Savory Apple & Leek Pumpernickel Stuffing
Earthy pumpernickel bread, sweet apples, and mellow leeks come together for a deeply flavorful stuffing that feels both rustic and refined. Perfect alongside this week’s bratwurst or a roasted chicken!
Ingredients:
6 cups pumpernickel bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 tablespoons butter
2 medium leeks, white and light green parts only, cleaned and sliced
2 apples, cored and diced
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
½ teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
1 egg, lightly beaten
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast until slightly crisp, about 10 minutes. Set aside.
2. In a large skillet, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Stir in the apples and thyme, and cook for another 5 minutes until the apples are tender but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl, combine the toasted bread cubes with the leek–apple mixture. Pour in the broth and toss gently to coat. Let sit a few minutes to absorb. Stir in the beaten egg, then transfer the mixture to a buttered baking dish. Bake, uncovered, for 25–30 minutes, until the top is golden and crisp. Serve warm.
Warm Radicchio & Pear Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
This elegant warm salad celebrates fall’s sweetest contrasts: caramelized pears, toasty nuts, and the gentle bite of radicchio drizzled in honey.
Ingredients:
1 head radicchio, cut into 6 wedges through the core
2 ripe pears, cored and sliced into thick wedges
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Bella Luna wildflower honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup toasted walnuts or hazelnuts, roughly chopped
¼ cup shaved Gruyère (or blue cheese, if preferred)
Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 425°. Arrange radicchio and pear wedges on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 12–15 minutes, turning once, until the edges caramelize and the pears are tender.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together honey, Dijon, and vinegar. Slowly drizzle in olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Arrange the warm radicchio and pears on a serving platter. Drizzle generously with the honey vinaigrette, then top with toasted nuts and shaved Gruyère. Serve warm or at room temperature, with a hunk of Gruyère bread or alongside your favorite fall main.
Smashed Sunchokes with Thyme Butter
Enriched with butter and thyme and the perfect side dish for any spring meal.
Enriched with butter and thyme and the perfect side dish for any winter spread.
Ingredients:
1 pound sunchokes, rinsed and trimmed of any dark spots
6-8 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil for frying
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Large pinch freshly picked thyme leaves
Flaky salt, such as Maldon, for serving
Method:
1. In a medium saucepan, cover the sunchokes with cold water. Season generously with salt (the water should taste nicely salted, as if you were seasoning soup). Set over high heat and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook until a paring knife inserted into a sunchoke meets little resistance, about 10 minutes; be careful not to overcook.
2. Drain sunchokes using a fine-mesh strainer or colander. When cool enough to handle, place sunchokes on a work surface or cutting board. Working 1 sunchoke at a time, use the bottom of a heavy skillet to press firmly on each sunchoke until it is flattened but still in one piece; take care not to press so hard that the sunchokes break apart.
3. In a large cast iron or other heavy bottomed skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add sunchokes in a single layer and cook without moving until well browned, about 3 minutes. Add more oil, if needed. Flip sunchokes, then add butter to the pan and allow to melt. Add half of the thyme to the melted butter and continue to cook, spooning butter over sunchokes, until browned on the second side, about 3 minutes longer.
4. Transfer sunchokes to a serving plate and spoon the thyme butter on top. Garnish with remaining freshly picked thyme leaves and sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve immediately.
Tomato Salad with Corn, Summer Squash & Roasted Onions
Roasted sweet onion adds a wonderful depth of flavor to this refreshing salad.
Ingredients:
2 sweet onions, peeled and sliced into ½-inch-thick rings
2 heirloom tomatoes, chopped
2 small ears of corn, shucked, blanched and kernels removed
1 summer squash, diced
1 scallion, diced
5 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
10 basil leaves, thinly sliced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Preheat oven to 400°. Arrange the sliced onion rings on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and sprinkle generously with sea salt, tossing to coat onions on both sides. Roast for 40 minutes, flipping halfway through until onions are brown and soft. Remove from onion, allow to cool, then roughly chop.
2. In a large bowl, add the chopped tomatoes, corn kernels, summer squash and scallion. Add roasted onions and toss with 1 tablespoon olive oil and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together honey with sherry vinegar, then add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, and salt and pepper then whisk well to combine. Drizzle dressing over the salad to taste and top with basil.Â
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Purple Kohlrabi & Turnip Slaw
This crisp, zippy slaw is a wonderful accompaniment to grilled meats, or even served atop burgers.
Ingredients:
1 pound kohlrabi (about 2 small heads, leaves included)
1 cup small turnips, peeled and quartered
3 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon peanut oil
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 green onions, thinly sliced
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Separate the stems from kohlrabi bulbs, trim, and discard the tough bottoms of the stems. Half the leaves lengthwise, then thinly shred crosswise. Trim root end from bulb and peel away tough outer layer; halve lengthwise.
2. Fit a food processor with a shredding blade (or use a box grater) and shred the kohlrabi bulb and turnips.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together lime juice, peanut oil, honey, and sesame oil; season with salt and pepper. Add green onions, kohlrabi leaves and bulb, and radish to bowl; toss to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes.
Rainbow Tomato Salad
Simple to make, but big on taste, this salad is all about the quality of the ingredients, so use the best you have.
Ingredients:
4 ripe rainbow slicing tomatoes
3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
3 tablespoons high-quality olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh herbs, such as parsley and marjoram
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together red-wine vinegar and olive oil; stir in shallot and herbs.
2. Core tomatoes; cut each into 8 wedges and place in a serving bowl. Drizzle with dressing, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.
Pickled Ramps
A lovely way to preserve and enjoy these rare spring ramps for weeks to come.
Ingredients:
8 ounces ramps
2 dried red chiles
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 cup white wine vinegar
½ cup sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Method:
1. Trim greens from ramps; reserve for another use—like pesto! Pack bulbs into a heatproof 1-pint jar along with dried red chiles, bay leaves, fennel seeds and black peppercorns.
2. Bring white wine vinegar, sugar, salt, and 1 cup water to a boil in a medium saucepan, stirring to dissolve. Pour over ramps to cover. Seal jar. Let cool, then chill.
Greek Village Salad
Ingredients:
4 ripe heirloom tomatoes, cut into bite sized chunks
2 Persian cucumbers, peeled and cut into bite sized chunks
½ cup red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup Kalamata olives
¾ cup feta cheese, crumbled
½ cup olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons fresh oregano, stripped of stems and chopped
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Place the tomatoes, cucumbers and red onion in a bowl. Mix in the olives.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and salt and pepper, and pour over the salad to coat. Toss well then sprinkle with feta cheese.
Fennel & Lemon Relish
This crisp slaw from Alice Waters’ The Art of Simple Food II is excellent tossed with roasted vegetables, or even served as part of a charcuterie board.
Ingredients:
2 lemons
2-3 fennel bulbs
1 shallot
2-3 tablespoons Champagne vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
- Using a box grater or rasp, zest both lemons, then reserve the zest and fruit.
- Peel and finely dice the shallot. Place shallot in a small bowl with the lemon zest, juice of 1 lemon, Champagne vinegar, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Mix well and let sit for a few minutes to macerate. Whisk in the extra-virgin olive oil. Taste for salt and acid and adjust as needed.
- Trim the fronds and dark green stalks from the fennel bulb. Cut the bulb in half lengthwise and then into a fine dice. Toss with salt to taste and stir into the lemon-shallot mixture. Remove all the remaining peel from the remaining lemon and cut the segments from their membranes. Cut segments into a medium dice and gently stir them into the relish. Let relish sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Celery & Cucumber Salad with Herbs
This side salad from Martha Stewart is incredibly crisp and refreshing.
Ingredients:
6 celery stalks, thinly sliced crosswise
1-2 Persian cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced crosswise
1/3 cup coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
1. Toss together celery, cucumber, parsley, mint, and oil in a bowl. Season liberally with salt and pepper. Serve cold or at room temperature.