Falafel Pitas with Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing

This recipe was adapted from Cooking Light. It was easier to prepare than I would have thought, and made a tasty meal. I especially enjoyed the dressing, and plan to use it on tomatoes, carrots and bell peppers during the hot summer months. Enjoy!

Falafel:
1/4 cup minced red onion
**I was generous with the red onion
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
**I used whole grain Dijon
1 teaspoon whole cumin
**The original recipe calls for ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
1 (1-ounce) slice whole wheat bread, torn into pieces
1 large egg
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 (6-inch) whole wheat pitas, split
1 cup fresh spinach
**the original recipe calls for arugula

Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing:
1 cup plain fat-free yogurt
1/2 cup diced seedless cucumber
1/4 cup minced red onion
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Combine all falafel ingredients, excluding the spinach, in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended (mixture will be wet). Make sure that the mixture still has a good deal of texture.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Spoon about 1/3 cup chickpea mixture to make a patty and place in pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown.

Combine all cucumber-yogurt dressing ingredients in a food processor; pulse 6 times or until well blended. Cover and chill.

Line each pita half with 1/4 cup spinach, add 1 patty to each pita half, and spoon 2 tablespoons Cucumber-Yogurt Dressing into each pita half.

Roasted Chicken with Onions, Potatoes and Gravy

This recipe is from Cooking Light, with a few of my own variations

1 (4 lbs) roasting chicken

1 1/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 tbs. extra virgin olive oil 

**the original recipe does not call for this

1 garlic clove, minced 

**the original recipe does not call for this

1 lemon, quartered

Cooking spray

2 tbs. butter, melted 

**I used Smart Balance 50/50 butter sticks, and it tasted great!

2 lbs. medium yellow onion, peeled, and each cut into 8 wedges 

2 lbs. small red potatoes, cut into 1" wedges

1/4 C all-purpose flour

1 (14 oz.) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth

Fresh rosemary 

**the original recipe calls for oregano sprigs

Lemon wedges 

Preheat oven to 425°.

Remove and discard giblets and neck from chicken. Starting at the neck cavity, loosen the skin from breast and drumsticks by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Combine salt, freshly ground black pepper, extra virgin olive oil and garlic; rub under loosened skins. Place rosemary sprig and quartered lemon pieces into body cavity. Lift wing tips up and over back; tuck under chicken. Tie legs together with string. Place chicken, breast side up, on the rack of a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.

Arrange onions and potatoes around chicken. Drizzle melted butter on top, and season with salt and pepper. Place rack in pan. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes. After baking for 20 minutes, I poured a little chicken broth on the chicken to keep it moist. Reduce oven temperature to 325° (do not remove pan from oven); bake an additional 1 hour and 10 minutes or until onions and potatoes are tender and a thermometer inserted into meaty part of chicken thigh registers 165°. Check the chicken periodically, and baste as necessary with the juices in the pan. Set chicken, onions, and potatoes aside; cover and keep warm.

Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure. Pour pan drippings into bag; let stand 10 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag (make a small snip, as the drippings will drain fairly quickly). Drain drippings into a small saucepan, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. 

Combine 1/4 teaspoon salt, flour, and the remaining chicken broth in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add flour mixture to saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 5 minutes or until gravy thickens, stirring frequently with a whisk. I found that the gravy was a little bland, so next time I plan on adding a few sprigs of rosemary and maybe a little cream to the mixture. 

Carve chicken; serve with gravy and onion mixture. Garnish with lemon wedges and rosemary sprigs, if desired.

This was delicious! I would definitely recommend using the lemon, rosemary and garlic combination. Also, the bird came out nice and moist, mostly because I basted it using the pan drippings every 15 minutes or so. I hope that you enjoy this dish as much as I did!

Potato Pancakes (Bramborák in Czech)

This is a traditional Czech dish that is relatively easy to make. 

It is also a great way to use up leftover mashed potatoes!

2 lb. potatoes

salt

black pepper

1 large onion, diced very fine

1/2 t. fresh rosemary

2-3 T oil 

(serves 4-6)

Peel and quarter potatoes. Place in a  bowl of cold water, sprinkle with kosher salt, and soak for 15 minutes. While the potatoes are soaking, bring 1 quart of water to a boil and add the potatoes. Boil for 8-10 minutes, or until the potatoes are soft. Drain and let cool. 

Quarter the onion and put into a small bowl, then add rosemary, salt and pepper to taste.  

Using the shredder blade on your food processor, shred all the potatoes. Add the onion, rosemary, salt and pepper, and blend thoroughly.

Using a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Once the oil heats up (not too hot, or it will burn the potatoes), drop spoonfuls of the potato mixture into the oil and let it simmer. After dropping the potato mixture onto the skillet, use the back of the spoon to flatten the mounds out a bit. They should be about 3" in diameter, but you can make them larger or smaller for your liking. Make sure that the potato pancakes are spaced out on the skillet so as to avoid sticking (they tend to gravitate towards one another!). 

Check the potato pancakes frequently. Once there is a nice yellow/brown crisp to the pancake (usually after about 3-5 minutes), use tongs or a spatula to flip the pancakes. If you flip them too soon, they will fall apart (but are still tasty!). As the potatoes are already cooked, the frying just creates a nice crisp to the pancakes. Add extra oil as needed to prevent the pancakes from sticking to the skillet.

Once both sides of the pancake is crisp, remove from oil and place on a paper towel-covered plate. This will help to absorb the extra oil, so that the pancakes aren't soggy or greasy. They should have similar properties to hash browns, except of course they are creamy on the inside and not shredded. 

Once you have a good batch, serve with a light salad or steamed veggies (we enjoyed these with a spring mix salad with cherry tomatoes tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette) as a main course. They also serve as a nice side dish, but I like them as an entree!

Feel free to salt and pepper the finished products, and serve with sour cream. 

Variations:

The great thing about potato pancakes is that you can't go wrong! Here are a few variations I have tried in the past:

-garlic

-parsley

-chives

-red pepper

-cumin

Introduction

Welcome to "Worth Your Salt"! 

I decided to create this blog as a way to share my trials and tribulations in the kitchen. For over the past 6 months, I have had put my kitchen to good use. Whether relying on the likes of family recipes, Martha Stewart, or concoctions of my own creation, it has been a truly enlightening experience.

At this point, I would like to start sharing my experiences--not to mention the recipes--that I have whipped up. With the majority of recipes I try, I end up changing, adding, or substituting ingredients. In my posts, I will note the original recipe, my changes, and any thoughts I had while either cooking or enjoying the meal. 

Dobrou Chut! ("Bon Apetit" in Czech)