Marañon

Steam 1 artichoke for 45 minutes, peel and dice the heart

Wash 2 cups brussels sprouts and remove the ends; halve them
Roast the sprouts at 400° for 20 minutes, until bottoms are golden brown


For the sauce:
1/2 cup cashews
2 minced cloves garlic
1Tbsp olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
2Tbsp fresh minced basil
Salt, pepper
1-1 1/2 Cups water

Blend till smooth & creamy

For cabbage, dice, then mix with 1Tbsp olive oil,  3 tsp balsamic vinegar, salt & pepper


Place brussels sprouts in the center of a deep bowl
Top with sauce
Spoon cabbage in a circle around the sprouts
Sprinkle diced artichoke hearts on top of sauce

zerba

 This dish combines some of my favorite roots and greens. Combining sweet potatoes with these beautiful purple carrots was a great flavorful combination, but next time we get these, I'll prepare something that shows off the incredible multi colored swirl of these carrots instead of hiding them.

Roast in light coat of olive oil at 450 until slightly shriveled and smelling delicious (about 30 minutes):
1 small sweet potato, peeled and diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
(you want an even number of both)

Steam 1 bunch of stemmed & halved swiss chard for 10 minutes or until limp
(we had 9 leaves/18 halves)
When steamed, set aside with lid on to keep warm

While roots are roasting, combine in a large bowl:

1 finely chopped green onion
3 large cloves garlic, diced
1 tomato
1 half habanero, minced
2 tsp paprika
 salt, pepper to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon

Mix well

When roots are almost done roasting, incorporate above mixture into carrots & sweet potatoes.
Roast for 5 minutes longer

Carefully remove greens and spread on large plates. Place 1/4 cup of roasted mixture on each leaf and roll together to form a loose tube.

For the sauce, I used the last of the mango sauce from earlier this week:

Run 1 chopped green onion, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup mango, 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar,  salt and pepper in a food processor 


Listening to Air - Moon Safari
Enjoying with Bierzo Abom Dom Bueno 2007

bakailao

This dish uses another method from Teresa Barrenechea's book. She may be saving me a fortune in culinary school tuition! I used her method of pan frying the fish, then used the mango-orange-balsamic sauce from last night. The greens and Marfa tomatoes were an easy match with this plate.


Remove ribs and steam large swiss chard for 10 minutes. Keep warm until cod is done.


For the sauce:
Run 1 chopped green onion, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup mango, 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar,  salt and pepper in a food processor 


Cut 1/2 pound of cod into 1 x 2 inch pieces, salt to taste, dredge with flour.
Whip 2 egg whites until frothy, add yolks and mix together
Heat olive oil in a pan over medium high heat
Dip cod in eggs, place in pan, cook for 2-3 minutes, turn over when bottoms are beginning to brown
When other side has cooked for 2-3 minutes, let drain on paper towels.


Place chard on a plate, spread cod evenly. Drizzle with sauce and place diced tomatoes in one corner.

otarrainxka, zapoa

Rachel was not feeling well earlier, so I went a little crazy at the seafood counter! We started with shrimp pintxos, then stuffed some lettuce leaves with monkfish.... Both recipes are from Teresa Barrenechea's The Basque Table. I changed the sauce for the monkfish as I did not have squid ink on hand. Maybe next time........

Heat olive oil
Saute 1 chopped green onion and 3 cloves garlic with 1tsp minced habanero
Add shrimp, cook until pink (about 2 minutes)

Submerge 6 lettuce leaves, drain them, lay them on a plate to dry

Heat olive oil, sauté 1 chopped green onion, 3 cloves garlic for 5 minutes

Add  1 Tbsp flour, stir for 10 minutes

Add chopped monkfish, sauté for 5 minutes

For sauce:

Run 1 chopped green onion, 1 clove garlic, 1/4 cup mango, 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tsp balsamic vinegar,  salt and pepper in a food processor 

Place even amounts of monkfish in lettuce, wrap each leaf into a bundle

Drizzle sauce over monkfish parcels

Lussac-Saint Emilion - Chateau Robin 2009

Médoc - Chateau Tour Prignac 2008

Listening to Lagos All Routes - Compilation of 70's Nigerian & Ghanan hits

espinaka & sustraiak

Rachel asked me to make some steamed spinach with garlic, and I love roasted red beets and carrots


Steam 2 cups finely chopped spinach

Saute 1 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat, add 2 Tbsp roughly chopped garlic
Add 1 tsp minced habenero, 1/2 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp paprika
Add 1 Tbsp lemon, salt & pepper
Saute for 2 minutes, until garlic is soft and almost brown

Place spinach on a plate, top with the garlic



Roast 4 peeled & diced red beets and 6 diced carrots in olive oil at 450 until soft and almost burnt

Separately, dice 1 green onion, 5 cloves garlic, 1/4 habanero pepper, 1 tsp lemon zest
Mix above with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 2 Tbsp Lemon juice, 1tsp cayenne, 1 tsp paprika salt & pepper

When beets and peppers are almost done, mix in sauce and roast for 1 minute more


Listening to Sexteto Moderno Electronico

krustazeo

When Rachel went on tour with our friend Leslie earlier this year, they had a day off in New Orleans. While there, she picked up a local Cajun cookbook: Creole Gumbo and all that jazz by Howard Mitcham. We already knew we loved Cajun food, but man is it fun to prepare! It was only a matter of time until I tried her favorite dish crawfish etouffee. This is a twist on the three different etouffee recipes offered in Mitcham's book. Absolutely dairy free (you could even take the gluten out by not using a wheat flour).

1 stick of margarine
3 Tbsp flour
Heat for 20 minutes, stirring constantly

Add 1/4 cup minced garlic
1 diced bell pepper
1 bunch bitter greens
1/2 diced habenero

Cook for 10 minutes, until vegetables are soft and translucent
Add 1 diced tomato & juices, 1 cup water, 1/2 dry wine, crawfish fat, 1 Tbsp paprika, 1 tsp cayenne, 1 tsp thyme
Simmer covered for 20 minutes

Meanwhile......
Prepare rice cajun style
(add 1 tsp oil, 1 tsp salt when boiling)


Add 2 cups crawfish, salt & pepper

Serve over rice and with bread


We had:
Haut Médoc - Le Bailly de Camensac 2005
Abad Dom Bueno Bierzo 2006
Listening to: Antena -  Camino del Sol

erremolatxa

At the end of the week, before a new bushel, I've been trying to combine all the remaining vegetables to make a soup.

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil
Chop 1 cups turnips, add to oil
Peel & chop 2 cups red beets, add to turnips
Chop 1 cup cauliflower, add to veggies
Chop 2 cups carrots, add to soup
Chop 1 head cabbage, add to soup
Add 1 Tbsp crushed red pepper & 1 Tbsp mixed dried herbs (lavender, basil, rosemary, thyme, parsley, marjoram, chervil)
Add 6 cloves chopped garlic, 1/4 cup chopped white onions, 1 bunch cilantro

Puree with a handheld mixer

Petalos Bierzo
Descendientes de J. Palacios 2009

lezaungo

Greens and Pasta with anchovy sauce

We used a gluten free variety, but any pasta is fine. For me, the key is the anchovies at the end!

Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil

Saute 2 tsp Hungarian paprika and 2 tsp crushed red pepper

Add 2 Tbsp chopped garlic

Quarter 2 cups small tomatoes, add to oil

Chop 2 cups fresh greens, add them to the tomatoes

Add 6 white anchovies, salt, cracked pepper, and the juice of 1 lemon

Stir until the anchovies are indistinguishable

Rachel had Abad Dom Bueno Roble - Bierzo Mencia  2008
I had Cruz de Piedra - Clatayud Granacha 2007
Listening to: Sun Ra - Interplanetary Music