Sunday Dinner: Couscous with chicken and kale

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: We're down to three people at Casa Hugo-Vidal; me, Youngest (until the end of August) and my delightful temporary lodger, the Very Smart Girlfriend (of the Smithie.) The VSG found a job here in Portland, and had to move fairly quickly to start, but finding an apartment in this overheated market is hard. She's staying with me for a while as she gets her feet under her and gets oriented to southern Maine.

What this means, culinarily speaking, is that I'm getting a bit more adventurous in what I'm cooking these days.  I stocked up on quinoa, rice noodles, bean noodles and couscous, which were NOT pantry staples in the days of three kids plus husband. And this summer, as in the past several years, I'm getting a CSA box every Wednesday loaded with fresh organic veggies I need to figure out some way to use. And by veggies, I mean kale, which will be a staple here until October.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found on Spark, which I guess is for people who want to lose weight? I don't believe in fat-free, myself, so this dinner has loads of delicious olive and sesame oil. As usual, you can cook it like I do, and substitute anything for anything else. You're a grown-up, right? Don't let a recipe boss you around.

Chicken, couscous and kale salad

1 chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
flour, salt and pepper to coat
Olive oil and sesame oil (I love the flavor of the latter, but you can do all olive oil if you prefer)
1/2 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves OR 3 t pre-minced garlic (I love this stuff!)
1 c pearl (or Israeli) couscous
1 1/4 c chicken broth (I followed the directions for liquid on the container of couscous.)
6-8 leaves of kale cut into thin strips OR a half bag of spinach 
1 T cumin
Juice of 1/2 a lemon OR 2-3 t bottled lemon juice
1 c shredded or flaked parmesan cheese

Toss the chicken bites in the seasoned flour mix and saute them in oil until golden. Set aside and keep warm.

Add more oil to the pan in which you sauted the chicken; add couscous and let it brown for a couple minutes. Add onions, garlic, chopped kale, and cumin. Cook, stirring, until the kale wilts, You may need more oil as you go.

Add chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil. Cook 10-15 minutes, or whatever your couscous container directs.

When the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender, squeeze in the lemon juice and toss with the parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I'm sorry to say I took several photos with Youngest's iphone, and could not get them to load. So you're getting stock photos instead of my actual ingredients. Just as in cooking, we improvise.

What are you making for Sunday dinner, dear readers?

Winter Vegetable Gratin

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING:  It's a week and a half before Thanksgiving, which in my calendar means it's the perfect day to try out a new recipe for the holiday. 


Your mother always warned you not to make a new dish right before company was coming, and she was right. This recipe caught my eye when it appeared in the New York Times because I have an abundance of both kale and fennel from my fall CSA. Also onion and garlic - the only thing I needed to buy that wasn't already in my pantry or frig was the cheese. It's even useful for getting rid of that cup of rice you have left over from last night's stir-fry.

With a salad, it makes a nice meal on a cold November Sunday, but it's also a great side dish for Thanksgiving, especially if you're traveling to someone else's house. the NYT called it Fennel, Kale and Rice Gratin, which in my house would drive off anyone under the age of 30. (My kids have no idea how much kale they're consuming.) I call it:

WINTER VEGETABLE GRATIN


1 bunch kale, stripped off the stem

2 T olive oil (extra virgin, if you have it), plus 1T

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1 ½ pounds bulb fennel, chopped (about 4 cups) If you haven't used fennel before, look online for how to slice and peel it.

Salt and pepper to taste

2 large garlic cloves, minced

¼ cup chopped fresh dill or 4t dried

3 eggs

½ cup 2 percent milk

1 cup cooked rice

3 ounces Gruyère or other Swiss cheese, grated (3/4 cup)

¼ cup breadcrumbs, or mix of breadcrumbs and Parmesan (You can skip this if anyone is doing gluten-free.) 

The original recipe calls for blanching the kale in salted water, squeezing out the water, and then slicing it finely. Who has time for that? I bunch the kale leaves up and chop them into tiny little ribbons. If you like to blanch, add the kale in right before the dill.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Heat the 2T of oil in a skillet. Saute onion and kale until soft, then add the chopped fennel and salt, if you're a salt person. When the fennel is very tender, add the garlic, and then the dill. Season with salt and pepper if you like (I don't use salt because I'm trying to reduce my sodium.) Remove from heat once the garlic is sauteed.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in milk and salt to taste. (The original recipe has a whopping 905 milligrams of sodium per serving! If you're someone who really misses salt, but who would like to cut back, I'd recommend a tablespoon or so of fresh rosemary leaves to brighten the taste up.) Stir in the fennel/kale mix, the rice, and the grated cheese.

Grease a 2-quart baking dish. Pour the egg-and-everything mix into the dish, drizzle with the other 1T of oil, and top with the breadcrumbs or crumb/Parmesan mix. Bake 35 - 40 minutes, until the top starts to brown nicely. Let it sit for ten minutes before serving, which can be done hot, medium, or - if you're putting in the car for the trip to Grammy's - cold.

How about you, dear readers? What are you planning to bring to Thanksgiving?

The Return of Kale!

ROSEMARY HARRIS: Okay so maybe kale never really left. But it was not a veggie that I remember getting a lot of press when I was younger. While the other JRs rhapsodize about the wonderful dishes they learned to cook at their mother's knee (I can write this only because she's passed on) - my mother was a terrible cook. Her idea of veggies was a CAN of peas and carrots. My recollection of them was that the only difference between the two was that some were green and some were orange. They tasted the same - watery and salty. (In fairness to her memory she was a terrific baker and I think I got that chip from her. But I digress.)

Doesn't it seem as if vegetables, like clogs and bell bottoms, gamine haircuts and cat eyes, go in and out of fashion?

Who decides? Do chefs have meetings, like fashion editors, and say things like Think radicchio! Kohlrabi is the new broccoli rabe! (BTW, when you're Italian and born in Brooklyn, broccoli rabe, like finocchio (fennel) never goes out of fashion.)

For a while there I kept seeing recipes that included either farro or spelt so - like a lemming - I bought some. Still in my pantry. But, I have totally taken the kool-aid on kale. I'm embarassed to say - nah, I guess not since I'm saying it - I can eat an entire bunch of kale. Garlic, olive oil, crushed red pepper. Yum. And the bonus is, it's good for you. I've been on such a kale tear, that as one of my Christmas presents last year he gave me a t-shirt that says Eat More Kale. (Available from a cool guy in Vermont at http://eatmorekale.com/ )

RHYS BOWEN: It's funny that we're discussing kale right now as my son is currently living with us and has gone vegetarian/alkaline diet in a big way. This includes about five pounds of veggies going into a juicer every morning and loads of kale. The way I like it is roasted,  a little garlic and olive oil, so that it's like kale chips. He also made cashew cheese that is so yummy and tastes like sharp cheddar--served over roast veggies.

JAN BROGAN: Yeah, I hopped on the kale train for a while, too, Ro.  I think its all a conspiracy of chefs, restaurant review critics, and those inspirational people on PBS who convince you that you have to eat healthier and make more money.
And just as I think thriller writers have a secret contest among themselves as who can add the more preposterous twist at the end of a book, I think chefs have a contest who can add the most preposterous (but oddly delicious) ingredient.    I mean who ever thought the BEET would come back and be gourmet?

HALLIE EPHRON: I love beets! Always have. And fresh beets, though they are an awful mess to make, are so delicious.
Oven roasted veggies are my new 'train.' Cut them into bite-sized pieces and just coat lightly with olive oil and coarse salt -- carrots, turnips, potato, beets, even KALE (but cook them separately because Kale cooks fast and before you know it all you've got are burnt embers)! Roasted they all sweet and a little nutty. Mmmm.

ROSEMARY: I've been using the Williams-Sonoma recipe for roasted veggies for years. I add fennel and balsamic vinegar.

LUCY BURDETTE: Yeah, that's the thing Ro, kale is good for you. Really good for you. I have one recipe with it that I love--in fact my hub does too. We fight over the leftovers: http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com/2012/02/lacinto-kale-with-lentils-and-pasta-by.html

I one time grew kohlrabi in my garden but I never did really "get" that vegetable so I won't bother again. The one I love that never seems to be in fashion is okra. We were so mad last year when deer ate ours down to stalks. Over and over. I love it sliced, dipped in egg and cornmeal, and then fried with chunks of onion and pepper. MMMMMMMMM

ROSEMARY: The fabulous (Raven Award winner) Molly Weston turned me on to fried okra the first time I toured in North Carolina. It's almost worth all the hard work of writing a book to get to eat that once a year! And to visit Molly.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Lucy, the kale recipe looks fab, but I'm afraid it wouldn't go over in my house.  I make a white bean, sage, and smoked sausage soup with fresh spinach stirred in at the last minute.  So I saw a box of tiny little fresh organic kale at Whole Foods, and thought, "I'll just see if I can sneak in a substitution."  It was delicious--and dear hubby wouldn't eat it. Sigh.  So much for even baby kale.
I'm with Hallie on the beets.  Love them. All colors.  Roasted.  Steamed. In salads. But again, verbotten on our dinner menus.  Ditto sweet potatoes, which I love and are really good for you.  Sigh again.
My latest veggie indulgence, all on my own?  Raw mini-bell peppers (red, yellow, and orange) and raw sugar snap peas, dipped in tzatziki.  I don't care if they are fashionable or not.

LUCY: Me too on the beets--love the ones right out of the garden! On the tzatziki--do you make this yourself Debs? Recipe?

DEBS: Lucy, I buy it at CostCo, along with the mini-peppers and the sugar snap peas.  It's full of garlic and cucumber, surprisingly low-cal, and is wonderful as a sauce for grilled fish, cooked fresh veggies, and even just as a dip for crackers and chips.  The brand is called "Hannah."

ROSEMARY: My husband loves that stuff. And it was his mother's name (..but that's another blogpost, I suppose.)

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I love fiddleheads! Sauteed in butter. And we're still loving arugula, even though I know it's so 2010. (Grilled pounded flat chicken breasts, put on top of arugula so it kind of wilts, cover with barely sauteed chopped tomoatoes and garlic, then top with shaved parmesan.
I make potatoes Anna with sweet potatoes...YUM.  (For winter, though.)
Kale. I'm so sorry. I hate kale. I think. I've never tasted it. And I don't think I will. I'm rotating away from it.   


ROSEMARY: Sorry - I may be a gardener, but that basket of fiddleheads looks like a basket of worms to me.  I love kale! It's angry! It fights back! It won't be ignored like my mother's peas and carrots. So, are there any new to you foods that have worked their way into your rotation?
 Three commetors will win some of our favorite recent trade paperbacks!

(Don't forget to come back tomorrow for your official invitation to our Cinco de Mayo party!)


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