I always forget how much I hate the process of moving. During our almost-three years of marriage Mike and I have lived in four different places just in California, not to mention our two apartments in Chiang Mai, one in Bangkok, and one in Seoul (Asia was easier because we were living out of backpacks, though). I get so irritated with packing, cleaning, unpacking, not being able to find anything in millions of boxes, having to map new runs and get used to a new kitchen that cooking usually falls by the wayside and I find myself not wanting to do more than mix up a bowl of oatmeal for about a week after moving.

Now that we’ve been moved in for about a week, things are finally starting to come together. Our cupboards are organized, the pantry and fridge are stocked, and I’m in the mood to cook!

This salad looked amazing when I first saw it in my Google Reader, but I wanted to make it more of a main dish, so I added some couscous. I also replaced sundried tomatoes with roasted red peppers, and loved the salty-sweet contrast between them and the olives. If you have time to let the lentils and couscous cool a little before you mix everything together, then let the whole mixture stand at room temperature for about an hour, I think the flavor will be outstanding. I, on the other hand, was tired and hungry from a long day of shopping in San Francisco so I just mixed everything together hot and it was still really good!

Recipe:
(adapted from Elly Says Opa)

1 1/2 cups lentils
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup sliced roasted red pepper
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1/3 cup chopped parsley
2 tbsp minced shallot
4 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
2 tsp. dijon mustard
3 Tbsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring a pot of water and the bay leaf to a boil. Rinse and pick over the lentils, and then add them to the boiling water. Cook until soft, about 20-25 minutes. While the lentils are cooking, bring the broth to a boil in another saucepan. Turn off the heat, stir in the couscous, cover, and let stand for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid, fluff with a fork, and transfer to a large bowl to cool.

When the lentils are tender, drain them and set aside to cool slightly. Toss with the couscous, then add the roasted red pepper, olives and parsley.

Whisk together the shallot, red wine vinegar and dijon. Slowly add the olive oil, whisking constantly until the dressing emulsifies. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour the dressing over the couscous and lentils, and mix to combine. Let stand for about an hour before serving to allow the flavors to combine.

Although I love falafel, deep frying is not something that occurs in my kitchen. I just don’t like dealing with the mess, and vast quantities of hot oil kind of freak me out. I still wanted to try and make some of these addictive chickpea patties myself, but I was wondering if it would even be worth it since they weren’t going to be fried. It was!

These do not have the crisp exterior and fluffy interior that fried falafel has, but they have amazing flavor and are still great wrapped up with vegetables in some pita. They’re probably a whole lot healthier than the fried variety too.

The recipe I used recommended soaking dried chickpeas overnight, so that’s what I do, but if you successfully used canned, I’d love to hear about it! I like mine really spicy so I tend to add a lot of cayenne, but of course you can leave it out if you prefer.

Also, if you’re looking for a sauce or spread to go with these in a pita, try mixing a little siracha, tahini, and plain yogurt (sadly I didn’t discover this until after I took the picture). It sounds a little weird, but it’s the perfect combination of creamy and spicy, and it goes surprisingly well with these.

Recipe:
(adapted from Epicurious)

Makes 18-24 patties

1 cup dried chickpeas
1/2 large onion, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp dried coriander
juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon baking powder
up to 4 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
Olive oil, for baking.

24 hours before you plan to make felafel, put the chickpeas in a bowl and cover with a few inches of water. Let soak overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350.

When you’re ready to proceed, drain the chickpeas and rinse. Put them in a food processor with the onion, parsley, salt, cayenne, garlic, cumin, coriander, and lemon juice. Pulse until you have a slightly chunky paste. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the baking powder. Add the flour 1 tbsp at a time, adding just enough so that you can form the mixture into a ball.

Pour about 2 tbsp olive oil into a glass 13 x 9 pan. Pat about 2 tbsp of batter (dough?) at a time into a 3/4″ thick patty. Arrange 12 in the pan, and bake for about 20 minutes, flipping halfway through (when the bottom is golden brown). When both sides are evenly browned, remove and set aside. Repeat with remaining batter. Serve on pita with lettuce, tomato, and tahini sauce.

I used to have a fairly major parsley aversion. Too much of it (which usually amounted to anything over about 1/4 tsp) would completely ruin a dish for me. I think it was mostly a mental hang-up though, because I’ve been known to polish off loads of tabouli in a single sitting, and what is tabouli absolutely full of? Parsley. So I’m working on being more accepting of it in dishes other than this one.

Tabouli is so healthy it’s almost ridiculous. Bulgur, a whole grain we all should love. Lemon juice, parsley, mint, green onions, and tomatoes – lots of vitamins, antioxidents, and other great stuff there (not to mention killer flavor). You can put some olive oil in yours for healthy fat but I actually prefer it without, because I think olive oil kind of gums up the texture. It comes together pretty quickly and is even better after sitting in the fridge overnight. It’s right up there with green papaya salad on my list of foods I must consume on a fairly regular basis, so I urge you to make some today!

Recipe
(adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen)

1 cup bulgur
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
4 green onions (white and green parts), chopped
15 fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 cup chopped fresh parsley (I generally use curly parsley)
3 Roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Bring the water to a boil in a medium saucepan. As soon as it boils, remove it from the heat and stir in the bulgur. Let stand covered for 30 minutes.

Fluff the bulgur with a fork, then transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Chill 20-30 minutes before serving.

But you know how it goes. Something catches your eye and you start thinking about using these ingredients this way, and adapting the recipe that way, and before you know it, you’re elbows deep in a culinary experiment that you hope will actually be as appealing on the plate as it was in your brain.

In this case, I was inspired, once again, by Orangette. In particular, her post on salsa verde for potatoes. I love potatoes, but I’ve been eating them a lot, so I wanted to come up with some other starch to serve as a vehicle for the delicious-sounding salsa verde. Pasta salad seemed like a natural choice, and I figured it may be the perfect opportunity to give it another chance.

I added some roasted Japanese eggplant for textural contrast and because eggplant has that admirable quality of absorbing flavors and making them taste richer.

The end result was a pasta salad I actually like, and will definitely be making again!

Recipe:
(adapted from Orangette)
3 medium Japanese eggplants
salt
2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 cups dried fusili pasta
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp capers, chopped
3 tbsp chopped parsley

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, lemon zest and juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, capers, parsley, and a pinch of salt. Set aside to allow the flavors to blend.
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Cut the eggplants into bite-sized cubes and sprinkle with a few pinches of salt.
Let stand for about 30 minutes, or until you see droplets of water all over the eggplant pieces.
Blot dry, then toss with 2 tbsp olive oil.
Bake on a baking sheet for about 30 minutes, or until soft and golden.
Set aside to cool.
Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain, and toss with the eggplant and salsa verde.