Roasted Garbanzo Beans

While scanning through all the delicious looking pictures on my Pinterest, I saw a photo of roasted garbanzo beans, brilliant! So I was inspired to make a recipe. I am a sucker for Old Bay so I seasoned them in this spice. If you do not like or have Old Bay, another good spice mixture is garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper and ground cumin.

-1 or 2 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans

-2 tablespoons of olive oil

Pinch of old bay

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Drain the beans in a strainer and rinse them with water. Place the strainer in a bowl with water and allow them to sit for about 5-10 minutes. Lift them out of the water and shake the strainer. Lay a paper towel on the baking sheet and place the beans on top. Use another paper towel and gentle roll the beans to soak up the water. Discard any skins that come off.

Drizzle the olive oil over the beans. Add salt and old bay.

Roast for 30-40 minutes. The beans should turn golden brown in color.

Zucchini Cakes with Yogurt Sauce

-3 medium zucchinis, grated

-2 tablespoons Vidalia onion, shredded

-1 large scallion

-Zest of 1 lemon

-3 large eggs, beaten

-2 cups all-purpose flour

-1 teaspoon garlic powder

-1 teaspoon salt

-1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

-1 teaspoon baking powder

Butter and oil

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F.

Grate the zucchini onto a clean kitchen towel. Sprinkle with the salt. Let stand while you prepare the other ingredients. Squeeze as much liquid out of the zucchini as possible, discarding the paper towel.

Transfer to a bowl and stir in onion, scallion, and eggs. Stir in flour, baking powder, garlic powder, salt, pepper and lemon zest.

Heat a large (10 to 12-inch) sauté pan over medium heat and melt 1/2 tablespoon butter and 1/2 tablespoon oil together in the pan. When the oil is hot add scopes of batter. Cook the pancakes about 2 minutes on each side, until browned.

Transfer to a plate and into the oven to keep them warm.

Serve with Greek sauce. Recipe follows

Yogurt Sauce

-2/3 cup roasted pine nuts

-1/4 tablespoons of fresh mint leaves

-3/4 cup of fresh parsley leaves

-1 garlic clove

-1/2 of a 17.6 oz. of Greek yogurt

-2 tablespoons of olive oil

-2/3 cup of vegetable oil

Salt and pepper

Roast the pin nuts in the oven on 350 for about 8 minutes or until they look golden brown. Add ingredients in the blender except for vegetable oil. Start the blender and slowly drizzle the vegetable oil through the whole on the top. You may need to stop the blender and push down the ingredients with a spatula. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Lebanese Meat Balls/loaves (Kofta) Served with Mediterranean Quinoa and Roasted Tomato

Serves 4

*Mind you, as always, I forgot to take a picture until I was eating. Trust me when I tell you that this dish is great.

-1.5 lb lean ground beef or lamb

-2 egg

-1 cup fresh bread crumbs – use GF if needed

-1 tablespoon of dried mint

-1 garlic clove, minced

-1 tablespoon lemon juice

-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

-1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

-1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

-2 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Mix all the ingredients together gently in a large bowl. Do not over mix. Form into the size of a small steak- about 5 inches long and 1 inch thick. Rub olive oil on top of each.

-2 medium tomatoes, sliced in half

-2 small onions, sliced in half

-2 tablespoons of olive oil

-½ teaspoon ground cumin

-½ paprika

-½ teaspoon cinnamon

-½ teaspoon salt and pepper

-½ cup parsley finely chopped

-**sliced cucumbers optional- I did this instead of making a salad

Grease a baking sheet. Mix spices together in a bowl. Place tomato and onion on baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil on top. Sprinkle a pinch of spices on each. Add about 1 teaspoon of parley on each. Place kofta on baking sheet. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until meat has browned and is slightly pink inside and onions are golden. 

Mediterranean Quinoa

-1 cup of quinoa or couscous

-1 cup of chicken broth

-1 cup of water

-1/4 teaspoon cumin and salt

-1/2 cup of dried apricots, roughly chopped

-1/2 cup pistachios (or any nut you have)

-1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and pepper

Cook quinoa according to cooking instructions. Substitute 1 cup of chicken both for the second cup of water. Add cumin and salt while quinoa is cooking in water.

Once ready, fluff with a fork. Transfer into a bowl, add the remaining ingredients and mix. 

In the picture you can see a yogurt sauce that we drizzled in the meat. I don't want to make this dish too complicated but if you would like the yogurt recipe, look below. In Lebanon we call this dish Labneh. It is very simple. You can really make any variations of it. I do not know if this is how my relatives make it but I do know that this tastes great. I added some cut cucumbers as well instead of a salad.

Labneh

-2 cups of greek yogurt 

-2 tablespoons lemon juice

-3 cloves are garlic, finely chopped

-1 tablespoon dried mint

Mix all the ingredients together. Enjoy!

Prosciutto and Nut Encrusted Chicken Served over Ravioli and Arugula

Serves 4

-2 lbs. chicken breast, about 3 large pieces

-Optional: 2 cups of milk and juice from ½ lemon to tenderize chicken

-1/2 cup of crushed walnuts

-1/2 cup shredded parmesan

-1/2 cup sundried tomatoes (sitting in oil), roughly chopped

-1/3 cup of fresh basil, roughly chopped or 1 tablespoon of dried Italian seasoning

-2 cloves of garlic, minced

-3 tablespoons of olive oil

-1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper

-6 pieced of thinly sliced prosciutto

-1 packet of fresh ravioli- I used La Pasta Roasted Tomato, Fresh Mozarrella and Arugula Ravioli

-1 bag of fresh arugula

-Nice olive oil

Cut the breasts in half lengthwise, creating two thin pieces. Place the breasts in between plastic wrap and beat with a meat tenderizer or anything you have near by. This will tenderize the meat.

If you have time and wish to tenderize your chicken more, place in in a bowl and add the milk and lemon. The acidity from the lemon helps break down the meat while the milk will make it very juicy. Let it sit for 30 minutes to an 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Meanwhile, add walnuts, cheese, sundried tomatoes, spices (or basil) and garlic in a bowl. Add about ½ tablespoon of oil from sundried tomatoes. Mix.

Rinse chicken and place on a greased or lined baking pan. Brush with olive oil, salt and pepper. Add about ¼ cup of tomato mixture on each breast and place a slice of prosciutto on top. Bake for about 15 minutes or until firm to the touch and no longer pink inside.

Boil water for raviolis. I used La Pasta Roasted Tomato, Fresh Mozzarella and Arugula raviolis. Cook according to directions.

Place a handful of arugula on a plate, drizzle olive oil, salt and pepper on top. Add pasta and chicken. Serve.