Mediterranean Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

We had our friend Vimmi over for dinner the other night. Since she’s vegetarian, I scanned my “Vegetarian Meals” Pinterest board for ideas. She’s also allergic to gluten, so that vetoed a lot of the options like pasta and pizza. But I came across this recipe for Mediterranean stuffed sweet potatoes and it’s one of my new favorites. It was great served hot, as well as cold leftovers a few days later. 

We cooked the sweet potatoes in the crock pot while at work which is how I’m always going to cook them from now on. It requires zero effort and they turn out perfectly soft inside. 

Recipe (adapted from A Saucy Kitchen)

Ingredients:

• 1 15 oz can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
• 3 T extra virgin olive oil
• 2 T fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 2 T chopped fresh parsley, divided
• ¼ t sea salt
• 1 medium ripe avocado
• ¼ cup garlic hummus (or you can use regular hummus and add a clove of garlic)
• ¼ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
• Crumbled feta cheese

Directions:

1. Scrub your sweet potatoes, poke holes in them, and wrap them in foil. Cook them on low in a crock pot for 6-8 hours.

2. In a medium bowl, combine chickpeas, olive oil, 1 T lemon juice, lemon zest, 1 clove garlic, 1 T parsley, and sea salt. Toss to marinate then set aside.

3. In a food processer, blend the avocado, garlic hummus, 1 T parsley, and 1 T lemon juice.

4. Assemble your sweet potatoes. Depending on how hungry you are, either cut a slit in the potatoes to stuff them, or serve half a potato per person (our potatoes were large, so we only ate half per person). Spread the avocado sauce over the potato, then top with the marinated chickpeas, pepitas, and feta. Enjoy!  

Pan Seared Salmon with Mediterranean Salsa Fresca and Toasted Couscous

I think I've found my new favorite seafood recipe.  I made this salmon dish for Valentine's Day dinner and it was very easy and tasted incredibly fresh.  I made enough for leftovers, which were great in a salad for lunch the next day.  If you like salmon, definitely try out this recipe! 

Pan Seared Salmon with Mediterranean Salsa Fresca and Toasted Couscous (adapted from The Cozy Apron) 

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 pounds salmon fillets, skinned 
• Olive Oil
• 1 t paprika
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1/2 t onion powder
• 1 t ground cumin
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper
• pinch of red pepper 
• 1 t grated lemon zest
• Mediterranean Salsa Fresca (recipe below)
• Toasted couscous (recipe below) 

Directions:

1. Cut the salmon into 4 equal fillets.  Place in a bowl and drizzle with 2 T olive oil.  Sprinkle paprika, garlic, onion, cumin, salt, pepper, red pepper, and lemon zest and toss to coat the fillets.  Allow to marinate at least 20 minutes, or as long as overnight. 

2. Place a large cast-iron over medium-high heat.  Drizzle 2-3 T of olive oil.  Once oil is hot, add the salmon.  Sear on one side for about 4 minutes or until deep golden-brown.  Flip and allow to sear on the other side 4 more minutes.  Remove from skillet.  

3. Serve the salmon over a bed of toasted couscous and a side of the Mediterranean Salsa Fresca.  

Mediterranean Salsa Fresca 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 small cucumber, diced
• 1/3 yellow bell pepper, diced
• 3 T kalamata olives, diced
• 1 t fresh dill, chopped
• 1 t chopped parsley
• 1/2 t lemon juice
• Salt
• Black pepper

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients and chill until ready to serve.

Toasted Couscous

Ingredients:

• 1 cup couscous
• 1-1/4 cup water
• salt
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, pressed
• 1 t Italian seasonings 

Directions:

1. Place a medium non-stock sauce pan over medium heat.  Add couscous and stir frequently while toasted.  Pour out of the pan and set aside.  

2. In the same pan, add water, a few pinches salt, olive oil, and garlic.  Stir to combine.  Bring water to a vigorous simmer, pour in the couscous, and stir.  Turn off the heat and cover with a lid.  Allow couscous to soften 5-7 minutes and fluff with a fork.  

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:

• 1 whole head garlic
• 1 T olive oil
• salt
• pepper
• Italian seasonings

Directions:

1.  Cut about 1/4 inch off the garlic so the inside is exposed.  Let soak in olive oil and spices while the oven preheats to 350.  

2. Put the garlic cut-side down in the oven in a muffin tin (you can roast several at once if you'd like).  The garlic turns sweet after being roasted and makes the perfect spread for toasted bread.  

Carmel Café & Wine Bar – Tampa, FL

Today was a day of catching up with friends.  This morning I had coffee with my friend Laura who is in town from Vermont (who went to lunch with her sister at Mazzaro’s after my recommendation!) Then for dinner I joined my friend Maddie at Carmel Café & Wine Bar. 

The South Tampa location of Carmel Café has been open for about 2 years now - I've been there several times already.  The design is sleek and sophisticated with vibrant artwork (several of the oil paintings were painted by Alfonso Architects).  To complement the modern interiors, they also have state of the art technology with an iPad ordering system.  I love that the iPad menu is so interactive – you can see actual photos of the food prior to ordering – and even type in special instructions for the chefs.  The visuals ensure that you get exactly what you want – I hate when I order something solely based on the menu description and it shows up completely different than I had envisioned.

The food has a Mediterranean vibe and there is a wide selection of specialty cocktails, wines, and a full liquor bar.  Once ordered, the food arrives very quickly, so I’d advise pacing yourself while placing the iPad orders if you don’t want everything to arrive at once.  Despite most of the work being done via iPad, the servers are still very attentive – almost too much so.  It seemed that every time we took a sip of water, our waiter was there to refill our glass. 

On Sundays and Mondays there is an option for a special Prix Fixe menu – 3 courses for only $14.  I went ahead with the special and ordered the chickpea fries, black olive Caesar salad, and Moroccan lemon chicken.  From 4 – 7pm on weekdays they also have several appetizers and drinks on special for $4.  Maddie ordered the mini mezze platter and the tomato Margherita flatbread. We also split a press of their red sangria with fresh fruit. 

I’ve had the chickpea fries before so I knew that I’d like those.  They are served with a sweet tomato jam and a curry aioli sauce which you’ll want to lick clean off the plate.  Unfortunately for the Prix Fixe menu I actually got less fries than normal portion – 4 instead of 9.  The Caesar was good but nothing too exciting – I probably wouldn’t have ordered it if I weren’t doing the special menu.  But the Moroccan lemon chicken was excellent!  It was served with pine nuts, saffron, olives, lemon, and a mix of roasted vegetables, including large stalks of broccolini.  The chicken dish on its own is normally $12, so it was definitely worth it to do the Prix Fixe meal. 

The mezze platter that Maddie ordered is my go-to appetizer at Carmel Café.  It has grilled pita with a variety of dips and toppings – including muhammarra (a Syrian pepper dip), edamame hummus, goat cheese, roasted garlic, olives, and sun dried tomatoes.  A lot of the dishes like that one are perfect for sharing – probably the best way to experience Carmel Café is to go with a group and just order a bunch of dishes to pass around the table.  It was pretty quiet tonight, but it does get very busy on the weekends.  Most days have specials like today – you can check out their calendar here. 

Carmel Café and Wine Bar has several locations.  The one we visited tonight is located at 3601 W. Swann Avenue, Tampa FL 33609 and is open from 11am – 10pm Monday through Thursday, 11am – 11pm Friday & Saturday, and 11am – 9pm on Sunday.