Summery Salmon Supper

I realize I've been a bad blogger lately, but I've been doing all sorts of cool things outside of the kitchen, like attending a pig roast on the beach on Tomales Bay (photos up when we find the camera cord).

I also went to visit family, and my sister and I cooked up some dinner to battle the LA heat. The whole meal came together in about an hour, and since the salmon was served at room temperature, it could wait until we were ready to eat. I didn't have my camera with me, so the photos aren't the best.

The menu: Pomegranate Salmon with Feta Tzatziki; Cousous with Mint and Almonds; Tomato Salad. For dessert, Blue and Goat Cheese-Stuffed Figs, roasted until bubbly.

Pomegranate Salmon with Feta Tzatziki

You'll need:

salmon -- 1/3-1/2lb per person

1T pomegranate molasses

5 cloves garlic, minced

1t cayenne

small handful of dill

3 Persian cucumbers

1c lebne or Greek-style yogurt (normal yogurt is ok too)

a good-sized chunk of feta

1 eggplant

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Remove pin bones from salmon with tweezers. Rub salmon with pomegranate molasses and 1t garlic. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Set aside.

Slice eggplant into thin (1/4 inch) rounds. Grease a baking sheet with olive oil and lay eggplant rounds in one layer. Sprinkle both sides with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bake 15 minutes, until tender; flip and bake 5-7 minutes longer. The eggplant should be golden but not dark brown. Set aside.

Mince dill and chop cucumbers. Mix with lebne or yogurt. Add garlic. Add feta and mix until incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place baking dish in oven. When dish is hot, turn oven down to 275 degrees. Place salmon skin-side down on dish and return to oven for about 20 minutes, until just done-- salmon should still be pink in the middle, at its thickest part. Let cool.

Serve salmon on top of eggplant. Top with a dollop of tzatziki or serve sauce on the side.

Cousous with Mint and Almonds

You'll need:

1/3c couscous per person

slivered almonds

1 lemon

handful of mint

Make couscouse according to package directions (combine equal parts couscous and hot water; let sit, covered, for 5 minutes; then fluff with fork). Let couscous cool. Mix in slivered almonds, chopped mint, juice and zest of lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Tomato Salad

This isn't really a recipe; just combine halved cherry tomatoes (we got some really good heirloom ones at Trader Joe's, which is usually not the best place for produce), chopped avocado, red onion or scallion, olives (crush with the side of a chef's knife to remove the pit), chopped basil, salt and pepper. Dress with balsamic vinegar and olive oil right before serving.

Blue and Goat Cheese-Stuffed Figs

Preheat broiler. Halve figs and stuff with a bit of cheese -- we made some with blue cheese, some with fresh goat cheese. Broil until bubbly, about 5 minutes.

Spicy Breaded Chicken with Kale and Mushroom Ragout

This is tasty and (as an added bonus) almost painfully healthy-- omit the goat cheese from the ragout and there's really no fat at all. It's also easy and can be ready in less than an hour.

Spicy Breaded Chicken

You'll need:
chicken thighs
panko or bread crumbs
fresh thyme
optional marinade ingredients (see below)

Marinate: You don't have to do this, but I think if you can marinate chicken, you (generally) should. I used a simple yogurt marinade: nonfat yogurt, salt, pepper, and chili powder (I'm out of cayenne! but that would work too). I only marinated for a few hours; you can do overnight, but the flavor of this dish should really lie in the breading.

Make it: Pat the chicken dry. Dip in: flour (light coating); beaten egg (let drip); panko mixed with chopped thyme. Place chicken on lightly oiled baked sheet and bake at 375 degrees for about 40 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with lemon wedges. In the meantime, make the veggie ragout.

Kale and Mushroom Ragout

You'll need:
1 bunch kale, stemmed and torn into pieces
1/2 lb shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced thickly (or any mushrooms, really. I think shiitakes have the most flavor for something like this)
2 large shallots, sliced
red pepper flakes
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4c dry madiera wine or vermouth
zest from 1 lemon
goat cheese-- I used Bucheron, an aged goat cheese (optional)

Saute the shallots, mushrooms, salt & red pepper flakes in 1T olive oil. When the mushrooms start to brown, add kale and garlic. Stir to combine; cook until kale wilts, then add wine. When wine evaporates, add grated zest of 1 lemon. Serve as a bed for the chicken, or dot with goat cheese and serve on the side with bulgar pilaf or another grain.

Spicy Turkey Chili

I don't really like chili. This one uses more turkey than beans, and lots of spices.

Saute 1 large diced onion (with 1T kosher salt) until light brown. Stir in 2T dried oregano and 2T ground cumin. Stir in 1.25 lbs ground turkey; brown. Add 2T chile powder, 1-2 bay leaves, a generous sprinkle of cinnamon, and 1/2 can chopped chipotle in adobo. Stir to combine. Add 1 28-oz can whole peeled tomatoes, about 8oz tomato sauce, and 1-2 c chicken stock. Simmer for about 45 minutes until reduced. Drain and rinse well 1 can dark red kidney beans and 1 can cannellini (white kidney) beans, and add to chili. Cook about 10 minutes until flavors combine. Serve with yogurt, cilantro, and grated sharp cheddar.

Baked Lamb Meatball Hors d'Oeuvres

These would be better fried (or sauteed), but I baked them so I wouldn't be in the kitchen when the guests came.

1 lb ground lamb
1/2 onion, minced (don't use a food processor-- onion becomes bitter if processed)
1/2 bunch cilantro
minced lemon zest from 1 small lemon (or 1/2 large lemon)
1 large egg
1 T cumin
1 T cayenne
kosher salt
freshly ground pepper


Mix it all with wet hands. Add about 1/4 c bread crumbs until mixture is gooey and sticks to itself easily. Form small balls (it should make about 28). Dip in bread crumb-zatar mixture.

Grease baking sheet. Place balls on sheet; brush tops of balls with olive oil. Bake at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes, until balls are no longer pink inside.

Serve with yogurt sauce: yogurt mixed with good olive oil, salt, a 1 clove crushed garlic, and chopped mint.

Lamb Patties with Pomegranate-Orange Glaze, Tsatziki, and Couscous

Tsatziki: mix 1 c Greek yogurt (Trader Joe's makes a great nonfat Greek-style yogurt) with 1 chopped Mediterranean cucumber, 3 cloves crushed garlic, and some olive oil to thin out the sauce and combine ingredients. Refrigerate.

Mix ground lamb with minced yellow onion, shallot, serrano chile; chopped cilantro and mint; salt and pepper; roasted and ground cumin; 5-spice, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and coriander powders; add one spoon of prepared harissa. add one beaten egg and mix well. check for correct spices by sauteing a small lump of the lamb in a frying pan. form patties and refrigerate until ready to cook.

For the glaze, mix 1/2 c of pomegranate juice, juice of 1/2 orange, 1T honey, orange zest, and coriander in a small pan and simmer until reduced and thick enough to coat a spoon.

Place patties on barbecue. Cook one side until edges turn dark, then flip and coat top of each patty with pomegranate glaze.

Serve with simple couscous (I use whole wheat) and a Rhone wine (I drank a 2001 Crozes Hermitage).