Turnip Pickle

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beets, homemade, How to, middle eastern style pickles, pickles, resering vegetables, salt brine cocentration, tips for pickling vegetables, turnip pickles, turnip recipes

A Middle Eastern style turnip pickles that is healthy, easy, delicious and fun to make at home.

I like pickles.
And who doesn’t?!?!

If you are a pickle lover, then you will like making it at home too. It’s easy and fun to try making your own favorite pickles.

Pickling is one way to preserve the seasonal vegetables and enjoy them all seasons, usually brine is used to marinate and store the vegetables with added salt to produce acidic solution.
In middle east there is a wide variety of pickles, all made from many vegetables. Some of the vegetables that used to pickle is olives, cucumber, turnip, beets, cauliflower, pepper, lemon, cabbage, eggplant….

Middle eastern style pickles is commonly used as a side dish accompanied by many different food and main dishes, it’s an essential part of the Mezze table, and highly liked specially during Ramadan. The preparation of pickles starts a week before Ramadan starts, so it will be ready on time.

Is pickles healthy? Pickles are also a healthy snack. They are low in fat, calories and sugar. They are a good source of fiber that aid in digestion. Pickles also contain valued nutrients such as magnesium, calcium, iron and antioxidants.

Pickling Methods and ingredients: Many get creative with the methods and ingredients in making pickles. Brine may be simple that only contain water and salt with the addition of sugar to enhance the fermentation process like when pickling cucumber, carrots, and turnip. For any recipe using water and salt brine, I usually use 1 tablespoon salt for every one cup of water. Acidic solution, usually vinegar, are also used to marinate and store the vegetables like pickled cabbage (the recipe coming soon). Another middle eastern well known brine is using olive oil like Makdoos pickles (the recipe coming next).

Spices, salt, herbs and many other ingredients are used in making pickles and it gives a special taste to the vegetables.

Here are some tips when making pickles

• Always choose fresh vegetables, it makes a big difference.
• Use canning or pickling salt (not iodized table salt!). Pickling salt has no additives. Iodized salt have anticaking agent that makes the brine cloudy also the iodine contents may change the color and texture of the vegetables as well as possibly leave sediment at the bottom of the jars.
• Use commercial white vinegar with at least 5% acidity. While cider and malt vinegar can add flavor subtleties, they also darken light-colored vegetables.
• Use only soft water (water with low levels of minerals and chlorine). Hard water (water with high mineral levels) can lower brine acidity, possibly affecting food safety.
  To soften hard water, boil for 15 minutes, then allow it to stand covered for 24 hours. Remove any surface scum that forms. Carefully ladle the water from the pot without agitating the bottom sediment.
• Use stainless-steel, glass, or ceramic bowls. Avoid containers and utensils made of copper, iron, zinc, or brass (these materials may react with acid and salt).
• Make sure all jars are sterilized before you pickle in them. Bacteria can ruin a whole batch and even make you sick.
• To allow pickles to mellow, wait at least 1-2 weeks before using.

Turnip Pickles

Turnip pickles is one of my most liked pickles. It has a distinctive flavor, with it’s pretty pink color that comes from using beets with turnip. It’s usually liked with Falafel and Shawarma sandwiches which adds a nice tangy flavor to the sandwich, also it may be decorated on top of Humus and Labni (yogurt cheese) dishes.

•    3 medium-sized turnip
•    1 medium size beetroot
•    1 tablespoons sugar
•    3 tablespoon course pickling salt
•    2 tablespoon white vinegar
•    3 cups water

1- Bring the water to a boil, cool, then add vinegar,  sugar and salt. Stir till they dissolve.
2- Wash turnips well, peel, slice off top and base. Cut turnips and beetroot into slices.
3- Place turnip and beets between them as layers in sterilized jars. Add water with the vinegar over till it covers them. Seal with some olive oil on the top.
4- Close jars well, leave for 20 days before use.

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Oven Roasted Fresh Green Chickpeas

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fresh green garbanzo, garbanzo beans, green chickpeas, middle eastern, roasted chickpeas, snacks ideas

Roasted green chickpeas one of the most delicious and healthy middle eastern snacks.

Green chickpeas, or as they known fresh garbanzo beans, are one of the most delicious and healthy middle eastern summer snacks, and it’s my very favorite snack too. I can’t believe when my husband called asking if I want some, he was shopping at a middle eastern food store here in the city when he saw them, it’s the first time I saw them here in the states, I guess they bought them from Mexico or may be California.

My memory about these healthy beauties, back in my country Palestine, where we used to buy them from street venders or some times from traveling trucks, we all gather around to help take off the shelled beans from their branches, then waiting while they grilled to enjoy eating them, their smoky flavor was wonderful.

The best way I can remember to cook them is roasted or grilled, charring gives them a nice smoky flavor, they taste nutty sweet with a hint of edame. The raw chickpeas taste like raw peas. But, when over cook them they taste like over cooked lima beans.

Also, they can be cooked and enjoyed in many ways, as a snack or in a salad or mashed as hummus. You can steam them, grill them, fry them, bake them, microwave them, pan charred or even eat them raw.

Fresh green chickpeas have lots of health benefits. They are a good source of protein, magnesium, and iron, helps lower cholesterol, and blood pressure, and they are good for your heart.

Oven Roasted Green Chickpeas

1. Preheat the oven at 325 f.
2. Wash the beans with in their shells, and just spread them out on a roasting pan in a single layer, with salt. Cook for about 55 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally to even up the browning.
3. Eat like edame, popping out of the shell into your mouth.

Roasted Black Grapes

Tags

Fruits, grapes, meat side dish, roasted fruits, roasted grapes

Roasted grapes atop salted crackers spread with creamy ricotta cheese makes a delectable snack to enjoy any time.

Have you ever tried roasted grapes?

I’m so fonded of the roasted fruits. After my husband came last week with boxes of grapes and there were much remain sitting in the fridge, I hate to trash them, so what’s a best way to use them before they start to wrinkle. I usually use grapes in cocktail juices, but I remembered my mom grape marmalade, it was always my favorite, delicious, I was enjoying eating the sweet and soft grape by fork, I know I had to try them myself, with the simplest way to do.

Roasting the grapes bring their sweetness, concentrate the sugars and intensify the flavors. The delicious result is something sweet and savory at the same time, the same flavors when you roast figs and plums.

So, Why not to satisfy your tooth while boasting our immune system, grapes are known as they protect from viruses and infections.

Roasting grapes is just so easy and simple. Toss the grapes with salt add more sugar if you like, and some olive oil, let roast slowly in the oven. It can be partner with many meals, as a side dish with roasted meat or chicken or may be turkey, for desserts serve beside your favorite cake, or make a change with your snack when pairing the roasted grape with cheese topped bread or crackers make it a unique and stunning appetizer, but what I liked the most is when I topped it over yogurt and granola for the most delicious healthy start of my day.

Roasted Black Grape

4 cups black grape
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Dash of salt
2 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven at 300 f. Toss all ingredients together, spread in a rimmed oven pan, put in preheated oven for 45 min. Every 15 min shake the grapes and turn the pan, continue until the skin soft cracked and the juices running.
Serve with your favorite cheeses and crackers.

Granola Yogurt Parfait

Tags

almond, breakfast, Fruits, granola, grape molasses, grapes, healthy breakfast, oatmeal, quick breakfast ideas, roasted grapes, snacks ideas, step by step, storing granola

For robust breakfast, add these granola bites on top of your fruit and yogurt for extra flavor and more fiber in your diet, or for snacks enjoy it plain.

Oat is one of my favorite breakfast food ingredient. I love a hot bowl of oatmeal in the morning and I often use oats in my baking, as well. It give the cakes the softness like this pillow soft muffins. But most of all, I like using oats in this quick and easy granola recipe.

No time for making or eating breakfast?
Make your granola in a batch and enjoy it throughout the week. I like to sprinkle it over my yogurt for a sweet start in the morning, or you can zip it in less than 5 min and take it with you.

Why should you make your own granola instead of buying ready made?
Because homemade granola tastes twice as good and costs half as much. You also can cut the fat down considerably when you make it at home and by using small amounts of canola oil, add the flavors you prefer, or load it with nuts and fruits of your choice.

What is grape molasses?
A Very healthy middle eastern thick syrup extracted from grapes. Anyone who is not familiar with grape molasses, it is very healthy and beneficial, very rich in antioxidants, well known for it’s high contents of iron and used widely in treating iron related anemia. You can find it at middle eastern stores.

The key to making delicious granola is to bake it at low temp or a long time.
Store in an airtight plastic container with lids on in the cupboard, where it will await breakfaster or afternoon muncher. For long storage , keep it in the fridge or freeze it.

In this recipe, I used my homemade yogurt recipe, does not need to strain it because it is thick enough, smooth it a little with a whisk. Served loaded with oven roasted black grapes, then topped with some sweetened the granola and almond clustered that is coated with generous amount with grape molasses for additional healthy diet then toasted to nutty flavors.

Grape Molasses Almond Granola

1/2 cup chopped almond
2 cups old fashioned oat
1/4 cup grape molasses
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon canola oil

Preheat the oven at 275 f. Coat an oven pan with a little oil.
Place all ingredient in large mixing bowl, and stir very well until combined, make sure all coated with the molasses.
Spoon the entire mixture into the baking sheet, spread into a single layer, so they have room to get toasty.
Bake for 10 min, then rotate the pan and bake for another 10-15 min, let cool.
Once cool, break clumps into smaller parts, store in plastic jars.

Yogurt Granola Parfait with Roasted Black Grapes

Baked granola
Roasted black grapes plus juices (recipe coming next in separate post)
Homemade or store bought yogurt or greek yogurt(Recipe here)

With a whisk, whip the yogurt until creamy and smooth, top with the roasted grapes or you have the choice to use any kind of fruits. Then top it with granola clusters, enjoy.