I've been wanting to try a few more recipes from "Real Food by Mike," the new cookbook by Australia chef Mike McEnearney. A recent issue of MindFood magazine had a few sample recipes--one involved brussels sprouts, chick peas and a buttermilk, olive oil and dijon mustard dressing, the second kumara (sweet potato), pomegranate, coriander, coconut yogurt and a dressing made with tamarind paste and soy sauce. Unusual but very flavoursome taste combinations; we enjoyed them so much that I ordered the book to discover more!
Now that asparagus is back in season I decided to test out "Spring Tabouleh." Ingredients include bulgur wheat and just about anything green you might think of, except perhaps Kermit the Frog: asparagus, peas, spring onions, snow peas, broccoli, fennel, parsley and savoy cabbage. Also tomatoes, lemon zest and sumac. Many of the veggies are meant to be finely "shaved." I scratched my head a wee bit on that one, ended up using a combination of my vegetable peeler and trusty Zyliss mandolin. Shaving asparagus lengthwise and a bunch of broccoli proved interesting, but I'm sure it was good for my brain.
The salad is dressed right before serving with a simple mixture of good extra virgin olive oil (we are devotees of River Estate) and lemon juice. I've still got a decent stash of our organic Meyer lemons to work with. While it's raw and crunchy, so possibly not for everyone, John and I thought it was delicious. We do eat a lot of salads, with or without accompanying protein.
Lighter food, it's spring after all!
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