Food creator Carolina Gelen is ready to share even more of her delicious and creative dishes with the world with her debut cookbook, "Pass The Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes."
The new cookbook is out Sept. 24.
Below, check out two recipes from "Pass The Plate" and try them at home in your own kitchen.
Serves 4 to 6
Prep time: 25 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 1 hour
"A recipe to celebrate the fall harvest season: Roasted broccoli, crunchy kale, and sweet potatoes are dressed in a mustard maple vinaigrette and topped with feta chunks. The best part about this recipe? The maple sesame crunch! I will often make an extra batch, just to snack on as I'm prepping the actual salad. It's sweet, toasty, and adds a lovely texture to every bite. Since the salad feeds a crowd, you can assemble it a few hours ahead of time, keeping the sesame bark separate and crumbling it on top right before serving to keep it nice and crunchy."
Ingredients
Salted Maple Sesame Bark:
1/2 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Harvest Salad:
2 medium bunches lacinato or green curly kale
1 medium head broccoli, stalk peeled and thinly sliced, broken into florets
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1/4 cup neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed
Boiling water
Salt
Maple Dijon Dressing:
3 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more to taste
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 garlic cloves, minced or grated
Kosher salt
Assembly:
Kosher salt
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Directions
Make the salted maple sesame bark: Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a small bowl, stir together the sesame seeds, maple syrup, oil, and salt. Pour the sesame mixture onto the baking sheet and spread it into an even layer, aiming for about 1/4-inch thickness. Bake until fragrant and toasty, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside to cool completely.
Make the harvest salad: Increase the oven temperature to 425 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
Strip the kale leaves off the stems, separating the leaves and stems into 2 different piles. Finely chop the kale leaves and add them to a colander.
Finely chop the kale stems. Cut any larger broccoli florets into bite-size pieces. Evenly arrange the chopped kale stems, broccoli florets, sliced broccoli stalk and sliced sweet potato on the two baking sheets. Drizzle the oil all over and season with a big pinch of salt. Toss well to coat.
Roast for 20 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Place the oven rack about 4 inches from the heating element. Broil the vegetables, keeping a close eye on them, until they're nicely charred in some places, 2 to 3 minutes.
Set the colander full of kale leaves in the sink or over a large bowl. Pour a few cups of boiling water all over the kale leaves to wilt them (this makes them easier to chew) and drain. Rinse the kale under cold water and squeeze any remaining water from the kale with your hands.
Make the maple Dijon dressing: In a medium bowl, whisk together the maple syrup, vinegar, oil, mustard, garlic and a pinch of salt. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, oil or vinegar as needed.
Assemble the salad: In a large bowl, add the kale leaves, a pinch of salt, and about half of the dressing. Massage the mixture with your hands for a minute or two to let the dressing penetrate the kale. Add the roasted vegetables and feta and toss again. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the top and crumble the crunchy sesame bark all over. Serve right away.
Serves 4 to 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
Total time: 1 hour 15 minutes
"While most people grew up with chicken and rice, in my home, pearled couscous was the go-to grain pairing for chicken. This one-pot no-fuss meal is my take on a dinner my mother used to make for any picky eaters visiting us. The chicken gets seared until golden and crispy, the couscous is toasted in the rendered schmaltz. Stir in the secret ingredient -- chicken bouillon for that ultimate chicken-soup flavor -- then steam it all in the oven. Finish the chicken dinner with a bright, herby sauce for some extra freshness."
Ingredients
Garlicky Chicken and Couscous:
4 to 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (1 1/2 to 2 pounds total)
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons neutral oil, such as sunflower or grapeseed
2 medium shallots, finely sliced
1 1/2 cups pearled (Israeli) couscous or orzo
15 garlic cloves, lightly crushed and peeled
1 chicken bouillon cube or 2 teaspoons chicken bouillon powder
Dill topping:
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill
1/3 cup brined capers, drained, rinsed, and finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar
3 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
1 teaspoon red chile flakes, plus more to taste
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Make the garlicky chicken and couscous:
Preheat the oven to 425 F. Using a paper towel, pat the chicken thighs dry. Season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
In a 12-inch cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken skin-side down and cook until the skin looks golden and crisp, and releases easily from the pan, 6 to 8 minutes. If the chicken skin sticks when you try to flip it, it just needs more time to crisp. Flip and cook until golden, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil and the shallots to the hot pan and cook until the shallots are slightly softened, about 2 minutes.
Add the couscous and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until it's fragrant and turning a toasty brown color, 4 to 5 minutes.
Add 3 cups water, the garlic, chicken bouillon and a hefty pinch of salt. Arrange the chicken thighs on top, crispy skin-side up. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a simmer. Remove the pan from the heat.
Carefully cover the hot pan with aluminum foil, pinching around the sides to create a tight seal. Transfer to the oven and bake until most of the liquid has been absorbed, 30 to 35 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the dill topping: In a small bowl, stir together the dill, capers, oil, vinegar, garlic, chile flakes, and salt and black pepper to taste. Remove the foil from the chicken and bake for another 5 minutes. Preheat the broiler. Place the oven rack about 4 inches from the heating element.
Broil until the chicken skin becomes crispy, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Fish out the softened garlic cloves and crush them on top of the crispy chicken thighs.
Dollop the dill topping all over the hot chicken couscous and serve right away.
Reprinted with permission from "Pass The Plate: 100 Delicious, Highly Shareable, Everyday Recipes: A Cookbook" by Carolina Gelen. Copyright © 2024 by Gelen Media LLC. Photographs copyright © 2024 by Nico Schinco. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC, New York.
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