Summer Peach Salad with Chili Lime Dressing

You can thank corn nuts for this salad. Actually you can thank Skopp’s Supermarket in Fallsburg, New York where I purchased said corn nuts that totally inspired this salad!

When it comes to salads (or really most of the recipes I make for dinner), I’m not much of a planner. Inspiration hits at the grocery store or when I’m standing in front of my refrigerator trying to clear it out at the end of the week.


In this case, I was shopping at Skopp’s for my weekly groceries upstate, and I eyed the nut cart with roasted corn nuts all warm and toasty. So I reached for the scoop and thought, “How good would these taste on a salad?!”. I was already in the produce aisle where I caught sight of big beautiful summer peaches, and it hit me – yes!! Juicy peaches and crunchy corn nuts are a good idea, what else should I add? I happened to be standing near the avocados at that point and it was a match made in fruity heaven.

Off to the next aisle, the beautiful baby heirloom tomatoes looked so fresh and colorful and I knew they’d add the perfect balance to the sweetness of the peaches. Mixed greens were a given. And the maple candied pecans – well they are a favorite around here, and the flavors matched perfectly.


That, my friends, is how this Summer Peach Salad was born. It is also a lesson that everything is better with corn nuts!

Summer Peach Salad
YIELD: 6-8 servings

5oz. spring mix
8oz. heirloom grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 large peach, sliced
1 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup BBQ flavored corn nuts
1/2 cup maple candied pecans or store-bought candied pecans

Chili Lime Dressing

1/2 cup light olive oil or grapeseed oil
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar (unflavored)
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp chili powder
kosher salt, to taste

Method:

In a bowl or platter, layer all the salad ingredients. Place all the dressing ingredients into a jar or container and shake vigorously until thickened. Pour over salad before serving.

Related Recipes:

caramelized peach and gouda quesadillas
corn and heirloom tomato salad with basil lime vinagrette
fruit salad with basil honey lime dressing

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Shaktuna (Tunisian Tuna Shakshuka)

Having recently traveled to Paris, I have a newfound love of tuna – and not the type we mix with mayo and stuff in a bagel. But the kind that’s canned in good quality olive oil and served with sesame bread. Or the kind that’s stuffed into a teeny tiny sandwich with potatoes, eggs, capers and olives: the Tunisian tuna sandwich known as Fricassé.

I made my way to Charles Traiteur, the popular kosher catering/take-out to taste their renowned Tunisian Tuna Sandwich, a soft sesame baguette stuffed with tuna, eggs, harissa, olives and a hint of mustard. It was good, but it didn’t quite live up to the hype, maybe because the bread was soggy.

But then I went back before Shabbos and got their Tunisian Fricaseé sandwich – mini bites of heaven with the same ingredients of the tuna sandwich, only on delicious fried bread and I haven’t stopped dreaming about it since!

Now lets go back a couple of months, when I was introduced to Finer Fin tuna, aptly named because that tuna is FINE!!! I have been hooked on their amazing flavors, including Mexicana, 3-Bean, Zesty Lemon and Spicy Chili. Each filet is hand-sliced and packed in extra virgin olive oil. The tuna is wild caught, a great source of Omega 3, Non-GMO, low in mercury and sustainable caught. It basically sells itself!

So, back to Paris, I came home re-inspired on the tuna front and decided to do a riff on shakshuka and the classic Tunisian Tuna sandwich and let me just say…WOW. Like seriously this makes the perfect breakfast, brunch, lunch or even dinner. It was just THAT good.

Because Finer Fin’s tuna is already packed with flavor, it needed only a small can of tomato sauce to create a base for shakshuka. I added the other classic elements of olives and capers, but you can easily leave those out if you’re not a fan of briny flavors.

You can also throw in some spinach or kale into the mix if you’d like, which is really what I love about shakshuka – it’s just so versatile! (see the gazillion different combos I linked to below, I can’t get enough!).

So if you’re looking for a taste of Paris, or you just want a quick and easy dinner to get on the table, look no further than SHAKTUNA!

Shaktuna (Tunisian Tuna Shakshuka)

2 pkg Finer Fin spicy chili tuna
1 8oz. can tomato sauce
1 tbsp capers
3 tbsp sliced black olives
juice of 1/2 lemon
kosher salt, to taste
5 eggs
handful of fresh parsley
baguette or pita, for serving

Method:

Add the Finer Fin spicy chili tuna to a large skillet and stir in the tomato sauce. Add capers, olives, lemon and salt, to taste. Bring the mixture to a gentle simmer. Using a spoon, make 5 wells for the eggs and slide them in carefully. Cover the pan and cook over medium heat until the whites have set but the yolks are still runny, about 5 minutes. Garnish with fresh parsley.

This post has been sponsored by Finer Fin. All opinions are my own.

Related Recipes:

roasted eggplant shakshuka
Mexican quinoa shakshuka
beet, kale and goat cheese shakshuka
zoodle shakshuka,
garbanzo bean shakshuka with labneh
spaghetti squash shakshuka
stuffed portobello shakshuka

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Roasted Summer Chicken

After weeks of summer prep and camp shopping, I am SO HAPPY that I can officially say welcome the start of summer. The kids are in camp. Everyone is settled in. And I am relishing every moment.

I try to keep dinners simple in the summer, but after a day of running around in the summer heat, and hours spent at the pool, my kids voracious appetites demand more than just frozen pizza. They are HUNGRY! I try to keep the fridge stocked with lots of fruits and veggies, plenty of protein in the freezer and fresh herbs on the window sill.

I think we all associate summer with barbecue but I try to do away with heavy bottled sauces and season food simply instead. Juicy seasonal tomatoes, fresh summer corn and a bunch of fragrant basil are always handy, which is how this delicious light summer dinner came together in no time. My kids literally licked their plates clean!

Now that corn is in season, here’s a great trick for cutting it!!

Israeli couscous is another summer staple – it rounds out the meal, cooks in five minutes, and isn’t as heavy as other starches. But feel free to serve with any starch of your choice!

Roasted Summer Chicken

2 ears fresh corn, shucked
1 heaping cup grape tomatoes
4 chicken legs
1 tsp chili powder
kosher salt, to taste
juice of 1/2 lime
1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
drizzle of honey

Method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place the corn on the bottom of a 9×13 pan, scatter tomatoes around the pan and top with chicken thighs. Sprinkle the chicken with chili powder and salt and spread the basil on top. Drizzle olive oil and honey and squeeze lime juice over the top. Cover tightly with foil and bake for one hour. Uncover, baste with the sauce and bake at 400 degrees for an additional 20-25 minutes, until chicken is browned.

Serve with couscous, quinoa or rice.

NOTE: if you dont have fresh corn on hand, you can substitute 1 package frozen corn (thawed) or 1 can corn, drained.

Related Recipes:

chimichicken
ratatouille roast chicken
corn and heirloom tomato salad with basil lime vinaigrette 

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Amaretto Affogato

What is Affogato? Italian for “drowned”, an affogato is an is an Italian coffee-based dessert. It usually takes the form of a scoop of vanilla gelato or ice cream topped or “drowned” with a shot of hot espresso. If you’re a coffee fan like me, it’s basically a small taste of heaven!

I’ve had affogato many times, but on my recent trip to Antwerp, the local Italian restaurant, Confetti, served it with a splash of amaretto and it was literally NEXT LEVEL amazingness. Like you need to make it. Like NOW. (Is it too early for alchohol?)

Start with some good quality gelato. It melts more slowly than ice cream. But ice cream works too. And you can even experiment with different flavors, but I like vanilla here. My little trick it to scoop the ice cream in advance and freeze them so they’re nice and solid when you serve!


Then pour that beautiful nutmeg-colored golden caffeine syrup, also known as espresso, over the ice cream and watch it do it’s beautiful dance down the sides of your cup. Am I being overly dramatic? Maybe a little, but AFFOGATO. IS. EVERYTHING.

If you’re like me, you might even watch to catch it in slow motion!


YASSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (Caffeine addict much?!)

Then pour a generous glug of amaretto over it and enjoy the best drink of life!! Chag Sameach everyone!!

Amaretto Affogato

2 scoops vanilla gelato or ice cream
1 shot espresso, 3 tbsp strong brewed coffee or 1 tsp instant espresso dissolved in 1 oz. water
splash of amaretto (1-2 tbsp)
crushed amaretti cookies (or Lotus cookies)
chocolate shavings

Method:

Place two small scoops of ice cream in a glass (I prefer to freeze scoops in advance so they are ready to go and melt more slowly!), pour the shot of hot espresso over the ice cream, and then add the amaretto. Top with crushed cookies and chocolate servings and serving immediately.

NOTE: You can also use a double shot of espresso or 2 tsp instant espresso dissolved in 2 oz. of water, depending on what you like.

VARIATION: You can use other types of liquor such as liquor Kahlua or Frangelico or other types of ice cream such as chocolate or coffee.

Related Recipes:

tahini frappuccino 
gelt hot chocolate
donut milkshakes

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Camembert en Croûte Salad

People often ask me if I feel deprived as a serious foodie who keeps kosher, and the answer is “no”. As someone who’s been kosher since birth, I don’t crave “treif” simply because I’ve never tried it. And there is really so much available on the kosher market today, that I don’t really feel like I’m missing out.

BUT… (there’s always a but isn’t there?!), traveling as a kosher keeper is hard stuff. Especially when you go places that don’t have much kosher available, and you’ve got to stuff your bag with cans of tuna and crackers. I have to admit that part isn’t easy, and for that reason, I usually choose to travel to places based on the kosher availability there.

Which totally works for me because eating out, I feel, is part and parcel of a vacation. I’m not the sit-by-the-beach and suntan kinda gal, so I’d rather hit the town and see what it has to offer.


I love exploring different food cultures and traveling really opens your eyes to different ingredients and flavor combinations. On my recent trip to Paris, I ordered the camembert salad, which was served simply over a bed of iceberg lettuce, with a drizzle of balsamic and honey and a sprinkling of pine nuts. It really made me rethink the whole camembert thing (I always just wrap it in puff pastry), and I knew I was going to recreate it when I got home,

I took the best of the salad, and paired it with the “en croute” concept, for a deconstructed cheese salad of your dreams. There’s not much else to say about this other than IT’S AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS.

Camembert, if you’re not familiar, is a soft and creamy, surface-ripened cow’s milk cheese. The white bloomy rind is totally edible, with barely any moldy flavor. As someone who is not a fan of moldy cheese, I absolutely love Camembert (and brie!), so I wouldn’t be scared off by it.


If you’re not quite ready for Camembert on it’s own, I recommend wrapping it in puff pastry with some fig jam and candied nuts and baking until puffed and golden. That’s really what got me into this wheel of wonder to begin with and it’s absolutely amazing!

Camembert En Croûte Salad

2 sheets puff pastry, thawed in the fridge overnight
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp parmesan cheese
2 bunches cherry tomatoes on the vine
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
1 wheel Camembert or brie
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 4oz. pkg baby arugula
1 6oz. jar marinated artichoke hearts
raw honey, optional, for serving

For the basil oil:
1/4 cup packed basil leaves
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste

Add to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Strain out the basil leaves if you wish.

Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week (bring to room temp before using).

NOTE: for bright green oil, blanch the basil leaves first by placing them in boiling water for about 10 seconds and then removing to ice water.

For the balsamic syrup:

1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tsp honey

Combine the balsamic vinegar and honey in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, until it is reduced by half and coats the back of a spoon. Cool completely (it will thicken as it cools), then transfer to a jar and store in the fridge for up to 1 month.

Method:

In a small bowl, combine the butter, garlic, oregano, garlic powder and salt.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Remove the puff pastry sheets from the fridge and cut into thirds at the folds. Spread the butter over each piece and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Using a pizza cutter, cut into triangles. Return to the fridge while you prepare the other components.

Place the tomatoes on one side of a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Prepare a small foil packet and place the pine nuts in it. Place in the corner of the same baking sheet. Prepare a second foil packet and place the Camembert inside. Place on the baking sheet, opposite the pine nuts packet.

Place the baking sheet of puff pastry and tomatoes in the oven. After 8-10 minutes, remove the packet of pine nuts. After 15 minutes, remove the brie.  Continue baking the tomatoes and puff pastry for another 10 minutes, until the puff pastry is puffed and golden, and the tomatoes have softened.

To plate: arrange the arugula on a platter. Top with tomatoes, artichokes and pine nuts. Place the Camembert on top with the puff pastry alongside. Right before serving, drizzle basil oil, baslamic syrup and honey over the salad and serve.


halloumi cheese waffles with tomato jam and balsamic syrup
brie marsala pizza
dried fruit brie bites

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