MILLET (QUINOA) PILAF WITH ALMONDS AND FETA (AND ASPARAGUS)
Replying to my earlier report to add this variation of the pilaf. I was out of millet, so used quinoa instead. I also added fresh asparagus from my CSA box (it was microwaved and stirred in at the end). I did use the feta (Violife vegan) in this version.
(Kebabs are DOTQ!)
Looks great. I’ve seen nigella used in flatbreads like naan, and also as a tempering spice (like whole cumin) (latter more in Bengali dishes than elsewhere).
I have it, I just forget to use it!
As I was decanting quinoa into a smaller container, I was just thinking of your recipe for it!
Did you like it this way?
There’s a great millet salad I ate years ago and loved at a modern Indian restaurant, and I bought grain millet to try to recreate it, but it seems more likely that I will try this pilaf before I ever get around to that…
I really liked the pilaf with both millet and quinoa. Works perfectly either way, 1-to-1 substitution.
RICH RISOTTO (#9 on “Ten More Ways to Use Preserved Lemons”)
Don’t ignore those “10 More Ways” sections in this book! There are some gems hidden there. This idea is just to stir a couple tablespoons of minced preserved lemon into your risotto in place of the usual parm. The author particularly recommends this for vegetable risottos, or those with shrimp or scallops. I have a broccoli/lemon/mint risotto I’ve been making for a few years. The origina;l recipe comes from “Smith & Deli-cious”. So I tried the preserved lemon trick on that risotto, and it was definitely an improvement. Why dull the lemon taste with Parmesan cheese, when you can enhance and brighten it with preserved lemon? I’ve since done this with other risottos, from plain saffron to various vegetable versions. I’m just loving having this trick in my back pocket.
I know it seems like we’re barely getting going, but it is time for the August nominations to begin.
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SALAD WITH LENTILS AND DATES - p. 306
“Batali problem” alert: this recipe does not look like the picture. Look at the dressing ingredients for the lentils: lemon juice, tahini, honey (agave in my case), olive oil, and water. The tahini makes this a white dressing. Which is not beautiful on lentils, tasty as it may be, and that is probably why the food stylist left the lentils undressed for the picture. I find that irritating. Anywho… lentils are cooked and tossed with the aforementioned dressing. Cauliflower is tossed with cumin, cinnamon, ginger, cayenne, salt, and olive oil, and is roasted until tender and browned. You are supposed to serve this salad on a bed of spinach, with some fresh mint to garnish. Lacking spinach, I just used herbs, the mint, plus basil. Chopped dates and almonds are used to garnish and add sweetness and crunch, respectively. As made (not exactly as written) this was a delicious plate of food. In my pic, you can just see a bit of the lentil mix peeking through at 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock, to give you an idea of what it really looks like.
CHICKEN KEBABS WITH TOUM - p. 71
I’m back at home, so I get to use page numbers. I made this using Daring “chicken” original flavor. You have a marinade of parsley, olive oil, garlic, salt, Aleppo pepper, smoked paprika, cumin, and black pepper. You skewer the marinated chicken with bell pepper and cherry or grape tomatoes, and grill. The kebabs are served with toum, which is just olive oil, lemon, garlic, and salt made into a mayo/aioli -like emulsion.
The kebabs were great. Very flavorful. I made the toum, and it was good with the kebabs, but made them a little heavy, and we honestly thought the kebabs were good enough to stand on their own. For the future, I would serve them plain or possibly with a lighter sauce like tzatziki or zhoug. We had the kebabs along with the pistachio pilaf from p. 251 and zucchini with pomegranate glaze from p. 57.
PISTACHIO PILAF - p. 251
This is one of those pilafs that mixes rice with orzo or vermicelli. I went the orzo route, and used Banza chickpea “rice” for the orzo. It doesn’t work as a rice substitute, at least not for me, but works great as an orzo substitute. You heat some oil in a heavy casserole, and fry some pistachios in it. You are supposed to use raw, but I only had roasted, so that’s what I used. I guess this means they were double -oasted, but it all worked out fine. Remove the pistachios from the oil and set aside. You then cook the orzo or vermicelli in the oil until toasted, then add basmati rice, salt, pepper, nutmeg, and allspice. Stir that and let the rice toast up a bit, then add stock or water and bring to a boil. This is the point where I new my pistachios would work, because even without pistachios in the pot, I could smell them emanating from the rice. You cover the pot and bake in the 350-degree oven for 18 minutes. You then stir in the reserved pistachios, and let stand, covered and out of the oven, for 10 minutes before serving.
Another terrific pilaf from this book. I’m pretty fussy about my rice (and to some extent all grains), but so far this book has delivered. This is just a lovely nutty pilaf that is a nice foil to the garlicky, lemony grilled dishes we served it with. See pic upthread with the chicken kebabs and grilled zucchini.
SUMMER SQUASH WITH POMEGRANATE GLAZE - p. 57
CSA zucchini and a plan to grill kebabs led me to this recipe, which, to be honest, I’ve had my eye on for a while. Your squash is cut on the diagonal into slabs, and marinated in garlic, salt, black pepper, Aleppo or Urfa pepper (I used the latter), and good dose of olive oil. You grill the zucchini (there is also a broiler option for you apartment-dwellers), then remove to a platter and drizzle with pomegranate molasses and sprinkle with fresh mint.
Simple. Delicious. Really nice balance of flavors with the cool mint setting off the garlicky marinade and sweet pomegranate. Great accompaniment to kebabs.
That is one gorgeous plate of food and I loved reading about all the components. Thanks for the reports!
Just a reminder that nominations for August close tomorrow at 11am EDT.
The voting thread for August, which includes an option to extend this book, is up here:
CARDAMOM-SPICED CHICKEN KEBABS p. 184
GREEN ZHUG p. 164
Made a few changes with the chicken. Used skinless, boneless thighs and didn’t cut up. Only marinated the delicious marinade for an hour or so. Marinade was olive oil, parsley, gar, jalapeño, salt, cumin, coriander and cardamom. It was so hot that we cooked these on a countertop grill in the garage.
Served with the also delicious zhug—cilantro, some parsley we had leftover, jalapeños, poblano, garlic, lemon juice, salt, cumin, coriander and cardamom. I wish I had a picture of my niece’s green forehead from trying to lick inside the food processor!
Pita bread dough is rising now and we will have the leftovers in sandwiches with lots of toppings.
These are on my list to make. Was going to do them last night, but realized I didn’t have any more of the Daring chicken that I’m using for kebabs.
SPICY BEEF KEBABS WITH TZATZIKI - p. 199
I made these using Impossible ground. One package is 12 oz, but I kept the spices about the same as in the original recipe. I omitted both the egg and the bread crumbs. Next time I would include some kind of binder, maybe a small amount of psyllium or some ground chia. The kebabs have a lot of stuff mixed in, and it makes them a bit crumbly and difficult to handle. Note the chilling times in the recipe for the kebab mix, both before and after shaping. You won’t want to skip that. As it was, while they were a bit fussy to handle, I did get them grilled without losing anything to the grates.
Your seasonings here are onion, garlic, jalapeño (I used serrano), parley, cilantro, dill, paprika, salt, black pepper, and Urfa pepper. Suffice it to say these are well-seasoned and very flavorful. I realized at the last minute that I didn’t have any cucumbers, so instead of the tzatziki called for, I improvised a sauce by mixing yogurt with some za’atar and minced preserved lemon. I have made the tzatziki from this recipe before, and it is good. Served this with okra roasted with sumac, and rice pilaf.
RICE PILAF - 100
This is found in the “Ten More Ways to Use Za’atar” section. It’s a very simple idea. You heat some olive oil in a pot and add za’atar and bloom until fragrant, then add add rice and toast it, and then add your liquid and salt and cook as usual. Additional za’atar is added on top to serve. This is just a really simple and easy way to add a bit of interest to some rice. Pic above with the beef kebabs.
JAMBALAYA, SAHADI’S WAY - p. 187
I have to admit I tend to be skeptical about anyone messing around with jambalaya. That hits close to home. But I have grown to trust this author, so I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt, and see if this twist on jambalaya measured up. There is a lot going on here. The meats called for are chicken and merguez sausage. Now, I’ve never come across a vegan merguez, but I recently found a vegan “cajun” sausage that is also gluten-free, so that’s what I used here. If you are curious, it’s from The Very Good Butchers. In addition to the meats, there is a good bit of vegetable matter: onions, garlic, celery, red and yellow bell pepper, fennel bulb, tomatoes, chickpeas, scallions, and parsley. For spicing, we have Aleppo pepper, black pepper, allspice, oregano, thyme, nutmeg, cinnamon, harissa (quite a bit), and preserved lemon.
This made a ton. Use a big pot! Or if you aren’t feeding an army, maybe halve the recipe, which is what I’ll do next time. The good news is that it cooked up perfectly and is incredibly tasty. This recipe won me over. The author successfully pulled of a riff on what is (to me) a classic that (once again, to me) shouldn’t be messed with. I will happily make this again. Served with some roasted okra with sumac.
You make it sound increedibly tasty! Also very pretty.
Voting for August is now complete. It’s official! We will be extending this COTM, Flavors of the Sun, for another month. I hope some of you who haven’t yet had the opportunity to dive in to this book will be able to do so in the next month.
