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Capers

Dinner, Fruit, Gardening, Lactose Free, Recipes, Salad, Side Dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Avocado Salad with Herbs & Capers

March 26, 2021

Avocado Salad with Herbs & Capers

Now that it’s avocado season, we have been enjoying avocado sandwiches with cheddar, chunky guacamole, avocado toast, and avocado eggs Benedict.  The Green Gold tree in our back yard is a heavy bearer and the avocados are incredibly tasty.  So here we have a new addition to our ever expanding recipe file.  The tart dressing and herby flavors compliment the rich, velvety avocado slices.  This salad is a keeper.

Green Gold Avocados

The Green Gold avocado has to be one of the best varieties to grow in Hawaii (a cultivar developed by the University of Hawaii).  The trees are heavy bearers and produce beautiful fruit that are rich and creamy and known for their high oil content.  If you are thinking of planting an avocado tree I highly recommend seeking out the Green Gold.

Herb Dressing

The dressing is reminiscent of a chimichurri sauce. A good splash of red wine vinegar gives the right acidic touch to the herbs, jalapeño and garlic.

Green Gold Avocado, Green Onions, Jalapeño, Garlic, Cilantro & Parsley

The addition of a jalapeño makes for a nice pop of heat.  Since jalapeños vary in their level of spiciness, test the one you use and add more or less according to your taste.  If you don’t have one, sprinkle in some red chili flakes.  You could even use pickled jalapeños if you have those in your refrigerator.

Avocado Salad with Herbs, Capers & Grilled Sourdough Bread

My favorite way to serve this salad is with good, crusty grilled sourdough bread.  Drizzle some of the dressing onto the grilled bread, or scoop some of the avocado salad onto the bread.  Delicious.

Avocado Salad with Herbs, Capers & Grilled Sourdough Bread

Avocado Salad with Herbs & Capers
 
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Adapted from NYT Cooking
Author:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 medium bunch cilantro
  • 1 medium bunch Italian parsley
  • 2 scallions, very finely chopped
  • 1 medium garlic clove, finely grated or minced
  • 1 small or ½ medium jalapeño, seeded and very finely chopped
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 medium avocados, peeled, pitted and sliced
  • 2 teaspoons capers, drained
  • Maldon sea salt or other flaky salt
  • freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
  1. Reserve ½ cup of both whole cilantro leaves and parsley leaves. Finely chop the rest of the leaves and transfer to a medium bowl. Add scallions, garlic, jalapeños, salt and vinegar. Stir in oil. Taste and add more salt, vinegar or both if needed.
  2. Scatter the reserved whole cilantro and parsley leaves over two serving plates. Fan the avocado slices over the top, and sprinkle lightly with salt to taste. Spoon herb dressing over the avocado slices, making sure to include the oil in the bowl (you may not use all of the dressing), and top with the capers. Sprinkle with Maldon sea salt and pepper. Serve with crusty grilled sourdough bread brushed with olive oil.

 

 

Bread, Dinner, Fruit, Gardening, Italian, Lactose Free, Pasta, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Summer Tomatoes on Capellini & Sourdough Bread

April 23, 2019

This year we planted two Early Girl tomato seedlings in the garden and were they ever a great surprise.  They produced more than 100 pounds of gorgeous, sweet fruit.  Though the plants are looking rather scraggly after several months, they are still bearing fruit.  These tomatoes are deep red in color, meaty, have very few seeds and a tiny stem that’s not woody when you cut into the fruit. They are the perfect tomato.  Unlike the Big Beef tomatoes that we usually grow, the Early Girls are small in size.  My friend Hano and her sister Charlotte eat them as if they were apples!

With all of these tomatoes ripening faster than we knew what to do with them, I wanted to whip up something delicious that would show off their exceptional flavor.  This was the perfect recipe. It is a raw sauce so there’s no cooking involved and everything goes into one bowl.  This really is the way to showcase your homegrown tomatoes.  The original recipe that I wrote down nearly 10 years ago comes from Deborah Mele. It’s one of my favorite summer meals.

Homegrown Early Girl Tomatoes

This dish requires the best tomatoes you can find.  If you don’t grow your own, check out your local farmer’s markets.  The tomatoes that are sold at supermarket chains in our area just won’t do.  Heirloom tomatoes would work if you can find them.

Kalamata & Castelvetrano Olives

You may use kalamata olives or a mix of olives.  I added a few castelvetrano olives along with the kalamatas.

Summer Tomato Sauce

I love that this recipe can be thrown together in 20 minutes.  All you need is a good, sharp knife to chop up all the ingredients.

Summer Tomatoes on Toasted Sourdough Bread

My favorite way to serve the tomato sauce is on thin capellini noodles or on toasted sourdough bread.

Summer Tomatoes on Toasted Sourdough Bread

Toast the bread until it’s nice and crisp.  Then spoon the tomatoes over the top and let it sit for a minute so that it soaks up all of that delicious sauce.

Summer Tomatoes on Capellini

Summer Tomatoes on Capellini & Sourdough Bread
 
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Adapted from Deborah Mele's recipe
Author:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons finely diced sweet onion
  • 12 seedless kalamata olives, or a mix of olives, diced
  • 1½ tablespoons drained capers
  • 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley
  • ½ teaspoon finely chopped oregano
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
  • ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
  • freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste
  • capellini or sourdough bread
  • grated parmesan (optional)
Preparation
  1. Combine tomatoes, onion, olives, capers, garlic, parsley, oregano, basil and red pepper flakes if using. Stir in red wine vinegar and olive oil. I normally don't add any salt since the olives and capers are salty. Add a few grinds of black pepper and salt to taste.
  2. Mix well, cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temperature for a few hours. Serve over capellini pasta or thinly sliced and toasted sourdough bread. Scatter grated parmesan cheese over the top. Leftovers keep well in the refrigerator for another day.

 

Dinner, Fish, Lactose Free, Recipes, Sandwiches

Grilled Tuna Burgers

July 3, 2016

Grilled Tuna Burger

Tuna (ahi) tartare  and poke in all its variations, are all the rage.  There are also various versions of tuna burgers which incorporate many of the same ingredients as these popular dishes.  This recipe, however,  pays homage to the traditional steak tartare.  It incorporates many of the classic ingredients that are found in steak tartare such as Dijon mustard, capers, shallots and chives.  We love to grill these tasty tuna burgers and serve them on homemade brioche buns with Ina Garten’s tartar sauce.

Fresh Ahi (tuna)

Only very fresh fish makes its way into our kitchen. I always ask if the fish was cut the same morning, if not, I look elsewhere.  Fish can be kept for a few days in the refrigerator and be just fine, but I favor fish that doesn’t sit around for very long.  One of the most unpleasant things I can think of is opening up a package of smelly fish.  So try to find the freshest ahi (tuna) that you can, even if it means taking a trip to another store.

Shallot, Parsley, Chives

Tuna Burger Ingredients

All of the ingredients are mixed up together in a large bowl, then formed into patties.  You can do this a few hours in advance which will help to firm up the patties before you grill them. Place the patties on individual pieces of parchment paper, cover loosely and store them in the refrigerator.

Tuna Burger Patties

Grilled Tuna Burgers

We ate two of the fish burgers for dinner, and the other two for lunch the following day.  Wrapped in foil and placed in the toaster oven to warm up a bit, they were just as good as they were on the first day.

Grilled Tuna Burger

Grilled Tuna Burgers
 
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Adapted from Eating Well magazine
Author:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 1¼ pound fresh tuna (ahi) finely chopped
  • 1 heaping tablespoon finely chopped shallot
  • ¼ cup capers, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped
  • ¼ cup finely chopped parsley
  • 1½ tablespoons finely chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
  • ½ teaspoon hot sauce, such as Frank's
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • toasted buns, sliced onion and tomato, crisp lettuce, tartar sauce or mayonnaise for serving
Preparation
  1. Finely chop the tuna. Place tuna in a large bowl. Add shallot, capers, parsley, chives, olive oil, mustard, vinegar, Worcestershire, hot sauce. salt and pepper. Mix gently until combined.
  2. Divide tuna mixture into four even servings (about 6 ounces each) and form into patties.
  3. Grill tuna burgers over medium high heat for about 4 minutes on the first side so the patties set. Flip and cook 3 -4 minutes on the second side or until they are cooked to your desired doneness.

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