This salad is called the Gypsy salad because it is a melange of flavors, textures and ideas from around the world.  Blood orange, arugula, and fennel from Europe mix with jalapeno and avocado from Mexico.  Cumin, mint, and dates from the Middle East come into play as well.  Many of these ingredients, like dates, have traveled from their origin, and are now part of new cultures.  It is like us, a gypsy that never stops traveling.  The measurements are not exact, we trust that you add how much you want of each ingredient, and enjoy the journey that it takes you on.

Ingredients

1 fennel bulb, trimmed and outer layer removed (if bruised)

1 handful of baby arugula

1 handful of dates, pitted and sliced in quarters

a few kalamata or Moroccan black olives, pitted and sliced

1/4 of a jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced

1 avocado, halved and pitted

1 sprig of mint

Small handful of parsley

a handful of fresh walnuts, roughly chopped

2 blood oranges (you can substitute regular oranges or cara caras here also)

1 lime (kaffir limes welcome!)

1-2 Tablespoons sherry or rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons olive oil

Pinch of cumin and salt

Slice the fennel in half lengthwise, and then thinly slice each half horizontally.  Transfer to a bowl and combine with the arugula.

Add the sliced dates and olives. 

Thinly slice the jalapeno.  If you are sensitive to heat, finely mince it, but if you like more of a bite, slice it in small horizontal strips.  You only need a 1/4 of the pepper or so.

Roughly chop or tear the herbs and add to the bowl. 

Keep the avocado meat in the skin and score with a knife in long vertical slices.  Use a spoon to get under the meat and scoop out the slices over the salad bowl. 

For the dressing, zest the oranges and the limes with a zester or microplane over the salad bowl.  You will only need a little bit of the lime zest and about 1/2 of one of the orange's zest.  Slice off the top and bottom of the oranges, removing the skin and pith.  Next place the oranges, one at a time, on the cutting board and slice off the skin and pith (without going to deep!) to reveal each segment.  Working over another small bowl, slice out each orange segment carefully, allowing the juices to fall into the small bowl, and then add the segments to the larger salad bowl.  When you have finished slicing the oranges, squeeze out any excess juice into the small bowl.  Juice the lime into the bowl as well.  Stir in the cumin, vinegar, and olive oil and whisk to combine (you can just do this with a fork). 

Pour the dressing over the salad and toss well. 

Add the crumbled walnuts. 

Serves 2. 

This salad works as an appetizer, but it also goes beautifully on top of grilled fish like tuna or mahi mahi, or atop a grilled chicken breast. 

Casseroles are a great way to use up Thanksgiving leftovers. We combine leeks and eggplant, which are often paired together in Greek cooking, along with fusilli pasta and turkey meat for a comforting, yet healthy dish. We use the Mastiha resin as a spice in this dish.  Although it is optional, it is a fun spice to add to your International pantry, and adds a unique nuance to the dish. See note below for details.

Olive oil (about ¼ cup total)

2 large or 4 small leeks, dark green parts removed

1 medium eggplant

1 clove garlic

2 tablespoons of butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups vegetable or chicken broth, boiling

½ cup grated Manchego cheese

200g cooked fusilli pasta

1 ½ cups leftover turkey meat

½ teaspoon ground Mastiha powder* (optional)

Salt and Pepper

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400°F.
Cut a slit down the length of the eggplant. Peel the garlic and slice vertically into thin slivers. Insert the garlic pieces into the slit in the eggplant and lightly brush all over with a couple tablespoons of olive oil. Bake the eggplant in the oven for about 45 minutes, or until it is completely cooked through and the flesh has shrunken in from the skin. It should look deflated and sink when you poke it with a fork. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. When the eggplant is cool enough to handle, scrape out the flesh into a sieve set over a bowl and drain of the excess liquid. Transfer to a bowl, along with the garlic and a pinch of salt, and fork mash it until it is well blended.

Meanwhile, slice the leeks in half lengthwise. Rinse out the dirt well, making sure to get in between each layer. Slice the leeks in thin strips horizontally across.
Heat up 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sweat the leeks until cooked through and completely soft, seasoning with some salt along the way, about 15 minutes.
You can make the vegetables up to 1 day ahead of time and keep them in the fridge.

Once you have your leeks and eggplant ready, you are ready to put the dish together.
In a medium-sized pot, melt the butter and once it begins to froth a little, add the flour. Stir the flour and butter on medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, without letting it brown, to cook off the flour flavor. This mixture is called a roux.
Slowly pour in the boiling broth, whisking it into the roux as you pour. Once the broth is all in there, keep it at a simmer and let it thicken and reduce slightly. Add the grated cheese, followed by the prepared eggplant and leeks, pasta, and leftover turkey meat. Season with salt and pepper and Mastiha, and stir everything together. Pour into a 9x13 inch casserole dish and top with the grated Parmesan.
Set under the broiler for about 5-10 minutes until the Parmesan melts and browns.

Serves 8-10 people.

* Mastiha is a resin from the island of Chios in Greece. It has a lovely piney/camphoric flavor that goes beautifully with eggplant and leeks. You can purchase it at mastihashopny.com

This vegetarian nacho dish is delicious because of all of the flavors and colors present. We brush our bread with coconut oil and dust it with curry powder, but you can also just use butter, ghee, or olive oil.

2 tablespoons coconut oil
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon grated onion
2 tandoori naan
¼ cup grated mozzarella or another meltable mild cheese
2 tablespooons tamarind
1 tablespoon agave nectar or honey
½ cup plain yogurt (can be non-fat or whole)
1/3 cup chickpeas (sprouted or canned)
1 teaspoon chopped jalapeño
1 medium tomato, cored and diced small
¼ cup grated carrot
Fresh cilantro sprigs

Melt the coconut oil in a small skillet. Add the curry powder and grated onion and cook on low for a few minutes until fragrant.
Brush the breads with the melted coconut oil mixture and then slice into wedges. Bake in a 300 F oven for 20 minutes, or until crisp.
Arrange the breads on an oven-proof serving dish and top with the grated cheese. Pop back into the oven to melt.
Mix together the tamarind with a few drops of water and the agave nectar, so that it is a bit looser than a paste, but still quite thick.
Top the Naanchos with the yogurt and drizzle over the tamarind.
Garnish with the chickpeas, jalapeño, tomato, carrot, and cilantro.
Serves 2 as a main dish and 4 as an appetizer.

For the Crab:
½ lb Dungeness crab meat
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 teaspoon sesame oil (or olive oil if you don’t have sesame)
1 lime, juiced
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Mix together the crab, ginger, sesame oil, lime juice, and rice wine vinegar in a small bowl and keep cold until ready for use.

For the Rolls:
12 rice paper rolls
½ peach, sliced in thin strips
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, de-seeded, and julienned
1 carrot, peeled and julienned
1 avocado, peeled, pitted, and cut in thin strips
1 cucumber, peeled and cut in thin strips
1 handful fresh cilantro
a few sprigs of mint or shiso leaves
¼ cup toasted cashews or peanuts, crumbled

The idea here is to have all of the vegetables and peach cut in the same way, so they can line up together inside the roll. Try to get them all to be about 5 inches long, and cut in thin strips. Place the peach, red pepper, carrot, avocado, and cucumber side by side on one long plate (as in an assembly line). Have the herbs rinsed and ready on another plate, as well as a third small dish with the toasted nuts.

Dip the rice paper rolls 1 or 2 at a time in a bowl with hot water. Remove them one at a time, and place on a cloth towel. Spread out so it is the full circle, and dab with the cloth to dry off any excess moisture. They should be slightly damp, but sticky.
Place one piece of peach and each vegetable in the center of the circle. Top with a few pieces of herbs, the crab, and finally the nuts. Bring up the bottom flap to cover the bottom of the veggies, fold over the top, and then roll in each side to seal.
Repeat with the remaining rolls and serve with the dipping sauce.

Makes 12 rolls.