RECIPE REVIEW: SHEET-PAN CHICKEN WITH CHICKPEA, CUMIN AND TURMERIC

I was first introduced to this NY Times Sheet-Pan Chicken recipe during a dinner party with a girlfriend and couldn’t get enough. I ended up taking a copy of the recipe home eager to try it myself and not only was it so easy to remake, but it tasted just as good as the first time. I love the mix of flavors and spices, and how the yogurt breaks through the acidity. If you want to make it vegetarian and just leave out the meat, I’m sure it would be just as tasty! Either way, Adam told me I can definitely make it again so not only does this recipe get my approval, but it gets his too!

Score: 4.5/5

INGREDIENTS:

 Serves 4 People

-Chicken and Chickpea-
4 LBS of Chicken (I prefer to use dark meal like thighs) bone-in and skin-on.
Lemons for lemon juice - need to yield 5 TBSP total (2 for chicken, 2 to marinate slaw, and 1 for yogurt)
1.5 CUPS of full-fat Greek yogurt
2 TSP of Turmeric (1 TSP for chicken marinade, 1 TSP for seasoning later)
1 TBSP of Fennel Seed
1 TSP of Cumin (ground)
2 Cans of Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
1 Large Red Onion - sliced thinly
1 Mini Cucumber - sliced thinly
Olive Oil
2 TBSP Water
Salt and pepper to taste

-Toppings-
Feta (optional)
Fresh Mint - torn into small pieces

DIRECTIONS:

 Season chicken using salt and pepper before creating a marinade using 3/4 CUP of yogurt, 2 TBSP of lemon juice, 1 TSP of Turmeric, and 2 TBSP of water. Add more salt and pepper if necessary, it should be slightly salty, this will reduce once cooked and combined with yogurt topping later.

Add seasoned chicken to marinade and make sure it is coated evenly - allow to sit for a minimum of 30 minutes at room temperature or overnight in the fridge.

Prior to cooking, adjust the oven rack to the top shelf and heat oven to 450!

Next combine chickpeas, fennel seed, cumin, and the remaining Turmeric in a bowl with half the red onion slices, drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper before giving it a good toss to make sure it is covered evenly. Place on a rimmed baking sheet and push chickpeas to the outer edge to make room for chicken.

Scrape the excess marinade off the chicken and place it in the center of the baking sheet. Bake in the oven for about 45-50 minutes until skin is browned. You will need to toss chickpeas occasionally to make sure they become crispy and golden and don’t burn

While the chicken is cooking create a slaw by tossing the remaining onions in a bowl with the thinly sliced cucumber and add 2 TBSP of lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and let sit in its juice.

Once the chicken is ready, remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Add onion cucumber slaw, to remaining yogurt and top with 1 TSP of fresh lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to your taste. Top chicken with yogurt and garnish with mint and feta.

Enjoy!

To check out the original recipe, click HERE!


If you like this recipe or have any comments/questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!


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BAKED ITALIAN KETO MEATBALLS!

Keto Meatballs Small.jpg

My mom and I have been on the keto diet for over a year and we are always looking for new keto-friendly recipes to fit our keto-lifestyle. About a month or two ago my mom found this old ‘baked Italian meatball’ recipe on the internet and we decided to give it try, with a couple of our own keto-friendly twists of course. That evening when we sat down to dinner we could not believe how juicy and delicious the meatballs were, and the sauce - a little spicy but so flavorful. For the next three weeks straight we started a Meatball Monday tradition because we honestly couldn’t get enough! My mom and I love this recipe so much we figured It wasn’t fair for us to keep it all to ourselves, so here it is my keto loving friends! I’ve written it out so you can enjoy it too!

Buon Appetito!

Keto Meatballs Small-2.jpg

INGREDIENTS:

-Meatballs-
1 lbs of medium (15-20% fat) ground beef
2 Italian pork sausages - casing removed and chopped
1 cup of Parmesan - grated
1.5 cloves of garlic - minced
1 cup crushed pork rinds
1 Egg
2 tbsp of fresh, chopped Italian parsley
Salt and Pepper

-Sauce-
3 tbsp of olive oil
1 small sweet onion - chopped finely
2 cloves of garlic - minced
1/2 tsp of oregano
2 tbsp of fresh basil, chopped roughly
1-2 dashes of hot chili flakes (if desired)
1 - 800g (28oz) can of peeled tomatoes (Roma / San Marzano)
Salt and Pepper to Taste

-Toppings-
Fresh Parsley
Parmesan Cheese

-Extras-
Baguette

DIRECTIONS:

Mix all meatball ingredients in a large bowl and form 7-8 large meatballs. Place meatballs on a tray covered in parchment paper and store in a cool place.

In a deep skillet or dutch oven, add olive oil and let it heat up on low/medium heat.

Once hot add onion to skillet and let sweat 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to let simmer stirring occasionally.

Once onion and garlic is translucent add in your spices and continue to cook 1-2 minutes.

Add in the canned tomatoes and chop up any large tomato bits. Mix thoroughly before covering and allowing to simmer at a low temperature for 30 minutes, stirring periodically.

After 30 minutes of simmering pre-heat oven to 350F.

Place meatballs in the skillet or dutch oven on top of the simmering sauce. Sprinkle with a little more Parmesan cheese and add in fresh thyme.

Bake (no lid if you are using a dutch oven) for approximately 20-25 minutes turning meatballs over half way.

Sprinkle with remaining Parmesan cheese and serve immediately.

Enjoy!


If you like this recipe or have any comments/questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!


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VEGAN PUMPKIN SOUP WITH @INSPIREDBYNICK!

Oh Hello There!

Welcome back to my blog!

I know it’s been a hot minute since I have posted anything on the ‘Food and Drink’ section of Soheila Online, but let me assure you that this was completely intentional. As I grow my brand I am also evolving and changing the direction of certain aspects of my blog. And although I love food (I mean, this girl loves to eat!) I wasn’t sure if recipe posts were where I wanted to concentrate my time and efforts. That doesn’t mean I won’t be sharing pretty food pictures with you anymore! It just means, instead of focusing my efforts on sharing my recipes, I want to share my food experiences with you in a different way - like through collaborations with my favourite food influencers!

So in the spirit of new beginnings I am back on the blog today to share a little festive autumn collaboration with my dear friend @Inspiredbynick! If you are guys are not familiar with Nick Joly he is a vegan food blogger based in Toronto that aims to promote healthier lifestyle habits and delicious vegan recipes. If you aren’t following him on Instagram already I definitely recommend you do!

@InspiredByNick and I at Downey’s Farm

@InspiredByNick and I at Downey’s Farm

Nick and I first met a couple months ago through our mutual friend Krystle (@dineandfash) and really hit it off. Since our first introduction over lunch at Cubano Restaurant I have been following Nick’s progress and really admire his positive attitude, health lifestyle habits, all round hustle, and drool-worthy vegan food pics! That is why a couple week ago I asked Nick if he wanted to collaborate with me on a little project I was planning for fall.

Usually not the biggest fan of letting go of summer, this year I wanted to embrace autumn by celebrating its cuteness in all its glory. For me this meant a little content creation road trip up to the pumpkin patch would need to happen, and I knew Nick would be the best partner in crime to collaborate with. So off we went to Downey’s farm in Caledon (a short 45 min drive from downtown Toronto).

Our plan for the collaboration was to go early, take a couple lifestyle photos, grab some picture perfect pumpkins, head back to Nick’s house to make a vegan recipe he had in mind, and style some Pinterest worthy photos. We were so prepared for our little road trip and for our food styling and pumpkin patch photos session that everything went off without a hitch. Nick had purchased mini pumpkins and ingredients ahead of time and I showed up with a red wagon (the perfect pumpkin patch photo prop) and a bag full of dollar store decorations for food styling. Together we took some super cute photos and created perfect autumn themed content. 

Nick of course being the master cook in this collaboration has shared the recipe to the Vegan Pumpkin Soup we (but really he - I just played with the dogs) made -> http://bit.ly/2CC1ATS on his blog while I get to share the cute pictures of us from the pumpkin patch with you here. Although I won’t be posting as many recipes anymore I really feel like there are so many talented foodies out there like Nick who’s Instagram could benefit a lot of people and instill more positive habits in everyone’s life - vegan or not. That is why I wanted to collaborate with Nick on my first post back and share his amazing platform with you as a way to find inspiration and positive reinforcement for your everyday life. Food after all is ment to be shared and Nick just does it so well!


I hope you enjoyed this recipe as much as I do. If you have any comments please leave them below and I'll be happy to answer them as soon as I can! Happy cooking!!!


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KETO SAFFRON CHICKEN VEGETABLE SOUP

So being Persian I grew up having some amazing home cooked middle eastern meals. I would have to fight my brother and sister over the tahdig (the toasted crunchy bites at the bottom of the rice that would be caramelized together by the butter and saffron) because in our household it was a prize possession. Anything with saffron usually gets my seal of approval, which is why the other day when it was -15 in Toronto and I was craving soup I decided to make a KETO friendly chicken veg soup recipe with a Persian twist. The results - heavenly! This soup is so jammed packed with flavor and immune boosting nutrients you feel like you're getting a hug from the inside out. ENJOY!

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 Cup of Salted Butter
A Pinch of Saffron (ground)
2 S/M Sweet Onions (chopped finely)
5 Carrots (peeled and chopped)
3 Celery Stocks (chopped)
2L of Chicken Stock
1 Rotisserie Chicken (remove skin and shred chicken meat)
2-3 Cups of Fresh Spinach
Fresh Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

Melt butter in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add in the freshly ground saffron and l let it turn the butter a golden color.

When the butter is hot, throw in your finely chopped onion and coat that in the saffron and butter. Let this cook down until the onions become translucent and soft - about 5 minutes.

When ready add in your chopped carrots and celery, tossing everything so it is all coated in saffron butter. Cover and let the excess water escape from the celery and carrots. Stir every 3-4 minutes so nothing burns and the butter is well distributed among all the vegetables.

Once  the vegetables have soften you can add in you chicken stock, stir and let come to a low simmer.

Next add in your shredded chicken and fresh spinach. Make sure to stir and submerge the spinach into the soup. Cover and let the soup continue to simmer on low heat for about 3-4 minutes to get that spinach soft and then keep stiring until it is submerged into the soup completely.

Add pepper to taste (you shouldn't need salt but if you want more you can add it now).

That's it! Enjoy!


If you like this recipe or have any comments/questions, feel free to leave them in the comment section below!


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DOMA TORONTO - FRENCH INSPIRED KOREAN FOOD!

Grilled Octopus

Grilled Octopus

If you have been following along on my Instastory or Snapchat recently you would have seen that I had dinner at one of Toronto’s newest restaurants Doma!

Doma, which means ‘cutting board’ in Korean, opened less then a year ago and occupies the old Acadia space smack in the heart of Toronto’s little Italy neighbourhood at Clinton and College. The restaurant itself is bright yet intimate with its white and wood based minimal interior and 43 space seating (more seats to come with the opening of the patio this summer). Although small it is definitely cozy and great for anyone looking for a modern, refined or romantic spot to dine (Hey! That rhymes!).

The genius behind Doma is owner/chef Paul Kim, a Le Cordon Blue graduate who is originally for Seoul, South Korea. His love for food, cultural background and of course his training in french cuisine inspired him to open his first restaurant where he hoped to alter peoples perception of Korean food by adding a French inspired twist to each dish. The end result - nothing short of perfection!

Deconstructed Ratatouille

Deconstructed Ratatouille

Chef Paul Kim’s dishes are often inspired by seasonal ingredients and therefore change monthly with a few favourites remaining on the menu. When I went I opted for the tasting menu at $65 a person whichgives you a small sample of each dish and with 8-9 dishes making up the menu you are definitely going to walk away full!

The food itself was not only graciously plated with impeccable presentation, but the flavours were robust and symphonic. Chef Paul Kim definitely knows how to grab your attention by using natural colours from the ingredients to add dimension to the plate. Each dish was so unique and stood out in both variety and appeal from each other.

Before starting your meal consider trying one of their excellent cocktails as well (usually around $13). All cocktails are specially designed in-house and incorporate Korean Ingredients. I had the ‘In Harmony’ while my mom (always the best dinner date) had the ‘Pear of My Eye’.

In Harmony Cocktail

In Harmony Cocktail

All in all I am happy to report that it is definitely a spot you should not only add to your list but bump to the top! Although it can get quiet expensive ($200 for 2 people including drinks, tax and tip) it is a perfect restaurant to wine and dine someone on a special occasion, or to impress someone you know who has a passion for food.

Bon Appetite!


This is not a sponsored post, I paid for my meal in full and enjoyed it thoroughly! I just wanted to pass my good experience onto you.

 

DOMA TORONTO
50c Clinton Street
Toronto, ON M6G 2Y3
+1 416 551-1550
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday | 5pm - 11pm,  Sunday - Monday | CLOSED