In search of a new way to eat my dandelion greens (I’ve made dandelion pasta this season, along with dandelion pesto), I found a dandelion and goat cheese empanada recipe in the LA Times. Bitter greens with rich chevre is an obvious combination, and this recipe begged to be toyed with.

I added mushrooms, actually finely diced portabello mushroom stems, to the recipe since I planned to toss the stems anyway. I also used green garlic since the stalks (thankfully) keep showing up at market. Although the dandelion greens gave the little pastries a grown-up complexity, you could use almost any green as long as you tinkered with the cooking time.

With two blocks of chevre and a healthy 1/2 cup of Parmesan, the empanadas, not surprisingly, turned out to be super rich. And without a side dish (after the prep work, I was too lazy to make another), William and I ate an unbalanced but delicious dinner of empanadas. We both agreed, though, that these would work better as a side dish or starter. That’s why we saved four for the freezer—to bring some effortless green and serious calories to another meal.

Dandelion, Mushroom and Chevre Empanadas
Empanada Pastry (epicurious.com)
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 stick, cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large egg
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon white vinegar 
Egg wash (Beat 1 egg + a splash of water)

Empanada Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups diced onion
1 stalk green garlic, thinly sliced or  3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup finely diced mushrooms
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
3 cups packed, chopped dandelion greens (about 1 big bunch)
8 ounces chevre
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper

Instructions
For the dough, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add butter and blend with fingertips or a pastry blender. Work the dough until the flour and butter form pea-sized clumps. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, water, and vinegar. Pour liquid  ingredients into the flour mixture and stir until incorporated. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead 2 to 3 times. Flatten dough into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 1 hour (this can be made one day in advance).

For the filling, heat olive oil in a large frying pan. Add onion, and cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, and cook 2 minutes more. Toss in mushrooms and red pepper flakes, and cook until all of the mushroom liquid has evaporated. Add greens, and cook just until wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir in chevre, Parmesan, and salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat oven to 400°. To assemble the empanadas, divide dough into 12 pieces. One at a time, roll a piece of dough into a ball. On a floured surface, flatten the dough into a disk with a rolling pin. Roll until pastry is 1/8-inch thick and about 5 inches in diameter.

Fill the dough with 2 tablespoons dandelion-cheese mixture. Brush egg wash along half of the pastry’s border. Fold dough over the filling to enclose. Crimp edges with a fork, and set on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Brush the tops of the empanadas with egg wash, place them in the oven, and bake for 25 minutes, until golden.

Makes 12 empanadas

On Saturday, I arrived at the Coral Gables Farmers’ Market in time to snag a fat bag of French sorrel, the lemony, herbal green common in Europe and to a lesser extent the Northeast in spring. Although I had never cooked the green, online searches made it clear that its classic partners are egg and cream. I combined the greens with its tried-and-true comrades to make an airy quiche. The sorrel, which takes on a silky (if not slimy) texture when cooked, soft fresh goat cheese and whipped eggs, baked  into pillow-like layers. The quiche’s filling had a mouthfeel more like souffle than quiche, all nestled atop a crisp, all-butter crust (which clearly lacks precision in presentation … oh well).

My final product was a victory, but when I first  opened my pot of steamed sorrel, its transformation took me by surprise. The bright greens had turned into a viscous, murky brown-green mess. The leaves more closely resembled pond scum than greens, but their bright lemony flavor remained—reminiscent of a red-topped weed that I chewed as a child. This ill-looking cooking reaction is the norm. If you’re new to sorrel, don’t look for your sorrel-based dinner to win any beauty contests.

Stil I’m eager to get back to the market early next week and pick up a new bag of sorrel for experimenting—maybe a cream sauce or pesto or soup or salad. I’d also like to report on the friendly farmer who sells the greens. I’ll get back to you.

Sorrel and Goat Cheese Quiche
1 recipe pastry dough
1 pound sorrel, stems removed
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk (or 1 cup milk with 1/2 cup cream)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
4 ounces soft goat cheese
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400°. Roll out pastry dough, and place over a deep pie dish, crimping edges. Line the pastry with aluminum foil, and fill with pie weights. Bake until crust turns light golden, 10 to 12 minutes. (I’m lazy, so I poke my pie crust all over with the tines of a fork, leave out the foil and weights and hope for the best.)

Meanwhile, steam sorrel in 2 to 3 batches for 3 to 4 minutes each batch. Drain thoroughly in a fine mesh sieve.

Beat together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper.

Once the crust is out of the oven, cover the bottom with hunks of goat cheese. Next add the scallions and sorrel. Pour the egg mixture into the pie dish. Sprinkle Parmesan on top, and bake for 35 to 40 minutes at 375°, until quiche is set and golden on top.

Let quiche rest 5 to 10 minutes, cut, and serve.

Serves 4

In celebration of National Goat Cheese Month (who knew), I picked up fresh goat cheese from Bee Heaven Farm’s summer share this weekend and graced an onion galette with its subtle, salty presence.

I’m a huge fan of galettes, the free form cousin of the pie. I feel a lot less pressure when I know my pastry dough isn’t going to collapse, and I don’t have to crimp the edges with Martha Stewart-like precision (not that I can anyway). William appreciates that there’s one less dish to clean.

For those reasons and, of course, the potential mouthfuls of sweet, softened onions and leeks topped with cheese and wrapped in a buttery blanket of pastry you should give this galette a go. I chose to mix and match onions, scallions and leeks, because I had all three on hand,  but you could use any number of combinations—ramps, green garlic, chives, etc.

I served a simple raw zucchini salad on the side (thanks to inspiration from my coworker Marie) for a “light” summer dinner. While the portions on this supper are far from large, the caloric density of the galette makes up for it plenty. 

Onion-leek Galette with Fresh Goat Cheese
Pastry:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons ice water

Filling:
2 tablespoons butter
4 medium leeks, white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 bunch scallions (5 to 8),  white and tender green parts, thinly sliced
2 sprigs thyme
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup fresh goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions
For pastry dough, pulse flour and salt in a food processor to combine. Add butter and process until the mixture has a sandy consistency. Drizzle ice water into the processor, and pulse until a ball forms. Cover dough in plastic wrap, flatten into a disk, and refrigerate  at least one hour.

Preheat oven to 375°.

On medium heat, melt butter in a wide sauce pan. Add onion, leeks, scallions, and thyme to pan. Cook gently for 4 to 5 minutes, until the vegetables begin to soften. Pour in wine, stir, and cover, cooking for 10 minutes more. Uncover the pan, and pour in cream. Cook until wine and cream are nearly evaporated. Remove thyme sprigs, season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat.

Once onion mixture has cooled, stir in 3 tablespoons of beaten egg, reserving the final tablespoons for an egg wash.

On top of parchment paper, roll pastry into a 15-inch circle; it should be about 1/8 inch thick. Mound the onion mixture into the center of the pastry, leaving at least a 2-inch border. Top the onion mixture with goat cheese.

Fold the edges of the pastry over a few inches of the onion mixture, leaving the center exposed. Brush the pastry with egg. Transfer parchment and pastry to a baking sheet, and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the pastry is golden.

Serves 4

Raw Zucchini Salad
Julienne 3 medium zucchinis and transfer them to a colander. Toss zucchinis with salt, and let them drain for 10 minutes, squeezing out excess moisture with a kitchen towel.

Meanwhile, make a vinaigrette with half a lemon, a few tablespoons olive oil, and one minced clove of garlic.

Toss the zucchini in the vinaigrette, adjusting salt as necessary. Top with Parmesan if desired.

Serves 4

Bread layered with cheese and basil

Pressed and dressed sandwich

This was a playful dinner that made use of homemade bread and fresh basil from my herb garden. For my first try, I used fig jam to accompany the goat cheese and pressed the buttered sandwich between two nonstick pans. For lunch the next day, I assembled a strawberry version and warmed it in a toaster oven at work. (I had to share a bite or two with coworkers, as well.)

I preferred the strawberry sandwich—the fruity jam is a natural partner to basil. And the toaster oven made the cheese adequately oozy, without dirtying two pans.  

Goat Cheese and Jelly Sandwiches
4 slices of crusty peasant bread
3 ounces soft goat cheese
Sea salt
Pepper
1/4 cup roughly torn basil 
2 tablespoons fig or strawberry  jam
1 tablespoon butter

Instructions
Divide goat cheese in half, and place onto two slice of bread. Sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Top the cheese with torn basil. Spread 1 tablespoon of jam on each remaining slice of bread. Assemble sandwiches and heat (you can use a toaster or a skillet with melted butter.

Serves 2