eclaire (what’s in a) name?

i can’t wait to share the amazing summer dinner recipe pictured above with you! but first, i have to share photos from a cooking class we attended on thursday night. the class was taught by joseph schultz (many of you from santa cruz might know him better as india joze). joseph danced around the kitchen and created an amazing 11 dishes during the three hour chickpea festival class:

the class begins!                                       1. soup made from chickpea flour

2. pakora with quince chutney                3. garbanzo marinata

4. cicer et elixati (roman dish)               5. chicken w/chickpeas & pickled lemon

6. bulgar w/liver                                   7. khatte kabuli (black garbanzos)

8. topig (stuffed chickpea “tamale”)        9. murg dhansak (chicken cassoulet)

10. tempeh cassoulet                            11. besan barfi (chickpea fudge)

it was amazingly inspiring to watch and listen to someone who is so passionate about food, and so very knowledgeable about cuisines across many continents! the flavors in all of the dishes were phenomenal, and we left with a cookbook chock full of chickpea recipes, tummies full of scrumptious food, and brains full of ideas, so look for some more chickpea posts on this site soon!

ok, so back to the recipe of the week: panzanella. i had heard of this type of salad, but was never tempted to make it until i read the love letter to panzanella on the blog cheap, healthy, good. do you read this blog? if not, you should – she’s such a good writer and so convincing that i immediately decided it was time to try this recipe out.

i wish i hadn’t ignored panzanella recipes before. but they’re so basic that i’d often overlooked them. bread. onions. tomatoes. basil. olives. cheese. olive oil. vinegar. salt and pepper. and that’s it! the simplicity of the dish allows every item to sing, and makes you go back for seconds. and thirds. and even leaves you with leftovers that taste better the second day than they did the first. i am planning on putting this into our weekly rotation for the rest of the summer. won’t you join me in doing the same?

one year ago: lemon feta tomato pasta salad
two years ago: raspberry bars and mango teriyaki tofu

summer panzanella

yields 4 heaping servings, or 6 regular servings
borrowed from cheap, healthy, good

• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 1 loaf french bread (whole wheat if possible)
• 4 tomatoes, diced
• 4 ounces mozzarella, cut into cubes
• 1/2c fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons
• 2/3c pitted kalamata olives, chopped
• 1T red wine vinegar
• 1T olive oil
• salt
• pepper
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1. turn oven on to 350°
2. soak red onions in a small bowl with ice water for 10 minutes, then drain
3. slice the bread in half, and bake 10 minutes on a baking sheet, until toasty, then remove from the oven and let cool a bit
4. while the bread’s cooling, toss the tomatoes, cheese, basil, olives, onion, vinegar, and olive oil in a large bowl
5. then, slice the bread into 1″ cubes, and throw into the large bowl with the rest of the salad
6. stir well, and let sit for 30 minutes to marinate, or overnight (i skipped this step because i was impatient and hungry, and it was still delicious)
7. sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste, stirring again, and serve!