Grilled Eggplant and Mango Noodle Salad with a Sweet Chili Dressing

It looks as though the heatwave here has finally passed.  Last weekend it was over 100 in my part of town, when it's barely topped 85 all summer.   The desire to cook and to eat both take a hit when it's so hot, but this salad from taste space looked so interesting, refreshing, delicious, and just pretty, I knew I had to try it.  But my neighborhood supermarket, although it has phenomenal produce, bulk goods, and strange imported pickled things, is not the best place to buy tofu.  Nor have they had asparagus for months.  By substituting chickpeas for tofu (inspired by yet another asparagus-fruit recipe), green beans for asparagus, and regular noodles for spiralized zucchini, we were able to make this awesome salad without making a more involved grocery run.

I chose to make this noodle salad and a chilled carrot soup because they were cold and refreshing.  I didn't think about how much heat I'd have to use to create said refreshingness!  Although in the original version Janet grilled the veggies outside, I don't have that option, and roasting in the oven really heated up my apartment.

The finished product, though, was delicious: chewy, salty eggplant and green beans; buttery tangy mango; crisp onions; aromatic basil and cilantro; and zingy vinegar and chili.  The overall product was ever so slightly too vinegary for my tastes, but I also didn't use quite enough noodles.  Anyway, I will definitely make a salad like this again--it would be easy to improvise some fun variations.

Grilled Eggplant and Mango Noodle Salad with a Sweet Chili Dressing

(adapted from taste space)

Instructions

1/6-1/4 c rice vinegar

1 TB agave or honey (omitted, partly because I had pre-seasoned rice vinegar)

1/4 tsp salt (omitted, partly because I had pre-seasoned rice vinegar)

1 clove garlic, pressed or minced

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil

zest and juice from 1 lime

1 1/2 c chickpeas

1 TB soy sauce

1 TB toasted sesame oil

3/4 lb Asian eggplant (around 2), sliced lengthwise into 1.5-cm strips

3/4 lb green beans, trimmed

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced or diced, soaked in water for at least 10 minutes, then drained

1 large or 2 small mangoes, cubed

large bunch basil, chopped

small bunch cilantro, chopped

8 oz soba noodles, cooked

Instructions

1. Combine the rice vinegar, agave, salt, garlic, chili flakes, toasted sesame oil, lime zest and juice. Stir and set aside.
2. Marinate your chickpeas with the soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for 5 minutes or so.
3. If you had big eggplants, definitely salt your eggplant for 30 minutes or so. The smaller Asian ones don’t need it. If salting, after salting, rinse off the salt and drain off excess water. Drizzle with a bit of oil and spread out on an oiled baking sheet.  Toss the green beans with a bit of oil, salt and pepper and spread them out on a second baking sheet.
4. Roast both the eggplant and the green beans in the oven at 375.  For me the eggplant took longer: about 30 minutes, flipping midway, and broiling at the very end.  Remove the eggplant when soft and slightly golden; remove the beans when bright green and starting to blister.  Chop the eggplant into chunks when slightly cooled.
5. To assemble the salad, toss together the noodles, chickpeas, grilled eggplant and green beans, onion, mango, basil, cilantro and the dressing.  Serves 4-6.

Pistachios and Pomolasses, several ways

In this post:

• Apricot Sesame Kale REMIX with Pomegranate Molasses and Toasted Pistachios
• Cumin-Pomolasses Dressing
• **Carrots and Green Beans with Caraway, Harissa, and Pistachios**!!!
• Harissa itself 
• shameless photos of ice cream and cute animals

I finally bought some commercial pomegranate molasses, and it has way more kick than the stuff I made from scratch.  Sweet, but in an achingly tangy way, it's kind of like what a starburst candy should taste like.  A little bit adds exciting dimensions to recipes (without making them taste like candy at all).

For example, I did the Apricot Sesame Kale again, but added some pomolasses with the tamari near the end.  And, inspired by this recipe for vegetables with pistachios--about which, more soon--I also sprinkled it with pistachios.

Apricot Sesame Kale with Pomegranate Molasses and Toasted Pistachios

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Pomegranate molasses also plays a totally bomb part in the salad dressing below--but its deliciousness doesn't exactly translate into a photo.  The combination of light citrus and coriander, fragrant olive oil, cumin, and cinnamon, with intensely sweet pomegranate, keeps your palate dancing!  I put this on a green salad, but the blogger I borrowed this from used it on couscous... I think you could use it in almost any kind of salad.

Cumin-Pomolasses Dressing

(from The Blooming Platter of Vegan Recipes)

Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon champagne vinegar (I used red wine vinegar)
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses
juice of one lime
juice and zest of one-half of an orange
1 clove garlic, minced (I used the equivalent in garlic powder)
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

*

But here's the real star of the day:

Carrots and beans--quintessential summer garden bounty.  [my mom and her friend Michele have a great vegetable garden, some of the spoils of which they photographed--

--anyway...]

But fresh carrots and green beans in August taste so good plain, why adulterate them?  Well, because this recipe is phenomenal.  Everything--the textures, the flavors--is exciting without being flashy.  The carrots and beans are just barely cooked in boiling water, then stir-fried in oil with garlic and a spice mixture (harissa).  I got lucky with the cooking times and temps, and the result was tender, but not limp, vegetables that had a slightly crispy, blistered, caramelized outer skin.  And, the caraway seeds and the pistachios crunch. !

When you first take a bite, the flavors seem pretty savory and heavy--there's sweet carrots, and quite a bit of garlic and cumin.  But then the chili kicks you a little bit, while the caraway gently pulls you somewhere else.  And then, a bit of lemon actually "finishes" it: you're left feeling as if the whole taste experience was light and clean.

The only sad thing about this dish (for solo cooks, anyway) is that it tastes better freshly made and slightly warm.  I followed the recipe pretty much to the letter, but I used slightly more veggies and more pistachios and harissa (the recipe for which follows).

Carrots and Green Beans with Caraway, Harissa, and Pistachios

(from ecurry)

Ingredients

2 cups carrots, quartered and cut into bite-sized lengths
1 cup green beans, trimmed and cut into bite-sized lengths
a good splash of olive oil
2-3 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
2 tsp harissa, or perhaps less (recipe follows)
1/4 tsp caraway seeds
1.5 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
sea salt to taste (optional--after the salted water, the salt in the harissa, and the salt on the pistachios, I didn't need any more)
1/4 cup toasted pistachios, chopped if you like

Instructions

1. Cook the carrots and the beans in salted water (just enough water to cover the vegetables) until just barely cooked--enough to remove the raw taste; they should still be crunchy.  Drain the veggies and ice them somehow to stop the cooking (at right)!
2. In a large skillet heat the olive oil and caraway seeds over medium high heat (yes, olive oil will splatter, but I think it might be worth it here).  Cover with a loose-fitting lid if needed.  Cook several minutes, then stir in the garlic and harissa.  Continue to cook several more minutes.
3. Add the drained vegetables (remove ice, obviously), and stir fry at medium heat for about 4-6 minutes.
4. Turn off heat.  Add salt if desired.  Stir in the lemon juice, and sprinkle the pistachios.  Serve warm as an appetizer, salad or a side dish.  Serves about 4.

*

A big part of the magic of the above vegetable recipe is due to harissa.  I've never actually made harissa before today, and it looks like the ingredients can vary quite a bit.  Lemon? Coriander? Fresh mint? Cinnamon? Rosemary? Cilantro?  Oh, the possibilities!  But it looks like the basics are cumin, oil, probably garlic and caraway, and tons of chilies.

I think this stuff is really fun.  It seems familiar to my palate, but just different enough (especially with the caraway and fresh mint in this recipe): Is it a pistou? A chili paste? Mouhammarah?

I think I followed the original recipe from ecurry pretty closely, except 1) I toasted and ground the spices, and 2) the thought of doing anything with 3/4 c garlic just made me nervous.  I probably used about 1/4 c and it was still pretty garlicky... And it's just bulked out enough with tomato paste and oil (and some chili-soaking water, too) that you can use it as a chili paste in cooking or as a condiment.  I think it would taste pretty amazing baked into some pita/pizza-type dough, for example.

Added Nov. 2010: Some uses for harissa:

• Carrots and Green Beans with Caraway, Harissa, and Pistachios
• Kale with Harissa
• Harissa Pasta and Kale with Olives, Pine Nuts, and Lemon
• Miso Harissa Squash and Kale (this wasn't very good)
• Roasted Cauliflower with Pistachios, Harissa, and Thyme
• Moroccan Raw Carrot Salad

Harissa

(adapted from ecurry)

Ingredients

3/4 cup dried red chile peppers, of which some should be chipotle
4 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 cup minced garlic (about 10 cloves)
pinch sea salt
1/4 c chopped fresh mint leaves
2 TB tomato paste
2 TB olive oil
Optional: Cinnamon, Rosemary, Fresh Coriander/Cilantro...

Instructions

1. Remove the stems from the chilli peppers; chop coarsely and soak in hot water for 15-20 minutes, then drain, reserving some water.
2. Toast the caraway, coriander, and cumin.  When cooled enough, grind them.
3. Place all the ingredients in a small food processor (or mortar and pestle) and process until smooth but not absolutely pureed.  Add reserved chili-soaking water as needed for an even blend.  Store leftover harissa in a jar with a layer of oil on top. Makes about 1/2 c.

*

And still more pistachios!!  After having the carrots and green beans with pistachios for lunch, I strolled over to Scoops, the ice cream shop in LA that I won't live more than a mile away from.  They make about sixteen different flavors every day, from pretty standard to pretty crazy (they had pistachio-hefeweizen today, too).  It's about 2/3 dairy gelato, and 1/3 soy, with a sorbet or two thrown in.  Now, I don't bother with the storebought soy ice cream because it's just not good enough, but this stuff is fantastic, due in part to the slightly higher gelatoish temperature they keep the ice creams at--I bet you actually can't tell the difference between the dairy and soy ice creams here.

Sorry for posting this.  I'm guessing that if you live in LA and you're reading this, you probably already go here all the time, and if you're not in LA, you're wishing you were.  :)

Strawberry-Rhubarb and Pistachio (vegan) Ice Cream from Scoops

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So many animals in my life this summer!  None of these animals are mine, but they all came from the mean streets of LA.  The kitty and the flower-smelling doggie both have amazing loving homes, but I believe the laughing dog on the right is still up for adoption--her name is Bunny, if you're interested.

Guacamole Beans?!

Edit: I don't think I adequately stressed how good this is, at least at this time of year.  With really fresh vegetables, this was probably the best thing I ate in weeks.  It also kept for four days or so, thanks to the lime juice.

This is another simple salad that showcased the inherent goodness of the vegetables in it.  The mixture of textures is unbeatable!  Also, if you've ever wished you could just eat guacamole with a fork...

Green Bean Guacamole Salad

Ingredients

1 lb green beans, trimmed

20 grape or cherry tomatoes, halved

2 avocadoes, large dice

cilantro, minced, to taste

garlic powder, to taste

juice of 1/2 to 1 lime, to taste

salt, to taste

cayenne, to taste

olive oil (not too much)

Instructions

1. Briefly steam beans and then place in cold water to stop cooking.
2. Combine ingredients.  Serve chilled.  Serves about 4.

Two Experiments in Fruit Salad

Strawberries are in season at the farmers market!  What always strikes me is how each one of these wound-dark berries tastes slightly different from the others--there's not the same homogenization of flavor that you get with supermarket strawberries.





I worried that this recipe was making things more complicated than they should be, but it ended up just bringing out the natural wonders of the berries.

Strawberry Basil Salad

Ingredients

strawberries, sliced

basil, chopped

lemon juice

sea salt

*

And now for a similar, but even more unusual salad, that my professor Helen passed on to me.  I had to wait until my Cashew Cheese was finally ready, but it was worth the wait: with its sour, nutty, and salty aspects, this stuff turned out to be a fantastic component in the salad, which originally called for feta.  I thought that tomato and watermelon might be too similar to pair together, but when you place them side by side, you taste what's different between them.  This salad was really lovely.

Watermelon Tomato Salad with Basil and Cashew Cheese

(from thefoodsection.com)

Ingredients

3/4 pound seedless watermelon, rind removed
3/4 pound heirloom tomatoes (about two large tomatoes)
3 ounces cashew cheese
8 leaves basil
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
sea salt, to taste

Apricot Salad with Fresh Basil and Cashews

Today was the day of the cashew!  Good thing Trader Joe's sells raw ones for like $5 a pound.

By the way... do you know how cashews grow?  I got to see them when traveling in the Gambia--each fruit, sort of like a pear, bears only one cashew. 

My friend Julia just came back from a brief stay in San Francisco with a friend who fed her a salad of peaches, basil, and cheese.  So I made a similar one, just one that didn't have peaches or cheese.  These apricots were so soft and pretty; it was such a disappointment to cut them open and find the texture to be less than amazing.  Nevertheless, the combo of stone fruit, basil, lemon, and salt is very lovely and refreshing!  I put a lot of salt and lemon juice on it--the salt only accentuates the sweetness.  And it should be served very cold.

Apricot Salad with Fresh Basil and Cashews

Ingredients

5-6 apricots, sliced

10 leaves basil, chopped into thin strips

lemon juice

salt

10 cashews, dry roasted and chopped

Grain Salads

Rage, rage, against the dying of the summer... but I guess grain salads are always in season in Southern California.

I have the good fortune of living next door to the best supermarket in the world, where fresh herbs are $0.20-$0.50 per big bunch, avocadoes are currently 4 for a dollar, and you can buy a kilo of really good kalamata olives for $9.99. Jons also sells big bags of grains for amazing prices. Wheat berries and bulghur abound! Since moving to my neighborhood, with its large Middle Eastern and eastern European populations, I’ve learned that bulghur comes in grades like sandpaper, from #1 (very fine) to #4 (very coarse). #3’s the best, I think.

So what to do with all these olives, fresh herbs, and grains?

Mediterranean Wheat Berry Salad

(adapted from The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics)

2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon mustard

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar

1 tablespoon minced white part of green onion
1/4 cup olive oil
2 teaspoons dried and crumbled oregano

4.5 cups water
2 cups wheat berries
2 bay leaves
tamari

1/3 cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives
1/3 cup drained capers (optional, can substitute more olives)
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts*
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions

* The pine nuts are really optional. When the recipe is made with wheat berries rather than barley, there's so much more texture already that the pine nuts don't add very much.

1. To make the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, pinch sea salt, vinegars, onion and olive oil in a medium bowl and set aside.
2. To prepare the salad, bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the wheat berries with the tamari and bay leaves. Simmer until the berries are tender and all of the water is absorbed, 45 minutes to 1 hour total cooking time. Remove from heat and cool. Remove bay leaves.
3. Place the wheat berries in a large bowl, and stir in the dressing and oregano. Cover and chill for about 2 hours or until ready to serve. Before serving, gently stir in the olives, capers, and green onions. Garnish with pine nuts.

Another tabouleh recipe? It seems to me like all tabouleh recipes are very similar and yet the differences between them are rather important. The way I like to make it is heavier on the greens than the grains, and heavier on lemon than on garlic or onion. I think these aspects make it more refreshing.

Tabouleh

1 c bulghur

1 bunch scallions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

½ to 1 c chopped tomatoes

1 c chopped mint leaves

1 c chopped parsley leaves

salt to taste

pepper to taste

juice of 2-3 lemons

Instructions: Prepare bulghur according to instructions (usually add two parts water to one part bulghur and let sit). Chop all the other ingredients while bulghur is "cooking." Toss together, add salt, pepper, and lemon to taste. Let sit for several hours before eating.