Arugula pistachio pesto

I enjoy pesto in pretty much all incarnations: basil, radish leaves, cilantro, and now arugula. My arugula bolted weeks ago, but I've still been eating it in salads and I generally don't mind the extra spice. I have a lot though, and the pesto seems a nice way to temper the pepper of the arugula, even the already bolted kind. I am not a raw garlic eater so I didn't add any, but go ahead if that is your thing. You could also add romano or pecorino cheese, though I didn't miss them here.

Arugula Pistachio Pesto
3+ cups packed arugula
1/2 c. pistachios
1 tsp salt
1/2 c olive oil

1. Toast pistachios in a 400 degree oven for 5-10 minutes until brown (or on cast iron skillet on the stove top, stirring often). Allow to cool. (You can skip toasting the pistachios, but it adds more flavor depth and is extra tasty when you do.)
2. In a food processor, blend arugula and toasted pistachios. Pulse several times to chop and mince the nuts and greens. Add salt and olive oil and pulse again until a nice paste.

I love pesto on green beans (just steam the beans for a few minutes and than stir in the pesto) and also on eggs with some cherry tomatoes. The pesto would also be good on chicken, sauteed zucchini, a tomato salad - endless possibilities!

Pork Belly Salad

Camp "kitchen"

I got back into town last weekend to a tree strewn city! Though I have a big tree limb just hanging across my power lines, I was relieved to find my power up and running so that freezer content moving did not need to co-occur with unpacking, hanging and drying tent and tarps, etc. There was  lots of fog on the drive back down from up north, and heavy fog = prime conditions for roadkill deer. So the return also included a small buck nestled in with the Duluth packs.

My boundary waters trip included many fish meals (hurray!) - primarily pike - mostly fried, but also an amazing chowder that I hope to recreate at home with fresh ingredients. Until then, I am currently subsisting on the bounty of the garden: Arugula, lettuce, radishes, and lamb's quarters. Yum! The arugula makes me swoon at every meal, it is so delicious.

My cousin graduated from South High earlier this month, and he celebrated with a graduation party on Sunday. The food was amazing, and one particular treat I want to recreate was prosciutto wrapped arugula bundles. The arugula was drizzled with olive oil and fresh parmesan reggiano grated over the top. It was totally delicious and stunning, though I neglected to take a photo before stuffing it in my mouth. The accompanying photo here is similar, though there is an apple slice in with the arugula as well (which sounds tasty too). The bundles I had were a bit larger, with very thin slices of prosciutto wrapped around them. It showcased the arugula perfectly, and made for such a delightful appetizer!

I came home from the party with a bag of pork bones that I am currently cooking in the slow cooker on the porch to make broth, and some pork belly that the pork roast was wrapped in. Score! I discovered the pork belly this morning and proceeded to make one of the more delicious salads of my week with it. It's similar to a cobb salad without chicken, and with this pork it tasted incredible. Thank you to my aunt Mary who was perhaps overwhelmed with pork bones and leftovers to send me home with such bounty!

Pork belly salad:
1-2 c. fresh greens (arugula, kale thinnings, and lettuce)
3 small radishes, chopped
1 hard boiled egg, chopped
1/2 avocado
3-6 cherry tomatoes, halved
sliced pork belly

Dressing: equal parts olive oil and balsamic, mixed with a teaspoon of mustard and a bit of salt.

Roasted Squash with Date Relish and Pumpkin Seeds

I made a new recipe for Thanksgiving this year, and I have to say it is my favorite squash recipe ever. OMG this was so good. It comes from Bon Appetit, and it turned out totally gorgeous. I never got a photo, but I perused some online pictures to try to find one that might hint at the color and flavor combo of this dish. It was stunning and delicious.

This is the first time I have ever cooked kabocha, and I love it. It is really rich and almost dry because it is so dense. It is almost like a sweet potato in dark orange color and texture. It would probably make excellent pumpkin pie filling because there is such little moisture.

The prep for this dish is a bit lengthy - mostly because you have to peel the squash before baking it. The recipe recommends that you remove the peel after halving the squash (as shown), which is what I did.

Roasted Squash with Date Relish and Pumpkin Seeds (serves 8)

Final servings looked a little like this...

1/3 c. shelled raw pumpkin seeds/pepitas
1 tsp + 3/4 c Extra Virgin Olive Oil, divided
1 4 lb kabocha squash, halved through the root end and seeded
kosher salt
1 T fresh thyme leaves
freshly ground pepper
1/4 c (or more) fresh lemon juice
1/4 c chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
1 bunch/4oz. dandelion greens/arugula - rough ends removed (I recommend arugula)
1 c deglet dates (*deglet is very important! other dates are too sticky), pitted and thinly sliced lengthwise
2 oz parmesan cut into 1/4" pieces (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375. Arrange racks in upper and lower 1/3 of oven. Spread pepitas on a baking sheet in a single layer. Stir them once or twice while browning on the top oven rack - about 7 minutes total, until lightly browned, puffed, and aromatic. Toss seeds on cookie sheet with 1 t olive oil and a pinch of salt. Let cool on the tray. When cool, chop as garnish for salad. (I used them whole!)

like this only with no peel!

2. Increase oven temp to 425. Place squash half cut side down on a cutting board. Carefully remove the peel with a sharp knife. Cut squash lengthwise into 3/4" thick wedges. (Again, you could reverse those steps and try removing the peel after making wedges.) Put squash wedges, 1/4 c olive oil, and thyme in a large bowl and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Arrange squash wedges on two large rimmed baking sheets in a single layer. Bake until soft when pierced with a fork, rotating sheets one time midway through, about 25-30 minutes.
3. Mix remaining 1/2 c oil, 1/4 c lemon juice, and parsley in a medium bowl. Season with salt, pepper, and any additional lemon juice to taste. Place greens in a large bowl, drizzle 1 T of dressing over the top and toss to coat. Season with more salt and pepper to taste. Add dates and parmesan (if using) to remaining dressing for date relish.
4. Arrange greens on a large platter, top with warm squash, and then spoon the date relish over it all. Top with pumpkin seeds as the garnish.

*Note: I have made a version of this dish sans greens - with only the squash (I mixed in delicata too), the dressing, pumpkin seeds, and the dates. It makes a great potluck item.

Zucchini Carpaccio Salad

The zucchini and I are hitting that very delicate stage where I have to make concerted efforts to eat them fairly often (daily?) lest they take over my fridge.  I seem to be able to consume the small ones with not so much problem, but inevitably a few grow big before I pick them and those ones are a little more challenging for me to figure out what to do with. And then I remembered a post I had come across in the Smitten Kitchen a couple of years ago for a salad that was primarily "sweated" zucchini slices. At that time I had made a (glutenous) zucchini galette that also utilized this "sweating" technique, and I remember it sort of altered the texture and flavor of the zucchini in a really nice way.

So. I had a family wedding/pot luck to go to this weekend, and three rather enormous zucchinis in the fridge. The recipe is really simple - just zucchini, arugula, lemon juice, olive oil, and Parmigiano-Reggiano, and though sweating the zucchini is a bit more labor intensive, the taste and texture make it worth it (you will need a thin slicer of some kind - I have an old mandolin that worked well). The salad turned out really amazing - simple and fresh and so perplexing in it's un-zucchini-like quality. *If you want to be dairy -free, I think this salad would also be good with nuts in place of the cheese. I also tried it again later with chicken on top (no cheese) and it was great.

Zucchini Carpaccio Salad

1 1/2 pound zucchini (about 3 large)

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 pound arugula, stems discarded and leaves cut into 1/2-inch-wide strips (6 cups)

1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano, coarsely grated (on large holes of a box grater; 1/2 cup)

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of one lemon

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1. Cut zucchini crosswise into paper-thin slices with slicer. Toss zucchini slices with one teaspoon salt in a large colander set over a bowl and let drain 20 minutes. (I was making a bit extra and "gently stirred" the slices every so often to help the water drain through. I also let mine sit about 30 minutes.)
2. Drain zucchini slices, pressing gently on slices to extract any excess liquid. Pat zucchini slices dry with a kitchen towel. (This is the slightly laborious part. I laid out the slices on a towel on my cutting board, and then put another dish towel across the top and patted them dry. It took several rounds of this to get through all of the slices!)
3. Put arugula greens in a large bowl. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt. Drizzle 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil over greens and toss. Arrange zucchini slices over arugula greens, then drizzle with remaining oil, lemon juice and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano and pepper. (I sort of tossed this a bit more to mix the arugula and zucchini - but whatever looks best to you!)