We used to have a Mediterranean/Israeli Restaurant in Phoenix Arizona called Zabari Mediterranean Grill. It was there I tasted an amazing salad that I never heard of before called Matbucha (a slightly spicy cold cooked tomato and roasted pepper salad). My gosh it was one of the most delicious things that I never knew that I liked. So I studied every recipe that I could find for Matbucha, made a chart of every ingredient that every recipe had in Matbucha and picked the ingredients that I wanted to use and the amounts that I thought were correct and tried to make a salad similar tasting to the Zabari’s Matbucha. I think I did it right because it came out amazing…..like I can sell it amazing…..Anyways today I made an even better batch of Matbucha (I got the textures better and the flavor even better) I started to think that since these flavors are so great that I can make a completely different salad with the same flavors and I did! I had around 5 cucumbers that I had to use….added onions and celery and then I was thinking chick peas but went with butterbeans because butterbeans have a more melt in your mouth texture that I thought would be better. Anyway it’s a winner. This will make around 4 servings. Feel free to add a few small sweet tomatoes if you have any…I would have added a few if I had some.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

5 cucumbers – peeled and seeds removed and sliced

1 large onion – sliced very thin and lightly rough chopped

2 stalks celery – small dice

1 – 15 oz can butterbeans drained and rinsed three times

11/2 – teaspoons sea salt (or to taste)

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste

1 Tablespoon Aleppo pepper

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon hot paprika

1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

big splash (I didn’t measure but think it was about a 1/3 of a cup of rice wine vinegar)

ground black pepper to taste

Directions

Everything above goes in a large mixing bowl. Mix and season to taste!

Enjoy!

I have a large pantry and have more spices and ingredientsnthan most people. I was going to make a Sichuan type of eggplant dish and when it came time to do the recipe I realized that I didn’t even have half of the ingredients…….So I made my substitutions and some things I cut out and some things I added and I wound up with something delicious but not authentic. Serving size is difficult to judge…My guess is that you will get between 2-4 servings depending if you want a side serving or if you want to make this into a full meal.

Ingredients for around 3 servings

1 eggplant – cut in half long ways and scored one the top in diamond shapes

2 teaspoon red chili oil

2 oz gochujang

1 Tablespoon black bean paste

2 Tablespoons Shaoxing wine

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 teaspoons sugar

non stick spray

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (for finishing)

1-2 scallions – cut thin diagonal (for finishing)

Directions

In a small mixing bowl mix together the oil, gochujang, black bean paste, Shaoxing wine, red wine vinegar, and sugar. Mix well. All this to a gallon Ziplock bag and place eggplant halves that have been scored cut side down win the bag. Leave this sit out on the counter for around 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Spray a baking sheet with non stock spray.

After 30 minutes place the eggplant halves cut side down on the baking sheet but reserve the liquid in the bag and put the bag to thee side.

The eggplants on the baking sheet go on a middle rack for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes the eggplant halves need to be turned to cut side up. Now pour reserved liquid over and into the eggplant halves. Put back in the oven till caramelized. (around 30 minutes)

Finish with sesame seeds and scallions.

Enjoy!

This recipe is by Great British Chefs dot com (I rounded some ingredients slightly). It’s called Charred Green Beans with Sauté Potatoes, Chermoula, and Fried Almonds. I didn’t call it Charred Green Beans because my green beans were kind of hallow (maybe old?) so when I took mine to char they got all soggy. This recipe is tasty and is a more epicurean version of green beans almandine. Here you fry up the almonds in oil and use the infused almond oil to fry up the potatoes and then fry up the green beans. To make things more interesting you toss the green beans in chermoula (a Moroccan pesto made with preserved lemon). Serving size is difficult to judge. For me this makes a little more than 4 side servings. You will also have extra chermoula leftover that would taste amazing in a tuna salad or on top of grilled fish.

Ingredients for around 5 servings

1 cup almonds

3 Tablespoons olive oil

pinch sea salt

pinch sugar

2 potatoes – peeled (original recipe suggest a dice cut but I cut mine into long thin fry shapes ….do whatever. you want)

flaky sea salt

black pepper

1 lb green beans – trimmed

3 Tablespoons chermoula

1 cup cilantro chopped

1/2 cup parsley leaves chopped

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste

1 preserved lemon (just the rind scrape out the segments and white from rind as much as you can) – chopped fine

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cumin

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

Directions

Make chermoula and set to the side. In a large bowl combine the cilantro, parsley, garlic, preserved lemon, oil, salt, paprika, cumin, cayenne, and lemon juice. Set to the side

Fry up the almonds. Put the oil in a fry pan on medium high heat. Fry up the almonds till they turn light brown. Remove almonds without removing the oil and drain on towel lined pan. Sprinkle the almonds with sugar and salt and seed to the side.

Fry the potatoes till they are golden brown. Drain and then season with salt and pepper and set to the side.

Fry up the green beans to desired wrinkle…..Drain green beans when done. Add the green beans to the big bowl with the potatoes and chermoula and toss. Top with the almonds and serve and enjoy!

A special THANKS!!!!!!! To Greet British Chefs so I could come up with these amazing green beans!

Shu Han Lee is a very high end food blogger, food writer, and food stylist. She has worked with Jamie Oliver and has written for magazines. It wasn’t really my intention to change her recipe but I didn’t have the more flavorful Hatcho miso in my pantry that I need for her recipe. I used regular white miso instead and bumped up the miso by adding a splash of yuzu hot sauce. I also cooked it only slightly differently like the way I cook certain Mediterranean eggplant recipes. What I wound up with turned out FORKING SCRUMPTIOUS. Serving size is always difficult to judge. I used one regular medium sized eggplant. My guesstimate is that you would eat a quarter of the eggplant so I’m guessing 4 small side servings.

Ingredients for around 4 smaller side servings

1 eggplant – cut in half long ways – score tops in diamond shapes

1 heaping Tablespoon white miso paste

1 Tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 Tablespoon (or to taste) yuzu hot sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Brand….it’s more yuzu tasting than hot)

5 Tablespoons hot water

non stick spray

1 Tablespoon sesame seeds (to finish)

1 (or 2) scallion – diagonal cuts (to finish)

Directions

In a small mixing bowl mix together the miso, honey, oil, yuzu hot sauce, and hot water. Place the halved and scored eggplants and the mixing bowl liquid in a gallon Ziplock bag. Make sure the eggplant is cut side down in the bag so it can absorb liquid. Leave it on the counter for at least 30 minutes.

Set oven to 400 degrees F

Spray a baking sheet with non stick spray.

Take the eggplants out of the ziplock bag but keep the unabsorbed liquid to the side.

Place thee eggplants cut side down on baking sheet and let them cook for 25 minutes.

After 25 minutes turn thee eggplants over (cut side up) and pour extra reserved liquid over and into the eggplant halves. Leave them in the oven till they look slightly caramelized. Top them with sesame seeds and scallions.

Enjoy!

A Special THANKS!!!! To Shu Han Lee for sharing her amazing recipe so that I could come up with what I got here!

This is a pretty easy delicious recipe but it’s best if you make the pickled onions the day before. I originally made up this recipe for cauliflower and it did taste delicious but I accidentally made the cauliflower soggy so I never published that recipe. This chipotle lime butter works out better for green beans and I think it actually taste better on green beans. I used my chipotle flakes this time (instead of chipotle powder that I normally use) and it did come out slightly different than with the easier to find chipotle powders out there. I think the chipotle flakes seem spicier to me so if you use chipotle powder instead you might have to add more pepper seasoning. It’s difficult to judge serving size. Some people like a small side and other people want a whole plate. You will have extra pickled onions left over that you can use on a sandwich or a taco.

Ingredients for around 6 servings.

1 red onion sliced extra thin

1 cup white vinegar

1 Tablespoon kosher salt

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds

2 sprigs thyme

1 lb green beans

15.5 oz can black beans (rinsed 3 times and drained….preferably reduced sodium)

2 Tablespoons chipotle flakes

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons Old Bay Seasoning

1 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon granulated onion

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

2 limes – juice and zest

2 tablespoons honey

4 oz sweet butter – melted

3/4 teaspoon sea salt (or to taste)

1/2 cup cilantro – chopped

optional – 4 oz queso fresco – crumbled to finish

Directions

The day before you make the green beans make the pickled onions

Heat up the vinegar, salt, sugar, bay leaf, black pepper, yellow mustard seeds, and thyme till sugar is dissolved. (you can do this stove top or microwave) Then add the red onion slices. Let sit on counter till room temp and refrigerate over night.

Put a pot of water on to boil. Then boil the trimmed green beans 2-3 minutes and drain.

In a large mixing bowl add the chipotle flakes, oregano, Old Bay, black pepper, cumin, onion, garlic, lime juice, lime zest, honey, melted butter, cilantro, and salt. Mix well. Then add the green beans. Top with some pickled onions. Finish with queso fresco if desired.

Enjoy!

This recipe is a variation of Frances Atkins’s Elderflower Jelly and Relish Recipe. In 2003 Frances Atkins was the first female British chef to win a Michelin Star. I found her recipe when I was searching recipes for beets (the relish here is made with beets). I didn’t change her beet relish much or change. her tuile recipe. Instead of making elderflower jelly I just used half a packaged small fig and instead of using goat cheese I made QUICK ricotta cheese that was done in five minutes. The combination of these flavors are FORKING AMAZING. For me this recipe made 12 small tuile with extra beet relish.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb beets – peeled, shredded

2 shallots chopped

3 juniper berries – ground

150ml red wine vinegar

200g sugar

275g cooked potato (around 1 +1/2 regular size) peeled and riced

3 egg whites

caraway seeds to sprinkle (around 1/2 teaspoon)

Parmesan to sprinkle (around 2 Tablespoons)

vegetable oil for deep. frying

3 cups whole. milk

1 lemon (just the fresh squeezed juice)

around 12 small halves of pieces of fig

Directions

Make the cheese. In a large microwaveable tub add the milk and lemon juice. Microwave for 5 minutes. Use a mesh strainer and fish out all the curds and shake out the extra whey. Refrigerate.

Combine the beet, shallots. juniper berries, vinegar and sugar and cook gently till soft. Stove top will be quicker than oven but either is fine.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix the potato with the egg whites. Pour on a silicone mat. Sprinkle with caraway seeds and parmesan.

Place on bottom rack of oven for 5-10 minutes or until it looks sort of baked.

Cut into pieces.

Fry with vegetable on medium heat till the tuile get crisp.

Assemble

Spread some beet relish and top with fresh ricotta and some fig.

These are FORKING DELICIOUS!

A special THANKS!!!! to Frances Atkins for her amazing recipe so that I could come up with this.