Fattoush with Grape Molasses, Fenugreek, and Mango Powder

Mediterranean foods are perfect for Spring and Summer... well, any time of the year, really, but as fresh produce is abundant around this time of the year, it makes it all the more easier to serve up these bursting-with-goodness options.

Fattoush is a wonderfully fresh salad if one can get the traditional spices, but, suitable substitutions are fine with me. I tend to go MediterrAsian or MediterrIndian with the spices that are handy.

Coating the pita with olive oil and lightly pan-frying them is an extra step I do sometimes to prevent the pita from soaking up the vinaigrette and ending up a soggy mess.

Grape Molasses, one of the original sweeteners, is still a favorite for me, especially in vinaigrettes. I try to keep an extra jar in my pantry, as these are not easy to find in the regular grocery stores. While I don't actively hunt for ethnic ingredients, I can't pass them up when I find them at specialty stores around town that I manage to visit on and off.


MedirrIndian Fattoush Dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
Juice of 1 lemon, plus its lemon zest
2 Tbsp grape molasses
1 Tbsp finely pressed/minced garlic
½ tsp dried mint leaves
1 tsp dried fenugreek leaves
¼ tsp dried mango powder
½ cup extra virgin olive oil, maybe a bit more...
salt to taste

For the salad:
English cucumbers (or burpless Persian cucumbers if available)
kale
radicchio
cherry or grape tomatoes
seedless red or black grapes
kalamata olives
avocado
scallions or red onions or both, thinly sliced
whole wheat pita bread, or naan

Served here with leftover Fenugreek Sesame Oregano Cumin Stuffed Eggplant, plus some wholewheat pita slices, and those gorgeous kale flowers that I am determined to enjoy for the short couple of weeks that they grace my garden.

Refreshing Cucumber Mango Sweet Potato Salad

Come spring, I start dreaming about the various fresh vegetables that will start rolling into the market as the season progresses... and the salads I can make with them.

This refreshing cucumber mango salad is marinated in a zesty lime vinaigrette for that extra burst of flavor. Semi-ripe and firm mangoes that are not mushy work best for this salad as they bring the tangy-sweet flavor.

Sweet potatoes are optional, but, since the older child loves them, it gives another dimension to the salad with its texture, and its mildly sweet flavor.

Ingredients
English cucumber, diced chunky
Seedless red grapes, halved lengthwise
Grape or cherry snack tomatoes, halved lengthwise
Celery stalk with leaves, coarsely chopped
Kale leaves, ribboned
Orange bell pepper, diced
Semi-ripe but firm mango, sliced
Shallots or purple onions, sliced thinly

Lemon-Lime Sweet Vinaigrette
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp honey or agave nectar
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp ground paste of fresh jalapeno and cilantro**
1 Tbsp cilantro chopped finely for garnish
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp chives
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 garlic clove squeezed through garlic press
6 Tbsp hazelnut oil or walnut oil
salt to taste

**Pulse some fresh cilantro leaves, some fresh de-seeded jalapeno, some oil and apple cider vinegar to make a coarse paste

Preparation

1. Massage the kale ribbons with some olive oil and let them sit 
2. Combine the cucumbers, mango, celery, bell peppers, onions and toss with some salt and the cilantro-jalapeno paste from the step above; allow to marinate while assembling the rest
3. Pan-roast the sweet potatoes and allow to cool before tossing into the salad
4. Stir together the vinaigrette ingredients, adjust to taste
5. Serve layered or tossed, with feta or goat cheese, if preferred

Stuffed Cucumber Hors d'oeuvres

Perfect for summer, and hard to stop eating, these stuffed cucumber rings didn't start out to be stuffed cucumber rings. They were supposed to be cucumber sushi rolls. But, after sacrificing a cucumber or two, I decided to blame the knife for not doing its job and decided to enlist the trusty old spoon instead.


Inserted the back of a long spoon and scooped out the innards of the cucumber, leaving a fairly thick fleshy part to make up the hollow cylinder for stuffing.

Filling ingredients: Cream cheese, feta, grated carrots, shallots, and sambal oelek came together for a thick and creamy stuffing.

Stuffing/Filling can be prepared ahead and refrigerated till ready to serve. And, keep the stuffed cucumber refrigerated until ready to serve. Also, preferably, place the serving tray over ice, or, as I found out on a hot day, the filling likes to melt and ooze out before we were ready to eat.

Cucumber, Cherries, Tri-color Mini Peppers, Tomato Salad

The fresh, crisp vegetables and fruits with a light citrus dressing makes this a perfect summer salad. Accompanied by a tall glass of Watermelon Smoothie, this cucumber-cherry-pepper-tomato salad can be a sumptuous summer mid-day meal. Add in a small hunk of Pugliese bread to mop up the dressing and it turns into a feast-of-sorts.

But that is not all. Stir in some plain non-fat beaten yogurt and it turns into a peerless raita to accompany spicy Chicken Paella or Hyderabadi Chicken Biriyani.

Cilantro, mint, tomatoes, and sweet walla walla onions were from the home garden.

Ingredients
cucumber
mini tri-color peppers
pitted fresh cherries
shallot or small walla-walla sweet onion
yellow fresh tomato
cherry or grape red tomatoes
½ serrano chili (de-seeded, if preferred)
1 tsp freshly grated ginger (optional)

roasted sunflower seeds or peanuts for garnish

Asian Light Citrus Dressing:
4 mint leaves, chopped finely
1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 tsp mirin
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp sesame oil
a pinch of salt as needed
a dash of ground black pepper to taste

Thai Cucumber Salad

Before my trip, D and I were trying to eat healthy by eating up the lettuce in our garden that got out of hand growing like weed and daring us to keep up the harvesting. So, I was looking for interesting ways to consume the bounty and this salad caught my attention in one of my Thai cook books (will add a link when available).

The idea is to marinate the cucumber, red onions, tomatoes and baby corn in a simple vinaigrette. This can be eaten as-is, which is typically the Thai cucumber salad recipe. However, to make it a meal, I added a few more veggies tossed together and served cool or at room temperature.

Of late, coconut vinegar has become one of my favorite ingredients and it is perfect in this dish. Also, if mirin is not handy, just use some favorite sweetening ingredient to balance the flavors.

Ingredients
Vinaigrette/marinade:
2 Tbsp coconut vinegar
2 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp mirin
1 Tbsp light soy sauce
1 Tbsp peanut oil or sesame oil

½ large cucumber sliced thinly
½ large red/purple onion, sliced thinly
1 medium tomato sliced or cut into wedges
1 red or green pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
8-10 baby corn, sliced
some toasted sesame seeds or, coarsely broken roasted peanuts
fresh crisp lettuce to form the bed for the salad
some cauliflower, broccoli; and pickled asparagus (optional) if handy, cut into bite-size pieces

Preparation

1. Combine the vinaigrette ingredients, pour over the veggies and toss lightly; allow to sit for about 30 mins
2. Heat a tiny bit of sesame oil in a wok, sauté the cauliflower, broccoli and asparagus with some soy sauce and coconut vinegar; remove from wok and allow to cool
3. Prepare a bed of fresh crisp lettuce, pile the marinated veggies and the sautéed and cooled veggies, top with toasted sesame seeds or crushed roasted peanuts