Chickpea Antipasto Salad

In the kitchen, there is the sound of a ticking clock. From the open sliding door on my right, the leaves rustling in the breeze. The high today is seventy-one degrees. The last time I could say that was probably early April, and it feels like a treat. 

We had no idea what to expect when we arrived in McCall. Boise is surrounded by golden dry hills, the city itself an sprawl of big box department stores. But the further north you go the more trees you find, and the grasses begin to turn green. As you coast down the road into McCall's center you spot Lake Payette, like a gem in the rough. 

Here, I'm going to be soaking up the cooler weather -- currently drinking orange cinnamon tea - but back home, I'm still defaulting to no-cook, no-bake, minimal effort meals, like this Chickpea Antipasto Salad. 

This dish is a bit like pasta salad, minus the pasta, and all you do is mix. That's right: skip the oven, skip the stove, and even skip dishes -- it's a one-bowl wonder. 

Antipasto pasta salad is a picnic classic, with olives, artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese. But I wanted to make a version that didn’t use pasta. Something gluten-free with more nutrients per bite. Chickpeas are the perfect option here — they have a starchy quality that makes them a good filler, though they are also filling, more so than pasta, and in a good way. So there you have it, a way to fill those pasta salad cravings when you don’t want to fill your stomach with pasta.

You can make this salad ahead of time and chill it. Served over a few fresh lettuce leaves, it makes for a great make-ahead lunch in the middle of summer! Or, put everything in a large serving dish and tote your chickpea antipasto salad along to a potluck.

Chickpea Antipasto Salad

Published August 23, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4-6   |    Active Time: 10 minutes

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Ingredients:

2 sixteen-ounce cans chickpeas, drained

1/4 cup red onion, minced

1 cup artichoke hearts, quartered and drained

1/2 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes in oil, drained

1/2 cup sliced kalamata olives, pitted and drained

1/3 cup pesto

1/4 cup fresh basil, minced

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/2 cup feta crumbles

Optional: serve over a bed of butterhead lettuce

Directions:

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and stir to combine.
2. Serve immediately, or make a day ahead of time, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
3. Optionally, serve over a bed of butterhead lettuce leaves.

Spring Sauté with New Potatoes, Peas, Leeks & Artichokes

It's May 24th, which means we are literally right on the heels of the new GDPR regulation. As a one-woman show cooking and shooting in my very own Colorado kitchen, it's hard to believe that something like GDPR -- a regulation from the EU - would impact me. But, so many of my lovely readers live in the EU, and I wanted to ensure that everything was buttoned up so that you can still come get recipes.

So how does this even impact a little old blogger? That's a fair question. In order to know which recipes are most loved, and which are flops, I use tools like Google Analytics to see which recipes are most popular and why. I also use advertising to help keep the blog running. So, no matter where you live, you'll notice a few changes around here. First, you'll want to consent to the use of cookies and pixels (if you haven't already) for the best website experience. A little pop up should show right when you first visit Foraged Dish on a new computer, where you can give permission. Like for most bloggers (and websites!) this will help my site load faster for you, help me evaluate which types of recipes to make, and more. If you have any questions or concerns, I'm an open book. But also, please feel free to check out my privacy policy here. Also, if you subscribe to Foraged Dish via email, you can always update your settings! Just use the link in the email footer. 

This stuff might be a bit "boring" but it's important to me that you know you can safely visit Foraged Dish. 

Alright. Now that we have that covered, let's talk about this spring skillet. Because it's a must make for this month!!

Really, any excuse to eat artichokes is valid in my book, at any time of year. In the winter and early spring, this means making do with canned or marinated artichokes. I say "making do" because the alternative is fresh, but marinated artichokes aren’t necessary lesser than their fresh counterpart. Just different.

So while artichokes aren't ready to be harvested yet, the canned variety still feels perfect in this moment. Leeks, with a mellow onion flavor, get caramelized in the bottom of the pan until they're sweet. Young potatoes and peas add a light starchiness to this dish -- making it satisfying on soggy spring days (it has been raining here all week) or warm ones.

Hope you enjoy! 

Spring Sauté with New Potatoes, Peas, Leeks & Artichokes

Published May 24, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butter or coconut oil
• 1 leek, roots and dark green pieces removed, and washed well
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 cup diced young potatoes
• 1 cup fresh or frozen english peas
• 1 cup canned artichoke hearts, halved or quartered, drained
• Salt & ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat butter/oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.
2. Slice leek into thin rounds, and add to pan. Sauté until leeks are softened.
3. Add minced garlic, diced potatoes, and peas to the pan, and cover. Cook, stirring every 3-4 minutes, until potatoes are softened through.
4. Add artichoke hearts and cook for 2 minutes more, until artichokes are warmed through. Season to taste with salt & pepper and serve hot.

Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken Fricassee

This chicken fricassee is a “Helloooo, spring,” kind of dish. It’s made with artichokes—a quintessential mark of the growing season to me. 

Fricassee is a rich dish, where meat is braised with white wine and usually cream. In this version, chicken tenderloins are seared first, giving them flavor and shortening overall cooking time. 

This time of year we’re stuck in limbo between soup season and grilling season, when you crave fresh flavors but warm dishes at the same time. Fricassee is definitely warming -- that sauce is no joke. But the addition of artichokes, mushrooms and a generous sprinkle of parsley on top keeps it feeling lighter than if you were to use winter veggies (potatoes or other root veggies… though that would be delicious too).  Wonderful on a rainy day in March!

Because of its creamy sauce, fricassee is really good served over something like rice or mashed cauliflower... anything to soak up the creaminess! 

The whole thing is cooked on the stove and will be ready in 30 minutes. If you plan on making rice or mash cauliflower to go with it, get it going just as you’re starting to make the Fricassee so that it’s all ready at once and you don’t have to spend any more time in the kitchen than necessary!

Happy Spring! 

Mushroom & Artichoke Chicken Fricassee

Published March 27, 2018 by Caitlin Sherwood

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Serves: 4   |    Total Time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2-3 tablespoons coconut oil or other cooking oil
• 1 pound chicken tenderloins, or thin-cut chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour
• 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, quarters and drained
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• Salt
• Blck pepper
• 1/4 cup minced parsley

Directions:

1. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Dredge each piece through the flour, tapping off excess.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in the bottom of a skillet over medium heat (I used my 5-qt Le Creuset Braiser.) When the oil glistens, place the chicken in the pan. Cook on the first side for 5 minutes, until the bottom of each piece turns golden. Then flip, and cook 5 minutes on the opposite side. Use tongs or a spatula to move chicken to a plate and set aside.
3. Add second tablespoon of coconut oil to the pan. Once hot, add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 5 minutes, stirring occassionally. Then add minced garlic, and cook for a minute, until fragrant.
4. Pour the broth and mustard into the pan, stirring the mustard into the broth. Bring the liquid to a simmer, and using a wooden spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan a few times to deglaze the pan. Simmer for 3-5 minutes, reducing the liquid a bit.
5. Add the chicken back into the pan, along with the artichokes. Pour in the cream, stirring into the sauce, and remove from heat.
6. Garnish with parsley and serve hot.