Pinzimonio: Play with your food!

Play with your food!

Leave it to the Italians to turn produce into whimsical fun.  Pinzimonio is a raw vegetable antipasto that can be as simple or as complicated as you'd like to make it.  In this version, long skinny vegetables are bundled, ready for dipping in olive oil seasoned with lemon juice and salt.  Serve with plenty of napkins.
  
Prep time:  20 minutes
Serves  4 as an appetizer or side dish.

INGREDIENTS
1 Red Bell Pepper
1 Green Bell Pepper
2-3 Carrots, scraped, ends removed
1/2 pound long, slender green beans
1 bunch scallions, leaves separated and reserved.
1/2 cup olive oil
Juice from 1/2 lemon
Salt

DIRECTIONS
Slice peppers and carrots into long thin spears (about 1/8 to 1/4" wide).  Bundle a variety of spears and gently tie with scallion leaves.  Assemble these packets on a tray.

Distribute the oil and lemon juice between 4 ramekins or small bowls.  Dip a bundle into the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, and crunch.

Tip:  Scallion leaves are easier to tie if you leave them out on the counter for an hour so that the leaves lose some of their water and soften.  (This is the only recipe I can think of where I recommend a vegetable less than fresh!)

Photo and recipe by  Tod Dimmick

Nasturtium Pesto

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick









Yes, you read right.  Those flowers in the pot on your back patio can serve double duty as food.  Both the leaves and the flowers are edible.  This version was made using the leaves, as you can see from the vibrant green color.  

Important caveat: use only plants that have been raised without pesticides.

Prep time: 5-10 minutes
Yield:  about 3/4 cup pesto

INGREDIENTS
3-4 cups nasturtium leaves (and/or flowers), rinsed, dried, and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Add the leaves to a food processor equipped with a cutting blade.  Top with the walnuts, garlic, and salt.  These heavier ingredients will help compress those leaves to facilitate processing.  Top with half of the olive oil, and pulse into a chunky paste. Continue processing, pouring in the remainder of the olive oil in a steady stream.  The consistency should be thick and smooth, add more olive oil if necessary.

Substitution:  Pine nuts can be swapped for the walnuts.

Fromage Forte (“Strong Cheese”)

What a terrific, flavorful way to use leftover cheese.  Cheerfully inform your guests that they are eating leftovers.  They will pretend to be offended... and then reach for thirds.

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 5 minutes

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS

5 pieces of bread, cut into appetizer-size pieces.  Hearty crackers could also work, although they don't need to be toasted.

1 pound leftover cheese pieces (blue, brie, cheddar, Provolone, the more the better)

1/2 cup white wine

2 tablespoons chopped garlic

1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the broiler.  Place the bread slices on a baking tray and toast to a light brown, about 1 minute on each side. Meanwhile, using a food processor, puree the cheese, wine, garlic and black pepper.   

Spread a tablespoon or so of the cheese mixture on each toast triangle and broil for an additional minute, then serve to sighs of appreciation.  

Tip:  Fromage Forte freezes well, making this recipe a unque way to 'save' cheese long term.

Adapted from "The Complete Idiot's Guide to 5-Minute Appetizers," by Tod Dimmick

Dandelion Pesto

Photo and Recipe by Tod Dimmick









For visitors to the department of Keep An Open Mind, dandelions offer tremendous flavor.  Harvest them from places where no pesticides have been used (so beware of the lawn, as healthy as those specimens might look).  Dandelions in the vegetable garden?  Perfect.  The best flavor comes from fresh, young leaves in the spring.

Fun fact:  Those cheerful yellow "weeds" have been consumed as food, and for medicinal use, for thousands of years.  The ancestors of the nemesis on your lawn were actually brought to the US on purpose.  Crazy, you say?  Check out the history of taraxacum officianale.

INGREDIENTS
2-3 cups fresh young dandelion leaves, washed and dried
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup shredded Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 tablespoons olive oil

DIRECTIONS
Use a food processor with the cutting blade.  Place leaves in the processing chamber, and top with the nuts, Parmesan, and salt.  Put on the lid.  Turn on the processor, and add the olive oil in a thin stream until the mixture achieves a thick, smooth consistency.  Scrape down the sides and pulse again.  Scrape into a dish and enjoy pungent spring flavor.

Tip:  try with pasta.

Variations:  Try pine nuts instead of walnuts.

Homemade Salsa

Photo by Tod Dimmick









Homemade salsa is the best salsa.  Although there are myriad recipes out there, my favorite is this simple variation on Marion Cunningham's classic from the Fanny Farmer Cookbook. 

Prep Time:  10 minutes
Yield:  About 2 1/2 cups salsa

INGREDIENTS
2 large (about 8 oz.) fresh tomatoes, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces
1 fresh hot pepper (such as jalapeno or serrano), minced, seeds and all
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 TB red wine vinegar
3 TB fresh lime juice (or the juice of one lime)
1 tsp. Kosher salt
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
Dash hot sauce (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Combine all ingredients in a serving bowl and mix throroughly.  Fresh salsa is best eaten soon after it's made, but it will keep for a day or two in the fridge.  Serve with tortilla chips or as a topping on enchiladas.  Yum.

Watercress Pesto

Photo:
Tod Dimmick










This pungent, spicy, chunky green elixir is tasty whether spread on crackers or endives, or tossed with pasta.

Prep time: 5 minutes

2 cloves garlic
2 cups coarsely chopped watercress
3 TB pine nuts
3 TB shredded Parmesan
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly-ground black pepper
Olive oil to facilitate processing (2-4 TB)

Crush or coarsely chop the garlic. Add the garlic, watercress, pine nuts, Parmesan, salt, ad pepper to the bowl of a food processor equipped with the cutting blade. Add 2 TB oil, and pulse to process to a chunky consistency, adding more oil, a little at a time, if necessary to facilitate processing.

Serve as a spread with almost anything, from endive and carrot sticks to toast points.

Served up by Tod Dimmick

Zucchini & Herb Fritters

Photo - Tod Dimmick










Fried foods are not often called "healthy". Delicious Zucchini Fritters help tilt the scales in that happy direction. The marigolds are optional - they add delicious spicy flavor.

Prep time: 10 Minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes for this full batch
Yield: 9-12 large fritters, feeding 4-6 as a side dish or appetizer

1 medium zucchini, about 10" long
1 small onion
5-7 fresh sage leaves, finely minced
1/2 cup finely minced basil leaves
1/2 cup finely minced parsley with stems
1/4 cup fresh signet marigolds (about 15 flowers), finely minced (optional)
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
Salt to taste
2 eggs
2/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup wheat bran (or use more flour)
Olive oil for cooking

Run the zucchini and onion through the food processor using the fine shredding wheel. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Add the zucchini and onion mixture, the basil, parsley, marigolds, flour, bran, salt and pepper and stir with a rubber spatula to form a thick batter. If it's too runny to scoop like batter into a skillet, stir in a little more flour.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. When a drop of water dances on the oil, carefully scoop in several fritters and cook for 4 minutes per side, or until each side is browned and slightly crisp. Drain on paper towels while cooking the rest. Serve warm with sour cream or yogurt.

Served up by Tod Dimmick,
Editor of TastingTimes

Arugula Pesto

There's no one in the middle when it comes to pungent, spicy arugula. Its strong flavor inspires either passionate fans, or vehement detractors (who have yet to see the green light).




For arugula fans, imagine taking that bright green "spring" flavor and distilling it into its concentrated essence. That's what I see in arugula pesto.

Prep time: 5-10 minutes

1 bunch (about 2 cups) fresh arugula, rinsed, dried, and coarsely chopped
3TB toasted walnuts (or pine nuts)
1 clove garlic, pressed or finely minced
1 tsp salt
1/3 cup olive oil

Add the ingredients in order to a food processor equipped with a cutting blade and pulse into a chunky paste. Add more olive oil if necessary.

The photograph shows pesto tossed with whole wheat shells, diced fresh mozzarella, and leftover grilled chicken chopped into bite-size chunks. A dry rose alongside makes this a terrific summer meal.

Submitted by Tod Dimmick