Jody Adams, chef/owner of Rialto restaurant in Cambridge, Mass., is a master at creating memorable Mediterranean and Italian dishes. She has also won a James Beard award for her cooking and has written a popular cookbook, In the Hands of a Chef. For her Easy Dinner, Pyramid-Style, Jody created Pan-Seared Atlantic Char over Farro with Olives and Pistachios (plus lots of delicious vegetables). If you can’t find char, use salmon or another firm-fleshed fish. The dish is easy, colorful, and leftovers are delicious too. Go to the recipe section for directions.

Brighten up your winter menu with this great, (dare I say) healthy meal!

Enjoy!!

Nina

*Did you notice the days are getting longer? YAY!!!

5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped into ¼-inch dice
1 cup celery, peeled and chopped into ¼-inch dice
1 cup carrot, peeled and chopped into ¼-inch dice
1 cup fennel, tough outer leaves removed and chopped into ¼-inch dice
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
2 anchovies, rinsed and chopped
3 cups thinly sliced kale (center rib removed)
1 cup farro (available in specialty food stores, Italian food stores and sometimes health-food stores)
4  cups vegetable stock, chicken stock or water
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon chopped lemon zest
¼ cup chopped green olives
½ cup chopped curly parsley
16 ounces Atlantic char or wild salmon, skin on, cut into 4 4-ounce filets
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ cup chopped pistachios, optional

Heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil in a dutch-oven over medium-high heat.  Add the onions, celery, carrots and fennel.  Season with salt and pepper.  Cook 6 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until tender and lightly browned.  Add the garlic, fennel seeds and anchovy and cook 1 minute.  Add the kale, farro, stock or water and bay leaves.  Season with salt and pepper.  Lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until the farro is tender, about 35 minutes, adding more liquid if necessary.  It should be quite creamy, like a loose risotto.  Remove the bay leaves.  Stir in the lemon zest, olives, and parsley.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat.  Season the fish with salt and pepper.  When the pan is hot, add the fish, skin side down, reduce the heat to medium and cook 4 to 5 minutes per side, depending on the thickness of the fish and desired doneness.

To serve, put a spoonful of farro in the center of 4 warm plates.  Set a piece of fish on top.  Drizzle the fish with the remaining olive oil and the lemon juice. Sprinkle the pistachios over the top if desired.

Makes about 4 cups cooked farro.

Asian pears, also called Chinese pears or pear apples, are firm, crunchy, and surprisingly juicy. When my body felt dry and my throat was scratchy, Dr. Zhu, my Chinese doctor, prescribed some “Steamed Pears with Honey and Jujubes” (dried red dates). Once steamed, the pears become tender and the resulting broth is soothing and not overly sweet. (It’s a great winter dessert!) You can also use Bosc pears and if jujubes are unavailable, you can substitute candied ginger or prepare simply with honey and cinnamon stick. When I am feeling indulgent, I add a scoop of vanilla ice cream. BTW, they are also delicious at room temperature or cold. And you can reheat them in the microwave.

Enjoy!

Nina

SIX SERVINGS

6 nearly ripe Asian pears
2 lemons
6 tablespoons honey
9-10 jujubes (dried red dates) softened in  water and chopped in fourths
pieces of cinnamon bark
1. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each pear so that it will stand upright.
Peel the pears and rub the surface with a cut lemon half to prevent them from turning brown. Cut the top squarely off each pear, slicing about 2 inches from the top, and with a melon baller or spoon, carefully remove the core and seeds. Do not cut through to the bottom of the pear. Reserve the tops.
2. Arrange the pears on a pie plate or some kind of a heatproof plate.
Place some of the cut up jujubes into the hollowed out pear and spoon a
tablespoon of the honey into each pear. Arrange a piece of cinnamon in the
hollow with the jujubes. Place the reserved tops on the pears, if necessary securing them with toothpicks. Place the plate in a steamer tray if using.
3. Fill a wok or large pot with enough water to reach the bottom of the steamer tray and bring to a boil. Or create your own steamer by balancing the plate on a tuna fish can (both ends removed) that has been placed in the center of the pot. Cover and steam 40 to 45 minutes, or until the fruit is tender when pierced with a knife. Serve the Asian pears warm (with ice cream), at room temperature, or cold.

I was first introduced to Black Bone Chicken many years ago in Taiwan. What a revelation!! Granted, it does look a little odd. The color of the chicken is grey and the bones are black, but the chicken flavor is intensely good! And chicken soup never tasted so good!! The Chinese have long credited this variety of chicken as having superior therapeutic properties. And when it’s cooked in a soup or stew, the dish becomes a potent “yang” tonic and a nurturing curative for a cold or the flu. Black bone chickens are now available in supermarkets or butchers in Chinatowns all over the U.S.

You’ll never taste a more delicious panacea for fighting colds or the flu.

Nina

Dang Gui (Angelica Sinensis)  6 grams,
Huang Qi  (Astralagus)10 grams,
Dang Shen (“Red ginseng”) 6 grams,
Gou Ji Zi (Wolfberries)  6 grams,
Gao Liang Jiang (Chinese ginger)3 grams,
Chen Pi (Aged Tangerine peel) 3grams,
White peppercorns 3 grams,
Fresh ginger 6 grams, (about 10 slices fresh ginger, the size of a quarter, smashed with the flat side of a knife)
Fresh scallion  10 whole scallions, ends trimmed and smashed lightly with the flat side of a knife
Sea salt to taste

4 cups good quality, low salt chicken broth
2 cups water
1 ¾ cups good quality Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

1.Remoive any fat from around the cavity opening and around the neck of the chicken. Rinse lightly and drain. Using a heavy knife or cleaver, cut the chicken, through the bones, into 10 to 12 pieces. Heat 2 quarts of water until boiling and blanch the chicken pieces for 1 minute to clean them. Drain the chicken, discarding the water, then rinse in cold water and drain again.
2. Place the chicken pieces and the Soup Broth ingredients, except the salt, in a heat-proof pot or 2-quart souffle dish. Cover tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil and place on a steamer tray or small rack. Fill a wok with enough water to just
reach the bottom of the steamer tray or rack and heat until boiling.  Place the food on the steamer tray or rack over the boiling water, cover, and steam 2 hours over high heat, replacing the boiling water in the wok as necessary. Alternatively, you may steam the soup in the oven: Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the ingredients in a Dutch oven or casserole with a lid and, before putting on the cover, wrap the top with heavy-duty aluminum foil; then cover. Place the pot in a lasagne pan or a casserole and fill with 1 1/2 inches of boiling water. Bake for 2 hours, replenishing the boiling water as needed.
3. Skim the top of the broth to remove any impurities and fat. Add the salt. Remove the ginger and scallions, ladle the soup and pieces of chicken into serving bowls, and serve. To reheat and retain a clear broth, steam or bake in a closed pot for
10-15 minutes, or until piping hot.

10 cups water
11/2 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
8 slices fresh, unpeeled ginger, about the size of a quarter, smashed lightly with the flat edge of a knife
6 slightly underripe Bosc or Anjou pears
2 lemons

1. In a large pot, combine the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks, and fresh ginger. Heat until boiling, reduce the heat to low, and cook for 30 minutes so that the flavors marry.
2. Using a vegetable peeler or a paring knife, peel the pears, and rub the outside with cut lemons to prevent them from turning brown.
3. Squeeze the juice from the lemons and add along with the pears to the cinnamon liquid. Heat until boiling and reduce the heat to low, so that the water barely boils. Cook uncovered for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until the pears are just tender. You can poke them with the tip of a knife to test them. Remove and place in a bowl.
4. Transfer about 3 cups of the cooking liquid to a smaller saucepan. (Discard any ginger and cinnamon sticks.) Heat until boiling, reduce heat to medium, and cook about 35 minutes, or until the liquid thickens slightly. It should be more like syrup.
5.Arrange the pears in serving bowls and pour the cinnamon-ginger syrup on top. Serve. Serve warm, at room temperature or cold.
© Copyright Nina Simonds

I strongly believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine is very effective in helping with many conditions, including preventing colds and the flu, jet lag, and insomnia, and it is not uncommon for doctors to recommend Chinese herbs. In our last video I visited my Chinese doctor (“R U Yin or Yang” video). Dr. Chun Han Zhu gave me an herbal “prescription” for a soup, so my next stop is Boston’s Chinatown where I visit my favorite herbal shop.

Some of the herbs Dr. Zhu recommended are:

• Dang gui or Angelica sinensis, an herb commonly used to treat women’s reproductive health issues and also recommended to help prevent and treat some forms of cardiovascular disease
• Huang Qi or Astragalus is recommended for treating the common cold and upper respiratory infections because it helps to strengthen the immune system
• Go ji or Wolfberries which are believed to nourish the “yin,” strengthen blood, liver, and the kidneys, and contain anti-oxidants.

Go to the SpicesofLife recipe section for a delicious and easy recipe, Poached Pears in a Cinnamon-Ginger Syrup.

Stay tuned for the next video where you can join me in the kitchen while I make Steamed Black Bone Chicken Soup. YUM!

Nina

Dr. Chun Han Zhu, a brilliant Chinese doctor who lives near Boston, has been a teacher, healer, and mentor for many years. In this video he explains some basic principles of yin and yang. He also offers suggestions of how you can avoid colds and the flu in the colder weather by eating certain foods that will provide balance and strengthen the immune system.

As Dr. Zhu explains, it is helpful to know whether you are yin or yang. Ideally, you should be diagnosed by a Chinese physician, but here are some tips that might help you to know what type you are.

Yin Body Types

• Listless or lacking energy
• Thin and Pale-faced
• Vulnerable to infectious disease
• Relaxed, easy-going and quiet
• Sensitive to cold

Yang Body Types

• Usually superactive, hyper, full of energy and vitality
• Generally heavyset or overweight
• Flush-faced or ruddy complexion
• Restless or impatient
• Not sensitive to cold

Stay tuned for the next videos where we explore a Chinese herbal store and then make two dishes that are great for the winter.

Enjoy!

Nina

My Great Aunt Sophie was the matriarch of  my mother’s family. She and my grandmother promoted the health-giving properties of foods as early as the 1930’s when my mother was growing up. Here is one of her delicious, tried- and- tested panaceas. I’ve increased the garlic to suit my tastes.

1 whole chicken, preferably organic or free-range, weighing about 3 ½  to 4 pounds

1 ½ heads garlic, (about 21 cloves), smashed and peeled**

6 medium onions, peeled, halved, and each half cut into thirds

12 carrots, peeled, ends trimmed, cut lengthwise in half, and cut into 1 ½- inch sections

6 parsnips, peeled, ends trimmed, cut lengthwise in half and cut into 1 ½ -inch sections

1 bunch celery, weighing about 1 pound, rinsed, drained, ends trimmed, and stalks cut into 1 ½-inch lengths

14 cups water

1 teaspoon whole peppercorns

1 ½ teaspoons salt, or to taste

1.Remove any fat from around the cavity opening and neck of the chicken. Rinse the chicken lightly and drain; then, using a heavy knife or cleaver, cut it through the bones into 10 to 12 pieces.

2.Put the chicken pieces and remaining ingredients except for the salt in a large, heavy stock or soup pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Lower the heat so that the liquid is still at a simmer and cook about 1 ¾ hours uncovered, skimming the broth to remove any impurities. Skim off any fat. (you may chill overnight and remove the fat which has solidified.). Add the salt, taste, and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Ladle chunks of chicken, vegetables, and soup into serving bowls and serve immediately.

© Copyright Nina Simonds 2009