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.
Chickpea, feta & cilantro salad
Ingredients
- 1 can of chickpeas aka garbanzo beans
- 1 cup of olive oil Greek, if possible
- 1 large red onion
- 5 cloves of garlic
- 1 2/3 cups of crumbled Feta about 5-6 oz
- 4 scallions green part
- 1/2 bunch of cilantro
- 1 small bunch of Italian parsley depending on size, basically twice as much parsley as cilantro
- Juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Open the can of chickpeas, drain and rinse them well. Set aside in a bowl.
- Chop the red onion and garlic cloves finely. Chop the scallions.
- Wash the cilantro and parsley, pick the leaves off the stems. Process together in a food processor until finely chopped. (Or chop by hand).
- Heat 3 tbsp of olive oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the red onion gently, until cooked through and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a few more seconds, until you can smell the garlic. (Do not brown the garlic.) Transfer to a bowl and let cool completely.
- Add the mashed feta, the chopped cilantro/parsley, scallions and lemon juice to the chickpeas, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the onion/garlic mixture (Make sure it is completely cooled, if it’s still warm, the feta will melt). Then the remaining olive oil (a little over 3/4 cup left.).
- Mix very well. You can make a few hours ahead of time or even the night before. You can let it marinade at room temperature and serve.
- It keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days.
Notes
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 Foods: Spring 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
Oh another delicious recipe I can make with J! Thank you!
Let me know how he likes it 🙂
Looks like very yummy though I haven't tasted this recipe yet. I will follow the steps and procedures and let my kids taste it also 🙂
kids birthday parties nyc
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! 🙂
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.
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!