Salad Nicoise

If you're ever fortunate enough to go to Paris, you are bound to walk by many sidewalk cafés, brasseries, bistros and the like. As ubiquitous are the chalkboards that guard the entrances to these eateries, calling out the specials of the day. On almost all of them, you will find salade niçoise.

This is not the tuna salad that one traditionally finds in America, slathered in mayonnaise and sweet pickles. Salade niçoise hails from the Côte d'Azur; region of France, and is named after the city of Nice. It is a combination of tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, eggs and canned tuna packed in oil. It is typically topped with anchovies and Dijon vinaigrette.   Like many French dishes, the name may evoke visions of elegance and glamour, but in reality the dish is the result of the vegetables and proteins available in that region of France. Put another way, it's really just a fancy way of describing a tossed salad from Nice.

I personally love this dish, because it is easy to make and perfectly captures the flavors of  the Mediterranean. It won't replace the traditional American-style tuna salad, but instead provide you with a healthier alternative.

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Southern Black Eyed Peas and Rice

Rice and beans, in one form or another, are the staple nourishment of much of the world's population. We often eat Indian daal (lentils) and rice, which serves the same purpose of providing protein to the diet of the many vegetarians in our home. I'm always looking to add  some variety to my family's diet, and I discovered a new dish on a recent trip to New Orléans.

At least it was new to me. Black-eyed peas and rice is a very common dish in the American South. Prior to trying this dish, my only experience with black-eyed peas was in the Vietnamese dessert called chè đậu trắng. My husband likes black-eyed peas very much, so I made it for him using the same method for making Indian biryani, but with Southern ingredients.
 

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Saffron Orzo with Fennel and Vegetarian Chorizo

Orzo has a similar shape to rice, but it's actually pasta . I've found that kids love orzo; it's more tender and more pleasing to the palate of little ones.

We were running out of long grain rice in the house, so I decided to use orzo pasta as a substitute for rice in my Spanish rice dish. To bring another layer of flavor, I added some fennel that I cook in apple juice. Enjoy!

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How to make an Italian Insalata Caprese

It is officially tomato season at our house. Lulu planted 5 varieties of cherry tomatoes in February and I was finally able to gather a large bowl of them today. They are perfectly ripe, so sweet and definitely organic. While picking the fruits, it was obvious what I was going to make: a Caprese Salad. There is really no specific recipe. Just gather some sweet basil, mozzarella and tomato. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and a good quality olive oil.
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Spanish Rice Recipe

Since I have to please a large crowd of vegetarians in the house, I'm always looking for ways to make my dishes more flavorful and nutritious.  Traditional Spanish rice is already packed with flavor, so with the addition of just a few ingredients it can become a complete meal. To the standard blend of white rice, onion, tomato, garlic and cilantro, I add protein in the form of cannellini beans and vegetarian chorizo.  I finish the dish with a little saffron and Tabasco for an additional kick of fragrance and flavor.

For the non-vegetarians, I make a ground lamb chorizo that I add to the Spanish rice instead. This way everyone is happy, and it's not a lot of additional work for me.

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