Mujadarrah and Middle Eastern Salad on Orcas Island

Our Mujadarrah and salad ready for plating.

This past labor day we made our annual pilgrimage to Orcas Island in the Pacific Northwest. Orcas island is located in Washington state's San Juan Island group. The whole set of islands are in a rain shadow and typically receive less rain than Seattle area. So we were fortunate to escape some dreary Seattle weather last weekend to 4 full days of sunshine on Orcas. We have been to Orcas island at least 6 six times in the last 7 years and I never seem to tire of it. Last year we went with my folks and made yummy goli bajes at our cabins. This year, we went with some friends and our Korean au pair. We enjoyed sharing meals and drinks with them and watched many a sunsets on the beach. Our routine was predictable and totally boring but we loved relaxing by the beach and doing nothing important. These days every one is connected to everything and it was nice to getaway for few days without a laptop, wireless connection or cell phones. We didn't have a TV in our cabins and this helped us all get to bed at an ungodly hours. Considering my son gets up at 6 a.m every day we actually felt rested when we got up instead of the usual fried state we are in the a.m.

One of the dishes I made for dinner to share is this easy middle eastern rice and salad dish. I got the recipe from one of my favorite cookbook additions called the The Healthy Hedonist by Myra Kornfeld (author of The Voluptuous Vegan). I have yet to read her other cookbook but based on just trying out a few recipes from the Healthy Hedonist,  I have no doubts it will be good too. Myra Kornfeld has a ton of recipes with asian and middle eastern inspired tones and Mujadarrah is one recipe that I have tried out a couple of times with great success. The key I think to this dish like she rightly notes is the carmelized onions. Do not skimp on the onions or the oil used to create them, this is what makes the dish so spectacular with so few ingredients. I have given her recipe below with my changes or notes following. 

Mujadarrah Recipe (source: The Healthy Hedonist, Myra Kornfeld)

• 1 Cup Brown lentils (I used Red Masoor Dal on hand)
• 1 Cup Brown Basmati Rice (I used white basmati on hand)
• 4.5 Cups Water
• Salt
• 6 Tablespoons extra-virgin oil
• 3 Cups thinly sliced onions ( I used more, about 4 cups)
• Freshly Ground Pepper

Salad

• 3/4 pound tomatoes, seeded and cut into small dice (about 1.5 cups)
• 1 medium cucumber, peeled and cut into small dice (about 1 cup)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced scallions, white and green parts (forgot to use these once, it was fine)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper (i used lemon pepper)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (I forgot to use this once and it was just fine)

Method:

Wash lentils and rice, drain well. Transfer to a saucepan, add water and bring to boil. Then lower heat, add 1.5 teaspoon salt, cover, and simmer untill all the liquid has absorbed and lentils and rice are cooked through, about 40 to 45 minutes (note - I put my lentils and rice in rice cooker and it cooked well in there too with the masoor dhal).  If cooking on stove top, do not stir during the cooking time and check occasionally to see if more water is needed. If the lentils and rice are cooked but there is some liquid left in the pan, remove the cover and let it cook til the water has evaporated.

Meanwhile, warm the olive oil in a skillit over medium heat and saute onions, stirring frequently until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and put in a bowl to stop the cooking. When the lentils and rice are cooked, add the onions along with any oil in the bowl and stir to combine. Stir in sprinkling of black pepper. Taste, and add more salt if necessary.

Make the salad: Combine the tomatoes, cucumbers, scallions, parsley, salt and black pepper to taste, add lemon juice and olive oil in a medium bowl. Stir to combine. 

Top the mujadarrah with the reserved onions and serve with the salad. We also serve some warmed pita bread with a cucumber cilantro yogurt spread as a side dish. 

Verdict? Well, considering this was like the 3rd time I made this dish in about a month, its a family favorite. The kids especially A, loves onions and she had a fair share of the dish.

Here are some other photos and memories from our lovely weekendish getaway.

Since our au pair is from Korea, I have been trying out more korean dishes in the last month to help her with her homesickness for Korean food plus we are learning all about Korean food culture too !Yummy Jap chae noodles on Orcas, recipe from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen:
Sunset views from our bonfire area at West Beach, Orcas

More sunset views, a different day, a bit earlier than above.
A beautiful madrona tree on our mini hike at Obstruction Pass State Park, Orcas.
The gang sans kids at sunset, enjoying wine, beer, s'mores. Life couldn't get any better.

The docks at sunset, different day.

The mossy bark on our hike at Obstruction Pass State Park, Orcas.