Carrot-Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnuts

One of my most favorite autumn vegetables (as if they all are not my favorite) is fennel. I think fennel is the best in autumn, even though you can get it year round in mild climates. When raw, it is crisp and refreshing with a licorice like scent and flavor. When sliced paper thin, it's crunch really adds a wonderful texture to salads. My husband and I actually love just plain raw fennel salads dressed simply with lemon juice and olive oil and some parsley, delicious! It is also wonderful cooked too. If someone tells me they don't like fennel, I make them some simple roast fennel and they take back their words every time. When cooked, it will lose much of it's licorice like flavor.

In this salad, paper thin fennel slices are combined with sliced apples and shredded carrots for a beautiful, colorful combination. I add raw walnuts for a little nuttiness and extra fat (the walnuts can be toasted, but their omega-3 fatty acids will be damaged in the process). A simple dressing and some fresh herbs is all this salad needs to finish it off. I like to use the fennel's fronds as an herb, so if you buy your fennel with the stalks on, save the fronds for an herb and the stalks for vegetable stock.

This salad is great with any white fish, chicken, or even pork, or along side a tomato chickpea stew.

Sorry, no picture today, the camera is acting up and I can't get it to work. I will post one later if possible.

Carrot-Apple-Fennel Salad with Walnuts

 Serves 4-6
 Autumn
-2 large carrots, peeled and shredded
-1 sweet, crisp apple (such as Gala)
-1 bulb fennel, fronds removed and reserved
-2-3 tablespoons lemon juice
-1 tablespoon agave nectar
-1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1 tablespoon chopped parsley
-1 tablespoon chopped fennel frond
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts
-Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste



Place the shredded carrots into a large bowl and set aside.
Quarter the apple lengthwise and cut out the core. Halve the fennel bulb and cut out the core. Using a mandolin or very sharp knife, slice the apple and fennel thinly and add to the bowl with the carrots. Squeeze 2 tablespoons of the lemon juice over the vegetables and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl whisk together the agave nectar, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, parsley, and fennel frond. Pour over the salad and toss to coat. Add in the walnuts. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, pepper, and lemon juice if necessary.

Fava Bean-Basil Pesto

Here is a terrific puree to use on crostinis, in a sandwich, as a dip, of even as a pasta sauce. In the picture, I slathered my Fava Beans-Basil Pesto on garlic rubbed crostinis and topped it off with thick slabs of sheep milk feta and sliced Early Girl tomatoes. We ate plate fulls of these for dinner! To learn how to use fava beans, see the recipe Sauteed Zucchini and Fava Beans with Mint and Taragon.
Fava Bean-Basil Puree
Makes 1 ½ cups
Late Spring, Early Summer

-2 pounds fava beans in pods (1 ¼ cups shelled and peeled)
-1 ½ cups packed basil leaves
-1 ½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ small yellow onion, diced
-2 tablespoons vegetable stock or water
-Salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste

Shell and cook the fava beans until tender according to the instructions in the Sauteed Zucchini and Fava Beans with Mint and Tarragon recipe.Peel the fava beans and set aside. You should have roughly 1 ¼ cups peeled beans.

Bring a pot of water to a boil. Dunk the basil leaves into the boiling water for about 30 seconds. Remove and immediately shock under cold running water. Squeeze out any extra liquid and set aside.

Heat ½ tablespoon of the extra virgin olive oil in a small sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add in the diced onion. Cook the onion until it begins to soften, about 2-3 minutes. Add in the 2 tablespoons of liquid and cook until the onions are tender and the liquid as evaporated. Set the onions aside.

Set up a food processor fitted with an S-blade. Add in the fava beans, basil leaves, sautéed onion, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. Process until smooth. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground white pepper.

Chilled Carrot Coconut Soup with Lime Pickled Red Carrots, Cilantro, and Sesame Seeds

The carrots at the market have been amazing the last couple of weeks. Esters's Farm sells beautiful bunches of rainbow carrots, which consist of the colors yellow, orange, white, and red. Though these carrots are beautiful to look at, I prefer the flavor of the regular orange carrots available right now. The rainbow ones are great to add a little color in garnishes. For the red carrots, do not peel them, or you lose the color. Also, they turn a dark, rusty brown when roasted, which is also gorgeous, but not red.

I am not usually a fan of chilled soups, but I love this one. I think it's the coconut milk. This soup becomes silky smooth from the coconut fat. A little of this soup goes a long way, it is rich! I like to serve it in little bowls or cups as an appetizer. The flavor of the carrots is of utmost importance here, so only use the best. I use the red carrots for the lime pickled carrots to give a little color contrast. The sweet and sour red carrots go wonderfully with the fatty coconut in the soup.

Carrot Coconut Soup with Lime Pickled Red Carrots, Cilantro, and Sesame Seeds
Serves 2-4 as a small serving appetizer
Spring, Summer, Autumn

Pickled Carrots
-2 red carrots, sliced into
paper thin rounds
-Juice of ½ lime
-1 ½ - 2 teaspoons agave nectar
-1-2 teaspoons umeboshi plum vinegar
-touch of chili paste
-1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

Carrot Coconut Soup
- ½ small yellow onion, sliced
- ¾ pounds carrots, sliced
- ¼ hot jalapeno, or ½ of a mild one, sliced
- ½ tablespoon minced ginger
-1 clove garlic, smashed
-2 cups vegetable stock
-1 cup coconut milk, plus extra for drizzling
-Salt and fresh ground white pepper

Soup Garnish
-chopped cilantro leaves
- ½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

For the Pickled Carrots: Combine the paper thin carrot slices with the lime juice, agave nectar, plum vinegar, chili paste, and sesame oil. Toss to combine and set aside.

For the Carrot Coconut Soup: Combine the sliced onions, sliced carrots, jalapeno, ginger, garlic, and vegetable stock in a 2 ½ - 3 quart soup pot. Bring to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are very tender. Puree the soup in a blender, in batches if necessary, until completely smooth. Add in the coconut milk and blend again. Season to taste with salt and fresh ground white pepper. Pour the soup into a shallow bowl and place into the refrigerator. Chill until quite cool.
Pull out the soup and ladle into small bowls or cups. Top with a helping of the pickled carrots, chopped cilantro leaves, toasted sesame seeds, and a light drizzling of extra coconut milk.

Bulgur Wheat and Fava Bean Salad with Feta Cheese, Lemon Basil, and Mint

You know warm weather is coming when fresh fava beans show up at the farmers market. I feel that fresh fava beans our one of our last truly seasonal vegetables. By this I mean that you will almost never find them available in a grocery store or super market out of season (like we do tomatoes, asparagus, and artichokes).

The first of the season fava beans are the best. Even the large beans are tender, requiring only 3-4 minutes of blanching. If you have ever worked with fava beans, you know that they require affection and patience to work with. Only people who love favas actually cook with them. Fresh favas come in large, thick, hairy green pods. These pods must first be split open to reveal the beans inside. These beans then need to be dunked in boiling hot water for a few minutes (depends on their size and age) to make them tender, and to soften their leathery outer skin. This skin then needs to be peeled off (its easy, just pop the beans right out) before the bean can be used. All in all, fava beans have about an 80% loss when all is finished. 1 1/2 pounds of beans in pods will yeild roughly a cup of peeled beans. Fava beans are like artichokes; a bit of a hassle to work with, but sooooo worth the effort!

Fava beans go wonderfully with wheat, salty cheeses, fresh spring herbs, potatoes, artichokes, peas, and even early tomatoes. My favorite herbs to go with fava beans are tarragon, chives, parsley, basil, mint, chervil, and thyme. I have a mini basil garden going, and my lemon basil is flaunting a few beautful,leafy sprigs, which I decided to use in my first fava bean recipe of the year; Bulgur Wheat and Fava Bean Salad with Feta Cheese, Lemon Basil, and Mint. If lemon basil is not available, then any early basil will do. I really love the mint in this recipe as well. The salty and creamy feta cheese really ties the chewy bulgur wheat and tender favas together, while chopped walnuts add a nice toasty crunch. This is a really nice side dish. I used a full 3 tablespoons of exceptional extra virgin olive oil and the juice of two juicy lemons. If you feel the salad is too dry, add more oil or lemon juice if need be.

Bulgur Wheat with Fava Beans, Feta Cheese, Lemon Basil, and Mint Serves 4-6 as a side dish
Spring, Early Summer

-1 cup bulgur wheat
-1 ½ pounds fresh fava beans
-1 small shallot lobe, minced
-1 tablespoon minced fresh lemon basil
-1 tablespoon minced fresh mint leaves
-2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
-1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese*
-Juice of 2 lemons, or to taste
-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or to taste
-Handful toasted and chopped walnuts
-salt and fresh ground white pepper to taste

Place the bulgur wheat in a 2 quart pot and cover with 1 ½ cups water and a large pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer, cover, and turn the heat down to low. Cook the bulgur wheat until it has absorbed all the water. Let rest ten minutes, off heat. Uncover, and fluff with a fork. Refrigerate the bulgur if not using with in the hour.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Remove the fava beans from their thick green pods. Add the fava beans to the boiling water. Blanch until the beans are tender and their skins slip right off, about 3-4 minutes for young, first of the season beans, a little longer for later season beans. Drain and immediately run under cold water until cool. Peel the fava beans. They are now ready to use.

Combine the bulgur wheat with the fava beans, minced shallot, lemon basil, mint, parsley, and a little salt and fresh ground white pepper. Stir to combine. Add in the feta cheese, lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, and chopped walnuts. Stir well to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary with salt, fresh ground white pepper, lemon juice, and extra virgin olive oil.

*Note: If your feta cheese is very moist and creamy instead of dry and crumbly, add it at the end of mixing, after you have adjusted to taste, otherwise, this dish will get soggy and the feta will disappear into the bulgur wheat.

Two Great Appetizers

Artichokes and cauliflower are two of my favorite spring vegetables. In the two following recipes, they both are prepared into terrific appetizers, or would be great in a tapas spread. For the first, artichokes are combined with smooth and creamy pine nuts to make a wonderful pesto, which is then stuffed into cremini mushrooms. This pesto, if you have any left over, keeps well in a glass jar with a little olive oil on top. Left overs can be used as a sandwich spread, as a crostini topping, or even on pasta.

The second is a pungent and intriguing plate of large cauliflower florets roasted with yellow curry powder. Great served warm, or even at room temperature.

Artichoke-Pine Nut Pesto Stuffed Mushrooms

For the Pesto
-1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large shallot lobe, minced -
-2 medium artichokes, trimmed and quartered
-1 strip lemon peel
- ½ cup pine nuts
-1 teaspoons minced fresh chives
-1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme
-1 teaspoons minced fresh parsley
-Salt and fresh ground white pepper

Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add in the minced shallot lobe. Sauté, stirring often, until the shallots are soft, about 3 minutes. Add in the artichokes and strips of lemon peel. Just cover with water or vegetable stock, season with a pinch of salt, and bring to a simmer. Cover the pan and simmer the artichokes until tender and only a tablespoon or so of liquid remains. Remove the lemon peel.

Place the warm artichokes into the bowl of a food processor fitted with an S blade. Add in the fresh herbs and a little salt and white pepper. Pulse the processor to grind the artichokes into a coarse puree. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.

For the Mushrooms
-15-20 cremini or white button mushrooms, stems removed
-1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-Salt and fresh ground white pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 375̊F.

Wipe the mushrooms clean with a damp paper towel or wash cloth. Toss the mushrooms with 1-2 tablespoon extra virgin olive. Use just enough oil to coast the mushrooms. Season with a little salt and fresh ground white pepper.

Place the mushrooms in a large baking dish in one single layer, stem end facing up. Cover with foil and bake in the oven until the mushrooms are tender, about 15minutes. Remove the foil, and pour out the juice that has collected in each mushroom. I save this juice to add to stock, or to make vinaigrettes, or even to thin the artichoke pesto if it is too thick.

Fill each mushroom with a good spoonful of the pesto. Cover the dish back up with foil, place in the oven, and warm the mushrooms through, 5-10 minutes more. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Curry Roasted Cauliflower Florets
-1 head of white cauliflower
-1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
-1 ½ - 2 tablespoons curry powder
-Salt and fresh ground white pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 400̊F.

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower. Divide the cauliflower into large florets. Toss the florets with the extra virgin olive oil, curry powder, salt, and fresh ground white pepper.

Line 2 baking sheets with baking paper. Place the cauliflower in a single layer on the baking sheets.Place the cauliflower in the oven and roast, stiring from time to time, until slightly brown and the cauliflower is tender. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Mixed Summer Beans with Shallots and Pistachios

I spent the last four days at my parents house up by Yosemite and while there I went to the farmers market down in Fresno. Kind of old stomping grounds, I use to shop there for a restaurant I worked for about 5 years ago. All the same farmers and all the same great produce. I love my farmers market here in SLO, but the Fresno one does have some extras that we do not have (just yet anyway). Being so hot in the valley, the Fresno farmers market was overflowing with summer produce. Lots of tomatoes, all kinds of summer beans, okra, eggplants, basil, corn, and my favorite, watermelon (I bought one and it was delicious!). Many kinds of stone fruit including peaches, nectarines, plums, pluots, and apricots. Lots of berries too. Because it is so hot, the Fresno market does not have many of the items we have year round such as carrots, beets, broccoli, and greens (there were some greens, but they were quite shabby looking), so the SLO market does have an edge. There is a wonderful organic stand at the Fresno market that sells specialty Italian varieties of produce. I bought some terrific basil, Trumpet squash, and red torpedo onions. At another stand I bought the theme of today's recipe; mixed summer beans. I purchased Romano, yellow wax, and green beans. I plan on going back this Saturday since I will be in the area again for 4th of July. I will admit, I LOVE the heat and miss it during the summer months. I love Cayucos, but it is a little cold for me.

This recipe is delicious and quite beautiful. If you happen to see Royal Burgundy beans in addition to green beans and yellow wax, buy them. They will lose a little color once cooked, but they are still gorgeous. The fresh herbs in this recipe are essential, so if you can't find fresh oregano and thyme, then use fresh parsley or basil instead, don't substitute dry herbs. Other nuts can be used as well such as walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.

Mixed Summer Beans with Shallots and Pistachios

-1 pound mixed summer beans, tails removed
-2 shallots, minced
-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup pistachios, roughly chopped
-2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme

-1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano

-salt and white pepper to taste

-squeeze of lemon

Steam the beans in a steamer basket set over boiling water until tender but still with a slight bite (al dente). Alternatively, blanch the beans in boiling salted water until al dente. When tender, immediately run under cold water or shock in ice water to stop the cooking process and set the color. If using Royal Burgundy beans, the purple color will fade a bit with cooking. Set aside.
Heat the extra virgin olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. When hot, add in the minced shallots. Sweat the shallots until they soften and just slightly brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add in the pistachios, cooked beans, fresh chopped herbs, and about 1-2 tablespoons water or vegetable stock. Stir to combine and heat through, about 3-5 minutes more. Season to taste with salt, white pepper, and a squeeze of lemon.

A True Vegetable of Spring; Fresh Fava Beans

Ahh, fava beans, one of the last truly seasonal vegetables. Every spring their thick pods begin to overcrowd the market stands. I'm a lover of fava beans and have high anticipation every spring for their arrival. I say they are one of the last truly seasonal vegetables because you would be hard pressed to find a fresh fava outside of its spring season. Unlike foods such as watermelon, tomatoes, and asparagus, fresh favas cannot readily be found year round. But this fact is what makes them so spectacular and worth the effort. When we eat seasonally from farmer's markets we soon begin to appreciate a food for what it's really worth. If you have to wait for tomato season, or watermelon season, your going to respect and treat that food with nothing but integrity, knowing you have waited all year for the best a season has to offer. One of the greatest concepts of a seasonal farmer's market is what it can't provide; year round promises of tasteless, inferior produce.

If you have ever prepared fresh fava beans, you know they can be a bit of work. Their thick pods must first be removed to reveal the light green, kidney shaped beans inside, which then need to be quickly steamed or blanched to remove their leathery outer shell. These de-podded and de-shelled beans are what we normally consume as fresh favas. Fava beans can also be left on the vines to grow large and yellow, and then dried to be used year round. Most favas are eaten in this form, but I prefer the fresh version more. I have heard and read recipes using the pods of the fava beans, but have never found one I really enjoy. I don't like wasting food, and fresh fava beans have a waste percentage of about 80%, so I typically compost my pods, which seem to break down quite fast and add a good amount of greens to the compost pile. If the beans inside the pods are small an naturally tender, then their leathery outer shell does not need to be removed.

Since fresh fava beans take some effort to prepare and are only around for a short amount of time, I like to prepare them as simply as possible. I actually prefer to prepare most of my foods in simple ways, letting their true flavors, colors, and textures speak for themselves. I believe there is great genius in simplicty. One of the tastiest ways to prepare fresh favas is to serve them with a good bread, sheep's milk cheese, and cracked black pepper. I decided to go with this theme for my first fava preparation of the season, but switched out sheep's milk cheese for goat's (only because that is what I had on hand). I also had a bunch of beautiful red spring onions, so decided to incorporate those as well. Spring onions look sort of like overgrown scallions, with bulbs that get bigger as the season progresses. If you can't find spring onions, then use scallions instead, or even an equal amount of minced shallot. For the favas, first remove the beans from the thick pods. Drop the beans into a pot of boiling water and blanch for about 1-2 minutes if they are to be sauteed later, or until tender if being used right away. For this recipe, they will be sauteed later, so blanch quickly to avoid overcooking them. Once blanched, shock in cold water to stop the cooking process and set the color. Slip the favas out of their leathery skin and set aside. Now they are ready to use. You will need about 1 1/2 pounds of fresh favas in their pods to get 1 cup of ready to use beans.

Fava Bean, Spring Onion, and Goat's Cheese Crostini

-8-10 slices whole grain baguette or other sturdy, crusty bread
-4 large cloves garlic, papery skin still on
-4 oz chevre style goat's cheese at room temperature
-1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
-2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
-1 cup shelled and peeled fresh fava beans
-3 small spring onions, bulbs and 1 inch of green top, sliced (about 1/2 cup)
-salt and fresh ground black pepper
-fresh chopped parsely

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Brush each slice of whole grain bread with a small amount of olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Place in the oven and bake until slightly browned on the edges and crunchy, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. These toasts can be done up to a day in advance. While the toasts are baking, wrap the whole garlic cloves up in a small piece of foil and bake until very soft, about 20 minutes. Squeeze the garlic out of its skins, chop fine, and set aside.

Lightly mash the goat's cheese with a fork in a bowl. Mix in the roasted garlic, minced rosemary, and a little salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a medium sized saute pan, heat the 2 teaspoons of olive oil over medium heat. When hot, add in the fava beans and sliced spring onions. Season with salt and a little ground black pepper (don't overdo the pepper!). Stir often, adjusting the heat as neccessary to avoiding burning, until the onions have wilted and fava beans are just tender, about 5 minutes. Add a splash of water or vegetable stock, about 1-2 tablespoons, and stir to mix. This gives a little moisture to the mix, which may be quite dry. Taste and adjust seasoning. Stir in the fresh chopped parsely.

Spread each toast with some of the goat's cheese spread, top generously with the sauteed fava beans, and a little more fresh chopped parsely if desired. Great with a salad of seasonal greens and fennel, and maybe even a poached egg.