The Midweek Salad

Grilled Romaine

Did you know lettuce made the top ten garden vegetables in America? It ranked number nine; trailing behind hot peppers, onions, zucchini, carrots, beans, sweet peppers, cucumber and tomatoes. The good news is lettuce beat out beans!

I received an email request that inspired this post. This was one of those recipes I did for my live PBS grilling shows that made people scratch their head years ago. The audience in the Disney Parks was at first shocked, then amazed! Now, its considered all the buzz, appearing on other cooking shows including chain restaurants. I guess they Know their Fire! Ha! Well, here's the how-to on grilling-up a delicious appetizer or side. I'll be making it this week. Enjoy! Top with this dressing.

Grilled Romaine

Makes four servings 

chefgeorgehirsch.com | Adventures in Grilling, 1996 by George Hirsch w/ Marie Bianco

2 Heads of hearts of romaine lettuce, split in half & washed

4 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

6 cloves caramelized garlic

A pinch of sea salt 

1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh Italian parsley, rough chopped

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Shaved Parmesan cheese

Pre heat grill to high heat.

Cut the romaine heart in half lengthwise, leaving stem end intact. Soak romaine heads in bowl of cold water. Brush with olive oil.

Put romaine halves on hot grill. Cook for about 2 minutes each side, until lettuce begins to blister slightly and lettuce gets a slight char. Turn over and grill for 2 additional minutes.  

Remove and plate cut side up, and top each with remaining olive oil, balsamic, garlic cloves, Parmesan, prosciutto, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Serve while still warm.

Optional: serve with thinly sliced prosciutto, grilled chicken, or grilled shrimp. 

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Grilled Spring Spear

Asparagus is the most revered spring vegetable. The word asparagus comes from the ancient Persian word asparag, meaning a sprout. The ancient Egyptians cultivated asparagus and offered it to numerous gods, and the Romans had an expression, “Velocius quam asparagi coquantur,” meaning faster than you can cook asparagus. It was a rare and expensive vegetable in the 1890s in the United States, but cultivation helped tame the price. It was inevitable that the asparagus should be treated as an aphrodisiac given its shape, which, an Elizabethan writer remarked, ‘manifestly provoked Venus.”  

Tips:

Although grown on quite a large scale and in many countries, asparagus is available in abundance from March to late June. There are over 300 varieties of asparagus, only 20 of which are edible. 

They are divided into three main categories: 

Green asparagus. This is the most common type of asparagus. It is harvested at the height of about 8 inches. 

White asparagus. Grown in the dark (covered with soil to keep it from turning green), white asparagus is harvested as soon as it emerges from the ground. Although more tender than the green variety, it tends to be less flavorful and is more expensive since more work is required to grow it. 

Purple asparagus: This variety has a fruity flavor and is harvested only 2 to 3 inches high. 

How to buy asparagus: 

Whether asparagus is thin or thick, choose them with firm, crisp stalks and compact brightly colored heads with no trace of rust or softness. The bottom of the stalk should be moist when squeezed, not dry and woody. Avoid yellowish asparagus with soft stalks that are beginning to flower, and these are signs that it is old.

Store asparagus vertically in 1 inch of water in a container, stem-side-down in the refrigerator.

Serve this easy make-ahead dish as a starter or side.  The asparagus is enhanced by the marinade and grilling.

Grilled Asparagus

Makes four servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

1 pound fresh asparagus

1/4 cup olive oil

juice and zest of 1 lemon

4 cloves

Caramelized Garlic chopped

1 Tablespoon  of fresh oregano, chopped

2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and split

Fresh ground black pepper

Cut the stem ends off the asparagus and discard; peel the asparagus up to the beginning of the tip ends with a vegetable peeler. 

Combine a 1/4 cup olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and oregano in a shallow rectangular dish. Marinate the asparagus in this mixture for 1 hour. 

Preheat the grill or a grill pan to medium temperature.

Remove the asparagus from the marinade and grill for about 5 minutes, basting with the marinade. Turn the asparagus as needed so they do not burn. 

Remove the asparagus from the grill, top with lemon zest, parmesan cheese, and olives. Top with remaining 1/4 cup olive oil. Serve at room temperature.

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Seasonal Flatbreads

When it comes to making any type of flatbread pizza let imagination and the season rule your toppings. I love this Curry Chic Pea + Carrot style flatbread when there is a chill in the air. And, flatbreads are a great do ahead snack for holiday entertaining! 

Curry Chic Pea + Carrot Flatbread Pizza

Makes four servings

 chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

For the Pizza Dough Recipe

For the toppings:

Cooked Chick Peas, pureed; Sweet Carrots, sliced thin + blanch—keep crisp; Sweet Onions, sliced thin; Leeks, split + sliced this; Garlic, sliced; olive oil

Mix all the above and add curry powder, thyme, coarse sea salt, and black pepper to taste. 

Drizzle top of dough with olive oil before baking. 

425 degree F. oven 5-7 minutes

Mix Dough and place in a bowl lightly coated with olive oil. Cover loosely with a towel or plastic wrap. Place in refrigerator overnight. 

Next day, pre heat *oven to 475 degrees F. 

Stretch out dough to a rectangular shape and cut into two pieces. Sprinkle a teaspoon of fine grind corn meal on the surface of a heavy gauge pizza pan or sheet pan. Place the two pieces of dough on the top of corn meal. Brush top lightly with olive oil. 

Place toppings in this order on dough; potatoes, onions, feta, olives and olive oil. Sprinkle slightly with sea salt and fresh ground black pepper. 

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until pizza flatbread crusts are fully baked. You can check for doneness by tapping on the edge of the dough with your finger. It will have a hollow sound when done. 

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Mussels Provencale

Coastal living makes me say “hello seafood.” My rule with cooking seafood is the simpler, the better; as well as believing in keeping it as local as possible. The classical way I learned to cook mussels years ago a la Moules Marinières, or mussels in the style of the sea, synonymous with summers in France. I have prepared many versions versions of this style all with success, key to the recipe is freshness.

These mussels were sourced and cooked within 2 hours of harvest. Walk don’t run! 

Chef George Hirsch Mussels Provencale

Mussels Provencale

Makes four servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle

2 pounds mussels, cleaned and remove beard

2 Tablespoons olive oil

8 cloves fresh garlic, pealed and chopped 

1/4 sweet white onion, chopped

1 green onion, chopped  

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 cup white wine

1 sprig fresh thyme

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley, washes & chopped 

1 Tablespoon fresh basil, chopped

1 ripe tomato, cut into small pieces 

Preheat a large sauce pot, large enough to hold the mussels. Add olive oil, garlic, onion, and hot pepper flakes. Cook for 1 minute. Add mussels and white wine. Cover pot and cook until mussels open, about 4-5 minutes. Shake pot to mix up mussels.

Remove mussels with a slotted skimmer, leaving all the juice in pot. Add parsley, basil, and tomatoes. Bring mussel juice to a boil and reduce juice by half. 

Caution to not over cook the mussels because they will become dry and rubbery. Remember to discard any that do not open as this indicates that the mussel was dead and will most likely be spoiled.

George Hirsch Mussels Provencale with Dipping Sauce

Good tip: The jewel in eating mussels is to get the right balance of the mussel meat with the fantastic broth juices that come from cooking the mussels with wine, garlic and herbs. No utensils needed, use the mussel's shell as your spoon. Pick up the freshly steamed mussel in the opened hinged ‘valve’ (the shell). Break the valve in-half, discard one half of the shell. With the second half valve (shell) that now has the mussel meat, dip the half-shell and mussel meat into the warm broth scooping up just the right amount of juice to meat. Now, politely slurp the mussel along with the broth in the same mouthful. Mouth watering. Heaven! Sometimes I see others do a dip using a fork, but they are missing the gold, the broth!

Try this next time you prepare mussels, instead of using a fork and dipping into the broth that will just slide off your mussel meat. What to do with empty shells? I have observed other connoisseurs of mussel eating that includes arranging the eaten empty half valves into unique patterns on plates. 

Simple and ready in minutes. But do yourself a favor, have plenty of good bread on hand to dip and soak up any leftover broth. Summer - here we come!

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Garlic Artichokes

Join me several times weekly on CreateTV + plus check local PBS listings

This is a dish to share with someone special. Get rid of your knives and forks and start the evening with finger food, an artichoke with a delicious savory garlic dip makes it all that more interesting!

Garlic Artichokes

Makes 4 servings

chefgeorgehirsch.com | George Hirsch Lifestyle from Know Your Fire Cookbook

1 Lemon, cut in half

1/4 cup mint leaves washed, dried and chopped

8 cloves garlic chopped

3/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup white wine

1 Tablespoon flat leaf Italian parsely

1/4 cup mixed Sicilian olives 

juice of 1 fresh lemon

1 Tablespoon olive oil

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

Optional: 1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

Wash artichokes; remove outer leaves until pale yellow leaves are exposed. 

Cut off top two inches and stems so artichokes will sit upright. 

Remove fuzzy centers with the edge of a soup spoon and rub all surfaces with half of a lemon. Add juice of remaining lemon to water and dip artichokes to preserve green color. 

Mix mint, garlic, pepper, with wine, 1/2 cup olive oil and spoon into hollows of artichokes. Place in a pan just large enough to hold them upright. Add water to depth of three inches and remaining olive. Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes or until just tender. Check by either pulling off a bottom leaf with ease or inserting small knife through bottom and it slides out with ease. Cooking will vary with size of artichokes. 

Remove artichokes, drain, cover and keep warm. Reduce cooking liquid until a syrupy consistency, add optional hot pepper flakes. Spoon sauce over artichokes; top with parsley, olives, lemon juice, olive oil and serve.

Note: Artichokes may also be grilled over a very high heat and topped with above flavorings. 

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