Tag Archives | cilantro

Tilapia with Grilled Orange Vinaigrette

By on March 20, 2011 in Uncategorized

Because it has been in the 80s for about a week now (yay!), I’ve started reverting back to my warm-weather habit of cooking on the grill at least a few times per week. Today I really wanted to grill some fish, but I always run into the problem of fish sticking to the grill and falling apart once it’s cooked. I realized I could circumvent this issue, and cook some veggies along with the fish, if I put everything into a foil packet on the grill.

It worked wonderfully, and is easy to boot. I just put each fish fillet on a large piece of foil and topped them with a mixture of spinach, chard, and red bell pepper. For the vinaigrette, I added orange halves to the grill for the last five minutes of cooking, then mixed their juice with olive oil and herbs. I poured it over the cooked fish and greens, and voila – the perfect spring lunch.

Tilapia with Grilled Orange Vinaigrette

4 tilapia fillets
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 a large bunch of chard, chopped
~5 cups spinach, chopped
1/2 a large red bell pepper, chopped
Olive oil
2 oranges, halved
Handful of cilantro, chopped
1/2 a bunch of green onions (or green garlic), chopped

Preheat grill to medium heat (about 350 degrees). Season the fish with salt, pepper, and thyme. Place each in a large piece of foil sprayed with cooking spray and drizzle a bit of olive oil over each. Combine spinach, chard, and bell pepper and top each piece of fish with the mixture. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the veggies, season with salt and pepper, and close up the foil packets to seal.

Place packets on grill and cook 20 minutes. Rub oranges with olive oil or cooking spray and place cut side down on the grill in the last five minutes of cooking.

While fish is cooking, combine cilantro, green onions, and 1/2 cup of olive oil in a bowl.

Remove everything from the grill. Squeeze orange juice into herb/oil mixture and season with salt and pepper. Stir well. Spoon a bit of the dressing over each fish fillet and serve.

- Stephanie

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Local Box Meal Plan: Jan 31-Feb 4

By on February 1, 2011 in Uncategorized

I’m loving the abundance of avocados we’ve gotten lately. What’s your favorite winter veggie?

Here’s the complete list for this week.

Beets/Fennel/Kohlrabi – Naegelin
Green Cabbage – Naegelin
Green Leaf Lettuce – Acadian
Sweet Potatoes – Gundermann
Swiss Chard – My Father’s Farm
Dinosaur Kale/Curly Kale – Texas Natural
Cilantro – Fruitful Farms
Green Onions – Naegelin
Avocados – G&S
Grapefruit or Navel Oranges – G&S

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0hchlTnDzQ&w=480&h=390]

I am making:

Green monster smoothies – Lately I’ve been making these for breakfast using raw chard, kale, or spinach. I know a smoothie with raw greens may sound gross. And I won’t lie – they are not pretty. I put mine in an opaque cup. But I tell you, they taste really, really good and are good for you. My basic recipe calls for 2 cups raw greens, 1 cup frozen fruit, 1/2 a banana, 1 cup of unsweetened vanilla almond milk, and a handful of ice. Blend for a few minutes until everything is smooth. I might try throwing some citrus in this week instead of the frozen fruit. You can also experiment with different liquids, like regular milk or hemp milk. Don’t knock the green monster till you try it.

Curried sweet potato salad with cilantro – This recipe is a little fussy for my taste (I’m not carefully layering a salad that I’m just going to scoop onto a plate a minute later), but the elements are solid. I’ll probably sub olive oil for the mayo and use green onions instead of red.

Roasted beets, fennel, or kohlrabi – These guys all taste pretty different so I don’t want to give you complicated recipes using them when you can’t easily substitute for the one you get. Instead, I’m linking to different recipes for each one. I usually roast up a bunch of veggies like this on Sunday and use in salads during the week with our lettuce and cabbage. Oh, and if you haven’t had kohlrabi, it tastes a little like broccoli, but without the tiny florets that stick in your teeth. Yum.

Spicy shrimp with citrus avocado sauce – Use whatever citrus you get.

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Black-Pepper Pork Banh Mi

By on January 31, 2011 in Uncategorized

I don’t usually think about eating sandwiches in the winter. Sandwiches usually = light, cool summer fare, at least in my mind. But when I was creating my weekly menu plan a few weeks ago, I came across a recipe for pickled daikon radishes and carrots (I’d just gotten a bunch of each in my Greenling box). At the end it said “Remove vegetables from liquid before using in banh mi.”

I’d never heard of banh mi before and did some googling. Turns out it’s a Vietnamese sandwich that has many, many variations, and many, many fans. There are entire websites devoted to cataloging the different types of banh mi you can make. Pickled daikon radishes and carrots are a common condiment, though, no matter which iteration you go with. So is cilantro, which I love. Mayonnaise is a typical spread, but since I think it’s disgusting (Mayo is Satan’s condiment. It’s true.) I ate my sandwich dry. The fillings were delicious enough without it. The site I link to below has many different meats and condiments you can use to create your own banh mi.

Black-Pepper Pork Banh Mi (adapted from Banh Mi Battle)

Pork:
1 lb pork tenderloin, thinly sliced
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tsp sugar
1-2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp finely chopped shallots or onion
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp sesame seed oil

6 bollilos (Mexican sandwich rolls) or other sandwich roll

Condiments:
Pickled daikon radishes and carrots
Cilantro sprigs
Thinly sliced cucumber
Thinly sliced red onion
Mayonnaise (optional)

For the pork, combine all ingredients in a zip-lock bag and let the pork marinate for at least an hour. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat and add pork and marinade. Cook 3-4 minutes per side, until pork is cooked through.

To assemble the sandwiches, cut a slit lengthwise into each bollilo. Pull out some of the bread from the inside (this gives you more room for fillings). Fill with pork and condiments of your choice.

- Stephanie

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Cauliflower Dal

By on January 16, 2011 in Uncategorized

Dal was the first thing I thought to make when I saw the giant head of cauliflower in my box last week. It’s a classic Indian stew made with a base of lentils (the word can also refer to the lentils themselves), and its thick texture and warm flavors are perfect for the cold, rainy days we’ve had lately. Anyway, after an overzealous trip to Whole Foods a while back, I ended up with a large amount of red lentils. Red lentils + cauliflower = awesome dal. The lentils will break down almost completely as they cook, so don’t be surprised.

This version is vegan, but you can use butter or ghee if you’d rather, instead of oil. I also added some cilantro and green onions at the end to lighten up the flavor a bit. Not that this dish is heavy in terms of calories, but the flavor of curry powder and the starchy base benefit from a bright kick of cilantro and onions at the end.

Cauliflower Dal (adapted from Fat-Free Vegan)

1.5 cups red lentils
4 cups water
1 tsp. turmeric
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 tbsp. canola oil
1 tbsp. curry powder
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes (use less if want this less spicy)
1 tsp. minced ginger
16 oz. diced tomatoes (or 1 can)
1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets (or half of a large head)
1/2 cup water
Chopped cilantro
Sliced green onions
Cooked rice

Add lentils to a pot with the water and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer until they are tender, about 20 minutes.

While the lentils are cooking, prepare the vegetables. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet. When hot, add the curry powder and stir. Cook for 30 seconds, until the powder becomes fragrant. Add the onion, garlic, pepper flakes, and minced ginger. Stir and cook until the onion softens, about 4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, cauliflower, and water, and stir. Cover and cook until the cauliflower is just tender, about 10 minutes.

When the lentils and cauliflower are both done, add the lentils to the cauliflower mixture. Stir well, and check seasoning, adding more salt if needed. Simmer gently for about 10 minutes to allow flavors to blend. Serve hot, over rice, and garnish with cilantro and green onions.

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New Year Noodle Soup

By on January 8, 2011 in Uncategorized

Raise your hand if you are a victim of cedar pollen right now. Yeah, me too. When I’m suffering from stuffy sinuses, all I want is some spicy, brothy soup to clear everything out. When I came across this recipe, I knew I had to try it. The original calls for a serrano pepper, but mine somehow didn’t make it home from HEB and I substituted a generous pinch of red pepper flakes with great results.

Besides that, there’s so much going on in this soup. There are three types of beans: chickpeas, yellow split peas (or lentils) and borlotti beans. The latter are also called cranberry beans, for the reddish-pink flecks on their skin. They are a bit sweeter and fuller-flavored than pinto beans, but pintos are a good substitute if you can’t find borlotti. I used dried beans that I cooked a few weeks ago and froze until now. The borlotti are on the far right in this picture.

I used Swiss chard, but any hearty green would work. Also, I used whole wheat spaghetti instead of the egg noodles originally called for, as I think they’ll hold up better when the soup is reheated. And I love the addition of fresh herbs at the end, along with a squeeze of lime juice. Oh, and the toppings! Caramelized onions, walnuts, and a bit of sour cream add even more flavor to what already is a fantastic soup. You really need to give this one a try.

New Year Noodle Soup (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
8.5 cups vegetable broth
3.5 oz yellow split peas or lentils (about 1/2 cup)
1.5 cups cooked chickpeas, rinsed if using canned
2 cups cooked borlotti or pinto beans
Salt to taste
4.25 oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles, broken in half
3.5 oz Swiss chard, finely shredded (about 4 cups)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
Juice of one lime

Toppings:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 large onion, thinly sliced
Sour cream or creme fraiche
Toasted, chopped walnuts

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and the pepper flakes and cook until they soften, a few minutes. Add the spices and cook for another thirty seconds, just long enough for them to toast a bit, then stir in the stock. Bring to a boil and add the split peas/lentils and chard to the pot. Cook until the peas are just tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the cooked chickpeas and borlotti beans. Once the beans have heated up, season with salt to taste.

Add the noodles to the simmering soup and return to a boil. Reduce the heat back to a simmer and cook until the spaghetti is al dente, about 11 minutes. Stir in the cilantro and dill. Squeeze in the lime juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

While the lentils are cooking, prepare the toppings. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large frying pan over medium heat along with a few pinches of salt. Cook the onion, stirring occasionally, until golden and caramelized, 8 -10 minutes. Set aside.

Serve right away, each bowl topped with a big spoonful of caramelized onions, some sour cream, and a sprinkling of walnuts.

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