Chickpea Burgers with Tahini Sauce

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• 1 15-ounce can chickpeas (or 1 1/2 cups cooked), drained and rinsed
• 1 yellow or red onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tablespoons tahini –  I substituted hummus
• 1 1/2 to 2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup plain bread crumbs – I used 1-2 tbsp!!
• 4 buns or pita pockets

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.
2. Pulse the chickpeas in a food processor until thick and pasty. (You may mash them by hand, but it is a little more labor- intensive and time- consuming.) Transfer to a medium- size bowl.
3. To the bowl, add the onion, garlic, parsley, tahini (hummus), cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper, lemon juice, and baking powder. Slowly add the bread crumbs until the mixture holds together. Add more bread crumbs, as needed. Shape into patties.
4. Place on a nonstick cookie sheet and bake for 10–12 minutes, or until golden brown on the bottom. Using a spatula, flip each patty over, and cook for 10–12 minutes more until the other side is golden brown. Remove from the oven. Alternatively, you may fry the patties with a little oil in a pan on the stovetop.
5. While the burgers are cooking, make the tahini sauce, below.

Tahini Sauce
• One 6-ounce container plain nondairy yogurt (I used 3/4 cup Wildwood Soy Yogurt)
• 1 to 2 tablespoon tahini –  I substituted hummus
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 to 2 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon finely minced fresh parsley
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a small bowl combine the yogurt, tahini (hummus), cucumber, lemon juice, parsley, salt, and pepper to taste. Chill for at least 30 minutes, and serve with the chickpea burgers, along with lettuce, tomato, and onion on a bun or in a pita pocket.

Malaysian Mussels — LSQ

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Steaming the shellfish in a red curry sauce imparts just a hint of spice.
2 tablespoons oil
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tablespoons)
1/2-inch piece ginger minced (2 tablespoons)
1 tsp or more red curry paste
1 cup coconut milk
2 pounds mussels, beards removed and scrubbed clean
12 cilantro sprigs, chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add garlic and ginger and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Stir curry paste into garlic and ginger and continue to cook 1 minute more. Add coconut milk to skillet and bring to a boil.

Add mussels to skillet, cover, and cook just until mussels open, 2-3 minutes. Transfer mussels to a large serving bowl with a slotted spoon. Pour coconut curry sauce over mussels, garnish with cilantro and lime and serve immediately.

Apple Crostada

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Crust:
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 8-10 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 3-4 tablespoons ice water

Mix the flour, sugar, and salt in a processor. Add the butter. Pulse until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Add the water and pulse until moist clumps form. Gather the dough into a ball; flatten into a disk. (If the dough still crumbles and does not form into a ball, add another tablespoon of ice water.) Wrap the dough in plastic and refrigerate until firm, 30 min-1 hour.

Position the rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Roll out the dough to a 12-14-inch round. Transfer the dough to a heavy baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silpat.

Filling:

• 8-9 tasty apples
• 3-4 tbsp flour
• 3-4 tbsp granulated or superfine sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

For the filling, peel (opt), core, and cut the apples into half moons. Combine the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a bowl add apples and toss gently. Mound in the center of dough round. Gently fold the border over the apples to enclose the dough, pleating it to make a circle.

Bake the crostata for 20 to 25 minutes, until the crust is golden and the apples are tender. Allow to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Caramel sauce — Martha

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1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water
1 cup heavy cream

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan over high heat, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is dark, about 6 minutes. Remove
from heat, and carefully pour in cream (mixture will spatter); whisk until smooth. Let cool.

Photo shows a slice of apple crostada, vanilla ice cream and topped with carmel sauce.  YUM YUM

Updated pasta recipe

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For pasta:
1 1/4 cup ap flour
1/4 c. semolina flour
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp water

to make in food processor: Blend flours, eggs, salt and water in processor until mixture just begins to form a ball, adding more water, drop by drop, if dough is too dry (dough should be firm and not sticky). Process dough for 15 sec more to knead it. Transfer to a floured surface and let stand, covered with an inverted bowl. 1 hour to let the gluten relax and make rolling easier.

to make by hand: Mound flours on a work surface, preferably wooden, and make a well in center. Add eggs, salt, and water to the well. With a fork, gently beat eggs and water until combined. Gradually stir in enough four to form a paste, pulling in flour closet to egg mixture and being careful not to make an opening in outer wall of well. Knead remaining flour into mixture with your hands to form a dough, adding more water, drop by drop, if dough is too dry. Knead dough until smooth and elastic, 8- 10 minutes. Cover with an inverted bowl. 1 hour to let the gluten relax and make rolling easier.

Roll pasta and make ravioli: Cut pasta dough into 4 pieces, then flatten each piece into a rough rectangle and cover rectangles with an inverted bowl. Set roller of pasta machine on widest setting.

Lightly dust 1 rectangle with flour and feed through rollers. (keep remaining rectangles under bowl. Fold rectangle in half and feed it, folded end first, through rollers 7 or 8 times, folding it in half each time and feeding folded end through. Dust with flour if necessary to prevent sticking. Turn dial to next(narrower) setting and feed dough through rollers with out folding. Continue to feed dough hrough rollers ince and each setting, withou folding, until you reach narrowest setting. Dough will be a smooth sheet about 23 inches long and 4 inches wide.

Put sheet of dough in a floured work surface and drop 6 ( 1.5 tsp) mounds of filling 1.5 inches apart in a row down center of one half of sheet. BRush egg wash around each mound, forcing out air. (air pockets increase the chance that ravioli will break during cooking) Cut pasta (between mounds) with cutter into 3-inch rounds, LIne a shallow baking ban with a clean kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and dust towel with flour, then arrange ravioli in 1 layer in it. Make more ravioli with remaining dough 1 sheet at a time, and remaining filling, transferring ravioli to a lined pan.

Bring a 6-8 quart pot of salted water to a boil. Add ravioli, carefully stirring to separate, and adjusting the heat to keep at a gentle boil, cook until pasta is just tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to a colander.

Creamy Lemon Pasta With Spinach And Peas

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1 cup frozen peas
¾ cup cream
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes — I used less maybe 1/4 tsp.
2 garlic cloves — peeled and smashed
4 cup baby spinach — stems removed
1 ½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 teaspoon lemon juice
1 lbs dried pasta — such as farfalle or casarecce, cooked
Freshly grated Parmesan

Simmer peas, cream, red pepper flakes, and garlic in a skillet over low heat for 5 minutes, covered. Add spinach and cook until wilted, uncovered, stirring as necessary. Remove from heat and add lemon zest and juice, season with salt to taste. Toss with cooked pasta. Serve with freshly grated Parmesan

Easy and very tasty!!

Hasselback Potatoes

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6 Medium Size Potatoes
2 – 3 Cloves Garlic, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
30 g Butter
Maldon Sea Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preheat the oven to 220˚C (425˚F). Put the potato on a chopping board, flat side down. Start from one end of the potato, cut almost all the way through, at about 3 to 4 mm intervals.

Arrange the potatoes in a baking tray and insert the garlic in between the slits. Scatter some butter on top of each potato. Then drizzle the olive oil and sprinkle some sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Bake the potatoes for about 40 minutes or until the potatoes turn crispy and the flesh is soft.

Eggplant Parm Stacks — LSQ

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Ready in half the time it takes to make traditional eggplant Parmesan, this inventive version is stacked with fresh herbs and melted-cheese goodness. Yields 4 servings

1 eggplant (1 1/4 pounds total), sliced crosswise 1/3-inch thick (12 slices total) Coarse salt
4 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1/2 cup fine breadcrumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan — I use Romano cheese
Fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chopped

1 1/2 cups Basic Italian Tomato Sauce
1 pound fresh mozzarella, halved lengthwise and sliced crosswise 1/4-inch thick (12 slices total)
Extra-virgin olive oil to drizzle Parmesan for garnish

Preheat grill pan over medium-high heat. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, with oven rack in center position.

Brush eggplant slices with 3 tablespoons olive oil and season with salt. Grill 8-10 minutes, flipping once, until charred and soft.

hint–put on gas grill, so much easier and less messy!!

In a medium bowl combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, pepper, herbs, and remaining tablespoon olive oil.

Place 4 slices grilled eggplant on parchment-lined baking sheet. Top with 2 tablespoons tomato sauce, 1 tablespoon breadcrumbs, and slices of mozzarella. Repeat with two more layers. Drizzle with olive oil.  I found that stacks of four layers fell over in the over despite skewers.

Bake in oven for 20 minutes. Serve with a garnish of olive oil and Parmesan cheese.

Mushroom Stew — Deborah Madison

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A wonderful and filling stew. We often serve it with an Herb Pilaf and Broccoli with a Paprika-garlic Sauce for a very complete meal. Mushroom Stew adapted from The Savory Way by Deborah Madison Serves 4

Notes: I thought the sauce was too sweet, next time add less sugar. To reduce the sweetness I added garlic, 1 tbsb. fish sauce, more tofu and some swiss chard.

The Sauce
2 Tbsp. Dijon-style mustard
2 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp. brown sugar–use less
3/4 cup (~200 ml) dry red wine
1 Tbsp. soy sauce
freshly ground pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and set aside.

The Vegetables
1 1/4 lb. (~1/2 kilo) mushrooms (combination of chantrelle, oyster, shitake, domestic button)
2 Tbsp. butter
1 onion, diced
salt
1 large red bell pepper,
diced 1/4 lb. (~125 mg) tofu cut into small cubes
chopped cilantro or parsley for garnish

Halve or quarter the larger fresh mushrooms. Melt butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan, add the onion, salt lightly, and cook over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until the onions are transparent. Add the mushrooms and the peppers and cook for a few minutes, stirring often, until the mushrooms begin to color; then add the sauce. Add the tofu and simmer slowly until the sauce has reduced and thickened, about 40 minutes. Serve in soup plates with rice or noodles and garnish with cilantro or parsley.

Moroccan Spiced Chickpea Soup – Dave Lieberman

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Chickpeas seem to call out for Moroccan spices, so that’s what they get here. I make this soup really chunky and hearty.

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
  • 1 large onion, medium diced
  • 6 to 8 cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 heaping teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1 (14.5-ounce) can chopped, I used my tomatoes
  • 3 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
  • 1 quart vegetable broth
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 (5-ounce) package pre-washed baby spinach

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute until the onions begin to turn translucent; lower heat if browning starts to occur. Add spices and saute a minute or so. Add tomatoes, broth, and sugar. Season with a couple pinches of salt and 10 grinds fresh pepper. Stir well. Chickpeas should be just covered with liquid. If level is shy, add some water so the chickpeas are just covered.

Bring to a simmer, then lower heat to low and gently simmer for 45 minutes.

Remove soup from heat. Use a potato masher to mash up some of the chickpeas right in the pot. Stir in the spinach and let heat through until wilted, just a couple minutes.

Season again, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Serve soup, drizzled lightly with extra-virgin olive oil, if desired.