Pace Setter : February 2022

Spring Into Health Recipes from Workshop

by Anouk Booneman

We had our first indoor cooking class at Spring into Health with Anouk and Danielle. While we continued (outdoors) with our activities and gatherings, we haven’t had a cooking class in almost two years. Our group was delightful and made a delicious meal.  We cooked a few recipes from Ottolenghi Test Kitchen that I mentioned in a previous post.

The hummus recipe in the book got my attention. While I have been making hummus for decades, this recipe had a few additional steps that I wanted to try. I used canned chickpeas that still needed to simmer (usually I use those as is), there is hardly any oil involved, but the chickpea water is used which makes for a very light hummus. The chickpea skin is also removed, which really doesn’t take too much time. The mixture is blitzed smooth with ice cubes which was also new for me.  The result was a very light, smooth hummus.  We also made a delicious Brussels sprout salad with lemon dressing that I highly recommend. Very flavorful and it makes you forget (well almost) the winter.

My favorite recipe from the book (and the year so far) is the confit tandoori chickpea. A recipe that comes together in minutes, is healthy, warming and delicious. Make a large batch ahead and you are set for a few meals. It holds really well in the fridge.

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For those interested in our workshops, click here for website or here for Facebook.

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Dreamy Hummus (Ottolenghi, Test kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans of chickpeas, drained
• salt
• 1 pinch ground cumin
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 garlic clove, minced, or more to taste
• 1½ tbsp lemon juice, or more to taste

Ingredients for the toppings:

• olive oil
• any chopped herbs
• toasted nuts
• rose harissa or your choice of chili paste

Directions:

1. Spread the chickpeas out between two kitchen towels and use your hands to vigorously rub the towels together for a few minutes. Don’t press down too hard on the chickpeas; you don’t want to. “Crush them”. Lift the top towel, to see how you’re doing—the friction should have caused the chickpea skins to be released. Discard the skins.
2. Put the canned (and now peeled) chickpeas into a saucepan with enough water to cover, 1 teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of cumin. Simmer for 15 minutes, until soft.
3. Drain the chickpeas over a bowl, saving the water. Put the warm chickpeas into a food processor with 7 tbsp of tahini, the garlic, lemon juice, a couple of ice cubes, 2 tablespoons of reserved chickpea water and a good pinch of salt. Blitz until smooth(ish), then check on the hummus. You might need more tahini, garlic, lemon, and salt and very likely more chickpea water. Add a bit of each as you need. Don’t be shy about adding more tahini—each brand differs and may require you to use more. Blitz the hummus until very smooth, a few minutes at least. Don’t worry about the hummus being too loose; it will thicken as it sits.
4. When ready, spread the hummus in a shallow bowl, creating a well in the center. (If not serving right away, store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days.) Top with a generous glug of olive oil, then personalize your hummus as you wish. We sometimes add herbs, toasted nuts, or rose harissa, but these are just suggestions.

Ed. Note: My husband and I went to one of Anouk’s cooking classes where Bill Hoffman was speaking.  Bill’s speech was unforgettable as was Anouk’s cooking class.  She taught both my husband and me how to make plant based recipes that were delicious and wildly healthy. We loved her class.

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Brussels Sprout Salad with Lemon Dressing 

Inspired by: Ottolenghi Shelf Love

Ingredients:

• Brussels sprouts (or use another green cabbage like sweetheart cabbage)
• 8 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 3 minced garlic cloves
• 1.5 tbsp whole grain mustard
• 2 oz parmesan (optional)
• 4.5 oz kale leaves
• 1 small red onion
• 1 up basil leaves
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1/2 cup toasted and chopped hazelnuts 

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450
2. *Use only HALF the brussel sprouts* Put the Brussels sprouts, 2 tbsp of oil, 1/2 tsp of salt and a grind of pepper on a parchment lined baking sheet and mix to combine. Roast for 18 minutes, stirring halfway until well browned and cooked through
3. Make the dressing by putting the lemon juice, garlic, mustard, capers, 1/4 tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper into the bowl of a food processor and blitzing it smooth.
4. Then thinly shave the rest of the brussels sprouts. Put the dressing in a bowl. Add the sprouts and then thinly sliced kale. Massage the mixture allowing it to wilt slightly, about ten minutes. Add basil (optional).
5. To the bowl add the onion, basil. chopped hazelnuts, parmesan and roasted brussels sprouts and mix to combine. Pile onto a large serving dish 

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Confit Tandoori Chickpeas

Inspired by: Ottolenghi Shelf Love

Ingredients:

• 2 cans chickpeas drained
• ¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
• cherry tomatoes or other small tomatoes
• 10 cloves garlic peeled
• Fresh knob of ginger root peeled & julienned
• 3 mild chilies  slit cut down their length
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp coriander seed roughly crushed in a pestle & mortar
• 2 tsp cumin seed roughly crushed in a pestle & mortar
• 2 tsp red Kashmiri chili powder or paprika to make it less spicy
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp chili flakes
• ½ tsp fine table salt

For the herbed yogurt:

• ¾ cup thick Greek-style yogurt or unsweetened, plant-based yogurt for vegan option
• ½ cup fresh coriander (cilantro) roughly chopped
• fresh mint leaves roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 clove garlic peeled and crushed
• ¼ tsp fine table salt
• lime wedges, to serve

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F
2. Combine the chickpeas, oil, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, chilies, tomato paste, sugar, spices and salt in a heatproof sauté pan or roasting dish. Mix together by hand to combine everything. (chickpeas, extra virgin olive oil, tomatoes or other small tomatoes, 10 cloves garlic, fresh ginger root, 3 mild chilies, tomato paste, sugar, cumin seed, coriander seed, red Kashmiri chili powder, ground turmeric, chili flakes, fine table salt
3. Cover the pan or dish with a lid (as long as it's ovenproof) or foil or a baking tray, to cover. Cook in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes, stirring everything halfway through the cook time, until tender and fragrant.

Directions herbed yogurt:  Blitz together the yogurt, coriander, mint leaves, lime juice, garlic and salt until the herbs have broken down.

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