Summer Chickpea Salsa

This chickpea salsa has so many brilliant flavors of summer you can eat it straight and not miss the chips. For a heartier salsa, try using black beans instead of chickpeas. This recipe comes to us from Jayne of Wise Eats.

2 15 ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 17 ounce can of corn
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 large avocado, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
2 tablespoons of lime juice
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

In a large bowl, mix together the chickpeas, corn, tomatoes, avocado and red onion.

In a small bowl, whisk together lime juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper.

Add dressing to the chickpeas mixture. Cover bowl and chill and at least one hour.

Spicy Chick Peas

INGREDIENTS

1 can of chick peas (15 1/2 Oz; 439 gr) *

1 medium onion, finely chopped *

1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped *

1 clove garlic, finely chopped *

1 green chile, finely chopped *

2 medium well ripened tomatoes, seeded and chopped *

1 tablespoon fresh coriander chopped *

1 tablespoon lemon juice *

10 g vegetable oil *

Spices:

1/2 teaspoon turmeric -

1/2 tablespoon ground coriander -

1 tea spoon "garam masala" - salt to taste

PREPARATION

1. Drain chick peas, reserving the liquid.

2. Cook the onions, ginger garlic, chilies and turmeric in the vegetable oil until golden and softened.

3. Add the tomatoes and cook to soften, then add the ground coriander and chick peas.

4. Cook for 10 minutes, add the reserved liquid and cook a further 10 minutes.

5. Add "garam masala", lemon juice and stir in the fresh coriander. Cook gently for 2-3 minutes, adding more liquid, if needed, to make a sauce.

Turnip Treat (Britain)

1 turnip, peeled and chopped

Heat the oven to 375°F/190°C/Gas 5

1 Boil the turnip and the carrots with the onion in enough liquid to cover, until they are soft. Drain, and keep the liquid. Boil the potatoes in the liquid until soft, and then drain and set aside, keeping a little of the cooking liquid.

2 Place the turnip, carrots and onion in a blender (or mash with a potato masher), adding some of the cooking liquid as required. Flavor with the turmeric, and salt and pepper. Turn out onto a shallow oven-proof dish.

3 Now mash the potatoes with the garlic, coriander, chives and half the parsley, adding a little of the retained cooking water as required.

4 Spoon the potato on top of the turnip mixture, and smooth the top with a fork. Drizzle a little cooking oil on top to help it brown. Bake for 15 minutes or so and scatter on the remaining parsley before serving.

Cumin Potatoes (Jeera Aloo)

Warm Beetroot and Potato Salad with Dill and Mustard

Ingredients

• 500g baby new potatoes or charlotte potatoes
• 250g cooked beetroot
• 1 bunch dill, chopped
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon creme fraiche
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey
• Good quality olive oil
• Freshly chopped parsley (optional)

Method

• Boil the potatoes until soft, but not mushy or disintegrating (about 10-15 minutes)
• Chop the beetroot into cubes
• Chop the dill and shallot.
• When the potatoes are cooked, chop into cubes roughly the same size as the beetroot
• Meanwhile, mix the remaining ingredients, except the olive oil, together to make the dressing.
• Taste and adjust as necessary.
• Mix the potatoes, dill, beetroot, shallot, and dressing together well.
• Top with the chopped parsley, and drizzle with olive oil.

Sweet Potato & Feta Patties

These have been found all over the world, sometimes mixed with dill, sometimes rolled in a sesame/sunflower seed mix, with chile powder added...

I think anything you enjoy goes!

 MOROCCAN SPICED OLIVES           
1 ts Cumin seeds        
1 ts Fennel seeds        
1 ts Coriander seeds      
1/4 ts Cardamom, ground        
1 pn Crushed red pepper flakes        
1 pn Nutmeg, ground        
1 pn Cinnamon        
1 tb Olive oil
1 Tbsp orange juice
1 Tbsp lemon juice    
1 1/2 c  Green olives, brought to                         
3    Garlic cloves, minced       

Heat first 8 ingredients in a small skillet over medium heat until    fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat & add olives & toss to    coat.    Stir in remaining ingredients.  
Refrigerate in an airtight container for at least 4 hours or up to 3 weeks.  The longer the marinate, the better they taste.  Drain & serve at room temperature.

Greek Recipe Index

Corn-On-Cob In Coconut Milk

4 plump fresh ears of corn
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 (400 ml) can coconut milk
1 pinch salt (or to taste)

or, pinch turmeric

1 Tbsp cilantro

juice of 1 lemon

Directions:


Shuck the corn, wash, and chop off each end.

Add the herbs/spices to a saucepan with the coconut milk and simmer the corn gently in it for around 10 minutes until the sauce is thickened and the corn is tender. Spoon the sauce over the corn and serve speared onto corn forks or toothpicks, or prepare for messy fingers! Spoon up any leftover sauce.

A HUGE list of veggie recipes!

Caponata (An anti-pasti)

Portobello Gravy

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chopped cleaned portobello mushrooms, (2 medium)
2 1/4 cups vegetable broth (see note below)
3 tablespoons tamari, or reduced-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon crumbled dried sage
1 tablespoon cornstarch*
2 tablespoons water
Freshly ground pepper, to taste

*I'm thinking you could use file powder in place of cornstarch, if ya wanted. Might add another dimension to it.

***************************

Vegetable Broth

Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 potato, chopped into large chunks
1/3 cup mushrooms, chopped in half
3 cloves whole garlic
3 bay leaves

1tsp favorite herbs
1 tbsp soy sauce
8 cups water
dash salt and pepper

Preparation:
Place all ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour. Strain out the vegetables and remove the bay leaves. This broth can be used as a base for soups, gravies and more.

Preparation

Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they begin to release their juices, about 10 minutes.

Add broth, tamari (or soy sauce), thyme and sage; simmer for 10 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water in a small bowl. Stir into the sauce and simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes more. Season with pepper. If you prefer a smooth gravy, pass it through a fine sieve (discard mushrooms and onions). Serve hot.

Aaaalso-

Stir-Fried Cabbage

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound shredded cabbage

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)

Directions

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, and cook for a few seconds until it begins to brown. Stir in the cabbage until it is coated in oil; cover the wok, and cook for 1 minute. Pour in the soy sauce, and cook and stir for another minute. Increase the heat to high, and stir in the Chinese cooking wine. Cook and stir until the cabbage is tender, about 2 minutes more.

Well, this will help to start out with:

"Want to know the secret to eating a “raw” cabbage salad? You pour boiling water over top of it to lightly soften it. Then run cold water over it immediately after."

Lemon Tahini Dressing

• 1/4 cup Tahini
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1/2 cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
• 1/4 cup Nutritional yeast or a bit more, to taste
• 2-4 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
• 1 tsp kosher salt + freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
• 3 tbsp water, or as needed

Directions:

1. In a food processor, add all ingredients and process until smooth. Makes just under 1 cup.

dave said:

Can anyone help me out? A few years ago someone served me stir-fried red cabbage (and I think that was all it had in it, 'cept mebbe some salt or sugar, but I can't find any recipes this simple. Could it be Mexican? Any ideas?

Pasta Puttanesca

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
6 cloves minced garlic
2 (28-ounce) cans Roma plum tomatoes, broken into pieces, with juice
1 cup tightly packed, pitted, and halved Kalamata olives
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons drained capers
1/4 cup goat or sheep cheese, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed basil
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper flakes
Salt
1 pound penne pasta, cooked to al dente

Directions

In a large pot heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until soft and lightly caramelized, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic and cook an additional 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and the remaining ingredients and simmer until the sauce is thickened and slightly reduced, about 40 minutes. Adjust seasoning, to taste, cover and set aside. Add penne pasta to the pan and toss for 1 minute.

---------------------------

To Cook The Pasta

Fill a pot with one quart (1 liter) of water per serving of pasta (1/4 pound, 100 g) you plan to make, and set it to boil.

When the water comes to a boil, add 1 tablespoon of coarse salt (a little less if it's fine-grained) per quart of water. In terms of saltiness, it should resemble sea water.
Check the pasta package for pasta cooking time. No time? See below.

When the water comes back to a rolling boil, add the pasta and give it a good stir to separate the pieces.

Stir occasionally to keep the pasta pieces from sticking to each other or the pot.
A minute before the pasta cooking time is up, fish out a piece of pasta and check for doneness.

Fresh pasta, especially egg pasta (fettuccine, tagliatelle, lasagna) cooks quickly, 3-5 minutes.

Thin dry durum wheat (no egg) pasta (spaghettini, shells, rotini) cooks in 6-9 minutes.
Thick-walled durum wheat (no egg) pasta (penne, ziti, spaghetti, tortiglioni, etc.) cooks in 12-15 minutes.

You want an al dente, or chewy texture -- not flab. Taste, or break open a piece of pasta to test for doneness.

If you see a thin white line or white dot(s) in the middle of the broken piece, it's not done yet.

Test again, and as soon as the broken piece is a uniform translucent yellow, drain the pasta.

Tips:

To better wed the pasta to the sauce, put the sauce in a broad skillet and heat it while the pasta cooks.

Drain the pasta when it's just shy of done and stir it into the skillet before the colander stops dripping completely.

Toss the pasta and sauce over high heat for a minute or two, until The pasta is done. This technique is called pasta strascicata, and will work especially well with creamy meat or vegetable sauces, sugo alla bolognese, and marinara sauce. Do not use it with sauces that are raw, for example pesto, or oil based, for example aglio e olio.

Veggie Borscht

It had to have 'shrooms and spuds. MMM.

Ingredients:

1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb white mushroom, trimmed,wiped clean,and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice
10 small beets or 7 -8 medium beets, with greens,peeled,quartered,and cut across into 1/4 inch slices
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut across into 1/4 inch rounds
1 medium parsnip, peeled and cut across into 1/4 inch rounds
1 small celery root or 1/2 large celery root, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes (about 3/4 pound)
1 1/2 lbs mashing potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 small green cabbage, cored and shredded (about 3/4 pound)
3 cloves garlic, smashed,peeled,and very finely chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 bunch dill, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
coarsely chopped dill
sour cream

Directions:

Soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup hot water for 15 minutes.

Drain, reserving the liquid, and squeeze out the excess liquid.

Strain all the soaking liquid through a fine-mesh sieve.

Reserve the liquid (there should be 1 cup) and the mushrooms separately.

In a tall narrow stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat.

Stir in the fresh mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes.

Stir in the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes.

Add the beets, carrots, parsnip, celery root, 8 cups water, and the mushroom soaking liquid.

bring to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the potatoes, cabbage, garlic, and, if using, the beet greens.

Dissolve the tomato paste in 1/2 cup of the liquid and stir back into soup.

Return to a boil.

Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the reconstituted mushrooms and simmer for 5 minutes, or until all the vegetables are tender.

Greek Salad

Ingredients

1 head romaine lettuce- rinsed, dried and chopped

1 red onion, thinly sliced

1 (6 ounce) can pitted black olives

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 large tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, sliced

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

6 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 lemon, juiced

ground black pepper to taste

Directions

In a large salad bowl, combine the Romaine, onion, olives, bell peppers, tomatoes, cucumber and cheese.
Whisk together the olive oil, oregano, lemon juice and black pepper(you can add some red wine vinegar if ya want). Pour dressing over salad, toss and serve.

Jamie Oliver's Watermelon Salad

1 Seedless Watermelon
Juice of 1 Whole Lemon
Thinly sliced red onion
Crumbled Feta cheese
Fresh Basil and Mint
Splash of good Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Cut watermelon in half and skin.
Cut watermelon into bite size cubes.
Thinly julienne the red onion and add to watermelon in a bowl.
Rip the basil and mint into pieces and add to watermelon and onion.
Add the crumbled Feta to mixture.
Roll lemon to loosen juice, squeeze lemon into mixture.
Add salt and pepper and a splash of olive oil.
Mix and serve immediately.

Mad Dog Salad

Recipe adapted from Jamie's America (Hyperion)

Yield: 4 servings

INGREDIENTS

3 small, ripe avocados--halved, pitted and peeled

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

¼ teaspoon cumin seeds

4 cups tortilla chips

¾ cup coarsely grated cheddar cheese

3 tablespoons pine nuts

3 tablespoons pumpkin seeds

4 cups mixed salad greens

1 cup watercress

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

2 Scotch bonnets or other hot chiles, seeded and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Arrange the avocados on a baking sheet and drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Season generously with the salt, pepper and cumin seeds and toss until nicely coated. Roast until the avocados are lightly browned, about 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, on a large baking sheet, arrange the tortilla chips in a single layer and scatter the cheddar, pine nuts and pumpkin seeds over the top. About 4 minutes before the avocados are done roasting, place the large baking sheet in the oven to melt the cheese and toast the nuts and seeds.

3. In a large bowl, toss the salad greens and watercress with the lemon juice and remaining 6 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Remove the avocados and tortilla chips from the oven. Divide the chips among 4 plates. Slice the avocados and divide them among the plates. Scatter the greens over the top and garnish with the chiles. Serve immediately.

Black Beans, Corn and Rice

6 cups cooked brown rice
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 ounce) can corn, drained
4 fresh tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 dashes hot sauce

Directions:

Cook brown rice.

In a medium bowl, combine black beans, corn, tomatoes, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, lime juice, oil, salt, pepper and hot sauce.

To serve, Place a scoop of hot rice in a bowl or on a plate, top with a generous scoop of the black bean mixture.

Potatoes With Veggie Gravy