Braised Coconut Spinach & Chickpeas with Lemon

 

Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons oil or ghee
  • 1 small yellow onion
  • 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger, from a 3-inch piece
  • 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 large lemon, zested and juiced (about 2 tablespoons juice)
  • 1 dried hot red pepper or dash of red pepper flakes (optional)
  • 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
  • 1 pound baby spinach
  • 15-ounce can coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
 
Directions
 
Whole roasted sweet potatoes
Cilantro leaves, to garnish 
Toasted unsweetened coconut, to garnish
 
Heat the oil or ghee in a large, deep Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook for about 5 minutes, or until the onion is beginning to brown. Add the garlic, ginger, sun-dried tomatoes, lemon zest and red pepper, if using. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently.
 
Add the chickpeas and cook over high heat for a few minutes or until the chickpeas are beginning to turn golden and they are coated with the onion and garlic mixture.
 
Toss in the spinach, one handful at a time. This will take about 5 minutes; stir in a handful or two and wait for it to wilt down and make room in the pot before adding the next handful. When all the spinach has been stirred in, pour in the coconut milk and stir in the salt, ground ginger, and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer then turn down the heat and cook for 10 minutes or until the chickpeas are warm through. Taste and add more salt and lemon juice, if necessary.
 
Serve hot over roasted sweet potatoes, with cilantro leaves and toasted unsweetened coconut to garnish.
 
Serving note: This is thick enough to eat on its own with a fork; it's not terribly soupy. But it's saucy enough to eat over pasta, rice, brown rice, quinoa, or another grain.
 
serves 4 as a main dish or 6 as a side
 

Thai peanut sauce

Ingredients

  • 5 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 1 inch ginger root, peeled and minced (I use way more than this)
  • 1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
  • 3/4 cup lemon juice (I just use the freshly squeezed juice from two lemons)
  • 5 tablespoons tamari
  • 2 tablespoons paprika
  • 2 cups vegetable stock

Directions

  1. Combine all the incredients in a sauce pan
  2. Heat gently for 15 minutes, or until hot (keep the heat fairly low and stir often - peanut butter can burn)
  3. Use an immersion blender if you like your sauces smooth.
  4. Serve hot.

Notes

  • Add more water or vegetable stock if the sauce is thicker than you'd like.
  • Serve this is with rice and marinated tofu cubes (pour the sauce on the tofu cubes to heat them up) and pile on your favourite veggies (I like raw grated carrot, tomato, cucumber, and sunflower sprouts with this combo).
  • The absolute best way to use ginger is to freeze whole fresh ginger root, and use a micro grater to finely mince as much as you need. Put the unused ginger back in the freezer until it's needed again.

Cedar plank salmon - Ginger maple syrup glaze

Ingredients

1 cup pure maple syrup

3 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoon soy sauce

2 lb. center cut salmon filet, with skin

Salt & pepper to taste

1 bunch of scallions

Directions

In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, ginger, lemon, garlic, and Soy sauce. Simmer and reduce to about 1 cup (about 30 minutes). Let cool. Using a clean cloth, rub the top of the plank with ½ cup of olive oil. Arrange the scallions on the surface of the plank. Preheat oven to 400°F.

Place the salmon, skin side down, on the scallions. Season the fish with sea salt and black pepper. Using a large brush baste the salmon. Roast for approximately 25 to 30 minutes until the fish is cooked through. During the cooking process baste every ten minutes, and baste again just before serving.

Serve on the plank.

From chef Eric 911 . com

Tuna with Braised Leeks and Ginger Mint Salsa

Yield: 2

Fresh tuna steaks are so fatty and rich that to preserve their flavour they should never be cooked beyond ‘medium rare’ doneness. Braised leeks have a wonderfully creamy texture that complements the fish perfectly.

Ingredients Leeks

  • 2 tbsp of butter
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 4 x leeks, white bottoms only, roots still attached, halved lengthwise
  • 1 cup of red wine (I think I used 2 cups wine)
  • 2 cups of vegetable broth (I think I used a cube with 1 cup water)
  • Salt and pepper

Salsa

  • 2 x very ripe tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 tbsp of fresh ginger, grated
  • 1/2 cup of fresh mint, chopped
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 x preserved lemon, minced or the juice and zest of one lemon
  • Salt and pepper

Tuna

  • 1 tbsp of red peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp of green peppercorns
  • 1 tbsp of black peppercorns
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 x 6 oz tuna steaks, 1 inch thick
  • 3 tbsp of olive

Directions Leeks

Preheat a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and butter and when it foams, add the leeks, flat side down. Pan roast for a few minutes until the face browns and softens. Add the red wine and chicken broth and season with salt and pepper. Cover with a lid, reduce heat and braise at a slow simmer for 30 minutes, until leeks are very soft and braising liquid has reduced and thickened to a sauce-like consistency. While the leeks braise combine all the salsa ingredients. Crack the peppercorns in an electric spice grinder or using a mortar and pestle. Don’t grind to a powder. Mix on a plate with the salt then press each tuna steak into the mixture, coating both sides well. Preheat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat, add corn oil and sear tuna steaks for no more than 3 minutes per side. Cook just long enough to form a crust but not long enough to allow the heat to penetrate and cook the center of the fish. Tuna should be rare in the center. Cut into thick slices with a very sharp knife. Place 2 leek halves in each bowl, fan tuna on top of them and spoon the leek broth over the top. Top with a heaping spoonful of the salsa.

(source)