Category: Sides

Stir-Fried Burdock

Servings: —
Source: Coke Farms

Ingredients
2-3 burdock roots
1TB peanut oil
1TB sesame seeds
1-2 TB soy sauce
1 pinch of chili flakes
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Dash of sake (optional)

Directions
Scrub roots and scrape skin with a sharp knife under running water. Keep burdock in water to keep from turning brown. Cut into 2″” sections and cut into match sticks. Keep cut pieces in water as you cut.

Heat peanut oil in wok on medium heat. When a bead of water evaporates on contact, add cut burdock, and stir-fry for about 5 minutes or until tender, but still firm. Add sesame seeds and chili flakes. Continue cooking for another minute, then add sesame oil and soy sauce.

Burdock is commonly used in Japanese cuisine and macrobiotic cooking. Burdock is very nutritious and has an earthy, nutty flavor. May also be used as an addition in soups and stews.

Spinach with Pine Nuts & Raisins

Servings: 6
Source: Fine Cooking August/September 2001 pg 39
Use baby spinach when it’s available; it’s sweeter, less gritty, easier to clean, and there’s no need to trim the stems.

Ingredients
2½ lb. fresh spinach, stems trimmed, leaves rinsed
½ tsp. coarse salt or sea salt
½ cup water
¼ cup fruity extra-virgin olive oil; more to taste
½ medium onion, finely chopped
3 Tbs. golden raisins
3 Tbs. pine nuts
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
Put the spinach leaves in a large pot with a tight fitting lid (if all the spinach doesn’t fit, add the rest once it starts cooking and collapsing). Add the salt and water and cook, covered, on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the spinach is wilted, 2 or 3 min. Drain in a colander, let cool, and squeeze out the liquid with your hands. You’ll end up with about 2 cups cooked spinach.

Heat 3 Tbs. of the olive oil in a large sauté pan set over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until it begins to turn golden, about 5 min. Stir in the raisins and cook for another 3 to 4 min. Stir in the pine nuts and sauté until they’re lightly toasted, about 3 min. add the spinach and cook until any excess liquid has evaporated. Season generously with salt and pepper and drizzle each serving (or the whole serving platter) with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil.

Smothered Okra

Servings: —
Source: New Orleans Cook Book

Ingredients
3 Tbs lard
2 C thinly sliced onions
2 lbs fresh okra, stems and tips removed, sliced ½ inch thick
1½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground pepper
? tsp cayenne
½ tsp mace
¼ tsp sugar
¼ tsp chili powder
1-lb can whole peeled tomatoes, drained
¼ tsp dried mustard
2 tsp Creole mustard
dried thyme

Directions
Sauté lard over medium heat. Sauté the onion until light brown (15 min). Add the sliced okra and Sauté for 15 min more, gradually adding the salt, pepper, cayenne, mace, sugar, and chili powder.

Add the drained tomatoes and thyme and continue to sauté. Break up the tomatoes with stirring spoon as the mixture cooks. Add mustard. Cover and cook for 30 minutes longer. Stir from time to time.

Serve hot or chilled as a salad.
“

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Servings: 4
Source: Gourmet
March 1997
Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
1/4 cup garlic cloves (about 6), unpeeled
Make the following recipe

Ingredients
BASIC MASHED POTATOES

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.
2 pounds russet (baking) or red potatoes

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 to 1 cup milk

Directions
Peel potatoes and cut into 2-inch pieces. (If using red potatoes, it is not necessary to peel them). In a large heavy saucepan
simmer potatoes in salted water to cover by 1 inch 10 minutes, or until tender, and drain in a colander. In pan or bowl
combine potatoes, butter, and 3/4 cup milk. With a potato masher mash potatoes until smooth, adding more milk if
necessary to make creamy. In pan reheat potatoes over moderately low heat, stirring, and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Arrange garlic in one layer on a double thickness of foil and wrap tightly. Roast garlic in middle of oven 45 minutes, or until
very soft. Unwrap garlic and cool slightly. Peel cloves and with a potato masher mash into potatoes until creamy.

Sweet Potatoes with Bourbon

Servings: 8
Preheat: 375°
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 1 hr
Source: Gourmet
November 1999

Ingredients
3 lb large sweet potatoes, peeled and halved crosswise (garnet “”yams”” work best)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 stick unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 to 1/3 cup bourbon

Directions
Active time: 15 min Start to finish: 1 1/4 hr.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Cut each potato half lengthwise into fourths. Steam potatoes on a steamer rack set over boiling water, covered, until just tender, 10 to 15 minutes, then cool, uncovered. Transfer to a buttered 3-quart shallow baking dish.

Simmer brown sugar, butter, water, and salt, stirring occasionally, until sugar is dissolved and syrup is thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bourbon to taste. Drizzle syrup over potatoes and bake in middle of oven, basting occasionally, until syrup is thickened, about 1 1/4 hours.

Cooks’ note:
• Sweet potatoes may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat before serving.

Mexican-Style Slaw with Jicama, Cilantro & Lime

Servings: 6-8
Source: Fine Cooking September 2006
I’m a sucker for slaw-I think it’s the crunch that really gets me. Unfortunately, if slaw isn’t made correctly, you get what we’ve all had at one picnic or another – slaw that’s heavy, soggy, and overly sweet. I’ve found that the secret to a great slaw is to make it feel lighter and more like a fresh salad, which is easy to do by just learning a few simple tricks.

Balance flavors and textures. To provide crunch, I like to add vegetables like carrots, celery root, and jicama to the cabbage, and then toss them together with a fresh, bright dressing. While some dressings for slaw can be overly sweet and heavy, I make mine with fresh citrus juice, which gives the slaw a much lighter feel.

Toss with salt, then weight dense vegetables to purge them of excess water. This step makes the vegetables tender and briny and ensures that the slaw doesn’t become too wet once dressed. Coarser cabbages like green and red cabbage benefit from longer purging, whereas a more tender cabbage like Napa breaks down extremely fast, so a short salting is all it requires. Onions also benefit from salting, which mellows any harsh flavors and brings out their sweeter side.

Once it’s assembled, serve the slaw as soon as possible. Even when purged, the vegetables will continue to release water after they’re mixed with a dressing, so they’re best served within an hour or two of assembly. The exception is slaw containing Napa cabbage, which should be served immediately. You can refrigerate leftover slaw for up to two days; it will taste as delicious as ever but will lose some of its crisp texture and will exude more liquid.

Ingredients
This slaw also makes a tasty topping for fish or chicken soft tacos.

1 small or ½ medium red or green cabbage (or use a mix of both, about 1½ pounds), bruised outer leaves removed, cored, and cut into six wedges Kosher salt
1 medium jicama (about I pound), peeled and quartered
4 scallions (white and green parts), thinly sliced on the diagonal (about ½ cup)
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
¼ cup fresh lime juice; more to taste
1 jalapeño, seeded (if you like) and minced

Directions
Thinly slice the cabbage in a food processor using the 4mm slicing disk or by hand; you should have about 6 packed cups. Put the cabbage in a colander and toss it with 1 tablespoon kosher salt. Lay a plate that fits inside the colander on top of the cabbage and set a heavy can or jar on top of the plate. Drain the cabbage in the sink or over a bowl for 2 hours.

If using a food processor, switch to the grating disk and grate the jicama or cut it into very thin (julienne) strips by hand; you should have about 2 cups. Put the jicama in a large bowl and toss in the scallions and cilantro.

In a small bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, lime juice, and jalapeño.

Turn the cabbage out onto a clean dishtowel or paper towels and pat it thoroughly dry. Toss the cabbage with the jicama and the lime mayonnaise. Season to taste with more kosher salt and lime juice if needed.

Maple Pan-Roasted Baby Carrots

Servings: 4
For this recipe, baby carrots are ideal, but you can also use mature carrots if you cut them down to size, as shown in the photo tip below. You start cooking the carrots on the stovetop and then move them to the hot oven to roast. The direct heat of the stovetop jump-starts the caramelizing of the carrots.

Ingredients
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 lb. carrots with their tops on, preferably baby carrots, peeled and stems trimmed to about ½ inch
1 Tbs. pure maple syrup
½ tsp. kosher or sea salt; more as needed
¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper; more as needed

Directions
Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.
In a large (12-inch) ovenproof skillet or sauté pan, heat the oil over high heat (the oil shouldn’t smoke but should crackle when you add the carrots). Add the carrots and cook, stirring frequently, until they blister and turn golden brown in spots, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the maple syrup, salt, and pepper and toss well to coat the carrots. Remove from the heat.

Spread the carrots evenly in the skillet and transfer it to the hot oven. Roast until the carrots are tender, browned in spots, and just a little shriveled, 12 to 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper before serving.

Tip: to cut a large carrot into 6 baby-carrot-size pieces, slice the carrot in half crosswise; then halve the narrower bottom end and quarter the wider stem end.