Eggplant and potato curry

Long time no see, blog of new recipes!  After becoming deathly bored of everything I normally eat (much of which is a variant of the few things you can find here, much of which I eat 4 or 5 days in a row because it’s infinitely more practical), and only a few days away from finishing a draft of my thesis, it’s time to learn something new.  I want to expand my range on vegetable-laden meals, for health and variety.  Where’s easily the world’s awesomest repository of vegetarian meals that are actually meals? The Indian subcontinent.  Now, to begin aimlessly experimenting until I learn how to do enough wrong that it’s time to get taught by someone who knows something.

For a first pass, last week’s dinner was this chana masala from Smitten Kitchen.  I’m not writing it up as it came out fine and I did nothing different.

On today’s agenda is eggplant and potato curry.  I suppose I could call it Baingan-Aaloo Ki Subji from the recipe that I’m more or less following, but that would be insulting to India.  This recipe came out fine to my ignorant taste buds—a good start on this adventure.  (This post is likely to be revised over time.)

Calorie Estimate: around 2400?

Ingredients

• 2 onions, diced however you like
• 6 japanese eggplant (or whatever equivalent by total size), cubed 1/3″-ish
• 2 large potatoes, diced 1/4″-ish
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• oil to coat the bottom of the pot (I use my dutch oven)
• 1.5 T ground cumin
• 1 T coriander
• 1.5 T ground red pepper
• 1 t turmeric powder
• 1T garam masala
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• plenty of salt to taste
• juice of 1 lemon

Preparation

I had success chopping as I go, just keeping an eye on the heat and adding a few ounces of water as necessary to keep things under control.  It’s gonna stew at the end for 30 minutes, so it’s not essential that all veggies of a type get in at the same time.

1. Warm oil in a deep pot.  Soften onions.
2. Add in the spices.  Stir to coat well.  Cook the spices with the onions for a few minutes.  It will start smelling wonderful at this point.
3. Add in the  can of tomatoes, diced potatoes, and the eggplant.  If you notice, this is a huge recipe, so add in handfuls and stir every couple handfuls.  This is easier if you’re adding as you chop.  Also, if it’s getting too dry, add a little water.  The veggies will give up theirs soon, so not too much, but it helps if you’re about to burn the spices, which would be a disaster.As you’re adding the vegetables, keep in mind the single most useful piece of advice I ever got from a cooking show, Avec Eric with Eric Ripert:  “don’t salt the dish, salt the vegetables.” You know about how much salt a cooking onion needs, a potato, etc., but do you know how to salt 5 quarts of stewing vegetables all at once?(As an aside, there are probably only two cooking shows I actually recommend as being spot-on with the mix of useful to you right now, beautiful, aspirational, culturally interesting, and entertaining too: Avec Eric and Molto Mario with Mario Batali.)
4. Stir everything often until the spicing is really thoroughly mixed in with the veggies and everything is starting to cook.  Once it’s all getting together, turn down the heat to low and simmer covered for 30 minutes or so.
5. Turn off the heat, uncover, and let some of the water escape and get reabsorbed.  It should be moist but not soupy.
6. Stir in the lemon juice for some brightness and tartness.
7. Eat!

Because of the potatoes, you can maybe  do without  bread or rice, but that’s up to you!  I’ve got a small spinach naan in my toaster over right now!  Also, a little cool, tart yogurt on the side, mixed on the spoon, is nice.

Getting the cooking bug back: ideas to try

Beans and ham hock

Beef winter soup

Red lentil dal (new favorite)

Lentil soup for a small planet

Meyer Lemon risotto

Meyer Lemon pasta

Sardines with potatoes (success!)

Fillet and soba noodles

Minestrone

Wild boar and lentil soup

Braised leeks

Italian-American Chana Masala

That’s right, you heard me. This is probably the best improvised dish I’ve ever made.   I had some very nice, very sweet tomatoes from Pike Market (where does that vendor get tomatoes that good in December?), mushrooms, celery and green onions.  My newly-stocked pantry is loaded with chick peas.  I thought I wanted to make a pasta primavera, but then, the chick peas don’t really fit, and I’ve got this baguette that’s gonna turn into a rock so pasta isn’t really the right idea and…

Calorie Estimate: 750

Ingredients

• 5 plum tomatoes, quartered
• as much mushroom by volume as tomato
• 1 stalk celery, 1/8″ slices
• 2 green onions, 1/4″ slices
• 1 15 oz can chick peas
• 2 T olive oil
• anchovy fillets (about 1 oz)
• garlic powder to taste
• salt to taste
• black pepper (lots! chick peas love black pepper)
• red pepper
• italian herb blend

Preparation

1. Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Add the chopped mushrooms and let them cook a couple minutes.  While the mushrooms get going, slice the celery and green onions.
2. Add celery and green onions to the pan.  Quarter the tomatoes and add them to the pan.
3. Add the anchovy fillets.  Break them down with your stirring spoon and mix them thoroughly through.  These provide a lot of savoriness, but don’t actually make the dish taste like anchovies unless you use too many.
4. Add the rinsed chick peas.
5. Season to taste.  Salt generously and use lots of black pepper.  For chick peas, I like to be able to see flecks of black pepper on the beans in the finished product.  I also realized garlic couldn’t hurt, but it was too late in the game, so I added a little garlic powder.  Any aromatic herbs will probably work, but the standard basil, parsley, oregano mix was just right.  And I like a little heat, so some red pepper flakes round it out.
6. Cook a few minutes until the peas are fully warmed and any liquid has thickened up and brought the dish together.

The flavor here was excellent: deep, warming, and very satisfying, especially served with that baguette.  The eating experience really was like a chana masala and so, the name!

Chicken Paprikash

Edit: this recipe gets and “ehh” from me.  It smelled wonderful as the chicken browned, but the taste was pretty boring–sorta like cheap italian red sauce that happened to have chicken in it.  I’ll have to do more research before I try it again, especially given the smell of the browning chicken.

Stolen almost verbatim and slightly repentantly from chow.com. I got my hands on some excellent hot paprika from my friend’s visiting German boyfriend awhile back.  So far, I’ve only used it to good effect in polenta, but here’s a traditional-ish recipe.  The only major changes I made were to use 6 drumsticks instead of a whole chicken and to leave out sour cream because I really have almost no place for that stuff in my life.

Calorie Estimate: 2400 (without noodles or sour cream)

INGREDIENTS

• 6 chicken legs (1.75 lbs)
• Kosher (coarse) salt to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Garlic powder to taste
• Dried oregano to taste
• Sweet or hot Hungarian paprika
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium-size onions, finely chopped
• 2 to 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can (28 ounces) whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped, juices reserved
• 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (if using sweet paprika)
• 2 large green bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
• 1 pound white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 cup nondairy sour cream (optional)
• Hot cooked egg noodles, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Season the chicken on both sides lightly with salt. Then lightly sprinkle pepper, garlic powder, and oregano over the chicken. Finally, season with the paprika—very liberally if using sweet, a light sprinkling if using hot. Set the chicken aside.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, cook, stirring, for 1 minute more, and then transfer the onions and garlic to a plate.
3. Raise the heat to medium-high and add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil to the pot. When the oil is quite hot but not smoking, add the chicken pieces and brown them on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
4. Remove the chicken from the pot. Stir the tomatoes with all their juices, tomato paste, the reserved onion/garlic mixture, and the red pepper flakes (if using sweet paprika) into the pot. Return the chicken to the pot, making sure to cover all the pieces with the sauce. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more paprika if desired too.
5. Add the bell peppers and mushrooms and continue to simmer, covered, until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 30 minutes.
6. Just before serving, remove the chicken from the pot and keep it warm. Add the sour cream, if using, to the sauce and heat it over medium-low heat, being careful not to let it boil. Serve hot, spooning the sauce over the chicken and noodles.

http://www.chow.com/recipes/27903

Olive and Sundried Tomato Tapenade

Taken from Love and Olive Oil.

Calories: 1200 (hard to estimate +-200)

Ingredients

• 2 cups pitted olives (mix of Nicoise, Picoline, black, etc)
• 1/4 C sundried tomatoes
• 1 T capers
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 anchovy fillet (or 1/2 T anchovy paste)
• 1/4 C olive oil
• 1/2 T fresh basil
• 1/2 t thyme, dried
• 1/2 t parsley, dried
• 1/4 t oregano, dried

Preparation

1. Pulse everything in a food processor until reasonably smooth, or reasonably not smooth, whatever you like, adding oil as you go (start dry).  Refrigerate and enjoy over the course of a week, or an hour.

Bean salad

Calorie Estimate: 600

Ingredients

• 2 cups of mixed beans
• 1/4 large red onion, diced
• 1 cup grape tomatoes
• 8 basil leaves, shredded
• 1 t olive oil
• a few T of raspberry vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Make a salad.

Sausage and Tortellini soup

Calorie Estimate: 1800

Ingredients

• 1 lb italian sausage meat, broken into bite-sized pieces
• 9 oz package tortellini
• 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1/2-1/3 lb mushrooms, brown/portobello, bite-sized pieces
• 1 zucchini, 1/3 inch dice
• 1 carrot, 1/3 inch dice
• 1 green bell pepper, 1/3 inch dice
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 5 cups beef broth
• 1 T olive oil, if needed
• salt, pepper, italian seasonings to taste
• splash of balsamic vinegar

Preparation

1. Heat a deep soup pan over medium heat.  Dump the sausage meat in and break it up into bite-sized pieces with a wooden spoon.  Brown for a few minutes.
2. Dice all the veggies while the sausage is browning.  Add in onion and garlic, and extra oil if needed.  Cook for a few minutes.
3. Add in the mushrooms, the rest of the veggies, the canned tomatoes, and the broth.
4. Season a bit.  About 1 T dried basil, 1/2 T oregano, 1/2 T black pepper, etc.  Don’t overdo it now, tweak it later.
5. Cook for about 3o minutes until veggies are tender.
6. Add in tortellini and cook for 10 minutes.  Adjust seasoning during this time.
7. Take it off the heat and let it rest.  Perhaps in the bowl, add in a little fresh parmesan or pecorino cheese.  Also add in a splash of balsamic vinegar for a special touch of sweetness and tang.

Spaghetti with pecorino, tomatoes, and spinach

The best variant of the “simple pasta with cheese” trend yet!  I think the fresh pecorino was clutch (as opposed to parmigiano), as were the specific ratios posted below.  The flavors mixed perfectly.

Calorie Estimate: 750

Ingredients

• 1 box serving of spaghetti
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/4 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes
• 1 big handful of baby spinach
• 1 oz of pecorino romano, shaved/grated
• fresh basil (8-10 leaves)
• salt and pepper to taste (about 1 t, 1.5 t respectively)
• dollop of ricotta (or some fresh mozzarella)

Preparation

1. Boil pasta water and salt when boiling.  Cook pasta for recommended time.
2. While the pasta is cooking, in a skillet, heat 2 T of olive oil over medium high heat.
3. When the oil is warm, add onion and garlic and cook for a minute or so.
4. Add the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes until they get close to popping.  Stir often.  Add salt and black pepper to taste.
5. With about 2 minutes left on the pasta, add in the spinach.  It should look like way too much, but toss it with the hot oil and it’ll cook down really fast.
6. With about 30 seconds left, add in the pecorino and torn up basil leaves.
7. Drain the pasta.  Then, toss it with the sauce, and plate.  Put a dollop of ricotta in.  With long noodles, stir the dollop through for the best effect–a wonderful, flavorful, rich coating.

Ratatouille

Taken from Cooking for Engineers.  This is hearty and delicious while also being very healthy and low calorie for the flavor and volume of food.

Calorie Estimate for the batch: 1500

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 T tomato paste
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 C chicken broth
• 1 large zucchini, 1/4 inch dice
• 1 large eggplant, 1/4 inch dice
• 1 large green pepper, 1/4 inch dice
• 2 large portobello mushrooms, 1/4 inch dice
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1 T (+) Herbs de Provence
• fresh basil if you’ve got it
• salt (1T ish) and pepper (1-2 T)

Preparation

1. Heat oil in large soup pot.  Add garlic and simmer for 1 minute.
2. Add onions and simmer for 4-6 minutes
3. Add tomato paste, stir around until it coats onions.  Toast until paste starts to darken, 2-5 minutes.
4. Pour in broth.  Stir well. Bring to a simmer.
5. Stir in eggplant, zucchini, peppers, and mushrooms.  Simmer for 12 or so minutes, stirring often.  Eggplant will release a lot of tasty moisture.
6. Add can of tomatos.  Add in seasonings at this point.  Stir in and cook for a minute or three more until it looks like you want it to.