Recipes

Simple Armenian Dolma

September 4, 2018

Dolma, hummus, and few slices of cucumbers or carrots is my go-to meal after a long day’s work when I just don’t feel like cooking. I used to like dolma but recently I’ve learned to love them. Let’s just stay store-bought dolma pale in comparison to homemade ones. They can be made in a variety of forms: vegetarian, with lamb, beef, different vegetables and spices. The possible combinations and flavors are endless.

Here is an easily adaptable Simple Armenian Dolma recipe.

Adapted from “Treasured Armenian Recipes” published by the The Detroit Women’s Chapter of the Armenian General Benevolent Union

Simple Armenian Dolma

1 lb of lamb, beef, or 50/50 mixture

1/4 lb of washed rice

2 medium onions, chopped fine

a handful of fresh parsley or mint

1/4 cup of tomato sauce

Salt and pepper

Grape leaves

In a large bowl, mix all ingredients, except the grape leaves, well by hand.
If using fresh grape leaves, cut off the stems and blanch them in boiling water first. But if you are using canned leaves, wash in hot water.
Next, prep your pot. Place some grape leaves on the bottom of a medium to large pot to prevent the dolma from sticking.
Now the fun part. Spread a leaf on a plate or cutting board, wrong side up and stem end towards you. Put a teaspoon of filling near the stem end. With your hands fold the sides and then roll up like a cigar.
Place the rolled dolma in the pot. Layer the dolma in two or three layers.
To ensure stability, place a plate over the top and fill the pot with 2 cups of water. You can add more tomato sauce for extra flavor.
Pre-heat oven to 325°F, and cook for 1 1/2 hours.
Serve warm.

Enjoy!

Recipes

Provencal tomatoes

June 19, 2018

The best food sometimes is the simplest. Provencal tomatoes are about as simple as it gets but boy are they good. This is a great summer side dish requiring few ingredients: tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, and fresh herbs.

The secret to perfecting Provencal tomatoes, is to slowly fry them. I mean sloooooowly. This helps concentrate their flavor. Make sure to use high quality tomatoes, the fresher the better, i.e., what you have growing in your garden or produce from your local farmer’s market. Serve with a green salad, braised fennel, and for those without gluten sensitivity freshly baked bread.

Provencal Tomatoes

Adapted from Classic French Cooking by Elisabeth Luard

3 large tomatoes
2 tbsp of olive oil
1 garlic cloves, peeled
a handful of parsley
Salt

Directions

Cut the tomatoes in half and remove seeds.
In a wide cast iron pan heat the olive oil at the lowest setting.
Place the tomatoes cut side down, then fry the tomatoes at the lowest setting.
In the meantime, finely mince the garlic and parsley with salt and reserve.
After about 40 minutes, gently flip the tomatoes over and sprinkle with your garlic-parsley mixture. Splash with additional olive oil.
Cook very gently another 30 minutes.

Variations

Try replacing the parsley with thyme, basil, or oregano. Whatever looks fresh and tasty in your garden.

Serves 2

Recipes

Pistachio avocado dip

March 13, 2018

Like many docs out there, I rarely get anytime for lunch. “Lunch break” = the time I have to catch up from my morning clinic session. But this doesn’t necessarily mean I want my lunch to consist of a sandwich “inhaled” as quickly as humanly possible. I also don’t want to go without food until dinner time, feel super hungry, and end up eating something that I’m bound to regret.

Solution: healthy snacks throughout the day. This pistachio avocado dips is one of my favorites. I love pistachio and I love avocado. Lemon juice, mint, and orange blossom water adds a refreshing twist. I usually dip carrots, cucumbers, but toasted pita bread would be tasty as well.

Pistachio is very low in cholesterol and sodium and is a good source of vitamin B6, copper, and manganese. Avocado also is low in cholesterol and sodium and is a good source of dietary fiber, vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate.

For other healthy dips, please check out my recipe for turmeric hummus.

Inspired by Taratur de pistaches by Épices de cru.

Pistachio avocado dip

1 cup of shelled pistachio

1 avocado

1 tsp sea salt

2 sprigs of fresh mint

8 tbsp of lemon juice

2 garlic cloves

2 tbsp tahini

1 tsp of orange blossom water

Instructions

In a food processor, grind pistachio first.
Then add the remainder of the ingredients. Grind until desired until you reach a creamy consistency.
Adjust seasoning: salt, lemon juice, mint.

Perfect on a piece of toast or for dipping raw veggies.

Recipes

Tofu tomato soup

February 13, 2018

Winter is the perfect time for a warm bowl of healthy tomato soup. This recipe calls for tofu and homemade chicken bone broth which increases the protein content as well as joint-healthy turmeric for that extra kick.

Adapted from Minçavi, J’ai faim: je mange bien!

Tofu tomato soup

1 cup of onions, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tsp of olive oil

1 can (28 oz.) canned whole tomatoes

4 cups of chicken or turkey broth

1/2 tsp of turmeric

1 pinch of Cayenne pepper

6 basil leaves

1 lb tofu

3 cups of fresh spinach, chopped

Salt, to season

Instructions

In a large pot, sweat the chopped onion and garlic in the oil for about 7 minutes on low heat.
Add the remaining ingredient, except for the spinach and the tofu. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low. Simmer for about 30 minutes.
Add the spinach and the tofu until the spinach wilts.
Purée the soup with an immersion blender or a regular food processor.
Season to taste.

Makes about 4 portions

Recipes

Pomegranate Olive Salad

January 16, 2018

Now that the holiday season is officially over, it’s time to get back to the kitchen to start cooking up some delicious clean healthy meals. The following is a quick recipe that calls for pomegranate and olives adapted from Épices de Cru. Ever since visiting their shop at Jean Talon market in Montreal, I’ve literally been in love with their product line. Their website also boasts some interesting recipes as well. Note, this is NOT an affiliate link.

Pomegranate is considered a superfood due to its polyphenols giving it powerful antioxidant properties. According to Wikipedia, I know, not necessarily the highest quality reference material:

A 100-g serving of pomegranate seeds provides 12% of the Daily Value (DV) for vitamin C, 16% DV for vitamin K and 10% DV for folate (table).

Pomegranate seeds are a rich source of dietary fiber (20% DV) which is entirely contained in the edible seeds. People who choose to discard the seeds forfeit nutritional benefits conveyed by the seed fiber and micronutrients.

Pomegranate seed oil contains punicic acid (65.3%), palmitic acid (4.8%), stearic acid (2.3%), oleic acid (6.3%), and linoleic acid (6.6%).

Whatever your reasons for eating pomegranate, this recipe is delicious, refreshing, and a good way to kick start the year.

Adapted from Salade d’olives vertes et de grenade from Epices de cru

Pomegranate Olive Salad

3 cups of large green olives, pitted

1/2 cup of toasted walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

1 bunch of parsley, chopped

4 green onions, minced

2 sprigs of fresh mint, chopped

juice from 1/2 a lemon

2 tbsp of pomegranate molasses, can be bought as is, or homemade by reducing pomegranate juice until thick syrupy consistency

1/2 tsp of paprika or Espelette pepper, more if desired

Instructions

Bath olives in a water bath for about 15 minutes, to remove salt. Drain and chop.
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
Season as desired.

References

Schubert SY, Lansk EP, Neeman I. Antioxidant and eicosanoid enzyme inhibition properties of pomegranate seed oil and fermented juice flavonoids. J Ethnopharmacol. 1999 Jul;66(1):11-7.

Recipes

Turmeric hummus

November 28, 2017

Turmeric is a highly anti-inflammatory food that’s attracted a lot of attention these past few years. In a previous post, I discussed the merits of turmeric for the treatment of osteoarthritis. You may remember, that you need to take 2 – 3 grams of turmeric daily to get the anti-inflammatory benefits of turmeric. Most people supplement with capsules, but it doesn’t hurt to further supplement with the real thing. Try this recipe for turmeric hummus. It’s delicious, it’s healthy, and may improve joint wellness!

Turmeric Hummus

Ingredients

3/4 inch of turmeric root, sliced

1 15 oz. can cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

zest of 1 lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 cloves of garlic

2 tbsp of tahini

1/8 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/4 cup of olive oil

Directions

In a food processor, blend the turmeric, chickpeas, lemon zest, lemon juice, garlic, tahini, black pepper, and cumin. Blend until smooth.
Slowly but surely add the olive oil as the hummus is mixing until you reach the desired consistency.
Adjust seasoning.
Serve with vegetables like carrots, celery, cucumbers or with pita bread, crackers, etc.

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