Festive Tabouleh and fresh baked Naan bread

With the end of Ramadan just having come to a close, I was inspired to move into a Middle Eastern cooking phase. Get ready for a month or two of tasty Arabic inspired dishes! Middle Eastern cooking has a delightful variety of colorful and flavorful ingredients like fresh mint and parsley, lemon, chickpeas, cucumbers, tomatoes, olive oil, and yogurt just to name a few! When eating Arabic and Middle Eastern cuisine, get ready for tasty and healthy food combinations that your mouth is sure to appreciate! My first recipe is a tasty tabouleh salad made with wheat bulgur and is delicious served with fresh naan bread!

Have on hand to prepare the tabouleh the following ingredients:
- 2  to 3 lebanese cucumbers (chopped)
- 1 medium tomato, chopped
- 1/2 a cup shredded local market carrots
- 1 can of organic chick peas, drained and rinsed
- 1/4 cup of finely chopped (fresh market)parsley
- 1/4 cup of finely sliced green onions or chives
- 1 cup of uncooked wheat bulgur (organic)
To marinate the cooked bulgur you wil need:
- 1/4 cup finely chopped mint (fresh tastes best!) or dried mint
- 1/4 cup olive oil (good quality is best)
- juice of half a fresh lemon
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed/minced

STEP 1: In a mixing bowl, add 1 cup of uncooked bulgur wheat, a 1/4 teaspoon of sea salt and 1 cup and a 1/2 of boiling water. Leave to cook(soak) for 30 minutes. Allow to cool.

STEP 2: Add to the cooled and now cooked bulgur, the chopped mint, the olive oil, the juice of 1/2 a lemon and the crushed garlic. Mix well with a wooden spoon so that all ingredients are tossed together. Cover and leave to marinate the bulgur  for 1 hour minimum. Leave for 2- 3 hours to refrigerate if you can.

STEP 3: About an hour before you want to eat the tabouleh, start the dough for Naan Bread (see recipe for Butter Chicken, coming soon).

STEP 4: Take the covered and marinated tabouleh out of the fridge. Add in the chopped cucumbers, chopped tomato, parsley, carrot, chives/green onion, chick peas, and some fresh cubes of feta and nice olives if you have these on hand. Serve immediately with fresh dollaps of yogurt, freshly grated ground pepper and your freshly baked naan bread!

Fall Green Curry Chicken

This fast and delicious chicken curry can be made in 20-30 minutes and requires only a few key ingredients. Prepared to be amazed... this is a no-brainer, crowd pleaser!

Have on hand these ingredients:
- 10 fresh basil leaves
- half a red bell pepper, sliced
- 2 organic uncooked chicken breasts, cut with scissors into thin slices/pieces
- 1 cup of uncooked basmati rice
- 2 yellow zucchinis
- 1 can of LITE organic coconut mik
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoon of green curry pasta or dry spice, use more if you like spicy
- 1/2 cup of chicken broth or stock
- 1/2 a small onion, chopped finely

STEP 1:
In a pot with a fitted lid, boil 1 and 1/2 cup of water, with a little salt and butter and cook  the one cup of basmati rice for 10 minutes once water has boiled and been turned down to simmer with the top on. Remove from heat after 10 minutes and let stand at least 5 minutes with lid on to finish cooking.

STEP 2:
Heat one tablespoon or organic Olive or sunflower oil and cook onion in a WOK or large sauce pan over medium heat until soft, do not let it turn brown. Next add the cup of organic coconut milk and the green curry paste and bring to a boil. Add the chicken stock and stir. Add the uncooked chicken breast keep heat high so the chicken cooks. After about 10 minutes add sliced yellow zucchinis. The chicken will take usually about 10- 15 minutes to cook through. Make sure chicken is opaque (white) in color, this is how you know it is sufficiently cooked.. About 2 minutes before serving, add thin slices of the fresh basil.and the slices of red bell pepper to the curry pot. The peppers should still be crunchy when you serve the curry so add them very late. I add them just before I serve out the curry on the rice.

STEP 3:
Serve the green curry chicken atop the basmati rice and top with some fresh coriander or cilantro and fresh cashews. The curry sauce should be very liquidy. Trust me it's awesome... its like a soup with so many amazing flavours... your mouth will thank you!

Homemade Pesto

This recipe is quick and easy and is a great way to use basil from the garden or market before it spoils! This recipe requires a food processor.... but if you have a high speed blender it will work too, as long as it is capable of crushing nuts into a fine blend.
The picture below is of a whole basil bunch I bought at the Jean Talon market for a toonie and I couldn't use it all for this recipe!! Use the rest as part of a pizza margerhita if you like!

Ingredients to have on hand:

- 2 cups of fresh basil leaves
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/3 cup of olive oil (you may require a little more)
- 1/4 cup of pine nuts or walnuts
- 1/3 cup of shredded parmesan-reggiano

STEP 1: Put the walnuts/pine nuts in the processor and pulse until they are grinded into a very small grind. Then place the two cups of basil leaves in the food processor and pulse for a few seconds. With the processor still running, add in the garlic and then the olive oil until a smooth mixture is formed.

STEP 2: Add in the parmesan cheese and pulse to combine. Do not over process. Voila! Your pesto is ready. Keep in an airtight container and store for 1-2 weeks in the refridgerator.

The pesto showed above can be eaten with so many meals. I made dippy egs and dipped my toast "fingers" into it and it tasted simply amazing! I also recommend serving this pesto on crusty bread like ciabatta and serving it with your favorite pasta!! Trust me once you start make your own pesto you will only eat that!

Farafelle with Exotic mushroom sauce

Fall is here and voila a recipe that encompasses many seasonal ingredients to create a sumptuous meal that is easy to prepare and will wow all who eat it!

Ingredients to have on hand for the pasta dish itself and the salad pictured above are:

- 1 cup of exotic mushrooms (porcini, cremini, portabello, shiitaki)- slice them thinly
- 2 organic green onions (finely chopped) or 4 tablespoons of fresh chives, finely cut (use scissors)
- 1 table spoon of olive oil (for sauteing onions and mushrooms)
- 1-2 cups of Italian made, good quality farafelle pasta (bowties)
- 1/4 cup of red porto or marsala or red wine (sweet)
- 3/4 cup of organic sour creme
- 3/4 cup of organic vegetable stock
- seasonings of your choice (oregano, thyme, salt, fresh ground pepper)
FOR THE SALAD (pictured above)
- fresh organic spinach leaves
- organic red pepper cut in slices (bake in oven with olive oil and balsamic oil until soft)
- walnuts, broken up
- shredded parmesan-reggiano cheese
- dressing, made from olive oil, white wine vinegar, 1/2 tsp of dijon mustard and salt and pepper

STEP 1: Heat the 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a non-stick pot over medium heat. Add the finely chopped green onion and saute for one minute. Then add the finely sliced mushrooms (see above) and saute them for 2-3 minutes or until soft. At the same time prepare a separate pot with boiling water to cook the pasta and when ready put the pasta in. Note: It usually takes 15 minutes for farafelle to cook.

STEP 2: Add the red porto/marsala to the onion and mushroom mixture and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 2 minutes. Now add in the vegtable stock and stir for 2-3 minutes. Next, add in the organic sour creme and stir constantly so the mixture does not have any lumps and is smooth. (See image below|)

STEP 3: Reduce heat to med/high and add a mixture of flour or corn starch combined with a little warm water (prepare this flour paste ahead of time to avoid it getting clumpy) to the mushroom sauce to help thicken it up.  NOTE: If pasta is done cooking, drain the pasta and keep warm.

STEP 4: Add the cooked farafelle to the mushroom sauce, toss to coat and serve immediately.
Sprinkle each person`s exotic mushroom farafelle with grated parmesan cheese and fresh chopped basil leaves once served. Add salt and peppper to your liking.


Enjoy this devine meal with a delightful salad composed of your spinach leaves, roasted red pepper slices, walnuts, parmesan cheese and the olive oil and white wine vinaigrette! (see Margherita pizza recipe to get a re-cap on exactlyhow to make this dressing)