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COMPLIMENTARY SUMMER 2019

Savor
Summer
Enjoy an easy outdoor
party menu bursting
with sunny flavors

03 FREE

KOREAN BBQ: Get fired up

5 FRESH HERBS: Add kick to your dishes
PRODUCE REFRESHED: Creative veggie-centric meals
BEAUTIFUL KITCHENS AND 763.717.8500
12955 HWY 55,
BATHS START IN OUR SHOWROOM. PLYMOUTH, MN 55441
MingleTeam.com
VISIT TODAY.
Those who love to cook make more than food in the kitchen. They make the most of every moment together—sharing
stories, creating delicious flavors and simply enjoying the company of close friends. For more than 80 years, Le Creuset has
been a part of these special times, and a colorful companion to all who savor food—and life—to the fullest. To learn more about
Le Creuset’s classic French quality, and the joys of cooking with premium enameled cast iron, visit www.lecreuset.com.
contents

Features
real food
summer 2019

20 Take the Party Outdoors

Enjoy your own party with approachable recipes
that burst with sunny flavors and hints of spice

BY ROBIN ASBELL

30 Five Fresh Summer Herbs

Add kick to your recipes with basil, cilantro, dill, mint and rosemary

BY PAT CROCKER

40 Produce Refreshed
Elevate your vegetable-based dishes with creative yet simple ideas

RECIPES BY ABRA BERENS

46 Korean Barbecue
Fire up your grill with a fusion of flavors

RECIPES BY BILL KIM WITH CHANDRA RAM

52 Diane Kochilas
Sharing tips from her “Greek Table” to yours

BY TARA Q. THOMAS

Departments
4 Bites
La Cocina: A celebration of culture
RECIPES BY SHANI JONES AND ELVIA BUENDIA

6 Kitchen Skills
Fresh, creamy salad dressings
BY JASON ROSS

8 Contributors
17 Ingredient
Tahini: From salads to dessert
BY LIANNA MATT McLERNON

18 Healthy Habits
Meatless meals

BY ERIK TORMOEN

56 Pairings
Burgers and wine
BY MARY SUBIALKA CREAMY ASPARAGUS SOUP
WITH TARRAGON (RECIPE PAGE 35)

2 real food fall

spring
2017
2015
 39

20

56

Our Cover
Watermelon Salad with Mint (page 22)
Photograph by Terry Brennan
Food styling by Lara Miklasevics

recycleMAGAZINElogo_WHITE.pdf 1 6/23/16 2:55 PM

PUBLISHER TAMMY GALVIN
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF CONTENT MIKE BERGER EDITOR MARY SUBIALKA
ASSOCIATE EDITORS KATIE BALLALATAK, ANNA BJORLIN, LIANNA MATT McLERNON AND ERIK TORMOEN
SENIOR ART DIRECTOR JAMIE BANKSTON PRODUCTION PROJECT MANAGER CINDY MARKING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVE KELSEY FISH
VOLUME 15, NUMBER 2 Real Food magazine is published quarterly by Greenspring Media, LLC, 706 Second Ave. S, Suite 1000, Minneapolis, MN 55402,
C

612.371.5800, Fax 612.371.5801. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission
M

CM
from the publisher. Real Food is exclusively operated and owned by Greenspring Media, LLC. Printed in the USA. realfoodmag.com
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The pages between the covers of this magazine (except for any inserted material) are printed on
paper made from wood fiber that was procured from forests that are sustainably managed to remain
healthy, productive and biologically diverse.
summer 2009 real food 3
fall 2019
 bites

A Celebration of Culture
Enjoy authentic tastes from across the globe with delicious recipes
from San Francisco’s own communal kitchen

W
ith a mission of cultivating local food entrepreneurs, La Cocina’s flavors are something special. A nonprofit incubator
kitchen located in the Mission District of San Francisco, La Cocina helps its members—primarily women from com-
munities of color and immigrant communities—build successful food businesses by providing affordable commercial
kitchen space, technical assistance and access to market opportunities. Why? So that anyone can make a living doing what
they love: cooking. To date, the organization has enabled hundreds of women to start their own businesses.
To celebrate its stories of success, La Cocina recently released its first cookbook, “We Are La Cocina,” penned by the orga-
nization’s executive and deputy directors and featuring dishes from more than 50 successful entrepreneurs—including those
featured here—who not only share beloved recipes handed down from generations before, but their inspiring narratives as well.
With culinary creations hailing from Latin America, Africa, South Asia, East Asia, the Middle East and Europe, there’s something
for everyone’s tastes in this diverse book. —Anna Bjorlin

Jerk Chicken
MAKES 8 TO 10 SERVINGS, RECIPE BY SHANI JONES, PEACHES PATTIES

Going to Jamaica for the first time, I felt like I belonged. … People would
tell me I was weird, or quiet. I’m just easygoing. And that’s how it felt in
Jamaica. I was able to relate. People were just outside making jerk chicken.
… I feel like, even though I was raised in San Francisco, we had more of
a Caribbean upbringing, from my mom and my grandmother.

3 Scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, stemmed

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 medium green onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1⁄2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 sprigs fresh thyme, picked leaves and tender stems
juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons white vinegar
1⁄2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
8 whole chicken legs
rice, beans and plantains, for serving

1. In a food processor, pulse the chile, onions, green onions, garlic, black pepper, salt, allspice, nutmeg and thyme into a coarse
paste. Transfer the chile mixture to a bowl and combine with the lime juice, vinegar, soy sauce and oil. (The mixture will be very
spicy; be careful while handling, and work in a well-ventilated area.)
2. Place the chicken legs in a large glass dish and pour the jerk marinade on top, turning to completely coat the chicken. Cover and
refrigerate for at least 2 hours to overnight.
3. Preheat the oven to 400°F and lightly grease a rimmed baking sheet. Put the marinated chicken on the pan and pour any remain-
ing marinade over the top. Bake until the chicken is cooked through (a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh
reads 160°F) and lightly charred in spots, 40 to 45 minutes.
4. Serve with rice and beans and fried sweet plantains.

4 real food summer 2019

Pastelitos Tres Leches
(Three-Milk Cupcakes)
MAKES 12 CUPCAKES, RECIPE BY ELVIA BUENDIA,
LA LUNA CUPCAKES

I worked to incorporate some of the flavors avail-

able in the Bay Area with the techniques my mom
used, like adding freshly squeezed orange or carrot
juices and sometimes using thick cream instead of
butter. ... At first, [baking] was just a hobby, but now
I know I just needed more confidence. ... When I
started in the incubator program, I remember being
so impressed with the way the other women were
taking control of their lives and working so hard to
see their dreams come true. It makes me so proud
to know them.

For the Cupcakes

1 cup all-purpose flour
3⁄4 teaspoon baking powder
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
1⁄2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup buttermilk cup
1/4 cup neutral oil

For the Filling

1⁄2 cup evaporated milk
1⁄2 cup sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup heavy cream

For the Whipped Cream Frosting

1 cup heavy cream

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.
2. To make the cupcakes: In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and whisk
to incorporate.
3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium
speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the eggs and vanilla and paddle on low until just incorporated. Whisk together the buttermilk and oil.
Add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, and pour in a third of the buttermilk mixture. Alternate
adding the dry and wet ingredients, ending with the wet.
5. Evenly portion the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Fill each cup about three-quarters full. Bake for
18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean.
6. Meanwhile, make the filling: Whisk the milks and cream together to incorporate. Refrigerate until ready to use. RECIPES AND PHOTOS
FROM “WE ARE LA
7. To make the frosting: Clean out the bowl of the stand mixer and fit it with the whisk. Beat the cream on COCINA” BY CALEB
high speed until firm peaks form. ZIGAS AND LETICIA
LANDA. ©2019
8. To assemble the cupcakes, use a clean meat injector to inject the center of each cupcake with the tres REPRINTED WITH
leches filling, or use a skewer to create small holes in the center of each cupcake and slowly pour in the fill- PERMISSION OF
CHRONICLE BOOKS.
ing, waiting as it absorbs. Use 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 ounce for each cupcake. Top each cupcake with a dollop of whipped RECIPE IMAGES BY
cream. The cupcakes can be stored covered in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days.  ERIC WOLFINGER.

summer 2019 real food 5

kitchen skills

Salad Days
Make your own fresh, creamy salad dressing to liven up summer

BY JASON ROSS

S
ummer is the time to improve your salad game. It is the time to keep indoor cooking to a
minimum and highlight young tender vegetables, foods off the grill and all the bounty of the
season. You need some solid salad dressing recipes in your repertoire—creamy and tangy,
flavorful and yummy, and not too hard to whip together for lunch or dinner.
Here are two base recipes, one with bacon and the other with tahini, that both have big flavor.
Each can be paired with a variety of foods, and each works on a different technique: emulsifying
and using starches as thickeners. Once mastered, these dressings are easy to modify, and I include
suggestions for other variations such as bacon grilled scallion dressing and tahini ranch dressing.
Use these dressings for sturdier salads such as spinach or kale, or shredded cabbage and
carrot, or as a sauce for grilled poultry and seafood. They would also be good with grilled
vegetables such as asparagus or eggplant, or even as a stand-in for a creative Caesar salad.

Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing

MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP, 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Tahini is made from just one ingredient, sesame seeds, ground into a paste. So luscious
and smooth, it has rich texture and deep flavor, all from a pale golden seed. Use the depth
and intensity of tahini for a rich dressing with surprisingly smooth texture.

1 garlic clove, finely minced ¼ cup water

½ teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/3 cup sesame tahini paste 2 tablespoons olive oil

1. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the garlic and salt.

Whisk in the tahini.
2. Combine water and lemon juice and slowly add to the tahini mixture.
Depending on the thickness of the tahini, more water may be needed to get
a creamy dressing-like consistency. (Tahini is a starchy puree and, like most
starches, will oddly thicken or clump when mixed with water. Gradually the sauce
will loosen as the amount of liquid increases and incorporates into the tahini.)
3. Next whisk in olive oil.
4. Store in a lidded container or jar, refrigerated, for up to 7 days.

VARIATIONS:
Tahini Ranch Dressing: Add ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon onion
powder, ½ teaspoon paprika, ½ teaspoon honey and a dash of Tabasco sauce.
Ginger Yogurt Tahini: Substitute 2 tablespoons olive oil with ¼ cup plain
yogurt, and add 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Use tahini dressings with Cucumber Mint Chopped

Salad with Shrimp. For each serving, use 1 cup chopped romaine lettuce, ¼ cup diced
cucumber, ¼ cup diced tomato, 2 tablespoons diced red pepper, 2 tablespoons diced
red onion, 2 tablespoons crumbled feta, 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint, 1/8 teaspoon
salt, grind of black pepper and 2 tablespoons Creamy Lemon Tahini Dressing.

6 real food summer 2019

 Creamy Bacon Vinaigrette
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP, 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

In this recipe, the starch in the mustard and shallots help to form the emulsion, and
the bacon drippings give the dressing a smooth texture. Adding oil to the bacon
drippings will help keep the dripping liquid at room temperature so it doesn’t
become solid and greasy. It also mellows the flavor, which can get a little rich and
overpowering.

1 medium shallot, minced pinch black pepper

½ teaspoon salt 6 slices bacon cut into ½ inch
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or smaller pieces
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon water 2 tablespoons sour cream
1 tablespoon finely sliced chives

1. Toss minced shallot with salt in a small mixing bowl. Wait a few minutes for
the shallot to moisten and soften in the salt. This will help cut the heat and
bite of the raw shallot and draw out moisture.
2. Whisk red wine vinegar, Dijon mustard, water, chives and black pepper into
the bowl of shallot. Set aside.
3. Put the cut bacon in a medium sized sauté pan on medium low heat. Cook
the bacon, stirring often with a wood spoon, until fully crisped, about 8 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat. Strain bacon drippings into a medium sized mixing bowl
and add oil to the strained fat. Remove cooked bacon and store in a small
container at room temperature for up to 7 days. These tasty morsels are great
with almost anything, but especially salads.
5. Slowly drizzle the bacon drippings and oil mixture into the shallot and
vinegar mixture, whisking constantly and vigorously until all the oil has been
added. Whisk in sour cream to finish dressing.
6. Store in a lidded container or jar, refrigerated, for up to 7 days. Shake or
whisk before serving, and serve at room temperature.

VARIATIONS:
Bacon Blue Cheese Dressing: Substitute 1/3 cup sour cream for 1/3 cup neutral
oil, and add 3 to 4 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles.
Bacon Grilled Scallion Dressing: Substitute 1 tablespoon chives for ½ bunch
scallions brushed with oil, grilled and chopped.

SERVING SUGGESTION: Try bacon dressings with a Spinach and Grilled

Chicken Salad to make it a meal. For each serving use 11/2 cups baby spinach,
1 tablespoon crispy bacon pieces (from dressing), 1 grilled chicken breast,
1 sliced mushroom, 2 tablespoons blue cheese crumbles, ¼ cup grated
carrot, 1/8 teaspoon salt, grind of black pepper and 2 tablespoons Creamy
Bacon Vinaigrette. 
NUTRITION

CREAMY LEMON TAHINI DRESSING: CREAMY BACON VINAIGRETTE:

PHOTOGRAPHY TERRY BRENNAN PER SERVING: CALORIES 90 (74 from fat); FAT PER SERVING: CALORIES 149 (144 from fat); FAT
FOOD STYLING LARA MIKLASEVICS 9g (sat. 1g); CHOL 0mg; SODIUM 159mg; CARB 16g (sat. 4g); CHOL 8mg; SODIUM 204mg; CARB
3g; FIBER 1g; PROTEIN 2g 1g; FIBER 0g; PROTEIN 0g

summer 2019 real food 7

contributors
Robin Asbell spreads the
word about how truly delicious and
beautiful whole, real foods can be
through her work as an author,
cooking teacher and private chef.
She likes to create delicious dishes
that range from meat and seafood to
beans and grains using global flavors.
Her latest book is “Plant-Based
Meats.” She is also the author of
“300 Best Blender Recipes Using Your
Vitamix,” “Great Bowls of Food: Grain
Bowls, Buddha Bowls, Broth Bowls
and More”; “Juice It!”; “Big Vegan: Over
350 Recipes, No Meat, No Dairy, All
Delicious”; “The New Vegetarian”; and
“Gluten-Free Pasta.”
Abra Berens is the chef at
Granor Farm in Three Oaks, Michigan.
She trained at Ballymaloe in County
Cork, Ireland, and Zingerman’s
Delicatessen in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
She strives to connect people with
their food both through dinners and
progressive food policy, helping to
further a food system that protects
our environment through agriculture,
helps farmers earn a living wage, and
waste as little food as possible. She
lives in Galien, Michigan, with her
husband, Erik, and their two dogs.
8 real food summer 2019
Lara Miklasevics began her
food career on the other side of the
camera, cooking at the renowned
New French Café in Minneapolis.
Today her work as a stylist is in
demand at corporations including
Heinz, Target and General Mills, as
well as with many magazines. She
prides herself on using her experience
as a chef to make food as appealing
on the page as it is on the plate.
Terry Brennan is a
photographer based in Minneapolis,
Minnesota. Clients include Target,
General Mills, Land O’Lakes and
Hormel. “Working with Real Food
is a highlight for me—I look forward
to every issue. I love working with
the creative team and, of course,
sampling the wonderful recipes.”
Jason Ross is a chef consultant
for restaurants and hotels, developing
menus and concepts for multiple high
profile properties. He trained and grew
up in New York City but now calls
St. Paul, Minnesota, home. Currently,
he teaches the next generation of chefs
at Saint Paul College Culinary School.
Tara Q. Thomas intended to
be a chef when she trained at the
Culinary Institute of America in New
York but got sidetracked by wine.
She has been writing about it
for nearly 20 years now, most
prominently at Wine & Spirits
Magazine, where she is executive
editor. Author of “The Complete
Idiot’s Guide to Wine Basics” and a
contributor to “The Oxford Companion
to Cheese” and the forthcoming
“The Oxford Companion to Spirits
and Cocktails,” she also sits on the
advisory panel for the International
Culinary Center’s Sommelier Training
Program. She lives in Brooklyn, New
York, juggling a laptop and two small
children. She still cooks nearly nightly,
albeit for a smaller crowd.
Pat Crocker is a professional
home economist and culinary herbalist
with a passion for healthy food. Her
knowledge and love of herbs has
been honed over more than four
decades of growing, studying,
photographing, experimenting with
and writing about what she calls
“the helping plants.” In fact, Crocker
marries the medicinal benefits
of herbs in every original recipe
she develops. Crocker has written
22 herb/healthy cookbooks, including
“The Healing Herbs Cookbook,” “The
Juicing Bible” and most recently,
“The Herbalist’s Kitchen.”
 Lunds & Byerlys
welcome

Bloomington: 952-896-0092
Burnsville: 952-892-5600
Chanhassen: 952-474-1298

Precious Time
Eagan: 651-686-9669
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Edina
50th Street: 952-926-6833
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Golden Valley: 763-544-8846
Maple Grove: 763-416-1611
Minneapolis
Downtown: 612-379-5040
Northeast: 612-548-3820
Uptown: 612-825-2440
Minnetonka
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St. Paul
Downtown: 651-999-1600
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Woodbury: 651-999-1200
SHOP ONLINE
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W
hile I’ve always enjoyed our state’s
four great seasons, I must admit
that with extremely cold temps
and snow that reached up to our mailboxes
I was really looking forward to warm and
sunny summer days.
And, now, with Old Man Winter in our
rearview mirror—at least for another six
months—it’s amazing how quickly our cal-
endars fill up during these summer months.
Between grad parties, weddings, trips to
the cabin, our kids’ activities, backyard
barbecues with family and friends and more,
there’s so much fun to be had and seemingly
so little time to fit it all in.
One of the many ways we here at Lunds
& Byerlys can provide a helping hand is with
online grocery shopping.
We have more than 40,000 products to
choose from at Shop.LundsandByerlys.com.
When you place an order, it’s fulfilled with
your exact specifications by our Personal
Shoppers who walk the aisles just as if you
were doing the shopping yourself. My fam-
ily has used our online shopping service
extensively over the years, and we find it to
be an amazing time saver.
As I’ve shared previously, we are always
enhancing and refining our online shopping
service to provide you with a truly sensa-
tional shopping experience. And we’ve also
recently made it even more convenient to
shop with us online.
While we have always offered delivery
throughout the Twin Cities, we now have
curbside pick-up available at every one of
our stores. That means there are 27 loca-
tions throughout the Twin Cities where you
can pick up your online order without ever
having to even leave your car!
So, whether you’re heading to the cabin,
home from a long day at work, or have just a
little time between your kids’ activities, you
can have us do the shopping for you so you
can quickly pick up all of your groceries at
a time that works for your busy schedule.
We hope you enjoy all that our great
Minnesota summers have to offer. And we
thank you for giving us the opportunity to
serve you!
Sincerely,
Tres Lund
President and CEO

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FOOD QUESTIONS?
Call our FoodE Experts: 952-548-1400

REAL FOOD COMMENTS

Aaron Sorenson: 952-927-3663

LUNDSandBYERLYS.com real food 9

Lunds & Byerlys
services

Save Time. Shop Online.

Enjoy the same great products you love—and extra convenience

D ay-to-day life can be hectic, and often just picking up a gallon of milk or ingredients
for dinner means an extra stop in an already packed schedule. That’s where we come
in! Lunds & Byerlys Online Shopping will fill up your fridge in no time.
For over 10 years, Lunds & Byerlys Online Shopping has been a convenient, hassle-free way
to get the same great products you know and love delivered to your door or ready for you to
pick up at our stores. In 2016 we debuted a new online shopping platform that we have con-
tinued to expand as more and more of us look for time-saving ways to get groceries quickly.
Our fully integrated online shopping experience allows you to create your online order on
our desktop site and finish it on your mobile phone or app. This provides a consistent and
convenient way for you to order groceries from wherever you are.
The online shopping site also features personalization across the entire shopping experience.
This means at every step of the shopping journey—from the homepage to product collec-
tions and recommendations—the platform will display the most relevant items based on your
purchase history and ongoing transactions.
Plus, our L&B Extras program allows you to track past purchases you have made both in
our stores and online so you can quickly and easily reorder specific items or an entire shop-
ping list. And you’re able to save even more when you shop online by using digital coupons
and L&B Extras offers. All it takes is a quick click to “clip” coupons to your account so you
can redeem them at checkout.
Once you place an order, your work is done. Personal shoppers in our stores hand-select
your order to ensure you receive the freshest items available. Then our delivery drivers bring
your groceries directly to the front door of your Twin Cities area home or business. Or, if it’s
more convenient, you can opt for curbside pickup at all 27 Lunds & Byerlys stores. Orders
can be picked up or delivered on the same day they’re placed as time slots are available, which
makes it even more convenient to get what you need, when you need it.
And now you can subscribe and save! Take advantage of our online shopping subscriptions,
which allow you to pay one price for unlimited pickup. For a 30-day subscription you pay just
$9.99 and a 90-day subscription is $24.99.
Visit Shop.LundsandByerlys.com
We strive to provide a unique shopping experience for every single customer, and we’re
to try our online shopping site today.
confident our online shopping platform will provide that experience to you. 

10 real food summer 2019

PECULIAR PRODUCE
Heirloom Tomatoes
Heirloom tomatoes come
in a rainbow of colors
Organic Rainbow Carrots and sizes and are known
These brightly colored for their deep flavor and
beauties offer distinct intense vitamin content.
flavors and are packed Available year-round.
with vitamin A and beta
carotene. Available
year-round.

Shishito Peppers
The bright green,
finger-sized peppers
have delicate skin that
lends itself to charring.
They have a lively, sweet
Gold Nugget Mandarins flavor with a hint of
These citrus gems are smokiness. Available
seedless and easy to year-round.
peel. Their well-balanced
flavor is sweet, yet
slightly tart. Available
March-June.

Champagne Mangoes
Champagne mangoes
have a glowing golden
Golden Berries skin. The kidney-shaped
The bright orange mangoes are delicate
berries have a sweet, and tender with an
tropical taste reminiscent intensely sweet
of a pineapple or mango. White Asparagus flavor. Available
Available year-round. White asparagus is February-August.
grown underground
so chlorophyll isn’t
produced, which ensures
the elegant white color
and delicate, slightly
sweet flavor. Available
March-June.
Lunds & Byerlys
wine and spirits

BOOZY
ICE POPS
Celebrate summer with
the ultimate cocktail hour
cool down! Try some of our
favorite adults-only treats
at your next get-together.

Wine on a Stick
MAKES 1 POP

A refreshing ice pop made out of your favorite summer wine

or cocktail. Delicious made with your favorite sangria recipe, too!

½ ounce Powell & Mahoney Peach Bellini Cocktail Mixer

2 ounces Prosecco

1. Fill an ice pop mold 1/3 of the way with Bellini mixer.
2. Pour Prosecco to top the rest of the mold and freeze overnight.

Boozy Orange Creamsicle Pops

MAKES 12 POPS

A favorite childhood treat updated with an adults-only twist!

12 ounces vodka
24 ounces pulp-free orange juice
6 ounces full fat coconut milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1. Blend all ingredients together.

2. Pour into ice pop molds and place in freezer overnight
or until completely frozen.

12 real food summer 2019

 Lunds & Byerlys
wine and spirits

Rosé Pops
MAKES 1 POP

A delicious way to enjoy rosé on the

hottest days of summer.

1 ounce rosé
¾ ounce juice or mixer (we used
orange and cranberry juice)
fresh fruit, chopped or sliced
(we used sliced peaches
and berries)

1. To each ice pop mold, add 1 ounce

rosé, ¾ ounce juice or mixer and fruit
of your choice.
2. Add ice pop tops and sticks; freeze
overnight.

Gin & Tonic Ice Pops

MAKES 1 POP

This recipe makes the quintessential

summer refresher even cooler.

2 limes
1 ounce gin
2 ounces tonic water
½ ounce fresh lime juice

1. Place two lime slices in each

ice pop mold.
2. For each ice pop, mix together
gin, tonic and lime juice. Pour
into ice pop mold and place in
the freezer overnight or until
completely frozen.

LUNDSandBYERLYS.com real food 13

Lunds & Byerlys
what’s in store

JAVA HOUSE COLD BREW

LIQUID PODS AND BOTTLES
Java House Cold Brew liquid pods and ready-to-drink bottles make
authentic cold brew accessible anytime, anywhere. The dual-use liquid
pods can be enjoyed hot or cold and result in a smooth, rich taste.
And the cold brew bottles come in pure black, lightly sweet and frappé,
which means there is a perfect pick-me-up for everyone’s taste.
Did you know? Java House Cold Brew is made with 100 percent
Arabica coffee beans. This variety of bean grows at a higher altitude
and has a less bitter and smoother flavor than its counterpart,
Robusta bean.

VOSGES HAUT-CHOCOLAT
CHOCOLATE BARS
Vosges Haut-Chocolat’s intriguing chocolate creations are the brainchild
of founder and chocolatier Katrina Markoff. Katrina and team fuse spices,
nuts, roots, herbs and liqueurs from around the world with premium
chocolate. Exotic chocolate bars include a pink Himalayan crystal salt
caramel bar, dulce de leche chocolate bar and turmeric ginger chocolate
bar. The caramel marshmallows include black salt coconut nib, blood
orange hibiscus, Alderwood smoked salt and roasted walnut pecan.
Tip: Pair your chocolate with a beverage! The roasted walnut pecan
caramel marshmallows pair well with a rich imperial or chocolate stout
while the black salt coconut nib caramel marshmallows go perfectly
with a Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktail.

Q DRINKS LIGHT
The bold, crisp taste of Q Drinks’ spectacular nonalcoholic mixers is
now available in “light” varieties. Real ingredients are carefully crafted
to create beverages that are ultra-carbonated and less sweet, which
allows the subtleties of great spirits to shine through. Light flavors
include tonic water and ginger beer.
Did you know? Q Drinks started with a question: Shouldn’t my
tonic be as good as my gin? And with that, founder Jordan Silbert spent
four years perfecting a spectacular tonic water. Each flavor is created
the same way—with careful attention to detail and lots of testing.

14 real food summer 2019

 Lunds & Byerlys
what’s in store

L&B FRUIT CURDS

Our new L&B fruit curds are bright and citrusy, which makes them
the perfect warm weather indulgence. Made with fresh citrus juice
and real cane sugar, these sweet-tart curds are perfect paired with L&B MEAL
your favorite bakery treats such as angel food cake, pound cake and
shortbread cookies. Flavors include key lime and lemon.
CREATIONS
Tip: Elevate your breakfast by swirling our L&B fruit curds into your
MEAL KITS
yogurt, slathering on pancakes or drizzling over fresh berries. Take the guesswork out of dinner
with our L&B Meal Creations meal kits.
L&B Meal Creations offers restaurant-
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has been delighting customers at its there’s no hard-to-cancel subscription!
East Coast restaurants with its New
England-inspired menu. Now you’re
able to enjoy the signature sauces
at home. The versatile products
include spicy cocktail sauce, house tartar sauce, chipotle tartar sauce,
house vinaigrette and lemon dill marinade and dressing.
Tip: Dress up a homemade po’boy with the smoky chipotle tartar
sauce and try the house vinaigrette on a simple green salad or as
a tangy marinade for shrimp or swordfish.

LUNDSandBYERLYS.com real food 15

 Turn Up the Heat

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 ingredient

A Taste of Tahini
Find the versatile ingredient in everything from salads to desserts

BY LIANNA MATT MCLERNON

A
common way to explain tahini is that it is like the peanut butter of
sesame seeds, and cooks and bakers are clearly taking that to heart.
Now instead of only finding the sesame seed paste in Middle Eastern
and Mediterranean cooking—it’s a mainstay in hummus—it can be added to
salad dressing, smoothies, and swirled in desserts like brownies and more.
Tahini can be made with just sesame seeds, but oftentimes some
oil is added for a desirable consistency. The simplest tahinis are not as Chocolate Mousse
sweet as other nut butters, and while all are creamy, the taste varies a bit MAKES 3 CUPS, RECIPE BY PETA
depending on how it is made. Un-hulled, whole sesame seeds have more
nutritional impact than hulled sesame seeds, and they give off a nuttier 2 (12.3-ounce) boxes extra-firm silken tofu
flavor. Tahini made from black sesame seeds has more of a roasted flavor, ½ cup unsweetened soy milk
whereas tahini made from white, hulled sesame seeds has a milder taste. ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
The sesame seeds technically don’t have to be toasted to make ½ cup maple syrup
tahini, but while raw seeds are more nutritious, they can taste bitter. Some 2 teaspoons vanilla essence
2 tablespoons cashew butter
tahini recipes spice up the flavor with seasonings like lemon juice or garlic,
1 tablespoon tahini
and some options go the sweet route with the addition of chocolate.
pinch of sea salt
Tahini is popular in vegetarian and vegan dishes because it has 5 grams
of protein, 3 grams of fiber and 16 grams of healthy fat per 2 tablespoons, 1. Blend all of the ingredients in a food
making for a very filling component to any dish. In that same serving, processor until smooth and creamy.
TAHINI CHANDLERVID85 - ADOBE STOCK MOUSSE ©MIZINA - ADOBE STOCK

you’ll get 12 percent of your recommended daily value of calcium, It can be stored in the refrigerator for
14 percent of your iron and 6 percent of your magnesium, which helps up to 1 week.
bone and muscle health, oxygen transportation, and heart health
and blood pressure, among other things. These and other nutrients
in tahini also contribute to anti-inflammation and antioxidation
to help your overall health.
With how versatile it is, you can find all sorts of places to slip
a little tahini—and therefore a little extra nutrition—into your
diet. Just remember to stir and then refrigerate it to store
once you’ve opened a container; otherwise, it will go bad
more quickly. You can find tahini in a few places, depending
on where you get it, such as in the peanut butter aisle, near
other nut or seed butters, or an ethnic food aisle.
For a quick and easy way to start loving tahini (especially
if you’re vegan), try slipping it into this chocolate
mousse or flip to page 6 to find it in
a creamy salad dressing. 

summer 2019 real food 17

 healthy
habits

Meatless Meals
Dialing back on meat doesn’t have to mean
a drastic dietary change you might dread

BY ERIK TORMOEN

H
ow much red meat is OK to eat? One hamburger a week,
according to 37 scientists in a report released early this
year with advocacy group EAT Forum. It’s not a new idea:
Studies have shown that eating more plants and less meat
can reduce risks of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
inflammation, premature death and lifestyle-related cancers.

Think about red and processed meats, says Kristen Frie, a
registered dietitian nutritionist with the Mayo Clinic Healthy
Living Program in Rochester, Minnesota. Beef and pork are
loaded with saturated fat. Cutting down on saturated fat
can lessen your chances of developing cardiovascular and
inflammatory diseases and, because it packs a ton of calories,
can help with weight management, too.
Meanwhile, plant-based foods boast antioxidants that aid
in cancer prevention. That’s part of why vegetables, nuts,
beans and whole grains play such an active role in highly rated
healthy-eating guides like the Mediterranean diet, the DASH
diet and the Mayo Clinic Diet.
“I would recommend not to think of it as an all-or-nothing,
black-and-white commitment,” Frie says. “It doesn’t have to
be ‘I eat meat all the time’ or ‘I don’t eat meat at all.’” For self-
proclaimed carnivores, there are simple guidelines for noshing
on more plants, plus tricks for dressing up mock meats.
1. KEEP WHAT YOU LIKE.
You may already have meatless eating habits. Consider
what those are, and draw them out. “Maybe you already eat
spaghetti with marinara sauce, and you never even thought
of that as a meatless option, but you like it,” Frie says. “Maybe
you have that more frequently than you otherwise would.”
in some cases, satisfy hunger the same way meats do. (If you
still want an animal protein, better options than red meat
include chicken and turkey breast and any type of fish, Frie
says—bearing in mind how they’re prepared.)
3. BE OPEN TO DIFFERENT FLAVORS.
Of course, taste is another barrier. Chef Robin Asbell has
written 10 cookbooks geared toward vegetarians, vegans and
the health-conscious. Her latest, “Plant-Based Meats: Hearty,
High-Protein Recipes for Vegans, Flexitarians and Curious
Carnivores,” looks specifically at ways to prepare mock meats.
Asbell knows the common response when anyone bites
into a “real” burger alongside a mock burger: “I can taste
the difference.”
“Well, that’s obvious,” she says. A patty made of beets,
walnuts and potato (see the recipe for Beefy Beet Burgers on
the opposite page) will probably never taste exactly like beef.
“It’s very lighthearted when I’m out with the vegans and
people are making a mock chicken wing, as is in my book,”
she says. “Plant-Based Meats” features wings—buffalo, crispy,
pomegranate-glazed—made of tofu or cauliflower. “It’s a fun
way to eat something that’s familiar and tasty, but I don’t think
anyone is really thinking that that’s a chicken wing.” Rather,
it’s a way her “curious carnivores” can warm up to meat
substitutes. And, Asbell says, the faux-meat industry is
PROTEINS COLNIHKO - ADOBE STOCK

2. EMBRACE NEW PROTEINS.

A common sticking point when limiting meat is the loss of an
easy, concentrated protein. But protein comes in many forms—
like beans, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, quinoa, tofu and eggs.
“Could you use more beans and legumes [to substitute for] half
of the ground beef you use in chili?” Frie poses. “Or could you
use tofu to replace the meat you were going to use in a stir-
fry?” These proteins, along with their higher fiber content
booming. “They’re making leaps and bounds in making things
tastier and more interesting,” she says, noting in her book,
“If you shop carefully, there are some clean meatless meats
at the store, and the options grow every day.”
4. FOCUS ON UMAMI, NOT MEAT.
Asbell covers the keys to a good faux: For the Beefy Beet Burger,
walnuts and potatoes imitate the chew of ground beef, and the

18 real food summer 2019

beets even “bleed.” “And then there’s some smoked
Beefy Beet
salt in there and a little tamari [a type of soy sauce],
to give it some smoke and umami,” she says.
Burgers
MAKES 5 BURGERS
Don’t overlook umami. One of five basic tastes,
this savory profile comes out especially in cooked The beet helps us get as
meats. But you can find the same “meaty” chemi- close as we can get to the
cals in mushrooms, ripe tomatoes and fermented bloody beef you crave,
and with a mix of pota-
ingredients such as miso paste and soy sauce.
toes and seasonings, it
Asbell uses nutritional yeast to tap into umami,
can deliver a tasty burger.
too, and cooks with smoke—because “it just Don’t overmix; you want
reminds people of meat.” to have some granularity
5. REPLACE THE REPLACEABLE. left in the potato pulp
Meals are usually more complicated than just the and beet shreds to give
meat on the plate. With something like a burger or
it a burger-y feel.
lasagna, plenty of other flavors vie for attention,
canola oil for greasing ¼ teaspoon agar powder
from sauces and condiments to veggies and noo-
1 large (10-ounce) baking potato 1 teaspoon smoked salt
dles. “Make a curry, or make a chili,” Asbell says. ½ pound raw beets 1 tablespoon refined coconut
“There are all kinds of really tasty recipes where 1 ½ cups raw walnuts oil, melted
[the lack of meat] is hardly even noticeable.” ¼ cup vital wheat gluten 1 tablespoon tamari soy sauce
6. REMEMBER THE ANCILLARY BENEFITS. 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast ½ teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
“A lot of times, we get the complaint that eating
1. Set up a steamer over a pot of water and bring to a simmer. Preheat the
healthy costs too much,” Frie says. The animal
oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, lightly grease it
protein is often the most expensive thing on your with the canola oil, and set aside.
plate. You can buy fruits and vegetables seasonally 2. Place the potato in the steamer and steam for 10 minutes, until tender
and in bulk, along with whole grains and beans. when pierced with a paring knife. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
Working with vegetables and other substitutes can 3. Place a pot of water over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Add
cut down on cooking time, too. the beets and boil for 10 minutes, until tender when pierced with a paring
knife. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.
7. KNOW THAT MEATLESS DOES NOT
4. Peel off and discard the beet skin. Put the shredding blade in the food
NECESSARILY MEAN HEALTHY.
processor and put the lid on, then drop the potato and beets through the
Dietary guidelines of variety and portion control still feed tube to shred them. Scrape the shreds into a large bowl.
hold. “Even with something like nuts or nut butters, 5. Place the walnuts in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the “S” blade
that are very healthy items, in too large of quanti- and pulse until they are minced to the size of cooked ground beef crumbles.
ties, too much of a good thing isn’t always a good Scrape them into the bowl containing the potato and beet mixture.
thing,” Frie says. While building a balanced plate, 6. In a cup, whisk together the vital wheat gluten, nutritional yeast, agar
vegans and vegetarians might consciously incor- and smoked salt. Sprinkle the mixture over the bowl containing the
porate foods rich in iron (like spinach, lentils and potato mixture.
brown rice) and vitamin B12 (like eggs, yogurt and 7. In a second cup, stir together the coconut oil, tamari and Kitchen Bouquet
and pour it over the potato mixture. Using your hands, toss the mixture
fortified cereals) typically found in animal proteins.
together, trying not to mash the potatoes too much.
8. DROP PRECONCEPTIONS. 8. Using a ½-cup measure, form the dough into five patties. Place the
“It’s very hard to get over this idea people have patties on the pan and flatten them to a ¾-inch thickness. Spritz or brush
that you structure your meals around meat,” Asbell them with more of the canola oil. Bake for 30 minutes, turning the burgers
says. “But if you’ve ever had a peanut butter and once halfway through the cooking time, or until they look toasted and are
jelly sandwich, you’re eating a vegan meal. There firm to the touch. Remove from the oven. Serve hot.
are all kinds of food you probably like already.” 
PHOTO AND RECIPE FROM “PLANT-BASED MEATS” BY ROBIN ASBELL
Always consult your doctor if you have health concerns or before COURTESY OF THE COUNTRYMAN PRESS, A DIVISION OF W.W. NORTON.
making any major dietary changes. PHOTO BY DAVID PAUL SCHMIT

summer 2019 real food 19

 PHOTOGRAPHY
TERRY BRENNAN
FOOD STYLING
LARA MIKLASEVICS

20 real food summer 2019

Take the Party
Outdoors
An easy menu of sunny flavors with hints of spice
makes for a summer party hosts and guests alike can enjoy

BY ROBIN ASBELL

summer 2019 real food 21

 D ining on the deck or patio is one of the great joys in life. There is just something about fresh air and sunshine
that seems to make the food taste better. And some of the best gatherings are those when you can prep the
food ahead of time and serve it with a minimum amount of effort so you can enjoy your party, too.
This easy menu gathers flavors from warm, sunny cuisines. The lighter, leaner sauces and hints of spice are meant
to be enjoyed in the sunshine and won’t slow you down if you are on the move. All these dishes are served buffet style,
allowing your guests to fill their plates with whatever appeals to them the most. For pairing drinks, the flavors in this
menu go well with iced tea or beer. To top it off, a crowd-pleasing sheet cake makes the most of the season’s fresh
berries while offering up the sweet ending we all crave after a great meal.

Watermelon Salad Hawaiian Chicken in Lettuce Leaves

with Mint MAKES 6 SERVINGS

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
This refreshing salad is so juicy and zingy it’s
sure to disappear quickly. Sweet watermelon
plays well with tomatoes and cucumbers, and a
hit of peppery mint accents the flavors. A simple
lemon and olive oil dressing is all you need to
bring it all together.
4 cups cubed watermelon
2 medium tomatoes, cubed
1 medium cucumber, seeded
and chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, slivered
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
If your family loves tacos, they will love this tangy sweet Hawaiian chicken in
a lettuce leaf wrap. This is perfect for parties, it comes together in a snap, and
you can let your guests spoon the tasty filling into individual leaves and add hot
sauce to taste. The dish is fresh and light—perfect for a hot day.
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon canola or avocado oil
1 pound ground chicken
1 large jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple
1/2 cup roasted cashews
2 heads butter lettuce, separated into leaves
Sriracha Sauce, for serving (optional)

1. In a large bowl, place the watermelon, toma-
toes, cucumber, scallions and mint.
2. In a cup, stir the lemon juice, olive oil and
salt. Drizzle over the watermelon mixture and
toss to coat. Serve immediately.
1. Chop the ginger and garlic and reserve.
2. In a cup, combine the soy sauce, honey and lime juice and reserve.
3. In a large skillet, heat the canola or avocado oil over medium-high heat. Add
the ginger and garlic and sizzle for a few seconds, stirring. Add the chicken and
stir, chopping the meat as it cooks. Reduce to medium and stir and turn until
the chicken is mostly cooked; it will look white and browned in spots. Add the
soy sauce mixture and stir. It will sizzle and be absorbed quickly. Stir in the
jalapeño and pineapple and cook just until the pineapple is slightly softened,
about 1 minute. Scrape the mixture into a bowl.
4. Sprinkle the cashews over the chicken and serve with lettuce leaves. Portion
about ¼ to 1/2 cup into each leaf, depending on the size of the leaf. Drizzle with
Sriracha, if desired, and eat immediately.

22 real food summer 2019

 WATERMELON SALAD WITH
MINT AND HAWAIIAN CHICKEN
IN LETTUCE LEAVES
 Asian Rotini and Scallop Salad
MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

Asian noodle salads are always popular, and making one with curly rotini only adds
appeal. In this veggie-packed dish, carrots, peppers, cucumbers and radishes provide
a rainbow of color and crunch. It’s elevated to elegant main course status by placing
seared sea scallops on top. If you prefer, you can substitute shrimp.

For the Dressing 1/2 pound rainbow rotini

2 tablespoons sesame oil
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup tamari soy sauce
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger,
chopped
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup shredded carrot
1 red bell pepper, slivered
1/2 large cucumber
4 large red radishes, sliced
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 pound sea scallops, thawed if frozen
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
2 tablespoons canola or avocado oil

1. Put on a pot of water to cook the rotini.

2. For the dressing, in a cup, combine the sesame oil, rice vinegar, honey, tamari soy
sauce, garlic, ginger and red pepper flakes and whisk to combine. Reserve.
3. Cook the rotini according to package directions, about 9 minutes. Drain and rinse
with cold water. Place in a large bowl and add the carrot, bell pepper, cucumber,
radishes and basil and toss to mix, drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Refrigerate
until serving.
4. For the scallops, drain any liquid from the scallops and pat dry. Remove the con-
nective piece from the edge of each scallop, if present. Sprinkle the scallop tops
with half of the paprika and salt.
5. Place a large sauté pan over medium-high heat and let it heat for a minute. Drizzle
in the oil and tilt the pan to coat the bottom. Place the scallops in the pan and sear
2 to 3 minutes undisturbed, until the edges look browned and start to crack. Sprinkle
the tops of the scallops with remaining paprika and salt. Turn over the scallops, and
cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until firm when pressed with a fingertip. Transfer to a plate
and cover loosely with a pot lid to keep warm.
6. Serve the rotini in a wide bowl or platter, topped with seared scallops. Drizzle the
juice from the pan over the salad and serve.

EASY CHOPPED SALAD BAR

A big platter of chopped salad is a great way to let your guests pick their
favorite salad ingredients, and it looks beautiful and colorful. Simply select
a big platter and spread chopped romaine across it in an even layer.
Chop your favorite ingredients to arrange in rows across the lettuce:
Proteins: Cubed cheeses such as Veggies: Chopped red peppers,
Cheddar, Swiss or Havarti; cubed shredded carrots, cubed cucumbers,
salami, ham, chicken or crisp cubed zucchini, chopped red onion
crumbled bacon; or bleu cheese, or scallion, cherry tomatoes
walnuts or sunflower seeds
Set out a bottle of balsamic
Fruits: Chopped apple, berries, vinaigrette for each guest to drizzle
sliced peaches or mango over their salad just before serving.

24 real food summer 2019

ASIAN ROTINI AND
SCALLOP SALAD

summer 2019 real food 25

 JERKED PORK IN
THE SLOW COOKER

26 real food summer 2019

Jerked Pork in the Slow Cooker
MAKES 12 SERVINGS

Jerk is a classic seasoning from the island of Jamaica, where meats are marinated and then
slow smoked over pimento wood. For this easy version, you can keep the kitchen cool since
it is made in the slow cooker. It’s so easy to slow braise the meat overnight and finish the dish
in the morning so it’s ready to reheat in time for the party. This recipe can be as hot as you
like. If you go with the Scotch bonnet chile it will be Jamaican hot, but if you want to tone it
down, a couple of jalapeños will give it a milder kick. Serve in buns or over cooked rice for a
spicy, savory meal.

1 small Scotch bonnet or habanero chile, 1/4 pounds pork roast, unseasoned
3
or 2 jalapeños 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped yellow onion 1 small onion, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh ginger
2 large scallions, chopped 12 hamburger buns, or cooked white
1 tablespoon fresh thyme rice (cook 3 cups long grain rice
1 teaspoon salt for 10 to 12 servings)
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg, grated
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons soy sauce

1. In a blender, combine the chile, onion, ginger, scallions, thyme, salt, pepper, allspice, nutmeg,
rice vinegar and soy sauce. Place the lid on the blender and blend, increasing to high speed
to make a smooth puree. Scrape out into a slow cooker.
2. Trim the pork roast to remove excess fat, then cut 4- to 5-inch deep slashes on opposite
sides of the roast to allow the sauce to penetrate. Place the roast in the slow cooker and turn
to coat with sauce, massage the puree into the slashes and make sure it covers the meat.
Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. At 8 hours, transfer the roast to a large bowl and test by sticking a fork into the meat to
see if you can pull it into shreds. It should be tender enough to tear easily. If not, place back
in the cooker for another half hour.
4. When the pork is tender, place it into the bowl and let it sit until cool enough to handle.
Use two forks to shred the meat.
5. Pour the liquids from the cooker into a 2-quart pot and place it on the stove. Bring to a
boil over high heat, then reduce to keep a strong simmer, at about medium high. Cook for
10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the liquids are reduced by half and appear thicker.
Add the chopped pepper and onion and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and cover for
about 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
6. Pour the vegetable mixture over the cooled, shredded pork. At this point, it can be refrig-
erated, tightly covered, for up to 4 days, or frozen for 2 months. To reheat, you can use the
slow cooker for serving—just heat the meat on low for about an hour. Switch to keep warm
as soon as it is hot. You can also reheat the meat in a pan on the stove, stirring over low heat
until hot. Serve a heaping half cup or so in each bun, or over cooked white rice.
Cook’s Note: If you think the slow cooker is only for wintry stews and heavy braises, think
again. The slow cooker is just as adept at cooking for a crowd in the hot months. Instead of
turning on an oven or watching a grill for hours on end, you can make pulled pork and other
slow roasted meats without heating up the kitchen. Your slow cooker will ensure that the
meat stays moist and that it becomes meltingly tender while you ignore it completely. This
Jerk Pork is a great example, and you can do the same thing using barbecue spices and a
dash of bottle barbecue sauce.

summer 2019 real food 27

 Lemon Blueberry Sheet Cake
MAKES 12 TO 16 SERVINGS

Feed a crowd with a tender, beautiful cake that’s studded with juicy
blueberries and a hint of lemon. The cloud of cream cheese frosting
is gorgeous as is, or you can opt to arrange more berries on top.
If you’re feeling patriotic, go with red raspberries and blueberries
atop the white frosting to make a flag.

3 cups unbleached flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
11/2 sticks butter
2 cups sugar
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
4 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2 cups blueberries

For the Frosting

1 stick butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons lemon juice
berries for decoration, if desired

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9x13-inch

metal baking pan.
2. Into a medium bowl, sift the flour, salt, baking powder and
baking soda. In a stand mixer, beat the butter until fluffy, then
gradually beat in the sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scrap-
ing down as needed. Beat in lemon juice and zest.
3. On low speed, mix in about a third of the dry mixture just until
mixed, then mix in half of the buttermilk and continue alternating
until a smooth batter is formed. However, don’t overmix: Scrape
the bowl and mix just to combine. Fold in the berries and spread
in the pan.
4. Bake for about 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the
center of the pan comes out with no wet batter attached. Cool
completely on a rack.
5. For the frosting, let the butter and cream cheese soften to room
temperature. Place both in the stand mixer or a large bowl with
an electric mixer, and beat the mixture until creamy, scraping down
sides of the bowl to make sure all the cream cheese is incorporated.
Add the powdered sugar and salt and beat until smooth. Add lemon
juice and beat to mix. Spread the frosting over the cooled cake.
If desired, arrange berries on top.  LEMON BLUEBERRY
SHEET CAKE

28 real food summer 2019

 WATERMELON SALAD HAWAIIAN CHICKEN ASIAN ROTINI JERKED PORK LEMON BLUEBERRY
NUTRITION

W. MINT
PER SERVING: CALORIES 154 (99
from fat); FAT 11g (sat. 2g); CHOL
0mg; SODIUM 125mg; CARB 14g;
FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 2g
IN LETTUCE LEAVES:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 210 (101
from fat); FAT 12g (sat. 2g); CHOL
43mg; SODIUM 328mg; CARB 16g;
FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 13g
& SCALLOP SALAD:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 408 (112
from fat); FAT 13g (sat. 2g); CHOL
19mg; SODIUM 1319mg; CARB 55g;
FIBER 4g; PROTEIN 19g
IN THE SLOW COOKER:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 338 (102
from fat); FAT 11g (sat. 4g); CHOL
77mg; SODIUM 604mg; CARB 25g;
FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 32g
SHEET CAKE:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 674 (211
from fat); FAT 24g (sat. 14g); CHOL
114mg; SODIUM 423mg; CARB 112g;
FIBER 1g; PROTEIN 7g

summer 2019 real food 29

30 real food summer 2019
 Five Fresh
Summer
Herbs
Add kick to your recipes with fresh basil,
cilantro, dill, mint and rosemary

PHOTOGRAPHY TERRY BRENNAN

BY PAT CROCKER
FOOD STYLING LARA MIKLASEVICS

summer 2019 real food 31

 N othing enhances the taste and plate appeal of summer dishes like the flavor spike of tongue-tingling
fresh herbs. Not sure what herb would be best for that easy summer salad? Want something to kick up
the taste of grilled chicken? We’ve got your back with five of our favorite summer herbs.
In all but the Mediterranean Herb Paste, which is a combination of herbs from that sunny region, the recipes
that follow give you a clean herb hit so that you can truly know the unique experience of each herb. You’ll taste
how dill enhances smoked salmon and what happens to salsa when it is ratcheted up by cilantro.
So grab a bunch, try our herb-hip recipes, and start what could become a life-long passion for the humble,
nutrient-packed plants we call herbs. And since you have a bunch of herbs for the recipes, and perhaps leftover
herbs, we also share more delicious ways to add each of them to your menus.

Minted Tabbouleh with Grilled Beef MORE WITH MINT

MAKES 4 SERVINGS
— Stir 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped
Mint is refreshingly clean tasting with notes of menthol and hints of lemon. Some mints peppermint into homemade
like spearmint are sweet and mildly menthol, while others such as peppermint are sharply chocolate or lemon pudding at
menthol with hot, spicy and sweet overtones. Mint is versatile—use it in desserts, salads, the end of cooking.
with red meats, and in apple cider vinegar as a condiment for lamb.
Peppermint eases pain and acts as an antiseptic, a digestive aid, and as a stimulant. — Make a Mint Julep by crushing
Use it in teas to alleviate nausea, indigestion, gas, colic, sore throat, fever and migraine 1 spearmint sprig with 1 tablespoon
headaches. Note: Peppermint isn’t for babies and children due to the strong flavor and sugar in the bottom of a tall glass.
digestive action. Add shaved ice, 1 ounce bourbon
and water to taste.
For the Minted Tabbouleh 1 pound boneless top sirloin steak — Combine ½ cup chopped fresh mint
½ cup bulgur 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil with enough apple cider vinegar to
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, grind of coarse sea salt, to taste make a sauce to spoon over lamb
divided 4 to 6 sprigs fresh mint for garnish (remember, mint helps with diges-
1 cup boiling water tion). Add 1 teaspoon sugar if desired.
1½ cups chopped fresh parsley
— Rub 4 fresh mint sprigs between your
1 cup chopped fresh mint
palms to bruise them and release
2 tomatoes, cut into ½-inch dice
essential oils. Stuff them into a mug
½ cucumber, shredded
and pour boiling water over. Let steep
½ teaspoon sea salt
to your desired strength.
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
— Strip the leaves from a sprig of
1. For the tabbouleh, combine bulgur and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a bowl. Pour boiling spearmint and add to the blender
water over, cover, and set aside for 15 minutes. Drain using a fine-mesh sieve and for a smoothie.
transfer to a serving bowl. Add remaining oil, parsley, mint, tomatoes and cucumber — Cooked new potatoes and peas are
and mix well. Sprinkle salt and lemon juice over and stir to combine and set aside or deliciously brightened when tossed
cover and refrigerate overnight. with 2 tablespoons chopped fresh
2. Meanwhile for the beef, heat a grill pan or cast iron skillet over medium-high heat mint and a pat of butter.
until hot. Drizzle 1 tablespoon oil over steak and grind salt over. Place steak, oil side
down, in the pan. Sear for about 2 minutes or until browned. Oil and salt the top of
the steak, then flip and cook for about 2 minutes or until the underside is browned.
Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 5 minutes or until cool enough to handle.
Slice steak crosswise into ½-inch slices.
3. Spoon tabbouleh onto a large platter or individual plates and top
with grilled beef slices. Garnish with fresh mint sprigs.
Cooks Note: For a light starter, side dish or appetizer, serve tabbouleh
with toasted pita cut into wedges.

32 real food summer 2019

MINTED TABBOULEH
WITH GRILLED BEEF
 Dill Cream Sauce
with Smoked Salmon
MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Fresh dill has a clean, fragrant aroma of licorice and lemon

that holds memories of Scandinavian gravlax and open-faced
sandwiches. In fact, we’ve used it in yogurt as the perfect accom-
paniment for our smoked salmon appetizers, and you can pair it
with poached or grilled fresh salmon fillets instead of smoked fish.
Dill is antimicrobial and a good source of calcium, iron and magne-
sium. The seeds are a digestive, helping to treat heartburn, colic and gas.

For the Dill Cream Sauce 8 ounces smoked salmon, skin

½ cup Greek-style plain yogurt removed and meat flaked
3 tablespoons chopped fresh dill 4 thin slices dark rye
1 tablespoon drained capers or pumpernickel bread
1 green onion, finely chopped 16 fresh dill tips for garnish

1. For the dill cream sauce, combine yogurt, dill, capers and
onion in a bowl and stir to mix well.
2. For the appetizers, spread each slice of bread with 2 table-
spoons of dill cream sauce. Divide the salmon into 4 equal
portions and pile each portion onto a slice of bread. Cut slices
into 4 pieces and garnish each square with a tip of dill to serve.
Cook’s Notes:
• Greek-style yogurt is thick and creamy, but you can use regular plain yogurt.
Set a fine-mesh strainer over a bowl and spoon about 1 cup of plain yogurt
into it. Set the bowl and strainer in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. The longer
you strain the yogurt, the thicker it will become. Don’t throw out that drained
liquid. Use it in soups or add it to your morning smoothie.
• For grilled salmon, double the Dill Cream Sauce recipe to make 1 cup and either
serve sauce over each of 4 salmon servings or pass separately at the table.
For an added burst of flavor, prior to grilling, drizzle juice from half of a lemon
over fillet and rub with a mixture of 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil with
2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill.

MORE WITH DILL

— Dill and dairy products were made for each other. Add 2 tablespoons chopped fresh
dill to ½ cup cream cheese and use in place of mayonnaise as a sandwich spread.
— Make herbed butter using 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill whisked into
1 cup soft butter. Serve with cooked vegetables or top a grilled steak with a pat.
— Toss 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill with perfectly cooked carrots
or fresh summer peas.
— Dill makes fish and seafood sing, so make the dill cream sauce
whenever you enjoy the bounty from the sea.
— Chop fresh dill into borscht or stir into sour cream and use a dollop
with any summer soup.
— Add 1 or 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill to add zip to cooked
rice, lentils or beans (remember it’s a digestive, so it helps
with lentils and beans).

34 real food summer 2019

Basil and Pistachio Pesto with Heritage
Tomatoes and Baby Mozzarella
MAKES 4 SERVINGS

With its spicy fragrance and sweet flavor that ranges from sublime lemon and nutmeg to
bold licorice, cinnamon and allspice, tender basil could be the poster child for fresh summer
dishes. Look for bright, shiny leaves that are dry and whole. See our storage tips on page 39.
Eating basil helps digestion by reducing gas and stomach cramps, but you can benefit
from the herb other ways, too. Try adding a few drops of basil essential oil to bathwater to
help ease nervous exhaustion, mental fatigue or uneasiness.

or the Pesto (Makes 1 cup)

F 2 ripe heritage tomatoes, cored and
3 large cloves garlic each cut into 4 slices
½ cup shelled pistachio nuts 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese,
2 cups lightly packed fresh basil leaves cut into 8 slices
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese extra virgin olive oil
¾ cup olive oil balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste

1. For the pesto, chop garlic in the bowl of a food processor. Add
nuts and process for 30 seconds. Add basil and cheese to the bowl
and process 10 seconds. With the motor running, slowly pour in
the oil through the opening in the lid. Stop and scrape the bowl
before adding all of the oil. Sprinkle salt over and continue adding
oil just until reaching the desired consistency of the pesto. The
more oil you add, the thinner the pesto will be.
2. For the tomatoes, spread 2 tablespoons pesto over tomato
slices and top each with a slice of cheese. Arrange on a serving
platter and drizzle with oil and vinegar.
Cook’s Note: If you have a high-speed blender, you can use it to
make pesto; however, you may need to stop and scrape the sides
of the jug and clear the underside of the blades often.

MORE WITH BASIL

— Add chopped basil to egg or chicken salad or other
sandwich fillings.
— Tear basil into bite-sized pieces and add to green
summer salads.
— Float a whole basil leaf on cold gazpacho soup or
tuck one into a lunch wrap.
— Lightly oil chicken pieces or fish fillets and cover
with whole basil leaves before roasting.
— Add a ½ cup of fresh, chopped basil to homemade
or canned tomato sauce for authentic Italian flavor.
— Add a 1/4 cup of fresh, finely chopped basil to
homemade or store-bought salad dressings.

summer 2019 real food 35

 Mediterranean Herb Paste with Grilled Chicken
and Summer Vegetable Kebabs
MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Rosemary is the key herb in this adaptable herb paste that also features other herbs from the
Mediterranean. Its Latin name, Rosmarinus translates to “dew of the sea,” an apt term for this
heat- and sun-loving herb. Rosemary is pungent and spicy, with hints of nutmeg, pine and
camphor, so start sparingly and add more gradually as you gauge how much is enough for you.
Science has proved rosemary to be a powerful antioxidant, which may protect us from
toxins around us.
MORE WITH ROSEMARY
For the Mediterranean Paste 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken — Save sturdy rosemary stems
¼ cup chopped fresh rosemary breasts, cut into 1½-inch cubes that have been stripped of
¼ cup chopped fresh sage 1 onion, cut into quarters their leaves and try threading
10 cloves garlic 1 red pepper, cut in half, each half peach or plum halves on them.
½ cup fresh thyme leaves quartered Broil in the oven or grill on
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 medium zucchini, cut into 8 chunks the barbecue.
1 tablespoon sea salt — Add chopped, fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar 8 long, metal skewers, lightly oiled to canned tomato sauce.
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil extra virgin olive oil
— Stir 1 tablespoon chopped
1. For the Mediterranean paste, combine rosemary, sage and garlic in a food processor. fresh rosemary into potatoes
Pulse for 30 seconds or until garlic is coarsely chopped. Add thyme, mustard, salt and and other root vegetables
vinegar. With the motor running, slowly add enough oil through the opening in the lid until before roasting.
a soft, paste-like consistency is achieved. — Combine 1 tablespoon chopped
2. For the kebabs: Heat one side of a gas or charcoal grill to produce a medium-hot fire. fresh rosemary with ¼ cup liquid
Divide the chicken cubes into 4 portions and thread each portion onto a skewer. Rub paste honey and brush over chicken
over chicken cubes. Thread vegetables onto remaining skewers in this order for each skewer: or fish, or toss with vegetables
red pepper, onion, zucchini, red pepper, zucchini. Drizzle each with oil. for the barbecue.
3. Place chicken skewers on the heat. Cover the grill and sear for 1 to 2 minutes or until
— Use fresh rosemary sprigs in
browned. Flip the skewer and sear the opposite side for 1 to 2 minutes, or until browned.
marinades for lamb, chicken
Add vegetables to the heat and grill for 1 to 2 minutes. Move chicken and vegetable kebabs
or beef.
to the unlit side of the grill. Cover and cook for about 15 to 25 minutes or until chicken juices
run clear when pierced with the point of a knife. Note: Vegetables may be cooked before — For a smoky, subtle flavor, try
chicken, so remove them as soon as they are done. lining the grill with dampened
4. In the meantime, scrape remaining Mediterranean paste into a large bowl. Remove rosemary sprigs before
cooked vegetables from skewers by running a knife along the skewer, letting vegetables grilling chicken.
drop into the bowl. Remove chicken from skewers into the bowl and toss to coat well. Serve — Adding 1 tablespoon of finely
over greens or cooked rice. chopped fresh rosemary to the
Cook’s Notes: ingredients gives a pleasantly
• Like the pesto, this paste can be made with a high-speed blender, but you may need to peppery taste to shortbread
stop and scrape the sides of the jug and clear the underside of the blades often. or butter cookies.
• You can keep the kebabs intact instead of removing to a bowl. Serve kebabs over greens
or cooked rice and pass the Mediterranean Paste separately.
• This paste goes well with any form of lamb—shanks, chops, roasted leg. Rub it over the
meat before cooking, and pass the remaining paste separately at the table.

GETTING TO KNOW HERBS One of the best ways to really get to know and experience individual herbs is to explore
them through your senses. Look closely at the glossy, puckered, apple-green leaves of basil–how are they different
from dill leaves? Run your fingers over the spiky, needle-like leaves of rosemary and breathe in its camphor fragrance
with hints of citrus, pine and nutmeg. Nip off the end of a mint leaf and let it sit on the end of your tongue before biting
into it to determine if it is hot and spicy or bursting with a cool, refreshing menthol flavor. Do the same with cilantro–
would you substitute it for mint in the Tabbouleh recipe?

36 real food summer 2019

 MEDITERRANEAN HERB PASTE
WITH GRILLED CHICKEN AND
SUMMER VEGETABLE KEBABS

summer 2019 real food 37

 THAI NUT SALSA
WITH PASTA BOWTIES

38 real food summer 2019

Thai Nut Salsa with Pasta Bowties
MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Fresh, green cilantro leaves really sparkle in this easy summer pasta. This recipe makes
MORE WITH CILANTRO
a generous amount of salsa—more than you’ll need for the pasta. Store remaining salsa
in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days (you may need to strain it — Intensify the flavor of store-bought salsa
after storing) and serve as a casual appetizer dip with corn tortillas or piled on a round and dips by adding up to ½ cup chopped
of creamy-soft brie. fresh cilantro.
As are most fresh, green herbs, cilantro is rich in antioxidants, and it’s a good source — Sprinkle coarsely chopped leaves
of potassium, calcium, manganese, iron and magnesium. Amazingly high in folic acid over fresh summer soups and salads.
and vitamins A and C, cilantro is also one of the best herb sources of vitamin K. Tummy
upset? Try chewing a fistful of fresh cilantro leaves for relief. —  Chop and liberally sprinkle over
burrito fillings and as a garnish after
8 ounces farfalle pasta they’re cooked.
— Take-home Thai or Chinese food can
For the Thai Nut Salsa (Makes 3 cups) benefit from a generous splash of freshly
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil chopped cilantro.
1 onion, finely chopped
— Add it to stir-fry dishes, Asian-style soups
1 clove garlic, minced
and curry dishes.
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 can (15 ounces) full-fat coconut milk — Try substituting 1 cup cilantro leaves and
1 cup natural peanut, almond or cashew butter 1 cup parsley in place of the basil leaves
¼ cup honey or brown rice syrup in the pesto recipe here.
juice of 1 lime
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
4 sprigs fresh cilantro for garnish
STORING FRESH HERBS
1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Cook the farfalle accord- Fresh herbs are sold in two ways.
ing to package directions, about 12 minutes. Drain well, rinse with cool water and
Often, popular herbs such as parsley,
place in a large bowl.
cilantro or dill are bunched and sold
2. In the meantime, for the salsa, heat oil over medium heat in a saucepan. Sauté the
as produce without packaging. I like
onion for 5 minutes. Add garlic and curry and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes
to swish them in cool water and store
or until onions are soft and mixture is fragrant.
on the counter in a glass or vase with
3. Add coconut milk and bring to a gentle boil over medium-high heat. Add nut butter,
their stems in water (as you would cut
honey and lime juice. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 to 2 minutes or until incorporated
flowers) and use within a few days.
and smooth. Stir in cilantro.
For longer storage, pat them dry and
4. Scrape 2 cups salsa over cooked farfalle, toss well and serve immediately. Garnish
keep in an airtight container in the
each plate with a sprig of cilantro
refrigerator. When you buy herbs in
Cook’s Notes: The flavors intensify if the dish is covered and chilled so you can their own airtight container, simply
make it the day before, refrigerate and remove a half hour before serving to bring keep them in the refrigerator, remov-
to room temperature.  ing a few sprigs at a time for recipes.

MINTED TABBOULEH DILL CREAM SAUCE BASIL & PISTACHIO PESTO HERB PASTE W. CHICKEN & THAI NUT SALSA
NUTRITION

W. GRILLED BEEF
PER SERVING: CALORIES 369 (188
from fat); FAT 21g (sat. 4g); CHOL
63mg; SODIUM 442mg; CARB 20g;
FIBER 5g; PROTEIN 28g
W. SMOKED SALMON:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 157 (35
from fat); FAT 4g (sat. 1g); CHOL
15mg; SODIUM 596mg; CARB 14g;
FIBER 1g; PROTEIN 16g
W. TOMATOES & MOZZARELLA:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 692 (567
from fat); FAT 65g (sat. 16g); CHOL
44mg; SODIUM 780mg; CARB 12g;
FIBER 3g; PROTEIN 22g
SUMMER VEGETABLE KEBABS:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 625 (249
from fat); FAT 28g (sat. 6g); CHOL
211mg; SODIUM 2134mg; CARB 11g;
FIBER 3g; PROTEIN 79g
W. PASTA BOWTIES:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 764 (343
from fat); FAT 41g (sat. 16g); CHOL
0mg; SODIUM 400mg; CARB 87g;
FIBER 7g; PROTEIN 20g

summer 2019 real food 39

 Produce
Refreshed
These vegetable recipes will elevate your
summer meals, making them healthier and simpler
RECIPES BY ABRA BERENS

MASSAGED KALE
WITH TOMATOES,
CREAMED MOZZARELLA
AND WILD RICE

40 real food summer 2019

A dding vegetables to our diets should be approachable, purposeful and enjoyable, according to
Abra Berens, author of “Ruffage: A Practical Guide to Vegetables.” After checking out some of
her recipes, hopefully you will agree with her sentiments. Through the honest storytelling of her own life
experiences and encounters with produce as a child, chef, farmer and Midwesterner, Berens shares an
approach to vegetables that is simple, offering recipes that alter them just enough to freshen them up,
whether by grilling, roasting or serving them raw. Her many variations and alternatives allow for creativity;
plus, she’s honest about produce that she finds difficult or a few that just aren’t her favorite. By the time
you place the delicious creations on the table for your guests, family and friends to enjoy, you’ll already
be planning your next visit to the fresh produce aisles. —Katie Ballalatak

Massaged Kale with Tomatoes, Creamed Mozzarella and Wild Rice

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This recipe calls for wild rice but substitute any cooked grain—especially any random grains that are in the back of your fridge.
If you do use wild rice, you don’t need to soak the grains overnight, but soaked rice will cook much more quickly and will
“pop” when cooked, improving the texture, in my opinion. Unsoaked rice will take significantly longer than white rice to
cook, so plan accordingly.

glug olive oil (See Cook’s Note)

1 small onion, cut into thin slices
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¼ cup white wine
1 cup wild rice, soaked overnight in 4 cups water
4 cups kale, midribs stripped, well dried and cut into ¼-inch ribbons
1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella
¼ cup sour cream
1 lemon, zest and juice
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved

1. Heat olive oil. Sweat the onion and garlic with the salt until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Add the white wine and reduce by half. Add the wild rice and the soaking liquid and cook
until tender, about 45 minutes.
2. In a mixing bowl, sprinkle the kale with a pinch of salt. Massage the kale until it is dark
green, limp and tender in mouthfeel.
3. Tear the mozzarella into rough chunks. Combine with the sour cream, lemon zest and
juice, a good pinch of salt, and a couple of grinds of black pepper.
4. When the wild rice is cooked, drain any residual liquid and let cool.
Cook’s Note: I use the term “glug” a good deal … a holdover from my grandmother’s RECIPES AND PHOTOS FROM
“RUFFAGE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE
recipes. A glug is the amount of liquid poured from a container before air is pulled in past TO VEGETABLES” BY ABRA
the “seal” formed by the flowing liquid in the neck of the container, creating a glug sound. BERENS ©2019 REPRINTED
WITH PERMISSION OF
An average glug measure is about 2 tablespoons to ¼ cup. It doesn’t need to be exact— CHRONICLE BOOKS.
PHOTOS BY EE BERGER.
just splash some oil in a pan. If you need more, add it. I’ve yet to need less oil in my life.

summer 2019 real food 41

 Charred Green Beans with Crispy Chickpeas and Curry Yogurt
MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This dish defines contrast—smoky grilled green beans, cool yogurt, spicy curry, crunchy chickpeas. I love it so much. Long beans and
round chickpeas can be a bit unruly; feel free to cut the beans into smaller pieces or slightly smash the chickpeas before crisping if you
like. Similarly, depending on the type of yogurt you’re using, it might be thick or thin. If it is thin, drizzle; if thick, plop. If you are not a
curry fan, I also like this recipe with paprika or cumin instead.

1 pound green beans, roughly chopped
¼ cup neutral oil, plus more for cooking the beans
pinch salt
2 teaspoons curry powder
¾ cup yogurt
1 cup Crispy Chickpeas (See recipe right)
½ cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1. Toss the green beans with the neutral oil and a big pinch of
salt and grill.
2. Heat the ¼ cup oil over high heat and when hot, add the curry
powder and let bloom.
3. Stir the curry oil into the yogurt.
4. Transfer the beans from the grill to a serving platter and drizzle
with curry yogurt.
5. Scatter with the Crispy Chickpeas and cilantro and serve.
Cook’s Note: Add green beans to the list of things that can be
chucked onto the grill throughout the summer. The goal is to char
the green beans while keeping the structure of the beans intact.
To keep the green beans from slipping annoyingly through the
grates, place a roasting or cooking rack on the grill running per-
pendicular to the grill grates, forming a mesh fine enough to catch
the beans. Dress the beans with as little oil as possible to keep the
grill from flaming up and blackening the beans. You can always
add more oil or dressing to the beans after they are cooked.
In case of lack of grill or excess bad weather, remember that
a broiler is effectively an upside-down grill and works well too.
Crispy Chickpeas MAKES 1½ CUPS
1. Heat the oven to 350°F to 425°F—the hotter the oven, the faster
they’ll cook. Drain 1 (15-ounce) can of chickpeas and rinse well.
2. Dress the chickpeas with ½ cup olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and
½ teaspoon chili flakes (optional).
3. Spread on a foil-lined baking sheet in a single layer and bake
until crispy and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove
from the oven and let cool, keeping in a single layer or they will
steam and soften. Keep at room temperature until ready to use.
If they get soft, re-crisp in the oven (a few minutes).

CHARRED GREEN BEANS

WITH CRISPY CHICKPEAS
AND CURRY YOGURT

42 real food summer 2019

Grilled Corn on the Cob
with Parmesan Butter
MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Chomping corn from the cob is one of sum-

mertime’s most tactile pleasures. Using regular
table butter is just fine, but replacing it with a
quick compound butter makes corn on the cob
seem like more of a dinner party dish. Plus, the
flavor of the three different fats together feels
unexpected, as does the heat from the chili
flakes and the cool of the parsley. The method
for toasting the chili flakes is tried and true
for me (an unabashed multitasker known for
burning spices by forgetting them in the pan).

½ cup neutral oil

½ teaspoon chili flakes
4 ounces butter, at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
2 ounces Parmesan, grated
¾ cup parsley, leaves only, chopped
6 ears corn, shucked

1. Heat the neutral oil in a frying pan until
it begins to smoke. Add the chili flakes and
remove from the heat. Let steep in the oil
for 10 minutes.
2. In a stand mixer or a bowl, combine the
butter, salt, chili oil, Parmesan and parsley.
Paddle until well combined. Taste and add
salt as needed.
3. Lay a sheet of plastic wrap or parchment
on the counter and spoon on the butter in a
strip. Gently roll into a round log, tightening
with each pass and chill until firm (this butter
can be frozen for later use).
4. When you’re ready to grill, heat a grill at
medium to high heat.
5. Cut the butter into coins.
6. Grill the corn until the kernels are golden
brown and slightly charred. Top with the
butter rounds and serve immediately.

summer 2019 real food 43

 BROCCOLI SALAD WITH
WARM BACON VINAIGRETTE,
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
AND DRIED CHERRIES

44 real food summer 2019

Broccoli Salad with
Warm Bacon Vinaigrette,
Sunflower Seeds
and Dried Cherries
MAKES 4 SERVINGS

This is a version of a classic Midwestern summer

buffet salad with a warm bacon dressing in place of the
mayo. It can be made in advance, but always serve room
temperature or the bacon fat will congeal a bit. If you
prefer mayo or don’t eat bacon, substitute mayonnaise
or vinaigrette for the bacon fat and extra olive oil.

½ pound bacon, cut into ¼-inch strips

1 (4-ounce) shallot or small red onion,
cut into thin slices
¼ cup apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon salt Sweet Pea Toasts
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper MAKES 4 SERVINGS

2 tablespoons olive oil
8 cups broccoli, shaved thinly or cut into florets,
stalks peeled and cut into half-moons
1 cup dried cherries, either sweet or sour
½ cup sunflower seeds, toasted
1. Place the bacon in a cold frying pan and then cook
over medium heat until the bacon is crispy, rendering
the bacon fat.
2. In a bowl, combine the shallot, vinegar, salt and
pepper and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Strain the bacon fat into the shallot-vinegar mixture,
reserving the crispy pieces. Add the olive oil to the
mixture and whisk to combine.
4. Toss the broccoli, bacon bits, cherries and sunflower
seeds with the bacon vinaigrette and a pinch of salt.
Cook’s Note: Raw broccoli can be simply bite-size
pieces of broccoli. I also like shaving the broccoli into
thin, cross-section broccoli trees. To shave broccoli,
simply cut the crown in half, place the cut-side
down, and slice as thinly as possible. In the end, it
doesn’t matter the shape of the broccoli as long as it
is pleasant to chew.
There are very few dishes that my family asks for over and over again.
This pea dip is one of them. It stores in the refrigerator and freezes well.
2 cups peas, preferably frozen
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 lemon, zest and juice
¼ cup cream
5 sprigs mint, roughly chopped
1 baguette or loaf of sourdough
edible flowers (optional)
1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Boil the peas until bright green,
3 to 5 minutes.
2. Drain completely and transfer to a food processor. Add the chili flakes,
salt, olive oil, and lemon zest and juice and blend until mostly smooth.
Add the cream and blend to combine. Fold in the mint.
3. Slice and toast the bread, schmear with the pea purée, and garnish
with a drizzle of olive oil and some edible flowers if you’re feeling fancy.
Cook’s Note: As with most purées in this book, you can use day-old
vegetables as a way to breathe new life into leftovers. It will be easier
to blend and make a smoother purée if the peas are warm. Snap and
snow peas will not blend well no matter what. 

KALE W. TOMATOES, CHARRED GREEN BEANS: GRILLED CORN W. BUTTER: BROCCOLI SALAD: SWEET PEA TOASTS:
NUTRITION

MOZZARELLA & WILD RICE:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 409
(172 from fat); FAT 20g (sat. 9g);
SODIUM 211mg; CARB 45g; FIBER
5g; PROTEIN 19g
PER SERVING: CALORIES 419 PER SERVING: CALORIES 435 PER SERVING: CALORIES 822 PER SERVING: CALORIES 454
(317 from fat); FAT 36g (sat. 4g); (330 from fat); FAT 38g (sat. 13g); (558 from fat); FAT 63g (sat. 20g); (302 from fat); FAT 34g (sat. 6g);
SODIUM 357mg; CARB 20g; FIBER SODIUM 454mg; CARB 23g; FIBER SODIUM 691mg; CARB 53g; FIBER SODIUM 729mg; CARB 31g; FIBER
6g; PROTEIN 7g 3g; PROTEIN 7g 9g; PROTEIN 16g 4g; PROTEIN 8g

summer 2019 real food 45

 Korean
Barbecue
Fire up your grill with a fusion of flavors

RECIPES BY XXXXXXX
RECIPES BY BILL KIM

HONEY SOY FLANK STEAK

WITH SOY BALSAMIC SAUCE

46 real food summer 2019

T his grilling season, skip the same-old fare and “kung fu” your barbecue for a deliciously different taste.
What does a Chinese martial arts term mean when it comes to Korean barbecue? According to award-
winning Chicago restaurateur Bill Kim, who was born in Korea and raised in the American Midwest—and a fan of
Bruce Lee movies—it’s all about adapting and perfecting your skills through hard work, creativity and patience.
Kim, along with Chandra Ram, does a lot of the “kung fu” work for you in his book, “Korean BBQ,” and successfully
shows that you don’t need to have a background in cooking traditional Korean food to create these recipes. Kim
brings the two cultures together and translates the best of Korea’s mystifying sauces and rubs in an approachable
way for home cooking. Kim’s wish is for people to have fun—we’re barbecuing here—so gather friends and family,
hang out, have a good time and eat really delicious food. That’s what life is all about. —Mary Subialka

Honey Soy Flank Steak Soy Balsamic Sauce

MAKES 6 SERVINGS MAKES 1 CUP

This is one amazing steak. It’s simple to prepare and
you get maximum flavor in a short period of time.
Flank steak is a lean cut, so be careful you don’t over-
cook it; medium-rare is ideal. Piercing the steak with
a fork before marinating it is key to getting all of the
rich, tangy, sweet flavors of the marinade throughout
the meat.
1 cup Soy Balsamic Sauce (See recipe right)
⅓ cup vegetable oil
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons chili powder
3 pounds flank steak
1. Combine the Soy Balsamic Sauce, oil, honey, vinegar,
salt and chili powder in a bowl and whisk until well
mixed. Place the flank steak in a large, shallow dish
and pierce it all over with a fork. Pour the marinade
over the steak and turn the steak to coat evenly. Cover
and marinate at room temperature for 1 hour.
2. Heat the grill for direct heat cooking to medium
(350° to 375°F).
3. Place the steak on the grill grate and cook, turning it
once, for 3 to 4 minutes on each side for medium-rare.
You can cook it a minute or two longer if you prefer your
steak cooked medium, but flank steak should not be
cooked past medium or it will become chewy.
4. Transfer the steak to a cutting board and let rest
for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the steak against the grain,
arrange the slices on a serving platter, and serve.
This recipe is very dear to my heart, as it was my first attempt to use
ingredients that didn’t normally go together, but made sense to me.
In Asian cooking, vinegar is often used to cut saltiness from soy sauce
or other ingredients. For me, balsamic vinegar has the perfect mix of
sweetness, acidity and body to combine with the brown sugar and soy
sauce here.
1 teaspoon cornstarch, or as needed
2 tablespoons water
¼ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup balsamic vinegar
½ cup soy sauce
1. In a small bowl, stir together the cornstarch and water until the
cornstarch dissolves and the mixture is the consistency of heavy
cream, adding more cornstarch if the mixture is too thin.
2. Combine the brown sugar, vinegar and soy sauce in a small sauce-
pan and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the
sugar. Stir the cornstarch mixture briefly to recombine, then stir it
into the soy-vinegar mixture and simmer over low heat for about
3 minutes, until the sauce thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon.
3. Remove from the heat, let cool completely, then refrigerate in an
airtight container. This sauce will last for months without going bad.
RECIPES AND PHOTOS REPRINTED WITH
PERMISSION FROM “KOREAN BBQ:
MASTER YOUR GRILL IN SEVEN SAUCES,”
COPYRIGHT ©2018 BY BILL KIM WITH
CHANDRA RAM. PUBLISHED BY TEN SPEED
PRESS, AN IMPRINT OF PENGUIN RANDOM
HOUSE LLC. PHOTOGRAPHS COPYRIGHT
©2018 BY JOHNNY AUTRY.

summer 2019 real food 47

 SLOW-GRILLED
KO-RICAN-STYLE
BABY BACK RIBS

48 real food summer 2019

Slow-Grilled Ko-Rican-Style
Baby Back Ribs
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
The key to cooking these ribs on the grill is to do it low and
slow. That means over indirect heat so the ribs are next to, rather
than directly over, the fire and the lid is closed. This method
turns the grill into an outdoor oven, and the ribs don’t burn
on the outside before turning soft and tender on the inside.
I always want to grab one of these straight off the grill, but
you’ll burn yourself on the hot bones if you don’t wait for a
few minutes—trust me on that!
1½ cups Ko-Rican Sauce (See recipe right)
1½ cups Lemongrass Chili Sauce (See recipe right)
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
3 (3-pound) racks baby back pork ribs
1. Combine the Ko-Rican Sauce, chili sauce and pepper in
a large, shallow dish and mix well. Add the ribs and turn to
coat evenly. Marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes.
2. Heat the grill for indirect heat cooking to medium-low
(300°F to 325°F). (If using a charcoal grill, rake the coals to
one side of the charcoal grate; if using a gas grill, turn off half
of the burners.)
3. While the grill is heating, lay a large sheet of heavy-duty
aluminum foil on a work surface. Remove a rack of ribs from
the marinade, place in the center of the foil, and then spoon
some of the marinade onto the ribs. Bring the sides of the foil
together, wrapping the ribs tightly and securing the seams
closed. Place the packet on a second large sheet of foil and
wrap the packet in the foil, sealing the edges and corners
securely to make sure no liquid will escape. Repeat the pro-
cess with the remaining racks.
4. Place the ribs in an ovenproof skillet or even in the grill’s
drip pan, then place the pan on the grill grate away from direct
heat. Close the lid and cook the ribs for 2 hours. If using a
charcoal grill, add hot coals to the fire as needed to maintain
the temperature.
5. Remove the foil-wrapped ribs from the grill and let the
packet rest for about 10 minutes. Then unwrap the package,
saving the foil and all of the juices collected in it. Work care-
fully, as the ribs will be very hot and tender, and they can
break apart.
6. Increase the heat of the grill to medium-high (400°F to
450°F). Place the ribs, meat side down, directly on the grate
over the fire and cook for 5 minutes. Flip the ribs over and cook
for 2 to 4 minutes on the other side, until they have a little char.
Transfer the ribs to a cutting board and let rest for 15 minutes.
7. Cut the ribs apart and arrange them on one or more serv-
ing platters. Spoon the juices from the foil packet over the
ribs and serve.
Kung Fu It: If you don’t have time to cook the ribs fully on the
grill (or want to get a head start), you can cook them in a 300°F
oven for 2 hours, then finish them on the grill to caramelize
the exterior and capture all that flavor from the fire.
Ko-Rican Sauce
MAKES 1½ CUPS
Once I married a Puerto Rican woman, my food became what
we call a little Ko-Rican, and that’s what this sauce is all about.
I learned this recipe from my mother-in-law, Dolores Alicea, aka
Doe or Lola. Let me tell you, the best Puerto Rican restaurant in
town is her house! When I tasted her turkey lechon at our first
Thanksgiving together, it was all over for me. The bright flavors,
the spiciness from the garlic, the tanginess from the vinegar—
everything was new to me. From the moment I tasted her sauces,
I knew I had to learn how to make them. I never put vinegar in
my marinades until I met Lola, but I understood why cooks put
alcohol in marinades, and this is similar: It tenderizes and accen-
tuates the flavors. Now, her cooking is part of my DNA. I had to
add it to my arsenal of kitchen techniques, but of course, I made
a few changes to kung fu it.
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons Madras curry powder
¼ cup salt
½ cup distilled white vinegar
26 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup olive oil
1. Combine the paprika, oregano, chili powder, curry powder, salt,
vinegar, garlic and oil in a small bowl and whisk until well mixed.
2. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up 2 weeks
or freeze for up to 2 months.
Lemongrass Chili Sauce
MAKES 2¼ CUPS
The inspiration for this recipe came from a trip to Thailand I took
a few years ago. Those sweet, spicy, citrusy flavors come right back
to me every time I make it. You can use this sauce for braising
chicken or for making dipping sauces or glazes for fried appetiz-
ers, but I like it best for barbecue. It’s thick enough to cling to the
meat, adds a good char from all the sugars that caramelize on the
grill, and delivers the spicy, fresh flavors of Thailand.
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced, peeled fresh ginger
¼ cup minced lemongrass
1 cup sweet chili sauce
¼ cup fish sauce
¼ cup sambal oelek chili paste
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1. Combine the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, chili sauce, fish sauce,
sambal oelek and oil in a bowl and whisk until blended.
2. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to
2 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months
summer 2019 real food 49
 LEMONGRASS CHICKEN

50 real food summer 2019

Lemongrass Chicken
MAKES 6 SERVINGS
I think we’ve lost the art of cooking chicken on the bone.
The bones impart flavor to the meat and help the meat cook
evenly. For this recipe, you’re going to cook the chicken in the
sauce in foil packets, so the chicken braises in the sweet sauce
as it slowly cooks on the grill. The foil packet keeps the meat
moist while cooking it evenly. Make sure you use heavy-duty
foil in this recipe, and at least two layers of it.
2 tablespoons Curry Salt (See recipe right)
2 tablespoons Blackening Seasoning (See
recipe right)
4 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts, thighs,
and drumsticks, in any combination
2 cups Lemongrass Chili Sauce (See recipe page 49)
1 lemon, halved
1. Combine the Curry Salt and Blackening Seasoning in a
small bowl and stir to mix. Season the chicken on both sides
with the mixture, placing the pieces on a large sheet pan
as they are coated. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator
for 1 hour.
2. Heat the grill for indirect heat cooking to medium (350°F
to 375°F). If using a charcoal grill, rake the coals to one
side of the charcoal grate; if using a gas grill, turn off half
of the burners.
3. Stack two good-size sheets of heavy-duty aluminum
foil on a work surface. Place 3 pieces of the chicken in a
single layer in the center of the foil. Spoon some of the chili
sauce over the chicken, coating both sides, and then bring
the sides of the foil together, wrapping the chicken tightly
and sealing the edges and corners securely to make sure
no liquid will escape. Repeat with the remaining chicken
and chili sauce, using 3 pieces of chicken for each packet.
4. Place the foil packets on the grill grate away from the
heat, close the lid, and cook for 45 minutes. Check the tem-
perature of the cooked chicken by pushing a meat ther-
mometer through the foil; don’t try to unwrap the chicken
first. Transfer the packets from the grill to a counter or work
surface and let rest for 10 minutes.
5. Open the packets, working carefully because the steam
is hot, and transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Spoon
the sauce from the packets over the chicken, squeeze the
lemon halves over the top, and serve.
HONEY SOY FLANK STEAK:
NUTRITION
PER SERVING: CALORIES 404 (129 from fat); FAT 14g (sat. 4g);
SODIUM 1313mg; CARB 13g; FIBER 0g; PROTEIN 56g
Curry Salt
MAKES ½ CUP
Plain salt is boring! I want more flavor when I season something.
When I cooked in high-end French restaurants, I was taught to be
restrained in my seasoning. But once I started making my own food,
I realized that I didn’t have to follow that rule, and I didn’t have to
use plain salt when I could make something with more flavor. This
robustly flavored salt is an essential component of how we season
food at our restaurants. It helps us build those subtle flavors that
you can’t quite identify but know are what make the food so tasty.
¼ cup Madras curry powder
¼ cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon shichimi togarashi
1. Combine the curry powder, salt and shichimi togarashi in a small
bowl and stir to mix. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark
cupboard for up to 6 months
Editor’s Note: Shichimi togarashi is a peppery, complex Japanese
blend of seven spices including dried chilies, dried orange peel,
dried garlic, ground nori, sesame seeds and hemp seeds. While
not exactly the same, you can substitute with Korean Chili flakes
and black sesame seeds if you can’t find it.
Blackening Seasoning
MAKES ¾ CUP
When I was a kid, I used to watch Justin Wilson’s “Cookin’ Cajun” TV
show after school; it came on right after the “Tom and Jerry” cartoons.
I loved it when he’d lean into the camera and tell you, “Ou-wheeeee!
I garontee you’ll like this!” Watching those old shows still makes me
laugh, but his food was serious. He cooked with rice and crayfish, so
it kind of reminded me of the Korean food from home. In a way, he
was my Julia Child. I’m still a huge fan of Cajun food, and I’ll pick
up a jar of hot pickled okra (which is kind of like kimchi) at the store
and eat it in the car. I can’t stop myself—sometimes I finish it before
I even get home! As Justin would say, “I garontee” this seasoning will
become part of your cooking!
¼ cup sweet paprika
¼ cup granulated garlic or garlic powder
¼ cup chili powder
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1. Combine the paprika, granulated garlic, chili powder and salt in
a small bowl and stir to mix.
2. Store in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard for up to
6 months. 
KO-RICAN-STYLE BABY BACK RIBS: LEMONGRASS CHICKEN:
PER SERVING: CALORIES 1065 (673 from fat); FAT 75g (sat. PER SERVING: CALORIES 492 (190 from fat); FAT 21g (sat.
24g); SODIUM 4210mg; CARB 19g; FIBER 3g; PROTEIN 75g 5g); SODIUM 2567mg; CARB 26g; FIBER 2g; PROTEIN 48g
Note: If sodium level is a concern, consider reducing the salt
in the Ko-Rican Sauce portion of the recipe.
summer 2019 real food 51
 Greek Food Today
Diane Kochilas shares delicious twists from her kitchen to yours

BY TARA Q. THOMAS

I t was the spanakopita grilled cheese that got me. There, on TV, was Diane Kochilas, often
known as the Greek Food Guru, sandwiching spinach pie filling between two pieces of
bread and giving it the American grilled cheese treatment. It was the sort of riff on a classic
away when I was a kid,” she tells me from
Athens, where she has lived since 1992.
While she came to Greek food free from the
dish that could have come off as sacrilege, but in her hands—broadcast from her Athens, constraints that tradition and familiarity
Greece, kitchen on her own PBS show—it seemed entirely natural, not to mention delicious. can enforce, she also had to work hard to
For 30 years, Kochilas has built her career on bringing Greek cuisine to the masses, discover what the locals know inherently.
whether it’s through books—18 at last count—or on TV, on her own shows as well as those Her exposure to real Greek food was lim-
of stars including Martha Stewart, Bobby Flay and Andrew Zimmern. She has been filing ited until she was 12. “My mother, in her
stories on the country’s foodways for major newspapers and magazines for the three decades, infinite wisdom, wanted to keep a young
and has run the Glorious Greek Cooking School on her ancestral island of Ikaria since 2003. teenager off the streets of New York in the
Respected institutions such as the Culinary Institute of America and Harvard have tapped 1970s,” Kochilas explains. “She was a working
her for her expertise, and so have numerous restaurateurs. She has consulted for Pylos and mom then, and what was I to do alone in the
Molyvos, two of the top Greek restaurants in New York City, as well as Avli in Chicago and summer? So she sent me with my older sister
Volos in Toronto. She is currently the consulting chef for Committee in Boston. to Greece.”
Her latest book, however, is a departure from her usual deep dive into the specifics of a She landed in Ikaria, her father’s home-
PHOTO THOMAS JASTRAM - ADOBE STOCK

place. Instead, it reflects on what she cooks in her own home. “My Greek Table,” a large, land, and the connection was instantaneous.
lushly illustrated volume that grew out of her PBS show of the same name, is a fascinating “I can’t even begin to describe it,” Kochilas
peek into what real Greek cooking is today. It captures the feel of a cuisine that’s alive and says. “I couldn’t even really speak much
vital, as diverse as the people who flow through the country and as sensitive to the politics, Greek. I just remember this feeling of, ‘Wow,
economics and time pressures as any. Spanakopita sandwiches instead of a phyllo pie? Heck this place is really special.’ ” She continued
yes. And with a side of her tahini-avocado dip, please. to spend nearly every summer in Greece
It took Kochilas a while to get to this point. In part, it’s the double-edged sword of being before heading off to New York University
a foreigner in an adopted land. She is American, the daughter of a Greek immigrant to study journalism. “I’ve always been a
who married a Greek-Italian from Brooklyn and was born in Queens, the largest borough of writer since I was a little kid,” she reflects.
New York City. “My dad cooked—he worked as a cook in the merchant marine—but he passed Although she found work as an editor at a

52 real food summer 2019


IKARIA, GREECE
magazine afterward, she always returned to
Greece. “I can’t get through the year if I don’t
spend the summer in Ikaria,” she says, only
partly joking.
The island is special, even among the
6,000 that Greece boasts, she says.“Culturally,
it’s very different. There’s no natural port, so
it was never a stopover on any trade routes,
and because the waters around it are very
rough, it was always a place of exile, the place
the politically unwanted were sent. As a
result, there’s an open-mindedness that’s
part of people’s DNA and a strong sense of
solidarity. It’s also not a particularly materi-
alistic place, so it’s a breath of fresh air.”
It also happens to be full of exceptionally
healthy people, something Kochilas noted
long before the New York Times Magazine
KOCHILAS GEORGE VITSARAS
trumpeted Ikaria as part of the “Blue Zone,”
where life expectancy far exceeds the norm.
On Ikaria, one in three people live beyond
90, and few ever develop heart disease or
dementia. The old people may be wrinkled
and stooped with age, but they are still gath-
ering in cafes and climbing the stone steps
to church. “People are walking everywhere
and gardening—bending, stretching, killing
the lambs,” Kochilas says.
That’s the place where Kochilas’ approach
to food began to take shape. “It’s the
Mediterranean diet,” she explains. “Lots of
foraged foods—mushrooms, wild greens
and herbs—simply prepared. And seasonal
—the cuisine is based on really fresh food
in season.” While she eats meat, Kochilas
thralls to the diversity and resourcefulness
of Greek cooks when it comes to plant-
based cuisine. “Greece probably has more
vegetable main courses than any other cui-
sine in the Mediterranean,” she says. “There
are all sorts of beans and pulses, and all sorts
of greens and vegetables, that are steamed
or stewed with a lot of olive oil.”
Reading “My Greek Table,” it’s clear just
how resourceful and creative Greeks have
been over the centuries, taking humble ingre-
dients and preparing them in countless fla-
vorful ways, often influenced by the myriad
cultures that have left their impressions on
the land. There are the ravioli that nod to the
Venetians who once occupied parts of Greece
and that Kochilas moves into the modern era
by using wonton wrappers instead of hand-
rolled pasta. The five eggplant dishes come
from Lesvos, an island she says claims at least
22 unique recipes—a nod to the island’s
proximity to Turkey. This means that when
you turn to a recipe for Greek Honey Hot
Sauce, it doesn’t come across as strange;
rather, it’s Kochilas doing what Greeks have
always done—absorbing influences and
making a dish her own. That particular rec-
ipe was inspired by staff meals she has had
while working in professional kitchens, many
of which are staffed by Mexicans. “Staff meals
are always these cultural hybrids,” she says.
“Some of my best cooking is in fact those
dishes. And I like spicy.”
But if you want to cook like a Greek, it’s
best to start with the basics—and the basics
are terrifically easy. All you’ll need is a bottle
of good Greek olive oil and a lemon. “Greeks
are the third largest producers and first in
consumption of olive oil,” Kochilas tells me,
“and we love lemon.” Lemon juice, in fact,
combined with olive oil, makes up what she
calls “the most fundamental flavor profile in
the Greek kitchen.” Whip together one part
lemon juice with three parts olive oil, and
you have ladolemeno, a creamy dressing
traditionally poured over vegetables and
grilled fish. At home Kochilas will some-
times use it in place of mayonnaise dressing
in a coleslaw, or add extra lemon so she can
make a Greek-accented ceviche.
DIANE KOCHILAS
summer 2019 real food 53

“Greeks are the third
largest producer and first
in consumption of olive
oil and we love lemon …
the most fundamental
flavor profile in the
Greek kitchen.”
—Diane Kochilas
RECIPE AND PHOTO FROM “FROM MY
GREEK TABLE” BY DIANE KOCHILAS. ©2018
BY THE AUTHOR AND REPRINTED BY
PERMISSION OF ST. MARTIN'S GRIFFIN.
FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY BY VASILIS STENOS
FOOD STYLING BY CAROLINA DORITI
54 real food summer 2019
Interestingly, there’s a bonus beyond taste
for blending the two. “The lemon actually helps
make the nutrients in foods more available to
your body, especially when you’re cooking any-
thing with greens,” she says. “There’s this folk
knowledge about it in Greece. Many people
don’t know the reasoning behind it; they just
do it naturally.” She calls out spanakorizo, a
popular dish of rice cooked with spinach, as an
example. “The spinach and rice make a com-
plete protein; you squeeze lemon over it, and
that makes it much easier for your body to
absorb the iron. There are a lot of little secrets
like that, that people know innately.”
To add extra flavor to a dish, Greeks tend to
look to herbs rather than spice. “That’s not to
say [Greeks] don’t use spices—certainly cin-
namon and nutmeg, allspice and cumin are
fairly common—but the use of herbs is more
pronounced,” she says. “And the use of herbs
as medicine is still a living tradition; people
will make all sorts of herbal teas for all sorts
of ailments.”
And Kochilas admits to a few “secret weap-
ons” in the kitchen, like dried-mushroom
powder, even though there’s nothing particu-
larly Greek about it. “I just grind dried mush-
rooms and add the powder to meat and dark-
flavored dishes,” she explains. And she’s not
shy about salt, which intensifies flavors. “The
fear of salt in the U.S. is because people eat so
much processed foods that they are getting
much more salt than they need,” she says. If
you lay off the processed foods, there’s no rea-
son to leave off the salt, or to avoid the capers,
feta, taramasalata and other saline ingredients
that spike so many Greek dishes.
All that said, there are a few differences that
take attention to bridge. One is the vegetables
themselves. “I just had a conversation with a
friend a few nights ago about a pumpkin
moussaka recipe she loves, but she was com-
plaining that the pumpkin tends to be watery,”
Kochilas relates. “That’s because, in the U.S.,
everything tends to be overwatered and less
flavorful. Greece is quite a dry country, and
people don’t water their plants as much, so the
fruit here, from olives to strawberries, tends
to be intensely flavored.” The difference can
require some adjusting. For example, in
Kochilas’s take on the recipe in “My Greek
Table,” she has replaced pumpkin with a com-
bination of the tighter-fleshed butternut
squash as well as sweet potatoes.
The other difference is how people eat.
While the average Athenian’s daily schedule
now looks all too much just like a New
Yorker’s, complete with work-desk lunches
and rushed dinners, the epitome of a good
meal still means a varied selection of mezes—
little plates—to be enjoyed over a drink with
family and friends. “There’s no fast rule,”
Kochilas says when I ask her how many plates
there should be, and what sorts. “The real rule
is to have variety—in terms of textures, you’ll
want spreads that are soft, as well as things that
are crunchy; you’ll want dishes of varied heat
levels, some spicy and others milder.” The only
constraint as to how many dishes to make is
your energy level, she says, but even then, the
work can be spread over the course of days.
“Dips you can do a day or two ahead of time;
phyllo pies, whether individual or whole, you
can make ahead and freeze raw, then bake
them to order. And a lot of mezes are served
at room temperature, so you don’t have to
worry about serving them just out of the oven.
That goes for all sorts of things, even braised
bean dishes and pies,” she says.
As for what to make, well, perhaps the most
important lesson to take away from “My
Greek Table” is that to cook like a Greek, you
don’t have to stick to any recipe. “You sort of
know what your guests like,” Kochilas says,
adding, “and recipes evolve. The chicken
keftedes: That came out of my own head. In
Greece we’d more likely use pork or lamb, but
that was one that was on the menu at
Committee, and we were keeping in mind
what people in the U.S. like to eat.” And
whereas Greeks would likely serve them with
a garlickly yogurt sauce, Kochilas might opt
for fresh peas in the summer, whirring
them with olive oil and herbs until silky and
bright green.
Then Kochilas hesitates. “There is one rule,”
she admits. “But it concerns what to serve for
a drink. Generally, anything that swims goes
well with ouzo or grappa—what we call tsi-
TELEVISION STILL GEORGE VITSARAS
pouro—and everything that walks goes well
with wine.” But then again, this is Greece. “Of
course that’s not to say that with grilled
shrimp, you might not want to have a nice
white wine,” she says, and I can practically
hear her wink. Anything goes—as long as it’s
fresh, seasonal and seasoned with plenty of
lemon and olive oil. 
Baked Chicken Keftedes
MAKES 6 MEZE (APPETIZER) SERVINGS
Classic Greek meatballs are made with either ground pork, lamb,
beef or a combination thereof. Here’s a lighter version, flavored the
classic way with plenty of onions, a little garlic and a lot of mint—the
telltale herb in all Greek meatballs. Serve these with tzatziki, fresh
pea fava, feta cheese dips or yogurt dressings.
2 pounds ground chicken or turkey
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons extra virgin Greek olive oil,
plus more for frying
1/2 teaspoon paprika
2/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 to 1 cup panko bread crumbs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. In a large bowl, combine the ground chicken, garlic, onions, egg,
olive oil, paprika, mint, parsley and 1/2 cup of the panko. Season
with salt and pepper and mix to combine. Test for firm­ness by
shaping one meatball. If it holds its shape, don't add any more of
the panko; if it comes apart, add more of the panko, a tablespoon
at a time, until the mixture is firm enough to hold its shape when
formed into a meatball.
2. Heat a little olive oil in a small skillet. Take a teaspoon of the
mixture and fry it to test for seasoning; adjust accordingly.
3. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Form the mixture
into 1-tablespoon meatballs. Place them on the prepared baking
sheet in neat rows. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate
for at least 30 minutes or up to 6 hours.
4. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Uncover and bake the meatballs
for 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown, turning gently with a
spatula or kitchen tongs, until browned on all sides. Remove from
the oven and serve.
Spring Fresh Pea Puree
MAKES ABOUT 3 CUPS
Fava is one of the all-time classic Greek meze [appetizer]
recipes, most often made with yellow split peas cooked
until they disintegrate into a puree. … Here's a contempo-
rary idea that calls for using fresh or frozen peas. It works
well as a sandwich spread or spooned over bruschetta, and
it pairs beautifully with ouzo-seared shrimp or grilled or
fried seafood.
2 cups fresh or frozen shelled peas
1/2 cup ouzo, or 1 star anise pod
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1/3 to 2/3 cup extra virgin Greek olive oil
juice of 1 lemon, plus more as needed, strained
Greek sea salt or kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives or red onion
scant 1 teaspoon whole pink peppercorns
2 tablespoons crumbled Greek feta
1. Place the peas in a medium saucepan and add water
to cover and the ouzo or star anise. Cover and bring to a
boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and
simmer until tender, about 3 minutes for fresh peas, 3 to
5 minutes for frozen. Drain (discard the star anise, if you
used it).
2. Transfer the hot peas to the bowl of a food processor.
Add the parsley and tarragon. While pulsing on and off,
add enough of the olive oil and lemon juice in alternating
increments to achieve a smooth, silky puree. Season with
salt and black pepper to taste.
3. Transfer the fava to a serving dish and garnish with the
chives, pink peppercorns and feta.
Tip: Do not salt the water when boiling peas because doing
so toughens them up.
summer 2019 real food 55
pairings

Burger Buddies
Take your cue from a burger’s toppings when making a match with wine

BY MARY SUBIALKA

T
hick, juicy burgers are a gloriously delicious part of the summer
grilling season. In general, any ground beef burger will have some
slightly sweet vanilla and earthy flavors contributed by smokiness
and a caramelized flavor from the meat’s charred sugars. A wine with
richness, fruit flavor and a decent amount of acidity or tannins will
pair well with those characteristics. It’s hard to go wrong with a cool
Beaujolais, Merlot or Pinot Noir with a basic burger.
Flavors contributed by the various toppings you choose to add to
the mix can also be a way to select tasty wine partners:
- Classic lettuce, tomato, raw onion, ketchup and mayonnaise:
Aussie Shiraz or California Syrah pair well with this flavor combo.
- Pickle relish and yellow mustard: White Zinfandel’s soft and fruity
characters offer balance. A sparkling wine may also be a nice match.
If sweet pickle relish is on its own, try Gewürztraminer.
- Avocado, cucumber and sprouts: Sauvignon Blanc is good for
white wine fans, Merlot for fans of red.
- Bold cheeses, such as blue cheese or sharp cheddar: Cabernet
Sauvignon can stand up to the strong flavors of the cheese
while the meat’s richness softens the wine’s tannins.
- Bacon and cheddar: Spanish Rioja has its own
smoky flavor that goes well with the bacon.
- Grilled onions and mustard: White
Zinfandel’s soft fruit flavor balances
the onions and tart condiment.

So fire up the grill, ponder your

spread of toppings, and uncork some
delicious burger buddies—the grilling
season provides ample opportunity
to experiment with nuances of pairing
so you can find your perfect match. 

PHOTOGRAPHY TERRY BRENNAN

FOOD STYLING LARA MIKLASEVICS

56 real food summer 2019

 PHOTO BY SPACECRAFTING

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