Recipe of the Week: Ful for Love

This weeks recipe was one I was really excited about. I read this book called "The Language of Baklava" by Diana Abu-Jaber last summer. It is a great memoir of growing up in an Arab-American family told through food stories, recipes and family anecdotes. Many of the recipes are easily adaptable for a gluten-free diet so I copied them down onto my recipe cards and stored them away. I have been making Diana's hummus since last summer and I absolutely love it!

After reading "The Language of Baklava", I wanted to let the author know how much I enjoyed the book and the Mediterranean/Middle Eastern-inspired recipes so I sent her an email. I love when I get responsess from authors! It makes you feel that they appreciate you as much as you enjoyed their book. Here is what Ms. Abu-Jaber had to say:

Dear Erin,

Thank you so much for your kind words-- I'm so pleased that you were able to find gluten-free/adaptable foods. I really feel like the Mediterranean diet is one of the healthiest (and yummiest) around...but I may be biased! Oh, I predict you will love Ful, and if you make the muhamara recipe, be warned-- people will try to lick out the bowl.

Enjoy! And many thanks again for taking out the time to write.

Diana

I decided recipe #2 for my 2011 recipe resolution would be "Ful for Love" by Diana Abu-Jaber. I must preface this recipe by saying that I am not a huge fan of large beans. I don't like the texture of anything bigger than a black bean unless it is smushed or in a stew/chili. I never had fava beans before so I was a bit put off right from the beginning. Nevertheless, I gave it a try...

Ful For Love from The Language of Baklava, page 323

Ingredients


1 small can of fava beans, drained
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
juice of one lemon
1 small onion, finely diced
1 tbsp. finely chopped flat-leaf parsley


Directions

1. In a saucepan, combine fava beans, garlic, onion, 1 tbsp. of olive oil, salt and pepper. 
2. Simmer over low heat for about 10 minutes then remove from heat
3. Add lemon juice and remaining oil. Mash into beans with fork.
4. Garnish with onion and parsley.

*Ful is nice topped with chopped tomato.



My Modifications

• I did not have fresh garlic, so I used minced garlic from a jar. 
• I used a potato masher to really mash up the fava beans to avoid that bean texture.
• I ate this with gluten-free rice crackers, no parsley or tomato garnish. 

I didn't love this recipe, but mostly because of the fava beans. I couldn't really get past the smell or the taste of the beans. I think I might try garbanzo beans next time. Any suggestions?

I still highly suggest "The Language of Baklava" by Diana Abu-Jaber for anyone that enjoys food and family memoirs. 

2011 Recipe Resolution #2 is now finished. 

Recipe of the Week: Butternut Squash Enchiladas

I decided one of my 2011 resolutions is to try one new recipe a week. I like to cook, but I tend to continue using reliable recipes that I have been cooking for years. Sausage and peppers, chili, stir fry, and pasta dishes are staples in my weekly meal planning. I read a ton of blogs so I bookmark recipes on an almost daily basis. I have also been reading a lot of food memoirs so I also gather recipes from there. Add the enewsletters that flood my inbox on a daily basis and I am simply overloaded with recipes. Now, it is my goal to start trying out those recipes. I am going to try at least one new recipe per week and then post it up here at Gluten-Free Fun every Friday.

Sometimes I will follow the recipe down to each teaspoon and each dash of salt. Other times I will modify the recipe based on what is in my cabinets or how I am feeling that day. Regardless, I will post the original recipe as is and then let you know if I made any modifications. Many times I make modifications when I am missing ingredients or short on time so I will include this in my review.

My first recipe of 2011 was Butternut Squash Enchiladas from Allrecipes.com. I love Allrecipes.com because they have a page where you can enter your ingredients that you have on hand and it returns recipes including those ingredients. This is exactly what I did on Tuesday night. I had half of a butternut squash and a ton of spinach in my fridge, hence my first step at accomplishing my food resolution of 2011.

Butternut Squash Enchiladas

Ingredients
8 (5 inch) corn tortillas
1/2 unpeeled butternut squash, seeded
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
2 cups chopped fresh spinach
4 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 cup enchilada sauce
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves, for garnish (optional)
1/4 cup sour cream, for topping (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
2. Lay the tortillas flat onto a baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until crispy, about 10 minutes. Remove and allow to cool. Meanwhile, place the butternut squash half into a microwave-safe dish cut-side-down, and pour in the water. Cook in the microwave until tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Once cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and dice; place into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and onion; cook and stir until the onion has softened and turned translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and sun-dried tomatoes. Continue cooking until the spinach wilts. Gently fold the spinach mixture into the diced butternut squash.
4. Arrange four crispy tortillas on the baking sheet. Divide the squash mixture among the tortillas. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of goat cheese over each tortilla, then top with the remaining tortillas. Pour the enchilada sauce over top, and sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of cotija cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until hot, about 10 minutes. Garnish each enchilada with chopped cilantro leaves and a dollop of sour cream to serve.

My Modifcations

• Instead of cooking the butternut squash in the microwave, I roasted this in the oven for 40 minutes on 350 degrees. This eliminated the need for 1/2 cup of water.
• I used frozen, pre-chopped onions as well as pre-minced garlic.
• I did not have tomatoes or enchilada sauce on hand, so I substituted with 1/2 cup of salsa. I suggest including some kind of condiment since the general flavor was a little bland without the sauces.
• I didn't have goat or cotija cheeses, so I used mozzarella cheese. 
• I only used 6 corn tortillas.
• I layered one corn tortilla with the squash, spinach, onion, and garlic mixture followed by some mozzarella cheese. Topped that with another corn tortilla and repeated the veggie mixture and cheese topped with one more corn tortilla. Using this method of layering and filling (think Mexican-ish lasagna), I got two servings from my preparation of ingredients.
• Next time I think I might include some chili powder and cumin into the mix because I felt the general flavor was a little bland. This might be because of the missing enchilada sauce. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this dish and would definitely cook it again. 

My first 2011 Recipe of the Week was a success!