Greek Turkey Bunless Burgers and Rice Pilaf

I love gyros. We ate tons of them in Greece and there's a great gyro place down the street from us in Davis Square. I tried this version of a turkey pita-less gyro/bun-less burger semi-salad the other night and we'll definitely have it again and again. The feta in the burger keeps the turkey from getting too dry (a trick I learned from a delicious Flour turkey burger recipe). The tzatziki is key to making this what it is - either buy some or make it (recipe linked to another Greek recipe below).


Turkey Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion pwder
1 cup cooked spinach, juices squeezed out and chopped
1/3 cup feta

Rice Pilaf

1/2 onion, finely chopped
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup rice

Extras
Tzatziki
Chopped tomatoes and cucumbers



1. Saute the onion over medium high heat. Add the rice and cook until translucent. Add the broth and cook the rice until tender.

2. While the rice is cooking, combine the turkey burger ingredients in a large bowl and make patties. Cook over medium high heat in a bit of olive oil until cooked through.

3. Serve burger over rice with tzatziki and veggies on the side.

Antipasto Tortellini Salad

It's been HOT this summer. Really, really hot. Paddy still asks for scorching pasta and sauce about weekly, but I just can't do it. I'm iced coffee and pasta salad May-Oct with few exceptions. This is super easy and a good change up from the usual.

Half a package of frozen cheese tortellini cooked extra soft and tossed with olive oil
1 cup sliced salami - either chopped up extra deli meat or packaged, sliced salami
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1-2 cups fresh mozzarella, chopped
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup chopped jarred peroncino
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp red wine vinegar, or balsamic
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Chicken Shawarma Salad

Chicken shawarma is one of my favorite ways to eat chicken. It reminds me of hot, sunny afternoons in Greece and treats to myself when living in Mali. This recipe from Food and Wine skips the pita and goes for salad, which I actually prefer.


Chicken
1/3 cup olive oil
6 tbsp lemon juice
5 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp paprika
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
2 lbs chicken thighs
2 red onions cut into 8 wedges

Salad 
Head of romaine lettuce
Chopped tomato and cucumber
1 cup creme fraiche or plain yogurt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup cilantro
3 scallions
2 tbsp finely chopped jalapenos - deveined and seeded

1. Whisk the oil through the spices in a bowl and pour into a large ziplock with the chicken and onion. Marinate overnight or at least one hour.

2. Preheat oven to 450 and bake chicken and onions on a foil lined baking sheet for 30-40 mins or until browned and chicken cooked through.

3. For the salad, whisk the creme fraiche/yogurt, olive oil, and lemon zest and juice and season with salt and pepper.

4. Serve the chicken sliced with lettuce, tomato and cucumber. Top with cilantro, scallions, and jalapeno and the craime fraiche/yogurt on the side.

Tortellini Chicken and Arugula Salad

10 minutes. That's what Cooking Light says and it's true. You don't count the time it takes to boil the water but 10 minutes!!! It takes less time to decide what to order on a take-out menu and punch in your credit card :)

1 package of frozen cheese tortellini
2 cups chicken breast (either leftover, pulled from a grocery rotisserie or whatever you've got in the fridge)
1 garlic clove, minced
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
3 cups baby arugula
thinly sliced shallot (optional - I'm not a fan of raw onion but someone in my family eats them like apples)
1/4 cup Parmesan

1. Cook the tortellini. Drain, rinse with cold water.

2. Combine garlic, oil, lemon, sugar, salt and pepper and mix well (or use store bought salad dressing but you'll get a completely different meal).

3. Toss the tortellini, arugula and chicken and drizzle with dressing.

Sauteed Greens with Pine Nuts and Raisins

Ok, so this doesn't sound that great, I know. But I've been trying to minimize effort in the kitchen, which means that many nights I throw bone in chicken breasts into the oven before putting Jack to bed and then seeing what I can pair with them after he's asleep to make it seem like it's not exactly what we had the night before. This was very good - adapted from Fine Cooking. We were pleasantly surprised. You can substitute the greens - the recipe called for chard but I used kale. Whatever you got...

3/4 cup raisins (preferably golden but don't go out of your way!)
1 bunch of kale, Swiss chard...some kind of hearty green, trimmed
1/4 cup olive oil
1 medium red onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of parsley if you have it
1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted on the stove top for 10 minutes or until brown
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
Small handful of Parmesan

1. Soak the raisins in boiling water until plump. Drain.

2. Heat oil in a large saute pan, add the onion and soften. Add the garlic. Add the greens. Toss until tender, 5-10 mins.

3. Remove from heat, add the raisins, parsley, lemon, cheese, and salt and pepper to taste.

Spice Rubbed Chicken Thighs with Jalapeno Guac

We eat tacos all. the. time. What else would I do with all of that leftover chicken? But because we have them, ahem, at least once a week, I try to change them up as much as possible...which includes serving them tortilla-less.

1 package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper
Enough kale or other greens for a salad
1 cup or more of black beans
1 cup or more of corn
1 cup or more of diced tomatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp honey
1/8 tsp dijon mustard
2 avocados
2 - 3 jalapenos, seeds and veins removed, finely diced
Juice of one lime
2 tablespoons of sour cream or plain yogurt (if you have it)

1. Combine the chili powder through the salt and pepper and rub thoroughly into the chicken thighs. Given them 30 mins if you have it, otherwise, do everything else before you grill them.

2. To make the salad dressing, combine the olive oil thorugh the mustard to make your dressing, or use store bought dressing if you have it.

3. To make the salad, combine the kale, beans, corn, tomatoes and dress salad.

4. To make the guacamole, combine avocados, jalapenos, lime juice, and sour cream/yogurt and salt & pepper.

5. Grill the chicken and serve over the salad with guac on the side.

Vietnamese Style Pork Chops with Kale and Cabbage Salad

I don't usually get excited about pork chops. Tenderloin - yes. Chops? Not so much. And Paddy [usually] tries to hide his disappointment when I make pork in general. But we eat A LOT of chicken and sometimes you gotta change up the routine a little. I made this a few weeks ago and we were both blown away. I used boneless chops and marinated the hell out of them. The sugar caramelized when these were on the grill and they were incredibly tasty over this salad. Adapted from Food and Wine.

1 large shallot or a small onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup fish sauce

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tsp black pepper

4 pork chops - bone in or out

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Salad greens (I preferred kale for this)

1/2 English cucumber, sliced

1 cup cabbage or cole slaw mix
Fresh basil and mint if you have it (or either)

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp lime juice

1/2 tsp honey

Salt & pepper

1. Mix the ingredients through the black pepper (blend or put in food processor if you can). Transfer to a ziplock, add pork, and marinate for 1 - 12 hrs. I highly recommend doing this first thing in the morning for dinner.

2. Heat grill to medium high. Remove chops from marinade and season with salt and pepper. Grill the chops turning once until lightly charred, about two mins per side.

3. Combine your greens and cabbage with the scallions and cucumber. Make the dressing by mixing the olive oil, lime juice, honey and S&P. Toss salad with dressing and serve the pork, sliced, on top.

Crunchy Vegetable Salad with Warm Peanut Dressing and 7-Minute Egg

Jack's been on a peanut butter and toast breakfast kick lately so peanut butter's back on my radar. It's some pretty messy stuff when you mix it with a 1.5 year old. No matter how well I wash his face and hands after breakfast, I swear I still smell peanut butter on him at the end of the day. Where is he saving it??  In his hair and behind his ears. Anyway, the weather's warming up and my dutch oven is going into summer hibernation. It's time for salads and the grill! This is from Bon Appetit. There are a lot of peanut sauce recipes out there but this is the best one I've had in a long time. The salad is delicious and can keep for days - it's also really filling and makes a great dinner. You could easily add chicken or shrimp to this.

Sauce

2 green Thai chilis or jalapenos, seeded, cored, minced
1 clove of garlic
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup coconut milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce

Salad

4 eggs (or as many people you're serving)
1/4 head of Napa cabbage, thinly sliced
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 celery stalk, thinly sliced
1 seedless cucumber, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1/3 cup fresh mint, chopped
1/3 cup peanuts, chopped
4 cups cooked brown rice

1. Add all sauce ingredients to a small sauce pan with 1/4 cup of water. Heat over medium-low, whisking often until hot, about 5 minutes. If it gets to thick, add a little more water.

2. Add eggs to a pot of boiling water and cook for 7 minutes. Transfer eggs to bowl of ice water until cooled. Gently peel and set aside.

3. Toss the cabbage, scallions celery, cucumber, cilantro, mint in a large bowl. Serve over warm or chilled brown rice with peanut sauce on top and halved eggs on the side.

Kale Pesto Hearty Salad

I eat a lot of kale. It's my favorite green. I chop it up and mix it into at least half of what we eat. So the other night when were low on dinner options because the fridge was looking pretty empty, I used it as a base for this salad...also because my basil plants in the balcony garden haven't quite reached their full potential and I needed a filler. I used brown rice for this salad but pasta, barley, wheat berries, and quinoa would be great subs. I also served this room temperature but it's good hot or cold.

2 cups of cooked brown rice, slightly cooled
1 bunch of kale, stems removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, thinly sliced
3-4 basil leaves (depending on how basil-y you'd like it, you can add more)
1/4 cup of walnuts or pine nuts
1/3 cup olive oil, divided
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp honey
1-2 cups of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup of peas
1 cup of chicken if you have it (left over roast chicken is great)

1. If you don't have leftover cooked rice on hand, get your rice going while you do the rest of the steps.
2. In a medium skillet, heat 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds. Add the kale and some salt and pepper. Cook until just softened - you don't want it mushy. Remove from pan and set aside.
3. In the same pan, add the shallots and cook until soft. Remove from heat.
4. In a food processor, add the kale, garlic, basil and nuts and process until until it forms a wet paste.
5. In a small bowl, mix the rest of the olive oil, mustard, honey and red wine vinegar until emulsified.
6. While the rice is still a bit warm, add the vinaigrette and mix well. Add the kale mixture and stir until well combined. Add the tomatoes, peas and chicken and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Corn Lovers' Potato Salad

It's corn season! We've been eating it every night. Usually steamed, but often grilled. I love charred, grilled corn. It reminds me of walking through downtown Bamako in Mali after a day at school and going to catch my bus home. Women line the edges of the side streets, crouched down over small charcoal grills, turning their corn over the hot coals. The best kind of snack.

These days, I'll grill up a bunch and bring a cob to work to munch on as a snack. But warning - have floss ready. Getting corn in your teeth is a whole other story when: 1) the corn is black, and 2) you're at work. Awkward smiles at meetings. Trust me folks.

1 bunch or about 1 lb of small baby potatoes, halved
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup charred corn (shuck the corn and put directly on high heat grill, turn occasionally)
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup cilantro
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

1. Place potatoes in medium saucepan and cover with water. Boil for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain.

2. Heat a large skilled over medium high heat. Add the oil. Add the potatoes and tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes. Add the corn and cook another minute. Add salt and pepper to taste.

3. Transfer to a bowl and mix in cilantro and cheese.

Rice and Bean Salad with Lime Dressing

Ok, so maybe not as enticing as a burrito or a plate of cheesy enchis. But this salad is delicious and totally guilt free. I've gotten in the habit of making large grainy salads on the weekends that I can eat for lunch throughout the work week. This is a great one. Cheap, easy and tasty.

1 cup of brown rice, barley or farro
2 cups chicken broth
3/4 can of black beans, rinsed
1/2 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
3/4 cup frozen corn, thawed
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 lime, juiced
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the rice to a boil in the broth. Turn down to low and simmer for 30-40 mins or until broth is absorbed and rice is tender. Take off the heat and let cool.

2. Add the beans through the tomatoes to the rice and mix well.

3. Mix the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper and pour over the rice and beans. Stir well. Will last pretty much as long as you need it to in the fridge (within reason).

Cauliflower and Herbed Barley Salad

I realize that this doesn't sound terribly exciting...cauliflower and beans? But this is delicious. And I almost always trust Bon Appetit. You could always swap out the dressing ingredients with your favorite dressing. The key is to get nice, brown, roasted cauliflower.

1/2 cup barley
1 tbsp lemon zest
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp mayo
1 tsp dijon mustard
6 tbsp olive oil
1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets
1 15 oz can of butter beans, rinsed
1/2 chopped parsley
2 tbsp fresh tarragon

1. Cook the barley in water or chicken broth for about 1/2 hour until tender.

2. Whisk the lemon juice, mayo, mustard and 5 tbsp of the oil. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Heat oil in a large skillet and add cauliflower. Cook at medium high until tender and browned on all sides. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer the cauliflower to a large bowl, add the beans, parsley, barley, tarragon and the dressing. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with the lemon zest.

Grilled Vegetable and Rice Salad with Herby Vinaigrette

I'm on a roll with brown rice these days. I actually don't like it in hot food though. If I'm gonna have rice, I want it as white and sticky. Plus, you can't beat the flavors of basmati and jasmine. However, I started using brown rice a lot this summer as a "filler" in salads...meaning, I need more than just vegetables for lunch if I'm gonna make it through the day without gnawing on my desk. Turns out, this is a great role for brown rice. This salad is based on a recipe from Bon Appetit. You can use any herbs that you have but this combo is quite good!

Vegetables
12 okra pods (yes, you can skip it and use another veggie but grilled okra is actually quite good!)
3 ears of corn, shucked
1 large zucchini, cut lengthwise in 1'' slices
2 long chiles (Anaheim are good) stemmed
1 small eggplant, cut lengthwise in 1" slices
1 tbsp sea salt

Dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp brown sugar
Juice of 1 lime
1 cup or so of fresh herbs (tarragon, mint, basil, cilantro)

1 cup brown rice

1. Cook the brown rice and set aside to cool.

2. Mix the vegetables with a drizzle of olive oil and salt. Grill on high heat until softened a bit and lightly charred. Place the chiles in a bowl with plastic wrap and let them steam to loosen the skins. Peel and discard the skins and take out the seeds. Let all of the veggies cool and chop into chunks.

3. Put the dressing ingredients in a food processor with a drizzle of oil. Blend until you have a pesto consistency.

4. Mix everything together and put in the fridge!

Carrot and Jalapeno Salad

Growing up we had a huge garden. I think I took it for granted when I was younger - I wasn't that interested in vegetables and it really only seemed cool when we ended up with the odd zucchini that grew to the size of a small baseball bat. Now that I'm older and love to cook, I'd love nothing more than the garden we used to have. Unfortunately, our tiny backyard doesn't get any sun so I'm stuck farming on my front balcony. We've had some success with potted tomato plants but this year I added a pepper pot. We have more jalapenos than we know what to do with. So I've branched out beyond the salsa and guac and found this recipe. I was really skeptical about it (I'm not a huge carrot lover) but the ingredients seemed interesting so I gave it a shot. LOVE it!! It's modified from a recipe out of the Herbfarm Cookbook - a wedding present from my old roommie and dear friend Per. This is delicious and healthy - a great lunch salad. Don't be worried though - the salad isn't spicy, as long as you de-seed and devein your peppers.

**Be warned - when chopping your jalapenos - wear gloves. No matter how hard you try, you WILL put your finger in your eye and deeply regret it. I skipped the gloves when making this the last time and my finger tips burned for days!

4-5 large carrots - sliced using a rolling cut (very small wedges). Note - if using larger carrots, you might want to blanch the cut carrots to soften them up a little. Fresh from the farm smaller carrots are a little more tender and sweet and don't really need the quick boil.

2-5 jalapenos, seeded and finely chopped
1 lime - zest and juice
2 TB olive oil
2 tsp honey
2 TB chopped cilantro
2 TB chopped mint
1/4 cup chopped basil
1 cup cold cooked brown rice (optional - I think it gives this salad a little more umph)
1/2 tsp salt

1.Combine all of the ingredients and let marinate for at least an hour. This salad gets better with time!!

Thai Grilled Beef Salad

Have you ever noticed that flank steaks are always enormous? It's a good thing - it's my favorite cut of meat and there are always leftovers. I love to make sandwiches with the leftovers - heat it up and put it in a baguette with some lettuce and it's delicious. It's also great on salads and, since I love everything Thai...(did I ever imagine fish sauce would become as regular an item on my grocery list as mayo??).  This recipe modified from Cooks Illustrated is a good one for a cool summer dinner.

Juice of 2 limes
2 TB fish sauce
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne
2 TB water
1/2 tsp sugar
3 shallots
1 cup mint leaves, chopped
1 cup cilantro, chopped
Flank steak leftovers - or whole one if you're looking for something to do with it!
Lettuce
1 cucumber, sliced

1. Mix the first nine ingredients together in a bowl until the sugar dissolves.

2. Heat up your flank steak quickly in a hot pan or leave it cold.

3. Add to the lime mixture and marinate about 5 minutes.

4. Layer the lettuce and cucumbers. Remove the steak from the marinade and lay on top. Spoon extra dressing over the salad as desired.

Roasted Asparagus and Tomato Penne Salad

This is from Cooking Light and it's really easy and yummy. The best part about it is that it's combination of pasta dish and salad. You can eat it warm or cold so it's good for all seasons!

2 cups uncooked penne
handful of asparagus spears
1/2 container of cherry tomatoes
1 shallot, minced
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 TB dijon mustard
1 1/2 tsp honey
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives
2 cups baby arugula
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Cook pasta, drain and set aside.

3. Put asparagus and cherry tomatoes on a cookie sheet and drizzle with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss gently. Bake for 5 minutes or until asparagus is tender but still crisp. Then remove asparagus and bake tomatoes for another 4 minutes. Take out of the oven when done and let them cool a bit.

4. Cut the asparagus into 1-inch lengths and halve the tomatoes.

5. Whisk together the shallots, lemon juice, mustard, and honey. Add 3 TB olive oil, salt and pepper.

6. Put pasta, asparagus, tomato, olives, and arugula in a large bowl. Drizzle with the dressing and mix to coat everything. Top with the goat cheese.

Corn & Quinoa Salad

So Kel and I hit up Nubar for Restaurant Week last week, it's the new place at the Sheraton Commander in Harvard Square. It was VERY GOOD. And as always, I use these special restaurant week indulgences to get ideas for new stuff, new very good stuff. Kel's first course was this Corn & Quinoa salad - it was delicious and light and healthy and I had to make it at home. It's incredibly easy, a good use of leftover or uneaten corn on the cob this time of year and it's high in nutrition. I'm generally not big on seeds, yes it's a seed not a grain, but this is very yummy and has proven to be one of Paddy's new favorites.

It's great on its own but I like it with grilled chicken and steak. You could add chicken to it, warm or cold or mix in other ingredients/spices too to jazz it up or to go with your meat.

1 cup quinoa
1 1/4 cups water or chicken broth
3 ears of corn, steamed or grilled
1/4 cup of olive oil
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper
Green leaf lettuce

1. Cook the quinoa according to directions. Like anything that needs to be boiled or rehydrated, I found that it's tastier if made with broth instead of water.

2. Cut the corn off your cobs.

3. Make your salad dressing by mixing the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. You may not need all of the olive oil, so go easy and add more after if you need to. Add some lemon zest for good measure if you feel like it.

3. When the quinoa is done cooking, transfer to a medium bowl and mix in the corn. Add the salad dressing and mix well. It's good to do this while it's warm because it'll bring out the flavors of the oil.

4. Once it's cooled down, serve on a bed of green lettuce.

Wilted Romaine Salad with Bacon

This salad is a great way to use some extra bacon fat. It goes perfectly with the Bacony Buttery Roasted Chicken Breast with Mushroom Sauce. Not the healthiest salad but man is it good!!

3 hearts of romaine, chopped intact so lettuce chopped in ribbons
4 slices of crispy bacon, chopped
2-3 TB bacon fat
1 TB sugar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
dash of black pepper

1. Put the lettuce and bacon bits in a bowl.

2. Over medium high, heat the bacon fat, sugar and vinegar until it bubbles and the sugar dissolves. Remove from eat and let it cool slightly

3. Pour over the lettuce while warm. Mix well and serve.

Potato Salad

Not much to say about potato salad other than...summer!

3-4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
3 tbsp white vinegar
1 celery rib, chopped fine
2 tbsp minced red onion
3 tbsp sweet pickle relish
1/2 cup mayo
1/4 tsp dry mustard
2 large hard boiled eggs, cut into small pieces
salt and pepper

1. Place potatoes in a large saucepan with water so that potatoes are covered by an inch. Bring to a boil, add salt and cook until potatoes are tender (fork easily inserted).

2. Drain potatoes and transfer to a large bowl. Add vinegar and toss gently to combine. Let the potatoes sit for about 20 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, stir together celery, onion, relish, mayo, mustard, and salt and pepper. Gently fold in the eggs.

4. Fold the mixture into the bowl with potatoes, cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 1 hr.