easy recipe Archive

israeli couscous with hazelnuts & garbanzos

– March 31, 2011Posted in: eat/drink

Hello, you, who’s who?

Is it a garbanzo or is it a hazelnut? I can hardly tell. Israeli couscous, maybe I am obsessed with you right now.

You look so dang cute with those beans & nuts. I dunno, maybe I will just have to eat you all.

Okay, silly, yes. However, every time I make this salad that is the inner dialog. I made up this recipe in honor of some of my favorite Mediterranean flavors and because I love Israeli couscous, or pearl couscous. The shapes of the three main ingredients play off each other as various little spheres of delicious in a playground of simple delights.

That sounds like a good time, right? In preparing it, you toast each of the ingredients separately to creating another layer of rich visual and flavor complexity. The hazelnuts need to have their skins removed by roasting them, which intensifies & enriches their already rich nutty flavor.

Toasting the garbanzos reveals another layer of textural interests & creates a nutty flavor you would otherwise not find in the simple bean. Always, I love what happens when you caramelize pasta, so spectacular. With the similar shapes & caramelization, this preparation is not only super tasty; it becomes a sort of gustatory trompe l’oeil.

Each shape compliments each other & the shapes & colors of the beans & nuts replicate each other in a really sweet manner. It is a pretty dish & it is incredibly diverse. I have been making it a lot lately because it seems to suit many diets.

This little tasty trompe l’oeil salad is an excellent vegetarian main dish & is as beautiful as an element to a Mediterranean meal. Lamb. Yes. You, you are perfect with this.

I made it last week as an accompaniment to red wine vinegar & honey marinated lamb kebabs. Shut up! That was super tasty. Lately, I am also just really into couscous, Israeli couscous to be exact. The plump little hard wheat pasta pearls have such a satisfying texture.

Originally seen as a kid’s food in Israel, where it’s known as Ptitim or Ben-Gurion’s rice, I found this preparation to be a fun & playful way to honor its home roots.

Kids love shapes, adults love flavors, so it’s all there. A trick of the eye, a party in your mouth. I think you will love this.

(click here to print!)

Hazelnut Trompe L’oeil Couscous

or
Israeli Couscous with Hazelnuts & Garbanzos

what you need:
microplane is the only special tool

ingredients:
1 cup raw hazelnuts
2 Tbsp cooking oil, I prefer grapeseed for this
1 15 oz. can drained & rinsed garbanzo beans
2-3 cloves garlic
10 sprigs flat leaf parsley
1 lemon, zest, juice optional
1 cup pearl or Israeli couscous, whole wheat is nice also
2 cups very hot water or broth
sea salt & fresh cracked black pepper
plenty of excellent extra virgin olive oil

how to make it:
-preheat oven to 375°F
-peel & smash garlic cloves & mince very finely with salt
-remove parsley from stems & chop coarsely
-zest a lemon with a microplane, removing just the bright yellow, avoid the bitter white pith
-meanwhile, place hazelnuts on a cookie sheet & place in oven, toast for 10 minutes & set aside to cool
-once cool, roll the hazelnuts between the palms of your hands to remove the skins, lift up from pan & shake skins away & set aside to add to garbanzo mixture
-heat a heavy bottomed sauce pan over a medium heat
-add cooking oil to pan until shimmery & hot
-add garbanzos to pan & spread across surface evenly, leave to toast without stirring for about 3 minutes, stir
-continue to cook this way until the garbanzos start to pop, add the hazelnuts & stir well
-add lemon zest, garlic & half of the parsley, stir well & cook all together for about 2-3 minutes, set aside
-place pan back on heat without cleaning it, put couscous into pan & toast over medium flame, stir often so the bits left from garbanzos doesn’t burn, you may want to decrease the flame
-toast pasta for about 2-4 minutes, add hot water or broth & bring to simmer, reduce flame to medium low or just to hold the simmer
-cover pan & simmer for 10-12 minutes
-remove from heat & stir in garbanzo garnish, season with salt & pepper to taste, add the rest of the parsley & coat with olive oil.
-if you prefer a little brighter flavor, add the juice of half the lemon & stir well
-serve warm or enjoy at room temperature

salad for the thanksgiving hangover

– November 30, 2010Posted in: eat/drink

Holy gluttony, Pilgrims!

That was a lot of turkey. And stuffing. And cranberries. And greens.
And pie. My favorite pair of corduroys can’t take much more of this.

I was the lucky guest at three tables this year. One of them: a day-after leftovers table that introduced me to Brussels sprouts roasted with vanilla and pomegranate. What? Oh, heck, yes. Another was 30+person soiree of with a freaking delicious array of homemade food & a deep fried turkey. The official Thursday affair was a long table filling an entire room with 18 TDay orphans. All of us with family elsewhere came together and put on a stellar spread. I made so much gravy last week.

Yesterday, I ate the last bowl of turkey noodle soup. It was really quite delicious, even if it was my fourth bowl in two days. Having always been a devotee to the traditional turkey noodle soup with thick handmade egg noodles, this year I discovered that mustard spaetzle is the long lost lover of homemade turkey broth.

At some point during lunch yesterday, it dawned on me, mid-turkey spaetzle slurp, this Thanksgiving holiday season I have eaten: 3 turkeys, 4 different kinds of stuffing, 3 different mashed potatoes, 2 sweet potatoes, 3 cranberry sauces & 4 varieties of gravy. One of which was a vegan mushroom gravy that I hope to never cross paths with again. It was weird. It was not homemade, so I do not feel bad dissing it.

That, my friends, is a lot of food. So much food. Moreover, that is not counting the 4 different kinds of pie & 2 varieties of whipped cream. It is unending. I did love the favorable trend of Kale! I have had 3. Three different kinds of braised kale. I have somehow managed to beat my corduroys past their favorable habit of stretching throughout the day & they are now like dexterously acquiescing sausage casing. I ate too much. It hurts.

This is why today I am only eating salad. Thank you. I gathered up all the bits leftover from thanksgiving preparation & made a superfood salad full of greens & pomegranate seeds & the sweet aromatic crunch of fresh fennel. Kale & Brussels sprouts love citrus to help absorb all their super vitamins & minerals, so I used an orange left over from cranberry sauce preparation. This salad is making me happy. Very, very happy. Bright, crunchy, fresh.

My corduroys will be happy for it too. Hoping next time I put them on I won’t be insisting they stretch their cottony borders so much. Besides, I gotta make room for the Hanukah & Christmas chow downs this month!

crunchy greens & pomegranate salad

for 2-4 servings

what you need:
no special tools required

ingredients:
4 leaves curly kale
5 large Brussels sprouts
a large handful of arugula
a small handful of fresh parsley leaves or basil
1 small head of fennel
1 large or 2-3 small radishes
1 small pomegranate, seeds only
1 small crisp apple, cut into sticks
½ cup walnut pieces

for the dressing:
3 Tbsp fresh orange juice
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
a few Tbsp of coarsely chopped fennel fronds
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
salt & freshly cracked pepper

how to make it:
-make the dressing:
~*pour juice & cider vinegar over fronds in a small bowl, season with salt & pepper & leave to steep for 15-45 minutes before whisking in oil to taste. Make sure to taste the vinaigrette as you are making it to check for balance between acid & oil, I prefer a tangier dressing

-clean & prepare all greens:
~*kale: remove the fibrous stalk & chop or slice into bite sized pieces.
~*brussels sprouts: trim bottom, cut in half through base & slice into 1/8-1/4 inch slices
~*arugula: chop coarsely if large, otherwise, leave whole
~*herbs: remove stems & coarsely chop
~*fennel: trim green stalks & reserve a few fronds, cut in half through base &  slice into 1/8-1/4 inch slices
~*radishes: trim & slice into 1/8-1/4 inch slices
-peel pomegranate & remove seeds
-cut apple away from core in ¼” slices & cut into sticks
-place all ingredients into a large bowl, scatter walnuts over & season with salt & pepper
-gradually add dressing to coat; taste as you go along

~*if you dare shove another piece of turkey in your gullet, it is an excellent addition to the salad.

apples & thyme: simple syrup

– November 23, 2010Posted in: eat/drink

I love savory sweet things.

I know, weird, right? One of my all time most memorable
eating experiences of my life is a scoop of tarragon gelato.

Sweet, without being cloying and just enough herbal to be complex. Perfection.
That excited me, really excited me. Shivered me to the nether regions of gustatory delights. Tarragon & Gelato. Shut up. Not possible…..oh yes. That is sort of how I feel about this here simple syrup.


You see, it all started like this:

N: Do you think thyme would be good in a mixed drink?
R: Totally! Have you ever heard of Farigoule? It’s a thyme liqueur. It’s kind of awesome
N: What do you think it would be good with?
R: Hmm….I dunno, let’s think what thyme is good with…

Apples.
Thyme is super good with apples. Thyme & Apples together in a sparkling drink are apparently the most dreamy thing for Autumn & Winter entertaining.

I have had many a roast stuffed with thyme & apples. A pork loin all rubbed with spices and tied up with a belly full of sautéed onions, apples & thyme. It’s porcine divine, a favorite fall dish. But sweet thyme. Um, why haven’t I done this before?

And can we talk about apple soda? Have you had this stuff? I freaking love it. I discovered as much one fortuitous picnic in Chicago. We picked up our drinks at a local bodega & with a basket full of roast pork sandwiches out in the car, Manzanita sol sodas seemed the best option. And, it was. The Best.

So here we have it, an apple thyme simple syrup. We made a cocktail with a dry Spanish Cava & a mocktail with sparkling cider & a splash of sparkling water. I have been making sodas out of it all week with just a shot of syrup & topped with soda water. It is also good as an addition to a vodka soda.

The flavor extraction works best if its allowed to steep for a few hours up to overnight, so make a batch in advance & pull it out for holiday entertaining. It’s delicious. After a couple of experiments we came to the conclusion that dried apples gave better apple face than fresh. The dried apples make the syrup considerably sweeter, so less is more, for sure. Thyme takes time to infuse, so allowing this to sit over night is the best way to go.

Apple Thyme Simple Syrup

ingredients:
1 cup raw sugar
1 cup filtered cold water
1 bunch of thyme or 20-25 stems
5 dried apple rings

how to make it:
-place all in a small heavy bottomed sauce pan & dissolve sugar over a medium heat
-swirl pan occasionally while sugar dissolves
-once dissolved, bring to a simmer for 5-7 minutes
-turn off heat, stir & steep for 15 minutes up to 45 minutes
-remove apples & most of thyme sprigs, place in a well sealed container & refrigerate
-this keeps indefinitely in the refrigerator

Apple Thyme Spritz

makes about 6 cocktails (depending on the size of your glasses)

what you need:
cocktail: champagne flutes
mocktail: pilsner glasses or tom collins glasses

ingredients:

cocktail:
apple thyme syrup
sparkling wine, I like to use a dry Spanish Cava
apple rings
sprigs of thyme for garnish

mocktail:
apple thyme syrup
sparkling apple cider
plain sparking mineral water
apple rings
sprigs of thyme for garnish

how to make it:
-make sure your ingredients are well chilled
-add 1 tbsp of syrup to each glass
-for cocktail: fill glass with cava up to three quarters full
-for mocktail: fill glass 2/3 full with apple cider & top with sparkling water
-garnish each drink with a sprig of thyme & an apple ring (they are delicious as an after cocktail treat!)

hooray for little sprouts!

– November 9, 2010Posted in: eat/drink


You know how there
was that awkward kid in school?

The one for which “the ugly duckling” was dreamed up? That kid who talked to him/herself in different accents in the back row of class? The one that kept a secret stash of eight sided di & “magical amulets” in their cubby?

Or the one that got tall really quick over one summer and came back as a veritable giant on twig legs? Or the one that just never quite fit into the hand-me-downs they were dressed in & were always tugging at some sleeve or cuff or waistband?

I imagine the Brussels Sprout to be that kid of the vegetable world. The mere mention of them makes most people uncomfortable. They see them, then curl up their nose & almost instantly feel the need to point fingers & gather the cool kid wagons to hurl up a big guffaw at Brussels Sprout’s expense.

Really, it’s not the little guy’s fault. It fell victim to multi-decades long blaspheme called American Vegetable Cookery: a.k.a. Boiled, Not Salted. Everything tastes bad like that. Name me one dish & I’ll give you a present. A huge one. Or wait, maybe I won’t give you a present, because that just seems a mean thing to do to food. Boiled, No Salt.

I am an equal opportunity vegetable lover, I even love broccoli when it doesn’t love me back. I used to hate these cute little cabbages. Used to hide them in my napkin or discreetly spit them into my plastic milk tumbler & hop up, first to volunteer to clear the table, a.k.a. Dispose of Evidence.

A good friend of mine whose mother learned it from a healing foods practitioner taught me a version of this recipe. It is said to have magical healing properties. I can dig it. It is a rather genius simple method using fresh orange juice, a dash of tamari sauce & high, quick heat.

I have used this method to make other vegetables, including cauliflower & broccoli, and it always pleases. In fact, I would go so far as to call it The Best Brussels Sprouts Ever recipe. I have dressed it up some with walnuts & fresh parsley, because I love good accessorizing as a rule.

Therefore, in honor of outgrowing awkward phases and finding your own lovely charm, I offer you this delicious simple recipe. It is easily adjustable to feed one or ten, which makes it a great dish for the holidays, see below for holiday preparation tip.

Hooray for Little Sprouts! Long live the Ugly Duckling.

The Best Brussels Sprouts Ever

serves 4

what you need
wide sauté pan w/tight fitting lid

ingredients
½ cup walnut pieces
3 Tbsp grapeseed or other cooking oil
10 small sprouts or 5 medium sprouts per person (20-40 sprouts)
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce (Bragg’s amino acids will do also)
½ cup filtered water
handful of flat leaf parsley

how to make it
-prep sprouts by trimming the base of any dried up or browning bits
-if the sprouts are larger, cut them in half lengthwise, if they are small, cut an “x” into the base so they cook evenly
-combine strained orange juice, tamari & water
-coarsely chop the parsley
-heat a skillet large enough to hold all sprouts over a medium high heat
-brown walnuts in the dry pan until just brown, about 30 seconds -2 minutes depending on the heat of your pan
-remove walnuts, set aside, add cooking oil to pan & swirl
-when oil is hot, add the sprouts & distribute evenly, leave the flame at medium high heat
-let sprouts char slightly & toss every few seconds to evenly heat
-once bright with little black bits on it, add the liquid mixture & cover immediately
-reduce heat to medium and steam 5-7 minutes, check at 5 minutes for doneness

-once done, they should be easily pierced with a sharp paring knife, but not mushy
-quickly toss with walnuts & parsley & serve
-season with salt & pepper as needed or desired

tips for holiday service:
I know everyone is planning for the holidays. If this were something you’d like to serve as part of your holiday meal, I’d recommend preparing the sprouts to the point just before adding the liquid.
Char the sprouts earlier in the day & set them aside to cool. Do not refrigerate, though do not keep them near the cooking heat either as you run the risk of them turning army green.
About 10 minutes before serving, go ahead and heat your pan then add the room temperature sprouts to pan & add liquid. It may take slightly longer to steam, but not much. Voila, happy dinner.