Recipe(tried): Chickpeas with Piquillos, Lemon, and Herbs; Curried Corn and Seafood Salad; Red, White, and Blue Potato Salad; Broccoli Raisin Salad

Chickpeas with Piquillos, Lemon and Herbs
Curried Corn and Seafood Salad

Both of these recipes are ones I got at Bread and Circus here in Western Mass. They are both good and a little different. The first, I have made several times and the second, I only tasted yesterday at a demo that they had at Bread and Circus (Our Whole Foods grocery store here.). The curried corn and seafood salad was a combination of ingredients that I would never have thought would be good together but it was wonderful:-) Before I give you these 2 recipes, I would also encourage you to check the recipe for Red, White and Blue Potato Salad that I posted yesterday. It, too, is good. I would also recommend Broccoli Raisin Salad that I posted quite a while ago. I took it to a potluck and was inundated with requests for the recipe.

Chickpeas with Piquillos, Lemon and Herbs

3 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzos) or 2 cans (15 oz. each), drained (I used canned, in bottles from Bread and Circus, chickpeas, rinsed and drained)
6 oz. (about 10) authentic Piquillo peppers from Spain, drained and coarsely chopped (these are in the cheese section ?? of our Bread and Circus, packed in their plastic containers) They are Spanish roasted Red Peppers. You will have to take the seeds out of them but it is a very easy job since they have alreday been roasted.
1 or 2 lemons (I used 1 since I didn't want the salad too lemony)
8 sprigs parsley, finely chopped
4 sprigs savory or thyme, finely chopped (I used thyme)
1 sprig rosemary, removed from stem and finely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil from Spain (I also got this at Bread and Circus)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

If using dried chickpeas, soak 1/2 lb. (about 1 cup) in cold water overnight in the refrigerator.

To cook, pour off soaking water, top with fresh, cold water or vegetable stock, add a peeled carrot, a stalk of celery, a halved, peeled onion, a few cracked garlic cloves, and a bay leaf. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer until done, about 2 hours. During the cooking process add salt and black pepper to taste. When beans are tender, drain and cool. Place in mixing bowl.

Remove the yellow portion of peel from lemon with a microrasp, or with a vegetable peeler and chop finely. Cut lemon(s) in half and squeeze the juice over the chickpeas. Add chopped herbs, lemon zest, and Piquillo peppers to chickpeas. Toss with olive oil and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes 4-6 servings

Very pretty and very tasty:-)!! Also, it is very light and so it is a great salad for a hot day.

Curried Corn and Seafood Salad

You may use steamed mussels (meat from about 3 lbs.), surimi (imitation crabmeat), boiled shrimp, steamed scallops or lobster. Feel free to choose your favorite or most accesible seafood. (The sample I had was made with shrimp.) You can start with leftover cooked corn or you can substitut 2 1/2 cups frozen corn kernels for out-of-season preparation.

4 medium-sized ears of corn
1 Tbsp. butter ormargarine
1/2 cup sliced scallions, including the green tops
1 tsp. curry powder
Salt to taste (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups cooked seafood, cut into bit-sized pieces
4 plum (Roma) tomatoes, cut into 1/2 inch pieces

Cut the corn kernels from the cobs, and set the kernels aside (you should have about 2 1/2 cups)

In a large skillet. melt butter or margine over medium heat. Add the scallions and curry powder, and saute the ingredients, stirring them, for 1 minute. Add the reserved corn kernels, salt (if desired), and pepper, andcook the mixture, stirring it often, for 4 minutes (1 minute if you are starting with corn that has already been cooked). Remove the pan from the heat, and transfer the corn mixture to a large bowl.

Stir the cilantro into the hot corn mixture, the set aside to cool.

When the mixture is nearly at room temperature, add the seafood and tomatoes. Toss the salad gently to combine the ingredients well. This should DEFINITELY be refrigerated since it has seafood in it.

Serve the salad lightly chilled or at room temperature. (If salad has been refrigerated until serving time, take chill off of it by warming it in the microwave oven for about 1 1/2 minutes.) That is what the directions say ???!?? I'm not too sure that I would do that... All I can say is that it was a very good salad:-)! If you decide not to use it for your picnic, do try it sometime.

NOTE: Just be extra careful about all of the salads since we have had such hot weather lately. The most safe thing to do would probably be to refrigerate any and/or all of the salads for which I posted recipes.

Let us know what you decided to make and how it turned out. Have a great time:-)!