Choose as many varieties of beets as you can find for a truly spectacular, colorful salad. We typically use a mixture of red beets and golden beets, but when we can also find pretty Chioggia (striped) beets, we throw them in as well. Make sure you roast the golden or striped beets separately from the red beets, which will color them red. (Red beets make a great natural Easter egg dye!)
I had yet to eat a turkey burger that didn’t taste dry—until I made these. Not only are they not dry thanks to the dark turkey meat and fat from both the oil and the feta, but they are crave-worthy, with puddles of feta, garlic, and greens throughout. And don’t worry about biting into a piece of raw kale—we cook it down with garlic and olive oil so it practically melts right in. These burgers are an easy and tasty dinner all year round, served on burger buns or over rice, or simply paired with salad or veggies.
Ingredients:
All the dishes in this chapter are made with chicken thighs, because I unashamedly love them. They’re succulent—so much better than breasts, which can dry out, in fact it’s hard to overcook chicken thighs—they all cook at the same time (and quickly), and there’s no carving. If you like a mixture of thighs and drumsticks, the recipes will will work with those, too, just replace half the thighs in any dish with drumsticks.
When it comes to beet salads, it’s hard to escape the ubiquitous combination of beets and goat cheese. The pairing works because the tangy, creamy, salty goat cheese is a great foil for the beets’ earthy sweetness. (Interestingly, beets’ sweetness is actually the result of a winter survival strategy. The sugars in beets act like antifreeze, keeping the fluid in their cells from freezing and forming destructive ice crystals.) But that doesn’t mean the combination hasn’t gotten a little tired. To reinvigorate the classic beet salad, we looked for ways to deal with the sweetness itself. By charring the cooked beets—essentially burning some of the sugar—we cut down on sweetness and add some complementary bitterness. We amplify that bitterness with crisp radicchio and toss it all with a dressing made from the beet cooking liquid. And to replace the goat cheese? A simple spread of feta and Greek yogurt adds plenty of creaminess. A final flourish of tart pomegranate seeds provides pops of bright acidity (while staying on message with the ruby color scheme), while fresh dill and tarragon round things out with some herbal notes.
After my mom passed away, my aunt used to make us tons of tacos de papa dorados—basically mashed potatoes inside a tortilla either folded or rolled up like a flauta and fried—and leave them in big bags in the fridge. My friends and I would grab a few, microwave them, smother them in tart, fresh, bright-green tomatillo salsa, and wolf them down while watching episodes of Richard Bey. It’s a casero-style (homemade) snack, sort of like a Hot Pocket. You wouldn’t really see these on a menu anywhere. So when I first got the cart, I figured why not make this taco with a few modifications.
Sometimes we feel like a substantial salad that is a meal in itself with all the elements of good food—plenty of greens, crunchy raw pepper, and loads of flavor. This is also a great way to use up leftover chicken or turkey. Serve with a tzatziki dressing and tomato salad. This is our friend Anne Hudson’s method of preparing the wonderful Greek yogurt and cucumber dip, which she learned to make the local way when living in Greece. You can also enjoy the tzatziki with bread or as a dip for vegetables. (Gluten-free if using quinoa or brown rice.)
A hearty, comforting dish full of saucy, tomato-laden beans, salty cheese, and crisp bread crumbs.
Years ago, my friends and I visited a regional business called Let’s Dish, where we would pay to prepare individually portioned freezer meals. They would set out recipes and raw ingredients, and we’d prep and label enough meals to last for weeks. It was a great concept, and it opened my eyes to how easy it was to cook meals from scratch. After we paid for the service a few times, I began to do the same in my home. Storing individual portions of uncooked mushrooms and buttery rolls in the freezer makes for a delicious, time-saving meal later. The mushrooms can be marinated up to 48 hours in advance.
This brightly flavored, chunky mix of marinated feta and olives takes center stage on an elegant cheese board. Thinly sliced garlic, orange zest, oregano, cumin seeds, and a sprinkling of red pepper flakes gives the marinade complexity and brightness.