:

• Fuyu persimmons - 3 ever so slightly ripe, peeled and sliced
• Pistachios - about 2 Tbsp. roasted and salted
• Blue cheese - crumbled
• Simple vinaigrette - see below

Vinaigrette:

• 1/4 cup white wine or rice wine vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 small clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup oil
• black pepper and salt to taste

Directions:

• Thoroughly mix the vinaigrette ingredients with a whisk and let sit for a period of time
• Cut off the top and bottom of the persimmon and peel off the sides. Cut into slices. Distribute slices on a dinner plate.
• Crumble cheese on top
• Sprinkle the pistachios over everything
• Drizzle vinaigrette over the salad

Enjoy.

Pan Seared Gnocchi with Leeks & Tomatoes

When you think of Italian food you probably go to pizza, spaghetti, and other pastas. Further down the list, and too often overlooked, is gnocchi. Gnocchi (pronounced N'YAW-key) comes from the Italian word nocca, meaning knuckle. Gnocchi, as food author Mark Bittman describes it, is:

"A simple Italian dumpling made from cooked potatoes, flour, and sometimes an egg. They're boiled and sauced."

One popular brand available.

One hopes they should be readily available in most supermarkets (depending on location). Take some
time next time you're in your pasta aisle to look for them. They're usually in a plastic tray and come in 2 cup servings.

Since I've been serving gnocchi, I've always "boiled and sauced" it with pesto, tomato sauce, or olive oil. I was recently reading an Eating Well magazine and found a recipe that called for crisping the gnocchi in a skillet with olive oil. No boiling needed. The pan searing adds a nice toothy texture but the "potato pillow." as it's often described, still absorbs the flavors that you add. I'm a convert! This is a great simple weeknight meal and the common denominator is the crispy gnocchi. The most basic recipe would be to add either pesto or a tomato sauce for the most simple and quick meal. You can play with adding basil leaves, mushrooms, onions, sun dried tomatoes, whatever you have in the fridge.

I adapted the Eating Well recipe as a starting point but decided to start fairly true to the original.

Pan Seared Gnocchi with Leeks and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

• Gnocchi - 1 package (15-17 oz.)
• Leeks - 2 medium, cleaned and sliced
• Cherry tomatoes - 1 pint basket, halved
• Garlic - 1-2 cloves, minced
• White wine - 1/4 cup
• Parmesan cheese - 1/3 cup finely shredded
• Butter - 2 tbsp. 
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Pepper
• Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a 12" skillet over medium high heat. Add gnocchi. Use a spatula to create a single layer. Let sit untouched for at least 5 minutes. Add some salt and pepper while it cooks. Shake pan to turn over the gnocchi and use the spatula to turn over any that need turning. Let the other side sit undisturbed for a period of time. Continue to shake the pan until the gnocchi has gently browned. Total time around 10-15 minutes. As you shake the pan you will hear the difference as the gnocchi gets crispy. When sufficiently crispy (but not blackened) transfer to a bowl and set aside.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add more olive oil to the skillet and add the sliced leeks. Cook for a few minutes until they begin to soften, about 2-3 minutes. The rings will start to separate.
3. Add the halved tomatoes and stir to mix. Add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant. Add butter and wine and cook for a few minutes. The tomatoes should just start to soften. 
4. Return the gnocchi to the skillet and stir until everything is coated. 
5. Turn off heat. Add Parmesan cheese and stir to mix. Plate and top with some black pepper or red pepper flakes. Garnish with more shredded cheese, some dried herbs such as parsley, basil, or a mix. 

 Serves 2-4

Tomatillo Salsa

This is the time of year in California when everyone's trees and gardens are in full production. Peaches, corn, plums, tomatoes, cherries, you name it. There's so much you have to eat it, preserve it, or give it away to your friends, colleagues, or neighbors.

Such a bounty was found at my workplace. I noticed a big basket of freshly picked tomatillos in the lunch room. I kept my eye on them and by Friday afternoon they were still there. So I ended up taking the whole thing home which turned out to be two pounds worth. I stopped by the grocery store on the way home for cilantro and Serrano chilies. I made this salsa on a Sunday afternoon.

A few lessons were learned with this preparation. Turns out those tomatillos were from a co-worker's garden. And, as it turned out, we both made salsa verde over the weekend but didn't realize it until she brought me a jar on Monday morning. I had also brought in a jar of my salsa to share with my office mates. So we did a salsa tasting contest at a department meeting. We didn't tell people who made which of the salsas but we supplied some tortilla chips and asked them for comments, input, and a vote for their favorite.

The results taught me:
Roast the tomatillos - I roasted the tomatillos which gave me an advantage. She followed a different recipe which had you boil the tomatillos along with jalapeno peppers. Taste testers commented that mine was "sweeter" and "more flavorful." The little black flecks in the salsa improves the visual appeal.

Don't skip cilantro and garlic - Garlic and cilantro add more depth and flavor. Even though there's certain part of the population that will say they don't like cilantro, it can't overpower everything else in the salsa. The cilantro will be a distant, unidentifiable flavor. My co-worker skipped these two ingredients.

Add a finishing liquid - Let's face it, when you take your salsa verde out of the fridge is shouldn't have the consistency of cold oatmeal. That's where my co-worker won a few votes (including mine!). I had both salsas in the fridge overnight but I gave them a few hours of room temperature treatment before the meeting so that the flavors would come through more for both. But I also wanted mine to be more like a chunky salsa. Her salsa had a consistency that looked more like commercial salsa verde right out of the fridge.

We compared notes after the meeting. She let know that she poured the finished salsa from the food processor into a warm skillet with 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. She said she read online that the olive oil helps with a smooth consistency and adds an attractive shine or sparkle. I came home and gave it a try with my remaining salsa. If you look online, you'll see some recipes call for water, lime juice, or broth.

Finally, if you don't can your salsa, you can also freeze it. I poured the finished product into ice cube trays and froze them for a few days before I popped them into a freezer storage bag for future use.

Oh, and of the 11 people in my work department, my salsa won 7-4.

Tomatillo Salsa

Ingredients

• Tomatillos, 1 pound, husked, rinsed, halved
• Onion, 2 medium yellow, diced
• Garlic, 2 cloves, chopped
• Serrano chili, 2 halved and seeded (optional)
• Cilantro, leaves and stems
• Salt
• Olive oil

Directions

1. Line a sheet pan with foil and turn on broiler.
2. Halve the tomatillos and put them cut side down on the sheet pan and broil for 5-7 minutes. You want some browning to occur (and they will get mushy).
3. Place all ingredients (except olive oil) in a food processor and puree until smooth.
4. Heat skillet with 2-3 Tbsp. olive oil. Gently pour in the salsa into the skillet and stir until salsa and oil are uniform. 
5. Turn off heat and let cool. 

Note: Everybody's heat tolerance is unique. So you have to figure out what works for you. If you love salsa, you probably already like spice and heat. To my taste, jalapenos have unfortunately been bred to be about as spicy as a bell pepper. So I usually don't use them anymore. Serrano chilies have a bit of a kick. Most of the heat is in the seeds, so regardless of the pepper you can leave the seeds in or out. 

Also, the heat dissipates with time. When I tasted immediately after preparation it was very spicy. But a day or two later the heat was less intense.

Creamy Summer Cucumber, Radish, & Tomato Salad

Summer time is here. We've been enjoying the plentiful summer fruit this year at the Farmer's Market. White nectarines, strawberries, and pluots have been our favorites. Summer brings hot weather, pot lucks, and outdoor dining.

This is a quick and easy summer salad that's perfect for a potluck or picnic.

Creamy Cucumber, Radish, & Tomato Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 English cucumber, seeded and diced
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 bunch radishes, diced
• 1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons dill, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons chives, chopped
• 4-6 ounces feta, crumbled
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise

Instructions:

1. Prepare all vegetables in place in a large bowl. Start with tomatoes. I cut them in half "south pole to north pole" and the again "across the equator." Seed them as best as possible to reduce water content and let them drain in a colander while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
2. Whisk mayonnaise with lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
3. Add mayonnaise mixture to the vegetable bowl and toss to coat.
4. Add feta and herbs and toss to mix. 
5. Place salad in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
6. Garnish with plenty of dill and chives.  

Spinach & Arugula Salad with Nectarines and Chicken

It's stone fruit season here in California. Over the last few weeks we have been getting nectarines at our farmer's market and enjoying them whole and cut up in yogurt for lunch. We came home to some nectarines that were approaching over ripeness. So I got online to see what I could find about ways to incorporate nectarines into our dinner.

I found this salad as a starting point but I had to adapt it to what we had in the fridge. This recipe is pretty flexible and forgiving. You can substitute or try new ingredients which is exactly what I did.

Here's how it unfolded:

We had both arugula and spinach so I combined them for the salad. But if you could do this recipe with either or try some lettuce.

The online recipe called for blue cheese. We didn't have any but I substituted some shredded salty Manchego because that's what we had. I can imagine using crumbles of blue or Gorgonzola cheese or even goat cheese. But, you need a strong, salty cheese to counter the sweetness of the nectarine.

The original recipe also called for toasted pine nuts. In the interest of time, I skipped this step but I can imagine how a salty, crunchy nut would add some texture (and protein) to the salad. One could use chopped peanuts, cashews, or walnuts.

The original recipe did not include any chicken. But I went ahead and lightly browned some Tofurky Chick'n that I had described in an earlier post to top the salad in order to add that toothy component that meat provides. The Tofurky product is a really good chicken substitute. But if you eat meat, I can imagine pulling some shredded chunks from a supermarket rotisserie chicken on top. The warm meat (or "meat") is a nice contrast to refrigerator cold produce in the rest of the recipe.

The raspberry vinegar is also something you might not have in your pantry. I happened to have some because of a gift from a friend who lives in Sonoma County near Kozlowski Farms. But, if need be, you can use your red wine vinegar.

Be creative!

Serves 2. 

Ingredients:

• Raspberry vinegar, 2 tablespoons
• Sugar, 1 teaspoon
• Olive oil, 3 tablespoons
• Dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon
• Black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon
• Salt, 1 large pinch
• Arugula or spinach, 4 cups (about 2-3 small handfuls of each)
• Nectarines, 2, each sliced into 8 sections
• Blue cheese, 4 oz.
• Rotisserie chicken, 1-2 cups shredded meat (if using Chick'n: about 4 oz. lightly browned in a small skillet).

Directions:

• In a small bowl combine the first six ingredients. Whisk together until well blended
• Place the arugula/spinach in a large bowl
• Prep the cheese and lightly brown the chicken in a skillet
• Pour the dressing over the greens and toss to coat (the greens will wilt once the dressing is on them).
• Add the cheese and toss to coat
• Plate the salad and top with nectarine slices and chicken