This Madras is a very traditional English-styled Indian curry. A blend of black mustard seeds, salt and fresh ground pepper, turmeric, fresh or dried curry leaves, two or three little dried chilies, and a spice called asafoetida. It has a sharp and unpleasant smell when raw, but when heated, it mellows out into a smooth scent and flavor similar to caramelized onions.
Cook your vegetables and/or meat in sesame seed oil, half a lemon or lime's worth of juice, a splash of malted vinegar, and the spices on medium low. Add 3/4 cup coconut milk with the cream.
This was served with shaved savoy cabbage and basmati with peas. I ladled extra curry over the top and the rice soaked up the juices. The coconut milk and it's cream took the heat out of the spice, less cream would put the teeth back in this curry.
1 tsp cayenne pepper Small red potatoes, quartered
1 tsp turmeric A pinch of saffron threads, crumbled
1 tsp ground coriander Peas
1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt Basmati rice
In large wok, heat the oil. Add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add the cayenne, turmeric and coriander and cook for 1 minute, stirring. Whisk in the yogurt, then add the cream, garam masala and saffron and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Season with salt.
Add the halibut to the sauce and turn to coat. Cook over moderate heat, turning once, until the fish is cooked through, about 10 minutes.
Pot boil quartered potatoes. Add rice, potatoes, and frozen peas to the wok, turning over gently. Cover for 5 minutes. Serve with a large salad and fruit.
Quinoa, well rinsed, is cooked in 1 cup homemade Basil-Garlic Spaghetti Sauce and two cups cold water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer on low until all of the liquid is absorbed. Add frozen peas and stir. Let sit, covered, for ten minutes before serving with the pan fried chicken.
Take chicken thighs or breast cutlets and marinate them in a pesto. I used basil for this dish, but any green such as cilantro, mustard, kale, or spinach will do. Pan fry until golden brown on both sides.
This was served with a large salad and buttered pumpernickel bread.
This recipe is excellent for all of your leftover turkey, though any poultry will do.
Start rice in a pot on the back of the stove. In a fry pan, use whole butter or ghee to fry mustard seed, sesame seeds, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and coconut powder. Once the butter just starts to brown, slide all of the seasonings into the rice pot, stir once, then cover.
In the same pan add the poultry that has been marinating in pineapple juice, soy sauce, brown sugar, malt vinegar, and flake salt. At this point you can also add your vegetables. I used baby carrots. Cook on medium low for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add frozen peas to the rice, fluff with a fork, re-cover, letting sit for the last five minutes that the turkey is cooking..
In a large bowl, pour in the rice then add the glazed turkey. Dish and enjoy!
January 25 is traditionally the night Scottish literary and poetry lovers celebrate Burn's Supper. Robert Burn's grace, reportedly given at a supper hosted by the Earl of Selkirk, is usually what's spoken to open the dinner:
Some hae meat and canna eat,
And some wad eat that want it;
But we hae meat, and we can eat,
And sae let the Lord be thankit.
The supper starts with the soup course, such as Scotch beef broth (very salty and peppery), Potato soup (it's like an onion soup with slabs of potatoes floating in it) or Cock-a-Leekie (a chicken and leek broth based soup) is served.
Then guests stand as the haggis is sung in. Last supper I went to we sang "A Man's a Man for A' That" followed by a number of whiskey toasts. By your third sip, if you're not a whiskey drinker, your head gets good an' swimmie. Folk take turn to out do the others with recitations of Burns' work and a lot of liquor is thrown down. We Scots sure can drink (and talk) a leg off a chair! Another traditional dish you'll see at these suppers is a Shepherd's pie. Mine has diced potatoes rather than turnips. The night is finished off with toasts to the host and an oft sloppy round of Auld Lang Syne.
Ground beef, cubed potatoes or turnips (any root vegetable will do), a cubed onion, salt, pepper, peas, a doubly liberal splash of Worcestershire sauce, and if you have it three fingers of dark peat whiskey.
The pie crust must be crisp and flaky. Use the cold lard and butter cut into the dry ingredients technique. Joy of Cooking's recipe is perfect. Do Not use a boxed pie crust!
Evenly spoon in the filling and do not crimp the crust.
Make whipped potatoes. I only use Bob's Red Mill potato flakes. They produce the lightest and fluffiest potatoes I've ever seen! Add pats of butter and sprinkle paprika over top.
Bake at 400* for 25 minutes. Set on a trivet to cool for 20 minutes and then slice with a pie server.
The pie is light and filling. You'll never have a lead belly with this dish!
1 lb lean ground beef or 1 lb lamb 1 large onion, chopped
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons finely minced fresh ginger
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 (10 ounce) package frozen peas, thawed
2 large potatoes, peeled and cubed
(I left these out when I made this the first time, since I served this dish with Aloo Dum, which has loads of potatoes.)
10 oz tomato sauce (I made mine using garden tomatoes and tomatillos.)
1/2 cup water
1 cup chickpeas, canned, rinsed
Sauce: 1 cup of milk, 1 1/2 cup of water with 2 tbls of flour blended to make thickener, 1 tbls olive oil, 1 lb of shredded cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tbls Coleman's mustard, minced sweet red pepper, 10 to 20 peas.
Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil 1 lb of pasta (elbow is traditional, but small penna is rather nice). Drain the pasta well. Add to a large casserole dish and pour the sauce evenly over the top. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes.
Pull from the oven and let it rest (set) for 10 minutes before serving. A splash of Frank's Red Hot Sauce on our mac & cheese is a household favorite, I recommend giving it a taste.
Served with green beans (another family favorite) and a nice big mixed herb salad makes for a very tasty dinner!
2 cups of soaked Pigeon Peas
artichokes
& tomatoes,
olive oil, garlic, basil, and onions, sea salt and ground dried chili
cheese
Bread recipe:
2 cups flour
1 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast
Sprinkle of sugar and salt
Mix well and let rise for 2 hours. Roll out and spread Pea mixture.
Roll up tightly. Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown.
Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing.
Smelt can be fried or baked, either way they are tasty little bites.
This Bean bread is usually made with cannellini, but I found these beautiful Pigeon Peas and decided to see if they would translate well in this recipe. They were an excellent substitution. Little, firm, earthy, they added a different level of flavor to the mix that were quite enjoyable.
After a very long day we decided eating out was a better adventure than me trying to get creative in the kitchen. So we headed over to Lagniappes on Allen Street.
A seasonal delight; Lagniappes Fried Green Tomato Salad is crisp, fresh and boldly flavored. Cucumbers, a blend of greens, Romano cheese, and cayenne buttermilk ranch dressing support a layer of cool green tomatoes with hot crisp fritter exteriors. The tomatoes came from Gardens on Grant, an excellent all organic urban garden.
Lagniappes famous baked Mac and Cheese is taken to a whole other level with these two versions.
This dish is crawfish, sausage, onions, and peppers.
This one is sliced Cajun beef with pigeon peas, green olives, and peppers.
We also shared a bowl of traditional Red Beans & Rice with Andouille Sausage.
My youngest was dumbfounded and amazed by her plate of fried chicken, devouring and making all sorts of exclamations of how amazing the food was!
Eating local can be pretty fun if you give yourself permission to escape the kitchen and explore your city.
