Polenta veggie bowl

We are fully loving spring and asparagus season. We are sharing a spring veggie polenta recipe with you today. We used broccoli greens instead of swiss chard this time because we had a lot from our spring broccoli harvest.

Serves: 2-4

Time: 1 1/2hrs

Ingredients

1 batch basic polenta

1 batch of shittake bacon

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 bulb fennel

1 bunch asparagus

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 red onion

1 small head of broccoli

1 bunch of swiss chard (feel free to substitute other spring greens)

2 cloves garlic

2 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar

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Preheat the oven to 375 F. Begin to make the basic polenta and shiitake bacon.

Cut the fennel into slices and the broccoli into florets. Toss them with olive oil and spread on a lined baking sheet. Salt. Roast in the oven about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Slice the onion and saute until caremilzed. Mince the garlic and cut the chard into thin strips. Fry the garlic until fragrant, no longer than 2 minutes, add the chard and salt to taste. Saute until wilted. If you have multiple frying pans these steps can be done simultaneously.

Set the oven to broil. Trim the ends off the asparagus and put on a baking sheet with olive oil and salt. Broil for 7 minutes, flip, and broil for another 7 minutes. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with lemon juice.

To assemble, place polenta in a bowl and then add a bit of each element. Finish with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and enjoy!

Romanesco Alfredo Pasta

This recipe was inspired by receiving romenesco and having no idea what to make with it. We love how it pairs with the cheesy Alfredo sauce. Combined with some shittake bacon and wilted greens it’s a perfect pasta night!

Serves: 4

Time: 1 1/2 hrs

Ingredients

2 heads romenesco, cut into small florets (cauliflower or broccoli is a good substitution)

6 tbsp olive oil, divided

salt

1 batch Shiitake Bacon

1 bunch Red Russian kale (or any hearty greens)

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb pasta (gluten-free option)

1 onion, sliced

3 tbsp white wine, optional

For the Breadcrumbs:

1 cup breadcrumbs (gluten-free option)

1/4 cup sunflower seeds

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1 tbsp garlic powder

3 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

1 cup cashews soaked for at least 30 min

1 1/2 cup water

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 tbsp garlic granules

1 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/2 tsp salt

1 pinch of red pepper flakes

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Pre-heat the oven to 375 F and soak 1 cup of cashews in water. Start making shiitake bacon since the mushrooms need time to marinate. Cut the romenesco into florets and toss with 4 tbsp of olive oil and 1 tsp of salt. Bake for 45 minutes or until tender and golden brown with a couple of crispy bits.

To make the breadcrumbs, whizz the sunflower seeds in a food processor until breadcrumb consistency. Add all the rest of the ingredients except the olive oil. Start the food processor and stream the olive oil into the mixture while it is running. This should clump some of the breadcrumbs together. Be careful not to over blend.

Drain the soaked cashews. Add them and all of the other sauce ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. To test the consistency, put a small amount of sauce on your finger and rub your fingers together. If it is completely smooth then you are there! If it feels at all like there is some sandiness, keep blending.

Boil a pot of well salted water. If you aren’t sure how much salt to use, the water should taste similar to seawater. Once boiling, add pasta and cook to desired consistency (follow instructions on pasta package). While pasta is boiling, cook the shiitake bacon and slice the onions. Next de-stem kale, wash, and slice into ribbons. Mince the garlic.

After straining the pasta, heat the pasta pot with oil and saute the onion until it caramelizes and turns a beautiful brown color. You will need to stir less at the beginning, but as the onion starts to break down you will need to be stirring non-stop. If the onion starts to stick, de-glaze the pan with a bit of white wine (optional). Add the cashew alfredo sauce to the pan and stir until slightly thickened. At the same time, in a separate pan, cook the garlic in a little bit of oil, adding the kale in just to wilt. Set these aside.

Now, it’s time to add it all together! Add the strained pasta back into the pot with the Alfredo sauce and stir to coat. To plate serve the Alfredo pasta topped with the romenesco, wilted garlic kale, and shittake bacon. Garnish with breadcrumbs and enjoy!