A Father's Day Brunch with Native American-Style Salmon

One dish that's become a favorite for our Father's Day brunch is a Native American-style salmon that can be prepared in the oven or the grill. Perfect to serve with toast, cream cheese, red onions, and capers with a green salad, grilled vegetables, and a simple dessert of bread pudding or fresh fruit and cheese.

Whether you prepare the salmon on-the-day or the day-ahead, it should be served at room temperature to bring out the sweet flavors of the fish.

Brown Sugar Salmon

Yield 4-6 servings
Time 2 hours marinade or overnight; 30 minutes

Ingredients

3 pounds fresh salmon fillets with skin on, preferably wild not farm raised, washed
3 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup kosher salt
1 tablespoon paprika

Method

Buy either fillets or the filleted side of a whole salmon. Carefully inspect the flesh to remove any bones that might have been missed. Pat dry.

Measure a piece of plastic wrap so that it is longer than each piece by several inches. Lay the plastic wrap on the cutting board.

Mix together the brown sugar, kosher salt, and paprika. Spread a thin layer of dry mix on the plastic wrap, lay a piece of salmon on top, then cover the salmon with another layer of dry mix. Fold over the ends of the plastic wrap so the salmon and dry mix are tightly wrapped together. Put the package into a plastic bag and seal.

The dry rub will become wet as the sugar-salt mixture pulls moisture out of the salmon. To prevent against spills, place the plastic bag on a baking sheet. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. If using a grill, turn one side to high, leaving the other side "cold".

Remove the salmon from the bag and peel off the plastic wrap being careful to reserve all the liquid. Line a baking tray with a piece of aluminum foil, place a wire rack on top, and put the salmon on the rack.

Put the marinade into a small saucepan and simmer 5 minutes until reduced by half. Baste the salmon with the sauce.

If using a grill, place the pan with the rack and the salmon on the cold side. Cover and cook 10 minutes, then rotate the pan so the salmon cooks evenly. Baste, cover and cook another 10 minutes.

In the oven, bake 10 minutes, baste, cook another 10 minutes and remove. I like my salmon on the moist side. Check to see that these cooking times give you the texture you like.

Serve at room temperature with bagels or toast, cream cheese, chopped red onions, and capers.

Variations

Add 1 tablespoon grated ginger to the basting sauce and reduce.

Add 1/4 teaspoon cayenne to the basting sauce and reduce.

Omelets for Father's Day or Any Day

When I was nine years old, my parents told me it would be fun if I made them breakfast in bed every Sunday. I was such a geek, I didn't know they were pulling a Tom Sawyer on me.

At first I practiced with something easy--scrambled eggs. I worked up to over-easy eggs and was very proud when I could plate the eggs without breaking or overcooking the yolk.

My sister, Barbara, didn't like to cook. She could be coaxed into helping me with some of the prep, but she wasn't happy about it.

In time my mother felt I was ready to take on the El Dorado of breakfasts: an omelet.

The first time I had one, I thought it was so great. The outer crispness contrasted with the custard-softness on the inside.

My mom taught me to use a big pat of butter to prevent the omelet from sticking to the pan. She made savory fillings, using a tasty piece of sausage, some mushrooms, spinach, and a bit of cheese. At times she'd switch gears and put something sweet inside, like fresh strawberries she'd cooked down into a compote.

For Father's Day one year she showed me how to make my dad's favorite filling: crisp bacon, sauteed potatoes, and cheddar cheese. Because he had an Eastern European sweet tooth, he liked his bacon dusted with sugar.

Over the years I refined what my mom had taught me. I found that sauteing the ingredients added layers of flavor and got rid of excess water.

On my limited student's budget in college, I learned how omelets could be a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I could make the filling out of any favorite ingredients, even left-overs.

Sauteed sausages with potatoes and cheddar cheese. Steamed asparagus with herbed goat cheese. Sauteed spinach, mushrooms, zucchini, onions, and roasted tomatoes with Gruyere. Sauteed chicken livers, caramelized onions, and mushrooms.

Chopped raw tomatoes, sauteed spinach, onions, and garlic make a delicious vegetarian filling, add sauteed ham and cheese and you'll make a carnivore happy. Even a simple omelet filled with sauteed parsley, shallots, and garlic with Parmesan cheese was elegant and delicious.

The combinations are limitless.

The only difficult part of omelet-making is flipping one half on top and then sliding it onto a plate so it looks plump and neat. Using a good non-stick pan makes that easy. I still add butter to the pan, but it's very little and strictly for flavor.

My Father's Favorite Omelet

Traditionally what's inside an omelet is hidden by the fold. Sometimes I make them that way, sometimes, I leave the filling where it can be seen.

My father didn't like surprises so I always left his open so he could see what he was eating.

Yield 1 serving
Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

2 bacon slices
1 small Yukon Gold potato or 2 small fingerling potatoes, peeled, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons yellow onion or shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, washed, mostly leaves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sweet butter
2 farm fresh eggs
1 tablespoon cream, half-and-half, milk, or skim milk
1/4 cup freshly grated cheddar cheese

Method

Saute the bacon in a small frying pan (not the nonstick pan) until crisp, remove and drain on a paper towel. Set aside. Pour off the fat.

Add the olive oil to the pan, put on a medium flame and saute the potato, onions, and parsley until lightly browned. Remove and set aside.

Put the eggs and milk into a mixing bowl. Using a fork or wisk, breat the eggs until they foam.

Melt the butter in the nonstick pan, pour in the beaten eggs. Let the eggs begin to set. Place the sauteed vegetables on one half of the omelet. Sprinkle the grated cheese and crumble the bacon on top of the vegetables.

Using a rubber spatula so you don't scratch the surface of the nonstick pan, flip the side that doesn't have the filling on top of the side that does.

Carefully slide the omelet onto a plate and serve.

Variations

Before serving dust the top of the omelet with finely chopped Italian parsley or crumbled crispy bacon or cayenne pepper

Spread a thin layer of strawberry jam or a fruit compote on the top of the omelet before serving

Award Winning Chef Albert Roux Sets Up Camp in Texas

When Albert Roux and his brother Michel arrived in London in the early-1960's their future was uncertain. They had a grand ambition to open a world-class restaurant specializing in high-quality, classic French cuisine in a country that famously preferred fish and chips. 

Le Gavroche was instantly recognized for the quality of its preparation and attention to detail and began a revolution in English cooking. 

Chef Albert Roux recently turned his attention to America. Did he set up camp in Miami, Las Vegas, New York, Chicago? None of the above.

Chef Roux opened Chez Roux on the grounds of La Torretta del Lago Resort and Spa, 600 La Torretta Blvd., Montgomery, Texas 77356 (936/448-4400), on the edge of Lake Conroe, an hour north of Houston. He chose the location because of his long friendship with the owner Ronnie Ben-Zur. 

Chez Roux specializes in a cuisine Chef Roux developed with his son, Michel Jr., at Le Gavroche. Using sauces made with jus and reductions, the menu relies entirely on market-fresh, organic, hormone-free ingredients.

The elegantly intimate dining room seats 65, with a chef's table--a banquette on the mezzanine overlooking the kitchen--that seats an additional 10. 

Meals can be ordered either a la carte or prix fixe. There is dinner service Tuesday-Saturday and brunch on Sunday. Lunch is available for special parties. 

On assignment for Peter Greenberg, I interviewed Albert Roux in the kitchen of Chez Roux in March.

When you began your career, you were famous for introducing classic French cuisine to England and mentoring well-known chefs like Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsey. How has your cooking changed over the years? 

 What I am doing here is very much the way my son, Michel, cooks at Le Gavroche today. My first cookery book, La Nouvelle Cuisine Classique, was very much oriented to Escoffier. There was no roux, no flour. Nevertheless, it was rich because we used quite a lot of butter and cream. Now we have entered a new phase, using pure jus and reductions so the natural flavors predominate. 

You've said that you want to use all organic, farm-fresh ingredients at Chez Roux. 

Yes, absolutely. If you are a great chef but you do not have good raw ingredients, you are nothing. In the U.S. you can move food around quickly. For example in London if I buy foie gras from France, it's only seven hundred miles, but it will take two days to reach me. Here, I order salmon from Alaska and the next day it's in my kitchen. What is available in America is fantastic. I went to Pike's Place Market in Seattle. They had to drag me out of there. We were leaving the next day and I smuggled through customs two big bags of fruit and vegetables. 

Everything had another dimension. Peaches, beautiful peaches, white and yellow. Tomatoes. Cherries, so heavenly perfumed. And the big salmon, aye ya ya. The Copper River salmon is the best in the world. In Texas there are very good food purveyors. I went to the Houston farmers' market. It was a revelation to see the army of believers there. Those people are never going to make a fortune, but they are very very proud of their produce, as they should be. 

You have the best beef in the world. The veal also is absolutely first rate. We've found some beautiful duck, squad, and quail. The game here is fantastic. 

Chickens, that's another matter. The quality of your chickens is bloody awful. But there are some that are good, the happy chickens. They haven't been in a cage. They have not been fed with hormones. They've been allowed to scratch in the earth and find the little worm and they taste infinitely better. 

What do you import from Europe? Some cheeses come from Europe. 30% of the wine list. But my aim is to use 95% of the product from the U.S.A. 

After all these years, do you still enjoy cooking? 

Absolutely. 

When you eat at home, what do you cook? 

It's very very simple food. On a typical weekend in the country, Friday night we arrive in mid-afternoon. We'll have a steak, just grilled, sauteed potatoes, a little Bearnaise sauce, a nice salad and fromage frais, mixed with cream and herbs. Saturday morning will be breakfast at about eleven o'clock with a glass of champagne, scrambled or fried eggs with baked beans--I love baked beans--it has to be Heinz. 

Heinz Pork and Beans? 

Oh yes, that's the best thing in the world. We'll also have nice crispy bacon, American style. Then a grilled tomato with a bit of olive oil. And that's it. Dinner would be focused on the wine. I have an excellent cellar. On Saturday afternoon I'll look around and pick out a bottle. With a top wine you don't want a rich cream sauce, just a simple little jus. During the first four months of the lamb season, a leg of lamb or rack of lamb roasted, new vegetables from the garden--I have a beautiful garden--a bit of cheese and a bottle of wine and that's it. 

I've been told the kitchen at Chez Roux doesn't use conventional gas stoves. 

That's correct. The kitchen is green. We are ruining the world and it doesn't even belong to us. It belongs to our grandchildren and the children of our grandchildren and at the rate we're polluting it, there will be no world to pass along. 

Do you notice that we're sitting in the kitchen and it isn't hot? The prep chefs are not sweating or perspiring. Why? No excess heat because the stoves use induction heat. 

As soon as you lift the saucepan, the heat stops. In a conventional kitchen, the first thing the chef does is he lights all the burners, ovens, and the salamander, even the ones he doesn't need right away. And they will stay on until the kitchen closes for the night. This is a bad habit. 

Why waste the energy and throw the money away? We save money on the consumption of energy and also on the retention of staff. Employees stay longer because if you work in a very pleasant environment, they tend to stay longer and that saves money as well. 

How much time will you spend in Texas? I am due to come four times a year for two weeks. But my feeling is, I'll be here more often. If I get too depressed by the weather in the UK, I'll jump on a plane and spend a couple of weeks in Texas. 

As a chef, what have you learned about America? 

Never deny yourself. The blessing of America is it is a continent with all the seasons, with many people who care about food. That makes it such an enjoyable experience to cook here.

For a profile of Chef Roux's restaurant in Sofitel's London St. James Hotel and articles about local, organic produce, please check out: Sofitel's Distinctive Vision Sprouted Broccoli from Green String Farm in Petaluma, California A Vegetarian Feast At the Santa Monica Farmers' Market Where's the Beef? Tracking Down Free Ranch, Grass Fed, Hormone Free Beef A Twofer: Roast Chicken with Fresh Rosemary & Chicken Stock to Use Later Villa Rental 101: A Visit to Beautiful Places in the Sonoma Valley

A Feast Fit for a Son -- Pasta with Clams, Corn, and Smoked Sausage

Recently our older son, Frank, stopped by for lunch. Now that he has moved across town and works long hours, we don't see him often enough. It was great to share a meal and catch up.

The day was sunny and warm so we had lunch on the deck. Everything was quick and easy-to-make: a big bowl of cracked green olives, romaine lettuce with avocado and homemade croutons, grilled fillet mignon, and dessert of ice cold Valencia orange slices. The main course was something special: pasta, fresh clams, corn, and smoked sausage in a butter sauce.

Pasta with Clams, Corn, and Smoked Sausage

Finding fresh clams isn't all that easy. Luckily for us Carlsbad Aquafarm sells their shellfish at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market Wednesdays and Saturdays. The corn came from a local farmer at the Palisades Farmer's Market. The smoked sausage was a treat picked up at a Russian market in Brooklyn's Brighton Beach.

Yield 4 servings
Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 pounds live clams, washed
1 pound smoked sausage, finely chopped
2 ears corn, husks, silks, and kernels removed
4 garlic cloves, skins removed, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped onions, leeks, or shallots
1 cup Italian parsley, washed, mostly leaves, finely chopped
2 tablespoons sweet butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound pasta
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Put the clams in a pot with 1/4 cup water, cover, and cook on high heat 5 minutes. Remove and set aside all the clams that have opened. Return the pot to the heat and boil another 5 minutes. Continue until all the clams have opened. After a total of 15 minutes, discard any clams that haven't opened.

Reserve all the clam liquid, between 1-2 cups.

Cook the pasta in salted water until al dente, about 10 minutes. Drain the pasta. Save 1 cup of the pasta water. Return the cooked pasta to the pot, drizzle with olive oil, toss and set aside.

In a large frying or chef's pan, saute the sausage, corn, garlic, onions, and parsley in olive oil, seasoned with black pepper until lightly browned. Use 1/2 cup of the pasta water to deglaze the pan. Add the sweet butter and clam broth, stir, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the cooked clams and pasta. Toss with the sauce and simmer uncovered 10 minutes. Stir frequently to coat the clams and pasta with the sauce.

Taste and adjust the seasoning with sea salt and pepper. If more liquid is needed, use the remaining pasta water.

Serve with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Il Fornaio Heads North to Lombardia

The first Tuesday of every month, my wife and I have dinner with a group of friends. We go to the Santa Monica Il Fornaio (1551 Ocean Avenue across from the Pier, Santa Monica 90401; 310/451-7800) for a tasting of the current Festa Regionale.

The dinner is on the early side, so it is a bit of a rush to get there from work, but the idea is to meet, talk, eat, sample the wines, and still get home early enough to deal with kids and other obligations.

The region celebrated this month is Lombardia. The dishes have substance, the better to fight off the cold in this northern region of Italy, so there are entrees of osso buco (Ossobuco alla Milanese) and beef tenderloin with mascarpone and gorgonzola (Filetto di Bue alla Lombarda), which is something of a gilded lily but the side of grilled polenta and sauteed spinach help ground the rich dish.

A Franciacorta Brut, Tenuta di Montenisa, a light fruity sparkling wine, the Malvasia '"Tasto di Seta," Castello di Luzzzano, 2007 with a pleasant mineral flavor, and the Bonarda Oltrepo Pavese, Carlino, Castello di Luzzano, 2007, with a full-bodied quality that would please any Bordeaux-loving oenophile were the regional wines selected for the month.

By group consensus the Lombardia menu was pronounced Best of the Best. The butternut squash and potato soup (Zuppa di Zucca), tomato and mache salad with polenta croutons (Pomidoro alla Padana), polenta squares with six different toppings (Crostini di Polenta), sauteed salmon fillet with red grapes and shallots in a reduction of the Franciacorta (Salmoncino Franciacorta) were all excellent.

Our favorite dish was a very simply prepared pasta with a mix of porcini, crimini, and shiitake mushrooms (Pappardelle Gialle ai Funghi). The savory mushrooms were supported perfectly by the soft, wide strands of freshly made pappardelle. We liked them so much, the whole group is going back again on Sunday.

The end of the meal was another high-point. The Semifreddo all'Amaretto combined custard and creme anglaise with a soul-comforting whipped cream-creaminess.

All articles about restaurants are duty-bound to include photographs, the better to help readers appreciate the food.

My wife is out of town and we missed her at the tasting, so these photographs are as much for her as they are to document a great meal at Il Fornaio in Santa Monica.

For more posts about Il Fornaio's Festa Regionale check out:
Grilled Vegetable Couscous Salad
A Tasting at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica--Trentino-Alto Adige
A Trip to Italy is Just Around the Corner at Il Fornaio--Calabria
Il Fornaio Heads South to Campania for May's Regionale
Il Fornaio Heads North to Lombardia
Abruzzo at Il Fornaio, Santa Monica
Friuli-Venezia Giulia at Il Fornaio

Barbrix Opens in Silver Lake

The front wall of Barbrix (242 Hyperion Avenue, Silver Lake 90027; 323/662-2442) is no wall at all.

On hot summer nights, crowds will no doubt start inside at the bar, then, drink in hand, move outside to claim one of the half dozen tables and settle in for an evening sampling the appetizers that include marinated olives, burrata with tapenade, shrimp & chikpea flour tortillas (a favorite), and crostini topped with soft and sweet crescenza, fig relish & prosciutto.

Go deeper into the restaurant and you'll discover intimate groupings of tables, some against the side wall under the picture windows, others tucked into semi-private alcoves.


The stylish restaurant was recently opened by a husband and wife team, Claudio Blotta and Adria Tennor Blotta who met when they worked at Campanile.

They designed Barbrix so it would feel as inviting for couples out for an intimate meal as for groups of friends who want to spend an evening hanging out. The bar offers wines and beers from around the world to pair with the savory offerings on the affordable, tapas-style menu.


At the back of the restaurant there is an open kitchen designed around an L-shaped counter. Chef Don Dickman keeps a watchful eye over his chefs as they plate--to the left--the appetizers, salads, cheese plates, and charcuterie while on the right he directs the finishing of meat and fish courses--the wild boar sausage with a bean ragu, Niman Ranch porchetta style pork belly, and grilled skirt steak on a wild arugula salad.

For those who prefer seafood, the menu offers plates of pesto manila clams, grilled sardines with preserved Meyer lemon & mint aioli, monk fish swimming in a spicy chorizo sauce with chickpeas, and roasted Alaskan halibut resting on a funeral pyre of sunchokes, chard & alba mushrooms with gremolata.

Mediterranean ingredients give Barbrix its flavor edge. The take-away for me--unfortunately we took home no doggie bags that night because we ate everything we ordered--was the memory of a very pleasant evening and a new love for chermoula.

Served on the Roasted Cauliflower Salad, the charmoula added multiple levels of flavor to the caramelized vegetables.

When we came home I was determined to make my own version of the classic North African sauce. I experimented over several nights and discovered its versatility. I used it with fish, grilled meat, roasted vegetables, salt-crusted potatoes, and as a dipping sauce for a vegetable crudite.

Chermoula Sauce

Yield 4 servings
Time 10 minutes

Ingredients

3 garlic cloves, skins on
1/4 cup cilantro, mostly leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 cup Italian parsley, mostly leaves, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of Cayenne
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Method

Char the cloves on an open flame. Clean off the blackened skin, mash, and finely chop. Use a mini-grinder and puree the garlic, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, and olive oil.

Season with sea salt, paprika, cumin, and cayenne. Stir well, taste and adjust the seasonings if needed.

Refrigerated in a sealed container, the sauce will keep 3-4 days. Serve at room temperature.

Variations

Add 1/2 teaspoon chopped preserved lemon
Add 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Use dried parsley instead of fresh

Grilled Vegetables and Grilled Vegetable Salads

Although most of the world thinks there are no seasons in Southern California, those of us who are natives know that isn't the case. In the winter, we are very definitely cold. When my wife and I walk on the beach, she wears a full compliment of winter wear: fur lined hat, gloves, sweater, and jacket.

We also feel winter's grip when the sun disappears in mid-afternoon, requiring lights to be turned on before 5:00pm. With the cold and darkness, these are not easy times. Certainly there are pleasures to be gotten from a crackling fire in the fireplace, hot soups filled with savory bits, and braised meats surrounded by an array of root vegetables. Admittedly those are sweet comforts, but they are brought front and center because our sagging spirits need propping up.

Spring in Southern California is a different matter altogether. Although there is still fog aplenty at the beach where we live, the days benefit from the warmth of the sun's strengthening rays.

Besides sensing the increase of daylight and warmth, we also know that spring has arrived because the local farmers' markets welcome back long forgotten friends. Corn on the cob, green garlic, all manner of flowers, squash blossoms, and stone fruit beginning with plums, pluots, apricots and apriums.

With the abundance of locally grown produce, the high points of my week are visits to the Wednesday Santa Monica and the Sunday Pacific Palisades Farmers' Market.

As a child I avoided contact with vegetables as much as I could. My mother's treatment of produce was ungenerous. String beans were boiled in salted water and then extracted, limp and submissive. Corn and English peas were taken from the freezer and overcooked in the same salted water, their flavor saved only by the large pat of butter that joined them in the serving bowl.

Leaving home, I pursued a different path, exploring the local farmers' markets and experimenting with vegetables I had only heard about but never eaten. One of my chief discoveries was that vegetables, like hamburgers and steaks, benefited from grilling.

Who does not love carrots drizzled with olive oil, seasoned with sea salt and black pepper and cooked on a hot grill? Their carrot-essence acquires a caramelized sweetness that is irresistible. And what about the improvement of artichokes, Japanese eggplant, broccoli, corn, squash, zucchini, and even thin slices of Yukon Gold potatoes similarly coated with seasoned olive oil and placed on the grill?

So powerful are those flavors, I have to restrain myself from grilling every night.

Just about any vegetable can be grilled. Some, like tomatoes and asparagus, cook quickly and require an attentive hand to prevent charring. Others, like corn on the cob, take a bit longer and need to be turned frequently for even cooking. A few, like artichokes, require fifteen-minutes in boiling water before heading to the grill.

Grilling pulls out the essential flavor of each vegetable. Those qualities are enhanced by a simple dredging in olive oil seasoned with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Once grilled, the vegetables can be served straight off the grill as a finger-food appetizer, a side dish, or even as an entree. But they can be so much more.

Chopped up, grilled vegetables can fill out a parsley salad. Mixed with couscous they make a savory side dish.

Once you start grilling vegetables, they'll become a secret weapon in your culinary adventures.

Grilled Vegetables

Yield 4 servings
Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

4 large carrots, washed, peeled, cut into slabs 1/4" thick, 2" long
2 broccoli crowns, washed, cut into slabs 1/4" thick, 2" long
1 bunch asparagus, medium sized or thick, washed, white ends trimmed off
1 ear of corn, husks and silks removed, washed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
Pinch of black pepper

Method

Turn the grill on to medium and preheat for 10 minutes.

In a bowl, toss the vegetables and season with the olive oil, sea salt and pepper. Using tongs, put the vegetables on the grill.

Close the cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. Turn and cook another 2-3 minutes, checking frequently to prevent burning. How long each vegetable takes to cook depends on your grill, the vegetable, and the thickness of the slices.

Have a serving plate handy so you have a place to put the cooked pieces when they're ready. Serve hot as a side dish or room temperature as finger-food appetizers.

Grilled Vegetable Chopped Salad

Cut the corn kernels off the cob. Roughly chop the other vegetables. Toss together. Add a bit more olive oil, taste, and adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.

Grilled Vegetable and Parsley Salad

With the grilled vegetables as a starting point, the salad can be expanded by adding elements. In this case, parsley.

Ingredients

3 cups grilled vegetables, roughly chopped
1 bunch Italian parsley, washed, most of the stems removed, leaves finely chopped

1/2 cup crumbled feta 
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Mix together the chopped vegetables and parsley. Add more olive oil as needed, taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.

Variations

Add 1 avocado, peeled and chopped

Add 10 fresh cherry tomatoes, quartered

Add 1 tablespoon chopped scallions or red onion

Substitute cilantro for parsley

Add 1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped

Couscous Salad with Grilled Vegetables and Parsley

The salad becomes more substantial with the addition of easy-to-make couscous.

Yield 4 servings
Time 20 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat couscous
1 1/4 cups water, boiling
Olive oil
Sea salt and pepper

Method

Mix together 1 cup whole wheat couscous, the heated water, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Stir well, cover with plastic wrap and set aside 10 minutes, then fluff and cover again until needed.

In a bowl, mix together the chopped vegetables, parsley, and prepared couscous. Add a bit more olive oil, taste and adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper.

Variations

Add 6 grilled mushrooms, roughly chopped

Add 1 fresh avocado, roughly chopped

Add 10 grilled shrimps, roughly chopped

Add 1/4 cup crumbled feta or goat cheese