Kale Chorizo Potato Quiche

Last Year's Post:  Yakisoba
Two Years Ago:   Chicken with Lemon Pomegranate Sauce and Pistachio Rice

The is a great quiche for fall or winter, because it's spicy and filling with big flavors from the Mexican chorizo and kale.  It makes a great dinner with a side salad, and an excellent weekend brunch with some fruit.

My recommendation is to use a mandoline to slice the potatoes into uniformly thin slices.  If you don't have a mandoline, use a very sharp knife or cut them into small cubes instead.

I've said it a million times but it bears repeating, Mexican chorizo and Spanish chorizo are not the same.  Mexican chorizo is a fresh chorizo that will typically be found in trays in the pork section of your store.  Spanish chorizo is a dried sausage that looks much like pepperoni.  You want Mexican chorizo here.  One of the big benefits of using chorizo is that it contains all the spices you need for the whole dish except for salt and pepper, which makes things easy.

First you pre-bake the crust.  While it bakes, prep the veggies and shred the cheese.  Then you just saute the chorizo and onion, and repeat with the potatoes and kale.  Stir together the eggs and milk, and assemble.   Make a big salad while it bakes.  Delicious.

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Kale Chorizo Potato Quiche

Serves 8

1 pie crust

1/3 lb Mexican chorizo

1/2 small white onion, diced

1 russet potato, sliced thinly or diced into small cubes

1/4 cup water

4 cups torn fresh kale leaves

4 eggs

3/4 cup milk

3 oz. white cheddar cheese, shredded and divided

Salt & pepper

Preheat the oven to 400F. Roll pie dough out to 1/4″ thick and fit it to a pie pan. Line with foil and pie weights. Cook for 8-9 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for another 4 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.

In a large frying pan over medium heat, brown the chorizo. Cook, breaking apart with a wooden spoon, until it is all browned. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes, then remove the chorizo and onions. Add the 1/4 cup of water and deglaze before adding the potatoes.  Season with salt and pepper.   Cover and cook until the potatoes are softened but not breaking apart, approximately 3 minutes, gently stirring once.    Add the kale to the pan and cook until just wilted (1-2 minutes). Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, and about 1/4 tsp each of salt and pepper. Layer 1/3 of the cheddar cheese in the crust, followed by half of the potato mixture, then all of the chorizo mixture and the other half of the potato mixture. Pour the custard over all.  Top with the remaining cheese. 

Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes, or until the top is puffed and golden and the middle is set.

Minestrone Soup

Last Year's Post: Miso-Glazed Sea Bass
Two Years Ago:   Pasta Arrabiata

There comes a time every winter when everyone has a cold or flu, or just needs a warm and nutritious meal.  Minestrone soup is maybe not quite as famous as chicken soup in that category, but it should be.  It's full of nutritious vegetables, tomatoes, beans and pasta and it's absolutely delicious.  I was particularly interested in a recent cooking show where the chef said her 14-year-old daughter (and friends) absolutely love Minestrone; apparently kids will eat vegetables if they're in the right form.

I love soup, but the soups you find in a restaurant or grocery store have appalling amounts of sodium - usually more than is recommended for an entire day.  The solution is to make your own.  Canned vegetables and broths are also high-sodium culprits, so be sure to use the low-sodium or no-salt-added versions and you'll be fine.  You can always add salt as you're cooking or at the table and you'll still be nowhere near what the restaurant version would have contained.

This soup is easy to make but requires quite a bit of chopping.  I wanted to make it on a day where I wasn't going to be home until near dinnertime, so I did the chopping a day in advance and stored everything in plastic containers in the refrigerator.  That probably saved a good half hour so the soup was ready in about 45 minutes which isn't bad for a weeknight.  It's delicious right away, but it also reheats well and freezes well if you have leftovers.  Or, you could give a container of soup to a friend or co-worker who's a little under the weather.  Or just loves soup.

Served with some toasted garlic bread on the side, you've got a very satisfying yet healthy and vegetarian meal.

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Minestrone Soup

Serves 6-8

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 large onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1/3 lb green beans (about 1 ½ cups), trimmed and cut into 1” pieces (or can substitute diced zucchini)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup whole-grain elbow pasta (such as Barilla), uncooked

1/3 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil or flat-leaf parsley

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds.  Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper; cook 3 more minutes.

Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes.  Stir in the kidney beans and dry pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes.  Taste and adjust salt if needed.  Ladle into bowls and top with parmesan and basil.

New Orleans-Style Shrimp

Last Year's Post: Shrimp and Chorizo Paella
Two Years Ago:   Vietnamese Shrimp Baguette

To my surprise, Mardi Gras is next Tuesday, February 13th.  For some reason I thought it was in March; maybe it's one of those holidays that float around the calendar.  If you want to get in the Mardi Gras spirit or if you just like shrimp, this is a delicious, fast and easy recipe.  It's not spicy but it has a lot of flavor.  An Italian friend had a "feast of 7 fishes" Christmas Eve dinner and this dish was universally acclaimed the hit of the night, if that tells you anything.

The sauce is the best part, so be sure to serve the shrimp with white rice or a slightly messier but more fun version, with crusty bread - just put the shrimp and sauce in a big dish in the middle of the table and let people have at it.  You might even want to double the sauce.

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New Orleans-Style Shrimp

Serves 4

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 shallots, minced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lemon, sliced crosswise into ¼”-thick rounds

1 ½ lb peeled and deveined large (26/30 count) shrimp

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

¼ teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled or ground in a mortar and pestle

½ teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

½ teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature and cut into small cubes

Crusty bread or cooked white rice, for serving

Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the olive oil, shallot and garlic and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes.  Add the lemon slices and push them to the bottom of the pan.  Cook for one minute to release their juices, then add the paprika, thyme, black pepper and salt.  Add the Worcestershire sauce and 3 tablespoons water and bring the liquid to a simmer.

Add the shrimp and cook, stirring often, about 90 seconds per side until they curl and are translucent.  (Do not overcook.) Add the butter cubes and stir to combine with the sauce, another minute or two.

Serve immediately with crusty bread or white rice on the side to soak up the sauce.

Seared Salmon with Pink Peppercorn Sauce and Green Rice

Last Year's Post: Baked Potatoes with Crab
Two Years Ago:   Prosciutto-Wrapped Chicken with Asparagus Pesto Sauce

I was looking at the menu for a new upscale restaurant restaurant a few weeks ago and a listing for "salmon with pink peppercorn sauce" caught my interest.  I haven't made it to the restaurant yet but the idea stuck with me and I decided to try to create it on my own.  The result is a combination of three different recipes for the salmon, sauce and rice.  A google search resulted in a green peppercorn sauce so I just subbed pink peppercorns instead, I used a favorite technique for cooking the salmon from a recipe with a different type of sauce, and envisioned the salmon and sauce would go well with green rice so I found a recipe for that also.  Whew!

I was very pleased with the result.  This is definitely an upscale restaurant kind of dinner, both in presentation and taste.  One of the reasons is the sauce, which has butter, cream and Cognac.  How could it taste bad? But that probably makes it a special occasion dinner rather than something you might want to eat every week.  If you have a special date night or dinner party and you like salmon, definitely give it a try.  The pink peppercorn sauce contrasts particularly well with the crisp seared salmon, and the green rice is delicious enough that I'd serve it along side anything.

So, what are pink peppercorns?  It turns out that they aren't peppercorns at all, but the fruit of a tree related to the cashew family.  They really don't taste like peppercorns, but the taste is hard to describe - it doesn't have the heat of black pepper, but it does have a little sharpness.  I found them at Penzeys, my favorite spice store.  They're very pretty and easier to crush than hard black peppercorns.

It's important to sear the salmon until crisp and golden.  The texture and flavor are completely different than grilled or broiled salmon and go very well with the sauce.  Note that the salmon marinates for an hour, which give you time to prepare the rice and sauce.  I've tried to figure out why the recipe calls for marinating the salmon in a little soy sauce for an hour, because you can't taste the soy sauce in the finished dish - it must have something to do with helping the salmon caramelize.  I don't know but it always turns out great so I don't mess with it.

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Seared Salmon with Pink Peppercorn Sauce and Green Rice

Serves 4

Note that the salmon needs to marinate for 1 hour so plan ahead.

For the salmon and sauce:

4 (5-6 ounce) skin-on salmon fillets

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 tablespoons butter

4 tablespoons finely diced shallot

2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons crushed pink peppercorns

½ cup Cognac or brandy

1 cup heavy cream

Salt and pepper

For the rice:

1/3 cup tightly packed fresh cilantro sprigs

2/3 cup tightly packed fresh stemmed spinach leaves

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup milk

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup long-grain white rice

¼ cup finely minced onion

1 clove garlic, minced

Rub the salmon pieces with the soy sauce and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinate.  Let the salmon return to room temperature before cooking.

While the salmon marinates, prepare the rice:  put the cilantro, spinach and broth in a blender and blend until the vegetables are pureed.  Add the milk and salt and blend again until well combined.  Place a medium saucepan (with a lid) over medium heat, then add the olive oil and butter.  When the butter is melted, add the rice and sauté, stirring every 30 seconds, until it just begins to brown, 3-4 minutes.  Add the onion and garlic and cook 1 more minute, stirring constantly.  Add the contents of the blender, stir well, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil.  Cover the pan, turn the heat to very low, and cook for 20 minutes.  Stir, cover, and let sit off the heat for another 5 minutes.

While the rice is cooking, prepare the sauce: melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Add shallot and 2 tablespoons peppercorns (reserve 2 teaspoons for garnish) and sauté until the shallots are soft.  Add Cognac and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.  Add cream and simmer for 4 minutes or until your desired consistency.  Taste and add salt and pepper as needed.

To cook the salmon:  heat 1 or 2 large, dry nonstick skillets over medium-high heat.  Sear the salmon pieces, skin side down, until golden brown, about 2 minutes.  Flip the salmon over and sear the other side for 2 minutes, removing the skin while it sears.  Reduce the heat to low and cook until the salmon is opaque on the outside and still slightly translucent in the center, about 4 minutes longer.

To serve: divide the rice between plates; place a salmon fillet on each.  Spoon the sauce over the salmon and garnish with additional crushed pink peppercorns.