Salade Fava Beans, chicken, pecans & kumquats

Salade Fava Beans, chicken, pecans & kumquats by Maureen Horvath

Light refreshing Saturday lunch, kumquats still available here, Georgia is Pecan capital, and Fava beans from Farmers’ Market:

2 cups of prepared fresh Fava Beans 2 cups cooked chicken breast chunks
1 cup shelled Pecan nuts ½ cup sliced kumquats
1 cup EVOO ½ cup fresh squeezed OJ
salt and pepper to taste 2 drops Tabasco
2 cloves garlic minced ½ cup minced fresh parsley
1 head of Romaine lettuce

Toss together the Fava beans, chicken chunks, pecans and sliced kumquats. Whisk together the EVOO, fresh OJ, salt, pepper, Tabasco, minced garlic and fresh parsley. Pour over the Fava bean mixture and toss to coat well. Spoon onto Romaine lettuce.

Peas, Mint & Parmesan Crostini

Peas, Mint & Parmesan Crostini by Maureen Horvath

Yield: 12 servings
12 slices of baguette bread
2 garlic cloves peeled
1 cup fresh shelled Spring peas
Sea salt & cracked black pepper
2 tblsp extra virgin olive oil(EVOO)
1 cup shaved Parmesan
1/2 cup torn mint leaves
1 few drops of balsamic vinegar

Grill the sliced bread and then rub with garlic. Blanch peas in boiling water for about 2 minutes and then transfer to ice bath. Drain and transfer bowl. Mash peas with sea salt & cracked black pepper to taste, and the EVOO. Spread about 1 tblsp of pea mixture on each toast. Garnish with shaved Parmesan, torn mint and a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar.

Duck Crostini by Dwight Stanford

Picnic recipe. Another leftovers recipe. I made a roast duck today and with the extra, I used 200 gms of the cleaned meat, 4tbsp of the duck fat and cooked up 100 gms of pork sausage leftover in the fridge. I put them all in the kitchen aid until smooth, spread on my homemade multi-cereal bread toasted in the oven with a few drops of my EVOO on top. It is obvious by the presentation there is a woman about the house at present . It went well with my red which is 75% Montepulciano and 25% Syrah with no oak aging.

Cole Slaw by Kim Vanzi

I make this all the time for BBQs and Picnics. I just love Cole Slaw. It is basic simple and so yummy.

Ingredients

About 6 cups of white & red cabbage
3 large carrots
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoon of white sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper

Shredding the cabbage and carrots. in a bowl mix the remaining ingredients. Pour over the cabbage and carrots. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Some variations: Add crumbled bacon, raisins, cooked farro, rice, or nuts.

Sarah & Mark’s Chicken Caesar Baskets

 

This perfect summers day lunch is so easy to make and so delicious to eat. The parmesan baskets are a fantastically simple idea and are light and chewy but crisp. Wonderful!

Chicken Caesar Baskets (Makes 4)

For the Baskets:
2 cups grated parmesan
1 empty jam jar or glass

For the Filling:
1 large chicken breast
2 strips of bacon or speck
Romaine lettuce
chives

For the Caesar Dressing:
2 cloves garlic
4 anchovy fillets
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

First make your baskets:
1. Take a handful of parmesan and a hot flat griddle
2. Spread the parmesan in the centre of the griddle in a circle, thicker towards the centre and thinner towards the edges (this will make the edges more lacy)
3. Heat, then once bubbling and slightly starting to turn golden, remove from the heat
4. Loosen parmesan disk from the griddle with a spatular and as soon as you can, pick it up and drape over the up-side-down jam jar.
5. Make creases to form the bowl shape.
6. Remove from the jam jar and set aside to cool.

For the dressing:
1. Mash the garlic and anchovies together – if you have a mini blender then this is perfect.
2. Add the salt, pepper, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, egg yolk and then whisk in the olive oil. Blitz or whisk together until thick and creamy.

Now for the filling:
1. Slice chicken breast into small pieces and cook on a hot griddle (with any seasoning you may like)
2. Cook bacon in a similar way and cut into strips
3. Wash lettuce, tear into small pieces and toss in the Caesar dressing
4. Place a handful of the lettuce in the bottom of each basket, top with the chicken, bacon strips and chopped chives and you are done.
5. Yummy!

Amber’s Asparagus, Arugula and Parmesan Salad

250 grams of asparagus
Half a red onion, sliced thin
Two handfuls of arugula
Shaved Parmesan (use your vegetable peeler!), About 10 slices
2 strips of cooked (crunchy) bacon or pancetta
Olive Oil for sautéing

For the vinaigrette:
6 tablespoons of Olive Oil
2-3 tablespoons of champagne or white wine vinegar
1 tsp of Dijon mustard
1.5 tsp of honey
1 small shallot, chopped very fine
Salt and Pepper Q.B.

Wash and remove the woody stems from the asparagus. Cut tips of asparagus off and using a vegetable peeler, “slice” the asparagus into long strips. Heat oil in a pan large enough to hold onions and asparagus. Add onions first and let them cook for a few minutes over a medium low heat. Add asparagus strips and tips and continue cooking until desired tenderness. Don’t forget to season with S and P.
Let cool until warm but not cold.
While cooling, add all the ingredients for the vinaigrette to a shaker or glass jar with a lid and shake vigorously until completely emulsified.
To make salad, toss arugula, asparagus, red onions and a desired amount of dressing. (Hey, some people like it lightly dressed while others heavily dressed!) Add cheese and toss again gently. Sprinkle crumbled bacon on top.

Serve alone or accompany with a nice big steak!

Giselle’s Courgette & Parmesan Soup

Here’s the link to the site I found the recipe originally - 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/italianstylezucchini_9833

Good glug of EVO

1 tbsp chopped garlic

handful basil leaves chopped

sea salt and ground pepper to taste

1kg courgettes cut lengthways into quarters then into 1cm slices

750 ml chicken stock

60 ml or big glug of single cream

handful fresh flatleaf parsley chopped

50g freshly grated parmigiano plus extra for serving

 

Heat the oil in a heavy based pan over a med heat.

Cook the garlic, basil, salt and courgette slowly for about 10 mins or until the courgettes are lightly browned and softened (or just softened!)

Add pepper to taste, then pour in the stock and simmer for about 8- 10 mins uncovered.

Remove from heat.

If you have a stick blender, stick it in the mix and whizz about 3/4 of it.  If you have a food processor, do the same amount. (I prefer 1st method – less washing up!)

Return the soup to the pan and stir in the cream parsley and parmigiano.

To serve, ladle the soup into a bowl, sprinkle with more parmigiano (or shavings are good) and some toasted pumpkin seeds. ( Salt n pepper optional – I think it’ll be fine.)

Serve with crusty bread and a green salad.

 

Tomato Mozarella with Quinoa Salad by Ingrid Christensen

This is easily adapted for any number of guests so I’ll give approximate per person measures.

1 large Tomato (big enough to fit your mozarella inside)
1 Mozarella di Buffola (approx 80-125g)
1 medium sized Capsicum/Red Bell Pepper (cut in 1 cm dice)
1/2 medium sized Eggplant/Aubergine (cut in 1cm dice)
15grams uncooked Quinoa
Salad leaves & Lemon for garnish, Oil for cooking

Step 1: Boil 1 litre of water to be used to skin the tomato and cook the quinoa

Step 2: Add Quinoa and 300ml boiling water to a pot and boil for approximately 15 minutes until cooked. Remove from heat and drain in a sieve.

Step 3: Core Tomato and cut a small cross in the top and cover with boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Drain and cover with cold water.

Step 4: Heat a fry pan (medium-high heat) big enough to hold your Capsicum & Eggplant. Add your oil or choice and any spices or herbs you may like – I used olive oil with a dash of sesame oil to accentuate the nuttiness of the quinoa. Once heated add Capsicum and Eggplant. Cook until done – stirring gently occasionally – don’t overcook your vegetables should keep their shape! Allow to cool.

Step 5: Peel & discard the skin from your tomato, then hollow out the interior keeping the trimmings. You may need to trim the base to do this. Cut a design from your tomato – I used a simple triangular design – don’t cut away too much or it will lose the shape! Insert the mozarella.

Step 6: To make the salad chop up the tomato trimmings and add to the cooled veges along with the quinoa and mix gently.

Step 7: Dress your serving plate with salad leaves, put your quinoa salad in the middle and top with the tomato mozarella. Garnish with lemon.

Step 8: Serve with a squeeze of lemon and your favourite salad oil – I used olive oil but a nutty flavoured oil might be rather nice too.

Buon apetito!

Warm tomato vinaigrette by Temple Perrotta

Sammarzano tomatoes
½ cup EVO
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
garlic
salt and pepper q.b.
Preparation:
peel and seed the tomatoes, dicing the filets; finely chop the garlic; in a small saucepan, heat the oil with the garlic until the garlic starts to change color; remove from heat and add the chopped tomatoes, the vinegar and salt and pepper and whisk. Toss over fresh tender salad leaves and eat while still warm.

Mexican Salsa by Kim

This was great even though it is better with in season tomatoes.

 

Recipe
Grilled/Roasted whole long dolce green peppers (where not out yet so I used bell)
tomatoes
yellow onion
lime zest and juice of one lime
chopped cilantro
toasted spices (1 T cumin, 1 T chili powder, 1 T garlic powder, 1/2 T paprika)
dash of Green Tabasco sauce (more or less depending on your desire for heat)
Salt and pepper to taste

chop up the tomotes, peppers, onions. Add the lime juice and zest, cilantro, Tabasco, and spices. Salt and pepper to taste. Let sit at room temp for an hour or more. Mix and serve with chips or on top of salad, burritos etc. Soooo Good.