Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Chole

I found some decent curry at Carrefour, and decided to attempt Chole, adapted from this recipe. It came out decent, however it was missing something...cinnamon? The curry powder didn't have a list of ingredients, so it's hard to say.

Chole

Ingredients:

1. Chana (Kabuli chana) – 3/4 cup
2. Onion, 1 small
3. Tomato – 1/4th cup chopped
4. Ginger – 2tsp
5. Garlic – 1 large clove
6. Cumin Powder – 2tsp
7. Curry Powder – 2 pinchs
8. Aji picante – 1, finely chopped, without seeds
9. Salt – To taste
10. Oil – 3tsp

Soak chana in water about 6-8hrs.
Cook the chana.
Heat oil. Add onion and cumin and fry it on medium flame.
After one minute, add garlic and hot pepper. Cook.
Put Ginger, and curry powder and fry till it begin to golden colour on medium flame.
Add tomato and fry it, now put boiled chana ,1 cup water, and salt and boil it for 5-8 minutes.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Bowtie Pasta with Yellow Squash and Tomatoes Recipe (No Meat Athelete)

I made this for dinner. I halved the recipe, however it seemed too heavy on noodles and lacking veggies. The basil was unnoticeable, so next time I'd double it (at least) as well as the squash. I think some sun dried tomatoes in addition (or instead of) the cherry tomatoes would help out, as well as some garbanzos for protein. Cheese was essential.

Bowtie Pasta with Yellow Squash and Tomatoes Recipe (No Meat Athelete)

Ingredients (for 4 huge servings):

1 lb whole wheat bowtie pasta (I used Barilla Plus)

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

3-4 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into half-inch chunks

1 large clove garlic, minced (I used the elephant garlic I got from the farmers market)

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped

kosher salt

3 Tbsp canola oil

2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

grated parmesan cheese, optional

Toss the squash with a tablespoon of kosher salt, then set in a colander over a large bowl for 30 minutes so that some water will be released into the bowl. Once the time is up, dry the squash with paper towels and brush off excess salt.

Boil water for the pasta, add salt until it tastes like sea water. Add the pasta and cook until al dente.

While the pasta cooks, heat 1 Tbsp of the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once it's shimmering, add the squash and saute for about 5 minutes. The goal is to get some nice color on the squash, so just move it around often enough to keep it from burning. Move the squash to a large plate.

Add another 1 Tbsp of oil to the pan, add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for a few seconds, until aromatic. Don't let it burn! Add the squash back in and stir it in with the garlic and red pepper over medium-low heat to keep it warm while the pasta finishes.

Drain the pasta, combine with the squash mixture, balsamic vinegar, remaining 1 Tbsp oil, tomatoes, and basil. Mix well, adjust seasoning, and serve topped with cheese.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Butternut Squash Soup

This is one of my favorite recipes at home, and I made it for the special occasion of splurging on cream cheese. However, it just didn't turn out the same. I subbed rosemary for marjoram and hot pepper flakes for cayenne, however, I think the bigger problem was my lack of a blender. I used a submersion tool that just didn't do it. I'll try blending the leftovers a bit more, and see if it improves with time and further blending.

Butternut Squash Soup (adapted from AllRecipes)

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 small chopped onion
  • 4 tablespoons butter
  • 6 cups peeled and cubed butternut squash
  • 3 cups water
  • 4 cups bouillon
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 4 oz cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a large saucepan, saute onions in margarine until tender. Add squash, water, bouillon, marjoram, black pepper and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil; cook 20 minutes, or until squash is tender.
  2. Puree squash and cream cheese in a blender or food processor in batches until smooth. Return to saucepan, and heat through. Do not allow to boil.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts Recipe

I made these brussels sprouts from 101 Cookbooks a couple times...they're rich with the cheese, but yummy.

Use brussels sprouts that are on the small size and tightly closed. You can finish these with many different types of cheese but I tend to go for Parmesan when the weather is good. I trade that in for heavier cheeses like gruyere or Gouda in colder weather. I finished them off with some toasted hazelnuts the other night - delicious!

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves.

Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Serves 4.

Saturday, June 13, 2009

Oven Roasted Cauliflower with Garlic, Olive Oil and Lemon Juice


I just made this tasty dish but without the chives...definitely up for a repeat!

Ingredients

5 to 6 cups cauliflower florets, about 1 1/2 inches in diameter (from 1 medium cauliflower)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon sliced garlic

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons grated Parmesan

Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the cauliflower florets in a large saute pan or a roasting pan. Drizzle the olive oil over the cauliflower, and season with the garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Place the saute/roasting pan in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure even roasting. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with the Parmesan. Garnish with chopped chives and serve immediately while still warm.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Baingan Bharta

I made Baingan Bharta the other night, as I recently got a cheap packet of curry powder. Unfortunately, I should have sprung for the $3 can as opposed to the $0.50 packet. This was disappointing. I also forgot to get a pepper, and used Sriracha instead...

I've made it at home and it was better. I'll give it another try with better ingredients, as it'd be a great dish to break up the monotony here...