Read Dharma Feast Cookbook Online
Authors: Theresa Rodgers
Dharma Feast Cookbook (38 page)
| F RESH T OMATO S ALSA |  |
This recipe makes a world-rocking tomato salsa. You’ll never find this kind of flavor in a store-bought salsa. One of the secrets is fire-roasting the tomatoes and chile peppers. It’s best made in the summer because tomatoes are fresher and more delicious, but this can be made any time of the year. Serve with organic corn chips,
Mexican Tortilla Buffet, Breakfast Burritos,
or your favorite Mexican food.
| M AKES ABOUT 5 CUPS | P REP TIME 1 HOUR |
7 medium vine-ripened tomatoes 2 Anaheim green chile peppers 3 cloves roasted garlic, minced (see ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped 3 green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces ¼ cup chopped red onion 2–3 whole jalapeños, deveined, seeded, and diced, or to taste 2 teaspoons olive oil 1 tablespoon lime juice 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce or 1 cup pureed fresh tomatoes Sea salt and pepper to taste 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) | Char (lightly burn the skin off) tomatoes and Anaheim chiles over a gas grill, under the flame of a hot broiler, or over the flame of a gas stove (holding the vegetable over the flame with long tongs), frequently turning until the peel blisters on all sides. Remove and discard tomato peel; the flesh will still be firm. Remove core and cut tomatoes in half vertically. Use a teaspoon to scoop out the seeds. Cut into chunks and set aside. Remove and discard skin from charred Anaheim peppers. Cut in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and discard. Cut into chunks and set aside with tomatoes. With the food processor running, drop in garlic, cilantro, green onions, red onion, and jalapeños. Process for just a few seconds. Scrape down sides of the bowl using a rubber spatula. Use processor on Pulse if still needed to chop vegetables. Add tomatoes, roasted Anaheim chiles, olive oil, lime juice, and sea salt. Process with brief pulses. Don’t blend so much that it becomes a paste—you want to see bits of all the vegetables in the salsa. Put in a bowl. Stir in tomato sauce to reach desired consistency. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne, if using, to taste. Note |
| F LUFFY H UMMUS |  |
Hummus is another staple food of Middle Eastern cuisine. A friend of ours spent several months in Israel many years ago. He told us that every restaurant and corner booth offered hummus, and he ate it every day. Hummus is inexpensive, easy to make, lasts a while (good to make a big batch), nutritious, and filling. Most types of hummus contain tahini; this one doesn’t. Fresh cilantro and parsley add to the freshness and fluffiness of this recipe.
| 9 cups cooked garbanzo beans | P REP TIME 15 MINUTES |
½ cup water ½ cup olive oil 2 cloves garlic 3–4 tablespoons lemon juice 4 teaspoons cumin powder 2 teaspoons coriander powder 1 bunch fresh cilantro 1 bunch fresh parsley Sea salt to taste | Put everything in a food processor and blend until fluffy. Note |
| H UMMUS | |
This is a more traditional hummus recipe than
Fluffy Hummus.
If you can’t eat or don’t like tahini (sesame), substitute raw cashew butter.
| M AKES ABOUT 4 CUPS | P REP TIME 15 MINUTES |
3½ cups cooked garbanzo beans 2 tablespoons below) 3 tablespoons olive oil 3 tablespoons water ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper or more to taste 2 teaspoons ground cumin 2 teaspoons ground coriander 2 cloves garlic, pressed or very finely minced 1 teaspoon sea salt Juice of ½ lemon or more to taste | Combine all ingredients in a food processor or VitaMix and blend until smooth. Serve with raw vegetables. Note |
| T APENADE |  |
Here are two versions of easy-to-make tapenade. Serve it on the side or as an elegant appetizer with rice crackers and
Rosemary Cashews
(page 203).
| Equal amounts green olives, kalamata olives, and artichoke hearts | P REP TIME 15 MINUTES |
Olive oil ALTERNATE RECIPE 1 bulb roasted garlic (see recipe in 1 jar green olives with pimento 1 jar black olives or Greek kalamata 1 jar capers 1 lemon, grated zest and juice 1 medium onion, cut into ½ inch rings and caramelized About ½ bunch fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped Olive oil | Put olives and artichoke hearts into food processor or blender (food processor works better) with a little olive oil or water and blend until finely chopped—not chunky but not absolutely smooth. Alternative Recipe |
F
ERMENTED
F
OODS
Fermented foods are important in The Traditional Diet and the Macrobiotic Diet. The salt in the pickling process gives these foods expansive energy, which we could all probably use a bit of. Eating them refreshes us by slowly moving our energy from inside to the surface.
Lacto-fermentation is a process of breaking down the sugars in vegetables and fruits by using beneficial bacteria (lactobacilli, also called probi-otics). The word “lacto” used here has nothing to do with dairy. The process produces lactic acid, which naturally preserves foods and gives them their distinctive taste.
Probiotic bacteria aid the growth of helpful bacteria in our digestive tract, which supports digestive health and strengthens the immune system. They also help stop harmful bacteria and assist in the absorption of minerals.
Fermented dairy products are also referred to as “cultured.” Fermentation breaks down caesin, or milk protein, which is one of the most difficult proteins to digest. It also restores many of the enzymes destroyed during pasteurization including lactase, which helps digest lactose (milk sugar).
Traditional lacto-fermented foods are raw. They are easier to digest than in their unfermented raw forms and make foods eaten with them easier to digest as well. In Europe the principal lacto-fermented food is sauerkraut. Cucumbers, beets, and turnips are also traditionally lacto-ferment-ed. Asian cuisines use pickled cabbage, turnip, eggplant, cucumber, onion, squash, and carrot. Korean Kimchi is lacto-fermented cabbage, along with other vegetables and seasonings.
Mass-produced pickled products do not have the same benefits. The substitution of vinegar instead of brine makes them too acidic and pasteurization kills all the lactobacilli so we lose the beneficial effect on digestion. They are still okay for us to eat, but as usual, it’s best to make your own if you can. This is also a wonderful weekend project to do with children.
When fermenting foods it is important to use the best-quality ingredients available. For dairy use either cow or goat milk, preferably goat, as it is not homogenized. If you can get it, use raw milk. For lacto-fermentation of vegetables and fruits use organic produce, sea salt, and filtered or pure water.
Fermented foods are meant to be eaten as condiments, not as main or side dishes.
For those of us who really want to “get out of the box,” fermenting vegetables provides a sensual metaphor of the alchemical process of transformation. In this case, the kimchi or sauerkraut is pressed with your hands until it loses its sharp resistance and becomes softer. The different characteristics of the vegetables, salt, and spices lose some of their distinct personalities as they meld together into an entirely different substance. This can be an unpleasant, smelly, painstakingly long process. But in the end, the fermenting that is forced to occur in that tight jar allows for the creation of something incredibly healing, powerful, and delicious.