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Healthy Recipes

Sublime Sunday: Gravlax

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Sunday mornings are for ease and quiet and maybe some classical music and perhaps the NY Times scattered about. If there is going to be any entertaining it needs to be low maintenance.
Fish for breakfast, according to my dear friend Anthony, is SUCH a NY thing to do. Seriously, raw fish during the tender lights of day? and not anything mild or boring, but smoked or cured, such as this gravlax that I laced with garlic chives and meyer lemon zest.
Now, Let me say that I’ve been chided by a Swiss fellow for not recanting the true history of raclette in one of my recent posts (truth be told, I never recanted ANY history) and I don’t propose to the be the master of the “must know” about gravlax- BUT I can tell you this…
It’s one of the easiest things to make and delightfully enjoyable- especially for those  watching waistlines.
I purchased a beautiful piece of wild salmon that I hand picked from the fish monger. Once home I gave it a good rinse and patted it dry. Then I took a generous amount of flaked salt, minced some garlic chives and grated the zest from a meyer lemon and then, after combining all three, covered the flesh of the fish very generously. I put the flesh side down onto a large plate with a little well in it, wrapped it tight in plastic then placed another opposing plate on top.
Into the fridge it went and I took a bottle of wine and my ever constant bottle of bubbly, and lay them on top to keep plate pressed to fish. Then just left it.
A few days later I removed my little bundle, drained the liquid that had been pulled out of the fish and it was ready to slice and serve.
The zest and garlic chive gives the Salmon a lovely mellow flavor. It’s nice enough to eat just so on some crackers or chewy bread. Typically I serve my gravlax with some honey mustard- just take 3:1 parts of mustard and honey and stir together. You can adjust this formula to your taste. More mustard more heat.
And that, my dears, is it. A beautiful and delicious dish that requires a whole lot of nothing to do. The most difficult thing to do is slice it all.  Sharpen your knife with the thinnest blade as best you can and channel your inner Zabar Salmon Slicer and have at it.
The thin folds of the salmon make little bright jewels on the plate. Keep this cold until ready to serve and store any left over as soon as possible after serving.
Enjoy my doves!

Beluga Lentil and Quinoa Salad With Meyer Lemon and Cornichon Dressing

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Finally cooking! These past few weeks has been a whirlwind. I have been caught up in a vortex that has whisked me along and spun me around much like Dorothy and the Wizard. I can happily say that I have finally touched down and yes- it is dancy and pretty and sunshiny.  In the midst of all the scheduled mayhem I was able to attend the Cookbook Conference at the last minute. What a wonderful and fantastic time it was!

I was able to meet and connect with all sorts of incredible food people- some after my own heart and others that I would have never met otherwise. Seriously, I would never have met people like Carolina Capehart, who I am told is one of the best food historians out there. She regularly cooks foods from the 1850’s over open fires- IN BROOKLYN! Then there was Carole Murka from Heirloom Meals who interviews and records regular people about their heritage and family recipes. I made some new friends that I am sure I will carry with me long and joyfully- but I also got such a tremendous insight as to how so many of us toil separately and similarly. Maggie Battista from EatBoutique!, Winnie Abromson from Healthy Green Kitchen, Cathy Barrow-the famous Mrs Wheelbarrow, Gail Dosik from One Tough Cookie– all of these amazing women and others my kindred spirits!

And now I am finally settling down. The conference put a fire in my heart that I cannot begin to explain- and it’s all so deliciously yummy and wonderful.

So now I am finally back at my own stove. The new stove that I am making a slow and cordial relationship with thus far. I am learning it’s temperaments and enjoying the creation of a new workspace for myself. Thus far it feels wonderful and works very well.

I will be bringing lunch to a friend tomorrow and the direction I got was “try to keep it healthy” and “no capers”. Not a bad suggestion and so my mind went quickly to this recipe I developed awhile ago. It is earthy, nutritious and satisfying without being too heavy for a midday meal, and an easy flavor profile that she should enjoy.

I am not a tremendous lentil fan- they can be wonderful and they have their place, but I typically don’t swoon. The Beluga Lentils however, not only look gorgeous, but they keep their shape and bite. No mush here. The quinoa and lentils are high in fiber and rich in protein, making this a power food dish.  A generous toss of minced cornichons give this salad a sprite snap while the mellow Meyer lemon softens it all out.

I am serving ours over shredded red cabbage, but this is also wonderful over lettuces such as Bibb.

Now to go think of a good dessert….

Lentil Quinoa Salad w Meyer Lemon Dressing
serves 4 nicely
 
 
.5 c beluga lentils- rinsed
.5 c tricolor quinoa
1 clove of garlic-half left whole the other half finely minced
4T minced cornichons
zest and juice from one meyer lemon
3T minced red onion
2T minced fresh tarragon
olive oil to balance out lemon juice ~.25c (taste!)
S&P
 
In one small saucepan combine lentils and 1c water. Add half of garlic and pinch of salt and simmer until tender ~20mins
 
In separate small saucepan combine quinoa and 1c water and a pinch of salt and simmer until tender ~15mins
 
While the lentils and quinoa are cooking prepare the dressing.
 
In a large bowl add the minced garlic, zest and juice of lemon, onion, cornichons and tarragon. Whisk in olive oil a bit at a time. Taste as you go. Meyer lemons are less tart and require less oil to balance.
 
When the quinoa and lentils are cooked, and still warm, toss into the dressing.
 
Continue to occasionally toss the salad until cool to get all the dressing pooled at the bottom soaked in.
 
When cool check for balance and season with S&P
 
 
 

Enjoy!

Power Packed Oat Scones: One healthy, the other healthier

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As I have been packing up all my various china (and mind you, there is a quite a bit of it) I am reminded of my days when I would have friends over for High Tea. This was back in the early 90’s when Victoriana was the rage. For those parties I made teeny cucumber sandwiches, bitty raspberry tartlets and, of course, cream scones. We would gather all lady like and I would set out a spread, all served on pretty little plates, with delicate cups and saucers, silver trays and lace linen napkins. Mind you, this was in my funky railroad East Village apartment.
Those were the days…
I’m a big fan of the scone. Not too sweet, not too buttery and a mouthful that requires huge slugs of tea or coffee to wash it down. When I first moved to NYC I lived off of them. I was a darkroom hack in those days just out of art school, with student loans and no money. From the Korean deli on the corner I could buy a huge boulder of a scone for a buck, and for another 75 cents get a giant cup of coffee. There was always a lump of scone sitting at my bench slowly getting nibbled away, keeping me company in the dark.
Yesterday I had a hankering for a healthier oat version. Something that I could grab on the way to the gym and not feel guilty for it. Something that would nourish me mid afternoon after a few hours of packing.
I started out with a recipe that I found in Breakfast, Lunch, Tea by Rose Bakery– but that was only a guideline. I added in wheat germ, flax seed oil and protein powder. The recipe calls for whole wheat flour and a smattering of rolled oats and I exchanged the butter for vegetable oil. I tossed in some cranberries at the last second.
The result was a hearty scone that in my opinion could have used a bit more milk. Lovely though. These will not win any culinary awards for scone of the year, but considering the power packed ingredients, these are wonderful.

The second batch was a recipe I took from my old cookbook Simply Scones, originally printed in ’88. I made their Oat Currant Scones, using raisins in lieu of currants, oil instead of butter, and milk instead of heavy cream.

The consistency was more right on and they baked up the way a scone should. Honestly, I think there were both pretty close. You can see from the photo below the crumb was pretty much the same. Using oil made them a little denser than they would have been had I used butter, but again, a healthier version was the goal here and with that in mind, these were great.

Whole Wheat Oat Power Scone
adapted from Breakfast Lunch Tea
makes 12 2″ scones
 
1.75 c AP flour
.5c whole wheat flour
.5c rolled oats
.25c wheat germ
1 scoop protein powder
1 heaped T bp
.5t salt
.25c sugar
2T flax seed oil
.75c vegetable oil
6T milk
2c fresh cranberries
 
Oven set to 400˚
 
Mix flours, wheat germ, protein powder, BP, salt and sugar into a bowl and toss to combine. Toss in Cranberries
 
Stir in oils and mix with hands to incorporate into flour. This will be mealy and lumpy.
 
Add the milk and swiftly, carefully pull the dough together. Turn out onto work table dusted with flour, and give a turn or three kneading the scone.
 
Pat into 1.5″ thick mass and cut out 2″ scones and place on paper lined baking sheet.
 
Glaze with a little milk or beaten egg if desired and bake for 20-25 mins.
 
 
Raisin Oat Scones
adapted from Simply Scones
makes 8 wedges
 
2c AP flour
1c rolled oats
.25c sugar
1T bp
.5t salt
.25t cream of tartar
.5c milk
.5c vegetable oil
2 large eggs, beaten
2 large handfuls of raisins
 
Oven set to 400˚
 
In large bowl combine dry ingredients.
 
Add in oil and work in with fingers to get a lumpy mealy texture.
 
Add in milk and eggs, give a turn or two then toss in raisins. Pull dough together, turn out onto floured worktable.
 
Pat into an 8″ diameter circle. But into 8 wedges and place onto baking sheet.
 
Bake 15-20 mins