The Purloined Recipe

Slightly modified from the June 2011 Sunset Magazine:

bok choy, garlic

Excerpted with permission from Farmer John’s Cookbook: the Real Dirt On Vegetables: Seasonal Recipes and Stories from a Community Farm by Farmer John Peterson and Angelic Organics (Gibbs Smith, Publisher). www.AngelicOrganics.com/cookbook

If you enjoy the tangy-sweet taste that comes from adding mandarin orange segments, raisins, or chunks of apple to a salad, then you already know how delicious fruit and salad dressing can be. In this salad, choi provides a succulent base for a mixture of apples, grapes, mild onion, and freshly toasted almonds, all smothered in a luxurious poppy seed dressing. (The Sneaky secret to the dressing’s impossible smoothness is silken tofu, which purees beautifully and makes an exceptional, flavorless base for soups, sauces, and dressings.)

This recipe yields more than 2 cups of dressing, so you’ll have plenty left over for other salads. Silken tofu is widely available in grocery stores and health food stores.

Serves 4 to 6

½ cup slivered, blanched almonds
1 cup mild-flavored vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ cup white vinegar
4 ounces soft silken tofu
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
1 ½ teaspoons dry mustard
1 ¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon paprika (optional)
2 tablespoons minced onion
1 bok choy or other white-stemmed choi/choy, trimmed, stems cut diagonally into thin slices, leaves sliced into thin strips
1 large sweet apple, peeled, cored, diced
1 cup red or purple seedless grapes, halved
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Toast the almonds in a heavy (preferably cast iron) skillet over high heat until they begin to brown slightly. Transfer the nuts to a bowl to cool.
2. Put the oil, honey, vinegar, tofu, poppy seeds, dry mustard, alt, and paprika in a food processor or a blender. Process or blend the ingredients until smooth. Pour the mixture into a bowl and stir in the onion. On cover the dressing and store it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve the salad.
3. Toss the choi, apple, and grapes in a large bowl.
4. Pour the dressing over the ingredients; toss until everything is thoroughly combined. Cover the bowl and set it aside at room temperature for 15 minutes to let the flavors develop.
5. When you’re ready to serve, stir in the toasted almonds. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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For a lighter taste, feel free to stir-fry the bok choy in olive oil. Low-sodium
chicken broth can be used in place of water.

4 bunches bok choy (basically, 1 bunch per person)
2 slices ginger
2 TBSP soy sauce
1 tsp sugar, or to taste
¼ tsp salt, or to taste
1/4 cup water
A few drops sesame oil
1½ TBSP vegetable oil for frying

1. Wash the bok choy and drain.
2. Separate stalks and leaves. Cut stalk diagonally and cut the leaves across.
3. Heat wok and add oil. When oil is ready, add ginger and stir-fry briefly, for about 30 seconds, until the ginger is aromatic.
4. Add the bok choy, adding the stalks first, and then the leaves. Stir in the soy sauce, sugar, and salt, and stir-fry on high heat for 1 minute.
5. Add the water, cover the wok and simmer for about 2 minutes. Stir in the
   sesame oil and serve. Serves 4.

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