Broccoli Raab Pesto

Broccoli Raab Pesto

About half a pound of broccoli raab greens
1/2 cup of pine nuts
Three medium cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup of water or lemon juice
Salt to taste

Blanch greens in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and rinse in cold water. Reserve 1/4 cup of cooking liquid for use later in recipe, if desired. Drain and squeeze all excess water from greens and coarsely chop. Add greens, garlic, olive oil, nuts and water to Blendtec and pulse until well blended. It may take awhile to get completely mixed--when it looks well integrated and creamy, it is ready.

This experiment came about as a result of a great deal at the Farmer's Market that resulted in two gigantic bunches of broccoli raab, and a Christmas gift of pinenuts (I had let my family know there are certain kitchen items I consider somewhat of a luxury). The bunches were so big that I was having trouble fitting them in my crisper drawer, and the leaves were getting unhappy fast. So I chopped off the upper parts of both bunches, saving the lower stalks for another use (though a number of stems still made it in, and probably don't hurt), and put them to work in this recipe.

I was impressed by the bright color and thought it tasted great and not much different from basil pesto. So far we've used it on vegan pizza, and as a garnish on a blended white bean soup.

Hot Salsa

6 vine tomatoes, quartered
2 medium jalapenos, 2 scotch bonnet or habanero peppers, split and seeded
1 medium to small onion, quartered
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp dried ground coriander
1 tsp salt
the juice of three limes

Add all ingredients to the Blendtec jar, juice and spices last. Pulse five times. Chill over night.

Sorry, meant to get a picture later but then we ate it all. Turned out quite nice!

Avocado Lime Cilantro Dressing

1 ripe avocado, halved and pitted
juice of 5 limes
1 small bunch of fresh cilantro, about 1 oz
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/4 cup water

Place all ingredients in Blendtec. (Of course, scoop the avocado out and discard the skin. But leave the stems on the cilantro.) Hold pulse button down until smooth. The resulting dressing is very thick, like smoother, creamier guacamole. Thin with water or olive oil if desired.

Note, this is a good use for overripe avocados that have begun to brown. The addition of cilantro and lime juice guarantees a beautiful, bright vibrant green color.

The Whole Baba Ghanouj

1 medium eggplant (approximately one pound)
1 tablespoon capers
2 cloves of garlic, peeled
juice of 1 small lemon
fresh ground black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Trim the stem and quarter your eggplant. Brush the largest cut sides with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Prick numerous times with fork or knife. Bake about 45 minutes, or until very soft.

When eggplant is cool enough to handle briefly, toss it into the blender with the capers, garlic and lemon juice. Leave the peel on. Run on Sauces/Dip cycle. Serve immediately, while still warm, garnished with pepper, or chill for later.

I love baba ghanouj, but I always thought scraping out the eggplant pulp and discarding the skin was sort of tragic. I liked this dip. If you like a creamier dip, you can add the traditional tahini or olive oil. You could also roast your garlic with the eggplant, for a sweeter, mellower flavor.