Israeli Couscous and Lentil Salad

After trying Israeli couscous in the eggplant salad a few weeks ago, I've been hooked. Seriously hooked. I've made the eggplant salad a second time to share at a potluck. Then I decided to try a recipe that I've had dog-eared in a cookbook for a couple of years.

Why didn't I try this sooner? I loved it. Curtis liked it ok and M even tried the couscous (but not the lentils). The dates are essential--it gives the salad a nice sweet taste, just the right amount. This is definitely a summer salad keeper!

Israeli Couscous and Lentil Salad
from Moosewood Restaurant New Classics

1/4 c French lentils
4 1/2 qts water
2 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 c Israeli couscous
1 cinnamon stick
2 T olive oil
1 t freshly grated lemon peel
3 T lemon juice
1/2 c diced bell peppers
1/4 c dates, pitted and chopped
1 1/2 T fresh mint, minced
black pepper, to taste

In a small sauce pan, combine lentils, 2 c water, and 1/2 t salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes or until lentils are tender. Drain well and set aside. While the lentils simmer, bring the remaining 4 qts water to a boil in a large pot. Stir in the couscous, cinnamon stick, and salt. Cook for 8 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and drain again. Remove and discard cinnamon stick.

In a serving bowl toss together lentils, couscous, and remaining ingredients. Let the salad rest for 30 minutes before serving to let the flavors marry.

Peppers Stuffed with Feta

Oh yes--I know the posts are sporadic these days--a couple of good weeks, followed by a quiet week or two. Thankfully, I've still been cooking through these quieter times.

I found at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago the August/September issue of Saveur. I have never looked at recipes from there before, but bought without hesistation when I saw it. The reason? The cover. It stated "The Greece Issue" and had a picture of stuffed red peppers. That was all I needed.

Since then I've cooked four recipes from the magazine: Roasted Beets with Garlic-Potato Spread (which Curtis thought was a little pointless, because according to him, you can't improve on roasted beets), Rosemary Chicken (which I loved, that recipe will be coming), Meatballs in Tomato Sauce (which was a waste of frying food--I think the recipe would have been much better with the meatballs baked and it wouldn't have taken that much longer), and Peppers Stuffed with Feta (the cover photo). Peppers Stuffed with Feta made the cost of the magazine all worth it.

This was a case of pepper roulette again, but the feta helped temper the spiciness. I used 6 Anaheim chiles, which I thought was great to be able to use so many peppers with one recipe. Curtis and I both loved the recipe (kids didn't try it--I know better than that!) as did our friends we shared it with.

This serves 4 - 6.

Piperies Gemistes me Feta (Peppers Stuffed with Feta)
from Saveur Magazine

6 4-5"-Anaheim Chiles
9 oz feta, crumbled
2 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T plain yogurt (Greek is preferable)
1 T fresh parsley, minced
1/2 t lemon zest
1/4 t dried oregano
2 egg yolks
1/4 c Parmesan Cheese, grated

Roast chiles on either gas grill or broiler. Roast until skin is softened. If peppers get a little charred, gently remove the charred skin with a knife. (To roast on a broiler, put peppers on a baking sheet and broil on a rack placed 6" from broiler element. Turn peppers once.) Let cool.

Combine feta, oil, yogurt, parsley, zest, oregano, and egg yolks in a large bowl with either a hand mixer or pastry blender (I used the pastry blender). Carefully make a lengthwise cut in the peppers from the stem to the tip of the pepper (leave the stems on). Scoop out seeds and ribs. Stuff each pepper with feta filling. Transfer peppers to an aluminum foil lined baking sheet. Refrigerate stuffed peppers for 30 minutes. Sprinkle peppers with grated Parmesan. Broil peppers until cheese is golden brown and bubbly, about 6 minutes. Serve immediately

Slow Cooker Carnitas

Since I finally bought a slow cooker after being without for many, many years, I am trying to use it more frequently. I've discovered starting a recipe first thing in the morning, leaving it alone for 8 - 10 hours, and then having a meal ready at suppertime is a pretty good deal. Plus, I am able to avoid heating up my house as much or I don't need to be at the mercy of Curtis and the Egg (I know I could learn how to barbeque, but why?). Thus, I am ever on the search for new recipes that aren't just soups or stews.

With the heat wave that's stifling the East Coast (By the way, we just hit 100 degrees in my part of Texas. We've had rainy days on occasion. Such a nice respite from last summers 70+ days of 100 degrees weather), slow cooker recipes are more prevalent on good food blogs.

This was fabulous. The prep work was minimal--I get annoyed with slow cooker recipes that has a lot of upfront work. If I want to do a lot of prep work, I'll not bother with getting out the slow cooker! We made these into tacos and quesadillas. I saved the juice from the crockpot, cooled it and skimmed the fat off the top. It made a great sauce for pouring over the pork when I reheated it for may other meals.

This recipe will feed a small army (12 - 16 people). Either plan on feeding a lot, eating it all week, or freezing some to save for later.

Slow Cooker Carnitas
from the Kitchn

1 ( 6 - 8 lb) bone-in pork butt, also called pork shoulder or boston butt (or if you can, buy meat labeled carnitas)
2 T coarse salt
1 T cumin
1 T black pepper
1 T dried oregano
2 t cinnamon
1 t cayenne or chili powder, or to taste
8 cloves garlic, smashed
4 chipotle peppers, canned or dried (optional)
1 c tomato juice
1 c orange juice

Trim excess fat off meat and discard fat. Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir gently to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours. Meat will fall off the bone and shred very easily. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from juices and place in large bowl. Remove bone from meat and shred using a couple of forks or a pastry blender (it really works well!).

Refrigerate juices. Once fat has congealed, skim the fat off the juices. Save the juices to top meat with when reheating.

For tacos, serve on your choice of tortillas with sour cream, cilantro, chopped red onion, lime wedges, and roasted chiles (if you have an overabundance of chiles like I do).

Stone Fruit and Arugula Salad

Your small tender leaves
Jagged and peppery recalls
Cooler days to come

Crisp, ripe stone fruits dance
with pungent cheese, hazelnuts
unexpected joy

Yes, this salad inspired haiku. Probably more if I sat and thought about it for too long. I wouldn't have put this combination together. When I think of fruits on my salads, I think strawberries, oranges, occasionally blueberries. It never occurred to be to add stone fruits like peaches, plums, and apricots. I am sure you could just choose one of the fruits and skip the others, but why?
Hazelnuts I always just paired with chocolate or raspberries or other dessert things. This combination is great.

Stone Fruit and Arugula Salad
adapted from Williams-Sonoma Cooking from the Farmer's Market

2 T rice vinegar
1 t honey
salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
6 c (more or less, I never measure my greens...), baby arugula
2 small firm (but yet ripe) plums, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
2 small firm (but yet ripe) apricots, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
2 small firm (but yet ripe) peaches, halved, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick
1/4 c hazelnuts
1/4 c firm blue cheese, crumbled

Toast the hazelnuts: Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place hazelnuts on rimmed baking sheet and toast 7 - 10 minutes, or until nuts are fragrant and skins flake off easily (test one or two nuts carefully). Remove from oven and dump nuts on one half a dishtowel. Fold dishtowel over to cover and roll the nuts between the top and bottom layers of the towel. Roll nuts that still have skins clinging to them between your fingers. If not all the skin comes off, that's fine, but most of the skin should. Coarsely chop skinned hazelnuts and set aside.

In a small glass jar, combine the vinegar, honey, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Shake vigorously until vinaigrette is emulsified. Set aside. (You can also do this by slowly drizzling olive oil into vinegar and honey, whisking constantly to emulsify. I find the shaking route much easier and more effective).

In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, fruit, and hazelnuts. Add half of the vinaigrette and toss gently. Taste and add more vinaigrette if necessary to assure the arugula is lightly coated with dressing. Sprinkle with blue cheese and serve.

Chicken with Salsa Verde

We are currently in pepper overload, as I suspect many who subscribe to our CSA are. I am working on staying on top of the peppers, but find myself falling behind on the red anaheim peppers. The larger, milder yellow/green peppers aren't a problem, nor are the hot, hot small red/green peppers (they usually don't even darken my doorstep, instead heading straight for the trade box at our pick up spot). I was excited to find this Rick Bayless recipe which was easy to adapt to be spiceless for the kids to spicy for the grown ups.

As good as this was the first day, I discovered the best way to eat these as leftovers. I shredded the leftover chicken and put a small amount inside a hot tortilla. I poured some of the salsa verde over top and then microwaved briefly. Instant green chicken enchiladas! The leftovers were as fabulous as the first meal.

To make this spiceless, just omit the 2 fresh chiles and proceed with the recipe at browning the chicken breasts.

This serves 4.

Chicken with Salsa Verde
from Everyday Mexican by Rick Bayless via Serious Eats.

2 fresh poblano or anaheim chiles
2 T vegetable oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (1 1/2 lbs total)
salt
1 lg white onion, sliced 1/4" thick
1 1/2 lbs tomatillos, husked and rinsed
1 c cilantro, roughly chopped
1 c chicken broth
2 - 3 T Mexican crema, heavy cream, or creme fraiche

Roast the chiles (click here for a link to chile roasting if you need some advice). Remove blackened skin from chiles, discard seeds and membranes, and cut into 1/4" strips. Set aside. Pour the oil into a large skillet over medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and place in skillet. Cook until well browned on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Set aside. Cook the onions until just beginning to soften, about 4 minutes, adding more oil to the skillet if necessary. Meanwhile, blend the tomatillos and cilantro in a food processor or blender (it may take a couple of batches). Pour tomatillo/cilantro mixture into skillet with not yet tender onions. Cook until sauce is very thick, about 8 minutes. Add the broth, chile strips, and crema. Stir well and season with 1 t salt. Return chicken breasts and any accumulated juices to skillet. Reduce the heat and simmer until the chicken is completely cooked, about 8 - 10 minutes. Serve.

Chicken Souvlaki

It doesn't get much easier than this.

This was another one of our Mediterranean inspired meals. We served tzatziki with this, along with freshly made pitas, kalamata olives, and tomato wedges. Do I need to tell you we all loved this--all five of us? My pita turned out about perfectly this meal as well--nicely puffed--so we could stuff the chicken, tzatziki and the rest of the fixings inside the pita. Wonderful.

This serves 4.

Chicken Souvlaki
adapted from Food and Wine

Tzatziki
2 T olive oil
1 1/2 t lemon juice
1 T dried oregano
1 1/3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1" cubes'
4 - 8 pita
small onion, cut into thin wedges (optional)
2 tomatoes, cut into thin wedges
1/3 c Kalamata (or other black) olives, pitted and halved

In a small non-reactive bowl, combine the oil, lemon juice, oregano, 1/4 t salt, and 1/4 t pepper. Toss the chicken cubes in the oil mixture and thread them onto skewers. Grill the chicken over high heat, turning once, until done, about 5 minutes in all.

To serve, put the pitas on plates. Top with onions, tomatoes, and chicken. Serve with tzatziki and olives.

Israeli Couscous and Eggplant

This recipe is wonderful. It's easy and flavorful. The only downside to it is that it is not quite substantial enough for a main course. It's a perfect side though.

Curtis and I loved it. Little I ate the Israeli couscous (which is more like orzo or acini di peppe pasta than traditional couscous) and M even tried it and decided it was pretty good. I substituted parsley for the cilantro. Cilantro would have made it even better, but parsley will do just fine in an herb pinch. For those Texans in big cities, you can find Israeli couscous at Central Market or probably Whole Foods. If you can't find it, substitute the pasta listed above.

These proportions serve just 3 as a side dish.

Israeli Couscous and Eggplant
adapted from Bon Appetit

3/4 lb unpeeled eggplant, cut into 1/2" cubes
2 1/2 T extra virgin olive oil
1/2 c Israeli couscous
1/4 t cumin*
1 T balsamic vinegar (white is preferable, but regular is just fine)
fat 1/4 t cinnamon
2 T red onion, finely chopped
3 T golden raisins
3 T fresh cilantro (or parsley, if need be), chopped

Place eggplant cubes on rimmed baking sheet coated with cooking spray or silpat liner. Drizzle with 1 1/2 T olive oil and sprinkle with coarse sea salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Roast in preheated 450 degree oven until tender, turning occasionally, 30 - 40 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the couscous in boiling salted water until just tender, about 8 minutes (or according to pkg directions). Drain. Rinse under cold water to cool, drain again, and place in medium bowl. In a small bowl, combine cumin, vinegar, cinnamon, and 1 T olive oil. Whisk to blend and season with salt and pepper. Mix in onion. Add raisins, cilantro, eggplant cubes, and dressing to couscous. Toss to coat.

*If you prefer, you can use 1/2 t whole cumin seeds. To use those, toast them in a small skillet over medium-high heat until slightly darkened, about 4 minutes. Grind in spice mill and then proceed with adding vinegar, cinnamon, olive oil according to above directions. I took the fast route and just used ground cumin.