Monday, January 31, 2011

Fail Cake


If you make this cake, try to avoid my mistake and actually follow all the directions. I promise, it will turn out much better for you. The main problems I had with this cake were: 1. I forgot sour cream so I substituted milk, and the batter was too runny; 2. I didn't have a bundt pan so I used an 8-inch springform, so the centre took forever to cook while the top dried out; and 3. I only had regular cocoa powder, so the leavening was off and it sunk in the middle. (Also I was too lazy to make ganache, which I think would have really added another dimension). That said, it was pretty tasty anyway. I am going to have to make it again, properly, and see how it goes.

Chocolate Stout Cake
1 cup stout (I used Guinness, but I would go for something richer next time)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream
6 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons heavy cream
3/4 teaspoon instant coffee granules*

Cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter or spray a bundt pan well. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Beat eggs and sour cream in another bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer cake to rack; cool completely in the pan, then turn cake out onto rack for drizzling ganache.

Ganache:
For the ganache, melt the chocolate, heavy cream, and coffee in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally. Drizzle over the top of cooled cake.

*Since I didn't make ganache, I put the coffee powder in the cake batter.

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Two Easy Sides

It was Elles Birthday Dinner, We had Duck, Wilted spinach and peppers, and Brown Butter Potatoes.

Wilted Spinach and Peppers
 1/3 cup Butter
2 onions peeled quartered and sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1 Sweet Pepper quartered and sliced (I used half Red and Yellow)
1 Pound spinach

Melt the butter in a large Pan (one pound of spinach is huge)
Over low heat saute the onions until just starting to carmelize.
Add the Pepper and just take the hardness off but leave the crunch.
Add the spianch and wilt.


Brown Butter Potatoes.


2 pounds Potatoes
1/4 cup butter.
Salt, and Pepper

Wash and cut the unpeeled potatoes, and place in a pot and bring to a boil and simmer until tender.
Put butter into a small saucepot and heat it until it melts over medium heat. Because butter contains as much as twenty percent water it will then begin to steam and foam. Once the water has evaporated the foam will subside and the butter’s temperature will begin to rise. The milk fat solids that are one or two percent of the butter will then begin to brown. Continue watching as it begins foaming a second time. Swirl it gently, watching the colour, until it turns golden brown and releases the aroma of toasting nuts. Immediately pour the browned butter into a bowl to stop it from browning further.
When the potatoes are tender mash in the butter and salt and pepper.

Friday, January 28, 2011

Easy Chicken Parmesan


Ingredients
Chicken Breast(s)
Tomato Sauce (meat free) - I use Classico jarred sauce. It really doesn't matter which one as long as it's meat free.
Breadcrumbs
Flour
1 Egg
Parmesan Cheese (grated)
Olive Oil

1- Pound your chicken breast with a hammer or a similar tool to make sure it is relatively the same thickness throughout. (don't skip this step, its actually important so that your chicken cooks at the same time)
2- Mix together equal parts of breadcrumbs and flour. I usually use a 1/4 cup of each for a large sized breast, but you can use more or less at your discretion. also for extra parmesaniness you can mix in about a tablespoon.
3- Beat egg in a separate bowl
4- Take the chicken that you beat-up earlier and coat it with the breadcrumb mixture, and then the egg, repeat this step until the chicken has a good coating or all the mixture is gone. (this part can be messy)
5- Heat enough olive oil in a frying pan to generously coat the bottom on medium to high heat
6- Cook you chicken in the pan until the outside is crispy (make sure that the chicken is completely cooked at this point)
7- Line an Oven-safe dish with tinfoil, this keeps the sauce from baking onto the dish and makes cleanup easier.
8- Put your cooked chicken in the pan and cover with sauce. Then cover the sauce with Parmesan cheese.
9- Put the pan in the oven under the broiler until the cheese is melty and the sauce is warm
10- Serve the chicken. I like to have this chicken with pasta on the side.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

French Lentil Salad


This lentil salad is delicious, easy to make, and great either warm or cold. I make a lot of bean salads to take to campus for lunch, and this is by far the best one yet, much better than the mass of red lentils and red pepper in my fridge that is waiting for me to give up and just finish it. I could eat this salad every week and not get tired of it (and I might!).

French-Style Warm Lentil Salad
1 cup French green (Puy) lentils, picked over and rinsed (I had regular, so that's what I used)
3 cups water
1 Turkish bay leaf
½ tsp. salt, divided
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, finely chopped
1 celery stalk, finely chopped
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme
5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
2 Tbsp. plus ½ tsp. red wine vinegar
½ Tbsp. Dijon mustard
Crunchy sea salt, for serving
2 Tbsp. finely chopped Italian parsley, for serving

In a medium saucepan, bring the lentils, water, and bay leaf to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until almost tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in ¼ teaspoon salt, and then simmer, covered, for another 3 to 5 minutes, until tender but not falling apart.

While the lentils simmer, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just softened, about 7 to 9 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 tablespoons vinegar, mustard, and remaining 1/8 teaspoon salt. Add the remaining 4 tablespoons olive oil, and whisk to emulsify.

When the lentils are ready, drain them in a colander or sieve, and discard the bay leaf. Dump them into the skillet with the vegetables, and add the vinaigrette. Cook over low heat, stirring gently, until heated through. Stir in the remaining ½ tsp. vinegar, and serve warm, with crunchy salt and parsley for sprinkling.

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Hunter's Chicken


There's a place in Stratford that makes "Hunter Chicken." It's really, really good. I decided to try to make it myself. Because it's also really, really expensive!

So, here goes:

1/3 cup white all-purpose flour
3 T olive oil
3 T butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 kg skinless, boneless chicken thighs
6 slices bacon, chopped
2 onions, finely chopped
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1 cup dry white wine
2 cups canned diced tomatoes
2 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 lb button mushrooms
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Lightly coat chicken with flour.
2. Heat oil, butter & garlic in giant deep frying pan on high (be careful - try med/high and adjust). Saute chicken pieces thoroughly on each side until golden (6-8 mins per side). Take chicken out; set aside; keep warm.
3. Add bacon, onion, rosemary & thyme into pan and cook 2-3 minutes at medium. Deglaze pan with the wine. Cook 12-15 minutes on med. until cooking juices reduce and are completely absorbed.
4. Add tomatoes and put chicken back in pan. Add chicken broth, bay leaf, salt & pepper. Add mushrooms. (At this point, I also added a handful of cauliflower and carrots that were in my crisper. Obviously...this is optional...there might have even been a sprig of broccoli.)
5. Cover, reduce heat to lowest and cook very, very, very slowly for about an hour.

I didn't eat this yet. I turned off the heat, let it sit in the pan for 20 minutes, then put it into two beautiful casserole dishes, covered with plastic wrap and put in fridge.
I'm going to serve it tomorrow night.
I'll let you know how it turned out then.

Watch this space!

Notes After Dinner: I found there will still a lot of liquid in the stew. Some of the recipes called for corn starch, but I didn't like that idea. It could be served over rice to absorb the broth, but I don't care for rice and I was serving potatoes, so I didn't want to do that. Next time, I would add less broth and cook step 3 a little longer. It was very tasty, so it will definitely be worth refining the recipe.
K

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Wining and Dining

First off, this lovely picture is thanks to Liza, who took control of the camera I was too lazy to do anything with. Second, my first attempt at making pot roast was pretty great, and with a few minor improvements I think it could be even more delicious (e.g. correctly estimate how much time it will take to cook so it ends up medium instead of well done; don't completely forget to add the vegetables to the stock, etc.) And of course, having people over to eat with me made it all the better.

I'm only giving the recipe for the roast, but we also had tiny potatoes roasted until crispy, a salad with mum's birthday vinaigrette (tasty!) and some roasted vegetables that Tannis brought, which included carrots, onion, sweet potatoes and apple. Plus a blueberry pie, which was inhaled too quickly to photograph, and a few bottles of wine.

All in all, quite a successful dinner party!





Boeuf à la Mode
Put in a deep bowl:
1 beef pot roast
Pour over the meat:
Red Wine Marinade (below)
Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. Drain the meat and pat dry (I reserved one cup of the marinade and added it to the stock later). Heat in a Dutch oven over medium high heat:
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Brown the meat on all sides. Pour off excess oil. Add:
5 cups beef stock or broth (I used 4 cups plus the marinade)
Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered, until tender, 3 1/2 to 4 hours. Towards the last hour degrease the simmering liquid and add:
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup sliced onions
Cut the roast into thin slices and serve with the cooking liquid

Red Wine Marinade
Combine in a medium saucepan and simmer over low heat for 2 minutes:
2 cups dry red wine
1 small red onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 sprigs parsley
2 sprigs thyme
6 whole black peppercorns, cracked
1 bay leaf
2 whole cloves
Remove from heat and season to taste with salt. Let cool before using.

Elle's First Pie

 

Crust:
 Use the Double Crust Pie Dough Recipie.







For the Filling:
  • 4 cups of apples peeled and sliced.
  • 1/2 cup White Sugar
  • 2 Table spoons Brown Sugar
  • 1/2 tsp Ginger
  • 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp Cloves
  • sprinkle of Mace
  • 2 tbsp Corn Starch
To assemble:
Pre-heat oven to 450F
Roll out dough
Mix the filling ingredents in a bowl.
arange the filling in the bottom pie shell top with second crust.
Place in oven reduce heat to 375F bake about 45 Mins or until crust is golden brown.

Stew and biscuits

Stew and Biscuits

For the stew:

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds stewing beef, trimmed
  • onion
  • garlic
  • celery
  • carrot
  • 1/2 bottle red wine
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1/4 cup yellow mustard
  • root vegetables, (onions, carrots, potatoes, turnips, parsnips or celery root)
  • bay leaf
  • fresh herbs, (such as thyme, rosemary, or sage)
  • salt
  • pepper

Directions

  1. Begin with a few pounds of trimmed stew meat. Remember tough meat is best for stewing because the muscles that are used the most are not just the toughest, they have the most flavor! Cut the meat up into medium chunks. Too small and the stew will cook too fast and you won’t get the marvelous, deep flavor that comes from long slow simmering.
  2. Brown the beef in a thick-bottomed stew pot; use enough oil to coat the bottom and add more if you need to. Dry each piece so it browns well. Be patient; take the time to evenly brown all sides of each piece of meat. Don’t overcrowd the pan or it will cool and not properly brown the meat; work in batches. A medium heat works best, too high and you’ll burn the meat and the tasty bits on the bottom of the pan. This is the single most important step in making a richly flavored stew. Because the stew will only simmer it will never achieve the high temperatures necessary to caramelize the meat; this is your only chance! The affect on the flavor is dramatic, the more you brown the tastier it gets. But don’t burn the meat because then it will taste bitter remove from the pot and set aside . Add flour I use about 1/4 to 1/3cup and cook until starting to brown.
  3. Pour a big splash of wine into the pot and stir vigorously to dislodge the particles stuck to the bottom. They’re pure flavor! When the bottom is clean add the meat and vegetables.
  4. Add enough broth to cover the meat at least halfway. Add more to cover if you have it, but not so much that the meat is swimming. Add some salt and pepper, a few bay leafs. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cover with a tight fitting lid. You may continue cooking on the stove or in the oven. Generally an oven set at 325 degrees will stew perfectly. Either way stew until the meat is tender and can be cut with a spoon. This will take at least an hour and a half.
  5. Now like many things in life stew is best served the day after you make it. The wait gives the complex flavors time to meld and mature. But if you’re hungry, go for it and remember: It’s all about flavor!
For the Baking Powder Bicuits

Ingredents
  • 2 cups All-purpose Flour 
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3 tsp baking powder 
  • 1/3 cup vegetable shortning
  • 1/2 to 2/3 cups Milk
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 450F
Sift flour, salt, and baking powder into a bowl. Using a pastry cutter cut in the shortning until the mixture resembles course crumbs. add milk until moistened and comes together.
Turn out ont floured surface and knead until just smooth.
Roll out to 1/2 inch thick. cut into 2-inch rounds.
Place onto an un-greased baking sheet and bake 12-15 mins. or until golden brown

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Pierogi, Two More Ways


Like I said, there's a lot.

Wild Mushroom Pirogies
For filling
1 cup boiling water
2/3 oz dried porcini mushrooms
1 medium onion, quartered
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6 oz cremini mushrooms, quartered
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (I skipped this)

Pour boiling water over porcini in a small bowl and soak until softened,10 to 20 minutes. Lift porcini out of water, squeezing excess liquid back into bowl, and rinse well to remove any grit. Pour soaking liquid through a paper-towel-lined sieve into a bowl and reserve.

Mix onion, garlic and cremini. Finely chop the porcini, then mix in.

Heat butter in a skillet over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook mushroom mixture, stirring frequently, until mushrooms are dry and 1 shade darker, about 8 minutes. Add reserved soaking liquid and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is thick, dry, and beginning to brown, about 15 minutes. Stir in parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Cool completely.

Cut wrappers into circles and fill pierogies. Working with 1 round at a time, moisten edges with water and fold in half to form a half-moon, pinching edges together to seal.

Do ahead: Filling can be made 2 days ahead and chilled, covered. Freeze on a tray until firm, about 2 hours, then freeze in sealable plastic bags. Thaw before cooking.

Potato Pierogi
Boil until tender, then mash:
1 pound potatoes
Cook in a skillet until brown:
1 large onion (1 - 1 1/2 cups)
Mix onion and potato together then add:
1/2 cup grated cheese (cheddar or Parmesan)
Stuff pierogi.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Cabbage-Stuffed and Cabbage, Stuffed


Having apparently gone insane, I decided to make not only cabbage rolls and three types of pierogi this week. One large head of cabbage, four packs of wonton wrappers and countless hours of labour later, I was still no closer to answering the question of why somebody who doesn't even like making drop cookies because they take too much effort would even consider filling a freezer with miniature stuffed delicacies.

Because I love any and all types of dumplings, that's why. They're like presents for your mouth. Enjoy!

Cabbage Rolls
1 head Savoy cabbage
1 pound ground beef
1 small to medium onion, chopped small
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, shredded
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
2 parsnips, shredded
1/2 cup uncooked rice
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3 to 4 cups of tomato sauce, tomato juice or V8

Cut the core out of the cabbage but leave it whole. Place it, with the empty core area facing up, in a large bowl. Boil a small pot of water and pour the water over the cabbage and let it sit for ten minutes. (I've also heard that you should freeze the cabbage overnight, which I might try next time - I found the leaves difficult to pull off after the first few.

Heat the oil in a saute pan. Cook the onions until they are soft, add the carrot, celery and parsnip and saute them for a couple extra minutes, until they are also soft. Season the mixture with salt and pepper, transfer it to a bowl and let it cool a bit. Mix in the meat, rice and tomato paste and season again with salt and pepper.

Drain the head of cabbage. Pull off large leaves and cut out the large vein. Pat the leaves dry with towels. Roll about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of filling in each leaf (depending on the size of your leaf) and arrange in a large, wide pot. Pour in enough juice or sauce to cover the rolls. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, letting them simmer covered on the stove on low for about 45 minutes. Serve immediately. These also freeze very well.

Mushroom and Sauerkraut-stuffed Pierogi
Heat in a skillet over medium heat:
1 tbsp butter or oil
Add and cook, stirring, until soft:
1 cup onions, chopped
Add and cook until tender:
1 cup mushrooms, chopped
Remove to a bowl and mix in:
1 cup sauerkraut, drained

Let cool completely, then cut a package of wonton wrappers into 2 1/2 inch circles. Stuff with mushroom mixture. Either cook or freeze pierogi on a tray, not touching, then store in the freezer for later use.

Sunday, January 9, 2011

Jerome's Easer Caesar Salad Dressing

Jerome's Easer Caesar Salad Dressing
1 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Worcestershire
1 clove of garlic (minced)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/2 c Parmesean cheese
2 tbsp of  half and half (you could also use milk)
Mix all ingredients together in a blender until smooth.

Enchiladas

Enchilada
Enchilada Sauce
1     28 fl oz can of diced tomatoes
1     Medium Onion sliced
6     Cloves of Garlic
2     tsp Chipotle Powder
2     tsp Ground Cumin
1/2  tsp Salt
1/4  tsp Ground Pepper

Chicken Filling
4     Skinless, Boneless Chicken breast halves cubed
1     tsp Paprika (I like to use Smoked)
1     tsp Ground Cumin
1     tsp Chipotle Powder
1 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese divided
1     can green chilies (about 1/2 cup)
8     corn tortillas
       sour cream


For the Chicken
Combine the cubed chicken, Paprika, Cumin, and chipotle powder, and let marinate for about an hour.
Fry the chicken mixture until the chicken is no longer pink. let cool.
when cool mix the chicken, 1/2 cup of the cheese, and the green chillies.

For the Sauce
Fry the onions and garlic in enough oil to coat the pan until golden, cool.
Add the tomatoes to a blender of food processor add the onion mixture, and spices puree until smooth.

For the Enchiladas
Place 1/8th of the chicken mixture on each tortilla, fold the side in then the bottom up and roll up. Place in a 9X13 casserole that has a lite coating of the sauce. top with the remaining sauce and cheese and bake in a 350 oven until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly about 20 mins.

Clam Chowder

Clam Chowder
Being from the west coast I was brought up on clam chowder, and the best place to get it was a string of restaurants called Mo's. This is as close as I can get to theirs, enjoy.

Yield: 6 servings
Preparation Time: 15 mins
Cooking Time: 1 hour

Ingredients
1/2 pound Bacon diced
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cups Flour
3 can Minced Clams (6 oz. each)
6 cups Diced Potatoes
3 cups Milk
1 dash Salt, pepper, paprika, butter

Procedure
1. Saute bacon until brown; drain off fat.
2. Add onion and saute until clear.
3. Add potatoes and juice from clams, cook about 15 minutes until potatoes are soft.
4. Stir in flour.
5. Add clams, milk and seasonings. heat through (do not boil)
6. Serve with a pat of butter.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Chipotle Brownies


From the people who brought us apricot-rosemary squares, another unusual and delicious bar. I am definitely going to have to try their other stuff.

Spiced Chipotle Brownies
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chipotle powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cardamom
11 ounces dark chocolate coarsely chopped
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9 x 13 glass or light-colored metal baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, salt, cocoa powder and spices (chipotle, cinnamon and cardamom) together.

Put the chocolate, butter, and instant espresso powder in a large bowl and set it over a saucepan of simmering water, stirring occasionally, until the chocolate and butter are completely melted and smooth. Turn off the heat, but keep the bowl over the water and add the sugars. Whisk until completely combined, then remove the bowl from the pan. The mixture should be room temperature.

Add 3 eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until combined. Add the remaining eggs and whisk until combined. Add the vanilla and stir until combined. Do not overbeat the batter at this stage or your brownies will be cakey.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the chocolate mixture. Using a spatula (not a whisk), fold the flour mixture into the chocolate until just a bit of the flour mixture is visible.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake in the center of the oven for 30 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the brownies comes out with a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Let the brownies cool completely, then cut them into squares and serve.

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Onion Tart


This tart is really more of a pizza, with a bready dough base and flat shape. It was amazing and pretty easy to make, although I found it a bit too heavily spiced. Next time I make it I will halve the seasonings and let the onions stand out on their own (don't cut down on the mustard though, it's delicious). The recipe below contains my adjustments.

Onion Tart with Mustard and Fennel
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast (a 1/4-ounce package)
1/2 cup warm water (105 to 115°F)
1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg
2 tbsp plus 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
3 pound yellow onions, halved and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard (I used a bit more)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Stir together yeast and warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Put 1 1/2 cups flour in a medium bowl, then make a well in center of flour and add yeast mixture to well. Stir together egg, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1 teaspoon salt with a fork. Add egg mixture to yeast mixture and mix with a wooden spoon or your fingertips, gradually incorporating flour, until a soft dough forms. Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead, working in additional flour (up to 1/4 cup) as necessary, until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Transfer dough to an oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

While dough rises, heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté fennel seeds until a shade darker, about 30 seconds. Stir in onions, remaining ½ teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, then reduce heat to medium-low and cover onions directly with a round of parchment paper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are very tender and golden brown, 1 to 1 1/4 hours.

Knead dough gently on a floured surface with floured hands to deflate. Pat out dough on a large heavy baking sheet into a 15- by 12-inch rectangle, turning up or crimping edge, then brush mustard evenly over dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border around edge. Spread onions evenly over mustard, then sprinkle evenly with cheese.

Bake tart until crust is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Cut into 2-inch squares or diamonds and serve warm or at room temperature.

Monday, January 3, 2011

As Promised (So Long Ago)...


Delicious curries, plus a salad. Three new recipes to make up for my Christmas-break laziness.

Chana Masala
Good-quality olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garam masala
¼ tsp ground cumin
3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
1 Tbs cilantro leaves, roughly torn, plus more for garnish
A pinch of cayenne, or to taste
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Film the bottom of a large saucepan with olive oil, and place the pan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until it is deeply caramelized and even charred in some spots.

Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic, stirring, and add a bit more oil if the pan seems dry. Add the cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala, ground cumin and cardamom pods, and fry them, stirring constantly, until fragrant and toasty, about 30 seconds. Add 1/4 cup water, and stir to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the water has evaporated away completely. Pour in the juice from can of tomatoes, followed by the tomatoes themselves, using your hands to break them apart as you add them; alternatively, add them whole and crush them in the pot with a potato masher. Add the salt.

Raise the heat to medium, and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cilantro and cayenne, and simmer the sauce gently, stirring occasionally, until it reduces a bit and begins to thicken. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Add the chickpeas, stirring well, and cook over low heat for about fifteen minutes. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary.

Stir in yogurt or garnish with lemon wedges and cilantro. Serve.

Red Split Lentils With Cabbage (Masoor dal aur band gobi)

200 grams (1 1/4 cups) red split lentils, picked over, washed and drained
1 litre water
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
5 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 to 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and cut into fine slices
225 grams (1/2 pound) cored and finely shredded cabbage
1 to 2 fresh, hot green chilies, finely sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 medium tomato, peeled and finely chopped, or 1 small can diced tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon peeled, finely grated fresh ginger

Put the lentils and water into a heavy pot and bring to a boil. Remove any scum that collects at the top. Add the turmeric and stir to mix. Cover, leaving the lid very slightly ajar, turn heat down to low, and simmer gently for 1 1/4 hours. Stir a few times during the last 30 minutes.

When the lentils cook, heat the oil in a 20 to 23 centimeter (8 to 9 inch) frying pan over medium heat. When hot, put in the cumin seeds. Let them sizzle for 3 to 4 seconds. Now put in the garlic. As soon as the garlic pieces begin to brown, put in the onion, cabbage and green chilies. Stir and fry the cabbage mixture for about 10 minutes or until it begins to brown and turn slightly crisp. Stir in 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Turn off the heat under the frying pan.

When the lentils have cooked for 1 1/4 hours, add the remaining 1 1/4 teaspoon salt, the tomato and ginger to the pot. Stir to mix. Cover and cook another 10 minutes. Add the cabbage mixture and any remaining oil in the frying pan. Stir to mix and bring to a simmer.

Simmer uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes or until the cabbage is heated through.

Tangy Shredded Cabbage Salad

2 cups tightly packed, shredded green cabbage (use the large holes of the grater)
1 small serrano chile or jalapeno, seeded and minced
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, or more as needed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

In a medium bowl, toss together the cabbage, chile, lemon juice, salt and sugar. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Heat the oil in a small skillet or butter warmer over high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, add the mustard seeds, covering the pan with a lid or splatter screen. When seeds stop popping, immediately pour the oil over the cabbage salad and toss well. Let the salad sit for at least 15 minutes before serving, to allow the flavors to blossom.

Serve cold or at room temperature.