Sweet Onion Dip

2 large sweet onions (Vidalia, Walla Walla, Texas Sweet, etc.)
4-5 Tablespoons EVOO
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 small red onion
I bunch green onions or scallions, green parts only
3 cups small curd lowfat cottage cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut off ends of sweet onions and peel. Cut into eighths. Put in oven proof dish, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes, or until onions begin to turn brown. Remove from oven; set aside to cool.

While roasted onion cool, pulse red onion and green onion tops in food processor. Pour roasted onions and EVOO into food processor and run 'til thoroughly chopped. Add cottage cheese. Process 'til smooth. Place in container and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Set out for at least one hour before serving. Taste for salt and add more if needed. Serve with crackers, baguette rounds, assorted crudites, as desired.

Gazpacho Salsa

2 large ripe tomatoes
2 large tomatillos
1 medium red, yellow, or orange bell pepper
2 small jalapenos
3-5 cloves garlic
1/2 English cucumber (I'm sure you could use a garden cuke, but I'd peel it, which isn't necessary with the English cucumber)
1/8 sweet onion
1 Tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon red wine or rice vinegar
few large sprigs basil
few large sprigs parsley

Put all ingredients in food processor and let 'er rip. If you prefer this a little chunkier, pulse instead. (I usually like chunky salsas, but this is the one I really like to fully process.)

Put salsa in acid proof container and refrigerate for at least 6 hours to combine flavors.

Zucchini Fritters

3 Cups Shredded Zucchini (I use a mandolin)
1 Tablespoon coarse salt
two eggs
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 cup all purpose flour
1 or 2 large sprigs fresh lemon-thyme (1/4 tsp dried thyme if no fresh is available)

Put zucchini in large colander. Sprinkle with salt and toss. Let sit 15-20 minutes.
While zucchini rests, combine eggs and thyme in small bowl and beat thoroughly.
In large bowl, combine flour and baking powder.

Press excess water out of zucchini. Add to flour mixture in large bowl. Stir to evenly coat zucchini. Add egg mixture. Stir to make a loose batter.

Preheat 1/2 inch veg oil to 375 degrees. (I use an electric skillet.) Using a large soup spoon, gently place rounded spoonfuls of batter into oil. Cook on first side until golden brown around edges (2 or 3 minutes, approx.). Using tongs, turn fritters. Cool on this side an additional 2-3 minutes 'til golden brown. Remove from oil and place on cooling rack or paper towels. Sprinkle with more salt, if desired, and top with a few grinds of pepper. Eat while hot. Makes about 18 fritters.

We love to eat these with Gazpacho Salsa.

Allergies

Scott has a number of food allergies that make some of our recipes seem odd and our staples list notably lacking in some items that others would consider indispensable. For example, he's allergic to citrus and celery.

So if you see a recipe here and you think it would benefit from the addition of something, by all means add to your heart's content. For that matter, I'd say that all ingredients could have "or to taste" added to their amounts. The only caveat I'd add is to be sure to maintain fairly true dry-to-wet ingredient ratios. But, that said, if you'd prefer to use lime juice instead of vinegar, or celery instead of fennel bulb, GO FOR IT!

Scott's Salsa Verde

This is great on its own or as a base for further salsas. More ideas follw this base recipe.

3 or 4 tomatillos - about a pound
2 jalapenos
3 large cloves garlic
1 big pinch salt

Peel outer husk from tomatillos and garlic cloves. Put everything in a food processor and let 'er rip. Let sit for at least an hour. That's it!



Mango Salsa (great with grilled fish)

One recipe Scott's Salsa Verde (SSV)
1 medium mango
1/2 small sweet onion (Vidalia, Texas Sweet, etc.)
1 Tbsp lime juice

Peel and finely chop both mango and onion. Stir into SSV, add lime juice and stir.


Guacamole

1/2 recipe SSV
4 ripe avocados
1 large or 2 small ripe tomatoes
1/2 sweet onion (Vidalia, Texas Sweet, etc.)
1 Tbsp lime juice

Peel and mash avocados. Place in large bowl. Finely chop tomato and onion. Add them to bowl with avocado. Add in SSV and lime juice. Mix thoroughly.

Grilled Flour Tortillas

Makes 8 ten inch tortillas

2 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 tsp. Baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup water
More flour to prevent sticking when you roll out the tortillas.

Combine dry ingredients in large bowl. Add water. Stir and knead 'til dough comes together into ball. Dough will be fairly dry.
Cover with damp towel. Let rest at least 1/2 hour.

Divide dough into eight pieces. Recover with towel, removing one piece at a time for shaping into tortilla.

Lightly flour work surface and roll tortilla 'til about 1/16th inch thick. Add flour as needed to prevent sticking. I usually roll from the center out, turning the tortilla by quarter turns and flipping over periodically. When it is thin enough, sprinkle with flour and set aside.

Continue with remaining seven dough portions, flouring and stacking them as you finish. Cover with slightly damp towel.

Light grill (or charcoal). All grate to get hot. Place tortillas on grill, one to three at a time or however many will fit without overlapping. When bubble begin to puff in tortilla (1-2 minutes), lightly deflate them and turn tortillas. Continue grilling 1 or two minutes. Place on platter or cookie sheet and cover with damp towel. Stack the torillas as they finish and cover with towel.

Fill and eat immediately, or place tortillas in airtight container and refrigerate.