Beet and Barley Salad with Kale

 

I decided to take it upon myself to be the healthful contribution to a Memorial Day "meat-a-pooloza"

© extravaganza. I had some amazing beets from the farmer's market, huge lovely golden ones. They formed a colorful base for this delicious and hearty side that was perhaps more autumnal than most would choose for Memorial Day season, but happened to pair perfectly with the 50-degrees and torrential downpour that pushed all grilling under the eaves and onto the stovetop.

Barley Beet SaladServes 8

1 cup barley, cooked in 2 cups chicken stock
2 large (8 oz each) golden beets, roasted at 375 for 45-60 minutes
1 bunch (8 oz) kale, center ribs removed then chopped in bite-sized pieces
1/2 onion
2 cloves roasted garlic
1/2 cup dried cranberries
Toss with lemon mustard vinaigrette

Bring 2 cups chicken stock and 1 cup water to boil, stir in barley, then reduce heat to low and simmer, covered for 35 minutes or until done.
Meanwhile, dice onion and sauté in olive oil until tender. Stir in smashed roasted garlic and kale. Cover and heat over medium until kale is wilted. Stir in cranberries and toss with cooked barley and diced beets. Toss with a vinaigrette of your choice - I used lemon/mustard. Serve warm or chilled.

Just Like the Stumbling Goat

Seattle has a two-year old fundraiser called "Celebrated Chefs" - I don't want to endorse the program, so I'm not going explain it, but part of the program produces a cookbook compilation of recipes from fine local restaurants. The cookbooks are nice quality with great photos, but while most of the dishes would be things I would enjoy eating, probably only 20% were dishes I would order in the restaurant, and fewer than 1% were recipes I would ever consider preparing for myself.

There were a couple that stood out in Version II of the Celebrated Chefs cookbook though, and when I stumbled across this salmon recipe from the Stumbling Goat Bistro, I was sure I had a winner.

These beets are incredible, and would be delicious as accompaniment to many different dishes, but they are quite outstanding with the salmon.

Pan-Seared Salmon with Anise Glazed Beets (version as printed)

1 tbsp vegetable oil

2 salmon fillet pieces, about 6 ounces each, skin removed

2 tbsp olive oil

2 cups lightly packed watercress, rinsed, dried, and trimmed

1 small fennel bulb, trimed, halved, cored, and sliced thinly

freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 large or 2 medium red beets (about 8 ounces), trimed

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup champagne or white wine vinegar

1/2 cup water

2 teaspoons anise or fennel seeds

Put beets in a pan of cold salted water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until beets are tender (50-60 minutes). Keep beets covered with water throughout cooking, add more hot water as needed if necessary. Drain and let cool, then peel away skin. Slice in half, the slice halves cross-wise into 1/4 inch slices.

Combine sugar, water, vinegar, and seeds in medium saucepan.  Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar. Reduce to medium-law heat and simmer until mixture becomes a thick syrup, about 20 minutes. Strain into a medium bowl. Toss beets gently in syrup.

Heat oil in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add salmon and cook until nicely browned on both sides, 2-3 minutes per side.

Arrange beet slices in the center of each plate. Drizzle plate with olive oil. Set aslmon atop beets, drizzle plate with syrup, beading syrup with oil. Combine watercress and fennel in a medium bowl, and lemon juice and toss to coat. Plate alongside salmon.

Photo from the Celebrate Chefs, Volume II cookbook, page 94.

I made this recipe for 3 people, using 3 salmon fillets and 3 medium beets, but the same amount of syrup. I still had way more than I needed for serving, and ended up dumping it out afterwards, although I probably could have saved it for a week or two and used it to glaze more beets or even other vegetables like carrots.

The fish could be prepared to your preference. I chose to bake it in a 350 oven alongside barley that I served with this meal. I just squeezed a bit of fresh lemon on the fillets, and a bit of salt and pepper. If you leave on the skin during cooking, be sure to remove it before serving, or do not serve the fillet directly on top of the beets.

I didn't use watercress, because we had a spinach salad to go with the meal. Instead, I just tossed the fennel bulb slices and some of the dill-like springs with lemon juice and a touch of oil, and served it on top.

To avoid waste and to pick-up the same flavor notes throughout the meal, I diced the fennel stalks and used them in place of some onion in a barley recipe of my grandmothers. The version below is the adaption I created for this meal, but would definitely repeat. The fennel flavor is subtle and would compliment lots of dishes, or could be substituted back for all onion.

Baked Barley

serves 6

2 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped fennel stalks

1/2 cup chopped onion

3-4 chopped baby portabello mushrooms

2-3 teaspoons fennel leaves (fine, threadlike herbal top-portion)

1 cup barley

3 cups chicken broth

Melt butter in a medium skillet. Add fennel and onion and saute 5 minutes. Stir in mushrooms and saute until tender. Stir in fennel leaves and barley, and transfer to 1 1/2 quart casserole baking dish.  Pour broth over, cover, and bake at 325 for 75-90 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts.

More Famous Bloggers than I

I just read this great article in the Seattle Times that referred me to the http://17andbaking.com/ blog. I have only poked through a few entries so far, but I'm looking forward to spending more time on it. I sort of wish that was me. I mean, I was known as the "family baker" when I was 17. I was the one who was SO excited to move into a house my junior year in college so I could start baking again, and asked for a mixer for my birthday and called my grandmother to read me my favorite recipes over the phone. Too bad there was no such thing as a blog when I was in college. But I'm especially interested to try her "favorite Swiss buttercream" which she attributes to Martha Stewart. I haven't had much luck with Martha's recipes, and I've had even worse luck with buttercreams. But she has managed to take some exquisite photos of piping she did with it, so it obviously works well... I will be putting it through a rigorous taste test though, and will let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, after years of complaining, discussing, and testing, a former professional cake and wedding baker friend of mine shared with me her simple and results-perfect buttercream which I will be posting about in a frosting-exclusive post sometime soon.


But since this post is about other blogs, here's another food blog that I like: http://foodblogga.blogspot.com/, which I came across in a search for Torta Milanese. On vacation in Santa Fe, New Mexico, we stopped for an afternoon snack at a bakery cafe. We were exhausted from a morning of art galleries, but not especially hungry for lunch and it was far too early for dinner, so we ordered cappucinos and gazed at the bakery case. This elaborate torte caught our eye, so we ordered a slice and it was like nothing we'd ever tried. It was a rich, flakey pastry crust with layer upon layer upon layer of flavorful exotic layer: tomatoes, smoked mozzarella, roasted red pepper, basil and herbs, parmesan, eggplant, mushrooms, and I can't even remember what else. I wanted to find a similar recipe and an exhaustive search left me virtually empty-handed except for the wisdom and insight of food blogga Susan. Her recipe for pizza chena which I found first on my favorite website npr.org is basically what I was looking for. She is a freelancer for NPR, which led me to her blog.


In any case, what both these blogs illustrate very clearly is the importance of good photos, which I do not have. I do not plan to invest in any camera which will provide the type of images that these really popular blogs produce, but I hope you will still be able to get good ideas and helpful tips from what I have.


Here's today's offering:

This is last night's dinner, the driving factor of which was I wanted to try roasting butternut squash and apples together. I have an idea for an appetizer for an upcoming party and this was a preliminary step in my planning. It was delicious (cube pieces the same size, toss with olive oil and pepper, then roast at 425 for 30 minutes, stirring halfway through. Season with salt afterwards. There was also a tomato in there.) but hardly dinner. So I chose my other simple dishes based on what else was most colorful in the fridge. With the oven already on, I just added the corn in their husks to the oven (takes 15-20 minutes) and asparagus (also tossed with olive oil, salt, and pepper) for about 12 minutes. A little barley cooked in broth with diced onion and bacon bits gave a toothsome counterpart to the tender and flavorful vegetables.

One other blog I enjoy is the NPR Kitchen Window.

Summer Rainbow

I wish I'd done a better job photographing this meal, because it was the most festive, summery, fresh, and balanced meal I did all season. 

Grilled Halibut with Peach-Tomato Salsa

Drizzle a couple tablespoons of lime juice over halibut filet, then salt and pepper and allow to rest an hour or two.

For salsa, dice 1 peach, 1 tomato, 1 jalepeno (or to taste), handful cilantro, and mix with a teaspoon of lime juice and season with salt.

Lightly brush grill with olive oil, then grill fish until flakey and white all the way through. Serve with salsa.


Cabbage and Corn Slaw with Cilantro-Orange Dressing (recipe here)

 

Balsamic-Feta Barley

Saute ½ cup chopped onions in 1 tbsp olive oil.

When becoming translucent, add ¾ cup barley to coat with oil.

Stir in 1 -2 cloves minced garlic.

Add one can chicken broth, cover, bring to boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes.

Meanwhile, dice 1 large tomato. Toss with 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1-2 tsp olive oil, and pepper to taste (do not use salt, as the broth and the cheese will be salty). When barley is cooked through, toss with tomato and refridgerate. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup crumbled feta and serve chilled or at room temperature.

My First Date with Chard

Actually, dates and chard would be delicious together!! Why didn't I think of that when I was making this? Definitely need to try that next time. But alas, it was the first time I'd bought chard. It's nutrional profile was tantalizing, and it's so striking in the produce aisle with it's deep green frills and slender red stillettos.

So I scooped up a bundle and home we went. Spoiler alert, it ended better for me than for chard.
Swiss Chard with BarleyServes 2 as main, 4 as side.

Cook 1 cup barley (or quinoa) according to package directions. If desired, add 1 peeled and cubed sweet potato during last 10-12 minutes of cooking.

In large saute pan, cook 6 strips bacon until crisp, drain and crumble.

Add to the drippings:
½ onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp crushed red pepper
If needed to coat, stir in 1-2 Tbsp butter

Cook until onion is softened, then add:
1 bunch red chard, chiffonaded
8 white mushrooms, sliced

Cook until chard is wilted. Then stir in:
Barley
2 tsp fresh oregano
Salt and pepper to taste

Note: Although the chard was beautiful when it was fresh, this recipe became very dirty colored from the mushrooms. A different variety of mushrooms could probably eliminate this problem, or saute them separately and mix them in at the end so they don't cook down with all the other ingredients. But it's a purely cosmetic issue and the taste was dense, earthy, and satisfying.