Coriander and Cumin-Rubbed Chickpeas, Charred Corn Relish, Steamed Okra and Fried Onions

Coriander and Cumin-Rubbed Chickpeas, Charred Corn Relish, Steamed Okra and Fried Onions

Corn is, to me, one of the most quintessential summer foods. While it is available year-round, I buy it almost exclusively during the summer when it seems to be at every Greenmarket booth. As I see it, it's a great, simple addition to almost every meal (as you can see from many Make-It-a-Meal suggestions). Normally I just steam it, enjoying the corn fresh with butter. Every so often, however, I get the urge to do something more creative. At those times, I turn to cookbooks -- in this case, Courses: A Culinary Journey. A complicated book (by a chef on a cruise line), I find it's best for inspiration. In there, I found a recipe for Charred Corn Relish. That seemed simple enough, but certainly not enough for a meal. It was served with catfish -- not an option when cooking for the vegetarian, though, if you're so inclined please feel free to try it out! Instead, I opted for chickpeas, one of my favorite legumes. I have to say, these battered and fried chickpeas were one of the best things I've ever made. While they were great with all the accompaniments, they'd also be a wonderful appetizer, served with drinks.

Wanting to include a green vegetable, I decided to go with okra, one of the few green vegetables that the vegetarian is extremely fond of. Being lazy, and knowing how flavorful the rest of the dish would be, I steamed the okra and tossed it with butter (similarly to how I usually cook corn). However, in order to up the flavor quotient of the rest of the dish, I allowed myself to be inspired by Stir-fry Okra, Chillies & Shallots from. So even though my okra was simple, I used lots of spices for the rest of the dish.


This "dish" is actually several different components. Feel free to make only one part, or several -- whatever works for your time constraints and tastebuds. Everything works well together or separately. At the end of the post, under "leftovers", there are some suggestions for how else to use each component. Bon appetit!


Coriander and Cumin-Rubbed Chickpeas, Charred Corn Relish, Steamed Okra and Fried Onions
adapted from Courses: A Culinary Journey and Ahaar


For a non-vegetarian alternative, you could substitute catfish filets for some or all of the chickpeas.

• 2 lbs. chickpeas
• juice from 1 lemon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds, ground
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• grapeseed oil, for frying
• kernels from 3 ears fresh corn
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 shallot, diced
• 3/4 cup canned black beans
• 1 green jalapeno pepper, chopped
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• juice from 1 lime
• juice from 2 lemons
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 2 teaspoons Italian parsley, chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ancho chile powder
• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
• grapeseed oil, for frying
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, ground
• 3 cups okra
• 2 teaspoons unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1/2 teaspoon Himalayan salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper, ground

Drain chickpeas. Pour in a large bowl and squeeze lemon juice on top. Season with mustard, cumin and coriander seeds. Toss well to combine. Make seasoned flour by combining flour, salt, turmeric, paprika, cumin and cayenne pepper in a large bowl. Add chickpeas and toss well until coated. Remove chickpeas, reserving remaining seasoned flour. Heat grapeseed oil in a heavy saute pan and fry chickpeas for 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and let drain. (If you were to make this with catfish, now would be the time to cook it -- treated the same way as the chickpeas.)

Charred Corn Relish

Heat a heavy pan (cast-iron if available) until very hot. Add corn kernels to pan and allow to char, cooking undisturbed. Add bell peppers and cook, stirring, 5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add garlic and shallot. Cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add black beans, jalapeno pepper, olive oil, lime juice, lemon juice, cilantro, parsley, salt and chile powder. Keep warm.

Separate onion rings and dredge in seasoned flour. Heat grapeseed oil in heavy saute pan (the same one used to fry the chickpeas) and fry onion until lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper and transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Let drain and keep warm.

Clean okra and trim stems. Steam 8-12 minutes, whole. Once cooked, chop into 1/2-inch chunks. Toss with butter, salt and pepper.

Serve chickpeas topped with corn relish and fried onions, okra on the side. Enjoy!

Make it a meal: This dish (or dishes, depending on how you see things) is really a meal in itself! Serve with

Separate dishes

 a rose -- I'd recommend a 2010 Biohof Pratsch. Bon appetit!

Leftovers: Because there are so many components, I'm going to suggest leftovers for each one. Toss leftover okra and fried onions with kasha. Combine corn salsa with chopped kumato tomatoes to freshen it up. Serve with tortilla chips. Finally, combine some cultures (and add extra seasoning to packaged food) by heating leftover chickpeas (or catfish) with creamy polenta with spinach & carrots, courtesy of Trader Joe's.

Links to other fried onion noshes: 

• How to Make French Fried Onions from Gluten Free Mommy
• Onion Strings from The Pioneer Woman
• Oven-Fried Onion Rings with Dipping Sauce from Brown Eyed Baker
• Red Lentils with Cumin and Fried Onions from eCurry
• Peperonata from Simply Recipes

Hummus with Roasted Red Pepper, Capers and Cilantro

Last night, we finally had our first dinner party in the new apartment. Because of the blizzard, however, we had only one guest--Davey--my best friend and pseudo-brother. In his honor, I made roast beef (and broiled tofu for the Vegetarian), Spicy Broiled Eggplant and Hummus with Roasted Red Pepper, Capers and Cilantro. We also enjoyed a delicious box(!) of Merlot. Everything was delicious and, as usual, there was far too much food--even for three hearty eaters. However, the one thing there could have been more of was the hummus (which we first served with pita chips but then spread onto bread, tofu, eggplant--even the roast beef--until we were practically licking the bowls! (It was so good, and disappeared so thoroughly that we didn't even get to take a picture.) The Vegetarian kept declaring it "amazing" and we've already begun dreaming up new hummus combinations. This one was inspired by one in the The Mediterranean Vegan Kitchen to which I added (among other things) capers since The Flavor Bible informed me they are good "esp. with roasted peppers". They were. Enjoy!

Hummus with Roasted Red Pepper, Capers and Cilantro

• 2 red bell peppers, quartered
• 3 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 (15-oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons cumin, ground
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 6 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel
• 5 green onions, chopped (white and green parts)
• 1 leek, finely chopped (white part only)
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
• 1-2 bags pita chips

Preheat oven to 400F. Arrange peppers on foil-lined baking sheet, skin sides up, and bake 20 minutes, until skins char. Meanwhile, place sesame seeds on a small saucepan over medium heat and toast, shaking every minute or so, for about 5 minutes, or until they become fragrant. When sesame seeds are toasted, remove from pan and set aside to cool. When peppers are roasted, place in brown paper bag, roll it securely closed and set it aside 20 minutes to cool and steam so pepper skins are easy to remove. After 20 minutes, peel skins off pepper quarters with your hands.

In a food processor, combine chickpeas and vegetable broth until smooth. Continue the food processor and add peppers, cumin, lemon juice, capers, sesame seeds, garlic, hot pepper sauce and salt. Transfer to a serving bowl and stir in green onions, leeks and cilantro. Serve with pita chips.

Links to other hummus noshes:

• Hummus from Simply Recipes
• Real Hummus from The Hummus Blog
• Roasted Red Pepper Hummus from Pinch My Salt

CSA Week 2: Filets de poulet au sauce de moutarde, menthe et persil

Week 2 of our CSA and we had another exciting haul: 5 more garlic scapes, 4 baby turnips with their greens still attached, 3 more heads of lettuce, 1 bunch swiss chard, parsley, mizuna and field greens. Obviously, salads are in our future, but I'm also trying to come up with some scrumptious cooked dishes as well.

While not cooked, I made this sauce on Thursday night when I came home hot and sweaty with my vegetables. I wanted a tasty, refreshing, light meal that wouldn't require too much work to prepare. After browsing online for a while, I found a recipe for a Mustard-Mint-Parsley Sauce that Alosha served with salmon. The sauce sounded delicious, but I was more interested in having meat than fish. So I searched for a turkey dish that would go nicely with the sauce. I finally settled on Turkey Cutlets from Kalyn's Kitchen. After tweaking both recipes quite a bit (and discovering that there actually are no turkey cutlets to be found in Chinatown), I created my own dish which, served with a simple salad with almonds, turned into a delightful meal.

Chicken fillets with mustard mint and parsley sauce

Sauce:

• 2 tablespoons yogurt
• 1 tablespoon aioli
• 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
• 2 teaspoons chardonnay
• leaves from 1 stalk fresh spearmint, finely chopped
• leaves from 1 stalk fresh Italian parsley, finely chopped
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped

Chicken:

• 1 tablespoon breading mix
• 1 1/2 teaspoons poultry seasoning
• dash kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 pound chicken fillets

Begin by making the sauce so the flavors have sufficient time to meld. Simply mix all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Reserve until ready to use.
Now make the chicken. Mix breading mix, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper together on a plate. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter and melt into olive oil. Dredge each chicken fillet in breading, then add to hot pan. Cook 4 minutes, then flip, lower heat, cover and cook another 4 minutes until fillets are cooked through. Remove from pan and serve accompanied by sauce. Enjoy!
Links to other parsley noshes:

• Parsley Hummus with Whole Wheat Pita Chips from Kalyn's Kitchen
• Basil Mint Parsley "Pesto" Sauce from Karina's Kitchen
• Parsley-Herb Salad from Mark Bittman
• Quinoa Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Parsley from The Perfect Pantry
• Quinoa, Parsley and Pepper Salad from Just Bento
• Pear Parsley Dressing from Elana's Pantry