May 22, 2010

Shopska salata


This is my most favorite salad and I will be eating it often this summer... for best results, use ripe heirloom tomatoes and you will not be dissappointed!

The basics:
3-4 good sized tomatoes (or as many as you like)
1-2 cucumbers (or same as above)
1 onion (red or green)
2-3 peppers, roasted (can use red or green peppers)
parsley or basil
salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar
crumbled feta cheese

Chop the tomatoes, cucumbers and onions. Roast the peppers, peel and chop. Mix all ingredients and season with salt, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and chopped parsley. Top the salad with crumbled feta and serve with a smile :) (or a glass of chilled rakia!)

Enjoy!

Tofu and asparagus over quinoa


A meal that is delicious and nutritious!

Ingredients:
1 cup fresh fava beans, shelled, boiled and skinned*
1/2 cup fresh peas (shelled and boiled) **
3 carrots, cut into small cubes and boiled **
1 cup quinoa
1 lb asparagus, chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 pack of extra firm tofu (14oz) cut into 1/2 inch thick triangles
2 green onions


* shell the fava beans and boil them for 5min until the skin is white and wrinkly. Then quickly rinse in cold water and peel the skin off. The beans will be bright green color
** boil the peas and the carrots for 2 min, just enough for them to become tender but still retain crunchiness

Process:

Rinse the quinoa and transfer to a cooking pot. Add 2 cups of water, little salt and olive oil + 1 cube vegetable bullion and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for ~ 20 min. Once done, add the already cooked fava beans, peas and carrots and mix well.

For the tofu, MM found an excellent link describing how to cook it so that it retains texture and flavor and I followed it pretty closely... The most important is to dry fry the tofu without any oil so that the texture will be preserved. Cut the tofu, then dry it out between two towels to get the excess moisture out and dry fry it over medium heat and press with spatula while dry frying:

"HOW TO COOK TOFU LIKE THE PROS"

Once the tofu is done, marinate it for coupe of minutes in a sauce made from 1/2 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1/4 water and a spoon of sugar and finely chopped green onion.

The asparagus can be sauteed briefly with some olive oil and seasoned with hot pepper flakes and salt.

Once all the ingredients are cooked, serve over a bed of quinoa and enjoy!