Sharing Plate – Your Cooking Coach |

You have to admit- this salad (like yesterdays) looks gorgeous. Like the carrot salad, this one has most spices used in Moroccan cuisine. I did use smoked paprika- which is more of a Spanish ingredient- but since I love this spice on potatoes- I decided to use it in this salad.

The good thing about this dish, besides the taste, is that it can be made in advance. In fact it tastes better as the potatoes bathe in the delicious dressing for a few hours. The main ingredient in the dressing is a lot of powdered cumin. I always have lots of cumin seeds at hand but never buy the powdered variety since powdered spices loose their flavor very quickly. I ground the cumin and added it to the oil, cilantro, parsley and lemon juice. The smoky dressing was a great compliment to the creamy potatoes.

I grilled the potatoes the same way I did the carrots. It was very easy to make and the dish went perfectly with the lamb burgers and the carrot salad. It was a delicious, simple and healthy barbecue to prepare.

We all had a wonderful time and washed the delicious food down with some fabulous pomegranate mojitos. How do you make them- you ask??? Stay tuned tomorrow and I will share my husband’s fabulous recipe.
Click here for the recipe… »

This dish is delicious and great looking. I love making dishes that look attractive since we eat with our eyes first.

This is a continuation to yesterday’s post. I made the lamb burgers with this carrot salad. Since my general theme was Moroccan inspired- I looked for sides and salads to serve with the burgers. The first thing to come up was carrot salad. I looked at a bunch of recipes and came up with this one.

I used baby carrots but regular sized will do just fine too. I sliced them really thin and grilled them. I have a grill pan that I use for grilling vegetables, fish or anything that is difficult to manage on the grates. Once the carrots were golden brown but still crunchy, I added the super yummy orange dressing. I reduced some freshly squeezed orange juice and added honey, cumin, lemon juice and some herbs. It resulted in an amazing, flavorful sauce.

The great thing about this salad is that you can make it in advance since it is served at room temperature. I had everything ready in advance and all I did once company came was grill the burgers.

It was simple, convenient and a crowd pleaser- exactly the ideas you want for a fabulous long weekend- enjoy!
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I love tuna salad, especially made with lots of mayonnaise- but then I saw how many calories one tablespoon has- can you guess? A whopping 90 calories!! I just couldn’t get myself to make tuna salad for myself after getting the calories and fat facts.

Since I have been eating the GG crackers, I have been making cold salads for lunch. I thoughts of tuna the other day and felt like eating my usual tuna salad but I knew I couldn’t do it with the usual suspects. So, I took out one of my favorite ingredients- Greek yogurt. I always have the non-fat version in my fridge and I decided to use that as the base. I added Dijon mustard, sweet pickled relish and jalapenos. I love the sweet, salty and spicy combination. I added lots of black pepper and some salt. The idea was to add lots of flavor so I don’t miss the mayo- and I didn’t.

The tuna was delicious, especially with the tamarind vinaigrette drizzled on top of it. I was happy to eat a really healthy yet satisfying lunch.

Next time you are in the mood for tuna salad, give mine a try.

• One (6 oz) tuna can- either packed in water or oil and liquid squeezed out
• ¼ cup non-fat Greek yogurt
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Dash of hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
• 1 teaspoon chopped pickled jalapenos- optional
• Salt

Add the tuna to a small bowl and add the yogurt, mustard, hot sauce, relish, jalapenos and salt. Mix well and check for seasonings. Keep aside. Enough for two servings.

Prepare to platter with a mix of greens, carrots, etc. Add half of the tuna salad on top and drizzle with tamarind vinaigrette.

Tamarind Vinaigrette

• 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
• ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

Add the tamarind concentrate, mustard, honey, white wine vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Drizzle the olive oil while whisking the mixture until it is emulsified. Pour on to of the tuna and green salad. Serve with the GG crackers.

I love this salad simply because it is so colorful and beautiful to look at. I love how food gets me so excited- I guess that is why I do what I do and love every minute of it.

I made this salad for the book club meeting. Since I was making some chicken tikkas, I wanted to make a salad to balance the dishes out. I also wanted the salad to have Indian flavors. I thought of a corn salad my sister in law makes all the time. She uses regular corn and a tamarind chutney. The tamarind chutney is made out of lots of dried tamarind, sugar, salt, cumin and cayenne pepper. It is a bit laborious to make but I always have it in the fridge. It has so much sugar and salt that it lasts in the fridge for ever. It is great to have it on hand and serve it with tikkas and actually a lot of Indian street food is served with this chutney.

When I thought of posting this recipe- I wasn’t sure how people would make the chutney at home- I guess you can buy it at the Indian stores- but I prefer to make it at home. I thought of tamarind concentrate which is available at Whole Foods and other grocery stores. I made a vinaigrette with the tamarind concentrate, olive oil and this time I used some mango lemonade from Trader Joes. It gave the dressing a sweet, tangy, mango flavor which complemented the sour tamarind really well. It was very delicious.

I paired the vinaigrette with roasted corn (my favorite ingredient from Trader Joes), cherry tomatoes, green onions and lots of cilantro. I topped it with pita chips- they provide a great crunch and some substance to the salad.

It was a big hit- everyone enjoyed it. Next time you are looking for a party appetizer, make the roasted corn and tomato salad.
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Blood oranges are in season- and they are delicious!

A friend noticed a citrus salad recipe in the New York Times food section. This particular salad was made with a grape fruit and a navel orange. She had bought some blood oranges and we paired them with a grape fruit. She had some olives in the house decided to top the salad with them. I am always happy with a pop of salty goodness. We made a simple dressing and enjoyed the salad.

I decided to replicate the salad for a dinner party. Trader Joes has an abundance of blood oranges. I love buying them- it reminds me of being in Italy. This past summer, while we were staying in Spello- we would do some basic grocery for breakfast. Usually we are a juice free house- but there I bought a carton of orange juice. My daughter was fascinated to see the dark red color of the juice- I explained to her the orange juice is made out of blood oranges- hence the color. The juice was delicious!

I cut the oranges into disks and topped them with the olives and feta. For some reason feta comes to mind when I think of citrus. I also remembered I had a orange muscat champagne vinegar from Trader Joes. I used that to make a delicious, clean dressing with a hint of honey.

The salad was delicious! Everyone loved it. I have a big bunch of blood oranges which I am planning to use them again. Definitely make the blood orange salad- you can even substitute regular oranges- any citrus will be delicious!
Click here for the recipe… »