Fast, Fresh & Green (5 page)

1 TBSP EXTRA—VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

½ TSP COARSELY CHOPPED FRESH THYME

½ TSP KOSHER SALT

1
Preheat the oven
to 475°F/245°C (Gas Mark 9). Line a large (18-×-13-×-1-in/45.5-×-33-×-2.5-cm) heavy—duty rimmed sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

2
Put the beet slices
in a mixing bowl and toss thoroughly with the olive oil, thyme, and salt. Arrange the slices, evenly spaced, on the sheet pan (it’s okay if they touch).

3
Roast until the beets are tender
, shrunken, wrinkled, and glistening, 16 to 18 minutes. The smallest slices will be black around the edges. Let cool for a few minutes before serving or using in another recipe.

Serves 2

Tip:
Put a folded piece of parchment paper or brown paper on your cutting board before slicing the beets; it will prevent your cutting board from getting stained.

This pretty salad is a perfect starter for a Valentine’s Day menu—as long as your honey likes beets! The sweet and earthy flavors of the oranges and beets along with the nutty flavor and delicate texture of mâche make a classic combination. If you can’t find mâche, try a combination of arugula and frisée. You can also serve the dressed beets alone. To toast the nuts, see tip below.

1 RECIPE QUICK—ROASTED BEET SLICES (
page 35
)

2 TBSP ORANGE JUICE

½ TSP FINELY GRATED LEMON ZEST

½ TSP COARSELY CHOPPED FRESH THYME

½ TSP BALSAMIC VINEGAR

½ TSP MINCED FRESH GARLIC

KOSHER SALT

1 TBSP EXTRA—VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

3 CUPS MÂCHE

1 NAVEL ORANGE,
peeled, cut into quarters, and then crosswise into ½-in-/1.25-cm—thick slices

2 OZ/60 G FIRM FRESH GOAT CHEESE

¹
/
₃
CUP/35 G COARSELY CHOPPED TOASTED WALNUTS

1
Arrange four salad plates
on your counter. Combine the orange juice, lemon zest, thyme, vinegar, garlic, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and stir well. Transfer 2 tsp of the dressing to a small bowl. Add the olive oil and a pinch of salt to the 2 tsp of dressing and whisk. Combine the roasted beets with the remaining dressing. Toss the mâche with the olive oil mixture.

2
Lightly scoop one—quarter of the mâche
with your hands and put it on a salad plate (at the top of the plate, around twelve o’clock). Arrange one—quarter of the orange slices and one—quarter of the beet slices (leaving the marinade behind in the bowl) on the rest of the plate. Repeat with the remaining three plates. Sprinkle a little salt over each salad. Crumble the goat cheese and sprinkle evenly over all four salads, and then do the same with the walnuts. Serve right away.

Serves 4

Tip:
To toast nuts, preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C (Gas Mark 4), spread the nuts out on a heavy—duty rimmed baking sheet, and bake until they turn a deep golden brown. They will begin to smell very fragrant when they are almost done (between 5 and 10 minutes). Keep an eye on them as they will be bitter if too dark. Let cool on the sheet; they will crisp up as they cool. Be aware that pepitas (pumpkin seeds) will puff up and begin to pop in the oven as they toast.

At our house, we eat these fries right off the baking sheet, doused with a little extra salt (or a little Spiced Salt; see below). They rarely make it to the table, but if they do, they look awfully cute served in individual ramekins. Sometimes we double the recipe (easily done with two sheet pans) and plop the hot pans in front of guests who are sniffing around the kitchen before dinner. We put out a little bowl of the easiest dipping sauce ever and they disappear. One thing you should know: sweet potato oven fries, though they’re addictive and delicious, do not get crispy. They will get crisp around the edges, but they stay moist in the middle. (That’s part of their charm; I assure you, you will still love them.)

The sauce is my quick version of the French sauce called
aïoli
, which is a garlicky mayonnaise usually spiked with lemon. I use good—quality store—bought mayonnaise, lime zest, and lime juice for a fast, sassy sauce that’s just as good on grilled fish or chicken as it is on sweet potato fries.

1 LB/455 G UNPEELED SWEET POTATOES (
about 2 small)

¼ CUP/60 ML EXTRA—VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 TSP KOSHER SALT,
and more for seasoning

Limey Dipping Sauce

¹
/
₃
CUP/65 G MAYONNAISE

½ TSP FINELY GRATED LIME ZEST

1 TBSP FRESH LIME JUICE

½ TSP MINCED FRESH GARLIC

PINCH OF KOSHER SALT

Spiced Salt (optional)

1 TSP KOSHER SALT

½ TSP SUGAR

¼ TSP GROUND CINNAMON

¼ TSP GROUND CUMIN

¼ TSP GROUND CORIANDER

¼ TSP PAPRIKA

1
Preheat the oven
to 475°F/245°C (Gas Mark 9). Line a large (18-×-13-×-1-in/45.5-×-33-×-2.5-cm) heavy—duty rimmed sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

2
Cut the sweet potatoes
crosswise on a slight diagonal into
³
/
₈
-in-/9.5-mm-thick slices. (If the sweet potato is very narrow at one end, you can cut slices at a very sharp angle at that end.) Cut each slice lengthwise into sticks between ¼ and
³
/
₈
in/6.5 and 9.5 mm wide. (They will only be about 2 in/5 cm long.) Put the sticks in a mixing bowl and combine thoroughly with the olive oil and 1 tsp salt. Spread the sweet potatoes out in one layer on the baking sheet, making sure to scrape all the oil and salt from the bowl onto them.

3
Roast for 20 minutes.
Using a spatula, flip the sticks over and continue cooking, flipping once or twice more, until the fries are nicely browned (some in spots, some all over), about 10 minutes more.

4
To make the Limey Dipping Sauce
, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl, whisking well to blend. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes to let the flavors marry.

5
To make the Spiced Salt
, stir the salt and all the spices together in a small bowl.

6
Sprinkle
some of the spiced salt or more kosher salt on the fries (be generous and do not skip this step!), toss well, and serve with the dipping sauce.

Serves 3 to 4

It probably never occurred to you to roast green beans; after all, doesn’t roasting turn their lovely color a drab army green? Well, brightly colored they’re not; delicious they are. Wrinkly, but toasty. And with the concentrated flavor of roasted mushrooms—not to mention a little garlic and rosemary—you’ve got a hit. Green beans roast a little more quickly than mushrooms, so if you like, you can remove them a few minutes ahead of the mushrooms, but I think it’s easiest to keep them in. If you like things quite spicy, you can add a few more red pepper flakes to the garlic and rosemary “oil” (it’s really more like a paste). You could also use that flavor trio on any roasted vegetable.

This is definitely a go—to dish for sidling up to a crispy—skinned roast chicken. But it could also complement a wintery fish preparation like roasted salmon or cod baked with tomatoes, olives, and herbs.

10 OZ/285 G CREMINI (
baby bella
) MUSHROOMS,
quartered if large, halved if small

¼ CUP/60ML PLUS 1 TSP EXTRA—VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

1 TSP KOSHER SALT

12 OZ/340 G GREEN BEANS, TRIMMED

1 TSP MINCED FRESH GARLIC

1 TSP CHOPPED FRESH ROSEMARY

¹
/
₈
TSP CRUSHED RED PEPPER FLAKES

1
Preheat the oven
to 475°F/245°C (Gas Mark 9). Line a large (18-×-13-×-1-in/45.5-×-33-×-2.5-cm) heavy—duty rimmed sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

2
In a mixing bowl
, toss the mushrooms thoroughly with 2 Tbsp of the oil and ½ tsp of the salt. Spread out the mushrooms in one layer, cut side down, on one end of the sheet pan. (They can be close together.) Toss the green beans with 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and the remaining ½ tsp of salt. Spread the green beans out in one layer on the rest of the pan. Roast until the green beans are shrunken and very wrinkled (they will be browned in spots) and the mushrooms are tender, shrunken, and beginning to brown, about 25 minutes.

3
Meanwhile
, put the remaining 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp of olive oil in a small nonstick skillet along with the garlic, rosemary, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a simmer over medium—low heat. Once the oil starts bubbling, cook for 1 minute to infuse the oil with the flavors (the rosemary will lose its color) and to soften the garlic. Remove the skillet from the heat and let sit while the vegetables finish cooking.

4
Transfer the cooked vegetables
to a mixing bowl. Scrape the seasoned oil out of the skillet and over the vegetables; toss thoroughly. Transfer to a serving platter or dinner plates.

Serves 3 to 4

I love these tomatoes. They couldn’t be simpler to prepare, and they cook just quickly enough to deliver slow—roasted flavor on a weeknight. (They’re best after 30 to 40 minutes in the oven, but if you’re in a rush, they’re good after 20 to 25 minutes, too.) I’m always amazed at how a hot oven turns even the most pathetic, pale plum tomatoes into deeply flavored beauties.

The generous amount of olive oil in this recipe has a purpose—as the water in the tomatoes evaporates, the oil replaces it and gently simmers and preserves the tomato flesh. When the tomatoes are finished cooking, you can lift one end and a good bit of the oil will spill out. Don’t be alarmed if the edges of some of your tomatoes (or some of the juices in the pan) look a little blackened. They will still taste delicious.

These tomatoes aren’t just a great side dish; they also make perfect crostini toppers, salad ingredients or even hors d’oeuvres (see
page 42
).

10 PLUM TOMATOES

½ CUP/120 ML EXTRA—VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

KOSHER SALT

SUGAR

2 TSP FRESH THYME LEAVES (
4 to 6 sprigs
)

BALSAMIC VINEGAR

2 LARGE GARLIC CLOVES,
peeled and sliced crosswise into 10 to 12 slices each

1
Preheat the oven
to 425°F/220°C (Gas Mark 7). Line a large (18-×-13-×-1-in/45.5-×-33-×-2.5-cm) heavy—duty rimmed sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper. Cut each tomato in half lengthwise, and, leaving in the core, scrape out the seeds and ribs with a tomato shark or a serrated spoon. Brush 1 Tbsp of the olive oil over the parchment. Arrange the tomato halves, cut side up, on the parchment.

2
Season the cavity
of each tomato half with a pinch of salt, a good pinch of sugar, and some of the thyme leaves. Drizzle a few drops of balsamic vinegar inside each tomato half. (Hold your thumb over the bottle opening to make this easier.) Drop a slice or two of garlic in each half, and pour 1 tsp of the olive oil into each half. It will look like a lot of olive oil; that’s okay.

3
Roast the tomatoes
until they collapse and are brown around the edges, the garlic is browned, and the juices are somewhat caramelized on the sheet pan, 30 to 40 minutes. Let the tomatoes cool for a few minutes on the sheet pan. Carefully transfer them to a serving plate. (If the juices are very caramelized, the tomatoes may stick a bit; take care not to rip the skin.) Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yields 20 tomato halves; serves 6