Fattoush Salad #SundaySupper

One of the things I long for during the long, cold, dreary winter is meat on the grill.

Nothing smells better. Nothing tastes better. Well, only if you’re a carnivore at heart, of course.

One of my favorite things on the grill is lamb … lamb chops, to be exact. And to bring this end-of-the-winter, let’s-celebrate-the-spring feast together for me nothing is better than a Fattoush Salad from Forever Summer by Nigella Lawson.

The salad is bright and fresh. Great, simple ingredients, simply dressed.

To make the salad gluten free,  just skip the last step and don’t add the pita bread.

This is another one of those do-ahead dishes that just gets better as it sits waiting for you to devour it! And devour it you will!

• 2 pita breads
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 cucumber, quartered lengthwise and chopped
• 4 tomatoes, chopped
• Generous handful of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 6-8 T olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Salt
• 1 t Sumac powder to sprinkle over finished salad

NOTE: I used an English cucumber and had to cut it into eighths, not quarters. I find they’re much less watery.

Gently, but thoroughly, mix the chopped red onion, cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and garlic together.

Dress the salad with the olive oil, lemon juice and a little salt.  Refrigerate until almost ready to serve.

You want to have the pita bread still slightly warm and crisp, so this final step should be done just before serving.  Split the pita bread in half and toast or put in the oven for five minutes.  They should be crisp, but not completely brittle.

Using scissors, snip, or just break apart with your hands, the toasted pita bread into medium to small pieces and stir into the salad mixture.

NOTE: This was a lot of salad for two people. Knowing I’d be using the rest of this salad for lunch the next day, I sprinkled the pita shards on top so they would be eaten then and wouldn’t be a yucky, soggy mess in the salad the next day.

Sprinkle over the sumac so it is noticeable but not too thick.

This is part of another wonder Sunday Supper. This week’s theme ‘Free for All’ hosted by Beate at The Not So Cheesy Kitchen. Check out the rest of the posts if you get a chance!
Breakfast
Breakfast

• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut & Soy Free Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding by girlichef
• Dairy & Nut and Sugar Free Blueberry Tangerine Muffins by Vintage Kitchen
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut, and Soy Free Homemade Mango Jam Recipe by Masala Herb

Main Courses

• Gluten Free Nothing Missing Manicotti by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Gluten Free Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Meatballs over Courgette Noodles by Small Wallet, Big Appetite
• Gluten Free Pizza by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Balsamic Portobello Burgers by Curious Cuisinere
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Nut Free Mushroom Risotto Bake by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Vegan Mac and “Cheese” by Webicurean
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Creamy Mushrooms on Pasta by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

Sides

• Gluten Free Persian Cucumber Yogurt by Shockingly Delicious
• Gluten Free Quinoa with Olives, Basil and Sun-dried Tomatoes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
• Dairy Free Farro and Fruit Salad by Magnolia Days 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Dairy Free Fattoush Salad by From the Bookshelf
• Gluten Free Chickpea Fritters by The Lovely Pantry
• Dairy, Egg, and Gluten Free Black Bean and Mango Salad by Soni’s Food
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, and Nut Free Grilled Fennel Salad by Food Lust People Love

Breads

• Dairy & Gluten Free French Bread by Blueberries and Blessings
• Dairy & Gluten Free Crunchy Almond Sesame Crackers by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Treats

• Dairy & Gluten Free Individual Chocolate Pavlovas by The Girl in The Little Red Kitchen
• Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies by Juanita’s Cocina
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Apple Almond Butter Cookies by What Smells So Good?
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Nut Free Lemon Cardamom Wedding Cookies by Gourmet Drizzles
• Dairy Free Chocolate Gelato by Growing Up Gabel 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Sugar Free Cantaloupe, Strawberry, & Coconut Gazpacho by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Gluten Free Meringue Kisses with Dulce de Lece by Basic N Delicious
• Dairy & Egg Free Vegan Everyday Chocolate Loaf by Gotta Get Baked
• Gluten, Dairy, and Nut Free Coconut Macaroons by Happy Baking Days
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Soy Free Tastes like Chocolate Ice Cream by Cookistry
• Gluten Free Enoki Mushroom & Pine Nut Quinoa by Family Foodie
• Gluten Free Mousse & Cookies by Ninja Baking
• Gluten Free Brown Butter Snickerdooles by Pies and Plots
• Dairy, Egg & Soy Free Chai Spice Coconut Ice Cream by Daily Dish Recipes
• Gluten Free Lemonade Dip by The Messy Baker
• Nut & Fat Free Chocolate Angel Food Cake by Table for Seven

Drinks

• Gluten & Dairy Free Honey Bear Smoothies by Neighborfood
• Sugar Free Strawberry Meyer Lemonade by The Weekend Gourmet

Chicken Teriyaki

There are only so many ways you can cook chicken before you start to resent Frank Perdue, and Murray, and that lovely couple Bell & Evans.

This wonderful recipe comes from Nigella Lawson’s Kitchen. Some really wonderful recipes in this book. This recipe may actually make my poultry resentment fade away.

The recipe is quick and flavorful, and different enough t make things interesting.  If you’re worried about the high sodium content, use low sodium soy sauce.

• 2 T sake
• 1/4 C mirin
• 1/4 C soy sauce
• 2 T light brown sugar
• 2 t grated fresh ginger
• Splash sesame oil
• 1 3/4 pounds chicken thigh fillets (no skin or bones), cut or scissored into bite-sized pieces
• 1 t peanut oil

NOTE: Don’t buy sake just for this recipe. You can use vermouth or white wine as a substitute.

Combine the sake, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, ginger and sesame oil in a dish that you can marinate the chicken in.

Add the prepared chicken pieces and let marinate 15 minutes.

Heat the peanut oil in a large shallow frying pan or casserole (that has a lid) over medium heat. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the chicken pieces from the marinade to the pan. Saute them until they look cooked on the outside.

Add the marinade to the chicken pieces and bring to a bubble, turn down the heat to a gentle simmer, put the lid on and cook for about 5 minutes.

Remove the cooked chicken pieces with a slotted spoon (you could keep them in a bowl covered in aluminum foil to keep them warm) and turn the heat up under the pan to let the liquid boil down to a thick dark syrup.

Return the chicken pieces to the pan, stir well so that all the chicken pieces are coated in the sticky savory syrup. Serve with a comforting pile of sushi rice or rice sticks, perhaps some steamed baby bok choy or other veggies of your choice.

NOTE: In the cookbook, Nigella made this with Sushi rice. On the series that went with, she made it with rice sticks. I found them in Trader Joe’s, but a lot of Asian sections in the supermarket have them as well.

Ghiradelli Chocolate Pavlova

 

I want to dive into this picture and eat the whole thing!

We love pavlova in our house. Usually just a plain pavlova with some sort of fruit and whipped cream on top. But for Sunday dinner our guests included someone from Australia and someone from New Zealand. What better than a Pavlova smack down!? All the stops needed to be pulled for this battle!

 

Thanks to Foodbuzz Tastemakers and Ghiradelli Chocolates sending me a box full of wonderful dark chocolates to try, I decided to experiment with Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova. 

But, wait, we have a problem – the boy doesn’t like chocolate. HMMMMMM… the solution? Mix up the pavlova as I usually do, split the lovely, glossy meringue mixture in half, add half the cocoa powder and chopped dark chocolate that Nigella calls for in her wonderful Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova recipe and then make individual pavlovas.

With this recipe I made 8 WAY TOO BIG pavlovas – 4 plain and 4 chocolate. I could have easily made 8 of each and made them like little nests, but – well, go big or go home!

I used the same Nigella recipe that I used for my Darling’s birthday cake, just making a few adjustments.

• 8 large egg whites
• pinch of salt
• 500 g (17.5 oz) superfine sugar
• 1 tablespoon corn starch
• 2 teaspoons vinegar

For the topping:

• 500 mL (2 cups) whipping or double cream
• Raspberries
• Sliced kiwi
• Raspberry sauce

To make half the meringue chocolate:

• 1 1/2 T cocoa powder
• 25 g chopped dark chocolate

NOTE: The eggs should be at room temperature. This step makes all the difference in the world. Leave them out for a few hours before separating the eggs. Use the egg yolks for a creme brulee or a pudding. 

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Because I was making these smaller, I did them free form on the parchment.

Beat the egg whites and salt with the whisk attachment of a stand mixer or an electric beater until thick soft peaks form. Beat in the sugar, a scattered spoonful or two at a time, until the meringue is stiff and shiny. Sprinkle over the cornstarch and vinegar, and gently fold into the meringue.

This is where I made the split.

For the half that I was making chocolate, I sprinkled the cocoa and chopped chocolate over the top and gently folded. 

Make small (and far smaller than mine) mounds or meringue and using a spatula, shape them and make a small dent in the center of each pavlova to hold the whipped cream and fruit.

Place in the preheated oven and immediately turn down the temperature to 300°. Bake for 1 hour and 20 minutes, during which time the meringue will puff up. Turn off the heat, open the door and leave to cool sitting in the oven — it should be left to cool in the oven until shortly before serving, or alternately it can be cooked ahead of time and stored in an airtight container for a week or so.

I whipped the heavy cream until light and fluffy and added a teaspoon of vanilla extract and a few teaspoons of sugar.

Onto the table were a pile of Pavlovas, a plate of freshly sliced fruit, a pitcher of raspberry syrup and a bowl of whipped cream. It was make your own Pavlova day!

You may be wondering about the smack down results. The only smacking were the smacking of lips and ooohs and aaaahs!

 Thanks you Ghiradelli and Foodbuzz Tasemaker for this tasty opportunity!

There’s still time to stop by my wonderful Giveaway ~ $100 American Express gift card! So simple – follow this link and leave a comment! Winner will be picked September 29th!