Roasted Fennel Tapenade and Polenta Cucumber Bites

INGREDIENTS

ROASTED FENNEL:

• 180g fennel, sliced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• a dash of dried basil
• a dash of dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Olive Tapenade:

• 100g green olives, pitted 
• 100g kalamata olives, pitted
• 50g whole sweet peppadew peppers
• ½ ounce sprouted almonds
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon capers
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• pepper to taste

Cucumber Bites:

• 1 batch of Fennel Roasted Tapenade
• ½ cup of uncooked polenta
• 1 ½ cups of water
• ½ teaspoon dried basil
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
• some cherry tomatoes, halved
• roasted yellow peppers, sliced
• parsley

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle the olive oil on the fennel, season with the dashes and tastes. Roast for 30 minutes. Once they’re done, dice the pieces.
2. Toss all the ingredients in a food process. Process! Don’t over-process or it’ll become tapenade mush and no one like tapenade mush…as much as tapenade.
3. Bring your water to a boil in a small pot. Slowly add the polenta and the seasonings and stir, stir, stir for like 15 minutes or so. Once it’s thickened, transfer it to a cookie sheet or some dish and press it evenly into the pan. Let it sit until it sets.
4. I used a mini jar to cut my polenta circles but a cookie cutter would be 1000 times smarter. So do that. Make some polenta disks, put them on the cucumber slices, top with about 10g (a heaping amount, in other words) of tapenade. Add whatever additional toppings you desire. Finish with a sprig of parsley for fancy-pants-ness.

https://quicheaweek.wordpress.com/2013/01/09/roasted-fennel-tapenade-and-polenta-cucumber-bites/

Bok Choy and Kale Fried Rice with Fried Garlic

This slightly spicy, slightly tart gremolata perks up chili, lentil, and bean dishes. It’s also a great addition to your weekend guacamole. Make a jar of it, and use it all week – because it’s healthy, fresh and makes everything taste great!

INGREDIENTS

For the Fried Garlic:

• 1 whole head of garlic, peeled
• Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

For the Fried Rice:

• 3 cups day-old cooked jasmine or short grain rice (see note above)
• 2 cups chopped kale (about 4 ounces)
• 2 cups chopped bok choy (about 4 ounces)
• 1 Thai bird's eye chili, finely minced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

1. for the Fried Garlic: Transfer garlic to the bowl of a food processor or mini food processor. Pulse until garlic is very finely chopped but not a paste, about 12 short pulses, scraping down sides as necessary. Set aside 2 teaspoons and toss remaining garlic with a pinch of salt in a small bowl.
2. Set a fine mesh strainer over a heat-proof bowl. Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic and cook, stirring. Garlic should maintain a gently bubble. If bubbling vigorously, reduce heat. Cook until garlic is light golden brown, 6 to 8 minutes, then immediately strain. Transfer garlic to a paper towel-lined plate to cool. Reserve fried garlic and oil separately (see note above).
3. For the Fried Rice: Heat 1 tablespoon garlic oil in a wok over high heat until smoking. Add the kale and bok choy, season with salt, and stir-fry until the vegetables are bright green and barely wilted, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
4. Heat 1 more tablespoon garlic oil in the wok over high heat until smoking. Add reserved raw minced garlic and bird's eye chili and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add rice and stir immediately, breaking up any large chunks and adding remaining garlic oil as necessary to prevent sticking.
5. Season rice with salt and white pepper, then add soy sauce. Return kale and bok choy to rice and toss to combine. Transfer to warm serving bowl and sprinkle generously with fried garlic. Serve immediately.

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2014/03/bok-choy-kale-fried-rice-garlic-chinese-recipe.html

Vegetable Lettuce Wraps

So many beautiful lettuce heads this season! Instead of the usual salad, shake things up with these yummy lettuce wraps. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
• One 8-ounce can bamboo shoots, drained and finely diced
• 8 ounces fresh asparagus (or, try using this week's Fennel!), blanched and thinly sliced
• 9 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
• 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 3 tablespoons vegetarian oyster sauce
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 heads butter lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 medium red Fresno chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 large green onion (or, last week's baby leeks!), green part only, finely chopped
• 1 small handful fresh cilantro leaves
• 3 small mandarin oranges, clementine oranges or tangerines, segmented
• 1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped or ground

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat a wok over high heat and add the vegetable oil. Stir-fry the ginger and garlic until fragrant, less than 1 minute. Add the carrots and stir-fry until tender, 2 minutes. Toss in the bamboo shoots, asparagus and mushrooms and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes more.

2. Season with the soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce and toasted sesame oil and stir well.

3. Arrange the butter lettuce leaves on a plate and divide the mixture among the leaves. Garnish each cup with a sprinkle of chopped chiles, green onion, cilantro, Mandarin oranges and chopped roasted peanuts and serve.

http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/ching-he-huang/vegetable-lettuce-wraps-sin-cai-bao.html