Gourmet BLTs With Green Garlic Aioli

Commence the week of Green Garlic (I mentioned Fresh Garlic in last weeks recipes… what we’re using is actually called green garlic. It looks a lot like green onions). To start we made these yummy BLTs with a gourmet twist. Quite good. The Brioche bread is fabulous, and definitely makes the sandwiches that much better. Worth it if you can find it.

Gourmet BLTs With Green Garlic Aioli

Makes 6 sandwiches. Recipe from Epicurious. If you can’t find green garlic, just use a regular clove of dried garlic and blanch it to take away some of the bite (to blanch, put the peeled clove in boiling water for 1-2 minutes).

Ingredients
Aioli:
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped green garlic or 1 regular garlic clove, blanched
1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
3/4 cup mayonnaise, divided
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Sandwiches:
2 (3-ounce) packages thinly sliced pancetta (Italian bacon; about 30 slices)
12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices brioche or egg bread, lightly toasted
1 large bunch mizuna or arugula, torn into 2-inch pieces
3 beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 1/4-inch-thick rounds

Directions
For aioli: Blend olive oil, garlic, and 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel in processor until garlic is minced. Add 2 tablespoons mayonnaise and blend well. Transfer to small bowl; whisk in remaining mayonnaise and lemon juice. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

For sandwiches: Preheat oven to 450°F. Arrange pancetta slices in single layer on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Bake until crisp, about 10 minutes. Transfer to paper towels to drain.

Place toast on work surface. Spread with aioli. Divide mizuna among 6 toast slices; top with tomatoes, then pancetta, dividing equally. Top with remaining 6 toast slices, aioli side down. Cut each sandwich in half and serve.

Balsamic Braised Mushrooms and Couscous

What do you get when you have a meal planned of portobello black bean burgers with corn salsa, but Lindsay neglects to buy black beans at the store? Well, you spread the ingredients you do have over the counter, and figure out what you can make with it in the least amount of time possible.

This is by far the best way to cook mushrooms. Any kind of mushrooms. We served them with couscous this time around, but they’d go well with just about anything or as a side dish to any meal.

Balsamic Braised Mushrooms and Couscous

Recipe from our twisted minds. Adjust spices as necessary, it’s purely made to taste. So easy it barely needs a recipe.

Ingredients
Fresh Mushrooms
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Oregano
Garlic Powder
Salt & Pepper
Couscous, cooked according to package directions

Directions
Trim and cut mushrooms into bite sized pieces.

Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in skillet. Add mushrooms and sauté 3-4 minutes.

Add a few tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and stir until absorbed. Add spices, salt, and pepper to taste. Spoon on top of couscous and serve.

Smoked Salmon Flautas

Corn tortillas + deep frying = more trouble than these are worth. They had a really good flavor and tasted great when they were done, but it was a real ordeal getting there. Next time, we’ll use flour tortillas, and pan-fry them in a few tablespoons of oil instead of an inch, just so they are browned on the sides. Easier and healthier.

Smoked Salmon Flautas

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 8 to 12. The recipe originally called for smoked tuna or smoked trout, but I couldn’t find either. So we ended up using a can of smoked salmon.

Ingredients
2 large jalapeño chiles
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
3 tablespoons chopped fresh italian parsley
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 large garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
8 ounces smoked tuna (albacore), or smoked trout fillets, coarsely flaked
12 5- to 6-inch-diameter corn tortillas or 8 7- to 8-inch-diameter flour tortillas
vegetable oil (for frying)

Directions
Char jalepeño chiles over gas flame or in broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag 10 minutes. Peel and seed chiles, then chop finely and place in medium bowl. Add shallots and next 6 ingredients; toos. Mix in fish. Season with salt and pepper. Can be made 1 day ahead, cover and chill.

Preheat oven to 350ËšF. Wrap tortillas in foil; place in oven 10 minutes. Arrange tortillas on work surface. Press 2 tablespoons filling for corn or 3 tablespoons filling for flour tortillas into 3- to 4-inch strip on bottom third of each tortilla. Roll up; secure with toothpicks.

Pour oil into large skillet to depth of 1 inch. Attach deep-fry thermometer; heat oil to 350ËšF. Fry floutas 3 or 4 at a time until golden, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes. Using tons, hold flautas vertically over skillet to drain off oil; transfer to paper towels to drain. Remove toothpicks. Serve with shredded iceberg lettuce and sour cream.

Linguine with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil

Ok, so here’s the thing. Sometimes we do good. We find fantastic recipes and we enjoy them. Other weeks, we don’t do so good. This might be one of those weeks.

While I wouldn’t call this bad, it wasn’t jaw-dropping good. Taylor liked it more than I did. I love basil, asparagus, garlic, shrimp, and lemon… but this didn’t quite do such fantastic ingredients justice. Maybe I’m just not a huge fan of white wine sauces, and in that case I’m biased. It’s still worth a try. Maybe we just had some bad shrimp.

On a better note: at Farmer’s market this week, they had something we had never seen before. Fresh garlic. I was quite confused at first, because they were sitting in between green onions and leeks (fresh garlic looks like bulbous leeks or giant green onions, hence my confusion). We bought some anyway, as we’re always up for trying new things! It’s actually quite good! Milder and sweeter than dried garlic, I like it a lot! We used it last night in the garlic yogurt sauce, and tonight in this pasta. Next week we’ll have to look into some recipes that feature fresh garlic, could make for some good eats. :)

Linguine with Shrimp, Asparagus, and Basil

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 2 servings (two BIG servings!)

Ingredients
8 ounces linguine
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped red jalapeño chili
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon butter
12 uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined with tails intact
12 slender asparagus, trimmed, cut diagonally into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 cups packed fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
2 lemon wedges

Directions
Cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, sirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and jalapeño; sauté 1 minute. Add wine and butter; boil 2 minutes. Add shrimp, asparagus, and lemon juice. Toss until asparagus is just tender and shrimp are just opaque in center, about 3 minutes.

Drain pasta and add to skillet. Add 2 cups sliced basil leaves and toss until basil wilts and sauce coats pasta, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Divide pasta between 2 plates. Garnish with fresh basil leaves and lemon wedges and serve.