Randy Rabney recipes

Here are two recipes from Randy Rabney of The Conscious Plate (www.TheConsciousPlate.com) that should come in handy for this week's share. Randy is also a fellow Maplewood CSA member!

Sautéed Greens and Beans with Scallions and Garlic

This simple recipe is packed with flavor and also offers incredible health benefits. Enjoy it as a side dish or with some whole grains as a main course.

With any of these ingredients please feel free to adjust the amounts to your taste

1 bunch of any variety of kale or chard or greens of your choice, washed and chopped or shredded into bite size pieces

2-3 large scallions, more if thinner, chopped (use all of the white and as much green as you like)

2 large cloves, more if smaller, pressed

1 can of chick peas or white beans drained

Extra Virgin Olive oil to Sauté

Sea Salt and fresh pepper to taste

Crushed Red pepper or hot sauce to taste (optional)

Heat some oil in a sauté pan. When the oil is hot, add the scallions and let them begin to soften, then add the garlic and stir until the garlic is golden brown. Stir in the beans and then the greens. Cook until the greens are wilted and desired tenderness. Season with salt and pepper.

Arugula, Beet, Feta and Walnut Salad

I love the combination of flavors and textures in this salad. It’s so simple to prepare and is great alone or with some grilled grass fed steak or wild salmon, it’s even a nice side dish for an omelet as a dinner option. You can play with the amounts of each ingredient to create the salad that you like.

Wild baby arugula or the best that you can find (watercress works well here too)

*2-3 beets, steamed or roasted, cut into bite size pieces

Feta cheese, either cut into bite sized pieces or crumbled

Walnuts cut into pieces

Roasted walnut oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

**Saba (optional)

Balsamic Vinegar

Sea Salt to taste

Combine the 1^st 4 ingredients in a bowl large enough to comfortably hold everything with room to toss. When you dress the salad, you want to use a ratio of basically 3:1 oil to vinegar (so 3 times as much the oil as the vinegar). Drizzle equal parts walnut and olive oil over the salad. If using saba, drizzle about 1 teaspoon full. Then drizzle the balsamic using the same amount whether you use the saba or not. Toss with tongs. Add sea salt to taste, toss again.

* Beets are easily roasted by rinsing them off and wrapping them in foil. Place them on a baking sheet in a preheated 450 oven. Depending upon size, they take about 1 hour. Poke it with a knife and if there isn’t resistance, it’s done. Remove them from the oven and carefully open the foil, don’t get burned by the steams. Run them under cold water and the skins will come right off. Then they are ready to eat.

**saba is a sweet syrup that is made from the same grapes as balsamic vinegar but it is not fermented. The juice is slowly cooked down for 2-3 days and the result is incredible. If you can find it, I highly recommend trying it.

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Tel. (646)734-9077 :: Email: Randy@TheConsciousPlate.com