Mango Quinoa Salad

Even though it’s June in Los Angeles, it doesn’t quite feel like summer yet. The days have been gloomy and chilly still. But just because the weather doesn’t cooperate, it doesn’t mean you can’t get yourself in the mood with some light summery food! I love fruit and any salads that incorporate it in some way. I’ve been making this Mango Quinoa Salad for the last decade but have never taken the time to write down the recipe. It’s light and refreshing. If you want, you can add protein to it. It’s best eaten fresh. If you have leftovers, it can dry out a little bit overnight and might require you to add a splash more lemon juice, EVOO, and sesame oil the next day to liven it up.

MANGO QUINOA SALAD (serves 3-4 as a side)

·       2 cups cooked quinoa

·       1 cup of cubed mango

·       ¼ cup diced red onion

·       ¼ cup diced Campari tomatoes

·       ½ cup diced cucumber

·       ¼ cup chopped cilantro

·       Extra Virgin Olive oil

·       ½ tsp salt

·       2-3 tsp sesame oil

·       1 lemon juiced

INSTRUCTIONS:

Mix and serve!

Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce

When it comes to pasta, I love tomato sauce and l love my pasta smothered in it. I often make bolognese but it’s definitely very time consuming and can take up to 3 hours to make including prep time. I also like to make a shrimp or clam tomato sauce with my pasta because it’s lighter and doesn’t take as long to cook. But sometimes I don’t have seafood readily available on hand. A great option for a simple pasta sauce is arrabbiata sauce, which is basically a spicy marinara. It’s perfect for those nights when you don’t have a lot of time because it doesn’t require many ingredients. You probably already have everything you need in your pantry. It’s easy to make and so delicious! And you can freeze your leftovers!

Pasta with Spicy Arrabbiata Sauce (Serves 5-6)

Ingredients:

• Linguine-fini or any pasta of your choice

• 2 tbsp olive oil

• 1 sweet yellow onion, diced

• 6 cloves garlic, 4 diced and 2 smashed

• 2 (28 oz) cans of whole tomatoes

• 16 basil leaves, torn

• 1 tsp oregano

• ½ - 1½ tsp red chili pepper flakes, more or less, depending on your spice level (½ tsp=a little spicy, 1 tsp=spicy, 1.5 tsp=very spicy)

• 5 sprigs of thyme

• 2-2½ tsp salt

• ¼ tsp sugar

• 1 tsp black pepper

• 1 cup of water

• burrata or parmesan cheese upon serving (optional)

Directions:

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a 3 quart pot over medium heat. Brown onions. Throw in the garlic and lightly toast.  Pour in canned tomatoes. Add salt, pepper, sugar, red chili pepper flakes, oregano, thyme, and fresh basil. If your tomatoes are whole, you can break it up with a wooden spoon as it cooks.

Simmer for 30 minutes on medium-low. Sauce will thicken and stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir sporadically breaking up the tomatoes and scraping the bottom.

Add 1 cup of water and stir thoroughly. Cook for another 30 minutes-1 hour on medium-low heat. Continue to stir sauce and break up the tomatoes with your wooden spoon.

Lastly, drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil over your finished sauce and stir.

Toss your pasta in the sauce. Serve with fresh basil and a scoop of burrata cheese or grated parmesan. Sprinkle with fresh ground black pepper. I prefer burrata because it helps calm down the spice. Its soft, rich and cool texture is also a nice contrast to the hot and spicy dish. If you choose burrata, drizzle a little bit of EVOO on top. Skip the cheese all together and make this dish vegan. Substitute pasta for zucchini noodles (or use gluten-free pasta) and make this dish gluten free. Or do both, and make this dish vegan AND gluten-free!

When I cook for just me, I like to toss an individual portion of linguine-fini in an individual portion of the sauce in a separate pan, over the stove top. I also prefer my pasta al dente so I undercook my pasta slightly knowing that it will cook a little bit more when I mix it in with the sauce in the pan. Then I freeze the rest of the sauce in small portions to have later, either with pasta or to make shakshouka with for breakfast. But if you are planning on making this dish for a few guests, you can transfer all of your pasta directly into the pot of sauce and toss all together to eat immediately. Another option is to use some of the arrabbiata sauce as the base of another sauce. Just recently, I took out a small portion of the sauce from the freezer and cooked it with wine and butter and added pasta and it was delicious!

Yuca Pizza Crust

I love pizza! Who doesn't? Thin crust and gluten-free too? Even better. Made entirely out of yuca? AMAZING. I first learned about yuca pizza crust in Costa Rica on a yoga retreat that I went on back in July. The retreat was inclusive of all healthy gourmet meals. One of the activities I signed up for during my stay was a cooking class with the retreat's chef. He taught us about the versatility of yuca. He had used it in our meals as croutons, gnocchi, and mash. I was so amazed because it had never occurred to me before to use yuca as a healthy substitute in meals.

After returning from Costa Rica and playing around with yuca, I created my own yuca pizza crust recipe. It tastes better and works better as a pizza crust than the popular cauliflower pizza crust alternative. Cauliflower pizza crust, in my experience, is too cakey and falls apart when you try to pick up a slice. Yuca pizza crust does not require a binding ingredient and you can actually pick up a slice! Sounds simple, huh? Give it a try! I have 2 suggested pizza flavors listed below but you can play around with whatever toppings you like.

Yuca Pizza Crust (Serves 2-3.  Makes about 2 nine-inch diameter pizza crusts)

Crust

·      2 lb yuca

·      2 tsp dried oregano

·      1 tsp dried basil

·      1 tsp salt

·      4 tbsp olive oil

Topping Options

Margherita Pizza (2)

·      6 tbsp tomato sauce

·      2 medium size tomatoes or about 10 compari tomatoes, thinly sliced

·      10 mini mozzarella balls, halved 

·      ½ cup fresh basil, chopped

·      fresh ground pepper

·      red pepper flakes

BBQ Cauliflower & Pineapple Pizza (2)

 ·     6 tbsp or more BBQ Sauce

·      shredded mozzarella cheese

·     ½ small red onion, thinly sliced

·      ¾ cup of freshly sliced pineapple

·      ½ lb - 10 oz of cauliflower cut into small florets, premarinated in a bowl of BBQ sauce while crust cooks

·      chopped cilantro

·      red pepper flakes

Directions: Peel outer layer of yuca, cut into large segments to fit into a pot of water (make sure there is enough water to cover yuca), and boil for about 45 minutes. Allow yuca to cool for about 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. 

Cut up yuca into smaller chunks. Place in a bowl. Add oregano, basil, salt, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Mix thoroughly and then throw into a blender or a food processor to convert the yuca into more of a mash. It’s okay if there are still small clumps of yuca in your mix. If you blend it longer, it should be smoother. I think I must have gotten lazy in the picture below.

Pour yuca mix back into the bowl. Add 2 more tbsp of olive oil and massage into the mix with your hands. Taste the mix. Add additional salt if needed. I think the mix is delicious on its own and could be served as a side instead of mashed potatoes. Divide the mixture into 2 portions. Using a baking sheet and parchment paper or a pizza stone, roll into 2 round pizza crusts, about 9 inch in diameter, with your hands. Flatten out as much as you can so that the crust is thin. You may need to add additonal olive oil to prevent it from sticking so that you can roll it out flatter.

Before

After

Pre-bake in the oven for 15 minutes on each side. Your crust should be lightly browned on both sides. If your crust is on the thicker or larside, you may need to cook it longer before you are able to flip it over without it sticking to the surface.

For the Margherita Pizza: Add about 3 tablespoons of tomato sauce on each pizza. Top with several tomato slices and 5 halved mini mozzarella balls on each pizza. You can use other ingredients but be careful about adding too many toppings. The crust is thin and will fall apart if it is weighed down by too many toppings. Return crust to oven and cook for about another 15 minutes. Then broil for about 2-3 minutes to give the toppings a nice crisp. Oven times may vary so you may need to adjust the time. Sprinkle with freshly chopped basil. Serve with pesto drizzle, red pepper flakes, and ground pepper.

For the BBQ Cauliflower & Pineapple Pizza: Add bbq sauce on each pizza. Top with shredded mozzarella cheese. Add cauliflower, pineapple, and red onions. Return crust to oven and cook for about another 15 minutes. Then broil for about 2-3 minutes to give the toppings a nice crisp. Oven times may vary so you may need to adjust the time. Sprinkle with additional fresh cilantro. Serve with red pepper flakes.