I was gifted with several bunches of parsley and Tabbouleh is a parsley salad so here it is but a little different. I added a cucumber because I was gifted with a bunch of them but the most different thing is the rice. Tabbouleh is traditionally made with soaked bulgar. I used rice because I had leftover take out rice taking up room in my refrigerator. It made sense to use the rice. Tabbouleh uses an incredible amount of parsley that you hand chop as small as possible. I have no idea how Mediterranean restaurants serve so much of this. This recipe makes around 4 salads.
Ingredients for around 4 salads
2 cups parley leaves (packed very tight) – chopped fine
1 cup cooked rice (or substitute any grain you want or have)
1 large tomato – chopped into small pieces (mine was small but that was all I had)
1 hot house cucumber – remove seeds – chop into very small pieces
1 small red onion – small dice
1/2 cup mint leaves – chopped
1/2 cup scallions – sliced thin
1 large Meyer lemon – the zest and fresh juice
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon course sea salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
All the ingredients go in a large mixing bowl. Mix, chill a few hours or a day and serve.
I had some beets and I saw a chef make beet chutney on Food Network TV. I usually don’t do Food Network TV recipes so I looked up other vegetable chutney recipes and got ideas on how to make the dip a little more complex. I have to say this came out amazing. You will want to try this. It came out so good that I will in the future use this as a filling in pastry or another creation. This is NOT an authentic Indian chutney recipe but is Indian Inspired. Serving size may differ. This make around 8 small servings.
Ingredients for around 8 small servings
1 lb beets – peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 medium sized red onion – diced
2 red hot peppers – minced
2 bay leaves
2 branch curry leaves
2 Tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon fenugreek
1/2 teaspoon nigella (also called black cumin seeds)
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
5 garlic cloves – ground to paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 Tablespoons tamarind paste
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar – (or to taste)
sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup fresh cilantro – torn or chopped
optional – pomegranate seeds
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees f.
In a pan that you can cover add the beets, onion, hot peppers, bay leaves, curry leaves, sugar, ginger, fenugreek, nigella, cumin seeds, brown mustard seeds, garlic, turmeric, & tamarind. Cover and put on middle rack of pre-heated 400 degree f oven until beets are fry tender. ( I left mine in for one hour)
Next when done – remove the bay leaves and curry leaves and add a splash of apple cider vinegar and blend. Add salt and pepper to taste. Finish with some fresh cilantro. Add pomegranate (if using) Serve with something to dip.
I’m always looking for new ways to do cauliflower. So here is something new and different that is flavorful and easy to prepare. Serving size may differ.
Ingredients for around 6 servings
1 cauliflower – break down to florets
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
fresh crushed sea salt – to taste
Aleppo pepper – taste ( you can substitute black pepper or Urfa pepper)
1/4 cup black olive puree
1/4 cup poppy seeds – ground
1/4 cup black garlic – ground to paste
1 Tablespoon reduced balsamic vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey
4 oz feta cheese – crumbled or cubed
2 Tablespoons barberries (I bought mine at Asiana Market) (when barberries get old they turn sweeter. you might want to add a little lemon or sumac if your barberries turned sweet)
2 Tablespoons chives or scallions
1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts – lightly crushed
Optional sumac or lemon to taste if too sweet
Directions
Set oven to 400 degrees F.
Get the cauliflower florets on a baking sheet and drizzle or spray with the olive oil. Put them in the middle rack and cook until they get tender and a little brown. Timing will differ mine took 25 minutes.
While the cauliflower is roasting mix together in a small bowl the olives, black garlic, poppy seeds vinegar and honey. Spread this on bottom of cauliflower plate for serving.
When cauliflower is done sprinkle it with salt and pepper. then top the black garlic sauce with the cauliflower and top the cauliflower with feta, hazelnuts, barberries and chives or scallions.
Cauliflower Feta Barberries Hazelnuts and Black Garlic Olive Poppy Seed Sauce
My husband went out to the supermarket to pick up one thing. He came home with a pack of Impossible Meat (vegetable based plant meat). I was really surprised because he isn’t into plant based meats. He is usually anti to them. I said why did you pick that up and he said it was on sale and you cooked Impossible burgers really well (not to brag but…I did….better than Impossible burgers I ate out). I happened to already have a bunch of those yellow guero chile peppers that they use in Mexican Foods so I thought I’d stuff them Tex Mex Style hoping that they would come out good and they came out FORKING DELICIOUS! I make various meatballs and meat loaves all the time so I had an idea on what I was doing. The big surprise to me was that the Impossible meat doesn’t need as much binder or liquid as the other real meats out there. The big secret for these stuffed peppers coming out great is that you have to make them. Let them cool and refrigerate them. When you reheat them the pepper is well cooked and the Impossible meat is just like real beef. You can’t tell the difference. Serving size is difficult to judge. All the different peppers out there come in all different sizes. I used 14 assorted peppers of different sizes and my little 12 ounce Impossible meat package gave us 6 meals.
Ingredients for around 6 portions
14 peppers -*******AMOUNT OF PEPPERS CAN DIFFER ******(You can use any pepper that you feel like stuffing that you like…I used mostly yellow chili peppers. Anaheim, bells, poblanos, milder jalapeños would be good too)
1 onion – (medium – small) diced
1 bell pepper (I used red) diced
I Tablespoon canola oil
2 Tablespoons garlic confit (I buy bags of garlic from Costco and roast up half the bag with olive oil and make garlic confit. but you can substitute fresh garlic cloves ground to paste…..you will need between 3-5 cloves depending on size and taste)
1/4 cup scallions – sliced thin
1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground achiote also called annatto (Asian and Mexican Markets sell this or buy on-line)
1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle powder (Sprouts sells this or substitute around a teaspoon of chilies in adobo ((mince any chili)
2 eggs – lightly beaten
1 Tablespoon low sodium vegetable base (this is instead of salt but with more flavor)
12 oz Impossible Meat Package
1/3 cup masa flour
1/3 cup peas
oil for spraying.
Directions
Set oven to 350 degrees F and oil a baking sheet.
The rest is pretty easy.
In a fry pan on medium high heat add the canola oil. When the oil is hot add the bell pepper. Let it go around 5 minutes and then add the onion string occasionally. Lower heat to medium and cook till lightly caramelized. Take off heat. When room temperature add to your big mixing bowl.
In a big bowl mix together the onion, bell pepper, garlic, scallions, cilantro, pepper, cumin, oregano, chili powder, achiote/annatto, chipotle, eggs, vegetable base, IMPOSSIBLE meat, masa flour, peas and mix well.
Prep the peppers.
Before the peppers get stuffed you have to make a “T” shop slit at the top of the chili shaped peppers. You have to remove the core and membrane and seeds so you can fill them. Then pack in the filling the best you can.
These go the preheated 350 degree F oven for 30 minutes.
Then let cool on the counter.
Refrigerate over night. (they will have a better texture this way)
Reheat at 350 degrees F covered for 30 minutes to serve.
Maybe ten minutes before you take them out of the oven you might want to melt shredded pepper jack and cheddar cheese on them?
You also might want to top the peppers with fresh cilantro, scallions, pickled onions and a little chopped pickled jalapeños? ………..Maybe some sour cream?
I was lucky and got a big bag of Brussels sprouts for $1.00 and a bunch of tarragon for $1.00 and that is how I came up with this recipe. My idea of serving size might differ from your idea of serving size. I think a pound of Brussels sprouts makes around 4 servings.
1 lb brussels sprouts – cut in half
canola oil to fry
sea salt – to taste
ground black pepper – to taste
1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice
1 garlic clove – ground to paste
2 Tablespoons white miso
2 Tablespoons French or Dijon mustard (I used Pommery Moutarde Royal with Cognac because I had it…..)
2 Tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup toasted cashews – slightly crushed
2 Tablespoons tarragon leaves
Directions
In a small bowl mix together the lemon juice, garlic, miso, mustard and vinegar and set to the side.
Put a large sauce pan on medium high heat with slightly less than a half inch of oil for frying. When the oil is hot add the Brussels sprouts cut side down. Fry them till they are browned. Put them on a cooling rack or a sheet pan lined with paper towels. Fry them up till they are done. Salt and pepper the Brussels sprouts to taste.
Top the Brussels sprouts with the vinaigrette, cashews and tarragon.
Brussels sprouts with cashews, tarragon and lemon miso vinaigrette
This came to extra delicious……I mean FORKING delicious. My husband snacked on it while I was walking a dog….He NEVER snacks on a vegetable. He said that it smelled so good he wanted to try it. Then he asked me what this was…….This was today’s version of a roasted cauliflower. I made a delicious sauce that got roasted onto the cauliflower. The same sauce can be used on other things like chicken. I think one of the reasons why it came out so delicious was because I used some of my home made brine from my pickled jalapeños. Another fine ingredient was my garlic confit……Incase you don’t know…garlic is more delicious when you make it confit style..It’s never harsh or too garlicky. The third reason why it’s delicious because I used an actual Asian Gochujang from an Asian Market. Gochujang from my local grocery store just isn’t comparable. Yours will taste different if you use different ingredients. Serving size may differ.
Ingredients for around 4 servings
1. head cauliflower – cut into florets
4 oz gochujang – preferably purchased from an Asian Market (home made would even be better)
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
1 Tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
2 Tablespoons chilies in adobo (I used around 1 1/2 peppers minced with some of the sauce)
3 Tablespoons canola oil
2 Tablespoons pickled jalapeño brine (preferably from home made pickled jalapeños)
1 Tablespoon tomato paste
1 Tablespoon garlic confit (a substitute would be a few garlic cloves (maybe 4) ground to paste)
sea salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup cotija cheese
non stick spray
Instructions
Set oven to 500 degrees F and have a middle rack ready to use.
Spray baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large mixing bowl add the gochujang, corn starch, sugar, cumin, coriander, chipotle in adobo, oil, jalapeño brine, tomato paste and garlic confit. Mix well. Add the cauliflower florets and keep mixing till the sauce is distributed well over the cauliflower. Space florets on baking sheet and leave in oven till cooked threw and slightly charred. Timing will differ. (Mine took 23 minutes)
When done add fresh crushed sea salt and pepper to taste. Top with shredded cotija cheese.
You might want to garnish with normal nacho type toppings like cilantro, scallions, pickled red onions, sour cream, lime wedges.
Enjoy!
Gochujamg Chili Cheese Cauliflower The Forking Truth
I got a smoker and a little while back I made the FORKING BEST smoked pastrami ever. I only make a pastrami once or at the most twice a year. Smoked salmon a few times ….nothing fancy…just basic with a basic brine and leave in the smoker around 4 hours. I thought I should try to smoke other things.
I smoked some acorn squash, some beets and some seafood mushrooms. The beets came out really well and we enjoyed with the smoked salmon. The vegetables are super easy to smoke. You just put them in the smoker for 15 minutes with a mild wood. (alder is great for fish so I was using alder and it went extra well with seafood mushrooms!)
Smoked Beets with Goat Cheese Musse, Orange, Almonds, Mint, and Orange Champagne Vinaigrette
I had a bunch of food in my refrigerator so I had to freeze the acorn squash….I’m not sure what I will do with that yet but will think of something!
I tasted a mushroom. I thought it was a little too smoky for me……..Somehow I got the idea in my head to fry my smoked mushrooms. I used this kind of mushroom (seafood mushroom) I think it’s one of the very best buys at a supermarket. Seafood mushrooms usually only cost around a dollar a package and are amazing in soup and have a slight seafood taste to them.
After the mushrooms were smoked I dredged them in cornstarch and shallow fried them in a mix of unsalted butter and canola oil. (I tried the same thing with an un-smoked seafood mushroom and DO NOT GET THE SAME RESULTS AT ALL)
Smoked Crispy Seafood Mushrooms
OMG! These things are FORKING Amazing with my cheese sauce. My sauce was made with all the ends of white cheese I had in my refrigerator. I only use a small amount of butter (butter is what breaks the sauce), corn starch, milk lots of cheese, paprika, cayenne and Frank’s Red Hot Sauce. This combo is BOMB-DIG-IT-TY!
Smoked Crispy Seafood Mushrooms is a FORKING GREAT IDEA!
I had a bunch of really tiny acorn squash and Huitlacoche that needed to be used so this is how I came up with this recipe. Huitlacoche is hard to come by. The closest substitute in taste to Huitlacoche might be a shiitake or black trumpet mushrooms in taste. Your acorn squash will not be as tiny as mine were. I used 5 that were between a peach and apple size. You can dress them up a little more with sour cream or some grated Mexican cheese if you like but I think since I used butter that I have enough creamy fat in them for my taste. Serving size is difficult to judge here since the size of the squash will differ.
Ingredients for around 8 servings.
3 pounds acorn squash – cut however you like and remove seeds and seed membranes
4 oz unsalted butter – melted
non stick spray
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 small red onion
5 garlic cloves – ground to paste
2 Tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup peppers – diced (something like bell peppers or a mix with something mild-medium heat)
1/2 cup corn kernels
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 + 1/2 Tablespoon chipotle in adobo (I had one whole pepper in mine that I fine chopped)
1 cup huitlacoche
1/4 cup cilantro – chopped (leaves and only the fine stems)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (fresh epazote would have been better but I didn’t have any today)
optional – some fried pumpkin seeds
Directions
Set oven to 475 F. Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray. In a small mixing bowl combine the butter, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper and paint it on the squash twice.
Put the squash in the oven for 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes turn the squash over. If you have leftover butter paint them again and put the squash back in the oven till soft and slightly browned.
Make the Huitlacoche Corn Salsa.
In a medium sauce pan on medium high heat add the oil. When the oil is hot add the onion and peppers and cook till soft but not brown. Now turn down to medium heat and add the garlic corn, huitlacoche, dried oregano and apple cider vinegar….turn down to simmer and let it reduce a little. Add salt and pepper to taste. Served over squash and add fresh cilantro. Some fried pumpkin seeds if using.
Spice Buttered Acorn Squash Stuffed With Huitlacoche Chipotle Corn Salsa
This is the DELICIOUS Food & Wine version (mostly) of Marcus Samuelsson’s Roasted Carrots with Ayib and Awaze Vinaigrette Recipe. Ayib is an Ethiopian cheese. A substitute is goat cheese. You also need berbere spice blend for this recipe. You can buy berbere spice blend or make your own. I’ve included a recipe that I like for berbere from an African Woman Zurie that is on www.food.com . The only issue is that although DELICIOUS Zurie’s berbere recipe makes way more than you need. I cut her berbere recipe in half and still have extra that I will use on chicken latter. This recipe makes around 8 servings.
Ingredients for around 8 servings.
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger (Zurie’s Berbere)
1/8 teaspoon cardamon (Zurie’s Berbere)
1/8 teaspoon fenugreek (Zurie’s Berbere)
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (Zurie’s Berbere)
1/8 teaspoon coriander (Zurie’s Berbere)
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon (Zurie’s Berbere)
pinch ground clove (Zurie’s Berbere)
pinch allspice (Zurie’s Berbere)
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt (Zurie’s Berbere)
2 Tablespoons cayenne (Zurie’s Berbere)
2 Tablespoons sweet paprika (Zurie’s Berbere)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick) (spiced brown butter)
1/4 small red onion – fine chop (spiced brown butter)
1 sprig thyme (spiced brown butter)
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger – peeled – coarsely chopped (spiced brown butter)
1 small garlic clove – fine chopped (spiced brown butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (spiced brown butter)
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano (spiced brown butter)
1/8 teaspoon ground turmeric (spiced brown butter)
1 teaspoon berbere (spiced brown butter)
2 pounds carrots cut on a diagonal into 3 inch pieces
6 Tablespoon vegetable oil – divided into 4 and 2
kosher salt – to taste
ground black pepper to taste
1 orange thinly sliced (remove any seeds)
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
1/2 cup parsley with only the tender stems
1/4 cup Ayib Ethiopian fresh cheese or substitute crumbled goat cheese
Directions
Make the berbere.
Seeds should be toasted and then cooled. Then grind seeds.
In a small bowl mix up the first 11 ingredients (ginger, cardamon, fenugreek, nutmeg, coriander, cinnamon, clove, allspice, sea salt, cayenne and sweet paprika). You only need one teaspoon. The rest put away to use on something else.
Make the spiced brown butter.
Melt butter in a medium sized sauce pan on medium-low heat. Skim off foam. Continue heating up the butter until it is no longer foaming and is beginning to brown (about 15 minutes). Mix in the onions, thyme, ginger, garlic, cumin, oregano, turmeric into the brown butter. Cook until the onion is golden brown (about 15 minutes). Stir in the berbere until fragrant (about 1 minute). Strain with a mesh strainer over a bowl and discard the solids. Let cool completely.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Place carrots with orange slices on a large rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with 4 Tablespoons of oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast carrots for 30-40 minutes (around half way turn the carrots so they cook on both sides) or until they are tender to pierce with a fork and are a little brown in spots.
In a small bowl whisk together the lemon juice, mustard, remaining 2 Tablespoons oil, and three tablespoons spiced butter. (this is the Awaze vinaigrette)
Transfer the carrots to a platter. Top the carrots with vinaigrette, cheese and parsley.
This taste Forking Amazing!
Roasted Carrots with Ayib and Awaze Vinaigrette
ENJOY!
A special THANKS to Zurie for her AMAZING berbere recipe and to Marcus Samuelsson and Food & Wine Magazine fir this AMAZING Recipe!
Here’s another way to do butternut squash. I hasselbacked it (the way I cut it) but you don’t have to do that. You can cut in slices if you like. Feel free to add a little goat cheese or a quality feta cheese that isn’t too tangy. They would work here but I thought I had enough going on so here it is.
1 butternut squash – peeled, remove membrane with seeds, (if you squash is very small with thin walls you can hasselback) (If your squash is medium or bigger then you need to roast it at 425 degrees f for 10-15 minutes to get it soft enough to hasselback) ****OR**** just cut it up into cubes or thin slices…it really doesn’t FORKING matter. Serving size is impossible to judge because the size of the squash will differ and also your appetite will differ.
Ingredients for about 8 servings
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter – melted
1 orange + zest – you need the fresh squeezed juice and keep the zest separate
2 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon Aleppo red pepper (or substitute 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (this I guessed I just squirted the squash well with this)
1 hot pepper of your choice grated (I used a Mexican yellow pepper)
2 Tablespoons sugar
6 sprigs fresh thyme
2 oz roasted salted pistachios – smashed
1/4 cup pomegranate
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
non stick spray
Directions
Set your oven to 425 degrees F.
Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.
In a large bowl mix together the butter, orange juice, vinegar, salt, pepper, cumin, and coriander. This mixture goes on your squash. Paint it on with a brush two times and then give it a spray of olive oil. YOU WILL HAVE EXTRA that you will use in about 15 minutes when you apply again.
In a small bowl mix together the orange zest, grated hot pepper and sugar. This gets sprinkled or rubbed on the squash. If you did cubes or slices add the thyme now. If you are doing hasselback add the thyme with the next 15 minutes.
Your squash goes in the preheated oven AGAIN for 15 minutes. Paint your squash again with the orange juice/butter mixture and put the squash back in another 15 minutes.
Now here is where things differ.
Depending on the shape and size of your squash and cutting the timing will differ greatly….If you did cubes the squash might be almost done.
If your squash is not done keep going every 10-15 minutes and paint on the thickened juices that are oozing from the squash till it’s done to your liking.
Apply pistachios, pomegranate and parsley and then serve.
Butternut Squash with Orange Vinaigrette Pistachios Pomegranate and Herbs
