A pantry clean up reveals a hidden box of no-boil lasagna noodles. Not enough for a traditional bake, so I improvise. A quick boil softens the noodles. Ricotta cheese is whisked with egg, chives, mint and parsley. Each noodle gets a schmear of cheese before it is rolled and nestled in marinara sauce. Dabs of fresh mozzarella top the rolls.The oven works its magic as I make a salad. Any Italian is a hands down favorite.
LASAGNA ROLL UPS
Serves 4-6
VG
12 no-boil Lasagna Noodles
2 cups Ricotta Cheese
1 Egg
2 tablespoons minced Chives
2 tablespoons slivered Mint Leaves
1/4 cup Parsley leaves
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 teaspoon ground Black Pepper
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
6 Garlic cloves, minced fine
3 cups canned crushed Tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1/2 cup fresh Mozzarella Shreds
Pour 4-5 cups of water in a wide saucepan. Set the pan over a high flame and bring to a boil. Add 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt to water.
Float 4 noodles at a time in the boiling water, moving noodles gently as they cook. Boil noodles for 4-5 minutes. Remove noodles carefully onto a large sheet pan. Cook all the noodles in the same manner.
Mix ricotta cheese, egg, chives, mint, parsley, salt and pepper in bowl. Roughly divide cheese into 12 portions.
Lay one noodle on a flat surface.
Smear about 2 tablespoons of cheese all over the noodle.
Roll up noodle carefully. Do the same with the rest of the noodles.
Heat crushed tomatoes in a saucepan. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to a gentle boil.
In a separate small saucepan heat olive oil.
Add minced garlic to oil. Let garlic turn pale brown and aromatic.
Pour this oil over the tomatoes. Mix gently to infuse the marinara.
Heat oven to 350F/180C.
Ladle 3-4 spoons of marinara into the bottom of a baking dish.
Arrange lasagna rolls over the sauce.
Spoon the rest of the sauce over the rolls.
Dot rolls with shredded fresh mozzarella.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Uncover and savor with garlic bread or a salad.
There is much comfort in the aroma that emanates from the oven. The Italian in all of us eagerly dig into the end product. Happiness is baked pasta!
In our house, chicken curry is ever popular. I have made this version a few times to the delight of family. Chicken pieces benefit from a marinade of yogurt and spices. With very few onions in the house, I use birista, store bought fried onions I stash in the fridge. Mainly used as a garnish, birista has been a lifesaver on many occasions. These crisp brown onions are a convenient base for a quick curry, biriyani or a shortcut to making akuri. That slow process of cooking fresh onions to a deep golden color is redundant with the addition of birista. My friend Ambi has a source in Bombay. She plies me with a steady supply, which lasts an age in the fridge.
The angare or firey part is the red hot charcoal nestled in the cooked chicken with a little ghee dribbled on it, which makes the charcoal smoke, adding a intangible quality to the chicken and gravy. A small trick with a huge pay off.
ANGARA CHICKEN
Serves 4
GF,WF, EF
6 skinless Chicken Thighs and Legs
1 cup Yogurt
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric
1 teaspoon Chile Powder
1 teaspoon roasted Cumin Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1 teaspoon Garam Masala
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 cup Birista or 1 1/2 cups chopped Onions
1 tablespoon Tomato Paste
1 teaspoon Garlic Paste
2-3 Ginger Slices
2 tablespoons Canola Oil
1 small Charcoal brick
1/4 teaspoon Ghee
Cilantro to garnish
Whisk yogurt, spices and salt in a bowl.
Add chicken pieces into yogurt. Stab the chicken pieces with the pointy end of a knife, allowing the marinade to penetrate chicken. Let chicken marinate for 2-3 hours or overnight, if prefered.
Heat oil in a large dutch oven.
Add onions to hot oil.
If you are using birista, lower flame and saute onions for 30 seconds. A higher flame will burn onions so watch and stir carefully.
Turn flame to low and drop tomato paste into onions and saute for 10 seconds.
Plop garlic paste and ginger slices into birista.
Raise the flame to medium high, add chicken to onions and saute.
Add a little water to the saucepan. Cover saucepan and cook for 30-40 minutes till chicken is tender. More water could be added if needed, as the chicken and yogurt release water as the curry cooks.
If you are using fresh chopped onions, saute them till golden brown, followed by garlic and ginger, then chicken. Saute, cover and cook till chicken is tender.
Heat a piece of charcoal over an open flame till it glows red. Place the charcoal in a small container and nestle the container in the chicken curry.
Dribble a little bit of ghee on the charcoal. Replace the lid quickly. Allow the chicken to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes. Inhale the smoky flavor when you uncover the lid!
Garnish with cilantro and serve.
We love the smokiness that permeates the chicken. No smoke and mirrors.. its the real thing.
What is the best way to make taco meat for many souls? Smother the meat in a sauce and roast the meat in the oven. In time, the meat will have roasted till soft. You can chop up a salsa with red onion, tomato, chiles, cilantro and lime juice while the meat roasts.
It starts with a quick adobo sauce. Dried chiles are roasted and then hydrated in chicken stock along with garlic, ginger and onions. When soft and pliable, the chiles are drained and the blended with spices. Smother the pork with sauce. Cover tightly and roast till pork is tender. Shred the pork with a knife. Let it sop up the adobo sauce. Char tortillas over an open flame. Top with shredded pork. Drop spoonfuls of salsa atop of the pork. Fold the wrap or roll the wrap. Turn your head sideways and take a rewarding bite.
ADOBO PORK TACOS
Makes 10-12
DF
1 large Pork Tenderloin
2 Guajillo Chiles
2 Ancho Chiles
3 cups Chicken Stock
4 Garlic cloves
3-4 Ginger slices
1/2 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1/2 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder
1 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
1 white Onion, roughly chopped
A pinch of Clove powder
2 tablespoons Thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Tortillas
Salsa Fresca
Unwrap pork tenderloin, pat dry and place it in an ovenproof dish. Season with salt and pepper.
Dry roast chiles in a cast iron skillet for 3-5 minutes.
Remove seeds.
Heat oven to 350F/180C.
Place chiles, onion, garlic and ginger slices in a deep saucepan.
Add chicken stock, bring to a boil and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.
Pour the contents over a sieve to drain liquid.
Spoon the contents into blender along with cumin powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, thyme leaves, kosher salt and pepper. Blend till smooth.
Pour the sauce over pork. Turn pork so it is well coated. Cover with foil and place in the oven.
Roast for 40-50 minutes till pork is easily pierced with a knife.
Remove pork from the sauce and chop into small pieces. Return the pieces to the sauce.
Char tortillas over an open flame.
Top with pork and salsa fresca.
Fold and eat right away.
Roast and coast! An easy stress free way to make your Mexican table sing.
Malaysian food is extraordinary. It spoils you for other Asian foods. For years we savored it at our favorite restaurant Penang, but the place closed a while ago and its replacement is just adequate.
The yearning to eat roti canai and rendang is so strong so I plan to make the latter as I drool in anticipation. Beef is braised with a paste of onions, ginger, garlic and chiles, coconut milk, spices, lime skins and kaffir lime leaves. No oil needed. It is a long and slow braise on the stove top. And when it is done, the beef falls apart easily, gravy is thick and the kitchen smells like the restaurant.
BEEF RENDANG
Serves 4
DF, GF, WF, EF
1 pound boneless Beef chunks
1 white Onion
3 Garlic cloves
1 inch chunk of Ginger
1-2 green Chiles
1 cup Coconut Milk
1/2 teaspoon Turmeric powder
3/4 teaspoon Chile Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1/2 teaspoon Ginger Powder
Peel of half a Lime or 1 Lemongrass
2 Kaffir Lime Leaves
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Puree onion, garlic, ginger and green chile in 1/4 cup coconut milk.
Scrape the paste into a deep sided saucepan. Use a little water to wash out all the scraps into the saucepan.
Place the saucepan over medium heat.
Pour the rest of the coconut milk into the saucepan.
Add turmeric, chile, coriander and ginger powder to the curry.
Add lime rind or lemongrass trimmed and cut into two inch pieces, as well as kaffir lime leaves to curry.
Season with salt.
Bring to a low boil, then add the beef and stir well to mix.
Cover the pan partially and cook on a medium low flame till beef shreds when poked with a knife. It takes about an hour depending on the quality of the beef. Stir occasionally so the gravy doesn't catch and scorch. Add a little water if needed.
Serve hot with flaky malabar parota or white rice.
I make long beans belachan style. Some hot rice. A few malabar parotas. For now, a faux Penang meal is best I can do.
In these dark times, we have great news to share. My daughter Shauna's engagement to Frank. And of course to commemorate the happy event, I cook. Enormous quantities of food. Pork and chicken tacos, elote and ricotta fritters for lunch. Asian food for dinner with a slow braised Vietnamese beef stew, Bo Kho. We sop this up with a very Italian focaccia, mushroom soy rice and crisp pickled veggies. Dessert is an old favorite, sticky rice with mango.
I remember eating this with Prassy at the end of every meal we had in Thailand. We would seek out vendors selling only sticky rice. One portion each made us cheshire cats. We even brought the rice and Thai mangoes back to India with us. So it is only right that I make what makes me happy.
Plump glutinous rice, soaked overnight and then steamed, turns opaque. The rice is like sushi rice. Use any plump short grain rice in it's place, though you might not get that translucency. Thick coconut milk, sugar, palm sugar and salt comes to a gentle boil. No palm sugar? Use a little light brown sugar. The coconut milk is poured over the rice. Top with sliced mango and refrigerate for a short while. Use a large spoon for large portions...as we do!
STICKY RICE WITH MANGO
Serves 4-6
DF, GF, VF, VG, WF, EF
1 cup Glutinous Rice
1 cup Coconut Milk
6 teaspoons Sugar
1 teaspoon Palm Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 Mangoes
Soak rice in water overnight.
The next day drain water and scrape the rice onto a steamer rack.
Boil an inch of water in a deep saucepan.
Place the steamer rack inside the pan. Steam rice for 30 minutes till opaque.
Spoon rice on to a platter.
Heat coconut milk, sugar, palm sugar and salt over gentle heat until sugars have dissolved.
Pour 3/4 of the milk over rice. Rice will absorb some of the milk.
Peel and cut mango into thin wedges. Arrange them over the rice.
Refrigerate for 15 minutes or longer.
Spoon some mango and rice onto a plate.
Drizzle a spoon of remaining coconut milk over the rice and enjoy this Asian treat.
Asian desserts have odd combinations of ingredients. You need an acquired palate....so please please acquire one!
I treasure the yeast I have left, a rare commodity in lockdown life. Then I watch a chef on a food show make these amazing Lebanese flatbreads. And I am enamored. I am ready to part with my meager portion of yeast. The recipe is a two day process. Make and proof the dough. The second rise is overnight in the fridge. Don't use shortcuts. Believe me, the proof is in the risen dough, one of the best I have worked with. Soft and pillowy. Extremely forgiving. Easy to manipulate and stretch. A dream to work with.
Bloom yeast with warm water and sugar. Whisk flour, salt and olive oil. Add the flour to the yeast along with more warm water and knead dough till smooth. A stand mixer with a dough hook makes this job really easy. Or use those muscles to work the dough. The dough is proofed in a warm place. Then it is divided into small balls and proofed overnight in the fridge.
I make three fillings, just as the chef did. A spiced beef, zaatar and oil and a feta and cheddar with chile powder. I also dress onion, cucumber, tomato, parsley and mint with lemon and oil.
The dough is patted out, topped with a filling and baked on a pizza stone in a very very hot oven for seven minutes. The tricky part is transferring the manakish from counter top to pizza stone! I use a wide spatula and my hands for the bigger pieces. The smaller ones are easier to transfer. You might want to experiment with the size. I make eight rounds of dough, five beef, two cheese and one zaatar. That's plentiful for lunch today.
MANAKISH TRIO WITH BEEF, ZAATAR AND FETA
Slightly adapted from Jay Hajj
Dough
1 teaspoon active dry Yeast
1 cup Warm Water
1/2 teaspoon Sugar
2 1/2 cups AP Flour
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 tablespoon Olive oil
Beef Filling
1 pound ground Beef
1/2 white Onion
2 Garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon Chile Powder
1/2 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Cumin Powder
1/2 teaspoon Coriander Powder
1/2 teaspoon ground Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt
2 teaspoons Pomegranate Syrup
Cheese Filling
1/2 cup crumbled Feta
1/4 cup grated Cheddar
1/4 teaspoon Chile Powder
Zaatar Filling
2 teaspoons Zaatar
1 teaspoon Olive Oil
Salad
1/2 Red Onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup thinly sliced English Cucumber
1/2 cup Cherry Tomatoes, halved
1 tablespoon Parsley
10-12 Mint leaves
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Lemon Juice
Pinch of Kosher Salt
Ground Black Pepper
Start the dough the day before you plan to make the manakish.
Put yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer with sugar and 3 tablespoons warm water. Cover and let yeast bloom for 10 minutes.
While yeast blooms, whisk flour and salt in bowl. Add olive oil to bowl and mix with a fork to distribute oil.
Use a dough hook. Start the mixer and carefully add flour into bowl.
Gradually pour warm water into flour. allow the dough hook to knead the dough for 10 minutes till the dough is smooth an comes away from the sides of the bowl. You might have to add a little more dough. If so, add it by the teaspoonful.
Scrape dough off the hook and into a smooth ball. Dribble a little olive oil on the sides of the bowl. Roll the dough in oil.
Cover with a damp cloth and place bowl in warm place to proof for 1-2 hours. The dough should have doubled in size.
Scrape dough on to a lightly floured surface. Knead for a few turns, then divide the dough into 8 portions.
Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball, by stretching the dough slightly and folding it under the bottom. 3 or 4 stretches should make the top smooth and round.
Arrange dough balls on a large baking sheet 3 inches apart.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
The next day take the dough out about 1 hour before you make the manakish. Allow the dough to sit in a warm place. The dough will rise a bit. It will probably touch the ball next to it. That is not a problem.
Make the beef filling by mincing the onion and garlic finely. Add it to the beef.
Season beef with chile, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper and pomegranate molasses. Mix well.
Make the cheese filling by mashing the cheeses and chile together till pasty.
Make the zaatar filling by mixing it with olive oil.
Make the salad by whisking olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add onion, cucumber, tomato, parsley and mint leaves to oil. Mix with a spoon.
Now comes the hard part!
Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven.
Heat oven to 450F/230C.
Dust counter lightly with flour.
Place a ball of dough on the floured surface and pat out with your fingers. You could also roll it out with a rolling pin. I like the texture of patted dough better. Make sure the circle can be easily moved. Add a little flour at a time under the dough so it moves.
Take 2-3 tablespoons of beef and spread it over the circle. Use your fingers to press the meat into the dough, leaving a 1/4 inch edge. You should have a thin layer of filling.
Make 4-5 manakish with beef filling.
Bake manakish by sliding the dough onto the pizza stone or baking sheet carefully. I used a broad spatula and my hands.
The number of manakish you can bake depends on the size of your pizza stone or baking sheet. I was able to bake 3 6" manakish at a time as I have a 14x16 Baking Steel sheet.
Bake beef manakish for 7-8 minutes.
Take them out of the oven. Squeeze a little lemon juice over them and eat them as they emerge.
Make the cheese manakish by pressing the cheese into the dough circle. Bake the manakish for 7 minutes.
Make the zaatar manakish by spooning the paste onto the dough. Bake the manakish for 7 minutes.
Serve the manakish warm.
Top with salad, slice and enjoy your hard work!
The proof is truly in the manakish The trio of flavors are delicious. Lunch is an exclamation of delight!!
