Tag Archive for 'lemon'

Shaved Fennel Salad

Published on May 13, 2011 in Salads and Side Dishes. 1 Comment Tags: , , , .

This recipe is a great counterpoint to a heavier meal like the boeuf bourguignon I served at book club (or any meal really). It’s light and springy and super-flavorful. Oh yes, it’s also ridiculously easy. You basically just slice up a bunch of veggies and/or fruits (on a mandolin if you have one) and alternate those layers with layers of olive oil and lemon juice. You can, of course, play around with the ingredients. In place of apples, you could go with a nice sweet pear. A sprinkling of sliced almonds would be a nice addition. Mushrooms or a little red onion wouldn’t be terrible either. A mixture of tangy and sweet works nicely. Tangy and sweet; just like me. Hardy har har…

I’m very excited today because Ryan and I are off for a little staycation in the Big Apple for our 5th wedding anniversary this weekend. Museums, blackout shades and room service is on hand for us…can’t wait to be a tourist in my favorite city in the world with my one and only!

Have a lovely weekend everyone and an early happy birthday to the best of the best, Ms. Janice (who still loves me even though I inadvertently got married on her birthday). Can’t wait to celebrate with you!

Shaved Fennel Salad

1 good-sized fennel bulb, washed and trimmed of any brown bits with fronds removed (reserve and chop a tablespoon of fronds)
2 Granny Smith apples
A slab of Parmesan
Good quality olive oil
Lemon
Coarse sea salt
Black pepper

Cut the trimmed fennel bulb in half from root to stem. Remove the tough inner core. With the mandolin on the thinnest setting, slice the fennel halves. Half and quarter the apples and core them. Slice those next.

Put about a third of the fennel on a shallow platter, add a third of the apple and with a vegetable peeler, shave healthy curls of Parmesan off your slab. Drizzle a tablespoon or so of olive oil, followed by a squirt of lemon juice, salt and pepper. Continue the layering two more times. Top with the reserved fennel fronds.

Black Bean Burgers

Published on March 11, 2011 in Beans + Legumes and Main Courses. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

This recipe is an adaptation of the infamous lentil burger recipe, which is, in essence, the basis for just about any “burger” type recipe. That is, protein + egg + bread crumbs = burger. But it’s the details that take a burger from basic to bananas (to quote Rachel Zoe, whose show, the aptly named Rachel Zoe Project, is a guilty pleasure of mine).

Like, in this particular recipe, I think the chipotle peppers are essential. They add that smoky spiciness that you wouldn’t get without them. However, I did do half the batch without them for the hombrecito, who likes spicy foods, but not necessarily hot-spicy, you know? But if your kids like spicy, then go for it. The cilantro is key too, and lemon always adds a lovely freshness that I like.

These burgers are so easy to make and so much better than those frozen hockey pucks masquerading as veggie burgers you find in the grocer’s freezer section (yes, I’m looking at you, Boca Burger). You can make up a big batch and cook however many you plan to eat (cook a few extra, they are that good). The uncooked mixture will keep for another day, but as there’s raw egg in there, best to cook it up fairly quickly — they taste better hot off the grill.

Also, sorry for my radio silence this week. Things seem to be so busy and I honestly haven’t been doing much new cooking — lots of zucchini pie and homemade pizza…let’s call it my late-winter blogging/cooking slump week. I’m over it and will be back on track next week.

Now for a bit of shameless promotion…ignore this part if I’ve already harassed you.

Babble.com did a “Top 100 Mom Food Bloggers” story and while we’re not in the top 100, you can still vote for your favorites and Whisk It Good needs some love! Please click here and find “Whisk It Good” and “like” it — we’re on page 2 right now, but movin’ on up. It only takes a second — thanks and feel free to tell all your friends.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Black Bean Burgers

2 15-oz/425g cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup frozen edamame, defrosted
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
1-2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce plus a bit of the sauce
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
1 onion, chopped
Zest of one lemon
1 cup bread crumbs or panko
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the beans, edamame, eggs, half the onion, cumin, cilantro, and salt in a food processor. Purée until the mixture resembles thick hummus. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the rest of the onion and zest. Add the breadcrumbs, stir, and let sit for a couple of minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat and add 3 patties (if you’re making standard burger-sized ones), cover, and cook for about 5 minutes or until the bottoms begin to brown and firm up. Flip the burgers and cook the second side for about 3-4 minutes or until browned.

I often eat these on top of a piece of toast — a bun is too much bread, I think. Or they’re great plain too or even sandwiched between big leaves of romaine. Top with mayo (chipotle mayo would give a nice extra kick of heat, but as you can see from the photos, sriracha sauce works in a pinch) and slices of avocado.

Lemon Hummus

Published on June 23, 2010 in Appetizers, Beans + Legumes and Sauces. 0 Comments Tags: , , .


I make hummus a lot. This is another recipe that reminds me of my dad. He used to make hummus a lot too, except he went CA-RAZY with the garlic. Like, I mean, cuckoo-for-Cocoa-Puffs crazy. But as long as everyone was eating it, then it wasn’t too bad. Otherwise, watch out! I’ve toned mine down a bit. Plus, I’ve noticed that the garlic in Argentina is a lot stronger than the garlic in NY. Isn’t that weird? I can’t figure out why, but I seem to use one clove when a recipe calls for two down here. Maybe it has something to do with the latitude? Or is it longitude? Perhaps I’ll never know. I also add a lot of lemon because I like the bright, acidy contrast to the creamy nuttiness of the tahini. I’ve also given a range on the amount of olive oil because some people may want to go easy on it and that’s fine. Also keep in mind that if you use beans that you soaked and cooked (and you remembered to save some of the cooking liquid), you can use more of that and less oil. You just need enough to blend everything together and hold it there. Hummus does not have to be oozing olive oil…not that there’s anything wrong with that.


This is another of those recipes (this seems to be a theme!) where you can use any old bean you have lying about and it will be great. Try cannellini or even black beans. Also, if you don’t have tahini, then just leave it out. It’s okay. We won’t tell anyone.* Just make sure you have good dipping items about — bread, crackers, tortilla chips, carrot sticks, I could go on…you get the idea. Wing it!

Lemon Hummus

1 14-15 ounce/210g can chickpeas, rinsed
1/4 cup of the liquid reserved from the can (or cooking liquid from beans that have been soaked and cooked)
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon tahini
Zest and juice of one lemon
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
Salt to taste

Put the first five ingredients in a food processor or blender and pulse a bit. While the machine is running, slowly pour the olive oil in through the feed tube (weird that it’s called that). Add salt to taste and blend until you have the consistency you like (some like it chunky; others go for super-smooth — your call).

You can serve it with a little pool of olive oil and a few bright flecks of lemon zest on top. Other fun toppings: a smattering of Tabasco or some other hot sauce, like hot chili oil (yum), a dash of dried oregano, fresh chives, a few whole chickpeas, olives, roasted red peppers…okay, I’ll stop now.

* But you should know that the combination of the tahini with the chickpeas makes hummus a complete protein. So if you are a vegetarian and are looking for those pesky complete proteins, then use the tahini…in good health!

Lentil Burgers

Published on March 10, 2010 in Beans + Legumes and Main Courses. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , .


Sounds sexy, doesn’t it? Just stick with me here…

When we first arrived in Buenos Aires, I was at a bit of a loss as to what we were going to eat. Obviously, I’d heard the beef was amazing – not that I was going to actually buy any – and that the vegetables were all very fresh. But I didn’t have my food-shopping groove on yet. Having lived in NYC for so long, I forgot what it’s like to move to a new place and figure out where to shop, what to buy, etc. etc. Plus, my Spanish or castellano del Río de la Plata, which is what’s spoken in Buenos Aires (the short definition is it’s like Spanish, but not exactly; the long one is here), wasn’t the greatest, so I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to figure out what anything was. Of course, my fears were all for naught – come on, it’s not like we were going to starve! This city is pretty well known for having good food. It took me a few weeks to find out where to buy things like tofu, spices, peanut butter and the like, and I’m still discovering new stores and foods.

All of which is to say that during those few weeks when I was figuring everything out (and eating far too many scones from my neighborhood panaderia – oh, that I sussed out the first day we arrived), I relied very heavily on lentils. Specifically, lentil burgers. These lentil burgers.


They’re so basic, so simple, but for some reason, my entire family just can’t get enough of them. The only odd man out is Loo, who knows that there won’t be any “leftovers” (aka food tossed off the hombrecito’s high chair tray) on nights we have lentil burgers. So he’s not so much of a fan (of course, he would be if he ever got to taste one).

NOTE: While the original recipe is excellent as is, Heidi recommends some variations, like the lemon zest, which is a great addition, so I always add it (it really brightens the flavor of the burgers). I also like to use whatever fresh herb I have on hand — we have a sage plant, so I put that in a lot. Also, she recommends black lentils, which I can’t find here, so I just use the plain old brown ones. Red ones work too. I like to serve these burgers on a piece of toasted whole-grain bread and topped with lettuce, avocado, tomato and lots of mayonnaise or plain yogurt. Yum.

Lentil Burgers
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks

3 cups cooked lentils
4 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt (optional)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh herbs, chopped
1 cup breadcrumbs (Panko works too but gives a slightly different texture to the burger)
Zest of one lemon
Extra-virgin olive oil

Combine the lentils, eggs, lemon zest, herbs, about half the onions and salt in a food processor (in a Mini-Prep, you need to do two batches). Purée until the mixture is a little runny with some chunks still in there. You don’t want it to be completely goopy; keep some texture. Pour into a mixing bowl and stir in the other half of the onion. Stir in the breadcrumbs and let it all sit for a bit. Form the patties (don’t forget to take your rings off!) — if the mixture isn’t holding together and is all over your hands, you need more breadcrumbs. Or if it’s really dry, add a bit of water to the mixture.

Heat the oil in a heavy sauté pan on medium heat and add the patties and cover, cooking for about 5 minutes or until the bottoms begin to brown and get a nice crust on them. Flip the patties and cook the second side for another 3-4 minutes.