Christmas in July: Chickpea Stew without the Chicken

Smells of cinnamon wafting through the kitchen remind you of Christmas, right? Add cumin, cilantro, chickpeas, zucchini, and tomatoes for a fun and flavorful, wonderfully beany delight for Christmas in July. Self.com recipes can be pretty hit or miss--they're all centered on being healthy, which doesn't always translate to tasting good. But this chickpea stew recipe is the third of my successful attempts at recipes from the site and probably the most repeatable.

It's simple, especially since you don't need to add the chicken if you're a veggie like me.  Pretty much use everything else and swap the chicken for veggie broth and you're good to go.

The flavors in this dish are very Middle Eastern, mild and tongue-pleasing: all characteristics which determine how often I'm likely to re-make a dish.

I actually made it two nights ago but didn't end up eating it for lunch yesterday. It tastes just as good two days later.

Middle Eastern Cooking at Home

"It's all in the presentation" is a phrase that oft comes to mind when thinking of a great meal out or an elaborate meal prepared at home. For me, this is true even before the food hits the plate. There's something about certain containers that get me especially in the mood to cook. Perhaps being able to see the potential for food inside and being able to gauge its freshness at a glance is the quality that most draws me to the mason and pickling jars.

This past weekend I finally fulfilled my months-long goal of acquiring some jars of my own thanks to an afternoon stop in ps coffee tea n spices post brunch at Juventino.

My new collection of 2 baby jars, a medium-size mason jar, and a large metal tin with snappy closure is just the beginning of what I hope to be a beautiful friendship with food preservation/storage. The first occupant of the two baby jars was an Afghan cilantro chutney I prepared from a not-too-involved recipe in a new cookbook that is all Middle Eastern, all vegetarian (in other words, the best thing ever). The cookbook promised this stash would keep for 2 weeks, but I'm already 1.5 bottles in so I'm not able to confirm this timeline at this juncture, but what a great first foray into the use of these wonderfully cute devices!

This next part doesn't have so much to do with containers so much as the wonderful surprise of an elaborate, slightly time-consuming meal actually turning out really good. I'm not sure I've been this surprised at such a feat since my early years as a vegetarian attempting to make elaborate Indian and Thai dishes for holidays and family member's birthdays.

If you're a tomato lover, you will love this dish...sundried and fresh tomatoes (cherry, beefsteak, Roma--you choose), basil, scallions, and some other stuff rolled into balls or kufteh in a tomato pastey sauce. I thought I'd defy the recipe's suggestion and serve over couscous but Campanelle pasta was definitely the better choice. This foray turned out to be one of those dishes with the potential of being light yet filling. It only turned out to be heavy and filling because it was so surprisingly tasty, I had trouble putting my fork down.

The best lesson from this experience was actually something Ms. Frizzle told me many moons ago (my fellow former Magic School Bus fans, you know what I'm talking about): "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" What a motto to live by in the kitchen.

Pocketful of Rainbows...or Veggies

I remember a dark time in my life. A time when I didn't like baba ghanouj. The truth of the matter is that I had one rotten (literally bitter) experience and shut out the Middle Eastern spread altogether. I now realize I'm a fool. I now say yes to the opportunity to have it at every turn. I now say yes to life.

I've only had four things at Eva's in Greenwich Village--two were soups and two were sandwiches. All were excellent. With each pita sandwich you get a filling of some sort--baba ghanouj, hummus, falafel, just to name a few, a mountain of salady goodness that cannot be contained in the walls of the pita, and a choice of dressing such as tahini or yogurt. The vegetable and lentil soups are both packed with vegetables, hearty enough to stand on their own but also serving as a great accompaniment to the overstuffed pitas.

I like this place. Many vegetarian options to choose from. There's lots of items on the menu with "protein" in the title. I haven't tried them yet but this spot seems to be all about healthy eating, which I appreciate when I'm looking for a quick bite that doesn't make me feel weighed down and convenient in that I can pay by debit card. It's also not too far from this place:

which reminds you what an eccentric neighborhood Greenwich Village is. Sparkly jumpsuits anyone?

Tastes from the Middle East in Brooklyn

Note: I'd like to dedicate this post to my friend Dina who introduced me to zaatar, lebneh, and most important of all: the wonder of Doritos dipped in yogurt.

Middle Eastern and Mediterranean food are great. With both you get a punch of flavors without the intensity or spiciness of South Asian food (which I love but can't eat for every meal). It's light but filling and there are many options for vegetarians. For these reasons, when I'm thinking of a place to eat out but not overindulge, Middle Eastern cuisine comes to my mind.

A few weeks ago, I checked out Bedawi Cafe in Park Slope. A small and cute location on Prospect Park West, Bedawi had excellent food and a homey feel. It was hard to narrow down what I wanted to eat so my sister and I decided to get an assorted plate. I feel like the picture here speaks for itself. Deliciousness. Baba ghanouj, foul (fava beans with tomatoes, garlic, parsley, scallion, and lemon), beet salad, lebneh, and black beans with plum tomatoes, scallion, parsley, and bulgur.

And because I can't get enough of lebneh (a strained tart yogurt that is almost cheese-like), I ordered a separate plate after downing half of the assorted plate.

This meal definitely rivaled a similar assorted plate I had at Turkish Cafe Restaurant on E16th St in Midwood. Open 24 hours, Turkish Cafe is a hole-in-the-wall with a family atmosphere. It's not as pretty as Bedawi but it does stay open on Christmas, which was convenient when my dad was in town and we were looking for a place to eat.

The full plates on the menu are all meat-based, but if you happen to be in this part of Midwood, I recommend stopping in for their appetizer mix. The small size coupled with the delicious fresh bread was enough for me, but for $4 more you can order the large. A mix of hummus, baba ghanouj, Russian salad, piaz (white beans with vegetables), cacik (yogurt, kirby, mint, and garlic), and Turkish eggplant with mashed green and red bell peppers and garlic. So delish! Next time I want to try their falafel--like finding good guacamole, finding good falafel is also a task.

Before telling you my lazy person's version of an assorted plate or mezze, I must go on a slight tangent about lebneh. If you haven't tried lebneh but you love plain (Greek or not) yogurt, do it. You'll thank yourself. Every time I think I can go vegan, something dairy pulls me back. First it was my discovery of the crisp taste of Dubliner cheese, intermittently because of goat cheese, and now more than ever, plain yogurt. I just love plain yogurt--whether it's with fruit and granola, on top of a taco (salad) in lieu of sour cream, along with a beans and rice/couscous dish, or alongside a spicy Indian meal, it makes my tongue happy. And a trick I learned from one of my best friends, it also tastes delicious with Doritos (the original nacho cheese version).

Ok, and now with my lazy person's mezze recipe (which is not so much as a recipe as a "let's-throw-this-all-onto-a-plate" technique).

What you'll need
-Middle Eastern flatbread, lavash, or pita
-zaatar
-sumak
-olive oil
-tomatoes (grape or cherry, but any will do)
-hummus
-fava beans
-garlic, lemon
-plain yogurt (Greek or not) or lebneh
-eggplant
-parsley or cilantro

Start by warming up the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the flatbread/lavash/pita with olive oil, then sprinkle on desired amount of zaatar and sumac. If you're like me, sprinkle a lot. Warm in oven for about 7 minutes. Meanwhile heat olive oil and garlic in a pan. Before garlic starts to brown, add canned fava beans and grape tomatoes cut in half. Sprinkle lemon juice over it all and cook til fava beans and tomatoes are soft. For eggplant, cut up into small pieces, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and bake it until tender. When all the hot elements are done, place a dollop of plain yogurt and hummus on your plate, the hot stuff, and voila! a lazy person's mezze.