Mango & Tomato: appetizer

7/29/21

Mango Tomato Cherry Salsa Recipe

Mango Tomato Cherry Salsa

1 mango, peeled, diced

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

1 cup cherries, pitted, chopped

1 tablespoon minced jalapeno (I used one I grew on my windowsill!)

salt to taste

1-2 tablespoons lime juice

2-3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

chips to serve

Shout out to my new Felt & Fat bowls I received as a gift from the company after being their super fan!!!

10/5/20

Delicata Squash, Beets & Feta Salad

salad, squash, delicata squash, feta, beets, oranges, olives, healthy, meatless monday, vegetarian

In a blink of an eye, fall is here! How is the time flying so fast, and at the same time dragging?

Let's talk about Delicata Squash, Beets & Feta Salad instead!

Yesterday I saw Domenica post an insta story of her salad from La Fromagerie that had delicata squash, beets, turnips, and feta. I took that idea and ran with it...to the kitchen using produce I had from my Washington's Green Grocer order.

Delicata Squash, Beets & Feta Salad

Ingredients

olive oil

delicata squash, sliced into 1/4" rounds, seeds removed with a biscuit cutter or a spoon

salt

roasted beets, sliced into wedges

orange, segmented

green olives

feta, sliced into planks

dill

red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Sauté delicata squash slices seasoned with salt until they are tender, about 5-7 minutes on each side.

2. Plate a salad on a plate. Drizzle with more oil and a few dashes of salt. Sprinkle with dill and red pepper flakes.

2/4/20

Chicken Dip Recipe

A very long time ago, I met one of my best friends: Jenny. Jenny was known for her chicken dip. The what!? Yes, CHICKEN DIP. The dip is a combination of chicken, mayonnaise, cheese, red peppers, salsa, and a few other ingredients. This dip, according to Jenny, is best served with Scoops. I loved that dip and made it several times, and even posted about it on this very blog 11 years ago.

LOOK AT THIS PHOTO!!!!

Luckily, my photography skills have improved, while the dip continues to be stellar!

Last weekend I made the dip again and took new photos. Below is an updated version of the recipe.

Jenny's Chicken Dip

Ingredients
1 poached chicken breast, shredded {or use rotisserie chicken}
2 scallions, sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 mayonnaise
1/2 cup salsa
2/3 cups shredded sharp cheddar
zest and juice of 1 lime
chili powder to taste

to serve
Tostitos Scoops

Directions
1. Combine the dip ingredients in a bowl. Taste and add more mayonnaise or salsa or chili powder as needed.
2. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
3. Serve with Scoops.

What I learned:
Garnishes make all the difference!!
White shiny plates are hard to photograph.
Backgrounds matter.
Improvement is possible.

11/27/19

Roasted Butternut Squash Dip

I have had a few butternut squashes laying around the kitchen recently. Typically, I'd cube and roast them, or turn them into a soup, but this time I decided to adapt a recipe from The Nosher for Lybian Pumpkin Spread.

Instead of pumpkin, I used butternut squash. I also turned The Nosher's recipe into a cold dip and left out the garlic because, GASP (!!!!), I was out of garlic. I also did not add honey. So basically, I created a somewhat different recipe :)

Roasted Butternut Squash Dip

Ingredients
2 cups roasted butternut squash puree
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
red pepper flakes to taste
3 tablespoons harissa
juice of one lemon
salt to taste

to serve
plain yogurt
red pepper flakes
pita chips

Directions
1. Pure all the ingredients in a blender.
2. Serve topped with a dollop of plain yogurt and a pinch of red pepper flakes with a side of pita chips.

I loved the spicy and acidic flavor of the dip and did not miss the honey because of the natural sweetness from the butternut squash!

This is a great dip to add to your repertoire.

Wishing you all a very delicious Thanksgiving!

9/9/19

Meatless Monday: Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa is a recipe that comes together quickly and is great not only with chips, but also as a salad dressing, a sauce for grilled chicken, or mixed into pasta.

Once a month, Seasonal Roots sends me a box of their produce as a gift. This past month, I got an extra credit when someone used my referral code mangotomato!!! I don't know who used it, but I thank you!!

I added tomatillos to my box using the credit from the referral code. Did you know tomatillos are not green tomatoes? Although both tomatoes and tomatillos are members of the nightshade family, as are peppers and eggplant, tomatillos aren't unripe tomatoes.

I decided to make a quick salsa using tomatillos and posted a question on my insta story whether to roast them first or use raw. ROAST was the overwhelming response.

Not having an outdoor grill, I decided to "roast" tomatillos in a dry cast iron skillet. You can also broil them!

Tomatillo & Avocado Salsa
Makes about 2 cups

Ingredients
18 tomatillos, husks removed and discarded, washed, dried
1 jalapeno
1/4 Vidalia onion
1/4 cup water
1 cup cilantro
1 avocado
salt to taste
plantain chips

Directions
1. Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove. Add tomatillos, jalapeno, and the onion and cook until all the vegetables have blackened, rotating occasionally.

2. Remove the seeds from the jalapeno and discard. Add blackened tomatillos, jalapeno, and onion to a blender with water, cilantro and avocado and pulse until you get your desired consistency. Season with salt.

I recommend refrigerating the salsa before eating. You may also substitute lime juice, at least partially, for water.

If you like more heat, leave the seeds of the jalapeno!

How gorgeous are these??? I think that's the first time I've seen purple tomatillos: alas once cooked, the color doesn't remain.

8/20/18

Quick & Easy Pickled Red Onions With Sumac

One of the ingredients I always have on hand are onions. I add onions to soups, salads, thinly sliced into sandwiches, main dishes, and side dishes.

Pickled onions aren't only easy to make, but can elevate any dish and enhance its flavor.

Last weekend I made a quick batch of pickled onions without using any measurements and with an addition of sumac. It was so good and easy, I decided to make a second batch and to share the recipe with you.

Quick & Easy Pickled Red Onions With Sumac

1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
juice of 1 tangerine
white vinegar
a few dashes of sumac

Place sliced onions into a small jar. Add juice of tangerine and enough white vinegar to cover. Add sumac. Add the lid. Shake. Refrigerate for at least a few hours.

I've added these onions to a pulled pork sandwich, tuna salad, and a big potato salad that I'll blog about later this week.

7/30/18

Shishito Peppers With Corn, Feta, Crema & Bourbon Smoked Paprika

This Shishito Peppers With Corn, Feta, Crema & Bourbon Smoked Paprika was inspired by a recipe Washington's Green Grocer posted on their instagram and insta story.

I changed a few ingredients and absolutely loved it! If you love Mexican corn, you need to make this dish while the corn is fresh and sweet.

Shishito Peppers With Corn, Feta, Crema & Bourbon Smoked Paprika

Ingredients
olive oil
shishito peppers
fresh corn kernels
salt
feta, crumbled
bourbon smoked paprika
Mexican crema (or use a combination of Greek yogurt thinned out with a bit of lime juice)
chiffonade of basil (feel free to use cilantro)

Directions
1. Heat two skillets. Add olive oil. In one skillet add corn kernels and saute until golden. In another skillet, preferably cast iron, blacken shishito peppers.
2. Season corn and shishito peppers with salt and add to a plate.
3. Top with feta, bourbon smoked paprika, a drizzle of Mexican crema, and basil.

The photo looks messy, but I hope you will still try out this combination of flavors.

7/25/18

Quick & Easy Entertainment: Piquillo & Artichoke Bruschetta

Looking for a quick and easy entertainment idea? Bruschetta fits the bill perfectly.

My friend Allison came over this past Monday for a night of The Bachelorette, and I thought it'd be fun to make bruschetta to go with vinho verde, hummus, brie, and other chips and dips.

You start with toasted sliced bread, add a topping, and dig in.

I usually think of bruschetta topping made with tomatoes, but this time around I picked up a jar of piquillo & artichoke bruschetta from World Market. {Fun fact: I used to work at World Market ages ago part time, and still love shopping there.}

Of course you can easily make this topping yourself by combining chopped piquillo peppers (or roasted red peppers) with chopped marinated artichoke hearts and a bit of olive oil.

Quick & Easy Entertainment Piquillo & Artichoke Bruschetta

Ingredients
baguette, sliced diagonally into 1/4" slices
olive oil
garlic clove, sliced lengthwise
piquillo & artichoke bruschetta topping
fresh basil, sliced

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Brush each side of sliced baguette with olive oil and bake for 3-6 minutes on each side, depending on how golden brown you want your bread.
3. Rub halved garlic clove onto each slice of toast.
4. Top each slice with piquillo & artichoke bruschetta and basil.

Easy summer entertainment!!

6/28/18

Beef & Kimchi Korean Stew With Potatoes & Zucchini: How To Host A Korean Feast At Home

This past Sunday my friends Jenn and Cat came over to hang out and cook (and of course eat) Korean food in my condo. It was SO much fun.

If you love Korean food, but are intimidated by cooking it at home, I have the perfect plan of action for you.

You want to keep the menu pretty simple and buy a few things already prepared.

1) Buy banchan and dessert: Jenn brought kimchi, seaweed salad, kimchi cucumbers, fried anchovies, and seasoned sesame leaves. For dessert (which we actually snacked on while cooking), we had rice balls filled with sesame seeds. I've never had these sweets and really liked them!

2) For the main course I chose a kimchi and beef stew made in a pressure cooker! More on it below.

3) While the main course was in the pressure cooker, we whipped up simple scallion and shrimp pancakes. Luckily, Cat was more than happy to cook them (I get a bit scared of hot sizzling oil).

4) To drink, have iced tea and rose on hand!

My entire condo smelled like oil, but it was so worth it! The pancakes were crispy on the edges and took only a few minutes to cook. For the dipping sauce, we combined soy sauce and rice wine vinegar with a bit of Korean chili flakes.

Beef & Kimchi Korean Stew With Potatoes & Zucchini: How To Host A Korean Feast At Home
Serves 6
Adapted from Two Sleevers

In my version of the stew, we used fresh mushrooms instead of dried, and added peppers, potatoes and zucchini. If you can't find Korean peppers and zucchini, use regular ones. Cat bought produce from an Asian market and that's how they were labeled there.

Ingredients
2 cups kimchi
1 pound stew beef cubes
1 small onion, chopped
8 ounces sliced shitake mushrooms
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ginger powder (I did not have fresh ginger)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon Korean chili powder
1 tablespoon gochujang
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 cups water
4 Korean peppers, sliced (or use 1 green bell pepper)
2 Russet potatoes, peeled, cubed
3 Korean zucchini, cut into large dice
1 cup diced firm tofu
rice to serve
scallions, chopped

Directions
1. Put all the ingredients (other than potatoes, zucchini, tofu, rice, and scallions) into a pressure cooker. Set for 15 minutes.
2. Release the pressure. Add potatoes. Set for 5 more minutes.
3. Release the pressure. Add zucchini. Set for 3 minutes.
4. Release the pressure. Add tofu. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
5. Serve the stew over rice garnished with scallions.

Talk about comfort food!!! The stew wasn't overly spicy, but had so much flavor from the kimchi and the vegetables and the beef. I added a bit of kimchi and kimchi juice to my portion before eating it. The addition of potatoes was so good: who doesn't like meat and potatoes!?

The stew makes about 6 portions and is great for leftovers!

This rose is so refreshing, has a pretty label, and is under $10!

Here's to more cooking adventures with friends!

8/3/17

Watermelon, Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato Salad: National Watermelon Day

One of my favorite summer foods is watermelon! Sweet, juicy, refreshing, and guilt free. Growing up in Russia, we only had watermelon with seeds, but over the last two decades in the US, I got spoiled and hate seeds in my watermelon ;)

What are your feelings about seedless watermelons? Yay or nay?

Today is a National Watermelon Day, so I thought I would share with you a quick salad I put together over the weekend. This is not my typical nicely arranged salad. Instead, I threw things on the plate and called it a day. It tasted great regardless of the appearance.

Watermelon, Fresh Mozzarella & Tomato Salad: National Watermelon Day

Ingredients
watermelon, cut into triangles
heirloom tomato, sliced
fresh mozzarella balls, torn into pieces
pesto
salt & pepper

Directions

1. Put watermelon and tomato slices on a plate.
2. Top with torn mozzarella.
3. Spoon over pesto and season with salt & freshly ground black pepper.

What do you like to pair with watermelon?

7/13/17

Best TV Watching Food: Picnic Dinner

If you love watching TV and eating food as much as I do, I have a strong feeling you'll want to lick your computer screen or your phone screen when you'll see the photos below.

My friends Elizabeth and Sarah have been coming over to my condo on Mondays for The Bachelorette (no shame!) night, and other than catching up and watching the show together, the other highlight of our evenings is the food!!

Here are the photos from our last get together. Keep it simple: finger foods, something you can graze on, and a fun drink are the key ingredients to a fun picnic dinner.

Quick Sangria

Rose

Sliced Strawberries

Sliced Peaches

Leftovers? Make popsicles!

Cheese Plate

Triple Cream Brie

Blue

Cheddar

Baguette

Grapes

Salami

Mostly Vegetarian
Hummus
Cucumbers
Carrots
Olives
Ranch dressing
Dolmas
Salami

Not pictured: cherries for dessert.

What is your favorite TV food?

6/7/17

Quick Dinner Or Fancy Appetizer: Grilled Potatoes With Smoked Salmon & Black Caviar

Do you need a quick dinner idea or a fancy appetizer that requires minimum cooking and is yet flavorful, satisfying, and pretty to look at? If you said yes, make my Grilled Potatoes With Smoked Salmon & Black Caviar.

1) Brush sliced potatoes with olive oil, season with salt and grill until tender: you can do it outside or in the oven or in a Panini maker.
2) Allow potatoes to cool slightly.
3) Add thin slices of cucumbers and radishes and season lightly with salt.
4) Top with smoked salmon, full fat Greek yogurt, black caviar and dill.
5) Serve with a Bloody Mary ;)

3/8/17

Put An Egg On It: Soy Sauce Eggs With Togarashi

Looking for a fun twist on eggs? I've been loving these Soy Sauce Eggs With Togarashi and have made them twice during the last week and a half.

I remember the time when I was against joining instagram. What was I thinking? Why do I have to be such a late convert to new technology? Now people probably wish I stayed off instagram and did not post a zillion photographs...but that's not my problem ;)

One of the reasons I love instagram is that it serves as inspiration for places to visit, books to read, and recipes to make. Recently I saw a photo of Momofuku soy eggs on Laura's instagram and decided I needed to make them as soon as possible!

The recipe that Laura used and that I used as a template comes from Food52. After reading the comments, however, and using some common sense, I knew I'd have to make several changes.

1) I changed the method for cooking the eggs.
2) I decreased the refrigeration time because a) I did not have the patience to wait the original two hours and b) after 1.5 hours the eggs were plenty salty. I can't imagine what they'd taste like after six hours even if using low sodium soy sauce. Oy.

Soy Sauce Eggs With Togarashi

Ingredients
4 eggs
6 tablespoons warm water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons vinegar {I used 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, but you can use whatever you have on hand}
3/4 cups soy sauce
4 eggs
togarashi {read my previous post about my obsession}
toast
avocado
tomatoes

Directions
1. Place the eggs into a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, cover, turn off the heat and let stand for 8 minutes.
2. Remove the eggs from the hot water, dunk them into a large bowl filled with cold water and ice cubes and peel after about 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, dissolve the sugar in the warm water and whisk in vinegar and soy sauce.
4. I found it best to use a tall container for marinating the eggs. Place the eggs in the tall container, pour over soy sauce mixture and refrigerate for 1.5 hours. I used a small saucer to push down the eggs so they were fully immersed in the solution.
5. Remove the eggs and serve halved or quartered topped with togarashi with a side of toast, avocado and tomatoes.
6. If you aren't going to use all the eggs at once, store the remaining eggs in a separate container from the soy sauce mixture, which you could reuse later!

I LOVED these! The yolk was slightly undercooked, there was no need to add any salt, and the togarashi added great texture and a bit of heat.

Come back to see another way I ate these eggs later this week or next week or go check out my instagram feed ;)

2/7/17

Comfort Food: Hummus With Ground Lamb, Feta & Pistachios

Comfort food doesn't have to mean low and slow, fattening, braised, or warm. It can be something that takes you less than 15 minutes to make, still has a lot of color and texture, and that doesn't leave you wanting to unbutton your jeans ;) This is exactly the case with my Hummus With Ground Lamb, Feta & Pistachios.

This year I'm continuing my friendship with Superior Farms because we have the mutual love of lamb. They sent me a gift card to cover the cost of groceries and asked me to come up with a cold weather/comfort food dish.

This dish is inspired by the hummus plate I had at Shaya in New Orleans last month.

Hummus With Ground Lamb, Feta & Pistachios

1. Brown ground lamb in olive oil and season with salt and green za'atar. Make sure to drain any excess fat.

2. Spread a thin layer of hummus on a dish.

3. Top hummus with browned ground lamb, chopped pistachios, cubed feta, chopped fresh cherries. {Note: I originally wanted to use pomegranate seeds, but my grocery store was out of pomegranates. Cherries were a great substitute. You can also drizzle pomegranate molasses.}

4. Drizzle the dish with chili oil and add a sprinkle of salt and za'atar.

5. Serve with pita chips.

What would you make with ground lamb?

12/5/16

Meatless Monday: Ricotta With Radishes And Marcona Almonds

I love avocado toast. But it's rare to find avocados that are perfectly ripe exactly when you want to eat them. Also, I've been trying to cut down on carbs, which makes the "toast" part somewhat problematic.

Still, occasionally I crave something smooth and decadent with a bit of heat (in avocado toast I add sriracha!). That's how this Ricotta With Radishes And Marcona Almonds idea came about. You get the creamy ricotta, which has zero need to ripen, the crunch or radishes, similar to a toasted piece of bread, and a drizzle of chili oil instead of sriracha, with a few extras thrown in.

1) using a fork, vigorously whip ricotta in a bowl
2) spoon ricotta onto a shallow plate or a board, or if you desire a toasted baguette slice
3) drizzle with chili oil
4) top with radishes, Marcona almonds, celery leaves
5) sprinkle with Black Truffle Sea Salt {shout out to San Francisco Salt Co for sending me a few samples}

This makes a great side salad, light lunch or an appetizer.

9/19/16

What To Do With Fennel: Pickle It! Cheater Pickled Fennel Recipe

Let's have a quick chat about fennel. I used to strongly dislike it, but then changed my mind and now love it in salads, soups, and even omelets!

When I was in Seattle, I had a salad made with zucchini, pesto and pickled fennel at Delancey and loved the texture and flavor of pickled fennel. It was bright, crunchy, and not as licorice'y as it tends to be normally.

When I came back to DC, I decided to make my own version of pickled fennel by reusing a pickling solution from store-bought vegetables I had in the fridge.

What To Do With Fennel: Pickle It! Cheater Pickled Fennel Recipe
Ingredients
1 fennel bulb, cored, thinly sliced
pinch of red pepper flakes
pickling liquid from store-bought pickles or other marinated vegetables

Directions
1. Fill a glass jar with sliced fennel and a pinch of red pepper flakes.
2. In a small pot bring to a simmer pickling liquid (you'll want enough to fill the jar of fennel).
3. Pour the simmering pickling liquid over the fennel and allow to cool before putting the jar in the refrigerator.
4. Allow a few days for the fennel to pickle. Use it in salads, sandwiches, or as a quick snack.

How do you like to eat fennel?

5/13/16

Unofficial Meal: Beet & Sabra Hummus Deviled Eggs, Happy National Hummus Day!

I'm trying my best to ignore that today is Friday the 13th and instead concentrate on National Hummus Day! In fact, for breakfast I had toast with hummus, sliced tomatoes, fennel tops, red onion and salt. SO good!

Of course if you've followed my blog for a while, you know I have a great partnership with Sabra. Today I'm bringing to you a bright, easy and delicious recipe you can have for a snack (aka Unofficial Meal), as an appetizer or even for breakfast (yes, I did that!).

Take hard boiled eggs, add a roasted beet, classic hummus and a few toppings, and you get one gorgeous dish!

Beet & Sabra Hummus Deviled Eggs
Makes 24 halves

Ingredients
dozen hard boiled eggs, peeled, halved, yolks carefully removed with a spoon
1 roasted beet, peeled, quartered
1/2 cup Sabra classic hummus
salt to taste
1/3 cup crumbled feta
3 tablespoons dill

Directions
1. Puree egg yolks, roasted beet and hummus in a food processor till smooth. Season with salt.
2. Put the pureed mixture into a plastic bag, cut off a tiny corner and fill the egg halves.
3. Top the deviled eggs with feta and dill.

Here's a little video for you!

A video posted by @mangotomato on May 8, 2016 at 7:58am PDT

How gorgeous are these eggs? Trust me, they taste just as great.

If you would like to make this recipe, make sure to grab a $2 coupon to use on your container of Sabra. The coupon is good until the end of today, so hurry up!

I had a few of these eggs for breakfast with a toasted English muffin and coffee. Bonus points if you have a peony in the exact same color as the eggs :P

Disclosure: Sabra provided samples and compensation for the recipe development, but all opinions are my own. Make sure to check out other recipes I developed using Sabra products!

5/9/16

Meatless Monday: Vegan Beet Pesto With Broiled Asparagus

Last week I received gorgeous local asparagus in my produce delivery, and it's been sitting in my refrigerator waiting for inspiration to strike. That inspiration came in the form of beets. Yes, beets!

I made a vegan beet pesto and decided to serve it on top of simply broiled asparagus. This colorful and nutritious dish is perfect for a Meatless Monday lunch or dinner and is completely vegan!

Vegan Beet Pesto With Broiled Asparagus

Ingredients

1 roasted beet, peeled, quartered

1 garlic clove

1 cup packed arugula

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts

2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt to taste

asparagus

olive oil

salt & pepper

arugula

chopped toasted hazelnuts

lemon wedges

Directions

1. For the beet pesto, place beet quarters, garlic clove, arugula and hazelnuts into a food processor. Pulse. Drizzle in lemon juice and olive oil while running the food processor. Puree until you get the consistency you desire. Season with salt.

2. For asparagus, preheat your broiler. Drizzle asparagus with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil in a single layer for 5-10 minutes, depending on how thick your asparagus is, making sure to check on it often.

3. Serve asparagus on a bed of arugula topped with the beet pesto, chopped hazelnuts and a few lemon wedges.

I'm glad I took the above photograph with my phone because unfortunately all of my camera photos were awful.

This was such a bright (both in color and flavor) dish! I loved how crunchy asparagus got under the broiler: this may be my new favorite way of preparing this spring vegetable.

As a bonus, I have a fun idea for you. If you, like me, sometimes don't feel like using beet greens in your cooking but feel guilty tossing them, add them to a flower arrangement! In the photo below, I combined peonies with beet greens!

4/20/16

Kraut Source: Fermented Cauliflower

Growing up in Russia, my mom canned a variety of vegetables and made preserves, but my dad was typically in charge of making sauerkraut. This wasn't the type of sauerkraut you find in a plastic bag in your deli. His has crunchy texture and often includes carrots in addition to cabbage. He continues this tradition in Seattle making HUGE buckets of the lovely condiment and would probably make fun of me for trying out Kraut Source.

You see, you don't need Kraut Source to make fermented vegetables, but it definitely makes the entire process neater and easier. I received a Kraut Source kit pictured above to try out in my kitchen. The kit has several parts, but the video tutorials available on line make it easy to assemble and use. Basically, you need a wide mouth jar, vegetables, filtered water, sea salt and the Kraut Source. The Kraut Source keeps the ingredients submerged in the salty water and makes sure there is no mess on your kitchen counters.

The product website has a variety of recipes, but I thought I'd make my own concoction of cauliflower, little peppers, garlic and dill.

Because I did not have filtered water, the nice people at Kraut Source recommended I boil regular water and let it cool and then use it. They also have a great Q&A section for different issues that may come up.

Below is my concoction all put together.

I'm not going to give you a recipe, because using little peppers was an awful idea. They turned a very unappealing flavor and texture and went straight to the garbage. Luckily, cauliflower came out well.

I definitely need to try one of the Kraut Source's recipes next!

Disclaimer: I received a Kraut Source kit free of charge but am not being compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.

4/18/16

Sabra's Lemon Twist Hummus With Roasted Fennel & Hazelnuts

Do you ever get home to make dinner and are so ravenous you are almost shaking? That happens to me often, and so I make a quick snack to eat while I'm making dinner.

Some times it's a piece of cheese, or salsa with chips, or avocado that I eat straight out of its skin. Other times I eat hummus directly from the container with a spoon. For something a bit more fancy, you can make my Sabra's Lemon Twist Hummus With Roasted Fennel & Hazelnuts! This is a sponsored post in my continuing collaboration with Sabra and their new campaign for #UnofficialMeal to drive awareness to using hummus as an in between meals snack. All opinions are my own.

If you are not a fan of fennel, which was me a few years back, substitute any other roasted vegetable.

Sabra's Lemon Twist Hummus With Roasted Fennel & Hazelnuts

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb, outer layer removed, quartered, cored, and diced

drizzle of olive oil

salt & pepper

1 container Lemon Twist Hummus

1/4 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts

pinch red pepper flakes

fennel fronds for garnish

crackers to serve

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F.

2. Drizzle the diced fennel with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast the fennel in a single layer on a large cookie sheet for 20-25 minutes, shaking the cookie sheet a few times during the process.

3. Spoon the hummus into a shallow platter. Top with the roasted fennel, toasted hazelnuts and red pepper flakes. Garnish with fennel fronds.

4. Serve with crackers.

I'm slightly obsessed with how good this appetizer/snack looks. It is so easy to make and will be great for picnics, friends coming over, or a solo in-between unofficial meal.

Go make a batch and enjoy!

Disclosure: Sabra provided samples and compensation for the recipe development, but all opinions are my own. Make sure to check out other recipes I developed using Sabra products!

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