I've been trying to work with Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wha"). My first dish, which was a take on mushroom risotto, turned out well. Quinoa has the unique property that the outside stays crunchy while the inside softens. That gave it a delightful "pop" when first chewed, almost like a good caviar. It's incredibly healthy, and I've been looking to broaden the grains I eat. So, I set out to make more.
I tried a breakfast dish, based on Southern Cheese Grits. I love cheese grits, even if they're not the healthiest breakfast. I always use whole-grain, coarse-grind corn meal. That makes it healthier, but really I choose that style because it tastes best. I can't imagine how Aunt Jemima convinced the whole southern United States that removing the germ benefits the consumer at all. It's all about shelf-life, damn taste and nutrition.
Quinoa doesn't have this problem. It's all about healthiness, damn the taste and shelf-life. Consequently, it has a raw flavor to it. To combat this, I used a technique that I developed with corn-meal. Toast the grain in a little bit of butter before cooking. Aside from that, I used the standard recipe.
Unfortunately, it doesn't work with Quinoa. Quinoa doesn't have a lot of starch. It's mostly protein. So, it didn't thicken right, and the fat from the butter coated the kernels and prevented them from absorbing water. The dish took forever to cook and had a weird taste. Normally, cheese works really well with grits because the starch from the corn mixes with the cheese to allow it to blend with the liquid. But, since quinoa is so high in protein, there wasn't enough starch to allow this to happen. The cheese clumped.
Eww!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Thursday, December 16, 2010
I can't seem to get away from latke
I'm Jewish, but not very Jewish. I'm Jewish enough to not take part in Christmas celebrations, but not enough to keep kosher or even go to synagogue on high holy days. I make latke not because I'm Jewish, but for the same reason I make Indian dal, southern grits or any of my bazillion Italian dishes. They taste good, are healthy and happen to use up ingredients that I have on hand. I happen to have a ton of really tasty organic russet potatoes, some zucchinis and onions. I'm sick of mashed potatoes, so I've been making latke.
I am not a cultural purist. I believe that all recipes should start with the question "what do I have that's fresh, but might not make it to the next time I cook?" Latke are a perfect example. Traditional latke has potatoes, onions and eggs. That's it. But, I have zucchini I need to use, and maybe some leafy greens. Maybe I'm just craving carrots or calamata olives or really anything at all. Latke is a blank slate on which to build dinner.
Here's what I made a few nights ago
Latke with Zucchini
Ingredients
Directions
Shred the potatoes
Shred the zucchinis, too, but be careful not to shred any of the seeds
Finely slice the onion
Dice the garlic
Toss all of this in a bowl, salt and pepper liberally and toss to combine
Beat the egg in another bowl
Let the veggies sit for a few minutes to allow the salt to do its workWhen there is a pool of liquid at the bottom of the bowl, rinse and strain the veggies
Squeeze the veggies to remove all liquid
Toss with the egg
Put a saute pan on the stove at medium-high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom
Add 1/4 of the mixture at a time to the pan, making sure not to crowd it
Cook for 2 minutes on each side, then remove to a drying rack
I am not a cultural purist. I believe that all recipes should start with the question "what do I have that's fresh, but might not make it to the next time I cook?" Latke are a perfect example. Traditional latke has potatoes, onions and eggs. That's it. But, I have zucchini I need to use, and maybe some leafy greens. Maybe I'm just craving carrots or calamata olives or really anything at all. Latke is a blank slate on which to build dinner.
Here's what I made a few nights ago
Latke with Zucchini
Ingredients
- 2 medium russet potatoes, peeled
- 2 small zucchinis
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 medium onion
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper
- Vegetable oil
Directions
Shred the potatoes
Shred the zucchinis, too, but be careful not to shred any of the seeds
Finely slice the onion
Dice the garlic
Toss all of this in a bowl, salt and pepper liberally and toss to combine
Beat the egg in another bowl
Let the veggies sit for a few minutes to allow the salt to do its workWhen there is a pool of liquid at the bottom of the bowl, rinse and strain the veggies
Squeeze the veggies to remove all liquid
Toss with the egg
Put a saute pan on the stove at medium-high heat with enough oil to coat the bottom
Add 1/4 of the mixture at a time to the pan, making sure not to crowd it
Cook for 2 minutes on each side, then remove to a drying rack
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
I love Barramundi
Barramundi is a sweet, mild white fish. It originated in south-east Asia, particularly Vietnam. It's interesting today because it's part of a new movement for more sustainable fish farming. HuffPo has a great article on it. But, besides the benefits to the environment, Barramundi is just a great tasting, easy to cook, easy to store fish.
Barramundi comes frozen in your supermarket's fish freezers. I've found it at my local Safeway. Hopefully, it'll be showing up in more markets as its popularity increases.
Barramundi with White Wine, Butter and Capers
It's my belief that fish should taste good in this recipe. If it doesn't, it's not going to be useful for the vast majority of standard fish recipes. Look at tuna for a great example. I love seared Ahi Tuna! But, tuna tastes terrible in a white wine, butter and capers sauce. And, tuna is terrible in stew, breaded and fried, battered and deep fried, rolled into a roulette or prepared in any of the other popular fish recipes. Thus, my first test of Barramundi was this time-tested recipe.
Ingredients
Preparation and Notes
The wine should be a good one. If you can't drink it, don't cook with it. Okay, white wine is gross and should never be drank, even the "good" stuff. But, try to find something less gross.
I, personally, don't mind using lemons that have been zested. But, some people don't like the funky white pith showing. Honestly, you don't need a lot of zest, so try to zest only a strip and use the rest of the lemon as wedges. Or, heck, just use two lemons.
Instructions
Finely dice the shallots and zest the lemon. Chop the lemon zest to make sure there are no large chunks.
Defrost the fish
Sprinkle the fish liberally with salt and pepper.
Put one pat butter and 1 tsp olive oil in a pan and put the pan on medium-high heat
Cook the butter until it stops bubbling
Cook the fish in the butter/oil until browned
Flip and cook the fish until browned on the other side
Remove the fish to a plate
Add the shallots and garlic and cook lightly
Add the lemon zest
Add the wine and deglaze
Squeeze a lemon slice in and stir
Toss in the capers and stir
Toss in the remaining pat of butter, swirling around until the sauce thickens (this is called "mounting the sauce", also known as Monte Beurre)
Pour the sauce over the fish, and (if you can handle the taste) serve with the remaining bottle of wine.
Barramundi comes frozen in your supermarket's fish freezers. I've found it at my local Safeway. Hopefully, it'll be showing up in more markets as its popularity increases.
Barramundi with White Wine, Butter and Capers
It's my belief that fish should taste good in this recipe. If it doesn't, it's not going to be useful for the vast majority of standard fish recipes. Look at tuna for a great example. I love seared Ahi Tuna! But, tuna tastes terrible in a white wine, butter and capers sauce. And, tuna is terrible in stew, breaded and fried, battered and deep fried, rolled into a roulette or prepared in any of the other popular fish recipes. Thus, my first test of Barramundi was this time-tested recipe.
Ingredients
- One nice fillet of Barramundi
- 1 tbs capers
- 2 pats of butter (2 tsp)
- 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup white wine
- 1 shallot
- 1 clove garlic, very finely diced
- 1 lemon, zested and cut into slices
- Salt and pepper
Preparation and Notes
The wine should be a good one. If you can't drink it, don't cook with it. Okay, white wine is gross and should never be drank, even the "good" stuff. But, try to find something less gross.
I, personally, don't mind using lemons that have been zested. But, some people don't like the funky white pith showing. Honestly, you don't need a lot of zest, so try to zest only a strip and use the rest of the lemon as wedges. Or, heck, just use two lemons.
Instructions
Finely dice the shallots and zest the lemon. Chop the lemon zest to make sure there are no large chunks.
Defrost the fish
Sprinkle the fish liberally with salt and pepper.
Put one pat butter and 1 tsp olive oil in a pan and put the pan on medium-high heat
Cook the butter until it stops bubbling
Cook the fish in the butter/oil until browned
Flip and cook the fish until browned on the other side
Remove the fish to a plate
Add the shallots and garlic and cook lightly
Add the lemon zest
Add the wine and deglaze
Squeeze a lemon slice in and stir
Toss in the capers and stir
Toss in the remaining pat of butter, swirling around until the sauce thickens (this is called "mounting the sauce", also known as Monte Beurre)
Pour the sauce over the fish, and (if you can handle the taste) serve with the remaining bottle of wine.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Sauteed Greens
I end up with a lot of dark leafy greens and little to do with them. I enjoy a gratin as much as the next man...well, probably not. I'm trying to maintain a healthy weight, and gratins are fatty. So, I'm always looking for new recipes....and not finding them. I'm sorry, but there are just not that many things I know of to do with leafy greens. So, here's my take on a classic, and the only standard recipe for dark leafy greens I know.
Some Theory
Dark leafy greens are dank, dark, musty. They taste a lot like dirt. Yum! To make these leaves edible, the key is to match the rather nasty flavor with something that either hides it (like a gratin) or compliments it and makes it palatable. We'll go with the complimentary route today.
The key to complimenting the flavor of dark leafy greens is the Japanese concept of umami, the 5th flavor, the flavor of the wok. Umami is that complex, rich, dark flavor you get from soy sauce, caramel, mushrooms, great coffee, etc. It's what happens when you apply heat to sugar and proteins. In this recipe, we create umami through browning onions and garlic.
Sauteed Greens with Garlic, Onions and Olive Oil
Take whatever leafy greens you have, be they spinach, kale, chard, mustard, escarole, etc. Trim and chop into pieces of about 1" on each side. 2cm for you non-American types. For chard, you might want to retain the stems, but just compost the stems for most greens.
Most sauteed greens recipes ask only for garlic. But, if you can find some good sweet onions, maybe vidalia, then use them. I got some local cippolini onion from Shorty at work. God, I love that guy! They are sweet, spicy, sharp. They're perfect. If all you have is the typical supermarket onions, go for the yellow kind. Slice these as thin as you can, in strips 1/2" to 1" long.
Mince the garlic and get some salt, pepper and olive oil ready. The flavor of the oil will come through, so use the good stuff.
Turn your pan on good and hot. When it's hot, toss in 2 tbs oil, the garlic and the onions. Let them cook for a few seconds, until they start to turn brown. Then, layer in the greens, a handful at a time, and toss, adding some pepper on each handful.
When all the greens are integrated and softened, taste, adjust the salt and pepper. Optionally add some lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and serve. Goes great with a fatty meat, like steak or salmon.
Some Theory
Dark leafy greens are dank, dark, musty. They taste a lot like dirt. Yum! To make these leaves edible, the key is to match the rather nasty flavor with something that either hides it (like a gratin) or compliments it and makes it palatable. We'll go with the complimentary route today.
The key to complimenting the flavor of dark leafy greens is the Japanese concept of umami, the 5th flavor, the flavor of the wok. Umami is that complex, rich, dark flavor you get from soy sauce, caramel, mushrooms, great coffee, etc. It's what happens when you apply heat to sugar and proteins. In this recipe, we create umami through browning onions and garlic.
Sauteed Greens with Garlic, Onions and Olive Oil
Take whatever leafy greens you have, be they spinach, kale, chard, mustard, escarole, etc. Trim and chop into pieces of about 1" on each side. 2cm for you non-American types. For chard, you might want to retain the stems, but just compost the stems for most greens.
Most sauteed greens recipes ask only for garlic. But, if you can find some good sweet onions, maybe vidalia, then use them. I got some local cippolini onion from Shorty at work. God, I love that guy! They are sweet, spicy, sharp. They're perfect. If all you have is the typical supermarket onions, go for the yellow kind. Slice these as thin as you can, in strips 1/2" to 1" long.
Mince the garlic and get some salt, pepper and olive oil ready. The flavor of the oil will come through, so use the good stuff.
Turn your pan on good and hot. When it's hot, toss in 2 tbs oil, the garlic and the onions. Let them cook for a few seconds, until they start to turn brown. Then, layer in the greens, a handful at a time, and toss, adding some pepper on each handful.
When all the greens are integrated and softened, taste, adjust the salt and pepper. Optionally add some lemon juice or red wine vinegar, and serve. Goes great with a fatty meat, like steak or salmon.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Idli
My first attempt at making Idli was not a total disaster, but I'm glad there was no one there watching. I soaked my urad dal over night. But, I didn't read the directions properly and didn't let the beans ferment.
This is the recipe.
Take a cup of white urad dal
Soak it over night
Blend it into a creamy paste
Combine it with twice as much rice ceral
Now, let that ferment overnight
Add some baking powder and steam in an idli tray
I wanted the idli for dinner that night, so I skipped the fermenting process. As a result, the idli came out with a mouth feel very similar to corn bread. Kind of gritty, but thick and satisfying. Idlis are supposed to be light. This wasn't.
One nice thing I learned, though, is that the idli steamer isn't necessary. I simply put a thin pie plate over some boiling water. I used inverted custard cups to hold the plate above the water, but some crumpled aluminum foil would work, too. They didn't come out looking as perfectly round as they should have, but they have a satisfying rustic look to them.
This is the recipe.
Take a cup of white urad dal
Soak it over night
Blend it into a creamy paste
Combine it with twice as much rice ceral
Now, let that ferment overnight
Add some baking powder and steam in an idli tray
I wanted the idli for dinner that night, so I skipped the fermenting process. As a result, the idli came out with a mouth feel very similar to corn bread. Kind of gritty, but thick and satisfying. Idlis are supposed to be light. This wasn't.
One nice thing I learned, though, is that the idli steamer isn't necessary. I simply put a thin pie plate over some boiling water. I used inverted custard cups to hold the plate above the water, but some crumpled aluminum foil would work, too. They didn't come out looking as perfectly round as they should have, but they have a satisfying rustic look to them.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
On Hot Peppers
I wrote a bit on controlling heat, but I never covered the topic of hot peppers in depth. I disagree with many asian cooks on what peppers to use. As far as I'm concerned, here are the variables I look for, in order of importance:
Flavor is next, higher than heat. Many people don't think of peppers as having flavor, but they do. Try this: take a jalapeño pepper and remove the spines (see my post on controlling the heat), then eat a little. Can you taste it? Now, try that with bird peppers. WAIT!! Don't try it with bird peppers! You can't remove enough heat from them to taste the pepper. That's my point here. Some peppers are easier to taste. Peppers taste good, but when you use those super-hot pepper you can't taste them. So, a medium pepper, with thick, fresh flesh will taste better.
Most people would think the heat would be the primary, maybe only, concern, but I have it listed as the third. I need a pepper that has enough heat, but not too much. The amount of heat affects the flavor and the ability to control the heat.
Consistency and the ability to control the heat are related. Some peppers are thin-skinned without much spine. The heat is absorbed into the flesh. This makes it very difficult to see how much heat it has. On contract, cutting open a jalepeno or a fresno pepper immediately exposes the spines and the amount of heat. You can control this heat easily by removing some or all of the spines. You simply can't do that with bird peppers, serranos, thai chiles or habaneros.
So, what do I choose? I choose Mexican peppers, particularly jalapeños and fresnos. Here's why.
In Colorado, most of our peppers come from New Mexico and Mexico. That means we have great jalepeno, fresno, arbol and other tex-mex peppers. But, Asian peppers like bird and thai chiles are more difficult to find. They're shipped in, so they're picked green and handled. By the time they get here, they're kind of nasty.
Also, fresnos and jalapeños are easy to control. Jalapeños you simply cut them open and cut out the spines. With fresnos, it's even easier. You chop from the tip, up to the base, stopping when you have enough heat. The heat is clustered at the top.
Finally, the taste of fresnos and jalepenos is excellent. You can really taste the pepper. It might be because they're the freshest, but I have to think the relatively thick skin helps. I happen to like the flavor of the fresnos a bit better, because they tend to be more mature and thus sweeter.
So, when cooking Indian food, I don't use Indian peppers. Whenever adding heat, I try to use Fresno Peppers. If there are no Fresnos, I use Jalapeños.
- Available fresh, preferably grown locally
- Flavor
- Heat
- Consistency of heat
- Ability to control heat
Flavor is next, higher than heat. Many people don't think of peppers as having flavor, but they do. Try this: take a jalapeño pepper and remove the spines (see my post on controlling the heat), then eat a little. Can you taste it? Now, try that with bird peppers. WAIT!! Don't try it with bird peppers! You can't remove enough heat from them to taste the pepper. That's my point here. Some peppers are easier to taste. Peppers taste good, but when you use those super-hot pepper you can't taste them. So, a medium pepper, with thick, fresh flesh will taste better.
Most people would think the heat would be the primary, maybe only, concern, but I have it listed as the third. I need a pepper that has enough heat, but not too much. The amount of heat affects the flavor and the ability to control the heat.
Consistency and the ability to control the heat are related. Some peppers are thin-skinned without much spine. The heat is absorbed into the flesh. This makes it very difficult to see how much heat it has. On contract, cutting open a jalepeno or a fresno pepper immediately exposes the spines and the amount of heat. You can control this heat easily by removing some or all of the spines. You simply can't do that with bird peppers, serranos, thai chiles or habaneros.
So, what do I choose? I choose Mexican peppers, particularly jalapeños and fresnos. Here's why.
In Colorado, most of our peppers come from New Mexico and Mexico. That means we have great jalepeno, fresno, arbol and other tex-mex peppers. But, Asian peppers like bird and thai chiles are more difficult to find. They're shipped in, so they're picked green and handled. By the time they get here, they're kind of nasty.
Also, fresnos and jalapeños are easy to control. Jalapeños you simply cut them open and cut out the spines. With fresnos, it's even easier. You chop from the tip, up to the base, stopping when you have enough heat. The heat is clustered at the top.
Finally, the taste of fresnos and jalepenos is excellent. You can really taste the pepper. It might be because they're the freshest, but I have to think the relatively thick skin helps. I happen to like the flavor of the fresnos a bit better, because they tend to be more mature and thus sweeter.
So, when cooking Indian food, I don't use Indian peppers. Whenever adding heat, I try to use Fresno Peppers. If there are no Fresnos, I use Jalapeños.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Urad Dal
My next dal dish to try was Urad Dal. I made this a few days back and I'm only getting to writing about it now. My intent was to try a new form of dal with different spicing. I have to say I was successful, although I don't think it came out quite as well as the Channa Dal.
I started with the same process.
- Wash the dal and cook in a 1-to-5 ratio of dal to water. Simmer until soft.
- Heat a quarter cup of veggie oil
- Add the whole spices (cumin and brown mustard seeds)
- Add the aromatics (onion, peppers and fresh minced ginger)
- Add the ground spices (this time it was Garam Masala from a mix)
I modified this only a little by adding tomato paste to the aromatics. This helped darken the dish, thicken the sauce and adds a great flavor. It's not really Indian, since tomatoes were not known outside the new world until the 1600s. But, Indians have picked up tomatoes, like Italians did.
I also modified it by increase the amount of dal from 1 cup to 1.5 cups. This was a mistake. I didn't properly increase the amount of oil and spices and the dish came out a little bland. Also, I didn't add any additional asafoetida, and you could tell. The dish was harder to disgest, giving me a slow feeling, and it lacked a certain muskiness. Easy errors to correct next time.
My weight is down to 193.4. I know that sounds high, but I was at 196 when I started this just a few days back. And, I don't feel hungry.
This dish was gluten free, casein free and vegan.
I started with the same process.
- Wash the dal and cook in a 1-to-5 ratio of dal to water. Simmer until soft.
- Heat a quarter cup of veggie oil
- Add the whole spices (cumin and brown mustard seeds)
- Add the aromatics (onion, peppers and fresh minced ginger)
- Add the ground spices (this time it was Garam Masala from a mix)
I modified this only a little by adding tomato paste to the aromatics. This helped darken the dish, thicken the sauce and adds a great flavor. It's not really Indian, since tomatoes were not known outside the new world until the 1600s. But, Indians have picked up tomatoes, like Italians did.
I also modified it by increase the amount of dal from 1 cup to 1.5 cups. This was a mistake. I didn't properly increase the amount of oil and spices and the dish came out a little bland. Also, I didn't add any additional asafoetida, and you could tell. The dish was harder to disgest, giving me a slow feeling, and it lacked a certain muskiness. Easy errors to correct next time.
My weight is down to 193.4. I know that sounds high, but I was at 196 when I started this just a few days back. And, I don't feel hungry.
This dish was gluten free, casein free and vegan.
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