Category: Lunch

Quinoa Pad Thai

The first time I ever tasted Pad Thai was when I attended the Center for Kosher Culinary Arts, last year. It was pasta day, I think, and we were experimenting with different types – including rice noodles. We made our own chili paste from scratch and it was so hot, I cried just from blending it. I took one bite of the Pad Thai and my mouth was on fire! Even though my tongue could barely take it, there was just something about the stuff and I kept going back for more (and refilling my glass of water!). Even with cilantro (one of my least favorite ingredients) the stuff was just. that. good. It wasn’t long before I was making pad Thai at home for my whole family to enjoy.

Now when I started to ease up on my carb-load, I knew I had to come up with a lower carb pad Thai recipe to enjoy. Enter quoina – the super grain. Or super seed, I should say! Quinoa, after all, is not a grain or legume – it’s called a Pseudo-cereal and is botanically related to spinach and beets. So although some refer to it as an ancient grain, you can rest assured that this protein-rich superfood is a great low-carb alternative to pasta and rice.

They may teach you to make pad Thai in culinary school. But they don’t tell you the obvious things, like not to write your recipes on scrap pieces of paper. When I was developing this quinoa pad Thai dish, I hit the nail right on the head – it was perfect! I wrote the recipe out on the edge of my calendar, and what do you think happened? I promptly forgot about that golden combination of ingredients, and weeks later, when I went to look up something in the calendar, I decided to rip out all the old months that had already passed. And there my recipe went – crumpled up amid egg shells and dirty plates – right in the garbage.

I realized the error of my ways the next day and I ran outside to see if the garbage truck had taken out the garbage yet. Oh yes, I was right about ready to put on some gloves and sort through the trash! No such luck, my garbage had already been picked up and my prized recipe was doomed for the garbage dump. So, I did what any pad-Thai-obsessed-girl-on-a-diet would do…I made it again. That’ll teach me never to write my recipes on the edge of my calendar! (Did I mention this is not the first time this has happened?)

Quinoa Pad Thai

1 cup quinoa
1/2 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, julienned (I use this julienne peeler)
3 tsp peanut oil, divided
2 eggs
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb. ground chicken or turkey (dark meat preferred)
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sambal oelek (garlic chili sauce) or sriracha
1 cup bean sprouts
3 scallions, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro
1/3 cup peanuts
lime wedges, for garnish
sriracha, for garnish

Method:

Place the quinoa in a small pot with 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, honey, lime juice and sambal oelek. Set aside.

Heat 1 tsp of peanut oil in a wok and stir fry the carrots and peppers just until slightly softened, 1 minute. Remove from the pan. Whisk eggs, add a bit more peanut oil to the wok and scramble. Remove from the pan. Add a bit more peanut oil and add garlic. Saute just until softened and add ground turkey. Cook until turkey is no longer pink and add the soy sauce mixture. Return the carrots, peppers and eggs to the wok and stir to combine. Add the quinoa and bean sprouts and stir to incorporate. Sprinkle scallions, cilantro and peanuts over the top and garnish with lime wedges and a drizzle of sriracha.

Related Recipes:

summer rolls with spicy dipping sauce
spicy roasted edamame

Post a Comment

Zucchini Fries (Gluten Free)

We’re closing in on our series of pesto recipes with these crunchy gluten free zucchini fries! I love using zucchini because they are so low in calories and totally guilt free. To keep them diet friendly and gluten free, I used a chopped nut coating instead of breadcrumbs, and garbanzo bean flour instead of all purpose flour. But what really makes these zucchini fries different is the pesto. I could have went with eggwash to “glue” the crunchy nut coating onto the zucchini sticks, but with extra pesto in the fridge, I decided to give it a try. The results were so flavorful, I can’t imagine making it any other way!

There’s just something about fries that makes eating any vegetable fun, am I right? Good old russet potato fries used to be the only fries  on the brain but sweet potato fries have made it up there too. Personally, I’m a big fan of butternut squash fries,  and just recently, parsnips fries have topped my list of favorites as well. I must blog about those soon.

If you’re dieting and craving some crunch, these oven-fried zucchini fries are sure to hit the spot. Feel free to adapt the recipe to your specific diet! To make them dairy-free, just omit the parmesan and use more nuts instead. I like to use the same nuts as the ones in the pesto (I used Marcona almonds here), but you can experiement with pecans and walnuts too.

Zucchini Fries

2 zucchini, cut into sticks
1/4 cup flour (I used garbanzo flour)
1/2 cup pesto
2-4 tbsp olive oil
2/3 cup chopped nuts
1/3 cup grated parmesan
marinara sauce, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the pesto with olive oil to thin it out. Add additional olive oil, if needed, depending on the thickness of the pesto.

Set up a dredging station with bowls of flour, pesto and ground nuts mixed with parmesan.

Dip the zucchini in flour, shake off excess and dip into pesto. Press the zucchini sticks into ground nuts/parmesan. Place on a greased cookie sheet and spray with oil (I use a Misto olive oil sprayer but you can use cooking spray). Bake for 15-20 minutes until browned and crispy.

Don’t like pesto? dip the zucchini in eggs seasoned with salt and pepper insead.

VARIATION: To make these nondairy, replace the parmesan with additional chopped nuts.

NOTE: for crisper fries, you can bake them on a rack set of a baking sheet.

Related Recipes:

zucchini parmesan chips
pesto pinwheels

Post a Comment

Pesto Baked Salmon

Of all the recipe requests I receive, it seems like salmon is that one dish that people get bored of rather quickly – me included. I’ve had my fill of honey mustard salmon, I’d rather not look at another piece of teriyaki salmon, and I’m all magic-salmoned-out. The good news is, I’ve got an endless variety of salmon ideas, so I can always pick something from under my chef’s hat (figuratively speaking, of course).

Truth be told, I’m really not the biggest fish person altogether. I won’t touch tilapia (bottom feeders freak me out), I don’t like sole, and I usually stay away from gefilte (is that even considered fish?). I tend to lean towards salmon, flounder, red snapper or seabass, when available. I’ve always wanted to try different types of fish, but they’re not readily available where I live. I’ve had whole bronzino in restaurants and halibut at my mom’s (she loves it!), but I’ve never tried grouper or mahimahi. Arctic Char is one of the best pieces of fish I’ve ever tried – I would love to find a place that carries it!

I’ve always wanted to bake my own whole fish stuffed with lemon and herbs – better yet, catch and fillet it myself. It’s just another one of those things on my bucket list – and I hope to do it one day. I’ve heard that the taste of freshly caught fish doesn’t compare to what we buy at the fishmonger. I can just imagine it smelling of the ocean istead of, well, fish. Don’t you just hate it when you open up a package and a fishy stench just hits you like a fishing rod!?

Back to the salmon – since it’s one of the few types of fish that I eat, I’m always coming up with new ways to eat it. This pesto-smothered-recipe came to me when I was on the South Beach diet and I needed to stay away from sweet sauces and sugar. For added crunch (without the panko carbs), I grind up some nuts (whichever nuts are in the pesto) and sprinkle it over the top. It adds great texture to the salmon!

Pesto Baked Salmon

salmon fillets
your favorite homemade or store-bought pesto
roughly chopped nuts (I like to use the same nuts that are in the pesto, to complement it)
grated parmesan cheese, optional
olive oil
lemon slices, for serving

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the salmon and pat dry. Spread pesto over the salmon slices and sprinkle with chopped nuts and parmesan (if using). Drizzle olive oil over the fish and bake for 15-20 minutes, until salmon is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

PAREVE VARIATION: to make this dish nondairy – use a pareve pesto and omit parmesan cheese.

Related recipes:

spinach, walnut and cheddar pesto
marcona almond & basil pesto
salmon pasta salad
salmon cakes with yogurt sauce

Post a Comment

Spinach Meat Lasagna Roll-Ups

It’s funny how you never quite know which of your recipes is gonna go viral. Sometimes, I get so excited about my crazy mash-up ideas, that I think the whole world will too. But I’m not always right. Like here and here. No biggie.

It’s when I least expect it that people go gaga over my food. Like here and here.  You can be minding your own blogger business when before you know it, the recipe’s been repinned hundreds, or even thousands, of times. My spinach lasagna roll-ups is one such recipe, and when I noticed all the love it was getting, I decided I had to share my meat version.

You see, being kosher, I do not eat milk and meat together, so bechamel-smothered-meat-lasgana is out of the question. We kosher-keepers eat our lasagna either meat, or dairy, not both. Of course you can always make dairy lasagna with soy crumbles, or meat lasagna with vegan cheese, but I’m just not one for the fake stuff. It’s either got real meat, or real cheese, no soy for me!

So, without further adieu, I give you the meat version of my dairy lasagna roll-ups. Let me know which ones you like better!

Meat Lasagna Roll-Ups

approximately 14 lasagna sheets
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 lbs. ground beef
1 10 oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed to remove water
2 15 oz. cans tomato sauce
12 oz. tomato paste
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
salt and pepper, to taste
juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

Cook lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain and lay the noodles onto parchment paper or aluminum foil (so that they don’t stick together).

Saute onion and garlic in oil until translucent. Add meat and saute until no longer pink. Drain, if necessary.

Mix tomato sauce, paste, spices, spinach and lemon juice. Reserve 1 cup. Add remaining tomato mixture to the meat and cook over low heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary.

Spread the meat mixture onto the lasagna sheets and roll up. Brush the lasagna rolls with the reserved tomato sauce.

Pour 1/4 cup of water into the bottom of the pan. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees until heated through, about 20 minutes.

Related Recipes:

dairy spinach lasagna roll-ups

Post a Comment

Baked Portobello Shakshuka

Salad or sandwich, you ask? (ok you didn’t ask, but I did!) I’m a sandwich gal all the way. Offer me up a plate of beautiful greens and veggies, versus a sandwich on crusty bread – I’ll choose the sandwich every time. There’s just nothing like stuffing food between two slices of carby goodness! This, my friends, is what makes the 8 days of Passover so hard for me.

The hardest part about not eating bread or gebroks ( (dishes that allow for matza to absorb liquid) over Pesach, is not having a vessel to eat my food with. I don’t smear dips over matza or eat matza pizza or matza sandwiches. Which means, I’ve got to look for things to stuff my food into. Kosher for Passover pizza omelettes, portobello pizza,  chessy stuffed peppers, roasted eggplant parmesan – these are some of the recipes that get me through the holiday.

When you really think about it – it’s just 8 days, just shy of a week of going gluten free, whats the big deal, right? Somehow though, Pesach seems like an eternity. When I was growing up, we’d wait on line for hours after Pesach to get a pie of pizza. What is it about the holiday that makes us feel so deprived?

Maybe it’s that us non-grebrosters are not thinking outside the box enough. Meat & potatoes, chicken & potatoes, and eggs & potatoes really does get kind of boring. With stringent Passover customs, the lack of variety induces many-a-craving. I think that’s where the endless hours at the pizza store comes into play. Not only did we not enjoy matza pizza over Pesach, our family custom was to avoid dairy altogether – so no cream cheese on matza or even yogurt for breakfast. Breafast was always the hardest part of the Chag. We ate a lot of omelettes!

With dairy off the table, I try to come up with unique dishes, especially for breakfast/lunch when I prefer to avoid meat and potatoes!

One of my favorite breafast/brunch dishes of all time is shakshuka! Shakshuka is a classic dish of eggs poached in a peppery tomato sauce. I like to take the shortcut and use matbucha (or even marinara) as the base – but I’ve taken it up a notch here by baking the shakshuka in some portobello “cups”. This makes for the perfect base to catch all those yummy egg drippings. Sabra’s Kosher for Passover matbucha (no kitniyot) makes preparing this dish a cinch – perfect for Chol Hamoed brunch!

This show stopping dish is sure to please many-a-Passover-palate! Really, who needs some fresh hot pita when you have a roasted portobello mushroom to sop up all that rich egg yolk? Ok, ok I admit I’d go for the pita, I’m a sandwich gal after all. But for 8 days of the year, I think  the portobello makes for a perfect stand in. And they’re cute too!


For the recipe, head on over to Joy of Kosher. And don’t forget to enter into Sabra’s sharesabra giveaway! All you have to do to win a $200 gift card is show and tell Sabra what you’re eating and who you’re eating it with. Take pictures of your food or family and friends at meal time and post on Facebook, Twitter or Instragram with the hashtag #ShareSabra for a chance to win.

This post was sponsored by Sabra.

Other Sabra recipes: Israeli style tuna salad

Post a Comment