My introduction to Harissa was with the super spicy version that’s served in falafel and shawarma restaurants like the famous Falafel in Central Square Cambridge. That version is pretty intense, and will really kick you in the ass if you’re not careful. This version is a bit milder, with more of a slow heat the builds over the course of your meal that you use it in. Some applications that have really worked have been mixing it in with mashed potatoes, putting some on scrambled eggs and even on pizza. My version uses sun dried tomatoes for the base of the sauce, instead of peppers, as was inspired by Ana Sourtun’s cookbook Spice.

We also benefit from a fantastic spice store here in Inman Square Cambridge called Christina’s (they also do ice cream…great combination, I know).  This place is really a dream for any culinarily minded people who can’t find certain more exotic spices elsewhere.  I recommend the smoked paprika, urfa chilies and aleppo as well – all really great spices that you’ll struggle to find elsewhere.  The urfa chilies are used in this recipe, and I recommend you get some (they’re fantastic!!).  If you can’t find them around your area, order them here.  Here’s the recipe that I’ve been using:

• 1 Cup Urfa chilies – try to use them, they’re great! But you can use another pepper of your choice as well.
• 3 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
• 5-6 sun dried tomatoes – poached in some boiling water until tender
• 1 cup water
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp. spice combination (listed below)

Spice combination – add these prepped spices into your mortar and pestle:

• 1 tsp. cumin seeds – toasted
• A few saffron threads
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 1/4 cup smoked paprika
• A few turns of your black pepper mill
• 1 tsp. dried ginger
• 1 tsp. mustard powder
• 1 Tbsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• Pinch of sugar

Prepare the spices and crush them to combine in your mortar and pestle.  Once you have this done, make sure you have your sun dried tomatoes prepped, then literally combine all of the ingredients into your food processor. Combine until smooth, then adjust the seasonings as desired.

Use your harissa on eggs, potatoes, pizza, in soup, etc…it’s great stuff with almost anything!  Enjoy -

A good olive tapenade recipe is great ammunition to have in your culinary cannon, especially during the holidays.  Not only is tapenade a crowd-pleaser, it looks great and is super easy to make, especially if you have a food processor.  It is also easy to make ahead of time as it will keep in the fridge for up to a week, but it will impress your friends when you tell them it is homemade.   It also makes a great sauce for chicken, pork, or fish!  One of my favorite sandwiches pairs tapenade with tuna salad on a crusty baguette.  Perfecto!

This recipe is easy and only has a handful of ingredients, but the flavor was awesome!  It is so much better when you make it yourself, I promise.  Olives and capers are pretty standard ingredients, but the remaining ingredients all play a critical role.  The fresh garlic gives it a nice zing (make sure your prospective make out buddy has some too!), and the anchovies add a nice nuttiness without tasting fishy.  The lemon and fresh herbs add freshness and acidity to cut the saltiness.  Just right!

This year, I put together a few extra batches and jarred them up as gifts.  The leftovers are going with me to my sister-in-law’s house as a contribution to our Christmas Eve meal.  And there is a huge financial incentive to making this yourself:  the last time I checked at the grocery store, a small container of tapenade was $5.99.  Yikes!  I need to get into that business!  For that amount  you could make three full jars on your own!  The recipe below makes about two cups.

Ingredients

• 1 cup pitted kalamata olives
• 1 cup pitted green olives
• 1/4 cup of capers
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
• 1/4 cup of roughly chopped parley

• 1 teaspoon of chopped thyme
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest
• 3-4 anchovy fillets
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of sugar
• Crushed red pepper to taste (I used 1/2 teaspoon)

Double check to make sure the olives are pitted; they could seriously damage your blade.  Put all of the ingredients above in a food processor (I guess you could use a blender, too!).   Pulse the ingredients until they are still chunky but well incorporated.  Serve with sliced fresh baguette or crackers. You’re all done!

This apple chutney recipe is perfect for pork chops or on top of a pork sandwich.  This was one of those recipes that sort of came together at the last minute when cooking a pork roast for a big group of family and turned out really well.  It’s also a great way to incorporate apples into a savory dinner (it’s a good way to use that basket of apples you bought at the store or farm that are rotting on your counter).

I’ve never really cooked chutney before, but was inspired to do so after sampling some of Vermont Harvest’s great jams and chutneys at this years Expo East show in Boston.  Check them out!  Cooking chutney involves making a vinegar based sauce that includes cider vinegar and sugar, and then adding big flavors, including A LOT of fresh garlic and fresh ginger.  After steeping these guys for a while, you add in the apples and some other spices and cook them down for a while.  In fact the lower and slower you cook the chutney the better (I rushed it for the sake of time, and though it turned out ok, I had to blast the heat to cook off the rest of the vinegar…).

The result should be both sweet and savory and really tasty.  The base of this recipe comes from Bon Appetit magazine, with a few choice TFD modifications – I think we have a winner here in the ‘autumn condiment recipe’ category.  Enjoy!

• 1.5 cups apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 6 cloves of fresh garlic – chopped (minced if no food processor available)
• 1.5 Tbsp. fresh ginger – peeled and rough chop
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. brown mustard seeds
• Around 8-10 apples – granny smith or another variety of more tart apple (really any will work besides red delicious) – Peeled, Cored and Chopped into 1″ cubes
• 1 cup raisins (golden preferred)
• 1 Tbsp. red pepper flakes (optional)
• Salt to taste (doesn’t need much)

Start with the vinegar and sugars in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot.  Bring the vinegar up to a boil so that the sugar dissolves (should take around 10 minutes or so).  Stirring will help.

Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, combine the apples and the lemon juice so all of the apples get some love from the lemon.  If you need to add some more lemon juice, go for it.  You should then place the garlic and ginger in a food processor with a big pinch of salt and pulse to combine until they’re relatively small.

Next, add the chopped garlic and ginger to the vinegar mixture and mix to combine, letting them steep in the vinegar for a few minutes.  Add the apples to the pot, stir to combine them with the vinegar.  Finally, add the raisins, red pepper, mustard seeds and a little more salt (just a pinch).  Turn the heat up to high to bring the vinegar mixture back up to a boil, then lower the heat to low/medium, cover the pot (leaving a small opening) and let the mixture cook down for around 45 minutes or until most of the liquid has cooked off.  Remember, it’s very important to stir the mixture on an intermittent basis.  Taste the chutney and adjust the seasonings as needed.  Enjoy!

I’ve always lived in a do-it-yourself household and prefer to cook most meals for the convenience factor (and, as my husband would point out, because I’m picky about where my food comes from, I try to deny this because I don’t want to seem like a snob but have to admit that the more I study our food system, the pickier I get).

With sustainability always on our minds in the workplace, we naturally stop to think, criticize and evaluate purchases and lifestyle choices that we make at home on a regular basis too. In the food arena, we are making efforts to reduce our carbon footprints by buying locally grown produce, beer and wine; buying bulk and fresh, unprocessed foods to reduce our landfill contribution; bringing our own bags to reduce plastic bag use at the store/ farmers market; and riding our bikes instead of driving. We are also pretty serious about supporting sustainably produced or harvested foods such as fish, meat and dairy- we know that these may or may not have added health benefits over conventionally grown foods, but they are generally more responsible in terms of resource use, pollution, chemical use, animal husbandry and overall respect for the community. As conscious consumers, these are values we like to support.

As eaters, we try to appreciate our food. Michael Pollan stated in his op-ed Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch in NYT Magazine that cooking is a defining human activity and we couldn’t agree more. We grow some of our own food and cook as much as we can. We sit down when we eat, we plan ahead so as not to waste food, and we enjoy sharing meals with good company whenever we have the chance. We are not perfect though. We could always do more- grow more, share more, eat more sustainable fish, eat less packaged breakfast cereal, etc. etc. The facts that 1) obesity rates are inversely correlated with the amount of time spent on food preparation; and b) the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation means that probably a lot of people could be doing a little more.

We also happen to like adventure in my household, so we have decided to spend one afternoon/ evening a week making a dish completely from scratch. The first meal was homemade falafel sandwiches, which in 4 main steps turned out quite laborious, but delicious nonetheless.

This chewy, tangy, spicy, starchy, heart-warming falafel sandwich was perfect for the misty fresh Sunday evening air here in Monterey. We hope you enjoy it.  You can cut down on time by buying tahini and hummus at the store (or making it ahead of time).

Step 1: Tahini

• 2 cups sesame seeds
• 1/3 – 1/2 cup olive oil
  

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the sesame seeds evenly out on a baking sheet or a thin baking pan.

Place in the oven and open the oven and stir the seeds around every few minutes until they are golden brown, being careful not to let them burn.

Take the pan out of the oven and let the sesame seeds cool for a little while. Next, use a high powered blender or food processor to grind up the sesame seeds. Put all the seeds in the blender/ food processor with 1 tbsp oil and blend on high, adding the remaining oil slowly until the sesame seeds are blended on a thick, smooth paste. Do not add too much oil or it will be too runny.

Tahini can be kept in a jar or even frozen in small amounts for a few weeks.

Step 2: Hummus

I have to admit, the Joy of Cooking’s hummus recipe that we tried was fun to make and definitely edible but did not turn out anywhere close to the best hummus ever, Sabra with the red lid.  We are inspired to try another recipe. Maybe from The Hummus Blog. Adrian also did a roasted garlic hummus recipe on this blog that you can check out here.

Step 3: Falafels

• 2 cups dried chickpeas
• 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoons ground coriander

• 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoons ground red pepper – we used mortar and pestle
• 1/4 – 1 cup canola oil
• 1 cucumber
• 2 medium tomatoes
• 4-6 pitas or tortillas

Rinse and soak the chickpeas for at 12 hours (they can be soaked in a bowl of water in the refrigerator). Put them in a food processor with the garlic, onion, lemon juice, parsley and spices. Blend to a rough moist texture. Add a little water if needed.

Let the mixture rest for about an hour. Chop the tomatoes and cucumber into bite size pieces and place in a bowl. Set out paper towels or pieces of paper bags on a surface. Place the pitas into a toaster or oven at about 200 degrees to warm.

Pour enough oil into the pan so that it is 1/4 inch deep. Heat it to medium-high.

Transfer to a mixing bowl and stir the baking soda into the mixture. Form uniformly shaped and sized balls and fry them when the oil is hot until they turn brownish, then flip. Transfer the falafels when they are golden brown on both sides onto the paper.

Step 4: Put it all together

Spread hummus into the warm pitas. Add generous amounts of tomatoes, cucumbers and falafel to your liking.

Falafels can be frozen and defrosted for quick dinners or a salad topping in the future. Enjoy!

Some of my other favorite pea interpretations are the wasabi pea and when they’re in my fried rice.  Both of those are Asian interpretations, so I’ve set out to try a western European approach.  This recipe was adapted from Jamie Oliver, who’s cooking I really enjoy. For me, one of the best and most welcoming signs of the growing season is when the peas come to the farmer’s market. It’s then that I know the tomatoes aren’t far away and summer is just about upon us in New England.

This recipe is simple to make and will impress any guest as an appetizer or a side to a main event – probably because it’s fairly elegant once it’s topped with the mozzarella and balsamic.  It’s a classic British/Italian fusion dish that are oh so common.  Here’s how it went:

• Around 1 lb of peas (weighed in their shells) – this should be about 50 pods give or take…
• 1 small handful of fresh basil – finely chopped
• 5-6 medium leaves of fresh oregano – finely chopped
• Around 12 mint leaves – finely chopped
• Juice from 1/2 a lemon
• Zest from 1/4-1/3 a lemon
• Around 1/3 cup of Parmesan – Finely grated (use a Microplane if you have one)
• 1-2 medium balls of fresh mozzarella
• 1 medium sourdough baguette
• 2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar – Aged (the good stuff) if you have it (get it here)
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Start by shelling the peas into a medium bowl.  Once you have them all removed from their pods, start mashing them up either in a mortar and pestle or in a food processor (I did a combination of the two).  Once you have all of the peas good and mashed up, add in the herbs (or combine them in the food processor (**Side note: if you’re using a food processor to do this, make sure you try to minimize the amount of cycles you give it!  The coarser the pea mixture, the better).

Add in the olive oil next and mix it together.  Your mixture should be somewhere around the consistency of a coarse paste.  If it needs some more moisture, add in a bit more oil.  Next add in the lemon juice and Parmesan cheese – this will really tie the mixture together.  Stir it all together and you’re ready to go.

To make a dish out of it, I sliced up my sour baguette on the diagonal and toasted it in my toaster – giving it a little color but still leaving it soft in the center.  Once the toasts are ready, take a clove of raw garlic and rub it a few times over the surface of the toasted bread.  I then took the pea mixture and spread it over the bread (the side that I rubbed with the garlic).  Then take a thin piece of Mozzarella and place it over the top, add a little salt and drizzle some of the balsamic vinegar over all of them at the end to really tie things up nice.  Serve as an app and any dinner or party and you’ll make quick friends!  Enjoy -

Back in college was when I first started making my own hummus – you know, the totally simple, cheapo college food that was way better for you than pizza or mac and cheese when coming home at 2am on a Saturday.  What I quickly learned, and to my surprise, was that the best hummus contains absolutely 0 oil.  The creamy texture that I love is a direct byproduct of the quality of your tahini (I recommend splurging if you have the means).  I also discovered that the stuff doesn’t always have to be a chip or vegetable topper, but it’s awesome on top of fish and pork too (some middle eastern restaurants serve it wrapped inside cured pork – damn good.

Another attribute that I like about hummus is that is perhaps the oldest known prepared food that’s still regularly consumed by the modern population.  There is evidence of hummus being consumed all the way back to the 12th century by Egyptian sultans. 

Holding even more antiquity is the main player in traditional hummus – the chick pea.  It is widely believed that these little buggers were cultivated on the fertile plain by the civilizations of Mesopotamia and in Palestine, way BC.  Chick peas were served as a side dish in ancient Rome and have come all that way to still be one of the most consumed foods around the world today.

I’ve always loved hummus.  In fact, I think most of my friends and acquaintances do too.  There’s something about the accessible, ultimate snackability of the stuff, which with the health benefits that it offers is attractive to most.  It’s smooth, creamy and sometimes spicy, as I found it’s best made (if you like a little spice).  Here’s how I make mine:

• 2 cans cooked chickpeas – drained but reserve the liquid!
• 1/2 cup sesame tahini
• 1 head garlic (roasted…see below) – or 1-2 cloves of raw
• Juice of 1 1/2 lemons
• 2-3 scallions
• 1 tsp. cumin (best if ground from toasted seeds)
• 1-2-3 Tbsp. Sriracha (depending on your taste for heat)
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 2-3 Tbsp. chick pea liquid
• Salt to taste (around 2 tsp.)
• Extra virgin olive oil – for finishing

Start in advance by roasting the garlic: preheat your oven to 400 F.  Cut the top of the garlic head off with a knife, exposing the cloves inside.  Tear off a piece of aluminum foil, around 1 square foot.  Place the garlic head in the middle, top with a little olive oil and a touch of salt and wrap the foil around the garlic, closing it up at the top (forming a little chimney).  Cook the garlic in the oven for around an hour, or until the garlic itself turns soft and browns a little.

Making the rest of the hummus is a breeze – simply place all of the rest of the ingredients in a food processor with a metal blade and puree until very smooth – this may take up to 5-10 minutes.  If you want a coarser hummus, then stop when the mixture is still a little chunky.  Adjust for seasoning (add a little more water if it’s too think or not getting totally smooth).  Top with a little olive oil, some paprika perhaps and serve.

Here’s some more hummus ideas to get you going:

• TriniGourmet
• Miss V’s Vegan Cookbook
• MFH