Pomelo Salad

This recipe, adapted from Hot Sour Salty Sweet, originally calls for pomelos, but can be easily adapted with Ruby Red, or Rio Star grapefruits. Served with butter lettuce, it makes a delightful midday meal.

Serves 2-4 depending on sides

3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon palm, or brown sugar
1 pomelo, or 2 medium grapefruit
2 tablespoons dry-roasted grated coconut
2 tablespoons dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped shallots
1/2-1 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
2-3 bird, Thai, or Serrano chiles, finely chopped, or to taste
Bibb, or butter lettuce, cleaned for garnish

In a small bowl mix together fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar. Blend until sugar has completely dissolved. Set aside.

Peel the pomelo or grapefruit, then cut out segments of fruit, leaving behind the bitter pith. Place the fruit in a bowl, reserving the juice from the fruit in another bowl.

In a dry skillet, over medium heat, roast both the coconut, and the peanuts until toasty, and light brown in color. Chop the peanuts after roasting if necessary.

Salad should be fully assembled just before serving. Add the roasted peanuts and coconut, the shallots, chiles, mint, and pomelos to a large bowl and toss. Pour the lime dressing over, and continue to toss. Taste and adjust seasoning, if the dressing is too pungent, add a bit of the reserved grapefruit juice.

Serve immediately on a bed of lettuce.

Mashed Fava Beans and Greens

This is a recipe for a Mediterranean classic inspired by Mark Bittman's tome, How to Cook Everything. This mash can be made simply as a side dish, or as a spread for crostini. Either way it is wonderful, and by using dried fava beans, you can make this dish year round.

1/2 pound dried fava beans
salt and pepper
1 pound greens, such as, dandelion, mustard, chard, collard
large pinch red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

Place beans in a large pot with enough water to cover. Turn the heat on to high, and bring to a boil.

Turn the heat down to simmer, and loosely cover pot. It will take anywhere from 30 to 60 minutes for the beans to cook, depending on the type of dried favas that you have. Split, and peeled will take less time, whole and unpeeled will take longer. As beans begin to soften, season with salt and pepper. Stir the beans occasionally, adding more water if necessary.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the greens until tender, this again will take more time depending on the green. Drain well, and when cool enough to touch, chop coarsely.

Remove the cooked beans from water, rinse, and remove skins if necessary. Place shucked beans in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher, or large fork until smooth with some chunks still remaining. Place oil in a large skillet, fry the garlic and red pepper flake until garlic is translucent. Add the greens and sautee to heat through. Add mashed fava beans and continue sauteeing until well combined.

Taste for seasoning, then serve either alone, or with slices of grilled country or Italian bread. Drizzle with high-quality, green olive oil, and serve.