Dining a la garden

Our garden is blooming.  And today we picked the most beautiful bunch of swiss chard, and there is plenty more where that came from.  A friend is visiting me this week, and I'm pretty sure she's had sauteed swiss chard before, and she is mostly vegetarian (yes - she only eats chicken, go figure). So anyhow, I thought long and hard about what I could do with all that chard, and I came up with this yummy dish that I would like to cook over and over again.  And it used up all the swiss chard, and the delicious snap peas from the garden.


Swiss Chard Cakes
with sauteed white beans and a lemony tahini sauce

For the cakes:
1 bunch swiss chard (about 13-15 leaves), chopped
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1-2 Tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup cooked quinoa
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup grated parmesean regianno

For the sautee
1 8oz can white northern beans
1 tsp chopped garlic
1/2 tsp red chili flakes
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp sumac
a few sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper to taste

For the lemony tahini sauce
1 Tbsp tahini
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

First make the cakes:
Add the garlic and chili flakes to oil in a medium sized pan on Low to Medium heat
In a few minutes, add the swiss chard and stir. Leave it on for a few minutes until the leaves have wilted and most of the liquid has dissolved.  Turn off heat and add salt and pepper to taste.
In a bowl, add the cooked quinoa, half of the panko, egg and parmasean.  Once cooled and squeezed to get the liquid out, add the swiss chard to the mixture. Stir and make into 3 inch sized patties. Add the rest of the panko onto a flat plate, and coat the patties on both sides.

Add 1 Tbsp of oil in a non-stick pan, and fry the patties on both sides until golden. Cover the lid while they cook.

For the sautee:
Add the garlic and chili flakes to oil in a heated pan.  Add the beans, thyme and sumac and stir and leave for about 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For the sauce:
Mix all ingredients together and whisk away.

To serve, add the pattie onto a plate, top with the bean sautee and drizzle the sauce on top. YUM !!!!!

A Laksa from Thailand

Adapted from David Thompson's book "Thai Street Food"

Laksa

Ingredients

For the paste

5-8 dried  red chilies, soaked in water for 5 minutes
2 T chopped lemongrass

1 T coriander seeds

1 t cumin seeds

2 cloves

1 inch ginger

4 garlic cloves

4 fresh chilies

2 T shallots

1 t shrimp paste (scant)

2 t curry powder

pinch of grated nutmeg

For the curry

12 oz chicken, cubed OR tofu

5-6 prawns, medium, cleaned, deveined

1 8oz can organic coconut milk

3 cups stock or water

a couple of bay leaves

2-3 cardamom pods

1 in piece cassia bark

1 tsp kashmiri red chili powder

a pinch of sugar

a couple of sloshes of fish sauce

1 cup of brocolli, red pepper, snow peas (total)

For the garnish

8 oz Rice noodles

2 T fried shallots

2 T chopped scallions

1/4 cup roasted chopped peanuts

a handful of cilantro, chopped

a splash (or more) of lime juice

1. Roast the cumin, coriander and cloves on a dry pan for a few minutes. Add to the food processor: the rest of the ingredients and then the dry spices. Blend into a  paste, or as smooth of a paste as you can manage
2. Next add all the thick creamy part of the coconut milk can, along with the paste onto a medium heated pot.  Stir for a few minutes until the fragrant.  Add stock and the rest of the coconut milk can.  
3. Next add chicken.  If not adding chicken, let this sauce simmer for at least 30 minutes.
4. Next add the bay leaves, cardamom, cassia bark, red chili powder, sugar, fish sauce and let these simmer further for another 10 minutes.  Add salt if needed.
5. Heat water in a separate pot. Once boiled, add the rice noodles.  Keep a close eye on them as they will be done in about 5 minutes.  (Depends on the thickness, so do read the directions from the box)
6. Add the veggies and the prawns, and simmer for about 5 minutes (less if your prawns are small) and squeeze half a lime into the curry. You musn't taste the lime, but the flavors should have gotten brighter almost.
7. After a few minutes (turn off the stove - you do not want to overcook the veggies or the prawns.

Serve in big soup bowls. Add rice noodles on the bottom of the bowls, add the curry on top, and garnish with shallots, peanuts, scallions and cilantro. Serve with a quarter of a piece of lime.