One-of-Each Vegetable and Rice Bowl / Sweet Potato Bowl with Chimichurri

30 minutes

One-of-Each Vegetable and Rice Bowl

Serve4 / 30 minutes of fewer
The versatility of this recipe highlighted in the little. Our version calls for one onion, one fennel bulb, one turnip, and one carrot, but feel free to substitute one or more of your favorite vegetables for any or all of them.

1 cup white basmati rice
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
1 large fennel bulb, cut into thin wedges
1 medium turnip, quartered and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 large carrot, sliced on bias (½ cup) 
1/3 cup dry vermouth or white wine
1 6-oz. salt-free tomato paste
2 cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
3 sprigs fresh marjoram or thyme
½ cup halved dried apricots 
1 tbs. butter, optional
1 cup cooked or canned chickpeas warmed

1) Cook rice according to package directions.
2) Heat oil in large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, fennel, turnip, and carrot, and stir to coat with oil. Saute 5 minutes, or until well browned. Stir in vermouth, and cook 30 seconds. Add tomato paste, garlic, marjoram, and 3 cups water. Add apricots, and season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer 20 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Remove marjoram sprigs, and stir in butter, if using. Serve evetable mixture over rice, sprinkled with chickpeas.

Sweet Potato Bowl with Chimichurri

Serve4 / 30 minutes of fewer
Chimichurri has its roots in Argentina, where it is usually slathered over grilled meat. Here, it lendsspicy, garlicky goodness to a hearty bowl of sweet potatoes and quinoa.

Sweet Potatoes and Quinoa
2 large  sweet potatoes, skin-on, finely diced (½ – 2lb.)
1 tsp. Olive oil 
1 cup red quinoa, rinsed and drained 
2 small, ripe yet firm avocados, peeled and sliced, optional

Chimishurri
¼ cup olive oil
3 cups loosely packed Italian parsley leaves, roughly chopped
3 Tbs. lemon juice
2 cloves sweet garlic, minced (2 tsp.)
½ tsp. sweet paprika
¼ red pepper flakes

1) To make Sweet Potatoes and Quinoa :
Preheat oven to 425F. Toss sweet potatoes with oil on large baking sheet, and spread in single layer. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and roast 15 to 20 minutes, or until soft, stirring halfway through.

2) Meanwhile, bring quinoa and 2 cups water to boil in small saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cock 15 minutes, or until tender. Season with salt, if desired. 

3) To make chimichurri: warm oil in small saucepan over medium heat. Blend parsley, lemon juice, garlic, paprika, and red pepper flakes in food processor until coarsely chopped. Pour in warm oil, and pulse quickly until blended. 

4) divide sweet potatoes and quinoa among 4 bowls. Top each serving with 3 Tbs. Chimichurri, and garnish with sliced avocado, if using. Drizzle with extra Chimichurri, if desired. 

Sushi Made Simple

Sushi is popular all around the world. It’s classic Japanese comfort food consisting of sweet, vinegared  rice combined with fish, seafood, vegetables, egg and anything else.

Sushi comes in many shapes and forms. The most common is the maki, which is rolled with bamboo mat, with the nori sheet often on the outside but also sometimes on the inside like in a California maki. Futomaki are big rolls, while hosomaki are thinner rolls. Nigiri is when rice molded into an oblong mound and a thin slice of fish, seafood, egg or vegetables is layered on top of it, sometimes with a this seaweed wrap. The cone shaped rolls, usually eaten with your hand, are called temaki. Gunkan, or battleship sushi, is an oval clump of rice topped usually with fish roe and sometimes uni, then wrapped with a strip.

Not to be confused with sashimi, which is just the raw fish and no rice, sushi is actually fun and easy to make at home. With the right tools and some practice, you’ll be a sushi expert in no time. And with some creativity, you won’t always have to use raw fish and the usual ingredients!

1.       Rolling The Sushi

Roll up the sushi slowly and carefully. Then sqeeze (but not too hard!) to make sure rice and filling are compressed before completing the roll, if you’re making a roll with rice on the outside, spread the rice on the smooth side of the nori sheet and the filling on the rougher side to help hold the filling together.

2.       Slicing The Sushi

Slice the sushi roll using a sharp knife that’s not too wide. Dip the knife is hot water before the first slice and again whenever the roll threatens to stick.

3.       Sushi Tools

To roll the sushi, you’ll need a bamboo mat. Usually available at Japanese groceries and select department stores. You can also use plastic wrap if you don’t have a sushi mat. Or else, you can try those plastic rolling contraptions from Japanese budget stores that might help make rolling easy.

4.       Shaping The Sushi

To shape nigiri or gunkan sushi, make sure to keep your hands wet and cool so the rice doesn’t stick to your fingers. Have a bowl of iced water handy. When shaping the rice, try not to squeeze it too tightly, but not too loose as to fall apart, if you want uniform-sized sushi, you can always use plastic sushi molder available at Japanese budget or specialty stores. 

Prawns and squid with paprika

Serves 2 to 4

1/3 cup sliced onions

2 to 3 tablespoons sliced celery

2 tablespoons minced garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons chopped red bell pepper

8 to 10 shrimps or prawns, peeled but tails left intact

2 large squid into strip

 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/3 cup tomato ketchup

1 teaspoon hot sauce

1 to 2 cup water, or as needed sugar, as needed salt and pepper, to taste

1.       In a large shallow pan, sauté the onions, celery and garlic in olive oil until aromatic. Add the bell pepper, shrimps or prawns and squid.

2.       Cook briefly then add the Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, hot sauce, paprika, thyme and water. Mix well and cook just until done.

3.       Transfer to a serving bowl. Serve immediately.

If you are cooking to complete your spice collection make sure to include a bottle or tin of paprika on your spice shelf. This bright, red orange spice is relatively mild yet still favorable and can liven up any number of dishes. Made from dried chili or bell peppers, paprika is mainly produced in Spain and Hungary, and is usually sold in ground powder form.

It is widely used in Hungarian, Turkish, Greek and Spanish cuisines.

Paprika’s flavor ranges from sweet to spicy, but remain milder than cayenne pepper. It is commonly added to stews, grilled items and casseroles like the famous Hungarian goulash and Spanish paella, giving these dishes a distinct color and flavor. Although paprika is mostly prevalent in European cooking, it’s quite versatile and can be used to spice up sausages, vegetables, rice, seafood, chicken, lamp and more.