April 16th
Green Bean and Yellow Tomato Salad with Mint
Baked Chicken with Vidalia Onion Sauce
Sweet and Sour Vidalia Onions
Grilled New Potatoes with a Red Pepper Crust
Grilled English Peas Recipe
Grilled Apples With Herbes De Provence and Micro Greens
ABOUT YELLOW TOMATOES
Yellow tomatoes have been bred to be yellow, rather than the traditional red. Many of these tomato varieties are actually quite ancient, but were only widely introduced recently, as gardeners and consumers realized that this New World fruit comes in an assortment of colors, shapes, sizes, and even flavors.
The obvious distinguishing feature of a yellow tomato is the color, which may be anywhere from an almost creamy yellow to bright, electric, school bus yellow, depending on the cultivar, the time of year, and when the tomato is harvested. The difference in color is not just superficial. The nutritional profile of yellow tomatoes is slightly different from that of red tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes have lots of niacin and folate, less vitamin C, and less lycopene than red tomatoes. Perhaps most importantly, yellow tomatoes are lower in acid than red tomatoes. For people who love tomatoes, but suffer when they eat acidic foods, these tomatoes can be used exactly like red tomatoes, in pretty much any way one might care to imagine, from tomato chutney to ketchup. The lower acid level also allows some of the more naturally sweet flavor of the tomato to come through, which can be an advantage in some dishes.
Green Bean and Yellow Tomato Salad with Mint
1 lb. long, slender green beans such as Blue Lake or Kentucky Wonder, ends trimmed
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 or 2 yellow tomatoes, cut into wedges about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup thin red onion wedges
2 tsp. red wine vinegar, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a boil. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes; the timing will depend on their size. Drain.
In a large serving bowl, combine the hot beans, mint, olive oil and salt and toss to mix. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
Just before serving, add the tomatoes, onion, vinegar and a grind of pepper to the bean mixture and toss to mix. Taste and add more vinegar, if necessary. Serve the salad at room temperature. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Healthful Cooking, by Mary Abbott Hess, Dana Jacobi & Marie Simmons (Oxmoor House, 2003).
Baked Chicken with Vidalia Onion Sauce
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting pan
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves, each about 3/4 lb.
2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
1 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
2 large Vidalia onions, about 1 1/2 lb. total, quartered
1/4 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock
Preheat an oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a large flameproof roasting pan.
Brush the skin of the chicken breast halves with 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Season the breasts with 2 tsp. of the salt and 1/2 tsp. of the pepper, then sprinkle with the minced rosemary. Place the chicken, skin side up, in the center of the prepared pan.
Place the onions in a bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Season the onions with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and toss again. Place the onions around the edges of the roasting pan.
Transfer the pan to the oven and roast, stirring the onions occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, away from the bone, registers 160°F, about 35 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Increase the oven temperature to 475°F, and continue roasting the onions until they are very tender and deep beige, about 5 minutes more.
Transfer the onions and any pan juices to a food processor. Place the roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the sherry and broth and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Boil until the liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Process the onions, adding as much of the liquid from the roasting pan as needed to make a pourable sauce. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken, garnish with the rosemary sprigs and serve immediately. Pass the remaining sauce at the table. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Chicken, by Rick Rodgers (Oxmoor House, 2008).
Sweet and Sour Vidalia Onions
Vidalia onions are full of natural sugars that soften their pungency. Slow-cooking them in a bath of sugar-fortified red-wine vinegar and chicken broth accentuates the inherent sweetness of the vegetable. This cooking liquid doubles as a rich, butter-free sauce, accented by mellow roasted garlic and woodsy fresh thyme.
4 Vidalia onions
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper for sprinkling
1 garlic clove
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 dried bay leaf
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
3 Tbs. Cabernet wine vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Peel and quarter the onions, leaving just enough of the root end attached to keep the wedges together. Arrange the onions in a roasting pan in a single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. On a cutting board with the side of a large knife, mash the garlic clove and add it to the dish, then add the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Drizzle the oil over the onions.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the 1 cup broth to a boil. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour the broth mixture over the onions. There should be enough to come halfway up the sides of the onions. Add a bit more chicken broth, if needed. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake the onions, stirring occasionally, until they release some of their juice and begin to soften, 30 to 40 minutes. Carefully remove the foil, raise the oven temperature to 400°F and bake, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to about 2 Tbs. and the onions are very soft, 60 to 75 minutes more.
Transfer the onions to a serving dish and serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Vegetables, by Jodi Liano (Oxmoor House, 2008).
Grilled New Potatoes with a Red Pepper Crust
Olive oil for coating
24 small new potatoes
2 Tbs. sweet paprika
1⁄2 tsp. cayenne pepper or hot paprika, oR to taste
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 1⁄2 tsp. salt
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat and oil the grill rack. If the potatoes are very small, have ready a grill basket to keep them from falling through the grill rack into the fire, or use skewers.
Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook them just until they can be pierced with a knife but are not completely tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain and pat dry.
Put the potatoes in a large bowl and coat with oil. In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, cayenne, garlic powder and salt. Toss the potatoes with the spice mixture until well coated.
Grill the potatoes directly over medium-high heat, turning often, until nicely browned and tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Grilling, by Denis Kelly (Simon & Schuster, 2002).
Grilled English Peas Recipe
Fresh English or shell peas, in their pods
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Balsamic vinegar (optional)
A few fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
1 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat.
2 Place a handful of peas into a bowl and drizzle olive oil over them. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Toss to coat with oil and salt.
3 Place peas on hot grill, arranged in a way so that they don’t fall through the grill grates. Grill a few minutes on each side, so that the peas are well charred, and sufficiently cooked so that the peas are tender inside.
4 Remove to a bowl and drizzle with a little balsamic and toss with a little mint if you want.
Eat like edamame. Plop the pod in your mouth and scrape against the salty, charred surface of the pod to extract the peas. Discard the empty pods.
Grilled Apples With Herbes De Provence and Micro Greens
3 apples , peeled, halved and cored (see note)
3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1 large shallot , minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme , minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary , minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh marjoram , minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley , minced
10 kalamata olives , pitted
3 cups micro greens , washed and dried
Make about 8 slices lengthwise down the apple halves but not all the way through one end, so that they are still in one piece and will fan out when softened by cooking.
In a large bowl, combine the sherry vinegar, shallot and salt and let sit for 5 minutes to let the flavors mellow. Add the pepper and whisk in the olive oil and herbs. Add the apples to the bowl and toss to coat them in the vinaigrette. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the apples sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
Prepare a grill or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove the apples from the vinaigrette and reserve the vinaigrette. Lay the apples on the grill, flat side down, and grill them until browned, 4 or 5 minutes. Turn the apples and brown the other side for another 5 minutes. The apples should be caramelized and softened.
There should be about 8 tablespoons of vinaigrette left in the bowl. Remove 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and combine it with the olives in a food processor. Process until you have a fine paste. Thin the paste with water, if desired. Transfer the olive dressing to a squeeze bottle with a large opening, or reserve it in the work bowl.
In a medium bowl, toss the remaining vinaigrette with the micro greens. Arrange the greens in the center of 6 plates and top each with an apple half, slightly fanned out, cored side up. Drizzle some of the olive dressing over the top or squirt it decoratively with the squeeze bottle. Serve immediately.
The apples can be grilled up to 4 hours before serving and kept at room temperature.
Yellow tomatoes have been bred to be yellow, rather than the traditional red. Many of these tomato varieties are actually quite ancient, but were only widely introduced recently, as gardeners and consumers realized that this New World fruit comes in an assortment of colors, shapes, sizes, and even flavors.
The obvious distinguishing feature of a yellow tomato is the color, which may be anywhere from an almost creamy yellow to bright, electric, school bus yellow, depending on the cultivar, the time of year, and when the tomato is harvested. The difference in color is not just superficial. The nutritional profile of yellow tomatoes is slightly different from that of red tomatoes. Yellow tomatoes have lots of niacin and folate, less vitamin C, and less lycopene than red tomatoes. Perhaps most importantly, yellow tomatoes are lower in acid than red tomatoes. For people who love tomatoes, but suffer when they eat acidic foods, these tomatoes can be used exactly like red tomatoes, in pretty much any way one might care to imagine, from tomato chutney to ketchup. The lower acid level also allows some of the more naturally sweet flavor of the tomato to come through, which can be an advantage in some dishes.
Green Bean and Yellow Tomato Salad with Mint
1 lb. long, slender green beans such as Blue Lake or Kentucky Wonder, ends trimmed
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 or 2 yellow tomatoes, cut into wedges about 1/2 inch thick
1/2 cup thin red onion wedges
2 tsp. red wine vinegar, or to taste
Freshly ground pepper, to taste
Bring a large pot three-fourths full of water to a boil. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook until tender, 5 to 7 minutes; the timing will depend on their size. Drain.
In a large serving bowl, combine the hot beans, mint, olive oil and salt and toss to mix. Set aside to cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.
Just before serving, add the tomatoes, onion, vinegar and a grind of pepper to the bean mixture and toss to mix. Taste and add more vinegar, if necessary. Serve the salad at room temperature. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma, Essentials of Healthful Cooking, by Mary Abbott Hess, Dana Jacobi & Marie Simmons (Oxmoor House, 2003).
Baked Chicken with Vidalia Onion Sauce
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for roasting pan
4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breast halves, each about 3/4 lb.
2 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus more, to taste
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper, plus more, to taste
1 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary, plus sprigs for garnish
2 large Vidalia onions, about 1 1/2 lb. total, quartered
1/4 cup dry sherry
3/4 cup low-sodium chicken broth or stock
Preheat an oven to 425°F. Lightly oil a large flameproof roasting pan.
Brush the skin of the chicken breast halves with 1 Tbs. of the olive oil. Season the breasts with 2 tsp. of the salt and 1/2 tsp. of the pepper, then sprinkle with the minced rosemary. Place the chicken, skin side up, in the center of the prepared pan.
Place the onions in a bowl. Drizzle with the remaining 1 Tbs. olive oil and toss to coat evenly. Season the onions with the remaining 1/2 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper and toss again. Place the onions around the edges of the roasting pan.
Transfer the pan to the oven and roast, stirring the onions occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the breast, away from the bone, registers 160°F, about 35 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover loosely with aluminum foil. Increase the oven temperature to 475°F, and continue roasting the onions until they are very tender and deep beige, about 5 minutes more.
Transfer the onions and any pan juices to a food processor. Place the roasting pan over medium-high heat. Add the sherry and broth and bring to a boil, stirring to scrape up the browned bits from the pan bottom. Boil until the liquid is reduced to 3/4 cup, about 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Process the onions, adding as much of the liquid from the roasting pan as needed to make a pourable sauce. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Pour some of the sauce over the chicken, garnish with the rosemary sprigs and serve immediately. Pass the remaining sauce at the table. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Chicken, by Rick Rodgers (Oxmoor House, 2008).
Sweet and Sour Vidalia Onions
Vidalia onions are full of natural sugars that soften their pungency. Slow-cooking them in a bath of sugar-fortified red-wine vinegar and chicken broth accentuates the inherent sweetness of the vegetable. This cooking liquid doubles as a rich, butter-free sauce, accented by mellow roasted garlic and woodsy fresh thyme.
4 Vidalia onions
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper for sprinkling
1 garlic clove
3 fresh thyme sprigs
1 dried bay leaf
1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, plus more as needed
3 Tbs. Cabernet wine vinegar
2 Tbs. sugar
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Peel and quarter the onions, leaving just enough of the root end attached to keep the wedges together. Arrange the onions in a roasting pan in a single layer and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. On a cutting board with the side of a large knife, mash the garlic clove and add it to the dish, then add the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Drizzle the oil over the onions.
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, bring the 1 cup broth to a boil. Add the vinegar and sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes.
Pour the broth mixture over the onions. There should be enough to come halfway up the sides of the onions. Add a bit more chicken broth, if needed. Cover the dish tightly with aluminum foil.
Bake the onions, stirring occasionally, until they release some of their juice and begin to soften, 30 to 40 minutes. Carefully remove the foil, raise the oven temperature to 400°F and bake, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has reduced to about 2 Tbs. and the onions are very soft, 60 to 75 minutes more.
Transfer the onions to a serving dish and serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma New Flavors for Vegetables, by Jodi Liano (Oxmoor House, 2008).
Grilled New Potatoes with a Red Pepper Crust
Olive oil for coating
24 small new potatoes
2 Tbs. sweet paprika
1⁄2 tsp. cayenne pepper or hot paprika, oR to taste
1 Tbs. garlic powder
1 1⁄2 tsp. salt
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct cooking over medium-high heat and oil the grill rack. If the potatoes are very small, have ready a grill basket to keep them from falling through the grill rack into the fire, or use skewers.
Bring a pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the potatoes and cook them just until they can be pierced with a knife but are not completely tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain and pat dry.
Put the potatoes in a large bowl and coat with oil. In a small bowl, mix together the paprika, cayenne, garlic powder and salt. Toss the potatoes with the spice mixture until well coated.
Grill the potatoes directly over medium-high heat, turning often, until nicely browned and tender, 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes. Serve immediately. Serves 4.
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Grilling, by Denis Kelly (Simon & Schuster, 2002).
Grilled English Peas Recipe
Fresh English or shell peas, in their pods
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Balsamic vinegar (optional)
A few fresh mint leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
1 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat.
2 Place a handful of peas into a bowl and drizzle olive oil over them. Sprinkle generously with kosher salt. Toss to coat with oil and salt.
3 Place peas on hot grill, arranged in a way so that they don’t fall through the grill grates. Grill a few minutes on each side, so that the peas are well charred, and sufficiently cooked so that the peas are tender inside.
4 Remove to a bowl and drizzle with a little balsamic and toss with a little mint if you want.
Eat like edamame. Plop the pod in your mouth and scrape against the salty, charred surface of the pod to extract the peas. Discard the empty pods.
Grilled Apples With Herbes De Provence and Micro Greens
3 apples , peeled, halved and cored (see note)
3 tablespoons sherry wine vinegar
1 large shallot , minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 dash fresh ground black pepper
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme , minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary , minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh marjoram , minced
1/2 teaspoon fresh Italian parsley , minced
10 kalamata olives , pitted
3 cups micro greens , washed and dried
Make about 8 slices lengthwise down the apple halves but not all the way through one end, so that they are still in one piece and will fan out when softened by cooking.
In a large bowl, combine the sherry vinegar, shallot and salt and let sit for 5 minutes to let the flavors mellow. Add the pepper and whisk in the olive oil and herbs. Add the apples to the bowl and toss to coat them in the vinaigrette. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the apples sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 2 hours.
Prepare a grill or heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove the apples from the vinaigrette and reserve the vinaigrette. Lay the apples on the grill, flat side down, and grill them until browned, 4 or 5 minutes. Turn the apples and brown the other side for another 5 minutes. The apples should be caramelized and softened.
There should be about 8 tablespoons of vinaigrette left in the bowl. Remove 3 tablespoons of the vinaigrette and combine it with the olives in a food processor. Process until you have a fine paste. Thin the paste with water, if desired. Transfer the olive dressing to a squeeze bottle with a large opening, or reserve it in the work bowl.
In a medium bowl, toss the remaining vinaigrette with the micro greens. Arrange the greens in the center of 6 plates and top each with an apple half, slightly fanned out, cored side up. Drizzle some of the olive dressing over the top or squirt it decoratively with the squeeze bottle. Serve immediately.
The apples can be grilled up to 4 hours before serving and kept at room temperature.
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