Pick and choose from these easy-to-put-together components and make your own modular meal tonight.
What is a modular meal? Well if you followed our live video last week (find the blog post here) you’ll know that a Modular Meal is simply a culmination of many different ingredients, prepared in easy & fun ways, that help offer something for everyone at the dinner table. This type of meal works especially well for kids and picky eaters, since it gives the control of the final product in the hands of its diner. We love to recommend arranging all of the ingredients on the dinner table and offering them up as “building blocks” for dinner at hand.
Think of this as a Chipotle or Fuddruckers of home-cooked meals! Since everything is made separately, this meal can be enjoyed throughout the week in different ways—which, ahem, never gets boring. Try this Vie-inspired dinner tonight!
Check out our video here, then…
First, start with your grain base
SIDE Farro Pilaf with Currants, Carrots & Curry
Cook
Total
Yield 8-10 servings
We had this recently at one of our favorite Middle Eastern restaurants during a team meeting. The curry works so well with the farro, and the currants add a pop of flavor, complementing the crunch of grated carrots.
The best part? Everything gets added into your rice cooker (or stove top saucepan) at once, making prep and clean up easy!
Ingredients
2 cups farro (or any grain you like)
1 cup currants (or raisins)
2 cups grated carrots
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 quart water, chicken stock or vegetable broth
1 tsp salt
1/2 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into your rice cooker or a large saucepan on the stove.
- Cook covered (for a rice cooker, brown rice setting) until liquid is absorbed and farro is al dente, about 30 minutes.*
- Serve hot with chopped cilantro.
Notes
*Make sure if cooking on the stove top to check covered farro often. If all of the liquid has absorbed but the farro is not yet tender, add more liquid 1/2 cup at a time until farro is done.
Courses side
Next, make your protein
MAIN Chicken Shawarma
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 4-6 servings
I enjoyed this dish often while living in Paris. I was fairly broke and managed to save money by eating a lot of delicious ethnic street food. One vendor, in particular, Au Vieux Cedre, made the absolute best Chicken Shawarma. It was my first experience with this dish, and too bad that I'm only now sharing after living away from Paris for 14 years!!!
It's flavors are simple: lemon, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, curry. The renditions of this recipe are endless, but I prefer mine simple. Using boneless chicken thighs really helps to lock in the flavor!
Ingredients
2 lbs boneless chicken thighs, cubed into bite-sized pieces
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 lemon, juiced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp oil
1 pkg jasmine rice
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and allow to sit on the counter marinating for 20 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F.
- Add mixture to an oiled baking dish and bake for 40 minutes, or until tender and cooked through. Make sure to reserve excess cooking liquid to flavor rice or soups!
- While chicken is cooking, make rice per package instructions or use this method here.
- Enjoy hot over rice.
Alternatively, you can cook this in your pressure cooker or slow cooker! See Notes for instructions.
Notes
For a pressure cooker:
- Add marinated chicken mixture to the basin of your pressure cooker, close the lid and secure the pressure valve to the locked and closed position.
- Choose the meat setting and off you go!
For the slow cooker:
- Add marinated chicken mixture to the basin of your slow cooker, close the lid and choose the low setting.
- Cook for 6 hours (or overnight).
Courses dinner
Finally, get your delicious Middle Eastern-inspired add-on’s going…
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Quick-Pickled Onions
Kids will eat these amazing & flavorful pickles! It's all about the prep, right?
Sweet, salty and with a bit of tang, pickled onions are great to have on hand for last-minute dinners (or dinner emergencies). Throw them in soups, on top of salads, or enjoy them on a plate of cheese & charcuterie.
Ingredients
2 yellow or red onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vinegar
2 Tbsp soy sauce or liquid aminos
1 Tbsp honey or agave
1 pinch red pepper flakes
water to fill
Instructions
Add all ingredients to a mason jar, shale vigorously and leave on counter @ room temperature with a tightly sealed lid.
Notes
Add anything else you like. Great add-ins are sliced garlic, herbs, cucumbers, ginger, mustard seeds, and capers.
SIDE Chickpea Salad
Light, refreshing and full or bright flavors of lemon and oregano! The best part about this salad is that it lasts all week in the fridge and just gets better as the flavors marry.
Ingredients
1 pint cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
1 can chickpeas (garbanzos), drained and rinsed
1 English cucumber, chopped
1 tsp dried or fresh oregano
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tsp salt, or more as needed
1 pinch red pepper flakes
1 tsp cumin
1/2 bunch cilantro, rinsed and chopped
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients, cover and let sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving.
- Garnish with cilantro leaves.
SIDE Roasted Eggplant Discs
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 12 discs
This has always been something of an unachievable recipe for me. I got it wrong every time.
Then I visited Mezeh and realized the trick: roast the eggplant discs on a cooling rack placed over a rimmed baking sheet. Genius...why didn't I think of it sooner?
The result is a non-bitter, crisp yet gummy disc of eggplant goodness, flavored any way you like!
Watch our video here to see how we made them.
Ingredients
1 large purple eggplant or 2 small, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds, stem discarded
2 Tbsp oil
1 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp salt
1 pinch red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 300 F.
- Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and drizzle with oil.
- Coat eggplant slices on each side in oil until all oil has been absorbed.
- Place a wire cooling rack on top of the foil-lined baking sheet, transferring eggplant slices to the rack, spacing them evenly apart.
- Add to the oven and roast for an hour, or until they are slightly dehydrated and browned.
- Remove from the oven once done and allow to sit for 20 minutes before serving. They will rehydrate a bit and be perfect served over Chicken Shawarma, Farro Pilaf and any salad of your choosing!
Courses side
SIDE Traditional Hummus
Hummus seems to come in many different forms these days and is a dip/condiment that is easy to find. However, it's not always inexpensive and is far less expensive and easier (not to mention healthier) to make at home.
This simple traditional hummus recipe will teach you the basics in both procedure and flavor. What's nice about this recipe is that by making it you will learn how true hummus is supposed to taste! Try it this way first, then feel free to add ingredients as desired to achieve new flavors every week!
Ingredients
Traditional Hummus
1 bag dried chickpeas (garbanzos)
1 cup reserved cooking water (aquafaba), divided
1 lemon (preserved or fresh)
2 cloves garlic
¼-½ cup tahini (sesame seed paste) *optional
1 tsp salt
Red pepper flakes, to taste *optional
2 Tbsp highest quality olive oil for drizzling
A pinch of smoked or regular paprika
Instructions
For BYOB Beans
- Pour out beans into a strainer and pick through to make sure there are no pebbles/debris. Rinse and pour into a large ovenproof Dutch oven.
- Fill Dutch oven with water, making sure to cover beans by 4 inches.
- Add a thumb-sized piece of Kombu.
- Bring to a boil on the stovetop, cover pot and set a timer for 15 minutes.
- While beans are cooking, preheat oven to 250 F.
- After 15 minutes of cooking, place beans (still covered) in the oven and set a timer for 60 minutes.
- Check beans after 60 minutes for doneness, and continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes if needed. Beans are done when they are soft but still intact (think al dente--they should have a toothsome bite to them still and not be mushy, broken open or falling apart).
- Once beans are done, strain (reserving 2 cups of cooking liquid -see Notes-) and store in plastic bags or containers, freezing what you don’t need. If making a big batch of hummus, use all of the beans that you’ve made.
For the Hummus
- In a blender or food processor, make hummus by adding 3 cups cooked chickpeas, half of the aquafaba, the juice of 1 lemon, 2 cloves garlic, 1/4 -1/2 cup tahini (optional), plus salt and red pepper flakes to taste. Add any of the other optional add-in’s as desired (see above).
- Blend until smooth, adding extra aquafaba as needed to thin out your hummus.
- Pour into a bowl and serve with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkling of smoked or regular paprika.
Notes
Aquafaba is a fantastic replacement for egg whites in most recipes which require whipped egg whites. It is a fascinating ingredient! Try whipping some up next time you’re making chocolate mousse for a Vegan friend.
Hummus lasts a long time in the fridge when stored in an airtight container. If stored properly it will last for 2 weeks. Make sure to double this batch with all of the beans you’ve cooked if desired. Hummus can be frozen, too! Just make sure to mix thoroughly once thawed.
Optional add-in’s: 4 cloves roasted garlic, 1 cup roasted red bell peppers, 1 cup toasted pine nuts, 2 cups fresh herbs, chipotles in adobo sauce, fermented red chile paste (any combination of the previously stated ingredients would be delicious)
Harissa Sauce
Prep
Total
Yield 1 cup
A simple as simple can get. A quick turn of the spoon and you've got a Harissa Sauce that is a fantastic condiment to the above meal options!
Ingredients
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp jarred harissa paste
Instructions
- Combine well and refrigerate.
- Serve a top Chicken Shawarma and Farro Pilaf anytime!
Courses sauce
Pita Wedges
Prep
Cook
Total
Yield 8-16 wedges
Easy enough in theory, it's all about the quality of the pita bread! You can choose to make your own or purchase your favorite brand in the store. Sometimes we even suggest using garlic naan, your call!
You'll be slicing them into wedges and toasting slightly before enjoying with your Middle Eastern Modular Meal!
Ingredients
1 large piece of naan or 2 pita rounds
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300 F.*
- Slice bread into 8 pizza-shaped pieces.
- Place directly on the oven rack and set a timer for 10 minutes.
- Remove when slightly crisp around the edges and warmed through.
Notes
*You can make these at the end of your roasted eggplant cooking!
Courses side
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