131 posts tagged “food”
Adapted from the wonderfully named CheapHealthyGood blog, who adapted it from Nick at Serious Eats who adapted it from Epicurious.
Yeah, its that good.
What you need:
1 cup nonfat evaporated milk
3 cups light vegetable stock
1 cup polenta
1 teaspoon oil
4 ounces cremini mushrooms, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoons butter
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper to taste
- Add the evaporated milk, stock, polenta, salt and pepper to a large pot over medium heat. (Be careful with the salt, the stock and the parmesan will both have salt as well.) Bring to a simmer, whisking constantly, then reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and creamy.
- Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, for a minute or so. Add the kale, garlic, and saute until the kale turns bright green and wilts. Turn off the heat and add the thyme and lemon zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Add the butter and parmesan to the pot with the polenta. Stir until combined. Spoon some of the polenta onto a plate and then top with the mushroom and kale. Serve warm.
Even though we made it on a Saturday, this is a great weeknight recipe. Easy and soul satisfying. The writers at CheapHealthyGood even wrote an ode to the recipe. Go read. :)
From Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. A wonderful cookbook with an amazing breadth of recipes.
Ms. Jaffrey says to use unwashed risotto rice to get at all the starch- a shocking idea for a compulsive food washer like me! A good risotto, she says, is adult 'nursery food', with an assertive density, and a decided bite. Never undercooked, but firm and creamy, like well-cooked pasta.
I took a leap of faith and followed the instructions, down to the unwashed rice. The end result was a gorgeous risotto- simple, creamy, perfect.
Ingredients:
4 cups light vegetable stock ( I used one stock cube dissolved in 4 cups hot water)
3 tbsp olive oil ( I used one tbsp)
1 tbsp pine nuts
1/2 small onion, finely chopped ( I did not use it)
1 tbsp golden raisins
10 oz fresh spinach, washed, dried, chopped
1 cup unwashed risotto rice
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 tbsp unsalted butter, diced
Heat the stock and keep it hot over low heat.
Pour the oil in a large, heavy saute pan. ( I used a dutch oven.) When hot, add the pine nuts. Fry them until golden brown. Remove.
Now add the onion to the oil. Fry it for a minute, and add the raisins. Stir a few times and add the spinach. Fry for a few minutes, and add the rice and cinnamon. Fry for another minute.
Pour in a ladleful of stock. Turn the heat to medium and keep stirring. As the stock gets absorbed, keep adding another ladleful and stirring. Keep doing it until all the stock is gone, for at least 22 minutes.
Add and stir in the cheese and butter, until well mixed. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat. Let the risotto rest for a minute, then serve with pine nuts sprinkled on top.
Two words: Comfort. Food.
I really haven't felt like cooking since my family left. Everything that mom brought- the home made wheat cookies, the cute silver bowls shaped like a leaf, the three bronze musicians on my wall- remind me of home and what I'm missing. Thank goodness for the barefoot contessa, who tempted me back into the kitchen with her lobster pot pies.
I usually make pie crusts at home, thinking they are bound to be healthier than store brought ones, but a comparison showed that there isn't much difference in terms of calories. Using frozen puff pastry sheets made this a true comfort food, easy to put together in less than an hour.
For the filling:
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1.5 cups milk
1 tsp vegetable stock concentrate
a handful of fresh herbs (I used sage and thyme)
6 cups of parboiled/fresh veggies (cauliflower, potatoes, carrots, peas and mushrooms)
1 tsp mustard
2 tbsp nutritional yeast/cheese
salt and pepper
For the crust:
I used one frozen puff pastry sheet for four mini loaf pans/ramekins
1 tbsp oil+1 tbsp milk, for brushing
coarse salt and black pepper
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and leave the puff pastry sheet on the counter to thaw.
Heat the butter in a dutch oven. Add the flour and stir until you get a dark brown roux. Whisk in the milk and the stock concentrate and bring them to a boil. Add the mustard, yeast, veggies. Season and let simmer for a few minutes, until the sauce thickens and the vegetables are cooked through.
Divide the vegetable filling between four mini loaf pans/ramekins. Cut the thawed puff pastry sheet to fit the pans, leaving half an inch overhang all around. (You could also use a dutch oven to cook the veggies in and then just cover it with the whole sheet). Cover the pans with the pastry sheet, seal the edges and brush the surface with milk and oil mixture. Sprinkle some coarse salt and pepper on top if you like, cut at least two vents into the crust, and bake until the top is well browned (about 20 minutes for the mini-pans.) Let stand for ten minutes before serving.
This was good with a simple green salad, even better when followed by the Skinny Cow chocolate fudge icecream.
p.s. Why do you think I can't find any fat free frozen yogurt when I want to binge?
Singing Horse has been making all these amazing, irresistible quiches. The temptation got to the point where I abandoned my weekend bread-baking plans and decided to make a quiche instead. This recipe is a mixture of her recipe and Bryanna Clark Grogan's. The end result was truly phenomenal- the eggless, flourless quiche set beautifully, and A finally declared himself a quiche convert.
For one ten inch pie, process together in a blender:
- 1 block (14 oz) firm tofu
- 1/4 cup milk (soy is fine)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 tsp dried herbs of choice (I used basil and thyme)
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tbsp cornstarch
- 1/2 tsp agar powder
- a pinch of turmeric (for color)
- 1 tbsp vegetable stock concentrate/1 stock cube ( I use Better than Bouillon veggie base)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Now comes the vegetable mixture. I used aspargus, peppers, carrots, peas and sundried tomatoes, but you can use any veggies you like, as long as the final mixture is not too wet. Reserve some vegetables for the top, if you like.
In a frying pan, heat 1 tbsp of oil. Saute together for five minutes-
- 1/2 cup onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, chopped
- 3 cups mixed, chopped vegetables of choice ( I left the sundried tomatoes as they were, and they soaked up the liquid from other vegetables.)
- Season with herbs, salt and pepper.
Mix in half of the tofu mixture with the vegetables. Spread the vegetables in a 9-10" pie/cake pan and top with the remaining tofu mixture. I added some shredded parmeggiano on top along with the reserved asparagus spears.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let it rest for at least one, preferably two hours before serving.
...are proof that Food Network is good for things other than who-would-eat-them cake challenges.
I actually like Giada de Laurentiis, even though she's not a food geek like Alton Brown. A lot of her recipes are simple, elegant, and they work in the kitchen. Like this one. Here's my version.
What you need (for three generous servings):
7 oz penne pasta (I love Ronzoni Healthy Harvest whole wheat blend)
5 oz fresh baby spinach
1 cup asparagus, chopped
2 oz goat cheese
1 tbsp capers in brine
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
1 tbsp grated parmeggiano reggiano
- In the food processor, pulse a big handful of spinach, goat cheese, garlic and capers until it turns into a thick creamy sauce. Throw the rest of the spinach in a large bowl.
- Bring plenty of salted water to boil. Add the asparagus to it for thirty seconds, remove and run it under cold water. (I do the whole thing in a metal mesh sieve.) Throw the asparagus in over the spinach.
- Add the pasta to the water and cook until..well, cooked. Drain and reserve 1/2 cup of pasta liquid.
- Add the pasta and the sauce to the veggies in the bowl. Pour in the pasta liquid, and stir everything around until the spinach wilts. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the parmeggiano on top and serve.
Yes, that simple. Simpler if you skip the asparagus. Delicious both ways.
Next came the bread. I was looking for a recipe which used sourdough starter, was eggless, and could be made in three hours or less. Voila! Sourdough sundried tomato rolls at Jugalbandi, which is basically my one-shop stop for all kinds of great recipes.
I halved the recipe and got 6 good sized rolls. The dough was very wet, but that had three advantages-
One, it was too sticky to knead, so I just stirred it around with a spoon half-heartedly.
Two, they were too soft to shape, so I threw them in muffin tins.
Three, more water = softer rolls.
These babies were so soft you couldn't have guessed they were made with a whole-wheat flour/sourdough starter/rye flour combo.
Even better, the recipe says you can make them even if you don't have a sourdough starter.
So, what are you waiting for? :)
These rolls are so going to Susan's weekly YeastSpotting. They deserve to be spotted. And slathered with butter. And eaten.
p.s. Thank you Singing Horse! The pasta goes to Presto Pasta Nights, being hosted this week by Marye of Baking Delights.
I have a love-hate relationship with chilli peppers. One bite out of a hot red chilli pepper, my taste buds are on fire, and who knows what the food tastes like. Yet the flavor is so addictive that I keep on trying. I fry them, add them in cooking water, deseed them, pickle them, anything in order to coax out the flavor and get rid of the heat.
Home made harissa is the fruit of such a labor.
I used a mixture of New Mexico chillies (mild) and Indian red chillies (hot). The recipe is simple and flexible. Crush in a mortar/grind in a wet spice grinder:
4 mild and 4 hot dried red chillies, soaked in hot water, then deseeded and destemmed
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp caraway seeds, all dry roasted
1/2 tsp salt
1 green cardamom and 1 clove
Taste and adjust spices and heat. Store in an airtight container in the fridge/freezer. Stir in yogurt, stocks, stews, or spread on toasted pita/naan.
We mixed ours with yogurt to make a Moroccan style vegetable stew with harissa yogurt sauce. Recipe here.
Again, I messed with the recipe until it was barely recognizable. Here's my version.
Yogurt sauce:
- 1 cup Greek yogurt (I used Indian)
- 1 tablespoon harissa
- Salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable stew:
- 1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 turnip, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons all purpose flour
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 5 ounces baby spinach
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2-3 cups stock (I used cooking liquid from the chickpeas)
For yogurt sauce:
Whisk all ingredients
in a bowl. Cover and chill.
For vegetable stew:
Melt oil in heavy large pot. Add carrots and turnips. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until veggies are soft, stirring often. Stir in flour. Add beans, spinach and stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer; cook until vegetables are heated through and the flavors meld, adding more cooking liquid if desired. Season stew to taste with salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
Serve with yogurt sauce over couscous or rice.
Susan at the Wild Yeast Blog made a fabulous roasted potato sourdough bread, with whole potato chunks in it. I just had to make it this weekend.
The bread has the soft, moist crumb of a potato bread. And the roasted potato chunks are better than any nuts/spices I've ever added to bread.
We paired the bread with a herby green soup. I was tired of the usual hearts and flowers sort of designs on top, and wanted to try something new. This design seemed kinda cool and interesting, like ninepins.
Until hubby came home and said, 'Why are you drawing scrotums in my soup?'
Note to self- Stop watching Bizarre Foods.
The roasted potato sourdough bread goes to Susan for the weekly YeastSpotting.
The sourdough experiments continue. My strategy now is to approach bread recipes just like I do non-baked goods. Pick what you like and modify what you don't. Seems to working so far. :)
The bread has a crisp, crackly crust and a big, holey crumb. While it has a good sourdough flavor, I prefer the whole wheat flour-rye combination more than white flour-rye. We paired the bread with a winter-worthy roasted squash and corn soup.
The soup recipe is a (big) modification of this one. You will need:
1 large butternut squash, chopped into approximately 4 cup big chunks and 2 cups small dice
1 large sprig rosemary
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 inch piece fresh ginger
1 tbsp orange/lemon zest
salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp garam masala
1 tbsp olive oil
- Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.
- To a soup pot, add the large chunks of squash, rosemary, ginger and bring it to a boil. Season with salt and pepper, cover and simmer until squash is very tender.
- Toss the diced squash and corn with olive oil and maple syrup and spread it on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until they are nice and golden.
- Puree the squash in the pot, then add half of the roasted veggies, the zest and the garam masala. Simmer for another five minutes.
- Ladle into bowls, top with some more roasted veggies, and serve.
Lets just say I'm drooling at the thought of leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The Norwich Sourdough goes to Susan for the weekly YeastSpotting.
Life has been crazy lately. There's work, increasingly hectic but rewarding. There's housework, which never ends. There's paperwork, which I hate. And there is the cold, blanketing everything, making simple pleasures like walking to work almost impossible. ( I tried, and sprained my ankle.)
No wonder most of my patients get depressed this time of the year.
Anyway, those were all my excuses for not keeping in touch. Here's a recipe for mung pancakes. They are savory, they are golden, they can be stuffed with anything you like. In short, they are perfect.
Make pancakes They won't fluff up like regular pancakes, and will be a bit thicker than French crepes. Crisp on the outside and relatively soft inside. 1 cup of dal will make about 6.
For the stuffing, I heated 1 tbsp of oil, added cumin, coriander, turmeric, red chilli powder, 1 cup of thawed frozen peas and 1/2 a cup of crumbled paneer (cottage cheese). Then I stirred it around for about five minutes and seasoned it with salt and pepper. Add a few tablespoons of stuffing to each pancake and serve them with any kind of chutney/salsa/ketchup.
Scraped all most of the starter off the walls.
Found the bottle under the sink. It had a couple of tbsp of starter left in it. Fed the starter, using 1:1 volume ratio of flour and water instead of the recommended 1:1 weight ratio.
Resisted the impulse to drink the alcohol formed as a result and poured it down the drain. Fed the starter.
Looked for recipes. Got confused. Looked some more. Got worse.
Berated self. So, you were the organic chemistry genius, yes?
Found a recipe written in straight English.
Decided to give up the quest for perfection and just enjoy myself. Here are the results.
Scoring tip: Use a scalpel.
This has to be one of the best breads I have made. Amazing flavor. I did not use the onion and used a combination of caraway and nigella seeds.
Ideally, you are supposed to wait a day before cutting into rye.
Hmph.
The crumb was a bit shaggy (blame the hmph), but the marbling was beautiful. Toasted and spread with apple butter, this is pure heaven.
