iron stef

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

avocado garbanzo jicama chicken salad

Pinterest introduced me to the idea of using avocado as the creamy element for a chicken salad. Hallelujah! I have an aversion to mayonnaise (worst foodie ever, I know), so I'm always excited to find new ingredient-binding possibilities.

Inspired by guacamole, I decided to make the whole chicken salad Mexican-influenced. Instead of celery for crunch, I used Jicama, and I added garbanzo beans, cilantro and cumin to add to the south-of-the-border gusto. I also added a little bit of Créma, a Mexican sour cream, for added tang and richness. If you are going for lower fat or vegan I don't think the salad would suffer without it.

This is my new favorite quick meal, I think. The big drawback is that avocado browns quickly. My salad stayed mostly green overnight, and even when it got a bit brown, it still tasted okay. Anyway, plan to make this for several people, or halve the recipe, as it just doesn't last long.

Avocado Garbanzo Jicama Chicken Salad
-2 ripe avocados

-juice from 1 lime

-1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

-1 small jicama, peeled and cubed

-1 cup cooked chicken, chopped

-1 handful cilantro, chopped

-2 Tablespoons Créma or Sour Cream

-1 teaspoon cumin

-salt and pepper to taste

Mash the avocados with the lime juice until creamy. Fold in the rest of the ingredients. Serve immediately in a tortilla (I loved it in a wheat tortilla that I heated up over direct flame for some charred spots!), on bread or on some fresh greens. Garnish with tomatoes, cilantro and fresh lime. And Tapatio hot sauce, duh.

Related posts from the archives:

Radish Garbanzo Salad

Roasted Veggie Burrito

Build a Better Taco Salad

Black Bean Balls with Avocado Buttermilk Sauce

Salmon with White Bean Salsa

Salmon with Cilantro Gremolata

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

sushi balls

The heart of sushi is the rice. Plump little grains dressed with sweet vinegar and formed into a slightly sticky, mouth-sized morsel that, ideally, come undone when they hit your tongue. I say "ideally" because most of us aren't sushi chefs, so we don't possess the skilled touch to form sushi rice perfectly. That shouldn't stop you from making sushi at home, though. Basic sushi at home need not be intimidating, and, in fact, can be lots of fun! Especially when you're making your sushi in ball form!

One thing that might scare people away from homemade sushi is the fish... quality raw fish is expensive and hard to find. Guess what? You don't need fish for sushi! In fact, the filling opportunities are virtually endless. When sushi chefs are training, they make cucumber rolls over and over (and over and over). For mine I chose some fresh veggies and a couple of pickled items (pickled plums and kim chee), which made for a refreshing summer meal on the cheap.

Here are the things you will definitely need for these sushi balls: Short grain rice, rice wine vinegar seasoned for sushi, Nori (roasted seaweed sheets)... that's it! The rest is up to you and your tastes!

To make the balls: cook your rice as directed. Let sit for a bit... about 15 minutes. Drizzle some of the sweetened rice vinegar over the cooked rice (like 1/4 cup per 2 cups of rice) and gently, but thoroughly stir to incorporate. Let cool enough that you can handle the rice. Wet your hands, grab about a 2-Tablespoon hunk of rice and gently flatten in your hand. Fill with your choice of fillings (don't overstuff!!) and gently shape the rice around the fillings to make a ball. Don't press to hard, as the rice should be sticky enough to hold together.

Some options to flavor and decorate the outside of your balls are pointed out above. All these can be found in your favorite Asian grocery store. Other filling ideas include: daikon radish, tofu, crab meat, avocado, green onion, roasted eel, omelet seasoned with soy sauce, roe, various pickles... whatever you like! This would be a fun activity for a family dinner, as these are best eaten within 5 minutes of making them. You can lay out all your fillings and toppings and a bowl of rice and a bowl of water to wet your hands and... have a sushi-riffic ball!