Pork Chops with Deviled Chard Stems and Chard Gratin

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market there will be fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb from Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm. Also you'll find fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm including melons and watermelons, tomatoes, tomatillos (try this roasted salsa), padron peppers, summer squash, sweet onions, and fresh herbs.

Our family let out a collective squeal of delight last week when we saw the first of Camas Swale's harvest of padron pepper, or what my son refers to as "lucky, unlucky peppers." My husband and I love their intense flavor when seared and salted, and our kids love to watch us eat them, since their variable spiciness level makes each new specimen a gamble.

Along with our padron peppers, we purchased colorful chard, sumptuous heirloom tomatoes, zucchini, onions, and sweet cucumbers from Camas Swale, and some thick boneless pork chops from Fair Valley Farm. 

I love the combination of pork with mustard, so I decided to make a mustardy garnish for our seared pork chops of roasted deviled chard stems. With the chard leaves, I made a variation on this zucchini gratin, but with the addition of a cheesy breadcrumb topping. It all made for another delicious midsummer Sunday evening farmers market feast.

Pork Chops with Deviled Chard Stems

roasted deviled chard stems
Swiss chard stems sliced from 1 bunch of chard and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 small lemon
1 Tbsp dijon mustard
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper

seared and roasted pork chops
2 thick boneless pork chops
salt and pepper
1 Tbsp olive oil

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

2. Peel the lemon with a vegetable peeler and cut into thin strips. Juice the lemon into a medium bowl. Whisk in the mustard, olive oil, and honey. Stir in the chard pieces and lemon peel. Season with a little salt (depending on the saltiness of your mustard) and plenty of black pepper. Transfer to a small baking dish or oven safe skillet. Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the stems are fragrant and nicely browned on the edges.

3. Generously season the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat a cast iron skillet over high heat until it is very hot. Add 1 Tbsp olive oil to coat the pan. Sear the pork chops at high temperature until nicely browned on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer the pan to the oven and continue cooking for about five minutes until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees F. 

4. Allow the cooked pork chops to rest for about ten minutes. Serve topped with the deviled chard stems.

Zucchini and Chard Gratin

1 bunch chard leaves, cut into 1 inch strips
1 small onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil 
1 medium zucchini, grated
2 eggs
100 g (scan 1/2 cup) crème fraîche (which you can make yourself, or use sour cream)
120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
1 cup bread crumbs
100 g (3.5 ounces) grated gruyère or aged cheddar cheese 
salt and pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. On the stovetop, heat a pan over medium heat. Saute the diced onion in 1 Tbsp olive oil. When the onion is glassy, add the chard leaves. Cook the chard leaves for a couple of minutes until brightly colored but not yet wilted. Season with salt to taste and transfer to a 9x9 inch baking dish. Add the grated zucchini and mix.  

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and then mix in the crème fraîche, milk, salt and pepper. Pour the mixture over the chard and zucchini in the baking dish. Cover with bread crumbs and then with the grated cheese.

6. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes until the gratin is nicely browned.

Roasted Lemon Soy Chicken Legs

The Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market is excited to announce that Fair Valley Farm and Fog Hollow Farm have teamed up to bring you fresh eggs and pastured chicken, beef, pork, and lamb every week. Also at the market you'll find fresh cut flower bouquets from Tiger Lily Art Company and fresh produce from Camas Swale Farm including gorgeous heirloom tomatoes (make a pitcher of gazpacho for the hot days ahead), berries, honey and (new this week) melons.

In addition to whole chickens, Fog Hollow Farm offers parted breasts and legs. I purchased a package of legs last week, which I thawed for a few hours in a bowl of warm water and then tossed in a lemon and soy sauce marinade.

Dinner Sunday night was a delicious and easy Farmers Market feast of roasted chicken, kale chips (since the oven was on), fresh heirloom tomatoes and cucumbers and roasted onions with lemony pan juices over rice. 

Roasted Lemon Soy Chicken Legs

2 chicken legs (drumsticks and thighs, about 1.5 lb)
1 large lemon
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp honey
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
fresh ground pepper
1 large onion

1. Peel the lemon with a vegetable peeler and cut the peel into thin strips. Juice the lemon. In a glass bowl big enough to hold the chicken, combine the lemon juice and zest, soy sauce, olive oil, honey, garlic cloves, salt and pepper. Cut the chicken legs to separate the drumsticks from the thighs, add them to the bowl and coat them well with the marinade. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator at least 1 hour or overnight.

2. Preheat the oven to 425. Cut the onion into about 16 wedges and arrange on the bottom of a baking pan or pie dish. Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, on top of the onions, and drizzle over the marinade. Roast until the chicken is cooked through, basting occasionally with pan juices, about 35 minutes. The onions should char a little at the edges. 

3. Remove the chicken from the oven and let rest 10 minutes. Serve the chicken with the onions and pan juices.

Asparagus, Lemon, and White Bean Pasta

Just two more weeks until the start of the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market June 5th. With the recent drizzly weather, it might feel hard to believe that summer is almost here, but it provides the perfect excuse to cook up a pot of beans. And if you do, be sure to save the bean broth. This flavor-packed liquid has recently been elevated to cult status, redubbed aquafaba, as a vegan substitute for egg whites. I've been independently obsessing about bean broth as the perfect medium in which to cook pasta, such as the iconic Italian dish of pasta con ceci, described here and here. This method of one pot cooking of pasta in a small volume of flavorful broth, like risotto, is apparently standard in Italy, and what we should all be doing now that water is becomes a scarcer resource.
 

For a spring version with delicate white beans, I riffed off Melissa Clark's delicious pasta with fried lemons, adding in asparagus. Bean broth plus the flavored water used to blanch the lemon wedges and asparagus served as the pasta cooking medium. The possibilities are endless, and well worth making room for tubs of bean broth in your freezer for quick, one pot, weeknight dinners. 

Asparagus, Lemon, and White Bean Pasta

serves four

2-3 lemons
1 bunch asparagus
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
pinch of sugar
1/4 tbsp red pepper flakes or to taste
1 1/2 cups cooked white beans

2 cups bean broth, salted to taste
2 cups salted water in which lemons and asparagus were blanched
8 ounces small pasta such as ditalini or elbow noodles
freshly grated parmesan cheese for serving 

1. Bring 4 cups of salted water to a boil. Trim the tops and bottoms off the lemons and cut lengthwise into quarters; remove seeds. Thinly slice the quarters crosswise into triangles. Blanch the lemon pieces in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a dish towel. Blot dry.

2. Trim the asparagus and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths. In the same water that you used for the lemons, blanch the asparagus for 4 minutes. Strain the asparagus and reserve the flavored blanching water.

3. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat. Add the dried lemon pieces and season with a pinch each of salt and sugar. Cook until the lemons are caramelized and browned at the edges, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate. 

4. Add another tablespoon of olive oil and sauté the asparagus for 2 minutes over medium high heat to char slightly. Transfer to the plate with the lemon wedges.

5. Add one more tablespoon of olive oil to the hot skillet and the chili flakes, and then the beans and toss briefly. Now add about two cups of bean broth, the pasta, and about two cups of the lemony blanching water, such that the pasta is submerged. Cook simmering, stirring occasionally to prevent the pasta from sticking, and adding more broth to keep the pasta submerged, until the pasta is just undercooked, about 12 minutes. Stir in the asparagus, lemon wedges, and a tablespoon of butter and cook one more minute. Avoid overcooking the pasta and make sure that the final dish has enough liquid to form a thick sauce. Serve with lots of freshly grated parmesan cheese.

Kale Salad with Roasted Carrots and Chickpeas

Here's a roasted vegetable salad for our off again, on again spring weather. Roast the carrots and chickpeas while it rains, and toss together the salad to enjoy when the sun peaks out. I roasted the carrots and chickpeas in an rich coating of cumin and smoked paprika, and spiked the tahini dressing with a good dose of lemon. The dressed kale will hold up well even if you have to wait a while for the sunshine. 

Kale Salad with Roasted Carrots and Chickpeas

1 bunch kale, ribs removed and leaves cut into 3/4 inch ribbons
2 large carrots, rinsed and sliced on the diagonal
1 cup cooked chickpeas, drained
4 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt to taste

dressing
2 tsp tahini
1 tsp white miso paste
1/4 tsp honey
juice of one lemon
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

1. Prepare the roasted toppings. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. On a large rimmed baking sheet, dump the sliced carrots on a large rimmed baking sheet and toss with 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and a good sprinkle of salt. On a second rimmed baking sheet, toss the drained chickpeas with the remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika and a good sprinkle of salt. Spread out and roast for about 20 minutes, turning the carrots with a spatula occasionally, until they are soft and have started to brown around the edges, and shaking the chickpeas occasionally, until they have browned and crisped. When the roasted toppings are done, set them aside.

2. Prepare the dressing by mixing together all of ingredients until the dressing is emulsified. Taste and add more of any ingredient to adjust the flavor to your likening. 

3. In a large bowl, toss the chopped kale leaves with the dressing until well coated. Gently toss in the roasted toppings. The salad is nice served at once, but it can also stand for a few hours. Enjoy. 

Chicken in Milk

With a steady supply of pastured chickens from our Fair Valley Farm CSA, I'm always on the look out for easy whole chicken recipes. Today I tried a one pot Jamie Oliver recipe, classified as genius by food52, with a surprising ingredient list: cinnamon stick, lemon peel, garlic cloves, sage leaves, and milk. The end result was fragrant and succulent, and will definitely be staying on our dinner rotation. You start by browning your chicken in a snug pot, then after decanting the browned butter (which I used in our mashed potatoes), you toss in the remaining ingredients and shove it into the oven for 90 minutes, occasionally basting the chicken with the sauce. The chicken browns but stays wonderfully moist (I positioned the breast side down to keep it submerged), the milk solids separate out, leaving a flavorful sauce, and best of all are the whole roasted garlic cloves to squeeze into your mashed potatoes. This is a perfect weekend afternoon dish because it requires little attention, while infusing the house with delicious smells, and leaving time for other kitchen puttering. As the chicken cooked, I prepared the mashed potatoes and used the lower rack of the oven to rotate through several baking sheets to roast: broccoli for a couple dinners, and cumin carrots and chickpeas for a salad later in the week. It's nice to start the week with a chicken in one's pot and several dinners already in the bag.

Jamie Oliver's Chicken in Milk

One 3-pound (1 1/2-kilogram) organic chicken
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 ounces (1 stick or 115 grams) butter or olive oil
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 good handful fresh sage, leaves picked
Zest of 2 lemons, peeled in thick strips with a peeler
10 garlic cloves, skins left on
1 pint (565 milliliters) whole milk

1. Preheat the oven to 375° F and find a snug-fitting pot for the chicken. Season the chicken generously all over with salt and pepper and fry it in the butter or olive oil, turning the chicken to get an even color all over, until golden. Remove from the heat, put the chicken on a plate, and throw away the butter left in the pot (or save for another use). This will leave you with tasty sticky goodness at the bottom of the pan, which will give you a lovely caramel flavor later on. 

2. Put your chicken back in the pot with the rest of the ingredients, then cook it in the preheated oven for 1 1/2 hours. Baste with the cooking juice when you remember. (Oliver leaves the pot uncovered, but you can leave it partially covered if you'd like it to retain more moisture and make more sauce.) The lemon zest will sort of split the milk, making a sauce, which is absolutely fantastic. 

3. To serve, pull the meat off the bones and divide it on to your plates. Spoon over plenty of juice and the little curds. Serve with wilted spinach or greens and some mashed potato.

Fennel and Sardine Pasta

This Sunday at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

green, yellow wax, and romano beans (try this bean salad with almonds and apricots)
blueberries

tomatoes and fennel (make the pasta dish below)
squash blossoms, baby squash, and zucchini

celery and kohlrabi (great in kimchi)
cucumbers and carrots (make some spring rolls)

broccoli and cauliflower (nice grilled in packets with beets) 

cilantro, Italian parsley, and 1 lb bags of basil (make pesto)
bell and cayenne peppers

fresh spring garlic and Red Long of Tropea onions (delicious grilled on pizza)

kale, chard, collards (make a chard and bacon tart)
variety of lettuces including iceberg lettuce
sunflowers and cardoon flowers

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens (try spatchocked)

Fennel is the backbone of one of my favorite quick pantry pasta dishes with bright and refreshing flavors that are perfect for a warm summer evening. This recipe illustrates some principles of a well-stocked pantry. First, no pantry is complete without a supply of tomatoes, and the absolute best are freshly preserved (here I used some of my stash of Sweetwater Farm romas frozen last summer). Next, always keep on hand a collection of canned fish,including sardines, salmon, tuna, anchovies, and smoked trout. Lemons and garlic are necessities. And finally, I like to keep a frozen supply of fresh breadcrumbs, which are easily made from the stale ends of Eugene City Bakery baguette run through the grater blade of your food processor. Then all you need to do is pick up a fennel bulb at the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market, and you have a delicious midweek meal lined up to go. 

Linguine with Sardines, Fennel and Tomato

adapted closely from lastnightsdinner at food52

1 tin sardines packed in olive oil (about 4 ¼ oz.)
extra virgin olive oil
2-3 fat cloves of garlic, peeled, smashed, and roughly chopped
1 small or ½ large bulb fennel, fronds reserved
1/4 teaspoon red chile flakes, or more to taste
2 cups peeled tomatoes (~12 romas) with their juice, gently crushed 
2 ounces white (dry) vermouth
1 medium lemon, juice and zest
1/3 cup toasted bread crumbs
1 lb pounds dry linguine

1. Bring a very large pot of heavily salted water to a boil. Trim the fennel and slice the bulb very thinly. 

2. Open the sardine tin and drain the oil into a wide skillet (the amount of oil in the tin will vary by brand, so add additional extra virgin olive oil if necessary to make up 2 tablespoons). Warm the oil over medium-low heat and add the garlic, cooking until fragrant. 

3. Add the sliced fennel to the skillet with a sprinkle of salt, raise the heat to medium, and cook until the fennel is soft and beginning to caramelize. Add the chile flakes and let them sizzle for a minute, just until fragrant, then add the tomatoes with their juice. Cook until the liquid is reduced, then add the vermouth and let that reduce slightly. 

4. Add the sardines to the skillet with the tomato and fennel mixture, breaking up slightly but leaving some chunks. 

5. Add the linguine to the boiling salted water, cooking it until it is just short of al dente. 

6. As the pasta cooks, prepare the breadcrumb topping. Zest the lemon. Mince some of the fennel fronds. If using frozen fresh breadcrumbs, toast them lightly in a toasting oven or dry skillet. Combine a tablespoon or so of zest, along with a teaspoon of minced fennel fronds, with the toasted breadcrumbs, then set aside. 

7. Juice the lemon and add the juice to the pan. Taste and adjust salt if necessary. 

8. When the linguine is just short of al dente, use tong s to transfer to the sauce to finish cooking, adding a little bit of the starchy pasta water if necessary, and tossing gently to combine. (You'll want the sauce to be a little soupy, as the breadcrumbs will soak up the liquid and dry the pasta out a bit once you've added them.) 

9. Transfer the pasta and sauce to a large warmed serving bowl (or individual pasta bowls), add a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle on the toasted breadcrumb-lemon zest mixture, and garnish with picked small fennel fronds and the remaining lemon zest.

Salad of Grilled Kohlrabi and Smoked Trout

Be sure to include a trip to the Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market in your holiday weekend plans. This Sunday you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

fennel and kohlrabi (try grilled with smoked trout)

squash blossoms, baby squash, zucchini, and a few tomatoes (nice shredded)

cauliflower, broccoli, and nappa cabbage (try some dumplings) 

fresh herbs and Italian parsley (make some parsley pesto)

fava beans and sugar snap peas (add some crunch to your salad)

cucumbers and carrots (make some pickles)

spring onions, fresh spring garlic, and lemon drop hot peppers

spinach, kale, chard, collards, braising greens mix, lettuce, and salad mix

dried beans and grains from Camus Country Mill

jams, salsa, and pickles from Sweet Creek Foods

pastured chickens (try chicken and saffron rice)

Last Sunday evening we had a Fairmount Farmers Market grilled feast: Fair Valley Farm chicken; kohlrabi slices with lemon; summer squash, garlic scape and spring onion skewers; and Israeli couscous with parsley pesto.

But the best part might have been a salad I whipped up Monday morning with the leftover kohlrabi and a tin of smoked trout (available at Trader Joe's). The smokey flavors of the kohlrabi and fish melded together, the kohlrabi gave the salad crunch, and the parsley and lemon made it all fresh and bright. Definitely a good reason for slapping on some kohlrabi rounds when you next fire up your grill. 

Salad of Grilled Kohlrabi and Smoked Trout

1 medium kohlrabi
~1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large lemon
1 tin smoked trout in oil (110 g)
1/2 cup flat parsley leaves, chopped
salt to taste

1. Peel the kohlrabi generously with a pairing knife to remove all of the woody exterior and slice into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Rub with a little olive oil and salt generously. Slice the lemon and stack the kohlrabi and lemon slices on top of each other.

2. Heat a grill or a grill pan. Grill the kohlrabi and lemon slices until the kohlrabi is lightly chard and partially cooked, but still retains some crunch, and the lemon slices are lightly chard and soft. (These lemony kohlrabi slices make a nice vegetable side, so make some extras if you like, but 1 kohlrabi is the right amount for 1 tin of smoked trout).

3. Slice the kohlrabi into 1/4 inch strips and place in a serving bowl. Squeeze the grilled lemon on top of the kohlrabi and toss with the parsley leaves. Add the smoked trout and oil from the tin, break the trout into bite sized pieces with a fork, and toss again. Taste and add more salt if desire. Enjoy.

Kohlrabi, Lemon, Caper Salad and Roast Ham

This Sunday's Fairmount Neighborhood Farmers Market you can look forward to the following offerings from Sweetwater Farm and Fair Valley Farm:

• variety of tomatoes including 10 lb flats of San Marzano romas for $15
• Akane apples and Asian pears from SLO Farm (time for roasted apple sauce)
• Italian prune plums (try some pickled)
• cantaloupe and honeydew mellons
• kohlrabi, baby carrots, cabbage, and celery (great in Pad Thai)
• kale and collards (try as a kale version of saag paneer)
• globe and Japanese eggplants
• bargain bags of broccoli and red bell peppers
• lettuces and baby lettuce salad mix
• cucumbers, zucchini and summer squash
• a variety of potatoes including bargain bags of red potatoes (try fried wedges)
• sweet onions, garlic, leeks, and fennel
• fresh herbs, including basil, cilantro, dill, thyme, oregano, and sage
• tomato sauce and pesto
• naturally fermented pickles, dilly beans, and sauerkraut
• homemade jams (delicious in crepes)
• Scottish oats (make this teff oatmeal)
• a selection of dried beans and grains from Camas Country Mill
• pastured chicken (try roasted with five spices)
• pastured pork: pork chops, shoulder roasts, and 10% discount on ham roasts
• pastured lamb: ground, rib chops, and 10% discount on leg roasts

There's a definite chill in the air these mornings and it's time to start turning our attention to some of the heftier fall vegetables. I want to make a plug for the kohlrabi, which can make a nice transition from summer to fall in this tangy salad. Kohlrabi are knobby and awkward-looking, but once you slice off their outsides (and do so generously to remove any woody parts), then they have a deliciously crunchy white interior with just a hint of sharpness to them. I found that they pair beautifully with a briny lemon and caper dressing.

This salad would make a perfect first course for a hearty meal of baked beans and roast ham, which we enjoyed recently with Farimount Neighborhood Farmers Market-sourced heirloom dried beans (King of the Early Beans variety) and Fair Valley Farm's pastured ham. You'll want to stock up on these ham roasts this Sunday, on sale at a 10% discount. Not only do they make a delicious meal, but the leftovers have infinite uses in stir fries, salads, crepes, stuffings, and soups.

Kohlrabi and Caper Salad

makes four small dinner salads

1 small kohlrabi
~16 tender lettuce leaves 

lemon caper dressing
1 Tbsp capers
zest and juice of 1 large lemon
1 heaping tsp mustard
1/4 cup olive oil

1. You can prepare the dressing by combining all the ingredients in a miniprocessor, or chop the capers by hand and whisk in the other ingredients. I like to zest the lemon with a microplane grater.

2. Cut the kohlrabi in half and peel very generously with a paring knife to remove any woody parts. Cut the peeled kohlrabi halves into very thin slices (or use a mandoline).

3. Wash the lettuce leaves and arrange on four salad plates. Spread over the kohlrabi slices. Pour a generous amount of the lemon caper dressing over the sliced kohlrabi. Enjoy.

Ham Roast

One ham roast (about 5 lb)
1 tsp whole cloves
1/2 cup mustard
1/2 cup brown sugar

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Mix together the mustard and brown sugar and slather it over the ham. Stud the ham with whole cloves. Place in a baking pan and roast at 300 degrees for about 20 minutes per pound of ham. At the same time you can cook these baked beans.

Moroccan Beef and Chickpea Stew

The silver lining to this week's cold and gloomy weather was the chance to try out a stew recipe from the Moroccan cookbook my mother-in-law gave me for my birthday. The one I chose is a Sephardic sabbath stew called Dafina, made with beef and chickpeas and flavored with dried fruit and saffron. 

The meat requires no browning, so you merely toss together all the ingredients in a big pot and slide it in the oven. Magically the flavors infuse, the meat and chickpeas become tender, the barley melts into the background as it thickens the stew, and the yam pieces dissolved into the broth, adding depth to the fruity sauce.

I wanted something fresh, tangy, and salty to complement the stew's mellow sweetness. Lacking preserved lemons, I improvised a lemon, caper, and parsley pesto dressing for a salad of chopped kale and almonds that did the trick. 

This stew is traditionally served with eggs that have been cooked in their shells in the meat pot, giving them a brown, mottled appearance. For the under ten crowd in the household, I hard boiled the eggs separately and the over ten crowd enjoyed them layered on the stew with a dollop of harissa. 

Sephardic Sabbath Stew

adapted from Cooking at the Kasbah by Kitty Morse

serves 6-8

1 cup dried chickpeas (if they are older, soak them in water overnight)
1/2 cup golden hulless barley (from Lonesome Whistle Farm)
2 lb beef chuck, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
2 onions, finely chopped
4 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
1 large or 2 small yams, peeled and chopped into 2 inch pieces
6 prunes, pitted and chopped
8 dried apricots, chopped
pinch saffron threads
3 1/2 cups beef or chicken stock
hard boiled eggs (optional)
harissa (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Toss the cubed beef in the cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Soak the saffron threads to 1/4 cup of boiled water. Prepare all of the vegetables.

2. In a large Dutch oven combine all of the ingredients except the eggs. Cook in the oven, covered, for about 3 hours, stirring occasionally, and adding more liquid if necessary, until the beef is very tender and the chickpeas are soft but still firm. Raise the temperature to 400 degrees, uncover the pot and cook for an additional 20 to 30 minutes to allow the stew to caramelize.

3. Serve with harissa and quartered hard boiled eggs, if desired.

Kale Salad with Lemon, Capers, and Almonds

serves 4 as a side salad

4-6 lacinato kale leaves
2 Tbsp capers
1 cup Italian parsley leaves
1 large or 2 small lemons
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup whole almonds

1. Cut the kale leaves from the stem, cut wide leaves lengthwise, and then cut the leaves crosswise into 1/4 inch strips.

2. Prepare the dressing. In a food processor or blender, combine the capers, the parsley leaves, the zest and juice from the lemon, and the olive oil. Blend into a pesto with some texture. Toss the kale leaves in the dressing to coat well.

3. In a dry skillet or a toaster oven, toast the almonds until fragrant. Chop them coarsely and toss them into the salad. Serve along side the stew.