Requests
— Couscous sources and salads
— Best peach sources
Good morning, good Wednesday company. Today salad is on the warm-weather menu, and Jeana Reidl wants to know “where can I find Israeli couscous or pearl couscous, and some good salads you can make with it.”
An anonymous reader is considering ordering peaches from The Peach Truck this summer and wondered if you recommend this source, if you still have one. In preparation for those peaches, AR sent a recipe for chutney made with the sweetest fruit of the summer. Keep reading to get that recipe.
HAIL KALE
Marge Pasch sent this creative vegetable dish in a recent collection.
Terry’s Creamed Kale
This recipe works just as well with Swiss chard.
Kale
chopped onion
Olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 cup orange or cranberry juice or either
Goat cheese
Chopped walnuts
Peel the leaves from the kale ribs and roughly chop.
Saute some chopped onion in olive oil in a large pan until glossy, then add the kale.
Add orange juice, the amount depends on how much kale you have. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and let it simmer while the juice boils down. When there isn’t much juice left, remove from heat and stir in a large chunk of goat cheese. Stir well and add some chopped walnuts to taste. serve.
CHUNKY GAZPACHO
As for summer meals, Tim Threadgill prefers Alton Brown’s gazpacho recipe, a recipe he found on the Food Network. His reason for liking this version of a cold summer soup? “I like it because it doesn’t use bread to thicken and leaves the vegetables chunky. However, it would be easy enough to mix.”
Alton Brown’s Gazpacho
1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
Tomato juice
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
1 medium garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 lime, squeezed
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon roasted, ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Fill a 6 liter saucepan halfway with water, place over high heat and bring to a boil.
Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, then remove and transfer to an ice bath and let cool until hold, about 1 minute. Remove and pat dry. Peel, pit and pit the tomatoes. When you sow the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl to catch the juice. Squeeze as much juice as you can, then add enough bottled tomato juice to bring the total to 1 cup.
Place the tomatoes and juice in a large mixing bowl. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree on high speed for 15 to 20 seconds. Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and let cool for 2 hours to overnight. Serve with basil chiffonade.
SUMMERCHUTNEY
AR, who was researching The Peach Truck while deciding where to buy summer peaches, found this recipe for chutney on their site. “They recommend serving this with roasted chicken, and that recipe can be found there too. As an introduction, “It’s the peach chutney that’s the star of the show. Once made, it will keep for a few weeks in the fridge – assuming you don’t eat it all before then.”
peach chutney
3/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons honey
6 to 8 peaches, peeled, pitted and diced
In a medium saucepan, add the vinegar, lemon juice, sugar and brown sugar and bring to a boil over medium heat. Once it boils, add all the remaining chutney ingredients except peaches and stir. Bring this mixture back to a boil and lower the heat. Continue to simmer for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Add the peaches and stir to combine. Bring the mixture back to a boil and cook for another 15 minutes or until the liquid is thick and syrupy. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature to serve. If you make it ahead of time, transfer it to a glass container and refrigerate until you need it.
SIMPLE, ON REQUEST
KSH recommended these two recipes, from the handwritten cookbook ‘Elegant Entertaining’, for the reader who wanted easy menus and recipes. “All you need with these two dishes are boiled and buttered new potatoes, or a favorite rice or potato recipe, and some sliced summer tomatoes.”
salmon fillet
1 (2 pounds or less) salmon fillet
2 tablespoons grated onion
juice of 1 lemon
freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 cup sour cream
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the salmon fillets in a greased shallow baking dish. Combine onion, lemon, pepper, paprika and Tabasco and divide over the salmon. Spread sour cream on top to cover. Bake for 30 minutes.
Cold Cucumbers
2 cucumbers, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced into individual rings
3/4 cup oil
1/3 cup white vinegar
1 and 1/2 teaspoons sugar
freshly ground pepper
Combine ingredients, and mix well. Store overnight in the refrigerator. Serve on a bed of lettuce or sliced fresh tomatoes.
PROTEIN SALAD
Here’s another easy and healthy salad from the Rose Secrest collection. I can imagine it as a whole meal, really, with some thick-cut tomatoes and maybe some homemade bread or excellent bread from the baker. Maybe some cheese too.
Black bean salad
1/2 cup dry black beans, cooked
1 cucumber, diced
1 orange, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
2 green onions, sliced
juice of 1 lemon
Combine all ingredients, let cool and serve.
Whatever your taste and budget this summer, here’s an easy toast to communal meals prepared without too much fuss. And here’s an invitation to come back next Wednesday.
To reach us:
Fare Exchange is an old meeting place for people who love to cook and eat. We welcome your recipes as well as your requests. Be sure to include accurate instructions for every recipe you send, and know that we cannot test the recipes printed here.
Mailing Address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Email: [email protected]
