Mezze-ish

I had a bunch of recipes with a bit of an Eastern bent bookmarked (okay, Nice is not really Eastern...), so I made a meal out of them for a tv viewing party. Clockwise from top: herb salad (parsley, cilantro, mint, arugula, spinach, and preserved lemon), olives, socca (so easy!!), pickled watermelon radishes, roasted beets with harissa, green bean raita, and (middle) sweet potato, kale, and quinoa cakes.

Shaved Fennel, Asparagus, and Arugula Salad

I had this with a sliced, hard-boiled egg on top... yum!

Kale, Yellow Beet and Barley Salad with Red Onion and Feta Cheese

Adapted from this recipe. This was even better the next day.

Egg in the Middle

I know most people call this Toad in the Hole, but my mom always called it Egg in the Middle. Instead of making soldiers out of the cut out bread, I tore it into breadcrumbs that I toasted with a little garlic and lemon zest. Yum!

Poached Salmon with Lentils

I really need to work on my night photography skills. Lunch always looks so much nicer than dinner!

Asparagus and Goat Cheese Bruschetta, Beet Salad

Bruschetta is the perfect vehicle for almost any salad. Inspired by this recipe, I dressed the shaved asparagus with some finely sliced shallots, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Beet salad recipe here.

Arugula, Mandarin Oranges, Smoked Almonds

Chilled Asparagus with Crab, Lemon Yogurt Sauce, and Breadcrumbs

For the lemon sauce: grind garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Season with salt and pepper and add lemon juice to achieve the desired consistency. Finish with freshly grated lemon zest.

Broccoli Manchego Melts on Seeded Wheat Bread

Roasted Squash and Avocado "Panzanella"

This is loosely based on this recipe from Jamie Oliver. I roasted squash with his mixture of cumin, chilli, garlic, thyme and orange and lemon halves, and tossed that with the avocado, arugula, and some red wine vinegar. Then I added some torn up bits of toasted whole wheat seeded bread at the end. I think it would have been nice with the addition of some toasted seeds like Jamie suggests, since the bread ended up sopping up all the dressing and not providing much crunch, but it was delicious anyways!