Saturday, December 17, 2011

Red Curry Noodles

Red Curry Noodles
Serves 6

1 lbs spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles, cooked
2 clove garlic
1 Tbs ginger
2 thai chile, minced
3 chopped shallot
3 Tbs red curry paste
1 red pepper, batons
1 smaller Napa cabbage, sliced
Handful broccoli or other veg
1 pack tofu, squares
2 Tbs fish sauce, 1 Tbs soy
1 Tbs sugar
juice of 2 lime
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 can coconut milk or (healthier) 1 can chicken stock
scallion, cilantro, chilies, peanuts

Cook noodles
Mix PB, milk/stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, and sugar, set aside.
Stir-fry shallot, garlic, ginger, chile, for minute. Add curry paste and cook another minute. Add red pepper and hard veg and cook for 2 minutes. Add napa and cook until wilted down mostly. Thicken with some cornstarch if using stock.
Mix everything together, heat through, and serve with garnishes.

Sweet Potato, Eggplant and Spinach Curry

Sweet Potato, Eggplant and Spinach Curry
Serves 4

ingredients
1.5 lbs sweet potato, cubed
1 lbs eggplant cubed
10oz spinach, blanched and chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained
1 heaped Tbs cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 chile, minced
1 small onion, chopped
1 Tbs curry power
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/4c tamarind water + 1/2c water
2T fish sauce
salt
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
cilantro
Lime

Heat oil in a saucepan on low heat. Add the onions and cook until golden. Add
cumin, mustard seeds, and garlic. Cook until seeds pop.

Add the sweet potato pieces and cook for 5 minutes until the sweet potato is
half cooked. Stir occasionally. Mix in the eggplant cubes, spinach, salt, curry
powder, turmeric powder, fish sauce, and tamarind water. Cook on medium heat
until the sweet potato and eggplant is tender. Add chickpeas and heat through.

Garnish with cilantro and lime and serve.

Spicy Macaroni with Clams and Sausage

Spicy Macaroni with Clams and Sausage
Serves 6

* 2 tablespoons pure olive oil
* 1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped Spanish onion
* 1 celery rib, finely chopped
* 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
* 2 tablespoons tomato paste
* One 28-ounce can crushed San Marzano tomatoes
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
* 1 teaspoon finely chopped marjoram
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 pound hot Italian sausages, bulk
* 1 pound shell pasta
* 1/4 cup dry white wine
* 2 big cans "whole baby clams", reserving 1/4c juice
* 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion, celery and half of the
garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
Add the sausage and brown. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 3
minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, thyme, marjoram and bay leaf, cover partially
and simmer over low heat for 1 hour.
2. Cook the pasta, reserving a little water.
3. Reheat the tomato sauce in a large saucepan. tir in the pasta, clam
liquid and crushed red pepper and reheat thoroughly, about 8 minutes. Add the
clams and season with salt and black pepper. Sprinkle with the parsley and
serve.

Khao Soi

Khao Soi
Serves 4-6

1.75 lbs chicken thigh, cubed
1 pack Chinese pickled mustard greens (roughly chopped)
1 can of coconut milk
1 can chicken stock
3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
3-4 heaping tablespoons curry powder
1/2 heaping tablespoon turmeric
5-10 dried red chiles
1 tablespoon Coriander
1 inch ginger, minced
3 smashed garlic cloves
4-8oz greens like kale, chopped
8oz brean sprouts
4 Shallots (thinly sliced)
Cilantro
2 Tbs Fish sauce
1 Tbs Sugar
Lime juice
1 lbs chinese egg noodles
Chinese hot chili oil

First, cook the noodles until just underdone a bit.

In a pot, add some oil and sauté the garlic cloves, 3 chopped shallots, and
dried chiles until fragrant over medium heat. Add red curry paste and using a
spatula, really break apart the paste so that it’s smooth. Then add the curry
powder, turmeric and mashed coriander seeds and stir everything together to
form the base for khao soi curry. Stir for about 3-4 minutes to bring out the
flavors.

Add the chicken and sauté for another 3-4 minutes and lather up all the chicken
with as much of the paste as possible.

Add 1 full can of coconut milk and stir well, plus 1 cup chicken stock. Add
fish sauce, sugar. Let the curry boil over low-medium heat for about 20-30
minutes to really marry the flavors. Add greens in the middle, if using.

Garnish with friend shallot slices, cilantro, Chinese pickled mustard greens
and and Chinese hot chili oil on the side.

Lamb and Chickpea Tagine

Lamb and Chickpea Tagine
Serves 4

2 lbs lamb, cubed
olive oil
Salt, pepper
Juice and rind of 1 lemon
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 teaspoons each cumin, coriander, cinnamon, paprika
1/4 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 cup orange juice, optional
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, undrained if no OJ
1 14.5-ounce can chicken stock
1.5 cup dried apricots
1 cup dried figs, halved
1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas, drained
2 tablespoons honey
Handful cilantro, chopped

Cube the meat and season. Brown in a dutch oven, and reserve.

Add onion, cook until the onions are starting to become golden. Add garlic, ginger, carrot, and spices and cook 1 minute.

Add lamb and tomatoes and deglaze. Add stock and let cook 1.5 hours. Add fruit and chickpeas and cook 15 minutes. Finish with honey and cilantro, and serve with rice or couscous.

Chicken Mole Soup

Chicken Mole Soup
Serves 6

2 lbs boneless-skinless chicken thighs, cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 chipotle peppers + adobo, minced
1 little box mole sauce (not paste)
4 cups chicken stock
1 can fire-roasted tomatoes, undrained
3 cups cubed potato or yucca
3 cups cubed zucchini
1 can black beans, drained
1 cup corn
1 large avocado, diced
juice of 1 lime
1 small red onion, raw, chopped fine
big handful cilantro, chopped

Start by cooking garlic and peppers until fragrant. Add chicken. season, and cook until no longer raw on the outside. Add mole and boil for a minute.

Add stock and tomatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer 45 minutes (1 hour if using potatoes). Add yucca and simmer 30 minutes (20 minutes for potatoes). Add beans and zucchini and cook 5 minutes.

Add corn, bring to a boil, and add remaining ingredients.

Pork with Plum and Raspberry Gastrique

Pork with Plum and Raspberry Gastrique
Serves 2

1 cup raspberries
2 plums, quartered
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 T sugar
salt

2 large pork chops
butter
ground mustard
1/2 cup chicken stock
1 shallot
1 tsp thyme
flour

Add the berry sauce ingredients to a saucepan and cook for 5 minutes. Mash up some and cook another 10 minutes, until syrupy. Strain and season with salt.

Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, and ground mustard. Cook with butter until 140f.
While pork rests, drain most of the fat and make a pan sauce with a flour roux, shallot, thyme, and chicken stock.

Serve pork with pan sauce, then drizzled with gastrique.