Broccoli Gribiche

Ode to Heidi 

Part 3.  

 

For the third and final installation of my Ode to Heidi Swanson, I'm choosing one of her recipes that highlights French home-style cooking. Heidi makes a lot of good french food, but this dish called to me for one reason: broccoli. The slight char on the broccoli makes it almost impossible to put down your fork. And the addition of capers and tarragon make this a potato salad like no other. 

 

Broccoli Gribiche

(French Style Potato Salad) 

 

Gribiche is and French sauce made of egg, oil, and herbs. In Heidi's variation, broccoli,  potatoes, and tarragon are used, but she suggests swapping in asparagus, when in season. And if you don't have the variety of fresh herbs called for, just use an equivalent amount of the ones you can find.  

 

Ingredients: 

• 1 1/2 pounds small fingerling potatoes
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil
• fine grain sea salt 
• 12 ounces broccoli florets
• 4 large eggs, hardboiled
• 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp. dijon style mustard 
• 1 tbsp. capers, chopped
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh tarragon
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh chives 

Tips: Hard boil your eggs a day ahead to throw this together more quickly.

preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

step one. If the potatoes aren't tiny, slice them into pieces no larger than your thumb. Use your hands to toss the potatoes in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and spread on a baking sheet. Roast for 15 minutes.

step two. Toss the broccoli in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and arrange, in a single layer, onto the same baking sheet as your potatoes. put everything back into the oven for 15 minutes until the potatoes are fully cooked and the broccoli has a slight char.

step three. Make the gribiche sauce. Mash the yolk of one hard boiled egg into a medium bowl. slowly add 1/2 cup of olive oil, beating constantly. The dressing should look smooth and glossy. (You may want to use a small food processor to save your hand the work).

step four. whisk in the vinegar, then mustard. Stir in the capers, shallots, herbs, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.

step five. Coarse chop the remaining egg and egg white and fold into the dressing.

step six. Put the warm potatoes and broccoli in a large bowl and gently toss with 3/4 of the dressing. Taste, adjust flavors, and add more dressing if needed.

Split Pea Soup

Ode to Heidi 

Part 2.  

 

Split Pea soup is quite possibly my favorite soup! If it's on the menu, I'm ordering it. And I will often let a restaurant's soup decide whether or not I choose to eat there ever again. Most places get this soup wrong because so often the split-peas can make the final product chalky, chunky, and thick; Not how I like my soup at all. But done right, I'm in soup heaven. And if I may make a shout out to two place in L.A. that I think do Split Pea right, visit The Overland Cafe in Culver City, or Il Tramezzino in Beverly Hills. But it was only a matter of time before I tried my hand at split pea soup, because well, if you like things done right, you should (eventually) learn to do them yourself. At least in cooking, that's mostly true. Heidi's recipe calls for curry powder, but I didn't have any on hand so I just used a little turmeric, and it really helped to boost that green color in the soup. As in any soup, I recommend using a broth or Bouillon that you absolutely love. I always use Rapunzel vegan vegetable bouillon with no salt added. The bay leaf is my own addition, because both above referenced restaurants use it in their recipes, and it may just be the key ingredient to why I love this soup SO much! 

 

Split Pea Soup

(Adapted from Heidi Swanson's Green Lentil Soup) 

 

 
Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter or coconut oil 
• 1 large yellow onion chopped 
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 to 2 bay leaves, whole
• 5 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or bouillon cubes dissolved in water)
• 1 1/2 cups green split peas (picked over and rinsed) 
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 3 tbps. Indian curry powder or turmeric (optional) 
• sea salt 
• 1 bunch fresh chives, minced 

Tips:

• I don't like my food spicy, so I eased up on the chili flakes. Where Heidi's recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon, I used only 1/4 teaspoon. But the little hint of heat was a very nice addition to this classic. 
• If using bouillon cubes, start a pot of boiling water while you are cutting your onions so that you can add simmering stock to your soft onions in step two.

step one. Combine the 2 tablespoons of butter, onion, garlic, bay leaf, and red pepper flakes in a large soup pot over medium heat, stirring regularly, until the onions soften (a couple minutes). 

step two. Add the vegetable broth or stock, and the split peas. simmer, covered, until the split peas are tender (30-50 minutes).

step 3. Prepare a brown butter drizzle. Warm 3 tablespoons butter in a small saucepan over medium heat and let it brown. When it starts to smell nutty and fragrant, stir in your curry or turmeric powder and sautee for less than a minute. Remove from heat.

step four. When the pea soup mixture is finished cooking, remove from heat, and stir in the coconut milk, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, and puree with an immersion blender. Make as smooth or chunky as you like. Stir in half of the spiced brown butter to taste, and add more salt, if needed. If your broth was unsalted, you may add a few teaspoons of salt at the end.

Serve. Drizzle with remaining brown butter and sprinkle with chives.

This soup is a meal in itself. A buttered roll, or toasted baguette may be all you need to finish off your plate.

Muesli

Ode to Heidi 

Part 1.  

 

When my sister was up in LA visiting me over the holidays, she pulled a cookbook off my shelf and started flipping through it. "I can't believe I don't have this one," she said, "She's got so much good stuff in here!" SHE of course, is Heidi Swanson, and the book is Super Natural Every Day. An instant classic if you ask me. It's one of my most-referenced cookbooks; Dignified with folded corners and hand-written notes pressed between the pages. So, with a renewed sense of exploration, and inspired by my sister, I ventured back into the pages of Super Natural Every Day.  Please enjoy reading and tasting some of my favorites from the great Heidi Swanson.

 

Muesli 

(AKA Overnight Oats) 

Easy, simple, bright, and customizable. Tired of the bagel selection at work, I went straight for my favorite recipe in this book, and consequently, it's on page 1. There's no better grab-and-go breakfast than overnight oats, and heidi's Muesli is perfectly balanced to be sweet, tart, and comforting.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped Marcona almonds
• 1/4 cup golden raisins
• 1/4 cup raw wheat germ
• 1/4 tsp. fine grain sea salt
• Plain yogurt
• water
• maple syrup

Tip: Prepare each serving in a small mason jar or tupperware container for the on-the-go morning. 
 
step one. In a large bowl, toss together the oats, almonds, raisins, wheat germ and salt. Transfer to a mason jar (or tupperware) until ready to use.

step two. For each serving, spoon 1/2 cup yogurt into a bowl with 1/4 cup water, and sweeten with a splash of maple syrup. Stir in 1/2 cup of the muesli and let it sit in the refrigerator for at least an hour, or preferably overnight.

Serving suggestion: Top with fresh berries or left-over raisins.

Customize: with chia seeds, bee pollen, or fresh banana.


Links to more of my posts and raves about Heidi Swanson:

Split Pea Soup  
Broccoli Gribiche 
Chanterelle Tacos
Maple Blueberry Coffee Cake 
Granola 
Blueberry Pie
Little Quinoa Cakes 
Chickpea Wraps