dinner Archives - domenica dreams of calamari

April 6, 2015April 6, 2015

Cabbage-Beet Tahini Slaw

This is my bastardized version of Mission Chinese Food’s beautiful cabbage salad. But hey, sometimes when you’re a college student on a budget you have to pick and choose which exotic pantry items you can afford and which are just going to have to wait. I used peanuts for a crunchy element, although I would love to try it with some sort of grain. I also cut out quite a few ingredients that I couldn’t find at the local market but still thought it came out pretty good.

note: This makes a BIG salad. I wanted to use the whole cabbage in one go so I upped the dressing, the good news is it makes for great leftovers. On the other hand you can always use half a cabbage and dial down the dressing measurements.

1 head red cabbage
1 large yellow beet
1/2 cup peanuts
1/2 tbsp sesame seeds
4 tbsp tahini (you’ll definitely want a runnier tahini for this, the Whole Foods 365 one is my best friend)
2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 clove garlic
8 anchovy fillets (preferable ones packed in olive oil)
juice of one lemon
2 sheets nori (like the big sushi ones)

slice cabbage and beets (I did matchstick cuts-see photo) and mince garlic
in a bowl or jar add tahini, lemon juice, minced garlic, tamari (or soy sauce) and rice vinegar and shake well
slice the anchovy fillets as finely as possible then add them to the dressing and continue shaking until combined
heat a non stick skillet over medium high heat then add the sesame seeds, make sure to keep an eye on them and continue tossing them
once they start to smell nice and turn a little brown remove them from the pan
in the same pan add the peanuts and do the same thing
rip the nori into little pieces and add it to your big bowl of cabbage and beets, add the nuts and seeds as well then pour dressing over
mix thoroughly with tongs or your hands

October 14, 2014November 2, 2014

Sautéed Rainbow Chard

1 bunch rainbow chard
2 garlic cloves (minced)
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup slivered almonds
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

heat olive oil and garlic in a large pan until garlic turns opaque
slice rainbow chard
add to the pan and pour chicken broth over
at medium low heat, let cook down to a bit, until chard starts turning dark
add slivered almonds and raisins, add a little water if it’s wilting too fast

September 10, 2014September 17, 2014

Brussels, Edamame and Tahini Salad

Sometimes when I don’t feel like going out or going grocery shipping, I pretend I’m on Chopped and turn it into a cooking challenge to figure out a meal using what’s on hand. It’s quite a skill to have, if I may say so myself.

One night my mom and I came home with no specific dinner plan but some pretty great things came out of it. We had some trusty brussels sprouts on hand. Knowing you have a stash of brussels at home is always reassuring because they’re versatile and they last a long time. You can roast them, sauté them or slice them up raw for a substantial salad, which is what I decided to do on said night.

Recipe:

1 lb brussels cleaned and thinly sliced
2 cups frozen edamame
3 shallots
1/3 cup golden raisins/golden berries/dates/dried apricots
1 tbsp yellow miso *note
1/3 cup pistachios
2 tbsp tahini **
generous splash tamari (soy sauce is ok too)
a few generous squirts sriracha
couple of tsps black and/or white sesame seeds

heat a small pat of butter in a nonstick pan and caramelize shallots
clean and slice brussels, leaving out bitter, white cores
cook edamames
soak your dried fruit of choice in hot water to plump them up, drain and add to sliced brussels along with the edamames
heat miso in the pan used for caramelization, add pistachios, don’t worry if it’s gooey, it will be fine once it joins the other ingredients *
add the miso/pistachios, tahini **, tamari, sriracha and sesame seeds, toss

* you can skip the miso pistachio step and just use slivered almonds or plain pistachios if you’re not feelin it

**my favorite tahini (especially for this recipe) is the whole foods brand because it’s more viscous than your average thick, sticky tahini. it’s also usually the cheapest

We’ve remade this salad a few times and switched up the nuts and dried fruits depending on what’s available and/or on what sounds appealing to the chefs at the moment.

Speaking of tahini and this salad, this is one of the things we showed our neighbor how to make in an impromptu “what makes good leftovers” cooking class at her house. We also made this tempeh-tahini bake creation that is one of my all time favorite comfort food dinners. We actually adapted the recipe from a lamb dish in “Jerusalem” by Ottolenghi and Tamimi. I will have to remake it to figure out proportions and measurements. I’ve never paid much attention because I am too focused on eating it. RECIPE COMING SOON