Grilled Green Bean and Pepper Salad

1/2  lb green beans, trim ends

1 red bell pepper, seeded and small diced

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp whole grain mustard

1/2 tsp pepper (or more to taste)

1/4 tsp salt (or more to taste)

2 Tbsp chopped parsley

Preheat grill to Medium heat.

Toss green beans in a little bit of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside.

Remove seeds from pepper and dice small. Add this to the green beans.

Place beans and pepper mixture on a grill pan (if you don’t have one, make one out of aluminum foil.

Cook for 10 to 15 minutes stirring occasionally until it is slightly charred. 

Once cooked to desired state remove from heat and place into a dish and into the fridge to cool quickly.

Once cooled, whisk together oil, vinegar, mustard, pepper, salt, and basil in a small bowl.

Place the green beans and peppers in a salad bowl and pour dressing over them.

Toss all ingredients gently until the beans and peppers are fully coated with the dressing.

Let the salad marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Serve at room temperature.

Greek Tomato Salad

2 pounds ripe tomatoes, heirloom or hybrids

1 small red onion, sliced thinly crosswise

1 bell pepper, sliced thin

 Sea salt to taste

3 ounces feta crumbles

2 tablespoons roughly chopped parsley

½ teaspoon dried oregano

Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Pinch of cracked black pepper

Wash, core and slice tomatoes 1/2-inch thick. Arrange slices on a platter or in a shallow wide bowl.

Scatter onion and pepper slices over tomatoes and season everything with sea salt. Let sit 10 minutes to draw out juices.

Break feta into rough chunks and scatter over salad. Sprinkle parsley and oregano over top, drizzle generously with olive oil and serve.

Fennel and Pepper Risotto

7 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 head of fennel, diced small with core removed (reserve tops)

1 finely chopped shallot

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow peppers, finely diced

 Salt to taste

1 ½ cups arborio or short grain rice

½ cup dry white wine

 Freshly ground pepper to taste

3 tablespoons chopped fennel herb

2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (1/2 cup)

Bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan, with a ladle nearby. Season generously with salt. Heat the olive oil in a large, wide, heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat and add the diced fennel and shallots. Cook gently until they begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic, peppers, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring, until the peppers are limp and fragrant, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the rice and stir over medium heat until the grains separate, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the wine and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. When the wine has just about evaporated, stir in just enough stock to cover the rice. Reduce heat slightly. Cook, stirring often, until the stock is just about absorbed. Add another ladleful or two of the stock and continue to cook in this fashion, stirring often and adding more stock when the rice is almost dry, for about 25 minutes or until the rice is cooked through but still a little chewy. Taste and adjust seasoning.

When the rice is cooked through, add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper, and stir in another half cup of stock, the Parmesan and the fennel herb. Remove from the heat. The rice should be creamy; if it isn’t, add a little more stock. Stir once, taste and adjust seasonings, and serve.

Eggplant and Delicata Stew

1 eggplant

1 delicata squash

¼ cup canola oil

½ cup finely diced red onion

1 cup finely diced bell pepper

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

3 cups diced tomatoes, 

1 tablespoons whole cumin

1/2 tablespoon whole coriander seed

1/4 cup finely chopped cilantro

Cut the eggplant and delicata into similar sizes. I prefer to go with a large dice

In a large frying pan, heat 1/3 cup of the oil over medium-high heat, and cook the delicata until it starts to brown. Add the eggplant and continue cooking until it starts to brown then remove from pan

Add the onion and pepper to the pan with the coriander and cumin, and cook over medium heat until soft and caramelized, about 5 minutes.

Add the apple cider vinegar to the pan, scraping up any of the browned bits that have adhered to the bottom with a wooden spoon. Cook until the vinegar has evaporated, then add the tomatoes.

Cook the tomatoes over low heat until they are thickened and saucy. Then return the eggplant and delicata to the pan and continue cooking on low heat for about 10 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and stir in the cilantro.