Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus is fresh at the Farmers Market right now, this is an easy quick way to enjoy.

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh asparagus
3 tablespoon olive oil
salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Fill a bowl with cold water, put the asparagus in water to wash, snap the asparagus stalk towards, the end, it breaks just at the right point so you are left with the tender piece of the stalk.
Place side by side on a baking sheet.
Drizzle 3 tablespoons olive oil over the asparagus, sprinkle with salt.
Toss the asparagus with your hands to move the oil around evenly.
Leave side by side on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
Serve immediately.

Couscous with Roasted Fennel and Toasted Almonds

Jason found this delicious dish on Food 52 by Jennifer Ann. This is excellent served with chicken or fish. I used the very small couscous.

Ingredients

1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/3 cup black raisins
1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and
      cut into about 16 slim wedges
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup almonds
1 1/4 cup chicken stock
1 cup couscous
1 large shallot minced
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1 - 2 fennel fronds chopped
pepper and salt to taste
sea salt

Directions

Soak 1/3 cup black raisins in 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice for 1 to 2 hours, until they plump up. Strain and set aside.
Toss fennel wedges in 1 tablespoon olive oil, pepper and salt. Spread on a lined baking sheet (line with parchment paper) and roast in oven at 350 degrees F. for approx. 12 - 15 minutes, until edges are beginning to brown and the fennel wedges are softening, but still have a little bite.
Toast almonds on a separate pan in the oven until lightly browned. Allow to cool, coarsely chop and set aside.
While fennel and almonds are in the oven, bring chicken stock to a boil over high heat, add couscous, stir, cover and remove from heat. Let rest for about 15 minutes until all the stock is absorbed.
In a separate bowl, whisk together shallots and vinegar, then whisk in remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste.
Transfer couscous to a serving bowl and fluff with fork; stir in orange soaked raisins and fennel fronds. Toss with enough of the vinaigrette to lightly coat everything - be sure to include all of the shallot bits. Top with roasted fennel wedges and almonds. Finish with a sprinkling of ground pepper and coarse sea salt.

Arugula Salad with Beets, Walnuts and Goat Cheese

Jason made this delicious salad for Mother's Day, he found it on Food Network Kitchen.

Ingredients

2 bunches medium beets ( approx. one and a half pounds.)
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup walnuts
1 bunch arugula
1/2 medium head escarole
4 ounces goat cheese crumbled

Directions 

Preheat the oven at 400 degrees F.
Cut off the tops of the beets, place in a baking sheet and cover with silver foil
Place in oven and bake for 1 hour, test with a fork to see if the beets are tender.
Remove from oven and let cool a while. When cool, peel off the skin and cut into bite size pieces.
Whisk 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar with 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.
Whisk in the olive oil in a slow steady stream to make a dressing.
Toss the cut beets in the dressing and set aside to marinate for at least 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, spread 1/2 cup walnuts on a baking sheet and put in oven at
350 degrees F. for 8 minutes or until golden brown. Allow to cool a little.
Wash the arugula and escarole in a bowl of water, rinse a couple of times and place the leaves in a colander to drain.
Toss the arugula and escarole with the beets.
Scatter the walnuts and goat cheese on top.
Serve.

Dandelion Salad

By chance, David found dandelion leaves at the Farmer's Market today, they are perfect. Need to be picked before the flowers open.

Dandelion Salad

Ingredients

Wild Dandelion Leaves
(make sure they have not
been sprayed with pesticides)
2 Tomatoes
1 Red Onion
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Syrian Bread (pita)

Directions

Pick the dandelions with a knife so you can get the root out, they are best picked in the early spring before they flower.  Then cut off the tender leaves, discard the root and any discolored leaves.
Wash leaves in deep cold water at least 4 times, or until there is no dirt at the bottom of the bowl.

Snip the leaves in half with scissors into a bowl, slice the tomatoes and chop up a red onion.

Depending on how much salad you have, make a dressing with extra virgin olive oil and red wine vinegar. Eat right away, scooping up the salad in the pita bread.

Pizza with Feta, Tomatoes, Olives & Spinach

Inspired by the cookbook Ottolenghi by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, there is a recipe for pizza with feta, tomatoes and olives but they put this topping on brioche. Since I had some left over dough and some spinach after making fataya, I thought it would make a good pizza. The baked tomatoes with olive oil and balsalmic vinegar gives the tomatoes a sweet and sour flavor, so good with feta cheese.

Use the dough recipe for fataya. (posted July 31, 2012) or buy premade pizza dough.


Make the dough and leave it aside to rise.

While the dough is rising, prepare the tomatoes:
You need:
2 plum tomatoes
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried mint

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Cut the tomatoes into quarters lengthwise and then cut each quarter into 2 long pieces.
Place on a baking sheet skin side down, trickle 1 teaspoon of olive oil and 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar over the tomatoes, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of coarse sea salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper and 1/2 teaspoon dried mint.
Put in the oven uncovered and bake for an hour.

To prepare the onions:
You need:
1 onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 clove garlic crushed

Next slice an onion, and heat a tablespoon olive oil in a pan, place the onions and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon sugar. Saute over high heat for 7 minutes, stirring from time to time until golden brown. Add 1 crushed clove of garlic and leave to cool.
You can prepare the tomatoes and the onions ahead and leave in the refrigerator until you are about to make the pizza. The dough can rise all day.



For the topping:
You will need the baked tomato wedges
The caramelized onions
3 oz. feta cheese crumbled
3 oz. mozzarella cheese grated
8 kalamata pitted olives
1/4 cup cooked spinach
4 canned artichoke hearts

Turn the oven up to 400 degrees F.
Roll out the dough and arrange on a round baking tin(spray pan with Pam first)
Brush the dough with olive oil.
Arrange the spinach on the pizza
Next quarter the artichoke hearts and place around the pizza.
Place the tomato wedges around the outer edge, scatter the halved olives, crumble the feta cheese and scatter the mozzarella evenly over all.
Drizzle a little olive oil over the top and place in the oven for 20 minutes.

Marmoul (Date Cookies)

Nuwall Obeid taught me this when I first arrived in the States. She still makes the best marmoul I’ve ever tasted, but I’ll keep trying!

For the Filling

 Ingredients

2 x 1 lb 5 oz. chunk of dates
4 tablespoons margarine
4 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions

Buy two 1lb 5 oz. chunk of dates rather than the layered kind. The chunk is less expensive and just as good for cooking.
Grind dates through fine grinder of a meat grinder.
Place ground dates in a saucepan and add 4 tablespoons margarine and 4 tablespoons water. Heat over low fire, stirring the margarine well into the ground dates. Heat till mixture begins to gently bubble. Remove from heat and add 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamon and 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon.

For the Pastry

Ingredients

2 tubs Land O Lakes Unsalted Whipped Butter
5 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 Eggs

Directions

Stand 2 tubs Land O Lakes unsalted whipped butter at room temperature. 
Place butter in bowl and add 5 cups all purpose flour, 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs and mix well with hands to form a ball.

 
To Make Cookies

Preheat oven at 300 degrees F.
Take a walnut chunk of dough,
roll into a ball and then flatten
in the palm of your hand. (It

Walnut size dough rolled into a ball

should be no bigger than the
palm of your hand)
Place a heaping spoonful of
the date mixture on the dough,
fold dough over and completely
Seal the date mixture inside.

Flatten in the palm of your hand

Place a spoonful of date mixture on dough round

Place in wooden mold

Flatten and press into the mold

Remember to dust the mold with flour first, then bang hard on a wooden board and you have perfect marmoul!

Instead of a wooden mold, you can use a plastic mold instead.

Fava Bean Hummus

Fava Bean Hummus


This hummus made with dried
fava beans, a version of a Morrocan

dip called Bessara, is actually lighter than the traditional hummus made
with chick peas. Very easy, requiring soaking the beans in water overnight, boiling the beans and then using a food processor to produce a smooth airy hummus. Adding garlic, lemon juice
and tahini but also cumin, cayenne
pepper and paprika.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups dried fava beans preferably skinless
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup tahini (mix well before using)
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons reserved cooking liquid
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Olive Oil
Parsley for garnish

Directions
Soak the dried fava beans overnight in a large bowl of water. If unable to buy skinless fava beans, drain the beans and peel them, the skin comes off quite easily.
Place the beans in a large pot and cover with a generous amount of water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer the beans until really tender, about 1 hour.
Drain the beans reserving the liquid.
Transfer the beans to a food processor, and add 2 cloves garlic, 1/3 cup tahini, 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon (basically 1 lemon) 1  teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon ground cumin, 1/2 teaspoon paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and if the mixture seems too thick after processing, add some of the reserved liquid. Process until the mixture is smooth. Serve on a platter with a little olive oil poured over the top.
This was really good with filafel instead of tahini sauce!