Witchy Kitchen

Category: salads, veggies and sides

  • Edamame and Sugar Snap Pea “Pod Salad”

    Picture this: widespread paranoia, then outright panic. You can try to hole yourself away inside, but if you do venture out you’re never sure who’s safe and who’s not. In your city, in your neighborhood, even within your own home you could be at risk. The situation is snowballing, getting out of control, more and more are affected every day. There are tests being done on the source, but no one knows how to reverse it.

    No, it’s not reality – it’s Invasion of the Body Snatchers!

    The 1978 film directed by Philip Kaufman is a remake of the 1956 film, based on the book The Body Snatchers by Jack Finney. It stars Brooke Adams as health department lab scientist Elizabeth, who along with her colleague Matthew (Donald Sutherland) notice more and more oddities around town, including several people unnerved by their partners’ sudden change in demeanor. Couple Jack and Nancy (Jeff Goldblum and Veronica Cartwright) discover even more strangeness, and the four try to understand what exactly has invaded San Francisco.

    “What are you talking about, a space flower?” Yes, a space flower! Indeed it seems pink flowers from outer space are stealing DNA and creating replicants out of pods. How do they escape the pod people, and how do they stop them?

    If you think Invasion of the Body Snatchers is hitting a little too close to home…I agree. At the beginning of the month, I picked it as an exciting, somewhat campy movie with some real substance, a masterfully done film noir feel, and some extremely creepy visuals. But as we so often find, horror movies become a way to process our reality. I would actually recommend this one for our current times, if you feel like the more on the nose outbreak movies are too close for comfort – and a lot of us have plenty of time to watch movies these days.

    The accompanying recipe is a salad made of pods (yes, even during the apocalypse I’m going to be corny, sorry) – edamame and sugar snap peas to be exact. And as it turns out, this is a fantastic quarantine meal. It’s full of protein, calcium, iron, folate, vitamin A, and vitamin C to keep your strength up. Plus it can be made with frozen ingredients! Make it today or stock up when you are able to for later.

    The dressing is a delicious peppery sesame vinaigrette, conveniently made from pantry ingredients, that was meant to compliment the flowers I wanted to include. Nasturtiums are bright, edible flowers with a peppery flavor. They are easy to grow if you are planning to start homesteading. However, I am not currently growing any and because I am responsibly socially distancing like I am supposed to and not out searching for somewhat harder to find ingredients, I used azaleas from my yard. Azaleas are NOT edible, only a garnish, but they do resemble the lovely pink space flowers.

    POD SALAD: EDAMAME AND SUGAR SNAP PEA SALAD WITH PEPPERY SESAME DRESSING

    For the salad:
    2 cups edamame, or one 14 ounce frozen bag
    1 pound sugar snap peas or one 12 ounce frozen bag
    (these amounts do not need to be exact, we are making do nowadays so use what you have)

    For the dressing:
    1/3 cup rice vinegar
    3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
    3 tablespoons soy sauce
    3 teaspoons honey
    Squirt of sriracha optional if you are not quarantined with loud and spice-averse children
    Generous amount of fresh cracked pepper

    For the garnish:
    1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
    Pink flowers optional, ideally nasturtiums. Again, if the flowers are not edible, don’t eat them, we don’t want a poison situation on top of all this

    Blanch the edamame and sugar snap peas according to package directions. If you are using fresh, use a large pot of well-salted water and blanch edamame for 5 minutes, throwing the sugar snap peas to blanch for the last minute and a half. Drain and submerge in an ice bath to stop the cooking process and lock in the bright green color. Drain again thoroughly and dry well with a dishtowel.

    Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together rice vinegar, sesame oil, soy sauce, honey, optional sriracha and pepper. When the edamame and sugar snap peas have dried and cooled, toss with the dressing. Serve room temperature sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and pink flowers arranged on top.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • Once, Twice, Thrice Baked Garlic and Lemon Potatoes

    Once, Twice, Thrice Baked Garlic and Lemon Potatoes

    Timecrimes is a twisty, turny, time-traveling thriller written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo (who also costars in the film as the young scientist). The Spanish film stars Karra Elejalde as Hector, a loving yet somewhat bumbling husband who becomes entangled in a time loop. As time progresses, and then repeats, he desperately tries to both force the outcome and evade mounting misfortune.

    Often time travel films are both intriguing yet infuriating in that they leave questions, paradoxes and holes, yet this one manages to keep the story focused and neat. It’s satisfying both as a narrative that conscientiously wraps up all its loose ends, but also as a character study of how Hector evolves as a person, paradoxically (it’s time travel, of course) in the matter of a few hours. And a few hours. And a few hours.

    A note, whilst cooking I realized that this recipe itself has some light spoilers…though not overt, eat at your own risk!

    When thinking up a recipe, I started philosophizing about my oven as a time machine. Materials go in, and emerge transformed. Playing with the input and settings can change the outcome. Countless weeknights I have thrown in veggies to roast, how many times, one or a hundred, time is a flat circle, it’s all the same. And oh how I wish I could go back in time when I forget things a little too long (Who among us has not burnt things to a crisp? Who?). This recipe puts raw materials into the machine three times, and they emerge the same, yet changed – and delicious!

    Twice-baked potatoes are the standard, but please consider thrice baked potatoes. The extra step yields extra crispy potato skins beyond what you can achieve through two trips through the time machine, and they perfectly complement the texture of the rich, creamy filling. As for the filling, I always love to incorporate local flavor to reference a film, and this one is no different. It’s a Spanish profile, flavored with lemon, parsley, and a full head of luscious roasted garlic. Though Spain has no shortage of iconic potato dishes (patatas bravas, Spanish tortilla, and world-famous roasted potatoes), this is a fun spin.

    Additionally the garnishes add some time traveling flair. Potato 1 is unadulterated. Potato 2 is draped in roasted carrot bandages. And Potato 3, sprinkled with smoked paprika, looks a little worse for the wear but is probably the best of all.

    Garlic and Lemon Thrice Baked Potatoes

    • 3 large russet potatoes
    • 1 large carrot
    • 1 head garlic
    • 1 shallot
    • olive oil
    • sea salt
    • large handful Italian parsley, finely chopped
    • zest of 1 lemon
    • 5 tablespoons sour cream
    • smoked paprika

    Roast the potatoes by your desired method – since you are going to crisp up the skin, either oven or microwave is fine. Cool and set aside.

    Meanwhile, heat the oven to 400°;. Thinly slice the carrot into long strips with a mandolin. Toss with olive oil and a sprinkle of sea salt and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet in a single layer. Cut the top third off the head of garlic, drizzle with olive oil, and wrap in aluminum foil. Cut the shallot into chunks, toss with olive oil and sea salt, and place in a small oven safe dish (I used a pie plate).

    Put all vegetables in the oven and bake until golden (stir the shallot occasionally). The carrots will be done first (15 minutes or so), the shallot next (20-25 minutes), and the garlic last (45 minutes or so). Set the carrot aside, finely chop the shallot, and when the garlic is cool enough to handle, squeeze it out of the papers. Cut the roasted potatoes in half lengthwise and scoop the insides into a large bowl. Arrange the skins skin-side up on a baking rack on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt. Return to the 400°; oven and cook until golden.

    While the skins are cooking, mash the potato with shallot, garlic, parsley, lemon zest, sour cream and salt to taste. Mix well, but don’t overmix. Take the skins out of the oven, flip, and fill them evenly with filling. Return to the oven and bake until golden brown. Leave two of the potatoes plain, drape two of the potatoes with roasted carrot strips, and garnish the remaining two with smoked paprika.

    First published on Nightmare on Film Street.

  • English Garden Salad with Watercress Dressing

    English Garden Salad with Watercress Dressing

    I remember I used to half believe and wholly play with fairies when I was a child. What heaven can be more real than to retain the spirit-world of childhood, tempered and balanced by knowledge and common-sense. -Beatrix Potter

    I first made this salad for our Beatrix Potter episode of Fiction Kitchen because it was as green as a Lancashire countryside and full of green garden vegetables adored by little rabbits. The new potatoes, asparagus and peas are quintessentially spring, and I fail to find anything more fresh, gentle, or English than watercress.

    English Garden Salad with Watercress Dressing

    Adapted from BBC Good Food

    Serves 4

    • 1 pound new potatoes, washed and halved or quartered
    • 1 small bunch asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
    • large handful snap peas
    • olive oil
    • 6 ounces butter lettuce (one bag or one small head rinsed and chopped)
    • 4 ounces smoked salmon
    • 4 ounces goat cheese

    For the dressing

    • 1 small bunch watercress
    • 6 tablespoons olive oil
    • 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
    • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • 1 teaspoon sugar

    Heat oven to 400 degrees. Toss potatoes with olive oil and distribute in a single layer on a roasting pan. Roast for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through, checking for doneness at about 25. With about 7 minutes left to go, add the asparagus in a layer over the top, and with 3 minutes left to go add in the peas (if this sounds like a lot of temporal math, it doesn’t have to be precise. The potatoes being well cooked is the most important thing, and the asparagus and peas just need a little time to cook).

    While roasting, blend together all dressing ingredients in a food processor.

    Divide lettuce between 4 plates, and divide the roasted vegetables on top while still warm. Sprinkle with smoked salmon and goat cheese, and drizzle with watercress dressing.

    Recipe for Fiction Kitchen Episode 56: PETER RABBIT & OTHER BEATRIX POTTER TALES in which Carrie and Diana discuss Beatrix Potter books, and lots of English countryside food, perfect for little rabbits.

  • Buttered Leeks

    Buttered Leeks

    Leek, leek, it rhymes with Reek.

    This is an innocent side of green veggie that is secretly, luxuriously bathed in butter. Leeks are delicate, with such a softness to their sharpness that even my daughter who hates onion with the fire of seven hells was happy to gobble up.

    Buttered Leeks

    • 2 pounds leeks
    • 3 tablespoons butter
    • generous pinch salt
    • several sprigs thyme to garnish

    Trim leeks of almost all green (you can leave a little of the spring green stem) and slice vertically. Wash well to remove all grit, and slice into half moons.

    Heat butter on medium heat, and add leaks, season with salt, and stir to coat. Cover and cook, stirring frequently, until completely soft and wilted. Season if necessary, serve garnished with thyme.

  • Scalloped Turnips

    Scalloped Turnips

    The night is dark, and full of turnips.

    Turnips are a staple of medieval cookery, and can often be used just as new world potatoes, whether sliced, mashed, or cooked into a soup. I recreated a scalloped potato dish I often cook for Thanksgiving using turnips instead, and their slightly sharper flavor worked well!

    The final product was a teensy bit soupy when sliced, as turnips aren’t as starchy as potatoes, but I’m not going to tell you not to make this because it was delicious. Eventually I may try variations, such as adding carrots and/or parsnips, using slightly less cream, or adding cheese (as in these garnished turnips, basically a turnip gratin).

    Scalloped Turnips

    • 4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
    • 2-3 sprigs rosemary
    • 2 cups heavy whipping cream
    • 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
    • 3 large turnips (or 6 small)
    • 3 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

    Heat oven to 350°

    Butter a 7×11 baking dish (I know this is an odd size, so others will work). Place the garlic and rosemary along the bottom.

    In a mixing bowl, mix whipping cream, salt, and white pepper.

    Cut turnips into quarters (if they are small, just halves). Using a mandolin, slice a turnip at a time, dip in the whipping cream mixture, and arrange in layers in the baking dish. Sprinkle small butter cubes over the top, and loosely tent the dish with foil.

    Bake for an hour, until turnips are soft and easily pierced. Raise heat to 425° and remove foil. Cook another 15 minutes until top is golden. Rest 15 minutes before serving.

    From Game of Thrones menu Queen in the North

  • Asparagus with Lemon, Aleppo Pepper and Burrata

    Asparagus with Lemon, Aleppo Pepper and Burrata

    Asparagus for dinner again. I hate asparagus. Does this mean I’ll never grow up?

    This is such a dead simple non-recipe, but it’s currently one of my favorite way to prepare vegetables, as elegant as Laura Palmer’s slinky black red room dress. The asparagus is broiled so it takes minutes to cook, and keeps it’s lovely green color with a hint of a char. The simple flavors of lemon and aleppo compliment each other perfectly, and the burrata is creamy just a little melty.

    Maybe Laura would have liked it prepared this way, maybe not; but that’s ok, you can absolutely do other vegetables. Burrata is a little pricey, but I buy it in a package with two four ounce balls, and can make different veggies on different days – with the other ball I roasted half a butternut squash with the same seasonings, equally lovely.

    Asparagus with Lemon, Aleppo and Burrata

    • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed
    • olive oil, sea salt, aleppo pepper (or substitute paprika)
    • 1 lemon
    • 4 ounce ball burrata

    Set oven to broil.

    In a roasting pan, toss asparagus with olive oil, a generous sprinkle of sea salt, a good pinch aleppo pepper and the zest of one lemon. Broil for five minutes then roll with a spatula, then broil for two or three more minutes, until asparagus is soft but keeps a bite.

    Slice the burrata and lay in a line on a plate, arranging the warm asparagus over it. Sprinkle with a little more aleppo pepper and a spritz of lemon juice.

    Read the Food recap Twin Peaks s01e01: The Pilot

  • Spicy Grilled Corn

    Spicy Grilled Corn

    One of my favorite things about our trips to Pakistan is that en route to anywhere, there are venders along the road where we would always stop to explore; to buy fruit, to shop for pottery, to drink tea, to eat corn!

    The corn sellers will let you choose your own ear, then they cook it by tossing it a pit of salt roasting over coals – the salt is blackened from roasting. Once it’s cooked, they wrap it in newspaper, and you can enjoy right it on the side of the road.

    We recreate this almost every time we grill, because it is dead simple and delicious. It’s just corn, plain, unadulterated, on the grill, with a lime and chili masala to flavor it afterwards. I cut mine off the cob (#bracelife), and the kids devour it plain.

    Desi Bhutta (Spicy Grilled Corn)

    This is barely a recipe so much as a technique. Take however many ears of corn, husk them and clean them, then grill until charred all over. If you aren’t grilling, you can also do this on a cookie sheet under the broiler, turning occasionally so they get a char.

    Once cooked, mix salt and red chili. Cut a lime in half, dip it in the salt and chili, and rub all over the corn. Enjoy!

  • Grilled Veggie Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

    Grilled Veggie Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

    No barbecue (at our house at least) is complete without a leafy green salad. This one makes use of the grill with grilled onions and peppers, and some goodies on top for interesting flavor and texture. Next time I’m thinking to grill the tomatoes for the vinagrette too!

    I started putting tomatoes in my salad dressing when I was pregnant with my son. I was trying to eat tons of fruits and veggies for all those smart, healthy baby-developing vitamins and minerals (including green smoothie in the morning, oatmeal with banana midmorning, salad with lunch, carrot sticks and hummus in the afternoon….I ate a lot and pretty much constantly, haha), and adding tomato was a fun way to add a little bit more – I’d dice up a roma in the morning and let it marinate in the vinaigrette until lunchtime, yum. For this simple vinaigrette I just obliterated everything in the blender, so you get some tomatoeyness with each bite.

    Grilled Veggie Salad with Tomato Vinaigrette

    For the vinagrette

    • 1/2 medium-size tomato or whole small one
    • 1/4 cup white balsamic vineger
    • 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
    • few leaves basil, or a pinch dried basil
    • salt & pepper to taste
    • 1/2 cup olive oil

    Combine tomato, white balsamic vinegar, honey, salt and pepper in the blender. Add olive oil in a stream while blending.

    For the salad

    • 1 red onion, cut into large chunks and put on skewers
      couple handfuls small sweet peppers, or two red/yellow/orange peppers, deseeded
    • olive oil, salt and pepper
    • several handfuls mixed greens
    • tomato vinaigrette (above)
    • handful large green olives, sliced
    • 2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
    • handful toasted almonds

    Prepare onion and peppers for grill by coating with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Grill until soft and slightly charred. Cool, then cut into strips.

    Toss onions, peppers, greens, and half the olives with enough vinagrette to thinly coat, then sprinkle the remaining olives, goat cheese, and almonds on top. Serve with extra vinagrette on the side.

  • Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    This rice dish is the perfect side for all your summer barbecues – it pairs perfectly with all kinds of grilled veggies, fish and meat, and particularly well with Caribbean, Southeast Asian, or desi menus. I would describe it as intensely pleasant. The flavors aren’t huge and bold, and it’s not exactly the star of the table, but it’s a fantastic supporting actor; for whatever reason it was the leftovers I was most excited to eat again!

    Hara Masala Coconut Rice

    For the hara masala:

    • 1/2 bunch mint
    • 1/2 bunch cilantro
    • handful basil
    • 2 cloves garlic
    • 2 inch piece of ginger, peeled
    • 2 green chilis, optional (I left out for kids)
    • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric

    Combine mint, cilantro, basil, garlic, ginger, chilis if using and turmeric in a food processor.

    For the rice:

    • 3 cups basmati rice, rinsed well and soaked for half an hour
    • 3 tablespoons ghee, use oil to make a vegan dish
    • 1 onion, thinly sliced
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 4 cloves
    • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
    • pinch black pepper
    • 1 bay leaf
    • 1 1/2 cups (1 can) full-fat coconut milk
    • 1 1/2 cups water
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
    • green masala (above)
    • toasted coconut and chopped green onions or herbs for serving

    Heat ghee (I did the onion and spices in a wok then transferred to a pot, you can do that or just do everything in the pot) and fry onion, stirring, until VERY golden brown – un-goldened onion ends up as slimy strips in your rice, so make sure to cook thoroughly! Add cinnamon, cloves, cumin and black pepper and stir for a moment or two. Transfer everything to the pot (if you’re not there already), and add bayleaf, coconut milk, water and salt, and bring to a boil. Turn on another eye of the stove to low, you’ll move the pot here in a minute. Add the rice and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

    Stir in the hara masala, cover the pot with a tea towel first with the top over that. Transfer to the other eye on low, and let steam for 20 minutes.

    To serve, transfer to a serving dish and top with toasted coconut, green onions or herbs. Serve hot!

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  • Olive Oil Braised Veggies

    I am a prolific veggie roaster. After sweeping in from work, before I’ve even taken off my heels I’ve got the oven heated and chopped veggies with little more than olive oil, sea salt and fresh cracked pepper on their way in. It’s hard to beat from a time standpoint, and there’s something to be said for keeping it simple and just letting your veggies do the talking.

    But to elevate my veggie game just a little bit, there’s this braising method – still refreshingly simple, just dressed up a little bit. There’s something so nice about the fresh cleanness of the veggies, gently cooked to maintain their shape and color, with the richness of the immensely flavorful olive oil. It makes for a pretty side dish, perfect to be mopped up with crusty bread, or even a light meal over rice or quinoa.

    It works for all kinds of vegetables, you just add them in the order of cooking time. I used baby red potatoes, carrots, and asparagus, but you can swap them out for whatever you like, just add the longer-cooking ones first. I love this combination of aromatics but you can play around with them as well depending on taste and what you have around in the kitchen.

    Olive Oil Braised Veggies

    • 1/2 cup olive oil
    • 1 lemon, cut into thin wedges (divided)
    • 1/4 cup sundried tomatoes, cut into strips
    • 3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
    • good pinch red chili flakes
    • sprig of rosemary
    • salt & pepper
    • 1 pound baby red potatoes (cut the larger ones in half)
    • 2-3 shallots, quartered
    • 2-3 carrots, peeled and cut into medium sized sticks
    • 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed

    Heat olive oil on medium high. Add a quarter of the lemon wedges (save the rest for serving), and allow them to slightly brown. Add sundried tomatoes, garlic cloves, red pepper flakes and rosemary, and stir for just a minute. Lower heat to medium low and add the new potatoes, shallots, and a good sprinkle of salt and pepper. Stir to coat with the oil and cook for about 20 minutes. Add carrots, stir gently to coat, and cook covered for another 20 minutes. Check to see that veggies are fork-tender but not falling apart. Add asparagus, again stir gently to coat, and cook covered for 7-10 minutes until asparagus is just done.

    Remove from heat and serve with lemon wedges, a sprinkle of parsley or basil if you want, and either with crusty bread or over rice or quinoa. Make sure to get some of the yummy olive oil on top!