.
Yeah… I know what you’re thinking. Romaine, avocado, and red onion? Is that all?
No way!! This salad is crisp, light, and refreshing – making it a perfect match
for anything heavy, cheesy, or fried or extra spicy.
Sounds weird, yes, I know.
But if you've never
tried, I do urge you to consider a Fuyu Persimmon that is ripe
(but not yet soft), slicing it up, then grilling it over a low-medium
flame.
"Try a marinade of meyer lemon, coconut oil and honey if you want more flavor"
What you get is the most amazing caramelized persimmon you've ever tasted.
I
left a couple slices on extra long (about 5 minutes) so that it was
completely soft and gooey, then sandwiched it between two graham
crackers, some chocolate and voila ... the world's first Persimmon
S'mores!
Cheers!
Grilled Beets
If you have not, you ought to.
Slice em like steaks about 1/3 inch
Marinade them with olive oil, your favorite herb and balsamic vinegar.
Keep splashing the beet steaks with marinade until finished grilling.
Putting the cut steaks in a steamer for a few minutes will speed up the grill time and help with marinade absorbtion.
Sweet and spicy roasted kabocha squash
Most recipes out there for using winter squash seem to involve
pureeing them, but I rather like them when they are in chunks or slices.
This roasted squash has a sweet, spicy and salty glaze of sorts on
them, which brings out the dense sweetness of the fruit. Cut into fairly
thin slices like this, it makes interesting finger food. You can vary
the sugar and spice to your taste, though too much of either may
overwhelm it.
You do need to use kabocha-type squash for this ideally, though
butternut should work too. You will need a dense, starchy and sweet
squash.
- 1/2 small to medium sized kabocha squash
- 3 Tbs light brown, natural cane, or muscovado sugar, plus a bit more for sprinkling
- 1/2 tsp ground cayenne pepper or hot chili powder, more or less to taste
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 Tbs soy sauce
- Oil for drizzling - pumpkin seed oil is preferred, or use toasted sesame oil, argan oil, or walnut oil (see notes)
Preheat the oven to 200°C / 400°F. Line a baking sheet or two with silicon baking liner or parchment paper.
De-seed and cut the squash into slices about 1/2 cm or 1/4 inch
thick. (Use a sturdy knife for cutting squash or pumpkin, on a stable
surface, and be careful!)
Combine all the dry ingredients. Toss the squash slices in this until coated thoroughly. Add the soy sauce and toss well again.
Spread the slices in a singler layer on the baking sheet. Drizzle
over them with the oil, and optionally sprinkle more sugar on them. Bake
in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then turn over, drizzle with more
oil and sprinkle more sugar, and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
Toasted pumpkin seed oil (Kürbiskernöl) is a mainly Austrian
speciality, though they make it here in Switzerland too. It’s very
nutty and dark, and is terrific in dressings and marinades. Toasted
sesame seed oil or walnut oil can be substituted, or even expensive
argan oil.
Carved turkey sandwich with kabocha spread and ancho-bell-pepper-cranberry chutney
Total time: 1 hour, 20 minutes
Servings: Makes 2 sandwiches
Note: Adapted from Judy Han of Mendocino Farms
Ancho-bell-pepper-cranberry chutney
2 red bell peppers, roasted, peeled and stems removed
1 ounce dried ancho chiles, stems removed
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup leftover cranberry sauce or ½ can cranberry sauce with whole cranberries
1. Place the roasted bell peppers,
dried ancho chiles and sugar in a medium, heavy-bottom sauce pan.
Simmer uncovered over low heat until the chiles are very soft and most
of the liquid is evaporated, about 1 hour, 15 minutes. Stir in the
balsamic vinegar, remove from heat and cool.
2. In a blender,
or with a hand-held blender, purée the ancho-pepper mixture. (This
makes 1 cup ancho-pepper purée, more than is needed for the chutney. It
will keep in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 2 weeks.) Fold
one-fourth cup of the purée (add more to taste) into the cranberry
sauce. This makes more chutney than is needed for the sandwich; keep
covered in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Roasted kabocha squash spread
1/2 kabocha squash, halved and seeds removed
1/2 tablespoon oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup crème fraîche
1. Heat the oven
to 375 degrees. Place the kabocha cut side down on a cutting board and
cut away the thick skin with a knife (or also use a peeler for
harder-to-cut spots). Cut the squash into about half-inch strips and
toss them with the oil, brown sugar and salt.
