Recipe: Potted Blueberries with Balsamic and Rosemary

Sadly, the blueberry season here in Georgia is coming to an end. The potted berries are go great on a cheese or meat platters….or even in salads.. Try it with a local cheese, such as Many Folds Farm Brebis or one of my favorite’s from the west coast- Cypress Groves Midnight Moon. Here's a simple way to savor the season and allow these berries to last a bit longer.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 lb Blueberries
• 2 sprigs Rosemary
• ¾ cups Granulated Cane Sugar
• 1 ½ cups Water
• 30 Black Peppercorns
• 3 each Whole Allspice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash blueberries under cold water then pat dry with paper towels.
2. Place in prepared canning jars. You want to leave blueberries whole so be sure not squish them down.
3. In a small pot combine balsamic, water, sugar, black peppercorns, and whole allspice.  Begin to heat up liquid on medium heat to dissolve sugar and infuse the spices.
4. Simmer for 10 minutes then strain and discard spices.
5. Reserve liquid and allow to cool.
6. Once cooled, pour over the jarred blueberries and rosemary.
7. Cover with a tight lid and refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

This recipe was inspired by Thomas Keller’s Potted Bing Cherries from the cookbook, Ad Hoc at Home.

Roasted Chicken Penne with Peaches, Bacon + Pecans

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Roasted Chicken
• 6 oz Applewood Smoked Bacon (lardons)
• 1 cup Pecans Toasted
• 3 Fresh Peaches (diced)
• 1 Sweet Onions (julienned)
• 5 Cloves of Garlic (sliced)
• ½ Bunch Basil (torn)
• ¼ Cup Parsley (fine chopped)
• 2 Handfuls Spinach
• 2 oz Sherry Vinegar
• 1 cup Chicken Stock (Homemade)
• Parmesan (Shaved)
• EVOO
• 1 Box Penne Pasta

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pre-cook penne pasta use the cooking direction marked on packaging. Cool and reserve for later use.
2. Roast off whole chicken (breast) that is still on the bone- this will add more flavor to your dish. After roasting, removing the breast meat from the bone. Use the bones to make stock. If in a pinch use a whole roasted chicken from the market or Pine Street Market smoked chicken.
3. Toss 1 cup of Pecans with 1 Tbl  of grapeseed oil. Slow roast pecans in the oven at 225 F for 12 to 15 minutes.  Roasting tree nuts at lower oven temp will provide a great tasting full flavor nut.
4. Heat up a large skillet over medium heat. Add bacon lardons and render until lightly brown but not crispy. Drain off bacon grease and add sliced sweet onions and garlic. Cook until translucent and tender. Add peaches and deglaze with sherry vinegar.
5. Add chicken stock and penne and heat pasta throughout.  Add spinach, herbs and season with salt and pepper.
6. Plate or place in dish. Garnish with toasted pecans and shaved parmesan. Serve immediately.

SOURCED FROM

• Pearson Farms Peaches, Pecans
• Pine Street Market Applewood Smoked Bacon
• Your Dekalb Farmers Market Parmesan, EVOO, Sherry Vinegar: Ybarro Old Vintage Wine Vinegar, Chicken, Basil, Spinach, Parsley, Sweet Onions, Penne Pasta

Braves Big Night Out: Chimichurri Marinated Flat Iron Steak

Recently I had the pleasure of giving a cooking demonstration for The Braves Big Night Out while the Angels were in town. I was charged to come up with a dish that was influenced by our out-of-town opponents.  Inspired by the Southern California cuisine, I choose to prepare something fresh and satisfying while paying homage to Central American.  The final dish was a Chimichurri Marinated Flat Iron Steak with Lime Salted Fingerlings, garnished with a Pico de Gallo Shrimp Ceviche.

Since we are in the grilling season I wanted to provide a simple recipe to highlight the Flat Iron marinade and Chimichurri part of the dish I shared with my guests.

Chimichurri Marinated Flat Iron Steak

MARINATE INGREDIENTS

• ½ Bunch Cilantro
• 4 Cloves Garlic Crushed
• 1 Tbl Coriander
• 1 Tbl Black Peppercorns
• 2 tsp Chili Flake
• 2 tsp Whole Cumin
• 2 oz Sherry Vinegar
• 3 oz Grapeseed Oil  or Oil blend

CHIMICHURRI INGREDIENTS

•  2 Bunches Cilantro
• 4 Tbl Fresh Garlic
• 1 ea Shallot (Fine Dice)
• 2 Tbl Red Pepper (Fine Dice)
• 2 ea Limes Juiced
• 1 oz Red Wine VInegar
• ½ Tbl Red Chili Flakes
• Salt + Pepper

STEAK

• 6 ea Flat Iron Steaks

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Gather and measure out all ingredients (except cilantro) and place in medium-sized pan.
2. Heat over medium heat until mixture starts to sizzle (about 4 to 5 minutes).  This is to get depth in flavor for the marinade and enhance the spices and aromatics.
3. Set aside and allow to mixture to cool to room temperature.  Once cool, pour into freezer bag and add steaks and cilantro to bags and marinate overnight or up to 4 hours before you prepare steaks.
4. Chop up and stir together all ingredients for Chimichurri. Chill in fridge up to 3 hours before serving.
5. Flat Iron Steaks are a great cut, and full of flavor. I recommend grilling 3-5 minutes on each side or until mid-rare. You can also oven or pan roast.  The meat should be sliced thinly against the grain.
6. Place sliced meat on platter. Drizzle Chimichurri on over the steak and season with coarse sea salt. Serve immediately.

Happy grilling folks!

Tomato Marmalade Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 8 4-5 oz Beefsteak Tomatoes (or 2 - 24 oz cans San Marzano Tomatoes)
• 1 Tbl Grape Seed Oil
• 2 ea Sweet Onions Vidalia
• ½ ea head Garlic
• ½ lb Bacon, Small Diced
• ½ cup Brown Sugar
• 1 cup Red Wine Vinegar
• 2 ea Lemons, Zested and Juiced
• ½ bunch Fresh Thyme, chopped

INSTRUCTIONS

• Preheat oven 375 F
• Heat up a large oven proof pan on medium heat. Add oil and bacon and render bacon until lightly brown, but not crispy. Add onions and garlic and saute and until tender.
• Add brown sugar, red wine vinegar, along with tomatoes.
• Bring ingredients to a medium simmer and slowly reduce marmalade until nice and thick for about 1 ½ hours. Stir occasionally to make sure the sauce is not sticking.
• Once marmalade has reduced, remove pot from stove top to cool. Add lemon juice, zest, and thyme.
• Place into jars and cover, allow to cool then place in refrigerator up to 3-4 weeks.

As you can see the marmalade can be used with many dishes, like potato hash and eggs. We also recommended pairing with Roasted Pork Loin or Herb Roasted Chicken, Toasted Bread, Summer Squash, and Green Beans.

Recipe: Almond Crusted Cod & Citrus Arugula Salad with Roasted Vegetables

Almond Crusted Roasted Cod with Roasted Carrot, Fennel, and Cauliflower and a Citrus Arugula Salad 

Prep Time: 15-20 minutes Cook Time: 15-20 minutes Total Time: 45 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Roasted Vegetables

• 2 oz Oil (Grapeseed or Blend)
• 2 oz Sherry Vinegar
• 1 oz Honey
• ½ Onion sliced
• 6 ea Tri Color Carrots, Sliced on a Bias
• ½ ea Fennel Bulb, Sliced Thin
• ½ ea Cauliflower, Cut into Florets

Citrus Arugula Salad

• 4 oz Marcona Almonds
• 1 ea Navel Orange, peeled and sliced thin
• 2 ea Clementines
• 1 bunch Arugula
• 1 oz Evoo
• 1 Lemon, juiced
• 1 ea Navel Orange, juiced
• 2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped

Almond Crusted Cod

• 3 oz Grapeseed Oil
• 1 cup Raw Sliced Almonds
• 2 Tbsp Parsley, chopped
• 1 cup Panko Crumbs
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 Tbl Dijon
• 2 Tbl Honey
• Chilled water
• 1 oz Whole Butter
• 8 -12 oz Wild Caught Cod Filet

Roasted Vegetables

Preheat oven to 405 F. Mix sherry vinegar, honey and oil. Prepare vegetables, and toss with sherry marinade. Heat a large skillet to medium heat. Add 2 oz oil. Place marinated onions, fennel, cauliflower, and carrots in hot skillet and caramelize (4-5 minutes). Season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 10-12 minutes until slightly brown and tender. Reserve.

Almond Crusted Cod

See full tutorial on coating and cooking the fish on this blog post.

Citrus Arugula Salad

For citrus vinaigrette, combine EVOO, lemon juice, orange juice, and chopped parsley. Make the salad by tossing the clementines, marcona almonds, arugula, and sliced oranges. Dress with the desired amount of vinaigrette, there will be a little extra.

To Plate

Place roasted vegetables on platter, add roasted cod. Top with salad.

Foraging Georgia Ramps + Pickling Recipe

 

Recently I had the opportunity to go foraging for ramps. I have wanted to do this for years, but the fleeting season always got away from me. Not this year! I was really excited to finally find these delectable onion, garlic bulbs to harvest.

My friend Jonathan and I got an early start leaving Atlanta at 4:30 am to our destination in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.  The scenery was amazing and rejuvenating.  After 2.5 hours we arrived to a small foot path where we began our trek.  After traveling up and down the path we finally arrived to a hillside where we would start harvesting.

Jonathan gave me a quick demo of what to look for and how to dig up without harming the precious bulbs. Once out of the ground we gave the ramps a quick shake and a good whip to get the moist, fertile soil off.

Then began the real work of scaling up the hillside at a forty-five degree incline while plucking them. Amongst the thick of the Blue Ridge Mountains, we were looking for bright green leaves, picking off any yellow leaves. It was a great experience and I found myself being brought back to my childhood when it was cool to play the dirt.

This experience was surreal, I was finding my own produce out in nature.  If Jonathan and I weren’t out here, these delectable goodies would not be able to enjoyed by our family, friends and fellow patrons.  I was proud to do the leg work for them.

The return hike with bags full of ramps along that foot path was much more daunting, and seemed like we were scaling huge mountain.  After making it back to his truck we distributed our finds amongst several large coolers, wrapping the ramps in towels to prevent them from sitting in icy water.

It was neat to know that I got to be part of the supply chain to provide fresh, local produce. I also got a glimpse of the hard work involved to do so, and have a greater sense of gratitude for our farmers, producers, and foragers.  The respect for the farms, earth, and the community that they offer each day is something that should not go unseen and should be given praise.  One of the reasons I enjoy our local markets is getting to know the face behind where my food comes from.

The trip had me inspired to highlight these bulbs and I began sounding like Bubba from Forrest Gump in my brainstorming, but instead of shrimp my mind was on ramps...Honey roasted ramps, pickled ramps, sautéed greens, ramp pesto, ramps in frittata, grilled ramps, and you get the point... For a chef you can't ask for better way to get motivated.  I got to take my experience of ramp harvesting and share that joy through my food for others to enjoy.

Best,

Jason Jimenez

Spicy Pickled Ramps Recipe

Since the season is short, pick up ramps from the farmers market this week to make this recipe.  Jonathan of Abundant Harvest Gardens sells them at FARM - Farmer's Atlanta Road Market on Tuesday and  Peachtree Road on Saturday.

For Blanching

• 1 cup Kosher Salt
• 1 gallon Water
• 2 lb. Ramps

Trim ramps, cutting the green leaves off and reserve for another use (great sautéed with carrots and made into a pesto).  Once bulbs are cleaned put a large pot on stove add salt and bring to a boil. Begin to blanch ramps for about thirty seconds. Remove from water, shocking in ice bath to stop the cooking. Once the ramps are cold through, pat dry, and place into pickling jars. Be sure not to overload jar with ramps.

For Pickling Brine

• 2 cups Champagne Vinegar
• 1 cup Water
• 1 cup Cane Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Sea Salt
• 1 Tbsp Szechuan Peppercorns
• 1 Tbsp Coriander
• 1 each Cinnamon Stick
• 1 Tbsp Mustard Seeds
• 1 Tbsp Crushed Red Chili Flake
• 1 Tsp Ground Turmeric

Combine water, sugar, salt, vinegar in a pot bring to a boil.  Once liquid is at a boil add spices and bring down to a simmer for about 5 minutes. Now pour hot brine over the prepared ramps to cover. Place lids on top, cool, then refrigerate. You can also preserve to eat year-round.

Enjoy with omelettes, frittatas, roasted chicken or duck, cured meats and cheeses.

Gluten-Free Gnocchi Recipe

GF-GNOCCHI Homespun ATL recipe

Jamie and I welcomed the new year with a nourishing, rustic meal. Relaxing at home, we decided to use what ingredients we had around the apartment. (We had also decided to be gluten-free for the first couple of weeks of 2014.) We had some ricotta, gluten-free flour, eggs, and even some parmesan. It is not what is usually around our apartment, but fortunately leftovers from holiday cooking.

I did what any chef does, look up recipes online or in our dusty recipe books.  I found a simple recipe for gnocchi with ricotta. This would technically be gnudi (pronounced "nu-dee"), which is a type of gnocchi made from ricotta cheese and a little bit of flour. I used the ratios given, and added a few more ingredients to make it my own.

I enjoy making food that has a process, like gnocchi. Practicing technique from start to finish is fulfilling. Often when making recipes I think to myself, “In what time of history did someone think I have cheese, flour, and eggs. I know, I will make a dumpling.” From then on it is passed through the years and generations perfected.  Now all of us get to benefit from one person and their culture. We can easily look up a recipe and learn a new process. I think that knowing, appreciating, and honoring a food's origins puts more love and soul into what we are creating.  It also inspires us to try something new.

Have fun and find joy in creating a great meal for friends and family.

Best,

Jason

GHOCCHI-PROCESS

Gnocchi

• 2 sprig rosemary finely chopped

• 1 ea lemon zested on micro plan

• 3 ¼ cups fresh ricotta cheese

• 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese finely grated

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free flour sifted

• 2 extra-large eggs beaten

• extra sifted gluten-free flour (coating)

Tomato and Olive Sauce

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 clove of thinly slice garlic or crushed

• 1 ea shallot thinly sliced

• 4 oz white wine

• 14 oz can crushed or diced tomatoes

• 4 oz Castelvetrano Olives

• 1 ea lemon juiced and zested

• ½ bunch parsley roughly chopped

Garnish

• 2 tbsp EVOO (Lemon scented Olive Oil)

• 2 oz Grated Parmesan (Parmesan Reggiano)

Gnocchi Directions

1. Fill a large pot with water about 4 qts and 4 Tbsp of salt.

2. Mix ricotta, parmesan cheese, eggs, lemon zest, rosemary, GF flour together with ½ teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper.

3. Roll into 4, 12 in logs on a lightly floured surface then slice gnocchi into 1 inch long cylinders. Roll into oval shapes with a fork and place on a large plate dusted with a little more flour to prevent sticking.

4. Cook a few at a time in a large pot of boiling water for 2 minutes, or until they float to the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon.

5. Place in ice water until they are cooled, then place on paper towels to dry. store on a small sheet tray. You can refrigerate up to 1 day or freeze in plastic bags. I prefer to use the gnocchi the day I roll it out.

Tomato and Olive Sauce Directions:

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan and cook garlic and shallots for 1 minute, being careful not to burn.

2. Add white wine off the heat and reduce until almost dry. Add tomatoes and simmer for 10 minutes, or until thickened.

3. Add olives and heat through. Season with lemon juice, zest, and parsley. Add gnocchi and gently toss in the pan sauce.

4. Shave Parmesan to serve and dress with good EVOO.

GF-GNOCCHI-DISH-2

This recipe serves 6-8 people.  It made for great leftovers during the week.

Coconut & Pear Butternut Squash Soup Recipe

This week Jason is sharing his Coconut & Pear Butternut Squash Soup Recipe over at Yours is the Earth. It's the perfect Autumn soup...AND it's gluten and dairy free.

-Jamie