I’ve never eaten with a shepherd, but I know if I ever did, he would serve me a lively salad with cucumbers and olives from his orchard, and plenty of sheep’s milk cheese that he made himself. I just know it. He would be humble and hospitable, and we would candidly eat, talk and laugh as if we had known each other for ages. Our conversation would be as honest as the ingredients in his salad and we would remember both for a very long time.

My dream of eating with a shepherd will come true one day. I’m not sure if it’ll happen in Greece, Turkey, Portugal, Morocco, Syria or Egypt but I know it will happen.

Meanwhile I have this salad to keep me happy.

SHEPHERD'S SALAD RECIPE

Yield: 4 SERVINGS

Total Time: 10 MINUTES

This salad is wonderful with grilled meats. You can easily make it at the last minute but it tastes better if you let it sit for a little while before serving.

Ingredients:

For the salad
1 English or Armenian cucumber, quartered and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1 large tomato, chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 small red onion, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup coarsely chopped parsley
1/2 cup pitted black olives
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese

For the dressing
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Place all the ingredients for the salad in a large bowl.

Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl.

Add the dressing to the salad and toss to combine.

Serve at room temperature. If the ingredients are cold from refrigeration, let them come to room temperature before serving.

If you want it really smoky, you have to make it at home. Charring the skin until burnt gives the dish much character. After the charring is done, the rest is easy. A few pulses in the food processor with tahini, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice, and your baba ghannouj — “pampered daddy”, literally — is ready.

Serve it with toasted flatbread or vegetables, or as a sandwich spread.

BABA GHANOUJ RECIPE

Yield: 6 TO 8 SERVINGS

Prep Time: 10 MIN

Cook Time: 10 MIN

The charring in this recipe is done on a gas stove but can be made on a grill as well.

Ingredients:

1 large globe eggplant
1 large garlic clove, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon tahini
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
Sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste

For garnish
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
Smoked paprika

Directions:

Line the surroundings of a gas burner with aluminum foil (you’ll be thankful you did when the eggplant starts dripping its sticky juices). Turn on the flame to medium-high and char the eggplant on all sides until swollen, cracked, soft and dripping hot juices. Use tongs to turn it as it can get very hot. The charring should take 10 to 15 minutes.

Place the charred eggplant in a paper bag to allow it to sweat and cool a bit, 5 minutes. Transfer it to a cutting board. Peel off and discard the skin.

Transfer the pulp into the bowl of a food processor. Add the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, tahini, cumin (if using), salt and pepper. Process to a puree.

Serve baba ghannouj at room temperature drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chopped parsley and smoked paprika.

Other dip recipes:
Butternut Squash, Date and Tahini Dip
Spiced Yogurt Dip
Dukkah

Other eggplant recipes:
Zaalouk
Eggplant Jam
Eggplant Tagine

If you love anybody enough this Valentine’s Day you will give them brownies. OK, chocolate dipped everything is nice too, a box of chocolates is (somewhat) thoughtful, and this ice cream, well, this ice cream really really speaks the language of love — kisses. But…nothing equates to brownies to put a smile on his/her face. Trust me on this one.

Of course, it doesn’t hurt that these brownies are gluten-free, or that they contain less sugar and butter than most brownies out there. It doesn’t hurt that they’re so outrageously heavenly either. Now, that’s LOVE.

GLUTEN-FREE BROWNIE RECIPE

Yield: 8 to 12 servings

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips
2 large free-range eggs
1/3 cup turbinado sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup tapioca starch
1/8 teaspoon salt

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 335 degrees Fahrenheit. Line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a large glass or plastic bowl in the microwave for 1 ½ minutes, stirring at 30 second increments. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract, just enough to mix them (no need to aerate the eggs).

Add the egg mixture to the chocolate mixture and whisk well. Sift in the tapioca starch and salt, and whisk well to incorporate the ingredients.

Pour the batter (which should be pretty thick and sticky) in the prepared pan. Place on the middle oven rack and bake 20 minutes, or until set but not completely dry.

Let cool and enjoy.

I wrote this recipe for The Boston Globe this week. It is a vegetarian tagine with cabbage, potatoes and carrots cooked in a flavorful sauce. The recipe includes instructions for making it in a tagine as well as in a heavy pot. If using a traditional tagine, be sure to cook it over a small flame.

Click here for the recipe.

Pin It

In the meantime, this dinner happened last night.

I didn’t make it for the blog. I was simply in the mood for something different and thought I’d whip up a quick marinade with the forgotten miso in my fridge. Luckily, I took a picture and jotted down the ingredients, just in case it turns out good. It was far better than I expected. It was to-die-for delicious, and I decided to post it because I knew you would appreciate how easy and boldly flavorful it is as much as I did. We share common culinary tastes around here after all, don’t we?

BAKED WHITE MISO FISH RECIPE

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 30 min

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons mellow white miso paste
1 teaspoon Sriracha
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 pound cod fillet

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Place the miso, Sriracha, garlic, olive oil and vinegar in a medium bowl and whisk until the mixture is creamy.

Place the fish in a baking dish and rub it with the sauce on both sides.

Bake until the fish is cooked and flaky, 30 minutes.

Tagines and other terra cotta pots need to be seasoned before use to get rid of the initial clay smell and enhance their durability by making them more crack-resistant.

Here is how to season your clay pot in a few simple steps:

1. Immerse your terracotta pot (both the base and the lid) in water and soak it for 12 hours—overnight in a sink is a good time and place.

2. Remove the pot from water and pat it dry. Rub it with olive or vegetable oil.

3. Place the pot in a cold oven. Do not preheat the oven. Turn on the heat to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake for 3 hours. Let cool completely. Wash and store it in a dry cool place.

A few more things:

• If you use your clay pot frequently, then seasoning it the first time is sufficient. Otherwise, re-season it occasionally.

• Avoid sudden temperature changes such as placing a hot clay pot in the fridge or on a cold stone countertop, or transferring it from the fridge to the stovetop. Allow it to come to room temperature.

• I don’t use a heat diffuser as I always cook my tagine over low heat on a gas stove. If using an electric ceramic surface stove, be sure to use a heat diffuser.

• Gently hand wash your clay pot with a mild, preferably eco-friendly dish detergent. Rinse very well to avoid absorption of the detergent. Remember clay pots are porous.

• If baking your tagine or clay pot in the oven, do not preheat the oven.

• Use your clay pot often. The older and more used the clay pot, the tastier the food will be.

• Because clay pots are porous they absorb some of the flavors every time you use them for cooking. They retain those flavors for years even if you wash them well after cooking. It’s exactly that retention of flavors that adds a little something extra every time you cook in a tagine as opposed to other cookware.

• All clay pots are wonderful cooking vessels, but unglazed ones yield the most flavor.

• I like to store mine on top of the fridge. It acts as a decorative accent when I’m not using it and stays safe from kitchen traffic accidents.

• This and this are good sources for purchasing an unglazed tagine.

First of all, if you’ve never had pomegranate molasses, I encourage you to buy some. It is a great ingredient to add to both sweet and savory dishes. I like having a bottle handy to mix into yogurt, drizzle over ice cream or simply toss into fruit salads. When I’m feeling more inspired, I even use it in marinades or to make ice cream. It adds so much flavor.

Pomegranate molasses can be found in specialty or Middle Eastern food stores for a few dollars. Be sure to buy a good brand, such as this one, made with 100% pomegranates and no added sugar.

See that beautiful color in the torte? That’s the visible sign of pomegranate molasses. The invisible magic is a delightfully tangy and fruity edge, and a very moist texture.

POMEGRANATE MOLASSES ALMOND TORTE RECIPE

Yield: 8 SERVINGS

Prep Time: 5 MIN

Cook Time: 20 MIN

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups almond meal
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
¼ cup honey
3 eggs
1teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ cup pine nuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray an 8-inch springform non-stick tart pan or individual tartlet pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, combine the almond meal with cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the melted butter, honey, pomegranate molasses, eggs, and vanilla extract. Whisk until well combined into a homogenous batter. Pour the batter in the prepared pan and scatter the pine nuts on top. Bake until set, 20 to 25 minutes.

Pin It

Parsnips are available from fall through spring yet they can be so easily overlooked. I know I have overlooked them more than once. I pretended I didn’t see them and went on my way to grab other more “popular” roots.

The truth is I never really knew what to do with them or how to deal with their sweetness.

I recently bought a pound of parsnips for a tagine but chickened out at the last minute and used potatoes instead. So there I was with a pound of parsnips and no plans for them at all other than a determination not to let them go to waste. I had to get creative, and this is what my creativity led me to.

This parsnip concoction could be eaten as a dip for apples, celery or crackers as well as for dessert. It is delightfully sweet and floral and works well for both, though I have to say I like it better as a dessert because I’m partial to eating treats by the spoonful.

PARSNIP DIP OR DESSERT RECIPE

Yield: 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

Prep Time: 5 MIN

Cook Time: 20 MIN

Feel free to use almond milk, cow milk or half and half instead of coconut milk. If you don't have any orange blossom water, substitute vanilla extract.

Ingredients:

1 pound parsnips, peeled and chopped
½ cup coconut milk
¼ cup honey
½ teaspoon orange blossom water
½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Cook the parsnips in boiling water until very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain off the water.

Place the cooked parsnips along with the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and puree them until silky.

Transfer the parsnip puree into a bowl or dessert cups and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours.

Top with chopped nuts or a drizzle of chocolate sauce, if you wish.