Turmeric image by Steven Jackson, via Flickr CC license
Chickpea Curry
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 approximately 2-inch piece of ginger, grated
2 teaspoons Sweet Curry powder
1 teaspoon Penzeys Curry Now powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 (15 oz ) cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed (smash one can with a fork)
28 oz can, petite diced tomatoes
1 can full fat coconut milk
2-3 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
Chopped fresh cilantro
Directions
Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
Add onions, salt; sautè until translucent, about 6 minutes stirring every now and then. Add garlic and sautè for 1 more minute.
Add ginger and all the spices; sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Add diced tomatoes then chickpeas.
Bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Stir in coconut milk and simmer for 5 more minutes.
In a small bowl mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water. Stir in the chickpea mixture and cook for 5 more minutes or until thickened.
Take a taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Remove from the heat, sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro.
Serve over basmati or brown rice.
I made this recipe for the first time this evening for our dinner. The balance and depth of flavors was very good. Most of the ingredients are easy to have on had, with the exception of the fresh cilantro (which seems to go bad in just a few days — or is it me?).
This is a quick and easy, delicious (meatless) curry.
There is a wonderful restaurant at the corner of 60th and North Avenue here in Milwaukee. It is called Mekong Cafe. They serve Thai, Laos and Vietnamese food; the lunch buffet is reliably varied and delicious.
One of my favorite things to have there is Tom Kha Gai soup. I’ve searched for a recipe that comes close to the deliciousness that is that soup.
image of Tom Yum Gai by Lorenia via Flickr CC license
This recipe might just be even better than the Mekong version. It actually IS better because when I make it at home I don’t have to drive across town which saves me about stress and expense of about an hour in traffic.
Organic Ginger image by Artizone via Flickr CC license.
Image by Dubravko Soric via Flickr CC license
Image by Daniel R Blume via Flickr CC license
Image by Q family via Flickr CC license
THAI CHICKEN AND COCONUT SOUP (TOM KHA GAI) makes four generous servings
1 stalk lemongrass (I haven’t been able to find this a my grocery store, so I leave this out.)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced small
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste (This is the kind I use.)
6 quarter-inch wide slices fresh ginger (or grate an equivalent amount into the broth)
3 kaffir lime leaves (I used grated lime zest from one of the limes)
4 cups chicken stock (homemade is best, or use a box or bouillon)
1/2 pound (or up to a pound) boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts, sliced across the grain into 1/8-inch wide strips. You can also use tofu or shrimp. 2 cups shitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps quartered or 1 can 15 oz.straw mushrooms, drained.
1 14-ounce can coconut milk (Don’t use low-fat. Trust me. I tried it.)
Juice of one or two limes (about five tablespoons)
2 tablespoons nam pla (AKA fish sauce, also available in most groceries these days.)
3 green onions, trimmed and sliced into ¼ inch pieces
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
Trim lemongrass, cut into three pieces about four inches long. Whack the pieces with the flat side of your knife blade to crush slightly.
Heat oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
Saute onion and garlic for about two minutes.
Add lemongrass, curry paste, ginger discs, and lime leaf (or peel). Cook, stirring, for three minutes.
Add stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add coconut milk, chopped chicken and quartered mushroom caps (or drained canned straw mushrooms). Cook five minutes, or until chicken is just cooked through.
Add lime juice and nam pla. Taste for balance between nam pla and lime. If one flavor is dominating too much, add a little of the other.
Garnish with green onion and cilantro.
This is the story from the Unfussy Fare website where I found this delicious recipe. I’ll copy it here to save you from clicking through but I’ll also link it to the website for you, too.
This one goes out to everyone who ever brought food when the chips were down. I may have forgotten to write a note, given everything. I’m sure you were busy. It took forethought. You had to find that recipe, get groceries, and cook. Then you had to transport it all, which can be messy. You probably wondered if you’d ever get your Tupperware back. It was good of you.
Years ago, when my mother was dying, people brought food. There were casseroles and brownies, homegrown tomatoes and pots of soup. I was mystified. Did they really think we could eat, at a time like that? Well, yes. They knew we could. Everyone eventually does, inconceivable as it seems. I felt like a traitor, eating while my irrepressible mother was slipping away. But she would’ve rolled her eyes at that sentiment, and reminded me that life is hard enough without my efforts to make it harder.
Years later, my husband and I welcomed a son. Dinner came to our doorstep every night for weeks, courtesy of friends and neighbors. I wept with thankfulness. I wept a lot in those days, but that’s another story. I can still taste those meals, seasoned as they were with naked gratitude. I missed my Mom. I needed help. And help arrived, wrapped in foil and kindness.
Birth and death are demanding. They just swoop right and in and put their feet up, blithely flicking away the orderly unfolding of our days. We are tender and tired as we attend our loved ones at the beginning and the end. We sing and stroke. We wash and feed. The clock ceases to provide useful information. These are the rhythms of lives, not days. In the midst of these marathons of nurture, gifts of food stand in simple relief. Meals arrive like little missives from the world where the clock still applies, like souvenirs of simpler times. It’s hard to remember simpler times when you’re in the thick of life’s seismic upheavals. Food gives strength, and comfort.
A family friend dropped this soup by for me and my stepfather when my mom was sick. We were dazed by the unfolding loss. My memories of that time are foggy, but I recall thinking this soup was the most delicious thing I ever tasted. I wouldn’t have thought it possible to even notice a bowl of soup just then, never mind enjoy it. But I savored every bite. It served to remind me that a world outside of sorrow still existed. Life would be there, with all its flavors and delights, when the time came to gather up the fragments of my broken heart and look forward again.
To this day, the complicated interplay of flavors in Tom Kha Gai puts me in mind of nurture, solace, and motherhood. When I know someone with a new baby, or an illness, or a death in the family, this is the dish I most often bring. I pass it on with thanks, for all the grace and sustenance.
I get a lot of requests for this recipe, which is the true measure of any dish’s popularity, if you ask me. This soup somehow manages to be feisty and harmonious at the same time. It’s interesting enough to impress foodie types, but simple and comforting enough to appeal to less adventurous eaters. (You might need to explain to the aforementioned “less adventurous eaters” that the big stalks of lemongrass and discs of ginger floating around in the soup aren’t meant to be eaten. They’re just adding flavor.) Sometimes I throw in cooked basmati rice at the end. That may be some kind of Thai-food no-no, but I find chicken and rice a soothing combination.
I’ve tried several new recipes this week. I’m somewhat surprised to report that they were all really good.
My daughter and I are both working on musical productions (at two different high schools — she is on the backstage crew for hers and I am the accompanist for mine). We had rehearsals every night this week either after school or evenings, and this weekend we have two concerts plus an extra rehearsal. Next week I have 6 shows (I think!) and two choir rehearsals and she has tech week (also known as Hell week in the theater realm).
SO — I’ve been looking for meals that are quick to fix and either either bake (can be left in the oven for an hour or more) or cook quickly.
Chicken walking through the village image by World Bank Photos via Flickr CC license
Chicken legs and thighs were on sale last week, so these are all chicken recipes.
Annabel Farley image of olives via Flickr CC license
Ingredients
For the Spice Mixture
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon paprika
¾ teaspoon turmeric
⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon butter, melted
4 cloves garlic, pressed
For the Sheet Pan Chicken
1 lemon
2 large sweet onions, cut into 12 wedges each
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 skin-on chicken quarters (I used 8 chicken bone-in skin-on chicken thighs)
1 cup green olives, pitted
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I forgot to add this!)
Brian Siewiorek image of cilantro, via Flickr CC license public domain
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a small bowl, prepare the spice rub by combining the salt, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, and black pepper. Stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of melted butter, and the pressed garlic.
Cut the lemon in half and set one half aside. Cut the remaining half into thin slices, then arrange the slices in a single layer on a rimmed half sheet pan. Scatter the onion wedges over the lemons, then drizzle 1 Tablespoon of olive oil over the onions. Sprinkle the pan with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon turmeric. (I think you could get by with 1/2 teaspoon of turmeric. It is SO expensive!)
Place the chicken quarters on the pan, skin side up. Pat the top of the chicken dry, then brush the prepared spice mixture evenly onto the skin of each quarter. I rubbed the spices all over the chicken with my hands.
Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and roast for 45 minutes, until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165 degrees and the juices run clear.
Scatter the pan with the olives and cilantro leaves. Squeeze the juice from the remaining half lemon onto the chicken. (I baked the olives on the pan with the chicken. I did remember the lemon juice, but forgot the cilantro.)
We had brown and wild rice with this. I poured the sauce from the pan over my rice and it was delicious.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Mike Mozart image of green beans, via Flickr CC license
Instructions
In a gallon size Ziploc bag, combine chicken, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, red wine vinegar and oregano; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Marinate for at least 20 minutes to 1 hour, turning the bag occasionally. Drain the chicken from the marinade, discarding the marinade.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet or coat with nonstick spray.
Place potatoes and green beans in a single layer onto the prepared baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Top with chicken in a single layer.
Place into oven and roast until the chicken is completely cooked through, reaching an internal temperature of 165 degrees F, about 45 minutes.*
Serve immediately, garnished with parsley, if desired.
This recipe was quick and easy, baked beautifully and was absolutely delicious.
Turmeric image by Steven Jackson, via Flickr CC license
Little Chicken image by poppy via Flickr CC
Pukka Yellow Curry
The next recipe was not quite so easy (my kitchen was a huge MESS by the time dinner was ready), but I think that might be just first-time-working-out-the-kinks issues. Pukka Yellow Curry is a Jamie Oliver recipe. The result was flavorful and very well spiced. It takes a pretty large pan to fit all the ingredients in.
Ingredients
2 onions
4 cloves of garlic
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger
2 yellow peppers
1 cube chicken bouillon
1-2 fresh red chillies (I used a jalapeno)
½ a bunch of fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon runny honey
1 level teaspoon ground tumeric
2 teaspoons curry powder (I used Penzey’s Sweet Curry)
8 chicken drumsticks
olive oil
1 (14.5 oz can) chickpeas
1 teaspoon tomato purée (I left this out.)
320 g basmati rice
1 lemon
OPTIONAL:
fat-free natural yoghurt , to serve
Peel the onions, garlic and ginger and de-seed the peppers. Put 1 onion, 1 pepper, the garlic and ginger into a food processor. Crumble in the stock cube and add the chilli (de-seed it first, if you prefer a milder curry), the cilantro stalks, honey and spices, then blitz to a paste.
Place a very large casserole pan on a medium-high heat and fry the chicken drumsticks (pull the skin off first, if you prefer) with a splash of oil for 10 minutes, or until golden, turning occasionally with tongs. Remove the chicken to a plate, leaving the pan on the heat. Roughly chop the remaining onion and pepper and add to the pan to cook for a few minutes, then tip in the paste and let it cook down for around 5 minutes. Pour in 500ml of boiling water. Drain the chickpeas and add along with the tomato purée and a pinch of salt and pepper, then stir well. Return the chicken to the pan, pop the lid on, reduce the heat and simmer gently for around 45 minutes, or until the sauce darkens and thickens. Sprinkle with chopped fresh cilantro leaves.
With 15 minutes to go, put 1 cup (320g) rice and 2 cups of boiling water into a pan with a pinch of salt and simmer with the lid on for 12 minutes, or until all the liquid has been absorbed. Serve the curry in the middle of the table with a few dollops of yoghurt (if using) and a scattering of coriander leaves, with lemon wedges for squeezing over and the fluffy rice on the side.
Heat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat olive oil in a large oven proof skillet and then add the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Brown on both sides. The chicken doesn’t have to be completely cooked through. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside. Add more oil if needed. Saute the onion until softened add the garlic and saute about a minute more. Then add the broth, lemon juice, and red pepper flakes. Reduce the liquid until about 1/3 to 1/2 cup remains. Add the butter and whisk (or use a fork) until it is melted. Remove the pan from the heat and slowly add the cream. Put the chicken in the sauce and then stick the whole thing in the oven for 5 minutes or so to finish cooking the chicken and heat up the sauce. Serve with hot cooked pasta or noodles. Sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley or basil.
image via Flickr CC by cookbookman17; Fresh Parsley — A bunch of fresh hand picked parsley. This parsley is bursting with flavor and ready for use.
Chicken Tikka Masala; image by Stephen Rees via Flickr CC license.
One of my favorite Indian dishes is Chicken Tikka Masala. Well, that and Sag Paneer and Samosas and a lot of other Indian foods. But I digress. The other night I planned to make Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner using a crock pot recipe. Usually the problem I have with crock pot recipes is that I never seem to have time to actually put the stuff in the crock pot in the morning before I go to work. So that is kind of a fatal flaw in the whole plan to use a crock pot recipe.
When I got around to making dinner the only option was to make it on the stove top.
I realized I did not have one of the critical ingredients: Garam Masala. I DID have an empty jar of it from Penzeys so I read the list of ingredients on the label then gathered as many of those spices as I could from my spice cupboard (or should I say spice “hoard” — I have a LOT of spices). I looked online for recipes that could be made without Garam Masala and found a couple I thought sounded good. I used those two recipes as a guide, combining them and added a few things of my own. The result was DELICIOUS; maybe the best Indian dish I’ve made at home ever.
Chicken Tikka Masala; image by James via Flickr CC license.
Here is what I made:
Order of operations: Marinate the chicken, start the sauce, start the rice, cook the chicken, finish the sauce, combine chicken with sauce (add cilantro and cream if desired), serve with rice (and raita and naan if available).
Marinade:
1/2 to 3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
½ t. cardamom
¼ t. cloves
¼ t. nutmeg
½ to 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 teaspoons salt, or to taste
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
Combine all the marinade ingredients and mix well. You could use Garam Masala in place of some of the spices or just add 1 or 2 t. to the marinade with all the other spices. Add the chicken pieces. Let the chicken marinate in the yogurt sauce as long as you have time (mine only marinated for about 15 minutes).
Chicken Tikka Masala yogurt and spice marinade; image by JaBB via Flickr CC license.
Either grill the chicken on skewers (which is the better way and makes a more yummy tasting final product) or brown it in small batches in a hot skillet with a little EVOO and butter til nicely browned (which is what I did because it was raining and I didn’t want to run in and out to the grill in the rain).
Grilling the chicken for Chicken Tikka Masala; image by Drew McClellan via Flickr CC license.
Sauce:
1 T. butter and 1 T. olive oil
1 large onion, minced
2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
¼ t. cayenne pepper
1 t. ground cumin
1 t. paprika
½ t. salt, or to taste
1 (14 ounce) can petite diced tomatoes, drained
1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
Heat the EVOO and butter in a 3 qt. or larger pan. Saute the onion until it softens. Add the spices and salt and cook about 5 minutes more. Drain the petite diced tomatoes; add the tomatoes to the pan with the can of tomato sauce. Continue to simmer the mixture while you are cooking the chicken (either on the stove or on a grill). Just before you are ready to add the chicken to the sauce, use an immersion blender to puree the sauce and make it somewhat smoother. (You can skip this step, but your sauce will be lumpier).
Add the grilled/browned chicken to the sauce. Heat through and/or simmer for 5-10 minutes or until the rice is ready. Then add the final ingredients below:
½ c. half and half (optional)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Chicken Tikka Masala; image by July Frost via Flickr CC license.
Rice:
I cook my rice on the stovetop. Heat 3 c. of water or broth (you can add 1/2 t. sweet curry or a few strands of saffron) and 1/2 t. salt or so to boiling. Add 1 1/2 c. of basmati rice (can rinse it first, but I don’t always do that). Stir. Turn the heat down so it will still be simmering, cover tightly and set the timer for 13 or 14 minutes.
Serve the Chicken Tikka Masala over hot basmati rice with warm naan bread (Trader Joe’s has frozen naan that is very good) and cool smooth tangy raita.
Raita; image by Jules via Flickr CC license.
Chicken Tikka Masala; image by Guy Dickinson via Flickr CC license.
RECIPE REVIEW
Penzeys Recipe: Curried Chicken with Basmati Rice pilaf
In a food processor or blender combine and purée:
1 large onion, cut into eighths
3 cloves of fresh garlic
1 piece of fresh ginger root about 1″, peeled (or use 3/4 t. powdered ginger)
2 jalapeño peppers, quartered and seeded
Image by Jutta M. Jenning via Flickr CC license.
Image by Dubravko Soric via Flickr CC license
Image by Daniel R Blume via Flickr CC license
Image by Q family via Flickr CC license
In a large skillet:
Heat extra virgin olive oil (3 to 4 Tablespoons).
Brown 10 – 12 boneless skinless chicken thighs for about 4 min per side until browned.
Remove the chicken to a platter.
Add a little more oil if needed.
Add 1/2 t. whole cumin seeds and stir til they sizzle (1 min. or so).
Add the purée to the skillet along with
2 T. sweet curry powder
1/4 t. cayenne
1 t. salt
Cook all this for 5 to 10 minutes until it is golden and fragrant.
Add the chicken back to the skillet and stir to cover well with the curry.
Add 1 1/2 to 2 c. water or chicken broth.
Bring to a gentle boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 30 min or so.
While the chicken curry is simmering it is time to make the rice.
Image by Laura Turner via Flickr CC license.
Basmati Rice Pilaf:
2 c. basmati rice
3 1/2 to 4 c. water or broth
1/2 t. sweet curry powder
1 t. salt
Heat water or broth to boiling. Rinse rice. Add rice and curry powder to boiling water. Return to a boil, lower heat to simmer, cover tightly and set the timer for 13 or 14 minutes. Check toward the end to be sure the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Fluff. Top with any or all of the optional stir ins below.
optional stir ins about 1/4 c. each:
sliced green onion
thawed frozen green peas
chopped fresh cilantro leaves
This recipe might look complicated but it is essentially just a few steps. The onion/garlic/ginger/jalapeño mixture is a breeze, then the chicken simmers in the sauce. While that cooks, then you are taking care of the rice.
My family really enjoys this curry! It is very tasty; nicely spiced but not overpowering. You can serve the chicken with plain rice if you want to simplify it, though.
I like this recipe because I can keep the ingredients on hand pretty easily. It has a very good balance of flavors, and it leaves me feeling healthy and good about what I ate.
I highly recommend using Penzey’s spices. It really makes a difference.
Chickpea and Mango Curry
1 T. vegetable oil (peanut is good)
1 T. butter
1 medium onion, diced
1 heaping T. curry powder (I used Penzey’s Sweet Curry)
1/2 tsp. salt
Two 15 oz. cans of chickpeas, drain and rinse
2 heaping cups of frozen mango chunks (about 12 oz.) (I used a bag of Dole frozen mango chunks)
chopped cilantro
1/3 c. plain yogurt (optional, but I like it this way)
A few dashes of cayenne pepper
Cooked, hot Basmati rice
1. Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add onion soften it a bit, then add curry powder, and salt. Cook for about 5 min. until onion begins to brown.
2. Add rinsed and drained chickpeas to skillet, stirring until coated with curry-onion mixture. Turn heat to medium low and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add dash of cayenne. Add water if needed.
3. Stir in the frozen mango (or fresh if you have access to good fruit) , bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer, covered for 5 more minutes. Check to see if the curry needs more liquid to create a sauce. If it does, then add up to 1/2 cup of water. Add the chopped cilantro now, but save a little to sprinkle on top at the end. Cover again and cook for 10 minutes or until it looks good!
4. If you have the patience and time, take it off the burner let it sit off the heat for 10 more minutes for the flavors to develop. I added 1/3 c. of plain yogurt before letting it sit. (If you are in a hurry, it is okay to eat it now. We often do.)
Curry in the spice-bazaar (egypitan) in Istanbul (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Serve over Basmati rice with a dusting of cayenne on top. Serve w/ lime wedges to squeeze over the top and a bit more chopped cilantro, too.
Some possible variations: use peaches instead of mangoes, top with finely diced scallions, top with toasted cashews or roasted peanuts.
Aloo gobi, an Indian dish prepared with cauliflower and potato (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Another of my favorite curry recipes is the Aloo Gobi from the special feature reel of the “Bend It Like Beckham” DVD. Here is the written recipe. You can watch the video from youtube below if you have about 15 minutes. It is very entertaining. I love to watch the mother and the grandmother supervising the daughter. Good stuff! (and I’m not just talking about the curry).
I am fortunate to live near a Half-Price Books bookstore. I love books, stationery, music, cards, CDS and LPs — you name it — this store seems to have it.
I tend to browse the cookbooks at this store, even though I already have a HUGE collection of cookbooks at home. (I also have a really good Goodwill store nearby, too. Hardback books, including cookbooks, are only $1.79.)
I have a combination of three part-time jobs right now, so cooking dinner has become a somewhat rarer activity than it was previously.
I decided to try this recipe because you can only eat out so many times in a week before you get tired of
food that involves deep-frying
food that involves a drive through
food that begins to all taste the same
food that has no vegetables in it
Ingredients: *I tweaked a few ingredients and amounts so this isn’t exactly like the recipe in the book
1 pound of spaghetti noodles (or Chinese egg noodles if you can find them) 2 T. toasted sesame oil
1 whole roasted deli chicken
1 cucumber peeled, quartered, seeded, sliced and diced 4 scallions, sliced (white and green parts) 1/3 dry-roasted salted peanuts cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic 1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeeled (I grated mine) 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari 2 T brown sugar 1 T rice vinegar 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 c hot water (I used the pasta water as it was cooking)
Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water. Drain and toss with sesame oil
While the pasta is cooking, prepare the garnishes and sauce.
Also de-bone the deli roasted whole chicken. Cut the meat off the bones; save the “runnin’ gears”– the bones, skin and carcass — to make some quick chicken stock for future use. Keep the meat warm until the pasta is ready.
Garnishes: 1 cucumber peeled, quartered, seeded, sliced and diced 4 scallions, sliced (white and green parts) 1/3 dry-roasted salted peanuts cilantro, chopped
Mix the ingredients (listed below) in a blender and blend thoroughly. Toss this mixture with the pasta. 1 clove garlic 1 one-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeeled (I grated mine) 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter 1/4 cup soy sauce or tamari 2 T brown sugar 1 T rice vinegar 1/2 t crushed red pepper flakes 1/4 c hot water (I used the pasta water as it was cooking)
Cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Drain. Put it in a large bowl and toss it with the 2 T of sesame oil.
While the pasta is cooking, combine the ingredients for the sauce in a blender. Blend. Add this mix to the sesame oiled pasta.
Also while the pasta cooks, de-bone the deli roasted whole chicken. Prepare the garnishes.
To serve: Put pasta on a plate. Top with desired amount of chicken plus generous garnishes of cilantro, peanuts, scallions, and cucumber.
Image by Madeleine via Flickr CC license This image is not the actual recipe I’m posting. It looks very similar to this, though.
REVIEW: This recipe was quick to fix. It has very good flavor and was delicious. I happened to have nearly all the sauce ingredients on hand, so it was not a huge amount of items to buy at the grocery store — basically just a deli chicken, a cucumber and maybe some spaghetti, cilantro and scallions if you happen to have none of those things at the moment. I liked the fact that it tasted a little Thai and a little Chinese — but that it wasn’t overly spiced in either direction. You could definitely bump up the crushed red pepper if you need more heat or add Siracha sauce at the table.
This could easily be made vegetarian if you leave out the chicken. You could add tofu.
I think it would be good with grilled shrimp instead of the chicken. If you have them, fresh bean sprouts would give a nice crunch as well. You could use honey instead of brown sugar in the sauce. I grated my ginger into the blender because I didn’t want to chomp down on an unblended chunk of ginger. I would add more garlic next time, too.
It would be nice to add some toasted sesame seeds. I didn’t have time or energy for that, but it would be good.
FULL FORKS for this one! FIVE FORKS! Go fo it! Please let me know if you try this recipe and how you like it.
Cilantro Lime Chicken with Corn and Black Beans photo by TTQ creative commons 4.0
Cilantro Lime Chicken w/ Corn and Black Beans
Ingredients:
olive oil
1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs or any boneless, skinless chicken pieces
salt and pepper to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp. Arizona Dreaming (from Penzey’s)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 small onion, diced (can use red if you have it)
1 (16 oz) bag frozen corn
Juice from 2 limes
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
Heat the olive oil in a good skillet. Chop the chicken into bite sized chunks. Add to the hot pan, season it with salt and pepper but don’t go crazy at this point. Brown the chicken til nearly done. Meanwhile you have chopped the onion and garlic (or opened the jar of chopped garlic you have in your fridge). Throw the onion and garlic in the pan. Add the cumin and Arizona Dremaing now. Smells good! As the onion softens, throw the bag of corn in the microwave to steam (that is the kind I buy). Or you can just zap it halfway and let it finish cooking in the skillet. Open your can of beans, drain and rinse. Add that to the skillet as well. Chop the cilantro and juice the limes. Throw those items in at the very end.
I chose to use this chicken mixture to fill corn tortillas which I warmed with a little olive oil in a skillet til they were hot, pliable and just beginning to brown. I added sour cream and some sliced jalapenos from a jar.
This was a great tasting, healthy, quick to fix meal!
FIVE FORKS!
You could also serve the chicken/corn/bean mixture with tortilla chips and other toppings such as guacamole, salsa, and cheese. I don’t think it needed any of that, though.
Arizona Dreaming contains ancho chili pepper, black pepper, onion, garlic, paprika, spices, cumin, citric acid, Mexican oregano, cilantro, lemon peel, chipotle pepper, red pepper, jalapeño, cocoa, natural smoke flavoring.
Recipe inspired by: Over the Big Moon, SixSistersStuff.com; then also further revised and re-adapted by The Tromp Queen! (me).
I have tried a few times to make salsa without a recipe. “How hard can it be?” I asked myself. I have eaten many baskets of chips at Mexican restaurants with many little bottles and bowls of various kinds of salsa — so I thought of myself as somewhat of an expert. Surely, I could just whip some up.
Well, it didn’t work out so well. Mine came out runny and tasteless. I had garden fresh tomatoes and cilantro and onion, clearly the essentials — but somehow the texture and the taste was all wrong.
image via Flickr CC Jordanmit09
I looked about for an actual recipe. I have two of the Pioneer Woman cookbooks now. I have been very happy with her recipes, both in the books and online. I tried watching her show, but it just isn’t my style. I like her writing and her recipes, though, very much. I think her photography is pretty spectacular, too. The cookbooks are beautiful to look at and to read. Every recipe I’ve tried of hers has been very good.
You can read about the most recent Pioneer Woman Cookbook: (read about it in her blog post here)
There is a point to all this. Back to the salsa issue. In the newest cookbook, Ree has a delicious looking salsa recipe in the Cinco de Mayo section that I just had to try. Even in Wisconsin in the middle of winter, I could get all the ingredients quite easily. I whipped it up in a very short time in my food processor. The best part is: it tastes delicious!!
Since this cookbook is pretty brand new fresh off the presses, I could not find the new salsa recipe posted anywhere online. I don’t want to get into copyright trouble with PW, so I am going to post the salsa recipe she already HAS on her website and suggest revisions so that you can come close to (okay exactly!) replicating the newer recipe. If that doesn’t make sense, just skip it and go on to the yummy food part.
image by Charles Williams via Flickr CC
Here is the Restaurant Style Salsa recipe from the Pioneer Woman website:
1 can (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes With Juice (or two 14 oz. cans)
1 can (10 Ounce) Ro-tel (diced Tomatoes And Green Chilies)
1/4 cup Chopped Onion
1 clove Garlic, Minced
1 whole Jalapeno, Quartered And Sliced Thin
1/4 teaspoon Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Salt
1/4 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1/2 cup Cilantro (more To Taste!)
1/2 whole Lime Juice
For the complete recipe and directions, please refer to PW’s website.
To update this version, make these adjustments:
Use two cans of petite diced tomatoes instead of the large can of whole tomatoes. I drained my cans of tomatoes.
Use a whole onion instead of 1/4 c. Cut it into chunks before putting it in the food processor.
Add 1 or 2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce. These come in little cans in the Hispanic food aisle in grocery stores. I added one and a half.
Add 1 teaspoon of cumin instead of the lesser amount.
Add 1 teaspoon of salt instead of the lesser amount.
Add 1 teaspoon sugar instead of the lesser amount.
Use a whole bunch of cilantro (tear off the stems).
Use 1/4 c. lime juice (or more to taste).
That is it. You can make either version or a combo of both. I think you could experiment with using two cans of Ro-tel and one can of petite diced. You could add garlic. You could use green onions instead of the white. You could use red onion. Be sure to drain the cans of tomatoes, but don’t drain the Ro-tel.
This is what my salsa looked like! YUMMMMMM.
My salsa! Made following PW’s Chipotle Salsa recipe in her new cookbook. Image by The Tromp Queen.
I was so desperate to try this salsa that I had to make my own tortilla chips. I had bought the ingredients for the salsa, but forgot to get tortilla chips! Since Wisconsin seems to be in an eternal Polar Vortex lately, I didn’t want to go back to the store for just one item. I did, however, have some extra corn and flour tortillas in the fridge. So I heated up a stainless steel pan with about 1/2 to 1 inch of oil (canola, veg, peanut whatever you have), cut the tortillas in half and then each half into wedges, and quickly fried them til brown on both sides (you have to flip them over with metal tongs or a fork — don’t use plastic!). Drain on paper towels and salt with kosher or regular salt. De nada!
While we are on the chips and salsa topic, Pioneer Woman’s Pico de Gallo is absolutely delicious!! I highly recommend it. Basically her recipe is equal parts of chopped tomato, onion and cilantro. Add a couple of jalapeno peppers (or just one, de-veined and de-seeded), lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. It is so good! I love this on fajitas, tacos or just with chips. If you make guacamole (the recipe is in that same link) you can mix the Pico de Gallo and guac together, too. Yes. Now we all need a margarita.
Overall Recipe REVIEW:
The recipe is quick, easy and delicious. The ingredients are easy to obtain: there is nothing fancy here. I really enjoy the balance of flavors. This tastes as good or better than most of the restaurant salsas out there. This recipe would be easy to adapt for personal tastes, though — more or less spicy, more or less lime juice, etc. I highly recommend all the recipes in this blog post!
5 out of 5 forks!!
Enjoy!
Please let me know you how your recipes turn out if you try any in this post. I’d love to hear your results.
The Tromp Queen COOKS! 