Getting Curried Away

Although the calendar may not say so, it seems to otherwise officially be fall here in New York. Sandals have been tucked away until next year and boots have started to grace the city streets in their place. At home, the heat has started to sputter through the radiator, letting me know that it will soon be time to pull out my slow-cooker and heat up my stove. But before I hit the fall and winter recipes full force, I decided to welcome the changing season with a warm and cozy stew that's as easy to make as it is cheap. 

This dish is an update of a classic Indian dish that a former roommate used to make for me when we were living in a very small apartment (and on a very small budget) downtown. The main ingredients were chicken thighs, tomato paste, butter and water, so as far as home cooked meals were concerned, it was a real winner in both the flavor and affordability categories. It was easy to make and fast to boot, two qualities this update also embraces. I've upped the taste factor even more with the addition of various aromatics, spices and fresh chopped cilantro. I added some extra color and veg with a full bunch of green kale, and some actual tomatoes instead of just the cheapee paste.

Chicken thighs are still the main ingredient thanks to their affordability and flavor. They're significantly cheaper than chicken breast and taste infinitely better, not to mention they're juicier and easier to cook (especially if you have a tendency to overcook chicken). I went boneless and skinless, but you could easily make this a heartier stew if you wanted to by adding bone-in chicken and letting it cook a bit longer in more liquid (like chicken stock, but water would do, too). I personally like bite-size pieces, perfect for serving over fluffy basmati rice (my current carby obsession) and a squeeze of fresh lime.

The rest of the ingredients are easily switched up with any of your faves, but what's important is that you not use a store bought curry. Mixing your own spices gives this dish a long-cooked and surprisingly fresh flavor that doesn't come from that old, stale curry tin that's probably hanging out in your cupboard (you know the one, we all have it). The kale however, could easily be replaced with spinach, swiss chard or mustard greens, not to mention left out altogether or replaced with the seasonal veggie of your choice. You could also adjust the spices as you see fit, increasing the heat to suit you or your family's preferences (I like mine medium), or adding a little smoke with more smoked paprika, or extra sweetness with a little more brown sugar. In any case, this dish is great for the cool whether that's just starting to stream in, and a great way to sneak a few veggies into kids. I'm already planning on throwing a few chickpeas into my next batch for added protein to help keep me warm!

Curried Chicken With Kale

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into cubes
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 Tbsp fresh minced ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp ground fennel
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes
2 tsp light brown sugar
1 lime
1 bunch kale (or your favorite green) ribs removed and chopped
chopped fresh cilantro
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 Tbsp butter
salt

1. Heat butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add onions, garlic and ginger and sauté over medium-low heat until slightly softened, about 7 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, turmeric, paprika and fennel and cook another minute until fragrant.

2. Add remaining olive oil and chicken to the pan, season with salt and cook until just starting to brown, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, season with salt and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes on low.

3. Uncover and stir in the brown sugar and a the juice of half a lime. Add the greens in batches, stirring until they're fully combined. Simmer uncovered until just tender, then stir in 1/4 cup of the chopped cilantro. Serve over basmati rice and top with chopped cilantro and a lemon wedge. Enjoy!

-Laura  

Top Veg

Do you watch Top Chef? I've been a fan since the show premiered six seasons ago, and although I haven't found the show as interesting as I did during it's first few seasons, I continue to watch because despite the entertainment deficit, the talent's stock has definitely gone up (not to mention that even at its worst, it's light years better than all of the other food competition shows--I'm looking at you Next Food Network Star). After a few seasons of ho-hum contestants and no clear front-runners, this season's cast boasts several executive chefs, James Beard Award nominees, and a duo of DC-area brothers whose dishes never disappoint. The cast runs fairly young, but you wouldn't know it from their performance and the sophisticated dishes many of them churn out week after week. There's finally been a clear top few since this season began, and those in that limited club have rarely faltered.

That was of course until the most recent episode last week. The gang was asked to cook a great meal for a special guest at head judge Tom Colicchio's Las Vegas resto CraftSteak. They all immediately began plotting how to attack a meat heavy menu when in typical reality show fashion, they sprung vegan shoe designing vegetarian Natalie Portman on the disappointed pack. Somehow managing to make gorgeous, seasonal produce look like overcooked side dishes from The Sizzler, chef after chef presented poorly executed, poorly thought out dishes to the diners. While I am generally quite the fan of meaty meals, I take my vegetables seriously as well. I typically make 2-3 vegetarian dinners a week that do a perfectly good job of leaving me full and satisfied while also being tasty (if I do say so myself). How most of these chefs failed to manage that with far more at their fingertips than is available to me on any given day is a mystery. While the chefs were bombarded with their true mission minutes before executing, I can't believe that so many of them managed to completely forget that by losing their meat element they were also losing protein, an integral part of any dish, vegetarian or not. While I'm not a chef, I do know that when I'm planning a meatless meal I do my best to incorporate a protein and a starch any way I can--it's really balance that's key for any hearty and satisfying meal, regardless of whether there's meat. Fall is actually a great time for healthy, filling vegetarian meals since we have everything from brussels sprouts and beets to squash, pomegranate and eggplant, not to mention all types of potatoes. I like to take braising greens to task since there's an abundance of kale, collards and swiss chard, not to mention beet, turnip and mustard greens this time of year. I'm shocked that not one chef used legumes (well...one tried, but her fresh garbanzo beans were a flop) since they not only pair extremely well with greens, but are packed full of protein. There was just one risotto on the side and no fresh pasta at all, both starches being excellent potential platforms for all of that fresh produce.

And so, last week, inspired by the Top Chef challenge I made what I think is a tasty and filling vegetarian dinner of kale, chick peas and turnips. I served it with a side of couscous and some crunchy oven roasted brussels sprouts to start (if you leave them in there long enough they'll crisp up into crunchy, rotund chips, like over-sized wasabi peas). This is a fast and affordable take on Kevin's winning dish, which consisted of a mushroom duo with smoked kale and a candied ginger and turnip puree. Having received both kale and turnips in my CSA it was the perfect inspiration. Trying to use only what was in my fridge and pantry (since I certainly cannot afford morels and they're out of season anyway) I decided to make one hearty dish that consisted of the kale, turnips and a can of chick peas (but white beans or even lentils would have been tasty too!) sauteed with garlic and accented with a little apple cider vinegar. It turned out great and I can definitely say that I was stuffed afterward. Here's my final recipe, and here's hoping that the final six on the show catch some wind in their sails, because I expect more!

Sauteed Kale with Turnips and Chick Peas

1 lb kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
3 medium sized turnips, peeled and roughly diced, greens also chopped
1 15 oz can chickpeas (or cooked dried chickpeas) drained and rinsed
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
extra virgin olive oil (about 3 Tbsp)
1 Tbsp butter
salt
black pepper

1. Heat olive oil, butter and garlic in a large, non-stick skillet. Cook on medium low heat 30 seconds (garlic should not brown) then add turnips. Cook until just starting to soften, about 2 minutes.

2. Add kale in batches until it all fits in the pan. Season generously with salt and black pepper, then add chick peas, cider vinegar and turnip greens, tossing to coat. Continue cooking on medium heat, tossing occasionally until kale is cooked, another 2-3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly (kale often needs a lot more salt and acid than other greens). Enjoy!

-Laura

Recession Special Recipe: Pasta with Sausage, Greens and White Beans

Today we have a nice treat in the second installment of the Recession Special: a super tasty restaurant recipe that is as affordable as it is easy to make. During a recent trip to Mia Dona (chef Michael Psilakis and restauranteaur Donatella Arpaia's place), one dish on the rustic Mediterranean menu sounded plain but just seemed to scream "winter". It was a simple pasta dish of orecchiette, kale, sausage, and white beans. There was no particular sauce, nothing gloppy or saucy to overpower the lovely pieces of the dish. Instead, it was all held together by the sum of it's parts: fresh ingredients working together in perfect balance. The sausage was spicy, but not overpowering, and the kale was cooked perfectly, providing a little toothy bite. The white beans were unexpected in pasta, but sweet and delicious, adding a lovely contrast to the heartiness of the kale and the heat from the sausage.

The trick to mastering this dish is taking advantage of an old restaurant trick that hasn't translated to every home cook quite yet: pasta water. Every chef-authored book or novel I've read so far has touted the many uses of pasta water in a restaurant kitchen. It quite literally becomes the glue that holds any noodle based dish together. The advantage in a restaurant is that the same water may be used over and over, infusing it with the wonderful starchy qualities that make it indispensable. It's also nice and salty, so seasoning is a cinch. The best explanation as to why we should never strain pasta and always remove it with tongs (for long noodles) or a slotted spoon or spider (for short pastas) that I've read is in Bill Buford's excellent book Heat. He explains the entire history of how we got into the habit of straining pasta and letting all that tasty, useful liquid go right down the drain. This is a very, very important trick for recreating any restaurant pasta dish. A truly great restaurant pasta dish is always light and fresh, even when it involves a cream or tomato sauce. Using the pasta water and the fat of your choice (olive oil, butter, etc...) to your advantage is the first and most important step towards making any restaurant quality pasta dish at home.

This recipe in particular is very accessible because the ingredients are fairly interchangeable to suit your needs. For example, you don't have to use kale if you can't find any or don't like it--any hearty green will do. I used rainbow swiss chard for added color in my dish, and just made sure to leave it a bit al dente to replicate that bite. As far as the sausage, the important thing is that it have a bit of spice. I used a spicy chicken and apple sausage, just to up the winter ante. A cheapy can of cannellini beans and your pasta of choice round out the dish, which shouldn't cost you more than 10-12 dollars total to feed 4. And since the dish is not sauce heavy, any noodle of your liking will do. Here's the basic recipe I came up with, so take it and make it your own!

Pasta with Spicy Sausage, Greens and White Beans

1 box dried pasta

2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

3 large spicy sausages (removed from casing if fresh, sliced if fully cooked)

4 cups hearty greens (kale, swiss chard, mustard or collard greens)

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

extra virgin olive oil

salt

pepper

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, reserving pasta water when done (about 2 cups).

2. Heat olive oil (about 2 tablespoons) in a very large non-stick skillet and add sausage. Cook until browned, then add cannellini beans and a pinch of salt, cooking about 2 minutes until heated through.

3. Add pasta to skillet, tossing to coat. Add 1/2 cup pasta water, butter, parmesan cheese and the greens (in batches) until just wilted. Toss to coat and season the entire dish with salt and pepper. Add more pasta water as necessary until the dish is moist but not runny. Top with parmesan cheese and enjoy!

-Laura 

You've Got Kale

I'm aware that it doesn't sound very sexy to say that you love kale. That you can't survive a season without it, and that your heart longs for just one more tasty, green morsel of this slightly curly winter green. But folks, I've had an unexpected and poignant epiphany. I can't live without kale. When I'm without it, I wonder what it's doing not on my plate. When I'm eating it, I wonder when I'll get to eat it again. That's right, kale is my new boy-toy and I'm ashamed to admit that I'm smitten. Before you think me mad or weird, know that I'm speaking of a special kind of kale. A kale like no other, one that you would enjoy so much, it may even replace potato chips as your favorite snack. I speak of course, of crispy kale, the 10-minute wonder of crunch and flavor that is as equally delicious as it is good for you. 

Evidently, crispy kale has been around for years and right in front of my face this whole time. But I must say, now that I've found it, I'll never let it go. Eating just one piece is impossible, since it's like crunching into a paper thin chip that packs a surprising and serious crunch. Once it comes out of the oven, the flavor is almost unrecognizable as kale. It's transformed from a limp green into a salty, crispy, snack, a lot like nori. Which makes sense if you consider that nori is just a sea green (seaweed, really) that is cut or shredded and allowed to dry in an oven. I'd say that this kale is significantly crunchier, with a deeper and slightly earthier flavor. I promise if you make this as a party snack you'll have guests begging for more and requesting the recipe. I encountered it a few weekends ago when it was made for me as a topper for a creamy potato and chorizo soup (see the full recipe here). While the soup was delicious and the recipe only called for enough kale to use as a garnish, we ended up baking off the entire bunch and eating it as an appetizer. It was a huge hit, and I must say managed to outshine a wonderful soup.

The best part is that the preparation couldn't be simpler. It's just a matter of quickly slicing the kale, tossing it with a tablespoon of olive oil, a pinch of salt, and baking it in the oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on how much kale you're using). Watching it transform is a bonus. If you're lucky enough to have an oven light, I'd recommend watching the widespread kale leaves shrink down into a soft mushy pile, then suddenly go tense and crisp. There's no messy clean-up or frying required. In fact, if you line your baking sheet with aluminum foil (as I always do), all you'll have to do when you're done is roll it up and toss it in the trash. No oil splatter to wipe-down, or cooking vessels to clean. And you can play around with the flavors as well, adding hints of spice and heat or mixing in fresh herbs. It's a super healthy snack as well, using less oil than you'd need to saute it. Not to mention that kale is rich in calcium (many vegans add it to their diet to replace calcium lost from not drinking milk), vitamin A (great for skin and eyes), and recent studies show that it helps fight carcinogens, particularly with respect to ovarian cancer. I can't think of one potato chip that can compete with those kinds of benefits!

Crispy Kale

1 bunch kale, thick stems removed

2 Tbsp olive oil

salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Slice the kale leaves into 1-inch thick ribbons (the easiest way is to stack a few and roll them tight like a cigar, then slice into ribbons).

2. Place half of the kale on an aluminum foil lined sheet pan (you'll have to do it in two batches). Toss with the olive oil and salt and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until each piece is crispy. Remove to a bowl and repeat with remaining kale. Enjoy!

-Laura

Get Your Green On, Part II

I cannot get enough of greens. It may have something to do with the lack of heat in my apartment as the temperature dips below 45 degrees at night, or perhaps because I've been battling a second round of sore throat, but I've been crazily craving greens. Two weeks ago I made a delicious and super fragrant dish of kale with fall spices. Last week, as I shivered beneath my wool blanket I began to think about another great way to make greens. We've all heard of collards slow cooked with smoked ham hocks, so I figured (possibly in a frost bitten state of hallucination), why not try replicating these flavors in a faster, simpler, easier dish, with a quick cooking green?

While spinach would have been super fast and very healthy, I still had an entire bunch of beautiful red kale sitting in my fridge. It takes slightly longer to cook than other greens --probably because it's actually a wild type of cabbage and not actually a "green"--but it's very good for you, which is why it's a common ingredient in vegan cooking. It's hyper-rich in Vitamins A and C, and is being extensively researched as a possible cancer preventer. All of these amazing health benefits aside, it's actually super tasty and has a nice crunch and bite that other greens don't. So instead of taking the sweet-meets-savory route that I did last time, I figured I'd make that nice, hearty collards and hammocks inspired dish with some fresh chorizo and smoky bacon. And since it'd been a while since I added a little Spanish twist to something, I decided to saute the whole dish in some paprika and garlic infused olive oil.

I started out by cooking up the bacon in a nonstick skillet, then removing it to a plate and cooking up the chorizo in the bacon drippings and then removing that to a plate with the bacon. Then I created a simple refrito, which is just garlic cooked in olive oil until just before it starts to brown, with a tablespoon of paprika added to the oil after it cools down off of the heat. Then I started sautéing the kale in batches on medium-low heat (paprika can burn easily, so don't be tempted to turn it up much higher). Once it all cooked down so the whole bunch fit in the pan, I added some wine, malt vinegar and water (apple cider or juice would be delicious too!). After covering it and lowering the heat so it could slowly wilt and cook down, it was ready to be served. I added the meats back in, tossed it all together then served it up. There was hardly any effort involved at all, and I had a big heaping plate of healthy greens by the end of it (despite the chorizo and bacon). It was so hearty, I didn't even end up grilling the steak I meant to eat with it, I just ate the whole plate of greens. Here's the final recipe:

Spanish Style Red Kale with Chorizo and Bacon

1 bunch red kale (green would do as well, but takes less time to cook)
1 fresh chorizo sausage, casing removed
4 strips of bacon, roughly chopped
Extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 Tbsp smoked paprika
1/4 cup white wine
2 Tbsp malt vinegar (cider vinegar would also work)
1/3 cup water
salt
pepper

1. Cook bacon in a large non-stick skillet until crispy and remove to a plate. Add chorizo to skillet, breaking it up with a wooden spoon and cook until done. Remove to plate with bacon.

2. Add olive oil to pan if there are not enough drippings (I needed about 2 tablespoons) in the pan, along with the garlic. Cook on medium-low heat until just starting to brown, then remove from heat. When the oil has stopped sizzling, add paprika to oil and stir to combine (this is called a refrito).

3. Return pan to heat and add kale in batches until it all fits in the skillet. Add white wine and vinegar and cook covered until kale is wilted and cooked through (about 10-15 minutes). Add bacon and chorizo, pepper, and taste for salt (mine only needed a pinch). Serve and enjoy!

-Laura

Get Your Green On

Have I mentioned how this whole "global warming crisis" is putting a serious cramp in my style? Well, it is. Sure, I could talk to you about the adverse effects of global warming on our atmosphere, or how our overconsumption of everything is leading us into an early garbage grave, but what really sticks in my craw about the whole thing is how our planetary ignorance is messing with my meals. During my most recent weekend trip to the greenmarket, where I expected to find a cornucopia of fall ingredients, I was disappointed to discover that despite the time of year, there was very little fall fun to be had. Having already experienced the early onset of fall food shopping, I figured that (from beneath my chilly weather ready hat and scarf) I'd find at least half of what was in season during the fall. But instead I found that I was seriously overdressed for what became an almost 80 degree mid-October day, and that because of the late and mild fall, many of the season's veggies had yet to be picked.

Heirloom tomatoes and green peppers were still at many stalls along with an absurd amount of raspberries. But somehow amid the remnants of summer I found a piece of fall. Way in the back of a stall were the first few heads of kale, one of my favorite fall greens. It usually comes into season later than most greens because it holds up well to the cold, which quite literally gives it a thicker skin. The texture has more bite and it takes longer to wilt since it has to survive during the cold temperature and strong winds of late fall and early winter. Although my first encounters with kale were less than pleasant (a bad vegetarian restaurant and a hardcore vegan roommate), once I tasted it cooked properly I instantly loved it. Its texture, which always keeps a bit of its crunch, makes kale a perfect side dish to anything meaty like a juicy steak or something delicious and gamey like duck. And even though its ridged, frilly edges and firm texture make it seem complicated, it's just as easy to make as your basic spinach dish, and in fact cooks down even less, giving you a lot more bang for your buck.

It's not particularly bitter like many other greens, and actually makes a perfect foil for some sweetness and acidity blended together. I bought a green bunch and a dark purple one for a little color contrast and started out cooking it with a really basic recipe. Using the basic sauteed kale recipe as I base, I then began adding some spices that reminded me of fall. I started with a pinch of nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon of smoked paprika then adding a bit of Chinese five spice, which really just has a perfect blend of all your favorite fall spices, including clove, cinnamon and fennel. A splash of red wine vinegar at the end of cooking cuts all that spiced sweetness with a little acidity and really rounds out the flavors of the dish. I added some chickpeas, which reminds me of a popular Spanish dish of chickpeas with greens and fish (commonly eaten on Fridays during lent). It was so good and so easy that I didn't even bother to make a protein dish. The combination of kale and chickpeas is a super healthy one, since a cup of cooked kale alone provides you with almost 90% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin C, tons of fiber, and high levels of beta carotene. The chickpeas are an even better source of fiber (with no fat), and are even thought to lower cholesterol. Here's the recipe I came up with:


Kale and Chickpeas with Fall Spices and Red Wine Vinegar

2 bunches kale, washed, stemmed and coarsely chopped
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 (15 oz) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp Chinese five spice
1/4 tsp smoked paprika (regular paprika will work too)
1/2 tsp red pepper flake
2 -3 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt
ground pepper (white tastes best)

1. Heat olive oil in a non-stick skillet. Add kale in batches until most of it is cooked down. Add chickpeas, spices, garlic, red pepper flake and salt to taste, tossing everything to coat. Cook covered on medium-low heat until kale is wilted and tender (8-15 minutes depending on the thickness of your kale).

2. Remove skillet from heat and stir in vinegar. Taste for salt and add fresh ground pepper. Toss everything to coat and serve. Enjoy!

-Laura