Black Bean Quinoa Salad

The other day I spotted a few odd ingredients in the fridge.  A chunk of pineapple, some corn, a red bell pepper and some cilantro. Now what do you make with such odd ingredients ? May be a hundred odd dishes, may be delicious ones too... but I just wasn't in the mood to think and create. So I Googled and landed upon Guy Fieri's Black Bean Salad. The salad looked appetizing and I was sure that adding a little something would make it a meal. I decided on quinoa and minutes later was ready with a bowl of bright and zesty Black Bean Quinoa Salad.

Tuna Rillettes (+ Salad Niçoise Sandwich ) # French Fridays with Dorie

In French cuisine, rillettes are appetizers usually made with pork or goose meat that is diced, seasoned, cooked, then pounded or ground and served as a spread.  As the title suggests, this week the Doristas were assigned to prepare Tuna rillettes... that is a spread with tuna. 

The recipe was quick and got done in less than 10 minutes. All I had to do was to empty two drained cans of tuna in the jar of the blender, add a finely chopped shallot, bit of curry powder, bit of ground all spice, few tablespoons of heavy cream, salt, pepper and lime juice to it, blend the mixture to a smooth paste and refrigerate for a couple of hours before serving.

Of course we, that is my son and I did not wait that long to taste the rillettes. As soon as the spread as ready, I scooped out a spoonful, tasted and immediately decided to make myself a Sandwich along the lines of Salad Niçoise, the salad that had inspired the Mediterranean Chicken salad. Little boy on the other hand tasted the spread and asked me if I had made a fish smoothie... Yes my rillettes did seem like a smoothie because of the 4 tablespoons of heavy cream that I had added at a go, but it was tasty nevertheless...

And in my "Salad Niçoise sandwich" it was simply wonderful ! 

For the sandwich, I toasted two slices of bread, generously slathered the rillettes on both of them, then piled  a handful of baby spinach, 4-5 strands of boiled green beans, 3-4 thin slices of boiled potato, 4 halved cherry tomatoes, 3 halved black olives, 2 capers and an anchovy on one slice of bread, seasoned it with salt and pepper and sandwiched it with the second slice of bread. Since the rillette had enough flavors, I decided to skip the vinaigrette. That was a good idea for the sandwich was perfect as it was. In fact I enjoyed it so much that I decided to repeat today's lunch menu for the next few days....   

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about this spread. You can find the  recipe for the tuna rillettes here . For more such delicious recipes order your copies of Around my French Table and join the Doristas in this tasty adventure.

I shall be sharing this recipe at some of these parties.

Hélène's All White Salad # French Fridays with Dorie

This week's assignment for the Doirstas was Hélène's All White Salad.... a mushroom, celery, apple and napa cabbage salad with mayonnaise dressing and a sprinkle of sesame seeds for garnish.

It is not very often that you come across monochromatic salads, specially in white. Driven by curiosity I had tried this one soon after I got my copy of Around My French Table. I was a little wary of the yolk in the dressing and had left it out .. Our general opinion then was that it isn't so great a salad... Both husband and I had not liked the raw after taste that the mushroom left. There were leftovers which I ate the following day and guess what, I really liked it. The chilled yogurt-olive oil-dressed mushrooms tasted so good !

Keeping that in mind, this time, I chopped all the vegetables, dressed them with a mixture of half of the yogurt and olive oil, seasoned them and chilled the dressed salad overnight before adding the mayonnaise and serving. The result was fabulous. Though slightly speckled, the chilled salad tasted fantastic and we really enjoyed it.

Visit French Fridays with Dorie to know what the other members thought about this salad. You can find a version of the recipe here . For Dorie's original recipe and more such delicious ones order your copies of Around my French Table and join the Doristas in this tasty adventure.

Chicken Meatballs Salad with Mediterranean Flavors

So what salads have you been enjoying lately ? Lavish ones with creamy dressings or simple ones with lots of veggies, fruits, greens and a simple citrusy vinaigrette. We here have a new favorite.  This Chicken Meatball Salad .....

Like our other favorite,  Wheat Berry and Chickpea salad, this salad is inspired by a recipe from Around the French Table, Salade Niçoise. Back in October, the Doristas made Salade Niçoise for French Fridays with Dorie. I too had assembled the salad for myself.  However substituting the canned tuna and anchovies with Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs, I prepared this version for my non-fish-eating husband and then tasted a spoonful of both and thought... hmmm.. "the Niçoise salad is good but this is DELICIOUS !" Ever since the has become a staple for Sunday lunch and each time we seem to enjoy it even more.. 

The salad is actually quite simple to prepare and gets done in no time provide you have the meatballs ready. The first time, I had prepared the salad with leftover chicken meatballs  from the previous day. But it is worth the effort to make these meatballs just for the salad...  Here is how I make them...

Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs Recipe Adapted from The Kitchn
Preparation Time : minimum 1 hour +10 minutes                   Cooking Time: 22 minutes                        Yields: 20
Ingredients 1 cup cooked black or green lentils (see notes) 3 tbsps Port wine 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 clove of garlic grated 1/2 pound ground chicken 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 2/3 cups bread crumbs (see notes) 1/4 cup feta cheese 1 small onion, chopped (and caramelized if you have the time) 8 black olives, chopped 1 tbsp capers, chopped 4-5 strings of cilantro, trimmed and chopped 1/2 tsp oregano 1/4 tsp dill 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground pepper oil for glazing -  Instructions Put all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix them well. I use my hands for mixing. You can however use a wooden spoon if you like.  Let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for at least an hour. When ready to make the meatballs,line 2 baking trays with parchment paper, center a baking rack and preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  With well oiled hands, shape the refrigerated mixture into 2 inch round balls and place them on the prepared baking sheet. Since the balls do not spread much you can place them close by. Now transfer the trays into the preheated oven and bake for 20-22 minutes until the meatballs are golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before proceeding further.... -  Notes :  I have this recipe with both  green lentils and black masoor . I my opinion the one with green lentils taste better. If using black masoor, use only half the quantity as they tend to make the meatballs very dense. To make fresh bread crumbs, toast a day old bread in the oven at 400 degrees F for 8-10 minutes. Then pulverize in the food processor till you have the bread crumbs.

The chicken meatballs are delicious appetizers by themselves. So if you are not a salad person, you can skip all the veggies, greens and vinaigrette (basically, the rest of the post) and enjoy the meatballs as appetizer with Tzatzaki  or bake it in yogurt sauce and enjoy it with stuffed Naan, the way we did till the salad happened... 

In case you are a salad person then read on....

Mediterranean Chicken Meatballs Salad Inspired by Salade Niçoise from Around the French Table
Preparation Time : 30-45 minutes                     Assembling Time : 10-15minutes                                Serves : 2
Ingredients 8 Mediterranean chicken meatballs, quartered (prepared as above) 6 small potatoes 1/2 cup green beans, trimmed 2 large eggs 1 big tomato, cut into 16 parts 1 medium sized onion, chopped 8 black olives, halved or quartered 4 oz baby spinach, chopped for the vinaigrette 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard (you can use more or less according to taste) 3 tbsps extra virgin oil 1 tbsp capers, crushed or finely chopped 1 clove garlic, grated (optional) salt and pepper to taste -  Instructions Prepare the vinaigrette by mixing all the ingredients and let it rest for 10-15 minutes. You can either boil the potatoes in salted water or  roast them in the oven. We like the taste of roasted potatoes, so if I have enough time in hand I roast it. To roast the potatoes, peel them and soak in water for at least an hour. Then toss them in oil, sprinkle salt and pepper and bake in oven at 450 degrees F for 20-22 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly. Cut the green beans into 3/4-1 inch long pieces. Toss them in a pot of boiling water. 6 minutes later drain the beans and run them under cold water. Pat dry and keep aside. In case you do not mind the boiled yolks, hard boil the eggs and slice them as you please for the salad. We do not like boiled yolks, so I separate the egg white and the yolks, save the yolks for later and boil the eggs whites using the method for Ruffly Poached Eggs.  To assemble the salad, toss the greens in half of the vinaigrette and lay it on the plate. Then place the quartered meatballs, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, onions and olives in any fashion you like. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle the remaining vinaigrette on top. Now serve, dig in and enjoy !

I shall be sharing this at the following parties.

Monday : Mix it up Monday, The Scoop, Made with love Monday, 
Marvelous Mondays @ This Gal Cooks, Melt in your Mouth Monday, Inspiration Monday Party Sharing Monday, 
Inspire Me Monday, Clever Chicks Blog Hop,Maniac Monday Linky Party

Tuesday : Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations, 
Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home ,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings
Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles,  Tasty Tuesday @ Anyonita Nibbles,  Hearth and Soul blog Hop, 
In & Out of the Kitchen @ Feeding Big & More, Tuesday's Table @ Love in the Kitchen, 

Wednesday : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Buns in my Oven, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain, 
Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wine'd Down Wednesday, 
Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ All She Cooks Wednesday, Whatsit@White Lights on Wednesday, 
Wednesday Extravaganza @ Hunger Little Girl, Create & Share @ The Trendy Tree House,
What I Whipped Up Wednesday @ Sugar & Dots Look, What I Made @ Creations by Kara, Mum's Make list

Thursday: Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, 
Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity,  Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage , 
 Freedom Friday @ My Turn,  Thursday's Treasures @ Food Done Light,Pin it Thursday @ Sweet Bella Roos

Friday : Foodie Friday @ Simple Living and Eating,  Friday Linky Party @ The Pin Junkie, 
Get Him Feed @ Anyonita Nibbles, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home,  
Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes, Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm, 
Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts, 
Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club, The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog Recipes

Wheat Berry and Chickpea Salad

Dorie's Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad somehow got me fixated on Wheat berry. Ever since, I have been trying a lot of combinations with the berries and this one worked out great. It made my husband say, "we should have salads more often. may be we should make Monday our salad day !" 

Dieter's Tartine # French Fridays with Dorie

This week we assembled Dieter's Tartine for French Friday's with Dorie.

I say assembled, because that is exactly what we had to do. Just toast a slice of bread. Mix sour cream and cottage cheese . spread it on the toast. Spoon diced tomatoes and cucumbers on top. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle some chives and herbs if you please and your tartine is ready to eat. It was as easy as that. But really tasty and satisfying.

Apparently this pretty tartine is extremely popular with "ladies-who-lunch in Paris" since it is filling but not fattening. There they make is with non-fat fromage blanc. However Dorie said that a substitution of non-fat cottage cheese thinned with non-fat sour cream works just as well.  

Prior to this we did not have much regard for cottage cheese. But the combination works and really makes for a great lunch recipe. I feel that served on slices of cocktail bread(like this one here) a tartine will be great to nibble along with a shot of tomato juice or tomato soup depending on the season. Try it which ever way you please its a great combo and I highly recommend it to you !

update: 7/29/2013. Over the weekend we tried the tartine with a sprinkle of Herbs de Provence. It definitely makes a difference. The bottle of herbs was a bit expensive but it was so worth it..

Being a member of french fridays with Dorie, i cannot publish the original recipe in the blog. You can however this recipe here. For many more delicious recipes such as this one order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.

Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad # French Fridays with Dorie

Yesterday I served this hearty Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad for lunch.... 

Unfortunately,  Mr MN  missed on both the star ingredients. the Tuna, because he does not have any, and wheat berries because i forgot to add the berries to his plate. it wasn't until it was time to take the pictures that i remembered the berries...but by then it was too late. so he merely had a regular bowl of greens, veggies and chicken salad with olive oil dressing and a helping of well-seasoned berries, and had nothing much to say about it. i, on the other hand had an extraordinary salad for lunch !

wheat berries were new to me. It was the first time i tasted it and i really liked it. it is chewy with a subtle nutty flavor and it added a nice crunch to the salad. from the internet i gathered that these  berries are packed with fiber, protein and iron and hence a nutritious alternative to breadcrumbs which i otherwise use in salads. I think i'll use these a lot more in my salads/meals from now on.

the vinaigrette of vinegar and mustard was also great. I actually got a new bottle of French Dijon Mustard the day before, just so that we would not miss on the tang. and it was totally worth it. though i am used to mincing the fruits and veggies in salad, being short on time, i  ended up dicing them as per the recipe, then added the tuna and wheat berry to the veggies, seasoned the salad and and ate. since the salad looked filling and colorful enough even without the eggs, i omitted them. i actually did not miss them at all. with the berries, avocado, tuna and the greens this bowl was quite a substantial  meal by itself. 

update 5/7/2014. Today, almost after an year I made the Wheat Berry and Tuna Salad. This time I arranged it just the way Dorie suggested...

I cooked the wheat berries well in advance, whisked the mustard vinaigrette into it and let the flavors blend in over the next couple of hours. Next I gently stirred in the diced apples, celery, onion, green bell pepper and drained tuna into the bowl of berries. Finally I seasoned the the greens (spinach in my case) with salt and pepper, tossed them in olive oil and put them in the serving bowl. I then spooned the wheat berry salad over the greens, topped it with halved cherry tomatoes, diced avocado and quartered hard boiled eggs and served.

With all the ingredients in place, the salad felt so healthy and wholesome that once again we decided to fix Monday as the Salad Day at our niche !

You can find the recipe for this salad here. For many more delicious recipes like this order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon and join us as we cook our way through the book.

Socca from Vieux Nice # French Fridays with Dorie

This week we made Socca from Vieux Nice for French Fridays with Dorie. 

In the book, Dorie describes them as "large pancakes made from chickpea flour". That made me wonder if socca was the Niçoise version of the Indian Besan Puda or Adai Dosa. and indeed, if you spread the batter a little thick, these do taste like our Adais but a little crunchier since they are baked and broiled in the oven rather than being cooked on the griddle. but if you let the batter rest overnight or for a couple of days in the refrigerator, and then bake your socca... then the result is lovely. for whatever reason it is easier to make thinner pancakes from the rested batter and that tastes really good. 

I had decided to make Socca on Monday. however i had not read the recipe in advance. so, on Monday, i ended up making it with a batter that was mixed  just two hours in advance. since i do not have a pizza pan, i made the socca in my trusted iron skillet using exact procedure as mentioned in the book... i.e., baking it in a preheated oven for a few minutes and then broiling it for a couple of minutes to get the authentic  slightly burnt Niçoise-socca look. 

though the recipe recommended it as an appetizer, i topped the socca with spinach (prepared the same same way as i had cooked the escarole here), grilled eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes and feta and happily served it for dinner with a cup of soup and it was a satisfying meal. as i mentioned the crust tasted like stiff herbed adai and i wasn't overly impressed with it. i felt that it was the topping that made the slices delectable and the crust was merely a supporting actor in the show.

though you can't tell from the image above, the socca pizza really looked good and as a result a triangle had to be cut out for the toddler even before we could take a snap. the little one however did not eat beyond the first bite. i think he was put off by both the topping and the crust.. 

since Dorie mentioned that socca batter improves with longer resting time, i decided to try it again and this time i made the batter a couple of days in advance and made the socca  with the well-rested batter last night. the result was radically different. I really liked it. So did my husband. the same quantity of batter yielded 3 thin socca pancakes or crusts which tasted awesome with out little asparagus salad. so yes. socca rocks and so does shaved asparagus salad...

while i cannot post the original recipe in the blog, you can find a recipe for socca in the Kitchn and here is my recipe of the Socca with Shaved Asparagus Salad ... though the recipe does not say so, please let the batter rest overnight for a truly delicious treat ... it really great better with rest.

Socca with Shaved Asparagus Salad

ingredients   a socca crust   basil pesto   1/2 pound asparagus, shaved   olive oil   salt and pepper to taste   1 medium onion, thinly sliced   2 pieces of sun-dried tomato, chopped   shredded mozzarella   crumbled feta   few pine nuts  what i did i shaved the asparagus, added some olive oil, salt and pepper to it and kept it aside.  next i caramelized the onions and kept that aside. finally i prepared the socca using batter that had rest in the refrigerator for a couple of days. once the socca was done i turned the oven temperature to 400 degree F. Meanwhile, i smeared the pesto over it, topped it with the caramelized onion, shaved asparagus, pieces of sun-dried tomato. added the cheese and nuts over it and put the topped socca back into the oven and baked for 5 minutes.

 For the original recipe of socca and many more delicious recipes order your copies of Around the French Table from Amazon or from The Book Depository and join us as we cook our way through the book.

I shall be sharing this with the following food events:

Made with Love Mondays

Tuesday Food:  Tempt my Tummy @Blessed with Grace, Totally Tasty Tuesday @ Mandy's Recipe Box, Tasteful Tuesday Party @ Nap Time Creations,  Show Me What You Got @ Our Delightful Home,  Hand Made Tuesday @ Ladybug Blessings, Share it Link Party @ Winthrop Chronicles, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop , Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays @ SS&GF

Wednesday Food : What's Cooking Wednesday @ Confessions of Overworked Mom, Cast Party Wednesday @ Lady Behind the Curtain ,  Wednesday Whatsit @White Lights on , Show and Share @ Semi Homemade Mom, Wonderful Food Wednesdays at @ Home Take 2, Seasonal Celebration @ Natural Mother's Network
Thursday Food:Link it Up Thursday @ Seven Alive, Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations, Fantastic Thursday @ Three Little Chiefs, Thriving on Thursdays @ Domesblissity, Freedom Friday @ My Turn, Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage  
Friday Food: Foodie Friday @ Home Maid Simple, Friday Favorite (DYI too) @ Simple Sweet Home, Foodie Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes,  Foodie Friday @ Rattlebridge Farm , Weekend Wonders @ The Thriftiness Miss, Friday Food Frenzy @ Mostly Food and Crafts , Weekend Potluck @ Sunflower Supper Club,  The Weekend re-Treat @The Best Blog  Recipes, Gluten-Free Fridays @ Vegetarian Mamma

Moroccan Orange Couscous

Last Monday we treated ourselves to yet another Orange dish.  Moroccan Orange Couscous. After trying my hands at Spiced Orange Buns, Orange-Scented Lentil Soup and Strawberry cake i felt tempted to sneak in oranges and orange peel in every other dish. but as always i did not feel confident enough to develop a recipe from the scratch. so i consulted my cookbooks and the  Google. and this time google hit the spot.  my search ended at the Moroccan Orange Couscous. Inspired by a meal at the Tangierine Cafe, at the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot - Orlando, Brenda from a farm girl's dabbles had created a recipe that had all the ingredients I wanted and a little more. oranges, couscous, a mix of Indian spices and all in the same dish to create a Mediterranean flavor. Ahaa !! what more could i ask for.  

so i went ahead and cooked it and this is what Mr MN said,  'this is restaurant quality stuff !!'  of course all he meant by that was 'this is very good indeed. you should make it more often.' "oh yes. don't you worry. i will. i loved it too," said i and helped myself to some more of this Moroccan delight.