Lisa attended a Super Foods class tonight, and I was inspired to create a quick side-dish featuring one… beets! The dish, from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, sounded super easy to make, and it was — roasted beets are sliced along with avocado, and spooned over the top is a lemon vinaigrette with tarragon and red onion. Perfect — and should only take about 15-20 minutes, right? Right! Unfortunately, I totally zoned the fact that, um, yeah: I’d have to roast the beets first. Gah! That’s like an hour just for that step! So there went my relaxing, look-how-quick-this-was side dish. Oh well, the good news was that Lisa wasn’t going to arrive until late anyway, so I was able to finish up dinner just a few minutes after she walked in the door. Note to self: Think through recipes before deciding when to start!

Lisa says:

That class made me so hungry — a few hours talking about nothing but food!

Chris says:

Well, you can start on this now…

Lisa says:

Hey, did you know beets were a super food?

Chris says:

I knew they were a super-delicious food…

Lisa says:

I heart this dish… and… for once, I don’t think these beets taste like dirt!

Chris says:

Hooray for CSA beets. This is a great combo… the avocado is perfect. Just a little firmer than one I’d pick if I was making guacamole.

Lisa says:

Mmmm-hmmmm… this is excellent.

Beet and Avocado Salad
3-4 medium beets
1 very large avocado
1 small red onion, minced
1/3 cup light olive oil
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch dried tarragon
salt and freshly ground pepper

Set the oven to 400 degrees and wrap each beet in aluminum foil. Place the beets on a cooking sheet and into the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until a knife pressed into a beet gives little resistance. (The beets may cook at different rates). Remove and set aside.
To make the vinaigrette, place the olive oil, lemon juice, and a tablespoon of warm water into a blender and pulse until emulsified. Pour into a bowl with the minced onions and tarragon.
When the beets are cool, peel and slice them. Pit, peel, and slice the avocado. Arrange the beet and avocado slices in alternating layers in a dish. Whisk again the vinaigrette and spoon over the beets and avocados. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.

4 Servings

Tonight, a dish that’s perfect for those hot summer evenings where you don’t want to turn on the stove or the oven: a “stew” made entirely of raw and precooked ingredients. Shrimp, cucumbers, and avocado are topped with a puree of tomatoes, onions, and peppers, then topped with cilantro and tortilla chips. This recipe comes from How to Eat Supper.

Lisa says:

Is this like gazpacho or something?

Chris says:

Sort of — it’s like the world’s best chunky salsa.

Lisa says:

Yum… seems pretty light if it’s just raw veggies and shrimp.

Chris says:

Yep! Light and refreshing… that lime juice brightens up the flavors a bit.

Lisa says:

So, you mentioned that you don’t have to turn on the oven, but we did anyway for the bread we had with it.

Chris says:

Yeah, well I also mentioned that it’s good for really hot nights, but it’s actually kinda cool and raining.

Lisa says:

True. It’s still delicious.

Santa Fe Summer Pot with Shrimp and Avocado
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1/2 jalapeño, seeded and minced
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
4 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 small cucumber, peeled and diced
1 ripe avocado, diced
1 pound cooked peeled shrimp
Handful tortilla chips, lightly crushed
limes, cut into wedges

In a small bowl, combine the lime juice, onion, garlic, jalapeño, and spices. Let marinate for 10 minutes.
Place the tomatoes and cilantro sprigs into the bowl of a food processor, and pulse until the mixture is chunky. Add the onion mixture, and pulse five times.
Divide the cucumber, avocado, and shrimp among four bowls. Spoon the tomato blend into the bowls. Garnish with the crushed tortilla chips, additional cilantro, and lime wedges.

4 Servings

I came across this baked tilapia dish on the kitchn, and thought it would work well as a salad. Man, was I right! Not only that, but the asian-flavors marinade, made with white wine, soy, and sesame oil, makes a great warm salad dressing. This is a super-quick, super-simple meal that we’ll definitely be adding to the rotation.

Chris says:

This might be one of my favorite ways we’ve prepared tilapia.

Lisa says:

I agree — it’s so delicious. That sauce is awesome.

Chris says:

I didn’t even think about using it as the salad dressing until I pulled the pan out of the oven. It just smelled incredible — the wine, the ginger… so aromatic.

Lisa says:

I love the green onions and extra cilantro on top.

Chris says:

Me too. I don’t think I’d change a thing!

Lisa says:

It worked out perfectly. I definitely won’t complain if we have this again…

Ginger and Cilantro Baked Tilapia
2-3 tilapia fillets - about 3/4 pound
1 jalapeno pepper
3 garlic cloves
1 inch grated ginger (1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon spicy sesame oil
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Scallions, chopped for garnish
Extra cilantro, to garnish
1 package/bag Mixed Baby Salad Greens

Heat the oven to 475F. Pat the fish dry and season lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a glass baking dish.
Chop the pepper and garlic, and grate the ginger. Put in a small food processor with the soy sauce, white wine, sesame oil, and cilantro. Mix until blended. Pour the sauce over the fish, pressing the solid ingredients down into the fish a bit. Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily and is cooked through.
Divide the salad greens between two plates. Remove the tilapia with a spatula and place half on top of the greens on each plate. Drizzle the fish with the marinade left in the pan. Serve with warm, crusty bread.

2 Servings

We’re continuing detox week here at We Heart Food, so tonight we made this light salmon dish as prepared in How To Eat Supper. Salmon is pan-roasted with garlic and basil and then placed over a bed of fresh greens. A simple and very quick preparation; the salmon is the star of the show here!

Chris says:

This salmon is slammin’. What the — what’re you doing with that bread?

Lisa says:

Making a Slammin’ Salmon Sandwich, obviously.

Chris says:

Obviously. What’s your favorite part of the dish?

Lisa says:

One guess.

Chris says:

Gotta be the garlic. Those paper-thin slices just melt on your tongue!

Lisa says:

Ding ding ding! My only problem is that there aren’t more of them.

Chris says:

I really like that you have both the cooked and the fresh basil. I also think this would also be good with some asparagus.

Lisa says:

Ooooh, good idea!

Pan Roasted Salmon over Fresh Greens with Garlic and Basil
1/2 bag fresh spring greens or mesclun mix
1/4 lb sugar snap peas, roughly chopped
12 fresh basil leaves, torn into large pieces
2 salmon fillets, skinned
extra-virgin olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large garlic cloves, sliced paper thin
1/3 cup dry white wine
lemon wedges

Divide the greens between two dinner plates, then scatter the snap peas and 1/2 the basil leaves over them. Rinse the salmon, pat it dry, then salt and pepper both sides of the fish. Set aside.
Add enough olive oil to a 12-inch skillet to leave a light film, and heat to medium-high. Add the salmon to the pan and sear for one minute, flip, and sear for another minute on the other side.
Sprinkle the garlic and remaining basil around the fish in the pan, lower the heat to medium-low, and cover. Cook for 5-6 minutes, flipping the salmon once, until just done. The fish should be barely opaque in the center.
Remove the salmon from the skillet and set aside, keeping warm. Add the wine to the skillet, set the heat to high, and scrape the garlic and basil from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the juices thicken and sizzle.
Drizzle the hot sauce over the greens and top with the salmon. Serve with lemon wedges.

2 Servings

Lisa and I just got back from Atlanta, where we stuffed ourselves with cheese dip, Waffle House, BBQ, and various other gut-busting fare, so we’re looking to keep things light this week as we ease back into our routine. This chicken and noodle salad definitely fit the bill. The chicken has a wonderful citrusy glaze, and the mint and veggies add texture and crunch to the bean thread noodles. This recipe comes from Asian Flavors.

Chris says:

Hooray; our first recipe using our mint from the planter out front!

Lisa says:

Hooray; our first plant we haven’t managed to kill! Yet.

Chris says:

I think you’ll really like that chicken. The sugar in the marinade caramelizes a bit and makes a nice thick glaze.

Lisa says:

I do like the chicken — but the noodles need more sauce.

Chris says:

There isn’t any sauce.

Lisa says:

That would be why then.

Chris says:

Actually, if you mix it all up, the noodles soak up the glaze from the chicken and get a little saucy.

Lisa says:

Ooh, you’re right; good tip. Well, this definitely passes our “light” test.

Chris says:

I know — what’s for dessert?

Vietnamese Lime & Mint Chicken
1 lime
2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 large or two small chicken boneless chicken breasts
1 tbsp peanut oil
3.5 oz bean thread noodles
1/4 cucumber, cut into sticks
1/2 carrot, cut into sticks
small handful of mint sprigs
1/2 red jalapeño, seeded and finely chopped

Peel 1/2 the zest from the lime and cut into fine shreds. Set aside, then squeeze all the juice from the lime and add to a bowl. Mix with the fish sauce, garlic, sugar, and ground pepper. Stir until the sugar dissolves, then add the chicken to the bowl, making sure it’s coated well, and marinate for 30 minutes.
Heat the peanut oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and cook for five minutes until the skin is browned. Set the heat at medium-low, turn the chicken over, and pour the rest of the marinade in. Cover the skillet and cook for 10 minutes, then uncover and cook until chicken is cooked through, another 5 minutes or so.
Meanwhile, soak the noodles in hot water for 3-5 minutes or until softened. Drain, and mix with the carrot, cucumber, and mint leaves. Slice the chicken and arrange over the noodles. Garnish with the chopped jalapeño and lime zest.

2 Servings

Andrea from Andrea’s Recipes has a regular blogging event called Grow Your Own, and since we grew that mint, I’m going to go ahead and submit it for the round ending on the 15th!