Another round of recipes cooked and photographed:
Tabbouleh with Quinoa
This is a Tabbouleh salad I've made for quite some time. I think I had some at a restaurant somewhere, and decided then and there I needed to learn how to make this dish myself. Over the years, I swapped out some ingredients based on what Justin and I like.
For example, there is no mint...Tabbouleh traditionally uses mint, and Justin is not a fan. I also use quinoa (a seed, not a grain) instead of the traditional bulgur wheat, not for any reason other than that's what I had on hand once when making it. This dish does require a lot of chopping, but is nice to have in the fridge as it goes well with the whole roasted chickens I tend to buy when Justin is out of town. Sometimes I will roast my own chicken, combining bits and pieces of recipes for Ina Garten's Perfect Roast Chicken and Giada De Laurentis' Turkey with Herbes de Provence and Citrus, but that takes a long time and also makes everything in my house smell like roasted chicken for a couple days.
Grilled Flank Steak with an Espresso Balsamic Marinade
I made up this marinade recipe based on one from a friend's mom and some ideas my boss threw out over the phone. I used espresso balsamic, but think it would also be amazing using honey-ginger balsamic -- it would give it more of an Asian twist. We ate this Saturday as strips, paired with the Tabbouleh. I rewarmed the meat Sunday in a little garlic oil and served it as Cinco de Mayo tacos, and I think I'll use the rest tonight for some sort of broccoli & beef stir fry.
Here are the recipes, with my changes noted:
Quinoa Tabbouleh (easily doubled)
- 2 large tomatoes, seeded and diced
- 1/2 cup quinoa, uncooked
- 1/2 cup chopped parsley
- 2 green onions, diced (all white parts and 2 inches of green
tops)
- 1/2 a medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- 2-3 radishes, diced
- 2-4 oz. Feta, crumbled, optional (leaving it out will keep
grain-free dish vegan)
- About 1/2 - 1 TBL lemon zest
- Juice from 1 1/2 lemons (about 3 TBL)
- 3 TBL olive oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- 2 avocados, optional (for serving, see note*)
Directions: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a
medium sauce pan. Add the quinoa and turn down heat to medium-low, cover and
cook until quinoa is fluffy and chewy, about 20 minutes. Strain quinoa to
remove any excess water (may not be necessary).
Place quinoa in a large bowl
and add in tomatoes, parsley, green onions, cucumber, radish, Feta (if using)
and lemon zest. Stir to combine. In a medium bowl, combine lemon juice, salt
& pepper (to taste) and olive oil. Whisk briskly to emulsify the mix. Add
all but 1 TBL to the quinoa mixture and toss to combine.
*Just before serving,
slice avocados and add to the remaining olive oil & lemon juice mixture.
Transfer Tabbouleh to a serving bowl or large platter and arrange sliced
avocados on top. Serve immediately.
Balsamic Marinated Flank Steak
- 1 small shallot, minced
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 1/4 cup regular or espresso infused balsamic (ask me where
you can get it if you want it!)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1 TBL Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 1/2 pounds flank steak
Directions: In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the
shallot, garlic, olive oil, balsamic, soy sauce, Dijon, salt and pepper.
Place
the steak in either a 9x13 baking dish or a large re-sealable bag. Pour on or
in the marinade, coating the steak. Cover or seal, removing excess air, and
marinate in the fridge for at least 2 hours or overnight.
To cook: Remove steak
from the fridge for at least 30 minutes before grilling. Preheat an outdoor
grill to medium-high heat. Lightly brush grill with oil. Shake off any excess
marinade from the steak and place steak on the grill. Cook for 6-8 minutes a side,
turning once.
Let the meat rest about 3-5 minutes before slicing against the
grain to serve.
