Roasted Salmon with Crispy Chickpea Salsa

This roasted salmon with crispy chickpea salsa has tasty flavors from the spicy chickpeas, garlic, cilantro and garlic and a lovely mix of textures.

This dish is easy and quick to make so it’s perfect for a weeknight meal, but it’s pretty enough for a dinner party. It elevates the humble chickpea into something sort of fancy, as a topping, rather than main ingredient in a main course.

If you are a fan of chickpeas, this is your lucky day! Make sure to scroll down to the bottom to check out the other chickpea recipes my Sunday FunDay group are sharing. 

Roasted Salmon with Crispy Chickpea Salsa

This dish can be made with farmed salmon as well with the caveat that the farmed fish is thicker so it will take longer to cook. Wild salmon is best when cooked till just done (or even a little bit less since it keeps cooking even after it’s taken out of the oven.) 

Ingredients

For the salmon:

1 side wild salmon (about 1.5 lbs or 680g)

Fine sea salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter) melted

For the chickpeas:

1 can (14.11 oz or 400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

For the salsa:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 clove garlic, crushed then minced

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/4 cup or 35g pumpkin seeds

small bunch cilantro, about 1 3/4 oz or 50g, hard stems removed 

Method

In a nonstick skillet, lightly fry the chickpeas over a medium heat, along with the oil and seasonings, until golden and crunchy. 

Be patient with this step. If you try to rush and turn the flame too high, you risk burning the chickpeas. Shake the pan and stir occasionally. 

This could take 15-20 minutes but meanwhile you can get on with the rest of the recipe. 

Put the vinegar, garlic, olive oil and pumpkin seeds in a small processor along with 1/3 of the cilantro. Process until slightly chunky.  

Set aside a few sprigs of cilantro for garnish then lightly chop the rest.

To roast the salmon, preheat your broiler (UK Eng: grill) to its highest setting and line a baking sheet or sheet pan with aluminum foil. Pat your salmon fillet dry with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. 

Place the salmon fillet skin side down on the foil-lined sheet and season it with the fine sea salt and black pepper. Then brush it with the melted ghee. 

Pop it under the broiler and keep a close eye on it. Your salmon should be ready within 4 to 6 minutes depending on the thickness of the fillet. 

While the salmon is roasting, mix the ingredients in the food processor with the chickpeas and chopped cilantro. 

Garnish the whole salmon with the reserved cilantro.

Serve the crispy chickpea salsa spooned on top of each portion of salmon.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Sunday FunDay and we are sharing recipes with chickpeas. Many thanks to our host, Sneha of Sneha’s Recipe. Check out the links below: 

• Sneha’s Recipe: Air Fryer Roasted Chickpeas 
• A Day in the Life on the Farm: Chickpea and Farro Soup
• Mayuri's Jikoni: Chole Bhature
• Amy’s Cooking Adventures: Greek Seasoned Roasted Chickpeas
• Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice: Pearl Couscous & Chickpea Salad with Basil
• Food Lust People Love: Roasted Salmon with Crispy Chickpea Salsa
• Palatable Pastime: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Cape Malay-ish Pineapple Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

Slightly sweet, savory and spicy, this pineapple chicken with pineapple salsa is easy to make and so flavorful! Serve it with coconut or plain rice.

Back at the beginning of the first pandemic lockdown, I was already addicted to finding reading material through the Libby app and my own library cards. I borrowed lots of books, of course, but I also searched for magazine with recipes.

One day I came across one called Koe’sister from South Africa. It was brand new, created from a desire to share and preserve family recipes during the pandemic. Published in a mix of English and Afrikaans, it opened a window on a world I had only touched tangentially, through South African friends. 

Funnily enough, as I read one issue, I discovered that one of my expat friends was a contributor! How tiny is this world of ours? 

I also discovered that South African cuisine is as diverse as ours in the United States and includes a subset of culture and recipes from Malays who settled in the Cape area, bringing their love of spices and curries. I was introduced to cookbook authors like Fadella Williams who wrote The Cape Malay Illustrated Cookbook, Cariema Isaacs who has authored four cookbooks - all focused on her Cape Malay heritage and recipes - as well as blogger and author Salwaa Smith and her self-published Cape Malay Cooking & Other Delights.

Both The Cape Malay Illustrated Cookbook and Smith’s blog have many wonderful flavorful recipes but two in particular caught my eye because New York Times Cooking had shared something similar just before I found them. Williams calls hers “pineapple peri-peri chicken” and Smith titles her simply “pineapple chicken.” Both use canned pineapple but Smith’s was closer in flavor profile to the NYT Cooking version.

Of course, these three recipes for chicken with pineapple sent me down an internet rabbit hole, looking for more Cape Malay recipes. Hey, we were on lockdown. I had all the time in the world. 

Cape Malay-ish Pineapple Chicken with Pineapple Salsa

As you can tell from my title, I did finally get around to making some pineapple chicken and I’m here to tell you, it is SO GOOD. I took some liberties by using fresh pineapple and adding the pineapple salsa recommended by NYT Cooking, hence the -ish. 

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds or 680g boneless, skinless chicken breasts

For the marinade:

3 packed tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon fish sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for cooking

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 

3 cloves garlic, smashed and minced

½ teaspoon ground cayenne

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons finely grated fresh pineapple, including accumulated juices

For the pineapple salsa: 

¼ medium red onion, finely diced

1 cup or 170g fresh pineapple

Small handful fresh cilantro, finely chopped

1 red chili pepper, thinly sliced

For serving:

Cooked white or brown rice (also nice with coconut rice)

Method

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized chunks. 

In a large Ziploc bag, stir together the brown sugar, rice vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt, minced garlic, ground cayenne and black pepper.

Transfer 1 generous tablespoon of the mixture to a medium bowl and add the chopped onion. Stir well. 

Cut the pineapple for the salsa into 1/2 in or 1 cm chunks. Add them to the onion bowl along with the cilantro and chili pepper. Toss until well-mixed and set aside.

Finely grate two tablespoons of the remaining pineapple. Add the pineapple and any juice to the marinade in the plastic bag.

Add the chicken chunks and toss to coat. Squeeze all the air you can out of the bag and seal. Set it aside to marinate at room temperature for 15 minutes (and no longer, otherwise the chicken turns mushy.)

Once the chicken is done marinating, pour the chicken into a sieve or strainer over a bowl to collect the leftover marinade. 

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high and add enough olive oil to lightly coat the bottom of the pan. Cook the chicken pieces in batches so they don’t touch and are in a single layer. 

Cook until the bottoms are browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn them and continue cooking, until browned on all sides, a few minutes more. 

Remove to a plate and repeat with the next batches of chicken pieces (adding a little more olive oil to the pan if necessary) until all are browned and almost cooked through. 

Once the chicken is all on the plate, pour the leftover marinade into the pan and whisk while it cooks. Make sure to heat it to bubbling for several minutes to make sure it’s cooked through.

Tip the chicken pieces and any juice that has accumulated on the plate back into the pan.

Stir well to coat the chicken in the cooked marinade and heat until the chicken is piping hot and ready to serve. Serve with rice and the spicy pineapple salsa.

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes from African cuisines and cultures. Many thanks to our host, Sue of Palatable Pastimes. Check out the links below:

• Cape Malay-ish Pineapple Chicken with Pineapple Salsa from Food Lust People Love
• Chicken and Jollof Rice (Nigerian) from Palatable Pastime
• East African Chapati from Amy's Cooking Adventures
• Githeri from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Red Harissa Chicken from Sneha's Recipe
• Rgaif (Moroccan Flat Bread) from Karen's Kitchen Stories

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Carrot Greens Pesto

Don’t waste those carrot tops, make pesto with them! Garlicky, cheesy and rich with toasted pine nuts, carrot greens pesto is a delicious way to take advantage of an ingredient many people cut off and throw away. 

Sometimes I buy carrots in the organic section of the supermarket (or at a farmer’s market) just so I’ll also have the greens to make pesto. It makes me feel virtuous to use something that many people don’t, but best of all, it’s wonderful and fresh. 

On that same subject and nothing to do with this recipe, but did you know you can also eat the greens from beets? I sauté them with garlic and a little olive oil, sprinkle of salt and they are so good! And I get to feel virtuous again. 

Carrot Greens Pesto

My greens were from seven carrots, as you can see in the photos but if you have a bit more or less, it’s still all good. I roasted the carrots and served them with pesto on top for an all-carrot dish. The leftover pesto was fabulous stirred through linguine, always my first choice pasta shape. 

Ingredients

1 cup, packed, or 30g carrot greens, leafy parts only, no stems

Scant 1/3 cup or 50g pine nuts

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup or 60ml olive oil

1/3 cup or 30g freshly grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method

Toast the pine nuts in a dry non-stick skillet. This doesn't take long, just a few minutes. Keep shaking the pan so they don't burn. 

Cut the ferny ends of the carrot greens off, leaving the harder stems behind. 

Stuff them in your small food processor and add the other ingredients except the Parmesan. 

Process until smooth. Add the Parmesan. Process again. 

Like all pesto, it’s that easy. 

Chill until ready to use. Put some pasta on to boil or roast the accompanying carrots. Pat yourself on the back and feel virtuous. One less item for the compost or trash bin. 

Bonus recipe: Roast Carrots 

Not really a recipe, but here you go. This is how I do it. 

Preheat your oven to 400°F or 200°C. 

Pop the scrubbed carrots in a small pan and drizzle them with olive oil. 

Roast the carrots in your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until they are lovely and a little sticky and a fork pokes into them easily. You might want to give them a shake halfway through if your oven doesn't heat evenly all round. 

Top them with the carrot greens pesto and serve warm. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing recipes for homemade sauces. Many thanks to our host Amy of Amy’s Cooking Adventures. Check out all the links below: 

• Nasturtium Pesto by Cook with Renu
• Buffalo Chicken Sauce by Palatable Pastime
• Homemade Marinara Sauce by Sneha's Recipe
• Carrot Greens Pesto by Food Lust People Love
• Rockfish with Cajun Butter Sauce by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Stir-Fried Squid in Black Bean Sauce by Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Parsley Walnut Pesto by Mayuri's Jikoni
• Pineapple BBQ Sauce by Amy's Cooking Adventures

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Grilled Octopus with Spinach and Smoky Beans

This grilled octopus with spinach and smoky beans will seduce you with the tenderest octopus atop melt-in-your-mouth white beans. Serve as an appetizer or main dish. 

Ten years ago, almost to the day, our eldest daughter graduated from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island. We celebrated with dinner at a local restaurant named Bácaro, specializing in Italian fare. 

For my appetizer, I ordered their wood-grilled crispy baby octopus which was described thusly: 

 

The dish was so good that we attempted to go back the very next day to have it again. I kid you not. Everyone who had tried mine wanted their own bowl! Unfortunately, the restaurant is only open for dinner Tuesday through Saturday so we were out of luck that Sunday. 

The disappointment was keenly felt. 

For years I've waxed lyrical about that bowl of wonderful smoky beans with the grilled octopus and numerous times, I’ve searched online for a recipe. I even wrote the restaurant and Edible Rhody, a local Providence food and drink magazine, to ask for one. The magazine folks did write back and say they’d try. Sadly, no joy. 

I finally decided it was time to stop dreaming and try to recreate it myself. Final result: Delicious. Was it the same? Probably not but then, it's hard to live up to a dream. 

Grilled Octopus with Spinach and Smoky Beans

This recipe is my attempt to somewhat replicate the flavors I remember. I don’t recall the grilled radicchio with honey and balsamic so I just skipped that part of the description. Please read through the method before starting so you can decide how you will cook the beans. I use a pressure cooker or Instant Pot. 

Ingredients

1 lb 8 oz or 680g octopus

Olive oil

8oz dried navy beans

2 cloves garlic, crushed and chopped

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

6oz or 170g baby spinach leaves

Parsley for garnish, if desired

Method

Preheat the oven to 220°F or 104°C. 

Clean the octopus well (I empty the head) and remove the beak. 

Heat a large pot of water to boiling. Drop the octopus in and set a timer for 45 seconds. 

When the timer rings, remove the octopus to a colander and drain. 

Transfer the octopus to an ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid with just a drizzle of olive oil. 

Put it in the preheated oven, lid on, for two hours. The octopus will create its own braising liquid. Photo after one hour:

Photo after two hours:

If you are cooking the beans in a traditional manner, pour boiling water over them in a metal mixing bowl and cover it with a plate. Leave to soak for one hour. Drain and rinse then cook the beans using your favorite method with the garlic, smoked paprika, salt and liquid smoke. 

Alternatively, DON’T SOAK THE BEANS and follow my instructions here for using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot: 

I can never be bothered to soak dried beans so I use my pressure cooker or Instant Pot. Put the beans in the pot with the other ingredients. Add water to cover twice the level of beans and 1. in a pressure cooker, cook for 30 minutes once the pot gets up to pressure or 2. in an Instant Pot, choose the beans/chili setting, which is also usually 30 minutes. 

In both cases, leave to de-pressurize naturally for at least 10 minutes when cooking time is up. You can cook them a bit longer uncovered to reduce the liquid, if desired. 

Cool and refrigerate the beans until you are ready to grill the octopus and serve. 

When the octopus is tender – you can test this after two hours by inserting a knife into the top of one of the tentacles, just where it joins the body. It should go in easily - start your charcoal or wood fire. Reserve the octopus cooking pot broth for possibly adding to the beans later. 

The coals should be quite hot so you can quickly grill the octopus so it browns and sears without drying out. Put your grill rack about 4 inches from heat source. 

Brush the octopus with olive oil. 

Grill it over the hot coals until the outside is browned but the inside is not dried out, about 8-10 minutes. 

We started tentacles down and turned it over about halfway through.

And by we, throughout this part, I mean my grill guy (best husband!) put the lid on for a couple of the minutes, to let it smoke. 

Turn the octopus over and brush with more olive oil about halfway through.

Cut the octopus apart, leaving the tentacles whole and chopping the head, into bite-sized pieces

Heat the beans in a pot over medium heat till they are bubbling.

Heap the baby spinach in the hot beans and pop the lid on so they wilt. Stir them into the beans. 

For extra flavor (and saltiness), you can add some of the broth left behind in the octopus cooking pot, if desired. I suggest straining it as you do. I'll be honest, I don't remember why but there must have been something in there that I thought we'd be better off without in the beans. 🤷‍♀️

Serve the beans in shallow bowls, topped with a grilled octopus tentacle or two. Garnish with an extra sprinkle of smoked paprika and some parsley, if desired. 

Enjoy! 

It’s Sunday FunDay and today we are sharing seafood recipes to celebrate National Seafood Month or sides that go great with seafood. Many thanks to our host, Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Check all the links out below:

• Sue of Palatable Pastime shares Calabrian Chili Pasta with Shrimp
• Amy of Amy's Cooking Adventures serves up Crispy Oven Baked Fries
• Stacy of Food Lust People Love gives us Grilled Octopus with Spinach and Smoky Beans
• Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm made a Pineapple Shrimp Noodle Bowl
• Sneha of Sneha's Recipe cooks Prawn With Vegetable Bafat Without Coconut

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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Spinach Madeline Stuffed Potatoes

A favorite in southern Louisiana, spinach Madeline is a cheesy casserole or one-pan side dish. For this version, I used it as a filling to make spinach Madeline stuffed potatoes. Y'all, it's so good! 

One of the first cookbooks I ever received was one called River Road Recipes, published as a fundraiser by the Junior League of Baton Rouge. The very first edition, released in 1959, contained a recipe for Spinach Madeline, a thick and creamy spinach dish flavored with garlic and onion plus, the star of the show, jalapeño cheese. 

Spinach Madeline Stuffed Potatoes

In this version, I used my favorite habanero cheese for even more spiciness but any flavorful cheese will do. These stuffed potatoes can be made ahead and baked to heat through before serving. 

Ingredients

4 smallish Russet potatoes (approx. weight about 10.5 oz or 300g each)

2 (12 oz or 340g) packages frozen chopped spinach

3/4 cup or 180ml water

1/3 cup or 75g butter

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/3 cup or 80ml milk

1/4 cup or 60ml cream

7 oz or 200g jalapeño (or habanero) cheese, grated

3/4 teaspoon celery salt

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

fine sea salt to taste

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C.  

Scrub the potatoes and lightly pierce the skin with a pointy knife. Microwave on high for 6 minutes to get them started, then bake uncovered, directly on the oven rack for 35-40 minutes or until cooked through. If you’d rather not microwave them, cook in the oven for 55-60 minutes or until they are cooked through.

While the potatoes bake, put the frozen spinach and water in a saucepan over high heat; bring to a full boil. 

Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook for 8 minutes. Separate with a fork and cook for 2 more minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup or 120ml of the cooking liquid.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring until blended and smooth, but not brown, 1 to 2 minutes. 

Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft but not brown, 5 to 7 minutes.

Slowly add the milk, cream and the reserved spinach cooking liquid, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. I like to use a whisk for this step.

Cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick, 3 to 5 minutes. When you pull the spatula through it, it should be thick enough not to run right back together immediately. 

Add the grated cheese, celery salt, Worcestershire sauce, black pepper and cayenne.

Cook, stirring frequently until the cheese is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes. 

Stir in the cooked spinach and set the mixture aside. (This is the original spinach Madeline now. It was eaten as is, or baked in a casserole dish.) 

When the potatoes are baked, cut them in half lengthwise. When they are cool enough to handle, scoop the insides out. 

Use a potato masher to mash the parts you scooped out. 

Add half of the mashed potatoes to the spinach mixture and mix well. (Save the rest of the potatoes for another dish like silver dollar potato pancakes or mashed potato muffins.) Taste and add salt as needed for your taste. 

Spoon the mixture into the potato skins and bake for 30 minutes to serve.

Enjoy!

It's Sunday FunDay and today my friends and I are sharing side dish recipes for your barbecue or cookout since that season is upon us! Check them out below: 

• 45 Minute Hamburger Buns from Amy’s Cooking Adventures
• Avocado Salad with Fresh Herb Dressing from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Carrot Apple Salad from Mayuri’s Jikoni
• Pressure Cooker Pork Dry from Sneha’s Recipe
• Quinoa Salad with Fennel & Garbanzo Beans from Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Spaccatini Rolls from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Spinach Madeline Stuffed Potatoes from Food Lust People Love
• Sweet and Tangy Cucumber Salad from Palatable Pastime
• Sweet Potato and Fennel Fronds Salad from Cook with Renu

 

We are a group of food bloggers who believe that Sunday should be a family fun day, so every Sunday we share recipes that will help you to enjoy your day. If you're a blogger interested in joining us, just visit our Facebook group and request to join.

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