Forced creativity

It seems I always come up with better dishes when I force myself to work with what I’ve got lying around the house instead of running to the store. Limitations seem to sharpen my creativity. Inevitably potent ingredients that I bought months ago, like shrimp paste or fenugreek or anchovies are called upon. What comes out is more surprising and (usually) more pleasurable than the predictable patterns of cooking I tend to fall into when I have a blank slate. Both from the standpoint of eating, and preparing the food.

So I’ve been purposefully creating this situation for myself. Most recently it gave birth to some fairly tasty ravioli. I’d bought a large bag of semolina a while back for a bread recipe, it’s been taking up space on my counter ever since, and I’d just finished reading the ricotta article on Bittman’s blog and was looking for an excuse to make some.

For the filling, I ended up sauteing some onions and garlic and minced carrots along with some chicken breast, and finely diced some pepper-coated salami for extra punch, threw all of this in my food processor and then folded it into the fresh ricotta with a good helping of parmesan.

The ravioli turned out very tasty, but a bit too thick (or ‘rustic’ as I prefer to call them). Next time I’ll use more regular flour and less semolina to make the dough a bit more delicate. I don’t have a fancy pasta attachment for my kitchenaid, and ended up rolling it out by hand which may have had something to do with the flawed texture as well.

I threw together what was supposed to be simplified tomato sauce, but ended up adding anchovies, as well as some breadcrumbs because it just tasted too watery. It turned out great, and worked pretty well with the ravioli, though butter, sage and parmesan would have been more appropriate perhaps.

There were 4-5 raviolis left over that I reheated in some beef broth the next day for lunch, and they turned out much better, less tough.

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Paella with Chicken & Chorizo

rich flavor from the chicken, nutty from the toasted rice, full of tomato, smokey and tangy from the chorizo, slightly herbal, slightly sweet, peppery, with hits of sharp saltiness from the olives

I was extremely proud of the way this dish turned out, it was really delicious, even though I ended up getting the wrong kind of rice. Parts of the rice ended up overcooked, and other parts ended up crispy. You’d think that this would be lethal to the recipe, but the richness of the flavors came together so well, that the flawed texture of the rice was easily overcome. I also resisted the urge to buy a new paella-specific pan, using instead a heavy-bottomed pan that was on hand, which probably had something to do with the uneven cooking of the rice as well.

Here are the ingredients:

• tomato paste or several roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped, or a combination of the two
• meaty green peppers of some sort (you can use jalapenos if you want some spice, or just green bell peppers
• onion
• garlic
• saffron (several threads steeped in a bit of warm water)
• medium-grain white rice, rinsed with one change of water
• chicken or other meat broth
• chicken thighs or other dark meat (you can use white, but it’s just not as flavorful)
• chorizo sausage, chopped
• olives, green or black, or both
• whatever green vegetable you like, peas are traditional, I used green beans, I’d advise against broccoli because the cabbage-y flavor would be too strong, okra would be great
• dried oregano
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

You can really play with the proportions of the ingredients for this dish, the only measuring that is important is the ratio of broth to rice, usually the package of rice will have instructions, but as a rule of thumb, 1 cup of rice needs 1.5 cups of liquid.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Start by searing the chicken thighs separately in a cast iron or other heavy skillet, to make sure the skin is crispy, and most of the fat melts off, and also to help them along since dark meat on the bone takes a while longer to cook.

Meanwhile in your ‘main’ paella dish (make sure it’s ovenproof) cook the chorizo in a bit of olive oil, and once that starts to brown add the chopped onions. Stir thoroughly scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Once the onions start to become translucent, add the chopped peppers, stir thoroughly and let everything cook for a few minutes until the peppers and onions get some color.

Add in the garlic and let it cook briefly, about a minute.

Add in the tomato, along with the saffron threads and the water they’ve been steeped in, incorporating everything thoroughly. You can add another tablespoon or so more water if the paste is too sticky. Turn down the heat and let the resulting mixture cook for a few minutes, stirring periodically.

This is a key part of getting the correct flavor - by letting the paste cook for a while, you allow the acidity of the tomato to mellow and help concentrate the umami. This is especially important if you are using fresh tomatoes instead of paste. Make sure you keep adding water a tablespoon at a time as needed in order to avoid the mixture drying out.

Once the onions and peppers have started to break down, add in the rice, salt, pepper and oregano, a bit more olive oil, and stir quickly and thoroughly to coat the rice in the tomato mixture. Stir in the green beans, and nestle the chicken amongst the rice.

Pour the chicken stock over the rice.

Place the pan in the oven, and cook uncovered until the rice is tender. Do not stir, but you can add more liquid if all the stock absorbs and the rice still isn’t cooked through.

To serve, shred the chicken and place a bit of the meat on top of each portion. Enjoy!

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I was shot in San Francisco

Ah, what lovely round hills you have… what wonderful farmer’s markets… what singularly wacky, fascinating, witty people… sigh.

I’ve been shot through the heart, with an arrow, of love. Also, I’ve been shot with a camera, by my editor/producer/dictator, Chris. We filmed material for 2-3 more episodes which are now in post-production, so I’m told. We recorded shows for Banitza and Apple Leek Risotto with Shrimp. Looking forward to showing those to you as soon as Chris is finished making me look like I know what I’m doing. It may take a while.

We also made Paella and bunches of Hummus. I gorged on savory crepes which were surprisingly abundant, as well as delicious Indonesian lemongrass noodles, and beautiful home-made Indian ice cream.

I’ve been in love since we visited San Francisco this past May, and I’ve been bravely resisting the urge to drop everything and just move. We were there for a week, longer than previous visits, and had the chance to really experience the life, meaning excellent food, beautiful sights, stimulating conversation. Also… steep hills and carrying groceries home by hand which has a firming effect on the legs and posterior. Built-in exercise, granting the ability to eat more - yet another thing to recommend this city.

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Beet, Baby Zucchini, Yogurt & Walnut Salad

Green, Buttery, Rich, Earthy, Caramelly

I find that I tend to come up with my favorite dishes when I’m too lazy to go to the store, and I have to come up with something tasty that can be made with the random ingredients I have lying around the house. This is how this ‘recipe’ came about. I had bought these beautiful little zucchini and used only half of them the day before and I didn’t want to let them sit in the fridge and go bad. I also wanted to make something light that would let their flavor shine trough.

This is fantastically, quick, simple and delicious and requires little use of the stove, which is handy when you’re living in Vegas and it’s 120 degrees outside. I used baby zucchini, but you can use really fresh fully-grown zucchini, or little pattypan squashes instead if you prefer.

You will also need

• some walnuts, chopped, or crushed in a mortar if you’ve got it, crushing them seems to improve the taste somehow
• sliced cooked beets, mine were from a can, I’m not ashamed
• some good quality yogurt, preferably Greek or Bulgarian
• a couple of cloves of garlic
• salt and pepper
• chopped fresh dill if you have it
• some olive oil for drizzling

Preheat a non-Teflon pan, stainless steel is what I’ve got, while you slice your zucchini into halves (or into smaller bits if you’re working with bigger squashes), then place them cut-side down in the hot pan (no oil) and let them cook until they start to smell nutty, or start to brown. I wasn’t keeping track, but I think it took 2-3 minutes. Pull the pan off the heat and toss them around a bit so the backs get some heat too, sprinkle with salt and let them sit while you prepare the dressing. Mince the garlic into the yogurt and stir in the dill, add salt and pepper to taste. On your serving plate, arrange the zucchini, and the sliced beets, drizzle on the yogurt, top with the walnuts, drizzle with the olive oil and eat!

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Spaghetti with Anchovies, Capers, Spinach…

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Apple Leek Risotto with Shrimp

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Masaman Curry with Potatoes and Sirloin

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