Braised Kale & broccolini Salad

One more new (at least to me) recipe for the record from tonight's dinner:

Braised Kale and Broccolini Salad Recipe

Ingredients:
1 bunch of Kale or Mustard Greens - trimmed and cut into one inch pieces (and all yellow/brown parts trimmed off, as is inevitable when cooking with week old veggies as I did tonight)
1 bunch of Broccolini (or Broccoli Rabe) - trimmed and cut into one inch pieces
Chicken/Veggie Broth
White Wine
Olive Oil
8 cloves of whole garlic
crushed red pepper flakes (or black pepper if you are scared of the red stuff, you know who you are)
salt to taste
Simple lemon salad dressing (recipe below) AKA our house dressing (or lemon juice if you are in a super hurry or just don't feel like it)

Add 4 garlic cloves to a large skillet with high sides along with the olive oil and heat to medium high until garlic cloves are very a slightly golden. Do not allow to burn.
Add half of the chopped greens, and when they cook down (30-45 seconds) add the remainder of the greens and the 4 remaining garlic cloves.
As the greens continue to cook, add salt to taste and pepper flakes, along with a good glug of white wine and chicken/veggie broth.
Bring to low boil, cover, and allow to simmer for about 10-15 minutes on very low heat.
After 10 minutes, check to see how your greens are coming along and if needed, add a tiny bit more chicken/veggie stock and wine. Taste to make sure salt and pepper is to your liking and cook about 5-6 more minutes, covered and on low heat.
After the veggies have reached your desired level of al-dente, add lemon juice or lemon dressing,
and serve immediately.

Lemon Dressing AKA our house dressing
Squeeze a meyer lemon or two (or a lemon + an orange/tangerine) into a small glass jar with lid, and add a pinch of salt, a pinch of cayenne and sugar or splenda to taste. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
Add EVOO to above, making sure that the amount of oil is no more than a quarter to a third of the quantity of juice - reversing the traditional salad dressing ratio is key to this dressing.
Cover jar, make sure it is tightly closed and shake. Taste and readjust seasonings and Voila - now you have your very own preservative-free, low labor salad dressing that works well on all salads plus braised veggies like the one above.

Easy Spicy Shrimp and Easier Not-So-Spicy Green Beans

By popular request, here are some "India friendly" recipes. For anyone else, you will find AamChoor (Green Mango Powder) and Chaat Masala (a mix of certain Indian spices) at your friendly Neighborhood Indian Grocery Store or online. Email me if you can't find it, and I will try to get some to you by US Mail.

Spicy Oven Baked Shrimp
Aam choor (can substitute with lemon or lime juice to taste)
Chaat Masala (can substitute with cumin powder + coriander powder +ginger powder+garam masala)
Red Onion (or yellow,white, green if your heart desires)
Lots of Garlic or to taste
Olive oil or any mild vegetable oil (or even mustard oil if you so dare!)
Salt
Green (serrano) chillis
cilantro (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees if cooking shrimp or 475 degrees if making fish
Mix all the above ingredients together in the food processor to make a wet rub. It should be of spreadable consistency. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. If necessary add a smidgeon of sugar or splenda to balance the taste. The rub should be fairly strong tasting.

Mix the wet rub with tail-on raw shrimp or apply the rub liberally to both sides of any firm fleshed fish filet (salmon, halibut, sea bass and bake in the oven. Spread the shrimp or fish or lightly oiled cookie sheets, taking care not to crowd them. Bake in the oven until almost done as it will continue to cook even after it comes out of the oven. A couple of pounds of shrimp will cook in as little as 4-5 minutes, and a lb of salmon in about 8 minutes (4 minutes per side). Serve warm, accompanied by a white or sparkling wine with some residual sugar for maximum impact. This would likely also work pretty well with most light beers, or any fruity cocktails.


Easy Peasy Roasted Green Beans
Green Beans -- about a lb
Olive oil
salt, preferably coarsely ground or non-iodized sea salt
black pepper, freshly ground
Lots of peeled garlic cloves, at least 6-8 large ones

Toss all the ingredients, and roast in a preheated 350 degree oven for 12 minutes. Take out of the oven, retoss the green beans, for another 12-15 minutes until cooked through, and parts are lightly browned/golden. Serve warm or cold as a side dish or a cocktail snack. Goes well with many lighter red wines, and almost all white/sparkling wines that have some acidity.