Quinoa Tabbouleh

Tabbouleh is a grain and vegetable salad that makes an excellent side dish in hot weather, in addition to being a popular mezze dish. Although it's usually made with bulgur wheat, this recipe from Bon Appétit substitutes quinoa, which works just as well. As suggested by a recent Washington Post article, I like to soak my quinoa before cooking it.

Quinoa Tabbouleh
Adapted from Quinoa Tabbouleh, Bon Appétit, June 2012

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed and soaked for 15-20 minutes
1 cup water

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 large English cucumber
1/2 pint golden cherry tomatoes
1/3 cup parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
1 scallion, thinly sliced

1. Bring quinoa and water to boil to boil. Cover, reduce heat an simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.

2. Whisk together lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. Add cucumber, tomatoes, parsley, mint and scallion to the bowl with the quinoa. Add dressing and toss to combine. Chill until ready to eat, at least 15-20 minutes.

Yogurt Kuku

For my mezze dinner, I'd decided on hummus, baba ghanoush and quinoa tabouleh, but I needed an anchor: something a little more substantive to serve as the centerpiece dish. I asked the Washington Post Food section staff for ideas during a recent Free Range chat, which is how I came across yogurt kuku, a sort of frittata.

Kuku is a Persian dish, so, although it's a little ways from the Mediterranean, I thought the flavors worked well with the other dishes, and making it with Greek yogurt nudges it westward a bit anyway.

The Washington Post's recipe says to cook this at 250 F for 20-25 minutes. This cannot be right. The recipe says to bake the dish until the center is "just set," but after 25 minutes at that temperature it was still very liquidy. I found the original recipe by Iranian-American cookbook author Najmieh Batmanglij from her book Food of Life, and she said to bake it at 350 F for 25-30 minutes, which sounds more reasonable (I brought this to the Food staff's attention, so hopefully it will be corrected).

Yogurt Kuku
Adapted from The Washington Post, as adapted from Najmieh Batmanglij's "New Food of Life"

4 servings

2 to 3 tbsp. extra-virgin oil
1/4 tsp. saffron
1 tbsp. just-boiled water
5 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh-ground black pepper
1/3 cup fresh snipped chives
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1/2 cup Greek-style low-fat plain yogurt, plus more for garnish
1 to 2 tsp. blanched slivered almonds

1. Add the oil to an 8-inch round or square oven-proof baking dish. Place the dish on the oven's middle rack and preheat the oven to 350 F.

2. While the oil is heating, combine the saffron and water in a medium bowl, stirring to break up the threads. Add the eggs, flour, salt, pepper, chives and carrot, and stir until well combined. Add the yogurt and almonds, stirring to combine. Pour the egg mixture into the hot oiled baking dish and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the center is just set. Divide portions among individual plates and top with a dollop of yogurt.

Baba Ghanoush (Roasted Eggplant Dip)

While I love hummus, I'm increasing also a fan of another mezze dip. Baba ghanoush is roasted eggplant dip that originated in the eastern part of the Mediterranean (the Levant). It's smoky flavor is one of its best attributes, and if you have an outdoor grill, roasting the eggplant over charcoal will help impart that flavor. If you make it indoors, like I did, using smoked ingredients like paprika, olive oil and smoked flavor will compensate adequately.

The eggplant roasts for quite a long time at a very high temperature. They are large vegetables after all and you want them to be extremely soft on the inside when you scoop them out. The skin of the eggplant should look darker, turning brown from its purple shade, and get sunken looking.

Like hummus, baba ghanoush can be served with bread or vegetables for dipping. I like to cut pitas into  triangles, brush them with olive oil and sprinkle them with za'atar seasoning before lightly toasting them under a hot broiler.

Baba Ghanoush

2 medium-size eggplants
Olive oil
1/4 cup tahini
2 tbsp. lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tbsp. smoked olive oil (or regular extra-virgin olive oil)
2 tsp. smoked paprika
Pinch of chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 tbsp. fresh chopped parsley
Toasted pita bread or cut vegetables (for serving)

1. Preheat oven to 500 F. Pierce eggplants all over with a fork and brush or spray lightly with olive oil. Roast until skin has darkened and the eggplant is very soft and sunken looking, about 30-45 minutes. Split eggplants open and scoop out contents. Discard skins.

2. Place eggplant in a food processor and pulse a few times. Add tahini, lemon juice, garlic, smoked olive oil, smoked paprika, chili powder and salt. Turn food processor on and process until smooth. Transfer to a serving bowl and top with fresh chopped parsley.

Making a Mezze Meal

"Mezze" refers to small-plate dishes typical of the Mediterranean and Middle East. Because many of these types of dishes can be made ahead, mezze works well for entertaining. Throw together enough of them and you'll have a great meal, which is basically the concept behind José Andrés restaurant Zaytinya.

All this week I'm featuring recipes to make a great mezze meal, which also just happens to be vegetarian. That I didn't miss the meat is a sign of how satisfying a varied dinner made of these dishes can be.

Smoky-smooth hummus

Hummus is an essential mezze dish. I've already featured two recipes for it: a basic recipe and a more involved smoky-smooth version (the extra work is worth it, in my opinion).

This week, I'll have recipes for baba ghanoush, quinoa tabouleh and yogurt kuku, which is basically a frittata. Some other dishes that would well in a mezze dinner: chickpea patties, reconstructed hummus salad and Mediterranean salad.