Recipes from Open House

Everyone had a terrific time at the open house yesterday! One of the highlights was the freshly made food. Wondering how to make those garden-friendly dishes?

Swiss Chard Tzatziki (Yogurt Dip)
Ingredients

• 1 cup finely chopped Swiss chard leaves (ribs removed)
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• A dash of cayenne
• 3 (9-inch diameter) pita breads, cut like a pie into triangles
• Olive oil for drizzling on to the pita bread

Directions

1. Bring a 1 or 2 quart saucepan, half filled with water, to a boil. Add the chopped chard leaves. Cook until tender, about 3-5 minutes. While the chard is cooking, prepare a bowl with ice water for an ice bath. When the chard is cooked, strain through a fine mesh strainer and put into the ice bath to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
2. Using mortar and pestle, grind the garlic and salt into a paste. In a medium-sized bowl, stir in the yogurt, chard, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and cayenne pepper. Set aside.
3. Cut the pita bread into triangles and layout in one layer in a broiling pan (use a sturdy broiling pan, not a cookie sheet or your cookie sheet will warp). Drizzle olive oil on one side of the pita wedges. Use a pastry brush to spread the olive oil more evenly. Place in a broiler. Broil for 5 minutes or until the pita bread starts to toast. Remove and let cool for a minute.

Serve the tzatziki with the pita wedges. Yield: Serves 4

Bean & Tomato Salad with Honey Vinaigrette
Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cups dried beans, preferably heirloom, or 2 15-ounce cans white beans, rinsed (see Tip)
• 1 teaspoon salt, divided
• 1/2 cup minced red onion
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 1 teaspoon peanut or canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, or to taste
• 8 ounces green beans, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved or quartered
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 pound tomatoes, sliced

Directions

1. If using canned beans, skip to Step 3. If using dried beans, rinse and pick over for any stones, then place in a large bowl, cover with 3 inches of cold water and soak at room temperature for at least 6 hours or overnight. (Alternatively, use our quick-soak method: see Tip.)
2. Drain the soaked beans, rinse and transfer to a large saucepan. Add 6 cups cold water. Bring to a simmer, partially cover, and simmer gently, stirring once or twice, until tender but not mushy, 20 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the freshness of the dried beans. (If you’re using heirloom beans, be sure to check them after 20 minutes; they tend to cook more quickly than conventional beans.) If at any time the liquid level drops below the beans, add 1 cup water. When the beans are about three-fourths done, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. When the beans are tender, remove from the heat and drain.
3. Combine the beans (cooked or canned), the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, onion, vinegar, honey, oil and pepper in a large bowl. Stir, cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
4. Cook green beans in a large pot of boiling water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Pat dry and add to the marinated beans. Stir in cherry (or grape) tomatoes and basil. Season with pepper.

To serve, arrange tomato slices around the edge of a serving platter or shallow salad bowl and spoon the bean salad into the center.