Caramelized Onion and Tomato Relish with Chickpea Fritters

A few weeks ago, the kind folks at Robert Rose Inc. offered to send me a copy of the new "cook" book, "Eat Raw, Eat Well" by Douglas McNish. McNish is a Certified Red Seal Professional Vegan Chef, cooking teacher and raw food consultant.

I'm not a big proponent of the raw food diet - which is a diet made up of raw foods, or food that cannot exceed 118 degrees Fahrenheit, if heated - but I am intrigued by its health benefits. With that being said, I was eager to dive into this book and try a few of its recipes - but by putting my own, non-raw twist on them.  

"Eat Raw, Eat Well"  is chocked full of 400 raw recipes for smoothies, sauces, dips, entrees, desserts and salads, and even has tips on stocking a raw food kitchen. Some noteworthy dishes in the book include Coconut Water Strawberry Jam, Avocado Spinach Dip, Basil and Spinach 'Cream' Sauce, and Creamy Ranch Kale Chips. 

My dinner last night was a variation of the book's Caramelized Onion and Cherry Tomato Relish, as well as the Chickpea and Zucchini Fritters.

Caramelized Onion and Grape Tomato Relish

Yields: About 1 cup

Adapted from Eat Raw, Eat Well

-3 tbsp. olive oil, divided

-1 yellow onion, sliced

-1 tbsp. sugar

-1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

-2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

-Salt and black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.) In a saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil on medium heat. Add onions, and cook, stirring often, for about 2 minutes. Add sugar, and stir again; let onions cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, sticky and caramelized.

2.) In a separate saucepan, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over low to medium heat. Add tomatoes, and let cook for about 2-3 minutes, or until they begin to soften. Remove from heat, and add to a bowl with the onions.

3.) Add vinegar, salt and pepper; stir. Let sit in fridge for a half hour to meld flavors.

Chickpea Fritters 
Yields: 6 fritters
Adapted from Eat Raw, Eat Well
-1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
-2 tsp. cumin
-1/2 tsp. turmeric
-1/2 tsp. curry powder
-1 tsp. dried parsley
-1/4 tsp. Ajwain seeds (optional)
-2 tbsp. olive oil
Squirt of lemon juice

Directions:
1.) Place all ingredients above in a food processor and pulse until mostly smooth. Form chickpea mixture into 6 small patties.
2.) In a frying pan, heat olive oil over medium to high heat. Once hot, place chickpea fritters in the oil and cook on each side for about 2 minutes, or until brown and crispy.
3.) Serve with Caramelized Onion and Tomato Relish.

The onion and tomato relish was a fun condiment for me to make, and something I can use on several dishes over the next few days. The spicy chickpea fritters came out a tad bit dry, but with the relish, it was hard to notice. I loved using this cookbook as an inspiration for my meal, prepared in the way I prefer.

The average retail value in the U.S. for "Eat Raw, Eat Well" is $24.95.

Would you ever switch to a raw food diet? Why or why not?

Disclaimer: Although I received a copy of this book for review, free of charge, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and 100 percent my own.

Raw Food for Everyone

Last Thursday, I was invited to attend a book signing at the Brookline Booksmith featuring Alissa Cohen, author of Raw Food for Everyone: Essential Techniques and 300 Simple-to-Sophisticated Recipes. 

Courtesy of Amazon.com.

Going into the event, I knew next to nothing about a raw food diet - except, of course, that raw food means uncooked. After attending Alissa's book signing, however, it became very clear what a raw food diet entails - not to mention how surprisingly approachable such a diet can be.

Alissa talked briefly about her book and answered audience members' questions for a good 45 minutes before sitting down to sign everyone's copy of her cookbook. Some of the most interesting things I learned while listening to Alissa included:

-A raw food diet consists of fruits, vegetables, sprouts and nuts

-Protein does not create protein in our bodies. Amino acids do. So, leafy green vegetables are a much better source of protein for our bodies than nuts, meats, etc.

-Leafy green vegetables also possess a lot more calcium than milk 

-After going raw and figuring out what foods/meals work best for you, it can actually be a very affordable diet to live off of

Raw Food for Everyone even has a helpful list of essential pantry items all raw food dieters should have on hand. A lot of Alissa's recipes are also named after recognizable dishes, although they are made with completely raw ingredients. For instance, her Angel Hair Pasta and Marinara Sauce is made with zucchini cut into angel hair via a spiral slicer with marinara sauce. Alissa even substitutes salmon for papaya in several recipes, and uses nuts in a lot of dishes in place of cheese.

For the book signing, Alissa brought a tray of her Date Nut Torte (featured in her new book) to share, made with raisins, walnuts, dates and lemon juice. Thankfully, there was more than one sample for everybody.

The torte was incredibly chewy (due to the raisins and dates), and surprisingly light, despite the dense texture of the torte. It also tasted like a sweet, decadent dessert, although it was incredibly healthy and nutritious.

I was so intrigued by Alissa's sweet personality and passion for raw food that I decided to make a recipe lout of her cookbook for Z's family's dinner Sunday night. I was in charge of bringing an appetizer, and I knew Alissa's recipe for Curry Spinach Dip would be right up Z's family's alley. The alterations I made to Alissa's recipe are marked below.

Curry Spinach Dip
Yields: 2 cups

-4 cups packed spinach leaves (I only used 3 cups)
-1 large avocado, peeled, pitted, and coarsely chopped
-1/2 tbsp.freshly squeezed lemon juice
-1/2 tsp. Herbamare Organic Herb Seasoning Salt (I just used regular salt)
-1/2 garlic clove

-1/4 tsp. curry powder

-1/8 tsp. freshly grated ginger (I used a dash of ground ginger)
-Dash of cumin

Directions:

1.) Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Taste for seasoning and add more seasoning salt, if necessary.

2.) Transfer the dip to a bowl and serve immediately.

I was in a rush, so I never snapped a photo of the spinach dip - but trust me when I tell you, it was green. Z's family loved how flavorful and healthy this dip was, and I served it with multigrain tortilla chips which ended up being a great complement to this dip.

Overall, I was incredibly impressed with Alissa and her cookbook, and was pleasantly surprised at how approachable and realistic a raw food diet can be. She makes it seem so effortless, and she even admitted to "falling off the wagon" for the first seven years of trying a raw food diet. At the end of the day, though, Alissa made it clear that a diet of nothing but raw food yields energy, improved mood, and a downright healthier lifestyle.

Would you ever go raw? Why or why not?

Also: Don't forget to enter my CSN giveaway! $30 to spend on yourself, or someone on your holiday shopping list.