Make-Fast Mondays: Ground Lamb Kebab Wraps with Cucumber-Radish Salsa

With summer so close you can taste it, I’ll bet you’re dreaming of grilling up something meaty and delicious. Give this a recipe a try the next time you feel like firing up the barbecue.

Ground Lamb Kebab Wraps with Cucumber-Radish Salsa 
1 pound ground lamb
½ cup finely diced white onion
2 tablespoons chopped parsley, divided
2 tablespoons chopped mint, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup sliced radish
½ cup peeled and diced cucumber
½ teaspoon olive oil, plus extra for grilling
2 teaspoons lemon juice
Hummus
4 warm flatbread or pita rounds
Equipment: 4 12-inch skewers (I used metal skewers, but wooden skewers work great)

If using wooden skewers, place them in a shallow dish, cover with water and soak for at least 30 minutes. Drain skewers when you’re ready to use them. 

Get your grill started (medium-high heat).

Combine radishes, cucumber, ½ teaspoon olive oil and lemon juice in a bowl. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine lamb, onion, 1 tablespoon each parsley and mint, garlic, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and salt. Divide meat mixture into four portions and form each around a skewer, making an oblong sausage shape. Brush lamb kebabs with a little bit of olive oil.

Grill kebabs for 5 minutes before turning once and grilling another 5 minutes, or until meat is brown and thoroughly cooked. Remove meat from skewer. Spread hummus on each flatbread, add meat and top with salsa.

Make-Fast Mondays: Pesto Chicken Polenta Bowls with Artichoke Hearts and Spinach

Nothing beats the taste of fresh, homemade pesto, but that doesn’t mean you can’t keep a store-bought jar or two stashed in the cabinet for those times when you want pesto in a pinch. Crack open a jar of your favorite store-bought variety and give this recipe a try. Wondering what to do with the rest of the jar? Find just a few ideas for what you can do with the leftover green goodness here.

Pesto Chicken Polenta Bowls with Artichoke Hearts and Spinach 
1 quart chicken broth
1 cup polenta
2 bay leaves
¼ cup grated Parmesan, plus extra for garnish
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
8 ounces sliced mushrooms
14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
3-4 tablespoons pesto
1 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
8 ounces chopped spinach

Bring broth to a boil in a large saucepan. Gradually add polenta and bay leaves, stirring for a minute, before reducing heat to low and covering the saucepan. Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring the polenta for a minute every 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat, remove bay leaves, and stir in the grated Parmesan. 

Once polenta is simmering, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes or until chicken is completely cooked. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside.

Heat remaining olive oil and add mushrooms to the pan, cooking until mushrooms are slightly softened. Add the chicken, artichoke hearts, pesto and red pepper flakes to the pan, stirring once or twice, until everything’s nice and warm. Add spinach and continue to cook for just a minute longer, until spinach wilts but is still a vibrant green, and everything’s got an even coating of pesto sauce. Divide polenta evenly among 6 bowls, followed by the pesto chicken mixture. Garnish with Parmesan and enjoy!

Golden Beet and Sunchoke Soup

Spring is in the air, skies are blue, the sun is shining … Yes, I know we’re all pumped for summer salads and barbecues, but how about a delicious bowl of soup before the weather heats up too much? This soup takes only about 30 minutes to make and is great when you’re craving a bowl of something hot and tasty that’s also veg-friendly and dairy-free.

Golden Beet and Sunchoke Soup 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound golden beets, peeled and chopped
1 pound sunchokes (also called Jerusalem artichokes), peeled and chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups (or more) vegetable broth
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Shelled pumpkin seeds, toasted

Warm olive oil in soup pot over medium heat. Add beets, sunchokes, onion, garlic and salt and sauté for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 4 cups vegetable broth, nutmeg, white pepper and cayenne. Increase heat to high, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until the beets and sunchokes are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Working in batches, process the soup in a blender until smooth. Add more broth if you want to thin the soup a bit. Season with salt. Divide soup among bowls (yields 4-6 servings, depending on how hungry you are) and garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Chocolate Oatmeal Hazelnut Cookies

While I’ve never met a cookie I didn’t like, I’m particularly fond of cookies with a good chew factor that don’t crumble to tiny bits when you take a bite. Make a batch of these bad boys the next time you’re craving something chewy, chocolatey and nutty.

Chocolate Oatmeal Hazelnut Cookies 
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 ½ cups brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup whole-wheat flour
½ cup Dutch-process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups hazelnuts

Place oven racks in upper third of oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Toast hazelnuts in a cookie sheet until fragrant, 5-6 minutes. Let hazelnuts cool and then coarsely chop them.

Combine butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large bowl, beating with electric mixer until fluffy before adding eggs, beating to mix thoroughly. Add oats, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt, mixing on low speed until blended. Add chopped hazelnuts and mix until incorporated. Drop batter by the tablespoon about 1-1½ inches apart on cookie sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake for 12-14 minutes -- cookies should appear done but will still be soft. Remove cookie sheets from oven, letting cookies stand for 2-3 minutes before moving them to cooking racks.

Make-Fast Mondays: Bratwurst with Beans and Greens

I’ve been firing up the oven a lot lately, the direct result of a long string of gloomy, rainy days (but please keep it coming, El Niño). Chase the gray away by making this delicious, cozy, quick meal!

Bratwurst with Beans and Greens 
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
12 ounces bratwurst or smoked sausage, sliced (I used Saag’s Natural Chicken Bratwurst)
3 cans white beans, drained and rinsed
3 cups diced tomatoes (from two cans; you’ll have a little bit extra)
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups chopped greens (I used a mix of kale and spinach)
Salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a skillet or other oven-proof pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute. Add sausage and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add beans, tomatoes, smoked paprika, thyme and pepper flakes. Cook for another 3-3 minutes so everything’s nice and warm. Remove skillet from heat and stir in the greens. Season with salt and pepper, then put skillet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes.

Make-Fast Mondays: Chicken with Chickpeas and Artichoke Hearts

Want to make something zippy and zesty in just a matter of minutes? Here you go!

Chicken with Chickpeas and Artichoke Hearts 
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 14-ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and halved
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons lemon juice

In a large frying pan, heat olive oil over moderate heat. Add chicken, garlic and oregano and cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat to low and add artichoke hearts, chickpeas and lemon juice. Cook, stirring occasionally, until everything is nice and warm, about 5 minutes. Enjoy!

Rosemary Potato and Chicken Pizza

There’s a Sacramento restaurant, Paesanos, that used to serve a phenomenal Patata y Pollo pizza covered with roast chicken, potatoes, herbs and cheese. This pizza was so good my friend Lucy called the restaurant in hopes of getting the recipe, (unsuccessfully) spinning a tale that her (nonexistent) child had food allergies and that she needed to know all the ingredients so she could make sure it was safe for her fake kid to eat.

I haven’t visited this restaurant in years (and don’t think the Patata y Pollo has been on their menu for a while), but I still crave that pizza. Not sure if my attempt to recreate this pizza is a perfect match, but it is still sooooo good.

Rosemary Potato and Chicken Pizza 
8 ounces Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced thin (use a mandoline for super thin slices)
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary, divided
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 pound chicken breasts, cut into small chunks
1 chicken bouillon cube, smashed
¼ cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons water
Pizza dough (I use one 16-ounce ball of Trader Joe’s dough)
Flour and cornmeal (for prepping the pizza dough)
1 tablespoon butter, melted
2 ounces goat cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Toss potatoes, 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon rosemary in a bowl. Arrange potato slices in a single layer on a baking sheet and roast until golden and tender, about 18-20 minutes.

While potatoes are in the oven, warm the remaining olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for a minute, until fragrant. Add chicken and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink. Add bouillon, wine and water to the frying pan and cook for a couple minutes, until chicken is completely cooked and sauce has thickened.

Roll out your pizza dough on a floured surface and transfer to a cornmeal-dusted pizza pan. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining rosemary. Top dough with potatoes, chicken, goat cheese and mozzarella and bake for 15-20 minutes, until crust and mozzarella are golden.