Winter

Sweet and Sour Gujarati Tomato Curry with Tofu

February 29, 2016

This time four years ago, I was in India, on leave from my newspaper job and working as a volunteer English teacher.

I was newly married, but living apart from my husband, in convents among nuns. Paul held down the fort back at home.

When I left India at the end of my volunteer stint, it was with the certainty that I would one day go back. I still hope I will, but so much about my life has changed in the intervening years and right now any return trip seems an awfully long way off.

These days, the closest I come to a return to India is at the dinner table.

This tomato curry reminds me of all the amazing food I ate in the northwestern state of Gujarat, during a few days of vacation just before I returned home to the United States. Gujarat is one of my favorite places in India — it’s one of my favorite places in the world, actually — a fascinating stretch of unspoiled beaches, vast salt plains, beautiful architecture and skilled artisans.

And the food! The food is amazing. Many people associate Indian cuisine with fiery spices, but Gujarati cooks seem to embrace a wide array of flavors and a single meal might includes dishes that are salty, sweet, hot and sour in various combinations.

This curry is typical of Gujarat, in that it incorporates a little sugar into an otherwise savory dish. There, something like this would likely be served alongside several other dishes, probably including some sort of beans or lentils, rice, and various vegetable preparations.

I rarely have the time to prepare such a multifaceted meal, so I added cubes of tofu to the curry make it feel more complete. You could certainly throw in some homemade paneer instead. We ate this alongside store-bought naan and last summer’s pickled okra for a perfect quick dinner. I happily heated up the leftovers for lunch along with some extra farro and lentils left hanging around from a previous meal.

I usually start making dinner about 30 minutes before we plan to sit down and eat and it’s easy to fall into a rut when my main goals are to get something family-friendly and reasonably healthy on the table in a short amount of time. I like trying new things, but the truth is that we fall back on old-favorites a lot.

Also, I don’t think I’ve blogged about this before, but we’re expecting another baby soon — a little sister for E. I was recently diagnosed with gestational diabetes, which means I have to eat pretty carefully and my dinnertime choices are more limited than before. I need to balance my carb intake with lots and lots of protein, so no more big bowls of creamy pasta for the time being.

I had gestational diabetes with my first pregnancy too, and sometimes struggled to find good meal options. Working out which recipes would have the appropriate amount of carbs relative to protein, fiber and so on could get complicated and, in the end, I grudgingly ate a lot of processed food because reading labels was easier than analyzing recipes.

This time around, I’ve been determined to stick with eating as much “real food” as possible. I don’t want to start feeding E a lot of processed crap just because it makes things easier for me.

Fortunately, this sweet and sour curry works within my new dietary restrictions. It’s also quick to prepare, interesting enough for the grown ups at the table and not too spicy for the resident toddler. It’s definitely a new favorite and one I’ll be happy to fall back on, time and time again.

Sweet and Sour Gujarati Tomato Curry with Tofu

Yield: about 4 servings, although you might find yourself going back for seconds…

Adapted from "At Home with Madhur Jaffrey."

Sometimes I find Indian food a little fussy to prepare, especially since most recipes include a long list of ingredients, some of which can be hard to track down. So I was skeptical when I saw this one described as something that would come together in just 10 minutes, but it does (and I tend be cooking amid a lot of distractions).

I've made this with both fresh and canned tomatoes and, while both versions were good, I prefer it with fresh ones. Out of season, I find that cherry tomatoes are usually more acceptable than the full-sized specimens.

Also, I make this with a generous 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne and find that that's the perfect amount of spice for us, just enough to keep things lively without putting off the toddler at the table. Having said that, if you aren't feeding little kids, you might want to rachet up the spice level just a bit.

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon ground asafetida (sometimes called hing instead)
1 teaspoon whole black or yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
2 pounds medium-sized tomatoes, quartered, OR cherry tomatoes, halved, OR one 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes
1 package of firm or extra-firm tofu, drained and cut into bite-sized cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground numeric
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar (I only had light brown, so I used that along with a tiny drizzle of molasses)
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger

Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the asafetida, mustard seeds and cumin seeds. You may want to use a splatter screen or partially cover the pan because the mustard seeds will quickly begin to pop.

As soon as the mustard seeds start popping, add the tomatoes and the cubed tofu. If using canned tomatoes, use your fingers to tear the tomatoes into large pieces and make sure to add any liquid from the can as well.

Stir once or twice and add the salt, turmeric and cayenne. Stir. If using fresh tomatoes, add 3 tablespoons of water. Omit the water if using canned tomatoes.

Bring to a boil and cook for about 5 minutes. Jaffrey says to cover, but I leave mine uncovered and like the slightly thicker result.

Stir in the sugar (and molasses, if using) and ginger. Taste, correcting seasonings if necessary, and cook for another 2-3 minutes before serving.

https://pleasepassthepeas.com/sweet-and-sour-gujarati-tomato-curry-with-tofu/

All content and photos copyright Please Pass the Peas ~ pleasepassthepeas.com

Tahini-Roasted Broccoli

February 19, 2016

There are certain foods that I almost never cook, not because I don’t like them but because I can’t be bothered to deal with them.

These include:

Artichokes — happy to steam them whole and pluck off the leaves, but trimming them is too much trouble,

Fava beans — a skimpy yield and a pain to peel (although maybe there’s no need), and

Just about anything deep fried — becasue I don’t want to deal with all that oil.

I also have a decidedly love-hate relationship with tahini. It’s yummy stuff, good in sweet and savory recipes alike, but it’s also kind of a pain, what with all the separating and stirring.

This roasted broccoli makes great use of tahini, but it’s a recipe I kept putting off, primarily for the somewhat embarrassing reason that I didn’t feel like arm wrestling with my jar of sesame paste.

I like tahini, but I don’t like working with it. I’ve never really figured out a good way to emulsify everything, without bending one of my spoons in the process.

If anyone has any tips, I’ll gladly take them. I read somewhere that an immersion blender helps, but mine won’t fit in my tahini jar and scraping out the entire contents of the jar so that I could blend it together for the sake of two measly two tablespoons seemed like a lot of unnecessary effort.

In the end, I stirred the tahini as best I could but still had a few goopy lumps here and there. Smoother tahini would have been nice, but the broccoli was a win either way: nutty and lemony with crisp, almost caramelized, edges.

The entire recipe is ready in minutes (minus the time spent stirring tahini) and the leftovers were almost as good the next day.

It was enough to make me want to dip back into that tahini jar for another batch — and that’s saying something.

Tahini-Roasted Broccoli

Yield: serves 2-4, as a side

Adapted from Food52.

A nutty, lemony spin on roasted broccoli, this recipe takes just minutes to prepare (assuming your tahini is already well-stirred).

The original recipe calls for kosher salt, which I had and used, but table salt will work too. If you use table salt, I'd recommend starting with about half the amount and adding a little more if needed.

The recipe also suggested sprinkling extra lemon juice over the finished dish. I love lemon but thought the broccoli had plenty of lemony flavor without an extra spritz of juice, so you might want to try a piece first.

2 tablespoons tahini, well stirred
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to serve
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
several grinds black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups broccoli (about one large head), cut into bite-sized florets

Preheat oven to 450° F.

Place all of the ingredients except for the broccoli in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add broccoli and toss well to coat. Pour everything onto a parchment-lined sheet pan, spread the broccoli out into a single layer and bake for 10 minutes. Serve hot, squeezing a little extra lemon juice on top, if desired.

https://pleasepassthepeas.com/tahini-roasted-broccoli/

All content and photos copyright Please Pass the Peas ~ pleasepassthepeas.com

White Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets

February 9, 2016

A couple of years ago, when this blog was in its infancy, I posted my go-to chocolate mousse recipe.

Smooth and decadent, I still think it’s pretty much the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert — if you like chocolate, that is.

But I married someone who really does not like chocolate and there are only so many times I can get away with deeply chocolaty mid-February indulgences before starting to seem a little selfish.

The only kind of chocolate Paul really approves of is white chocolate, which many people don’t consider real chocolate at all.

So this year, in honor of my other half, I made a slew of the cutest little white chocolate raspberry tartlets.

Although white chocolate is really not my thing, I have to admit that these tiny tartlets are awfully appealing. They’re easy to make, they keep well and they’re oh so pretty. While I think they’d be a nice way to cap off dinner for two, these dainty little desserts would also be a great addition to a cocktail party menu or a festive treat for a girls’ night in.

To make them, you simply fill cookie-like chocolate crusts with white chocolate ganache and then top each one off with a single fresh raspberry. The result is simple and elegant.

Unfortunately, they were not really a hit with my Valentine, who found the chocolate pastry crust still too much for his liking. But other testers gave them a big thumbs up, so I think they’re worth sharing here.

This recipe comes from baker Nick Magleiri’s book “Perfect Light Desserts,” which I picked up at the library the other day. I’m not ordinarily the sort of person to go for “light” desserts, but the cover promised recipes with “made with real butter, sugar, flour and eggs,” so I decided to take a peek.

Generally, I think Magleiri’s recipes are straight-forward and approachable, but I had to laugh at this one, which required twenty-four 2 1/2-inch round tartlet pans. I don’t know a single home cook with two dozen mini tart pans, so I made mine in a mini muffin tin instead. Also, Maglieri calls for 6 ounces of white chocolate in the filling, but I found that I needed twice that amount before my ganache would set. The larger amount of white chocolate in my ganache is more in line with the standard ratio of three parts white chocolate (by weight) to one part liquid, so I’m not sure how Maglieri managed to get anything but a runny mess with just six ounces of the stuff. I’m guessing brand variations might have had something to do with it.

In any event, I don’t think my tartlets qualify as “light” any longer and all that extra chocolate meant I ended up with a bit of leftover filling.

I’ve offered my leftovers up to Paul as an ice cream topping, but if you don’t want extra filling you could try using less white chocolate, just make sure to cut back on the liquid as well. I’d probably start with eight ounces (226 g) of white chocolate and no more than one-third of a cup (about 79 ml) of liquid — you can always add more of either if you need to.

White Chocolate Raspberry Tartlets

Yield: 24 tiny tartlets

Adapted from "Perfect Light Desserts" by Nick Malgieri and David Joachim.

The original recipe called for just 6 ounces of white chocolate, but I found I needed twice that amount before my ganache would set. The extra volume meant I had leftover tart filling, which is not exactly the worst thing ever. But if you'd like to avoid any excess, I would start with 8 ounces of white chocolate and no more than 1/3 cup liquid. Just know that I haven't tested the recipe with those amounts.

Malgieri calls for alkalized or Dutch-processed cocoa powder in this recipe, but I only had natural cocoa, so that's what I used. The two are not always interchangeable, but in this recipe the switch worked fine.

For the Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder (see headnote)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cut into 8 pieces
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water

For the Filling:

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1/4 cup fat-free milk
12 ounces white chocolate, chopped
one 1/2 pint basket of fresh raspberries

For the Tart Dough:

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Grease a mini-muffin tin and set aside. (I did not grease mine, but Maglieri recommends it and I would unless you really trust your tin.)

Combine the dry ingredients in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to mix. I used a mini food processor and it was large enough.

Add the butter pieces and pulse about 20 times to mix it in finely. Add the egg and water and pulse again, until the dough forms a ball. At first, it might seem like there's not enough liquid, but keep pulsing and it will come together.

Turn the dough out and divide into thirds. Wrap two thirds of the dough in plastic wrap and set aside. Roll the remaining piece of dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is 1/8-inch thick. Use a 3-inch round cookie or biscuit cutter to cut circles out of the dough. Repeat with the remaining dough, re-rolling any scraps.

Fit the dough rounds into the wells of the mini-muffin tin, using your hands to press them into place. Prick the dough all over with the tines of a fork and bake, for 12-15 minutes, until the dough looks dull on the surface and is slightly firm. Cool in the pans on a wire rack.

For the Filling:

In a small saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from heat and stir in the chopped white chocolate until it is melted and the mixture is smooth. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate until it has thickened. To speed this up, you can also place the bowl of filling into a larger bowl filled with ice water, stirring occasionally.

To Finish:

Remove the tartlet crusts from the plan and place them on a clean cookie sheet or platter. Fill each shell with a generous spoonful of the filling and top with a raspberry. The tartlets can be held at room temperature for up to 6 hours or kept in a tightly-covered container in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

https://pleasepassthepeas.com/white-chocolate-raspberry-tartlets/

All content and photos copyright Please Pass the Peas ~ pleasepassthepeas.com

Simplest Shakshuka with Feta

February 3, 2016

I’m not even going to get into all of the reasons why I haven’t posted since, ahem, before Thanksgiving.

They are myriad and I could go on about them all day, but that would just be burying the lede, which is to say: Shakshuka! Have you tried it? You really, really should.

We’ve been eating, and loving, shakshuka for years but I never bothered to write about it before because it has been all over the Internet for quite some time. I guess I figured most of you have already at least heard about this North African dish of eggs poached in smoky, spicy tomato sauce.

But I want this blog to be about the foods I’m excited to eat right now, so shakshuka it is.

A common breakfast dish in places like Israel and Tunisia, I especially like shakshuka for dinner. It retains a strong spot on my list of favorite cold weather comfort foods, is quick enough to pull off on a weeknight and reasonably healthy to boot.

I’ve seen lots of recipes for this homey dish, sometimes with the addition of red bell peppers, leafy greens or assorted other spices, and though I always mean to try them, I keep coming back to this simple version instead.

Paul and I used to eat this pretty regularly, but that more or less fell by the wayside after we discovered that E is allergic to eggs. Last weekend, however, we shipped the little guy off to his grandparents’ for the night and had a date night in, complete with a steaming bowl of spicy poached eggs, topped with lots of salty feta and a flurry of flat-leaf parsley.

Sure, there are more romantic menu options out there, but for sheer deliciousness on a chilly winter night, shakshuka is hard to beat.

Simplest Shakshuka with Feta

Yield: 3 filling dinner portions, allowing 2 eggs per person. (The photos above show a half recipe.)

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen were it was in turn adapted from Savuer

Essentially eggs poached in a spicy tomato sauce, shakshuka is perhaps my favorite breakfast-for-dinner meal.

Make sure to serve this with bread to mop up all the delicious sauce. Pitas are a traditional accompaniment, but I like pillowy challah bread best.

1/4 cup olive oil
one small yellow onion, chopped
five Anaheim chilis or three jalapeños, stemmed, seeded and finely diced
five cloves garlic, minced
one tablespoon paprika
one teaspoon cumin
one 28-ounce can whole, peeled tomatoes
salt to taste
6 large eggs
1/2 cup feta, crumbled
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
challah or pita, to serve

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and chili and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown. Add the garlic, paprika and cumin and cook for another minute or two.

Next, add the tomatoes and any juices to the pan, gently squeezing each tomato between your fingers first to break it into smaller pieces. Watch out for squirting tomato juice! Add about 1/2 cup of water to the pan, turn the heat down to medium and simmer until the sauce is slightly thickened, about 10-15 minutes. Taste the sauce and add a little salt, if needed.

Crack the eggs into the pan, spacing them evenly, and cover the pan. Cook, covered, until the whites are cooked through and the yolks are just beginning to set, about five minutes.

Top with feta and parsley and serve with challah bread (my preference) or pitas.

https://pleasepassthepeas.com/simplest-shakshuka-with-feta/

All content and photos copyright Please Pass the Peas ~ pleasepassthepeas.com