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Entries Tagged as 'tangy'

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel with Cilantro Yogurt Sauce

6.10.2013

I grew up in a town where ‘world cuisine’ meant heading to a chinese buffet or picking up a deep dish pizza. It wasn’t until I moved to Bloomington that I discovered the wonderful world of Falafel and Coconut Curry and Samosas and Naan and Pad Thai. Fast forward five years later and I can’t imagine living my life without these foods. Ethnic foods bring a world (literally) of variety into a vegetarian diet. I couldn’t imagine wanting to whip up anything else besides a big bowl of Curry or Samosa Patties on a rainy day.

These baked sweet potato falafels are a fun twist on the traditional deep fried chickpea falafel. Full of protein and vitamin B6, these little patties will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied with out all the grease. They also reheat wonderfully for a great left-over lunch.

Note that you can also bake or boil the sweet potatoes in the recipe below to reach a desired ‘mashed’ consistency. I chose steaming because it’s supposed to retain the most nutrients out of any of the cooking methods. ALSO, you can easily make this recipe vegan by omitting the feta topping and choosing a vegan sauce to put on the patties (how about this vegan avocado cilantro dressing?)

Baked Sweet Potato Falafel with Cilantro Yogurt

2 sweet potatoes, diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 garlic clove, minced
juice from half a lemon
1 cup chickpea flour
olive oil
salt/pepper

Cilantro sauce:

1/2 cup chobani plain greek yogurt
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Juice from half a lemon
1 teaspoon cumin
salt/pepper

Delicious additions:

Pita bread
cucumber, diced
tomato, diced
Feta, crumbled
shallot, chopped
lettuce
sriracha

To make the sauce: Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until combined. Let set in the fridge for at least a half an hour after mixing (this will help the flavors meld together).

For the patties: Place diced sweet potatoes in a steamer basket and transfer basket to a pot. Fill the pot with about an inch of water and cover with a lid. Let steam for 10-15 minutes (depending on how big you diced the potatoes). Remove the steamer and let cool slightly

Mash the sweet potatoes with the cumin, garlic, lemon, chickpea flour, salt, and pepper. Transfer to the fridge for at least 30 minutes or until the batter has firmed up (this will help form the patties better).

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees and grease a baking sheet. Using floured hands, shape the batter into 2 inch circle patties that are about a 1/2 inch thick. Repeat with the rest of the batter and place all patties on the greased cooking sheet. Brush the tops with olive oil and bake for 30-45 minutes or until the tops begin to brown.

Serve warm inside warmed up pitas with cilantro yogurt sauce, cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, shallots, and any other produce that sounds refreshing.

Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

1.15.2013

If close up pictures of french fries doesn’t make you want to ditch your soup dinner plans and run out to the nearest diner then I do not know what does. Sorry that I just ruined your diet with this photo. Don’t worry, you can start again tomorrow.

I grew up a firm believer that ketchup was for eggs and barbecue sauce was for french fries. Although I’ve grown out of lathering ketchup all over my morning scramble, I still cannot resist a big side of tangy barbecue sauce to accompany my french fries and tofu nuggets (yes, I am guilty – I do enjoy those processed fake chicken nuggets that you can find in you organic freezer section at Kroger).

Although I am known to still down the occasional fry or chicken-less nuggets, I do try avoid the processed and high-fructose packed condiments that fill our grocery stores. Have your REALLY looked on the back of that condiment jar in a while? It’s a rather upsetting sight. Instead, I usually whip up a batch our this barbecue sauce and it usually holds me through all summer (and I participate in A LOT of grill outs every summer).

I decided to mix it up and try a new bbq sauce this time around. It’s definitely not the traditional bbq sauce you are used to (I’d suggest using this recipe if you are looking for that) but it’s a great sauce to use for special occasions. It’s a wonderful way to add new flavor to your condiments or to fancy up a side of fries at a party. The bourbon gives it the inevitable and sophisticated alcoholic aroma while the honey helps sweeten and tone it down.

I made this in my slow cooker so I could walk away and not worry about it. But it would probably be made just as easy in a saucepan by throwing in all your ingredients and letting it simmer down to your desired consistency (bet it wouldn’t take more than 30 minutes!).

Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon Barbecue Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces of tomato sauce
1/3 cup bourbon
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
dash of hot sauce, optional
salt, to taste

Heat the olive oil over medium in a small skillet. Add onions and sauté until translucent (about five or so minutes). Add in the garlic and cook for another minute. Remove from heat.

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and turn the slow cooker on low. Let cook for 8 hours. If the sauce is too thin after 8 hours, remove the lid and let cook down to desired consistency.

Use an immersion blender to blend into a smooth sauce or leave the small chunks of onions (they are delicious!).

Serve right away or transfer to an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. If you’d like to keep it longer, freeze it in ice cube trays for easy access to later.

Because Nobunny is both saucy and probably a bit alcoholic (yeah - not really sure what that means either):

Pear, Brie, & Spicy Brown Mustard Grilled Cheese on Pumpernickel

1.02.2013

One of my 2013 goals was to eat less processed food so I started my new journey today with some homemade bread. And not just any homemade bread – pumpernickel bread! Have you ever made pumpernickel bread before? I always knew that the flavor was complex but I was blown away by the flavor profile of this bread. We are talking coffee, chocolate, cornmeal, and molasses all going into this wonderfully delicious loaf. I’ll be posting the recipe for the bread tomorrow so make sure to check back if you are interested in making your own!

As for today? How about a seriously dangerous grilled cheese recipe? Like peanut butter and jelly, pumpernickel bread and spicy mustard were made for each other. There is something about the tangy mustard that lightens up the complexity of pumpernickel perfectly. Then throw in some sweet pear and melty brie? Irresistible! I thought keeping brie around the house was hard enough…now with this sandwich option it is going to be straight up impossible.

This recipe is like the winter version to my fall Apple, Brie, Arugula and Fig Grilled Cheese but with a bit more tang and less sweet. It still hits the spots with the salty/sweet pulling at your tastebuds and leaves you wondering why you would ever make a grilled cheese without brie again.

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Saucy Saturdays: DIY Barbecue Sauce

4.21.2012

I’ve been wanting to start ‘Saucy Saturdays’ for while now because I am a veggie sandwich nut. I eat one for lunch everyday and my pooooor poooor boyfriend has to deal with the same thing to eat all the time. I try to mix it up with different veggies, bread, and condiments but I feel like we’ve tried every bread in Bloomington and I’m weary about the hidden calories (and preservatives) in a lot of condiments. So, as a goal for this summer, I am going to try to make a new sauce/dressing every week to bring variety of flavors to my fresh salad and sandwiches. We shall see how long I keep this up but I am excited to try to knock off another healthy goal on my summer list.

Anyways, I begin with the first sauce as a homemade version of my absolutely favorite type of sauce ever: BBQ! There is something about bbq that just compliments so many things…the fact that it’s tangy and can be sweet or spicy just counteracts all those hardy grilled goods. This version is exceptionally tangy with a subtle kick of sweet.

I have a new blog (as a side project to this one, of course!) on the horizon that I am collaborating on with my friend Kristin. We had a meeting last night which actually just turned into us making this barbecue to lather all over Mexican style tempeh tacos. Mmmmm, Not only did the tacos turn out amazing but this recipe made enough sauce for us both to walk away with about 4 cups each. So you are warned…this sauce makes a lot and be prepared to be cooking with it for weeks after! Or whip this up when you have a big grill out coming up to serve to your guests. Nothing is better than fresh condiments on grilled goods!

DIY Barbecue Sauce

Adapted from Ina Garten’s recipe

1 1/2 cups chopped onion
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup vegetable oil
I can of tomato paste, 6 ounces
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cup honey
1 cup Dijon mustard
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
2 Tablespoons chili powder
2 Tablespoons ground cumin

In a large saucepan, heat the vegetable oil over low and add the onions and garlic. Cook for ten minutes or until the onions are translucent.

While those are cooking, mix together all the rest of the ingredients in a bowl. Add the mixture to the onions when they are ready and bring to a simmer. Let simmer for 30 minutes.

Lather all over tacos, pizzas, veggie burgers, and everything else.

Store in the fridge if using within a couple of weeks or freeze some for future use (or give some away to your amazing Ma or grumpy neighbor or whoever’s day you are trying to make).