It’s much easier to stick a tray of chicken and potatoes into the oven or throw a bunch of vegetables and beans into pot than to prepare a bunch of mezzes. But a table covered with small and colorful plates is a mini feast. It makes you feel like a king.
Both of these mezzes are so easy to make that I thought it would be lame to post just one of them. They also go well together.
The collard green mezze is one of the appetizers my mother makes every Friday for Friday night dinner. I make it whenever I have a bunch of leafy greens on hand. You can use collard greens, beet leaves, Swiss chard, or kale. If you make it with kale, remove the thick stem running through the center of the leaves.
Eggplants – you either love them or hate them. Or sometimes you love them depending on the dish. My husband, for example, doesn’t love them braised but loves them roasted until their skin becomes sweet and sticky, and the flesh is extra tender. He also loves baba ganoush. I love them prepared any style, except when they’re undercooked. Then they’re disgusting.
The eggplant is ready when the flesh is soft and tender. Back in the day, you had to salt eggplants before cooking them to remove bitterness, but today it is mostly unnecessary. Most varieties grown today are not bitter.
Favorite cookbook of the week: A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes by David Tanis.
Eggplant with red onion & tahini
Ingredients
- 1 medium eggplant
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- ¼ red onion
- Salt and pepper
- Tahini butter
- Half lemon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Dice the eggplant and put it on the baking tray. Drizzle the oil and sprinkle salt and pepper over and rub with your hands.
- Put the baking tray in the oven and roast for 15 -20 minutes – occasionally flip gently with a spatula – until the eggplant pieces are golden brown and tender.
- Meanwhile, chop the onion finely and prepare the tahini.
- Put the eggplant in a plate, sprinkle the onion and drizzle tahini and serve.
- If you plan to serve later, store the eggplant and tahini in separate containers, and chop the onion only before you serve).
- LEMONY TAHINI
- 1 heaping tablespoon tahini
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 2–3 tablespoons cold water
- Put the tahini in a small bowl. Squeeze the lemon into the bowl and add 1 tablespoon water. Stir gently until the butter turns into to a thick paste. Add another tablespoon of water and stir. Keep adding water until the tahini is smooth and velvety. If it’s too watery, add a little bit of tahini. If it’s thick, add a little bit water.
Notes
Warm Mangold (green Swiss chard) Salad
Ingredients
- 1 Bunch of green Swiss chard
- Salt
- Juice of ½ lemon
- DRESSING
- 1 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon hot paprika or ground cayenne pepper (optional)
- ½ teaspoon cumin
Instructions
- Rinse the green chard leaves with cold water. Cut them into thin strips, about half an inch and put in a large skillet or wok, with 2-4 tablespoons water. Add a little bit salt and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
- Mix together the dressing ingredients and pour it into the skillet. Cook for 5 minutes, continuously stirring, until all the leaves are coated with the dressing.
- Add the lemon juice, remove from heat and serve or store in a container in the fridge up to 2 days.
Notes
מעולה 🙂 אני מכירה את התחושה/ משיכה לכיוון הטבעונות….
.תודה!!! אני לא חושבת שבשר נורא. סבא וסבתא שלי אכלו מנה בשרית כמעט כל יום אבל אני לא אוכלת בשר מחוץ לבית אלא אם כן הוא אורגני. אני מעריכה את התגובות שלך. יום נפלא
[…] Preheat the oven to 450°. Put a splash of canola oil in a Dutch oven or on a heavy pan, add the chicken, skin side on the pan, and put into the oven for 45 minutes. Then flip the chicken and cook for another 45 minutes, or until the skin is dark brown. To check if the chicken is ready, pull the leg gently and look at the color of the flesh. If it is pink-ish, the chicken is not ready. When the chicken is ready remove from the oven and serve immediately. We had it with steamed brussel sprouts that were dumped into the Dutch oven with the cooked chicken juices and some tahini sauce. […]
Shelly, I wanted to thank you for a lovely recipe! I made this last weekend and it was loved by everyone: http://nami-nami.blogspot.com/2013/06/sauteed-swiss-chard-aka-warm-mangold.html
I am so glad to hear! Thank you. I appreciate your comment!
[…] the tahini: put 2 tablespoons tahini, 2 tablespoon water and 2 tablespoons lemon juice in a cup and stir […]
[…] salad is very much like my mother’s Moroccan Warm Mangold Salad, but this version is made with kale, Swiss chard, and Harissa (or chipotle harissa) instead of the […]