Spiced Pumpkin, Chickpea, & Quinoa Salad

My roommate's going to laugh when she sees this post: every day at home in L.A., she makes some sort of quinoa dish for herself. I, on the other hand, had never made quinoa before in my life, until I got here to Israel. It's not that I avoided making it before; I like it, but just don't usually have time to cook other than special baking projects when I'm at home. When I got here, however, I discovered large bags of red and white quinoa in the cupboard of my rented apartment, and found some extra time on my hands.

Since everyone always expounds upon the great health benefits of quinoa ("keen-wah" would be an accurate pronunciation), and I had some fresh root veggies on hand ready to roast, and Israel always impresses me with its salad selection, and I had the time, I decided to work up a salad loosely based on this smittenkitchen bulgur salad recipe.

I mixed some red and white quinoa together, and I cut up and tossed the veggies and chickpeas with hot pepper oil, salt, and pepper before roasting them. I do highly recommend roasting the veggies since it's so easy and brings out their natural sweetness - which is good for the spices I've added here. Next time I'd like to toast the quinoa as well. I'm not entirely confident that I could reproduce this exact dressing again, but I'd like to give you the tools to make your own version - if I can flavor something to taste, you can too! The general idea is to combine some kind of oil, acidic component, sweetness, and spices.




Here's the way to go about it - you can time it so that the quinoa's soaking and then cooking while you're prepping the veggies, and you'll have time to make the dressing while everything's roasting:

Quinoa preparation:
1 C quinoa (any combination of different quinoa colors is fine, red and white is pretty!)
1/2 tsp salt (optional but recommended)

In a cooking pot, soak the quinoa in 1 1/2 C water for 15 minutes. After it's done soaking, stir the water and grains around with your hand to stir up the part of the outer layer that's supposed to come loose - it will make the quinoa a little bitter if it remains on it. Pour off the top layer of soaking water with any loose outer layers, and then pour the rest into a fine sieve and drain well. Put the quinoa back into the cooking pot, add another 1 1/2 C water with the salt, and bring to a boil on the stove top. Once it's boiling, cover tightly with a lid and turn it down to simmer for 15 minutes. Then remove from heat and let sit covered for another 5 minutes. When you're ready to use it, fluff it with a fork.




Veggie preparation:
1 large can or 2 small cans of chickpeas
1 large onion
approximately 6x5x2" piece of pumpkin, or 1 large sweet potato or other root vegetable
1 large beet
olive oil
hot pepper oil/red pepper flakes/cayenne pepper
salt and pepper

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F/200 degrees C.
• Line two baking pans that have edges with foil.
• Drain chickpeas and toss in a bowl with olive oil (or, if you have it, hot pepper oil; if you don't have it, you may add some red pepper flakes or a dash of cayenne pepper here), salt, and pepper - enough to just coat them. Spread in a single layer on one baking pan.
• Cube up the onion and the pumpkin/sweet potato/root veggie of your choice into pieces that are 1/2" to 1" square. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread on the other baking pan.
• Rinse the whole beet and wrap the whole thing in foil. Scootch some of the other stuff over and place it on one of the baking pans.
• Stick both pans in the oven, setting a timer for 30 minutes. Check after 30 minutes to see how things are doing - my chickpeas were browned by then, so I took them out. The pumpkin and onion took another 15 minutes (for a total of 45 in the oven), and then I left the beet for another 15. The root veggies should be easily pierced with a fork when they're done, and I like the onions to be browned a bit since a raw piece of onion is too strong for me. The finished beet should give when squeezed (I got impatient and took the beet out too early, so mine was a little crunchy). Remove the beet skin once the beet has cooled down a bit and then cube it up.

Dressing preparation
(amounts are all roughly estimated, so you will need to adjust to your taste):
1/8 C olive oil
3 T hot pepper oil (may be replaced with red pepper flakes or 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper)
3 T apple cider vinegar (may be replaced with any other vinegar or lemon juice)
1 tsp honey
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste (I added a lot more than I first thought was necessary!)

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until smooth in a large bowl. As each vegetable finishes roasting, toss it with the dressing (chickpeas first, then onions and pumpkin, then beets). Toss together with the quinoa when all veggies are done.



I'm going to serve this on wilted spinach, but it can be eaten plain very well. The spiciness is one of my favorite parts of this dish, but I hope it's not too much for you. Really, this is a spiced salad in more than once sense - piquant with the hot peppers, but spiced with the cinnamon, cloves, ginger, salt, and pepper.

And I guess I should mention that this is a cheap and healthy dish that can be altered to use any grain, vegetables, and seasonings you desire? I found everything I needed in a kitchen whose contents were predetermined by a previous tenant, so I'd love to see what your kitchens might produce!

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Chicken Salad

Now that Bastille Day is over, I feel free to eat healthfully (until the next excuse not to!) so I am returning to the idea of a cauliflower/chicken salad.    This idea originated with a potato salad on a cooking show I saw on TV last weekend; I cannot remember the name of the show to give proper credit, but I've changed it significantly enough that all I've gleaned from that show are the cooking methods and a few ingredients.  

In the name of reducing refined carbs and fat and increasing the proportion of vegetables, I replaced the potatoes with cauliflower, used turkey bacon instead of full fat pork bacon, and added shredded broccoli and two kinds of onions for crunch.  This gives us a fiber- and protein-packed salad that tastes great.

The thing I get excited about with this recipe is the infusion of flavors - the variety of complimentary flavors and the variety of healthy and effective means to infuse them.  The chicken is poached with fresh herbs and spices, the cauliflower is roasted with olive oil, salt, pepper, and onions, and the pan-fried turkey bacon adds smokiness.  All this mixed with fresh green onions, thyme, and minced garlic gives you an aromatic salad that doesn't even need mayonnaise and mustard unless you're looking for something creamy.

This is easy to put together in 30 minutes or so, so here's the how-to's:

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower and Chicken Salad

2 large boneless skinless chicken breasts

24 oz. cauliflower florets

1/2 yellow onion, chopped

5 slices turkey bacon

6 oz. packaged broccoli slaw

2 green onions, chopped

7-10 bunches of fresh thyme

2 small cloves or 1 large clove garlic, minced or pressed

2 bay leaves

black peppercorns

olive oil, sea salt, and black pepper for oven roasting

optional: low-fat or fat-free mayonnaise and yellow mustard to taste, approx. equal parts each

Step 1:  Poaching the Chicken

Before preparing the chicken, preheat the oven to 500 degrees with a rack in the middle of the oven.  Place both chicken breasts in a sauce pan and sprinkle several peppercorns, the 2 bay leaves, and 2-3 bunches of thyme over both breasts.  Cover the chicken with water, place a lid on the pan, and set over medium-high heat on the stove.  Start step 2 while chicken is poaching.  Chicken should be cooked through after about 15 minutes; cut into one of the breasts to make sure they are cooked completely.  Remove from pan and set aside to cool.

Step 2: Roasting the Cauliflower

Using a baking pan with low sides, cover the pan with heavy duty aluminum foil.  Spread the cauliflower florets and 1/2 chopped yellow onion on the foil, cutting the larger florets into bite-sized pieces.  Once the salad is assembled you will want the chicken and the cauliflower pieces to be of similar size.  Sprinkle the cauliflower liberally with olive oil, which will permit it to brown well, and with sea salt and black pepper.  Roast in the oven for 10-15 minutes, checking for your preference of tenderness.  Set aside to cool while you prepare the remaining ingredients.  

Side note: This method of roasting vegetables results in a great easy side dish on its own! Cooking times will vary from 5-15 minutes depending on the kind of vegetable and desired tenderness.

Step 3: Assembling the Salad

Heat up a frying pan and brown the slices of turkey bacon on each side.  Slice up the bacon into small bits.  Cut the chicken breasts in bite-sized chunks.  In a large mixing bowl, combine bacon, broccoli slaw, chopped green onions, minced garlic, chicken chunks, cauliflower and yellow onions, and thyme leaves stripped off 5-7 thyme bunches.  Stir well.  Add mayonnaise and mustard to taste if desired.

Serve alone, in lettuce wraps, or in pita halves and enjoy!

(without mayo and mustard)

Monsieur Gorgonzola Salad

The other weekend at Julienne my lactose-intolerant self decided that she has a thing for Gorgonzola Cheese.  Despite my general hesitancies with blue-veined fromage, Monsieur Gorgonzola has proven attractive in diverse situations - primarily pear salad and open-face omelette, melted and crumbled - and his allure was too much to resist. I knew he was not good for me, but what could I do? I took the good with the bad (and the lactose pill with the cheese) and pursued the passion in my heart.

This affair resulted in a spur-of-the-moment trip to the store, where there was only a tub of crumbled, generic-brand Mr. G - but better than nothing. It turned out to be a bit dry, but the flavor was what I was looking for.  I was too tired to assemble an inspiring salad that night, but the chunks of Gorgonzola fit perfectly inside capped strawberries.  Definitely an appetizer waiting to happen!

A few nights later, however, the inspiration came, and the salad pictured above came to life: red leaf lettuce, mango, strawberries, blueberries, pecan bits, balsamic vinaigrette, and Mr. G.  This Monsieur Gorgonzola Salad is the less-sweet and more fresh counterpart to the Mistress Salad I had in Israel (not necessarily a statement about male v. female food characteristics); rather than caramelized dressing and pears, the dressing was tart and the fruits straight-up .  I ate it alone in my kitchen and actually made exclamations out loud while I ate it - "That is so good!", "oh my goodness!", "mmmmmm."  Profound observations, yes?

Monsieur Gorgonzola Salad

1 head red leaf lettuce

1 whole mango

4 large strawberries

1 small handful fresh blueberries

(substitute/add any fresh fruits in season or your faves)

light dusting of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese

light dusting of roasted unsalted pecan bits (TJ's has a great package of these)

Trader Joe's Fat-free Balsamic Vinaigrette

For one large salad as a one-person entrée, wash and tear up a plateful of lettuce (approximately 1/3 of the head).  Peel and slice the mango, wash and slice the strawberries, and arrange these with all the rest of the ingredients artfully on the lettuce.  Lightly dress the salad, and enjoy!

Cranberry Pecan Broccoli Slaw

My time in Israel reminded me that salads can be a real treat to eat; at sit-down meals the first course was often 5-7 small bowls of a variety of salads, from mayonnaise-based salads to barely-dressed mixtures of fresh vegetables. There were grains, diced fruits, dried fruits, pastas, meats, shredded vegetables, or cubed vegetables tossed with fresh herbs, spices, vinegar, yogurt, or mayonnaise in any combination you could invent. I am constantly on a quest to discover foods that are interesting and tasty at the same time as healthy, so this experience was an inspiration towards experimenting with new salad combinations.

This also brought to mind one of the few recipes for which I can truthfully claim authorship - a broccoli slaw flavored with dried cranberries and pecan bits. I enjoy the bite of the vinegar and pepper with the sweetness of the fruit and vanilla yogurt (yogurt also being an important Middle Eastern ingredient), held together by the crunchy broccoli slaw that lends such great health benefits. I hope you find this easy salad to be a treat!

Cranberry Pecan Broccoli Slaw
1 package broccoli slaw (I like Trader Joe's Organic Broccoli Slaw)
low-fat, low-sugar vanilla yogurt (like Dannon's Light-n-Fit)
white vinegar (also substitute fruit-flavored vinegars)
2 T sugar or 2 packets Splenda
dried sweetened cranberries
pecan bits
dash of cayenne pepper (optional)

Dump the broccoli slaw into a bowl with stirring room and add yogurt until it looks well coated and creamy. Add vinegar to taste. Sprinkle sugar/Splenda over the salad and mix in; add more if it tastes too tart for you. Mix in cranberries and pecan bits in desired amount, and top with cayenne pepper.

For a less sweet and more natural version, replace the low-sugar yogurt with plain yogurt and eliminate the sugar/Splenda. If you're interested in adding more fresh vegetables, baby spinach and white or red shredded cabbage go well with this. It might also be interesting to add some smoky flavor with bits of turkey bacon...or perhaps fresh mint leaves...and some different nuts...hm, I'll have to make it again soon!

From MacDo to Magnum

A few thoughts on my varied food experiences in Israel...

That's right, I sampled McDonald's ice cream in Jerusalem, and it's just as good.

When I started traveling internationally as a teenager, it was comforting to me to see McDonald's, Burger King, and Coca-Cola products in other countries. I am still fascinated by how each of these enterprises is marketed in other cultures: kosher McDonald's in Israel, Coke Zero in glass bottles in Paris cafés, two-story McDonald's in Beijing serving pineapple sundaes, Coca-cola logos painted on the streets in Guatemala in front of Catholic cathedrals. In Israel, hamburger patties were served on pita bread with tomato-cucumber salad and French fries. The McDonaldization of the world is happening, but not without some contextualization that keeps worldwide McDonald's packed. You know they're doing well in Jerusalem when you see signs blocks away from the restaurant pointing the way there! For better or worse, this is what I've observed in my travels.

On the other hand, Old City Jerusalem offers places like the Armenian Tavern, where one descends a staircase into a stone building to order stuff like this. To be honest, I wanted to try something new, so I just ordered an assorted plate of items I can't identify. The folded bread in the bowl is Armenian pizza (not very cheesy but tasty), the balls on the left are fried dough stuffed with ground meat, the dark sausage on the lower right was an intensely flavored something, and in the upper right there is a marinated dried kind of meat. An adventurous meal, even with the lack of food names.

Can't beat falafel! The best was freshly fried at Damascus Gate (only 7 shekels!), but this one was good too. I gotta learn how to make it from scratch.

Lovin' on the varieties of salads available at meals...this was the amazing dining hall at kibbutz vacation resort Ein Gev on the Sea of Galilee.

We had opportunities to buy these ice cream bars at every stop; they're unfortunately not distributed in the States. My favorite Magnum Desire bars have thick, quality chocolate on the outside, and rich, creamy ice cream with chocolate chunks on the inside.

Intense chocolate! Definitely worth the lactose pills.

And last but not least, Israeli s'mores ingredients: kosher pink and white marshmallows (strawberry and plain), Petit Beurre cookies (the Hebrew on the package is "Petit Beurre" transliterated), and milk chocolate bars. Some students claimed these were the best s'mores they'd ever had...

Isn't Israel fabulously diverse?