Dollops may seem like an afterthought, but they may well be the most important tool in your cooking arsenal. After all, neither man nor woman nor child can live on steamed broccoli alone. No matter how well intended one’s desire to eat healthy, the fact is the taste buds have to stay enticed day in and day out to keep boredom from setting in (and boredom, as we all know, is the first step toward disconnecting from eating well). This is where dollops come in. From a taste perspective, these dollops are snazzy surprises, acting as delicious high notes on dishes ranging from fish to chicken, salads to soups, and more. Basil cashew cream, salsa verde, parsley pistou, minted chimichurri—more than a dozen, each ready to doll up any meal. The joy of these dollops is that, once made, they store well, and you’ll never suffer from blah leftovers ever again. But there’s more than just taste at work here. Many of the dollops contain healthy fats, which work to make brain-boosting vitamins and minerals more bioavailable. They also are full of interesting brain-enhancing chemicals in their own right. Take the walnut pesto dollop. Turns out the walnuts are full of melatonin, a sleep and relaxation aid. Who knew? Now you do.
DOLLOP PAIRINGS AT A GLANCE
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Welcome, Little Mary Sunshine! This vinaigrette is light and bright, perfect for when you’re looking for a dressing that allows a salad’s ingredients to come through while adding just the right high note. Cilantro, with its high magnesium and iron content, offers a nice brain boost. In this book, I’ve paired it with the
watercress and purple cabbage salad and
the forbidden rice salad.
½ cup cilantro
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon lime zest
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
½ teaspoon Grade B maple syrup
½ teaspoon salt
Put all the ingredients in a small food processor and process about a minute, until smooth.
COOK’S NOTE: Cilantro tends to be a love-it-or-hate-it ingredient, and it turns out your opinion depends entirely on your DNA. Some folks have a gene that makes cilantro taste soapy, which makes it hard to become a fan of this healthful herb. If you’re looking to replace cilantro in a recipe, try Italian flat-leaf parsley—it’s a great power herb that will give you a similar nutritional wallop.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 183; Total Fat: 21 g (3 g saturated, 16.5 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 0.7 g; Protein: 0.04 g; Fiber: 3 g; Sodium: 100 mg
STORAGE: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
MAKES 4 CUPS • PREP TIME: 20 minutes • COOK TIME: 30 minutes
During the summer months, I take advantage of the abundance of tomatoes and put them in the oven to roast. The heavenly smells take me back to Italy, where I first learned how to make this version of tomato sauce. The tomatoes are gently pulsed in a food processor, which yields a lighter sauce. You don’t have to reserve this sauce for pasta—dollop it on fish, vegetables, and meat dishes, including
the quinoa meatballs.
4 pounds Roma or San Marzano tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
1 onion, diced small
2 carrots, scrubbed and diced small
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups loosely packed fresh basil leaves, chopped
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Gently squeeze the tomatoes by hand to remove excess seeds, then put them in a bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and ½ teaspoon of salt. Place the tomatoes, cut side down, in a single layer on sheet pans and roast for 20 to 30 minutes, until the skins are just browning and the juices are bubbly. Let cool for 5 minutes, then lift off the skins with a fork.
Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion and a pinch of salt and sauté until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the carrots, garlic, and ¼ teaspoon of salt and continue to sauté until the carrots become just tender, about 5 minutes.
Lift the tomatoes off the sheet pans and transfer to a food processor, then pour in any pan juices. Add the carrot mixture and the basil and pulse until pureed but still a little chunky. Transfer back into the saucepan and stir in ¼ teaspoon of salt. Taste. Tomatoes can sometimes be acidic, so you may want to add a pinch of sweetener and another pinch of salt.
VARIATION: If fresh tomatoes aren’t available, you can substitute two 28-ounce cans of plum tomatoes.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 120; Total Fat: 5.4 g (0.8 g saturated, 3.5 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 17 g; Protein: 4 g; Fiber: 5 g; Sodium: 230 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days or in thefreezer for 3 months.
MAKES 1¼ CUPS • PREP TIME: 10 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Sometimes food needs a little love, a little bling to provide some zing to what might otherwise be a bland taste. That’s where this salsa provides both some eye candy and a bright, fresh, crunchy taste. This is a summer shot of goodness, bringing together onions, cherry tomatoes, yellow and red bell peppers, basil, olive oil, and lemon zest. It goes great with halibut or grilled chicken or meat, and it’s also a super dipping salsa.
¼ cup finely diced red onion
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 tablespoons finely diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons finely diced yellow bell pepper
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup chopped fresh basil or mint
1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 16; Total Fat: 1.6 g (0.2 g saturated, 1.2 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 0.7 g; Protein: 0.1 g; Fiber: 0.2 g; Sodium: 12 mg
STORAGE: Refrigerate in an airtight container for 1 day.
Toasted Cumin Citrus Vinaigrette
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
I come by making salad dressing honestly, as my dad was in the food manufacturing business. Many a day I’d come to my dad’s office with my latest vinaigrette concoction in a yogurt cup and take it to the lab, where I learned to measure ingredients precisely so we could reproduce the taste in my little yogurt cup when it was scaled up to a two-hundred-gallon drum (talk about the importance of learning how to write down a repeatable recipe!). This airtight dressing is easy to prepare and delicious. It’s a fantastic go- to salad dressing, and works great with fish, chicken, or, in this book,
the Lentil Salad with Roasted Beets.
2 oranges, zested
½ cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Put the orange zest, orange juice, lemon juice, cumin seeds, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking all the while, and continue whisking until smooth. Transfer to a small container with a fitted lid and shake well.
COOK’S NOTE: This vinaigrette masquerades as either a salad dressing or an excellent marinade for chicken or fish.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 130; Total Fat: 14 g (2 g saturated, 11 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 2.2 g; Protein: 0.23 g; Fiber: 0.17 g; Sodium: 51 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Orange Pomegranate Vinaigrette
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
A little song, a little dance … this is sweet-and-sour doing a delightful tango on the taste buds, with the intense tartness of the pomegranate molasses magnificently mollified by the orange’s mellow sweetness. This vinaigrette partners delightfully with just about any salad that happens to sashay its way.
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon pomegranate molasses
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Put the orange juice, lemon zest, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking all the while, and continue whisking until smooth. Transfer to a small container with a fitted lid and shake well.
COOK’S NOTE: You can substitute balsamic vinegar if you don’t have pomegranate molasses.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 136; Total Fat: 14 g (1 g saturated, 11 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 4 g; Protein: 0.10 g; Fiber: 0.12 g; Sodium: 200 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Meyer Lemon Balsamic Vinaigrette
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Another good all-purpose salad dressing that comes together quickly and lasts for a week in the fridge. I love Meyer lemons because, relative to other lemons, they’re quite sweet. If you don’t have a few Meyers hanging around, use a combination of regular lemon juice and orange juice.
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
½ teaspoon grated lemon zest
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot (optional)
Put the balsamic vinegar, lemon zest, lemon juice, salt, and pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking all the while, and continue whisking until smooth. Transfer to a small container with a fitted lid and shake well.
COOK’S NOTES: Add the salt with the acid but prior to adding the oil. The reason? The acid breaks down the salt, allowing it to do its job as a flavor carrier.
The Meyer lemon is milder and sweeter tasting than most store-bought lemons. If you don’t have Meyer lemons, use 2 tablespoons of lemon juice combined with 2 tablespoons of freshly squeezed tangerine or orange juice. As for the zest, regular lemon zest is an acceptable substitute.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 129; Total Fat: 14 g (2 g saturated, 11 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 2 g; Protein: 0.12 g; Fiber: 0.2 g; Sodium: 203 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Tomato, Mint, and Fennel Vinaigrette
MAKES ABOUT ¾ CUP • PREP TIME: 10 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
I have a tendency to get close to my creations. Maybe a little too close. I served this vinaigrette recently, and it was a big hit. The best part, thought I, was I had plenty left over to experiment with for the rest of the week. That was before my husband did the dishes and accidentally threw out the batch. You would have thought it was his wedding ring that he’d flushed down the drain. I went off like a madwoman—all I could think of, through my red haze, was how Italian cooks shout “senza rispetto!” when they feel dissed—and I was so worked up I actually gave myself a time-out. A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Poor Gregg was standing there, sheepishly apologizing (he hadn’t really done anything wrong, I was just being a prima donna). He felt so bad, he promised he’d make me another batch. Ah, it’s tough to be the cook …
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon sea salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1½ teaspoons fennel seeds, toasted and crushed (see Cook’s Note)
1 tablespoon minced shallot
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
12 kalamata olives, chopped
½ cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
Put the lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper, fennel seeds, and shallot in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking all the while, and continue whisking until smooth. Transfer to a small container with a fitted lid and shake well. Then, add the olives, tomatoes, and mint and gently stir to combine.
VARIATIONS: You can substitute cumin seeds for the fennel seeds. If tomatoes are not in season, use a small jar of roasted red peppers instead.
COOK’S NOTE: You can crush the fennel seeds in a mortar and pestle or in a small bowl with the back of a spoon.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 110; Total Fat: 11 g (1.6 g saturated, 9 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 2.6 g; Protein: 0.5 g; Fiber: 0.6 g; Sodium: 268 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Signora Francini’s Salsa Verde
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Can a minute—and a sauce—change your life? I’m here to tell you they can. I was wandering through Florence about twenty years ago, before I was a cook, wondering where life was going to take me. I had signed up for a cooking class—my first—but was given the wrong location. I showed up an hour early (and believe me, I’m not early for anything). I was literally a minute away from walking out of the classroom when the teacher walked in, pointed at me, and said in Italian, “Walk this way.” She led me into her kitchen, where the other students had already gathered, and began making basic Italian sauces. The scene—the kitchen was right over a bustling an Italian market—and the aromas soon began to fill my head, and as I chopped away at the parsley for the salsa verde, I was embraced with that rarest of feelings, of being exactly in the right place at the right time doing the right thing. The teacher, Judy Witts Francini, not only lit my fire for cooking, she was the fire, going on to become one of my closest culinary friends. She set the path, and I followed. So, yes, life can change in a minute. Mine certainly did, and I’m forever grateful.
2 cups coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves
½ teaspoon sea salt
4 anchovy fillets, rinsed
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 teaspoons capers, rinsed
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Put all the ingredients except the olive oil in a food processor and blend for about a minute, until finely chopped. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil and process until the sauce is smooth.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 133; Total Fat: 14 g (2 g saturated, 11 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 1.8 g; Protein: 1 g; Fiber: 0.65 g; Sodium: 126 mg
STORAGE: Store in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.
MAKES ABOUT ¾ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Pistou might sound strange (or remind you of a six-shooter), but it’s just pesto minus the nuts. For me, the right pistou is aromatherapy, blowing out all the cobwebs. Think about how your brain responded the last time you waved some fresh mint under your nose; suddenly your senses were on full, friendly, alert. Basil is from the same family as mint, and combined with another clean, fresh herb in parsley, creates a drizzle that dazzles. It boosts the taste altimeter through the roof when spooned over fish, chicken, or veggies.
1 cup tightly packed fresh parsley leaves
½ cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons garlic
Sea salt
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Combine the parsley, basil, lemon juice, garlic, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and olive oil in a food processor and process until well blended. For a thinner drizzle, add a tablespoon of water and briefly process again. Taste; you may want to add a pinch of salt.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 44; Total Fat: 4.7 g (0.7 g saturated, 3.7 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 0.8 g; Protein: 0.3 g; Fiber: 0.27 g; Sodium: 37 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP • PREP TIME: 15 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Chimichurri is to South America as salsa verde is to Italy. Or maybe it’s simpler to call it Argentinian barbecue sauce. My version combines parsley, garlic, red pepper flakes, olive oil, lemon juice, and the kicker, mint. The scent of mint has been shown to increase alertness, and the taste is perfect for waking up chicken and other meats. As the Argentines might say, this is a chimichuri that adds destello (sparkle) to a dish.
¾ cup tightly packed fresh mint
¾ cup tightly packed flat-leaf parsley
⅓ cup fresh oregano, or 2 tablespoons dried
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon sea salt
2 teaspoons lemon zest
⅓ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
⅔ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and process until all the ingredients are well combined.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 88.5; Total Fat: 9.5 g (1.3 g saturated, 7.3 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 1.3 g; Protein: 0.22 g; Fiber: 0.28 g; Sodium: 52 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days
MAKES ABOUT ½ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
This is the dollop that’s always front and center in my refrigerator. The combination of fresh parsley and mint, blended with lemon, olive oil, and sea salt is a perfect drizzle to amp up the yum for chicken, lamb, fish, or vegetables. I’ve been known to scrape the jar, just to capture the last few drops. Parsley gets a brain boost from the phytochemical quercetin, which helps protect brain cells from free radical damage, while mint helps with focus and concentration.
½ cup tightly packed fresh parsley leaves
2 tablespoons tightly packed fresh mint leaves
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
Sea salt
¼ teaspoon Grade B maple syrup
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Combine the parsley, mint, lemon juice, ⅛ teaspoon of salt, syrup, and oil in a food processor and process until well blended. For a thinner drizzle, add a tablespoon of water and briefly process again. Taste; you may want to add a pinch of salt.
COOK’S NOTE: To quickly remove stems from parsley or cilantro, hold a clean, dry bunch of the herbs in your noncutting hand, angling them downward at 45 degrees, with the top of the bunch touching the cutting board. Scrape down along the stems with a chef’s knife, using short strokes, to separate the leaves from the stems.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 63; Total Fat: 7 g (1 g saturated, 5.5 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 0.5 g; Protein: 0 g; Fiber: 0 g; Sodium: 27 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
MAKES ABOUT 2 CUPS • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Oh, do I love working with cashews. They’re the perfect creamy nut, so much so that used as a dollop you’ll swear you’re eating actual cream. But you’re not (heh-heh); you’re eating something that’s full of brain-boosting minerals. I use cashew cream with
Summer’s Best Roasted Tomato and Red Bell Pepper Soup, but it’s also delightful drizzled over veggies or grains. I call cashew cream The Great Pretender, but there’s nothing fake about the taste; you’ll devour it.
1 cup cashews
1 cup water
1 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt
½ cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
Grind the cashews in a mini food processor or nut grinder to give them a head start in the blender (if you have a Vitamix or other heavy duty blender, you can skip this step). Put the water in the blender, then add the lemon juice, salt, and cashews and blend until creamy-smooth. Add the basil and blend again until beautifully creamy and light green. This takes several minutes, but your taste buds will reap the rewards of your patience.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 49; Total Fat: 4 g (1 g saturated, 2 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 3 g; Protein: 2 g; Fiber: 0.31 g; Sodium: 26 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
MAKES ABOUT ⅔ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Just like A Star Is Born, sometimes you have to remake a classic with a more modern twist. Here, I take pesto and use walnuts instead of pine nuts, but it’s still simple to put together, as basil, walnuts, olive oil, sea salt, and water all go right into the food processor. It’s a wonderful all-purpose pesto that, as I like to say, is great to have in your back pocket anytime you’re making lamb, chicken, fish, or tomato soup.
½ cup walnuts, toasted
1 cup tightly packed basil leaves
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
½ teaspoon Grade B maple syrup
Sea salt
Place the walnuts in a food processor and pulse 5 times, until they are broken into small pieces. Add basil, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, maple syrup, and ¼ teaspoon of salt, and process until well blended. For a thinner pesto, add the water and briefly process again. Taste; you may want to add an additional squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of salt.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 98; Total Fat: 11 g (1 g saturated, 6 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 1 g; Protein: 1 g; Fiber: 0.5 g; Sodium: 38 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months.
MAKES ABOUT ¼ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
“Tahini” sounds exotic, kind of like Tahiti, but if you can get past the name it’s one of the simplest ingredients in this most basic—but delicious, of course—of dressings. Tahini is a sesame paste, available in any supermarket, and a major player in hummus. It’s so easy to work with that this whole dressing comes together with nothing more than a fork, a little warm water, some lemon juice, and couple of spices. I use tahini for the taste, but your body will love it for its high healthy fat and mineral content including zinc, which is important in learning and brain development.
¼ cup tahini
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
¼ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon maple syrup
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of cayenne pepper
2 tablespoons warm water, plus more as needed
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)
Put the tahini, lemon juice, salt, maple syrup, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne in a small bowl and mix with a spoon into a smooth paste. Slowly pour in the warm water, whisking all the while and continue whisking until you’ve achieved a thick but pourable dressing. If more water is needed, add a teaspoon at a time. Season with pepper if desired.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 197; Total Fat: 18 g (2.5 g saturated, 0 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 5 g; Protein: 8 g; Fiber: 1.2 g; Sodium: 211 mg
STORAGE: Store in the refrigerator for about a week. The dressing thickens as it sits, so you may need to add more water to thin.
Pomegranate Olive Mint Salsa
MAKES ABOUT 2½ CUPS • PREP TIME: 15 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Painting, like cooking, is all about getting into a zone, which is probably why I like doing both. They’re complementary in another way; I’m visually driven, and when I’m working on a painting—as I was this past summer—I’m drawn to foods that create a color sensation on the plate. Don’t ask me why—maybe there’s something about color that impacts taste—but foods that blend well visually also taste fantastic together. I know that not many people would put pomegranate seeds together with olives and fennel, but you gotta trust me on this one; it’s not only a dance party for the mouth, but your eyes will widen at how good it looks.
1 cup finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
¼ cup finely chopped mint
½ cup kalamata or green olives, chopped
½ cup finely chopped fennel
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
¼ cup chopped walnuts, toasted
2 scallions, minced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt
Put the parsley, mint, olives, fennel, pomegranate seeds, walnuts, scallions, olive oil, 2 teaspoons of lemon juice, black pepper, and a pinch of salt in a bowl and stir gently to combine. For optimal flavor, cover and let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before serving. Taste; you may want to add another squeeze of lemon or a pinch of salt.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: ¼ cup; Calories: 33; Total Fat: 3 g (0.30 g saturated, 1.6 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 1.5 g; Protein: 0.5 g; Fiber: 0.4 g; Sodium: 97 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Olive and Sun-Dried Tomato Tapenade
MAKES ⅔ CUP • PREP TIME: 5 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Once upon a time, I was a chef at a restaurant with a crew who could only be described as a bunch of pirates in training. Surf bums, ne’er-do-wells, rapscallions … and little old me, with only my East Coast attitude to keep them all in line. They never did understand why I took things like tapenades—an afterthought in many kitchens—so seriously. They called me the Condiment Queen (well, I’m sure they called me lots of other things, but not to my face). Then came the night a top chef ate at our shop. He gave the waiter a message: “Tell the chef that was the most well-appointed tapenade I’ve ever eaten.” The message was delivered, and every eye in the kitchen was suddenly on me. I didn’t even raise my head, but I did speak. “And that,” I told my crew in a quiet voice, “is why I pay attention to my tapenade.”
½ cup tightly packed fresh basil leaves
¼ cup niçoise olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
12 kalamata olives, pitted and coarsely chopped
¼ cup sun-dried tomatoes in olive oil, coarsely chopped
1 heaping teaspoon capers, rinsed
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
Pinch of red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice
⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Put the basil, olives, tomatoes, capers, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, and olive oil in a food processor and process until well blended. Taste; you may want to add an additional squeeze of lemon juice or a pinch of salt.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 91; Total Fat: 9.6 g (1.3 g saturated, 7.4 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 1.7 g; Protein: 0.4 g; Fiber: 0.3 g; Sodium: 153 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months
MAKES ABOUT 1 CUP • PREP TIME: 10 minutes • COOK TIME: Not applicable
Part of the fun of cooking is using words that taste good as they come off the tongue. “Tahini” and “raita” fit the bill, but here’s the secret: they’re nothing fancy, just delicious. Tahini is a ground sesame seed paste used in Middle Eastern cooking, while raita is a yogurt-based sauce that contains tons of antioxidant and anti-inflammatory rich herbs and spices. The yogurt is full of probiotics, which promotes good gut and brain health.
½ cup plain organic Greek yogurt
¼ cup tahini
1 teaspoon lemon zest
2 to 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 pinches of sea salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
⅛ teaspoon Grade B maple syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons water, as needed for consistency
⅓ cup peeled, seeded, and minced cucumber
2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint
In a bowl, whisk together the yogurt, tahini, zest, lemon juice, salt, cayenne, and maple syrup. Stir in enough water to achieve a spoonable consistency. Fold in the cucumber and mint.
PER SERVING: Serving Size: 1 tablespoon; Calories: 69; Total Fat: 6 g (1.8 g saturated, 0 g monounsaturated); Carbohydrates: 2 g; Protein: 3 g; Fiber: 0.4 g; Sodium: 57 mg
STORAGE: Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
