When you slowly simmer good olives into a stew, they infuse the stew with a saltiness that is more complex than simple salt. This dish is simple, delicious, and possibly addictive. My vegetarian cooking group put together a huge Greek meal last night, and ate a long extended table in the backyard. This was one of the favorite dishes, and the serving dish was practically licked clean.
The recipe comes from Diane Kochilas’ cookbook The Greek Vegetarian, which has become one of my most favorite and beat-up cookbooks. Kochilas says that this dish is inspired by a classic dish from Zakintohos. I’ve made this stew a few times over the years, and I plan to make it several times over the summer before I move to China, since olives will be harder to find there!
photo by Joyce Hiendarto
GREEK POTATOES STEWED WITH KALAMATA OLIVES
2 1/2 pounds medium-sized potatoes
1/3 cup olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 cups kalamata olives
2-3 cups canned plum tomatoes, with their juices
1 teaspoon dried oregano
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
METHOD:
Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel and wash the potatoes. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise, and cut each half into four slices, each about 1/2-inch thick. Drain the olives and pit them.
In a stewing pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the potatoes and stir to coat. Toss in the garlic and stir. Add the olives, and stir and saute for 2-3 minutes. The olives will break apart a little and the dish will change color and darken.
photo by Joyce Hiendarto
To break up the canned tomatoes, grate them with a large-tooth cheese grated. Add the tomatoes to the pot and stir.
photo by Joyce Hiendarto
Lower the heat, cover the pot, and simmer the potatoes for 25-30 minutes, until they are very tender and the sauce is thick. In my experience, it may take a little longer than this for the potatoes to become completely soft. Add a little water during cooking if it seems as though the potatoes are in danger of burning.
Just before removing the pot from the heat, add the oregano and season to taste with salt and pepper. This stew would be good with some feta as a garnish. Here you can see the potato and kalamata stew served at my vegetarian cooking group alongside a slice of spanakopita, or “Spartacus” as my friends were calling it, as well as an arugula, orange, and wrinkled olive salad.
photo by Joyce Hiendarto
This tart is in the same family as quiche, but more exquisite. Puff pastry is topped with caramelized Belgian endives, quiche-style egg custard, gruyere cheese, and parsley. It was the main dish at my vegetarian cooking group’s Belgian meal this weekend. Belgian endives are slightly bitter in a refreshing way. When they are caramelized they are still slightly bitter, which is immensely pleasing and complex in combination with the buttery puff pastry and nutty gruyere cheese.
photo by Joel Weaver
I’ve adapted the recipe from Everybody Eats Well in Belgium Cookbook by Ruth Van Waerebeek. I’ve made the tart vegetarian by eliminating the ham, and have replaced the pie crust with a puff pastry crust, which makes it more special. You can buy puff pastry in the frozen section of most grocery stores.
photo by Joyce Hiendarto
BELGIAN ENDIVE TART
1 sheet puff pastry
2 tablespoon unsalted butter
4-5 Belgian endives
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 teaspoon powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
2 large eggs
1 cup half-and-half
freshly ground nutmeg
2 ounces Gruyere cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
METHOD
Defrost the puff pastry for about an hour.
Cut off the core end of the endives. Thinly slice them into slivers.
Melt the butter in a large heave skillet. Add endives, salt, pepper, and powdered sugar. Sprinkle with the lemon juice. Cook, covered, over medium heat until the endives are soft and slightly caramelized, about 30 minutes. Stir from time to time to make sure they do not burn.
In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Then beat in the half-and-half. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and a generous grating of nutmeg.
While the endives are caramelizing, you can pre-bake the puff pastry. Your puff pastry will most likely come in a long rectangular shape. If you are using a large round tart pan, you will need to use a rolling pin to roll the pastry into a square that will fit in the pan. Place in the tart pan, and tuck the ends under the edges.
photo by Joel Weaver
photo by Joel Weaver
Pre-bake the puff pastry in a medium-heat oven for around 10 minutes, until it is starting to puff even in the middle a little. If you won’t pre-bake the puff pastry, the custard will make it soggy. Remove the puff pastry from the oven. If the middle has puffed up, it will collapse a little when you pour the filling in. You also might want to think about baking it with “weights.” Arrange the caramelized endives over the bottom of the crust. Pour the egg mixture over. Grate the gruyere cheese, and sprinkle it over the egg mixture. Top with the chopped parsley.
photo by Joel Weaver
photo by Joyce Hiendarto
Bake at 350F until the custard is set and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, about 18-25 minutes.
Let the tart set for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges and serve while still warm. It is still wonderful at room temperature, if you are thinking of bringing it to a picnic.
photo by Joel Weaver
This is one of my favorite Indian recipes, and is in regular rotation at my house. The luscious texture comes from roasting the eggplant whole. It’s simple to pull together for a weeknight, and I made a triple-batch yesterday for a church potluck. I tend to make it on the spicier side, but the recipe has a sliding scale for the chilies.
The recipe comes from Neelam Matra’s cookbook 1,000 Indian Recipes. It was considered to be the best recipe in the cookbook by Food and Wine. Instead of chopping the onions, I puree the onions in a food processor with the garlic and chilies to make a smooth paste before sauteeing. Making a paste with the aromatics in this way is a common technique with other Indian recipes, and it allows you to focus on the texture of the soft eggplant, without pieces of onion getting in the way. I also puree the tomatoes as well.
BAINGAN KA SHAHI BHARTHA
1 large oval-shaped eggplant (about 1 pound)
1 large onion
1 large clove garlic
1-3 fresh green chilies
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 large tomato, or the equivalent of canned tomatoes
1 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup heavy or light cream (half-and-half)
METHOD
Poke a hole in the eggplant with a fork or knife. Place it on a small baking sheet, and roast the eggplant under the broiler in the oven. Broil it for about 10 minutes on 2 sides. Pull it out of the oven and let it rest for a few minutes until it’s cool enough to handle. Cut a long vertical slit down the side, and scoop out all of the eggplant flesh with a spoon. Discard the purple skin, but be sure to save all of the roasting juices.
Slice the onion, garlic, and chilies. Puree them in a food processor until finely minced, or in a a smooth paste. This will make the final dish smoother.
Heat the oil in a heavy pan. When hot, add the onion mixture, and cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in the coriander, cumin, garam masala, cayenne, paprika, and salt. Stir for 1 minute.
Chop or puree the tomato. I generally puree it with a hand blender until smooth. You may want to grate the tomato with a large-hole cheese grater for a more rustic texture. Add the tomato to the pot, and cook for 5-7 minutes. Mix in the mashed eggplant and the peas. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.
Mix in the cream, and cook 1 minute.
Filed under: main dishes, recipes | Tags: cooking with wine, fennel, main dishes, stew, vegan
This became a favorite stew this year. I made it several times over the fall and winter, brought it to potlucks, and served it for extended family over the holidays. I’m finally posting it to share. It’s a richly flavored stew that perfumes the kitchen with fennel and red wine. In contrast to the eggplant stew I posted last fall, in which you briefly saute all of the ingredients together on the stove, and then roast the whole stew in the oven for 2 hours, this stew has the opposite procedure. You cook the vegetables separately and uniquely, then bring them together in a boozy red wine and herb stew.
The procedure for roasting the fennel was new to me. You braise quarters of fennel on the stove with olive oil and broth for 5 minutes, then put the pan in the oven to roast for an hour, covered in parchment paper. This does something magical to the fennel, and is more interesting than simply roasting slices of fennel in olive oil and salt (which was my previous method for roasting fennel). Now I want to use this braising/roasting method on fennel at other times as a side dish, or a base for other stews as well. And wouldn’t it be nice on a salad?
This recipe is inspired by Denis Cotter’s fantastic cookbook Cafe Paradiso Seasons. I think that Julie/Julia gal is pretty OCD, but if I would ever decide to cook my way through a cookbook, it might just be this one. My two changes are that I’ve cut the eggplants into slightly smaller pieces, and have also salted and rested the cut eggplant cubes before cooking them. This step draws out liquid from the spongy eggplant cubes, and removes possible bitterness. Since you have the fennel roasting for an hour, I think you might as well have the eggplant draining during this time.
You can serve this stew with any kind of starchy side. Today I’m pairing it with thick slices of pan-seared polenta, but it’s also good with rice, couscous, or crusty bread. Alternatively, it’s a great stew for composing a vegetarian version of shepherd’s pie (to do so, arrange the stew in the bottom of a casserole pan, top it with mashed potatoes, and then bake until the mashed potatoes are golden). Since a shepherd’s pie is topped with mashed potatoes, I replace the potatoes in the stew with green beans.
A fruity red wine is preferred. The author Denis Cotter says the first time he made this stew, he drank the rest of the bottle while the stew simmered, “but that’s not always necessary.”
I used chilies and thyme from the garden. If you’re afraid of the heat, leave the chilies out.
EGGPLANT AND FENNEL STEW BRAISED IN RED WINE
3 fat fennel bulbs
1/3 cup olive oil
18 ounces vegetable stock (separated as 1 cup and 1 1/4 cup)
2 large eggplants
18 ounces potatoes
28-ounce can whole plum tomatoes
6 cloves galic
2-4 fresh chilies
2-3 sprigs thyme
10 ounces (1 1/4 cup) red wine
salt, to season
METHOD
Trim the greens off the top of the fennel bulbs and slice a thin sliver off the root end. Then slice the bulbs into quarters. Place them in a cast iron pan or skillet with tall sides (something that you an use both on the stove and in the oven), together with 1/3 cup olive oil and 1 cup vegetable broth. Bring it to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Cover the pot loosely with parchment paper and bake in the oven at 350F for 1 hour. Check occasionally to see if there is enough liquid, and you may need to turn some of the fennel pieces.
Here are the before-and-after photos.
In the meantime, peel the eggplant, and cut it into 1-inch cubes. Toss the cubes in salt, and place in a colander to drain. After about 30 minutes of draining, pat with paper towels to dry.
During this time, prepare the ingredients for the rest of the stew. Slice the garlic cloves and the chilies. Heat them in a large soup pot for 30 seconds or so, and then add the tomatoes. I crush the whole tomatoes with my hands, or use a cheese grater with large holes to roughly grate the tomatoes. Cook the tomatoes with the garlic and chilies for about 5 minutes. Then add the thyme sprigs, the wine, and the remaining 1 -1/4 cup of vegetable broth. Season with a little salt, bring to a boil, and then simmer around 20 minutes.
Peel the potatoes. Quarter them, then cut the quarters into big wedges around 1 -1/2 inches thick. Steam the potato cubes in a vegetable steamer until soft, around 15-20 minutes.
When the fennel comes out of the oven, it’s time to bake the eggplant. Place the eggplant in a baking dish (I prefer cast iron), and toss with olive oil. Bake at 375F for about 20-30 minutes, or until soft. I usually have the eggplant baking at the same time as I have the potatoes steaming.
Add the roasted fennel and all of its oil juices to the stew. Add the steamed potatoes and the roasted eggplant. Bring the stew back to a boil, and simmer again on very low heat, covered, for 15 minutes. If you have the time, turn off the heat, and let the stew sit for an hour or so to mellow. Check the seasoning before serving.
Filed under: main dishes, recipes | Tags: Indian, main dishes, potato, vegan
Madhur Jaffrey says, “I love this dish with an irrational passion.” The first time I made this potato-coconut curry I easily understood the attraction. When coconut is cooked with garlic, cumin, and turmeric, the scent is intoxicating and unusual.
This was one of my favorite dishes to cook in college. My roommates usually requested this curry or the Mediterranean Lemony Potato Stew. Both recipes come from Madhur Jaffrey’s World of the East Vegetarian Cooking, which was one of the two cookbooks I owned in college. Both are still favorites of mine.
The original recipe calls for fresh coconut, but I almost always use dried, unsweetened coconut. Fresh coconut has a fun chewy and silky texture, but it takes some time and effort to break open a coconut. If you use dried coconut instead of fresh, check the packaging to make sure it is unsweetened, and doesn’t contain sugar.
This is an extremely simple curry to pull together. It takes about 10 minutes to prepare (and less if you don’t peel your potatoes), and 45 minutes to simmer. Other than the coconut, the ingredients are staples you probably have in your pantry. Turmeric and cumin are more common in Western kitchens than, say, fenugreek or ajwain! This is one of those dishes in which you add ingredients to the hot saucepan in a quick procession, seconds apart from each other — so be efficient by preparing and measuring the ingredients before heating the stove.
POTATO COCONUT CURRY
3 medium-size boiling potatoes (about 1 1/4 lb)
6 garlic cloves
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 whole dried red chili
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups grated coconut (dried and unsweetened, or fresh)
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin seeds
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/4 pounds diced tomatoes, fresh or canned (16-20 ounces)
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
METHOD:
Peel the potatoes (I used white potatoes with delicate skin, and didn’t peel them). Cut into a 3/4-inch dice and put into a bowl of cold water. Mince the garlic. Measure the coconut and whole cumin seeds. In a small bowl, combine the turmeric, ground cumin, and salt.
Heat the oil in a heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, put in the minced garlic. Stir for about 5 seconds.
Now put in the red pepper and the cumin seeds. Stir for another 3 seconds. The garlic should brown lightly, the red pepper should darken, and the cumin seeds should sizzle.
Lower the heat to medium, put in the coconut and stir around for about 15 seconds (I often stir for around 1 minute to toast the dried coconut a little).
Drain the potatoes in a colander. Add them to the saucepan, as well as the turmeric, ground cumin, salt, tomatoes (including the juices in the can), plus 1 1/2 cups water.
Bring to a boil. Cover, turn heat to low, and simmer for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Stir gently every 7-8 minutes or so to prevent sticking. Put in the sugar and vinegar. Stir again and cook, uncovered, for 1 minute.
Saag paneer is an Indian dish consisting of a pool of soft spinach stew studded with cubes of firm paneer cheese. The spinach is “saag” and the cheese is “paneer.” This traditional dish is improved with the revolutionary addition of mustard greens, as well a thoughtful balance of spices. I made this mustard green saag paneer twice over the holidays because my family kept requesting it.
I am sometimes cautious about ordering saag paneer in restaurants because the flavor can be bland when prepared for timid American palates. However I was fortunate to discover this perfect and vibrant recipe in Raghavan Iyer’s cookbook 660 Curries, which is also the source of the fabulous and spicy version of muttar paneer that I shared over the summer. Not only is the spice blend here lovely, but Iyer’s insight to add mustard greens makes the dish more pungent and flavorful. This is a wonderfully enjoyable way to eat your greens.
For those of you unfamiliar with paneer, it’s a dense Indian cheese that holds its shape when folded into hot curries. It is often pan-fried before being added to curries (although many Indian restaurants cut corners by tossing in small cold cubes). You can find paneer in Indian groceries, and some Arab markets in my area carry it as well. When I visit Indian groceries, I often buy several packages of paneer, and store it in the freezer so that I always have it on hand. If you freeze yours, remember to thaw it before using. If you are unable to find paneer in your area, the greens in this dish are so delicious that you could easily enjoy it without the paneer. Alternatively, you could substitute the paneer for big chunks of steamed potato, which would create a delicious “saag aloo.”
MUSTARD GREEN SAAG PANEER
6-8 ounces fresh spinach leaves
1 large bunch mustard greens
1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
3 cloves
cardamom seeds from 3 green cardamom pods
1 dried red chile
1 medium onion
6 medium-size garlic cloves
2-inches of ginger
2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
14-18 ounces paneer cheese
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
METHOD
Soak the spinach leaves and mustard greens in a large bowl of cold water. Let them sit a few minutes to soak which will loosen any dirt clinging to the leaves, then pull out the leaves. Finely chop the spinach and mustard greens. One way to easily chop the large mustard green leaves is to stack about 5 large leaves on top of each other. Roll them up like a cigar, then thinly slice the roll. This technique of slicing a “cigar” of stacked and rolled leaves is called “chiffonade.” At this point, you can easily chop the leaves more finely. Repeat this stacking, rolling, slicing, and chopping process with the rest of the leaves.
Make the spice blend by combining the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, black peppercorns, cloves, cardamom seeds, and dried red chile in a coffee grinder or spice grinder. If you are using a coffee grinder, you will probably want to wipe the grinder before and after with a damp paper-towel.
Prepare the paneer by cutting it into inch-size cubes.
Pan-fry the paneer in a wide skillet with about 1/4 cup or less of oil. Rotate the cubes to fry on all sides until the color is honey-brown. This will take about 7-10 minutes. Let them drain on a paper-towel.
Slice the onion. Roughly chop the garlic cloves. Slice the 2-inch piece of ginger into long slices.
Heat the 2 tablespoons of oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry until the onion is light brown, 8-10 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the spice mixture you made in the grinder, plus the turmeric. The heat from the onion should be just right to lightly cook the spices without burning them.
Transfer the mixture to a blender or food processor. Add the tomato paste and 1/4 cup of the water. Puree to create a smooth paste. Return the paste to the skillet. Pour the remaining 3/4 cup water to the blender or food processor, and whir the blades to wash it out and capture the remaining paste. Add this to the skillet as well.
Place the skillet over medium heat. Pile handfuls of the greens into the skillet, cover it, and let the steam wilt them. Stir, and repeat with the remaining greens. Once they are all wilted, cover the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are broken down to a sauce-like consistency and are olive-green in color, 10-15 minutes.
Stir in the salt, garam masala, paneer cubes, and cream. Continue simmering the curry, covered, stirring occasionally, until the cheese and cream are warmed through, 5-8 minutes.
Filed under: main dishes, recipes, salads | Tags: butternut squash, lentils, main dishes, salads
When you’ve overdosed on xmas cookies, you might crave some lighter meals around the holidays. This warm winter salad is utterly delicious, earthy, and healthful. The bright dressing and goat cheese bring the dish together, and the lentils are richly-flavorful with sauteed aromatics and herbs.
I made it for the first time a few years ago in Berkeley with my cousin Patricia, and it has become a favorite winter salad. It comes from Diana Henry’s book Roast Figs Sugar Snow, which is a collection of vibrant recipes for cold weather, gathered from Northern Europe and New England. Last winter I shared the orange-cardamom star cookies from the same cookbook. My favorite chocolate-rosemary sorbet comes from her cookbook Crazy Water Pickled Lemons.
Serve this as a colorful side dish, or by itself for a simpler meal. It’s a breeze to made since you assemble everything while the squash roasts.
ROAST WINTER SQUASH SALAD WITH LENTILS AND GOAT CHEESE
3-3.5 lb. (1.5 kg) winter squash, such as butternut or acorn
salt and pepper
olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
9 oz (250 g) goat cheese, broken up
for the lentils:
9.5 oz (275 g) green lentils
1/2 small onion, or 1 super-small onion or shallot
1 small stalk celery
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoon fresh flat-leaf parsley
for the dressing:
1/2 tablespoon white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
tiny dollop Dijon mustard
4 tablespoons olive oil
good pinch sugar
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Halve the winter squash and scoop out the seeds and fibers. Peel the squash and cut into 1-inch pieces. Put the squash wedges in a roasting tray. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, and dot with butter. Roast it in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes. Turn the wedges over a few times during baking. Don’t let it scorch or get too dry.
Meanwhile, prepare the lentils while the squash is in the oven. Rinse the lentils, then cover them with cold water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until tender, 15-30 minutes. They should be tender and hold their shape.
While the lentils are cooking, chop the onion and celery finely. Gently saute them in a wide skillet with the butter and olive oil until they are soft.
Meanwhile, prepare the dressing by whisking all of the dressing ingredients together. Also chop the parsley at this time. Set both aside.
When the lentils are cooked, add them to the pan of onions and celery. Stir them around to soak up the cooking juices. Add 2/3 of the dressing and the chopped parsley. Season well with salt and pepper.
Serve either on a wide serving platter or on individual plates. Mound the lentils, then top with the roasted squash. Dot with the nuggets of goat cheese, drizzle on the remaining dressing.
Filed under: main dishes, recipes | Tags: chickpeas, eggplant, Middle Eastern, stew
I’m joining the cool kids, and am beginning to learn how to grow vegetables in the backyard. This week, a few of the eggplants look ready, so I wanted to find a delicate eggplant recipe to highlight a super-fresh vegetable pulled right from the garden.
After perusing all of my Middle Eastern cookbooks, I happened upon this Paula Wolfert recipe from The Cooking of the Eastern Mediterranean. Her long introduction to this recipe was exuberant and poetic, and I knew that if the stew made her this electric, then I would love it as well. Paula first tasted this dish at a conference in Greece on traditional Greek food-ways, at a special Lenten meal accompanied by clerical prayers, candles, and ancient Christian music.
This dish takes some time to cook — 2 1/2 hours in the oven, or all day in a crock pot – but is pretty easy to assemble. The advantage of slow-cooking is that the delicate eggplant softens to melt in your mouth, and you don’t have to worry about last-minute kitchen management before supper. I enjoyed smelling this cook all afternoon while I read textbooks in the next room. If you like something like a French ratatouille, this is somewhat similar in terms of ingredients, but is far superior and delicate because of the slow-cooking. The flavors have time to marry and soften.
Note that you’ll need to plan ahead and soak your dried chickpeas overnight. You could used canned chickpeas in a pinch, but the dried chickpeas have a better texture, and are cheaper. Paula Wolfert says the ultimate version of this stew is achieved from baking the stew in an earthenware pot, but I think most of us don’t own clay pots, or at least not yet. I baked mine in an enamed cast iron pot (Le Creseut) and it was lovely.
The large pepper and hot chili provide an appropriate soft echo of heat. Along with the eggplant, I was also able to use a larger pepper and a smaller chili (jalapeno) from the garden as well.
MACEDONIAN EGGPLANT AND CHICKPEA STEW
1/2 pound chickpeas, soaked overnight
1-pound eggplant
coarse salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups chopped onions
1 large green frying pepper
2 1/2 teaspoons chopped long green chili
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic
2 cups canned tomatoes with juice
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon oregano
1 bay leaf
METHOD
Drain the chickpeas after soaking overnight. Place in a saucepan, add fresh water to cover, bring to a boil, and simmer, covered, over low heat until half-cooked, about 45 minutes. Set aside.
Meanwhile, peel the eggplant and cut into 1-inch cubes. Sprinkle lightly with salt and let stand in a colander to draw off excess moisture, about 45 minutes. Set aside.
Chop the onions. Chop both the large pepper and small chili into small pieces. Peel and crush the garlic with pinch of salt. I used a mortar and pestle for this.
Preheat the oven to 300F (if baking instead of using a crock pot).
Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet. Add the onions, frying pepper, and chili. Stir 3 minutes. Add the eggplant and saute without browning it, 2 more minutes. Add the garlic, tomatoes with juice, parsley, oregano, and 1 teaspoon coarse salt. Cook at a simmer 10 minutes, stirring often.
In a 4-quart oven-proof cast iron pot, bean pot, clay casserole, or crock pot, mix the chickpeas, 1 3/4 cups of their cooking liquid, the bay leaf, and the contents of the skillet. Cover and bake in the oven 2 1/2 hours, or alternatively all day in the crock pot. The aroma will be extremely fragrant, and the chickpeas very tender. Remove the lid and bake 10 minutes more to allow excess moisture to evaporate.
This stew is so completely satisfying that Paula Wolfert suggests that it only needs to be accompanied by dense, chewy bread. I served it with a rice pilaf today.
Indian Green Peas with Pan-Fried Cheese
Finally a mutter paneer recipe that is spicy and assertive enough for my table. I have to admit that in the past I had grown to avoid this classic dish, because restaurant versions are so bland. Luckily I recently discovered this recipe which demands a serious amount of fresh chiles and ginger.
I found this recipe in Raghavan Iyer’s heavy tome of a cookbook called 660 Curries. Over the past few months, this cookbook has captured my heart. Not only are its options inexhaustible, but each recipe I’ve assembled has been surprisingly phenomenal. I promise to share other recipes soon (like his sensational mustard-green-saag paneer and his fresh corn with curry leaves).
For those of you unfamiliar with paneer, it’s a dense Indian cheese that holds its shape when folded into hot curries. It is often pan-fried before being added to curries (although many Indian restaurants cut corners by tossing in small cold cubes). You can find paneer in Indian groceries, and some Arab markets in my area carry it as well. In a pinch, I confess that I’ve substituted the salty haloum cheese from Cyprus. It was unorthodox, but tasty.
This recipe is so addictive that you might want to double the recipe, and share leftovers with friends all week.
MUTTER PANEER
1 small red onion, coarsely chopped
3 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 1 1/2 inches long, 1 inch wide, and 1/8 inch thick)
3 large garlic cloves
2 fresh green chiles (Thai, cayenne or serrano), stems removed, but seeds intact
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
1 bay leaf
1 Cup tomato sauce, canned or homemade
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt or sea salt
1 1/2 Cups frozen peas (no need to thaw)
1/4 Cup heavy whipping cream (or half-and-half)
8 ounces paneer
1/4 cup canola oil for frying the paneer
METHOD:
1. Combine the onion, ginger, garlic, and chiles in a food processor, and pulse until they are minced.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil in a medium-size saucepan over medium-high heat. Sprinkle in the cumin seeds and bay leaf, and cook until the cumin sizzles, turns reddish brown, and smells nutty, 5-10 second. Immediately add the minced onion blend and stir-fry until it is light reddish brown, 5-7 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato sauce, garam masala, and salt. The sauce will quickly start to bubble up and splatter, so lower the heat to medium. Simmer the sauce, partially covered, stirring occasionally, until some oil appears on the surface and around the edges, providing a glistening sheen, 5-10 minutes.
4. Pour in 1/4 Cup water and add the frozen peas.
Cover the pan and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the peas are tender and olive green in color, 8-10 minutes.
5. In the meantime, prepare the paneer. Cut the paneer into 1-inch cubes. To pan-fry them, heat 1/4 cup canola oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the cubes in a single layer and cook, turning them occasionally, until all sides are honey-brown and crispy, 7-10 minutes. Transfer them to a paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
6. Fold the cream (or half-and-half) and paneer into the peas.
Cover the pan and simmer, occasionally stirring gently, until the cream and cheese have warmed through, about 5 minutes.
7. Remove the bay leaf and serve.
Filed under: breakfast, main dishes, recipes | Tags: breakfast, herbs, main dishes
I made this for the first time yesterday, and it was a huge hit at a backyard party. This savory bread pudding is fragrant with herbs and sautéed leeks, and absolutely filled with freshly-cut sweet corn. Frozen corn will work in a pinch, but fresh corn cut from the cob is worlds better.
I found this recipe in the cookbook Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, when I was searching for an unusual recipe utilizing fresh sweet corn. This dish was so incredibly delicious and easy that I imagine I’ll make it all the time now. It calls for a bunch of sliced scallions, but I happened to have a leek in the fridge and used that instead. I imagine I would use leeks in the future as well because of their lovely, delicate taste.
The original recipe is not specific about the type of bread, but I recommend sourdough for the added flavor. Serve this savory bread pudding with a lemony green salad, or alternatively at a brunch paired with fruit. Leftovers are lovely for breakfast.
SAVORY BREAD PUDDING WITH FRESH CORN
1 tablespoon butter
1 bunch scallions, including half of the greens (or 1 large leek)
4 cups fresh corn kernels (or frozen in a pinch)
1/2 teaspoon paprika or ground red chile
salt
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped basil
4 eggs
2 cups milk
5 cups cubed bread, lightly dried out (I recommend sourdough)
1 cup grated sharp cheddar
1/2 cup half-and-half or milk
METHOD:
Butter a 3-quart gratin dish or casserole pan.
Slice the scallions or leek. Shave the corn from the cobs. Chop the parsley and basil. Cube the bread. If it isn’t dry, then lightly dry it by heating it in a 200F oven on a cookie sheet for 10-20 minutes.
Heat the oil in a wide skillet over medium-high heat. Add the scallions or leek, the corn, and paprika or chile. Cook until the scallions have softened and the corn is heated through, about 4 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir in the parsley and basil.
Whisk the eggs and milk with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pour it over the bread cubes in a bowl. Add the corn mixture and grated cheese and transfer the mixture to the prepared dish. Pour over the half-and-half. Bake until puffed and browned, about 45 minutes.
