Category: Big bites

The bouquet here refers to the chive blossoms and the oyster mushrooms that look gorgeous enough to compete with their floral cousins. Thanks to the Farmer’s market for the fresh bouquet! The grains taste lot better than it looks in the picture. Enjoy!

Special tools:

None

Ingredients

• 2 cups multi-grains (1/2 cups each of spelt, rye, barley, brown rice) cooked in 3 cups water for about 90 minutes
• Allium: 1 bunch of chive blossoms, chopped)
• Umami: 1 large oyster mushroom (torn into smaller pieces by hand)
• 1 tbsp chili-infused EVOO
• salt to taste

Method

Dry cook the mushrooms for 3-4 minutes and set aside. Add the oil and chopped chives and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes till bright and fragrant. Mix in the cooked grains and salt to taste. Mix well.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. The bouquet looked more impressive in real life than in the photo here. In my attempt to avoid the shadow of my cell phone, I missed the best line of view.
2. Set the cooking time of the grains for 60 minutes; check and add the 30 minutes or less as required.
3. The brown rice here is actually a mixture of brown and black rice in approx 7:3 ratio.
4. I have learnt from a Japanese cook that the best way to chop mushrooms is tearing by hand. Indeed.

Millet-Bulgur with Maitake & Greens: For this second combination of grains, I use 1 cup millet and 1 cup bulgur with cooking time of 20-25 mins. The allium is tender green onions and the mushroom is maitake. I also use a bunch of greens (greens of radishes and of kohlrabi). Separate the stems from the leaves; dice the stems and chiffonade the greens. Mix in the stems with the alliums and follow the same method as above. Except, add the chiffonaded greens and let them wilt before adding the mushrooms.

Yes, dandelion, the pesky weed in your lawns. My friend once told me that her parents, back in the days, used to pull over in the middle of the highway and harvest dandelions from the roadside, which was a choice green back home in Istria. I am reminded of this story every time I encounter a healthy, luscious bunch of dandelions from the farmer’s market.

Here is an interesting treatment, with unexpectedly sumptuous results, that may help you embrace this nutrition-dense, bitter green. Scroll down for two more: pancake and grain salad. Enjoy!

Special tools:

Food processor.

Ingredients

• Lentils: 1/2 cup vatana (or garbanzo) soaked for at least 2 hrs + 1/2 cup tur dal
• 1 bunch of dandelion greens + 1 green jalapeno
• Veggies: 2-3 medium potatoes
• Allium: 3-4 cloves of garlic
• Aromatics: 2 tsp of your favorite (Indian) spice-mix (like curry powder)
• Acid: 1 tbsp vinegar
• Baghar/Tempering: 1 tbsp ELOO + 2 tsps mustard seeds + 1 red dried chillies, hand-torn into small pieces + 2 stalks of curry leaves
• salt to taste

Method

Pressure cook the vatana+tur lentils with the garlic and chopped vegetables + salt to taste, till tender. Process the dandelions leaves and stems and the green jalapeno pepper (not blend!) till broken down into tiny pieces, but not any more (i.e., not blended into a paste).

Extended baghar: Heat oil and mustard seeds till the seeds begin to sputter. Add the curry leaves and chillies. After 30 seconds or so, add the spice-mix and make sure it does not burn. Then add the processed greens + vinegar and saute for a minute or so. Season with salt to taste.

Mix the dal and the baghar. Serve hot.

Notes, hints, tips:

1. ELOO = Extra Light Olive Oil.
2. You may also check https://health.clevelandclinic.org/dandelion-health-benefits/.
3. The “AAA” principle (Allium, Aromatics, Acid) is a good rule of thumb to build the flavor base for lentils, meat, vegetables or any combination thereof.
4. Cooking the garlic along with the staple reduces its intensity but provides the oomph.
5. I heat the oil along with the seeds, so that it does not need babying and you can afford to be distracted with other tasks and the sputtering of the seeds acts as a natural timer the beckons you back to the stove. Don’t stray too far away though.
6. Use you favorite spice-mix, be it quatre épices or Madras curry or vadouvan or Berbere or simply mirepoix. Change the tempering spices accordingly- here I have a very Indian take with whole mustard seeds, curry leaves.
   When I travel to India, I bring back a variety of high quality spice-mixes (trying to cover the expanse of the country, like a Kashmiri Rogan Josh, a Rajasthani bharwan, or Goan Xacuti, ….). India offers a fascinating array of not just spices, but also spice-mixes, tried and tested over generations.
7. Dandelion Garbanzo pancake/waffle: Here is another addictive (believe me!) dandelion-legume treatment. See pictures below. It could be prettied up a bit, but who has the patience 😉
   Soak 2 cups garbanzo beans for 4-6 hrs (or, until it meets the bite-test). Drain.
   Pulse in a processor till a coarse paste: garbanzo + 1 bunch dandelions, stems and leaves + 2-3 scapes (or other alliums) + 1/4 cup EVOO + a few green chilies + 1 tsp whole cumin seeds (optional) + 1 1/2 tsp baking soda + salt to taste.
   Mix in chopped onions and shishito peppers. Use 1/2 cup measure to scoop each pancake out. Flatten and cook for 4 mins on each side on a non-stick pan. No extra oil is necessary.
   

Spelt garbanzo dandelion Salad: This is surprisingly delicious! Use a wok that can stand high heat to flash-dehydrate the greens.
1 cup garbanzo, soaked for 5-6 hrs and then microwaved (with a few tbsps of water) till tender (5 mins).
Cook 1 cup of spelt in 2 cups of water for about 1 hr or until tender.
Pulse 1 bunch of dandelion in a food processor, with some green chilies and allium (scallions) till it is coarse.

Dehydrate the pulsed dandelions on high heat in a wok (with very large surface) for 10-15 minutes. Add the cooked and drained garbanzo and grains in the wok. Mix in salt to taste and. Add about 1/4 cup good quality EVOO and juice of 1 lime. Top with diced scallions.