Chickpea and Winter Vegetable Tagine, Take Two

I try not to post things twice here, but the truth is that when something's good I make it over and over again (which is why I don't post more often!). Since this time I got a better picture than the last time, I thought it was fair to share this dish again. Also: it is SO GOOD.

Caramelized Fennel with Goat Cheese, Shelling Beans, and Arugula Salad

The caramelized fennel is a recipe from Plenty.

Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke and Cherry Tomato Salad with Haloumi

This is the first Ottolenghi recipe I haven't loved. I love all the ingredients individually, but there was something about the combination of the Haloumi (admittedly, the recipe calls for Manouri, but suggests Haloumi as a substitute) and the sunchokes that just didn't work for me. I roasted the sunchokes on a tray instead of in a covered dish as the book recommends- I wanted them to get a little caramelized and I thought that with all the liquid in the dish they would just steam. I think I probably should have just put the tomatoes on that same tray, instead of caramelizing them in a frying pan as the recipe specifies, if only to save dishes.

*Addendum! In my hurry to eat, I completely forgot to add the basil oil, which is supposed to be drizzled over the top of the salad. Not sure if that would have changed my opinion or not...

Roasted Sweet Potato Wedges with Lemon Grass Creme Fraiche

Another from Plenty. The yams are roasted with ground coriander and olive oil, and the sauce is made of lemongrass, ginger, lime juice and zest, and creme fraiche, and garnished with chillies and cilantro.

Green Couscous

Another one from Plenty; I guess if it weren't for the sections on eggplant and mushrooms, I would just give in and say I'm doing one of those "work your way through the cookbook" projects. But it's hard not to keep going back to the book, when every recipe I've tried has been a winner, including this one. It's couscous with lots of herbs (dill, mint, parsely, cilantro, tarragon), caramelized onion, toasted pistachios, chillies, and arugula.

Butternut Squash and Chickpea Tagine over Saffron Couscous

Wow. This morning, exhausted and feeling lazy, I decided to soak some chickpeas to have for dinner, without any sort of plan for how I wanted to use them. At some point this afternoon, I pulled out my trusty copy of Plenty and took a peek to see if any new chickpea recipes would inspire me, and discovered this one, which called almost exclusively for ingredients I already had at home (the squash, cilantro and tomatoes came from the garden, and the rest was all in the pantry- I keep harissa and preserved lemons in my fridge at all times), except for parsnips and carrots, which I left out. The dish has a few different components- the chickpeas (which I cooked with the tomatoes, bay leaf, coriander seed, and garlic), the couscous (cooked with saffron, and I added some ghee at the end for extra yumminess), and the squash (which I roasted in a dutch oven with shallots, more bay leaf, cardamom pods, star anise, cinnamon, and a myriad of other recommended spices)- but in the end it is pretty simple, and if you have the patience to let some chickpeas soak and wait 45 minutes for them and your squash/root veg to cook, the rest comes together in no time. And boy oh boy is it good! I am already anticipating the leftovers...

Eggs with Arugula, Yogurt, Fried Sage, and Chillies

Guess where this came from? Yep, Plenty. What can I say? Every recipe looks better than the last, and I don't think there's a single one I'm not dying to make.

Fig and Basil Salad with Goat Cheese

Inspired by yet another recipe in Plenty, with Genovese and Thai Basil, Arugula, and a pomegranate molasses dressing.

Braised Short Ribs and Rapini over Fresh Corn Polenta

I have been eyeing this recipe for fresh corn "polenta" in Plenty for a while now. The corn was so sweet, I would happily eat it for breakfast any day of the week. Last night I served it with braised short ribs and some sauteed rapini to cut the richness of the beef. I cooked the ribs for about four hours with beef stock, red wine, and lots of aromatics. Yum!

Roasted Butternut Squash with Lime, Chillies, Cilantro, and Yogurt-Tahini Dressing

Another Ottolenghi recipe (the squash is marinated in cardamom and allspice), made with the first of my homegrown butternut squashes! I am so proud of this little squash- he started as a seed that I saved last year, sprouted in my kitchen, planted and nurtured, and tonight he made a delicious dinner!

Shakshouka

Shakshouka is a North African dish. I followed Yotam Ottolenghi's recipe in Plenty, which includes a bit of sugar, and I think next time I'd probably just wing it instead. Either way, it was a delicious breakfast!

Tomato Party!

Erik came over and we made this dish from Plenty, which is actually called "Tomato Party." It consists of: couscous, fregola, roasted and fresh tomatoes, garlic, tarragon, mint, and oregano. It was good warm but I think it would be even better as a cold salad for a picnic or barbeque. Also, it made me think of this song.

Lentils and Celeriac with Toasted Hazelnuts

Another one from Plenty. I had some celery root that I was planning to use in a salad, but when I saw this recipe I knew I would make it instead. This is my idea of the perfect easy dinner for one, and boy was it good! The hazelnuts and mint together with the tang of the vinegar reminded me a lot of a lamb and rice dish my mom would make when I was little, almonds, mint and lemon. You can buy the ingredients for this any time of year but I feel like this would be especially delicious on a cold winter or autumn day.

Start by putting hazelnuts on a baking sheet in the oven at about 300 degrees for 15 minutes. While they are toasting, put lentils in a pot of water seasoned with a bay leaf and thyme, and start to boil. Start a second pot of salted water boiling for the celeriac. Cut the celeriac into large chunks (or "chips" as Yotam puts it), and add them to the water. Let both pots simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the celeriac is tender and the lentils are al dente. Roughly chop the hazelnuts and coarsely chop the mint and set aside. When the lentils are done, drain them and toss immediately with salt and pepper, a little red wine vinegar, olive oil, and hazelnut oil (about 1.5 parts olive to one part hazelnut). Add the celeriac, mint, and hazelnuts. All told, this shouldn't take more than a half hour and it is well worth every minute. As far as quantities go, I like to make about 1/4 cup of dry lentils per person, and you can portion out the other ingredients accordingly... I think I used about 1/4 cup of whole hazelnuts, a small handful of mint leaves, and one medium celery root (about the size of a baseball), and that was good for two servings. I eyeballed the oil and vinegar but I'd bet I used about a half a tablespoon of each oil and half a tablespoon of vinegar as well.

Green Bean and Pea Salad

This was adapted from Ottolenghi's Plenty. I bought the most beautiful, dark purple beans to use, thinking they'd look stunning next to the traditional green ones, but in the cooking process they lost all their color and this is what I ended up with. They are dressed in toasted mustard seed and coriander, red onion, tarragon, and lemon. I also added some baby beet greens to bring in some color.

Fried Lima Beans with Sorrel, Sumac and Feta Cheese

I met Yotam Ottolenghi last month and when I saw this recipe on David Lebovitz' blog recently, I knew it would be the first dish I'd try from the new cookbook, Plenty. When I was a kid, there was nothing I hated more than lima beans. I even made a list of 10 reasons I refused to eat them, and my babysitter helped me illustrate it. Everytime my mom made something with lima beans, I'd have to eat five of them before I was allowed to pick the rest out and I would always grumble about it. But those were frozen, or sometimes canned lima beans, and it wasn't until recently that I tried dried ones and even fresh ones that are considerably less mushy (my major complaint with the beans of my childhood). In this dish, the sumac and sorrel make a really nice lemony contrast to the toasty beans. I'll definitely be making this again!