Posts tagged chick peas
Kale is in fashion – Spicy kale and chick peas with tzatziki
Mar 18th
La mode du chou frisé – Chou frisé aux pois chiches épices et tzatziki
Originally I wanted to keep this vegan, then I could not resist to use that beautiful Greek yogurt I had in the refrigerator. Kale is quite THE popular vegetable these days, at least in California, and everyone talks about its health benefits, and how everyone should use it in its diet. It’s even used in juices along with other fruits and vegetables when doing a detox, I tried it in a “Green juice” and I have to admit that I tasted it and really liked it. It seems like juicing is quite in fashion too in California but its real health benefits have been questioned among experts.
I often ate kale growing up, it was regularly found on our table, since my grandfather grew it in the garden. I consider myself lucky enough that my parents always made me eat what they were eating, and there was no special “meal” for the kids. People might criticize this upbringing, and think it’s a little strict, but in retrospective, I think it helped me to develop a palate and tastes opened to so many different flavors and textures.
Kale and chick peas are a wonderful combination, their respective textures complement each other quite well. Tempeh is also a great alternative to chick peas in this dish.
Tzatziki is always a delicious appetizer dish (or meze), I like to serve it as a side dish sometimes like here, it’s always refreshing. Tzatziki is mainly a Greek specialty but often found in Turkey too. It’s made with goat milk yogurt, thinly sliced cucumbers, olive oil, mint, garlic. I would think that everyone has its own specific recipe. I do not consider myself to be an expert in Greek cuisine, and only been to Greece once, but this version of tzatziki is more than delicious. I will have to go and check at my Greek grocer if he has a family recipe to share with me…but I guess if it’s a family recipe, he won’t.
Ingredients for 2 as a side dish
- 1 bunch kale
- 1 cup cooked chick peas
- 2 tbs soy sauce
- 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 red chili, seeded and sliced
- 1 tbs olive oil
For the tzatziki
- 1 cup Greek sheep yogurt
- 2 Persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
- 1tbs mint
- olive oil
- salt
Preparation
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, cook kale for 2 minutes, drain and squeeze excess water.
Warm olive oil in a pan, add onions, stir for a few minutes, then add the rest of the ingredients except for the kale and chick peas. Stir well. Add vegetables and cook until fragrant.
Serve in small plates with tzatziki on the side.
For the tzatziki
Squeeze extra water using your hands from the cucumber. Add to the yogurt, then add remaining ingredients and let it rest for about 15-30 minutes.
The crab lost his house – Soft shell crab with almond crust on grilled fennel and radicchio salad, cream of chick peas and capers
Jul 5th
Le crabe a perdu sa maison – Crabes bleus en croûte d’amandes, sur lit de fenouil et trévise grillés, crème de pois chiches et câpres
Pardon my ignorance, I thought the soft crabs were a particular kind of specie…They’re apparently not. When I found out that they’re basically regular crabs that molted their hard shell, I felt a little bad to eat them. Poor little crab without his house…but I already bought them, so I had no other option that cook them…so the little homeless crab had to end up in my plate. I found a very useful site explaining how to clean them on ChefsLine.
Radicchio has two of my favorite features, colorful and bitter, which combined with fennel makes a very harmonious combination. The sweetness of the grilled fennel stands out beautifully, and complement the slight acidity of the cream of chick peas due to lemon juice and capers. So what about the crab?? I have been talking about everything except about our naked crab..and this recipe is not about fennel, nor radicchio BUT only about the crab!
This crab is such a treat, every bite is meaty and delicate, it is baked so not as crunchy as you would get it it was fried, but definitely healthier. So delicious! the topping makes it flavorful with a little sesame note and blends to perfection with the chick pea cream.
Ingredients for 4
- 8 soft shell crabs
- 6 tbs breadcrumbs
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 3 tbs almond meal
- 1 tbs sesame seeds
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbs parsley, chopped
- salt and pepper
For the cream of chick peas and capers
- 1/2 lb cooked chick peas
- 4 tbs plain yogurt
- 1 tbs garlic, crushed
- juice of one lemon
- 1 tbs capers, chopped
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
For the fennel-radicchio salad
- 2 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
- 1 radicchio head, sliced in 1 inches slices
- 1 tbs olive oil
- balsamic vinegar
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the salad
Grill radicchio and fennel on a grill pan, then place on a large bowl, add other ingredients and set aside.
For the crab
In a mixing bowl, mix all ingredients together except for the crab (of course). Top each crab with the breadcrumb/almond mixture, drizzle each crab with a little olive oil, and back in the oven at 400F until the top is golden brown and the crab is cooked.
For the cream of chick peas
Mix all ingredients except capers and yogurt in a blender. Remove from blender and add capers and yogurt. Mix well and set aside.
Serve with some warm salad in the middle of the plate, two soft shell crabs on top and spoon cream of chick pea on the side.
I can play the mandoline – Zucchini tagliatelle with spicy chick pea tomato sauce
May 7th
Posso suonare il mandolino – Tagliatelle di zucchine con salsa al pomodoro, ceci e origano
I bought a new mandoline before I would slice a few of my fingers, one day I cut the tip of my index while shaving fennel and had to go to the emergency room, so my new mandoline is much better and safer, and in the kitchen safety is somehow an important part of the whole game.
With my new De Buyer (being faithful to European made utensils because I know them better, I had to buy a French one, actually I have Japanese knives that are incredible) and one of the great feature of this mandoline is that you can adjust the thickness of the cut by twisting the handle from left to right or right to left. The blade is lightly dented so you can get a very thin and sharp cut, or a thick (and still sharp) cut, even on soft fruits and vegetables like very ripe kiwis or oranges.
So to try out my new mandoline, I wanted to make a whole dish with sliced vegetables because I just felt like playing with it. I’m sure I am not the only one who loves to play with a brand new toy. When I buy new clothes, I have to wear them right away, even if I have to run to the store buy salt, I can wear a brand new silk shirt just for the simple pleasure to wear something new. When it comes to kitchen utensils, it’s the same. What to do with 12 zucchini and a mandoline? well you just go crazy and slice them to make tagliatelle. So here they are…
My mom makes an traditional Italian dish made with pasta and chick peas so I used her tomato sauce twisting it around a little and used it on the zucchini tagliatelle. I really loved this dish, it’s savory, fragrant due to the oregano, light and nutritious, so how can you say no to that? This is a fairly simple dish, with a few ingredients which most of the time, if you have great quality ingredients, turns out delicious. You can taste all the ingredients in one bite and it all blends in a beautiful symphony of flavors.
For the tomato purée, I used the imported Italian tomato sauce from Parmalat, it’s just crushed tomatoes with nothing else added, they have quite a un-acidic flavor unlike some other tomatoes. Parmalat is a very famous brand in Italy and I knew them for their dairy products and mainly milk that was sold in card board like here they would sell orange juice, which healthier to use than canned tomatoes. I was excited to be able to find the Parmalat tomatoes. Grazie Parmalat! You can use fresh tomatoes too, but they need to be of good quality or the sauce will not be as good.
Ingredients for 2-3 as a side dish
- 6 zucchini sliced lengthwise
- 7 oz (or 200 g) cooked chick peas
- 10 oz (or 300 g) good quality crushed tomato or fresh tomatoes
- 1 tbs olive oil
- 1 tsp fresh oregano, chopped
- 1/3 cup dry white wine
- 1 garlic clove
- cayenne pepper
- salt and pepper
- fresh shaved parmesan for garnish
Preparation
Start preparing the sauce. In a small pot, heat olive oil, add garlic, stir for about 30 seconds, then oregano. After about 1 minutes (watch out not to burn the garlic) add 1 cup tomatoes, salt, pepper and cayenne. Add wine. Let the sauce cook until the water has evaporated, add chick peas and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Using the mandoline, slice zucchini lenghtwise in about 2mm ribbons. Bring salted water to a boil, add zucchini and cook for about 30 seconds. Drain, and carefull pat dry with a towel, making sure not to break the zucchini. Add to the tomato sauce, stir carefully. Add extra oregano, and serve with sahved parmesan on top.
Artichokes are back in town – Tagine of artichokes, chickpeas, potatoes, red peppers and olives
Mar 8th
Les artichauts sont de retour – Tagine d’artichauts, pois chiches, pommes de terre, poivrons, et olives vertes
It looks like artichoke season is starting and you see them come out on the shelves, one of the largest producer being close to the Bay Area in Castroville (they claim to be the artichoke capital of the world, which is quite a big statement, but they certainly do produce a lot of them), we have in San Francisco, lots of beautiful artichokes, the babies, the medium, the large, you pick which one you want. I even planted some in the garden, but seems like it takes over 300 days for them to grow, so I cannot count on my own crops this year!
I had some fresh chick peas left from last week and I just wanted to use them in a tagine. They remain green and taste so good but cook very quickly so when using them in a dish, they only need to cook for 15 minutes or so, therefore add them at the end. I love tagines, I could eat them every day. The flavors of all the spices infusing with all those wonderful vegetables is a pure pleasure to cook (and to eat of course too). After 10 minutes of placing the tagine in the oven, the house starts to be filled with incredibly aromas. It’s like a pure perfume. Ca embaume.
As in the majority of my tagines, I used Ras el hanout which is a traditional mix of Moroccan spices and literally means “the roof of the grocery store” in arabic. A few common spices included in Ras el hanout are cardamom, mace, cloves, nutmeg, pepper, lavender, ginger, nigella, turmeric, etc..but so many more. It’s used in Middle Eastern cuisine to enhance many dishes such as couscous, meat dishes, etc…
The composition of Ras el hanout can vary from 24 to 21 spices but can go as far as 40 spices, so there are so many variations of Ras el hanout as there are cooks, manufacturers and tastes. I bought a big bag of spices in a Moroccan grocery store in France that will last me my lifetime, and that is a very nice blend, not one spice overpowering the mix, and a very well balanced combination. Unfortunately the manufacturer did not include the list of the spices he used, so I am afraid I won’t be able to know what has been used and to what quantity. In France we have a huge Arabic population, probably the biggest among all other European countries, which means a lot of stores with great products and very inexpensive.
Anyone who loves artichokes and spices, will really enjoy this dish, besides the beauty of tagines is that it might take you a while to clean the artichokes, and peel the potatoes, but then you just put it in the oven and cooks by itself, comme une grande fille!
Ingredients for 4
- 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut in big squares
- 8 medium size artichokes, trimmed
- 5 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 large onion, thinly sliced
- 1 large red bell pepper, cut in big square
- 1 cup fresh chick peas
- 1.5 tbs Ras el hanout
- 1 preserved lemon, cut in 4 quarters
- 1/2 cup green olives, cut in halves
- chili powder
- salt and pepper
Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients together except for the chick peas and using your hands mix well.
Place the vegetables in your tagine pot, cover and cook in a pre-heated oven at 390F for about one 1h30 min. Add chick peas 20 minutes before removing tagine from the oven. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve as a side dish or as a main dish, with a quinoa or couscous accompaniment.
For the Sunday lunch – Arugula, Shrimp, fennel and chick pea salad
Feb 14th
Per il pranzo della domenica – Insalata di gamberi, rucola, finocchio e ceci
Happy Valentine’s day to everyone! Joyeuse St. Valentin!
Valentine’s day is not only the celebration of love but also of friendship, so I think everyone is concerned. It seems like the celebration goes back to antiquity in Greece where February was the month of love and fertility and when Zeus got married to Hera. Also during Roman times, this time of year, took place a celebration honoring Lupercus who was the God protector of fields and herds and February 14 was celebrated love and fertility. So we are perpetuating a very ancient celebration.
This Valentine’s day it’s muggy and grey and all you want to do is stay inside. After looking at what is going on on the the East Coast and the snow storms, I am thankful to have an overcast sky, and not be burried under the snow. I used to have really terrible cabin fever when I lived in Boston and I am afraid I cannot handle extreme weather.
On Sunday morning, Valentine’s day or not, I like to get my croissants and pains au chocolat, it just happens occasionally but when it does, it’s a treat. So when you have that type of breakfast, lunches are usually on the light side.
I somehow love the combination and texture of this salad, the sweetness of chickpeas and fennel, the crunchiness of the shrimps and the bitterness of arugula are blending harmoniously together…just like a happy couple. Valentine’s day for me is all about harmony, balance, and of course….love.
Ingredients for 2
- 1.5 cup arugula
- 12 large shrimps, peeled, deveined, and cut in half
- 150 g cooked chick peas
- 1/2 large fennel bulb, shaved
- 2 tbs red onions, finely chopped
- 2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 garlic crushed
- orange champagne vinegar
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the salad, mix arugula, fennel, chick peas, red onion together. Saute shrimps in a little olive oil, add salt and pepper and let them cool.
For the vinaigrette, combine oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper. Mix well.
Add shrimps to the salad, add dressing and toss well. Grind some fresh black pepper and serve.
No soup for the holidays – Soup of cauliflower, chickpeas and quadretti
Jan 31st
Zuppa con cavolfiore, ceci e quadretti
I heard California got a lot of rain this season, all the news talked about it when I was in France and I heard it from my neighbors when I got back. The good things is that it’s clearing up. Eventhough France was very cold with -10C temperatures some days, my mom never made soup and neither did I. Of course during the holidays, we tend to eat “holiday meals” and strangely enough soup is not entitled to the be on the “holiday” list, so I somehow missed it.
One soup I really like is this cauliflower soup with chick peas and small pasta, you can put potatoes instead of the pasta, or even both. You can use any small pasta such as quadretti (little squares), ditali (small cylinders) or any small pasta to be used is broths or soups. I had none left so I cut some fettucine into small pieces, and it worked quite well. The difference is that quadretti are a egg pasta and thinner than fettucine which are not supposed to be used in soup as per the pasta étiquette. So I went against the étiquette, nonetheless it was really enjoyable. I think some ingredients can be substituted and some others, cannot. In this case, I would say it could be.
I am not sure how the word “pasta” is used in the US, if it refers to a particular pasta dish cooked in a particular way and not in soups. Then not sure what the word “noodle” refers to either, so I will try to be as accurate I can be. For me noodles reminds me of the Asian pasta, and not Italian pasta. Every kind of pasta in Italy has its own name, that makes it quite easy to what type of pasta you are talking about.
Ingredients for 4
- 1 medium size cauliflower
- 2 potatoes
- 4 medium tomatoes, seedless, peeled and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 2 tbs onions chopped
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 1/2 lb chick peas (either canned or dry and soaked overnight)
- 5 tbs quadretti or small pasta for soups
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
Heat olive oil in a large pot, brown onions, then add garlic, stir a few minutes. Add tomatoes, cook for about 5 minutes to let the water evaporates, then add potatoes, cauliflower and rosemary. Stir well to coat all the vegetables and cook for about 7 min stirring. Add enough broth to cover the vegetables (you might want to add extra to have enough liquid to cook the quadretti). Let it cook until the vegetables are tender but not mushy, remove rosemary then add chick peas. Cook for another 10 minutes. Add pasta and 1 garlic clove and cook until desired texture (I like them al dente). Sprinkle with olive oil, cracked pepper and serve.
Is it really Israeli? – Israeli couscous with curry vegetables
Dec 17th
Est-ce vraiment Israélien? – Matfoul aux légumes et curry
I discovered this type of couscous in the US. I had never seen it before, so I started experimenting with it when I had some Israeli clients. I was so happy I found something “Israeli” to cook for them, but when they told me it was not Israeli, I was somehow confused and disappointed. I had no idea about what Israeli cuisine tasted like, I thought due to their geographical location it would have some Middle Eastern flair. In Paris, in the Marais quarter, the historic Jewish area has one of the most popular Felafel joint, called “L’As du Felafel”, so I my mind Felafel and spicy food was common in Israel and I figured that something called “Israeli” should at least be coming from Israel. Apparently not. It’s like the French manicure of French cleaner, not sure why they call it French but we are no specialists in nails nor cleaning!
So Israeli or not Israeli, I like this couscous variety, it’s fun to prepare and great to eat. Couscous is consumed in all Middle East, so I guess it must be coming from that side of the continent. In France it’s called Matfoul which I think is its original Arabic name. I am not Jewish and obviously not kosher but maybe in my previous life I was. I started cooking by not mixing dairy and meat and I have to say that I like it.
This is a great side dish that can be an alternative to rice, or some other carbohydrate dishes. I like to spice it up a little with curry and spices and add vegetables to it, to make it a little more exciting. I have a few cookbooks about Jewish cuisine and I like the simplicity of the recipes and influences coming from so many different countries.
I certainly know that this blog lacks meat recipes but I think the most important thing is to enjoy and take pleasure in whatever you do, cook or eat, no matter what it is. Otherwise there is no point in posting something just for the sake of posting it. I usually serve this couscous with sumac chicken tenders, that has been one of my most requested dish in the “Middle Eastern” category.
Ingredients for 3-4 as a side dish
- 4.2 oz (or 120 g) Israeli couscous
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 small eggplant, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 3 tbs cherry tomatoes, cut in quarters
- 1 shallot, diced
- 1/2 cup cooked chick peas
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tbs cilantro, chopped
- 1 tbs mint, chopped
Preparation
First start cooking couscous. Heat olive oil in a pot, add couscous and let it brown and get coated by olive oil like you would proceed for a risotto. Add broth and cook until couscous is tender but not too soft. Drain and set aside.
In a pan, brown shallots, then add the rest of the vegetables except for the chick peas. Add salt and pepper and let it cook until vegetables tender. Add chick peas. Add curry powder. Stir well and cook for about 5 minutes, then add tomatoes. Add couscous and mix well all ingredients together. Adjust with salt and pepper. Add mint and cilantro and serve hot.
Grilled pepper tuna steak with parsley-lemon pesto and medley of vegetables
Jul 24th
Steak de thon grillé au poivre avec pesto de persil et citron – mélange de légumes et pois chiches
I don’t know about you, but I cannot get tired of eating fish and seafood. Ideally, I would like to become a complete vegetarian and stop contributing to the pollution of our planet by consuming animal based food, but I think I have not quite reached that level of dedication, maybe one day, hopefully soon. In the meantime, I will keep playing with fish and seafood and try to come up with wonderful ways to cook it.
Even if Ahi tuna tends to be more popular in restaurants, sometimes, I like the white flesh and lighter flavor of the albacore tuna. Ahi is fattier than albacore and is mainly used for sushis.
As you know, pesto can be made with all kinds of ingredients, this particular kind is parsley-lemon based, the lemon zest flavors the mixture wonderfully and you get this zesty-citrusy taste that goes perfectly well with the fish. You can use leftover pesto to serve with grilled chicken as well, or any white meat such as pork.
Ingredients for 2
For the tuna
- 2 albacore tuna steaks
- 1 tbs coarse black pepper, grinded
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
For the parsley-lemon pesto
- 1 bunch flat parsley
- 2 garlic cloves
- zest of one lemon
- 3 tbs pine nuts
- olive oil
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- salt and pepper
For the vegetable medley
- 1 fennel head, finely sliced
- 2 zucchini, sliced
- 1/2 can chick peas or 4 tbs of overnight soaked chick peas
- 1 red bell pepper
- 1/2 red onion, finely sliced
- juice of 1/2 lemon
- garlic powder
- 2 tbs olive oil
- salt and pepper
Preparation
For the pesto, mix all ingredients together in a mixer, and add enough oil to get a smooth consistency. You can keep it in a air-tight container for a couple of days.
Char broiled the red bell pepper in the oven, close to the broiler, and when the skin is dark and grilled, remove from the oven and let cool. Remove peel, and seeds, then cut in strips.
In a grill pan, grill all other vegetables, and place in a container, add chick peas, and red pepper strips. Add lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Grind black pepper and coat the tuna steaks in it. Add salt and balsamic vinegar, then broil under broiler for a few minutes until the tuna is cooked but do not overcook or it will get dry.
Serve with a tbs of pesto on top of tuna and vegetables on the side.
