Sauce

March – Cauliflower Milanese with Romesco Sauce
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March – Cauliflower Milanese with Romesco Sauce

This vegetarian entree uses thick slices of cauliflower as a stand in for the usual chicken. You can use the same technique for some thinly sliced boneless and skinless chicken breasts. Trust me though, your family might not miss the meat.

Romesco is a spanish sauce that contains roasted sweet peppers, almonds, garlic, vinegar and olive oil. You will have leftover sauce from the recipe, smear it on toasted bread or serve it with raw vegetables. It’s easy to make in a small food processor or blender and wonderful to have on hand.

Cauliflower Milanese with Romesco Sauce

Cauliflower Milanese with Romesco Sauce

I am a big fan of cauliflower especially if it has crispy edges. You can find lots of recipes for it in many forms on my blog. Did you know you can search by category or major ingredient? Unfortunately it doesn’t show unless you are on your computer. But, you will find it on the rights side of the post. Cauliflower has its own category.

This recipe came from the cookbook The Weekday Vegetarians by Jenny Rosenstrach. She says that the recipe serves 4, only 2 in our house with leftover sauce.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of all purpose flour
  • 2 eggs, whisked
  • 1 cup of panko bread crumbs
  • 2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast
  • 3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil plus more as needed
  • 1 large head of cauliflower, outer leaves removed, sliced from top to bottom through the core into 6 or 8 (3/4 inch) slices or “steaks”. Keep any florets that break off to cook separately.
  • Fresh chopped chives or parsley for serving

Romesco Sauce:

  • 1 (12-ounce) jar of roasted sweet red peppers, drained
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 2 teaspoons of red wine vinegar
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • 1/2 cup of blanched almonds
  • 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Method:

Make the Romesco Sauce:

  1. In a blender or small food processor combine the roasted peppers, garlic, vinegar, salt, pepper, almonds and olive oil. Blend until emulsified. The sauce should be spreadable but on the thicker side. You can make the sauce ahead, it will keep in the fridge for about a week.

Cauliflower:

  1. Set up three dredging stations in wide bowls or rimmed plates: one for the flour, one for the eggs, and one for the panko. Season the panko with salt, pepper and the nutritional yeast.
  2. Prepare a large sheet pan or baking sheet by lining it with paper towels.
  3. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
  4. Using your fingers, dredge the cauliflower steaks first in the flour, then the egg, then finally in the panko. Place the steak in the hot skillet, repeat with as many steaks that will fit in the pan without crowding or overlapping. You will probably need to do this in batches. Fry each steak until golden brown and crispy on one side, then carefully turn to brown the second. I used two wide metal spatulas to do this without breaking the steaks.
  5. Transfer the steaks onto the paper towel lined baking sheet to drain.
  6. Repeat until all the cauliflower has been breaded and fried. I dredges the leftover florets the same way and fried them as well. You may need to use additional olive oil. They never made it to the dinner table.
  7. To serve, spread 1/2 cup of the Romesco sauce on each warmed plate. Place one or two cauliflower steaks on top and garnish with the chives or parsley.
Cauliflower Milanese with Romesco Sauce

Cauliflower Milanese with Romesco Sauce

You can easily use the same recipe for thin chicken cutlets. Instead of the Romesco sauce, Chicken Milanese is often served with an arugula salad, cherry tomatoes and a lemon wedge. To make this gluten free, use gluten free flour and panko.

Or try this one for cauliflower cutlets with arugula salad.

Cauliflower Cutlets with Arugula Salad

Cauliflower Cutlets with Arugula Salad

Cauliflower is an extremely versatile vegetable.

 

July – Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing
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July – Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

I am in love with the dressing on this salad. The recipe came from Alexandra Stafford’s blog at Alexandra’s Kitchen. If you are not familiar with her blog, I recommend it. The salad has been modified from her Cold Peanut Noodle Salad with Cucumbers recipe. I used brown rice noodles to make this gluten-free and slightly reminiscent of Pad Thai. I also added a lot more vegetables.

If you use a natural brand of peanut butter, make sure you stir it before measuring. The dressing will taste wonderful whatever you use. I had Skippy Crunchy in the pantry since we use it as a treat for the dogs. Since I blended it, the crunchy bits didn’t matter. But, I think it would have still been amazing even with a few chunks.

Shanna

Is that my peanut butter you are using?

The cucumbers are spiralized. I have an old one that I purchased when the fad first hit Instagram a few years ago. There are now handheld ones on the market. If you don’t have one, a quick search on Amazon with give you lots of options.

I used Trader Joe’s roasted chili peanuts. Any type of roasted ones will do just fine.

If you are using regular cucumbers, peel them first unless the skins are very tender. European, Asian, or Persian cucumbers won’t need peeling.

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Peanut Dressing

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of peanut butter (or another nut butter)
  • 1/3 cup of fresh lime juice (from about 4 limes)
  • 1/4 cup of soy sauce or tamari
  • 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
  • 2 tablespoons of maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup of water plus more if needed
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 teaspoons grated or finely minced fresh ginger
  • 2 – 3 teaspoons of chili-garlic sauce, such as Sambal Oelek
  • Kosher salt

Method:

  1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, lime juice, soy sauce, sesame oil, maple syrup, water, ginger, garlic, and chili-garlic sauce. Taste and adjust with more lime juice or salt if needed. Another option is to use your blender. I threw everything in and blended until smooth. The dressing may thicken as it sits, you can add a tablespoon of water until it gets to the right consistency.

The salad ingredients can be varied to what you have on hand. Alexandra’s recipe only called for cucumbers and scallions. I wanted more vegetables in my version. I have added thinly sliced romaine lettuce, julienned carrots, thinly sliced cabbage, or that cole slaw mix that comes in packages at the store. They were all delicious.

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Salad

Ingredients:

  • 1 package of dried brown or regular rice noodles
  • 2 large cucumbers (more if small), spiralized
  • 1/2 red onion, cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 2 sweet peppers, sliced thinly
  • handful of snap or sugar peas, blanched for 30 seconds and sliced thinly
  • 4 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 cup of roasted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup of cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped
Prepped Vegetables

Prepped Vegetables

Prepped Vegetables

Prepped Vegetables

Method:

  1. Break up the noodles a little before cooking, then cook them according to the package directions. Drain and run cold water over them to cool them.
  2. Place the noodles in a large bowl. Pat them dry if they are still wet. Toss them with about 1/4 cup of the dressing. They should be nicely sauced. Add the rest of the vegetables, cilantro, mint, and peanuts. Toss and taste. Add more dressing if needed. My cucumbers with somewhat watery so I drained them on paper towels after spiralizing them, before they were combined with the noodles.
  3. You can serve this immediately but it keeps well in the fridge if you make it ahead. It’s still good the next day for lunch, maybe with a bit of cold chicken or shrimp added
  4. The dressing will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Cold Rice Noodle Salad with Peanut Dressing

Do you think the folks over at Fiesta Friday will like this one? I am joining the party with my contribution, it’s Fiesta Friday #498 hosted by Angie and co-hosted by  Jhuls @ The Not So Creative Cook.

May – Carrot and Saffron Socca
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May – Carrot and Saffron Socca

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

What is socca? It’s a pancake made with chickpea flour. A more complete explanation comes from Google:

Farinata, socca, torta di ceci, or cecina is a type of thin, unleavened pancake or crêpe made from chickpea flour. It originated in Italy and later became a typical food of the Ligurian Sea coast, from Nice to Sardinia and Elba islands. It is also typical in Gibraltar, where it is called calentita.

Socca is gluten-free and dairy free. In this recipe crumbled feta is added to the salad, leave it out for a dairy-free and vegan meal.

The recipe comes from salad freak by Jess Damuck.

There are a couple of ways I will change this when I make it next time. Suggestion number one has to do with the batter. The socca batter is baked in a 12-inch cast-iron or round griddle pan. The pancake was quite thick and although it was crisp on the outside, it was more like a regular fluffy pancake in the middle. The salad makes enough for two pancakes. And there is enough batter to make two thinner pancakes, which would be crisper.

Suggestion number two is that I would dress the salad with a tablespoon of mild vinegar, two of olive oil, salt, and pepper. The pesto would be dolloped on top, each person could mix it in as desired. I felt it was lost as a dressing for the salad.

I plan to make this again very soon with the changes noted above. Meanwhile, I will post this as it was written in the book, let me know what you think.

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

Ingredients:

  • 1 bunch of fresh carrots with their tops. Peel the carrots and reserve the tops
  • 2 lemons
  • 3 radishes
  • 3 scallions
  • Fresh chives with their flowers
  • 1/3 cup of feta cheese, crumbled
  • Big pinch of saffron
  • 1 cup of chickpea flour
  • 1 cup of lukewarm water
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons of olive oil

For the pesto and salad:

  • 1/3 cup of olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup of sliced almonds, toasted
  • Crushed red pepper flakes

 

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

 

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F, and place a 12-inch cast-iron skillet or round griddle inside

Prepare the socca batter –

  1. Add a big pinch of saffron to the 1 cup of lukewarm water, and let it seep for 10 minutes.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup of chickpea flour and 1 teaspoon of salt (kosher), add the saffron water and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Whisk until smooth and set aside.

Prepare the pesto –

  1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil.
  2. Put a bowl of water in the sink with some ice cubes, this will be your ice bath.
  3. Remove the tops for the carrots, discarding any tough stems or wilted leaves. Rinse the tops well until clean. Add them to the boiling water and cook for about 30 seconds, until bright green. Transfer the tops to the ice bath with a slotted spoon or spider. Once cool, remove the tops and squeeze out any excess moisture. Spread them on paper towels or a tea towel to dry completely.
  4. Once dry, finely chop them in a small bowl. Stir in 1/3 cup of olive oil, the zest and juice of 1 lemon, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Taste and season with salt. (I used a mini food processor for this step.)

Prepare the salad –

  1. Using a Y-peeler or a mandoline, create thin ribbons from the carrots.
  2. Thinly slice the radishes.
  3. Add both vegetables to the ice bath used for the carrot tops. This will crisp them while you cook the socca.
  4. Slice the scallions and chives (if using)

Make the socca –

  1. Carefully remove the preheated pan from the oven and place it on top of the stove.
  2. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the scallions and cook until softened.
  3. Carefully pour the batter into the pan and return it to the oven.
  4. Bake until golden brown and completely set – 10 to 12 minutes. For additional color, you can broil it for a couple of minutes.

Assemble –

  1. Drain the carrots and radishes, pat them dry, and add them to a bowl. Toss with a few spoonfuls of the pesto, 1/2 cup of toasted almonds, 1/3 cup of crumbled feta, and the chives.
  2. Scatter this mixture on top of the socca and serve with the pepper flakes on the side.
Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

 

Saffron Socca or chickpea pancake seasoned with saffron and topped with thinly sliced carrots and radishes, garnished with a carrot top pesto

Carrot and Saffron Socca

Everything could be made ahead, baked, and assembled at the last minute. Other recipes I have seen for socca call for letting the batter rest, in the fridge, for several hours. The salad would be more flavorful if it had a chance to soak up some of the dressing. Goat cheese would be a good stand in for the feta.

It’s a wonderful, light, flavorful meal. It could even be a starter, cut into small portions.

 

June – Cilantro and Lime Crema
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June – Cilantro and Lime Crema

Cilantro Lime Crema

Cilantro Lime Crema

 

Use this easy and quick lime crema to add flavor to tacos, tostadas, nachos or drizzle it over a bowl of tortilla or black bean soup. During the warmer months I keep a small jar of it on hand to add a cooling (although you could make it ‘hot’) jolt of flavor. Dairy products will soften the heat of spicy foods.

I only used a tablespoon of finely minced jalapeno but feel free to add more if heat is your thing.

Ingredients:

  • juice and zest of 2 limes
  • 1 cup of sour cream
  • 1/4 cup of finely minced cilantro
  • 1 tablespoon of finely minced jalapeno (or more to taste)
  • pinch of kosher salt

Method:

  1. In a small bowl whisk together all the ingredients, saving a few zests of the lime and cilantro leaves to garnish.
  2. Refrigerate until ready to use.

That’s all there is to it. It will keep a few days in the fridge, thickening slightly.

I bet the folks over at Fiesta Friday would find this useful. It’s Fiesta Friday #438, a virtual (can you believe how many things are still virtual!?) blogging party that predates Covid. Angie hosts the party. Click on the link to find ideas for celebrating the 4th, decorating your home, or keeping the kids busy with crafts now that school is out.

 

January – Marinade
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January – Marinade

MARINADE, that’s the only title on a slip of paper that was clipped to my mother’s refrigerator for many years. The words are now smeared by water droplets but the writing is still legible.

Marinade

Marinade

My mother has been gone for some years but I treasure these glimpses of her thoughts and life. And this is a very useful, simple recipe to keep around.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup of soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup of bourbon
  • 2 cloves of crushed garlic
  • 1 tablespoon of grated ginger
  • 2 tablespoons of brown sugar
  • dash of dry mustard

Can be used on all meats…chicken, pork, London broil, fish. Marinate for 2 hours but not longer than 24.

This is quite a strong marinade. I wouldn’t marinate fish for longer than 30 minutes, chicken for 2 hours, thick cuts of beef and pork can take the 24 hours. But I recommend 6 hours for a thinner cut. Longer than that and the meat will turn mushy. This marinade has done wonders for steaks of questionable tenderness. Flank steak is infinitely improved by a 6-8 hour bath. The marinade has a definite Asian slant, you could use sake or brandy instead of the bourbon. My mother usually had bourbon around as my father had a large bourbon and water every night before dinner.

 

 

I marinated this flank steak for about 6 hours, then grilled it on high heat for about 4-5 minutes a side. It was delicious, juicy and tender.