Apple Pear Galette

My sweet tooth will be my undoing! Once a meal is over, the itch to eat something sweet is almost unbearable. So I forage to assuage that yen. Most days I end up eating a healthy option, fruit or yogurt. The flip side is to buy or make dessert. Hence this fruit galette. 

I start with slicing a pear and apple. After all, it is a tart meant for two. To make life easier, I use a frozen short crust pastry. Sacrilege, says those who make from scratch! When you find a decent frozen pastry, go ahead, use it. It is so much more simple to buy a good pastry than to make pastry for two. The end result is all that matters. I gather the defrosted pastry into a ball and roll it out to circle. Depending on your mood, fruit can be artfully arranged or just piled in the center. The edges are then folded over the fruit to form a border. Baked in a hot oven, the galette emerges golden brown. So tempting, so good.

APPLE AND PEAR GALETTE

Serves 2

1 frozen Short Crust Pastry (homemade or store bought)

1 Apple

1 Pear

1 teaspoon Cornstarch

3 tablespoons Sugar

A pinch of Kosher Salt

A pinch of Cinnamon

1 teaspoon Lemon Zest

a squirt of Lemon Juice

1 teaspoon Butter

1 Egg, beaten well

Sugar

Defrost pastry. 

Peel and pare apple and pear. Cut both into 1/2 inch slices. Place in a bowl.

Add cornstarch, sugar, salt, cinnamon. lemon zest and juice to fruit. Stir gently to mix. 

Dust the counter with a little flour. 

Take pastry out of the container and gather it into a ball. Knead a couple of times to get a smooth finish.

Roll out the pastry to an 8" circle. It doesn't matter if the edges are uneven. 

Gather the pastry onto the rolling pin and transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. 

Arrange the fruit in concentric circles, making sure to leave a 1/2" border on the outer edge of the circle. Or just pile the slices in the center of the pastry.

Lift the border and bring it over onto the fruit. Fold and press the border as you go around the circle. 

Heat oven to 400F/220C.

Refrigerate the galette for 15 minutes or till the oven is ready.

Brush the edges generously with beaten egg.

Dust the egg with a little sugar.

Drop bits of butter all over the fruit.

Bake for 45 minutes.

Take it out of the oven, cool for 5 minutes, then cut yourself a wedge!

I can only extoll the virtues of good store bought pastry. The galette is super simple to make, so easy to bake and a delicious reward for that sweet tooth!

Spicy Sausage and Lentil Soup

The weather is positively balmy. The patio beckons. January sunshine warms my toes. What could be more pleasurable than lunch on the patio.  Soup and a sandwich is easy enough. 

Sausage is sauteed with celery, onions and garlic. I pour in a can of fire roasted tomatoes, some brown lentils and a hefty dose of chile flakes. Soup simmers as the weather turns warmer. A scattering of dill fronds, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil crown the soup before we eat. So gratifying, so rewarding.

SPICY SAUSAGE AND LENTIL SOUP

Serves 4

2 Italian Sausages

2 Celery ribs

1 small Onion

3 Garlic cloves

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes

1/2 cup Brown Lentils or Puy Lentils

1 teaspoon Chile Flakes

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Several grinds of Black Pepper

1 cup slivered Greens ( Swiss chard, Spinach, Kale, Gai Lan- any green will do)

Dill Fronds

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Chop sausage into small bits.

Slice celery thinly.

Mince onion roughly

Chop garlic into small dice. 

Heat oil in a deep saucepan.

Add sausage and saute till no longer pink.

Drop celery, onion and garlic into saucepan and stir fry till veggies are soft.

Add tomatoes, lentils and chile flakes to saucepan. 

Pour water to cover the lentils by two inches.

Season with salt and pepper.

Bring soup to low boil, cover partially and simmer for 1/2 hour or till lentils are cooked. They should not disintegrate, but be soft and mushy when squeezed.

Slice the greens into ribbons. I used gai lan, a Chinese green.

Add greens to soup and simmer for 10 minutes.

Ladle soup into bowls.

Top with dill fronds and a drizzle of EVOO. 

Enjoy!

 

The glimpse of summer pleases me no end. The promise of al fresco dining even more.

Pork Kavabs

Every year on the day Mum passed away I make her favorite foods. It is always a labor of love, as she relished her food, making each meal memorable for the family. Her culinary adventures have been an inspiration to her children, her legacy which we pass on to ours. 

Today I make a raft of her favorites. Khichda, a chicken and dal curry. Ghada, a Pathare Prabhu standard, one she enjoyed making and eating. A potato tomato rassa. And the pork kavabs. Traditionally these Parsi kababs are eaten with dhansak. They call them kavabs, the Parsi linguistic inflection. I would make these for her when she came to visit.  The meat base is usually ground mutton or lamb. In those days both those choices were hard to come by, and she didn't eat beef, so my alternative was pork. Which she thoroughly savored. 

Ground pork is dressed with fresh mint, cilantro, onion, spices, Worcestershire sauce, egg and bread. Lemon sized portions are coated in breadcrumbs and shallow fried and finished in the oven. Savory and tasty, they remind me of Mum, of our time together.

PORK KAVABS

Serves 4-6

1 pound ground Pork

1 small Onion

2 green Chiles

1/2 cup Cilantro

1/2 cup Mint leaves

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 Egg

1 teaspoon Ginger Garlic paste

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric

1 cup fresh Breadcrumbs

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Breadcrumbs

Oil

Place pork in a bowl.

Chop onion, green chiles, cilantro and mint finely. Add to pork.

Add ginger garlic paste, turmeric, Worcestershire sauce, egg, fresh breadcrumbs and salt. 

Mix the pork well. Keep aside for at least an 1 hour.

Form lemon size portions. 

Mound some breadcrumbs on a plate. 

Place the pork ball in the crumbs and pat gently to form a patty. Coat generously with crumbs. 

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

Fry the patties till brown on both sides. 

Place kavabs on  a baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350F/180C. 

Bake kavabs for 15 minutes.

Serve them hot.

Eating Mum's favorites is bittersweet. And yet so comforting.

Ful Medames

My travels are copiously rendered in annotated scrapbooks. Those photographs transport me magically in time. I pull out a hefty album of a cherished trip to Egypt. The memories are rife, the experiences reverberate, reminding us of ancient grandeurs, the constant Nile and never before eaten foods, like the ful medames.

Our guide treated us to a soft warm pita filled with a thick bean stew, each mouthful more delightful than the first. We ate standing up in a small dusty village outside Luxor, the ful sandwiched between warm pitas. This everyday roadside breakfast is ubiquitous in Egypt. Fava beans simmered with spices, spooned into a warm pita and topped with a chili garlic sauce. Remember those rangooni beans I was pondering? They came in excellent use here. Cooked beans are sauteed with onion and cumin powder, them lightly mashed  and topped with a zesty green chile, garlic and lemon sauce. All you need are warm pitas.. and your magic carpet ride begins!

FUL MEDAMES

Serves 6-8 as an appetizer

1 1/2 cups dried Fava Beans or Rangooni Val

1 Onion

2 tablespoons Olive oil

1 tablespoon Cumin powder

3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

2-3 Garlic Cloves

2 Green Chiles

1 Lemon

3 tablespoons Olive Oil

A pinch of Kosher Salt

Pita Bread

Cook fava beans till soft. Use an Instant Pot, pressure cooker or stovetop method. My unsoaked beans were cooked in a pressure cooker for 17 minutes.

Drain water from beans.

Chop onion into small dice.

Heat olive oil in a saucepan. 

Add chopped onion to hot oil and saute till light brown.

Ladle the beans into the oil. 

Season with cumin and salt. 

Mash the beans lightly. You want some of the beans intact and some mashed to give the stew thickness. 

Add a little water, enough to get a stew like consistency. 

Simmer beans for 15 minutes over a low flame.

Chop green chile roughly.

Pound green chile and garlic to a smooth paste. Scrape the paste into a bowl.

Add juice of lemon and rest of the olive oil.

Season with a little salt.

Mound the beans on a plate.

Top beans with chile garlic sauce. 

Warm the pita bread. 

Scoop some beans onto warm pita. 

Or eat like an Egyptian...sandwich beans and pita for a hearty meal. 

Food memories are comfort-laden experiences. I can see the street, picture the street vendor, remember that glorious taste of something I'd never eaten before.... all these feelings one bite at a time.

Fish and Grits

No it isn't a mistake. The eponymous Cajun/Creole dish is notably shrimp and grits. Because we have a shrimp allergy in my house I figure, why not fish? I use cod as we love a thick and flaky fish. 

Pieces of cod are coated with Cajun seasoning. In a large saucepan, I saute prosciutto, onions, garlic, celery till lightly colored. Pushing the aromatics to the edge of the pan, I add a little more oil and sear the fish in the center of the pan. Once they are seared, a cup of crushed tomatoes make up the sauce. Add you choice of hot sauce. 

Grits are cooked slowly. Seasoned well, I puddle them in a bowl. Flaky cod and sauce is spooned over them, garnished with parsley. A hungry family waits for their share.....

FISH AND GRITS

Serves 4

4 Cod Filets

3-4 tablespoons Cajun Seasoning (recipe below)

1+ 2 tablespoon Olive Oil

1/4 cup chopped Prosciutto or Pancetta

1 large Onion

2 Celery Ribs

4 Garlic cloves

1 cup crushed Tomatoes

1-2 tablespoons any Hot sauce

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Ground Black Pepper

4 cups cooked Grits (follow package directions)

Parsley

Wash fish well. Cut cod into 2-3" pieces. 

Dust cod well with Cajun seasoning. Keep aside.

Chop onion and garlic finely.

Slice celery thinly.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large nonstick saucepan till it shimmers.

Add prosciutto and saute till it browns.

Add onion, celery and garlic and stir till it changes color slightly.

Push the mix to the edges of the pan. 

Add more olive oil to the center of the pan. 

Nestle cod in the middle of the pan and sear on each side. 

Pour tomatoes into the pan. 

Season with hot sauce, salt and pepper. 

Cook the fish for 5-7 minutes or till cooked. It should flake when touched.

Heat the grits. 

Scoop a ladleful onto a plate.

Top grits with fish and sauce. 

Garnish and serve.

NOTES

Cajun seasoning is made by whisking a tablespoon each of Onion powder, Garlic powder, Paprika, Chili powder, ground black pepper, 1/2 teaspoon of dried Thyme and  Kosher Salt. Use as much as needed and save the rest for another day. It lasts for 3-4 weeks in the fridge.

I use Quaker Oats old fashioned Grits. Just follow the recipe on the box. Any stone ground grits should work.

The fish and grits are an unexpected hit. A twist, a twerk results in a new favorite. 

Leek and Parsnip Soup

What soothes the fevered brow? What calms an outraged heart? The dastardly events of the outgoing administration have generated an abhorrence for dirty politics and admiration for those who stand up for their beliefs. This blog is not a platform for politics, just a home cook's ruminations on life. But I feel I have to address the elephant in the room. I love my adopted country. I have raised my children here. I will die an American. So the assault on liberty and life is one I take to heart. As I watch on television, the very core of democracy invaded by hateful rhetoric and deeds, I fall back to what soothes my soul....I cook...something comforting...something familiar...soup. 

The New York Times features an intriguing soup with parsnips and leeks. With a few adjustments, I rustle up a velvety bowl of green goodness. Sustenance, nourishment, call it what you will, soup is an easy fix.

LEEK AND PARSNIP SOUP

Adapted from David Tanis

Serves 6

1 large Leek (2 heaping cups of sliced Leeks)

2-3  Parsnips (2 cups chopped Parsnips)

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

3 Garlic cloves

1 Bay Leaf

1/4 teaspoon Curry Powder

3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper

3-4 cups Chicken Stock OR Water

Trim and wash leek. Cut leek into thin half moons. You should have about 2 heaping cups of chopped leeks, white and green parts.

Peel parsnips and cut into 1/2" pieces.

Heat olive oil in a deep saucepan. 

Add leeks and parsnips to oil and sweat them for 7-10 minutes till leeks are soft and translucent. Do not brown the leeks as browning them will change the color and taste of the final product.

Mince garlic finely.

Add garlic, bay leaf, curry powder, salt and pepper to leeks. Mix well.

Pour chicken stock into the saucepan and bring to simmer. 

Simmer soup over a medium flame for 15 minutes. 

Then puree the soup in a blender.

Return the soup to the saucepan.

Taste and adjust seasonings if you need to.

The soup is a thickish puree at this point. 

You could thin the soup out with more stock or water or leave it as a thick potage. If you do thin it out, add a little more salt and pepper.

Heat soup till bubbling.

Ladle soup into bowls.

Swirl a little cream over soup and serve.

 

 

A bowl of soup is just the right thing.  Soothing. No more TV tonight.

Kheema Puffs

January brings in the promise of a better year. So dinner is a table-laden pledge of good things to come. The family is treated to these small cigar shaped puffs, spiced ground meat encased in puff pastry. Patties or puffs are a Bombay staple, in bakeries and cafes. Square, rectangle and circular patties come with assorted fillings like chicken in white sauce, mushrooms, paneer, sausage and the most common ground meat. 

Though I tend to favor ground beef, I find that ground turkey is a better choice. Primarily, because it does not ooze fat like ground beef. You may think that it is a blander choice of meat, but when liberally spiced, turkey is delicious. Dhansak masala can be found in Indian grocery store and on Amazon. Garam masala is an excellent alternative.

Rather than make them the traditional way, I turn the pastry into fat cigars. I roll a thinner crust, add more filling and shape a less crumbly patty. Store bought puff pastry makes the process easier. The rolls take a concentrated effort. The rewards are generous.

KHEEMA PUFFS

Makes 18

1 pound ground Turkey or Chicken

2 tablespoons Canola Oil

1 Onion

1 teaspoon Garlic Paste

1 teaspoon Ginger paste

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric

1 teaspoon Chili Powder

1 tablespoon Dhansak Masala or Garam Masala

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 package frozen Puff Pastry ( I use Pepperidge Farm)

1 Egg

Defrost puff pastry. Keep in a cool place till needed.

Chop onion finely.

Heat oil in a saucepan. 

When the oil is hot add chopped onion and saute till golden brown. 

Add garlic and ginger paste, turkey mince to onions. Stir well to break up ground turkey. 

Add all the masalas and salt. Once again saute well for 5 minutes. 

Add 1/2 cup water to the saucepan, cover and cook for 15 minutes till turkey is cooked. Uncover and cool. 

Pepperidge Farm puff pastry comes in 2 sheets.  Use one sheet at a time, keeping the other in the fridge. 

Dust the counter with a little flour if needed.

Roll pastry into a 15"x 10" rectangle. 

Cut the pastry in half making 2 5"x 15" rectangles. 

Divide each half into 5 rectangles.

Whisk egg well. 

Roughly divide the filling into 18 portions. Each one should be a little more than a heaping tablespoon.

Start with one rectangle. 

Lay a heaping tablespoon of turkey in the middle of the pastry, in log like form.

Brush the edges of the pastry with egg. 

Pick up the lower edge of pastry and bring it over the filling, compressing the filling lightly as you do. 

Bring the upper edge over the lower edge so the filling is completely encased. Pinch the edges together to close. 

Pinch the two ends closed as well. 

Place the filled pastry seam-side down on a lined baking sheet. 

Make the rest of the puffs in the same fashion.

Heat oven to 400F/230C.

Refrigerate the puffs while the oven heats. 

Takes puffs out of the fridge. 

Brush them liberally with remaining egg.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Eat a hot, freshly baked puff. They taste heavenly hot out of the oven. 

If you do make them ahead of time, reheat them in the oven before serving. 

Any which way you have them...they are a crowd pleaser.