Quinoa Salad with Chickpeas, Feta and Apples

1 cup quinoa, rinsed in a fine sieve
1/4 cup golden or sultana raisins
1 19 oz. (540 mL) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
a big handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup crumbled feta (or as much as you want)
1 tart-ish apple, chopped
1/2 cup toasted walnuts or almonds

Dressing:
1/4 cup canola or olive oil
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar or lemon juice
1 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. curry paste or powder

Cook 1 cup quinoa according to package directions; dump into a wide salad bowl and set aside to cool. (Tip: add the raisins as it cools – the raisins will plump up as they absorb any excess moisture.) Add the chickpeas, parsley, feta and apple and drizzle with dressing. (To make the dressing: shake all the ingredients up in a jar.) Toss, then sprinkle with toasted walnuts or almonds right before serving.
Serves 4.

Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

Ingredients

• 2 ounces rice vermicelli
• 8 rice wrappers (8.5 inch diameter)
• 8 large cooked shrimp - peeled, deveined and cut in half
• 1 1/3 tablespoons chopped fresh Thai basil
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 leaves lettuce, chopped
•  
• 4 teaspoons fish sauce
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic chili sauce
•  
• 3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped peanuts

Directions

1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Boil rice vermicelli 3 to 5 minutes, or until al dente, and drain.
2. Fill a large bowl with warm water. Dip one wrapper into the hot water for 1 second to soften. Lay wrapper flat. In a row across the center, place 2 shrimp halves, a handful of vermicelli, basil, mint, cilantro and lettuce, leaving about 2 inches uncovered on each side. Fold uncovered sides inward, then tightly roll the wrapper, beginning at the end with the lettuce. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
3. In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, water, lime juice, garlic, sugar and chili sauce.
4. In another small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce and peanuts.
5. Serve rolled spring rolls with the fish sauce and hoisin sauce mixtures.

Slow-Baked Salmon

2 tbsp (30 mL) each: honey, whole-grain or other mustard
1 tbsp (15 mL) soy sauce
1 tsp (5 mL) hot sauce (I use green tabasco)
4 centre-cut salmon fillets (each about 6 oz/175 g), skinned, patted dry

In small bowl, whisk together honey, mustard, soy and hot sauce.

Arrange fillets in lightly oiled roasting pan. Spread honey mixture
evenly over each piece. Bake in preheated 225F (110C) oven until
salmon is cooked through and opaque but still juicy, about 30 minutes.

Makes 4 servings.

Crostini with Prosciutto, Figs, and Mint

Epicurious  | February 2006

By Jamie Oliver

• 1 loaf of ciabatta bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices
• 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
• Good-quality extra virgin olive oil

• 6 large ripe figs
• 12 slices of prosciutto
• Small bunch of fresh mint
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Freshly ground black pepper

Grill your slices of ciabatta. While they're still hot, rub them gently with the cut side of the garlic and drizzle with good-quality extra virgin olive oil.

Tear the figs in half, then drape a piece of prosciutto over each of your hot crostini and squash a piece of a fig on top. Finish with mint leaves and serve drizzled with a little extra virgin olive oil, a drop of balsamic vinegar, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Fresh Vegetable Spring Rolls with Two Dipping Sauces

Recipe courtesy Bobby Flay

Prep Time: 1 hr 30 min

Ingredients

• 1 cup shredded Napa cabbage
• 1 cup shredded carrot
• 1/2 cup finely sliced green onion
• 1 red pepper thinly sliced
• 6 large shiitake mushrooms, grilled and sliced thin
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• Salt and freshly ground pepper
• 8 very thin 8-inch square spring roll wrappers

Directions

Combine all vegetables in a bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Lay the spring roll wrappers on a flat surface, pointed edge toward you. Put a 1/8 of the filling in the bottom third of the wrapper, bring the pointed edge over the filling, fold in the sides tightly. Dab the top pointed edge with water and roll tightly. Serve with sauces.

Garlic-Soy Dipping Sauce:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 1 teaspoon hot sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• Pinch of sugar

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.

Spicy Peanut Dipping Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon hot chile oil
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, finely chopped

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until smooth, add cilantro just before serving.

Cold Rice Noodles with Peanut-Lime Chicken

From the Smitten Kitchen
 
Adapted from David Tanis, via The New York Times

To detail my changes, the original recipe had three sauces/dressings/marinades, a pungent-sweet sauces called a dipping sauce with chiles, lime, garlic, brown sugar and fish sauce, a nuttier dressing with peanut butter, soy, lime juice, rice vinegar and ginger and a marinade for the chicken with garlic, ginger, fish sauce, soy and brown sugar. Because there was so much ingredient overlap and in the interest of trimming down your prep time, I nixed the chicken marinade as a separate sauce in favor of using a combination of the other two (each increased in volume) for a similar effect. I confess that although they are widely available in the great Metropolis of NYC, I made this without the suggested lemongrass and mung bean sprouts because I wanted to see if this could be a totally delicious dish with just ingredients you can find at major grocery stores (it could!). For the chiles, 6 to 8 Thai or 1 to 2 serrano were suggested; I used far less to decrease toddler intimidation. Use what you like according to your heat preferance. We wouldn’t have minded if there were more vegetables than recommended. Next time I might add more of each (cucumbers, carrots and scallions) plus juliennes of sweet red pepper and a handful of lightly cooked green beans, thinly cut on the bias. Finally, although the original recipe suggests three different herbs to finish — mint, basil and cilantro — unless you already have all three around, I think you can get away with just picking your favorite. We used mint fresh from the market that almost melted into the noodles with piercing deliciousness. To see the recipe before I hacked it to pieces, go to the NYT link above.

Serves 4 generously, 6 moderately

Dipping sauce
6 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
6 tablespoons brown sugar
12 tablespoons lime juice
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
Small Thai or Serrano chiles, thinly sliced, to taste

Peanut dressing
3 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
9 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 one-and-a-half inch chunk ginger, peeled and sliced
6 tablespoons natural unsalted peanut butter
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Pinch of cayenne

Chicken and noodle salad
1 1/4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs (about 6)
8 ounces dried rice vermicelli or other rice noodles
2 small cucumbers, cut in 1/4-inch half moons
2 medium carrots, cut in thin julienne
Additional vegetables, as suggested above
Small handful basil or mint or cilantro sprigs, or your favorite of the three (torn or roughly chopped)
4 or more scallions, slivered
1/4 cup crushed or chopped roasted peanuts
Lime wedges (to serve)

Make the dipping sauce: Whisk ingredients in a small serving bowl, making sure to dissolve the sugar. Leave to ripen for 15 minutes. Refrigerate any extra and use within a few days.
Make the peanut dressing: In a blender or small food processor, puree all ingredients to a smooth sauce, about the thickness of heavy cream. Pour into a serving bowl.

Marinate the chicken: Stir together 1/2 the dipping sauce and 1/3 the peanut dressing (you can eyeball this) in the bottom of a low-sided bowl or dish. Add the chicken to the mixture and toss to coat. Let marinate at least 15 minutes.

Cook the noodles: Bring a large pot of water to the boil, then turn off the heat. Add the rice vermicelli and soak for 7 to 8 minutes. (Package directions may vary; check for doneness by tasting.) Drain when noodles are al dente, and cool under running water. Fluff and leave in strainer to drain well.

Cook the chicken: Grill the chicken on an outdoor grill, a stove-top grill pan, or run under the broiler until nicely browned, about 3 to 4 minutes a side. Let cool slightly, then chop roughly into 3/4-inch pieces.

To serve: At this point, you can place everything on a large serving platter, with piles or small bowls for noodles, vegetables, chicken, the dressing and marinade and toppings (peanuts, herbs) and let your family and friends put it together in their own bowls as they wish. Or, you can assemble it for everyone as suggested:

Toss vegetables with 1 tablespoon dipping sauce in a small bowl. Divide the cooked noodles among 4 to 6 bowls. Top each bowl equally with vegetable mixture and chopped chicken. Toss each bowl with 2 teaspoons of each the dipping sauce and dressing, or more to taste (we wanted more). Add the herbs, peanuts and scallions to each bowl and serve with additional dressing and dipping sauce on the side.