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Hi there, I'm Rose. I love to cook food - and eat it. If you have any questions concerning any of my recipes, drop me a line at:
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rose [at] avocadobravado.net
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I adore lentils. Recently, I feel like I’ve seen a lot of food bloggers bemoaning how ugly lentils are, but I’m so blinded by my love for lentils it doesn’t matter to me what they look like. A touch of pomegranate molasses is the secret ingredient to this salad, as it adds a wonderfully sweet and tart kick. Pomegranate molasses can easily be found at Middle Eastern groceries, co-ops, and gourmet groceries like Whole Foods. There’s always the option of making your own pomegranate molasses. In fact, it’s not even molasses at all, but a syrup made from pomegranate juice and sugar. Elise of Simply Recipes has a recipe for it here. Also, I found that this salad needed very little salt, since feta cheese is so salty.
Lentil Salad with Feta and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
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1 cup black beluga lentils (brown lentils and French green lentils can be used as substitutes)
1 small red onion, chopped
water, for soaking (optional)
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1/4 cup freshly chopped herbs (one or more of the following: parsley, mint, basil)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste
Give the lentils a quick rinse and add them to a stockpot with three cups of salted water. Bring the water to a gentle boil and simmer the lentils for 15-20 minutes, or until ‘al dente’.
Meanwhile, chop the onions, place them in a colander, and give them a quick rinse in cold water. This step is completely optional, but doing this helps take off the edge from eating the onions raw. Transfer the onions to a large mixing bowl.
Now, chop the tomatoes and the herbs and toss them in the large bowl, along with the feta cheese. Once the lentils are ready, drain them in a colander and gently fold them into the mixing bowl. Gently stir in the pomegranate molasses, olive oil, salt, and pepper until everything is coated. Season to taste, adding a little more oil or salt, if needed. Serve warm or cold.
Serves 4-6
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A couple weekends ago, Cory and I made the trek to the Mission to pay a visit to Rainbow Grocery, a food co-op. We only make a few trips to Rainbow a year, so whenever we’re there we stock up on stock up on pantry staples such as lentils, quinoa, couscous, oats, wheat berry, coconut flakes, coconut oil, honey and sweet treats like dried fruits. I rarely ever stray outside of the bulk section (which by the way, is massive), but I was lured into the produce section and quickly laid my eyes on a beautiful bunch of red Russian kale and tossed it in my shopping basket. By the time we arrived home, we were hungry and I quickly prepared this salad to serve with leftover chicken and roasted broccoli. I loved the salad so much that it became a recurring side dish for the rest of the week. It almost feels like a cheat to post this here since it’s so simple, but it was such a delicious and no fuss salad. And of course, I don’t need to tell you how good kale is for you. We quickly ran out of red Russian kale over the course of a few days, so I bought green kale to make even more of this salad and that worked just as well.
Kale Salad with Honey Dressing and Pine Nuts
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For the salad
1 bunch kale (green or red Russian)
1/4 cup pine nuts
For the dressing
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
salt & pepper, to taste
red pepper flakes (optional), to taste
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Chop the kale by folding the leaves in half and slicing off the ribs. Cut the kale into small pieces and transfer to a large bowl.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using). Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking constantly. Take a taste and adjust the flavors, if necessary.
Heat a skillet over medium-low heat (there’s no need to add any extra oils). When hot, add the pine nuts. Stir them constantly for 3-5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Remove from heat.
Toss the dressing to into the kale. Serve on individual plates and garnish with pine nuts.
Serves 6-8, as a side dish
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Two summers ago, I took an accelerated German course at my university. The class is mostly a blur to me now. I quickly got lost in the sea of nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive pronouns. The course began two days after I arrived back to the States from Cairo. So I spent the entire semester accidentally speaking in Arabic, much to the horror of my Saudi Arabian classmate (“You’re an American! Why you speak Arabic?”). There were definitely a lot of highlights from that semester, like watching Lola rennt and translating Trio’s “Da Da Da” into English.
I spent much of that semester starving myself. Not because I was trying to lose weight or anything, mind you. Work and school were an hour away by bus and I was often too lazy to pack anything with me other than mujaddara. I’d leave for work at 10 or 11 in the morning, work until I finished everything for the day, study in the language lab, attend class, and finally catch a bus back home. I usually wouldn’t arrive home until about midnight. I’d collapse on my bed and repeat the same thing the next day. At the very end of the semester, our class threw a party. I was thrilled because this meant free food. The students brought the usual fare of cookies, brownies, and cakes. But our lecturer, a PhD student who was born in Turkey but grew up in Berlin, brought a “Turkish potato salad”. After I took one bite I asked, “is this sumac?”
She nodded.
I had never tasted sumac before, but I was just learning how to cook at the time and had read all about it. Sumac is a tangy, salty, and sour spice made from dried and crushed berries. It quickly became one of my favorite spices. Sumac is used primarily as a souring agent, it’s what the Romans used before the introduction of lemons. I use sumac in just about everything now – hummus, chicken, salads, lentils, roasted vegetables, and of course, za’atar. I’ve gone through almost a pound of sumac in the last 8 months (I obviously don’t starve myself anymore), yet I’ve never tried to recreate the potato salad that made me fall so in love with sumac. Until the other day, that is. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. You may not be able to find sumac at your local supermarket, but it’s easily available at Middle Eastern groceries or online.
Sumac Potato Salad
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1 lb potatoes, chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ground sumac
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
salt & pepper, to taste
Place potatoes in a saucepan filled with water and bring to a gentle boil. Continue boiling the potatoes until are tender, about 10-12 minutes.
While the potatoes are boiling, chop the herbs and whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, sumac, salt, and pepper in a small bowl. Drain the potatoes to a colander and then transfer to a large bowl. Toss in the dressing and the chopped herbs. Add more salt and pepper, if necessary. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Serves 3-4 as a side dish
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Every Sunday morning, I plan our meals for the week. It usually involves scouring cookbooks, favorite food blogs, searching through hundreds of unorganized bookmarks (I should really do something about that), and writing my own recipes. For the past few weeks, I’ve abandoned that process altogether and have just gone produce shopping with only a vague idea of what to cook. This has mostly worked out fine, but I’m always left with uneaten produce at the end of the week. My eyes are bigger than what our appetites can handle, it seems.
As I raided the fridge on Sunday to start preparing dinner, I found two forgotten Persian cucumbers from the week before. They don’t show up at my local produce market very often. So I tossed them in my basket and made a mental note to make mast-o khiar, a yogurt-based Persian cucumber dip. Then I forgot about them. For a whole week. Tsk, tsk.
Like English and Japanese cucumbers, Persian cucumbers don’t need to be peeled or seeded. For this salad, you can certainly use common cucumbers available at your local supermarket or garden. Though I suggest peeling the cucumbers, since the skins are thick and bitter. This salad made for a cool, refreshing side dish, but it would also be great in a wrap or pita with tahini dressing, chickpeas, and alfalfa sprouts.
Cucumber and Radish Salad
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2 medium Persian cucumbers, sliced and chopped into small pieces
4 radishes, thinly sliced and chopped into small pieces
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons mint, chopped
1 teaspoon ground sumac
salt & pepper, to taste
In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, sumac, salt, and pepper. Add the cucumbers, radishes, onion, and toss together. Now, add the fresh mint and parsley and toss together until thoroughly mixed. If necessary, season with more salt and pepper and serve.
Serves 4-6 as a side dish
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I used to think tomatillos were something that existed only in legend and myth. Okay, not really, but it certainly felt that way when I lived in Michigan. Tomatillos are related to tomatoes and are about the size of apricots. They mature inside of a papery husk, which are inedible and should be removed before eating. They are also meatier than tomatoes and have a tart flavor. Tomatillos are the key ingredient to salsa verde (literally, green sauce), which is frequently used as a dip for tortilla chips, a sauce for tacos, grilled meats, and fish. I used this batch of salsa verde to accompany both tacos and burritos, but I’m already thinking of various ways to use the leftovers (pork! chili! stew!).
Oh, and here are two chubby corgis wearing sunglasses and ties. Just because.
Tomatillo Salsa Verde
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1 1/2 pounds tomatillos
1/2 onion
1-3 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 cup cilantro
1-3 peppers (jalapeño and serrano peppers are usually used, but I had anaheim peppers on hand, so I just used those), chopped. Leave in the seeds, if you prefer a hotter salsa.
pinch of sugar
pinch of cumin
salt, to taste
Set the oven to broil and cut tomatillos in half. Place them cut-side down in a foil-lined baking sheet. Broil for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the skins are lightly blackened. Remove tomatillos from the oven and set aside.
When the tomatillos are cool enough to handle, toss them into a food blender and pulse until blended. Add the rest of the ingredients, onions, garlic, lime juice, cilantro, peppers, sugar, cumin, and salt. Pulse until blended. Add a little more salt, if necessary. Transfer to a container and refrigerate, if not using right away.
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