Lucid Food_ Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life - Louisa Shafia [21]
If you are using fresh ginkgo nuts, gently crack the shells. Blanch the nuts in salted water for 1 minute, then shock in ice water. Alternatively, toast the nuts in a dry skillet until they turn green. After blanching or toasting, rub off the papery skin using your fingers or a clean kitchen towel. If you are using canned ginkgos, simply rinse.
Heat a sauté pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Add the nuts and a dash of salt. Cook for 1 minute. Add the scallion whites, the ginger, and mirin and cook for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Transfer the nuts to a plate to cool and return the pan to the stove. Add another tablespoon of olive oil to the pan and sauté the bok choy with a dash of salt until the leaves are cooked down to half their original size. The bok choy should be mostly dry when you add it to the pan; otherwise, the dumpling filling will be wet. Remove the bok choy from the heat and let cool.
Put the nuts and bok choy in the bowl of a food processor. Add all but 2 teaspoons of the scallion greens. Pulse until the mixture is blended but still chunky. Transfer to a bowl and season with salt.
In a small bowl, whisk the flour with 2 tablespoons water. Brush the edges of a dumpling wrapper with the flour paste. Place 1 tablespoon of the filling on the wrapper and fold the wrapper into a half moon. Press the edges to seal. Repeat with the rest of the wrappers and filling.
To make the dipping sauce, whisk together the vinegar, soy sauce, the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, and the reserved scallion greens. Add red pepper flakes if desired.
Steam the dumplings in a covered steamer basket for 4 minutes. Serve hot with the dipping sauce.
Roasted Beets with Persimmons over Market Greens
Roasted Beets with Persimmons over Market Greens
Luscious persimmon fruits blow in and out of markets in late fall. They grow wild in North America—I’ve found them while foraging in Maryland—but the native species is small and astringent. The two kinds found in stores are cultivars from Asia. Hachiyas are oval-shaped and must be completely soft, all the way down to the base, before being eaten. Fuyus, which look like flat tomatoes, are eaten firm. If you can wait until it ripens, the Hachiya has more flavor, but the Fuyu works just as well in this recipe.
Serves 4
3 red beets, peeled and quartered
5 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 shallot, minced
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1½ tablespoons honey
2 ripe Hachiya persimmons
2 large handfuls lettuce greens, torn into pieces
½ cup toasted pistachios
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Put the beets in a baking dish with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, ¼ cup water, and a dash of salt. Cover the dish and bake for 40 minutes, until the beets are easily pierced with a fork. Let cool and slice the beets into wedges.
To make the dressing, put the shallot, mustard, and vinegar in a bowl and let sit for 15 minutes, until the shallot is softened. Whisk in the honey and the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil. Add the beets to the dressing, and toss until they are fully coated; the dressing will turn a deep pink color. Taste and season with salt. The recipe can be prepared up to this point several hours in advance and stored in the refrigerator; the beets will soak up more flavor and the color of the dressing will intensify as they sit.
To serve, gently slice the persimmons into wedges. Divide the lettuce among four plates, and drizzle with a tablespoon of dressing from the bowl of beets. Place several beets on the lettuce, and arrange a few pieces of persimmon over them. Season with pepper. Spoon the dressing over the persimmons, and garnish with the pistachios.
Kale Salad with Avocado, Almonds, and Toasted Nori
Massaging kale (see image at end of recipe) with olive oil and salt is a useful technique popular in raw cuisine. The greens get “cooked” by the salt and the squeezing action, becoming tender and more digestible. Nori seaweed, the kind used to wrap sushi, adds a