Thai Rice Soup

Thai Rice Soup basically functions like chicken noodle soup – it warms your soul and refreshes you when the days are dark and miserable and all you want is some real sunshine. Also, if you make it spicy, it will help clear your sinuses during cold season. Add to that a great way to use up leftover rice and an impossibly simple and quick recipe and you have a winning dish.

Fresh ginger and sliced chilies add heat (if you want), while cilantro and scallions lend their freshness to balance the umami broth. I added diced tofu for some protein, but you could easily sub in shrimp, chicken, or egg if you prefer. Or just leave it with the simple goodness of a rice soup. Just make it soon and you won’t regret it.

The original recipe is from our previously mentioned favorite Thai cookbook, Foolproof Thai Cooking by Ken Hom, but we’ve adapted a bit in seasoning and in what we add.

Thai Rice Soup

Serves: 4     Prep time:  10 minutes

Cooking time: 10 minutes

1 1/4 c. cooked rice (adjust to taste)

1/2 block of firm tofu, diced (optional)

6 c. veggie or chicken stock (I used Better than Boullion)

3 tbsp. fish sauce

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tsp. vegetable or peanut oil

3 tbsp. crushed or finely chopped garlic

Garnish:

2-3 scallions, chopped

2 tbsp. finely shredded ginger

1-2 small fresh Thai chilies (optional)

handful fresh cilantro leaves

Combine cooked rice, tofu, and stock; bring to a simmer.  Add fish sauce and black pepper and simmer for 7 minutes.  Meanwhile, sautee garlic in the oil in until lightly browned. Serve into soup bowls and garnish to taste with the garlic, scallions, ginger, chilies, and cilantro (the fresh ginger and the chilies both add heat; I skipped the chilies in my most recent batch because of pregnancy heartburn.) Serve immediately.

Black Bean Sweet Potato Burritos

Pregnancy (well, really, the nausea accompanying this pregnancy) caused the hiatus in posting recipes on here. We’ve still been cooking, but it’s mostly been pretty simple, sticking to old favorites that actually sound good to me these days. There have been a couple of new recipes, however, including this one passed on by my mom.

Vegetarian, very easily made vegan, fairly inexpensive and packing a nutritional punch, this dish has a lot going for it, but really you should make it because it’s so tasty and comforting. Tender bites of sweet potato, nearly caramelized onions, and earthy black beans coated in a vibrant spice mixture, (topped with a bit of cheddar, if you’re so inclined) all wrapped up in a tortilla. It’s even better with salsa, sour cream, or diced avocado. Oh, and it makes fabulous leftovers.  So if you’re just cooking for one or two, you can cook once and have several lunches or dinners ready for the rest of the week!

I’ve tweaked the recipe some from the original, adding more onion and spices because we tend to like our flavors more robust, but the original concept is more or less intact.

Sweet Potato Black Bean Burritos

1 tbsp. olive oil

3 1/2 c. peeled and diced sweet potatoes

1 1/2 c. chopped onion

2 cans black beans, drained (this was slightly over 2 c. for me)

2 tbsp. cumin

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. paprika

1/4 tsp. ground chilies or chili powder (optional – this is for piquancy)

pinch of crumbled oregano

1 tsp. salt (or to taste)

10 tortillas, 9 inch-ish sized (this fits well in a 9×13 pan)

1 1/2 c. cheddar cheese, shredded (optional)

Salsa, sour cream, or diced avocado to garnish

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat; add onions and sweet potatoes, cooking until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add water as necessary to prevent sticking. I sometimes find that covering the pan for a few minutes once I’ve added some water helps to speed the cooking process.  Add black beans, spices, and salt, cooking until heated through. Remove from heat.

Scoop a generous portion of the bean and potato mixture onto each tortilla and sprinkle with cheese, if desired, before rolling up. Place burritos in a lightly greased 9×13 baking pan.  You will have to squeeze a bit to get the last couple in the pan, but they should fit snugly.  Cover and bake for 20-25 minutes (you can uncover for the last few minutes if you like a crustier top to your burritos).  Serve with desired garnish and enjoy!

Northern Style Phad Thai

Phad thai is probably the single most recognizable dish on a Thai restaurant menu, at least for Americans.  However, most are unaware that there is more than a single version of this dish.  While both northern and southern style phad thai involve rice noodles, stir-fried eggs, bean sprouts, and fried or fresh tofu, along with the requisite sprinkle of ground peanuts, the flavor and experience of the two dishes almost separates them from qualifying for the same name.

Southern style, easier to find in the US, characteristically has an orange sauce coating the noodles with a distinct tamarind flavor in the better varieties, as well as small bits of aged chewy tofu.  The garnishes typically sit around the noodles, creating a plate that invites you to dive in and create your own perfect balance of soft noodles to crunchy bean sprouts, pungent cilantro, and sweet carrots.

Northern style can be challenging to track down unless the chefs at a particular restaurant hail from northern Thailand.  Northern style phad thai looks almost as though it has no sauce (though it in fact has a generous portion), with flecks of red and green chilies dotting the (often) wider rice noodles, along with a hearty amount of bean sprouts already mixed in and lightly stir-fried along with the noodles.  Garnishes are similar to the southern style, with scallions, and a generous portion of coriander, and coarsely rather than finely chopped peanuts being the primary differences I’ve noticed.  The whole dish is very fresh and light, even when incorporating fried tofu as the protein of choice.  We are slightly obsessed with finding good northern style phad thai (though I admit that I can heartily enjoy a good southern style as well), and often end up just making our own in order to achieve the freshness that we want.

Our favorite recipe comes slightly adapted from Ken Hom’s Foolproof Thai Cooking, and the only change we make is to cook it with fried tofu rather than shrimp, because I don’t like shrimp.  This is definitely a recipe where you want to have all of your ingredients prepared ahead of time, as the actual cooking process doesn’t take long once you get started.  A wok is very helpful for cooking your noodles evenly during the stir-frying process, but not entirely necessary.  We’ve made plenty of tasty phad thai in a deep skillet, albeit with a much messier stove stop at the end.

Northern Style Phad Thai

Prep time: 25-40 minutes (depending on your proficiency) Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: 4-6

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8 oz. wide dried rice noodles (as you can see, narrow ones also work in a pinch)

2 tbsp. vegetable or peanut oil

1 block tofu, drained, cubed, and fried until golden brown (see note)

3 tbsp. coarsely chopped garlic

3 tbsp. finely sliced shallots

2 large, fresh red or green chilies, seeded and chopped

2 eggs, beaten

2 tbsp. lime juice

3 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tbsp. sweet chili sauce

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

6 oz. bean sprouts

Garnish

1 lime, cut into wedges

3 tbsp. coarsely chopped fresh coriander (same thing as cilantro)

3 scallions, sliced

3 tbsp. coarsely chopped roasted peanuts

2 oz bean sprouts

1 tsp. dried chili flakes (optional)

Soak the rice noodles in a bowl of hot water for 25-30 minutes, then drain.  Heat the wok until hot, then add garlic, shallot and chilies and stir-fry for 1 minute.  Add the drained noodles (I find tongs very helpful in stirring and lifting the noodles during the stir-frying process) and stir-fry for another minute.  Then, add the beaten eggs, lime juice, fish sauce, chili sauce, sugar and black pepper and continue to stir-fry for 3 minutes.  Finally, add the tofu and bean sprouts and stir-fry for 2 more minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings as needed, (more fish sauce for saltiness, more lime for sour, more sugar for sweet) keeping in mind that Thai cooking assumes that each diner will tweak their serving with the garnishes.  Transfer to a platter, garnish, and serve at once.

Notes: While pre-fried tofu is available from Asian grocery stores, we strongly recommend that you fry your own, both for freshness and for flavor.  To fry tofu, make sure that you completely drain the tofu, getting as much moisture out as possible before frying.  Then heat enough vegetable oil in a wok to submerge your cubes.   Make sure to get the oil hot enough–350-375–before beginning to fry, or you’ll have soggy tofu (putting in a dry cube of bread or the end of a bamboo chopstick to see if it’s surrounded by bubbles is a good test if you don’t have a deep-fry or candy thermometer).  Work in small batches (it usually takes me 3-4 for a single block of tofu) to keep the temperature up and to minimize splattering.  Fry until golden brown, then remove onto a paper towel covered plate.

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

This delectable, fiery sauce, from Ken Hom’s Foolproof Thai Cooking, (hands down our favorite Thai cookbook) is the key to our northern style phad thai, but also makes an excellent dipping sauce for Thai spring rolls or pot stickers.  Be sure to wear gloves while working with the chilies, especially if you intend to seed them, as the capsaicin (the element in hot peppers that makes them taste and feel hot) will burn your hands, though eventually they just feel numb.

Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

Time: 30 minutes    Cooking time: 15 minutes

Makes: about a cup of sauce

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6 oz. large, fresh red chilies, finely chopped (seeded if you want a milder sauce)

3 tbsp. coarsely chopped garlic

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. white rice vinegar or malt vinegar

1 tbsp. fish sauce

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

salt to taste

5 fl. oz. water

Combine all ingredients in a wok or saucepan and bring to a boil.  Turn heat very low, cover, and simmer gently for 15 minutes.  Remove from the heat and let cool before blending until mostly smooth (an immersion blender is immensely helpful here, though a standard blender or food processor also work).  Reheat in wok or saucepan for about 3 minutes to bring out the flavor, adding more salt if necessary.  Once cool, it is ready to use, or can be stored in the fridge in a jar.

The finished sauce

Garlicky Quinoa with Toasted Pine Nuts and Caramelized Onions

I’ve found a new obsession on the internet.  It’s called Pinterest and I can easily spend hours exploring other people’s pinboards and expanding my own.  However, I can actually claim that it’s increased my real world creativity as I’ve been trying out some of the delicious recipes that keep pinning to my overly-large recipe board.  This recipe, which originally came from the For the Love of Cooking blog, I altered enough to feel comfortable posting it as my own here.

The original recipe, Parmesan Couscous with Roasted Garlic, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Caramelized Onions, called for couscous as the base and roasted garlic cloves, neither of which I had on hand.  But I’ve successfully substituted quinoa for couscous in the past, and like garlic enough to enjoy it in a dish even if it’s not roasted, so I set out to make this and added a few more tweaks along the way, omitting some ingredients, adding others, and significantly changing proportions to create a dish that I found much more flavorful.

Garlicky Quinoa with Toasted Pine Nuts and Caramelized Onions

 Total Time: 25 minutes               Cooking Time: 15-20 minutes

Serves: 8 as a side dish, 4 as a main dish

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1  1/2 c. quinoa

1/2 tsp. salt

4-5 tbsp. pine nuts

3-4 tbsp. olive oil, divided

1 onion, diced

1-2 tbsp. crushed garlic

3-4 tbsp. white wine vinegar

3-4 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse quinoa in cold water (you can use a sieve or bowl that you drain off the side, much like rinsing rice).  Place quinoa, salt, and 3 cups of water in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until water is absorbed, about 10-15 minutes.  The germ ring should be visible and the kernel soft and transparent when the quinoa is fully cooked.  Once the quinoa is cooked, dump it into a large bowl and toss with 2-3 tbsp. of good olive oil and salt, until the quinoa has some flavor on its own.  I didn’t measure how much salt I added, I just stirred and sprinkled until I thought it tasted good.

While the quinoa cooks, toast the pine nuts in a dry skillet until golden brown.  Remove from the pan and add 1 tbsp. olive oil to the pan.  Once the oil is hot, add the chopped onion and cook until caramelized and golden.  This took about 10 minutes on my very hot electric stove, but has taken me up to 25 minutes on cooler stoves.  I find it harder to caramelize in non-stick skillets as well.  Once you are satisfied with the onions, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until garlic is aromatic and heated through.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Add pine nuts, onions, parsley, and white wine vinegar to the quinoa.  Toss to mix evenly, then taste and add more salt, pepper or vinegar to taste.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Notes: The quinoa will probably finish cooking while you’re still caramelizing the onions.  If you feel overwhelmed by trying to season the quinoa at the same time you attend to the onions, just remove the quinoa from the stove (assuming you have an electric and need to get it off the hot burner) and take the lid off.  It will be just fine sitting for a few minutes while you finish the onion.

In the future I would like to try this recipe again using actual roasted garlic cloves and adding chickpeas.  Let me know if you try it with those (or any other) changes!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Fall has arrived here in New York, both according to the calendar and a few trees.  The weather is slowly getting into line as well, with slightly cooler nights and a couple of almost-cardigan-worthy days.  While my heart may still belong to Seattle, I can’t deny my deep, deep love for northeast autumns.   Cool, sunny days, brilliant leaves, abundant harvest, and all the yummy warm food that suddenly sounds deeply appealing again, like muffins.

Pumpkin muffins, to be precise.  A revered family favorite, both growing up and now in our sundry scattered kitchens, these muffins are rich, moist, and oh-so-flavorful with an almost cakey crumb.  They are delicious warm from the oven and decadent with the addition of chocolate chips still melting as you take a bite.  However, they are just as good left over, if you’re lucky enough to have a few survive that long.  They also make fabulous mini muffins, and I recommend mini chips in the mini muffins, mostly for texture reasons, if you want the chocolate there.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

Total time: 35-40 minutes                  Baking time: 20-25

Makes: 12 regular or 36 mini muffins

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1 2/3 c. flour

1/2 c. sweetener (sugar, honey, agave, ect.)

1 tbsp. pumpkin pie spice OR (all slightly heaped: 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. ginger, 1/4 tsp. cloves, 1/8 tsp. nutmeg)

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 c. pumpkin (this is roughly half of a 15 oz can, make sure it’s not pumpkin pie filling if you use canned)

1/2 c. butter, melted

1 c. chocolate chips or nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray muffin cups with nonstick spray.  Combine dry ingredients in a bowl, stirring with a whisk.  Then combine eggs, pumpkin and butter in a separate bowl before adding them to the dry ingredients.  Stir to combine, then add chocolate chips or nut if desired.  Spoon into 12 muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until tops spring back when pressed.  Remove immediately from pan and cool on rack.  These do keep well for several days on the counter or in the fridge, if you have that much self-control.

My mother’s scones

A lot has happened since I last posted here at feast&fast.  We’ve moved to the other side of the country, started seminary, and have a little one on the way.  All these changes have me craving comfort food, specifically food from my childhood, like these simple but amazing scones that aren’t excessively sweet.  They come together very quickly from a fairly short list of ingredients, and, in my experience, are endlessly adaptable.

I baked these on Monday, when we had a little extra time on our hands, due to a Matins-free morning.  I altered the recipe a little, and the photo reflects the fact that I used cranberries rather than raisins.  I also subbed clementine juice for part of the milk (because I had extra clementines but no oranges) and added the zest of the clementine as well.  They were delicious.  Oh, and I used almond milk because that’s what I had.  Cow’s milk and I are not friends.

Other adaptations I’ve tried in the past include using chocolate chips, grated cheese, or currants instead of raisins.  The liquid can be subbed with a variety of juices depending on what flavor you want to end up with (though I can’t speak to how subbing all lemon juice would work, as it might make a more crumbly scone since the higher acidity would interact with the baking powder).  I think fresh herbs would also be amazing.  If you want a more savory scone, omit the sugar and they’ll come out just fine.

My Mother’s Scones

The cranberry orange version of my mother's scones

Total Time: 25 minutes  Serves: 8

Baking time: 12 minutes

2 c. flour (I used all purpose, but partial whole wheat can also work)

2 tbsp. sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

6 tbsp. butter, softened

1 egg, slightly beaten

1/2 c. milk

1/2 c. raisins (optional)

Preheat oven to 425.  Stir together flour, sugar, baking  powder and salt.  Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Add egg and milk to crumb mixture, saving some of the egg to brush on top of the scones (I don’t always do this and they come out fine, just slightly less golden).  Stir just until a soft dough is formed.  (It doesn’t need to adhere 100% in one ball, as you’ll be patting it all together.  Less is more in handling the dough at this stage.)  Add raisins and stir until just mixed.  Dump dough on the counter (I don’t bother to flour it) and pat into a circle about 8 inches around (this will give you a similar thickness to those in the photo).  Using a large knife, cut like a pie into 8 pieces.  Place on a baking sheet or stone.  Brush with reserved egg if desired.  Bake at 425 for 12 minutes or until golden on top and just barely golden on bottom.

Curried Red Lentil and Kale Stew with Chickpeas

This pseudo-Indian stew really hits the spot on a rainy winter night, or on a snowy April night as we just happened to have here two nights ago.  The lentils are tender, the kale has an almost meaty bite, and the chickpeas melt.  Assuming you use a spicy curry powder, this stew also warms you from the inside out.

I came across this recipe via my work’s CSA this past fall and promptly cooked it.  I liked the combination, but it wasn’t really more than the sum of its parts to me.  I was too aware of the separate components as just that – separate.  This week our stockpile of CSA greens demanded that I find more ways of using them and I pulled this recipe back out, adding the juice of a fresh lemon instead of plain yogurt as originally called for.  What a difference!  I’ve eaten this stew three nights in a row now and I’m still considering seconds tonight.  The lemon brightens and somehow allows the kale to mesh perfectly with legumes.  I’m not sure why I didn’t try the lemon before – kale always tastes better with lemon, at least in my opinion.

Curried Red Lentil and Kale Stew with Chickpeas

Curried Red Lentil and Kale Stew with Chickpeas

Serves: 4-6

Time: 35 -45 minutes (depending on how quickly you can slice onions)

2 tbsp. peanut oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced (I happened to use a red onion this time, as that’s what I had on hand.  I think any large type would do.)

5 tsp. curry powder

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 1/2 c. vegetable broth

1 large bunch kale, tough stems removed and chopped

1 1/2 c. red lentils

1 15 oz. can chickpeas, drained

juice of one lemon

Heat oil in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat.  Add onion and saute until golden, about 10-15 minutes.  (I typically wash and prep the kale during this step.)  Mix in curry and cayenne, cooking until very aromatic – 1-2 minutes.  Add broth and chard and bring to a boil.  Add lentils and chickpeas; reduce heat to medium.  Cover and simmer until lentils are tender, about 10 minutes.  Add lemon juice and stir.  Serve with naan bread or chapati.

Note on prepping kale: I typically remove the stems as I wash the leaves by holding the stem with one hand and wrapping my other hand around the base of the leaf in a pincer grasp before sliding down to tear the leaf from the stem.  For me, this is much faster than using a knife to cut out the stem.

Chard and Caramelized Onion Soft Tacos with Queso Fresco

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, just about six months if I’m correct.  Life’s been busy happening for us and sadly we haven’t cooked nearly as much as we like to (though Trader Joe’s freezers have given us lots of food to warm, which sort of feels like cooking when you actually turn on an appliance other than the microwave).  Hopefully you are able to enjoy a few of the things we have been cooking in the past weeks as the weather has turned chilly and school grind really sets in.

We have a new favorite comfort food that just happens to also use up our regular installations of chard and onions in our CSA produce box.  A television show is actually responsible for our discovery of this dish, as we enjoy watching Top Chef seasons on DVD.  In the Top Chef Masters season, Rick Bayless really caught James’ eye, and so we purchased a copy of his Mexican Everyday a few weeks ago.  Since then we have made several recipes which have all been incredible.  In the case of the chard and caramelized onion soft tacos, I am craving them on a near daily basis.  We’ve made them three times in two weeks (and the recipe makes enough for a second meal for the two of us).

Now you have to understand that while I enjoy Mexican cuisine (what I really mean is TexMex), I’ve never been one to rave about it.  I’d go so far as to say that before Rick Bayless, I could have lived contentedly without Mexican food if I had to give up one cuisine for the rest of my life.  Now I’m crushing hard on this fresh, light, fast food that is genuinely Mexican.  Even corn tortillas which I’ve disliked for years have been rehabilitated into a delicious, essential part of the Mexican soft taco experience.

A couple of notes: this recipe is extremely flexible in several ways, including what type of salsa you choose, but I strongly recommend taking the 10 minutes to make the Smoky Chipotle Salsa.  It makes the dish.  We were able to find the chilies en adobo for the salsa and the queso fresco at Safeway.  Also, it’s worth it to use broth rather than water (we just used reconstituted bullion) as the greens need that umami.

Chard and Caramelized Onion Soft Tacos with Queso Fresco

Chard and Caramelized Onion Soft Taco

Serves: 4

Time: 30-45 minutes (depending on how fast you are at prepping)

12 oz. bunch of Swiss chard (or collard, mustard, or beet greens), thick lower stems cut off, OR 10 oz. cleaned spinach, lamb’s-quarters or amaranth greens (about 10 cups)

1 1/2 tbsp. vegetable oil, olive oil, fresh pork lard or bacon drippings (obviously the last two wouldn’t be vegetarian)

1 large white or red onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped or crushed through a garlic press

About 1 tsp. red pepper flakes (we omitted this, as our salsa came out quite hot)

1/2 c. vegetable broth, chicken broth, or water

Salt

For serving:

12 warm corn tortillas

1 c. (4 oz.) crumbled queso fresco or other fresh cheese such as feta or goat cheese, for serving

About 3/4 c. Smoky Chipotle Salsa or other salsa or hot sauce.

Cut the chard crosswise into 1/2 inch slices (small spinach leaves, lamb’s quarters and amaranth greens can be left whole).  In a very large (12 inch) skillet, heat the oil over medium-high.  Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until golden brown but still crunchy, about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the garlic and red pepper flakes (if adding) and stir for a few seconds, until aromatic, then add the broth, 1/2 tsp. of salt, and the greens.  Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan (if you don’t have a lid, a cookie sheet or wok cover works well) and cook until the greens are almost tender, anywhere from 2 minutes for tender spinach and amaranth greens to 7 to 8 minutes for thick collard greens; Swiss chard needs about 5 minutes.

Uncover the pan, raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring continually, until the mixture is nearly dry.  Taste and seson with additional salt if you think necessary.

Serve with the warm tortillas, crumbled cheese and salsa or hot sauce for making soft tacos.

Smoky Chipotle Salsa

Makes: about 1 1/4 cups

Time: 10 minutes

3 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 of a 15 oz. can of drained fire roasted tomatoes

2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo

Salt

Set a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Lay the garlic in the pan, cooking until browned 3-4 minutes per side.  Place in a blender along with tomatoes, chilies, and 1/4 c. water.  Process to a coarse puree.  Pour into salsa dish and cool.  Thin with a little additional water if necessary to give the salsa an easily spoonable consistency.  Taste and season with salt, usually about 1/4 tsp., depending on the saltiness of your tomatoes and chilies.

Buttery Spinach, or Sak

Sak is spinach that died and went to heaven.  Glorious, buttery, surge-in-your-mouth flavor with crunches and pops heaven.  This is the dish for which we stockpile our CSA greens and salivate days in advance (okay, maybe that’s just me).  Yes, it takes a little time.  Yes, it involves a few more steps than just sauteing your greens.  But every bite is so worth the work.

Although sak is traditionally made with spinach (because apparently it’s one of the very few greens that can grow successfully in southern India, where the heat generally wilts salad greens), we’ve successfully made it with chard and kale, both independently and in various mixtures.  The kale flavor does still come through very slightly, but balances very nicely with the other flavors in the dish.

I apologize that there are no photos at this point in time.  There’s a bag of spinach and one of braising greens currently in our fridge that will be sak within the week, so a photo update will be coming in time.

Buttery Spinach, or Sak

Adapted from Lord Krishna’s Cuisine (previously reviewed).

 Prep time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2 (if you’re Dani and James), 4 if you pre-portion it so that it doesn’t disappear via the cook’s ”oh, just one more bite”

 2 pounds fresh spinach, chard, or kale, trimmed and washed (though we’ve successfully used baby spinach with just a minimal wash, which really reduces the prep time)

5 tbsp. ghee or unsalted butter (oil just don’t really work for this, though you might try oil with a few pats of Smart Balance at the end?)

2 hot green chilies, cored, seeded, and slivered (these really don’t add much heat at all)

2  inch piece of fresh ginger root, peeled and cut into thin julienne

2 whole cloves, crushed

¼ tsp. each: fennel seeds, black mustard seeds, and cumin seeds, crushed (black mustard seeds are easy to find at an Indian grocery store)

1 tsp. salt

¼ c. raw cashew bits

1/3 c dried currants, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes, drained and dried on paper towels (you can use raisins in a pinch, but it’s not really the same flavor)

½ tsp. garam masala

Lemon or lime twists (optional, but highly recommended)

 Plunge the spinach into a large pot of salted boiling water.  Cook for 8 minutes (kale takes about 9-10 minutes).  Drain in a colander, pressing firmly with the back of a spoon to extract as much water as possible, then chop on a cutting board.

 Melt 2 ½ tbsp. ghee in a wide heavy casserole or sauté pan over moderate heat.  Add the green chilies, ginger, cloves, and spice seeds, and fry for about 1 minute.  Stir in the greens and heat through.  Cover and set aside.

 Heat the remaining ghee (2 ½ tbsp.) in a small fry pan over moderately low heat.  Toss in the cashew bits and fry, stirring constantly, until they begin to color.  Add the currants and continue to fry until they plump and brown (they will actually turn brown).  Remove the pan from the heat.  Stir in the garam masala then pour the contents over the spinach.  Finish with lemon or lime twists if desired.