UPLOADED/REDIRECTED Veggie Forward Side Dishes

The crew at TABLE Magazine spent a wonderful day with Chef Jamilka Borges recently, learning so much from her light, bright, and flavorful way with veggies. She showed us how to make a gorgeous, lime-infused cucumber salad, and e deeply delicious crispy sweet potato dish. Along the way, she like the look of some fresh Japanese eggplants we bought at a local farmstead, and invented a third dish on the spot!

Cucumber Salad

4 mini cucumbers, thinly sliced lengthwise
½ cup lime juice
1 tsp Aleppo pepper
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 red onion, thinly shave
1 tsp fennel pollen
Herbs: Basil, mint, cilantro, pea tendrils, nasturtiums
Olive Oil for drizzle
Candied pistachios for garnish

For the pistachios:

3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 tsp cinnamon, ground
1/2 tsp kosher or fine sea salt
1/4 tsp paprika, smoked
1 1/2 cups pistachios, raw

In a small oven-safe sauté pan, heat oil on medium heat and cook pistachios for five minutes to release natural oils. While warm, toss with the sugar, place pan uncovered in a 325-degree oven. Roast for 20 minutes. Cool at room temperature.

For the salad:

Toss the cucumbers with limejuice and a pinch of salt. Add the Aleppo to the yogurt and make a “pool” on the bottom of a plate, arrange the cucumbers, onions, herbs and dust with fennel pollen. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with the pistachios.

Crispy Sweet Potatoes

4 Japanese sweet potatoes
3 Morita chilies
4 tbsp grapeseed oil
½ cup crème fraîche (2 cups heavy cream + 2 tbsp cultured buttermilk, cover and let sit overnight)
Limejuice
Kosher salt
1 oz smoked trout roe or preferred roe

For frying:

Canola or blended oil, a slotted spoon and a heavy 6-qt pot

Preheat oven at 375 degrees. After scrubbing sweet potatoes, place them in a rack and bake for 45 minutes or until soft. Do not add any fat or salt.

In the meantime, heat a sauté pan and toast the chilies for 30 seconds, you’ll be able to smell them. Add your oil and bring to 125 degrees then let sit for 30 minutes.

Puree the mix in a Vitamix and strain through a chinois sieve or cheesecloth. Season with a pinch of kosher salt. Let cool.

Once the sweet potatoes are done, tear them into 2-inch pieces making sure to keep the skin on. Let cool down in the fridge without covering. The idea is to let them dry as much as possible.

For the cream simply mix ½ cup of fraîche with 2 tbsp of Morita oil, add a splash of limejuice, and a little salt.

Get your frying oil hot 350 degrees, with slotted spoon drop your sweet potatoes in small batches until golden brown and crispy about 4 to 5 minutes.
Season with salt and black pepper. Top with crème fraîche and generous spoonful of smoked trout roe.

Garnish with sweet basil or cilantro.

Improv Eggplant!

Slice a fresh cabbage into 1/2” thick “steaks.” Slice eggplants 1/4” thick. Brush both sides of all slices with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Steam and mash your favorite squash. Season with olive oil, salt and that sweet and spicy pepper from France, pigment d’Espelette.

Combine a cup of yogurt, a clove or two of garlic, some minced onion and thyme, salt, black pepper, lime juice and olive oil into a dressing.

Grill the cabbage and eggplant.

Place a cabbage slice on a plate, top with mashed squash and grilled eggplant, and slather with yogurt dressing. Garnish with fresh, young greens and a squeeze of lime or lemon.