SHOP PRODUCTS
Houzz Logo Print
bbstx

New Recipe Review - August 2012

bbstx
11 years ago

Tried 2 new recipes last night, Grilled Romaine and Quinoa Tabbouleh. Both are keepers.

The Grilled Romaine is from Simply Recipes:

INGREDIENTS

3 to 4 romaine hearts

3 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or cider vinegar)

2 teaspoons chopped fresh herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs)

1/4 teaspoon salt

Pinch freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1 Prep the romaine hearts - pull off any old leaves. Chop off the top 1 or 2 inches of the lettuce head, and shave off the browned part of the root end, leaving the root end intact so that the lettuce head stays together.

2 Prepare your grill for high, direct heat. Paint the lettuce hearts all over with the vinaigrette. Prepare the vinaigrette. Put the oil, vinegar, herbs, salt and pepper in a small bowl and whisk with a fork to combine.

3 Grill the romaine hearts until lightly browned on all sides, turning every minute or two until done.

Serve immediately. You can either serve the hearts whole, or chop them and toss them for a salad.

Yield: Serves 3-4.

The Quinoa Tabbouleh was a combination of two recipes. I prepared the quinoa according to the Bon Appetit Quinoa Tabbouleh recipe, but I used Ina Garten Tabbouleh for the ingredients.

Ina Garten Tabbouleh

Ingredients

1 cup bulghur wheat

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

1/4 cup good olive oil

3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (1 bunch)

1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (1 bunch)

1 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)

1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced

2 cups cherry tomatoes, cut in half

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the bulghur in a large bowl, pour in the boiling water, and add the lemon juice, olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Stir, then allow to stand at room temperature for about 1 hour.

Add the scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. The flavor will improve if the tabbouleh sits for a few hours.

I made a few changes in the Ina Garten recipe.

- Quinoa instead of bulghur wheat

-I cut the dressing to 2 Tablespoons of olive oil and 2 Tablespoons of lemon juice. I had made the recipe before and thought 1/4 cup of each was too much.

- I used 1/2 cup of chopped parsley and a scant 1/2 cup of chopped mint. I have to wonder if the recipe should read, "1 cup of parsley, chopped," because 1 cup of chopped parsley is a lot...as is 1 cup of chopped mint. And because I grow my own, "1 bunch" has no meaning.

This was my first attempt at cooking quinoa. I read many articles about how to do it, but the prevailing instruction seemed to be to wash it thoroughly or it will be bitter. One site said to wash it vigorously in a strainer for at least 45 seconds. I not only washed it in a strainer, I also put it in a bowl of water, picked up handfuls and rubbed them together. Then I rinsed and rinsed and rinsed in the strainer. It had no bitterness at all. The Kitchn has a pretty thorough tutorial on preparing quinoa for us neophytes.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Kitchn - How to Cook Quinoa

Comments (36)