Shrimp Avocado and Pasta Salad

Tags

avocado, healthy food, kids friendly, lemon olive oil dressing, Lunchbox ideas, Pasta salad, quick lunch, rotini pasta, salads, shrimp

My family’s favorite pasta salad that makes perfect picnic’s main dish and great lunchbox idea.

With weather changing to warmer temperatures, announcing beginning of spring, although the weather outside is still too cold, but we are getting ready to welcome the summer. Yesterday was the official day of spring, my favorite season.
Spring to me is not only a season, but it also means a lot;

The beginning of life…
Simplicity…
Warmth…
The beauty…
The bright flowers popping through…
Leaves starting to stretch out…
Songs of the new hatch sings…
Buzz of the bees…
Rat a tat tat of the rain…
Picnics and more family fun…

Every time I make this salad it remind me of spring. Cool, easy to prepare, with all beautiful colors; greens, yellow, red, purple, and white. Sure will feast your eyes, and sing a happy symphony in your mouth.

One of my family’s favorite salad, it makes a great lunchbox meal, plus it’s easy to make that the kids would love to share the work preparing it for the next day school lunch. It is also a savory side dish to bring for family gathering and potlucks, a satisfying one dish meal for busy weeknight or weekends, and wonderful main dish salad to prepare for picnics.

All ingredients complement each other. The juicy sweet and slightly tart tomato, the crunchy cool cucumber, the purple cabbage pop in, all combine to meet with the protein portion shrimp that sucks in all the tangy,lemony juices, while the onion gives a little push, and the cheese lends this very fresh dish the gravity of age, and the olive oil emulsified in for rich, slippery body. The flavors swirl as you slurp it up, bouncing from bright and clean to deep and savory, and once all the pasta gone, you’ll have the nice fresh vegetable salad.

Also, because I make it so often, I also make a lot of variations on it. Sometimes I use different vegetables, or substitute the chicken of shrimp or make it veggies only dish. But it will always be our favorite pasta salad.

Shrimp Avocado and Pasta Salad

3 cups uncooked Garden Rotini
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 cup high-quality olive oil
1 teaspoon of lemon zest
1/4 cup lemon juice
salt and black pepper to taste
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese (sometimes I use Mexican 4 cheese)
about 10 large shrimp (I prefer raw wild caught, but the frozen and cooked will work too)
2-3 Bay leaves
1 large avocado cut in cubes
1/2 cup diced green or orange bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 cup fresh spinach, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon fresh mint leaves, chopped
2 tablespoon fresh italian leave parsley, chopped
1 cup grab or cherry tomato, cut in halves
1/2 cup cucumber, chopped
1/2 cup purple cabbage, chopped

In a pot, bring 3 quart of water to rabid boil. Add salt and 1 tablespoon olive oil (this helps the pasta not to stick together). Cook the pasta uncovered on medium heat until tender, about 10-12 min. Rinse the pasta in cold water to stop the cooking. Drain well and put into a large bowl. Add lemon juice, olive oil, dried basil leaves, oregano, and parmesan cheese, mix well, let the pasta soak all the juices.

Meanwhile in another pot bring water to boil, you may add some bay leaves, add the raw shrimp boil for 5 min, the color will change to pink. Rinse with water to stop cooking then take off the shells and clean. Add lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic powder, mix together.

In the pasta bowl, add the shrimp and the remaining ingredients and gently mix until well combined. Test for seasoning.

Serve chilled.

Roasted Red Pepper & Eggplant Dip

Tags

appetizers, dips, dips middle eastern, eggplant, mazzi, olives, red pepper, roasted eggplant, roasted red pepper, spread

This dip has all the sharp, slightly sweet and sour, with smoky flavor to kick-start a passionate Levantine feast.

When I need to be reminded that life is wonderful, I eat eggplant. It’s smoky sweet flavor, smooth yielding flesh, and sneakily seductive flavor make it of the nature’s most decent vegetable. In levant’ markets, the eggplants come in a wide range of shapes and sizes, from the regular kind, elongated and uniform in size; to zebra_streaked on the outside and pure white on the inside; baby eggplants; globe eggplants; and the baladi, a local heirloom variety that is wide, flat, and resembles an open fan.
Good eggplants should be light in weight, with not many seeds inside, and have a tight, shiny skin.

This dip is my favorite. It’s one of many humble eggplant dishes that makes a large portion of the middle eastern mazzi table assortment. For some who are not familiar with this type of dinning; It’s an assortment of appealing appetizers, which consist of a colorful medley of dips, spreads, and salads, and might include a few turnover like pastries. Fresh breads are their essential accompaniment.

To Roast the Eggplant: Prick the eggplant in a few places with a pointed knife to prevent from exploding. Turn them under a preheated broiler on a sheet of foil on an oven tray, or turn them over the flame of a gas burner or a barbecue, until the skin is charred all over and they feel very soft. Alternatively, place them on a sheet of foil on an oven tray and roast them in the hottest oven for 45 – 55 minutes, until they are very soft. When cool enough to handle, peel the eggplants ( you can do this under cool running water), drop the flesh into a strainer, and chop it with a knife, then mash it with a fork, letting their juices escape, or for an easy quick way just pop them with other ingredient into the food processor.

 

Roasted Red Pepper & Eggplant Dip

 

1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds)
2 medium size red pepper
Olive oil
1/4 cup green olives or black, pitted and chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1\4 cup chopped parsley
2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted
1 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
salt & black pepper
Toasted pita triangles, for serving

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Place the whole eggplant on the pan, prick with a fork in several places, and rub with olive oil, roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft when pierced with a knife. On the same sheet line the red pepper and Roast for 15-20 min. Put the pepper in plastic bag, this will make it easy to peel the skin. Set the eggplant aside to cool. Halve the eggplant, peel, and discard the skin. Place the eggplant, peppers, and olives in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl.

Add the garlic to the eggplant mixture, the parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. Taste for seasonings and serve at room temperature with toasted pita triangles.

Roasted Eggplant with Pomegranate and Yogurt

Tags

arab food, eggplant, meze, middle eastern, oven roasted eggplant, pomegranate, pomegranate molasses, tahini, yogurt sauce

In Arab world, the eggplant is often called “the noble fruit”, gracing the tables of rich and poor alike.

Didn’t I mention before that I’m a big fan of any eggplant recipe. Yes, and don’t wonder if you see my blog is all about eggplant.

Eggplant is appreciated in most of middle eastern countries. There is a common lore has been told for long ago that a woman ability to manage the household is judged by how many ways she can prepare eggplant. Indeed, you can find many middle eastern dishes containing eggplant, it may be savored hot or cold, grilled, barbecued, deep-fried, sautéed, roasted, baked, stuffed, marinated, pickled, in pastry, casseroles, stews and even confitures and jams.

This is a wonderful middle eastern way to enjoy the eggplant. A healthy, light, and quick dish that served as an appetizer at any meze table. You have the choice to fry the eggplant, but I prefer it healthy by roasting the eggplant slices with a little of olive oil. make sure to roast the eggplant on high oven heat.

The dressing of pomegranate molasses and vinegar gives the eggplant slices a sweet and sour flavor. Serve them hot or cold, with the yogurt and tahini topping at room temperature.

Roasted Eggplants with Pomegranate & Yogurt

3-4 eggplants
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
1\2 tablespoon sumac
1 1\2 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
1  tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups plain yogurt
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 tablespoon tahini
1\4 cup pine nuts
1\4 cup fresh pomegranate seeds
fresh parsley, chopped

Cut the eggplants, lengthwide or crosswide, into slices about 1\2 inch thick. place them on an oiled sheet of foil on baking tray. Brush both sides with olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Place in a very hot oven preheated to 475 f for about 20 minutes, until they are soft and browned, turning the slices over once. Arrange on a shallow serving dish. sprinkle with sumac.

Mix the pomegranate molasses, vinegar, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoon olive oil, and brush the eggplant slices with the dressing. Beat the yogurt with the garlic and tahini and pour them very lightly all over, and sprinkle over the pine nuts, pomegranate seeds, fresh parsley, and sumac.

Scrumptious Roasted Chicken with Vegetable pan

Tags

baked chicken, chicken recipes, easy meals, one pan chicken, one pan dish, poatato, quick preparation meals, roasted chicken, vegetable

Chicken Roasted on a Bed of Vegetables – The Perfect One-Pot chicken recipe, my all the time escape when I’m short on time.

For me, roast chicken is one of those satisfying meals. This one-pot dish is pure comfort from start to finish, even the prep work of chopping vegetables calms me down somehow. Yes, one pan 10 min. of preparation, make it perfect for busy schedule mom, while it’s easy to prepare and all delicious healthy meal.

I made this with a few basic vegetables I had on hand: potato, onions, zucchini, tomato, bell pepper. Flavoured with fresh thyme  leaves to complete the authentic taste of mediterranean cuisine. Once I have it at dinner, I just know I’m going to have a mouth-watering meal, that all my family will humble around.

Roasted Chicken and Vegetable pan

chicken, cut into pieces
a mix of vegetables (like onions, potatoes, tomato, bell pepper and/or any vegetable you like, like broccoli, zucchini, eggplant…)
2 tablespoon olive oil
1-2 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper, to taste
Mix of spices like: (paprika, all spice, cardamom, coriander)
fresh thyme
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1\2 cup water

Heat the oven to 425°F.

Wash and prep your preferred vegetables and cut into bite-sized pieces. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt, pepper and spices.
Clean the chicken, cut into pieces, rub with some lemon juice to make it smell goodthen wash again. Rub the chicken pieces with olive oil, salt, pepper and spices. Arranging on the bottom of a baking dish.
place the vegetables between and around the chicken. sprinkle with lemon juice. Add the thyme on between and on top.Mix the tomato paste and water sprinkle it over the chicken.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil, and bake for 1 1\2 hour or until chicken is done. After it’s done, take off the foil and place the chicken pan under the broiler, and brown for about 10 min. or until the chicken brown a little. Let the chicken pieces rest on a serving platter.