Turkey and Beet Greens Ragu

Turkey and beet greens come together in a zesty sauce. It begins with a saute of onions and garlic. As they turn color I add slivered beet greens. Only green leaves, no stems. I like beet greens as they have a nice peppery kick. A quick saute once again and turkey gets to dance in the pan. I let the turkey brown before I pour in a large glug of white wine. Fire-roasted tomatoes and tomato paste mingle with salt and pepper. Unlike traditional ragu, this one has a short simmer. Penne is the pasta of choice. Then again ragu can be ladled over any pasta. 



TURKEY AND BEET GREENS RAGU 
Serves 4

1 pound ground Turkey
1 Onion
4 Garlic cloves
1 cup Beet Greens (only leaves)
1/4 cup White Wine
1/2 cup fire-roasted Tomatoes (canned or fresh)
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/4 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
Pasta cooked al-dente
Parmesan Cheese


Peel and chop onion finely.

Peel and cut garlic into thin slivers.

Cut out large beet stems from the leaves. Chop beet leaves roughly into large chunks. Rinse well to remove any grit from the beets.

Heat olive oil in large saucepan.

When it shimmers add chopped onions and garlic. Stir onions till they turn light brown.

Crumble ground turkey into onions. Turn heat to high and saute till turkey acquires some color. Break up the meat with a spatula as you saute it.

When the turkey has a lot of brown spots, pour the white wine in. It should bubble vigorously. Scrape the brown spots in the pan with a spoon. This fond, as it is called, has a ton of flavor.

Stir the meat for a few minutes and then add beet greens. Saute till greens turn a little limp.

Add fire-roasted tomatoes and tomato paste to turkey. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Cover the saucepan and let the sauce cook for 15-20 minutes.

Serve ragu over cooked pasta with a liberal spoonful of grated Parmesan.

The ragu has simple flavor and a wholesomeness that is heartwarming. Paired with an arugula salad, our forks are put to good use.

Chipotle Crab Cakes

I have so much fun planning a milestone birthday meal for Carla, my sister-in-law. She is a gentle soul, to whom family means the world. So our family celebrates her milestone with a Pimm's Cup, wine and multi course meals. The repast is to be a deconstructed walk through Carla’s life as I know it. We first met her with Vic in Maryland. She entered our lives with a delightful smile and a heart full of love. Her life has been one big travelogue, her parents having lodged all over the world. The world traveller deserves an international meal!

Our small plates start in Maryland with crab cakes. We move on to slurp some Tom Kha, a mildly spicy Thai mushroom and bamboo shoot coconut soup which annotates her travels through Asia, where Vic was posted for three years. Their last trip was to Japan, so I fry us some Okonomiyaki. Then there is the obligatory nod to India where her roots are strong, complemented by a favorite Batata Vada. Europe plays into the picture with a Gorgonzola stuffed pear salad. And then over the channel to England where she did her schooling, with a very recognizable Beef Wellington with a Leek Parsnip Carrot gratin and peas and gravy as the hearty main course. It is full circle back home with Lemon Pudding and Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Crab cakes start with fresh crab meat. No substitutes allowed! A sauce made with mayonnaise, eggs, herbs and spices is mixed in. The crab sits in the fridge for ten minutes, while I pulse fresh bread in the food processor. Gather about two scant tablespoons in your palm. Flatten them slightly and dredge in the fresh breadcrumbs. Pan fry them in butter or oil. Butter is always better! It is delicate operation, making crab cakes, but so rewarding.





CHIPOTLE CRAB CAKES
Makes 10-12 small cakes


1 pound fresh Crab Meat
2 Eggs
3 tablespoons Mayonnaise
1/2 teaspoon Chipotle Chile Powder
1/4 teaspoon Chile Powder
1/2 teaspoon Lemon Juice
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Fresh ground Black Pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped Cilantro
3-4  Bread slices (preferably Pepperridge Farm white bread)
Butter for sauteeing
2 tablespoons Ketchup
1 tablespoon Sriracha

Mix eggs, mayonnaise, chipotle and chile powders, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl.

Flake crab meat into another bowl.

Pour egg and mayo sauce into the crab meat. Blend slowly, taking care not to break crab clusters.

Refrigerate crab for 15 minutes.

Break bread into small chunks. Place chunks in a food processor and pulse till you have crumbs. Keep crumbs in a bowl.

Take the crab out of the fridge. 

Add 1/4 cup of fresh breadcrumbs and cilantro into crab. Mix gently.

Melt a few pats of butter in a nonstick saucepan.

Heap remaining fresh breadcrumbs onto a plate.

Take about two scant tablespoons of crab meat in your palm. Pat it into a round shape.

Dust the top and bottom of crab cake in the breadcrumbs.

Place gently into hot butter and fry till golden brown on both sides.

Make the remaining crab cakes in the same fashion.

Keep cakes warm in a 250F oven while you cook the rest.

Make a sauce by mixing ketchup and sriracha.

Serve crab cakes warm with the sauce or any sauce of your choice.

The celebration unleashes a flood of good wishes for Carla. The love in the room is overwhelming with old family friends and family that loves her.The succession of small and big plates please the birthday girl as we munch our way through her glory days!

Dukbokki

I am so excited to cook for my sister. She surprises me with a visit to New York. After spending two weeks in her hometown, I get to spoil her in mine! Lunch is a Korean extravaganza. Bulgogi, chap chae, bibimbop and dukbokki. The original spelling eludes me, and the phonetic one is used on many Korean food products, giving me license to do the same. Dukbokki comprises of cylindrical rice cakes. You can buy fresh as well as frozen ones. I use the latter. First sauteed in oil, they turn light brown and crispy. They are then bathed in a spicy gochujang sauce. This results in chewy, spicy, crispy nuggets of rice. Quite intriguing in texture and spice combination, these small bites are big on flavor.

DUKBOKKI 

Serves 4-6

1 package fresh or frozen mini Rice Sticks (see Notes)

3 tablespoons Gochujang paste

1 teaspoon Sriracha 

1 tablespoon Soy sauce

1 teaspoon toasted Sesame Seeds

2-3 tablespoons Water

1 tablespoon Canola Oil 

Toasted Sesame Seeds

Defrost rice sticks if you are using the frozen kind. 

Whisk gochujang, Sriracha, soy sauce, sesame seeds and enough water to make a pouring consistency sauce.

Heat oil in a nonstick saucepan. 

Add rice sticks to oil and saute over a high flame. The rice stick will develop a crust as you saute. 

When they are flecked golden brown, pour sauce over sticks.

Stir fry for a few minutes. 

Pile sticks onto a plate.

Sprinkle more sesame seeds over rice sticks and serve them hot.

NOTES

Mini rice cakes are available at any reputable Korean grocery store. in the New York, HMart is my go-to grocery.

Gochujang is a thick, spicy red pepper paste, a staple of Korean cuisine.

An Indian summer allows for al fresco lunching! Birdsong and bees make fun lunch buddies. The best company of course is the family that sits around the table.

Bombay Potatoes

How can you go wrong with potatoes from Bombay? These small roundels aim to titillate and please the palate. I come across a recipe which seems to be a marriage of balti and South Indian cuisine. I go ahead with the wedding adding a flourish or two.

Boiled new potatoes are peeled and halved. Mustard and cumin seeds are spluttered in hot oil with curry leaves, dried red chiles and onions. Potatoes and a hefty dose of turmeric goes in. Turmeric is the  new superfood with restorative qualities. Quickly sauteed, and doused with fresh cilantro, this tasty side comes together in a Mumbai minute.

BOMBAY POTATOES 

Serves 4

1 pound small New Potatoes

1 Onion

2-3 tablespoons Canola Oil 

2 dried Red Chiles

10 Curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds

3/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

1/2 Lime

Cilantro

Boil potatoes. Peel them. Halve large potatoes. Keep the small ones whole.

Cut onion into small dice.

Heat oil in a wok.

Break red chiles in half and add to hot oil.

Add curry leave and let them sizzle for a few seconds.

Cumin and mustard seeds and turmeric go in and splutter for  5-10 seconds.

Add chopped onions and saute till onions are light brown.

Add peeled potatoes and salt. Stir well. 

Saute over high heat for 5 minutes.

Scatter fresh cilantro over potatoes.

Squeeze juice of half a lime and serve as a side.

Marriages  abide or splutter. This one comes together in my sister's kitchen, will please for years to come. Even though she doesn't care for potatoes, Prassy gamely enjoys the fruits of my labors.

Onion Methi and Shrimp Fritters

Prassy's friend Radhika joins us for dinner. She leans towards a meatless meal so we plan a vegetarian table. Stuffed peppers, ghada, dahi vada, mango dal and some bhajias made with onion, methi or fenugreek leaves and shrimp. Mum would fry some for us as tea time snacks. I follow in her footsteps, making them often, especially on rainy days. There is something soul strengthening about chai and hot bhajias!! Prassy doesn't remember them! These golden brown, crisp mouthfuls of sweet onion, bitter methi leaves and briny shrimp are piquant. Once made, I'm sure her memories will come flooding back.

A lot of onions are thinly sliced. Besan or chickpea flour is added to the onions. Use your hands to scrunch onions and besan. This allows the moisture from the onions to leach out, creating liquid to bind the onions. A smidgen of salt helps it along. After a short while, finely chopped methi leaves are mixed in. Finely minced green chiles give the fritters a spicy boost. At this point the fritters can be fried as a tasty vegetarian treat. Adding masala marinated shrimp allows the fritters to rise to another dimension. Small shrimp are marinated in turmeric, chile powder and salt for an hour before they are added to the batter. Prassy's suggests we add rice flour to the batter. Rice flour makes everything crispy. I love her idea. The batter should be wet but not runny. Do not add water. If you scrunch the onions enough, the liquid released should bind the batter. 

Get ready to deep fry these bhajias. Gather a teaspoon of batter in your hand. Smoosh the batter so it holds together. Drop that nugget into hot oil. The bhajias should float in the hot oil, turn brown and crisp up in a minute or two. Flip them so they cook on all sides. Drain on paper and eat them piping hot!

ONION METHI AND SHRIMP FRITTERS 

Makes 25-30 small fritters
VN, GF, DF, EF

1 1/2 cup thinly sliced Onions

4 heaped tablespoons Besan or Chickpea Flour

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

1/2 cup Methi or Fenugreek leaves

2-3 tablespoons minced Green Chiles

1/2 cup small Shrimp

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric 

1/4 teaspoon Chile powder 

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

2 tablespoons Rice Flour

Canola Oil

Put sliced onions and chickpea flour in a bowl. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt. Lightly crush the onions and besan till it is well mixed. 

Keep bowl aside. Stir well with a spoon every 15 minutes or so, for an hour. This allows the liquid released to help bind flour and onions.

Cut shrimp into bite size pieces. The shrimp I used were very small so I left them whole.

Marinate shrimp in turmeric, chile powder and salt for an hour. 

When you are ready to fry the bhajias, heat 2 cups canola oil in small kadhai or wok. The oil should be 3 inches deep to give the fritters room to bob and brown.

Mince the methi leaves finely.

Add methi leaves, minced green chiles, marinated shrimp and rice flour to onions. Use your hands to mix the batter.  

If you like your fritters without shrimp, leave it out. The fritters taste delectable without the shrimp.

Test the oil with a droplet of batter. It should pop up to the top of the oil immediately.

Take a teaspoon of batter in your fingers. Make sure you have some onion, methi and shrimp in each portion. 

Drop the formed batter carefully into hot oil.  Repeat the process frying up to 4-5 bhajias at one time. It is best not to crowd them. This way they cook fast and crispy. Use a slotted spoon to fry the bhajias. Fry them fora few minutes till golden brown.

Drain bhajias on paper. 

Eat them piping hot.

Fritters are crowdpleasers. Radhika enjoys the bhajias. Prassy recollects our mother's version. Mine is not quite like hers, a slight variation of the original. As we nibble and reminisce, Prassy and I marvel at our Mum's culinary heritage that endures and inspires us everyday.

Spaghetti with Smoked Salmon and Dill

My sister makes soup and quiche for dinner. I think some pasta will complement the meal. So we forage in the fridge. A little smoked salmon beckons. 

Most of the slices are made into open faced sandwiches. Since there is a smidgen left, a simple pasta makes the most sense. The sauce comes together in the same pan used to boil the pasta. I hand shred smoked salmon into the sauce. Several sprigs of dill add freshness. Salted and peppered, the pasta arrives in time with the quiche. A caveat though..the pasta should be eaten  as soon as you make it, especially if you like your pasta saucy. The longer it sits, the dryer it gets, as the pasta absorbs most of the sauce. Optimally, cook it, grab a fork and eat. On the other hand, you could eat it as a cold salad anytime you want.

SPAGHETTI WITH SMOKED SALMON AND DILL

Serves 2-3

4 oz Spaghetti or Fetuccini 

1/2 cup Cream

1/2 cup Pasta Water

1/4 cup Smoked Salmon

1/4 cup Dill

A pinch of Kosher Salt

Several Grinds of Black Pepper

Dill sprigs 

Heat 5 cups of water in a deep saucepan.

Salt the boiling water.

Break spaghetti in half and add to water. Cook 8-9 minutes till done. 

Save 1/2 cup of pasta water.

Drain pasta and return to saucepan.

When you are ready to serve, place the saucepan over a low flame. 

Add cream and saved pasta water to pasta. Stir often till pasta and sauce are heated.

Break smoked salmon into small pieces using your hands. Add them to the heated pasta.

Add 1/4 cup of dill into the pasta as well. 

Season with salt and pepper.

Stir the pasta well.

Scoop pasta onto a platter, garnish with dill sprigs and serve hot. Or serve it at room temperature as a salad.

 

Our meal is a pleasant change after all the delicious Indian food that has been paraded in front of me. What's better is the candlelight we eat by...an inadvertent atmospheric interlude by way of a power failure!

Porchetta

As I peruse through the bread section of Tartine Bread , a fascinating cookbook my son gives me, I fall in love with the recipes, even though they are so very convoluted and complicated. Having sampled the finished products at Tartine Manufactory and Bakery, I know my endeavors will fall way below their standards. So I settle for the food. 

Porchetta is intriguing. I like the idea of a slow roast. Pork loin is butterflied and stuffed with herbs and bread. The stuffing is a fresh green aromatic paste, made with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme, fennel, garlic and sourdough bread. It is spread in a thick layer, while singing Scarborough Fair, onto the butterflied pork. Rolled and tied, the foil wrapped pork roasts for six hours on the grill. The pork needs to tied well.  Click the aforementioned link to do it the right way. I do not, and make a bit of a mess, but the strings hold. The original recipe calls for an overnight roast in the oven, but I'm too chicken to leave pork in the oven all night. The grill makes an adequate alternative. It's outside, so no heat permeates the house. The heavenly roasted pork aroma is now the gardener's and neighbors delight.

The cooked roast cools in the fridge for a few hours. Or overnight. The refrigeration lets me cut the pork easily into slices that hold together. Browned in olive oil till they are slightly crusty, the pork is ready for us to indulge.

PORCHETTA 

Adapted from Tartine Bread 

Serves 4-6

1 2-3 pound boneless Pork Loin

1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

1 cup Parsley, stems and leaves

1 tablespoon Rosemary 

3 tablespoons Thyme leaves

6 Sage leaves

2 slices of Sourdough bread

1/2 cup Fennel fronds

1 teaspoon Fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon Chile flakes

6 Garlic cloves

4 tablespoons Olive Oil 

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 teaspoon ground Black Pepper 

2-3 tablespoons Olive Oil

Pat pork loin dry. 

Butterfly pork by making a vertical cut about an inch away from one long end of the roast. Keep slicing downwards till you can open the flap. Turn the knife carefully, slicing through the pork till you have one flat piece of pork. OR you can have a butcher do this task. Or watch a video.

Cover the pork with a piece of plastic wrap. Use a tenderizing tool to flatten the pork. The flat pork should be one inch thick. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt.

Place parsley, rosemary, thyme, sage, fennel fronds, fennel seed, garlic, chile flakes, salt and pepper in a food processor. Pulse a few times.

Cut sourdough into small pieces and add to parsley.

Pour 4 tablespoons olive oil in to the bowl and pulse several times till you have a rough paste.

Smear the paste over the pork.

Roll the pork tightly. 

Use twine to tie the pork. Tie the twine both lengthwise and breadthwise tightly. I made five vertical ties. I then threaded the a long piece of twine through the vertical ties pulling hard as I looped them. 

Place the pork on a large sheet of aluminum foil. Cover pork with foil.

Heat a gas grill to 300F using indirect heat. Or heat your oven to 300F.

Place the tightly wrapped pork on a baking sheet. 

Put the sheet onto the grill or in the oven.

Roast for 6 hours.

Take pork off the heat. Cool the pork and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.

Discard the foil and place pork on a cutting board.

Cut and discard the twine.

Slice pork into 3/4 inch slices.

Heat olive oil in a nonstick saucepan.

Lay slices flat in the pan. Saute till golden brown and crusty, three to five minutes.

Serve hot with pan roasted potatoes.

The porchetta is a meat lovers delight. That translates as all are pleased at my table. I am truly happy with this roast..a lot of effort with a huge reward.

Corn and Methi Bhaji

A month of holy Mondays begins and I make the requisite thali dinners. Today's thali is a simple one. The sweet component is keroli or plantains stuffed with coconut and raisins. Zucchini bhaji or fritters, varan bhaat or dal and rice, cauliflower curry, peas and cauliflower (yes we do love cruciferous veggies) and fresh corn with methi leaves.

Fresh corn is a summer staple, found at farmers markets, local grocery stores and even at garden centers. I scrape off the kernels with a sharp knife. Cleaning methi leaves or fresh fenugreek is another story. Methi is usually grown in sandy soil. This batch comes with its own bag of soil! Once it's thoroughly washed, I give it a rough chop. If you cannot find fresh fenugreek leaves , use baby spinach. Oil goes into a hot pan. Mustard and cumin seeds are spluttered till they hiss and pop. Minced green chiles add zing. In go the corn kernels for a quick saute. Chopped methi leaves sit atop the corn, wilting with the high heat. A short steam later the vegetable is ready for the thali.

CORN AND METHI BHAJI

Serves 4

2-3 Corn cobs

2 small bunches of Methi leaves or baby Spinach leaves

2 tablespoons Canola Oil 

1/2 teaspoon Mustard seeds

1/2 teaspoon Cumin seeds

2 green Chiles
1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt 

1/2 teaspoon Sugar

Remove husk and silk from corn cobs. Hold the corn upright in a flat dish. Use a sharp knife to cut the kernels, going in a downward motion. The dish should catch most of the kernels. You should have a little more than 2 cups of kernels.

Pick off the leaves from methi stems. Discard stems. Wash the leaves thoroughly to remove all sandy grit. Roughly chop leaves.

Mince green chiles finely.

Heat canola oil in saucepan over high heat.

Splutter mustard and cumin seeds. Let them turn brown and pop.

Add green chiles to hot oil. Wait a few seconds.

Then add corn kernels. Let corn saute over high heat for a few minutes.

Scatter methi leaves and turmeric powder over corn. 

Season with salt and sugar.

Cover the saucepan and lower heat. 

Cook the vegetables for 8-10 minutes. 

Uncover pan, stir the veggies and serve the bhaji hot.

This is a simple side. It pairs with rice or any Indian bread. The blessed thali is presented to the youngest family member...who does full justice to the meal.