Copyright recipes provided by Chef Colby Leiberman
Spicy Amaranth Greens Pesto, serves 6-8 people
-
2 cloves of garlic
-
1 cup olive oil
-
1/2 lb amaranth greens
-
1 cup vegetable stock
-
one tablespoon cayenne or one jalapeno pepper (de-seeded).
-
one tablespoon salt
In a blender or food processor, add amaranth greens until blender is 3/4 full. Add vegetable stock, salt, garlic and cayenne or Jalapeno.
With blender on, drizzle the cup of olive oil in. Add remaining amaranth greens.
Serve garnished with ground black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Fresh Chickpea Falafel, serves 6-8 people
-
3 cups dried chickpeas, or canned chickpeas
-
2 cups garbanzo or chickpea flour
-
1/2 cup olive oil
-
2 cloves Garlic
-
1 tablespoon Cumin
-
1 tablespoon Paprika
-
1 tablespoon Coriander powder
-
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
-
2 tablespoons salt
-
3 tablespoons water or vegetable stock
-
1 tablespoon cooking oil
For dried chickpeas soak overnight and simmer for two hours or until tender.
For canned chickpeas open and rinse
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
In a food processor combine all ingredients and blend until mostly smooth.
In a thick bottom frying pan heat up a tablespoon of cooking oil like safflower oil until a drop of falafel batter sizzles in the pan.
Add a heaping spoon of batter to the pan, flatten with the bottom of the spoon to a nice round shape.
Brown on both sides and then transfer to a cookie sheet or flat oven pan.
When the pan is filled, slip into the oven and bake for another 30 minutes until firm and crisp.
Serve Drizzled with Spicy Amaranth Green Pesto and a sprinkle of chopped parsley.
Cucumber Goat Yogurt Mint Salad, serves 6-8 people
-
4 cucumbers
-
two cups goat yogurt (can substitute cow yogurt)
-
one bunch mint, cut into a chiffonade
-
one tablespoon cumin
-
one tablespoon salt
-
one teaspoon black pepper
-
two tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Peel 4 large cucumbers, cut in half the long way and then cut into thin half moon slices.
Add goat yogurt, spices and olive oil and mix throughly.
Sprinkle on the mint and lightly stir in until most of it is combined.
Garnish with a mint sprig, and fresh ground black pepper.
Wine Country Fresh Grape Leaf Dolmas with Pine Nuts and Lemon Thyme
-
30 Large Fresh Grape Leaves
-
4 Cups Long Grain White Rice (Basmati, Botan, Jasmine)
-
1 Cup Pine Nuts
-
1 Bunch Lemon Thyme
-
12 Cups Vegetable Broth
-
1 Onion
-
3 Tablespoons Salt
-
1 Tablesoon Cumin
-
2 Cups Olive Oil
-
1 Cup Lemon Juice
-
1 Tablespoon Honey
Pick thirty grape leaves with the whole stem on from an unsprayed vineyard. They should be young large leaves, light green color, early summer is the best time but you can usually find a few tender ones hidden underneath other leaves. I've tried to use wild grape varieties which usually have a tan film layer on the back, distinguishing them from other grapes, but these varieties are too thick and bitter to make dolmas. (You can also use store bought grape leaves, though you should wash them thoroughly before using them because their acidity is very high when preserved).
Wash the leaves in cold water one by one. Then blanch the leaves in very hot water, which makes them more pliable and easy to work with. To do this, fill a medium size pot with water and add two tablespoons salt. Put on a high flame on the stove, bring to a boil, and then turn off the flame. If the stem is still on the leaf, hold the stem and dip the leaves one by one into the pot, submerging for about 2 seconds each, keeping the stem out of the water. If the stem is not intact, use a slotted spoon. Place blanched leaves on a plate to the side.
Cut the onion into a small dice. In a large sauce pan, saute the onion on a medium flame, with a teaspoon of salt, and two tablespoons olive oil. When the onions begin to brown, add one tablespoon lemon juice and one tablespoon of honey or agave.
Cook for another 3 minutes on medium low heat until the onion caramelizes into a light brown shade. Add the rice and saute for another three minutes with the onion, stirring frequently. Add eight cups of vegetable broth (add a tablespoon of salt if your broth has no salt), the cumin, two tablespoons olive oil and half a cup lemon juice, then cook the rice on medium low heat for 12-15 minutes or until rice is done. It's important not to stir the rice while cooking or it won't cook through.
Put a thick bottomed fry pan on the stove on medium heat and add your pine nuts to the pan, stirring every 10 seconds with a wooden spoon, toast the pine nuts in the pan. Make sure your pan does not get too hot and stir often because they can burn quite easily. Once the nuts have a few toasty light brown markings on them, remove them from the pan into a large mixing bowl.
De-leaf the lemon thyme into the large bowl with the pine nuts, drizzle with one tablespoon olive oil, one teaspoon salt and stir around until all the nuts are coated. Add the rice to the bowl and stir the whole mixture together until thoroughly combined.
Preheat oven to 350F degrees.
On a flat cutting board lay out one of your grape leaves with the stem side facing towards you. Remove the stem and put a spoon full of rice into the center. Fold the two edges of the leaf on your left and right into the center of the leaf. Starting from the stem end, roll the leaf into a small roll keeping the two edges tucked in around the rice. Place the dolmas in a baking pan at least two inches deep. Continue rolling all of the leaves until you have finished and then take the remaining four cups vegetable stock and pour them over the dolmas in the baking pan. Drizzle with the remaining one cup of olive oil, and the remaining half a cup of lemon juice. Cook in the oven covered with a sheet of tin foil for 20-30 minutes.
Remove from the pan and serve hot or cold with a side of the cucumber mint salad or spicy amaranth greens sauce
