Category: cumin

Roasted Chickpeas

I could write a novel about my love for chickpeas. They’re great in salads, soups, smashes and as a base for hummus, they’re packed with protein, they’re little and cute, and apparently I could have been eating these all along as a snack, which would have changed my life. Get your oven up to 425, stat. One of the best snacks ever is just 20 minutes away.

ROASTED CHICKPEAS (makes one dish – enough for 2 people)
– 1 15oz. can of chickpeas, rinsed, drained and dried
– Approx. 1 tbsp. EVOO
– 1/2 tsp. of Kosher Salt
– 1 tsp. cumin

1. Preheat oven to 425.

2. Rinse, drain and pat dry the chickpeas.

3. In a bowl, combine them with the EVOO, kosher salt & cumin. Toss to mix well until the chickpeas are coated.

4. Arrange in one layer on a baking sheet. Roast for 15-20 minutes, shaking the pan every five minutes or so, until they’re crisp.

5. Take out of the oven and let cool, then enjoy.

Roasted Cauliflower with Cumin and Lime


I love, love, love roasting just about anything. Roasted Lemon Cauliflower is one of my favorite snacks, and this version of it – lime instead of lemon, a little cumin – takes it to a whole other level. It’s a perfect, super healthy and delicious snack. Plus, the health benefits of cumin!!! Who knew.

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER WITH CUMIN AND LIME (serves 4 as a side or snack)
– 1 large head cauliflower
– 4 limes, juiced, zest of 2
– 1 tbsp. EVOO
– 2 tbsp cumin (don’t let this scare you)

1. Preheat the oven to 450.

2. Chop up the washed cauliflower. The easiest way to do this is to cut the cauliflower in half, then into quarters. Then, cut away the middle part (the stem, I guess). The florets should fall away on their own, pretty much mess-free. Add them to a big bowl.


3. Juice and zest 2 of the limes, then add the cumin. Mix to combine. Add the olive oil. Mix it all together and toss it with the cauliflower until it’s well-coated.


4. Lay the cauliflower in one layer on a roasting sheet. Put into the oven and cook for approx. 30- 40 minutes, or until roasted golden brown. Flip it every ten minutes, squeezing the juice of 1/2 a lime over it each time.


5. Serve as a snack or an appetizer (we had this with Roasted Red Grapes with Thyme. I told you I liked roasting things).


Hostessing is my all-time fav.

— AND, just want to give a HUGE congrats to Mario & Katie and the rest of the crew from What The Fork food truck! They made the top 4 for LIVE with Kelly & Michael‘s “Truckin’ Amazing” nationwide Food Truck competition! It’s been so cool to watch their amazing progress over the last year. Vote for them here. Congratulations guys – you make Scranton proud!


Black Bean Soup with Lime & Cumin-Infused Sour Cream

There are a ton of recipes for making a black bean soup with dried beans that you soak overnight, turning an hour-long process into at least a 12-hour one.  I love black bean soup, but I really love the fact that you can throw this recipe together using canned black beans, and have a great, flavorful, one-pot meal in almost no time at all.  Red bell peppers, red onions, cilantro, lime & garlic combine with the canned black beans & chicken broth, then are finished by roughly blending it all together. A dollop of lime & cumin-infused sour cream adds the perfect amount of creaminess to this, too.  Don’t be scared by the 4 tablespoons (!!! I know) of cumin in this soup as a flavoring.  Cumin is great for you – tons of health benefits from liver detoxification to metabolism acceleration.  If you’re not a fan of the spice, though, I’d probably cut this back to 2 tablespoons for a less noticeable flavor.

Happy first day of Spring!

BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH LIME & CUMIN-INFUSED SOUR CREAM (makes approx. 10-12 bowls of soup)
– 1 tbsp. EVOO
– 1 red bell pepper, diced
– 2 red onions, diced
– 3 cans black beans (I can’t recommend buying Eden Organic products enough, if you can find them.  They’re truly organic, use BPA-free cans, etc.  Totally worth the relatively minimal extra cost.), rinsed and drained
– 4 tbsp. ground cumin
– 3 garlic cloves, minced
– 1/3 C. fresh cilantro, chopped
– juice of 1 lime
– 1.5 – 2 C. chicken broth (depending on how thick or thin you like your soup)
– 1.5 – 2 C. water (same note as above)
– Kosher salt & pepper

LIME & CUMIN-INFUSED SOUR CREAM
– zest of 1/2 a lime
– 1/3 C. sour cream
– juice of 1/2 a lime
– 1 tbsp. cumin

1. Dice your onions & your bell pepper.


2. Over medium high heat in a Le Creuset French Oven, heat 1 tbsp. EVOO.  Add diced bell pepper & onions, and sautee until they start to brown, approx. 10 minutes.


3. Add 4 tbsp cumin & 3 minced garlic cloves, stir until fragrant.


4. Add 3 cans rinsed and drained black beans, stir everything to combine.


5. Add water just to cover – either 1.5 – 2 C, depending on how thick or thin you like your soup.  Then add 1.5 – 2 C. chicken broth, too. Pacific makes a great 4-pack of 1-cup servings of chicken and vegetable broth, and they too are “truly” organic, as well as supporters of regulations for GMO labeling (hurraugh).


6. Bring soup just to a boil, then cover and simmer for approx. 30 minutes. Uncover, then add 1 tbsp. salt, 15 grinds of black pepper, juice of 1 lime (I used our new Rosle Citrus Reamer/Juicer again, which is the greatest thing ever), and the chopped cilantro.  Stir & let simmer for another 10 minutes.

 
 

7. At this point, blend it with an Immersion Hand Blender.  You can taste it before you do, but I wouldn’t recommend it, because it’ll just taste like bean water (“hot ham water” – Lindsey Bluth). I roughly blend this, because I like the end result to be a little chunkier, but blend it to whatever consistency you’d like.  Taste, then adjust seasonings.  Cover again, leave on low heat, and make your lime & cumin-infused sour cream.


8. Easy-peasy: combine sour cream, cumin, lime juice, lime zest.  Taste and adjust.  This will keep well in the refrigerator over the next couple of days to top off your bowls of soup.


9. Ladle a bowl of soup, top with a dollop of sour cream, mix & enjoy.  Overnight, this will get thicker & blend the flavors together – like so many soups, it’s good today, but will be great tomorrow. So will the sour cream.

Turkey Meatloaf – Ina Meets Alton

When I was a kid, I detested meatloaf. It just seemed like such a weird, gross thing to me, and I would sit and sulk at the dinner table while I picked miserably at it. That ship has sailed. My mom’s meatloaf is one of the comfort foods I’d crave most of all when I lived outside of NEPA, and I’ve put together tons of different versions based on her recipe. 

This turkey meatloaf, however, is Inga’s.  The sauce is (almost) Alton’s. It was incredibly tasty, juicy (for turkey meatloaves, this can be hard to accomplish), had a note of sweetness, and was spiked with cumin – which is apparently packed with health benefits.  That mix might sound a little “off”, but the flavors all came together in a totally delicious way. There was enough left over for 2 meatloaf sandwiches the next day, and that was about it! 

TURKEY MEATLOAF WITH A CUMIN-KETCHUP-HONEY & BROWN SUGAR GLAZE (serves 4)

– 2 lbs. ground turkey
– 3/4 tsp. tomato paste
– 1.5 vidalia onions, chopped
– 1/2 c. chicken stock
– 1.4 c. Worcestershire sauce
– 3/4 c. breadcrumbs (plain or seasoned)
– 1.5 large eggs, beaten
– 1/4 tsp. thyme or Herbes de Provence
– EVOO
– 1 tsp. kosher salt, 1/2 tsp. ground pepper

Glaze:
– 1/2 c. ketchup
– 1 tsp. cumin
– Dash Worcestershire sauce
– 1 tablespoon honey
– 1 tsp. brown sugar
– 1 tsp. yellow mustard

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. In a saute pan, “sweat” the onions in 1 T olive oil until translucent.

3. Add salt, pepper, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, chicken stock and tomato paste, mix well. This smelled like a variation on French Onion soup. It was all I could do to keep going with the Turkey Meatloaf recipe). Remove from heat, cool to room temperature.



Pacific makes a great organic chicken broth, in  a 4-pack of 1 cup containers that are perfect for cooking.


4. In a large mixing bowl, combine ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, and onion mixture; mix well.


5. With your hands, shape the turkey mixture into a rectangular loaf. Place on an ungreased sheet pan.



6. Combine glaze ingredients; spread evenly over the meatloaf with a silicone basting or pastry brush. 


7. Cook the meatloaf approx. 1 hour, or until the internal temperature is 160 (check with a meat thermometer after 45 minutes).



— For those of you who are opting out of the glaze, add a little oven-proof bowl of water to the oven while cooking the meatloaf – this will apparently help prevent the meatloaf from cracking, and it’s all I can do not to make a joke about that.