Potluck Recipe #12: Apricot Almond Quinoa Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

This tasty salad is abuzz with bright flavors, perfect for spring potlucks.

Make up your own amounts for the quinoa salad to suit your taste and batch size. The vinaigrette makes enough for 4-6 servings.


Apricot Almond Quinoa Salad with Orange Vinaigrette

adapted from a recipe by Today I Cooked


Vinaigrette:

zest of 2 oranges
juice of 2 small oranges or 1 large orange
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp. honey
1 clove garlic, peeled
3/4 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil


1. In a blender, combine orange zest, orange juice, balsamic vinegar, honey, garlic, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. With the blender running, add olive oil in a steady stream until combined. Put in refrigerator.


Salad:

dried apricots
dried cherries
quinoa
shallots
slivered almonds
olive oil
sea salt
white pepper

spinach
feta or other sharp cheese


2. Soak dried apricots and dried cherries in water for 1-2 hours. While soaking, rinse and cook quinoa.

3. Thinly slice shallots and add to a skillet with almonds and a bit of olive oil, sea salt and white pepper. Cook until shallots are translucent and almonds are fragrant.

4. Drain and slice apricots and cherries. Add to quinoa, along with nut/shallot mixture.

5. Dress quinoa salad with vinaigrette. Serve on a bed of spinach along with a sharp cheese, like feta.

Potluck Recipe #11: Coconut Peanut Chickpea Stew

This delightful stew features the chickpea, a tiny legume with a whole lot of history. Its origins can be traced all the way back to the Neolithic period; 7,500-year-old chickpea remains have been found in the Middle East. Ancient people thought they were beneficial in treating kidney stones, and the Romans roasted them for snacks. They even made an appearance in Homer's The Illiad, in which arrows bouncing off of an enemy's breastplate are compared to chickpeas being thrown by a winnower.

Beloved by many cultures, the chickpea is also known as garbanzo bean, chana, Egyptian pea, ceci bean and Bengal gram. Chickpeas are widely used to make curries throughout India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, and chickpeas preserved in syrup are eaten as sweets in the Philippines. Ground, roasted chickpeas are even used in Germany as a substitute for coffee.

The history-laden little bean takes a starring role in this rich stew. Make it for friends at an Open Arms potluck -- when made with canned chickpeas, this recipe is a quick and easy hit.


Coconut Peanut Chickpea Stew

(Serves 6 as a main meal; 8-10 as a side dish)

1 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 cup bell pepper (any color), diced
1 cup carrots, sliced on a bias
6 cups chickpeas (if canned, drained and rinsed)
1/2 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup cherry tomatoes, cut into halves
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 to 1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. coriander (ground or whole seeds -- if using whole seeds crush them on your cutting board with the back of your knife before adding to the dish)
2 tsp. cumin
salt to taste


1. In a large pot, saute the onion and garlic in olive oil. Sweat them until they become translucent.
2. Add the carrots and saute for about 5 minutes.
3. Add the garbanzo beans and bell pepper and sauté for another 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Add the coconut milk and peanut butter, and then bring the ingredients to a simmer.
5. Add the cherry tomatoes, turmeric, coriander, salt and cumin. Simmer for another minute or so, releasing the aromatics.
6. Remove the pot from the heat and throw in the cilantro. Taste for salt and add more of any of the spices to your liking. Add a dash of red pepper flakes or cayenne if you like your dish to be spicy. If the coconut milk is thick, you can thin the stew slightly by adding water until you reach the desired consistency.

Potluck Recipe #10: Asei's No-Nonsense BBQ Burgers

This week's recipe comes from our sriracha-loving sous chef Asei. Try it out on a warm spring evening for an Open Arms potluck.

Asei says:

"I love to barbeque, and this is a good way to incorporate some tasty veggies in and on top of your burger. I would recommend using local grass-fed beef and organic pork for the best flavor, such as Thousand Hills beef and Lorentz pork, which can be found at any local co-op. Also, the beef could be substituted for free-range ground chicken from Larry Schultz, also found at most local co-ops."


Asei's No-Nonsense BBQ Burgers w/ Pickled Veggies and Sriracha Mayo

(Makes approximately eight 8-ounce burgers [big guys!])

Pickled Veggies:
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 cucumber, thinly sliced
2 cups white vinager
5 black pepper corns
2 tbsp. mustard seed
1 cup white sugar

1. Dissolve sugar in vinegar, add veggies and let sit covered in the fridge for 24 hours. If you like it spicy, add a jalapeno.

Sriracha Mayo:
1 cup mayo
3 tbsp. sriracha
1 bunch cilantro, minced
1 tsp. lemon or lime zest
1 clove garlic, minced

2. Mix all ingredients and let sit for two hours in the fridge.

Burger:
1 1/2 lbs. lean ground beef
1/2 lb. ground pork
1 onion, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
3 tbsp. salt
3 tbsp. pepper
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch fresh parsley, minced
1 pickled jalapeno or pickled sweet pepper, minced
1/2 tsp. dry chipotle powder

3. Mix burger ingredients together. Shape into patties and cook on the grill at 155 degrees until medium done.
4. Assemble burger. Closed-faced: mayo on the bun, then burger, then pickled veggies. Open-faced: pickled veggies on the bun, then burger, then mayo, topped with some field greens for a gourmet presentation.

Potluck Recipe #9: Olive Oil Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel with White Beans

This week's recipe features fennel, a versatile vegetable often found in Italian cuisine. Cultures around the Mediterranean have long revered this veggie for its medicinal and culinary uses, and it even made prominent appearances in Greek mythology.

In this recipe, fennel is sauteed with bacon and then roasted with tomatoes, beans, and spices for a supremely savory dish. This decadent number would be a sure hit at an Open Arms potluck.

P.S. If you're hesitating to embrace fennel because you don't care for anise flavors, have no fear -- roasting the fennel heightens its buttery, nutty flavor and curbs its anise taste.


Olive Oil Roasted Tomatoes and Fennel with White Beans

(Serves 6)

2 large fennel bulbs with fronds attached
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
6 slices of bacon
2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
2 pints grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes
4 large fresh oregano sprigs
3 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 15-ounce cans cannellini (white kidney beans), drained


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Chop enough fennel fronds to measure 1/2 cup. Trim fennel bulbs and cut in half vertically. Cut each bulb half into 1/2-inch-wide wedges, leaving some core attached to each wedge.
3. Heat oil in large oven-proof skillet over medium-high heat until very hot (about 3 minutes).
4. Add bacon and fennel wedges; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Cook until fennel begins to brown and soften, turning occasionally (about 10 to 12 minutes).
5. Add tomatoes, oregano, garlic, and crushed red pepper; sprinkle with black pepper and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Fold together gently.
6. Transfer skillet to oven. Bake fennel and tomatoes until soft, stirring occasionally (about 30 minutes).
7. Mix in beans and 6 tablespoons chopped fennel fronds. Bake 5 minutes longer to heat through.
8. Transfer mixture to large shallow bowl. Sprinkle with remaining chopped fronds. Serve warm or at room temperature.