Week of August 3rd

Grilled Peruvian Chicken with Green Sauce

Cook Time: total time 1 hour and 5 minutes | Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 lb.)
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided, plus more
5 garlic cloves, 4 finely grated, 1 whole
3 Tbsp. plus ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp. ground cumin
2 Tbsp. smoked paprika
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
Freshly ground pepper
2 medium scallions, coarsely chopped
1 large jalapeño, halved, ribs and seeds removed
2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro, plus cilantro leaves with tender stems for serving
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt
Vegetable oil (for grill)
Thinly sliced red onion (for serving)

Directions:
Pat 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (about 2 lb.) dry with paper towels and season with kosher salt. Whisk 4 garlic cloves, finely grated, 3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 3 Tbsp. red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar, 2 Tbsp. ground cumin, 2 Tbsp. smoked paprika, 2 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper in a large bowl to combine; season with freshly ground pepper. Add chicken and turn to coat. Let sit at least 20 minutes and up to 1 hour.
Meanwhile, blend 2 medium scallions, coarsely chopped, 1 large jalapeño, halved, ribs and seeds removed, 2 cups coarsely chopped cilantro, ¼ cup fresh lime juice, ¼ cup mayonnaise, remaining 1 garlic clove, remaining ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, and remaining 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt in a blender until combined (some herb flecks are okay). Transfer purée to a small bowl and stir in ¼ cup plain whole-milk yogurt. Set sauce aside.
Prepare a grill for medium heat; oil grate with vegetable oil. Arrange chicken on grate, cover, and grill, turning halfway through, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of breasts registers 160°, 13–15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a cutting board and let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Arrange chicken on a platter and top with thinly sliced red onion and cilantro leaves with tender stems. Serve with reserved sauce on the side.

This is a chicken-based variation of the Bon Appetit Peruvian Tofu from a couple weeks ago, but IMO worth repeating. The marinade worked really well with the chicken breasts and produced a moist center with a nicely blacked outside. I matched this with brown rice.

Brown Butter Lentil and Sweet Potato Salad

Cook Time: 35 minutes | Servings: Yield 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
FOR THE SALAD:
1 pound sweet potatoes, butternut squash or carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 4 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and black pepper
1 cup French green lentils or black lentils, rinsed
½ cup chopped fresh parsley leaves and tender stems
½ cup crumbled goat cheese (optional)
FOR THE BROWN BUTTER VINAIGRETTE:
1 tablespoon minced fresh sage leaves
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon maple syrup
Kosher salt and black pepper

Directions:
Heat the oven to 375 degrees and set a rack in the center.
Prepare the sweet potatoes: On a baking sheet, toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Spread into an even layer and roast, stirring occasionally, until golden and tender, 15 to 25 minutes.
While the sweet potatoes cook, prepare the lentils: Add the lentils to a medium pot and cover with about 6 cups water. Salt the water generously and bring the mixture to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and cook the lentils until just tender, 15 to 25 minutes. Drain the lentils then return them to the pot. Cover to keep warm.
Prepare the vinaigrette: Add the sage to a small bowl. Melt the butter in a small skillet set over medium heat. (Use a pan with a light interior so you can easily see the milk solids change color.) Cook the butter a few minutes, stirring occasionally and scraping the milk solids off the bottom and sides of the pan as needed, until the milk solids turn golden brown and smell toasty.
Pour the hot browned butter and all of the toasty bits over the sage; it will crackle and foam a bit. Let the mixture sit for 1 minute to let the foam subside, then whisk in the olive oil, followed by the red wine vinegar and maple syrup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Add the cooked sweet potatoes to the pot with the warm lentils. Pour the dressing over the top and stir gently to combine. Add the parsley, season with more salt and pepper, if desired, and toss to combine.
Transfer the mixture to a serving dish and sprinkle with goat cheese, if using. Serve warm.

This works as a dinner, or a great thing to bring to a pot luck as a hearty salad. The key here is to use a good quality lentil- like Bobs French lentils. They are still pleasantly al dente after 20 minutes. The cheap lentils in the rice aisle of the grocery store will turn to mush here.

Gochujang Burger with Spicy Slaw

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons gochujang
3 tablespoons unseasoned rice vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for hands, grill grates and brushing on patties
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
1 ½ pounds ground pork
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal) and black pepper
1 medium Kirby cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
2 ounces soy bean sprouts, rinsed and drained (about 1 cup)
1 large carrot, grated on the large holes of a box grater
2 scallions, thinly sliced
4 burger buns, split
Mayonnaise, for serving

Directions:
Whisk together the gochujang, vinegar, olive oil, sesame oil, sugar and garlic in a large bowl; transfer half of the mixture to a medium bowl and set aside until ready to use.
Add the pork, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper to the large bowl with half of the gochujang mixture. Using 2 forks, begin “pulling” the ground pork apart as if you were shredding pulled pork, breaking up the clumps and incorporating the ingredients together without compacting the meat into a dense mass. Continue to pull the meat apart until thoroughly mixed and no clumps of pork remain, and all of the gochujang mixture has been absorbed.
Lightly oil your hands. Working one at a time, divide the pork mixture into 4 equal portions; roll gently between your hands into balls. Arrange on a rimmed baking sheet and flatten to patties about 1-inch thick.
Toss the cucumber, sprouts, carrot and scallions in the medium bowl with the reserved gochujang mixture until completely coated; season with salt and pepper. Let sit until ready to serve.
Prepare a grill for medium-high direct heat. Clean and oil the grates.
Grill the buns until toasted on both sides, about 30 seconds to 1 minute per side. Transfer to a baking sheet. Brush the patties on both sides with oil and grill until lightly charred on both sides and just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side, closing the grill top between flips as needed if using a gas grill. Transfer the burgers to a plate and let sit for 5 minutes.
Spread mayonnaise on the top and bottom sides of each bun. Top with burgers and gochujang slaw and serve.

If you dont mind a fattier pork burger, this is a strong recommendation. We used gochujang in the turkey sweet potatoes a couple weeks ago, so if you're following along you still have half a jar left.

I passed on buns and instead paired this with polenta. It looked great on the plate, and went well with the gochujang.

Once again my quick polenta recipe: bring 1 cup milk and 2 cups water to an easy boil. Whisk in 1 cup Bob's polenta, and drop heat down to med-low. Stir frequently for 8 minutes or so until its consistency of whipped potatoes. Add 1tbs butter and 1/4 Kraft parm cheese.

Creamy Lemon Asparagus Gnocchi

Prep Time: 10 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Servings: Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 large lemon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (16 to 18-ounce) package shelf-stable potato gnocchi
1 bunch (about 1 pound) asparagus, tough ends removed and stalks cut into ½-inch pieces
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth
Black pepper
¼ cup grated Parmesan, plus more for serving

Directions:
Zest the lemon (you should have about 1 tablespoon zest). Juice the lemon into a small bowl until you have 1 ½ tablespoons.
In a large non-stick skillet over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering, about 1 ½ minutes. Add the gnocchi to the skillet in an even layer, breaking up any gnocchi that are stuck together. Cover and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the asparagus and a pinch of salt to the skillet and toss to combine. Cover again and cook until the asparagus is bright green and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes more, stirring halfway. Transfer to a bowl or plate.
Wipe out the skillet if needed and return to the burner over medium heat. Melt the butter. Once melted, add half of the lemon zest and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 30 seconds.
Add the heavy cream, broth and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper. Bring to a healthy simmer over high heat, about 1 minute. Simmer, adjusting heat as needed, until the sauce is reduced slightly and clings to the back of a spoon in a thin layer, 2 to 3 minutes. While stirring, add the Parmesan.
Return the gnocchi and asparagus to the skillet and toss to combine (the sauce will be thin and won’t cling to the gnocchi). Bring the mixture to a healthy simmer over high heat and continue to cook, adjusting heat as needed to maintain a steady bubble, until the sauce thickens and clings to the gnocchi, 1 ½ to 3 minutes more. (There will be a decent amount of somewhat thin sauce; stirring in the lemon juice in the next step will thicken the sauce and bring it all together).
Remove the skillet from the heat. Stirring constantly, add the remaining lemon zest and lemon juice. The sauce will thicken and become silky. Season to taste with salt and pepper as needed. Serve immediately, topped with more Parmesan and pepper as desired.

Notes:
Extra lemon juice can be stirred in at the end for more zing, but note that the sauce will continue to thicken as more juice is added.

This is an unusually finicky recipe for a pretty simple concept. For instance, I'm not sure why we're splitting the lemon zest here into two stages. I think you could probably get the exact same result with about half as many steps. But whatever. It's still pretty quick.

Usually I find that 1 lb of gnocchi is not quite enough for 4 whole servings, but the recipe here is very rich. Good, but rich. I thought a little went a long way. We were OK with smaller portions of the gnocchi and I paired it with a larger salad.

Lemongrass Tofu and Broccoli

Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 10 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:
3 lemongrass stalks (white parts only), finely chopped (about 2 tablespoons)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
4 teaspoons sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1 (14- to 16-ounce) block extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 pound broccoli, cut into small florets and halved
Salt and pepper
Big handful chopped cilantro or scallions
Cooked rice, rice noodles or glass noodles, for serving

Directions:
Make the lemongrass marinade: Place the lemongrass, garlic, soy sauce, neutral oil, sesame oil, sugar, turmeric and crushed red pepper in a large bowl; stir to combine.
Add the tofu cubes to the marinade and toss to coat. Leave the tofu to marinate for 10 minutes. (You can let the tofu marinate, covered, in the fridge for up to 24 hours.)
Heat a wok or large (12-inch) skillet on medium-high for 2 minutes.
Add the onions to the tofu and give them a quick toss so they’re coated in the marinade. When the skillet is hot, add the tofu and onions and cook, tossing often, until the onions have softened slightly, about 2 minutes.
Add the broccoli, season well with salt and pepper, and toss.
Reduce heat to medium, cover (a sheet pan works well here) and cook for 2 minutes. Uncover, give it a quick toss and cover again. Cook for 1 minute or until the broccoli is just tender and still bright green.
Top with cilantro or scallions and serve with rice or noodles.

This is my first time using lemongrass in a recipe. I'm a long-time looker, first time buyer here. Like you, my only place to get this is in one of those ridiculous, over priced tiny plastic boxes in the produce isle next to the 3 sprigs of cilantro for $4. Not optimal, but what the hell. Yolo.

Well, first of all, the lemongrass in this form looked like shit. I'm guessing lemongrass is not flying off the shelf in US chain grocery stores, but man, they are not trying very hard, either. This lemongrass had one foot in the grave. Nonetheless, I had committed to this recipe, so I forged ahead.

I think I was expecting the lemongrass to slice like a scallion, but not the case. It was much more like chopping up a couple of #2 pencils. OK. So maybe it will soften during cooking. Also not the case. It gave the tofu hint of lemongrass flavor, which was nice, but honesty the half moons of lemongrass had the mouthfeel of toenail clippings.

I know I'm not really selling this here, but what can I tell you. I think the answer here is to find fresh lemongrass and re-evaluate. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to catch the monthly lemongrass re-stock early in the cycle. Or you could honestly skip the lemongrass altogether. The turmeric and soy sauce were really carrying this recipe, anyway.

I also sautéed/browned the broccoli florets in a different skillet, and added them to the plated dinner at the end. I felt like they were going to get mushy and not properly crisp if I mixed them in with the tofu in the pan.