Minty Beautiful

I also came home with some mint from my mother’s herb garden and so I made a vanilla-mint fruit salad. I hadn’t planned to post it because I’ve already written up the basic recipe. The strawberries and kiwis at the grocery store looked fantastic so that’s what I went with this time. When I put it together, it just looked so gorgeous, I had to take a picture!

Not only does this look great, the vanilla, mint, and lime all work really well with the kiwis and strawberries and this fruit salad packs quite a vitamin C punch!

Lazy Pasta from the Garden and the Pantry

After a weekend with my parents, I headed home with bunches of fresh herbs from my mother’s fabulous garden and absolutely no desire to go to the grocery store. But that’s OK because I can make a fabulous fast pasta aglio e olio style with stuff that’s in my pantry and fridge. As long as you have pasta, olive oil, and garlic, you can make this dish and throw in anything else you have on hand or want to use up. While I’ve included the recipe for what I did below, it’s really more of an approach than a specific recipe. For the herbs, I had thyme, marjoram, savory, tarragon, and parsley, but any herbs will do. If you don’t have fresh, you can use dried (just use much less). I had olives and sun-dried tomatoes, so in they went. If you have a fresh tomato or two, throw them in. Canned diced tomatoes would work, as well. Add a fistful of capers. Anchovies would be delicious. You could use goat cheese if you don’t have Parmesan. No cheese? No problem. You get the point. It’ll never be the same twice but it will always be delicious!

Pasta with Fresh Herbs (6 to 8 servings)

• 1 lb. linguini, cooked and drained.
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed
• 1 cup fresh chopped herbs
• ¼ cup chopped black olives
• ¼ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and fresh herbs and cook about 1 minute. Add the olives and sun-dried tomatoes and cook another minute. Add the cooked linguini and toss to coat. Add the cheese and toss, cooking until pasta, herbs, and cheese are well mixed.

Kefta Tagine, Can You?

Kefta tagine – Moroccan lamb meatball stew – is one of my favorite dishes. For years I’ve been making a version from The Frugal Gourmet on our Immigrant Ancestors which is absolutely delicious. Now that I have a real tagine as well as Kefta spice blend, I decided to adapt the recipe a little.

Traditionally, eggs are cracked into the stew at the very end and they poach in the sauce. While this always sounds intriguing to me, it also seems a little heavy and I’m not sure how the eggs would fare as leftovers so I omit them. You could serve this stew with couscous to stay in the Moroccan theme but I always go with the completely non-traditional option of Basmati rice.

If you don’t have kefta spice, you can make your own spice blend with 1 ½ tsp. ground cumin, ½ tsp. cayenne pepper, ½ tsp. freshly ground black pepper, and ½ tsp. cinnamon.

Kefta Tagine (4 to 6 servings)

• 1 lbs. ground lamb
• ¼ cup chopped parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, pressed
• 2 onions, chopped]
• 3 tsp. kefta spice
• 1 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 lbs. tomatoes, chopped
• 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1. In a large bowl, combine the lamb, 2 tbsp. parsley, 1 clove garlic, 1 tsp. kefta spice, and 1 chopped onion. Form into 1-inch balls with wet hands. Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the meatballs and brown all over.
2. Place the tomatoes and lemon juice along with the remaining garlic clove, onions, and 2 tsp. kefta spice in the base of the tagine (or Dutch oven) and stir to combine. Add the meatballs. Cover and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the remaining parsley.

Mediterranean Chicken Salad Two Ways

I’m always looking for different ways to make chicken salad (like this and this) and made two variations using Mediterranean influences: Tuscan and Greek. Both use a vinaigrette rather than a mayonnaise-based dressing which make them excellent dishes for picnics and other hot, sit-out-all-day events. Both use lemons and olives for a salty, fresh flavor. The Tuscan version includes beans and fresh basil while the Greek version uses oregano and feta cheese. Both are delicious and work well on their own or as a sandwich.

Tuscan Chicken Salad (6 servings)

• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• ½ tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 15-oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• ½ cup black olives, pitted and halved
• 1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
• ¼ cup chopped fresh basil

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and olive oil.
2. Add the chicken, beans, olives, and basil. Toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.

Greek Chicken Salad (6 servings)

• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• ¼ tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tbsp. lemon juice
• 1 tbsp. lemon zest
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 or 3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• ½ cup black olives, halved
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
• ½ cup feta cheese

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the oregano, pepper, lemon juice, lemon zest, and olive oil.
2. Add the chicken, onion, olives, tomato, cucumber, and feta cheese. Toss gently to coat. Cover and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend.