Garbanzo, Herb and Spinach Salad

Day off + reading food magazines + sunny weather (finally!) + impromptu barbecue = garbanzo, herb and spinach salad. You know, sometimes these things just come together. I'm glad these confluent factors led to this dish!

This salad is easy, slightly exotic, and combines really powerful flavors in an absolutely perfect balance. The garlic, basil, parsley, Parmesan and lemon juice combine fantastically complementary notes, and the toothsome garbanzo beans add texture, protein and heft. This salad has flavors reminiscent of a good pesto, but at a much lower cost. (Especially if you pick up a whole basil plant at Trader Joe's for only $2.99 instead of buying the cut herb at the store.) This salad could be easily adapted to include whatever else you happen to have in your fridge.

I found this recipe in Molly Weizenberg's (aka Orangette)  Bon Appetit column. I wanted to make it more of a salad salad, so I added a bed of spinach tossed with an easy olive oil and lemon juice salad dressing. The result was perfect for pairing with barbecue, or serving at a picnic, or eating whenever and wherever on a lovely spring or summer day.

P.S. It was possibly even better the next day.

Garbanzo, Herb and Spinach Salad

~Print Recipe~

• 2 (15 oz.) cans garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• 4 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 gloves of garlic, pressed or finely minced
• 2/3 cup packed freshly grated Parmesan and/or Romano cheese
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 pound or more baby spinach
• Lemon and Olive Oil Dressing, to taste

1. Combine chickpeas, basil, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil and garlic in a medium bowl. Add cheese and toss gently to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
2. Toss spinach with dressing. Top spinach with garbanzo mixture to serve, pass remaining dressing if anyone wants more!

Welsh Pasties

Last week or so Andy and I made pasties (pah-stees) for the first time in ages, and when I posted it on facebook I recieved tons of inquiries about what these pasty things were. Well, here it is: The DL on Pasties.

Pasties are a traditional pocket pie that were eaten for lunch by welsh miners in the Sierra Nevada. My Grandma Barbara Reid is welsh and grew up in the Sierra Nevada gold country. Her father, uncle and brother worked the mines in the Sierra, particularly in Nevada City. Grandma learned how to make pasties growing up, and so of course we would have them on special family gatherings when I was growing up. The most magical part about pasties are how simple they are, yet so incredibly delicious. (The pasty actually originated in Cornwall, but that history is much less personal).

What's in it:

Enough pie crust for four rolled circles, about 9" in diameter (you can make from scratch, use a box mix, or buy the flat, frozen crusts from Trader Joes)

1-1.5 lbs tri tip or other steak, cubed small

3-4 medium potatoes, in 1/4" cubes

1 onion chopped small

1/2 C parsley chopped

salt and pepper

some butter (optional)

How it's made:

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees.

Mix in a bowl the filling ingredients: steak, potatoes, onion, parsley, salt and pepper. Roll out the pie crusts into four circles, each about 9" in diameter. Place a quarter of the filling on each pie crust, add a little slice of butter, then fold the crusts over in half and pinch to seal. Brush crusts with water or egg wash to seal, and then place the pasties on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes, then reduce to 350 and bake for another 45 minutes.

Let cool, then enjoy! This recipe can easily be adjusted for serving sizes. I always end up with extra filling, so I cook it up with scrambled eggs later, etc.