Curried Chickpea and Mango Salad Wraps

I love the free magazine that you can pick up in the natural foods section of Loblaws called "Sage".  It always has interesting articles and recipes that inspire me!  This recipe came from January's edition and it is fantastic - quick to assemble, tasty and a great source of protein!!!

CURRIED CHICKPEA AND MANGO SALAD WRAPS

Ingredients:

2 tbsp plain yogurt (I used goat yogurt)

1 tbsp mayonnaise

1 tbsp rice vinegar

Juice from 1 lime

1 tsp honey

2 1/2 tsp yellow curry powder

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of salt

1/3 cup diced red onion

2 green onions, green and white parts sliced

1 cup diced mango

1-15oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 soft tortilla shells

1 cup baby spinach, washed and dried

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine: yogurt, mayonnaise, rice vinegar, lime juice, honey, curry powder, cayenne, and salt.
• Add red onions, green onion, mango and chickpeas; stir to combine.
• Split mixture among 4 tortillas and top each with spinach.  Fold in sides and roll up tightly; cut each in half and serve.
• ENJOY!

*If you are planning to pack this for lunch, simply keep the chickpeas in a container with the baby spinach and take along a tortilla separately.  Assemble right before eating to avoid a soggy tortilla!!

**If you don't have chickpeas, this recipe works just as well with diced cooked chicken or firm tofu.

Easy Spanakopita

I tried looking this recipe up on my blog and was shocked that I hadn't posted it before now?!  During the spring when baby spinach is in season and is plentiful in our CSA boxes, I make this recipe a lot!  It's fast, easy and delicious.  Serve on its own, with a salad or as a side dish - you'll be amazed at how easy and economical it is!

EASY SPANAKOPITA

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1lb baby spinach

1 large egg

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped

6 oz feta cheese, crumbled

1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1/4 tsp white pepper

10 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

• Preheat oven to 350F.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and saute for approx. 8 minutes, or until softened.  Add garlic and saute, stirring constantly to prevent burning and sticking, for 1 minute.  Gradually add the spinach leaves and saute, stirring often, until wilted.  Transfer to a medium sized bowl and stir in egg, feta, herbs, salt and pepper.  Set aside.
• Lay 1 sheet phyllo on parchment lined rimmed baking sheet (cover remaining phyllo sheets with a damp teacloth as they will dry out really quickly!), and brush all over with the melted butter.  Repeat twice.  Spread spinach mixture in the centre and gently spread to within 1 1/2" of the edge of the pastry.  Top with 3 more buttered sheets.  Fold in sides to seal the spinach mixture in the pastry sheets.  Butter remaining 4 sheets and crumple gently like tissue paper, on top. 
• Place in oven and bake until a golden brown (approx. 40 minutes)
• ENJOY!  

South Indian-Style Vegetable Curry

This easy one-pot meal is perfect for using up any of those random vegetables in your crisper!  There are many ingredients, but don't let that deter you - the complex flavours created from using these spices and vegetables is delicious!!

SOUTH INDIAN-STYLE VEGETABLE CURRY

Ingredients

2 tbsp coconut oil, or olive oil

1 large yellow onion, finely diced

4 medium cloves garlic, minced

1-2" piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated

1 tbsp ground coriander

1 1/2 tsp ground cumin

3/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/2 tsp cayenne

1 tbsp tomato paste

2 cups vegetable broth

1 cup light coconut milk

1-3" cinnamon stick

Sea salt and black pepper

1 small cauliflower, broken into florets

1lb sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed into 1" cubes

2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 lrg carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2" thick rounds

1can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4 lightly packed cups of fresh baby spinach

2 tbsp fresh lime juice

1 tsp finely grated lime zest

2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

• In a large Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until beginning to brown (2 to 4 minutes).  Reduce heat to medium and cook until the onion is richly browned (5 to 7 minutes more).  Add the garlic and ginger; cook stirring for 1 minute.
• Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cayenne; stir for 30 seconds to toast the spices.  Add the tomato paste and stir until well blended with the spices.
• Add the broth, coconut milk, cinnamon stick, 1 tsp salt, and 1/4 tsp black pepper and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots. Simmer until the vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.  Discard the cinnamon stick.
• Stir in the chickpeas, spinach, lime juice, and zest;  cook until the spinach has wilted (about 3 minutes).
• Serve garnished with the cilantro and ENJOY!

Spanakopita Lasagna

I first enjoyed this dish while on a scrapbooking retreat ~ Martha is a fantastic chef and owner of "Selwyn Shores" which is located in Lakefield, ON.  For me, being such a foodie, I enjoy the meals that Martha prepares as much as the time to focus on my scrapbooking!  At the end of each weekend that we go there, she lays out the recipes for all the meals she has prepared for us so we can copy them and make the dishes ourselves at home (and since she keeps meticulous records, we are never served the same dish twice!)  This lasagna was so simple and so flavourful I not only copied it, but make it quite frequently for my family!

SPANAKOPITA LASAGNA

Ingredients:

227g baby spinach

1 cup crumbled feta

3 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 onion, roughly chopped

1 bunch fresh parsley

1/2 cup EVOO

4 cups tomato sauce

Fresh lasagna noodles (I use Olivetti whole wheat ones)

2 cups grated mozzarella

• Preheat oven to 350F
• Cook spinach in the microwave or in a skillet until wilted.  Drain and squeeze dry.
• Whisk 3/4 cup of feta into the eggs and set aside.
• Chop spinach, onion, and parsley in a food processor until the consistency of a pesto.  I slowly drizzle the olive oil in the bowl while the food processor is running to help smooth out the spinach mixture.
• Add the spinach mixture to the eggs.
• Pour a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of a 9"x13" lasagna dish.  Cover with a single layer of noodles.  Spoon half the spinach mixture over top the noodles.  Cover with another thin layer of sauce, then another layer of noodles.  Spoon the remaining spinach mixture over the noodles and cover with a final layer of sauce.
• Top with the remaining feta cheese (1/4 cup) plus the 2 cups of grated mozzarella.
• Place in the oven and bake for 40 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.
• ENJOY!