Friday, June 8, 2012

Cooking in Season: Caribbean Pak Choy and Pesto

Caribbean Pak Choy
Ingredients:
2 lbs Pak Choy
2 Tsp oil
1/2 cup diced onions
Minced hot pepper to taste
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

(mushrooms if you have them laying around)Directions:
Cut off the root at the bottom of each bunch of Pak Choy. Chop up the Pak Choy - white and green parts.  Heat oil in a wok or very large pan until very hot.  Toss in onions, pepper and garlic let cook for 1 - 2 minutes.  Add Pak Choy (and mushrooms) and toss continuously until the green leaves wilt.  Remove from heat immediately, season with salt and serve right away.




Spinach Chive Pesto
Ingredients:
2 heaping cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
2 ounces grated Parmesan cheese
½ cup chopped walnuts, lightly toasted
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
¼ cup olive oil, preferably extra-virgin
Directions:Place the spinach, chives, Parmesan, walnuts, salt, pepper, garlic, and lemon juice in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the mixture is coarsely pureed, scraping down the sides occasionally to incorporate all the ingredients.
With the machine running, slowly pour in the olive oil (through the top opening of the processor) and process until smooth. Stop and scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

Swiss Chard and Pecan Pesto
Ingredients:
1/2 cup olive oil, divided 10 leaves Swiss chard, chopped 4 cloves
garlic, chopped 1 cup basil leaves 1 cup pecans 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 (3 ounce) package grated Parmesan cheese
salt and ground black pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat 2 teaspoons of the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook
and stir the Swiss chard and garlic in the hot oil until the chard
leaves have wilted, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to
cool.
Process the basil, pecans, sea salt, Parmesan cheese, and remaining
olive oil in a food processor until all the ingredients are well
integrated. Add the Swiss chard mixture and the lemon juice to the
food processor; continue chopping until the mixture is pureed. Season
with salt and pepper.

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