WHAT’S FOR DINNER?

Here is an awesome salad that works both as a fancy side dish for a dinner party as well as a complete meal for a workday supper (maybe with some grilled chicken on a side). I call it “purple salad”, but of course you can make it it with other color vegetables and berries! The main ingredients are cauliflower, blueberries, and parsley, and you can play with the colors here, as well as with ingredients! Maybe match an orange cauliflower with raspberries and blood oranges? Or regular white cauliflower with figs and apples, swap parsley for arugula? Perhaps, with some crushed hazelnuts on top? Possibilities are endless - that’s why I love salads so much. I hope the recipe below will inspire your creativity!

Ingredients for my purple salad:

• One head purple cauliflower

• 1 pint blueberries

• ½ small orange or apple

• 1 small bunch of parsley (or a mix of herbs such as cilantro, dill, or mint)

• (optional) 1/3 cup of raisins or dried currants or fresh pomegranate seeds and/or nuts of choice

• (optional) A cup of other vegetables of choice, e.g.: sliced celery or zucchini, shredded kale, or very thinly sliced fresh fennel or carrots go particularly well

• For the dressing: 2 Tbs lemon juice, 4 Tbs olive oil, pinch of salt, pinch of sugar; optional 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard.

First, prepare the cauliflower: separate it into small florets; slice the stem. Steam or boil for about 5 minutes or until its softens but still firm to bite. Drain and let it dry.  Optionally sauté the florets in a small amount of olive oil to intensify their flavor.

Next, mince the parsley; peel and thinly slide the orange; prepare other vegetables, if using.

Lastly, prepare the dressing: blend lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and sugar (and optional mustard) in a small bowl until emulsified. Combine all ingredients in a bowl, dress, and serve.

WHAT’S FOR DESSERT?

I recently discovered that one of my favorite cooking websites, Mediterranean dish, actually has a namesake cookbook! It’s an amazing book, and I highly recommend it, you can find it here.

One of my new favorite desserts is from this book. It is so simple and so awesome, I recommend it to all my friends and students. It’s no-churn tahini and hazelnut ice cream. To make it, take 2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup tahini (don’t skip it! it’s the “secret” ingredient), and ¾ cup roasted, chopped hazelnuts.

Start by whipping the cream until stiff peaks form (do not overwhip!). Then, in a separate bowl, mix condensed milk, vanilla, and tahini, until combined. Next, very gently fold the tahini mix into the whipped cream and add about half of the nuts. Spoon the mixture into a loaf pan and scatter the remaining nuts on top. Cover and put it into the freezer to firm up for at least 4-5 hours.

This ice cream is so good, I can’t stop eating it! Be forewarned and don’t hate me if the same thing happens to you! :-)

FOODFIRST UPDATES

Check out the newsletter archive if you missed the previous newsletters! They have fun and easy recipes for dinner and desserts; you can find them linked at the bottom of the What’s for Dinner webpage of the FoodFirst website.