Local Lemons

Summer BBQ Recipes

Grab your tongs and a few hunks of meat. It's summer and time to grill.

People love barbecues. But next time you host a cookout, do your guests and their arteries a favor by skipping dried-out burgers and nitrate-laden dogs. Opt instead for fresh vegetables, high-quality meats and homemade salads, sans the mayo. No-knead bread is great for parties, and instantly ups your culinary clout in the eyes of party-goers.

If available, find house-made sausages form your local butcher. Our favorite is from Ver Brugge in Oakland, where we bought goat, lamb/rosemary, chicken/apple and chorizo. When your sausage is done (10-12 minutes on med. heat), cut into bite-sized pieces and serve with toothpicks. Your guest won't fill up by eating an entire link, and they'll enjoy more of the healthier, non-meat dishes. Plus, you can buy less meat and spring for the good stuff.

I always have fruit on the table as well - whatever is the season's sweetest. Eating a piece of fruit will cleanse your palate after noshing on smokey meat from the grill.

Hosting a BBQ is a circus act where you balance cooking, serving, socializing, cleaning and the general task of keeping guests happy. Keep the flow running smoothly by preparing the night before, and devising an efficient setup between the table, bar and grill. If possible, situate the grill so you're facing guests, at least partly, while cooking.  I haven't quit mastered the art of seamless hosting, but I learn a few things from every experience. What did this last BBQ teach me? Take time to eat and keep your dog away from the grill.

Summer BBQ recipes:

• Mixed potato salad with green beans and capers
• Pasta salad with toasted chickpeas, oven-roasted tomatoes and pecorino
• Homemade whole wheat harvest bread
• Lemongrass chicken wings
• 4 types of sausage (chicken apple, goat, lamb rosemary, chorizo)
• grilled corn on the cob
• vegetable skewers with squash, onion and peppers
• fruit salad with sliced kiwi, apricots and nectarines  

Spicy Cauliflower and Why I Love Pine Nuts

 

You may be surprised to know that there is more to the pine nut than just pesto. Pine nuts are the edible little seeds from pine trees that add texture and flavor to just about any Mediterranean dish. Use them in place of Italian cheese for a smooth buttery taste and an overall healthier recipe, or crush them up to thicken a sauce in place of flour.

Pine nuts turn sour, so buy them fresh, use them quick and store them in the fridge. I buy mine at Monterey Market, where they are far cheaper than anywhere else in the East Bay – about $11.50 per pound compared to $14 at Berkeley Bowl. You may notice that the Chinese variety are more affordable than others, but really, it is not worth it. Do a simple google search for "bitter taste and pine nuts" and I think you'll agree.

Capers, olives, chili peppers, basil and other sharp notes balance the understated character of pine nuts, and highlight why they are worth three times as much as other nuts. Toasting them brings the nuttiness forward while softening the sweetness, and adds more of a crunch to the otherwise soft consistency. To toast, simply heat up a cast iron pan and shake around on low heat for about 7-10 minutes until golden.

For this recipe I picked up a head of cauliflower at the Temescal market, chopped it small, and sauteed it with olive oil, freshly crushed chili peppers, garlic, salt-packed capers and fresh parsely. I added mashed and whole pine nuts to subdue the bite, and tossed it all with whole wheat spaghetti.

If you are a spice fiend like me, crush the chili peppers yourself. Much better than the bland powdered stuff you find topped with a red cap.

What are your favorite non-pesto, pine nut recipes?
 Share your thoughts by leaving a comment.

Asparagus and Sage Lasagna

Italian food often gets an undeserved rap for being unhealthy and heavy. It's not completely unfounded - some restaurants enforce this belief by serving dishes like fettuccini alfredo and baked rigatoni that's drowning in imitation cheese. The truth is the food in Italy is a world away from the processed pizza that gets delivered to your door, and when done correctly, is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world.

This lasagna dish holds close to its roots. I used all local, organic vegetables and herbs, freshly made pasta and organic cheeses from Italy. There is a good amount of diary in this recipe, but it is a far cry from the mozzarella-laden American lasagna. And, I would much rather splurge on a dish like this, made with natural whole foods, than waste the calories mindlessly eating bad pizza or greasy french fries. One of the advantages of a diet full of unprocessed food and vegetables is that you rarely have to feel guilty about what you're eating. I, for example, never cook regular pasta at home. Unless I'm making it from scratch, I always use whole wheat, which I think tastes better anyway. When I do make pasta from scratch, I use local eggs and organic flour, so it doesn't matter as much that it doesn't have whole grains. High-quality olive oil, minimally processed cheeses, organic vegetables, whole grains and local fish make up the majority of my diet, and it's the reason why I can enjoy a dish like this and feel god about eating it.

 On to the lasagna...

Great lasagna starts with the pasta, and making your own is a surefire start to an authentically Italian dish. I've tried many techniques, but the one that yields the best texture and flavor is that of Marcella Hazan. She has a rigid kneading routine and a specific method for rolling out the dough that produces a light noodle that is easy to work with. When making noodles for lasagna with a pasta machine, roll the dough out to the last notch. This is key because when layered, the thicker noodles feel sticky and heavy, as opposed to the thinner ones that cook up light as air. This is one of the reasons why store-bought pasta produces mediocre lasagna. I layered the noodles with béchamel, pecorino, parmeggiano-reggiano and mixture of asparagus, Maui onions, pine nuts and guanciale. If you're not familiar with it, guanciale is Italian bacon made out of pork cheeks. It's not as smoky as pancetta or American bacon, but it's rich and fattier. A little goes a long way, so take care when adding it to a pasta recipe. It's hard to find, but if you live in the Bay Area you can grab some at the Fatted Calf stand at the Saturday Farmers' market in Berkeley. Maui onions look like small white onions, but they're sweeter and lack the typical sharpness. They also have a high water content, which make them a great choice for slow cooking because they don't turn brown as quickly. For the béchamel, I seeped organic sage in the milk for about an hour, so the sauce would carry the right amount of the pungent herb throughout the whole dish.

Overall, I have no regrets or reservations about cooking and eating this lasagna, cheese, béchamel sauce and all. If you use substitutions like fat-free cheese or lite bacon, the overall calories may be lower, but your chemical intake will be through the roof, increasing your chances of things like heart disease, cancer and obesity. And most importantly, it won't taste half as good.