This pan-grilled asparagus and endive dish makes a beautiful party platter or addition to any spring meal. Grilling the endive and asparagus and preparing the favas and oranges simply allows each element of the dish to pop. A super-light orange juice-based dressing allows the bright colors and fresh tastes to stand out in this salad.

Pan-Grilled Asparagus and Endive with Fava Beans, Orange and Basil

serves 4

Ingredients

3 lb (1.5 kg) fava beans, outer pods removed
1 lb (500 g) slender asparagus, trimmed
2 heads Belgian endive, sliced lengthwise 1⁄8 inch (3 mm) thick
2 Tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 oranges
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1⁄2 cup (1⁄2 oz/15 g) small fresh basil leaves

Directions

Bring a saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil and add the favas. Boil for 1 minute, then drain. Squeeze each bean free of its tough outer skin.

Warm a stove-top grill pan over medium-high heat. Put the asparagus and endive slices in a bowl, add the olive oil, and toss to coat thoroughly. Add the asparagus and endive to the hot grill pan and cook, turning occasionally, until the vegetables are charred and tender-crisp, 8–10 minutes total. Season the vegetables well with salt and pepper.

Finely grate the zest from 1 orange over a bowl. Cut a slice off both ends of 1 orange so it will stand upright. Stand it on a cutting board and, using a large, sharp knife, cut away the peel and white pith by slicing from top to bottom, following the contour of the fruit. Cut the orange crosswise into thin rounds.

Cut the second orange in half and squeeze the juice into another bowl. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper to make a dressing.

Arrange the asparagus, endive, oranges, and fava beans on a platter. Sprinkle with the reserved orange zest and basil. Drizzle with some of the orange dressing, and serve.
This recipe appears courtesy of “Healthy Dish of the Day,” by Kate McMillan, photographs by Erin Kunkel. Conceived and produced by Weldon Owen, Inc. in collaboration with Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (2014).

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The post Pan-Grilled Asparagus and Endive with Fava Beans, Orange and Basil appeared first on EcoSalon.

Bridging seasons with soup.

As the weather is getting warmer, my appetite is warming up to lighter soups. In the winter, I  tend to stick to the starchier vegetables like parsnip, sweet potatoes, and carrots. And in the summer, I’m all about the fresh, cool soups such as Gazpacho or a fruit-based soup. However, spring is about bridging the way from fireside to poolside, and this recipe uses springtime favorites such as leeks, Vidalia onions, and asparagus while still incorporating a root vegetable – celeriac – to keep the comfort level.

The backbone to the flavor and health benefits in this dish comes from the leeks. Leeks are especially notable for their role in promoting cardiovascular health. They raise HDL (good) cholesterol and lower LDL (bad) cholesterol, effectively preventing plaque build up in blood vessels and arteries. They also decrease high blood pressure and are thus helpful in shunning a stroke or heart attack. Leeks are also a powerful antiseptic and fight against infection.

The other stand-out veggie in this soup is asparagus. Asparagus juggles a lot of responsibilities. It is detoxifying, decreases the risk of heart disease, protects against cancer, has anti-aging properties, prevents osteoporosis, staves off pain and inflammation, and is considered an aphrodisiac in many cultures (but mostly for its shape than for a scientific reason).

Served warm or cold, this soup is nutritious and flavor-packed!

Spring Asparagus & Leek Soup

Serves up to 4

Ingredients:

• 250 grams asparagus
• 2 leeks
• 1 Vidalia onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 celeriac
• 1 long green pepper
• 1 tbsp butter (or oil)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• Fresh thyme for garnish

Directions:

Remove the stem and skin of the celeriac and roughly chop. Snap off about an inch from the end of each asparagus spear and slice into thirds. The spears will break naturally where they need to if you bend them to snap rather than cut them with a knife. Chop the leeks into 1-inch thick pieces and soak in water to remove any sand. Slice along the length of the pepper, remove any seeds and flesh, and chop. Peel the garlic cloves and chop the onion.

In a pot over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the chopped vegetables, salt, pepper, and thyme. Mix over the heat for about 2-3 minutes.

Add 4 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid.

Let simmer covered for approximately 25 minutes, or until the onions and asparagus are soft.

Let the mixture cool. Before serving, blend the soup until smooth. You can warm up the soup in a saucepan or enjoy it cool. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.

Enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Recipe: Spring Asparagus & Leek Soup appeared first on EcoSalon.

I’ve been eating eggs on almost everything and anything lately. I’ll cook up a pot of beans just to have around and find myself heating them up and eating them with a fried egg on top and whatever leftover greens I have for a quick, filling meal. Brown rice and lentils also make a nice bed for a yolky, delicious egg. When you break the egg it coats everything in its own rich sauce, which tastes especially good if you use pastured eggs. I get my pastured eggs from my chicken and egg CSA at Soul Food Farm. Though my eggs and (insert a variety of items here) dishes tend to be impromptu, you could certainly plan yours out.

This Warm Fava Bean and Chanterelle Salad with Poached Eggs from Chow.com is a wonderful start. Bonus points if you foraged the chanterelles yourself.

The French certainly know what they are doing when they use duck fat to fry potatoes. It lends the richest, most addictive flavor and uses something that might otherwise go to waste. The Massa Organics duck I have in my freezer needs to be cooked this weekend. I’m going to save the fat and make these Crispy Potatoes with Paprika from Culinate.

I can’t resist posting another asparagus recipe before spring gives way to summer. This recipe For Roasted Radish and Asparagus Salad from The Kitchn is interesting because when you cook radishes, you get an entirely different flavor than you do when you eat them raw. It’s like buying two vegetables in one.

And this one isn’t a recipe but rather an inspiring post by Amy Sherman at Cooking with Amy that puts to rest the top 20 myths about cooking. Read it and you’ll find there are no more excuses for not cooking for yourself. Lots of links here to help you get started.

Image: Muffit

The post 3 Recipes to Try This Memorial Day Weekend appeared first on EcoSalon.

Here are 12 real food alternatives to falling prey to the “junk food jones.” Some of these may seem high in fat, and they are, such as olives, nuts or cheese. However, the idea is quality not quantity. Enjoy the good things in life, but within reason, and you’ll find you are more than satisfied.

The trick is to keep real food snacks around, or bring them with you, so you’re not tempted with impulse buys near the register when you’re filling up at the gas station or buying office supplies. It’s all about retraining your palette and your habits.

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1. Nuts: Almonds, Pistachios, Cashews

I’ve gotten in the habit of keeping a bag of roasted almonds in my bag at all times. Yum!

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2. Fresh Fruit

I’ve been really enjoying oranges recently, especially tangerines. Other easy fresh fruit snacks are grapes, apples or pears.

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3. Dried fruit

Great on the go.

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4. Vegetables with hummus

An excellent source of fiber all around.

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5. Rice cakes with natural peanut butter or almond butter

Or celery with peanut butter. Remember the old days of “ants-on-a-log?”

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6. Cheese

Yes. Really. But good cheese! I’m still a believer that a few slices of cheese are better than eating a bag of potato chips. Try eating with rye crackers, thinly sliced, toasted pain au levain bread or simply on its own. My current favorites are aged gouda or goat gouda, gruyere, and manchego.

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7. Olives

Greek olives are nice to have on hand, especially when you’re eating cheese. You may need to shop around a bit to find your favorite style and olives can vary in quality depending on where you buy them from.

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8. Roasted vegetables

I’m a big fan of sweet potato fries. Mind you, when I say sweet potato fries, I don’t mean the ones at the pub down the street. Oven roast your own with a bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and fresh thyme. Delicious! Asparagus, which is currently in season, is another great option. Eat the spears like fries. Or, make a roasted beet salad to have on hand with onions and feta cheese.

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9. Straight up avocado

With salt. What’s not to love.

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10. Natural granola or fruit bars

Try 18 Rabbits or Larabars.

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11. The combination. Plain yogurt with granola, fruit and nuts

This is like dessert! Try experimenting with different fruit combinations or adding shredded coconut or a dusting of ground flax seed.

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12. Dark chocolate

Instead of reaching for cookies, try this alternative. A few squares of dark chocolate are inimitably satisfying.

Images: inside_man, minianna.com, givingitatry, aggleton, prakhar, Sashertootie, JC handmade, mwhammer,  MGF Lady Disdain,  aSILVA, CaseyJ

The post The Junk Food Jones: Retraining Your Palate with 12 Real Food Alternatives appeared first on EcoSalon.

During a recent dinner at my friend’s underground restaurant (shh!) we were presented with the most inventive use of kumquats I’d ever seen. They were sort of glazed and roasted, and served atop a seared duck breast.

The kumquats were so luscious and such a perfect foil for the rich duck that I was smitten. The flavor has been haunting me ever since.

My reaction was interesting because I tend to shy away from kumquats, as I’m not really sure what to do with them. I’m attracted to their cute, happy orangeness at the farmers’ market, but since I’m not really a lover of the flavor of citrus rind, when it comes to everyday snacking they tend to just sit there and shame me for not eating them.

Then I found this recipe from food writer Molly Watson. Now wouldn’t these be good with duck, or pork, or dessert for that matter? Try it and let me know. There should be kumquats at markets (at least here on the west coast) for another week or two.

Speaking of seasonal recipes, I can’t get enough asparagus. I tend to spend the first several weeks just roasting it in a super hot oven with salt and olive oil (and sometimes standing in the kitchen eating the spears one after another like French fries) before graduating to more complex (and civilized) preparations like this one from 101 Cookbooks with the super healthy grain quinoa.

If you’ve never tried fava beans, this is your year. They are a short season shelling bean just coming into markets now. Yes, you have to shell them in two steps but it’s worth it. And this dip from Simply Recipes sounds like a winner.

P.S: Favas are easy to grow and provide a wonderful “green manure” for your garden because they are excellent nitrogen fixers. The leaves are edible too!

Image: Miss Meister

The post 3 Seasonal Recipes to Try This Week: Kumquats, Asparagus, Fava Beans appeared first on EcoSalon.