Meatless Monday: Cauliflower-kale soup with dill and roasted chestnuts

by Caitlin Saniga

The dill and roasted chestnuts are the highlights of this soup, making it wonderfully fragrant.

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• salt
• 1 medium head cauliflower (about 2 pounds), florets and stems cut into 1-inch pieces (8 to 9 cups)
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
• 5 large kale or collard leaves, or a combination, stems removed and leaves roughly chopped
• pepper
• 10 chestnuts

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; cook the onion, covered, until soft, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and a pinch of salt, and cook for 3 minutes more. Add the cauliflower, and pour in the water until it reaches just below the top of the cauliflower.

Bring to a boil over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons dill. Reduce heat to low, and simmer until cauliflower is just tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the kale, and simmer for 3 minutes.

Let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons dill. Puree soup in batches in a blender until very smooth, adding more water (about 1/2 cup) if it’s too thick. Return to the pot, and reheat. Season with salt and pepper.

Meanwhile, slice large X’s in the skin of each chestnut. Arrange the nuts on a rimmed baking sheet and place in the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes, or until the skin begins to peel away. Allow nuts to cool about 5 minutes before peeling completely with your hands and a knife (if you need it). Chop the chestnuts into pieces.

Garnish the soup with dill, black pepper, a drizzle of oil, a pinch of sea salt and a sprinkling of chestnuts. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from: MarthaStewart.com

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Want one?: Beef, onion and feta wontons with dill yogurt dipping sauce

by Caitlin Saniga

Use whatever fresh herbs you have for the wonton filling. I used a combination of dill and basil. And I served the wontons with kalamatta olives. Hummus and a nice leafy salad would fill out the meal nicely.

For the wontons:

• 2 tablespoon finely chopped white onion
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 pound ground chuck
• 2 tablespoons crumbled feta
• 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh herbs (any combination of basil, chives, dill, mint or oregano)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 30 round wonton wrappers

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• 1 clove garlic, smashed and minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For these wontons, I molded the meat mixture into an oblong shape and placed it at the center of the wrapper. I folded the wrapper in half, sealed it and used a bit of extra water to reinforce a series of small folds along the edges.

To make the wontons:

In a small dish, marinate the onions in the white vinegar for 10 minutes. Once they’re ready, transfer them to a medium bowl and use your hands to combine them with the beef, feta, garlic, herbs, salt and pepper.

Assemble the wontons by placing a rounded teaspoonful of the meat mixture in the center of each wonton wrapper. Use a wet fingertip to trace the edge of the wonton wrapper, fold the wonton as desired and press the wet edges to seal. Repeat this process with the remaining wrappers.

Pour canola oil into a large pan so that it’s about 1/2 inch thick. Place the pan over medium heat and let it sit until it’s hot, about 5 minutes. In the meantime, prepare a cooling rack by covering it with paper towels.

To check whether the oil is hot enough, you can carefully flick a few drops of water at the oil. If they sizzle and pop immediately, the oil’s ready.

Add 6 of the wontons to the pan, and allow them to cook until they bubble up and turn-golden brown on the bottoms, no more than 20 seconds. Flip the wontons and cook for no more than 20 seconds longer. Using a pair of metal tongs, transfer the wontons to the cooling racks. Repeat these steps to finish the wontons.

If you don’t have fresh dill, dried dill will fill in just fine. Instead of a tablespoon, use a teaspoon.

To make the sauce:

Combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Serve the wontons hot with the dill yogurt sauce on the side.

Makes 30.

* Want One? is our October guide that pays homage to the wonton, a traditionally steamed, fried, baked or boiled dumpling that can be filled with an array of goodies. We’ll feature meatless, meat-full and dessert renditions.

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Lickety Split: Horseradish-pickled wax beans

by Sarah Steimer

You really do have to like horseradish for this recipe – which I love. The beans stay really crisp and the horseradish and peppercorns give them a nice zip.

•  1 large handful of yellow wax beans or green beans
• 2 garlic cloves, halved
• 2 dill sprigs
• 1 tarragon sprig
• 1 teaspoons whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
• 6 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 3 tablespoons kosher salt
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons water

Trim the stem ends of the beans and pack them into a 16-ounce jar, trimmed ends facing up. Add the garlic, dill, tarragon, peppercorns and horseradish to the jar.

I’ve just been snacking on these beans straight from the fridge. They’re great just with a simple lunchtime sandwich.

In a small bowl, combine the vinegar, salt, sugar and water. Whisk until the salt and sugar have dissolved.

Pour the liquid into the jar to cover the beans. If the beans are not covered, add some water to cover.

Let rest in the refrigerator for 24 hours before serving.

Recipe adapted from: Food & Wine

* Lickety Split is our August guide that features recipes for quick pickles, or pickles you can make in minutes and store in the fridge. See all of our Lickety Split pickle recipes here.

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Lickety Split: Dill cucumber pickles

by Caitlin Saniga

If possible, try to pick cucumbers that are about 4 inches long. The pint mason jars are about 4 1/2 inches tall. I found the cucumbers I used at the farmers market. I asked a vendor to help me choose cucumbers that were small, firm and had tiny seeds. She was a huge help.

• 4 small pickling cucumbers
• 1 small bunch dill
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and trimmed
• 1 cup white vinegar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon pickling salt, which you can find in the canning section of your grocery store

I didn’t have quite enough dill for this recipe, so I did one jar of dill pickles, and another jar of spicy garlic pickles. The only substitution I made for the spicy pickles was to use 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes in place of the dill. They were delicious, too.

Cut each cucumber into 6 lengths. Pack the cucumbers, dill and garlic into 2 wide-mouth pint mason jars.

In a small pot, combine the vinegar, water and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Pour the boiling vinegar mixture over the cucumbers to within 1/2 inch  of each jar’s rim. Screw on the lid, and allow to cool for about 1/2 hour. Transfer the jars to the fridge, where the pickles should keep for about 2 weeks.

Recipe adapted from: Epicurious

* Lickety Split is our August guide that features recipes for quick pickles, or pickles you can make in minutes and store in the fridge. See all of our Lickety Split pickle recipes here.

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Herbed egg salad

by Caitlin Saniga

Eddie made me a grilled egg salad sandwich for dinner, and it was fabulous. If you want to try it, just assemble a sandwich, butter the bread on the exposed sides and cook in a pan over medium heat for about a minute on each side.

• 5 eggs
• 1/3 cup mayonnaise
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon lime juice (or lemon juice)
• sprinkle of dried dill
• 1 stalk celery, cut into 3 long strips then finely diced
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• 1 tablespoon chopped, fresh flat-leaf parsley
• salt and pepper, to taste

Place eggs in a single layer in a saucepan and cover the eggs with cold water. Place pan on a burner, and cook on high until water comes to a rolling boil. Once it’s boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes. In the meantime, prepare an ice bath. Once the eggs have cooked, immediately transfer them to the ice bath. Let them sit for 5 minutes.

To peel the eggs, gently roll each one on a flat surface, pressing down so the shell crackles. The loosened, cracked shell will be easier to peel. Once the eggs are peeled, dice the egg (yolk and white) into tiny pieces or use an egg slicer to press egg pieces into a bowl. Set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the mayonnaise, mustard, lime juice, dill, celery, chives and parsley. Spoon the mixture over the eggs, and toss to combine. Adjust seasonings, and add salt and pepper if desired.

Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

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Zucchini salad with feta and dill

by Sarah Steimer

Last bite of summer - and this was a big ol' bowl of sunny.

• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons dill (fresh is best, but I only had dried and all was well)
• lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice
• salt and pepper, to taste
  

  Really great lunch - but not super filling, I'll admit.

Toss together the zucchini, cheese, oil, dill and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with lemon zest.

Makes four servings.

Recipe: Martha Stewart

Photo: Sarah Steimer

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Roasted potatoes and lemon with dill

by Caitlin Saniga

As always, fresh dill is best. But if you don't have it, you can sub in 2 teaspoons of dried dill.

• 2 pounds new potatoes, halved
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• kosher salt and black pepper
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh dill

Heat oven to 450 degrees. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the potatoes and lemon with the oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Roast, tossing once, until tender, 25 to 35 minutes. Toss with the dill before serving.

Recipe adapted from: Real Simple

Photo: Caitlin Saniga

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Cucumber gratin

by Sarah Steimer

This was basically a quick way to make cucumbers taste like pickles.

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 English cucumbers or 3 garden cucumbers, halved seeded and cut into 2- x 1/2-inch strips (4 cups)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup chives
• 2 teaspoons tarragon
• 1 teaspoon dill
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until it begins to brown.

Toss cucumbers in a 13-by-9-inch baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the butter, salt and sugar. Bake for 25 minutes at 375 degrees.

Add chives, tarragon, dill and lemon zest to the cucumbers and toss. Stir together the breadcrumbs, cheese and remaining butter in a bowl, then sprinkle over cucumbers.

Place under the broiler for 2 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden brown.

Serves about six, as a side dish.

Recipe from: Vegetarian Times

Photo: Sarah Steimer

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Dill cucumber salad

by Caitlin Saniga

After a few minutes of sitting in the vinaigrette, these cukes were on the verge of tasting like pickles!

• 1 long English cucumber
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon honey
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill

Use a mandolin or a sharp flat-edge knife to slice the cucumber into very thin discs. Mine were no more than 2 millimeters thick (I ate all the fragments and jumbo slices.). Place in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt and honey.

Pour out any excess liquid from the bowl of cucumbers.

Just before serving, drizzle the vinaigrette over the cucumber slices, and sprinkle the dill over top, gently stirring to combine.

Makes 4 side-dish servings.

Recipe: Caitlin Saniga

Photo: Caitlin Saniga

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Meatless Monday: Zucchini keftedes with feta and dill

By Caitlin Saniga

 

How in the world do you say keftedes? I looked it up, and it goes like this: kef-teh-des.

• 1 1/3 pounds medium zucchini (about 3), trimmed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
• 1 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• 1 large egg, beaten to blend
• 1 cup coarsely crumbled feta cheese
• canola oil (for frying)
• reduced-fat Greek-style yogurt (for garnish)
• additional chopped fresh dill (for garnish)

Salt dehydrates the grated zucchini.

Grate zucchini on large holes of a box grater onto clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle zucchini with 1 teaspoon coarse salt; let stand at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

These patties are packed with so much flavor.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or foil. Wrap zucchini in a towel; squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Place zucchini in a medium bowl. Mix in green onions, 3 tablespoons chopped dill, mint, garlic, lemon peel, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Gently stir in panko and egg, then feta. Using 2 tablespoons of zucchini mixture for each, shape mixture into 1 3/4- to 2-inch-diameter patties; place on a baking sheet. Chill at least 1 hour.

Pour enough canola oil into a heavy large skillet to reach depth of 1/4 inch; heat over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the patties to skillet. Cook until golden and cooked through, adjusting heat if browning too quickly, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Using a slotted metal spoon, transfer to paper towels.

Arrange keftedes on platter. Top each with a dollop of yogurt. Sprinkle each with dill. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 12 servings.

Recipe: Bon Appetit

Photo: Caitlin Saniga

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