Rosemary Grilled Vegetables with Lemon-Honey Tahini Sauce

It's raining here in The Valley of the Sun. It's been raining and cold ALL DAY LONG. In fact we have had a  crazy  unusual rainy 'season' all last month. We desert rats don't know how to cope with that here in Phoenix, it's almost as if people are staring up at the sky in disbelief {from inside their stucco homes and under the protection of their clay tiled roofs}  and just waiting for it to fall on their freshly manicured heads.









Where the heck is that umbrella anyway?.............


Craziness I tell you. The kids are like caged animals. A day without being able to ride their bikes to the park is a day where mommy needs a glass of wine by 5 p.m. in a bad way.  How the heck do people live in places where this is the norm?

On a truly positive note, I am giddy with anticipation at all of the wild flowers we will have around here in a month or so. We may not have green leafy trees, we may not have the changing of the seasons and snow covered hills for Christmas but by God we have the most  beautiful  wild flowers here in the desert that will blanket the once dry and desolate Arizona landscape with colors unlike anywhere else on Earth.

Giddy.


Another wonderful thing about it being cold and wet outside is being able to enjoy hot soups and roasted vegetables for dinner. Once the temperature hits 90F my oven goes into hibernation until October.






I was looking for a recipe similar to the lemon, fire grilled veggies that Pita Jungle serves.
I saw this recipe on Liz's site, The Lemon Bowl and knew I had to have it immediately. Her version seemed more like a side dish to me or a light snack so I added more veggies which I tend to do and some chickpeas which pair well with tahini and for more protein. The first time I made it the tahini sauce was a bit bland and thick for us so I added a drizzle of honey and thinned it out with more water, ended up being about 1:1 parts tahini and water to get it thin enough to 'drizzle'.

 Organic Tahini
is made of roasted, dried sesame seeds and has a very mild but distinctive flavor.  It is commonly used in Mediterranean cuisine and most famously, in hummus. For such a tiny little seed they pack a huge punch nutritionally speaking. They are packed with good for you nutrients and dietary fiber. Sesame seeds may help prevent colon cancer, supports respitory health,  reduces inflammation such as in PMS, migraines and osteoporosis and helps prevent many other chronic health conditions. 
In fact,  just 1/4 cup of sesame seeds provide 73% of your dv in copper which is known for reducing the pain and inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis. 

source: Whole Foods

PREP: 15 MIN      BAKE: 25 MIN     SERVES: 6

You Will Need:

• 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets

• 1 sweet potato, cut into 1inch cubes

• 2 large carrots, sliced into 1 inch pieces

• 2 cups broccoli florets

• 1 small purple or yellow onion sliced into wedges

• 2 cups cooked or 1 can of chick peas (garbanzo beans) drained and rinsed

• 1 head of garlic (yup a whole head)

• 2 tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons Organic Tahini
  

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 cup hot water

• 2 tablespoons Organic, local honey

• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped

• 1 teaspoon dried thyme

• 1 teaspoon dried marjoram

• 1 teaspoon dried oregano

• freshly ground black pepper

• Freshly chopped parsley for garnish

1. Pre-heat oven to 400.

1. Remove loose skin from garlic. Cut the top 1/4 inch off to expose the cloves a bit. Drizzle with 1/2 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil. 

1. In a large bowl, toss cauliflower, broccoli, onion, carrots and sweet potato with olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper then spread out in an even layer on a 9 x 13 Inch, Stoneware Baking Pan
   , I use a stone baking pan which I adore. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until browned.

1. In the bowl of a small food processor, mix together tahini, lemon juice/zest, a few of the roasted garlic cloves and salt. Slowly add in the hot water until desired consistency is reached then drizzle in honey.

1. When vegetables are done roasting, serve on a platter and drizzle with tahini honey-lemon sauce parsley. Serve warm.

recipe adapted from The Lemon Bowl

Throw your veggies, chick peas and herbs into a large bowl, drizzle with lemon juice and zest, a good quality olive oil and toss to coat. Spread evenly onto a 9 x 13 Inch, Stoneware Baking Pan
and bake. That's it!

Rosemary, Garlic and Parmesan Rustic Flatbread Pizzas

I don't know why I still sometimes think that making good, home made breads has to be difficult. After all, I am known for preaching about how simple it is to make home made snacks and meals so why not breads? I still find myself searching high and low on the bread aisle for healthy and affordable breads, usually to no avail. About half way down the list of ingredients I give up and say " Well, at least there's not any High Fructose Corn Syrup in here." even if I have no idea what the last 10 ingredients are. I have found 2 excellent bread recipes that I stick to when I have the courage time and patience to make bread. I don't know what my hang up is..... previous life baking disaster maybe?  Luckily, I do have my trusty  'Go To' sandwich bread recipe which is super easy is this  Honey Oat Bread  I've made this rustic  Rosemary Filone Bread  many times as the perfect accompaniment to soups or panini's and this  Cinnamon Spice Bread  is one of our all time favorites and perfect for Fall.



Make sure to check out these simple bread recipes and please keep in mind that I've been making them for so long that they were some of the very first recipes I posted here on Simply Healthy Family so the pictures leave much to be desired. I must retake some decent ones.... some day.

There. Disclaimer complete. Onto my latest 'Go To' bread find. Super simple and amazing Rosemary Flat bread. These flat breads take all of about 20 minutes total to make and are perfect as individual pizzas, to serve with a chopped salad such as my this one,  which is why I started the search for the perfect flat bread in the first place.

I am submitting this recipe to  Whole Foods Market Fairfield Cooking  for their 'Best Parmesan' recipe.

I would be ever so grateful if you would stop by and Tweet or share my recipe. The voting on the top 2 finalists starts next week. Thanks again for all of your support!

So, my search for a quick and delicious flat bread recipe that would come out slightly crispy and 'rustic' led me to this recipe on Smitten Kitchen which was originally from July 2008 Gourmet magazine, can't go wrong there. I adapted it by using less oil in the dough, more rosemary and instead of brushing them with more oil I used a roasted garlic spread then made it into a pizza by sprinkling with Parmesan and sliced veggies. That's it. Simple.


I'm thinking I will make these with roasted eggplant and feta next time. What do you think you would put on them or serve them with?



I doubled this recipe.

TIME 20 MINUTES YIELDS 4

You will need: 

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil + 1 teaspoon
3 tablespoon chopped rosemary
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 400°F with a baking stone on the middle rack.
Slice the top 1/4 inch off of a head of garlic and drizzle with a teaspoon of olive oil. Place on a baking stone (you will need the pre-heated stone for the pizzas). Roast the garlic for about 20 minutes, remove from heat and let cool so you can handle it. 

Meanwhile....
Stir together flour, chopped rosemary, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Make a well in center, then add water and oil and gradually stir into flour with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough gently on a work surface 4 or 5 times.
Divide dough into 3 pieces and roll out 1 piece (keep remaining pieces covered with plastic wrap) onto a lightly floured work surface into 8 inch rounds (shape can be rustic; dough should be thin). 

Using your fingers, gently pop the cloves of garlic out of the skin and put into a small food processor. Add a dash of salt and a bit more oil if needed. Pulse until smooth. Using a brush, spread garlic onto flat breads. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and top with thinly sliced tomatoes and zucchini.
Slide pizzas onto preheated baking stone and bake until pale golden and browned in spots, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer pizzas to a rack to cool.

Mix your 3 dry ingredients and chopped rosemary in a medium bowl.

Add water and oil and stir

Divide into 4 equal size pieces and flatten out with your hand then a rolling pin.

Mean while, you will want to roast your garlic. Simple cut off a bit of the top,
drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil onto exposed garlic head and put onto a baking sheet and
into a preheated oven at 400F for about 20 minutes.

Voila! Deliciously sweet roasted garlic.

Put into a small food processor {I love my new manual one from P.C.}
Drizzle about a teaspoon of olive oil and a dash of sea salt into processor and pulse till blended.
You can never, EVER have to much garlic IMHO.

Brush the tops of each flat bread with your garlic spread

Sprinkle with shredded Parmesan and keep an eye out for sneaky baby fingers!
Top with your veggies of choice and bake as directed above.

Bon Apetite!

I'm thinking I will make these with roasted eggplant and feta next time. What do you think you would put on them 

or serve them with?