Yotam Ottolenghi - In Person

 In February, 2020, my husband gave me two tickets to an upcoming talk with Yotam Ottolengi in Boston. I was so eager to hear him speak, as I am a big fan of his cookbooks. It is rare for me to have all of the cookbooks from one chef, but he is the ONE. I have made so many successful dishes from his cookbooks.

I also follow him on IG, and was delighted to see him dine at Oleana, which is one of my favorite Boston restaurants.

The original tour was supposed to be about this cookbook Flavor, however because Shelf Life was now his most recent cookbook, there was lots of discussion about this book. I do like his book Simple.

Here are my takeaways from his talk:

*  He has two children that also give him honest feedback about his meals that he prepares for them.

* If he could pick two spices and an herb that he was limited to he would pick cumin, allspice and cilantro. I had picked for him cumin, cinnamon and cilantro. His backup to allspice would have been cinnamon. 

* Hummus in Arabic means chickpea! 

* He gives credit to the chefs that work for him. He doesn't claim their dishes as his own.

It was a fabulous 90 minute talk, and if you are able to hear him speak, get tickets.

Salad?

 Last year was the year, my daughter wanted elaborate salads. Fancy ingredients or not the usual salad ingredients.

I am not creative with salads. Lettuce, peppers, cukes, tomatoes. Fancy is Israeli Salad.

I was listening to a podcast on my daily walk, and this episode was about new cookbooks. One got my attention - Salad Freaks.

Made my first salad this weekend: Roasted and Raw Brussel Sprout Caesar Salad and it was FANTASTIC!

Greek Salad

 I have been incorporating more salads into our family dinners. My daughter loves an "elaborate" salad, which really means, lots of interesting things into a typical green salad. She likes edamame, chickpeas, candied almonds and craisins. 

But the typical green salad was getting boring, as was Israeli Salad, which is another standard at my house.

Deborah Madison's Greek Salad from Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone:

2 cups of salad greens

2 ripe tomatoes (the recipe called for four, but two large ones were plenty)

1 large cucumber, halved, seeded and thinly sliced (turns out my daughter prefers her cucumbers this way, as she doesn't like the "stuff" surrounding the seeds.)

1 large bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 small sweet onion, thinly sliced

8 pepperoncini

2 T capers, rinsed

12 green olives

4 oz feta cheese, and I like this cheese

1 t Greek oregano

1/3 cup coarsely chopped parley

Salt

Pepper

1 lemon, cut into wedges.

On a platter (I have always used a bowl for salads, but this method has inspired me) scatter the greens. Arrange the tomatoes, cucumber and peppers on the platter. Place the onion rings on top, and then place the pepperoncini, capers, olives and cheese around the platter.

Sprinkle the oregano and parsley over the salad.

Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with lemon wedges.

Cauliflower Shawarma

 Some days, I see a recipe, and think it is super creative. I tried this recipe from Israeli Soul, which I really like. Basically you BRINE a whole head of cauliflower, which I had never done before in my life.

I cut mine up into pieces, and provided pita bread to make a sandwich.

Ingredients:

2 quarts of water

2 cups kosher salt

2 Tablespoons Shawarma Spices

1 large head of cauliflower

4 T Canola oil

Mix together the water, salt and 1 T of spice. Blend in a large pot. Warm over medium heat whisking the whole time until the salt is dissolved. Turn off the heat, put in the cauliflower and let it brine for 2 hours at room temp.

Preheat oven to 450. Add 2 T of canola il to the spices and stir into a paste. Remove cauliflower from liquid and shake it off. Rub the paste over the head of cauliflower but leave a small spoonful for later. Put the cauliflower onto a baking sheet and roast for 45 minutes.

Remove from oven and let it cool. Cut it into small pieces (florets) and transfer to a large bowl and add 1 T canola oil and spice rub. Sear in hot cast iron skillet for 3 minutes.

Serve with pita.

I also had Israeli Salad and hummus. And a side of air fried Brussel sprouts.

Rugelach Cake

 Some cakes look great. This is one of them. However my family would have preferred rugelach not in a cake form.

Makes 1 cake

Ingredients

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

3 T firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/2 t instant yeast

1 1/4 t kosher salt

1/2 cup whole milk

2 t vanilla bean paste

1 egg

Chocolate Filling

1/3 c chopped 60% dark chocolate

3 T unsalted butter

1/4 cup confectionary sugar

3 T cocoa powder

1/2 t kosher salt

Glaze:

1 egg

1 T water

1 T vanilla sugar

In my stand mixer, I mixed 1 cup of flour, brown sugar, yeast and salt. 

In a saucepan, warm up butter, milk and vanilla bean until butter is melted.

Add butter mixture to flour and beat at medium speed until combined. Then add one egg and beat. Gradually add the 1 1/2 c of additional flour. Beat.

Switch to dough hook and beat for 6-8 minutes until smooth. Add a bit of flour if too sticky. 

Smooth into ball and put into well greased bowl and let rise in a warm spot (I used a proofer) for 30 minutes.

Divide dough into half and form two small 3 inch squares and wrap and place in fridge for 1 hour.

Spray 9 inch springform with Bakers Joy. Line pan with parchment paper.

Roll half of dough into 18 x 6 rectangle. Spread half of the chocolate filling onto this dough. Using sharp knife cut into 7 2 inch strips and then cut each strip into a triangle. Starting at large point of triangle roll towards end. Repeat for each piece.

Repeat for second dough ball.

Place dough cookies in springform pan in a single layer. Let rise for 45 minutes in proofer.

Preheat oven to 350.

Whisk egg and water and apply wash to top of cookies. Sprinkle with vanilla sugar.

Bake for 25 (to 30) minutes.

Let cool in pan.

Serve warm. 

Jeweled Rice with Roasted Vegetables

 Often times I listen to WBUR in Boston, and hear some great news stories. Around Thanksgiving, I was listening and heard a guest speak about a fabulous vegan rice dish she serves on Thanksgiving. I made an adaptation of it for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit.

I made it again last night with a few different twists.

Serves 4-6 as a main course

Ingredients

The Rice:

• 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
• 1/4 t saffron
• 1/4 t turmeric
• 3 cups of water
• salt
• 1 T olive oil

Vegetables

• 4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 1 1/2 pounds of butternut squash, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
• 2 cups Brussel sprouts, cut in half if larger or whole if smaller
• 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/4 c olive oil
• 1/2 t ground cumin
• 1/2 t ground turmeric
• salt and pepper

Topping

• 1 T olive oil
• 1 cup slivered almonds
• 1/2 c dried figs, chopped
• pomegranate seeds

Directions:

• To make the rice, mix the rice, saffron, turmeric, salt and water and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to low, stir, cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• In a large bowl combine carrots, squash, sprouts and onion with the 1/4 c olive oil, salt, pepper, cumin and turmeric. Spread on one or two large sheet pans in one layer. Roast for 30 minutes.
• Brush 1 T olive oil on the bottom and sides of a 9 inch round cake pan. Press the rice into the pan and bake for 15 min (when the vegetables have 15 min left).
• When vegetables are in the oven, heat 1 T olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Add figs and salt and pepper and cook for 2 more minutes.
• Unmold rice onto large platter. Surround with roasted vegetables. Pour almonds and figs on top of rice. Sprinkle pomegranate seeds over rice.

Serve.

Sheet Pan Cooking is EASY

Last night I made an easy sheet pan dinner for all of us. There are a few of us in the house that don't like casserole. We like our food separate and not smooshed together.

Out of my Skinny Taste cookbook I found a dish that I could easily exchange chicken for tofu, which makes my dinner plans even easier.

Dijon Maple Chicken (or tofu) with Brussels and Butternut Squash.

This recipe makes ONE pan of chicken or ONE pan of TOFU. If you need both, then you will need double the ingredients.

Pam

4 T Dijon Mustard

3 T Maple Syrup

2 T Soy Sauce

8 Drum Sticks (or one package of tofu, pressed and cut into cubes)

Kosher salt

Fresh ground pepper

12 oz Brussel sprouts, trimmed and halved

12 oz butternut squash, peeled and cubed (feel free to purchase the package that is already cut in the store)

6 sprigs of thyme

1 1/2 T olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425; line a sheet pan with tin foil and spray with Pam.

In a small bowl mix 3 T mustard, 2 T maple syrup and the soy sauce. Stir until combined.

Season the chicken (both sides) with kosher salt and pepper. Do the same if you use tofu. Put the protein on the sheet pan, spread it out.

In a large bowl, combine the sprouts, the squash, thyme, olive oil and 1/4 t. salt. Season with pepper. Stir to combine.

Place the vegetables onto the sheet pan, and make sure it is a single layer. Brush the mustard sauce all over the chicken (both sides) and then sprinkle any remaining sauce over the vegetables.

Roast for 35 minutes.

In a small bowl stir the 1 T mustard and 1 T maple syrup. Brush this sauce over the chicken and then bake for 5 more minutes.

DELICIOUS.