The Smiling Onion

Vegetarian and Gluten-free Cooking

Subscribe

Spiced Carrot Salad with Fennel & Olives

By 1 Comment

I tend to think a lot about food right before bed, probably because my mindless internet browsing of choice involves a lot of food blog scrolling. I’ll admit – it’s not a great habit. I end up having to expend a lot of will power in order to sleep on an empty stomach (which is definitely best for digestion, inflammation, disease prevention, quality of sleep…ugh, pretty much everything.) But I do sometimes get great ideas for what to make the next day!

I saw this salad from Smitten Kitchen during one of my pre-sleep food browsing sessions, and could not get the words “crushed olives” out of my head. I’ll spare you a detailed retelling of my dreams that night, but suffice it to say that the crushed olives made quite an impression on my subconscious. Anyway, I had some fennel stalks and fronds in the fridge (left over from making this lovely white gazpacho) and had been wanting to put them to good use, but – aside from the crushed olives – the rest of the salad didn’t look all that appealing to me. I’m not a fan of orange zest, and not that big on shaved fennel or fennel-centric dishes generally. I also didn’t have any fennel bulb  – just the stalks and fronds. What I did have was carrots! (You probably guessed that already.)

Now, one of my absolute favorite salads ever is Ottolenghi’s Moroccan carrot (which you can find here). So it occurred to me that I could do a sort of variation of that – but with the fronds, stalks, and olives from Smitten Kitchen’s recipe. I knew I wanted to vary up the spice mix a bit and simplify the recipe some as well. I also knew that I wanted to sauté my fronds, rather than leave them raw.

And thus, a perfect late summer/early autumn salad was born. I’m actually amazed that I got it so perfect on the very first try – measurements and all. It’s just the right amount of spice, just the right amount of tang, just the right amount of fennel (which I tend to prefer as an accent, not a centerpiece), and basically just balanced AF. The first night I made it, we ate it by itself for a late dinner.  The next day, we enjoyed it on our balcony with some barely warmed quinoa, simple sautéed chickpeas, and a cold kale and tomato dish. Yum!

[Read more…]

Unbelievable Salted Caramel Almond Shake (Vegan, Sugar-Free)

By Leave a Comment

If you were to blindfold me and give me something to eat or drink, I’m fairly confident in my ability to tell you what it is and what’s in it. Similarly, when I whip up this concoction or that one, I don’t usually run into too many surprises when it comes to the final product. It generally tastes about how I expected it would – sometimes a little bit better, of course, and sometimes a little bit worse. But when I took my first sip of this shake, I was shocked. Like, actually shocked. It may sound hyperbolic, but I believe this is one of the best shakes I’ve ever had and I was expecting it to be one of the worst. I’m calling it “unbelievable” because I definitely wouldn’t believe you if you gave me a glass of this and then told me the ingredient list.

Why would I purposefully create a shake that I thought would be mediocre? Pure laziness. My blender was in the fridge because I had made a miso-sesame dressing and was still working on using up the leftovers. And I wanted a banana shake. The thought of scraping all that dressing out, cleaning the blender, making the shake, and then re-cleaning the blender was, shall we say, a bit too much. But I really wanted that shake.

Now, I do know that culinary creations like miso caramel – even miso ice-cream – exist and are enjoyed. But this dressing also contained capers, black pepper, and olive oil. There was no way it would work in a shake. I resigned myself to maybe having some kind of half sweet, half savory concoction because that sounded better than cleaning the blender. In went 1 1/2 very ripe, frozen bananas, a dollop of salted almond butter (oh god, did I really want to add more salt?) and a hefty dose of unsweetened almond milk. I whirred it all up, anxiously awaiting what I was fairly certain would be a regrettable decision. And then I took a sip.

It was….it was…it was like going to one of those super gourmet, trendy ice-cream parlors that always have lines out the door and it actually meeting all the hype. I mean, it tasted like a dairy-laden, sugar-laden, salted caramel ice-cream shake with a hint of sesame and almond! And it was actually just bananas, a very healthy hippy-style miso dressing, and almond milk. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? The almond butter and sesame flavors played perfectly with the front-and-center caramel flavor, and the whole thing was just the best sweet, cold, creamy, nutty, nuanced concoction I’ve had the pleasure of tasting in a while.

Ironically, I was originally going to post the miso-sesame dressing, but then figured – eh. Everyone and their mother has a miso dressing. Sure, it’s an enjoyable way to eat a salad, a lettuce wrap, or a grain bowl. But is it blog-worthy? Meh. This shake, however, (which requires first making the standard miso-dressing) is most assuredly blog worthy. And drinking worthy. My enjoyment of it was a little bit tinged by anxiety about whether I would be able to recreate it – after all, I just used a blender containing some dressing – I didn’t measure amounts at all! I’m happy to report, however, that I was. The recipe is below. Be prepared to be shocked.

[Read more…]

Market Cucumbers with Ras El Hanout, Lime, and Mint

By Leave a Comment

One of the best things about eating in the summer months – especially August – is the sheer bounty of summer produce available. Often, picking the freshest produce you can find and treating it gently yields some of the most delicious eating; as an added benefit, these produce-highlighting dishes are generally simple to prepare. Small plates restaurants in New York LOVE this strategy – they know their customers are suckers for fresh produce that tastes amazing and that diners are willing to shell out the big bucks for what is really just a plate of vegetables with some strategic seasoning and a fancy name.

Now I fall for this just as much as the next person – who doesn’t love veggie-centric, small plates dining? And really, who cares how much effort it took as long as it tastes amazing? But I’m also beginning to be a bit sticker-shocked by some of the small plates (sometimes tiny plates!) and big prices attached to the simplest of dishes. Especially when it’s so easy to create our own delicious, seasonal small plates with a simple trip to the Greenmarket, a bit of creativity, and a subtle hand. The trick here is not to overdo.

It’s imperative, of course, to start with super fresh, sun-kissed, juicy cucumbers straight from the garden, farmstand, or greenmarket. Younger, tender cukes are preferable to older, bigger ones – you don’t want the peels to be super tough. A sprinkle of good quality sea salt helps the cucumbers sing; the ras el hanout (a Morrocan seasoning blend, described in more detail below) gives them that extra special something. Add in a splash of acidity (fresh lime juice) and a bit of very thinly shaved fresh mint and scallion, and you’ve got yourself a complete dish.

So what exactly is ras el hanout, you ask? Well, every blend is slightly different, but it normally consists of warming spices mixed with coriander and turmeric. If you are familiar with garam masala, the flavor is similar, but I would describe ras el hanout as having a more savory quality (less clove and cinnamon heavy). I buy the Frontier brand, which consists of coriander,  turmeric, cardamom, sea salt,  black pepper, clove, cinnamon, and nutmeg. I love it in deviled eggs (for a North African twist), in my morning porridge, or mixed into yogurt and drizzled over a middle-eastern style lettuce wrap. In the cooler months, it’s also great for stews and soups!

Now on to these cucumbers…

[Read more…]

Creamy Cilantro Dressing

By Leave a Comment

I was fairly shocked to see cilantro at the greenmarket last week – I mean, it’s almost November, for cripes sake! Yet buy a bunch I did, with zero regrets. I love having fresh herbs in the house because they always give dinner a lift – you’re only a quick blend away from a lovely dressing, dripping sauce, or drizzling sauce that will always take your meal to the next level.

This creamy dressing is one of those easy meal lifters. It, like most of my sauce recipes, is also quite versatile. You can use it to dress a salad or grain bowl, drizzled over a protein, or all over your quesadillas. In other words (for you Dr. Seuss fans) whether you eat this in a house, with a mouse, in a box, or with a fox …  you’ll definitely enjoy it.

[Read more…]

Grilled Polenta with Tomatillos, Cilantro, and Feta

By Leave a Comment

What could be better than a fresh, spicy medley of feta, jalapeño, and tomatillo mounded on top of a slightly smoky grilled polenta disc with plenty of cilantro and freshly squeezed lime to boot? You got me. Actually, a bottomless supply of these perfect little bites, available for your eating pleasure on Cinco de Mayo – now that might take the cake.

Sadly, these polenta bites don’t come out of a fairytale (unlike this eggplant) so they won’t automatically replenish themselves; hence, making a bottomless supply would be pretty difficult. You can, however, make a finite supply (and trust me – these go fast, so their finiteness will be painfully obvious) for Cinco de Mayo, which is coming up this Friday! All you need to do is follow this recipe.

[Read more…]

Creamy Nori-Hemp Dressing (Vegan)

By 2 Comments

Are you ready for my #1 piece of salad advice? Make your salads and dressings at home.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve ordered a salad at a decent restaurant, only to have it arrive with a gelatinous vinaigrette that has clearly been squeezed right out of a package. This is a huge pet peeve, right up there with icy smoothies (you can read my thoughts on that and get a decidedly NON-ICY smoothie recipe here) and tofu scrambles that try to taste like egg (I think they should taste more like this). Being presented with any of these items usually has the unfortunate result of launching a 3-minute rant, which my dining partner (who may not share my opinion that the world revolves around food) has to sit through, trying – and likely failing, possibly rightly so – to fein interest or sympathy.

Another recurring problem with ordering salad in a restaurant is that the name of your chosen salad (Ex. Portobello and Mozzarella) is, far too often, actually just the name of the garnishes that will top your huge pile of $12 lettuce. Outrage!

Hence the aforementioned salad advice. In addition to saving you heartache and cash, making salad and salad dressing is one of the best ways to start flexing your creativity muscles in the kitchen. You have a built-in platform (a pile of fresh veggies – what could go wrong?) and the flexibility to combine them any way you want. Experiment with different cooking methods (I love combining raw veg with roasted), textures (crunchy pecans, creamy goat cheese…)  and flavor profiles (sweet, sour, spicy…). Elevate your salad by taking an element and transforming it in some way: Why not coat those crunchy nuts in maple syrup and cayenne and roast them in the oven first, for example, before throwing them atop your masterpiece? Finally, make an awesome dressing. Because awesome dressings have the power to transform even ordinary salads into bowls of pure glory.

This dressing, in fact, is actually best on an “ordinary” salad. (Think romaine or kale, cucumber, carrot, hard-boiled egg (if not vegan), chickpeas, etc.) Hearty farmer-style salads, in other words.  The zestiness of the roasted nori combined with the creaminess of the hemp gives the dressing a caesar or ranch-like quality that will leave you licking your fingers. But unlike caesar or ranch dressings – which aren’t generally touted for their health benefits – this one packs a nutritional punch. Hemp seeds are rich with protein, an optimal ratio of Omega-3 and 6 fatty acids, and a hefty dose of fiber. And the roasted nori adds minerals like iodine, magnesium, potassium, and selenium, to name just a few. Finally, you won’t be able to tell that this dressing is dairy-free – it’s as creamy and zesty as they come.

[Read more…]

Sorghum & Kale Salad with Balsamic-Blue Cheese Vinaigrette

By Leave a Comment

Have you heard of sorghum? It’s a wonderful gluten-free grain that is similar to farro or wheat berries when cooked whole. If you haven’t seen sorghum in berry form, you might be more familiar with sorghum flour – which has a mild, nutty flavor that is wonderful in gluten-free baked goods or pancakes – or with sorghum syrup, which is made from the stalks of the sorghum plant and is a common alternative sweetener.

But sorghum berries are definitely worth knowing about! They are probably one of the heartiest gluten-free grains you can find – robust and nutty, with a lovely round shape and a satisfying chewiness that pairs exceptionally well with bold dressings like the balsamic-blue cheese vinaigrette in this recipe.

In fact, their bite and robustness make sorghum berries absolutely fantastic in salads of all kinds! But especially in this one, which screams October with every mouthful. Bite into this salad and you’ve got a perfect medley of autumn flavors and textures: the heartiness of the sorghum and kale punctuated by crunchy, juicy apples; the sharp saltiness of the shaved pecorino romano; and the honey hazelnuts from last week’s Apple-Ricotta Tart. (They were so good I couldn’t resist making some more!) And finally, this salad wouldn’t be the same without the punchy blue-balsamic vinaigrette mentioned earlier –  with its base of grainy old-fashioned mustard and tangy blue cheese.

Best of all, this salad is hearty enough that you can easily store it dressed in the fridge and take it with you to work, etc. You’ll have a wonderful, healthy, delicious, and seasonal lunch – and you won’t have to stand in a long line and drop what may seem like an unreasonable amount of money to get it!

[Read more…]

Asian Tofu Salad

By Leave a Comment

If you’ve ever taken any sort of culinary or food science class, you may know that there are two types of cooking methods: dry-heat cooking and moist-heat cooking. Dry-heat is where your sautéing, roasting, baking, and frying lie. And moist heat is your boil, steam, simmer, and stew! (That’s by no means an exhaustive list of all moist/dry heat cooking methods, but it gives you a general idea.)

Anyway, it turns out I’m a dry-heat girl by nature. My go-to cooking methods are sautéing, roasting, baking, and pan-frying. Sure, I steam and boil on occasion (fried pasta would be pretty gross and I do like to blanch my greens and boil potatoes for mash now and then) but on the whole, my cooking routine generally begins with a skillet, some oil, and an onion.

In this heat, however, standing by a hot skillet babysitting a stir-fry is just not appealing. So when the craving for some tofu hit, I decided to boil it. Now if you’re like me, and you’ve spent your entire tofu-eating life baking, frying, or sautéing it, you may have some doubts about whether boiling is even possible. I know I did. But guess what?! It is! And it’s quite delicious and refreshing when seasoned well, chilled, and made into an Asian tofu salad like this one. In fact, taking foods I’m used to cooking one way and giving them a completely different treatment is definitely something I’d like to do more of. It helps me stay inspired, be creative, and not get stuck in any cooking ruts (which 90 degree weather can definitely precipitate!)

[Read more…]

Summer Buckwheat Noodle Salad

By Leave a Comment

I guess I maybe shouldn’t have complained about the lack of hot weather in my last post. Because now we’ve got it…bad. I know it’s not officially summer yet (and the weather is actually pretty nice when you’re lucky enough to get outside) but it’s so hot inside my apartment that the familiar summer sluggishness has definitely set in for me. I don’t feel like eating much, and when I do, it better be light and refreshing if I’m expected to eat more than a mouthful or two!

Hence this salad. The only part that requires the stove at all is boiling water for the buckwheat noodles. Easy peasy. It’s nice and light – more of a side than an entree – but if you wanted to make it more substantial, you could easily add some fried tofu and/or egg. Buckwheat noodles are tossed with fresh cabbage, carrots, scallion, and cilantro, doused in a light Asian-inspired vinaigrette, and topped with some roasted peanuts and crispy ginger. Sounds pretty good, right? It is!

[Read more…]

Baked Tempeh Strips

By Leave a Comment

Let me start off by saying that I have never been a tempeh lover. In fact, I’ve pretty much always been a tempeh hater. Give me tofu any day, but tempeh…yuck! No matter how many different ways it was served to me, I  always found it to have a  very strong, pungent (and sometimes bitter) flavor which was offputting, to say the least.

That is, until I discovered the secret to great tempeh: cut it THINLY, cover it with a really flavorful marinade, and roast the hell out of it! It’s simple, easy, and very quick to prepare. You don’t need to let it sit in the marinade, because the flavor bakes into it during the roasting process. You don’t need to simmer it first (a technique we were taught in cooking school that was supposed to get rid of the bitterness – it didn’t). And you don’t need to bread it, or deep fry it, or sing to it, or curse it, or bless it – you just need to cut it thinly, people! There is nothing more revolting (in my humble opinion) than big, thick, scalloped chunks of tempeh. So why is it so often served that way?

I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do encourage any tempeh skeptics out there to try this method of preparation, if you haven’t yet. These strips are savory, salty, and satisfying. They are great on their own as a high-protein snack, or fantastic on a salad, sandwich, or lettuce wrap. I like to keep them in a ziplock bag in the fridge and munch on them whenever I feel the need for something protein-packed and delicious.

[Read more…]