Grilled Banana Bread with Tahini and Honeycomb from "Plenty More"

I'll admit that I probably did not do this recipe justice. That's doesn't mean it wasn't delicious. It simply means that I was in a hurry and distracted while putting it together. Thus, I had no preparation photos and made a few shortcut substitutions that may have impacted the original creation thought up by Ottolonghi.

I had planned on having a banana bread handy for our weekend guests. I was going to make this *carefully* on Thursday night - well in advance of their Friday evening arrival. However, I was called out of town last minute and my plans were put to a halt. When I arrived back in town on Friday evening, our lovely guests were already here and the bananas were still sitting out, waiting to be made into bread. I dropped my bags and got right into the kitchen to get the bread done before our dinner reservations. The quick timeline led to a few shortcuts but really, it turned out quite well.

Was this the best banana bread I've ever had? No. Can I attribute that to the recipe? Not exactly. 

I found that it wasn't quite banana-y enough but I also don't think my bananas were quite ripe enough despite sitting out for 5 days. I also used gluten-free flour and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. Any or all of these modifications could have dampened the recipe's potential. Still, it was quite good and with the tahini honey butter, it was delightful!

Rice Salad with Nuts and Sour Cherries from "Plenty More"

Prior to purchasing Plenty More, I did a bit of due diligence in reading reviews to make sure that I knew just what I was getting into for my New Year's challenge. Of course, most were raving reviews which is to be expected based on Ottolenghi's previous publications. However, I was warned that many recipes included and intimidating number of ingredients (or type of ingredient) and that several dishes were quite complex. Well, this was one of them.

The general recipe is relatively easy in that you have a bunch of delicious ingredients and mix them all together to create a beautiful combination of flavors and textures. The difficulty comes in the sheer number of ingredients and the preparation of each individual ingredient. So this seemingly "one pot (bow) meal" is actually several pots before you get to the final bowl.

Still - was it worth all of the attention to detail cooking and preparing each individual ingredient??

Absolutely. Could you get away with condensing the recipe a bit (say - use one grain instead of three)? Sure.

Let's talk about these grains.

Uncooked basmati rice

Cooked basmati rice (came out perfectly - follow the recipe!)

Separate preparation of uncooked wild rice

Sweet-and-Sour Leeks with Goat's Curd and Currants from "Plenty More"

Leeks are one of those vegetables that is often misunderstood. Is it a replacement for an onion? Sure it is. Can it stand on it's own? Most definitely. In fact, one of my favorite vegetable side dishes to date is a different leek recipe: Orange Braised Leeks (recipe found here). Leeks, like onions, have this incredible inherent sweetness that is brought to the forefront when cooked thoroughly (it is certainly not as forgiving when eaten raw!) They also have a delicate flavor so they are able to take on the flavors of a braising liquid and can act like a chameleon on your dinner plate - going with whatever flavors you are going for in your meal.

These delicious vegetables are in season from Fall to early Spring so when you are getting tired of kale and winter squash crowding your winter plates, turn to leeks. They have the ability to bring a brightness to a plate that is often difficult to achieve with traditional winter vegetables.

In my attempt to keep my recipe choices from Plenty More seasonal, I was quickly drawn to my latest creation - Sweet-and-Sour Leeks with Goat's Curd and Currants. This decision was partially influenced by the image that adorns the back cover of the book. It is visually beautiful and relatively simple to recreate.

Note: as with many of Ottolenghi's recipes, not all ingredients are readily available in a typical U.S. grocery store (Whole Foods is my go-to). While I was intrigued with "goat's curd" I had a feeling that this would be a bit difficult to come across. It was. Soft goat cheese was the recommended substitution and worked just fine!

I did a half-recipe given that I was cooking for two. I would agree that the full recipe should serve four as a starter or side dish.

Leeks in their braising liquid

Quinoa and Wild Garlic Cakes with Salbitxada Sauce from "Plenty More"

It's no surprise that I am a huge quinoa fan. And not a bandwagon fan - this has been a love that has been forming over several years now - well before the day that I went gluten free. It has this lovely nuttiness and toothsome texture (if cooked correctly) that makes it a great substitution to rice or couscous - or even potatoes. And the funny thing is, though it often takes the place of carbs on a plate, it actually has a good bit of protein - about 6g per 1/4 cup serving. Also, it doesn't have to just be pushed to the side of the dish. It is more than capable of being the star of the plate as we see here with Ottolenghi's masterful recipe (found on page 203 in Plenty More).

The cakes are not purely quinoa and a binder. No no. They are so much more than that as you can see in the image above. Cheese - but not just one kind - two kinds of cheese, onions, spice. And it all comes together to form a harmonious flavor that accentuates the nuttiness and texture of the quinoa itself. 

Honey Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt from "Plenty More"

When I think of vegetable side dishes, I typically turn my thoughts to something green and leafy. For some reason, carrots are largely neglected when it comes to being the "star" of a dish. While I typically always have carrots in my refrigerator, their utility is typically limited to soups, tomato sauces. sautes and juices.

With this recipe, carrots take the leading role and truly shine with a level of sweetness that is perfectly balanced with warm spices, fresh herbs, and rich, cooling yogurt.

Not only is the dish absolutely delicious - it provides so many health benefits as well. Do you remember being told to eat your carrots because they are good for your eyes? That was up there with "an apple a day keeps the doctor away." But really - there's truth in it! Carrots are incredibly rich in beta-carotene - the yellow/orange pigment that gives vegetables and fruits their rich colors. Beta-carotene alone isn't the holy grail when it comes to health - but what your body does with it is incredible. The body converts beta-carotene to Vitamin A (amazing!) which is great for healthy skin, your immune system, and your eyes. It's also an antioxidant and can help prevent cancer, heart and lung disease - among other benefits. AND cooking carrots actually increases the nutritional benefit! So while dipping raw carrots in hummus is a great snack - the best benefits come in dishes such as this where the carrots are cooked - unleashing all of their amazing benefits.

Pair the nutritional benefit of carrots with the anti-inflammatory and blood sugar controlling coriander, the iron filled cumin, and the probiotic packed Greek yogurt and you've got a nutrition powerhouse in a simple-to-prepare dish.

Honey-Roasted Carrots with Tahini Yogurt from "Plenty More"

Carrots:
scant 3 tbsp/60 g honey
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
3 thyme sprigs
12 large carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4 by 2 1/2-inch 2 by 6-cm batons (3 lb/1.3 kg)
1 1/2 tbsp cilantro leaves, coarsley chopped
salt and black pepper

Tahini Yogurt Sauce:
scant 3 tbsp/40 g tahini paste
2/3 cup/130 g Greek yogurt
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt

Preheat the oven to 425 F/220 C.

Place all the ingredients for the tahini sauce in a bowl with a pinch of salt. Whisk together and set aside.

Place honey, oil, coriander and cumin seeds, and thyme in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon salt and a good grind of black pepper.

Red Onion with Walnut Salsa from "Plenty More"

In searching for my second recipe inspiration from "Plenty More" I sought a dish that was both relatively light (Happy New Year waistline), fresh, and didn't require too much effort for a weeknight dinner. We had also just bought some beef from the meat market (Chicago's fabulous Publican Meats) so the dish would ideally pair well with a simple steak. 

Enter page 164's enticing recipe: Red Onion with Walnut Salsa.

Beef and onions pair well together and the greens added the brightness that I was looking for. The walnuts, however, had to go (or so I was told). Derek has an aversion to walnuts and refuses to eat anything knowingly containing the poor nut. He says that he doesn't like the way that walnuts feel in his mouth. He is in good company being a walnut hater - Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods - the man who will literally eat anything (I'm talking rotted shark, blood, worms....) - also will not eat those silly walnuts. To each his own.

So instead, the dish was modified to Red Onion with Walnut Pecan Salsa. Fine with me.

When I think of the word "salsa" something juicy, zesty and maybe a little spicy comes to mind. Here, that's not the case. The pecan "salsa" here is not quite that. Here we are looking at a purely nut-based salsa with little flecks of spice and acidity. I was skeptical nonetheless but WOW was I surprised when I tried a bite. I had never had nuts tastes so vibrant! It was fantastic! 

What made this dish so great was the fact that I could point out the purpose of nearly every ingredient. The components were thoughtfully selected and paired together to create a dish that was simple to prepare but so complex in flavor.

In a nutshell, the cast of characters for this salad are:

• Red Onions: The Star of the Show - the "Meat"
• Arugula: The Fresh and Peppery "Foil" (primary contrast to the Red Onion) 
• Parsley: The Understated Vibrant Mark
• Goat Cheese: The Tang and the Cream
• Walnuts/Pecans: The Crunch (texture) and Supporting Lead
• Red Chile: The Spice (a touch)
• Garlic: The Secret Dimension (adds a subtle depth of flavor)
• Red Wine Vinegar: The Punch (of acid)
• Olive Oil: The Balance (brings it all together)

Add some salt and pepper and you've got a simple dish that is extraordinarily well composed and deceivingly complex (in flavor).

The recipe mentions that pomegranate seeds could add a nice vibrancy and sweet crunch to the salad as well. I wouldn't disagree as it would be quite delicious when you get a burst of pomegranate juice complementing the tangy goat cheese and rich onion. However, the dish certainly doesn't need it so if pomegranates are not in season or too expensive, then you won't be missing out!

One Tip: Weigh your ingredients before use. The smallest onions that they had at the store were nearly double the weight of the "medium" red onions stated in the recipe. Not that you have to follow everything measurement for measurement but, in this case, what I thought were "medium" red onions were certainly not "medium."

Two red onions were nearly the same weight as listed in the recipe

Red Onions with Walnut (or Pecan) Salsa from Plenty More

Serves Four as a starter (or two as a main + protein)

Salad:

4 medium red onions (1 1/3 lb/600 g)

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 cup/20 g arugula (I used a bit more to make it more salad-like)

1/2 cup/15g small flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 oz/60 g soft goat cheese, broken into 3/4-in/2-cm chunks

salt and black pepper

Roasted Banana Pudding

I had never planned on posting about our New Year's "Good Luck" meal but I was so blown away with the flavor of the dessert that I had to share my excitement!

Over the past few years' I have been privileged to attend a true Southern-style New Year's celebration meal with all the fixins': Pork with Sauerkraut, Collard Greens, Black Eyed Peas, Cornbread and Banana Pudding. Deeeeeeelicious.

I never really had looked into why these dishes were celebration staples until this year when I was tasked with keeping the tradition alive. Growing up we never had a New Year's food tradition but I've learned that, like most other holidays, many cultures have traditions surrounding celebrating the new year and with the food centered around "good luck."  So while many people start the year off with dieting, many others around the globe are feasting - all in the name of luck!

The star of the New Year's Celebration menu is the pork. I learned that pork is the preferred meat based on how the animal is built and how it moves. A pig, by nature, first grounds itself with its snout before moving forward. This signifies progress. On the flipside, popular animals such as chickens and turkeys scratch backward before proceeding forward. Progression sounds good to me for a new year outlook - I'm not sure what this means for vegetarians though!

We slow roasted the pork (pork butt) in a mixture of spices, beer, and the next lucky ingredient: sauerkraut!

I'm of German heritage and attribute my love for sauerkraut to that. This concoction of fermented cabbage is not only healthy and delicious, it is also said to make your next year more "sweet" by having the "sour" cabbage. 

Brussels Sprout Risotto from "Plenty More"

With a 333 page cookbook (before the index), choosing a "first" recipe wasn't an easy task. Rather than start at page 1, I intend to skip around and select recipes based on what's in season, what else we are making for dinner, and simply, what I'm in the mood for. I've grown to love risotto (who doesn't?) and have been the designated risotto chef as of late so I figured a new take on a risotto would be a fun but approachable challenge.

Page 76 of Plenty More outlines the recipe for "Brussels Sprout Risotto" followed by three full pages of beautiful accompanying images of the dish throughout the cooking process. The chef, Yotam Ottolenghi, displays these absolutely beautiful brussels sprouts that are unlike what you typically find in a traditional market in the U.S. Rather than the mini green cabbage look-alikes that I typically cook with, the pictured brussels sprouts appear more leafy and have a darker green hue with tones of purple near the stem. If I ever see those in a store, I will pick them up. For this recipe, however, we're dealing with the traditional brussels sprout - still delicious nonetheless.

I would classify the basic taste of this of recipe as zesty with a touch of pungency. Perhaps this is an odd combination when you think of risotto, but it works - and adds a new perspective on a classic dish.

Finished product (1/2 recipe)

As I was cooking for 2, I halved the recipe and we had leftovers with the risotto acting as the side dish. Portions are appropriate as a main. The full recipe is as follows:

BRUSSELS SPROUT RISOTTO (from Plenty More)

2 tbps/30 g unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped (1 1/3 cups/200 g)
2 large cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp thyme leaves
2 lemons, rind shaved in long strips from one, finely grated zest from the other
1 1/2 cups/300 g Arborio or another risotto rice
18 oz/ 500 g trimmed brussels sprouts, 7 oz/200 g shredded and 11 oz/300 g quartered lengthwise
scant 2 cups/200 ml dry white wine
scant 4 cups/900 ml hot vegetable stock
about 1 2/3 cups /400 ml sunflower oil     (I forgot to pick this up so I used unflavored coconut oil)
1 1/2 cups/40 g coarsely grated Parmesan
2 oz/ 60g Dolcelatte, broken into 3/4 chunks    (I used Gorgonzola Dolce - a soft mild blue cheese)
1/3 cup/10 g tarragon leaves, chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
salt and black pepper

Place the butter and olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions and fry for 10 minute, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly caramelized. Add the garlic, thyme and lemon rind strips and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the rice and shredded sprouts and cook for another minute before you start adding the stock, 1 teaspoon salt, and a good grind of pepper. Turn down the heat to medium and carry on adding the stock in ladlefuls, stirring often, until the rice is cooked but still retains a bite and all the stock is used up.

New Year - New Culinary Adventures

Happy New Year!! 

I can't say I know where the past few years have gone. I realized that I had given up on continuing to document my culinary adventures but looking back at the entries in the blog - I can't believe it has been three whole years! This blog was originally created as an internal resource for tracking recipes and was meant to be a collaboration between my boyfriend and I. Quickly I realized that collaboration was a bit too much to ask and I was tasked with documenting nearly all of our meals - sometimes not fully knowing what Derek may have done to tweak a recipe if he was wearing the chef's hat for the night. When this became a chore rather than a fun activity, I gave up.

In the past three years, we have continued to explore new cuisines and truly grow in our culinary journey. Sadly, these creations are largely forgotten as the is no record of what we made or how we made it. Just as a photo album preserves life's memories, I find that a simple food blog helps to preserve "food memories." For any budding "foodie" - this preservation is actually meaningful!

So here we are, entering 2015 with a renewed focus and countless culinary adventures ahead. I'll go at this solo this time around seek to drive my own foodie journey. I won't be tracking every single meal - that's too exhausting. Instead, I have purchased a fabulous new cookbook which I intend on using as inspiration throughout the year.  The book is "Plenty More" by Yotam Ottolenghi.

Plenty More on Amazon

It's an all vegetarian cookbook which I find leads to some truly interesting perspectives on how to use simple ingredients and make them the star of the plate. My goal is to try every recipe - though I won't put a timeline on that endeavor. I'm not a vegetarian, so many recipes will be considered a "side." My boyfriend would be unenthusiastic about adhering to a veggie-focused diet. I have also eliminated gluten from my diet so some recipes will be modified accordingly. Otherwise, I'll do my best to follow Mr. Ottolenghi's instructions and see what new creations can be brought to life.

Cheers to a renewed goal and continued love of new flavors and techniques!

~Katie