Grilled Tofu and Bell Pepper Salad with Tamarind Miso Dressing

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Grain-free && Low-Fat && Vegan option

Now that it’s officially unofficially summer (that’s what Memorial Day marks, right?) you may want to have a good grilling recipe in your back pocket, and I’ve got just the one for you!

Grilling and barbecues often conjure images of lots of meat, or vegetables marinated in oil, and heavy “salads” laden with mayo, which can be problematic or just plain unappetizing for vegetarians, vegans, and cyborgs with a digestive intolerance for much fat. But we also don’t want to be left out of the whole outdoors summer food scene either. This recipe combines grilled marinated tofu and grilled bell peppers and onions in a crunchy, fresh green salad with a distinct savory, tangy dressing. The dressing (which also doubles as the marinade for the tofu) may be a show-stealer here. I hadn’t even originally planned to blog this recipe, but I made it for my brother-in-law’s birthday barbecue on Memorial Day weekend, and had several people ask me for the dressing recipe, so I figured I might as well share it more widely here.

It’s nice to have a good recipe on hand whenever someone’s grilling, but if all you want to do is make a meal, getting out the grill and firing it up definitely feels like overkill. In that case, just roast the tofu and vegetables in a hot oven instead (see note below).

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Grilled Tofu and Bell Pepper Salad with Tamarind Miso Dressing

Serves 6

Adapted from Crispy Tofu Salad in Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour

Note: This recipe works best if you drain the tofu for 30 minutes to an hour, prepare the dressing, and let the tofu marinate at least one hour ahead, or as early as the night before you serve the salad. (This makes it a pretty good make-ahead recipe.)

Also note: If you don’t want to grill, just follow the recipe up to the point you would grill, but then cut the tofu, bell peppers, and onions into bite-sized pieces and stick everything in the oven on a couple parchment-lined baking sheets for about 20 minutes at 425ºF instead.

Bits:

Salad:

14 oz. extra-firm tofu
2 red/orange/yellow bell peppers, or a combination of smaller bell peppers totaling about 1 lb
1 large or two small sweet onions, sliced into 1½-inch squares, and skewered
1 small head curly green or red leaf (looseleaf) lettuce, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
2 large carrots, shredded or julienned
3 green onions (green parts only), sliced thinly
½ oz parsley leaves and small tender stems, roughly chopped
1 stem (about 7-8) fresh mint leaves
6 fresh chive flowers (or 6 chives, if flowers not available)
Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Dressing:

4 Tbsp unsweetened tamarind paste (I love Aunt Patty’s Organic Tamarind Paste)
4 Tbsp white miso paste
1 Tbsp honey (sub equal amount maple or agave syrup for vegan option)
zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp peanut butter powder (Anthony’s is my favorite; substitute regular peanut butter if your digestive system doesn’t throw an error when you ingest fat)
1 tsp rasam powder (substitute a good chili powder if you don’t have rasam powder)
¼ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
2+ Tbsp of water (enough to get desired consistency)

Algorithm:

Drain the tofu and wrap in a paper towel, and then wrap that in a dish cloth. Place wrapped tofu in between two dinner plates, and put something heavy like a big cookbook on the top plate to gently weigh down on the tofu, pressing out the water. Leave to drain for 30 minutes.
Combine all the dressing ingredients except the water in a pint mason jar, or other similarly-sized container. Add 2 Tbsp of water and stir until the mixture is homogeneous and smooth. Add more water a tablespoon at a time until you have something that is the consistency of a thick-ish salad dressing. A pepper and lemon juice to taste.
After the tofu has drained for a bit, unwrap it, and coat it with about 1/3 of the dressing mixture. Put it in a ziplock bag or an airtight container and then into the fridge to marinate for as long as possible before you’re ready to grill, ideally the night before.
Cut bell peppers from top to bottom into 3 to 4 long slabs. Remove any stems, ribs, and seeds.
Add remaining salad ingredients (from lettuce to chive flowers / chives) to large serving bowl and toss to combine.
When your grill is ready, put the marinated tofu slabs, the bell pepper slabs, and the skewered onions directly onto the grill and cook several minutes on each side, until heated through and just starting to get char marks on the outsides. Set aside for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.
Cut the tofu and bell pepper slabs into bite-sized cubes, and cut the onion squares into smaller bite-sized pieces if desired. Add these to the salad, and toss again to combine.
Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat, or (my preference) let others serve themselves salad and add their own dressing to taste (leftovers will last a lot longer if you store the salad and the dressing separately as well).

Spring Pea, Asparagus, and Beluga Lentil Bowl with Mint-Pea Yogurt Dressing

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Grain-free && Fat-free && Vegan Option && 30 minutes or less

I’m really getting into spring produce now that spring is in full swing! This bowl is a perfect edible way to celebrate the season. It’s actually a mix of a couple different very spring recipes I came across recently, adapted to what I had in my fridge at the time. It definitely isn’t the most photogenic dish, which made me hesitate for a second about posting it, but it was so delicious, I thought it would be a big shame not to share.

The mint-pea yogurt dressing is a slight adaptation from Hetty McKinnon’s new book “Family“, which is a gorgeous treasure trove of creative and delicious recipes, most of which can be made in under an hour; suitable for a weeknight dinner. I adore Hetty’s first book “Community“, which earned her the reputation in my mind of being the “other” Ottolenghi (plus she’s vegetarian!). Her books are worth seeking out.

Spring Pea, Asparagus, and Beluga Lentil Bowl with Mint-Pea Yogurt Dressing

30 minutes or less

Serves 4

Bits:

4 medium yukon gold potatoes (or any good roasting potato, or 1 lb cauliflower)
Sprinkle of olive oil for roasting (optional)
1 cup beluga lentils (or sub Puy / French lentils)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 lb asparagus, woody stems removed and chopped into 1½” batons
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
4 cups arugula
Salt and black pepper
Fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped, for garnish
Fresh chives, finely chopped, for garnish

For the Mint-Pea Yogurt Dressing:

1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
1/4 cup packed (10 g) fresh mint leaves
1 cup (250 g) non-fat Greek yogurt (sub vegan yogurt to make the dish vegan)
1 tsp honey (sub maple syrup to make the dish vegan)
1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
black pepper, or to taste

Algorithm:

Roast the potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Fill a medium sauce pan half way with water and set to a boil on the stove. Rinse and chop the potatoes into 1″ cubes. When the water is boiling, add the cubed potatoes, bring back to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Drain the water and spread potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss potatoes with a couple drops of olive oil and a generous dusting of salt. Roast for 25 minutes until potatoes just start to brown.
Boil the lentils: In a small sauce pan, add the lentils, 1 cup of vegetable broth and 1 cup of water. Bring the contents to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain any remaining liquid.
Boil the asparagus: Fill a medium sauce pan (rinse and re-use the pan used to boil the potatoes) half way with water, and bring to a boil. Add the chopped asparagus and bring back to a boil. Boil the asparagus for 2 minutes. Strain out asparagus with a slotted spoon and set in a colander or sieve to drain and cool.
Boil the peas: Bring the water used to cook the asparagus back up to a boil. Add the peas for both the main dish and for the dressing (2 ½ cups total), cover, and reduce heat to medium. Boil fresh peas for 2 minutes, or frozen peas for 4 to 6 minutes, until warm through. Strain out the water and set aside.
Make the mint-pea yogurt dressing: Combine ½ cup of the cooked peas and the remaining dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper as desired.
Put it all together: Combine the roasted potatoes, lentils, asparagus, the remainder of the cooked peas, and the arugula in a large serving bowl, or portioned out into smaller dinner bowls, and toss to combine. Drizzle generously with the mint-pea yogurt dressing, and sprinkle with chopped fresh mint leaves and chives. Enjoy!

Note: The dish without the dressing will last a lot longer in the fridge than if you combine it with the dressing and chopped fresh mint and then store it. If you anticipate the possibility of leftovers, have people add dressing and the chopped fresh mint and chives to their individual servings just before eating. Store the salad and the dressing separately in air-tight containers in the fridge, where they will keep for a week. Chopped fresh herbs may or may not last as long, depending on their freshness, so store any extra by themselves.

Surati Toor Dal with Broccoli and Roast Potatoes

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Vegan && Very low fat && Grain-free

I think I could eat some form of dal for at least one meal every day. Actually, I probably do. I’ve even been known to eat it for breakfast. (Really, why *not* eat it for breakfast?) Even now that the weather is starting to warm up here, there’s still nothing (well, almost nothing) more comforting and appealing to me food-wise than having a hot bowl of dal with some roasted potatoes and green veggies scattered on top. (Especially broccoli. Why am I obsessed with broccoli??) There are so many variations of dal and lentil soup recipes, and any simple roasted or boiled veggie makes a great topping, so it’s easy to change things up and keep these kinds of recipes interesting. I’m sure I’ll be posting more like this in the future.

This is a complete meal in a bowl that is vegan, filling, healthy, and above all tastes amazing. I had this for dinner last night, and actually opted for seconds instead of dessert (dessert for cyborgs is greek yogurt with seasonal fresh fruit on top… hard to beat, even if ice cream weren’t off limits.)

I think I’ve mentioned in a previous blog post, my absolute favorite place to get dal and other Indian groceries is Indian Sweets & Spices in Shoreline, Washington, just about a 20 minute drive north of Seattle. They have a great selection of organic dals, organic besan (chickpea) flour, organic spices, and plenty of non-organic everything else (including the best fresh curry leaves I’ve been able to find in the greater Seattle area, including the International District). You can also get organic dals and ingredients from Amazon of course, but I find everything costs at least twice as much on Amazon (even with free shipping) as it does at Indian Sweets & Spices, or any local international grocery store I’ve been to. So, particularly in this case, it really helps your community AND helps you to save a bunch money if you can shop local, wherever that may be.

(NOTE: This post is not sponsored, nor is any other post sponsored; all of the opinions expressed are solely mine. I feel strongly about what I like, and want to encourage people to use good quality ingredients and support their local economies whenever possible.)

Surati Toor Dal with Broccoli and Roast Potatoes

About 45 minutes start to finish

Serves 4 as a complete meal

Bits:

For the dal:

1 ¾ cups toor dal + ½ cup mung dal (or use all toor dal, or all red lentils, depending on what you have)
3 ½ cups vegetable broth (I use Imagine Vegetarian No-Chicken Broth)
1 tsp turmeric
2 large or 3 medium roasted red peppers from a jar
1 jalapeño (or other preferred chili)
1″ finger of fresh ginger (~ 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp after mincing)
20 fresh or frozen curry leaves
2 Tbsp peanut butter powder, reconstituted with 3 Tbsp water (Anthony’s is my favorite)
1 tsp jaggery (a.k.a. gur) (or 1 tsp honey or maple syrup)
1 ½ tsp salt (or to taste)
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp asafoetida (a.k.a. hing) **See note below.
1/2 to 1 tsp dried red chili flakes, depending on desired spiciness

For the veggies:

3 to 4 medium potatoes (I use yukon gold or red potatoes, as they’re less mealy than russets), cut into ¾-inch cubes
~ 1 tsp olive oil (optional, use a good drizzle more if you’re not fat-intolerant)
1 ½ tsp salt
2 heads of broccoli

Algorithm:

Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper.
Start the dal:
- Put the dal into a medium-sized deep mixing bowl and fill the bowl with water to the top. Skim off / pour out the foam and then strain the dal into a fine-mesh sieve. Repeat 3 or 4 more times until the rinsing water is just about clear.
- Tip the dal into a large sauce-pan or stock pot. Add the vegetable broth and 3 ½ cups water. Bring to a boil. Skim off as much froth as you can, then add the turmeric powder.
- Turn the heat down to a vigorous simmer, cover partially, and leave to simmer. Set the timer for 30 minutes.
Make the potatoes:
- Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add the cubed potatoes, and boil for 1 minute.
- Drain the water from the pan, and spread the potatoes on the parchment-lined baking sheet (rinse out the pan and set aside for now. Sprinkle the olive oil over the potatoes and sprinkle over the salt. Toss it all together to coat the potatoes as evenly as possible, and bake in the oven for 25 minutes.
Add ingredients to the dal:
- Cut the roasted red peppers into small dice, and stir into the dal.
- Mince the jalapeño and fresh ginger and stir into the dal.
- Roughly chop the fresh curry leaves and stir into the dal.
- Stir in the reconstituted peanut butter powder and jaggery (or sweetener of choice)
- Check the dal and add more water about a ½ cup at a time if the dal hasn’t started to fully fall apart and it’s starting to look a little dry.
Make the broccoli:
- Fill the pot the potatoes cooked in with water and bring to a boil. While it’s coming to a boil, cut the broccoli tops into small florets and the stems into bite-sized (about ¾”) chunks.
- When the water is boiling, drop in the broccoli and boil for 4 minutes until easily pierced with a fork.
- Strain out the water, and refresh in cold water to stop them cooking.
Finish the dal:
- When the dal is done cooking (after about 30 minutes, when the lentils are falling apart), put the heat on low and stir in the salt and lemon juice.
- Put a small frying pan on over medium heat and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, asafoetida, and dried chili flakes. When the seeds start to pop, tip them into the dal and stir through.
Add dal to each serving bowl and top with broccoli and potatoes. Enjoy!

Leftovers keep in the fridge for a week; dal can be frozen in an air-tight container for several months.

**Note: Asafoetida is another one of those ingredients that is helps make Indian dishes taste authentic and amazing, and it’s really tough to find a good substitute for. If you’re gluten-free, you have to watch out because it’s often mixed with wheat to help with processing it into a powder. A couple brands I’ve seen use fenugreek (and other fillers) to help with the processing, which makes it gluten-free, but you lose some of the intended flavor, and get a bunch of fenugreek instead… which is probably not bad, but I can’t imagine it’s quite as good. It can be tough to find, but pure asafoetida is naturally grain-free (and therefore gluten-free), and of course will have undiluted flavor. I’ve searched high and low for pure asafoetida powder, and Nature’n’Me is the best I’ve found so far (but sadly I’ve had to feed the monster to get it). If you really have to, you can try substituting ½ tsp garlic powder and ½ tsp onion granules instead.

Spring Pea, Bean, & Kraut Soup

Vegan && Non-fat && Grain-Free && 30 Minutes or Less

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I’ve made this soup every spring for the past several years (maybe even going on 10 years now…). It’s feels like the perfect bridge between warm comforting winter soups, and bright fresh spring produce. Plus, it’s really fast to throw together, especially if you’re starting with dried beans that you’ve soaked and cooked ahead, or if you want to make things super speedy with canned beans instead.

I’m just food-obsessed enough (and rely on beans as a super essential source of protein in my diet enough) that I am probably more diligent than most people about soaking and cooking dried beans on a regular basis. But really, if you can remember to do a couple pretty much hands-off steps ahead of time, it’s easy to have cooked beans on hand whenever you need them. And, who am I kidding, I have a hard time remembering too, so I write myself notes when I’m meal planning. I literally wrote myself a note last night for this morning to remind myself to put some dried cannellini beans in a quart mason jar (about 1/3 full) and fill it with water to soak this morning before work. Then when I got home, the jar of soaking beans sitting out on the counter reminded me to dump it all in a pan and start them boiling first thing before anything else. Once my coat and shoes were off, cats were fed (kitty dinnertime is a production at my house, but that’s a story that’ll have to wait for another day), and I started getting the rest of the ingredients out of the fridge, the beans were only a few minutes away from being cooked through.

This soup is adapted from a recipe by Peter Berley, in his excellent book “Flexitarian Table,” and Peter Berley also gets credit for the bean-cooking tip that I am about to impart to you now. Of course step one is to soak the beans first for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours at room temperature; if you start them soaking but don’t end up having time to cook them by 24 hours, just pop them into the fridge, still in their soaking water. They’ll wait there patiently for at least a few days until you get around to cooking them. The secret tip comes in at step two: pour the beans and their soaking water into a medium sauce pan and set to a boil; boil until they foam, skim off as much of the foam as you can, then strain out the beans, dump the soaking water, and rinse the beans and the pan completely. Then the final step is to put the beans back in the pan and add fresh water to cover the beans by about an inch. Getting rid of the foam and boiling them in fresh water in a clean pot makes the beans a bit easier to digest… even non-cyborgs need help digesting beans sometimes. My own secret bean-cooking tip is to use half broth and half water to boil the beans in the last step; this gives them a little extra flavor and makes them good enough to eat on their own. If you’re me, you’ll sneak more than a few while the rest of dinner is cooking, as a rule.

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I took a couple extra minutes to round out the meal. For my partner, who has no dietary restrictions, I made basically a fancy, but super speedy, grilled cheese sandwich, using a thick slice of sharp cheddar, sliced cherry tomatoes, chopped fresh chives, and a light smear of some grainy dijon mustard. (My grilled cheese secret tip is to start things cooking with some butter in the frying pan with the heat on medium high, and as soon as the bread crisps up, finish the sandwich in the oven at about 400F for a few minutes so the cheese melts and the rest of the filling warms through without burning the bread).

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For myself I made a egg-white scramble (eggs are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner), into which I threw some chopped arugula, sliced cherry tomatoes, a bunch of chopped fresh chives, and salt and pepper of course, which I then served up with some reheated leftover roasted potatoes (and let’s not forget the hot sauce!).

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All of these were really quick and easy to make, and made for an all-around fresh and filling dinner.

Spring Pea, Leek, & Kraut Soup

Start to finish in 30 minutes or less

Serves 4 as a main course

Bits:

2 to 3 large leeks, white and tender green parts only, cleaned and thinly sliced (about 2 to 3 cups)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh mint, plus extra for garnish
1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
1/4 tsp ground pepper, or to taste
2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 cups cooked/canned cannellini beans (or other white beans, if you don’t have cannellini on hand)
2 cups vegetable broth (I like Organic Imagine Vegetarian No-Chicken Broth)
2 cups water
3/4 cups drained sauerkraut + 1/2 cup drained sauerkraut (or kimchi) for garnish

Algorithm:

Add the leeks to a large saucepan or medium stockpot, and dry-fry over medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, until the leeks get soft and start to turn golden. (Add a tablespoon of water if the leeks start getting too dry and want to stick to the bottom of the pot).
Add the chopped fresh mint, salt, and pepper to the pot. Give it a stir and cook for another minute.
Add the peas, beans, vegetable stock, and water to the pot and bring to a simmer. If using fresh peas, simmer the soup for about 6 minutes until the peas are tender; if using frozen peas, simmer for about 4 minutes until peas and beans are hot throughout.
Add 3/4 cups of the sauerkraut and simmer for another 2 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and add more salt and/or pepper to taste.
Ladle the soup into serving bowls. Garnish with additional fresh mint and extra sauerkraut (or use kimchi instead of the extra kraut for a little extra spice and tang!). Slurp and enjoy.

Not Mac ‘n’ Not Cheese

Grain-free && Very Low Fat && Easily Veganized

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This simple mac ‘n’ cheese recipe is made without traditional macaroni and without cheese, but still tastes cheesy and satisfying like the old classic! The “mac” is replaced with pasta made from chickpea and/or lentil flour, which I’m seeing around more and more these days (such as this and this). You may have to be careful if you can’t tolerate grains though, because I’ve seen some chickpea and lentil pastas that also have rice flour in the ingredients. The cheese-free cheesy taste comes from a combination of nutritional yeast and spices, which won’t be any surprise to vegans.

The addition of fresh chopped tomatoes and some basil or arugula puts this dish over the top for me. If you can’t tolerate tomatoes in your diet for whatever reason, I feel your pain; I had to give them and other acidic foods (and coffee!!) up for about six years until after I got my gastric pacemaker a couple years ago. Fortunately, this recipe is nearly as great, in my opinion (maybe better, in your opinion) with another vegetable mixed in. My go-to substitute for tomatoes in any recipe always used to be roasted red peppers, which I think would work perfectly well here. Really you can mix in anything you want; any combination of fresh herbs, cooked broccoli florets, cubed roasted sweet potato, or roasted fennel would be quite tasty. Or don’t mix anything in, and keep it classic (and more kid-friendly)!

Finally, I make this recipe with some skim milk to keep the final recipe nearly non-fat, but if you are vegan and can handle fat, you can easily substitute the alternative milk of your choice to veganize it.

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Not Mac ‘n’ Not Cheese

Serves 3 hungry adults as a main course

Bits:

Optional veggie mix-ins (pick one, or none):

1 pint halved cherry or plum tomatoes + handful roughly chopped basil leaves
2 large roasted red peppers, chopped + handful arugula
½ lb roasted or steamed broccoli florets
1 lb roasted sliced fennel + small handful roughly chopped fresh parsley
1 ¼ lb cubed roasted sweet potato or butternut squash + small handful roughly chopped fresh sage

For the pasta:

8 oz box of chickpea or lentil grain-free pasta

For the sauce:

Dry:

¼ cup chickpea flour
1 tsp salt
½ tsp garlic powder
Large pinch of chipotle chili powder (more or less depending on spiciness preference)
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp smoked paprika
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast

Wet:

1 ¼ cup milk of choice (skim cow milk to keep the dish nearly non-fat, or alternative plant-based milk to make vegan)
¼ cup water
½ tsp of Dijon mustard
1 ½ Tbsp tamari
optional if you can eat fat: 1 Tbsp olive oil

Algorithm:

If adding a vegetable/herb mix-in, prep that first. Roasted vegetables can be roasting while you make the pasta and sauce. If using fresh sage, either dry-fry it or fry it in a little bit of oil to crisp it up.
Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
Combine dry ingredients for the sauce in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
Combine wet ingredients for the sauce in a small sauce pan, and turn the heat on medium-low. Stir continuously until almost simmering. If you let it boil, cow milk might split, so take care.
Remove pan from heat and slowly pour a little bit of the pan liquids into the dry ingredients, and stir to form a paste. Gradually continue to add a little more at a time of the pan liquids into the dry ingredients, stirring as continuously as you can, until the mixture in the mixing bowl is smooth and runny. Add the mixing bowl contents back into the sauce pan. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat. Stir continuously, until the mixture has thickened to a cheese-sauce-like consistency; this should only take a few minutes.
Divide pasta between serving bowls, and pour equal amounts of sauce on each. Add vegetable and herb mix-ins to each bowl, and gently stir until vegetables and herbs are distributed evenly. Devour while still warm.

North-African Spiced Dal with Lime and Curry Leaf Roasted Vegetables

Vegan && Grain-free && Very low fat

North African Red Lentil Dal w Curry Lime Roasted Veggies - top

Like the dish from the previous post, this started as two disparate recipes, but I realized they would probably go quite well together. I’m already a little bit obsessed with dal of any kind, and roasting is pretty much factually and provably the best possible way to cook a veggie. The spices and fresh leaves are the icing on the cake. When I first tasted this dal with the roasted vegetables together all in one bite I had a full-on Ratatouille moment. You know the one, where Remy the rat shows us the magic of two great tastes that taste even greater together. Somehow the result is more than the sum of its parts. Yeah, that was this, for me.

Fresh curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves can be a bit hard to source, but they are definitely worth seeking out. Especially fresh curry leaves; they’re one of my all-time favorite ingredients and I don’t think there is really any good substitute for them. Even dried curry leaves only have a tiny fraction of the flavor you’ll get from fresh or frozen. Fortunately if you can find fresh curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves, they usually keep for at least a couple weeks in the fridge, and for several months in an air-tight container in the freezer! (So stock up when you find them!) In Seattle I’ve found fresh curry leaves and kaffir lime leaves at H-Mart, though to be honest, the curry leaves there can be a little sad-looking (the leaves should be bright green, not brown). My absolute favorite place to get fresh curry leaves is a little Indian grocery in Shoreline called Indian Sweets & Spices. Definitely check them out if you can. They’ve got a nice selection of organic dals, grains, and spices as well.

Don’t be intimidated by the long ingredients list; half of it is just spices. Both parts of this dish are pretty easy. Most of the time to make the roasted vegetables is hands-off, so you can use that time to put the dal together.

North African Red Lentil Dal w Curry Lime Roasted Veggies - side

Adapted from KCET’s Red Lentil Soup with North African Spices and Yotam Ottolenghi’s Curry Roasted Root Vegetables with Lime from his (genius, amazing, beautiful) book Plenty More

Serves 6 generously, as a full meal (more if you add rice)

Prep and cook time: about an hour

Bits

– Roasted Veg

4 large carrots (about 900g), peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 2″ batons
4 medium parsnips (about 750g), peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 2″ batons
1 rutabaga (about 400g), peeled and sliced into 1/2″ x 2″ batons
Oil in a spray can (optional)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
3 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp curry powder
4 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves (2 stems), finely sliced
30-40 fresh or frozen curry leaves still on their stems
5 green onions, white and green parts, sliced on the diagonal
small handful chopped parsley

-Dal

1 large onion, finely chopped
1/2-inch thumb of ginger, finely diced (1 heaping tsp)
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
1 green chile / jalapeño, de-seeded for milder spice if desired, finely diced
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp rasam powder (or substitute 1 tsp curry powder)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
3 cups water
3 cups vegetable broth (I really like Organic Imagine Vegetarian No-Chicken Broth)
2 cups red lentils, rinsed in several changes of water, until water runs clear
1 tsp salt
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 sprigs (or to taste) fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped

Algorithm

Roast the vegetables:
- Heat the oven to 425F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Toss carrot, parsnip, and rutabaga batons together and spray lightly with oil, if using. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice, and curry powder, and toss to evenly coat.
- Roast 30 minutes, tossing once half way through.
- Add lime leaves, curry leaves on their stems, and green onions. Roast about another 10 minutes until the green onions have softened, but remove from oven if the curry leaves start to brown.
- Remove curry leaves from their stems; discard the stems and add curry leaves back to the baking sheet with the vegetables. Sprinkle over the remaining 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice and cilantro, and toss everything together once more.
Make the dal while the vegetables are roasting:
- Add onion to a large sauce pan, or dutch oven over medium heat. Stir for about 5 minutes until onion starts to become translucent (moisture released from the onion itself will keep it from sticking and burning in the pot; no oil needed!).
- Add ginger, garlic, and chile; cook for 2 more minutes, stirring occasionally to keep anything from burning. Add the spices through the rasam (or curry) powder, and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant. Stir in tomato paste, and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add water, broth, and lentils. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and partially cover. Simmer vigorously for about 15 minutes until the lentils are starting to fall apart.
- Stir in salt, lemon juice and the mint. Taste and adjust seasonings as desired.
To serve: Ladle the dal into deep bowls. Top with a generous serving of roasted vegetables. Sprinkle with any extra mint or parsley, as desired.

Fennel, Kale, and Chickpea Skillet with Citrus Baked Polenta

Vegan && Grain-free && Very low fat

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This is a harmonious mish-mash of two great recipes I came across recently, along with some changes of my own, of course. My partner always tells me to make a new recipe as written the first time, and then make whatever changes I want the next time around; it makes sense to experience the recipe as intended and go from there. Out loud I usually respond with a “Yeahhhhh, you’re right”, but then quietly I make my changes anyway. I have no regrets. I won’t judge if you want to take your own spin on any of my recipes the first time you make them either.

No regrets!

Adapted from Martha Stewart’s Oven-Baked Creamy Polenta (my go-to polenta recipe!), and the Kitchn’s Couscous with Chickpeas, Fennel and Citrus

35 Minutes

4 Servings

Bits:

– Polenta

3/4 cup medium grind polenta
zest and juice (~1/4 cup) of 1 navel orange
zest and 1 Tbsp juice of 1 lemon
2 3/4 cups water
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp milk of choice, depending on preferred consistency

– Skillet

1 large fennel bulb, fronds removed and reserved
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp rasam powder, or curry powder
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1 small bunch kale
3 cups chickpeas, canned or cooked from dried
1 Tbsp lemon juice, plus more to taste
Small handful of parsley leaves, roughly chopped

Algorithm:

First make the polenta. Preheat the oven to 425F. In big flat baking dish (mine is 10″x10″) with a lid, combine all the polenta ingredients except for the milk. Give everything a quick stir, and put in the oven with the lid on. Bake 15 minutes, stir, and bake 15 more minutes. At the end of the 30 minutes stir in the milk, using more or less depending on the consistency you like.
While the polenta is baking, make the skillet.
- Quarter the fennel bulb from top to bottom, and cut out the dense core from the bottom. Slice cross-wise into ~1/2-inch slices. Place into a large (10-12″) non-stick skillet and dry-fry for 7 to 9 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it starts to turn a caramel-y golden color; add a tablespoon at a time of water as needed if it starts to stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the ground coriander, rasam powder (or curry powder if you don’t have a good rasam), and salt. Stir and cook for about a minute until fragrant.
- Slice the kale greens off of the central stems, and slice cross-wise into 1-inch strips. Add these to the skillet; stir and cook about 3-4 minutes until they start to wilt.
- Add the chickpeas to the skillet and cook a couple minutes until warmed through. Take a taste and add more spices as desired.
- Add the lemon juice to the skillet, give everything a final couple stirs to mix through, and remove from heat.
Spoon cooked polenta onto serving plates or into bowls and top with the skillet mixture. Generously garnish with chopped parsley leaves (normally I’d say parsley is an optional garnish, but it really adds something to the finished dish here!).