rancho gordo

hope everyone is feeling rested and relaxed after the holiday weekend. we enjoyed the sun and warm weather finally here in nyc with friends, a night at citi field and a few glasses of rose here.

check out this post on the den about our work with gilt taste. now that summer is here, so are all the great outdoor fleas and food markets like smorgasburg, which we checked out last saturday. also excited to check out the latest east coast outpost of blue bottle coffee - how's that view?!

we've shared our love of Rancho Gordo products on the blog before here but realized it's been way too long since we've cooked with any of their amazing beans! we recently picked up a bag of christmas lima beans which are big and beautiful with their maroon stripping and deep chestnut flavor. this salad is adapted from Heirloom Beans, a great reference for how to cook all things rancho gordo by the company's founder. this hearty healthy salad is great for summer gatherings as a whole meal or a perfect side dish.

Christmas Lima Bean Salad

(adapted from Heirloom Beans)

serves 4 to 6

5 small beets

1/2 cup quinoa

3 cups cooked christmas lima beans

4 green onions, chopped

1 avocado, diced

1/2 cup yellow pear tomatoes, halved

1/3 cup feta cheese, crumbled

juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbs red wine vinegar

1 tsp honey

1/3 cup olive oil

kosher salt & fresh ground pepper

preheat oven to 400 degrees F. wash and scrub beets. wrap in foil and wrap until tender when poked with a fork, about 45 minutes to 1 hour. when cool, peel and cut into bite size wedges. in a medium saucepan bring quinoa and water to a boil. reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until fluffy but still a little tender. drain well and rinse under cool water.

combine beets, quinoa, beans, green onion, avocado and tomatoes.

in a small bowl combine lemon juice, vinegar and honey. while stirring, slowly drizzle in olive oil and whisk to combine. pour over salad and toss to combine. season to taste with salt and pepper and sprinkle with crumbled feta before serving. serve at room temperature & enjoy!

pickled

we've pickled stuff before here and have been working for months on our own classic dill pickle recipe to share but here are two new pickled things we recently came across. lately we can't get enough vinegar, lemon juice or anything acidic - don't know exactly what this means but the honeycrisp apple kimchi with jowl bacon at momofuku ssam bar we had at dinner a few nights ago was a great way to satisfy our craving! the recipe for spiced pickled beets is adapted from this book and reminds me so much of the pickled beets that found their way onto our dinner plate many nights growing up. the pickled fennel is adapted from an old Food & Wine magazine recipe and we're still trying to figure out how to work it into an ice cold martini recipe!

Spiced Pickled Beets

makes 1 pint

1 1/2 pounds raw beets, unpeeled

2 cups red wine vinegar

1 cup cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

2 whole cloves

6 whole black peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

wash the beets and trim the tops, being careful not to cut into the beets. leave roots intact. add the remaining ingredients to a large heavy bottomed stainless steel pan and bring to a boil. reduce to a simmer, cover and simmer 1-2 hours or until beets are tender when pierced with a skewer. left the beets out of the liquid and cool. peel and slice into 1/4-inch slices. pack into a pint jar and top with strained cooking liquid. keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Pickled Fennel

makes 1 pint

3/4 cup water

1/2 cup rice vinegar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 teaspoons sugar

pinch ground cloves

pinch ground cinnamon

1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored & cut into matchsticks

in a shallow dish, combine water, vinegar, salt, sugar, cloves and cinnamon and stir. fill a jar with fennel and cover with liquid. refrigerate overnight and serve lightly chilled.