Cherry Clafouti

This has so far been the year of easy recipes.One of my favorite restaurants in CT serves a delicious, although heavy pear/almond clafouti. I looked it up and found a really simple recipe on Chow.com:  http://www.chow.com/recipes/29695-cherry-clafoutis-clafouti

It really was ready an hour after I read it – mmm!

I think the recipe here is a slight variation on Julia Child’s recipe. It’s egg-y – and we noted how it was essentially   a large, fluffy pancake with cherries in it. The traditional French rustic recipe, as Wikipedia notes, does use cherries without removing the pits – it does let the taste be a bit more intense.

Enjoy!

 

 

Lamb Burgers (With Indian spices)

We took a NY Times recipe, changed it a tad and have spent the last couple of dinners satisfying the hankering for lamb burgers. We’d never made lamb burgers before – but everything thankfully went according to plan. We made them on a pan – this worked out really well since lamb has more fat than say, turkey and so harder to burn/char too much on the pan.

Here’s what we used:

• 1 1/2 lb of ground lamb*
• 1 large onion – minced up by food processor/hand
• 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped finely
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin powder
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Garnish: chopped red peppers, scallions, shredded carrots, tomatoes and greens
• Extra virgin olive oil to cook on the stove top

* (The original recipe asked for boneless lamb shoulder, cut into pieces and then used a food processor to grind it. We used up a gift certificate we had for Whole Foods)

Here’s what we did:

1. Mix the ground lamb, finely chopped onions in a bowl with the jalapeno pepper and the spices, including the salt and pepper. Mix, handling the meat as little as possible, until combined. Without compressing the meat too much, shape it into burgers. With this much lamb, we made 12 medium sized burgers
2. To cook on the stove top, heat the olive oil and add the patties gently. Let them cook undisturbed for 2-3 minutes.Gently flip over and let them cook for another 2-3 minutes. Check if done – if not, you might want to cook a little bit more on each side until done. We cooked them until we had just a bit of pink inside
3. Garnish as suggested – or go crazy! 

 

Poached pears

I am usually not big on looking up recipes, and when I do look them up – it is mostly to try and learn some technique I need.

I am not sure why, but a few weeks ago I had the hankering for poached pears. Actually – I do know why. We’d gone fruit picking, like any self respecting New England resident. Also like any other self respecting New England resident, we’d picked more pears than we needed. After making pear-cake and using them up in nutella-pear crepes (That’s for another post) I decided to find out how to poach pears.

This is how I came across this wonderful post by the celebrated chef David Lebovitz. Oh, the pictures in the post are amazing. For once, I followed the steps faithfully. I was immensely gratified by the results.

The only difference between what he describes and what I did – was I did not have parchment paper. So I made do without it, and ensured I kept covering the pears so nothing would dry out. I might have also gone overboard with adding raisins and dried cranberries at the end.

Like I said, his pictures are amazing, but here are mine.

 

Cooking for a friend

This one’s a bit of a whimsical entry. Last week we got to play restaurant. A friend brought his new squeeze over for a date – and we cooked for them as well as a few other friends. We decided on a menu earlier – dishes we thought would go over well. Then out we went and got all the ingredients and wine and so on and cooked it all up. Our friend generously paid for the groceries.

We even printed a menu up – we’re so silly!

MenuForFriendDate

The squeeze and he are still together – so the date must have gone well!

 

Thank you !

No recipe today, more of being grateful.

I was just thinking how lucky I was to eat my mother’s food for most of my life. She is an exceptional cook and always had a natural flair for cooking the most simple and delicious of dishes. I think I got my sense of ‘how-would-this-taste-if-you-do-that?’ and of ‘how-is-this-supposed-to-taste’ from her. I took her love of food and sense of taste and my father’s sense of being adventurous in trying out new things and for all that I am eternally blessed.

My mother, in turn, had received this gift from her mother, and then developed her cooking skills beyond that.

Saradipitea of course, gets all her kitchen wisdom from her mother, who is also a fantastic, tireless cook.

I know everyone says this of their mothers. They are probably right. But I know I am absolutely right about our mothers being truly the culinary geniuses we know them to be!

So here we are – hoping to emulate the generations of kitchens of our families. If we cook the dishes we grew up with as well as our mothers and grandmothers did, we’d be a very fortunate couple. We hope we can take this culinary heritage and develop it even further. Here’s to three generations of kitchens, and beyond…

Thank you!

 

Chicken (or paneer) tikka bites

Nothing too fancy here. Chicken or paneer, marinaded, spiced up and cooked. Perfect as an appetizer/snack. I also use it as a filling when I make my ‘gourmet quesadillas’ – something I have not yet blogged about, but that is coming up.

Here’s what you need:

• 1 lb chopped chicken breast
• Yoghurt
• Olive Oil
• Vegetable Oil
• Coriander powder
• Cumin powder
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Cardamom powder
• Clove powder

Here’s how to do it.

1. Chop the chicken breast into bites sized pieces and put in a container.
2. Cover it with yoghurt (just enough yoghurt to cover the pieces), 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1 heaped teaspoon coriander powder, 1 heaped teaspoon ground cumin powder and pinches of clove and cardamom powders.
3. Mix it all thoroughly. Leave to marinade in the fridge for 2 hours.
4. Heat vegetable oil, sauté 5-6 bay leaves and as they turn brown, remove them.
5. Lower the heat to medium.
6. Remove the chicken pieces from the marinade (It is alright if some marinade comes with it – just not too much). Fry lightly in the oil, stirring frequently, not letting it burn.
7. Add ½ teaspoon black pepper and salt to taste while there’s still some liquid, mix quickly. Lower heat and cook until the chicken is cooked through.
8. The bites can be served up as an appetizer, or a part of another dish.
9. The chicken can be replaced with paneer. If you want to use a non dairy marinade base, use lemon juice.

 

Paneer – Vegetable Whole Wheat Enchiladas

A word of caution: these are not super authentic Mexican enchiladas. Not that I don’t love me some good, authentic Mexican (or even Tex-Mex) dishes. Let’s just say this is merely my homage to the enchilada!

Here’s what you need:

• 1 chopped large onion
• 2 chopped green peppers
• 2 chopped red peppers
• 2 chopped squashes
• 5 chopped tomatoes
• 400 grams of paneer
• Shredded cheddar (or any other cheese you like. Queso blanco?)
• 8-10 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 ½ teaspoons garlic paste
• 4-5 bay leaves
• Fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 ½ teaspoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon coriander powder
• ¼ teaspoon red chili powder
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• Olive oil

Here’s how I do it:

1. Sauté the onion on high then medium heat.
2. As onions turn translucent, add the garlic paste and the bay leaves and cook in.
3. Add the tomatoes, cook to a mush.
4. Remove the bay leaves.
5. In a different pot, sauté the vegetables.
6. Add the vegetables to the onion-tomato mixture.
7. Add about 400g bite sized chopped paneer and the spices (Cumin powder, coriander powder,red chili powder, black pepper and salt).
8. Now we need to cook the paneer, vegetables and spices in together. Stir the spices and paneer in gently, cook on high heat, then medium till the paneer is cooked through and the spices are ‘infused’ through the paneer and vegetables. Add water if there isn’t enough.
9. (Tip: If the spice mix seems a tad dull, add ½ or so teaspoon sugar).
10. The cooking should have evaporated the excess liquid.
11. Cook 8-10 medium whole wheat tortillas on a skillet in olive oil, browning them lightly. Ensure they don’t harden.
12. Put some paneer-vegetable mix into each cooked tortilla and roll it up. Place the tortillas side by side into a lightly greased oven-safe pan.
13. Top with shredded cheddar (or any other cheese of choice) and cook in an oven heated to 300 F for 5-10 minutes or till the cheese is just melted. Serve immediately, garnish with fresh cilantro leaves.
    
14. An epilogue of sorts: it’s fun to replace the paneer with ground, cooked turkey too if you want to go the carnivorous way.

 

Honey-Glazed Pear Upside-Down Cake

Here’s one from Sarandipitea. She’s usually in charge of the dessert section around here.

The flavors of this cake are sophisticated and it sounds very fancy, but it is very easy to put together.  We’ve also served it at potlucks, where it earned the less-than-appetizing name “raw chicken cake,” due to the orange-pink, translucent appearance of roasted pears.  (It tastes sophisticated, but might not look sophisticated!)  The taste, however, is totally worth it. Keep vanilla gelato ready on the side!

Ingredients:

• ¼ Cup Honey (honey with a strong flavor works best)
• 3-4 Bosc pears, peeled, cored, and quartered
• A handful of thyme sprigs (dried thyme would probably work too – maybe a use a teaspoon)
• 1 cup sugar
• Zest of 1 lemon
• 1 egg
• 1 tblsp vanilla
• 1 cup flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ½ cup plus 1 tblsp melted butter
• Sliced almonds (optional)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a 9-inch ovenproof skillet (not nonstick), simmer the honey on medium-high heat until it begins to reduce, caramelize and darken in color, 6 to 10 minutes. Do not let honey burn; if it starts to smell burned, turn off heat.
3. Arrange the pears in a circular pattern in skillet, close together and cut-side down , stem ends pointing toward center. Simmer over medium heat until they begin to turn golden, flipping from side to side, about 10 minutes.
4. Flip pears over to their curved side and scatter with thyme sprigs. Transfer skillet to oven and bake uncovered, until very tender, about 25 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together the sugar and the lemon zest.  Whisk in the egg and the vanilla. Fold in flour and salt; stir in the ½ cup of melted butter.
6.  When pears are soft, remove skillet from oven. (careful! The pan is hot!!)  Discard thyme sprigs and brush edges of pears with the remaining butter. Pour batter on roasted pears and scatter sliced almonds over batter if using.
7. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cake cool for 30 minutes in pan. Run an offset spatula along edges of pan to loosen cake; carefully invert cake onto a serving platter. Serve warm or cooled.

 

Panna Cotte

This is yet another all time favorite. It is also supremely easy to make, comforting and delicious.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of navy/white kidney beans
• 1 bunch of escarole
• 1 chopped onion
• 1 1/2 teaspoon garlic paste/crushed garlic
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese.
• Black pepper
• Salt
• Pieces of crusty bread

Here’s how we do it:

1. Soak the beans overnight (at least 6 hours). Drain and wash.
2. Chop and sauté the onion.
3. Add the sautéed onion, 3-4 cups of water, 1 teaspoon salt (or to taste) to the beans and cook this mixture. The easiest way is to pressure cook the beans/water/salt/onion mixture.
4. Separately, wash 1 bunch escarole, remove the core, tear up the leaves and sauté them (in a different pot) in olive oil along with 1 ½ teaspoon of garlic paste/crushed garlic. When sautéing, start at high heat then lower it so escarole wilts and the garlic does not burn.
5. Add the cooked beans to the cooked wilted escarole/garlic mix.
6. Add black pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice to taste. Mix it all in gently. Cook 4-5 minutes at low-medium heat to evaporate some liquid.
7. Add some crusty bread pieces and mix them in.
8. Place the soup in oven safe bowls, top with freshly grated parmesan cheese and heat in the oven at 250F to melt the the cheese. 
9. All done!
   

 

Quinoa Kale Salad

I am writing a post after several months. I certainly have not, not been cooking (Ah, the wonders of double negatives). In other words, I’ve been cooking but not writing about it. In fact, I’ve managed to stick to my resolution of making new dishes and/or making previously made dishes in a new way as well! So, there’s lots of recipes and posts to catch up on, which I will, slowly!

To re-start, I am back with one of my favorite recipes ever. Hopefully that will make up for the long absence! You can think of this as a salad: it has tons of kale (green stuff!). You can think of this as a cold pilaf – since basically, that’s what it is. It has quinoa, greens, dried fruit and nut. What can go wrong?

Also, it is a perfect summer/fall dish. It works perfectly as lunch, all on its own or as a small plate at dinner.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of kale

2 cups of quinoa

Anything else now is completely your choice:

1 cup of dried cranberries

A handful of (roasted) cashewnuts

Ghee

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup of freshly grated parmesan or romano cheese

How to put it together:

1. Prepare Quinoa: Soak the quinoa for half an hour. Then rinse and thoroughly wash it. Cook it as you would cook white basmati rice: typically takes the same amount of time. Add twice the amount of water, let it come to boil. Let it boil for a few minutes (4-5 minutes), lower the heat and cover the pot most of the way. I like it not covered all the way so the steam can escape. By 16 minutes or so, the lovely strings on the quinoa would have come loose – that’s how you know it’s done. Drain excess water (carefully!).
2. Prepare kale: Thoroughly but gently clean the kale. Now you have to shred it –  remove the stems. (This is a matter of preference, but I even remove the stems from the smaller leaves if I find them too woody). This takes me a while to do: best sit down and open the chilled bottle of white wine that you know you’ll want to drink with this! (Or chilled wheat Belgian beers: Grimbergen? Leffe Blonde?). Anyhow, remove the stems, shred it – perhaps the photo can show you how small you have to shred it?
3. Prepare other ingredients: roast the cashew nuts in ghee or the extra virgin olive oil. Grate that cheese. Squeeze the lemon. Grate the black pepper.
4. Put it all together: wait a little for the quinoa to cool down somewhat. Then, mix the kale gently into the quinoa. Add in cranberries, black pepper, lemon juice, salt, the cheese and mix it all up with a generous dab of EVOO: extra virgin olive oil.

All done! You have a bright salad/pilaf ready. Quinoa has a lot of protein, so it’s pretty filling too – and healthy! I love the fact that this dish has several taste components to it: slightly citrus, the gentle sweetness of the cranberries, the quinoa, the nuttiness of the cashews and the quinoa and light saltiness of the cheese that somehow completes the taste palette. It comes out nicely subtle and balanced!

Enjoy – and don’t forget that glass of pinot grigio, or even a dry riesling. And those folks that will try a Grimbergen or Leffe Blonde for the first time, you’re welcome!

And oh, one more thing: this was inspired by something I had at one of my favorite pizza places (ever) – Fat Cat Pie Co in Norwalk, CT.