Tag Archives: tahini

Fall Slaw with Lemon Tahini Dressing

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IMG_7008 (3)At first I fear the change of seasons. Did I fit in everything I wanted to in the past season> The answer is always no. But sure enough I come to appreciate the change of pace and all the joy a new season brings with it. Autumn is a time to slow down, bake, and drink tea, while still enjoying some warm days and abundant produce. It is the perfect time to make those crossover recipes with summer ingredients and fall flavors.

My full Potter Hill share this week was Tokyo Bekanna, kale, chard, salad turnips, tomatoes, eggplant, lettuce, peppers, onions, and zucchini. I used the chard and white onions in an autumnal soup with mushrooms and quinoa. The salad turnips and lettuce went into a simple salad paired with crispy avocado tacos. The tomatoes, peppers, and red onion were the base of an epic panzanella from Six Seasons (the tomato was my edit).  Panzanella is not usually my favorite dish, but this one had me rethinking my opinion. I finally got around to baking with zucchini (better October than never!!) and made chocolate zucchini muffins from Good and Cheap (page 21). Roasted Eggplant and Tomato Soup is perfect for this time of year.

Fall Slaw with Lemon Tahini Dressing

Adapted from The First Mess

This is a great base for veggie burgers. I made the sweet potato quinoa patties from the inspiration recipe alongside. These quinoa cauliflower patties and these chickpea cauliflower burgers are also great options. Tokyo Bekanna is a light cabbage that adds great crunch to this slaw without being as fibrous as a normal cabbage. You could use cabbage, chard, or more kale in its place.

  • 1/3 cup tahini
  • 3 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic, grated
  • 1 teaspoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 bunch kale, stemmed and shredded (about 3 cups)
  • 1 bunch Tokyo Bekanna, shredded (about 3 cups)
  • 1/4 cup chopped dill
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley

Put the tahini, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, Dijon, honey, salt, and water in a blender or food processor and blend to combine. Taste and adjust to your preferences. It should be very lemony, as it will mellow on the greens. In a large bowl combine kale, Tokyo Bekanna, dill, and parsley. Top with dressing and massage into the greens. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving.

 

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Vegan Tofu Bowls with Citrus Tahini Sauce

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tofu bowl 2What should make when you need a reset after weekend eating? When you aren’t fully inspired, but have a fridge full of random vegetables? Or, when you feel like there is nothing in the fridge? When you have a bunch of diet restrictions at the dinner table? When you want to eat something incredibly satisfying and delicious?

Tofu bowls.

I’ve been making some variation of this bowl almost monthly for years. Tofu, rice, and the sauce are constants, but toppings always fluctuate depending on the season and what is in the fridge. If the ingredient list for the sauce seems long (or maybe contains nothing in your normal pantry), know that almost all the ingredients keep very well, so once you invest in them once you can make these bowls whenever the craving strikes (which will be often). The sauce is the great unifier and elevator that takes this from a bowl of health to a delightful dinner you really want to eat.

I like to use a mix of raw and cooked vegetables for textural contrast, but you can literally use whatever you fancy. Cucumbers, carrots, radishes, salad turnips, and avocado all make great options for a raw component. For cooked I’ve used many different types of greens (kale, collards, radish, turnip, chard), cabbage, Brussels sprouts, summer squashes, winter squashes, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, and eggplant. Don’t feel limited by these options, use what you’ve got. This is also a great time to utilize leftover cooked vegetables from another meal.

This is the tail end of my CSA and my final week included celeriac, sweet potatoes, radishes, parsley, scallions, and lettuce. I used the lettuce in a salad inspired by this recipe with roasted carrots, couscous, and yogurt. It is an excellent time of year to make these root vegetable bowls.  If you haven’t yet, it’s time to make the celeriac slaw from a couple weeks ago (I’d throw in the scallions too), or this excellent winter chowder. If you want to see the whole season of CSA recipes, they are under the Potter Hill tag!

Vegan Tofu Bowls with Citrus Tahini Sauce

Serves 6.

Tofu marinade and method adapted from Thug Kitchen, sauce just barely adapted from Bowl + Spoon (which is also posted here). I’ve written this to serve 6, but if you want to scale this assume ¼ cup uncooked brown rice (1 ½ cups total) and ~2.5 ounces tofu per serving.

Marinated Tofu

  • ¼ cup low sodium soy sauce
  • ¼ cup rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon garlic chili sauce (or, 1 teaspoon grated garlic and 2 teaspoons sriracha)
  • 1 14-ounce container extra firm tofu

Citrus Tahini Sauce

  • 1⁄3 cup fresh-squeezed orange, clementine, or tangerine juice (you only need a little, so go the distance)
  • ½ cup tahini
  • 2 tablespoons honey, maple syrup, or agave
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon sriracha
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper

For serving:

  • Cooked brown rice or noodles (see head note)
  • Raw vegetables and herbs (for these I used 1 small bunch radishes (sliced), pickled onions, scallions, and avocado)
  • Cooked vegetables (for these I used 1 large sweet potato which I cubed and roasted with the tofu, plus the radish greens which I threw on the same pan as the sweet potato in the last 2 minutes of cooking)

Remove tofu from container and drain all liquid (don’t discard the container!!!). Wrap tofu in a clean cloth napkin or dish towel, and place on a bowl/plate. Top with another bowl/plate, and place a weight on top (such as a full can of beans). Let drain for at least 30 minutes, but longer is great.

While tofu is draining place all marinade ingredients in a bowl and whisk to combine.

Remove tofu from the napkin and slice into 1/4″ planks width-wise (you should have 10-12 planks total). Return planks to their original container, and pour marinade over them. Poke in between the slices so the marinade can mingle. Let tofu marinate for 30 minutes (flip the slices over halfway through if you can remember to).

Preheat oven to 450F. Spread out tofu slices (reserving additional marinade) and roast for 15 minutes. Flip, spoon extra marinade over each slice, and roast for 10 more minutes. Flip one more time, spoon any remaining marinade over, and roast for 5 minutes more.

Whisk all sauce ingredients to combine. Prep vegetables for serving.

Serve bowls with rice, tofu, raw and cooked vegetables, any extra marinade, tahini citrus sauce, and extra sriracha. For maximum meal flexibility let diners assemble their own bowls.

 

 

Quinoa Lentil Salad with Summer Veg and Tahini Dressing

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20170809_154641I didn’t have a plan for dinner tonight. We already had pasta and sandwiches with chickpeas and tzatziki this week, and plans for pork with rice on Thursday. I wanted a different protein, so I pulled lentils from the pantry. The lentils reminded me of this salad, but I wanted it to be a meal in itself so I grabbed some quinoa. The fridge was stocked with cucumbers, kohlrabi, cilantro, scallions, and fresh onions from Potter Hill. I love the tahini dressing with the Smitten Kitchen lentil salad, so I just barely adapted it to fit what I had on hand (I only had one small lemon, so I used vinegar as well to have enough acid).

What resulted is a salad that could be easily adapted with the grain, protein, and vegetables you have on hand. What is most important to me is the pickled onions to brighten, and the creamy dressing to bring everything together.

Quinoa Lentil Salad with Summer Veg and Tahini Dressing

  • 1 cup green (Le Puy) lentils, rinsed
  • 1 garlic clove, halved
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 3 cups of water, divided
  • 1 small fresh onion, chopped (mine was the size of a large shallot and about 1/4 cup chopped)
  • 1 tablespoon red wine or sherry vinegar
  • 4 small or 2 medium cucumbers, chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 medium kohlrabi, peeled and chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 3 scallions, chopped
  • 1 handful cilantro leaves, chopped (about 1/4 cup chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon sumac (optional)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds (optional)

Dressing

  • 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons water

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the rinsed lentils, both halves of the garlic clove, bay leaf, and olive oil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook for 25-30 minutes. Check halfway through and add a bit more water if necessary. The lentils should be soft, but not falling apart. Taste a few to ensure the batch is done. Drain, and allow to cool for a few minutes.

Put 1 cup of water in a small saucepan to boil. Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt, cover, reduce the heat to medium low, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove the top, fluff with a fork, and allow to cool for a few minutes.

In a small dry pan toast the cumin and coriander over medium heat for 2-3 minutes until fragrant and lightly toasted. Cool slightly, and grind in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.

Add the minced onion to a small bowl and toss with the one tablespoon of vinegar. Let sit for 10 minutes (or more if you have time).

Mince the garlic, and then use the 1/2 tablespoon of salt and the side of your knife to mash it into a paste (use your knife to scrape the garlic and salt against the cutting board repeatedly until a paste forms). In a jar add the ground spices, the garlic salt paste, and the rest of the dressing ingredients. Cap the jar and shake to combine.

In a large bowl toss the cooked lentils, cooked quinoa, chopped cucumber and kohlrabi, scallions, cilantro, and dressing.  Toss until everything is thoroughly mixed and coated in the dressing. Garnish with the sumac and sesame seeds (if using).