Refresh and Recharge

If the holidays are the most wonderful time of the year, January holds the most promise. A fresh start with a whole year ahead. Endless possibility.

All that optimism calls for recipes of the kind that will refresh and recharge, energizing us for what’s to come. And while we love our cookie and cocktail season, resolution season, in its own way, can be just as much fun. Like our own personal, grown-up back-to-school. 

Here are a few super yummy recipes from the recent reserves of our weekly online column “Back Porch Table” – that are as delicious as they are restorative. Wishing all health and peace… Happy 2024!

Choose your favorite citrus fruits for this salad, topped with a honey vinaigrette, and sprinkle with little bits of kalamata olives, cilantro, and toasted hazelnuts. 

Citrus Salad with Hazelnuts and Honey Vinaigrette

I’m not sure which one is more exciting – cookie season or citrus season. Seeing all the thousands of yellow and orange orbs of all sizes piled up high at Central Market’s Citrus Fest gets me every year. From the tiniest kumquats to the heaviest Rio Grande Valley grapefruit and everything in between, we are into it.

Kalamata olives give this “salad” a little salty kick, cilantro gives it depth, and hazelnuts give it toasty crunch. Yes, this all fits nicely into our resolutions for the new year. But you’ll want to eat it anyway.

5-6 assorted citrus fruits, such as ruby red grapefruit, pomelo, navel oranges, and blood oranges
½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 to 4 kalamata olives, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
½ cup toasted hazelnuts*

To peel the fruit, first cut off the ends so that you can stand the fruit on one of the flat sides. Using a sharp serrated knife, slice off the peel and pith, following the shape of the fruit. 

Slice the peeled citrus into rounds about ¼ inch thick. Arrange the slices on a platter.

Whisk the vinegar, honey, and olive oil together in a small bowl. Drizzle it over the fruit. Sprinkle the olives, cilantro, and hazelnuts over top and serve.

*To toast the hazelnuts, heat your oven to 350 degrees. Place the nuts on a sheet pan and roast for about 10 minutes, until they start to brown. Take them out of the oven and place the nuts on a dishtowel. Fold the dish towel over the nuts to envelop them, then roll them around between the dish towel. The skins will fall off.

In this salad, super-thin slices of plain old button mushrooms take a bath in a lemony-tart dressing, transforming them into something many of us might have never guessed was possible: raw mushrooms you can’t stop eating. 

Clementine’s Mushroom Salad

Here is a recipe that, on paper, might sound a little simple. Boring, maybe? But that’s just on paper. Because when you take a bite of the White Mushroom Salad that chef John Russ and his pastry-chef wife Elise serve at their San Antonio restaurant Clementine, you’re going to understand why John was one of five James Beard Foundation finalists in the category of best Texas chef for 2023. (Also worth mentioning: He was the only finalist in San Antonio.)

In this salad, super-thin slices of plain old button mushrooms take a bath in a lemony-tart dressing, transforming them into something many of us might have never guessed was possible: raw mushrooms you can’t stop eating. Toss in all the parsley, some paper-thin red onion slices, crunchy radishes (also thin), pomegranate seeds, and shaved pecorino or parm, and you have a salad that is as surprising as it is delicious.

8 ounces fresh white button mushrooms, sliced as thin as you can manage
4 ounces good olive oil
4 ounces freshly-squeezed lemon juice, preferably Meyer lemon
1 bunch Italian parsley, chopped fine
½ red onion, sliced as thin as you can manage
2 small red radishes, sliced as thin as you can manage
2 lemons, cut into segments minus the skin and pith
1 cup pomegranate seeds
3 ounces pecorino cheese (parmesan can substitute), shaved with a vegetable peeler
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients except the cheese. Toss gently. Shave the cheese over the top of the tossed salad just prior to serving.

Chicken with Burst Tomatoes, Peppers, and Mozzarella is a beautiful, healthy, and easy-to-put-together family dinner.

Chicken with Burst Tomatoes, Peppers, and Mozzarella

This chicken and veggie situation all rolled into one skillet makes easy work of putting a beautiful and healthy dinner on the table. Add a simple salad and maybe some crusty bread, and you are so good to go. The most time-consuming step is to slow-cook the tomatoes and peppers in a garlic, thyme, and basil-infused olive oil, but if you get those cooking you’ll be free to do other things like help with homework or go through the mail or – gasp – sit down for 20 minutes and do nothing at all (save giving the tomatoes a quick stir every so often).

This is one that will look and taste like you really did something. Let’s keep the reality a secret.

2 tablespoons plus ½ cup olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled, divided 
4 chicken cutlets (or 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in half horizontally)
2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided
¾ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
4 sprigs fresh thyme
12 fresh basil leaves, sliced thin, plus more for garnish
1 pint small tomatoes, such as cherry or grape
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and thinly sliced
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
2 cups bocconcini (fresh mozzarella pearls)
Balsamic glaze, for garnish (buy it where you buy balsamic vinegar)

Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add 1 smashed garlic clove and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Season the chicken with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook in the skillet for 5 minutes on each side, or until the chicken is browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate.

Reduce the heat to low, and warm ½ cup olive oil in the same skillet. Add the remaining 2 smashed garlic cloves, thyme, and basil. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, pepper, red pepper flakes (if using), 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper, and stir to coat the tomatoes. Cook for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the tomatoes burst. Remove the thyme sprigs.

Warm the chicken in the skillet with the tomatoes. To serve, top the chicken with the tomatoes and a drizzle of the oil from the skillet. Add the mozzarella and more torn basil leaves. Taste for seasoning, adding a little flaky salt and freshly ground pepper if you’d like. Drizzle with a little balsamic glaze.

French Onion Chicken with Mushrooms is like a big scoop of the insides of a bowl of French onion soup with the additions of tangy marinated chicken and mushrooms.

French Onion Chicken with Mushrooms

Think of this as a big scoop of the insides of a bowl of French onion soup with the additions of tangy marinated chicken and mushrooms. The recipe is adapted from one created by Yasmin Fahr for NYT Cooking, and it is a winner.

Super-soft caramelized onions get that way in a dry skillet – no oil. A dry sauté is a little counterintuitive for anyone used to warming oil and adding onions, but amazingly, it works. The key is to give them a quick stir every minute or so, and to otherwise leave them alone to do their thing. The chicken gets marinated in a bright mix of vinegar, Dijon mustard, and honey, and the beautiful part of this is that there’s no thinking ahead – the marinating happens while the onions and mushrooms cook. It’s all a one-pan thing when you push the onions and mushrooms to the side to brown the chicken, and then let it all cook together while you boil some egg noodles to use as a base for the yummy, soup-less “onion soup.”

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (balsamic or white wine vinegar would also work)
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3-inch pieces
2 medium yellow onions, sliced thin
¾ pound cremini mushrooms, sliced thin
½ cup flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Cooked egg noodles, for serving

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons of the oil, the vinegar, honey, mustard, and 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Pat the chicken dry and add it to the marinade, coating it well. Set aside at room temperature, stirring a couple of times while you make the onions.

Heat a large cast-iron or heavy skillet over medium-high heat until very hot, about 2 minutes. Add the onions in an even layer. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook, mostly undisturbed, for 4 minutes, stirring every minute or so. Add the mushrooms, season with a pinch more salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Cook, mostly undisturbed, until the mushrooms shrink and start to brown, about 4 minutes, stirring every minute or so.

Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and allow the onions and mushrooms to cook until they start to color, stirring and lowering the heat as necessary to avoid burning, about 4 minutes. Push the onions and mushrooms to the edges of the skillet, and add the chicken pieces to the center. Pour any remaining marinade (there will be very little) over the onions and mushrooms. Cook undisturbed for 4 minutes, then turn the chicken to brown on the other side for another 4 minutes or so. When the chicken is browned, stir it together with the onions and mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes more. (Reduce the heat to medium if the onions look like they are burning at any point.)

Serve over the noodles, topped with a sprinkle of parsley.

This Tex Mex Bowl, inspired by the Super Mex Bowl at Los Tios, is a super easy summer meal. Buy the chicken already grilled, the pico already chopped, the pepitas already roasted. Heat up some black beans and brown rice, run the blender to make a quick, just-spicy-enough dressing, and throw everything in a bowl.

Tex-Mex Bowl with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

This bowl is an obsession at our house. It’s inspired by the SuperMex Bowl at Los Tios. Before Los Tios opened in West U (yay), the trip across town daunted us into making our own family version of their SuperMex Bowl, which is now our Tex-Mex Bowl with Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette.

This is a super easy meal. Buy the chicken already grilled, the pico already chopped, the pepitas already roasted. Heat up some black beans and brown rice, run the blender to make a quick, just-spicy-enough dressing, and throw everything in a bowl. 

We’ve added and deleted according to our own tastes: one of us doesn’t like avocado, another isn’t crazy about corn, another loves tangy feta on Mex. All of that is to say that our Tex-Mex Bowl is super-customizable. Just add or subtract what you like and what you don’t. As long as you keep a base of finely chopped kale, brown rice, and cumin-spiked black beans, you will wind up with a bowl so full of texture and tang that you might wind up like us: obsessed.

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
4 cups finely chopped kale
1 cup cooked brown rice
1 cup pico de gallo
2 grilled chicken breasts, cubed
¼ cup crumbled feta
¼ cup roasted pepitas
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette (recipe follows)

Place the black beans in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the cumin, salt, and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes, just until the beans are warm.

Divide the black beans evenly among four bowls, then top with equal amounts kale, rice, pico de gallo, chicken, feta, and pepitas. Drizzle Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette over the bowls.

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette

1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 small garlic clove, chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped
Juice of 1 lime
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup olive oil

Place the cilantro, garlic, jalapeño, lime juice, cumin, and salt in a blender, blending to combine. Add the olive oil and blend until the dressing is smooth.

Yogurt, lime, and herbs meet a mix of seeds, transforming into a yogurt so delicious that you will want to keep extra on hand to eat. Ginger and cilantro flavor cauliflower rice to become a flavorful side. When everything comes together with crisp-skinned salmon, you’ve got layers forming a dish that is nothing less than fantastic.

Crisp-Skinned Seed-Crusted Salmon with Ginger-Cilantro Cauliflower Rice

Crisp-Skinned Seed-Crusted Salmon with Ginger-Cilantro Cauliflower Rice is a light dinner that tastes like something you might have been served at a restaurant. Yogurt, lime, and herbs meet a mix of seeds, transforming into a yogurt so unique and delicious that you will want to keep extra on hand to eat, maybe alongside crudité or crackers, or maybe on its own. It’s truly delicious. Ginger and cilantro flavor cauliflower rice (or use regular white or brown rice if you prefer) to become a stand-alone side. When everything comes together with crisp-skinned salmon, you’ve got layers forming a dish that is nothing less than fantastic.

We’ve adapted the salmon from Ali Slagle’s recipe in NYT Cooking. While she does all the cooking on a stovetop, we’ve finished ours under the broiler to get the top toasty and crisp while keeping the yogurt topping intact. We’ve also added the bed of Ginger-Cilantro Cauliflower Rice, which adds extra texture and taste to an already yummy dinner.

1 lime, juice reserved, zest finely grated
1 cup Greek yogurt
¼ cup chopped dill
¼ cup chopped mint
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
1 ½ teaspoons fennel seeds
1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper, divided
4 6-ounce skin-on salmon filets, rinsed and pat dry with paper towels
1 teaspoon olive oil

Preheat the oven broiler. In a small bowl, stir the lime zest and yogurt together. Stir in ½ of the herbs, the seeds, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. 

Season the salmon on both sides with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Spread 3 tablespoons of the yogurt over the top of the salmon (the side without skin). Coat a large nonstick skillet with olive oil. Add the fish skin-side down, and place over medium heat. Cook undisturbed until the skin is crisp and the salmon is opaque ¾ of the way up the sides, about 10 to 12 minutes. Finish the salmon in the oven, broiling for about 3 minutes, or until the top begins to brown.

Thin the remaining yogurt with the lime juice until it is the consistency of a sauce. Serve the salmon on top of the Ginger-Cilantro Cauliflower Rice (recipe below), drizzled with the yogurt sauce and sprinkled with the reserved herbs.

Ginger-Cilantro Cauliflower Rice

2 cups cauliflower rice
¼ cup chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Stir all ingredients together in a medium-sized microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute. Stir and let stand for 1 minute before serving.

Editor’s note: For more recipes, see Andria Dilling’s Back Porch Table online every Friday.