Tomato Salad

This was dead easy and quite delicious!

I had some nice yellow tomatoes from my garden and were ready for the picking!

I sliced them up and put a few crumbles of goat cheese. Topped it off with Olive Oil, freshly ground black pepper and Lemon Thyme.

Harissa Remoulade

I love Harissa. Its a delicious combination of flavors. This is a great sauce to have on the side of many meals. I made a quick quessadilla and had it with a generous dollop of this Harissa Remoulade. It also goes well with grilled fish and meats.

Ingredients
Harissa 2 teaspoons
Olive Oil 4 teaspoons
juice from 1/4 of a whole lemon


Mix the Harissa and olive oil together till it forms a smooth paste. Add the lemon juice and mix to incorporate fully. Delicious!

Kung Pao Sauce

This makes 2 cups sauce

Ingredients
2 tablespoon corn oil
1/2 cup diced onion
2 garlic cloves, sliced with a razor blade
1 teaspoon minced gingerroot
2 star anise
1/2 teaspoon roasted Sichuan peppercorns
2 dried ancho chili peppers, soaked and chopped
1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
4 cups rich dark chicken stock
1 tablespoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

1. Heat the oil in a wok. Add onion, garlic, gingerroot, star anise and Sishuan peppercorns. Cook for 5 minutes on high heat, or until the onion is lightly browned.

2. Add ancho chiles and hot pepper flakes and cook for 2 minutes more.
3. Add white wine, soy sauce and sugar, cook until the mixture starts to boil
4. Stir in the chicken stock and cornstarch mixture. When the liquid starts to boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer for 30 minutes, or until the cornstarch looses its raw taste
5. Strain the sauce.

You can keep it in the fridge for about a week, or freeze it for up to 3 months.

Kung Pao Chicken

I got this recipe from Susanna Foo's Chinese Cuisine

I often used to make this Kung Pao dish when I was living in Nagano, and I I would eat it on top of  yakisoba. Its really good on a cold winter night!  Soba, or buckwheat noodles, are famous in Nagano, as it is a large farming and wheat producing area of Japan. I met a soba maker named Mr. Kashiwagi, who was a fantastic soba maker. I would also get my fair share of "old" soba noodles. A quick and dirty Japanese meal is to pan fry a bunch of the old soba noodles with vinegar and soy sauce and then have a seperate dish or sauce to go on top of them.

Ingredients
1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon gin or vodka (I prefer Kai Vodka)
1 large egg white, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon corn starch
1/2 teaspoon salt or 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 cup corn oil plus 2 tablespoons corn oil
1/3 cup raw blanched peanuts
2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons peeled, julienned gingerroot
1/3 cup red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/2 cup small white button mushroom caps whole
3 scallions, white part only, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup Kung Pao Sauce


1. Place the chicken cubes in a bowl with the vodka or gin and mix well. Add the egg white and cornstarch, sprinkle with salt or soy sauce and mix well. Add 2 tablespoons of corn oil, to help the chicken pieces seperate when they are cooking.

2. Heat 1 cup of oil in a wok. Add the raw peanuts and cook for 7 minutes, or until a light golden color. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel to drain.

3. Gradually add all of the marinated chicken to the oil. When the chicken turns white, about 2 minutes, turn off the heat. The chicken will be half cooked at this time. The chicken will have some specks on it from the peanut. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and place in a bowl. The chicken can be cooked to this point up to 4 hours in advance. Cover tightly and refrigerate.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a wok. Add the garlic, gingerroot and bell pepper and cook over high heat for 2 minutes, or until the garlic turns light brown.

5. Add mushroom and scallions. Stir in the Kung Pao Sauce. When it comes to a boil, add the chicken and stir to coat with the sauce. Cook for another 5 minutes until the flavors are well blended and developed.
Stir in the peanuts and serve!

I like serving it with either white rice or yaki soba.

Lebanese Bread Salad

This is a delicious salad of ground lamb with cumin and onion. I add pomegranate seeds for sweetness and pita chips for a salty texture! This is dish works really well before you are biking, scuba diving or exercising, for quick energy without feeling sluggish! You can have this salad as it is, or with some fresh romaine lettuce or fresh spinach. I also use it as a filling for naan or paratha with a roasted cauliflower and potato puree.

Ingredients

½ white or yellow onion, minced

1 large clove garlic, minced

¼ cup olive oil

½ tablespoon cumin

1 lbs ground lamb

1 cup uncooked Israeli couscous

2 cups boiling water

½ cup Kalamata olives

Slivered mint leaves from 2 mint sprigs (2 ½ tablespoon slivered mint leaves)

Feta cheese

Pita chips

Pomegranate seeds from 1 pomegranate

Cut pomegranate in half. Holding one half of the pomegranate cut side down in your hand over a large serving bowl. Take a spoon and hit the round side of the pomegranate half to remove the seeds. Remove and discard any of the white flesh from the pomegranate















Add slivered mint to the pomegranate seeds

1   Sauté raw couscous in a tablespoon olive oil, meanwhile boil the water.When couscous is brown, pour 2 cup boiling water over couscous

3Bring back to boil, reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 5 minutes until cooked to desired doneness, about 5     minutes. All the liquid should be evaporated. 

    Pour into large serving bowl with the pomegranate seeds and mint.

4.       Add remainder of olive oil to frying pan. Add onion and sauté for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the lamb and cumin. Saute for a few minutes until the lamb is cooked and no longer pink. 

5.       Add garlic and cumin

. Done when lamb browed and aroma from cumin released.

7.        Transfer lamb, onion into serving bowl with couscous.






           Add feta cheese and slivered mint.

.   In a separate serving bowl, add pita chips and serve with lamb
   mixture. This is really wonderful to serve with paratha and roasted cauliflower and potato puree.

Harira Soup

I got this recipe from David Tanis A Platter of Figs

Its absolutely fantastic and quite hardy. In some ways, it reminds me of a South Indian dish, Sambar, which is also a lentil based soup (albeit this has the addition of Lamb) It also reminds me of a Mongolian Lamb Soup I have made previously. According to Wikipedia, Harira is a Moroccan dish, usually eaten during Ramadan.

This soup tastes best if you make it a day in advance and let the flavors develop fully before devouring!

Ingredients
2 tablespoon olive oil
1 lbs shoulder of lamb, boneless (I made it with the bone and it was delicious)
2 large onions, finely diced
1/2 teaspoon crumbled saffron
1 teaspoon each ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper
2 teaspoons powdered red hot chile
1/2 teaspoon Harrisa powder
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup dried fava beans, picked over and washed
1 cup red lentil, picked over and rinsed
13 cups water
Salt
6 ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 cup coarsely chopped cilantro plus slivered cilantro for garnish
1/3 cup all purpose flour
4 tablespoon butter
Lemon wedges

1. Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Brown the lamb lightly, then add chopped onions, stir and brown them. Add all of the spices and garlic and let them sizzle for a few minutes. Add the fava beans, lentils and 12 cups water. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Add 2 teaspoons salt and simmer for 1.5 hours, stiring occasionally.

2. Put tomatoes, parsley and cilantro into a blender with a litte salt and puree. Add the puree to the soup and simmer for another 1/2 hour.

3. Now, puree half of the soup and return it to the pot.

4. Add 1 cup of water to the flour in a separate bowl. Whisk it together until smooth. Add it to the soup. Simmer for another 10 minutes.

5. Add butter and stir until melted. The texture should be quite smooth, neigher thick nor thin.

6. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cilantro. Squeeze some lemon juice ontop. Season to taste with Salt and Pepper.

This goes really well with some freshly baked bread!

Istu (South Indian Coconut Stew With Potatoes)

I grew up eating Istu.
I never really thought much about it, but after I moved to college, I really began to appreciate my mom's Istu. When work took me to Chennai, in southern India, I began to really crave Istu in the morning. Unfortunately, Istu is a Kerala recipe, and wasn't available in Chennai.

I made it a point to learn this recipe...Its delicious.

I have made this with fresh curry leaves and frozen curry leaves. I have to tell you, the difference is night and day. So, if you can get hold of a curry plant, or fresh curry leaves, use them!

Ingredients
3 large to medium sized Red Potatoes
1/2 of a white onion, slivered
1.5 cups coconut milk
1 inch ginger, finely diced
1 green chili (julienne), seeds removed
1.5-2 teaspoons salt
8-10 fresh curry leaves

1. Boil the potatoes "in their jackets" (ie with the skins on). This should take around 15 minutes. You do not want to potatoes super soft, but cooked partially through. The skins should become loose. Drain them and run under cold water. You should be able to easily remove the skins with your hands. If more of the white flesh comes off with the skins, you boiled the potatoes too long. Let them sit for a few minutes after draining so you can handle them.

2. While boiling the potatoes, add coconut milk to a wok or large pot. Heat the coconut milk so it is hot, but not boiling. Add the onions, stir constantly and cook for 30 minutes, until the onions are soft and lost their raw taste.

3. Add ginger, green chili and salt. Give it a good stir.

4. Dice the cooked potatoes. They should be somewhat firm and partially cooked. Take to skinned, cut potatoes and add them to the coconut milk mixture.

5. Cook the potatoes for 20-30 minutes more, on low temperature, stirring gently so the potatoes or coconut milk wont stick to the pan and burn. Make sure the heat is low enough so the coconut milk won't boil. After about 30 minutes, the potatoes will be really soft and have absorbed alot of the flavor of the coconut milk mixture.

6. Remove from heat. Add 8-10 freshly cut curry leaves, give them a good stir and let the curry leaves work their magic for a few minutes before serving them.

I usually heat this with paratha, dosa, idly and or rice and pickle!