Witchy Kitchen

Author: Carrie Hartzell

  • Summer Squash Salad with Roasted Tomatillo Vinaigrette

    After Ramadan (during which time I did not fast, but did eat pakoras for almost 30 days straight) and my sister’s wedding week (during which time I drank lots of wine and ate delicacies such as burgers and cheese fries – it was a classy wedding, I swear), my body was screaming at me to put something green in it. Anything.

    So I made this enormous, gorgeous rainbow salad with sweet summer squash, pretty purple cabbage, crisp radishes, juicy tomatoes, creamy queso fresco, toasty pumpkin seeds, the ubiquitous avocado, and this awesome experiment of a roasted tomatillo vinaigrette that came out even better than I had hoped – nailed it! After weeks of crap this salad is a rainbow in my heart.

    Summer Squash Salad with Roasted Tomatillo Vinaigrette

    • 2 small or 1 large summer squash, thinly sliced into half or quarter moons
    • 2 small or 1 large tomatillo, thinly sliced
    • olive oil and sea salt for roasting
    • 1 small head green leaf lettuce, thickly shredded
    • 1/4 head purple cabbage, shredded
    • 3 red radishes, thinly sliced
    • 2 roma tomatoes, sliced into half moons
    • 5 oz queso fresco, crumbled
    • 1/3 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
    • 1 avocado
    • 1 clove garlic, grated
    • several sprigs cilantro, finely chopped
    • 1 tsp honey or maple syrup
    • zest and juice of 1 lime
    • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
    • sea salt & pepper
    • 1/3 cup olive oil

    Heat oven to 400° F.

    Coat squash and tomatillos with a little olive oil and sea salt. Spread squash on one foil-lined baking sheet and tomatillos on another, making sure they are all in one layer. Roast approximately 15 minutes for the squash (until soft, no or little color) and 20 minutes for the tomatoes (until they are just getting starting to get caramelized).

    For the vinaigrette: finely chop the roasted tomatillo and mix with garlic, cilantro, honey, lime juice and zest, and red wine vinegar, and season generously with salt and pepper. Drizzle in olive oil while stirring.

    Toss together lettuce, cabbage, radishes, tomatoes, queso fresco and pumpkin seeds. Slice or scoop in avocado right before you lightly dress the salad with the vinaigrette (you can serve extra on the side).

  • Cornmeal Cake with Blackberry Glaze

    Cornmeal Cake with Blackberry Glaze

    I saw Nigella, kitchen goddess, make this elegant and unfussy polenta cake on her show. The blackberry glaze idea came from the photo of these donuts – gorgeous!

    Note: although purple and lovely, my cake was a little dry since my blackberry glaze just sits on top, so next time I will try half her lemon glaze and let that seep into the cake, then top with the blackberry glaze.

    Cornmeal Cake with Blackberry Glaze

    Variation on Nigella’s Lemon Polenta Cake

    • 200 grams ground almonds
    • 100 grams cornmeal
    • 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
    • 2 sticks unsalted butter
    • 200 grams sugar
    • 3 large eggs
    • blackberries and powdered sugar for glazing

    Heat oven to 350° F and grease a 9 inch spring form pan.

    Whisk together almonds, cornmeal and baking powder. Cream together butter and sugar, then add eggs one by one and combine. Stir wet and dry ingredients together until just combined, then spread into springform pan. Bake for 40 minutes.

    Glaze with a mixture of mashed and strained blackberries and powdered sugar (start with just a few tbsps of juice, add more if needed). Garnish with blackberries.

  • Sweet Corn and Blackberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    Sweet Corn and Blackberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    This hardly needs a recipe, other than the directive: throw yummy things in a bowl. This does check all the summer salad boxes though: something fruity, something crunchy, homemade dressing (the only kind), ubiquitous pickled shallot.

    Sweet Corn and Blackberry Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

    For the dressing

    • 3 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
    • 1 tsp maple syrup
    • 2 tsp finely chopped basil
    • salt and pepper
    • 1 medium shallot
    • 1/4 cup olive oil

    In a small bowl, combine vinegar, maple syrup, basil, salt and pepper. Thinly slice shallot and stir into vinegar mixture and allow to pickle for half an hour minimum, ideally more. Right before serving, add olive oil in a stream while stirring.

    For the salad

    • 2 ears sweet corn
    • Several handfuls baby greens
    • 1 pint blackberries
    • dressing (above)
    • sliced almonds

    Boil corn in salted water for 2 minutes (turning), drain, cool, and cut off the cob. Toss together with greens and blackberries, and lightly dress with the liquid from the dressing. Spoon shallots on top and sprinkle with almonds.

  • Chilled Blackberry Soup with Sweet Corn, Mozzerella and Ricotta

    Chilled Blackberry Soup with Sweet Corn, Mozzerella and Ricotta

    I wanted some ideas for blackberry soup, so I Googled and found several, but they were all sweet! The one savory one I found was a Russian version (Makvlis Supi) which combines blackberries with herbs and cucumbers for a chilled summer soup. “I am intrigued,” I said to myself, so I used it as inspiration for my soup. I am also intrigued by this burrata thing I keep seeing popping up, which I mean to try soon but in the meantime whipped up a mixture of mozzarella and ricotta which I imagine is similar.

    Chilled Blackberry Soup with Sweet Corn, Mozzerella and Ricotta

    • 1 lb blackberries
    • 1 clove garlic
    • 1/2 large cucumber
    • 1 tbsp thyme
    • 1 packed tbsp basil
    • 2 tsp maple syrup
    • sea salt and black pepper
    • 1/4 cup olive oil
    • 1/4 cup sweet corn
    • 1/4 cup ricotta
    • 1/4 cup mozzarella

    Combine blackberries, garlic, cucumber, thyme, basil, maple syrup, salt and pepper in blender and blend until smooth. Blend on a lower setting and drizzle olive oil. Chill for at least an hour.

    In food processor, combine corn, ricotta and mozzarella with a pinch of salt and pepper.

    To serve, pour soup in bowls and top with a dollop of the corn/ricotta/mozzarella mixture and a sprinkle of basil.

  • Devilish Eggs

    Devilish Eggs

    I’m still a Southern girl…of course I have a deviled egg plate.

    For deviled eggs, most use a sprinkle of paprika or aleppo pepper as a garnish, but the hedonistic and excessive use it by the spoonful. Since the flavors are otherwise subtle, the aleppo pepper shines – or smolders.

    A couple gathered tips: Virginia Willis’s deviled eggs in Bon Appetit, Y’all contain her French secret ingredient: butter. I never miss an opportunity to hide butter in things, and it really does take these to the next level (of hell! muhahaha). Also, for easy-to-peel eggs, use eggs that have been in the fridge a week or so. Much recommended – mine were super fresh since we go through eggs like chickens were going extinct, so they were annoying hard to peel.

    Edit: I have a new hard boiled egg technique, which I saw on The Kitchn (replacing my previous method of just boiling them to hell). It works perfectly (as I instagrammed in my excitement).

    Devilish Eggs

    (recipe can be doubled)

    • 6 eggs
    • 1 scant tablespoon aleppo pepper (or an equal amount using 3 parts paprika to 1 part cayenne)
    • generous pinch or two cayenne
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    • 1 tbsp butter, softened
    • 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
    • coasre salt and fresh cracked pepper
    • green onions, chives, or other herbs for garnish

    Hard boil eggs. Technique of perfection: put in a pot and cover with an inch of cold water. Bring the water to a rolling boil, then remove from heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove to a bowl and cover with cold water for a couple of minutes. When they are cool enough to handle, peel.

    Slice in half and remove yolks to a medium bowl. Smash yolks as smooth as you can get them. (Alternately you can use a food processor and mix with the other ingredients).

    In a dry pan, lightly toast spices to wake them up a bit. Add to yolks, plus mayonnaise, butter and salt and pepper to taste. Combine thoroughly.

    Spoon mixture back into eggs (piping is lame), garnish with greenery.

  • Money Penne

    The pesto has lots of symbolic prosperity ingredients: basil for prosperity, almonds for money, leafy greens for bills and sweet corn for coins. It’s super healthy, and the sweet corn, which is deliciously in season, makes it the perfect easy end-of-summer recipe that’s a little more interesting than your average pesto. You can easily make this vegan by leaving out the parmesan altogether or subbing in some nutritional yeast.

    Money Penne

    1 ear sweet corn
    1/2 lb whole wheat penne pasta
    1 large clove garlic, chopped
    1/4 cup almonds
    zest of 1 lemon
    2 large leaves kale, destemmed and roughly chopped
    packed 1/2 cup basil, roughly chopped
    juice of 1/2 lemon
    2-3 tbsp nutritional yeast
    salt & pepper
    1/4 cup olive oil

    Bring a large pot of well-salted water to boil. Drop in corn and cook (only 2-3 minutes) and remove. In the same pot, cook pasta according to package directions and drain.

    When the corn is cool, chop off the kernals and reserve.

    Meanwhile, in a food processor, combine garlic, almonds and lemon zest. Add kale, basil, lemon juice, parmesan, half of the corn, and salt and pepper to taste. Combine well (you may have to scrape the sides a couple of times), then drizzle in olive oil with the food processor running. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

    Return the drained pasta to the pot and combine with pesto and the rest of the corn. Serve with a little grated parmesan on top.

    Plus the name is cute, yes? 😉

  • Game of Thrones Potluck: Across the Narrow Sea

    We picked Across the Narrow Sea as our second Game of Thrones potluck. I was super impressed with the menu we came up with – it was fresh and exotic and delicious!

    Across the Narrow Sea – The Menu

    Thanks to all the dear friends who contributed!

    Appetizers: Fruit, olives, manchego drizzled with honey, toasted pita bread,
    yogurt honey tahini harissa dip
    (No recipe, except maybe for the harissa, so I’ll add that later).

    Harira – Moroccan Chickpea Soup
    (Everyone loved it, and I can’t believe I forgot to snap a picture of this!).

    Iced Green Minty Drink
    (From A Feast of Ice and Fire)

    Dolmades with Avgolemono
    (Recipe coming)

    Greek Salad
    (Just romaine, red onions, tomatoes, feta and kalamata olives, but I made a nice dressing with lemons, honey, garlic, parsley, mint, dill and olive oil)

    Pomegranate Goat
    (Inspired by Goat with Firepods and Sweetgrass but I irreverently changed pretty much everything, my version of recipe coming)

    Sweet and Spicy Drumsticks
    (From Inn at the Crossroads)

    Magister Illyrio’s Dubious Mushrooms
    (From Inn at the Crossroads)

    Olive Oil Cake with Citrus Fruit and Yogurt
    (Inspired by Olive Oil and Rosemary Cake, my recipe coming)

    apps
    Appetizer spread.

    honeydew-mint
    Iced Green Minty Drink (delicious! Honeydew, mint and lime. Non-preggos added vodka. Not the prettiest snap because I couldn’t wait to take a sip.)

    dolmades
    Glorious dolmades. So lemony!

    greek-salad
    Greek Salad. Nothing special, just something fresh and green.

    pomegranate-goat
    Pomegranate goat turned out beautiful – very rich, sweet and spicy.

    sweet-and-spicy-chicken
    Yummy chicken.

    mushrooms
    Dubious mushrooms.

    olive-oil-cake
    Citrusy olive oil cake. I love this cake, literally the easiest and most versatile cake I’ve ever made.

    Some of the recipes came from or were inspired by Inn at the Crossroads blog or A Feast of Ice and Fire cookbook, and the rest have Greek or North African influence. I dressed my daughter up Sindhi style (which we will just pretend is Dothraki style) and for our listening pleasure played my Niyaz Pandora station.

    Check out our first potluck, Winterfell.

  • Game of Thrones Potluck: Winterfell

    As I’ve probably mentioned, I’m completely obsessed with Game of Thrones, as are my sisters and friends. We’ve been watching the show, reading the books, and most recently we (and the rest of our potluck people) have been cooking the food!

    Our first potluck was in dreary January at my sister’s house, and the wintery food of Winterfell sounded like a good place to start. She set her table beautifully with white and silver – Stark house colors! – and we loaded it up with delicious Northern fare.

    winterfell

    Winterfell – The Menu

    Thanks to all the dear friends who contributed!

    Onion Tarts
    (Recipe coming)

    Turnip Soup
    (Recipe modified from A Feast of Ice and Fire – they were supposed to be mashed turnips but they came out very thin so I added broth and made them into a soup)

    Roast Aurochs with Carrots, Garlic, and Leeks
    (Recipe from A Feast of Ice and Fire)

    Buttered Beets
    (Recipe from A Feast of Ice and Fire)

    Mixed Greens, Blackberry and Walnut Salad with Mustard Seed Vinaigrette
    (Recipe coming)

    Kumquats
    (Hot tip: you eat the skin! News to us ignorant peasants)

    Baked Apples
    (Recipe from A Feast of Ice and Fire)

    My friend craftily made wine labels which I got a kick out of: Arbor Gold and Dornish Red. A lovely time was had by all.

    We had our next potluck, Across the Narrow Sea, just last weekend at House Rashid, so I will be recapping our spicy exotic menu soon (as well as the recipes above).

    We’ve been using several sources for inspiration. My sister gave my other sister and I A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook for Christmas, and we’ve been cooking medieval fare from it quite a bit. The authors’ blog Inn at the Crossroads is also a wealth of recipes straight from the books. We’ve also been just cooking whatever we feel is appropriate and mixes in well with the rest of the dishes, whether we get the idea from somewhere or just feel inspired to experiment in our own kitchens.

    The Game of Thrones themes have managed to revive potluck – the group has taken a few years’ hiatus with a lone potluck thrown in here and there, but now we’ve already have had two and we have two more scheduled in the coming weeks. Besides an excuse to get together with good friends, it’s a fun way to learn more about medieval cooking, and a delicious way to get our Game of Thrones fix until the next season starts!

  • Persephone Salad

    I am often put in charge of salad. I guess salad is a girly thing to make so I get it by default, but maybe it’s also because I can be artful in diving into the depths of the produce drawer and pantry and emerging with interesting salad ingredients and the means for a homemade vinaigrette.

    As green salads are just as much about texture as they are about flavor, here is the formula: something fresh (possibly fruity!), something creamy, something crunchy. And this salad fits perfectly.

    This particular salad concept is based on this Arugula, Pear and Goat Cheese Salad with Pomegranate Vinaigrette. I made it a couple years ago for Thanksgiving, and I’ve made variations on it ever since – including for Thanksgiving this year, and now for my daughter Zoeya’s holiday potluck.

    The ingredients are very autumnal, but the pomegranate seeds like little ruby jewels look gorgeously Christmassy as well. This is not so much a recipe as a concept with lots of options (and I’m not going to be fussy with amounts). The only absolutely essential ingredient are the pomegranate seeds, which is what makes this so lovely and appropriate for the dark months.

    Persephone Salad

    For the salad:
    greens, such as arugula, mesclun, spinach
    a green apple or pear
    seeds from half a pomegranate
    blue cheese or goat cheese
    walnuts, almonds, pecans, or pumpkin seeds (I used pumpkin seeds in this latest rendition, it’s a great options if you’re serving to people with nut allergies)

    For the vinaigrette:
    pomegranate molasses (instructions below) – this is your best option, but if you don’t have it you can use honey or jam or jelly. Maybe like that yummy lingonberry stuff they have at IKEA.
    sherry or balsamic vinegar
    olive oil or walnut oil
    salt & pepper
    a thinly sliced shallot, pickled in the vinegar, is nice

    To make pomegranate molasses, take a small bottle of pomegranate juice and heat it slowly in a saucepan, stirring, until it is thick enough to coat a spoon. Be careful not to burn.

    To assemble everything, just toss the greens and the apple or pear with some of the vinaigrette (enough to lightly coat, not to drench). Sprinkle all the rest of the ingredients on top, along with another drizzle of vinaigrette.