Ideal Menu: Cereal Dishes

2023 Author: Amber Richards | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-05-22 00:24

Bulgur salad with marinated lamb, feta cheese and baked beetroot

Serves 4:

200 g bulgur,
250-350 g of young beets,
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp sumacha (sour spice, usually sold as ruby-colored powder)
1 tsp ground coriander,
1 tsp dried oregano,
3 tbsp. l. lemon juice
250 g lamb ham,
100 g feta cheese,
1 green chili (chopped without seeds)
a handful of cilantro leaves

Cooking method:

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees in fan mode. Cut off any excess from the beets, rinse under cold water. Blot up any remaining moisture and brush a little olive oil on the beets. Wrap in foil and bake for 50-60 minutes or until the beets are tender. Slice the beets with a sharp knife.
Combine sumac, ground coriander, oregano, a teaspoon of lemon juice and a teaspoon of olive oil. Place the lamb in a deep bowl, pour over the marinade and cover. Let marinate for half an hour or an hour in the refrigerator.
Rinse bulgur, place in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Leave for 40 minutes until the cereal swells. Drain the rest of the water, transfer the bulgur to the dish in which you will serve. Add the remaining two tablespoons of olive oil and two tablespoons of lemon juice, season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Stir.
Remove the skin from the beets and chop the flesh. Add to bulgur along with feta and chili cubes. Shake it up. Sketch the cilantro leaves on top. Leave to breathe.
Preheat your barbecue or grill to medium heat. Remove the lamb from the marinade and pat dry. To cook medium rare meat, fry the piece on both sides for 2 minutes (or according to your taste). Cover the meat with foil and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into thin slices and place over bulgur salad.

Quinoa with kale and avocado

You will need:

200 g quinoa
1 small head of kale
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 ripe avocado, halved, skinless and pitted
small young leaves of mint.
For refueling:
1 clove of garlic without husks, halved
3 tbsp. l. olive oil,
2 tbsp. l. cherry vinegar
or white wine vinegar

Cooking method:

Preparing the dressing. Crush the garlic into gruel with the back of a spoon. Spread the gruel on the sides and bottom of a small bowl, and put the rest in the bowl. Add olive oil and let it brew.
Boil 2 cups of water in a saucepan. Add quinoa and bring to a boil again, then reduce heat to low and cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until cereal has absorbed all the water. Remove the saucepan from the stove, place a clean tea towel under the lid and let sit for 10 minutes. Then transfer the quinoa to the bowl in which you will serve the salad.
Stir the garlic in the olive oil with a fork, remove the remaining garlic from the bowl. Season the oil with sea salt and ground pepper, whisk in the cherry vinegar. Pour half of the dressing over the quinoa and shake to absorb the liquid.
Remove the stalk from the small cabbage head. Boil 200 ml of water in a medium saucepan, add the cabbage and simmer over medium heat for 5 minutes. Drain the water, gently squeeze the cabbage. Disassemble into individual leaves. Add them to the quinoa and leave to cool.
Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Put pine nuts in it and fry them for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan regularly. Let cool, mix with avocado and mint, and place on top of quinoa.
Serve the remaining sauce separately. The salad goes well as an independent dish or with grilled meat and fish. By the way, the salad can be prepared in advance and stored in the refrigerator, but in this case it is better to add the avocado before serving to avoid browning.

Fricke salad with radish and canned lemon

Serves 4:

2 cups shredded freekeh (unripe young wheat)
1 small bunch of radishes
1/4 cup ExtrVirgin olive oil
1 tbsp. l. lemon juice
1 1/2 tbsp. l. finely chopped canned lemon and a little more for serving,
100 g arugula
some fresh mint

Cooking method:

Place the freeke into a saucepan and pour 560 ml of water. Cover with baking paper and simmer the water over low heat for 20-25 minutes, or until the grains are softer while maintaining their shape.
Meanwhile, using a sharp knife, cut the radishes as thin as possible.
Frike is ready. Drain, place thinly on a large dish and let cool.
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, and canned lemon and pour the sauce into the chilled freak. Stir. Add the radish slices.
Place the arugula leaves in the serving platter. Spread the freekeh mixture over the greens. Top with mint leaves and some canned lemon.

Barley salad with shrimps and yoghurt dressing

Serves 4:

1 cup barley (or pearl barley), 1 tbsp. l. natural yogurt, 2 1/4 cups vegetable broth or water, 1 cinnamon stick, 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, 5 cardamom pods, 40 g hazelnuts, 16–20 peeled king prawns, 1 bunch of parsley (coarsely chopped).

For yoghurt dressing:

1/2 cup natural yoghurt, 2 tbsp. l. tahini, 2 tbsp. l. finely chopped dill, 1 clove of garlic (peeled and crushed), 1/2 tsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. l. lemon juice, 1 tbsp. l. water

Cooking method:

Put the cereals in a large bowl, cover with cold water, add yogurt. Leave it overnight or for at least 6 hours at room temperature (such a soaking will shorten the cooking time, and the cereal is better absorbed by the body). Drain all the liquid, then rinse the cereal thoroughly and drain again.
Place the cereals in a saucepan, along with the stock, all the cinnamon and cardamom, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered for 50–70 minutes, or until the liquid is completely absorbed.
Remove from heat and let stand for about five minutes. Place the cereal on a platter, remove the cinnamon stick and cardamom and let cool.
Meanwhile, preheat a skillet over medium heat and sauté the hazelnuts for 2 minutes, shaking the skillet regularly. Cool and roughly chop.
Simmer the shrimp in a saucepan with a little water - 2-3 minutes, or until they turn pink. Drain and transfer the shrimp to a bowl.
Combine the dressing ingredients, then add 2 tablespoons of the dressing to the shrimp and stir.
When the cereal has cooled, season it and stir the whole dish. Sprinkle the dressing over the rim of a serving plate, then place the cereal-based salad on top of it, shrimp and nuts on top.

Photo: Getty Images