It's herbal, Herb

The sights, the sounds, the smells of Jerusalem are so overwhelming to the first time tourist that often he or she has a hard time putting into words just what it all meant at the time. That was certainly the problem in my case. I was hot, exhausted and dealing with a crisis of faith so profound that it's taken a year or two to put it all in perspective.

I did love the food.

So when I opened "Jerusalem, A Cookbook" (2012, Ten Speed Press, $35, 320 pages) by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, all the memories came rushing back, this time with pleasure. There are so many good recipes that it was hard to pick out just one. But I fixed this for a party and it was great.

A few notes:

• Be sure to cover the filo with a damp towel for at least 5 minutes before using, and keep covered after using each sheet. 
• This makes a very good vegetarian meal served with a soup before it and dessert after.
• If you want to make extra to have it for another meal, skip the mint. It becomes too strong as it ages.

Herb Pie

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion
1 pound chard, stems removed and chopped, and leaves cut in ribbons
1.75 ounces arugula
1 ounce flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 ounce mint, chopped
2/3 ounce dill, chopped
4 ounces ricotta
3.5 ounces aged Cheddar, grated
2 ounces feta, crumbled
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 large, free-range eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon sugar
8 ounces filo pastry

Instructions
Pour the olive oil into a large, deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute for 8 minutes without browning. Add the chard stems and continue cooking for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chard leaves, increase the heat to medium-high and stir as you cook for 4 minutes, until the leaves wilt. Add the arugula, parsley, mint and dill, and cook for 2 minutes more.
Remove from heat and transfer to a colander to cool.

Once the mixture is cool, squeeze out as much water as you can and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add the three cheeses, lemon zest, eggs, salt, pepper and sugar and mix well.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Lay out a sheet of filo pastry and brush with olive oil. Cover with another sheet and repeat until you have 4-5 layers, all covering an area large enough to line the sides and bottom of a 9 inch pie plate or casserole dish. Line the dish with the pastry, fill with the herb mix, and fold the excess pastry over the filling, trimming as necessary to create a 3/4-inch border.

Make another set of 4-5 filo layers brushed with oil and place them over the pie. Scrunch up the pastry a little to create a wavy, uneven top and trim the edges to that it just covers the pie. Brush generously with olive oil and bake for 40 minutes until the filo turns a nice golden brown. Remove from the oven and serve warm or at room temperature.

When eggs go south - south of the border, that is

Photograph: treehugger.com

Spending my formative years among artsy people in Texas taught me appreciation for many things that were not part of my childhood, or were a part of it in a twisted way that I couldn't appreciate. For instance, my dad loved Mexican food, but what we got was tamales in a can, Hormel Chili, and El Patio frozen Mexican meals. It's a wonder I ever stepped inside a Mexican restaurant after that experience.

But step I did, at all times of the day and night. As much as I loved Tex-Mex, more authentic Mexican food from different regions was making inroads into Houston in the 1970s, and with those came places that served Mexican breakfasts. I ate it all.

I still love a good Mexican breakfast, so I keep cans of Herdez sauces in the pantry, because I am not awake enough to do any sauce from scratch before 10 a.m. When I saw a Food & Wine recipe in my email for Mexican Eggs in Purgatory, I knew I had to try it. But I also knew that I wouldn't be running to the grocery store to get a pound of tomatillos before breakfast. So again, Herdez to the rescue.

If you have access to fresh tomatillos and want to try the original recipe by Grace Parsi of Food & Wine, here's the link: Mexican Eggs in Purgatory

Lori K's Fast Mexican Eggs in Purgatory
Serves 2

Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons crumbled bacon
1 can Herdez salsa verde
2-3 eggs
2 ounces Cotija or feta cheese, crumbled
2 green onion tops, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
Warm corn tortillas for serving

Ingredients
Preheat the broiler and position a rack about 8 inches from the heat source.
In a cast iron pan or shallow flame-proof casserole, heat the oil on a stove burner set on low. Add the garlic and the bacon bits, and cook for 5 minutes. Take a paper towel, fold it in half and place it on top of the pan, holding one end. With a wooden spoon, gently press to remove extra grease. Discard.
Add the can of salsa verde to the pan, raise the heat to medium, and cook until it bubbles vigorously, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs gently, far enough apart so they don't touch one another. Add the crumbled cheese over the top of all, avoiding the yolks.
Put the pan in the oven. Set the timer for 3 minutes.
Put 6 corn tortillas in a towel or warmer, and put in the microwave. When there's a minute left on the timer, turn on the microwave for 1 minute.
When the timer goes off, check the eggs. The whites should be set but the yolks runny. If the whites aren't set, keep them under the broiler for another minute.
After you pull them out of the oven, sprinkle with the green onion slices and cilantro, if using. Serve immediately with the warm tortillas.
Good with sliced avocados and refried black beans; for a hardier meal, serve with hash browns or country fried potatoes.

Gobble-good meatloaf

A Berkeley friend and Episcopal priest, Kristin Krantz, mostly shares tidbits about her family life and ministry on Facebook, but she surprised me one day with a most unusual meatloaf. She makes it with beef, but said it originally called for turkey, so that's what I used. I think it would be great with ground lamb as well. My substitutions are in parentheses (I didn't have any feta on hand, so I had to modify to use what I had).

It was very tasty, moist and didn't need ketchup. I'll use fresh parsley the next time, maybe plain crumbs and a shallot and spices instead of the crusting mixture (which I was trying to use up, since I don't like it as a meat coating). And definitely the feta, which I adore.

Sundried tomato and feta meatloaf
Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1/2 cup plain dried bread crumbs (McCormick's French onion, pepper and herb Crusting Blend)
1/3 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (3 tablespoons dried parsley)
1/4 cup chopped garlic and herb marinated sun-dried tomatoes (sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 large eggs, at room temp, lightly beaten (1 egg)
1/4 cup olive oil (1 tablespoon olive oil)
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (1/2 cup Greek nonfat yogurt)
1 1/2 tsp. salt (1/2 teaspoon)
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper (1/2 teaspoon)
1 lb. ground beef (ground turkey)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray 9x5 loaf pan with cooking spray
In a large bowl stir (or hand mix) the bread crumbs, parsley, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, eggs, olive oil, feta (yogurt), salt and pepper. Add the meat and combine. Pack the mixture into the pan. Bake until internal temp is 165 degrees, approximately 45 minutes.
Remove pan from oven and let meatloaf rest for 5 minutes. Soak extra fat on the surface with a paper towel.

From Kristin Nelson Krantz**The recipe is for turkey meatloaf, which is why I think there is olive oil in the mix - when I used ground beef I just used a little oil.

More on mash

Broccoli will never provide the mouthfeel of say, a good baked potato or even a roasted carrot, nor the pleasant crunch of fresh green bean or French breakfast radish, nor the heavenly aroma of sautéed shallots and mushrooms. But I don't have to choke it and its cousin, cauliflower, down if they are combined in some manner with cheese.

Originally, I looked for a bright orange topping, indicating a cheese sauce, over the florets. I thought that was the best I could hope for in consuming these vegetables, which I very much wanted to do, since they are packed with nutrition and cancer-fighting compounds. (See chart to right, courtesy of World's Healthiest Foods, whfoods.com.)

Then I discovered the mash. (Click on the word "mash" to go to a previous post and recipe.)

Last night, since the other two item planned for dinner were of the orange persuasion, I decided to highlight the broccoli by mixing it with feta cheese instead of cheddar. It was delightful, with a refreshing tang, and because the Greek feta was so salty, it needed no extra. I took a photo of it; it doesn't look like much on the plate, not pretty, but it's tasty. A pound of broccoli and 4 ounces of feta should make enough for 4 people, at about 70 calories per serving.

Salad days

Fresh salads with crisp new greens, with just a light dressing, with nothing else to hide the taste of Mother Nature's first offerings, are truly a gift to gardeners and friends of gardeners.

You can't make a meal out of them alone, but they do make a good basis for a simple supper: the warm salad.

The greens and the cheese are cold here; everything else is at room temperature or slightly warm. The coq au vin refers not to the classic slow-cooked dish, but just that the chicken breasts are cooked in wine.

Warm Coq au Vin Salad
Serves 2 as a main dish

Ingredients
2 cups of torn greens
1 cup red wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 dried hot peppers or 2 teaspoons hot pepper flakes
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 peppercorns
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 bay leaf

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat and any ligaments

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced
12 grape tomatoes, cut in half
2 ounces feta cheese cubes
1 red bell pepper, roasted, skinned and sliced
Salt, pepper and extra oregano to taste

Instructions
Wash, dry and tear the lettuce; wrap in paper towels and put on a plate. Chill.
Combine the wine, broth, dried hot peppers or flakes, peppercorns, teaspoons of oregano and salt, and bay leaf in a saucepan big enough to hold the liquid and chicken breasts. Bring to a full rolling boil. Add the chicken breasts. Cook for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and leave in the warm liquid for about 5 more minutes or until firm. Remove from the liquid to a plate.
As the breasts are cooking, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and season with a little pepper. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. They should have released their liquid when you uncover them; cook until the liquid evaporates, then remove to a plate to cool.
In the salad bowl, place the tomato halves and feta cheese cubes, and the rest of the olive oil. Add salt, pepper and oregano to taste. Add the sweet red pepper strips, and the mushrooms when cool. Slice the chicken breasts against the grain into rough strips and add to the bowl. Add the chilled lettuce. Toss, adjust seasoning if needed and serve.
Variations:
If you want a heartier dinner, use a cup of arugula instead of the lettuce and toss with a cup of cooked tiny green lentils and 4 ounces of pasta (shells, bowties or orzo) cooked and cooled a little. You may need to increase the amount of olive oil a bit, and perhaps add a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar.
If you have time, coat the chicken with lavender salt and marinate a couple of hours before poaching; decrease the salt in the liquid.

A taste of India

Garam masala, the spice mixture that, despite regional and even personal variations, gives a lot of Indian food its punch, is a true time saver on weeknights for cooks who want something on the table fast but with an exotic touch. Here's a simple supper based on the traditional lamb dish dilli ka saag gosht.

Lori K's lamb and spinach sauté

Ingredients

1 pound ground lamb

1 large onion, chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil, optional

1 teaspoon garam masala, or to taste

6 ounces baby spinach

2 ounces (about 4 tablespoons) crumbled feta cheese

4 whole-wheat soft pitas or flatbreads

Instructions

Brown lamb in a large cast iron skillet. Drain and set aside. Sauté an onion, adding a tablespoon of olive oil if needed. When nearly translucent, add the spice and sauté another 2 minutes. Add the cooked lamb and the spinach. Cook until the spinach wilts, stirring.

Meanwhile, warm the pitas or flatbread between folds of a towel in the microwave. When the spinach is tender, put the meat mixture on half the bread (it will be folded over to be eaten) and sprinkle with the feta. Serve with a pumpkin or carrot soup, or a salad.

If you like your food on the salty side, salt the lamb before browning. But be aware that feta is also a bit salty.

Flounder, no floundering

A lovely, fresh flounder fillet called for a special treatment, but I had no time to consult my books - dinner had to be on the table in a half hour. So I picked up a half-pound of crab meat, some red, yellow and green pepper strips from the salad bar and some green onions, and headed for home. I had a half of a peeled yam left in the fridge.

I turned on the oven to 450, and put the 8-ounce fillet on a sheet of nonstick foil, about 4 inches longer than the fish. As the oven was heating, I diced the fresh pepper strips into tiny cubes and sliced two of the green onions. In a small bowl, I whipped one farm-fresh egg thoroughly with a fork, then mixed together the crab, peppers and onions with a generous grinding of pepper. I piled the crab mixture on the fillet, almost to the edges. Gathering up the long sides, I folded the edged a couple of times to seal, then folded up the ends so it was tightly wrapped. I placed the packet on top of the broiler pan, along with the yam, which I sprayed with olive oil and seasoned with a little salt and pepper. I baked the fish for 20 minutes; the yam wasn't quite done, so I put it in the microwave for another two minutes after I took out the pan from the oven. I made a simple salad of lettuce, arugula, cucumbers and feta while the fish cooked.

I opened the packet, which was still steaming, cut the fish in half horizontally, and put it on two plates, surrounded by a piece of vibrant orange yam, and the green salad. The confetti of the diced peppers gave the otherwise white dish a festive flair, and the plate looked great. I wish I had taken a shot of it - but we ate it immediately! A satisfying, low-fat, low-carb, low-salt meal.