Fresh Falafel

Homemade falafel is awesome! I've always wanted to try it, but I never got around to soaking chickpeas overnight. (Canned chickpeas don't work - too soft.) As long as you have the forsite to start this a day in advance, and prep at least an hour before you want to eat them, it's not very difficult. They are crispy on the outside and fluffy and flavorful on the inside and they're great in a pita or on top of a salad. They also freeze really well, so next time I'm doubling the recipe and freezing half. I used Ottolenghi's recipe as a starting point.

Feel free to boost the onion, garlic, herbs and spices if you want a stronger flavor.

Tricolore Salad with Eggplant, Peppers, Tomatoes, and Mozzarella

This is another delicious recipe from Plenty. It's a really great, light side dish. The mix of textures is really nice - the soft eggplant and mozzarella and the crispy peppers. It seems like a lot of capers, but they get mixed in and it's just right. The cilantro adds a nice, fresh flavor on top. Can't wait to eat the leftovers for lunch!

Ingredients:

4 small eggplants, sliced into 1/2" circles

olive oil

salt and pepper

1 yellow pepper, in about a 1/2" dice

15 grape tomatoes, quartered

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

3 1/2 tbsp capers, plus 1 tbsp of the brine

5oz fresh mozzarella

1 cup roughly chopped cilantro

Roasted Butternut Squash with Cardamom and Lime

This is another great recipe from Ottolenghi. I love butternut squash, and in this recipe it takes on a really different flavor than the usual roasted squash. 

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

2 limes

1 medium butternut squash (about 2 lb)

2 tbsp cardamom pods

1 tsp ground allspice

1/2 cup greek yogurt

2 1/2 tsp tahini

1 tbsp lime juice

1 green chile, thinly sliced

2/3 cup picked cilantro leaves

Pear Crostini

There was a recipe in Plenty for pear crostini and this is inspired by that but a little different. I love pears and cheese, so this is a great mix. It's sweet and a little tart and creamy, it's delicious. Great appetizer. 

Ingredients:

1 pear

1/2 tsp sugar

Black pepper

1/2 tsp lemon zest

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp pecorino

2 slices good bread

Olive oil

1 clove garlic

Soft goat cheese

Barley and Pomegranate Salad

This is another great recipe from Plenty. It's super light and flavorful and perfect after a weekend of eating too much. The pomegranate seeds add such a nice, sweet pop. Looking forward to eating leftovers for lunch this week.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 cup barley

6 stalks celery, leaves removed and saved, in a small dice

1/4 cup olive oil

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

2 small garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

2/3 tsp ground allspice

salt and pepper

3 tbsp chopped dill

3 tbsp chopped parsley

seeds from 2 large pomegranates

Roasted Eggplant with Buttermilk Yogurt Sauce and Pomegranate

My friend Alice got me Ottolenghi's Plenty cookbook for my birthday (thank you, Al!!). I couldn't wait to test it out. I made the roasted eggplant last weekend and it's delicious. The soft roasted eggplant is tangy and almost meaty tasting from the bits of char, and the buttermilk yogurt sauce, za'atar, and pomegranate are such a great mix of flavors. The sweetness of the pomegranate is really nice. We had this as a main because we had a huge lunch, but I think it would also be great as a side dish to some grilled meat. Also, very pretty presentation! 

The picture is also the cover of the book. So pretty.

Crushed New Potatoes with Horseradish

This is sort of a mix between potato salad and mashed potatoes, and it's great. While a lot of the other recipes are pretty involved, this one is actually quite simple. A nice change from classic mashed potatoes. The original calls for sorrel, but I left it out because I didn't have any. If you want to add sorrel, add 4 tbsp of chopped sorrel with the dressing.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lb new potatoes

7 tbsp olive oil, plus more for drizzling

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 oz horseradish (prepared or fresh)

1/2 cup watercress

2 scallions, thinly sliced

salt and pepper

Directions:

Wash the potatoes and don't peel them. Put them in a pan with plenty of salted water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes until tender. Drain well and transfer to a large mixing bowl.

Roasted Eggplant with Saffron Yogurt

Here's another Ottolenghi. This was the first I tried and I was very impressed. It has the tartness of the eggplant, the brightness from the pomegranate seeds, the creamy yogurt, freshness from the basil, and the earthy pine nuts. I'd never tried anything with a yogurt dressing and it's great.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

a small pinch of saffron threads (thanks, Alice, for the Zanzibari saffron!!)

3 tbsp hot water

3/4 cup Greek yogurt

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp olive oil

coarse sea salt

3 medium eggplants, cut into 3/4" slices

olive oil for brushing

2 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Marinated Lamb with Cilantro and Honey

Wow. This marinade is incredible. I wanted to just drink it. It involved almost everything you have in your kitchen and ends up costing a fare amount in herbs, but the end result warrants the effort. It's meant for rack of lamb, but my butcher was out so I used lamb chops. Still delicious! I wish I'd saved the extra marinade to marinate everything else.

Ingredients:

2 1/4 lb rack of lamb, French trimmed (or several lamb chops)

2/3 oz flat-leaf parsley, leaves and stalks

1 oz cilantro, leaves and stalks

4 cloves garlic, peeled

1/2 oz fresh ginger, peeled and sliced

3 chilis, seeded

1/2 tsp salt

3 1/2 tbsp lemon juice

4 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 cup canola oil or sunflower oil

3 tbsp honey

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

4 tbsp water

Ottolenghi Cookbook

Another wonderful Christmas present cookbook (thank you, Jamie!) was Ottolenghi. Last week I got very excited about it and made several recipes. They were so tasty and unique with a variety of flavors and textures in each dish. Some of them require some obscure ingredients, but well worth it. The recipes would make impressive dinner party dishes. Recipes coming this week!

A special Ottoloenghi dinner for Jamie