Moroccan Yam Veggie Burgers with Cilantro-Lime Tahini Sauce

A good veggie burger is one of my absolute favorite meals. Unfortunately, the plant-based patty is easily prone to a bad rap due to three common shortcomings: bland, cardboard-like taste (blah), rubbery, processed consistency (ew), or loose ingredients that crumble upon touch (grr.) These inferior qualities can turn burger-lovers against the veggified version for good, and if you're one of the haters, I beg you to here me out. A solid veggie burger is fantastic, and this Moroccan Yam Veggie Burger with Cilantro-Lime Tahini Sauce proves my point.

A base of shredded yams and crushed chickpeas hold these burgers together in both texture and substance, and a range of rich spices like cumin, turmeric, cinnamon, and coriander add distinctive Moroccan flavor. Flour made from rolled oats and flax seed adds a nutty, wholesome nuance, and using sesame oil instead of traditional olive oil adds another unexpected but well-received flavor to the mix. 

Now lets talk about the sauce, which I am going to suggest right now to double in quantity because its equally important as to why this veggie burger rocks. Tangy and herby with ample cilantro and lime, the tahini almost gives it a green goddess-like quality (so obviously I'm obsessed.)  Because the burger itself is pretty earthy, the tangy dressing really makes it pop. 

Baking the burger yields a perfectly crisp exterior and appropriately soft, chewy inside; no weird consistency issues here! The yam and oats mean the batter is pretty starchy, so feel free to skip the "bun" here and serve with a big helping of shepherd's salad chockfull of tomato, cucumber, and onion instead. 

Moroccan Yam Veggie Burgers with Cilantro-Lime Tahini Sauce (from Oh She Glows)

Makes 6-8 patties

Prep time: 25 minutes, cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

For the burgers:

1.5 cups grated yam or sweet potato 

2 large garlic cloves, peeled

3/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 small piece of fresh ginger (1 cm cube), peeled

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 1.5 cups)

2 tablespoons ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water

3/4 cup rolled oats, ground into a flour (use gluten-free if necessary)

1/2 tablespoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon low-sodium soy sauce

1/2-3/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan salt, to taste

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

For the cilantro-lime tahini sauce (makes 1/2 cup):

1 small garlic clove, peeled

2/3 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, or to taste

2 tablespoons tahini

2 tablespoons water

1/2 teaspoon cumin

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Make the burgers: 

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper.

2. Peel the yam/sweet potato. Grate (by hand or in a food processor) until you have 1 1/2 lightly packed cups. Place into large bowl.

3. In the same food processor (no need to wash), mince the garlic, cilantro, and ginger until finely chopped.

4. Add drained chickpeas and process again until finely chopped, but leave some texture. Scoop this mixture into a large bowl.

5. In a small bowl, stir together the flax and water. Add to large bowl.

6. Grind the oats into flour using a blender or the food processor. Add flour to large bowl.

7. Stir in the oil, soy sauce, salt/pepper, and spices to batter until thoroughly combined. Adjust to taste if desired.

8. Shape 6-8 patties, packing the mixture firmly together. Place on baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, then carefully flip, and bake for another 18-23 minutes until golden and firm. Cool on pan.

Make the cilantro sauce: 

1. Mince garlic in a food processor, followed by the cilantro. Add the rest of the sauce ingredients and process until smooth and creamy.

Orangy Wheat Berry and Orzo Salad

Picnic season is upon us, and I have just the dish to make your potluck contribution stand out well above all the rest. I guess this dish could technically be considered a pasta salad because it features orzo as a a main ingredient, but its about as far away from the mayonnaise-slathered, insipid version as you can get. Spirited, zesty, citrusy, and spry; this Orangy Wheat Berry and Orzo Salad breaths new life into one of summer’s most iconic sides.

If the ingredients sound familiar, that’s because I poached the dressing (and wheat berries) to make my Arugula Wheat Berry Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette over the winter. I just couldn’t wait—the vinaigrette is literally drinkable! The combination of orange, white wine vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil is tangy and light: acidic enough for a little kick, but mollified by the oil for a taste that’s just right. I recommend using orange juice concentrate over regular orange juice if you can, the flavor is a bit more robust.

Colorful is this salad too, with large chunks of fresh oranges and bright green scallions dotting the tiny wheat berry spheres and ivory orzo. The texture variation is one of my favorite aspects: crunchy wheat berries, silky orzo, and fleshy orange segments, sprinkled with a generous garnish of biting scallions and steely pine nuts.

So, besides being delicious, what makes this salad picnic perfect? First of all, it can easily be made the night before without any sort of wilting. (In fact, I recommend doing this anyway to let the vinaigrette really seep into the ingredients. Just reserve the pine nuts until serving.) Second, it can be served cold or at room temperature, which works well for hours of sitting in a picnic setting. Third, it lends itself to a big batch—since the wheat berries take a long time to cook (its worth it though, I promise), make a ton and just eat it consecutively for a few days if not serving for a crowd. To transform the salad from a side dish to a main, top with grilled salmon or shrimp, and serve on a bed of greens. Consider chickpeas and goat cheese for a vegetarian option.    

Orange you glad I introduced you?!

Orangy Wheat Berry and Orzo Salad (from my Mama.)
Makes 6-8 side servings

Ingredients:
1 cup orzo
1 cup wheat berries
2 oranges, peeled and chopped
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (or 1/4 cup frozen orange juice concentrate)
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil 
3 teaspoons pine nuts, toasted
3 scallions, diced
salt & pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Cook wheat berries according to package directions. (Cooking time is approximately 1 hour, so start on these guys first.) When finished, place into a large bowl and let cool.
2. Cook orzo according to package directions. Let orzo cool, and add to bowl with wheat berries.
3. Reduce orange juice to a glaze in small saucepan. (If using orange juice concentrate, replace this step —as it is already reduced—with microwaving for 15 seconds or until no longer frozen.) When the orange juice reduction has cooled, mix oil, vinegar, and a generous sprinkle of salt & pepper into the saucepan.
4. Pour orange juice reduction into the large bowl, and mix thoroughly. Just before serving, sprinkle with the pine nuts and scallions.

Bourbon Glazed Salmon

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of joining Culinary Institute of America trained personal chef Dante Giannini while he prepared one of his famous "farm to fork" seasonal meals. With a resume that includes kitchen time at Aquagrille and Oceana, its no wonder that as a private chef, Dante specializes in fish. For our meal, he chose salmon for the main course. "Salmon is so underrated," he confided me as he knived portions of the fleshy, red fillet. "People now equate salmon with unoriginality. But there's really nothing better than a salmon done right."


I completely agreed. Sometimes I almost feel a guilt complex for going with salmon at the fish counter—with so many lesser known seafoods, must I choose the safe option, again? Which is inevitably followed by a second hurdle: how to distinguish which varieties are sustainable. So, below I have provided a mini-guide courtesy of Seafood Watch to help you pick your next salmon cut, mindfully ecological and guilt-free. Then, you can make this wonderful Bourbon Glazed Salmon.

In general, wild salmon from Alaska is your best bet. With strict monitoring of both the fish populations and the fishery, most wild-caught Alaskan salmon is certified sustainable to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). Market names include chinook, coho, chum, keta, king, pink, red, silver, & sockeye salmon. Other “best choice” selections are Washington sockeye salmon and farmed U.S. coho salmon. Good alternatives include wild-caught salmon from British Columbia, California, Oregon, and Washington. To avoid: salmon farmed in open net pens. Hailing from Chile, Scotland, and Norway, this farming method allows waste from the fish to pass freely into the surrounding habitat, polluting the wild environment and potentially spreading diseases and parasites.

Once you've selected your sustainable salmon, get excited! Because this recipe rocks. It combines the classic ingredients of an Asian teriyaki (soy sauce, ginger, sesame seeds) with the oaky, caramel goodness of one of my favorite spirits, bourbon. The sauce is super light—notice there is no oil at all—but glazes expertly atop the salmon steak, leaving a delicate, golden coat of flavor permeating the tender, pink fish.

Obviously, the more the fish marinates the more saturated it becomes with the bourbon glaze, so the earlier you can start this step the better. However, the flavors are bold enough that even a cursory soak will highlight the robust flavors: spicy ginger, biting bourbon, tangy lime. With summer's official kick-off coming up this Memorial Day weekend, feel free to try this guy on the grill too.

Bourbon Glazed Salmon
Serves 4

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons brown sugar

3 tablespoons bourbon

2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce

1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

4 (6-ounce) skinless salmon fillets

Cooking spray

1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions

1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

Directions:

1. Combine first 7 ingredients in a large zip-lock plastic bag. Add fish to bag; seal. Marinate in refrigerator 1 1/2 hours, turning occasionally.

2. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add fish and marinade to the pan; cook for 4 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork. (Alternatively, bake in the oven at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 20-25 minutes until the same flaky consistency is reached.)

3.  Remove fillets from pan (do not discard marinade), and place each one on its own plate. Drizzle each serving with 2 teaspoons of sauce from the pan. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon scallions and 3/4 teaspoon sesame seeds.

Pasta with Lamb Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Beans

For the past month, I have embarked on my weekly visit to the Union Square Greenmarket with crossed fingers in high hopes that spring's signature vegetables will make their season debut. Unfortunately, this hope remains wishful thinking: while flowers and herbs are generously displayed in colorful abundance, the vegetable crop remains winter-blue dismal: root vegetables, onions, apples. Calling all local asparagus and spring peas: where art thou?

So last Saturday—rather than exhale my usual sigh of disappointment and trek two blocks south to Trader Joe's—I made a point to pay special attention to the non-vegetable vendors at the Greenmarket; mainly, the meats. Local meal, I will find thee! As I perused the different tents—ranging from commonplace chicken and turkey to more obscure pheasant and venison—I began to notice a curious theme: the Union Square Greenmarket was teaming with hand-made sausages. Antibiotic, nitrate and hormone-free, the sustainable meat was creatively packaged in fun varieties too. For example, one chicken vendor mixed apples and pistachios along with his ground poultry.

In the end, it was Catskill Merino Lamb whose sausage won me over. Boasting a range of unique varieties such as spicy Moroccan (which I sampled, ah-MAZ-ing), red pepper and fennel, and fennel and garlic. As I ooed and ahhed over my succulent bite of juicy lamb sausage, I noticed some vibrant batches of broccoli rabe at the vendor next door and knew at once my meal had been found. Dinner tonight, aka Pasta with Lamb Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Beans, was born.

This recipe explains why the use of local, in-season ingredients always makes for a superior meal. Simplicity and freshness at its finest, the pasta boasts only three additions: sausage, broccoli rabe and cannellini beans. Yet when tossed in a light broth saturated with garlic, chicken broth, white wine and fresh rosemary (a farmers market purchase, too!), the dish becomes alive with the sum of its parts. Sure, it's basic and quick, but hits that sweet spot of homey and hearty that everyone craves in a fresh pasta dish.

Using a single pan is not only convenient for clean-up here, it also serves to enrich the flavor of the lamb. By cooking the sausage in the same skillet as the white wine and herb reduction, the lamb's pan drippings fold into the sauce; simmering along with the rest of the liquid. (Yep, spoon it straight out of the pan. It's that kind of dish!)

So even though our classic spring vegetables may not have arrived on the farmers market scene just yet, I am happy to report that a local, robust meal can be easily put together nonetheless. Asparagus and peas, I'll catch you later. Sausage takes center stage for now!

Pasta with Lamb Sausage, Broccoli Rabe and Beans
Serves 6

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup defattened reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 cup dry white wine
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tsp fresh minced rosemary
3/4 pound pasta (preferably orecchiette; whole-wheat penne or fusilli)
1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1.5 pounds), cut into rough 1-inch pieces
1 lb lamb, chicken, or turkey sausage
Parmesan cheese
Hot red pepper flakes
Freshly ground pepper & salt

Directions:
1. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat oil and cook sausage over medium-high heat, turning until all sides are nicely browned, 5-10 minutes. Remove from skillet (don't worry about it being done) and cut into bite-sized pieces. Return to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, until cooked-through and golden.
2. Use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage from the pan, leaving the pan drippings. Place into a large bowl.
3. Reduce heat to low, and add garlic, cooking for one minute. Stir in the broth, wine, beans, rosemary, and hot pepper flakes (1/4 tsp for gringos, 3/4 tsp for heat-lovers.) Simmer, uncovered, until slightly reduced, about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until almost al dente, about 9 minutes. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until the broccoli rabe is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes more. Drain well.
5. Pour the pasta and broccoli rabe into the large bowl, and toss with the sauce. Add cheese, salt & pepper, and extra hot red pepper flakes to taste. Toss again and serve immediately.