Tabouli is one of those dishes that always seemed (at least to us) a little mysterious and intimidating, as though it involved complicated preparation and exotic ingredients. Not sure why — maybe the unfamiliar name/spelling? (“Tabouli” may not be the technically correct spelling of this dish — I picked the spelling from the recipe we adapted. I’ve also seen it spelled “taboule,” “tabbouleh,” and “tabouleh.” Whatever — you don’t spell it, son, you eat it!) But we were pleasantly surprised that tabouli is actually quite easy to make with readily available ingredients: bulgur, parsley, mint, oregano, onion, tomatoes, cucumber, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic and salt & pepper. In fact, the most “exotic” ingredient — bulgar — really isn’t that unusual at all. Especially after you finally ask the salesperson at Central Market where the cracked wheat is located and she points out that “cracked wheat” is the same as bulgur. And it’s available right in front of your face in the rice/grains section where you are currently standing, or in bulk in the bulk foods section. Awesome. In addition to being quick and easy to make, tabouli is a versatile side dish that pairs well with many different kinds of proteins (we’ve had it with both fish and pork) and tastes just as fresh and healthy as it actually is. If you’ve never tried it, tabouli is slightly similar to quinoa, but with a MUCH better texture (in my, possibly biased, opinion.)
Category: Side Dishes
Greek-Style Roasted Red Potatoes
Apparently, once we have some success with a particular cuisine or style of cooking, we make a lot of recipes in that same style. Variety may be the spice of life, but Greek flavors seem to be the singular focus of our kitchen and blog these days. (Tabouli recipe coming soon!) We had some red potatoes on hand and needed a side to go with this Greek shrimp dish, so we did a search for “red potato” on the Epicurious site, then narrowed the results by clicking the “meal/course” and “side” categories and found this recipe, which we adapted by roasting the potatoes instead of just boiling them. The resulting recipe is similar to our regular roasted potatoes, but kicked up with Greek ingredients including kalamata olives, feta cheese and fresh mint. Combining these items with potatoes might seem odd, but all the flavors came together well in a fresh, slightly salty and tangy side dish that complemented the tomato sauce of the shrimp main dish very well.
Bean Sprout Salad
As promised, here’s the bean sprout salad recipe to accompany the recently-posted Thai-style pork patties. We adapted Cook’s Illustrated’s original recipe by adding more vegetables and some sesame oil and leaving out the chopped peanuts. It’s a ridiculously easy dish — just toss together bean sprouts, green onions, carrots, cucumber and cilantro with a mixture of vegetable and sesame oil, lime juice, brown sugar, sriracha and salt & pepper. The result is a fresh, slightly spicy and flavorful salad that would go well with pretty much any Asian-style main course. Or you could make it a meal on its own by adding leftover pork, chicken or shrimp for a filling lunch or even a light summer supper.
Wilted Kale and Roasted-Potato Winter Salad
Despite the fact that Spring seems to have sprung (at least around these parts — temps in the high 70s here this week!), it’s not too late to try this hearty and healthy winter salad recipe, found on the Epicurious website. This is our second attempt at cooking with kale, and we think it turned out just as good as our first. We’re fans of roasted potatoes already and liked the idea of incorporating one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet for a “super food” side dish. Kale is rich in vitamins K, C and A and contains tons of health-boosting nutrients that do things like help with diet and digestion, provide antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties, prevent cancer and lower cholesterol. Seriously, what doesn’t this leafy green do? If you’ve never tried kale, this potato salad is a good introduction to it. The salty, Parmesan-crusted potatoes complement the slightly bitter kale, and the lemon-tahini dressing brings it all together with rich, bright flavor. Surprisingly good!
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Quinoa, Avocado & Edamame Salad
Regular readers may recall this post back in May, when we wrote about a side dish involving a “new-to-us” ingredient: quinoa. We liked the dish and the flavor of the quinoa, although the texture of this tiny grain is somewhat unusual and takes a bit of getting used to. So, eight months later, we decided to make it again and maybe try to get used to it. For me, understanding the health benefits of quinoa helped outweigh my issue with the texture. Quinoa is a complete source of protein, since it provides the full spectrum of nine essential amino acids. Quinoa is also high in magnesium (for cardiovascular health), copper and manganese (for a healthy immune system) and fiber (for digestive health.) Who cares if it seems like you’re picking little seed remnants out of your teeth for days after eating it — think of it as saving some of the healthy for later! I’m kidding of course — the texture isn’t that bad. And quinoa’s health benefits are no joke, so it’s worthwhile to find a way you like to eat it. I found Chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipe in InStyle magazine (Feb. 2012 issue) and figured it would be a good vehicle for giving quinoa another shot. In addition to the quinoa, the ingredients are all things we already like: edamame (could also use fava beans), lemon, avocado, garlic, radishes, basil, cumin, red pepper flakes and olive oil. Combining lots of different textures enhanced the overall consistency of the finished dish. Quinoa will likely never be my favorite side, but we enjoyed this salad and will make it again (sooner than eight months from now.)
Celery Slaw
For the Super Bowl this year, we served one of our bar-food-at-home favorites, grilled wings. We did the buffalo version and tried a new Asian-style as well (which I ended up loving even more than the buffalo-style. Updated post coming soon.) Because the wings were our dinner that night, I wanted to serve a healthy side dish, preferably one involving vegetables. The two possibilities that immediately came to mind were celery salad and cole slaw. Our much-loved celery salad recipe seemed a bit too fancy for wings and football, and we thought this flavorful hot & sour slaw would compete with the flavor of the wings a bit too much. Instead, we combined elements of each into a lighter, sweet-yet-tangy coleslaw with tons of celery flavor. Win, win.
Apple & Winter Squash Salad
Despite the mild temperatures many of us have been experiencing so far this year (not complaining!), it’s still technically winter, and we’ve been attempting to cook more seasonal foods. We have a favorite butternut squash recipe, so when we saw Chef Zane Holmquist cooking this winter squash dish on the Today Show, we thought it would be an interesting new spin on an old favorite. We were not disappointed. The squash flavor goes really well with the sweet apple, peppery arugula and rich, complex cranberry vinaigrette. The salad itself is pretty simple, with butternut squash (or some other winter squash), apple, arugula, toasted pumpkin seeds and salt & white pepper. The cranberry vinaigrette is made with cranberry juice, dried cranberries, shallot, lemon juice, canola oil, fresh thyme, green Tabasco sauce and salt & white pepper. We may not be breaking out the winter coats, gloves and scarves this season, but we’ll definitely make this side dish another time or two before “winter” ends.
Stuffed Mushrooms
So, what’s going on this weekend? Anything happening in the wide world of sports? Just kidding, I am aware that Super Bowl Sunday is upon us. I’m not really a football fan (much to Dan’s chagrin), so the final championship is actually my favorite game of the season, no matter who is playing (sorry Daniel.) Although Dan’s beloved Steelers aren’t playing in the Big Game like they did last year, we’ll be watching the Giants and Patriots duke it out, in between all the over-hyped commercials, while enjoying some type of delicious football fare. This football season, we experimented with making sports-bar-appetizer food at home, including grilled buffalo wings, jalapeno poppers, potato skins and these stuffed mushrooms. The wings were our favorite, but the mushrooms would also make a really good (and relatively healthy) addition to any Game Day appetizer sampler. Happy Super Bowl, everyone! I’m off to choose which color jersey I’ll be rooting for this year.
Italian Bread Salad
This recipe is a great way to turn stale, leftover bread into a delicious and different side dish. Over the past year or so, Dan has been experimenting with making homemade bread (recipe to come, once he has perfected it.) During one of his more prolific experiments, we had a couple of baguettes that we didn’t get a chance to eat before they started to get stale. Rather than throw them out, we consulted one of our favorite recipe sites, Epicurious, for a recipe with bread as one of the main ingredients. We discovered this bread salad recipe, which is similar to a panzanella we have previously enjoyed, but is a little less hearty and therefore more suitable as a side dish rather than a main course. It was really easy to throw together, incorporating many ingredients that we almost always have on hand: bread, cucumber, celery, green onions, Kalamata olives, parsley, basil, good olive oil and red wine vinegar. The original recipe also calls for capers, but we left them out because I don’t really like them (they make me think of mutant peas.) Feel free to add capers if you like them — they probably add a nice salty flavor. That’s another thing we like about this fresh and easy side dish — as good as the original recipe is, you can add (or subtract) whatever herbs, veggies and seasonings you prefer.
Cauliflower “Mac-N-Cheese”
Anyone else resolve to eat more vegetables in 2012? While we don’t usually make formal resolutions, we are trying to work more vegetables into our diet this year. Cauliflower is an excellent choice as a substitute for potatoes or other starch because it is low in fat and carbs, but high in fiber and vitamin C. The only tricky part can be making it taste good if, like me, you’re not really a fan of cooked cauliflower. Roasting the cauliflower with brown butter is a good option. So is smothering the cauliflower with a cheesy sauce. Although not the most healthy vegetable side dish around, this recipe by Whitney Miller (winner of the first season of the reality cooking show “MasterChef”) uses cheddar cheese, butter, milk and cream to mask enhance the cauliflower’s natural flavor and make it edible delicious. We used 2% lowfat sharp cheddar cheese and fat free milk to make it slightly more healthy and will definitely make this one again. Now, if someone could somehow make exercise more appealing, we’d be all set for the new year.