Roasted Poblano Guacamole with Spiced Tortilla Chips

Roasted Poblano Guacamole with Spiced Tortilla Chips

Homemade spicy tortilla chips are the perfect match for this guacamole, made with roasted poblano peppers and sweet onion.”

Ingredients

  • Roasted Poblano Guacamole
  • 1 medium fresh poblano chile pepper (see Tip)
  • ½ medium sweet onion, cut into ½-inch slices
  • 2 small avocados, halved, seeded, and peeled
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • Spiced Tortilla Chips
  • 6 (6 inch) corn tortillas
  • ¼ teaspoon chili powder
  • Nonstick cooking spray

Directions

  • 1To prepare the Roasted Poblano Guacamole: Preheat oven to 425°F. Halve poblano pepper; remove seeds and membranes. (see Tip) Place onion slices and poblano pepper, cut sides down, on foil-lined baking sheet. Roast in oven about 20 minutes or until poblano skin and onion are lightly charred. Wrap peppers in the foil and let stand for 20 to 30 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Peel off skin. Chop poblano and onion.
  • 2In a medium bowl mash avocados. Stir in poblano, onion, lime juice, cumin, and salt. Set aside.
  • 3To prepare the Spiced Tortilla Chips: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut corn tortillas into wedges. Coat wedges lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Sprinkle with chili powder. Place on a baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until crisp. Serve tortilla chips with the guacamole.
Zesty Avocado Black Bean Dip

Zesty Avocado Black Bean Dip

Perfect for game day, this fiber-rich dip is a surefire crowd-pleaser to serve with crudités or tortilla chips. It requires little prep time and is ready to serve immediately.”

Ingredients

  • 4 medium ripe avocados, divided
  • 1-2 tablespoons lime juice, divided
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground cumin
  • ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
  • ¾ cup no-salt-added canned black beans, rinsed
  • ¾ cup frozen whole kernel fire-roasted corn, thawed
  • 1 small jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

  • 1Mash 2 avocados in a medium bowl with a fork. Stir in 1 tablespoon lime juice, salt, cumin and pepper until combined.
  • 2Cut the 2 remaining avocados into small chunks. Add to the mashed avocado mixture along with beans, corn, jalapeño and cilantro; stir until combined. Add more lime juice to taste, if desired.
Pumpkin Kibbeh (Kebbet Laa’tin)

Pumpkin Kibbeh (Kebbet Laa’tin)

Kibbeh” describes dishes made with bulgur, onions and spices. That mixture is combined with everything from tomatoes to goat. It’s layered and baked, shaped into balls or footballs, stuffed, deep-fried or eaten raw. This vegetarian kibbeh recipe is made with pumpkin and stuffed with seasoned greens. Sorrel adds a lemony flavor, but you can use chard or kale and add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to the filling. Use fine bulgur or the texture of the dough will be gritty.”

Ingredients

  • Dough
  • 2¼ pounds pie pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
  • 1½ cups fine bulgur (see Tips)
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 medium onion, grated
  • ¼ cup finely chopped fresh basil
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh marjoram
  • 1¼ teaspoons salt
  • Stuffing
  • 2 tablespoons dried chickpeas
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • ½ medium onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cups lightly packed finely chopped sorrel, chard or kale
  • 1½ teaspoons ground sumac (see Tips)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon baharat spice blend (see Tips)
  • 12 cups canola or corn oil

Directions

  • 1Place chickpeas for stuffing in a bowl. Add enough cold water to cover by 3 inches; let soak for 8 to 24 hours. (Alternatively, place chickpeas in a large saucepan and cover with 3 inches cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Let stand for 1 hour.)
  • 2To prepare dough: Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add pumpkin (or squash) and cook until very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Mash, then immediately add bulgur and flour; mix well. Mix in grated onion, basil, orange and lemon zest, marjoram and 1¼ teaspoons salt. When cool enough to handle, knead well to combine. Set aside.
  • 3To prepare stuffing: Meanwhile, drain the chickpeas, rub off the skins and break the chickpeas in half. Bring a small saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Add the chickpeas and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain.
  • 4Thoroughly dry the large pot. Add olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, 3 to 5 minutes. Add greens; cook, stirring, until wilted, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the drained chickpeas, sumac, salt and baharat. Transfer to a bowl. Wash and dry the pot.
  • 5With wet hands, shape 2 tablespoons of the dough into a ball. Hold it in the palm of your left hand and use your right thumb to press into the center of the dough to make a little bowl. (See Tips.) Put about 1 teaspoon stuffing in the middle and close the dough over it. Shape the kibbeh like a football and smooth it with wet fingers. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and stuffing. After you have about half of the kibbeh shaped, heat canola (or corn) oil in the large pot over medium heat to 350°F. (It takes about 20 minutes to heat the oil.) Continue shaping the kibbeh to make about 32 total.
  • 6Line a baking sheet with two layers of paper towels. You’re going to fry the kibbeh in 4 batches. Add one-fourth of them to the hot oil and cook, turning once or twice, until browned, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet. Return the oil to 350°F between batches. Serve the kibbeh at room temperature.
Spicy Guacamole

Spicy Guacamole

Chile peppers and roasted garlic take the flavor of this homemade low-calorie guacamole and kick it up a notch.”

Ingredients

  • 2 medium green sweet peppers
  • 2 medium fresh poblano chile peppers (see Tip)
  • 1 bulb garlic
  • ½ teaspoon olive oil
  • 2 medium ripe avocados, halved, seeded, peeled, and cut up
  • 1 teaspoon finely shredded lemon peel
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped

Directions

  • 1Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil; set aside. Quarter, stem, and seed the green peppers and chile peppers. (see Tip) Place pepper quarters, cut sides down, in the prepared pan. Cut off the top ½ inch of the garlic bulb to expose ends of individual cloves. Leaving garlic bulb whole, remove any loose, papery outer layers. Place bulb, cut end up, on a double thickness of foil. Drizzle with the oil. Bring foil up around bulb and fold edges together to loosely enclose. Place foil packet on the pan with the peppers.
  • 2Roast peppers and garlic for 20 to 30 minutes or until pepper skins are charred and garlic cloves feel soft. Bring foil up around pepper quarters and fold edges to enclose. Let stand about 15 minutes or until cool enough to handle. Using a sharp knife, gently pull skins off pepper pieces and discard. When garlic head is cool enough to handle, squeeze garlic paste out of the individual cloves.
  • 3In a food processor combine roasted pepper quarters and the garlic paste. Cover and process until nearly smooth. Add avocados, lemon peel, lemon juice, salt, and crushed red pepper. Cover and pulse with several on-off turns until mixture is slightly chunky, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Transfer to a serving bowl; stir in tomatoes. Serve immediately or cover the surface with plastic wrap and chill for up to 1 hour.
Roasted Vegetable Dip

Roasted Vegetable Dip

Roasting vegetables really brings out their intense flavor. This homemade dip recipe is great to serve at last-minute parties. Simply seasoned vegetables roast in just 20 minutes and are then blended with a touch of earthy balsamic vinegar and fragrant fresh rosemary, resulting in a delicious dip your guests will love.”

Ingredients

  • 4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 large red bell peppers, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 medium shallots, halved
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary, plus additional sprigs for garnish
  • 48 water crackers or 8 cups assorted vegetable dippers (such as broccoli florets, cauliflower florets, and/or zucchini sticks)

Directions

  • 1Preheat oven to 425°F. Line a shallow roasting pan with foil. Place carrots, bell peppers, shallots, and garlic in prepared pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with ground pepper and salt. Cover with foil.
  • 2Roast for 20 minutes. Uncover and stir the vegetables. Roast, uncovered, for 20 to 25 minutes more or until the vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Cool slightly on a wire rack.
  • 3Transfer the vegetable mixture to a food processor. Add vinegar and the 1 teaspoon rosemary. Cover and process until smooth. If desired, garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve with crackers or vegetable dippers.