Back to it....

After a relaxing weekend, we are ramping up for school starting (yes, 2 days of school followed by a 3 day weekend... great planning). The schedule has calmed down a bit this week, I have a minute to find some new things to work on. Back to the Flexitarian Kitchen then. I had tabbed a few Spring section things and never made them so here goes:
Bulgur with Roasted Chickpeas, Red Onion & Lemon:
This recipe is full of simple pantry items: spices (cumin seed, cayenne, smoked Spanish paprika, turmeric), red onion, canned chickpeas, lemon juice, oil or butter (I opted for oil). The roasting of the onions & chickpeas with the spices really adds a nice curry flavor to them. I had not cooked with bulgur before and I really enjoyed it, probably more than couscous (which you can substitute). The recipe makes a TON, way more than for 4 I think.

I served it with the Smoked Salmon Croque Monsieur. But, I used my electric panini grill rather than a griddle and a heavy pan on top. I did butter the bread and grill to add a bit more brown-ness (the nonstick panini grill doesn't actually brown that well without a little help). Basically just a smoked salmon & gruyere panini... with addition of a little lemon zest & chives with grainy mustard on the salmon side. We really liked this (used TJ's whole grain artisan loaf, worked quite well) and it made us think of other things for the panini press (again... we hadn't used it in a while). Peppered smoked salmon with maybe red onion relish.. kind of like a salmon reuben? Maybe next time. I really loved this. Luckily I have leftover salmon, bread and cheese.... lunch later in the week after the kid goes back to school!! Today I promised him noodles at the Mitsuwa Market food court. More overdue clipped magazine recipes this week....