In recent weeks I have changed the way I operate in the kitchen. I used to be all about planning. I'd schedule the week's cooking all in advance, buying all the ingredients I needed in one fell weekend swoop. There was a sense of security in that cooking regimen, but also a feeling of limitation, banned as I was from letting the moment inspire me. This winter, it seems, has been all about letting go, and I have now abandoned my to-do list in favor of my internal compass, allowing myself to be pulled through the kitchen until I arrive at a sufficiently satisfying meal. The results so far have been delicious.
White Winter Salad
Cannellini beans
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
Bay leaves
Dry thyme
1/2 bulb fennel
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled
1/2 daikon radish (daikons vary in size -- you will need about the same amount in volume as the apple or the fennel, since you'll want a 1-1-1 ratio of these three ingredients)
1/4 onion
Juice from 1/2 an orange
1 tsp ginger
1-2 cloves garlic
olive oil
dash red wine vinegar
salt, pepper
Fennel fronds
Dry beans take about an hour to an hour and a half to cook, so you will want to make them first. Cover in water and add 1 bay leaf, a bit of the dry thyme and two smashed garlic cloves. Simmer until beans are soft. Now slice the fennel, apple, daikon radish and onion nice and thin with a mandoline slicer. In another bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients except for olive oil. You should be adding just enough vinegar to give you a tangy taste in the back of your mouth. Add the olive oil while whisking in order to emulsify, putting in as much as you like. A 2-1 ratio is traditional for vinaigrette, but I don't think you need quite that much here. Toss dressing with the sliced ingredients and fennel fronds and allow them to marinate. Meanwhile, saute the diced onion in olive oil until nice and soft. Add garlic and saute for a couple minute more until aromatic. Then add in a good helping of cannellini beans and more olive oil and toss with onions and garlic until warm. Plate with orange slices!
Cannellini beans
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic
Bay leaves
Dry thyme
1/2 bulb fennel
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled
1/2 daikon radish (daikons vary in size -- you will need about the same amount in volume as the apple or the fennel, since you'll want a 1-1-1 ratio of these three ingredients)
1/4 onion
Juice from 1/2 an orange
1 tsp ginger
1-2 cloves garlic
olive oil
dash red wine vinegar
salt, pepper
Fennel fronds
Dry beans take about an hour to an hour and a half to cook, so you will want to make them first. Cover in water and add 1 bay leaf, a bit of the dry thyme and two smashed garlic cloves. Simmer until beans are soft. Now slice the fennel, apple, daikon radish and onion nice and thin with a mandoline slicer. In another bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients except for olive oil. You should be adding just enough vinegar to give you a tangy taste in the back of your mouth. Add the olive oil while whisking in order to emulsify, putting in as much as you like. A 2-1 ratio is traditional for vinaigrette, but I don't think you need quite that much here. Toss dressing with the sliced ingredients and fennel fronds and allow them to marinate. Meanwhile, saute the diced onion in olive oil until nice and soft. Add garlic and saute for a couple minute more until aromatic. Then add in a good helping of cannellini beans and more olive oil and toss with onions and garlic until warm. Plate with orange slices!
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