Kale Salad with Roasted Parsnips and Cauliflower

In my efforts to eat healthier this year, I have been seeking out recipes with Kale.  As you may remember from previous blog entries, I really like parsnips.  So when I stumbled on this recipe in one of the food websites that a friend and fellow foodie turned me onto - TASTINGTABLE.COM  - I was delighted with learning a great new recipe which I'm sure I will be making often.

"Recipe from the Tasting Table Test Kitchen"

Yield 4 servings

Cook Time 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), cut into small florets

2 medium parsnips, peeled and sliced on a bias into 1-inch long pieces

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Zest and juice of 1 medium lemon

2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

4 fresh rosemary sprigs

1 pinch dried red pepper flakes

2 small garlic cloves, very finely chopped

1 bunch lacinato (or other type) kale – tough stems and ribs removed and the leaves stacked, rolled and sliced crosswise into thin ribbons

DIRECTIONS

1.     Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  In a large bowl (or in rimmed baking pan), add the cauliflower, parsnips, 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper and toss to combine.  Turn the vegetables out onto a rimmed baking sheet (if you didn’t already choose to toss in the pan).  Sprinkle with the red pepper flakes and roast until the vegetables begin to brown around the edges, 20 minutes.  Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue to roast the vegetables until they are tender, about 10 minutes longer.  Remove the baking sheet from the oven and discard the rosemary sprigs.

2.     In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons of olive oil, the lemon juice, garlic, the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and the ½ teaspoon of pepper.  Add half of this vinaigrette to a large bowl along with the kale ribbons.  Toss the take until it becomes slightly brighter in color, 2-3 minutes.

3.     To the kale ribbons, add the roasted cauliflower and parsnips and the remaining vinaigrette.  Toss to combine and serve. 

Calories per Serving:  220; Sodium:  1,031mg; Total Carbohydrate: 28g;  Fiber: 79; Fat:  12g

BROCCOLI AND CAVATELLI

My sister in law, Aunt Shawn makes this really well.  Add cooked boneless chicken pieces for a complete meal  (with a salad on the side, of course).  If you can’t find cavatelli, you could substitute different pasta like penne.

Serves 6-8

1 bag of cavatelli (16oz. – in freezer section – difficult to find – buy more than 1)

3 tablespoons olive oil plus ¼ cup

8 cloves garlic, peeled, kept whole

2 head of broccoli, cut up

1/2 cup chicken broth

Parmesan cheese to taste

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring water to a boil - add some salt to the water.

Add your cavatelli to water - cook al dente - approx. 10 minutes.

Meanwhile add 3 tablespoons of olive oil to a sauté pan.

Add garlic cloves and sauté 2-3 minutes.

Add cut up broccoli and sauté 3-5 minutes.

Add chicken broth to broccoli - cook on low for another 5 minutes until cavatelli are done.

When cavatelli is cooked – strain reserving some of the water.

Take garlic cloves out of broccoli pan.

Add cavatelli to broccoli and mix.

Add 1/4 cup of olive oil, some Parmesan cheese (please just a little).

Add salt and pepper to taste.

If the dish seems dry add reserved water from cavatelli and simmer on very low.

VEAL SALTIMBOCCA

I learned this in Rome from Diane Epstein, a really neat New York Mom who moved with her husband and 2 sons to Rome.

This is similar to the Chicken Rolls from Florence.  The Italians love this way of cooking thinly sliced meat.

Originally this recipe called for whole sage leaves but my boys hated biting into a whole leaf so now I chop them.  

  

Serves 4

4 veal cutlets, pounded thin

4 tablespoons flour, for dredging

8 sage leaves, chopped finely

4 slices of prosciutto

4 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons butter

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

1/3 cup white wine (optional)

Dredge veal slices in flour.

Place chopped sage leaves on top of veal cutlet.

Place slice of prosciutto on top of chopped sage leaves.

Fold in 1 side then other - secure with a toothpick.

Sauté in some olive oil and butter - approximately 2-3 minutes each side until cooked through but not tough.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Optional:  Take veal saltimbocca out of sauté pan.  Add 1/3 cup white wine to your pan and cook stirring any bits in the pan for approximately 2 minutes.  Pour over your veal.

Diane didn’t use this white wine step but I guess the Irish in me always wants to find some way of using alcohol in my cooking!

POPPY SEED BUNDT CAKE

Here is a great cake to make for weekend guests or I often bring it to my ladies tennis matches as it's easy to cut off a piece without needing a plate.  It's simple and a real winner recipe.  My friend Cheryl turned me on to this at least 10 years ago and it is still my "go to" cake for brunches.

Remember how hysterical the scene was in MYBIG FAT GREEK WEDDING with the Greek in laws trying to figure out why the new in laws would bring a cake with a hole in it...I laughed my ass off as they were trying to pronounce B-U-N-D-T cake and when they finally presented it with flowers in the middle I laughed to tears!

Serves 10

1 Duncan Hines Butter Cake Mix

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup canola oil

1 cup sour cream

4 eggs

1/4 cup poppy seeds

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Bundt pan

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Spray Bundt pan with butter spray - or butter and flour your pan.

Beat cake mix, sugar, oil and sour cream together until well blended.

Add 1 egg at a time to the mixture, beating after each.

Stir in poppy seeds and vanilla.

Pour into your prepared Bundt pan.

Bake 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Short Rib Stew

With a snowstorm approaching, this Short Rib Stew is great to make on a Friday so that you have it available all weekend.  Definitely make this a day in advance, refrigerate, the next day skim off the fat, and reheat. 

I made this recently for a dinner party and learned a valuable lesson.  I set the table with a fork to the left and a knife to the right.  The meat after cooking for 2 hours comes out like butter (or as we pronounce it in NJ “butta”) therefore you only need a knife if you are serving butter with your bread (which you definitely must do for sopping up the gravy).  My guests immediately reached for the dessert spoon, which I had across the top for chocolate pudding later.  I loved it.  I saw it as a compliment that there was no way they were going to let all that great brown gravy slip through a fork!  So serve this dish with a big soup spoon!!

SHORT RIB STEW      Serves 12

4 lbs. boneless beef short ribs, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces

¼ cup flour

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cups red wine

3 cups broth (veal preferable if you can find it otherwise beef or chicken)

6-8 carrots, sliced (or cut in ½ then sliced if very large)

3-4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces

3-4 parsnips, peeled and cut into ½ inch pieces

½-1 onions, cut into 1 inch pieces (I don’t like a lot of onions)

½-1 pound Cremini mushrooms, quartered (I love mushrooms)

1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (hassle I know but so great)

8 sage leaves, chopped

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

In zip lock bag, toss the short ribs with the flour.

Heat oil in a big pot and sauté your ribs a few at a time over medium heat until browned all over, about 6 minutes per batch.

Return all the meat and all the juices back into the pot.

Add the wine and increase heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the stock, lower the heat and cover until meat in tender, about 2 hours.

Stir in the carrots, potatoes, parsnips, onion, mushrooms, thyme and sage.

Cover and simmer over low heat until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with crusty bread or rolls.

Lentil Soup

Before Mario Batali and "celebrity chefs" there was Marcella Hazan.  In my humble opinion her cookbook, THE CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKBOOK, The Art of Italian Cooking and The Italian Art of Eating, is by far one of the best cookbooks to own.  But don't take my humble opinion, James Beard wrote, "As I read through this most fascinating book I become hungrier and hungrier.  It's fun to find a book with so many recipes you can enjoy three times over - first reading about them, then cooking them, and lastly, and most important, eating them. " There are no glossy photos in this cookbook just one  great recipe after another.

Adapted from THE CLASSIC ITALIAN COOKBOOK by Marcella Hazan (Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1983)

LENTIL SOUP    Serves 8-10

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 tablespoons butter plus 4 more

½ yellow onion, chopped

2 celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

6 slices prosciutto, shredded

1 can plum peeled Italian tomatoes (28oz) cut up in their juices

1 bag dried lentils (16oz),  soak in water for 1 hour and drain

4 – 6 cups beef broth, depending on consistency

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

3 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Gently heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of butter and sauté onions until golden.

Add the celery and carrots and sauté  for 2-4 minutes, stirring often.

Add the shredded prosciutto, sauté another minute more.

Add the cut up tomatoes and their juices. 

Cook gently for about 25 -30 minutes uncovered, stirring often.

Add the drained lentils, stirring a few times.

Add broth starting with 4 cups.  Check for consistency – you want it creamy not watery.

Add some salt and pepper – you can add more later if needed.

Cver and cook until lentils are tender about 40 minutes.  Add more broth if needed.  You want the lentils to get soft and soup consistency to be creamy.

When lentils are cooked, correct for seasoning and add more salt and pepper only if necessary.

Off the heat add 4 more tablespoons of butter and Parmesan cheese.  Serve with additional cheese.

PARSNIP POTATO SOUP

I love parsnips.  This soup can be an elegant starter to a fancy dinner party or can be served casually for a cold day.  It's easy to make, costs nothing, and is healthy.

PARSNIP POTATO SOUP

2 tablespoons butter

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2 cloves garlic, chopped

½ yellow onion, chopped

bag of parsnips(16oz.), peeled and diced

3-4 white or Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced

6 cups vegetable broth

Kosher salt and white pepper

Heat butter and add vegetables.  Gently sauté vegetables about 10 minutes.  Add broth and gently cook until vegetables are soft about 30 minutes. Put in blender, cuisinart, or if you own an immersion blender to use in the pot that you cooked the soup in that makes for fewer dishes.  Puree the soup into a creamy texture. Taste for seasoning, but remember sometimes store bought vegetable broth is very salty.  I like using white pepper in this soup but if you don’t have it you can certainly use black pepper.

I do not use light cream in my recipe but if you want to you can always add a little after blending.

This soup comes out a beautiful peach color however, if you want it to be a more white creamy color then don’t put a carrot in it.