Trio of Salatim

The most delicious chickpeas in the world (courtesy of my friend Mindy):
Ingredients:
1 tbsp grapeseed oil 
1 can chickpeas, drained 
1 tbsp smoky paprika 
1 tbsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin 
Freshly ground pepper 
1/2 tbsp garlic powder
1/3 cup water 
1/2 cup garlic oil (reserve from confit) 
Sauté chickpeas in oil over medium high heat and add all spices. Mix to coat well and sauté for a few minutes. Slowly add water and mix until incorporated.
Remove from heat. Mix in garlic oil. 
Enjoy! 


Babaganoush – for those of us who don’t have a gas stove 
Ingredients:
1 eggplant 
2 tsp olive oil
3 tbsp tahini 
1 clove garlic 
1 tsp sea salt, divided 
1 tsp cumin 
A few drops liquid smoke
Juice of 1/4 lemon
Freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 
Directions:
Pierce holes in eggplant all over with a fork. Drizzle with oil and 1/2 tsp salt. 
Broil for about 3 minutes per side, until nicely charred. 
Continue to bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, until extremely easy to pierce with fork. 
Once eggplant cools, remove skin and discard. Mash eggplant with fork and mix with remaining ingredients (except parsley). If you prefer a smoother consistency, you can blend eggplant mixture using immersion blender. Top with parsley and enjoy! .


Tomato Garlic Confit 
Preheat oven to 350°F. 
In a small Pyrex, spread baby tomatoes and peeled garlic cloves in a single layer. Top with some fresh rosemary, sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Pour olive oil over the tomatoes and garlic, just to cover. Bake for about 1 hour.

Honey Zaatar Roasted Carrots with Fennel and Purple Cabbage

Ingredients:
~2 cups baby carrots
1/4 purple cabbage, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp honey
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 tsp zaatar
1 tsp plus 1 pinch sea salt
Freshly ground pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Mix together oil, 1 tbsp honey, Dijon, paprika, zaatar, 1 tsp salt and pepper.
Spread 1/2 mixture onto carrots.
Roast for about 25 minutes on greased baking sheet.
Add fennel and purple cabbage to the pan and coat with remaining honey Dijon mixture. Try to ensure that vegetables in pan aren’t overlapping and roast for an additional 20-25 minutes, until fork pierces carrots easily with fork.
Remove from oven and immediately drizzle with remaining honey and salt.

Balsamic Pesto Spinach Salad

Dressing:
2 tbsp prepared pesto 
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar 
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Salad:
Spinach 
Tomatoes, sliced 
Sundried tomatoes, chopped 
Kalamata olives, chopped 
Marinated artichokes, chopped 
Chopped fresh basil
Goat cheese or feta (optional) 
French fried onions or chopped walnuts for passover (optional)

This salad is deliciously flavorful. It can be enjoyed with or without cheese (the first time I made it was without cheese and it was still fabulous). All you have to do is mix the dressing ingredients and drizzle them over the salad prior to serving.

3 Cheese Spinach Crustless Quiche

Recipe inspired by a recipe given to me by my former colleague, Adriana.

This meal was a big thumbs up for the little ones in our house. I made sure to keep the olives on one side and tomatoes on the other side according to my kids’ preferences, with the middle portion containing a vegetable medley that we adults enjoyed.

Ingredients:
8 eggs, lightly beaten
6 tbsp pancake mix (I used @kodiakcakes mix, you can use GF or passover pancake mix)
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup grated smoked Gouda (this added amazing flavor)
2 tbsp fresh basil, chopped
120 grams frozen spinach, defrosted and liquid squeezed out
3 tbsp milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
Freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese .
Optional vegetable add ins:
Sautéed mushrooms
Caramelized onions
Sliced tomatoes
Sliced olives
Bell Peppers (unless you’re inviting me over for the meal – I won’t touch them)
Roasted broccoli
Etc

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Prepare whatever “add ins” need to be prepared (ex sauté mushrooms). Mix together all ingredients, excluding cheddar cheese and add-ins. If you’re not trying to keep the “add-ins” separate, you can mix them in once batter is made.
Pour into a heavily greased Pyrex (mine was 6.5×10) or quiche pan.
Add vegetable add-ins, separating them according to your children’s preferences if desired. Push some of them down so they span the height of the quiche.
Top with cheddar cheese. I also added goat cheese to the adult center portion.
Bake uncovered for about 30 minutes.
Serves 4

Fish Nachos

I made fish tacos, prepared a beautiful picture, but when I bit into them, I realized that the taco shells were expired and rancid. So what do we do for dinner? …
Make fish nachos instead! We loved them and they were actually easier to eat than fish tacos!

Ingredients:
Here’s a rough recipe. There are a few different parts, but they’re all very simple. 
Ingredients:
1 salmon filet, large enough for 2 people, skin removed 
1 tsp mayo 
Taco seasoning 
Chili lime seasoning 
Juice of 1 lime (divided)
1/2 head broccoli, cut up into florets (washed and dried very well)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
1 avocado 
Handful of cherry tomatoes (and optional golden berries)
Parsley 
Purple cabbage, thinly cut
Kale, chopped into small pieces 
Tzaziki Greek yogurt dip 
Tortilla chips

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
On salmon, spread mayo, sprinkle taco seasoning and chili lime seasoning and drizzle on a bit of you lime juice. Place on one side of greased baking sheet. 
On remaining half of baking sheet, place broccoli, drizzle on oil and sprinkle with additional taco seasoning and chili lime. 
Bake for 20 minutes .
In the meantime, prepare your salsa and slaw. 
For salsa, mix together, avocado (mash slightly), tomatoes (and golden berries if using), most of the remaining lime juice, chili lime seasoning and chopped fresh parsley. 
For slaw, mix together kale, purple cabbage, some oil, remaining lime juice and chili lime seasoning. .
Break up salmon into smaller pieces. Spread on serving plate, interspersed with broccoli, slaw, salsa and drops of tzaziki Greek yogurt. .
Enjoy with your tortilla chips! 

Israeli Stuffed Hasselback Eggplant .

Don’t be scared off by how elegant this dish looks, it’s actually quite easy to make

Ingredients:
1 medium sized eggplant
1 tbsp zaatar (I used from @all_shuk_up – it’s fabulous and not sponsored)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp smoky paprika
1 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper
Drizzle of lemon juice .
Stuffing:
1/4 cup babaganoush
1/2 cup chickpeas
1/4 cup each sliced olives and chopped cooked beets
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Garnish:
Tahini (I used @mightysesamecosqueezable tahini thanks to @kosherdotcom )
Zaatar
Additional parsley
Humus (omit for passover)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
Slice eggplant almost all the way through into 1/4” slices (you can place chopsticks on either side of the eggplant to avoid cutting all the way through). Mix together zaatar, oil, paprika, salt and pepper. Brush scantly onto eggplant, on all slices.
Bake on greased baking sheet for 30 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare stuffing, by mixing all ingredients together.
When ready to serve, carefully place eggplant on serving dish. Separate each eggplant slice and fill each opening with some of the stuffing.
Spread some humus on platter. Drizzle with tahini, sprinkle with zaatar and parsley. .
The eggplant can be cooked and the rest of the dish can be assembled at a later time.
You can add shawarma chicken or a sautéed meat blend to the plate, to make a more substantial meal.
For Passover, omit the humus and serve with babaganoush instead.

Pretzel Crusted Maple Mustard Salmon with Broccoli

This recipe can be made as fish sticks or as a salmon filet – or both, whichever you prefer!

Ingredients:
1 tbsp dijon mustard 
1 tbsp maple syrup 
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (for broccoli)
1/3 cup flour (for fish sticks) 
1 salmon filet, large enough for 2 
1/2 cup crushed pretzels 
1/2 head broccoli, cut into small florets

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
For fish sticks: 
Mix together maple syrup and mustard. You can add a bit of mayo to this mixture if you’d like. 
Dredge salmon in flour. Then coat with mixture of mustard and maple. Finally dip in crushed pretzels. 
Spray generously with non stick cooking spray. 
Bake for 10 minutes. .
For salmon filet and broccoli:
Mix together maple syrup and mustard. 
Spread half of mixture onto salmon. 
Mix remaining mixture with oil and coat broccoli. 
Generously sprinkle salmon with crushed pretzels. 
Bake for 15-20 minutes, depending on thickness of salmon.

Smoky Smashed Potatoes

Ingredients:
~ 40-50 baby potatoes (sorry I forgot to weigh)
1 tbsp nutritional yeast (omit for passover)
1 tbsp smoky paprika
2 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary 
1 tsp sea salt
Freshly ground pepper 
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil .

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425°F. 
Place potatoes in a large pot and fill with water. Bring to a boil and let potatoes boil until they pierce easily with a fork, approximately 20 minutes. Drain. 
Mix together all the spices and oil. 
Place potatoes on greased baking sheet. Smash each potato to flatten – I used the bottom of a strong glass. Pour oil mixture over potatoes and gently spread mixture all over potatoes. 
Bake for about 20 minutes, flip and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes, until nice and crisp! 

Miso Sushi Bowl

Ingredients:
2 slices of salmon (skin removed)
1 tbsp miso
1/2 tbsp freshly grated ginger 
1/2 tbsp soy sauce or GF tamari
1/2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp sesame oil 
Squirt of sriracha hot sauce 
1 cup of rice, cooked according to package directions (I used brown rice)
Edamame (cooked)
Grated carrots 
Purple cabbage 
Pickled ginger
Avocado 
Nori
Hoisin sauce 
Sesame seeds .

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F
Mix together miso, ginger, soy sauce, maple syrup, sesame oil and sriracha. Spread half on top of salmon, reserve half as sauce for bowl. 
Bake salmon for about 15 minutes, until cooked through. .
Assemble bowl – top rice with cut up salmon, edamame, carrots, cabbage, pickled ginger, avocado and nori. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Drizzle with remaining miso marinade and hoisin sauce. 
You can also top with additional sriracha. .
You can also add the follower to your bowl: mango, cucumber, fake crab, sushi grade salmon/tuna (uncooked), jalapeños, sliced peppers etc 

Vegetarian Gyros

These probably taste nothing like the real deal but I have no idea and it was definitely gyros inspired. .
1-8oz package of tempeh (unflavored), sliced in 1/4” slices 
2 tbsp greek seasoning blend (see previous post)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
Naan rounds 
Tomatoes 
Cucumber 
Kalamata olives 
Spinach .
Sauce:
Tzaziki Greek yogurt (Greek yogurt, cucumber, garlic) mixed with lemon juice and a sprinkle of Greek seasoning .
Mix together oil and Greek seasoning, coat tempeh. Allow to marinate for about an hour if possible. 
Grill tempeh on both sides until a nice crust forms. 
In the meantime, warm naan.
Spread sauce on naan. Top with spinach, sliced tomatoes, sliced cucumbers, kalamata olives and tempeh. .
Enjoy! .