Saturday, January 29, 2011

Seeing the beautiful tomatoes at Jacinto Farms this morning at the farmer's market....

Inspired me to dig out this recipe....

Oven Roasted Tomatoes Stuffed WIth Goat Cheese

12 medium tomatoes (3 pounds)
1 2/3 pounds fresh goat cheese
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons finely chopped basil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil


Preheat the oven to 425°. Slice off the top 1/2 inch of each tomato and reserve the tops. Scoop out the tomato cores and seeds. Cut a very thin sliver off of the bottom of each tomato to help them stand up straight. Arrange the tomatoes in a 9-by-13-inch glass or ceramic baking dish.
In a bowl, combine the goat cheese with the egg, garlic, basil, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Spoon the goat cheese mixture into the tomatoes, mounding the filling 1/2 inch above the rim. Cover with the tomato tops and drizzle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
Bake the tomatoes for 35 minutes, until tender and browned in spots and the cheese is hot. Let stand for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Saturday, January 22, 2011

Risotto to serve with fresh Mahi Mahi from Little Fisherman!

A lovely lady approached me at the Redlands Farmer's Market today, asking for a good risotto recipe to serve with the Mahimahi recipe from today's Redlands Daily Facts food column. This recipe is a no fail risotto recipe. The key to making great risotto is to add the broth in phases. Wait until the broth is cooked down before adding more broth- 1/2 cup at a time.

6 cups chicken broth, divided
3 tbsp olive oil, divided
1 pound portabella mushrooms, thinly sliced (or sub with chanterelle or another variety)
1 pound white mushrooms, thinly sliced
2 shallots, diced
1 ½ cups Arborio rice
½ cup dry white wine
sea salt to taste
freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tbsp fresh chives, fine chop
4 tbsp butter
1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese


In saucepan, warm broth over low heat. Warm 2 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms, cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Remove mushrooms and liquid, set aside. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to skillet and stir in shallots. Cook1 minute. Add rice, stirring to coat with oil, about 2 minutes. When rice is pale and golden, pour in wine, stirring constantly until the wine is fully absorbed. Add ½ cup broth to the rice, and stir until the broth is absorbed. Continue adding broth ½ cup at a time, stirring continuously, until the liquid is totally absorbed and the rice is al dente, about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in mushrooms with their liquid, butter, chives and parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Jalapeno Cornbread

Use a well seasoned 8 in cast iron skillet for this recipe with farmer's market eggs from Three Brother's Eggs. Find a good quality cheddar cheese, such as those available from Gerrards Market in Redlands.

1/4 cup cornmeal
1 cup all purpose flour
1 tbsp granulated sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup cream style corn
1 cup cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs, beaten
1/3 cup poblano chili, roasted, peeled, seeded, 1/4 in dice
1 jalapeno chile, seeded, minced

Preheat oven to 400F. Have a 8 in well seasoned cast iron skillet available to use. Combine cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into mixing bowl. Mix well. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well, do not overmix. Pour into cast iron skillet. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until cornbread pulls away from the sides and the top is slightly brown.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Spicy Orange Carrots

Carrots are in season now, find beautiful locally grown carrots at either of the Redlands Farmer's Markets.

Spicy Orange Baby Carrots

½ cup Orange Juice (fresh squeezed if possible)
2 tbsp Granulated Sugar (or sub w same amount of honey)
1 tbsp Fresh Ginger, grated
3-4 Cups Baby Carrots
Salt, Pepper to taste
2 tsp Parsley, chopped

Combine orange juice, sugar, ginger and carrots. Cover and cook over medium heat until carrots are tender. Season carrots with salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Beet and Apple Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette

Seeing all the beautiful beets and apples at the farmer's market last weekend, inspired me to dig out this fantastic recipe.

Beet and Apple Salad with Horseradish Vinaigrette

For visual appeal, a mandolin is useful for preparing this recipe. Hand mandolins can be found at kitchen supply stores at an economical price. Alternatively, larger and more durable mandolins can be found at a higher price point, while offering a wider array of sizes and shapes of cuts.

For vinaigrette
1 tbsp brown mustard
2 tbsp prepared horseradish
¼ cup raspberry vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

For Salad
1 pound beets, mixed red and golden if available
¼ cup green onion, minced
1 tbsp chives, minced
2 tbsp flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 apples, sweet or tart, julienne
½ cup celery, sliced ¼ in
3 cups mixture of endive, romaine and radicchio (or sub with mixture of farmer’s market greens with mixture of colors)

Preheat oven to 400F. Combine all vinaigrette ingredients, except olive oil, in bowl and whisk rapidly (or use food processor or mixer) . Slowly add the oil until emulsified. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste. Leaving the roots and 1 inch of stem on beets, rinse thoroughly. Bake with ¼ in water, covered, 25-40 minutes or until beets can be easily peeled with a knife. Cool. When beets are cool enough to handle peel and julienne. Toss the beets with 2 tbsp vinaigrette and half green onions. Combine chives, parsley, and apples with the celery and remaining green onions. Toss with 2 tbsp vinaigrette. Dress greens/leaves with vinaigrette. Place leaves on chilled plate. Place a serving of beets on top of the greens, add celery, apples scattered on top. Serve chilled.

Friday, January 14, 2011

Beet, Endive, Feta Salad

This salad is a beautiful presentation and refreshing any time of year!

4 cups beets, mixed red (and golden if available), whole
7 tbsp walnut oil
2 tbsp tarragon vinegar
1/4 cup walnuts, chopped
2 belgian endive, firm and white (and red if available)
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
to taste salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400 F
Leave on tails and 1 inch of stem on beets,rinse them and place on baking pan with 1/4in water, cover and bake beets until tender when pierced with knife- 25 to 40 minutes depending on size of beets.
Cool beets, then peel and dice into 1/2in cubes.
Mix 4 tbsp of oil,vinegar, salt, pepper to make vinaigrette.
Toss beets in half of vinaigrette
Toss walnuts with the remaining walnut oil, salt, and pepper.
Bake in 350F over 5 to 7 minutes or until they smell toasty. Set aside and cool.
Just before serving, peel endive leaves into individual leaf layers.
Arrange endive leaves into a spoke pattern on individual plates. Spoon beets into the center of plate on end of leaves
Lightly dress endive with vinaigrette. Sprinkle the feta cheese over the salad and top with walnuts.

Note: If walnut oil is not available, use olive oil and one teaspoon Dijon-style mustard.

Vegetarian Chili

Vegetarian Chili

1 tsp veg oil
1 cup chopped onions
¾ cup chopped carrots
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
1 cup red bell pepper, chopped
¾ cup celery, chopped
1 tbsp chili powder
1 ½ cups fresh mushrooms, chopped
1 can whole peeled tomatoes with liquid, chopped
1 can kidney beans with liquid
1 can whole kernel corn with liquid
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 ½ tsp dried oregano
1 ½ tsp dried basil

Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onions, carrots and garlic until tender. Stir in green pepper, red pepper, celery and chili powder. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Stir in mushrooms, and cook for additional 4 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, kidney beans and corn. Season with cumin, oregano and basil. Bring to a boil and reduce to medium heat. Cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Garnish each serving with chopped chives. Serve hot.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Basil Oil Recipe

Basil Oil

1/2 lb basil leaves
1 tsp salt
juice of one lemon
2 cups olive oil
Place basil leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain and quickly cool in cold water. Squeeze out all water and chop. Using blender of food processor, puree with salt and lemon juice and olive oil. Blend on highest speed until blended, several minutes. Strain through a coffee filter or cheesecloth.

Friday, January 7, 2011

This week's Redlands Daily Facts Food Column

Tomorrow's Redlands Daily Facts food column is:
All About Olive Oil

If you don't receive the newspaper in hard copy, you can read the on-line version at:
RedlandsDailyFacts.com, click the "entertainment" tab, then select "Local Food".

Happy farm cooking to you and yours! See you at the farmer's market.

Chef Lee