Soybeans with Garlic and Chili

My dear friend Stephanie was not just fortunate enough to spend her birthday in Hawaii recently, but she also got to celebrate in style at Alan Wong's restaurant in Honolulu. Wong's recipes hardly fall into the 'non taxing' bracket', but this delicious, speedy pupu is the exception.

1 lb cooked soy beans with the shell on (cooked from frozen)
1 tbsp canola oil
1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp garlic, minced
1 small chili pepper, minced
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sesame oil

In a very hot skillet (a wok is ideal) fry garlic, ginger and chili with salad oil until golden brown. Add soybeans and continue to cook until heated through. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, and sesame oil. Stir fry for an additional minute; season with salt to taste (optional) and serve immediately.

Pumpkin Curry

If, like me, you have a pumpkin mountain left over from Hallowe'en, and you've already made pie and soup and pancakes, you may like to try spicing things up a little with this recipe kindly provided by the kitchen supply company, Steamer Trading (with a few JGH tweaks).

Ingredients
2 tbsp groundnut oil
2 sweet onions, finely chopped
1/2 tbsp dried chili flakes
1 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp roasted, ground cumin
2 pounds fresh pumpkin, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 pint unsweetened coconut milk
Salt
Bunch fresh mint, coarsely chopped
Bunch fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

Method
Heat the oil in a large pan. Fry the onion, with the chili, until transparent. Add the ginger and garlic, and stir fry for another three minutes. Add the pumpkin and spices, cook a further few minutes. Add salt and coconut milk, mixing gently but thoroughly. Cover the pan and simmer gently for about 20 minutes or until the pumpkin is tender. Garnish with the fresh herbs. Serve with plain rice and naan bread to mop up the juices.

Grilled Vegetables

This is the time of year for grilling and for getting fit. Invest in a vegetable basket, such as the Weber Style, and do both at the same time with vegetables on the grill. Here are some suggestions for a meal for four people, or a side for several more. Feel free to vary and invent!

The mixture pictured includes baby tomatoes,
asparagus and zucchini in bite-sized pieces.

Ingredients

1 medium eggplant
1/2 red pepper
1/2 green pepper
1 small red onion
1 small head broccoli
1 cup small brown mushrooms

Marinade

3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large clove garlic
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
chili flakes, salt & pepper to taste

Slice the onion. Slice the eggplant thinly (this is important for absorbing the marinade and because it takes longer to cook) and cut into small wedges. Cut the peppers and broccoli into bite-sized chunks. Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and halve them.

Press the garlic clove and mix it in with the vinegar, oil, herbs and seasoning. Add the vegetables and marinate them for a couple of hours.

Heat the grill to 500 degrees. Place the vegetables in the basket on the grill. Cook for 15-20 minutes, stirring once or twice to ensure they are not burning, but do just begin to caramelize.

Chard Parcels

Chard is not difficult to grow. The difficulty comes in deciding what to do with the copious amounts of chard you have grown, after the first few days of steaming, stir frying and dressing in salads. Here's a nice, easy recipe for packages that make great appetizers or a side for an Asian main dish, but that are also portable enough for a summer picnic. Serve them warm or cold.

2 lbs (around 30 leaves) of Swiss chard
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp fine Japanese soy sauce
2 tbsp peanut oil
few drops toasted sesame oil
handful toasted sesame seeds

Bring 6 pints water to the boil in a large pan. Meanwhile, trim all but 3" of stem off each chard leaf. Blanch whole leaves in water for 3 minutes, in 2 or 3 batches, depending on the capacity of your pan. Try to place in pan with stems in water and leaves exposed, as the stems take longer, and the leaves will cook in the steam if your pan has a lid.

Remove chard, drain and place on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels to absorb residual moisture and to cool. When the chard is all cooked and cooling, press the garlic cloves into a bowl. Add the oils and allow to infuse.

To make the chard parcels: take a leaf, fold the stem in half and wind the leafy green around it fairly tightly so it holds its shape. When you have made all the packages up, heat the garlic-oil mixture gently in a 10" skillet. Carefully add the parcels to the skillet. Drizzle soy sauce evenly over them and cover the pan. Fry on low for 2 minutes then turn off heat.

Transfer packages to serving dish and sprinkle with the toasted sesame seeds.

Three Dips

You don't have to be on a Greek island to enjoy the flavors of the Mediterranean. These dips, accompanied by pitta bread or vegetable sticks, make great appetizers that will go very well with a cocktail. They are also good with my falafel.

Fava Bean Dip

2 cups dried fava beans (Bob's Red Mill brand, for example), soaked overnight in plenty of water
4 cloves garlic
2 scallions
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
1/4-1/2 cup lemon juice
salt & black pepper

Drain the soaked beans. Put them in a pan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer, with the pan partially covered, for about 1 1/2 hours until the beans are tender. Top up the water during cooking time if necessary so the beans remain covered. Tip all ingredients into food processor and process until smooth. (Keep aside some herbs and a little olive oil to decorate your final dish.)

Taramosalata

4 slices of bread, crusts removed

6 ounces tarama (smoked fish roe)

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, pressed

3/4 cup light-flavored olive oil

juice of 2 lemons

fresh parsley or cilantro

Soak the bread in water for 5 minutes the squeeze dry. Place in food processor with tarama, onion and garlic. With processor running, gradually add olive oil, thinning with lemon juice, as if making mayonnaise. Stop when you have a well-mixed emulsion. Stir in a little black pepper and some finely chopped parsley or cilantro. 

Hummus Bi Tahini

2 x 15 oz cans garbanzo beans 

1/2 cup tahini

6 tbsp lemon juice

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 tsp ground cumin

salt & black pepper

Drain beans, reserving the liquid. Blend beans, along with the other ingredients and 1/4 cup of the liquid. Process until the mixture is smooth, adding more of the reserved liquid until the desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and pepper, adding more cumin and/or lemon juice to taste.

Falafel

Bob's Red Mill products are wholesome and reliable, perfect for my new health regime. I urge you to track these grains down or order them online. I use Bob's Red Mill garbanzo flour in this recipe.

Ingredients

1 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup hot water
3 tbsp olive oil

Method

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda. Roast cumin and coriander seeds lightly, then pound in a mortar and pestle and add to dry mixture. Stir in parsley, garlic and onion. Add lemon juice and hot water and mix well. Allow to stand for 10 minutes.

In a frying pan heat the oil on medium high heat until hot. Add the falafel batter by the tablespoon and flatten slightly. Shallow fry on both sides until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel. The mixture will make 12 falafel.

Serve in pita bread with lettuce, tomatoes, tahini sauce and tzatzkiki*.


*Make your own tzatziki by combining 1 cup of FAGE Total Greek yogurt with 1 small cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped. Add a little onion, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Easy and delicious!