Grasslands Herb Salsa: Sweet Mongolia

In the past 20 months, we’ve featured recipes from India, Israel, Italy, and … well, many other countries beginning with the letter “I.” But it’s pretty rare we get to highlight food from outer Mongolia. Or rather: from a town located between Mongolia and Siberia called Manzhouli. (Thanks, Serious Eats!)

In olden days, we used “outer Mongolia” as a synonym for “very far away.” (Also see: Guam, Mars, East Bumble****.) Up until several hours ago, the only things I knew about the place is that it borders China, and my friend J was considering working on a Habitat for Humanity project there. (Which I’m fairly sure solicited a shocked “MONGOLIA?” from each and every person she told.)

But now, I’m a virtual expert. (Meaning: I looked at Wikipedia, which is a virtual reference guide in the computer sense.) For instance, did you know Mongolia has a Pegasus on its coat of arms? Or that it’s a parliamentary republic? Or that its national anthem is titled "Монгол улсын төрийн дуулал"? (Literally: “Welcome to Mongolia. Instead of Mints, You Will Find Mutton Jerky Under Your Hotel Pillow.”) Well, now you do.

Apparently, beyond noodles and awesome barbecue (which may or may not be an actual regional invention), Mongolians are also fond of roasted meats – especially goats and sheep. Turns out, they need the animal fat to survive the winters, which, being a total cold weather wussy, would cause me to perish in under 20 seconds.

This recipe, Grasslands Herb Salsa, is a topping for those roasted meats. It’s from a gorgeous cookbook called Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China, which was nominated for a James Beard Award earlier this week.

Essentially, it's a simple cilantro-based salsa that’s entirely unimpressive on its own, but morphs into something highly delicious when applied to pan-cooked chicken breast. In fact, The Boyfriend and I have eaten chicken two of the last four nights, just for an excuse to use the salsa. There are about two tablespoons left, so he should expect chicken on Saturday night, too. Poor guy.

Should you decide to make it yourself … actually, there’s not much to know. It’s only 12 calories a serving, and it’s simple enough that a kindergartener could make it. Granted, it would have to be a kindergartener who’s accustomed to food processing, but you get the picture.

Anyway, happy weekend, sweet readers. Hope your days off are as cool as Mongolia. Cooler, even.

Grasslands Herb Salsa
Makes about 3/4 cup, or enough for six chicken filets
Adapted from Beyond the Great Wall: Recipes and Travels in the Other China

2 cups packed cilantro (a.k.a. coriander) leaves and stems
1/2 cup coarsely chopped scallions (white and tender green parts)
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1) In a food processor, puree herbs and scallions until they're a "coarse paste." Add vinegar and salt. Pulse. Salt and pepper to taste. (I needed a little more salt.)

2) Pour into a small bowl. Allow guests/family to spoon their own salsa on to their meat.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
12 calories, 0 g fat, $0.37

Calculations
2 cups packed cilantro (leaves and stems): 7 calories, 0.2 g fat, $1.50
1/2 cup coarsely chopped scallions (white and tender green parts): 16 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.22
2 tablespoons rice vinegar: 50 calories, 0 g fat, $0.48
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste: negligible calories and fat, $0.01
TOTAL: 73 calories, 0.3 g fat, $2.21
PER SERVING (TOTAL/6): 12 calories, 0 g fat, $0.37

Veggie Might: Guacamole-Bean Dip Mashup/Saved by Guac and Roll

Penned by the effervescent Leigh, Veggie Might is a weekly Thursday column about the wide world of Vegetarianism.

As is the case with many over hyped New York events, I’ve chosen to ignore the Manhattan arrival of a highly anticipated grocery store for about 3 years. (I’ll stand shoulder-to-shoulder with my cohort for peace and for rock, but not for soymilk.)

I figured the lines would be shorter by now, so I decided to brave it. Mostly right, on a late-evening Wednesday, the haul was worth the crowd: super-cheap fake bacon, spicy almonds, and a bag of 4 gorgeous avocados for $3.49. Sweet.

Bright green and firm, the avocadoes needed a couple of days to ripen to perfection. Sunday afternoon, they were ready.

The avocado seemed the perfect complement to a faux bacon sandwich at a time when tomatoes are so disappointingly out of season. Mmm...guacamole, I thought. Then I recalled a recipe that I’d always wanted to try from my Weight Watchers days.

As best I could remember, the recipe simply combined white beans and avocado to lighten the caloric/fat load of guacamole. Essentially, it’s a bean dip and guacamole mashup. As my coworker, T, put it, “like squirting out a taco.” Exactly.

Oh baby. 1 can of beans + 1-1/2 avocadoes + my 5 borough famous guacamole recipe = music in my mouth10.

Avocados and beans make a logical combination—the flavors make magic together—but the cannellini beans are mild enough that the avocado is still the star. Not to mention that it steals the nutritional show too, helping lower cholesterol and aiding the absorption of carotenoids.

Of course, the beans are no useless hangers on or triangle players. High in fiber and protein, they also kick it in the folate and manganese arenas.

You can tweak the spices to suit this recipe your taste. I love garlic and lots of cilantro in my guacamole, so I’m heavy handed with both. I would have included tomatoes, but they are too pink this time of year.

I’ve been using this as sandwich spread all week—mostly with faux bacon and salad greens on toast—and, of course, it is a new classic with tortilla chips.

Crank up the tunes, invite a few people over, and set out this bowl of tasty, healthy guacamole tribute. You will have fans like never before.

Guacamole-Bean Dip Mashup
Yields sixteen 2-tbsp servings


1 15 oz can cannellini beans, well rinsed
1 1/2 ripe avocado
1–3 cloves garlic
1/2 large onion, quartered
3 tbsp lime juice
1 tsp salt
1 cup cilantro, chopped
1 cup tomato, chopped (optional)
black pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

1) In a food processor, combine beans and 1 avocado until smooth. (You can also do this with a bowl and a fork.) Set aside the 1/2 avocado.

2) Add garlic clove(s), onion, lime juice, and salt. Pulse until onion is diced.

3) Transfer to a medium bowl. Add remaining 1/2 avocado and mix with a fork. This will give you a chunky texture. If that’s not important to you, skip this step and put all the in avocado in at step 1.

4) Mix in cilantro. Add peppers to taste.

5) Dig.

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price per Serving
60 calories, 3g fat, $.20

Calculations
1 15 oz can cannellini beans: 330 calories, 3g fat, $.79
1 1/2 ripe avocado: 483 calories, 43.5g fat, $1.30
3 cloves garlic: 12.6 calories, 0g fat, $.04
1/2 large onion: 35 calories, .2g fat, $.45
3 tbsp lime juice: 12 calories, .03 fat, $0.15
1 tsp salt: negligible calories and fat, $.02
1 cup cilantro: 22 calories, 0g fat, $.39
black pepper to taste: negligible calories and fat, $.02
cayenne pepper to taste: negligible calories and fat, $.02
Totals: 894.6 calories, 46.73g fat, $3.18
Per serving: 60 calories, 3g fat, $.20

(Additional photo courtesy of Flickr member Perfecto Insecto.)

Shaksouka? I Barely Even Know Ya! (Sorry.)

It’s snowing like mad outside, the office is unusually quiet, and A Charlie Brown Christmas is playing quietly on my cubicle computer. In a way, this is the holidays in all Big Apple workplaces: peacefully festive, with a tinge of melancholy. Or, maybe everyone’s just hung over from last night’s Christmas party. Take your pick.

Like every other place in America, it’s been slightly-to-mostly insane over here lately, what with card sending, gift shopping, tinsel hanging, funeral attending, and getting papers/projects/life in order for the ever-approaching New Year. There haven’t been many hours left for cooking, either, save for today’s dish, Shaksouka, and a botched attempt at quesadillas on Wednesday night. (On a related note: what kind of adult messes up a quesadilla? First graders are taught to make them before they’re taught to add.)

Anyway, about the Shaksouka: it’s an Israeli dish that’s tasty, incredibly inexpensive, relatively healthy, and (for all you secret six-year-olds out there) really, really fun to eat. Essentially eggs poached in a subtly spicy tomato sauce, the idea is to spoon a helping into a bowl, and then sop it up with a big hunk of thick, crusty bread. And if you can keep the sauce off your pants … bonus.

I made two alterations to the original Serious Eats recipe, which called for fresh oregano (I used 3/4 teaspoon of the dried stuff), and a 28-oz. can of crushed tomatoes (I pulsed a can of whole tomatoes five times in mah food processor for a fresher taste). Both changes worked beautifully, and The Boyfriend and I even have a cup of leftover tomato sauce for future pasta dishes. (Note to leftovers fiends: the eggs themselves probably won't keep very well, so I'd eat them a.s.a.p.)

Oh, and last thing – I didn’t have to go shopping for any of the ingredients in this dish. They were all already in the pantry, which is the culinary equivalent of discovering a forgotten $20 bill in your pants pocket. Pretty sweet, if you ask me.

P.S. Calculations are for four servings, though the picture only depicts two portions.

Shaksouka (or Shakshouka) (or Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)
Serves 2 to 4
Adapted from Serious Eats.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced small
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes or 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes pulsed a few times
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon paprika
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup water
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 - 8 eggs

1) In a large skillet or saute pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook 5 minutes, until onions are kind of soft, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes, cumin, coriander, paprika, oregano and water. Stir. Salt and pepper to taste. Jack heat up to high. When sauce comes to a boil, drop heat back to medium-low, cover, and cook 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2) Carefully crack eggs into sauce so they're evenly spaced. Re-cover skillet. Cook 5 minutes until eggs are just the way you like 'em. DO NOT STIR.

3) Carefully scoop eggs and a bunch of sauce into bowls. Serve with bread for some good times.

Note from Tara the original Serious Eats author: "Alternatively, if you are preparing up to 8 eggs and your pan isn’t wide enough to accommodate all of the eggs at once, poach them separately in water and add them to the sauce to serve."

Approximate Calories, Fat, and Price Per Serving
252 calories, 13.9 g fat, $1.04

Calculations
1 tablespoon olive oil: 119 calories, 13.5 g fat, $0.12
1 small onion: 29 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.16
3 cloves garlic: 13 calories, 0 g fat, $0.12
1 (28-ounce) can chunky crushed tomatoes (or “chef’s cut”): 254 calories, 2.2 g fat, $2.00
2 teaspoons ground cumin: negligible calories and fat, $0.03
1 teaspoon ground coriander: negligible calories and fat, $0.13
1/2 teaspoon paprika: 3 calories, 0.1 g fat, $0.02
3/4 teaspoon oregano: 2 calories, 0 g fat, $0.03
1/2 cup water: negligible calories and fat, FREE
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper: negligible calories and fat, $0.02
8 eggs: 588 calories, 39.8 g fat, $1.53
TOTAL: 1008 calories, 55.7 g fat, $4.16
PER SERVING: 252 calories, 13.9 g fat, $1.04