I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted a new recipe. Between making sure I provided a few posts with helpful tips and holiday entertaining, and focusing on fulfilling orders from my customers, I let a period pass without dedicating time to share recipes. Although those may be some reasons, truth be told, the more obvious one is that without our usual entertaining schedule, I’ve been less motivated to experiment and haven’t had the need to invent new dishes to serve guests. That part makes me a bit sad. Ok, a lot sad.
Even though we haven’t been entertaining doesn’t mean I haven’t been cooking. On the contrary, I’ve actually been cooking up a storm, doing more than ever since I starting providing weekly meal service to select customers in my local area, plus baked goods via shipping. Plus, I’ve had some catering opportunities pop up as well. So cooking has been firing up my kitchen, it just didn’t feel like there was anything to blog about.
Or so I thought. As life often does, it shines a light on a topic and then energy is sent forth which appears in full bloom. Here’s a clear example of what I’m talking about. Did you ever think about a friend and then suddenly that friend calls you? It’s like sending out a smoke signal, and you get a return response. That energy swirls around us constantly. It happened just like that to me recently. I had been talking to three friends about the fact that I have not blogged about a recipe in quite some time, and expressed my mixed emotions about it. So, imagine my surprise and thrill when I got the spark to create again. That particular day while I was doing my usual refrigerator ‘cleanse and see what’s still viable’ exercise, I felt a sudden reminiscent pang of my old something from nothing style. It dawned on me that I have been creating dishes for JuanCarlos and myself all along but just hadn’t been focused on photographing, documenting and writing about them. When I looked at this batch of veggies that needed some love and attention, I thought this could be worth sharing if nothing else but to motivate you to clean out your fridge. Admittedly, this recipe is not earth shattering. In fact, it’s quite basic. But it’s significance is greater than the recipe itself. One, it motivated me to photograph and document again. And two, hopefully it will inspire you to go through your fridge and figure out what to do with your miscellaneous food items. I should create an ongoing series entitled: Refrigerator Remnants. You see, inspiration is everywhere.
Fennel, Celery, Rainbow Chard, Garlic, Onions, Carrots. The absolute basics.
Basically, this process is nothing more than pulling out all those unused items in your fridge that are at their last hope for use, and then coming up with a plan on how they all play together. As I mentioned, this ‘recipe’ isn’t rocket science. It’s actual a pumped up mire poix or soup base but without the liquid. But it is hearty, tasty, versatile, and most of all met the requirements of using items that might have ended up in the trash a few days from now.
This pot of veggies can be used as a side dish to any protein: meat, chicken, fish, beans or tofu. It can be a main with a heaping helping of rice or couscous or even piled on top of a baked potato. Or can even be part of a taco filling or quesadilla. I’m sure there are plenty of other ways to serve up this veggie packed plate. Feel free to use any of my suggestions but I’ll let you figure out how you want to serve them up. For now, I encourage you to go through the exercise of rummaging through to find your Refrigerator Remnant Recipe. Remember, these were the items and amounts that I had in my fridge. The goal here is to inspire you to create with whatever you have, and balance the flavors with the amounts you have. For instance, even though I had a ton of celery, the fennel was what was most pronounced in the combo below.
Here’s mine:
Ingredients
2 med onions (approx. 2.5 c )
4 lg carrots (approx. 3.5 c)
4 c celery
3c fennel
2 garlic cloves
12c red Swiss chard
Olive oil, salt & pepper
Instructions
Cut all the vegetables into large chunks.
As I said, a pumped up mire poix.
2. Cut and discard the ends/toughest part of the Swiss Chard. Then cut the remaining ribs out and chop them into smaller pieces..
3. Cut the leafy part of the Swiss Chard into strips.
4. Pour oil, salt and pepper into the pot to heat up then add all the vegetables except the leafy parts of the chard. Add whatever spice combo you desire. See below of different combos to try.
5. Cook for 20-25 minutes, until tender but still al dente. You don’t want these to cook down so much that they become mush. You want a tooth bite to them.
6. Add Swiss Chard leafy parts, cover and cook over low flame for 5-8. minutes until wilted.
I didn’t add any additional spices since I made such a big batch I didn’t want to commit to one spice profile. I figured I would enhance it each time I warmed it up. This worked out fine as the anise from the fennel really flavored the dish to the point of not needing anything else. But this is one of those dishes where anything goes. Make it your own. Here are some spice combos to try.
Italian Flavor: Dry Thyme | Oregano | Red Pepper Flakes | Cannellini Beans
Indian Flavor: Turmeric | Cumin | Cinnamon | Cloves | Curry | Coconut Milk
Middle Eastern: Cumin Seeds | Fennel Seeds | Sumac | Cardamom | Chick Peas
French: Herbs de Provence | Tarragon | Chives | Chervil
Spanish: Saffron | Pimentón de la Vera/Paprika | Cayenne Pepper
Mexican: Cilantro | Chili Pepper | Cumin | Allspice | Coriander
And here is how I served it up.
I had leftover ginger/red onion paella rice so I shaped it into a large patty and fried it up. Then topped it with veggies. For JC I added the leftover chicken thigh he had from the night before. I know, I know, nothing earth shattering here, but I know I have some viewers who get overwhelmed with trying to figure out what to do. This is just one way of culling everything together.
Leftover ginger/red onion paella rice. Perfect for making fried rice patties.
Note about the rice patty. Since this was leftover paella rice that had been previously sautéed with oil, ginger and red onion it had a natural stickiness to it that allowed it to hold the shape without any binder. If you only have long grain rice then you will need to add a binder of egg and flour in order to hold the patty together.
Why make one when you can make two. This fried rice patties are so delicious.
Use a cast iron pan with oil and high heat to get a crispy exterior.
Golden brown perfection.
Use the same ring for the veggie mix placement makes a nice, neat presentation.
The bigger chunks make this a more hearty side dish.
Using the same ring mold that you used to make the rice patties, place on top and fill with the veggie mixture, and pack tight.
I added chick peas to my mixture to add protein.
