Smoked Salmon Wrap with Goat Cheese, Cucumber & Dill
Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1
Inspired by: One of my favorite breakfasts – a bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese.
Ingredients:
- 1 tortilla
- 4-6 thin slices of smoked salmon
- 2 tablespoons spreadable goat cheese
- 2-4 thin slices of cucumber (1/4 x 1/4 inch slices – this keeps them crunchy but also easy to roll)
- 1 teaspoon of dill (dried or fresh)
Preparation:
- Lay the tortilla in front of you and spread the goat cheese on the bottom third
- Sprinkle the dill over the goat cheese
- Add the salmon over the dill
- Add the slices of cucumber in a narrow band across
- Starting from the bottom, roll the tortilla tightly with all the fillings
- Spear with a toothpick through the middle to help hold it together, or wrap in foil
Note: For party sandwiches, cut into 4-5 slices. You may need to cut off a tiny bit of the ends. This is awesome dipped in a yogurt dill sauce.
Wine Suggestions: Good matches with the smoked salmon include off-dry wines such as Viongier, Condrieu, Riesling or light bodied reds such as a California Pinot Noir or Red Burgundy.
Herbed Feta Walnut Spread
Time: 15-20 minutes
Serves: 8 as an appetizer
Inspired by: A Persian friend of mine made this for a party and I loved all of the flavor nuances in it. I believe this is a combination of her recipe and others I’ve read on the web and then my own refinements. The Persian name for this spread is nan-o panir-o-gerdu.
Ingredients:
- ¼ pound feta cheese
- 2 cups shelled walnuts (Whole Foods or Trader Joes)
- 2 tablespoons fresh scallions – chopped
- 4 tablespoons fresh basil – chopped
- 4 tablespoons fresh mint – chopped
- 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Juice of one lime
- 2 – 4 tablespoons olive oil
- Pita bread or lavash (soft or crunchy) or raw veggies
Preparation:
- Chop scallions and basil and mint leaves by hand or in your food processor. Don’t chop too fine. Remove from food processor.
- Don’t clean food processor – toss walnuts in and whirl until finely chopped.
- Add the feta to the nuts and chop/blend the two.
- Then add garlic, pepper, lime juice and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and mix well.
- Taste and then add salt if needed and add additional olive oil for flavor and texture – but if you like the thicker consistency, don’t add too much oil.
- Remove mixture from food processor and hand mix with the scallions and herbs.
Note: I saw an identical recipe recently that also included 2 tablespoons of tarragon.
Serve with: Use as a dip with cut up pita bread or raw vegetables, or as a spread on lavash or crackers.
Wine Suggestions: The herbs in the spread pair well with herbal, aromatic whites such as a Spanish Verdejo or Sauvignon Blanc – although many Sauv Blancs will be too herbatous or grassy and that could take away from the beautiful delicate flavors in the spread. If you are going for a Sauvignon Blanc, a White Bordeax is probably your best option. A Grüner Veltliner could also be a good option or any light crisp white such as an Albarino, Chablis or a light White Burgundy.
Chicken Noodle Soup
Time: 5-6 hours (easy to make, but waiting for the chicken to slow cook takes time)
Serves: 10-12
Ingredients (First List)
- Whole chicken (approximately 3 lbs; remove the “innards”)
- 2 quarts water
- 1 large onion – chopped
- ½ cup fresh parsley – chopped
- 2 stalks celery with leaves – chopped
- 5 whole peppercorns
- 6 chicken bouillon cubes or 2 tablespoons chicken soup base
- 2 bay leaves
- ¼ teaspoon dried celery seed
- Dash of dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
Ingredients (Second List)
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 1 cup sliced celery
- ¼ cup minced onions
- 1 tablespoon minced parsley
- Salt and black pepper to taste (can add a little cayenne as well if you like a kick)
- ½ cup rice (uncooked) OR 1 lb fusilli or rotelle
Recipe
- Combine first list of ingredients above: chicken, water, onion, celery, parsley, peppercorns, bouillon/soup base, bay leaves, celery seed, thyme and salt in large pot (water should cover chicken so don’t use a pot that is too large/wide).
- Cook over low heat for 3-4 hours and keep covered.
- Remove chicken from pot and allow it to cool.
- Strain vegetables and spices from broth and discard (because all flavor has been sucked out).
- Put broth in refrigerator to cool for 30-90 minutes.
- Remove skin and bones from chicken – cut or tear meat into bite-sized pieces.
- Skim/remove fat from top of cooled broth.
- Bring broth to a boil.
- Add second list of ingredients to the broth, including the chicken.
- In a separate pot, cook the pasta according to instructions (if you cook it separately, it keeps the soup from getting too starchy)
- Simmer for approximately 30 minutes until vegetables are cooked but not too soft – this makes a large bowl of soup so if you are making it to reheat again later they’ll get softer.
Wine Suggestions: If you enjoy the complimentary flavors and textures – then a creamy white, such as a buttery California Chardonnay, is a nice compliment to this soup. However, if you prefer something more contrasting, I think a crisp white with good acidity is wonderful to cut through the oiliness that comes through in the chicken. The photo above was when we tried it with a a very light, fairly high-acid red (Arbois) and it was nice, but not a fantastic pairing. I’d have prefered a light White Burgundy with some beautiful lemony flavors.