COOKING LIGHT Best-Ever Seasonal Recipes: A Cook's Guide to Peak Produce

By The Editors of Cooking Light

Some of the most reliable cooking advice out there is: Cook what's in season.

Now, the editors and experts at Cooking Light bring you an allnew Special Edition that helps you do just that! Cooking Light BestEver Seasonal Recipes features 100 fresh and easy recipes that help you take advantage of fruits and vegetables at their most delicious peak, no matter how fleeting (think figs and apricots) or prolonged (think zucchini and summer squash).

Divided into five sections, including Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter, Herbs and Pickles and Preserves, BestEver Seasonal Recipes will have you making sophisticated meals that are mindful of calories and fat without sacrificing taste and flavor. Try your hand at recipes including Lemon Risotto with Peas, Tarragon, and Leeks (38 minutes total time) or a Spring Vegetable Quiche (55 minutes total time) and many more delicious dishes that can serve as a weeknight dinner or something more special when entertaining family and friends.
Cooking Light BestEver Seasonal Recipes is a welcome addition to any kitchen no matter the season.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Liberty Street
• Release date: May 31, 2016
• ISBN: 9780848750220

Book preview

ETCETERA

spring

When the garden wakes from its winter slumber, dive into the delicate vegetables (sweet baby carrots, tender asparagus, and peas) and the sweet-tart fruits (berries, apricots, and rhubarb) of spring. A subtle touch is all you need.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH SPICY RHUBARB-BQ SAUCE

Hands-on: 45 min. Total: 45 min.

Barbecue sauce is hardly an expected place to find rhubarb, and that’s part of what we love about this addictive, tangy-sweet sauce tinged with smoky chipotle heat. Extra sauce can be refrigerated for up to 1 month. Also try it on pork and burgers.

Spoon the BBQ sauce on grilled pork chops, toss with shredded chicken for tacos, or top turkey burgers.

1 tablespoon canola oil

8 bone-in chicken thighs, skinned (about 2½ pounds)

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

⅛ teaspoon salt

Cooking spray

1 cup Rhubarb-BQ Sauce

1. Preheat grill to high heat.

2. Combine oil and chicken; toss to coat. Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray, and grill 6 minutes or until well marked. Place 1 cup Rhubarb-BQ Sauce in a large bowl. Add chicken to bowl, tossing to coat chicken. Return chicken to grill; cook, turning and brushing with sauce from the bowl until glossy and caramelized, about 12 minutes.

SERVES 4 (serving size: 2 chicken thighs)

CALORIES 255; FAT 10.7g (sat 2.6g, mono 4.6g, poly 2.3g); PROTEIN 27g; CARB 12g; FIBER 1g; CHOL 135mg; IRON 1mg; SODIUM 351mg; CALC 46mg

Rhubarb-BQ Sauce:

Hands-on: 22 min. Total: 29 min.

1 tablespoon butter

½ cup finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2¼ cups (½-inch) slices rhubarb

½ cup water

⅓ cup sugar

¼ cup ketchup

2 tablespoons white vinegar

½ teaspoon chipotle chile powder

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

⅛ teaspoon salt

1. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook 5 minutes or until onion is tender, stirring occasionally. Add rhubarb; cook 3 minutes or until rhubarb is translucent, stirring occasionally. Add ½ cup water, sugar, ketchup, vinegar, and chipotle; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer 6 minutes or until rhubarb is tender.

2. Place half of rhubarb mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend rhubarb mixture until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat with remaining half of mixture.

3. Return rhubarb mixture to saucepan. Bring to a simmer; cook 1 minute or until hot. Stir in mustard and salt.

SERVES 16 (serving size: 2 tablespoons)

CALORIES 26; FAT 0.8g (sat 0.5g, mono 0.2g, poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 0g; CARB 5g; FIBER 0g; CHOL 2mg; IRON 0mg; SODIUM 83mg; CALC 16mg

MOROCCAN-SPICED BABY CARROTS

Hands-on: 7 min. Total: 22 min.

Warm spices like cumin and cinnamon play deliciously off the sweetness of the carrots.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

12 ounces peeled baby carrots

1 lemon, sliced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground red pepper

1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine first 3 ingredients in a medium bowl; sprinkle with cumin, cinnamon, salt, and pepper, tossing to coat carrots. Arrange carrot mixture in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 450° for 13 minutes, turning once. Sprinkle with cilantro.

SERVES 4 (serving size: about ⅔ cup)

CALORIES 96; FAT 7g (sat 1g, mono 4.9g, poly 0.8g); PROTEIN 0.7g; CARB 8.7g; FIBER 3.3g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 1mg; SODIUM 187mg; CALC 39mg

APRICOT, CUCUMBER, PLUOT, AND LIME BASIL SALAD

Hands-on: 10 min. Total: 10 min.

If you don’t have lime basil, substitute any fresh basil plus ½ teaspoon grated lime rind. Plums will also work in place of pluots.

Pluots, a plum-apricot hybrid, are intensely tart and sweet. Slightly firm fruit works best here.

3 tablespoons fresh lime basil, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon champagne vinegar

Dash of kosher salt

Dash of freshly ground black pepper

2 apricots, pitted and cut into thin wedges

2 pluots, pitted and cut into thin wedges

½ English cucumber, thinly sliced

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl; toss to coat well.

SERVES 4 (serving size: ½ cup)

CALORIES 31; FAT 0.1g (sat 0g, mono 0g, poly 0g); PROTEIN 0.8g; CARB 7.6g; FIBER 1.1g; CHOL 0mg; IRON 0.3mg; SODIUM 31mg; CALC 11mg

ROASTED ASPARAGUS AND BABY ARTICHOKES

Hands-on: 17 min. Total: 52 min.

To get a head start, prepare the recipe through step 2 up to two days in advance. Shortly before serving, place asparagus on pan with roasted artichokes, and proceed with step 3.

20 baby artichokes (about 2½ pounds)

5 thin lemon slices

1½ tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces

2 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ teaspoon kosher salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1½ tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

1. Place a large baking sheet in oven. Preheat oven to 450°. (Leave baking sheet in oven as it preheats.)

2. Cut off top third of each artichoke. Trim stem to within 1 inch of base; peel stem. Remove bottom leaves and tough outer leaves, leaving tender middle and bottom. Cut each artichoke in half lengthwise. Place artichokes, lemon slices, and 1 tablespoon oil in a bowl; toss to coat. Arrange mixture in a single layer on preheated baking sheet. Roast at 450° for 15 minutes or until almost done and beginning to brown, stirring well after 10 minutes.

3. Toss asparagus with remaining 1½ teaspoons oil. Stir asparagus into the artichoke mixture. Roast at 450° for 10 minutes or until tender, stirring well after 5 minutes.

4. Place vegetable mixture in a large bowl. Add butter and next 4 ingredients (through black pepper), and toss gently to combine. Sprinkle evenly with pine nuts.

SERVES 8 (serving size: about ½ cup)

CALORIES 138; FAT 6.8g (sat 2.3g, mono 2.9g, poly 1g); PROTEIN 6g; CARB 18g; FIBER 9g; CHOL 8mg; IRON 3mg; SODIUM 255mg; CALC 79mg

FRESH STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKES WITH YOGURT CREAM

Hands-on: 25 min. Total: 25 min.

If you have a minute to spare, swap the vanilla extract for a vanilla bean. Split the bean lengthwise, scrape half of the seeds into the shortcake batter, and whip the remaining half into the yogurt cream. It will add an extra level of flavor to the recipe.

5.6 ounces unbleached all-purpose flour (about 1¼ cups)

3.6 ounces whole-wheat flour (about ¾ cup)

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ cup unsalted butter

1¼ cups very cold fat-free buttermilk

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1½ pounds strawberries

¼ cup sugar, divided

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

½ cup plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt

⅓ cup heavy whipping cream

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Weigh or lightly spoon flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flours, brown sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk to combine.

3. Place butter in a medium microwave-safe bowl. Microwave at HIGH for 1 minute or until melted. Add cold buttermilk, stirring until butter forms small lumps. Add oil and vanilla, stirring to combine.

4. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated (do not overmix) and batter pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (The batter will be very wet.)

5. Drop batter into 12 mounds (about 2 heaping tablespoonfuls each) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake at 450° for 12 minutes or until golden.

6. While biscuits bake, slice