[recipe in photos]
I’ve been feeling a little bored with my cooking lately, so I decided to look for a few new cookbooks for ideas. I picked up the “Salad Seasons” book the other day and flipped through it this afternoon.
It is rare I actually make a recipe from a cookbook, but this recipe caught my eye because I had half a bag of fresh cauliflower rice to use up. This recipe looked pantry friendly with a few small tweaks.
My changes:
1. I replaced the golden raisins with tart cherries. I was open to buying these but the grocery store failed me. Since the recipe noted that the tart flavor of golden raisins was more suitable than brown raisins which are much sweeter – I went for a tart fruit choice. I chopped them lightly.
2. I used pumpkin seeds instead of pine nuts. I didn’t have pine nuts and I didn’t want to buy any. I don’t use them often.
3. I didn’t have parsley, but I did have some cilantro to use up and arugula. So I chopped those instead.
4. I used white onion over yellow since I had a half in the fridge.
5. I used champagne vinegar not white wine.
I cooked the recipe as as a half batch, but I added chili flakes with the onions. In the end, I also felt it needed more acid and more spice. So I added more vinegar, more red pepper flakes, Aleppo flakes, and sumac for extra bright/lemony flavor.
And my verdict? This turned out delicious and was really easy. The flavors were interesting a good blend of tart, sweet, crunch, and umami.
I’d say that any leafy herbs would work well. Mint would be really nice. The arugula and cilantro were great and I would have added more. Or maybe served it on a bed of arugula. The wine vinegars can be interchangeable, so use what you have. I also think most dried fruit would work well, you may need to play around with the acid or spice. I also think that you can use many nuts or seeds. Pistachios would be great for sure. Walnuts would add a little bitterness which could work. I think pecans might be wrong. But almonds and hazelnut would be nice too.
Also this book looks great based on my quick scan. Lots of interesting recipes from easy to moderate, generally with easy to find ingredients, and new flavor combos. I only saw a couple of recipes that looked similar to something I had previously made or had.
The rest of my plate? I had some leftover shrimp topped with some peri peri hot sauce and some leftover wheat sesame sourdough to finish up to add some whole grains.
– Seafood ✅
– Beans ✅
– Veggies ✅
– Antioxidants ✅
– Healthy fats ✅
– Whole grains ✅
– Mediterranean recipe ✅
by PlantedinCA