Tag: vegertarian

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Greek Salad

Why This Recipe Works

Most versions of Greek salad consist of iceberg lettuce, chunks of green pepper, and a few pale wedges of tomato, sparsely dotted with cubes of feta and garnished with one forlorn olive of questionable heritage. For our Greek salad, we aimed a little higher: We wanted a salad with crisp ingredients and bold flavors, highlighted by briny olives and tangy feta, all blended together with a bright-tasting dressing infused with fresh herbs. For a dressing with balanced flavor, we used a combination of lemon juice and red wine vinegar and added fresh oregano, olive oil, and a small amount of garlic. We poured the dressing over fresh vegetables, including Romaine lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers, as well as other ingredients, including fresh mint and parsley, roasted peppers, and a generous sprinkling of feta cheese and olives.

 

Ingredients

Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons minced fresh oregano leaves
½ teaspoon table salt
⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
1 medium clove garlic, pressed through garlic press or minced (about 1 teaspoon)
6 tablespoons olive oil

Salad

½ medium red onion, sliced thin (about 3/4 cup)
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2 cups)
2 hearts romaine lettuce, washed, dried thoroughly, and torn into 1 1/2-inch-pieces (about 8 cups)
2 large vine-ripened tomatoes (10 ounces total), each tomato cored, seeded, and cut into 12 wedges
¼ cup loosely packed torn fresh parsley leaves
¼ cup loosely packed torn fresh mint leaves
6 ounces jarred roasted red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 by 2-inch strips (about 1 cup)
20 large kalamata olives, each olive pitted and quartered lengthwise
5 ounces feta cheese, crumbled (1 cup)
Nutritional Information

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

Per Serving (Serves 6)

  • Calories 244
  • Cholesterol 21 mg
  • Fat 20 g
  • Sodium 532 mg
  • Saturated 5 g
  • Carbs 11 g
  • Trans 0g
  • Dietary Fiber 3 g
  • Monounsaturated 12 g
  • Sugar 5 g
  • Polyunsaturated 1 g
  • Protein 5 g

Instructions

Serves 6 to 8

Marinating the onion and cucumber in the vinaigrette tones down the onion’s harshness and flavors the cucumber. For efficiency, prepare the other salad ingredients while the onion and cucumber marinate. Use a salad spinner to dry the lettuce thoroughly after washing; any water left clinging to the leaves will dilute the dressing.

1. Whisk vinaigrette ingredients in large bowl until combined. Add onion and cucumber and toss; let stand to blend flavors, about 20 minutes.

2. Add romaine, tomatoes, parsley, mint, and peppers to bowl with onions and cucumbers; toss to coat with dressing.

3. Transfer salad to wide, shallow serving bowl or platter; sprinkle olives and feta over salad. Serve immediately.

Per Serving:

Cal 180; Fat 14 g; Sat fat 3.5 g; Chol 10 mg; Carb 8 g; Protein 5 g; Fiber 2 g; Sodium 600 mg

Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Stuffed Vine Leaves – Authentic Turkish Dolma

(Mine didn’t look exactly like this but pretty close 🙂 – And it wasn’t a lack of effort

 

TOTAL TIME
2hrs 30mins
PREP 1 HR 30 MINS
COOK 1 HR

“Dolma” in Turkish translates to any vegetable stuffed with a rice-based mixture. Lots of spices are used for the stuffing. For me, the most important one is the lemon salt. It gives a nice aromatic taste, which can not be replaced by the combination of lemon juice and table salt. If you can not locate any lemon salt, don’t forget to replace it with only half the amount of kosher salt (two tbsp will be too much) and juice of half a lemon. The process may be a little confusing, you can check out step-by-step pictures at my blog here: http://cafefernando.com/?p=42

INGREDIENTSNutrition

1040 dolmas

DIRECTIONS

  1. Dice the onions and sauté with 1/4 cup of olive oil.
  2. When they turn translucent, add the pine nuts and sauté for 5 more minutes.
  3. Add rice and stir constantly for 5-10 minutes until the rice is translucent.
  4. Add the spices (dried mint, cinnamon, lemon salt, black pepper, dried currants, sugar and allspice) and chopped parsley.
  5. After another quick stir, add 1/2 cup of boiling water and simmer on low medium heat for 15-20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed by the rice mixture.
  6. Take off heat and let cool.
  7. And now, here comes the fun part. Traditionally, you would put a spoonful of the cooled mixture in the center of the top part of the leaf, fold the sides inwards and then roll the leaf like a cylinder. But since I have “The Ultimate Dolma Machine” (follow the link mentioned in the description section), I just placed a leaf on the rubber compartment of the machine, put a tbps of mixture in the middle and with a single slide, there comes my dolma from the other side of the machine. The process was a breeze. It took me only 10 minutes to roll nearly 40 perfectly shaped dolmas. Below is the process fully photographed.
  8. As the final step, spread a layer of vine leaves on the bottom of a large and heavy pot (to prevent the stuffed leaves from burning).
  9. Lay all your dolmas side by side and tuck very tightly.
  10. Transfer the remaining 1/4 cups of olive oil, juice of half a lemon and 2 cups of boiling water, cover with a plate upside down (so that the dolmas don’t move around in boiling water) and bring to a boil.
  11. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until all the water is absorbed (roughly 45-60 minutes).
  12. Transfer to your serving dish and let cool.
Posted on » by Michael » Theme:

Crisp Quinoa Cakes With Cilantro, Scallions and Sriracha

quina

INGREDIENTS

Red = my own modifications

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • Salt
  • ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro (I probably added 1 1/4 cup)
  • ¼ cup chopped scallions (I probably added closer to 1/2 cup)
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha (I added a little extra)
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • Lime wedges for serving
  • I added 1/2 onion and a green pepper

PREPARATION

  1.  Chopped onion and pepper finely chopped then fried in a little oil then set aside
  2. Put the quinoa, a large pinch of salt and 2 1/4 cups water in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, and then adjust the heat so that the mixture bubbles gently. Cover, and cook, stirring once, until the grains are very tender and begin to burst, 25 to 30 minutes. When they are starchy and thick, transfer them to a large bowl to cool for a few minutes.
  3. Heat the oven to 200. Fold the cilantro, scallions, and sriracha (also pepper and onion if you added them) into the quinoa, and add a (very) generous sprinkle of salt and pepper. With your hands, form the mixture into 8 patties.
  4. Put 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil is warm, cook 4 cakes at a time until the bottoms are nicely browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. Flip, and brown on the other side, another 4 minutes. Transfer the cakes to the oven to keep warm while you cook the second batch with another tablespoon of oil. Serve with lime wedges.