Cilantro Pesto

One thing I really enjoy about living in Florida is its culinary diversity. I associate cilantro mostly with Latin American and Asian cuisines, so it was a pleasant surprise to find this recipe online at allrecipes.com, a fusion twist to the Italian classic.

Finely chop five cloves of garlic in a food processor, then add one bunch cilantro, a tablespoon of white wine vinegar, a quarter of a cup of grated parmesan, half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper, half a cup of pecans (or walnuts), salt to taste, and quarter cup of olive oil. Let the food processor rip. Continue to add olive oil and process until the pesto reaches your desired consistency.

Toss with your favorite pasta, or bake it on a flatbread, which is what I'll probably do with it.

More healthy dips

The holidays are a busy time for entertaining. I used to go overboard on cheese and crackers, but here are three healthier alternatives: two hummus recipes and another salsa recipe.

Both hummus recipes require about two cups of chickpeas. Instead of buying them canned, I've been buying them in bulk and cooking them myself. I let a half a pound of dried chickpeas sit overnight in water. Use plenty of water because the chickpeas will swell dramatically. Drain, and put the chickpeas in a pot, covering them with plenty of water. Bring to a boil, and then let them simmer on low heat for about two hours, or until the peas are sufficiently tender. Drain, but save the water. I moisten the hummus with this water, and I believe it adds depth of flavor.

This is my hummus recipe of choice. It came from a Jewish friend who learned the recipe from a close friend while living in Israel. The friend, in turn, had learned the recipe while living as an Israeli expatriate in Iraq.

Chop two cloves of garlic and an eighth of a cup of parsley into a food processor until chopped finely. Then add two and a quarter cup of chickpeas, three tablespoons tahini, juice from half of a lemon, one and a half tablespoons of olive oil, two teaspoons of ground cumin, and salt and pepper to taste. Let the food processor rip. At this point, the texture of the hummus will range from chunky to mealy, and requires the addition of water and further processing to give it a creamy texture. I find that adding about eight or nine tablespoons of the reserved bean water is sufficient to produce a creamy hummus.




My wife prefers a more lemony hummus, and this recipe is my take on the one in Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East vegetarian cookbook.

Chop two cloves of garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. I also add an eighth of a cup of parsley as well, even though the recipe doesn't call for it. Add two cups of chickpeas, three tablespoons tahini, four tablespoons of lemon juice, two tablespoons of olive oil and a quarter of a teaspoon of paprika. Salt and pepper to taste and let the food processor rip. Again, to produce a creamy hummus, you're going to have to add about eight or nine tablespoons of the reserved bean water and process again.




This is one of my favorite salsas. The recipe comes from Roberto Diaz, a Chilean-born violist who is now president and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, one of the great conservatories of the world. Previously he had been a member of the Boston Symphony and Minnesota Orchestras, and served as principal violist of the Philadelphia and National Symphony Orchestras. Not only is this salsa, called pevre, a great dip, but it's also a great condiment with meat or fish.

Start by adding five to eight jalapeños (seeds removed), a large bunch of cilantro, four or five whole scallions, six cloves of garlic, three tablespoons of olive oil, and salt, pepper and chili powder to taste. Let the food processor go, but not for too long. If it gets too finely chopped, the salsa will be too runny. Add the contents of a 28 oz. can of tomatoes (drained), and run the food processor again, but only until the tomatoes are chopped into large, chunky pieces. I recommend using the pulse setting on your food processor if it has one. It's also great with avocado chunks added in post-processing.


The first hummus recipe and the pevre recipe came from my friend David Rezits's cookbook, Culinary Harmony: Favorite Recipes of the World's Finest Classical Musicians. A great cookbook and interesting read for any music lover.

Green beans and stewed tomatoes sauteed with garlic and onion

One of my misconceptions prior to adopting a mostly vegetarian diet was that to make it palatable, one had to stock one's pantry full of exotic (and expensive) spices. After all, how is food going to have any flavor without meat? This simple, tasty recipe, for which I had all the ingredients right at home, put that notion to rest.

This gem is my take on a Filipino recipe from Madhur Jaffrey's World of the East vegetarian cookbook. Its simplicity belies its savory flavor.

I started by mincing three cloves of garlic and finely slicing a large onion (I sliced it in half, and then gradually "shaved" off the cut face so that I ended up with long, thin strips). Next, I took about a pound of Roma tomatoes (I think I used five), and lightly stewed them so that they peeled easily. I dropped them into boiling water for about fifteen seconds, fished them out with a slotted spoon, rinsed them with cold water and peeled them. Once I diced them into large (about half an inch) pieces, my prep work was done.

Next, I heated three tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat (don't go too high, you don't want to burn the garlic), and when the oil was sufficiently hot, I sauteed the garlic for about 45 seconds. Then I added the onions, and sauteed them until they became translucent, but not until they browned - about four minutes. Then I added the tomatoes and beans, salt and peppered it to taste, and added a half a cup of water. Once it boiled, I turned down the heat, covered it, and let it simmer until most of the liquid had boiled off.

I served it with steamed white rice, for a low-everything (except flavor), yet satisfying and nutritious meal.

Brutally hot salsa

To those of you for whom jalapeños just aren't spicy enough, this is the salsa recipe for you!

Start with about 15 habañero peppers. Slice them in half and remove the innards and seeds. Mix a tablespoon of olive oil and a teaspoon each of garlic powder and brown sugar. Add the peppers to this glaze and mix until they are well-coated. Transfer them to appropriate bakeware, arranging them in a single layer. Roast the peppers on low heat for about an hour, until they are dried and shriveled (I set my oven to 200 degrees).

After the peppers are roasted, it's then just a matter of throwing the peppers, six Roma tomatoes (I quartered them first), and a half cup each of chopped cilantro and lime juice into a food processor. Don't over process it, though; your salsa will end up too runny. Happy sweating!

(Unfortunately, I didn't think to take a picture until we'd demolished half the bowl)

Chef Bobby Flay's Sauteed Kale

Kale - another vegetable I'd never cooked before in my life came in last week's veggie box from the Homegrown Food Co-Op. This recipe from Chef Bobby Flay is a winner on all counts - it's fast, easy and tasty.

I sauteed three cloves of sliced garlic (recipe says two, but I love garlic) in about three tablespoons of olive oil. Let the garlic soften, but don't let it brown, because you are going to crank the heat to high once the kale goes in. Turn the heat to high, add the coarsely-chopped head of kale and a quarter cup of water (vegetable stock would be preferable), stir it a little, then cover it to cook for about five minutes. After that, uncover it and let the rest of the liquid evaporate while stirring. Remove it from the heat and season with salt, pepper and about 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, and you are finished. It takes about 15 minutes at most from start to finish.