Buffalo Chickpea Tacos

In our house your birthday warrants a week of birthday meals. Every meal is one of the birthday person’s favorite foods. It started a couple years ago when I had too many ideas for Will’s birthday dinner, so I just decided to make all of them.

Will loves anything Buffalo-ed (that is with Buffalo hot sauce not buffalo meat), and as a challenge created a spreadsheet called “Will It Buffalo?” with meal ideas for me. I’ve been picking my way through them over the years, and you can see all the recipes here. It was inevitable that a Buffalo dish would make it into the birthday week meals, and given Will’s love of tacos might equal his love of Buffalo sauce, we ended up here.

I love tacos that have a hearty bean component as the main protein, so these start with a base of spicy chickpea dip (which is excellent on its own), topped with a combination of cooked and raw vegetables for great contrast in flavors and textures.

In my Potter Hill CSA share this week I received red cabbage, fresh onions, leeks, 2 small heads of lettuce, a bunch of mixed beets, kale, radishes, celery, basil, zucchini, summer squash, and cherry tomatoes. The lettuce, cherry tomatoes, and basil went into a steak salad with herb dressing from the Smitten Kitchen Every Day Cookbook (very similar to this salad). I used onion, celery, and cauliflower and broccoli leftover from last week in the tacos. Tonight I’m making a kale salad with beets similar to the one from a few weeks ago, but without the onions and cheese. Tomorrow I’m going to make these Korean Bulgogi Burgers with the red cabbage and subbing my French radishes for the daikon (not at all traditional, but that’s the game with a CSA!).

Buffalo Chickpea Tacos

If you can’t be bothered to make the chickpea spread, just buy some hummus and stir in the hot sauce. The recipe below makes the equivalent of 2 8-ounce containers, which is plenty for the tacos and some extra for snacking. I used both broccoli and cauliflower because I had a small head of each, but feel free to use one large head of either, or sub other vegetables like zucchini, summer squash, cabbage, or corn (you can broil any of them in the same manner).

Chickpea Spread

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
• 1 clove garlic
• 3.5 cups cooked chickpeas (or 2 15-ounce cans), rinsed and drained
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup cayenne hot sauce, such as Frank’s (if you like it really fiery, go for 1/2 a cup)
• 1 teaspoon salt

Taco Toppings

• 1 small head of broccoli, chopped (about 1/2 lb)
• 1 small head of cauliflower, chopped (about 1/2 lb)
• t tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup minced red onion (1/2 a small onion)
• 1 cup minced celery
• 1/4 minced celery leaves (or parsley)
• 1 cup crumbled bleu cheese
• 1 cup deseeded and chopped tomato (2 small or 1 large)

For serving

• 1 cup bleu cheese dressing
• 18 small corn or flour tortillas
• hot sauce

Heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add in the chopped onion, and saute for 10-15 minutes, until soft, translucent, and browning in places. Remove from the heat and cool slightly.

Turn on a food processor with an S-blade and drop in the garlic close from the top. Run the food processor until you can’t hear the garlic bouncing around anymore. Scrape down the sides with a spatula, and then add in the cooked onions, chickpeas, extra virgin olive oil, hot sauce, and salt. Process until uniformly smooth and then taste for seasoning. Alternatively, mince the garlic, then add to a large bowl with the onions and chickpeas. Mash with a fork or potato masher, then add in the olive oil, hot sauce, and salt and mash again until a spread forms.

Move a rack to the top of the oven and turn broil on high. Chop the broccoli and cauliflower into 1/2 inch pieces, and then toss on a baking sheet with the vegetable oil. Broil for 10 minutes total, tossing halfway through, until the are lightly charred.

Serve tortillas warmed, and let everyone assemble their own (lots of extra hot sauce on mine, please).

 

Summer Rolls Tutorial

I’ve waxed poetic on the magic of having peanut sauce in your freezer for easy, no cook summer meals before, and I’m here to do it again. Last time I focused on the peanut sauce, which is still my favorite recipe (it makes a double batch for easy freezing). What I didn’t do was a thorough tutorial on how to make your summer rolls. Rice paper can take a bit of finesse, but once you get a sense for how it behaves the roll making is easy. If you can’t be bothered to make the rolls, you can make some rice or noodles and serve the veg and peanut sauce on top for much quicker assembly.

I’ve outlined what I put in these rolls, but feel free to work with what you have. I’ve also used leftover cooked vegetables in addition to raw ones. I had leftover tofu from a salad earlier in the week, but leftover chicken, pork, steak, or shrimp would be great additions as well (or leave out the protein altogether!). I used brown rice wrappers that I found at Whole Foods here, but white rice ones are much easier to find (look in the Asian section of the grocery store next to the noodles).

My whole Potter Hill CSA share this week was 2 heads of lettuce, salad turnips, broccoli, cauliflower, cilantro, savory, a small red cabbage, celery, fresh onions, and new potatoes. One night I made a quick pasta with pesto, soldier beans, cubed mozzarella, and a ton of sauteed greens (the leaves from the cauliflower, broccoli, and turnips). I didn’t make the pesto this time around because my mom gave me some she made (thanks Mom!!!!), but this recipe is very similar, just switch up the veg and add 1 can/about 2 cups of white beans. With both heads of lettuce I made a riff on this Thai tofu salad topped with shredded salad turnips, carrots, and cilantro. Breakfast has been a perennial favorite: potatoes, kale, and eggs. The celery is destined for this amazing Sichuan dish. Don’t forget – all my Potter Hill recipes so far are tagged here.

Summer Rolls

Makes 8-10 rolls – Serves 4 as a side

• 1/2 lb red or green cabbage (about 1/4 of a large one), thinly sliced
• 1 small cucumber, shredded (about 1 cup)
• 3 salad turnips, shredded (about 1/2 a cup)
• 2 carrots, shredded (about 1/2 a cup)
• 1/2 cup minced herbs (I used cilantro and Thai basil, mint or regular basil would work too)
• 1/2 to 1 cup of chopped tofu (see note)
• Rice paper wrappers
• Water
• Peanut sauce
• Sriracha/hot sauce

Once all your veg are prepped, set them out around your cutting board. Fill a pie plate or baking dish with warm water – you want to be able to submerge your rice paper wrappers entirely. Dip the rice paper wrapper in the water and hold it under for 10 second. It should change texture and feel plastic-y/crinkly, but not be totally soft.

Lay the rice paper flat on the cutting board, and arrange a couple tablespoons of each filling on the half closest to you. the filling should be along an imaginary 3 inch line, so that every bite will get some of each filling. I use about 1/2 a cup to 2/3 of a cup of filling for each roll.

By now the residual water should have soaked into the rice paper, making it soft and pliable. Bring the bottom edge up over the filling, and then fold in each side. Roll away from yourself so a complete cylinder forms. Depending on how much filling you put in each you will have 8-10 rolls. Leave whole (better for transport/eating later) or cut rolls in half. Serve with peanut sauce and extra sriracha.

Beans and Greens

Two summers ago this recipe saved me. I was living in an apartment where I could plant a garden. The garden was in a corner of the yard that didn’t get great sun (installed by a previous tenant), but it was my first place where I truly had a garden of my own and I tried a little of everything. I planted some collards, and there must have been a big rainstorm after I did so because they didn’t sprout up in a neat row, but in random places all around the garden and outside the garden. The rest of the garden was not as successful, but they did phenomenally. I had collards coming out of my ears, and grew to truly love them and find all sorts of dishes to stick them in (my love letter to collards is here).

That season I found myself making Sarah’s beans and greens whenever I needed a quick dinner. The greens were outside my door, and I am never without a couple cans of beans in the pantry. Over the years my version has morphed into what you see below, though it does vary a bit each time based on what is in my pantry. I am an expert bread crumb burner, so I swapped them for some nice bread for dipping (and now you don’t have to turn the oven on).

In the Potter Hill CSA Paul has reliably including a bunch of fresh onions, and while I can easily use up the bottoms, the tops have been more of a challenge. They’re mild enough to blend in with all the greens without making them overpoweringly onion-y, so I just threw the whole lot in.

The rest of my share this week was two heads of lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, chard, bok choy, and basil. I made a giant salad with Dijon vinagrette, grated turnips (leftover from last week) and radishes. and hard-boiled egg. It doesn’t include as many CSA ingredients, but I also made this chickpea salad using the parsley and fresh onion in place of the shallot. It was excellent on top of more lettuce salad (the joke this week was no one was allowed to leave the house without a salad). The zucchini and summer squash are headed for the grill this weekend.

Beans and greens

You can use just about any kind of hearty green here: various kinds of kale, collards, chard, beet greens, turnip greens, radish greens, spinach (or perpetual spinach if you are a CSA member!). This time around I used one large bunch of chard, a medium bunch of bok choy, and a small bunch of radish greens and they were 20 ounces before I stemmed them. If you are really adverse to anchovies you can of course leave them out, but I implore you to try them at least once. This dish does not turn out tasting fishy at all. If you don’t want the bite of raw garlic in the vinaigrette, saute it in the oil for a minute before you add the onion tops.

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 4 anchovies, minced (or 2 teaspoons anchovy paste)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or red/white wine vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper
• Green tops from 1 bunch of fresh onions or 1 whole bunch of scallions, sliced
• 1 lbs of hearty greens, stemmed and chopped (see note)
• 3 1/2 cups or 2 15-ounce cans of white beans, drained and rinsed (I used soldier beans)
• 1/2 grated parmesan cheese
• hearty bread for serving

In a small bowl mix the chopped garlic, anchovies, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice/vinegar, a few grinds of pepper and a punch of salt (not too much, as the anchovies will add some saltiness too). Stir to combine and taste, adding more acid, salt, and pepper as needed.

In a large pot heat the remaining tablespoon of oil over medium heat. Add the onion tops and cook until soft, about 3 minutes (they should lose their structure and become uniformly dark green). Add in the greens and cover the pot. Cook for 3-5 minutes, until the greens are mostly wilted. Put the beans in the pot and stir to combine with the greens. Let cook uncovered for a couple more minutes to warm the beans through, then add in the olive oil mixture and stir to combine. Sprinkle the grated cheese on top, and serve with crusty bread.

Kale and Beet Salad with Pickled Onions, Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Goat Cheese

Admittedly, I have done very little cooking in the last week. This heat has inspired a diet of fresh fruit, salads, sandwiches, and frozen desserts. I’ve made eggs for breakfast, but once the sun really comes up I can’t be bothered to heat up the kitchen any more. Refusing to cook can be inspiration all its own, and salads do not have to be boring.

This week my Potter Hill CSA share was kale, perpetual spinach, salad turnips, baby beets, zucchini, summer squash, fresh onions, bok choy, basil, and parsley. If I can find a grill to make use of, this zucchini with pesto and beans is high on my list to make. If you could be bothered to roast sweet potatoes, these wraps are an excellent vegetarian main (and if you can’t be bothered, grated carrots or beets would be a fine substitute). My favorite everyday use for greens is to saute them to have with eggs and toast in the morning with a few dashes of hot sauce.

The revelation in this salad is there is no reason to cook your beets. Yes, when you roast them their sweet, earthiness is concentrated, but that is not always what I want from a beet. In fact I was anti-beet until I ate them raw and was able to appreciate their mildly sweet crunch. Young beets are especially great this way, and are an excellent addition to salads, wraps, and sandwiches.

 Kale and Beet Salad with Pickled Onions, Balsamic Vinaigrette, and Goat Cheese

These pickled onions are a great addition to sandwiches or potato salad (as in their inspiration recipe). I had a great intention to add nuts, but then forgot to do so while I was making it. Toasted pecans or almonds would be my pick. With baby beets I just wash them thoroughly and trim any stringy bits off the bottom, but don’t feel the need to peel them.

Dressing inspired by Sprouted Kitchen, pickled onions inspired by Smitten Kitchen.

Serves 4 as side salads, or 2 as mains.

• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 large fresh onion bulb, minced (about 1/2 a cup)
• 2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons maple syrup
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
• salt
• pepper
• 1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped
• 3 small beets, greens removed and reserved
• 3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Measure white wine vinegar, water, salt, and sugar in a small jar (1/2 pint works great). Shake to dissolve the salt and sugar, then add the minced onion and let sit while you prepare everything else.

In a second jar (or the bottom of a large bowl, if you are going to mix and serve everything at once) combine balsamic vinegar, olive oil, maple syrup, Dijon mustard, a pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Shake or whisk to combine.

Trim any stringy ends off the bottom of the beets, and then grate them on the largest holes of a box grater (or, you could cut them into matchsticks by hand or on a mandolin).

Assemble the salad by massaging the majority of the dressing into the kale with your hands (reserve a few tablespoons of dressing to drizzle on top) until the leaves are thoroughly coated and shiny. Top kale with grated beets, crumbled goat cheese, about 1/2 the pickled onions (see head note for other uses), and a final drizzle of dressing.