In the Kitchen with Naan

The smell of Indian food is intoxicating. It’s one of my favorite things my husband prepares. Last night he made dahl and chicken kebabs. I made cucumber raita and—inspired by our new countertop pizza oven—I also made naan from scratch.

I made the naan dough with a mixture of bread flour (to which I added some whole wheat pastry flour), milk, yogurt, egg, salt and yeast. I used our standing mixer with the dough hook attachment to knead the dough and then let the dough rise in front of the fireplace for an hour or so.

Once the dough had doubled in size I cut portions and rolled them out on a floured surface. I brushed the naan with a little butter and then into the pizza oven they went. I turned the naan every few minutes until both sides were crispy. Simple, fast and delicious. I won’t purchase store-bought naan again.

Revision note: I plan to make my next batch of naan with more whole wheat flour and roll the dough much thinner.

Corn Chowder – By Request

 

I have a confession: Chowders kind of overwhelm me. Sure, they can be delicious, comforting and hearty. But that’s just it. They’re usually too filling, heavy and high in fat.

Not this chowder. Two servings included only 1 cup of low-fat milk and just enough oil to sauté some vegetables. We never missed the taste of heavy cream or butter. Here's how I did it.*

Warm about 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a soup pot then sauté a chopped onion until translucent, stirring frequently. Add one stalk of diced celery and about a cup of diced potatoes (I used a combination of yellow and red fingerlings, which is what I had on hand). Season with thyme, salt and pepper and sauté until potatoes and celery are slightly softened, stirring frequently.

Add 2 cups of corn (I used frozen, fire-roasted) a bay leaf and 1.5 cups of stock (I used chicken, but you could use vegetable stock). Cover the soup pot and simmer gently until potatoes and celery are soft (15 to 20 minutes).

Remove the bay leaf and carefully ladle about 1 cup of the soup into a blender. Add 1 cup of low-fat milk and puree until smooth. Add the pureed mixture back into the soup pot and heat through, stirring to combine. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

I served the chowder topped with chopped dill, chives and crumbled bacon.

*Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.

 

 

 

Origami Dinner

October kicks off soup season in our house. Last night we made a simple  dinner with store-bought wonton wrappers and a quick homemade soup stock.

Wontons can be filled with anything from shrimp to tofu to a variety of vegetables. We used a mixture of porcini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms. We also added ground pork, carrots and shallots. All ingredients should be finely minced and well combined.

We did not add much seasoning to the wonton mixture since we planned to use them in a well-seasoned broth (and my husband would be adding plenty of sriracha sauce).

The instructions on the wonton package were easy to follow. Lay out your wontons and add about 1 teaspoon of filling to each:

 Use egg white or water to brush the edges of each wonton...

...then fold diagonally. (Be careful the filling remains sealed in the wonton. If the wonton tears or the filling is bursting through the seam, the wonton will not stay intact when it is boiling.)

Once the wontons are folded, bring the corners together then overlap one corner and brush with egg wash or water to seal.

Meanwhile, simmer soup stock of your choice (homemade, veggie, chicken, etc.). We used chicken stock and added some thinly sliced carrots, celery, and shallots. Season the broth with soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, ginger and a good grinding of Szechuan peppercorns.

For extra protein and texture we added an egg to the broth. Beat the egg lightly then add to the broth in a thin stream—the result will be more of an egg-drop soup.

While the soup is simmering, bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Carefully add the wontons and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the wontons. Place them in a bowl and cover with broth. We served ours scattered with sliced scallions—delicious! 

 

Smoked Salmon Pizza

Anything you can do, I can do better (or at least similar). I often think this when I find myself repeatedly ordering a favorite item from a restaurant.

In this case, it was a smoked salmon and crème fraiche flatbread we'd discovered on a local happy hour menu. At the restaurant, the flatbread topped with dill and tarragon. I created my own version, adding fresh chives and lemon zest.

First the ingredients: pizza dough (I used homemade with some whole wheat and a tablespoon of ground flaxseed, which provided a nutty, crunchy flavor), smoked salmon, crème fraiche, lemon, dill, chives, arugula, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.

 

Before baking or grilling the dough, drizzle the top with a liberal amount of extra virgin olive oil to ensure the crust won't burn.

I also like to sprinkle a little cornmeal on the pizza pan to add a crunchy texture to the bottom.

The baking time will vary depending on whether you are using an oven or grill.

While the pizza is baking, toss the arugula with lemon juice, lemon zest, minced dill and chives, and a little extra virgin olive oil.

Once the dough is baked, the rest is simple. Drizzle some crème fraiche onto the warm dough then arrange the salmon slices in a single layer. Top the salmon with lemon zest, minced dill and chives, and another drizzle of crème fraiche then pile the arugula on top.

Fiesta Salad

If you know anything about me and my food preferences, you know that two of my favorite things to eat are salad and anything Mexican. I am actually somewhat obsessive about both. I eat salad for lunch just about every day, and we have been known to have Mexican-themed dinners several times a week.

Although we have several Mexican cookbooks in our collection, I often prefer creating my own recipes. I threw together this salad in a matter of minutes using farm-fresh lettuces (choose something hardy and crunchy, like Romaine) and grilled chicken.

I tossed frozen organic corn kernels in a cast iron pan to warm them and seasoned them with a few grinds of Trader Joe's South African Smoke seasoning, which contains smoked paprika, sea salt, garlic and basil. The warm corn added a nice texture to the salad.

Before assembling the salad, I chopped and seasoned a handful of organic cherry tomatoes and added a splash of extra virgin olive oil to make them extra juicy.

I topped the salad with sliced avocado, chopped scallions and a creamy cilantro-lime garlic dressing. For one serving, mince and then lightly sauté a small clove of garlic. Place it in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon of Greek yogurt, 1 tablespoon of lime juice, a handful of finely minced cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.

 

This salad would also be delicious with a drizzle of homemade salsa.

 

Vegetarian spring rolls

homemade spicy peanut sauce

When it's too hot to cook, we love making Thai-style spring rolls.

The basic ingredients are rice paper and rice noodles, which can be found in the Asian section of many food markets.

You can get creative with fillings, using anything from thinly-sliced pork to shrimp to roast beef—I've even seen recipes where bacon is used as a filling.

Toss in any veggies you desire—carrots, cucumbers, radishes, Boston lettuce, cilantro, sprouts. We recently filled ours with tofu, shredded carrots, basil, scallions.



grilled tofu

The rice noodles are easy to prepare. You simply soak them in hot water until they pull apart.



draining the rice noodles

I make my spicy peanut sauce by mixing natural peanut butter, soy sauce, garlic, rice vinegar, cilantro and sriracha.

close-up spicy peanut sauce

To assemble, dip the rice paper in cold water, fill and gently roll—the delicate paper rips easily.

hand rolling

We topped our spring rolls with a little extra sriracha and completed the meal with a tossed salad simply dressed with carrot-ginger dressing.

dinner!