An herbed chickpea feta salad, and Pablo’s weekly menu

I had a lovely Mother’s day spent mostly between the kitchen and the table. Even though I was exhausted by the end of the day, I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was imagining what a Mother’s Day with brunch at a restaurant would be like, for example. And that would be lovely, of course, but celebrations where I don’t cook feel slightly off to me, as if something is missing. I realized that cooking and sharing a homemade meal with loved ones is truly my way to celebrate. When I first lived in the US, I was always puzzled at the fact that the expression “partying” was synonymous with drinking. Because to my French self, “partying” (faire la fête) had always been synonymous with a good meal.  A “feast” of sorts. And a feast we did have.

Our  meal was quite delicious (quite a few shots of it onInstagram if you want to check it out), in particular these beet tartlets which I highly recommend, and the chickpea, feta, cilantro salad I’m sharing here. I was looking for a Greek recipe for our menu and found this lovely salad in the beautiful family cookbook I got as a gift for my birthday, Falling Cloudberries, by Tessa Kiros. I love how it connects cooking, family and culture as inextricable.

And this salad… So flavorful and simple. I take a bite, close my eyes, and can see myself sitting at a terrace by the sea with my Greek sister and niece, feeling the warm, dry, salty air of Greece on my every pore.

Here’s the recipe. And scroll down further for our week’s menu… A lovely spring week to all.

And sharing our week’s menu 🙂

Cheeses of the week: Following French tradition, I always offer a little bit of cheese at the end of every meal, between the main course and dessert. Rotation this week: Camembert, Gouda, Goat Brie.

Desserts: At lunch, I offer a fruit yogurt (or plain yogurt with fresh fruit), but at night, I prefer sticking to plain yogurt (regular homemade* whole milk, sheep’s milk, goat’s milk and Greek yogurt for extra protein) to avoid too much sugar before bedtime.

If you would like a particular recipe on the menu, feel free to contact me! (I marked with a * the recipes that will be the topic of upcoming posts).

MONDAY

Lunch 

Appetizer / Finger FoodsSpring pea salad

Main course: Leftover paella from Mother’s Day lunch

Goûter (4pm snack) – Dark chocolate fondant*

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Artichoke leaves with vinaigrette

Main course: Pan-fried garlic shrimp & this braised fennel, potatoes & radishes in brown butter lemon sauce

TUESDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Authentic Greek salad

Main course: Sardines, baby bok choy puree

Goûter – Apple-strawberry compote

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Endive & goat cheese salad with beet greens walnut vinaigrette

Main course: Herbed lamb meatballs in coconut milk over quinoa

WEDNESDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Green beans, cauliflower, Italian parsley salad

Main course: Turkey filets & snap peas in mustard cream sauce*

Goûter – Strawberry rhubarb compote*

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Chards, blood orange, goat cheese salad from Vanilla Bean blog

Main course: Pan-fried Dover sole filets, spinach broccoli puree

THURSDAY

Lunch – Picnic at the park

Grated carrots French-style; hard-boiled eggs; mixed quinoa salad with cherry tomatoes, avocado, hearts of palm, beans, bell peppers, cucumber; bread & cheese; grapes.

Goûter – Pear-blueberry compote

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Pea, edamame, mint soup from Gourmande in the Kitchen

Main course: Oven roasted pork ribs, blue potatoes


FRIDAY


Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Warm leeks with vinaigrette

Main course: Mushroom prosciutto tartine

Goûter – Homemade rhubarb raspberry mint ice cream*

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Shredded Brussels Sprouts with walnuts & dates from Food Loves Writing

Main course: Duck filets with braised radishes

SATURDAY

Lunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Orange tomato gazpacho

Main course: Chicken liver salad with raspberry vinaigrette

Goûter – Apple

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods:Lentil shallot salad

Main course: Trying the braised fennel with saffron & tomato from Green Kitchen Stories

SUNDAY

Lunch/Brunch

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Zucchini mint terrine

Main course: Smoked salmon, avocado & radish garnish

Goûter – Kiwi

Dinner

Appetizer / Finger Foods: Asparagus, arugula & avocado soup with crab*

Main course: Eggplant au gratin

6 thoughts on “An herbed chickpea feta salad, and Pablo’s weekly menu

  1. Thank you for writing this! I am also trying to instill a love of life through food and nature to my two boys. I get so excited by food and nature and wild edibles! You stirred my soul and my appetite! 🙂

  2. 5 stars
    Can you describe how you store your cheeses? I don’t have a small child in our home but I do have a giant teen. She will eat most anything if it doesn’t eat her first but she is very sporadic in her eating habits. It is much too late to change her but that is alright. She eats reasonably healthy foods much of the time.

    1. Hi Val! My son is now almost 10, and I can imagine as the teenager years come on, with growth spurts and the rest, eating habits can be very changing! It certainly makes sense, I know my own eating habits have shifted in different seasons of life. As far as the cheese, funny you should ask, because I’m thinking of writing a post about our “cheese box”. It seems like most French families have that big tupperware of cheese in their fridge. It is what we do. Wrapped in their wrapping, and in a big tupperware in a drawer of my fridge, so the smell doesn’t overtake our fridge (also always have baking powder near it in the fridge). We’ll usually have a selection of 5 to 6 cheeses in there, and we’ll bring it out a bit before dinner, or set it on the dinner table when we set the table (so cheeses have time to soften a bit). When we have guests, we get fancier and put cheeses nicely on a platter, but that’s not our everyday! Hope this helps! Thanks for stopping by to comment, Valerie!

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