Kalamata Olive Tapenade

I often experience making a meal out of an assortment of small chew-sized or finger foods, as although my kitchen had a miniature tapas menu. Depending on the subject matter of the meal, a home made olive tapenade is nearly an important thing, and it is best for spreading over crackers, crusty bread or flatbreads, and so easy to make that it leaves me time to prepare any of the extra complicated capabilities of the meal.

But best of all, a tapenade is full of the strong flavor of olives, making it an instantaneous appeal for any olive fan you're hoping to thrill ? Specifically if you're the olive fan. This tapenade has specifically sturdy flavors as I've covered solar-dried tomatoes, balsamic vinegar, and lots of herbs further to a beneficiant amount of plump irrestible Kalamata olives. You can use any kind of olive you enjoy the most ? Inexperienced or black, Italian, French, Spanish or Greek ? Or a aggregate of your favorites, but Kalamata olives have a meaty texture and exclusive wine-like taste that supply this tapenade greater vibrancy and punch.

Other recipes featuring olives that you will experience:

Kalamata Olive Bread with Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Homemade Olive Tapenade Pizza

Greek Feta & Olive Frittata

Marinated Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus with Olives

Black Olive & Sun-Dried Tomato Hummus

Audio Accompaniment: Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan - Allah Hoo Allah Hoo (live at WOMAD Yokohama 1992)

Classic North Indian Mung Beans with Cumin, Onion and Ginger

With their specific sweet and earthy taste, mung beans are for me in particular comforting and wholesome. They're smooth to digest in each the entire or split form, but whole mung beans do not take lots longer to cook dinner than split ones, and as long as they haven't been unluckily omitted within the lower back of your pantry, require little or no soaking time both. They may be mixed with different dals even though I frequently like to function them as the shining legume in a dish, specially while they may be lightly greater with simple spices and flavors that serve to convey out the essential traits of the colorful mung bean.

This short and smooth dish is an excellent instance. There is a mild warmth from chilies which are cooked with the dal whole, instead of minced or integrated into the tarka or tempering at the end of the dish. Cumin and coriander complement the earthiness of the mung, and ginger and garlic add just a hint of pungency, in conjunction with some texture, to spherical out the dish, as does the trace of zest from the sparing use of lemon juice. It's an exercising in restraint and a memorable traditional precisely because of the balanced simplicity of the instruction and flavors.

In the identical way, very little is needed to go with the dish for it to serve as a fulfilling meal. A mattress of hot rice, with a few green peas mixed in, and some preferred flatbreads, such as coconut roti, are without a doubt all you need to experience content and nourished.

More recipes featuring mung beans to experience from Lisa's Kitchen:

Creamy Spinach with Mung Beans

Gingered Mung Beans

Mung Tamarind Dal

Asparagus and Peas in a Creamy Mustard Sauce

Asparagus would not appear in traditional Indian dishes, but Indian cooking features such a variety of spices, flavors and strategies that any vegetable can find a delicious role to play in an Indian fusion-style recipe. This changed into in reality the case with an Indian-fashion asparagus with spiced tomato and crumbled paneer cheese that I've made on more than one event. And as summer season is alas usually too short in Canada, and subsequently the asparagus season, I once more approached this valuable vegetable with the flavors of India in thoughts.

And even as asparagus and mustard sauce are not an unusual pairing, this recipe enhances the taste of the creamy mustard sauce with ginger, chilies, cumin seeds, turmeric, coconut milk and lemon juice to provide it that more Indian flair. Combined with gentle pan-fried asparagus spears and plump green peas, this is every other Indian-style summer season dish that I'll make certain to make again too.

Other asparagus recipes to try from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Wasabi Roasted Asparagus

Asparagus Mimosa

Asparagus and Oriental Tamari Dressing with Pine Nuts

Asparagus with Spiced Tomato and Crumbled Paneer

I'm sharing this with recipe with Eat Your Greens, a month-to-month event celebrating the goodness of greens co-hosted by using Shaheen of Allotment2Kitchen and The VegHog who's web hosting the August edition.

Deep and Smoky Vegetarian Chili

A respectable vegetarian chili is without a doubt alternatively easy to do, and a very good preference for now not most effective pro vegetarians, but also for those cooks who're new to vegetarian cooking, and those confronted with the possibility of cooking for a vegetarian but perhaps instead at a loss for words approximately what to prepare. And chili is a great meal answer anytime of 12 months that is almost guaranteed to delight nearly all of us on the table. Once the prep is accomplished, it is essentially only a matter of letting things simmer gently for some time and every now and then giving it a stir. It's pure comfort meals on a chilly wintry weather day, and over the hot summer months, because you do not need to exertions over the recent pot, it's notable too, and a nice thick chili like this one can be served over tortilla chips along side different toppings for a few loaded nachos.

But, a actually precise vegetarian chili is one that calls for a chunk more staying power and idea, and although this one truely comes together in infrequently whenever at all, it has some extra touches, consisting of the addition of walnuts for additional texture, protein, and an trace of nuttiness that compliments the smokier factors. I've additionally delivered sun-dried tomatoes for a deeper taste in conjunction with diced tomatoes. The essential sources of protein are plump pink kidney beans and earthy black beans, and as common with chili, there are a number of veggies featured, such as succulent mushrooms, carrots and peppers, and of path, because this become a advent of Lisa's Kitchen, lots of spices and warm chilies, and a few fresh and dried herbs too. Overall, this is a satisfying chili with a complexity of flavors you might not quickly overlook.

Other one-pot food you can revel in from Lisa's Kitchen:

Black Bean and Quinoa Mexican-Style Chipotle Vegetarian Chili

Black Bean Chili with Mushrooms and Toasted Spices

Hearty Vegetarian Beet Borscht with Lentils, Quinoa and Fresh Dill

Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili with Azuki Beans, Barley and Mushrooms

Red Kidney Bean Jambalaya

On the pinnacle of the reading stack: In Praise of Folly: The Blind-spots of Our Mind through Theodore Dalrymple

Audio Accompaniment: ASC - The Waves

Tamarind Paneer and Mango Salad with Ginger Lime Dressing

Salads are of course a must anytime of yr, although all through the summer time months serving them up as a focal point of a meal is a perfect way to cut down on time spent soaring over a hot stove. Admittedly, there may be some cooking time worried in this salad, as the paneer cheese cubes are browned up in conjunction with the shallots, however while you experience the sparkling and vibrant flavors that feature on this salad, you'll discover it became nicely well worth the effort.

With a myriad of textures, and candy, sour and tart flavors, its boldness is simplest tempered through the elegance of the presentation, although even that demands attention. Succulent chunks of paneer cheese are fried till golden with crisp shallots after which completed and accented with tamarind. This whole explosion of goodness is then served over a mattress of combined veggies and fresh herbs dressed with lime and ginger and topped with sweet and plush slices of sparkling mango.

Do word, clean herbs are critical for this recipe for the whole eating enjoy, even if now not available in season.

Other Indian inspired salads to enjoy from Lisa's Kitchen:

Black Bean Salad with Fresh Mango and a Chaat Masala Dressing

Indian-Style Coleslaw

Chickpea Salad with Chat Masala, Mango and Pomegranate Seeds

Indian-Style Potato and Green Bean Chaat Salad

Indian-Style Potato and Pea Salad with Tamarind and Chat Masala

Indian-Style Beet Salad with a Yogurt Dressing

Audio accompaniment: Vladislav Delay - Entain

Hummus Dressed Quinoa Fusilli

Hummus never goes to waste in my kitchen because there are so many ways to enjoy it. Simply serving it with chopped vegetables and flatbreads and crackers is a treat in itself. But after enjoying a recent batch of homemade hummus for a few days, it occurred to me to incorporate the small quantity that remained into a main for dinner, and so this ridiculously easy pasta dish made with staples I had on hand in the kitchen ended up serving as a satisfying summer meal solution.

Though it hardly seems like much of a recipe, I assure you it's one worth remembering next time you have hummus on hand. Serve it hot, or cold as you would a salad. And the possibilities are endless really. Just consider the garnishes alone, such as fresh herbs, dry roasted nuts, slivered almonds, or walnut or cashew pieces, or some even some grated cheese or vegan Parmesan if you want something even more substantial.

Other pasta dishes to enjoy from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Mushroom Spaghetti Bolognese {Vegan}

Lemony Pasta with Broccoli and Chickpeas

Linguine with Pea-Basil Pesto and Mushrooms

Penne with Fennel, Tomato Sauce and Blue Cheese

Saffron Rice with Nuts and Dried Fruit

Though this rice dish is simple to prepare, it's far regal indeed, peppered as it is with small jewels within the shape of dried fruits and nuts, which make each mouthful an experience with a myriad of textures and flavors. Graced with saffron, which is not simplest royal because of the valuable rate however additionally for the specific and unmatched barely sweet, yet faintly sour and subtle subtle taste its presence contributes, and with the addition of great fragrant spices, this is dish you can serve for any occasion, which include one that might fantastically supplement a festive meal.

Any variety of dried culmination and nuts may be used, which includes cranberries, currants and cashews, to call only a few versions or additions you can desire to keep in mind.

Other rice dishes to experience from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Cracked Black Pepper Rice

Yellow Lemon Rice with Fried Cashews

Green Pea Pulao with Cashews

Coconut Lime Rice with Adzuki Beans and Mango

Audio accompaniment: Max Richter - Memoryhouse