April 29 – May 5, 2024

Monday:                  Zucchini and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Yogurt

Wednesday:          Broccoli Spoon Salad with Warm Vinaigrette

Thursday:                Turkey Burgers with Roasted Fennel, Sweet Potato Salad

Friday:                      Citrus Shrimp Salad

Saturday:                Maryn Lang’s Bat Mitzvah – beautiful ceremony, good party

Sunday:                   Roast Chicken with Salad and Parsley Potatoes (Jacques Pépin’s favorite meal)

An Inadvertent Vegetarian

Chickpeas, as it turns out, are not a poultry product.  So, it would be fair to criticize our food from last week as pretty much vegetarian until we got to our favorite roast chicken on Sunday, with a minor detour to shrimp, but with lots of salad and croutons, on Friday.

To be honest, I don’t get the distinction between vegetarian and carnivore.  If you don’t like meat, don’t eat it.  If you’re going to get evangelical or ecological about the whole thing, do your dietetic and ecological preening elsewhere.  When I grew up, one of five boys, we were obliged to eat what was on offer.  Mom made one dinner and that was that.  Not that we needed to be told to eat what was on our plates – 5 growing boys are like locusts, they eat anything in their path.

On the other hand, I’m not a fan of those who only eat meat-and-potatoes.  They will reap the fruit of their dietary excess in cholesterol.  But, come on – eat what is healthy and what tastes good.  Not much beats a small, crispy, salted oven roasted potato.  A good Caesar Salad crushes one of those pre-packaged ham-and-cheese sandwiches you can pick up at highway rest stops, where the cheese has formed a chemical bond with the mushy bread.  And a good Margherita Pizza destroys a fast-food burger.

And this week’s recipe for Zucchini and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Yogurt is about as good as it gets for a quick, no-cook dinner.  Throw in a glass of wine and you have a fine meal for a steamy spring evening.  And if and when the weather clears up – throw a nice, thick steak on the barbie and return to your Neanderthal roots.

Zucchini and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Yogurt

(adapted from Milk Street Magazine)

(Note:  Tahini is a bit difficult to spoon out of its jar but makes a marvelous addition, either in the form of a sauce with yogurt, or simply whisked with cold water – the tahini will seize up at first but as you add more cold water it will thin and is perfect for drizzling over middle eastern dishes and hummus)

Timing:                                                   45 minutes

Ingredients:                        Serves 4 for dinner – 6-8 as a side salad

2 or 3 small zucchini (shoot for about 12 oz), quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced on a diagonal

1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas, drained

¾ cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons tahini

¼ cup each, finely chopped mint and dill

¼ cup packed fresh cilantro (we used parsley – cilantro is a soapy taste for Beez)

1 small shallot, halved and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 ½ teaspoons plus 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil, more to serve

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

2 teaspoons za’atar (or a mixture of thyme, coriander, cumin, oregano and toasted sesame seeds)

Ground Sumac to serve (optional – but really good)

Kosher salt and ground black pepper to serve

Directions:

In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, tahini, lemon zest and juice, 1 ½ teaspoons of oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper together.  Set aside.

In a large microwave-safe bowl, stir chickpeas, shallot, vinegar and za’atar.  Cover and microwave until the shallot is wilted.  Check after 1 ½ minutes.  Uncover and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

When the chickpeas are cooled, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil, the zucchini, mint, dill and cilantro.  Taste and correct seasoning.

To serve:

Scoop the yogurt mixture into a mound in the center of a large platter.  Spoon the chickpea-zucchini mixture around the yogurt.  Drizzle with additional oil and sprinkle with sumac (if using).