Recipes from a Florida Herb Garden

Tabbouleh
Tabbouleh is a Middle Eastern salad popular in the US. It is a parsley salad, not a wheat salad and fresh parsley should predominate. This recipe calls for more spices than is usually found in recipes here, but Tabbouleh is derived from the Arabic word “tabil”, meaning “spice”, and many traditional recipes contain them. Most tabbouleh recipes call for the Italian parsley; I prefer the taste and especially the texture of the curly parsley.
2/3 cup bulgur wheat* 2/3 cup water 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup olive oil ¼ t. each allspice, cinnamon and nutmeg Salt and pepper to taste	2 cups chopped fresh parsley ½ cup chopped fresh mint leaves (spearmint) 2 tomatoes, seeded and diced 4 minced scallions, green and white parts 1 cucumber, peeled and diced
Soak bulgur wheat in water for about 40 minutes. Drain in a sieve, press out excess water and set aside. Make dressing by mixing lemon juice, olive oil, spices, salt and pepper. Mix bulgur wheat, parsley, mint, tomatoes, scallions and cucumber; add dressing and toss well. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour so flavors have time to blend. *In the Mount Dora area, bulgur wheat is not to be found at any of the large supermarkets, but can be purchased at the Health Basket on 441 next to Winn-Dixie.

Souvlaki Wraps with Marinated Lamb, Tabbouleh and Hummus
1 t. cumin seeds 4 crushed garlic cloves 1 T. lemon juice 1 t. pepper 2 T. olive oil 1 small leg of lamb	6 wraps or flatbread* 1 C. hummus 1 C. tabbouleh (See recipe above) Salt and pepper to taste *We prefer the less doughy wraps
TO COOK LAMB: Toast cumin seeds in a dry pan, then grind in a coffee grinder or with a mortar and pestle (or use cumin powder - we like using the seeds as they store well and taste wonderful freshly ground; cumin powder doesn't store as well). Mix cumin, garlic, lemon juice, pepper and olive oil in a shallow dish. Place lamb in dish and coat with cumin marinade. Cover and place in refrigerator for a couple of hours. Heat oven to 300-325°. Place lamb on an broiler pan (reserving marinade) and roast for 30-35 minutes per pound or until internal temperature reaches 175-180°. Remove grease from drippings in broiler pan and add marinade. Place pan on stovetop and bring to boil, stirring marinade and pan drippings. Slice lamb into thin slices. TO ASSEMBLE WRAP: Warm wraps in stove or microwave. Lay wrap flat and top the upper middle with hummus, tabbouleh and sliced lamb. Drizzle marinade/lamb drippings sauce over lamb slices. Salt and pepper. Fold up bottom of wrap then fold in sides. Makes 6 wraps.

Pesto

INGREDIENTS
ONE LARGE or TWO SMALL CLOVES of GARLIC, PEELED and CRUSHED. For milder garlic flavor, blanch garlic cloves before peeling and crushing by putting in boiling water for about 45 seconds then immediately rinsing with cold water. If you are making pasta, the water to be used for that would be good.

COARSE or regular SALT.

TWO PACKED CUPS of SWEET BASIL, especially GENOVESE torn into pieces. Remove center ribs if large and use smaller leaves from the plant. Rinse and dry with paper towel. (Optional: substitute flat Italian or curly parsley for some of the basil).

ONE QUARTER CUP of PINE NUTS (PIGNOLI). These can optionally be toasted in a pan 4-5 minutes over medium heat stirring frequently. Substitutions:

WALNUTS. Italians frequently use walnuts though the walnuts they use are fresher, milder and contain more oil than the dried walnuts available here. Use about 2/3 the amount of pine nuts. The taste is sharper and texture coarser.
ALMONDS. Sweet but hard and coarser in texture.

THREE TABLESPOONS of FINELY GRATED CHEESE. Either:

PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO cows-milk cheese
PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO with PECORINO SARDO sheeps-milk cheese
PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO with PECORINO ROMANO a stronger saltier sheep-milk cheese. Note: US Romano is cow's milk cheese.
DRY JACK CHEESE alone or with PARMIGIANO-REGGIANO. Dry Jack is cows-milk cheese made in the US by aging Monterey Jack 7-10 months.

THREE TABLESPOONS of OLIVE OIL. Colavita extra virgin is a good choice that is readily available.

PESTO MADE with a MORTAR and PESTLE
Pound garlic with a pinch of salt until it forms a paste. Slowly add pine nuts and continue pounding until pieces are small. Begin adding basil a bit at a time and keep moving the pestle around the mortar in one direction until individual pieces of basil are barely discernable. Blend in cheese(s) and finally olive oil.
If you're going to be storing pesto in the refrigerator for more than 5 days or freezing it, leave out the cheese and add before serving.

PESTO MADE in a BLENDER or FOOD PROCESSOR
Bruise basil by placing leaves in a plastic bag and pounding. Place all ingredients except cheese in blender or processor and pulse until forming a paste, stopping to scrape down jar or bowl as necessary with spatula. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in cheese unless storing for more than 5 days.

TO STORE PESTO
Cover with a film of oil and store in refrigerator. With cheese, the sauce can be stored up to 5 days. Without cheese it can be kept much longer. Pesto can also be frozen with or without cheese (though without is better) but the basil will lose much of its fragrance.

NOTE
Before tossing with pasta, add 2-3 tablespoons of starchy pasta water to pesto. This dilutes the concentrated pesto, helps melt the cheese and aids in distributing the pesto and binding it to the pasta.

Zellwood sweet corn and rural Lake County’s favorite zipper peas cooked in a traditional southern French style. We like to call our dish…. Bubba Meets Jacques
1 cup shelled zipper or creamer peas 3 ears white or yellow Zellwood corn 1 Tablespoon olive oil	1 Tablespoon butter 1 clove minced garlic 1/4 teaspoon (or more if you’re like me!!) ground black pepper	1/4 teaspoon salt 1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil
Place zipper peas in steamer over boiling water. Cover and steam until tender. Remove from steamer and set aside. Bring large pot of water to boil. Cook corn for 3-4 minutes. Drain and cool until easy to handle. Cut kernels from cob with a sharp knife. Heat olive oil and butter in a pan over medium-high heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 or 3 minutes. Add corn, peas, salt and pepper and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Stir in the basil and serve hot. Serves 3.

Rosemary Potatoes
Rosemary potatoes can be either sautéed or baked. Below are both versions.

2 lbs. small creamer potatoes or large red potatoes, unpeeled and cut in 1/4-inch slices
1/2 cup olive oil 3 T. chopped fresh rosemary salt and pepper

TO SAUTÉ

Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add sliced potatoes

TO BAKE

Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Put sliced potatoes in a bowl,

and rosemary when oil is hot. Cook, turning occasionally until potatoes are brown on both sides, about 20-25 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

pour on the oil and carefully stir until evenly coated. Spread potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with rosemary, salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes until brown and tender.

Gingerbread Roll with Ginger Cream Filling
CAKE:	3/4 cup all purpose flour 3/4 t. baking powder 3/4 t. baking soda 1/2 t. ground cinnamon 1/2 t. ground cloves	1/2 t. ground ginger 1/8 t. salt 3 large egg yolks 1/2 cup light unsulfured molasses 1 T. unsalted butter, melted	4 large egg whites 1/4 cup plus 1 T. sugar Powdered sugar
FILLING:	1 1/2 cups chilled whipping cream 1/4 cup minced crystallized ginger 1/3 cup powdered sugar
FOR CAKE:	Preheat oven to 350⁰F. Line 15x10 jelly roll pan or sided cookie sheet with waxed paper. Lightly grease and flour waxed paper and sides of pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and salt in medium bowl. Beat egg yolks in large bowl until thick and pale, about 10 minutes. Whisk in molasses and melted butter. Place whites in another large bowl. Beat to soft peaks while gradually adding sugar. Fold dry ingredients into yolk mixture. Gently fold whites into batter a little at a time. Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean, about 10 minutes. While cake is baking, lightly dust kitchen towel with powdered sugar. When cake is done, cut around sides of pan and invert cake onto sugared towel. Peel off waxed paper. Starting at one long length, roll up cake in towel. Set aside seam down to cool.
FOR FILLING:	Beat cream in large bowl until foamy. Gradually add sugar and beat to stiff peaks. Fold in ginger.
PUTTING IT TOGETHER:	Unroll cake and spread with half of cream filling, leaving 1-inch border. Re-roll cake using towel as aid. Transfer to a serving platter seam side down. Spread remaining cream over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate at least one hour.

Fresh Herbed Waffles This is a great alternative to the usual sweet waffle and is particularly good for a luncheon menu. Recipe makes approximately six 7" waffles.
1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese 2 minced scallions using white parts and tender green parts ½ cup chopped fresh parsley 2 T. chopped fresh rosemary	2 T. chopped fresh basil 1 T. sugar 1 ¾ t. baking powder ½ t. baking soda 1 ¾ t. salt	1 1/3 cup milk 2 large eggs 3 T. melted butter 2 t. Dijon mustard Sour cream
Preheat oven or toaster oven to 200°. This will be used to keep waffles after they are taken from the waffle iron. Preheat waffle iron. Combine first 10 ingredients (the dry ingredients) in a medium bowl. Whisk together milk, eggs, butter and mustard (the moist ingredients) in another medium bowl. Pour the moist ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth. Lightly spray or oil the waffle iron (spraying is MUCH easier). Follow your waffle maker's instructions or pour about 1/3 cup of the batter onto the grid and spread it until it nearly touches the corners. Close and cook for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. The waffle should release easily from the waffle iron and the edges should be dry. Place cooked waffles in the oven to keep them crisp while making remaining waffles. You may want to adjust the amount of batter used for the remaining waffles if batter oozed out of iron or if waffles are too small. Continue spraying and pouring until all batter is used up. Serve waffles with a dollop of sour cream. Alternately, waffles can be served as a side dish to chicken or tuna salad. Waffles can be made ahead and frozen, then reheated in oven or toaster oven. Avoid reheating waffles in a microwave as this will make them "gummy".

Savory Peas Peas are traditionally cooked with mint. Try this savory alternative.
1/3 cup sliced green onions 1 T. + 1 t. butter 1 lb fresh or frozen peas 1 t. sugar	½ t. chopped fresh savory (or thyme if you don't have savory). ¼ t. chopped fresh basil 2 t. chopped fresh parsley	1/3 C. water 1 t. salt 1/8 t. pepper
Sauté green onions in butter until tender (approximately 5 minutes). Add peas, sugar, fresh herbs, water, salt and pepper. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes or until peas are nice and tender.