Notes from Debbie's Kitchen
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Did you all enjoy trying the crispy leeks recipe? Man, I made those again and they are just so good!! If you missed it, see last week's newsletter. Meanwhile, here's some new stuff!
- Debbie
 
Brussels sprouts with fennel, pistachios and Pernod (with flambe option)
from Debbie's kitchen
will serve 2 to 4, depending on portion size
 
Okay, this is my new favorite way to make Brussels sprouts. Actually I still love them the other ways I cook them so that's not quite accurate... but anyway, this is really good! Having a steady supply of sprouts over the winter season, I was able to spend more mental time with them, pondering their qualities and what flavors I thought would pair well with them. The thing that kept coming back to me was 'nutty', and for some reason 'pistachio' in particular... I've now decided that's a match made in heaven!
 
So the first thing to know about this recipe is, you can make it three ways... with just the pistachios, with the fennel seed and the pistachios, or with those plus the 'finish' splash of Pernod at the end. They are all good. Just don't leave out the pistachios!
 
One bag of sprouts (~3/4 lb) from your box
2 to 3 tbsp. shelled pistachios (I use Trader Joe's dry-roasted)
~ 2 tbsp. butter
Olive oil
~ 1 tsp. fennel seed (optional)
sea salt
Pernod [an anise/fennel liqueur], a healthy splash or two (optional)
 
First, prep your sprouts. Trim bottom, peel off as few outer leaves as is necessary to get to a clean core (see "about Brussels sprouts and aphids", above), rinse lightly if needed, then cut in half vertically (through the base).
 
Grind the fennel seed a little in a mortar and pestle to release the flavorful oils.
 
Steam prepared sprouts for barely 2 minutes; while sprouts are steaming, heat a heavy-bottomed skillet (I LOVE my cast iron!) over medium heat, add a splash of olive oil and the butter and swirl until melted and beginning to bubble. Scatter fennel seed over the butter/oil, then as soon as the sprouts' two minutes are up, dump them into the skillet on top of the fennel. Re-arrange them cut-side down as much as possible, then let cook until they begin to brown on the cut side, maybe 2 to 3 minutes, depending on how high a temperature you're using and how many sprouts are in the pan (cast-iron holds a lot of heat). After about a minute of cooking time, scatter pistachios over all and shake pan a bit, to get them to nestle down in between the sprouts and pick up a little coating of butter/oil. Sprinkle all with salt. When the sprouts are clearly browning on the bottom, turn up the heat and splash Pernod over them... oh, I don't measure, but I'll say around 3 tablespoons worth. Shake pan and cook briefly, until Pernod has mostly evaporated or been absorbed, then transfer out of pan to plates or serving dish. Can be kept warm in the oven while you're preparing other dinner things, if needed.
 
Fun note: if your temperatures are right, you can actually make this really fancy (at least it seems that way!), i.e. 'flambe' it. If you have a gas stove, this can happen spontaneously as the fumes from the heated alcohol catch fire. This is not a FIRE fire (like a get-out-your-extinguisher fire), but a true flambe, which consists of beautiful, rosy flames dancing delicately across the surface of the pan. The flames are ephemeral; ten to twenty seconds and they fade as the alcohol is burned off. Really fun though! If you don't have a gas stove, just have a match or lighter or something handy, and once the Pernod has gotten hot (probably a matter of seconds after having added it), bring a flame towards the pan. When it gets close enough to the fumes, it will ignite. Enjoy!!
 
 
Cilantro-kale "Hot Salad"
This is a recent variation on my original 'hot salad' recipe. If you love the aroma of cilantro, you're gonna love this!
 
1 to 2 bunches kale (my fave: red Russian), washed as needed
a generous amount of cilantro
juice from 1 to 2 lemons (or 1 lemon, 1 lime!)
olive oil
flavorful sea salt
 
For this hot 'tossed salad', rather than my normal routine of stripping the leaves off the stems, cooking whole, then chopping after, in this case I'll strip the leaves off the stems, then tear them into pieces. It's a little more work, but makes a nicer salad presentation.
 
Cook kale in well salted boiling water about 2 minutes. Drain well, squeeze out extra water with the back of a spoon (or your hands, if cool enough to handle), then place in a bowl, separating the leaves with your hands into a loose pile (basically you want to undo the lump you created by squishing the water out).
 
Roughly chop the cilantro and add to the kale and toss together while kale is still warm. This volatilizes the oils in the cilantro and creates a heady cilantro-aroma-therapy session!
 
Pour lemon juice over all, then drizzle generously with olive oil and toss. Sprinkle well with salt, then toss again. Taste and adjust balance of lemon, oil, and salt.
 
Note: this cilantro-ey green yumminess is MOST excellent tucked into carnitas burritos! Yes, confession time is in order here. On days when I'm working late at the farm (6:30 - 7pm) I'll sometimes call my husband to let him know I'm leaving (it's an hour's drive from the farm to my home in San Jose), and he'll go pick up some Super Taqueria carnitas burritos [my favorite - I'm a sucker for good carnitas!] so we can have dinner when I get home, instead of me spending an hour or more preparing dinner and then us eating at 9 or 9:30pm (you guessed it - he doesn't cook). But I always have to have some green with my dinner, so I'll quickly cook up some kale hot salad and we'll have that with. We like tucking forkfuls of the kale into the burritos as we eat them. If I have fresh cilantro on hand (which is almost always), sometimes I'll bring out a handful and we'll just tuck cilantro into the burrito as we eat them. But then one time I thought of combining the two, throwing the cilantro on top of the lump of cooked kale and then chopping them together... that was when the new taste sensation occurred. Don't forget the hot sauce!
 
 
Simple roasted beets
People often ask me about beet cooking times, so this is current favorite way of roasting them.
 
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Scrub beets well to remove any dirt or hair roots (see earlier discussion about veggie scrub brushes), trim top and tails [as always, if the leafy greens are still attached, cut those off, wash and save to use separately], and cut into wedges. Do not peel - the skin is tasty, so leave it on!
 
Put beet wedges in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and toss. For added zing, whisk some balsamic vinegar together with the olive oil and toss beets with that (but plain is fine too). In the photo I had both red and golden beets, so I tossed the golden ones separately with white balsamic and olive oil.
 
Spread beets in a single layer in a glass baking dish (ideally one with a lid), sprinkle generously with salt, cover. If you don't have a dish with a lid, cover dish tightly with foil. Place dish in preheated oven and cook for 45 to 50 minutes. The beets are done at this point, but you have some leeway; oftentimes if I haven't finished preparing other parts of dinner, I'll just turn off the heat and leave them in the oven (covered) to stay hot. If they seem plenty done, crack the oven door a bit. If they cook a little more, it doesn't hurt them though!
 
Serving-wise, you can eat them just like that. In the picture, I just ate them with warm brown rice and butter and -- what else -- hot salad!
 
They are good warm. They are good cold and left-over the next day.
 
Beets also pair wonderfully with goat cheese, so try crumbling some over the top when you serve them, or mixing them up with goat cheese to create a creamy coating... hot or cold, it's really good.

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