Friends Food Family

Lemony Barley Salad with Kale Pesto

For those living in the northeast, we have been experiencing bitter cold weather. Then when you least expect it, it's 50 degrees and raining. UGH! I keep looking out into our back yard dreaming of being back in our gardens. I miss looking out and seeing kale, carrots, turnips, tomatoes, zucchini, summer squash, fresh herbs and of course, raspberries and blackberries. 

Every Sunday, Jeff and I look through recipe books to figure our meals for the week. We take time on Sunday to prepare them so that we can come home and just reheat or add to what has been prepared. Makes for an easier night after a long workday. Jeff mentioned getting some kale to possibly add to a bean soup recipe. We grew and ate so much kale last summer and it was delicious. Whether grilling the kale, making chips or adding it to our favorite summer salad, kale was one of my favorite vegetables in our garden last year. 

Jeff found a great recipe that had barley, pine nuts, currants and kale it was called Lemony Barley Salad with Kale Pesto. He found it as he was going through old food magazines and it appeared in the August 2014  Food and Wine. 

As much as this was a summer recipe, making it in January was perfect. We have been looking for lighter side dishes and this seemed perfect. It had that wonderful kale flavor and the currants and pine nuts added a slightly sweet and nutty taste. The lemon juice and lemon zest finished the dish perfectly. We ate it as a side dish with salmon and then we proceeded to eat it for lunch all week. It was so good, it was almost addicting. The flavors are different but refreshing.

If you are looking for a garden fresh side dish at your next meal, this is an easy and delicious dish. If you have a backyard garden, like we do, it will get you excited for the spring season and considerations of fresh kale growing in it.

Ingredients for Lemony Barley Salad with Kale Pesto

• 1 cup of pearled barley or quick barley
• 2 tablespoons of pine nuts
• 1/2 cup of olive oil plus 2 tablespoons
• 1/2 cup of currants
• 1 tablespoon of minced shallots
• 6 ounces of kale, stems removed, tear leaves into small pieces (about 4 cups)
• 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice
• kosher salt, for taste

Preparation

1. In a medium pan, cook barley according to directions. We used the quick barley. Place in a medium bowl, set aside.

2. In a small skillet, over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until slightly golden, 3-5 minutes. Remove pine nuts from pan and place in a small dish.

3. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet and saute the currants and shallots until the shallots are slightly golden, 3-5 minutes. Add this, along with the pine nuts, to the barley. Stir to blend. 

4. Using a food processor, pulse two-thirds of the kale with the lemon juice. With the machine running, slowly add the 1/2 cup of olive oil and continue to puree until smooth. Taste and season with salt.

5. Add the remaining kale and kale pesto to the barley mixture. Add a squeeze of lemon juice and if you would like, 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest.

6. Serve immediately.

NOTE: This salad is great slightly warmed or cool. Perfect with grilled chicken or fish.

Crab Tartlets

Happy New Year! It's nice to be back blogging again. I skipped by a few of the big holidays and felt bad that I didn't get to share the 12 Cookies of Christmas this year. I promise that we will have an exciting and robust list of cookies for the next holiday season.

So, what has been happening at Friends Food Family?

I'll take you back to Thanksgiving. This past year we purchased a Big Green Egg. Jeff has enjoyed trying everything from pizza to paella as well as steaks and grilled veggies from the garden. We decided we would do a smoked turkey for the holiday so a few weeks prior we did a test run and found that the "Big Green Egg" turkey was AMAZING! It was moist and had a wonderful smoked flavor. With the turkey leftovers, we made some turkey and wild rice soup that was a big hit. What I loved the best was the smoked flavor of the turkey and how it carried through to the soup.

The week after Thanksgiving, Jeff and I were fortunate enough to travel to Germany and Austria on vacation and visit the festive Christmas Markets or Christkindlesmarkt. Each area we visited (Vienna, Melk, Linz, Saltzburg, Passau, Regensberg and Nurnburg) had beautiful markets with gluehwein, a hot mulled wine, Viennese and German sausages, gingerbread and beautiful handmade crafts. A foodie's delight!

The following week, I fell and injured my hands and wrists, hence there was no baking (or very little baking) done at our house for Christmas. I couldn't grasp spatulas to stir ingredients in bowls. It was very odd not doing much baking through the holidays. I will say, Jeff and the kids have been so good about helping me out when it came to lifting and stirring. Luckily, nothing broken, just bruised.

Christmas was exciting but very low key. I'm just excited to start cooking again and sharing our stories with all of you!

So, I am starting with these appetizers which we made for our friend's New Year's Eve party. They really are easy to make and everyone loves them. These delicious morsels are called Crab Tartlets. It comes from a book called Tapas by Susanna Tee. 

I was surprised when I went looking for the recipe on the blog and found I had made it numerous times but had never written about it. I love these Crab Tartlets for two reasons. First, with the pie crust base you can use the recipe below or if you don't have time, you can use the ready made crust. I would roll the ready made crust slightly as it tends to be thick. Second, the ingredients are very simple so you can have these made and in the oven in twenty minutes.

The flavor is perfect with a blend of crab and manchego cheese in a "quiche like" filling. These little bites are perfect finger foods for any gathering or party. As I was posting them to Instagram, friends were kidding me thinking I had bought frozen appetizers. They look that good!

The next time you need a quick and delicious appetizer for your guests, try these crab tartlets. Your guests will devour them!

Crab Tartlets from Tapas - 40 Delicious  Traditional Spanish Recipes by Susanna Tee

Ingredients:

Pie Dough

• 2-1/4 cups of flour (plus some for dusting and rolling)
• 3/4 cup of butter - sliced into 6 - 8 pieces
• 2 tablespoons of ice cold water
• a pinch of salt

1. Place flour, salt and butter in a food processor. Pulse off and on until mixture looks like fine bread crumbs.

2. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time. The mixture will form into a ball. If the mixture seems dry, add more water a teaspoon at a time.

3. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out thinly and cut with a 2-3/4 inch round cutter. Place rounds into tartlet pan. 

Note: If using a ready made pie crust, roll out slightly and cut the rounds from above.

Crab Mixture

• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon of dry white wine
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 cup of milk or light cream
• 6 ounce can of crab meat, drained
• 1/2 cup of manchego or Parmesan cheese, grated
• 2 tablespoons of chopped parsley
• a pinch of nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper (more to adjust taste)

1. Heat a small skillet, on medium, add the tablespoon of olive oil. Once hot, add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic and cook for one minute.

2. Add the tablespoon of wine and cook for another 2 minutes until the wine is evaporated. Take off heat and allow to cool slightly.

3. In a medium sized bowl, add the eggs and light cream. With a whisk, beat until blended. 

4. Add the cooled (or slightly warm) onions and garlic to the egg mixture along with the crab meat, manchego cheese, parsley, nutmeg, salt and pepper.

5. Drop a heaping teaspoon of the crab mixture into each crusted tartlet.

6. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until the crusts are slightly golden and the crab mixture is firm to touch. 

7. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, remove crab tartlets from pan. 

8. This recipe makes about 24-30 tartlets. They can be served hot or at room temperature.

Enjoy!