Recipe: Couscous with Parsley Yogurt Sauce, Spicy Acorn Squash, Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

Couscous with Parsley Yogurt Sauce, Spicy Acorn Squash, Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

This dish is my entry in Savvy Savorer's recipe contest using Greek God's Yogurt. I really do love the Greek God's products. They are a small company based in Seattle, started by three young guys who wanted to bring the true flavors of their Greek heritage to the public, and they have done a great job.

For a quick snack right from the fridge, my favorite is the fig flavor. The plain or non-fat are excellent for cooking. They are thick and flavorful, so no draining is required to make a delicious sauce.

The recipe below is for a very quick parsley-yogurt sauce that you can make in the food processor. The same technique can be used with different fresh herbs, or a combination. Likely candidates would be mint, dill, oregano, marjoram, or scallions. Add grated cucumber (without the seeds), and you are headed into Indian raita territory.

I love this kind of yogurt sauce because you can make it in minutes, and use it to amp up the flavor of any meal. They are especially welcome with spicy foods because the yogurt cuts the heat. The same type of sauce can also work as a salad dressing or even a cold soup.

Last night I used it over couscous with spicy acorn squash, cauliflower, and chickpeas. Oven-roasting the vegetables gives them a light caramelization that adds a lot of flavor, and the spicy harissa rub on the acorn squash gives the dish another dimension. I've separated out the sub-recipes for each of the components to make it easier to do parts ahead, or mix-and-match.

Couscous with Parsley Yogurt Sauce, Spicy Acorn Squash, Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas
Vegetarian, not gluten free
To make vegan, use a soy yogurt instead
Serves 4

For the parsley-yogurt sauce:

• 3 c. Greek God's plain yogurt
• 1 clove garlic, sliced thin (or more too taste)
• 1 big bunch of flat-leaf Italian parsley, stems removed
• 2 t. kosher salt
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until thoroughly blended. Taste and adjust salt.

For the acorn squash:

• 1 acorn squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 1/4" thick half moons
• 1 T. dry harissa powder (make it or buy it)
• 2 t. kosher salt
• 1 T. olive oil

Toss the squash with the other ingredients, place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat, and roast in a 400 degree oven until tender and slightly browned, about 15 minutes. If you have a harissa paste instead of the dry spice mix, that should work too, just leave out the olive oil and maybe the salt.

For the cauliflower:

• 1 head cauliflower, cut into flowerets; stems trimmed and sliced
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 1 T. olive oil

Toss the cauliflower with the other ingredients, place on a baking sheet lined with a silpat, and roast in a 400 degree oven until tender and slightly browned, about 20 minutes.

For the chickpeas:

• 2 c. cooked chickpeas (cook them yourself or canned)
  
• 1 onion, medium dice
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 t. kosher salt
• 2 t. cumin powder

Fry the onion in a skillet until beginning to brown. Add all of the other ingredients and cook until the chickpeas are thoroughly heated through.

For the couscous:

• 1.5 c. couscous
• 2 1/4 c. water
• 1/2 t. kosher salt

Follow these instructions for making fluffy couscous.

Review: Senor Moose Cafe

Well, sorry about the cell phone pic folks. My Dad is in town, and we were wandering around the wilds of Ballard when he declared his hunger. Immediately my mental food tracking GPS went in to gear, and said "Senor Moose!! I haven't been to Senor Moose in far too long!"

The Moose is one of the most amazing restaurants in the Seattle area. When you walk in, you feel like you are in a humble backroads diner, with cozy but rustic furniture. You would think that this is going to be a pleasant ham-and-eggs joint, but then you notice all of the Mexican decorations, and you hope against hope, maybe there will be huevos rancheros too.

Oh, dear hungry sir or madam, you have not dared to dream big enough. Open your eyes, and you will find yourself rewarded with Calabacitas Guisadas (zucchini, corn, and onion stew from Michoacan, $8.75), Papas Con Rajas (poblano chilis and potatoes in cream, from Mexico City, $7.95), the Huevos Con Nopalitos pictured above (eggs with fresh cactus paddles, black beans and cotija cheese, and corn tortillas, $7.95), or the magnificient Huevos Ahogados (poached eggs "drowning" in a tomato broth, $7.95).

And that just begins to scratch the surface of the menu. Out of a tiny kitchen, owner Kathleen Andersen and chef Abraham Mata offer dozens of regional specialties from all over Mexico. Kathleen lived and traveled throughout Mexico for decades, and collected recipes from every abuela and tia she was lucky enough to spend time with.

Vegetarians as well as carnivores will find plenty of options, though the menu might be a bit tough for vegans.

If you have any of the cookbooks of Diana Kennedy or Rick Bayless (or have eaten at his restaurants), you will be amazed to find the same level of authenticity and flavor in an inexpensive joint in Ballard.

The menu also includes some American-style breakfast items, and more familiar tacos and enchiladas for those who aren't in the mood to stretch their culinary horizons first thing in the morning. Dad was really happy with his Havarti, Mushroom and Spinach scramble ($7.95).

Breakfast is offered from 8:00 - 3:00 everyday, and dinner starts at 5:00, running until 9:00 on weekdays and 10:00 on Friday and Saturday.

Recipe: Grapefruit And Avocado Salad

Chef Janine over at Cafe Flora showed me the other day how to cut sections of citrus fruit properly. Technically these are called "supremes" as in in "we need to cut grapefruit supremes". I've tried to do them before and always had a lot of trouble, with bits of pith leftover and broken segments and frustration.

Anyhow, I had always tried to go in with my knife on both sides of the membrane between the segments. The way she showed me, you go in on one side, flip your knife around, and come back towards you on the other side, maybe leaving a bit of "meat" behind. Works like a charm, you end up with clean segments and a beautiful cup of juice too. If enough folks are interested maybe I could put up a video of the technique.

So I was itching to try this new found skill at home, and we had a grapefruit and an avocado just begging to become a salad. There is a famous crabmeat version of this salad at Etta's, which I'm sure is great. And we have one with these ingredients at Cafe Flora too, but with an Asian-inflected twist of shiitake mushrooms and a ginger-miso dressing, all on greens. Delicious.

My take is below. Possible variations would be to use different citrus (blood oranges!), or add feta cheese and/or cilantro.

Grapefruit And Avocado Salad
Serves 2
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free

• 1 grapefruit, cut into supremes over a bowl (see discussion above)
• 1 ripe avocado, cubed or sliced
• 1/4 red onion, sliced paper thin
• 1/4 c. best quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 t. kosher salt
• 1 t. prepared dijon mustard (like Grey Poupon)
• black salt and black pepper for finishing

1. Squeeze the leftover bits of grapefruit and the juice gathered while cutting the supremes, and measure 1/4 c. of it. Drink the rest, cook's treat.
2. Mix the 1/4 c. of juice with the olive oil, kosher salt, and mustard in a jar and shake intensively to emulsify. Taste and add a little good vinegar if it needs more acidity. Leave it underseasoned so you can finish with the black salt.
3. Arrange the grapefruit, avocado, and onions on a plate, either individually or on a platter. Just before serving, drizzle on the salad and sprinkle with the black salt and black pepper.

Fun With Isomalt

I've been hearing for awhile about this product called isomalt, which is a modified sugar. It has the interesting property that it can melt and form into thin sheets like caramel without turning brown. It is only about half as sweet as table sugar too, so it is easier to use in savory applications.

Advanced molecular gastronomy wizards can make isomalt into paper thin vessels filled with liquids, and I had hoped to make a sort of creme brulee capsule at some point. But for my first foray, I thought I would make some simple croquants (think: peanut brittle) with various spice mixtures. The idea would be to garnish a dish with them, allowing the eater to snack on them directly or crumble over a dish.

You can see the results above and below. The top one has black mustard, fennel, and coriander seeds, suitable for use with an upscale Indian presentation. You don't need to toast the seeds in advance because they cook in the oven along with the isomalt. In the future I'd use less mustard because the flavor was a bit overwhelming.

In the pictures below I tried different flavors and forming three dimensional ribbons.  The one in the upper left is sesame and Maldon salt, and the one in the upper right has Japanese chili powder, black sesame, and pink Hawaiian salt.

The basic technique is:

• melt the isomalt in a saucepan to 260 degrees F. while stirring as little as possible
• pour out onto a silpat lined baking sheet and let cool - at this point you will have a thick, hard sheet of candy glass
• break into manageable chunks and grind to a powder. I used a coffee grinder.
• on a fresh silpat, create a stencil of the shape you want. I just laid down two chopsticks to form a rectangle
• sift the isomalt powder into the stencil. you can play with how thick or thin a layer to use.
• add the seeds, salts, or other flavorings
• melt in a 300 degree F. oven
• as soon as it turns clear, remove from oven
• (this is where it gets dicey) let it cool just a few seconds and then VERY CAREFULLY peel the shape off the mat, trying to neither burn yourself nor destroy the shape. Then, working quickly, apply any twists or shaping you want and set on a cool plate. If it cools before you can shape, try a very brief reheating.

There seem to be a whole host of more advanced techniques to try, including grinding in spices or other seasonings with the powder, adding some table sugar, doing a much more lacy, thin sprinkle, forming tubes or spheres, spinning, etc. I'll let you know if I have any success with them!

If you'd like to experiment yourself, you can purchase isomalt powder from ChefShop.com.

Recipe: Kaffir Lime Dipping Sauce

This simple sauce is similar to a vegetarian version of Vietnamese nuoc cham, suitable for serving with spring rolls or or pouring over a rice bowl. I've been wanting to find a good way to get a strong flavor of kaffir lime leaf, and this really worked out great.

I should mention that kaffir lime is considered an offensive term, although it is by far the most commonly used name for this plant. Makrut lime is more acceptable. But I've never actually heard it used. The leaf infuses a big, round citrus flavor without any acidity. The closest substitution would probably be normal lime rind but it is by no means the same. You should be able to find it at a good Asian specialty market, especially one that offers a Southeast Asian selection, or an Indian grocery.

The idea with this sauce is to get a nice balance of sweet, sour, spicy, salty, and the citrus. Once you mix it up, give it a good taste and adjust any of the components to get exactly what you want.

Kaffir Lime Dipping Sauce
Yields about 1 cup
Vegetarian, vegan, and gluten free if you use a wheat-free soy sauce

• 3/4 c. water
• 1.5 T. sugar
• 6 kaffir lime leaves
• 2 t. salt
• 1.5 t. chili flakes
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 1 t. tamari or soy sauce

1. Bring all of the ingredients except the rice vinegar and tamari to a boil in a small saucepan and remove from the heat.
2. Allow to steep for 15 minutes, then remove the lime leaves and allow to cool.
3. Stir in the vinegar and tamari.
4. Taste and adjust the seasonings. You should be able to clearly taste all of the components except the tamari.

Variations: you could add some or all of finely sliced scallions, ginger, garlic, or cilantro. The rice vinegar could be replaced with a coconut or citrus vinegar. The chili flakes could be replaced with a minced fresh chili of your choosing.

Supertaster Test

Maybe you have heard about how a certain percentage of the population are so called supertasters? Supposedly they have a lot more taste buds than the rest of us, and therefore can both appreciate some foods more but also may find other strong tastes unbearable. Anyhow, I remember reading that there was now an over-the-counter test for this trait, but I hadn't gotten around to tracking them down.

Keren to the rescue once again, she brought a bunch of samples from SupertasterTest.com to the blogger brunch. They are just little strips, kind of like pieces of litmus paper. You put 'em in your mouth, chew a little, and notice whether you (1) taste nothing (a non-taster), (2) taste a moderately bitter flavor (normal) or (3) find them unbearably bitter (a super-taster).

Most of us fell in camp (2). Kari Brunson of Anticiplate hit the nail on the head when she described it as tasting like an aspirin on your tongue - unpleasant but eminently bearable. Her husband might have scored a 2.5. He didn't say much but his mug was a picture of displeasure.

I knew that the main event was waiting for me at home though. We've long suspected that Sarina might be a supertaster, because she will sometimes have really intense revulsion at certain smells and foods that seem like no big deal to me at all. And she's pregnant (yep, I just dropped that in casual blog conversation), and as we all know, even normal non-supertaster pregnant women develop very strong senses of smell and taste, likes and dislikes.

I wasn't disappointed! Joel and Sara and Sarina all popped in their strips. Joel and Sara maintained their equanimity, while within seconds Sarina was grabbing the strip out of her mouth, dashing to the kitchen for a glass of water, and making sounds like a cat with hairball. "Why did you give me that horrible thing?!?".

Suspicion confirmed! We'll have to try it again when she's not pregnant, but I expect it will still be positive.

The tests are only $4.95 for 2 strips, so well worth picking up if you are interested. Or slightly cruel.

Video From the Blogger Brunch

Just a quick note - Keren over at Savvy Savorer put up videos of everyone at the last Seattle blogger brunch talking about their dishes. Thanks Keren! While I'm babbling about white beans (did I really say something about Moorish influence?) you can hear my daughter repeatedly asking for water. Bad daddy.

Recipe: Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions

Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions

I made this for a Seattle food blogger brunch put together by the Keren Brown, aka The Savvy Savorer. She told me her husband was making his lachooch (a delicious, slightly spongy Yemenite flatbread that reminded me a lot of Ethiopian injera, only thicker). I can't find anything about it on the web, Keren care to provide us with a recipe?

Anyhow, I figured it would go well with lemony beans, so I came up with this simple white bean salad. The flavors are basically Italian, but I snuck in a bit of preserved lemon to add a Middle Eastern twist. If you don't have preserved lemon handy just add another fresh lemon. I love the flavor of preserved lemon but you want to go easy with it for general audiences - some folks may feel it tastes like Lemon Pledge in large quantities!

Grilling the onions adds another hit of flavor. You could do that on a barbeque if it is convenient, but you can also use a grill pan or cast iron skillet.

White bean salads like this are very versatile. You can bring them as a potluck dish, use them as a side salad, have them as the main even of a light lunch, smash them a bit and offer as a dip, or even serve them hot as the base layer of an entree plate.

This recipe is vegetarian and vegan.

Lemony White Beans With Grilled Onions
Serves 12 as a side dish
Vegan and gluten-free

• 6 c. cooked white beans (such as cannellini)
• 1.5 large sweet onions
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
• zest and juice of 2 lemons
• 1/2 preserved lemon, interior only, chopped fine
• salt to taste
• 1 t. black pepper
• 1/4 c. packed sage leaves, chiffonade
• 1 T. minced rosemary leaves
• 1 jalapeno, minced
• 2 yellow bell peppers, diced small
• 1 handful flat leaf parsley, minced (reserve a few leaves for garnish)
• 1 handful chives, minced

1. Cook the beans (or open a can), and drain thoroughly. Heat (or cool, as the case may be) the beans to a very warm temperature so they absorb flavors.
2. Slice the onions into thick circles and grill until fairly charred (see note above), then dice.
3. Combine all of the ingredients thoroughly and check for seasoning.
4. Serve warm or at room temperature. This will keep for a few days in the refrigerator and the flavor will continue to improve.

Recipe: Farro with Collard Greens and Bacon Salt

Farro with Collard Greens and Bacon Salt

Yep, you heard me right. Bacon Salt. It has been all over the blogosphere lately, but I had no idea it was vegetarian until Keren brought some to give away to our last food blogger get together. I shouldn't have been surprised, as processed bacon bits are a soy product too. I generally don't cook with artificial flavors, but I took it as a challenge to use it at least once, and I have to admit I liked the results.

Greens are often cooked with pork in both the American south and in Italy as well. I had some beautiful pearled farro that I brought home from our Italy trip, so a plan came together for a simple and hearty one-pot meal.

If you haven't used farro before, I really recommend you try some. It is a very ancient whole grain, one of the staples of the Roman poor. I find the flavor somewhere between wheat and barley. It is a very nice change of pace from rice and couscous.

This recipe is vegetarian but not vegan because the bacon salt contains milk products of some sort.

Farro with Collard Greens and Bacon Salt
Serves 4

• 4 servings of farro (see below)
• 1/2 small can chickpeas, drained
• 3 big bunches of collard greens or other strong-flavored greens (not spinach)
• 1 white onion, diced
• 6 T. extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
• 1 t. chili flakes
• 1 t. Bacon Salt (or regular salt and smoked paprika)

1. Cook 4 servings of farro according to package directions. (Actually you should probably make 6 servings because serving sizes are always too small, right!). There are a number of different types with different cooking times, so it is better if I don't give you specific details, but cook until it is tender but not falling apart. Drain, and stir in chickpeas.
2. Remove stems from greens, rinse thoroughly and chop coarsely
3. In a large soup pot, fry the onions in 2 T. of the oil. When slightly brown, add the chili flakes and garlic and fry for 20 more seconds.
4. Add the greens and a small splash of water if they aren't wet. Cover. After a minute or two, reduce heat to medium low. Stir occasionally until they are very thoroughly tender and wilted.
5. Remove from, drain excess water, and toss with the remaining olive oil and the Bacon Salt.
6. To serve, simply put the farro in a bowl or on a plate, top with the greens, and lightly toss. Pass more good olive oil, sea salt, bacon salt, and black pepper at the table.

Better Picture of the Dumplings

I've been promising a better picture of the winter green dumplings, and the review in the Seattle paper finally got me to drag the good camera in and do it. Our sous chef, Lisa, stood the chives up in it to make it "3D"! She's right, it helped the picture a lot.

Seattle P-I Review of Cafe Flora (Including the Dumplings)

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer just published a full review of Cafe Flora. (It will be in the Fri. 1/4/08 print edition). We were all very pleased with the positive comments from reviewer Leslie Kelly.

I'd like to tell you I was just mildly happy about her mention of my own contribution to the menu, the Green Dumplings in Shiitake Broth. But I'd be lying.

"The green dumplings managed to pull off a bit of Italian-Asian fusion, as ricotta-filled won tons floated in a lovely shiitake mushroom broth. A shower of Parmesan and lemon zest provided a dramatic finishing flourish."

Honestly that is more than I could have hoped for as icing on the cake of this great internship experience. A dish on the menu and a positive review in the paper! Everyone at Cafe Flora has been so fun to work with, generous with their knowledge, and patient with a newcomer, I'm sad that I only have a few weeks left there.

[where: 2901 E. Madison St, Seattle, WA, 98112]

New Year's Feast

At Sarina's suggestion, we decided to make our New Year's party meal into a small plate affair that we could stretch out all night. I made three plates, my brother Joel made three, and his girlfriend Sara made one, for a total of seven courses. In addition to the family, we also had Sarina's dear friend D.M. up from LA. To keep some sort of consistency, we chose (vegetarian) Asian flavors except for the final dessert. I didn't write much down, but I'll walk you through the courses just for fun. Please post links to your feasts in the comments if you took pics!

The first course was the mu shu vegetable above (pancakes and hoisin not pictured), and it was the only one we had before Mini-Me went to bed. I was trying to match the delicious one at Shanghai Garden but I missed the mark a bit. Too much cornstarch in the sauce and not enough cabbage.

Round two was provided by Sara - delicious marinated vegetable and tofu kebabs that she quickly broiled.

Joel then came through we some stellar potstickers (aka Gyoza), filled with a meat substitute called Quorn. You can see the crispy goodness. It took a lot of restraint not to fry off all the extras , but we knew there was a lot more food to come.

Then we fired up the movie of the night, Superbad, which we unanimously thought hilarious. What that says about our level of maturity I don't care to speculate. We made a chart in crayon that clearly indicated we would have to pause the movie multiple times for the additional courses or we wouldn't be ready for dessert at midnight.

Joel than dropped in these Asian pears poached in wine and mulling spices, which he got from, ahem, an Oprah magazine. A nice, sweet palate cleanser before the last two savory courses.

Those next two plates fell to me. When I planned that I didn't really account either for the level of cocktail imbibification that would have occurred by 10:30 nor that the kitchen would be thoroughly trashed. But it was fine, I pushed everything out of the way, took a grounding swill of whiskey sour, and rolled the sushi above. From left to right you have a basic maki with a layer of omelette rolled in next to the nori and a dot of wasabi, a two layer circle with pickled cucumber on the bottom and pickled daikon in the middle, and a take on the traditional ume shiso roll with the shiso leaf acting as the wrapper. (If you haven't had an ume shiso roll, ask at any good sushi restaurant and prepare for a really bracing sour flavor).

By the time we got to my final course I was really making it up as I went along. I knew I wanted to do something with soba and the mushrooms, but I had originally planned to do it cold. And I had originally an ambitious idea of plating it to look like a little forest. Uh, yeah. It still tasted good. I seared the french horn mushroom and the tofu, hit the tofu with a little Korean kochujang chili paste, steamed the choy, and made a quick broth of soy sauce, miso, yuzu and mirin.

And finally we got to Joel's beauteous New York style cheesecake, which we didn't get into until after champagne. He made hundreds of them when he was a pastry chef at a gourmet takeout place, so we knew we were in good hands. I think I'm ready for a piece of the leftovers right now.

So that was the feast! I think we might make the small plate thing a tradition.