Serves: 12

• Ingredients

36 wonton skins
2/3 cup thick and chunky salsa
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1-15 ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1-15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup sour cream

• preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees.
Gently fit 1 wonton skin into each of 36 small muffin cups, 1 3/4x1 inch, pressing against bottom and side. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
Remove from pan; cool on wire rack. Mix remaining ingredients except sour cream.
Just before serving, spoon bean mixture into wonton cups. Top each with 1/2 teaspoon sour cream.

Serves: 6

• Ingredients

1 cup red onion, chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 jalapeño, minced
1 cup fresh mangoes, diced
2-15 ounce canned black beans
1 teaspoon coriander, dried
1 teaspoon cumin, dried
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

• preparation

Heat a non stick pan until very hot. Add oil. Saute onion until it begins to soften. Add jalapeño. Mix well. Rinse beans, and strain. Stir beans and mangoes into the onion mixture. Heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add coriander, cumin, and vinegar. Heat through. Stir in cilantro.

Serves: 6

Spread out the drained canned black beans onto a lined baking sheet and bake for about 15 minutes. This prevents the black bean burgers from tasting like mush. FLAVOR. Besides sautéed garlic, onion, pepper add a little cumin, worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, feta cheese, and chili pepper that will turn black beans into the best black bean burger.

• Ingredients

2 (14 ounce) cans black beans, drained, rinsed, and patted dry
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup finely chopped bell pepper (1/2 of a pepper)
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion (1/2 of a large onion)
3 garlic cloves, minced (about 1 Tablespoon)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/2 cup bread crumbs or oat flour
1/2 cup feta cheese
2 large eggs
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons ketchup, mayo, or BBQ sauce
pinch salt and pepper

• preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190°C). Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper and set aside.
Preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Spread beans evenly onto a lined baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes until slightly dried out.
Meanwhile, sauté olive oil, chopped pepper, onion, and garlic over medium heat until peppers and onions are soft,and no moisture left about 5-6 minutes. Place in a large bowl or in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Stir or pulse everything together, then add the black beans. Mash with a fork or pulse the mixture, leaving some larger chunks of beans.
Form into patties– about 1/3 cup of mixture in each.
To bake: Place patties on a lined baking sheet and bake at 375°F (191°C) for 10 minutes on each side, 20 minutes total. To grill: Place patties on greased aluminum foil and grill 8 minutes on each side. Heat temperature is personal preference as all grills differ. Generally, black bean burgers should grill on medium-high heat about 350°F (177°C) – 400°F (204°C).
Serve with your favorite toppings.

Make ahead tip: Cooked or uncooked black bean burgers freeze wonderfully! Stack between parchment paper in a freezer container or zipped-top bag. Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat to your liking or, if uncooked, cook according to instructions.

Serves: 8

The Chicken Couscous is a flavorful and healthy dish with exotic spices but still simple enough to make any day of the week.

Pearl couscous, sometimes also called Israeli couscous is the same as regular couscous but just a bit bigger and sometimes comes in various colors.

• Ingredients

3 tablespoon Moroccan spice blend recipe below
4 chicken breasts about 1 1/2 lbs, boneless and skinless
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion chopped
5 cloves garlic minced
1/2 cup golden raisins
14 ounce chickpeas (1 can) drained and washed
14 ounce fire roasted tomatoes (1 can)
3 cups chicken broth low sodium
1 cup pearl couscous dry
4 cups kale rinsed and roughly chopped

Moroccan Spice Blend

1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cardamom

• preparation

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.
Combine all the Moroccan spice blend ingredients together. The recipe should yields about about 3 tbsp.

Season the chicken breasts with 2 tbsp of the Moroccan spice blend thoroughly. Use more as preferred.
In a large Dutch Oven or a oven safe pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot add the chicken breasts and sear on both sides until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes per side.
The chicken will not be cooked through at all, it will just be crispy on the outside. Transfer the chicken from the pot to a plate and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic to the pot and saute for about 3 minutes until onion softens and becomes translucent and garlic is aromatic. add the remaining 1 tbsp of the Moroccan spice blend and stir.

Add the golden raisins, chickpeas, fire roasted tomatoes, chicken broth, couscous and stir well. Gently stir in the kale. Bring to a boil, then add the chicken breasts back.

Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven. Cook in the oven for 30 minutes with the lid on, then remove the lid and cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Serves: 8

Schug also known as schug, zhug, and skhug is a Middle Eastern blend of herbs, chilies, and toasted spice often used in Yemeni and
Israeli cooking.It might be red, green, or brown. The sauce is made from fresh red or green hot peppers and is seasoned with garlic, coriander, and cumin. Then fresh herbs such as parsley and cilantro are added. A brown schug is usually a green pepper variety with tomatoes added in.

• Ingredients

1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup seeded and roughly chopped fresh hot green chilies, such as serrano or jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
2 to 3 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 cups lightly packed cilantro leaves
2 cups lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
zest from one lemon
3 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

• preparation

1. In a small skillet, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until they smell fragrant and have turned a shade darker in color. Transfer to a spice grinder or crush with a mortar and pestle.
2. Put the chilies and garlic in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are fairly fine. Add the cilantro, parsley, lemon zest, reserved toasted spiced, 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and a few twists of black pepper. Pulse until all is finely chopped into a rough purée. Continue mixing while drizzling in the olive oil. Stop the processor before the sauce is completely blended and smooth—you want some texture. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Serves: 8

Dukkah: The secret weapon that elevates the texture and flavors of food. It is a flavorful Middle Eastern spice blend made with fragrant spices and and toasted nuts.

• Ingredients

For Dukkah:

½ cup hazelnuts
3 tablespoon almonds
4 tablespoon white sesame seeds
3 tablespoon shelled pistachios
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
kosher salt

• preparation

Place the hazelnuts and almonds in a dry cast iron pan without oil. Toast briefly over medium-high heat, tossing regularly, until the nuts turn a nice golden brown. Transfer to a side dish.
Place the sesame seeds in the same skillet and toast over medium heat, tossing regularly, until the sesame seeds turn golden brown.
Add the toasted nuts and sesame seeds to the bowl of a small food processor fitted with a blade. Add the pistachios, fennel seeds, spices, and a dash of salt. Pulse for a few seconds until you reach a nice coarse mixture. Do not over process. The mixture should not be too fine.
Transfer the dukkah to a bowl. You can store the dukkah in a tight-lid jar for up to 2 weeks. Use as a topping for salad, soup, chicken, meats, or roasted vegetables.

Serves: 4

• Ingredients

1 pound parsnips
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 teaspoon each ground cumin and coriander
1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/2 cup low-fat plain yogurt
1/4 teaspoon curry paste
1 small green onion, minced

• preparation

Peel parsnips; cut into 2- x 1/2-inch (5 x 1cm) sticks.
In bowl, toss together parsnips, oil, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper. Bake on greased baking sheet in 425° F (220°C) oven, turning occasionally, for 30 to 40 minutes or until browned and tender.
In small bowl, stir together yogurt, curry paste and green onion. Serve sauce with parsnip fries.

Serves: 4

punjabi samosa - a classic & popular indian snack stuffed with spiced potato peas filling.
The recipe is adapted from www.vegrecipesofindia.com

• Ingredients

for the samosa pastry:
2 cups maida or all purpose flour
4 tbsp ghee or oil
5-6 tbsp water (i added 5 tbsp + 1 tsp water)
1 tsp carom seeds (ajwain)
salt as required ( i added ¾ tsp salt)
oil for deep frying

For the samosa stuffing 1:
3 medium sized potatoes/aloo
¾ to 1 cup green peas/matar, fresh or frozen
1 green chili + ½ inch ginger crushed to a coarse paste in a mortar and pestle
½ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
¼ tsp red chili powder (lal mirch powder)
a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
½ tbsp oil
salt as required

whole spices to be ground:
¼ inch cinnamon (dal chini)
2 black peppercorns (kali mirch)
1 clove (laung)
1 green cardamom (hari elaichi or choti elaichi)
½ tsp cumin (jeera)
½ tsp fennel seeds (saunf)
1 tsp coriander seeds
2 tsp dry pomegranate seeds/anardana or 1 tsp dry mango powder/amchur * check notes for mango powder

For the samosa stuffing 2:
3 medium size potatoes
¾ to 1 cup peas/matar, fresh or frozen
1 green chili and ½ inch ginger made in a paste or chopped finely
¾ tsp garam masala powder
¼ or ½ tsp red chili powder
1 tsp dry mango powder (amchur)
1 tsp fennel powder (saunf powder)
1 tsp coriander powder (dhania powder)
¾ tsp cumin seeds (jeera)
2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (dhania patta)
2 to 2.5 tsp oil
salt as required

• preparation

Serves: 6

• Ingredients

1 cup dried kidney beans
1/2 cup dried cannellini beans
1/2 cup dried great northern or navy beans
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup crushed canned tomatoes
4 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 bay leaf
Grated rind of 1 orange
1/2 teaspoon crushed black peppercorns
1/3 cup chopped fresh coriander leaves
1/4 cup cider vinegar, or more, to taste
Salt to taste

• preparation

Place all beans in a bowl, cover with water to a depth of 2 inches. Add thyme and soak at least 4 hours.
Heat a heavy 3-quart casserole. Add cumin seeds, and cook, stirring, until they dance around and smell toasty. Remove them. Add the oil, onion, carrot to casserole, and saute over medium heat 10 minutes. Stir in the jalapeño, garlic and toasted cumin seeds.
Preheat to 250 degrees. Drain beans, and add them along with the canned and fresh tomatoes, maple syrup, brown sugar, bay leaf, orange rind and crushed peppercorns.
Stir in all but 1 tablespoon of the coriander, and add 3 cups of water. Cover, and bring to a slow simmer.
Place in the oven, and cook 2 hours. Add vinegar and salt to taste. Return to the oven 2 1/2 hours longer, until the liquid has been absorbed, but the beans are still moist.
Adjust seasonings, adding more vinegar and salt if needed. Sprinkle the remaining coriander, and serve.

Serves: 10

They freeze well.
Serve as mini cakes as hors d'oeuvre, appetizers or main meal.

• Ingredients

1 lb shelled edamame thawed or fresh
1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas or 1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
4 ounces (110 g) sliced mushrooms, shiatake or crimini
1/3 cup water
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon low salt soy sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon chickpea flour or cornstarch
Oil, for frying

• preparation

Combine the edamame, chickpeas, mushrooms, water, garlic, cumin, soy sauce and salt and pepper in a food processor and process until smooth. Transfer into a large bowl.
Add the flour and mix well
Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 20 to 30 minutes to make it easier to handle when forming the patties.
Shape mixture into 10 patties.Dust both sides of the patties with chickpea flour or cornstarch.
Heat the oil in a sauté pan and fry the patties for 4 to 5 minutes on each sides, or until golden brown on both sides.
Serve on top of a spinach sald, or on a toasted bun.