Food and Crafts for All Occasions

Green Salad with Smoked Trout, Poached Eggs, Potatoes and Asparagus

This has been one of my favorite salads lately. Sort of a version of Niçoise salad with smoked trout instead of tuna and poached eggs instead of boiled ones. My greens choice for this salad is a mix of frisee (I love ’em bitter!) and Asian greens mix (not to be confused with Asian salad mix!) which includes mizuna, pak choi, baby tat soi and other fancy and very tasty herbs.  If you cannot find Asian mix in stores, go for Spring Salad Mix or something like it.

As for the trout, you can smoke it yourself or buy it in a store. Trader Joe’s carries quite delicious and inexpensive smoked trout. If you want to smoke trout yourself and are a happy owner of a Green egg grill, follow the instructions given here for salmon. The only difference with trout would be that you would need much less salt and shorter time to cure it in the fridge since trout fillets are much smaller and thinner than salmon. For the same reason, the cooking time will be shorter too. Shoot for 45-50 min.

Roasted Garlic Spears

Late spring and early summer are the season of all sorts of green scapes and spears: onions, leeks, chives etc. They are considered a super healthy food and also are quite delicious. I came across them in many stores this year- Asian supermarkets, Metropolitan Market, QFC.

My current favorites are garlic spears. When raw, their flavor reminds me that of ramps, wild leeks (in Russia we call it ‘cheremsha’ with a stress on the last syllable), fresh, sharp and very garlic like. We like to dip the raw stems in salt and use a chaser to a shot of vodka along with a crusty rye bread.

When cooked, their sharp flavor mellows down significantly and is reminiscent of that of roasted garlic cloves. Roasted garlic spears are an awesome side for grilled or roasted fish or poultry. Better than asparagus, to my taste!

Sautéed Chard with Kalamata Olives, Sun Dried Tomatoes and Basil

Sautéed chard makes a flavorful side dish to serve along with roasted or grilled fish or poultry. It’s also perfect as a stuffing for pies and quiches, as a pizza topping or as a sauce for pasta. The earthiness of chard plays wonderfully with sweetness of sun dried tomatoes, saltiness and tartness of Kalamata olives, sharpness of garlic and strong, fresh scent of basil.

Warm Salad with Farro/Barley, Radicchio, Frisee, Wild Mushrooms and Poached Eggs

This a more recent and more "mature" variation of this recipe. It's so balanced in flavor and textures so you would not need anything else to serve it with. Though if you never feel satiated unless you had some meat or fish in your stomach, a few seared scallops or sautéed sweetbreads would be the best choice.

Lamb Ragout with Ricotta and Arugula

Here's my take on the popular Italian Bolognese sauce. I make it quite nontraditional so I just refer to it as 'meat ragout' in order not to tease authenticity advocates. (Who knows how pissed I would be if someone served me borsch with sweet potatoes instead of regular ones…)

Instead of beef I take lamb as it has more robust and pronounced flavor that is not easily overpowered by tomatoes. I also add ricotta, which softens the acidity of the sauce and gives it a nice creamy texture, and arugula to balance out the richness with its fresh peppery bite.

Hearty Kale and Bean Soup with Italian Sausage

This simple soup turned out a great hit at our recent Society lunch. I've never heard so many ravings about a soup before, and being a devoted soup lover myself I'm happy to share the recipe.

To my taste, kale and beans are a perfect match. Red kale and fava beans in puff pastry turnovers. Sautéed green kale and garbanzo beans as a side for grilled sardines. This time it is green kale and cannellini beans in a soup with mildly spicy Italian sausage.

Baby Octopus, Potatoes and Chard Stew with Paprika and Saffron

Whenever I happen to be in an Asian supermarket like Ranch 99 or HT Market, I go to a frozen seafood isle and get a package of baby octopus. They are very delicious and can be braised in a variety of sauces and served with pasta, couscous, beans or potatoes. If you love seafood, you should definitely give these guys a try.

Tara Nabe: Japanese Black Cod and Matsutake Mushroom Soup

I am not the biggest fan of the fall in Seattle with its heavy rains and gusty winds. The only thing that somewhat reconciles me with this season is that it is a wild mushroom season as well. Chanterelles have been around for about a month; matsutake have just started and trumpets are coming to the markets and stores any day now.

On a rainy Saturday like today I love to treat Ilya and myself with some nice warming soup. Like Tara Nabe, a fantastically fragrant Japanese soup with black cod, matsutake mushrooms and mizuna. I fell in love with this soup at Nishino restaurant several years ago and reconstructed the recipe at home so we can enjoy it any time we want. Since then, I cook it whenever matsutake are in season.

Hearty and Fragrant Stew with Pork, Chorizo, Butter Beans and Kale or My Take on Spanish Fabada Asturiana

This wonderfully fragrant dish was inspired by Spanish fabada. Fabada Asturiana is a thick stew made of large white beans, pork (sometimes salted) and chorizo sausage and often spiced with smoked paprika and saffron.  Sort of cassoulet, Spanish style.

Niçoise Salad

Whenever we’re in a mood for a lighter dinner, I made a large “all inclusive” salad like Caesar with chicken or fried oysters or Niçoise. Here you have your proteins, greens and starches all in one light and healthy dish.

Arugula Salad with Fresh Garbanzos, Radishes and Lemon Dressing

Here’s one of the easiest to make and very refreshing green salads. My recent favorite. There's something in the combination of sharp arugula, crunchy juicy radishes, sweet garbanzo beans and  tart refreshing dressing that makes this salad particularly good in the summer. Though I don't mind having it in other seasons as well.

Refreshing Sweet-n-Sour Frisée Salad

In fact, a full name would run as frisée salad with blood oranges, grongonzola and toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds with lavender and lemon dressing. Quite a long name for a dish, huh? When you reach the end, you’ve already forgot the beginning. I see why people love to give short names to dishes, like Caesar salad, Beef Wellington, Jambalaya, Borsch, Po Boy sandwich, Pho. Life is too short to waste it reading long dish names - you better spend your precious time eating.

Potato Salad with Eggs, Arugula and Mayo & Dijon Dressing

If you are a fan of potato salads, here’s another one to your collection. It goes especially great with grilled, roasted or pan-fried fish.