Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate Molasses & Lemon Tahini Dressing

I'm kind of in love with the Middle East in oh so many ways, while the cuisine may be nowhere near as stimulating as the political movements going on at any given moment, that is sort of like saying something is shorter than a giraffe.

I whipped this dish together with a few friends and fell in love with it so hard I immediately ran to the store first thing the next day to get more cauliflower and make it again because ZOMG I NEEDED TO SHARE THIS WITH THE (INTER)WORLD ASAP!

The original recipe I used had you frying the cauliflower, which added all sorts of work, time, dishes, and fat, and while I'm kind of into all of those things my freak festishes aren't necc. your freak fetishes so I opted to roast the cauliflower instead.

It is kind of an amazing dish right now for those of us trapped in New England, but vegetal and seasonally appropriate. Stores great for lunches and munches the next day.

Roasted Cauliflower with Pomegranate Molasses & Lemon Tahini Dressing

• 1 batch of Tahini Sauce 4 Everything
• 4~ lbs head(s of) Cauliflower
• Pomegranate molasses
• Canola (or other high heat neutral oil) for roasting
• Salt & pepper for seasoning
• Optional fresh chopped green herbs for garnish (Parsley, cilantro, chives, etc.) 

Preheat oven to 500.

Chop the cauliflower into florets about the size of your thumb, and toss with enough oil to lightly coat. Place on 2 sheet pans covered in parchment paper, sprinkle with salt and fresh ground pepper, and place in oven for about 15 minutes, rotating until they're evenly goldened.

Arrange the cauliflower in a serving dish and lightly drizzle with pomegranate molasses and tahini sauce.  Garnish with chopped herbs if available.

Six years ago this December I posted a recipe for a pretty good Creamy Eggplant Roasted Red Pepper soup.

Caraway-Mint Cabbage Slaw with Garlic-Lemon Dressing

This recipe quickly became a staple of mine during a cleanse I was participating in, where the bulk of my diet was to be comprised of at least 50% raw, minimally processed vegetables.

Easy to make, easier to eat, full of flavor and zing!  It is also a healthier take on coleslaw, made healthier/vegan without the mayonnaise.  Using a mandolin on its finest setting will make very quick work of the cabbage.  You can also use just about any leafy herb that you'd like, such as cilantro, if mint is unavailable.

Caraway-Mint Cabbage Slaw with Garlic-Lemon Dressing

Serves 4-8

2-4 lg. garlic cloves
6 T fresh lemon juice
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil
1 head white cabbage, cored and finely shredded (about 3/4 lbs)
1 small bunch fresh mint, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped
2 heaping Tbls. toasted caraway seeds
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and half of the caraway seeds in a blender, blend until smooth.

Combine the cabbage, mint, and parsley in a large bowl. Dress with the lemon-olive oil dressing, season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Orange kissed beets with walnuts and cumin

Beets, beets, beets, beets, beets, beets (stick with it, totally worth it).  I'm always looking to eat healthier, and raw beets take care of that in spades (plus they're in season!).  Unfortunately, raw they tend to be a bit too earthy/tough.  However, I think I have found a solid combo for making a tasty, healthy, (obvi vegan), preparation for them.  This dish works in any season, due to the diversity of ingredients (toasty walnuts, hearty beets, poppy lemon, toasted cumin, and bright orange). 

Orange kissed beets with walnuts and cumin

Serves 4-6

This is a forgiving recipe, so all of the quantities are really just loose suggestions. Season to taste!

• 3/4 cup/75 g walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped
• 3 medium large beets (about 12 oz/400g), peeled

• 1 t cumin seeds, toasted and ground
• a couple of handfuls parsley, chopped
• 1/2 c or so fresh squeezed orange juice
• 2 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 T olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste

Peel the beets, and either grate them or use a matchstick cutter on a mandolin (I used the smallest setting on a spiralizer which made quick work of them).

Place beets in non-reactive bowl (glass or plastic) and toss in the rest of the ingredients until evenly distributed.  Let the ingredients marinade in the citrus blend for about 20 minutes, periodically tossing around again.  This will help lighten up the earthiness of the dish.

When plating, feel free to adorn with another drizzle of olive oil, more chopped nuts, or fresh parsley.

Christmas Quinoa Tabouli

Tabouli, tabbouleh, tabouleh, tabbouli... So many different ways of spelling this dish.  I have so many slight variations on using making this dish work for me, though I think I may've found my new favorite; a spin is given on this old dish with a blend of lightly toasted spices and pomegranate seeds.  I also decided to kick things up a bit by mixing two types of parsley, flat leaf which adds body and curly which really "grips" the dressing and quinoa. 

As a note, when making tabouli, recipes should be taken more as rough guidelines and always finish more on personal preference or what you have in your cupboard.  If you like your salad extra tangy, use more lemon juice. Have a couple sprigs of parsley left? Toss them in! Prefer Have cilantro over mint? That's your call.

While I use quinoa, classical recipes call for bulgur. I prefer to use more leftover, gluten free whole food oriented alternatives, such as quinoa, brown rice, hemp seeds, coarsely chopped chickpeas, etc.  

Christmas Quinoa Tabouli
(serves six as a side) 

• 1 cup cooked quinoa, lightly fluffed
• 8-12 cherry tomatoes, about 11 oz
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 3 T fresh lemon juice
• 1 large head flat leaf parsley (3-5 oz), 
• 1 large head curly leaf parsley (3-5 oz) 
• 1 bunch of mint (1 oz), stemmed
• 2 t ground allspice
• 1 T ras el hanout
• 1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
• seeds of 1 pomegranate 
• Salt & pepper to taste

Using a small, sharp knife, cut the tomatoes into quarters and eights, toss them into a large mixing bowl along with the shallot and lemon juice. 

Grab the parsley by the head and twist off the coarser stems and set aside for another use (such as juicing, blending, making stock, etc. If the stems are tender and not too woody, I often include them in my parsley salads).  For the flat leaf parsley, pack the leaves up tightly, "balling" them a bit, and using a large sharp chef's knife cut them into thin slivers no more than 1/2 an inch thick.  Add to the large bowl. For the curly leaf parsley, coarsely chop so that you get lots of little 'florets' of the tips.  Add to bowl.

For the mint, stack the leaves together, and using a very sharp knife cut the leaves into ribbons width-wise. Be gentle with them, as mint leaves tend to discolor when bruised.  Add to the bowl.

Add the ras el hanout, allspice, olive oil, pomegranate, and some salt and fresh ground pepper and toss.  Feel free to add some more salt/pepper/lemon juice to taste, and serve. 

Balsamic Glazed Roasted Radicchio

Radicchio is, likely, one of the most neglected objects of my CSA share. It isn't that I don't like it, or find it appealing, but rather it is something that doesn't lend itself well to my meal-prep styles... which you'd be surprised to know consists largely of putting a lot of whatever I get into a blender and mixing the hell out of it (kale + tomatoes + garlic + radishes + radish greens + basil + romaine + apple=GO).

Radicchio has long held the title for "most likely to rot in my vegetable crisper," as I never knew of what to use it for. This has always paind me, given te plant's history as a medicinal tool thanks to its quantities of intybin, which infuses the plant with its bitter character. I always felt it was limited to a fine shred in salads, something I rarely make.

Now I have learned a way of tempering that bitterness in a dish that elevates my radicchio heads into a stand-alone dish. Today's recipe is a two-prong approach, both reducing the bitterness with roasting and counterbalancing it with a sweet balsamic and brown sugar glaze. Even better, this recipe can be made in about 5 minutes.


Balsamic Glazed Roasted Radicchio

1 lb radicchio (about 4 large heads, or 2 small)
2 T olive oil
1/4 c balsamic vinegar
1 T brown Sugar
Salt & pepper

Turn your oven to it's low broil setting, and make sure a rack is at the highest point about 4 inches from the heat.
Quarter or halve (depending on head-size) the radicchio and gently remove the core, keeping the pieces whole.
Brush heads with olive oil and place on a baking sheet. Mix the balsamic and brown sugar until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the radicchio into the oven for one to two minutes, remove and brush with the glaze. I drizzle the heads with all of the glaze (I pour it into the cracks), place back in the oven until the edges begin to crisp and char, another couple of minutes.
Remove, transfer to the serving dish, sprinkle with a little salt and a few fresh grinds of pepper.
Can be served hot, or at room temperature.

Slightly Savory Watermelon Salad

Seasons aren't the most fair entity here in the North East. For about six months a year the earth provides us with nothing, and then in June the fresh produce begins to trickle in: parsley, asparagus, lettuce, strawberries, garlic scapes... By August, the trickle becomes a torrential rainbow-like flood. We don't "just" have watermelon, there are yellow and red melons, beets in gold, and red, and stripes, tomatoes in purple, green, zebra, and so on. There are so many wonders and joys to thoroughly explore with all of your senses!

Unfortunately there is a little bit of a bottle neck in what the human body can consume in a given period of time, no less a limit on the time one has to cherish and worship this bounty in a manner it deserves. The best I can do is incorporate the wealth of my CSA.

Today's recipe is a veganized version of a pairing familiar to foodie dorks, mozzarella and watermelon. Yet, for some reason it has never quite become that popular; likely because watermelon seems to be regarded as a summer-season only produce that we wont hack nature to distribute in winter. This salad doesn't contrast the sweetness of the watermelon, rather compliments it with some slightly sweet slightly sour slightly savory flavors... The saltiness of the ume plum vinegar gives it a nice complexity, the black peppers and basil give it a little substance, and the tofu provides a fantastic textural contrast to the fleshy, juicy bursts of watermelon.

Before I go into the actual recipe, I want to give a little public service announcement on the watermelon rind. If you have the divine grace of getting your hands on an organic watermelon do NOT discard the rind. While the toughness of the green outer skin varies (the above is fairly tender and chewable, I have found solid dark green watermelons to be a little thicker in the rind), the flesh is similar to that of a cucumber. While I am sure there is no shortage of things to do with watermelon rinds, I eat them along with the sweet flesh. Pickling is something I intend to do one of these years...

Slightly Savory Watermelon Salad

1 small watermelon
1 medium bunch basil
1/2 pint of grape tomatoes
8 oz of silken or soft tofu, drained, dried
1 T umeboshi plum vinegar
Pink Himalayan sea salt
Pepper
Pistachio Oil*

Cut the melon flesh off of the rind, and cut into cubes. Halve the grape tomatoes, Chiffonade the basil. Cube the tofu. Place in a bowl. Sprinkle with vinegar, oil, a few grinds of fresh pepper and a couple of gratings from a salt stone to taste... Toss gently, trying not to break up the tofu.

Serve. I consumed with chop sticks.

Seasonal Slaw, Featuring Chiogga Beets, Served on a Bed of Kale

Mmm... Clearly I've got an axe to grind against my self, on that whole "only posting desserts" thing... Being unable to take new pictures also seems to be doing wonders for my blog-updating. Sadly the dishes I've made today, a Ras al Hanout and Passion Fruit slaw as well as the Whole Grain Medley tossed with Tomatoes, Basil, and Mint will be lost. The fudgey brownies from a new recipe I am tooling around with are not particularly photogenic, so cheers to that?

Anyway... The camera battery charger remains unfound (!!! pain), so I will continue posting _real_ food recipes, while I cry to my self about the veganized peanut butter crispy bars unphotographed, along with the chocolate bourbon pecan pie I am making for tomorrow.

I have yet to find my "always go to" dressing recipe for slaws, but I also never buy anything to make my slaws...

Seasonal Slaw, Featuring Chiogga Beets Served on a Bed of Kale
Serves 6

Dressing

• 1/4 c fresh lime juice
• 2 T Olive Oil
• 1/4 t salt (or soy sauce)
• 1 T nut butter (optional)

Salad

• 1 small head cabbage, shredded (red, green, combo, whatever)
• Any combination of the following, shredded, matchsticked, thinly sliced, or finely chopped:
• Sweet Onions or Scallions
• Kale
• Beets
• Cilantro
• Parsley
• Carrots
• Cucumbers
• Squash
• And more!

Prepare the dressing items in a bowl, mix well.
Prepare and toss together the remaining ingredients in another bowl, drizzle dressing over. Salt to taste.
It is good let it sit a few hours, or covered in the fridge over night

Simple Heirloom Tomato Salad

Heirloom tomatoes are not just candy for the mouth, but candy for the eyes as well. Above is a Marvel Stripe tomato. These varieties are best used raw, in large slices. They are pretty yellow things with red bleeding upwards. Cooking them will break down their lovely visual presence. The flavor is not strong, but like all heirlooms it is there and can be coached out to your taste buds with a little bit of salt and olive oil. This is an easy, scalable recipe that works well for individuals with gardens.. Because, really, who grows tomatoes without also growing basil?

So... a simple little first-course, salad, lunch, snack, candy-for-your-camera, whatever you want it to be...

Simple Heirloom Tomato Salad
Serves 2

• 1 very large heirloom tomato, or 2 medium heirloom tomatoes
• A couple of sprigs of fresh basil
• Good sea salt*
• Black Pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

Step 1: Slice the tomatoes about 1/3 an inch thick, then layer with fresh basil leaves on a plate.
Step 2: Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with a pinch of salt, give a fresh grind of pepper. Serve.

*I used Chardonnay Smoked Fleur De Sel, as currently I am a fan of all things slightly smokey.

Raw Tabouli

Ach, you absolutely must click through to see this in big beautiful form. Click on the image, click on "all sizes" above the photo, then click on "large' or "original." Anyway, this is a great "I don't like measuring things" recipe.

1-2 large heads of flat leaf parsley
1 bunch mint (optional)
1 bunch of scallions
1 small onion
Couple heads garlic (optional, as much/little as you like)
A tomato, or bunch of cherry tomatoes

Hemp seeds
1 lemon (or two)
Olive oil, or hemp oil
Salt

Clean and chop the first six ingredients, toss into a bowl. Drizzle with oil (about a quarter of a cup). Juice the lemon(s), and add to the mix. Sprinkle with salt, toss on a handful of hemp seeds (as much or as little as you'd like). Toss until well coated. Enjoy!

Arugala Salad with Shaved Pears, Cherries, and Meyer Lemo

This is a simple one to throw together. Wash and shred some arugala, shave some pears, toss some cherries on top. For the dressing just blend peeled meyer lemons with some olive oil, salt, a bit of honey or agave to taste... and voila. If you have some lying around, spiced walnuts or pumpkin seeds would add a nice touch to the dish.