Apple Cranberry Relish

(recipe from Saveur magazine)

1/8 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
2 cups fresh or frozen and defrosted cranberries
1 sweet apple, cored, peeled, and roughly chopped
1 1/4 cups unsweetened apple juice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook garlic and onion until soft, 6-8 minutes.  Add cranberries and apples; cook until cranberries burst and apples are tender, about 15 minutes.  Add apple juice, salt, and pepper; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer; cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is slightly dry, about 45 minutes.  Let cool slightly and transfer to a food processor; pulse until coarsely ground.  Serve cold or at room temperature.

Squash with Olive Oil and Garlic

(recipe from Maine magazine)

1 whole buttercup squash
1 head of garlic
Olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Place the whole buttercup squash on a cookie sheet.  Take the head of garlic, cut the top tips off, and place on a piece of aluminum foil.  Drizzle olive oil on top,  Wrap the foil around the head of garlic and put it on the cookie sheet.  Place squash and the garlic in the oven.

In 30 minutes or so, take the garlic out, if soft.  In an hour, take the squash out, if very soft.  Prick with a metal skewer to test.  Cut the squash in half, remove the seeds, and put the soft flesh in a bowl.  Add the roasted cloves of garlic to the squash, along with a little olive oil, and mash until the consistency is uniform.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Creamy Cashew Macaroni

(recipe from Whole Foods Market)

2 cups raw cashews
3 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for the baking dish
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 Tbsp. white miso
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/8 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1 lb. whole-grain elbow or fusilli pasta
1 can (14.5 oz.) no-salt-added diced tomatoes

Soak cashews with enough water to cover for at least 4 hours. Drain.

Place cashews in bowl of food processor with oil, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, miso, garlic, salt, paprika, and pepper.  Pulse until cashews are finely chopped.  With motor running, add 3/4 cup water and process until smooth.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350F and lightly oil a 9x13-inch shallow baking dish.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Drain and return to pot.  Add cashew mixture and tomatoes and stir to combine.  Transfer to the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes or until heated through and golden on top.

Lemony White Bean Dip

(recipe from a newspaper, not sure which one)

 

2 cans (15 oz. each) white beans, such as cannellini or great northern

2 cloves garlic, quartered

1 cup tightly packed fresh parsley leaves

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

Drain and rinse beans.  Place beans, garlic, parsley, lemon juice, and oil in a food processor.  Process until smooth, scraping down sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.  Scrape mixture into a bowl.  Stir in salt.  Can be made several hours in advance, covered, and refrigerated.  Let come to room temperature before serving.

(So easy to make!  I brought this dip to a party, and it was a hit.)

Broiled Tomatoes

(recipe from Real Simple magazine)

3 large salad tomatoes
3 large garlic cloves, cut lengthwise into slivers
2 Tbsp. fresh rosemary, or 2 tsp. dried (I used fresh thyme)
1/2 tsp. salt
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

Heat broiler to 500F.  Cut the tomatoes crosswise in half and place them, cut-side up, on a broiling pan or shallow baking pan.  Stick the garlic slivers into the tomatoes.  Sprinkle with the rosemary, salt, and a few grinds of pepper.  Drizzle with the oil.  Broil about 3 inches from the heat for 10 to 15 minutes or just until the tomatoes release their juices and the garlic begins to brown.  Spoon the pan juices over the tomatoes before serving.  Serve as a side dish for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Pantzaria Me Skordalia (Roasted Beets with Garlic-Potato Spread)

(recipe from Saveur magazine)

4 medium red beets (about 1 1/2 lbs.), trimmed and cleaned
10 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup finely ground toasted walnuts
1 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
6 cloves garlic, smashed and minced into a paste
2 medium russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1" squares and boiled until tender

Heat oven to 425F.  Put beets in an 8" x 8" baking dish and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. oil.  Season with salt and pepper and pour in 1 cup water.  Cover pan tightly with foil and crimp edges to form a seal.  Bake beets until a knife inserted into beet slides easily into the center, about 1 hour.  Transfer pan to a rack, carefully uncover, and let cool for 30 minutes.  Peel beets and cut into 1"-2" pieces; set aside.

Put walnuts, vinegar, garlic, and potatoes into a medium bowl and mash potatoes until smooth.  Vigorously stir in remaining oil and season with salt and pepper.  [I put whole toasted walnuts, vinegar, and whole garlic cloves into the food processor and pulsed until blended, then added the cooked potatoes and oil and pulsed all together until smooth.]

Transfer beets to plates and serve with some skordalia spread on the side.

(This is a Greek taverna dish which sounds odd but is surprisingly good.  Warning - that spread is super garlic-y!!  I made this when I was sick, so the garlic was kind of a welcome tonic.  Brought this to work for lunches with some beets and spread and a little bit of torn lettuce leaves mixed in.  Like I said, odd but good.)

Roasted Broccoli with Garlic and Red Pepper

(recipe from Bon Appetit magazine)

1 1/4 lbs. broccoli crowns, cut into florets (about 8 cups)
3 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 cloves garlic, minced
Large pinch of dried crushed red pepper

Preheat oven to 450 F.  Toss broccoli and 3 Tbsp. oil in a large bowl to coat.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.  Roast 15 minutes.  Stir remaining 1/2 Tbsp. oil, garlic, and red pepper in a small bowl.  Drizzle garlic mixture over broccoli; toss to coat.  Roast until broccoli is beginning to brown, about 8 minutes longer.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve immediately.

(It took 32 years for me to really like broccoli.  Roasting it makes it so good!  Tender, but crisp, garlicky and zippy.  This says it serves 4 to 6 side servings, but I ate most of it in one sitting.  Yum.)

Broccoli Salad with Almond and Chile Dressing

(recipe from Whole Foods Market)

1/2 cup almond butter
1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. chopped pitted dates, raisins, or prunes
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 tsp. salt or 1 Tbsp. tamari
1/2 small serrano pepper, finely chopped (optional)
1/3 cup water
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets and lightly steamed
1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 1/2 cups mung bean sprouts

In a food processor, puree almond butter, lemon juice, dates, ginger, garlic, salt, pepper, and water until smooth.  Transfer dressing to a large bowl, add broccoli and cilantro and toss well.  Cover and marinate for up to 1 hour, if you like.  Arrange bean sprouts on a large platter, top with broccoli, garnish with cilantro and serve.

Serves 6 to 8.

(The dressing was very tasty! - it would probably be delicious on soba noodles, too.  Make sure to drain your broccoli well after steaming, as mine was a bit watery and it made the sauce too thin.  Also, instead of the mung bean sprouts, I bought a mix of sprouts (like chickpea, lentil, etc.) and I think that tasted nicer, more like a salad.  This salad does not keep too well.  I kept the broccoli and sauce in a separate container from the sprouts, but the sauce breaks down after a day or two.  Perhaps keep the sauce separate and whisk well before using, if you'd like it to keep longer than a day or two.  I also added harissa to the sauce, which gave it a bigger kick than the pepper.)