Fajita Pasta Salad, Lavender Popcorn, Tomato Pie, Uttapam

 Fajita Pasta Salad
Here's a cool supper for a Global Warm day!

For the Vinaigrette
1/4 cup Lime Juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp Maple or Golden Syrup
2 tsp Fajita Seasoning mix or more to taste
3 Tbsp Water

Whisk together and reserve

For the pasta
8oz box of Red Lentil or other non-wheat Rotini or similar past.

Cook to package directions, drain and reserve.

For the Vegetables
1 cup frozen (thawed) Corn
2 Bell Peppers diced large
Poblanos
Sweet Onion diced large
1 can Beans -- Pinto or Black, rinsed and drained
1 large firm heirloom Tomato diced, or equivalent smaller tomatoes
1 Avocado sliced
1/8 cup shelled Pepitas -- pumpkin seeds
Remaining Fajita Seasoning

Dust the corn, peppers and onion with the remaining seasoning and grill/air fry/broil for a few minutes until starting to color nicely.  Remove, cool and reserve.

Assembly
Gently fold together the cooked pasta and cooked veg.  Dress with half the dressing and chill for at least a couple hours before serving with slices of avocado and a sprinkling of pepitas; then dress with the remaining vinaigrette. 


Lavender Popcorn?
Sounds nuts, doesn't it?  It's Not!  Hear me out!  Awhile back a friend gifted me with a jar of Culinary Lavender (the edible version, not the perfume).   Of course I looked (and continue looking) for recipes to use it in -- ice creams, frostings, cakes, etc.  but hopefully some more savory recipes. 

I found, and tried the idea of a tiny pinch of culinary lavender in an omelet -- excellent!  It adds the faintest hint of floral to the other herbs I use like Za'Atar.  Then I found a reference to lavender and lemon-pepper as a flavoring for popcorn.  What?  

I LOVE popcorn.  Have a bowl almost every night as my after dinner snack instead of a sweet dessert.  So I finally just had to try the idea.  The original recipe had you mixing oil or melted butter with lavender and other things, including lemon-pepper. That recipe sounded like too much trouble to go to for a test.  

So I made my usual bowl of popcorn -- 1/8 cup of un-popped corn -- with my usual butter flavored popcorn oil and a bit of salt on the popped kernals.  Then I added a pinch -- just a pinch -- of lavender and a few cracks of lemon-pepper:  

 WOW!   Amazing!   Great aroma!  Buttery, salty, slightly sweet and slightly peppery taste!!     This could be the best thing I've ever put on popcorn!


Tomato Pie!
How did I get to be this old and not know about tomato pie?  I've lived in the Midwest and deep South, both places which claim the savory dish, yet I never heard of it until a week or so ago!!

In case you don't know, Tomato Pie is a flaky pie crust filled with alternating layers of slices tomatoes and cheese and basil, which is then baked until crusty and bubbling.  Sort of a deep-dish version of the classic Pizza Margherita.   

9" Pre-baked Pie Crust.  I used a rolled up crust and pre-baked it myself.
2-5 Tomatoes sliced 1/4" thick.  I used Yellow Tomatoes because I could.
Fresh Basil Leaves -- at least a dozen...
2 cups Shredded Cheese -- Cheddar and Mozzarella or whatever you prefer
1 cup Mayo or plain Greek Yogurt or half & half each
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
Salt & Pepper or other spices of your choosing.  I used Za'Atar and Spicy Italian seasoning.

Pre-bake your crust until just starting to brown.  Let it cool.  This helps keep the crust from getting soggy.

Combine the cheeses with the Mayo/Yogurt to make a cheese spread.

Slice the tomatoes, lay them in a colander and sprinkle with salt.  Set in the sink for about 10 minutes to help pull out the juice.  Then lay the slices out on paper towels and pat them as dry as you can.

Start layering with a schmear of the cheese spread in the bottom of the crust.  Then a layer of overlapping tomato slices.  Follow that with a layer of basil leaves.  Continue layering until you run out of ingredients, being sure to end with the cheese mixture on top.

Bake at 350F for about 30 minute until the cheesy top is nicely browned.  Let the pie rest for 15 minutes before slicing, so it has a chance to firm up before being cut.

Got a little dark around the edges... I forgot to cover them with foil...

Serve by itself or with a side -- salad, potatoes, sweet potato, ranch beans, succotash, or macque choux,  all make good sides to accompany the pie.

Here you can see how the slices of tomato and the cheese mixture are layered...

 

Not a Curry Uttapam
Uttapam are a savory, fermented/raised Indian Pancake made from lentil and rice flour, topped with diced veg.  Often eaten for breakfast in India, we had them for dinner the other night. 

Traditionally they are made by fermenting finely ground urad dal (lentils) and/or  chana dal (dried split chickpeas) and rice flour.  Then making a batter with water and setting it out to ferment 24 hours before.  Maybe sometime when I've got a couple days to plan ahead. 

Uttapam can also be made from oat or semolina flours, and using Baking Soda to get a rise rather than 24 hour fermentation with wild yeast.    That's better.  Better still, your local Indian market (like ours) may also have Instant Uttapam packets -- just add water!

Here's a simple recipe for Uttapam using Baking Soda and Yogurt to give you a really nice batter.  Makes 4 Uttapam -- dinner for two, these are pretty filling pancakes.

1 cup finely ground flour -- your choice -- semolina, rice & dal or oat

1/2 cup Skyr or Greek yogurt (plain, full ft)
3/4 tsp Salt
1 cup Water
1-1/2 tsp Baking Soda

Optional Toppings total about a cup:
fine diced Red Onion
fine diced Bell Pepper 
fine diced Hot Pepper or Green Chilis
diced, drained Tomato

In a blender, combine the first 4 ingredients and take for a nice long spin to grind the flour a bit thinner and make the batter.   Decant to a mixing bowl and stir in the Baking Soda.  Give the soda a few minutes to work while you chop up your toppings and get your non-stick griddle pan or skillet up to medium or  bit less heat.  With an electric stove and a 10 point dial, I cooked them on a 3 setting.  This is not a pancake race, cook them slowly for the best results.

Into you hot skillet/griddle ladle 1/2 cup of the batter and form about a 6" pancake.  Sprinkle with perhaps 1/8 cup of assorted toppings.  Drip a little oil around the edge as you gently lift and check the brown-ness.  When golden on the bottom, flip over and cook the second side about the same amount of time so that the onion and things caramelize nicely.  Remove to a warm storage plate, let the pan cool off the heat for a minute or so, and repeat with the remaining batter and toppings. 

Can be served alone or with a variety of sides.  We liked ours with our favorite Brinjal Pickle and a homemade Green Mango Chutney for a bit of vinegary heat.  If you're big eaters, serve with a hot vegetable side.