Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad

Still hot, hot, HOT in Los Angeles!

So is there anything better than a composed salad? Especially when said salad contains delicious bits like seared Ahi tuna, spindly green beans, briny capers, olive oil cured olives, creamy eggs, and poached red potatoes. Welcome to the Nicoise Salad, one of my favorite dishes in the world.

For the dressing, I whip up a mustardy-lemony dressing. I thinly slice red onions and pickle them slightly in the dressing, which I heap generously onto the salad.

Now I'm hungry—I may be making this for dinner again!

Seared Ahi Tuna Nicoise Salad

Serves 4 people
Cooking time: about 20 minutes
Gluten-free; dairy-free

Ingredients

4 cups organic mixed greens
1 pound Ahi tuna
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1/4 cup black olives cured in olive oil
10 small red potatoes or Yukon gold potatoes, halved or quartered and boiled until tender
4 eggs, boiled until cooked to desired wellness, peeled, and quartered
2 cups haricot vert (green beans), blanched
salt and freshly ground pepper

dressing:
juice of 2 lemons
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard (or more if desired)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red onion, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons capers
salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. To make the dressing, whisk the lemon juice, garlic, capers, and mustard together in a bowl. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, whisking until emulsified. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Fold in the thyme and red onion. Set aside, allowing the red onion to pickle slightly.

2. Meanwhile, season the tuna on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat the grapeseed oil over medium high heat. Quickly sear the tuna, turning once. Cook to desired wellness (I prefer to leave my rare in the middle). Set aside to rest for a few minutes, before slicing.

3. Make the composed salad by placing the mixed greens in the bottom of four large bowls, dividing it evenly. Repeat the process with the haricot vert (green beans), potatoes, olives, eggs, and sliced tuna. Finish by spooning the dressing generously over the top. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Puttanesca Sauce

Happy (Hot) Monday!

I've just been huddled up in the rooms of my house that have A/C with the Adorable Monster, trying to stay cool. I'm hoping it will cool down a bit this week. I want to thank everybody who entered the Chef LaLa Homemade Giveaway! I drew the winner randomly this morning and have emailed him/her. You guys had so many great marinade and grilling ideas.

Today, I'm sharing a fun pantry recipe. As in you can make it from ingredients that should be in your pantry at all times. I love Puttanesca Sauce—salty with olives and capers—hearty—spicy— delicious.

This is a vegetarian version (sans anchovies), but feel free to add them if you so desire. I serve it with a whole wheat pasta, but any sort of whole grain version will work. Also, just leave off the cheese to make it vegan.

Vegetarian Puttanesca Sauce

Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: about 30 minutes
Vegan; Gluten-free

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 

20 oil-cured black olives, cracked away from pit and coarsely chopped

3 tablespoons capers

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 32-ounce can whole tomatoes, roughly pureed

salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 cup (a couple of handfuls) flat leaf parsley or basil, chopped

Grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Romano, for serving (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot and saute for a few minutes, until beginning to soften (about 4-5 minutes). Add the garlic and red pepper and cook for another minute or two. Add the white wine and simmer, until reduced in half.

2. Add the olives, capers, and tomatoes. Bring sauce to a bubble, reduce heat, cover and simmer for about twenty minutes. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground pasta.

3. To serve, toss the sauce with cooked pasta. Top with chopped parsley and parmesan, if desired. Enjoy!

Cauliflower Olive Chicken Stew

Stew.

I love stews.

Comforting. Warm. Healthy. Great leftovers.

That's what I think when I think of stews. I got the idea for this Greek-inspired iteration of chicken stew from the fabulous New York Times column Recipes for Health: Chicken Stews to Savor, or Store Away. In it, Martha Rose Shulman writes about how her niece is about to give birth. She provides several chicken stew recipes that work great frozen (the article is worth checking out for all of them). My good friend just gave birth to twin girls.

This made me want to try out a stew recipe.

What made me choose this one over the others offered was the interesting combination of cauliflower, chicken, and cinnamon. I also loved that she finished it with crumbled feta, though it's great without it, too. She also uses chicken legs and thighs (which I always do), as they don't try out like breasts when braised. Also, they tend to be less expensive.

The resulting dish was everything that you wanted a stew to be (see my list above), yet it was also imbued with a touch of the exotic (this came from the cinnamon). It kept great in the fridge and tasted even better the next night for dinner. I would like to try freezing a portion in the future, too.

The next time I make it, I may try doing a version in my slow-cooker. I love my slow-cooker. And I have a feeling that this stew would taste even better after simmering away all day long.

Cauliflower Olive Chicken Stew
Adapted from Recipes for Health by Martha Rose Shulman
Serves 4-6 people
Cooking time: about one hour
Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 2 to 4 garlic cloves (to taste), minced
• 6 to 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 28 oz. can of chopped tomatoes, with juice, pulsed in a food processor
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, or 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 small or 1/2 large cauliflower, cored, broken into florets
• 12 pitted kalamata olives (about 45 grams)
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 to 2 tablespoons feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Directions

1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat in a large, deep, heavy lidded skillet or casserole and brown the chicken, in batches if necessary, about 5 minutes on each side. Remove the pieces to a plate or bowl as they’re browned. Pour off the fat from the pan. Add the vinegar to the pan and scrape up all the bits from the bottom of the pan.
2. Add the remaining tablespoon of the olive oil to the pan, and turn the heat down to medium. Add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and cook, stirring often and scraping the bottom of the pan, until it begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover and let the onion cook for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until it is lightly browned and very soft. 
3. Add the garlic and stir together for a minute or two more, until the garlic is fragrant, then add the tomatoes and their juice, the cinnamon, thyme, and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the mixture is reduced slightly and fragrant.
4. Return the chicken pieces to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated in the bowl. If necessary, add enough water to barely cover the chicken. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes. 
5. Add the cauliflower and kalamata olives and simmer for another 20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender and the chicken is just about falling off the bone. 
6. Stir in the parsley, taste and adjust seasonings. Serve with grains, with the feta sprinkled on top if desired.

Advance preparation: The stew keeps for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator and freezes well. With leftovers, make a delicious rice casserole by spreading cooked rice over the bottom of a baking dish and topping with the chicken and sauce. Heat through for 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

Meatless Monday: Greek Frittata

Greek Frittata

I love Greek cuisine, the flavors, the falafel, and oh, the feta!

I also love eating breakfast, the most important meal of the day. So what do you get when you combine my love for Greek food with breakfast?

Greek Fritatta, that's what!