Kabuli Chana Biryani (Chickpea-Vegetable Biryani)

This is a spectacular dish! The flavours are complex and delicious and everything balances perfectly. I was initially worried that the quantity of rice called for wouldn't be enough for the amount of curry, but it worked out just fine in the end. And the cashews and raisins on top are a wonderful finishing touch.

Kabuli Chana Biryani

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Rice

• 1 c. long-grain brown rice
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1/2 tsp. saffron threads
• 1 1/3 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

Curry

• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 2 small onions, 1 chopped, 1 halved and sliced
• 4-10 fresh green Thai chilies
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 4 green cardamom pods
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 (3" long) cinnamon sticks
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp. Sambhar Masala
• 1/2 tsp. Punjabi Garam Masala
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 c. water
• 100g spinach or kale, rinsed and chopped
• 225g cauliflower florets¹
• 2 c. cooked chickpeas

Toppings

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1/2 c. golden raisins or sultanas
• 1/2 c. raw cashews
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh mint
• 3/4 c. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Being by rinsing the rice and then placing it in a bowl with just enough water to cover it. Set aside for at least an hour.
2. Meanwhile, place the tomatoes, chopped onion, and fresh chilies in a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Heat 2 Tbsp. of ghee over medium to medium-high heat.
4. Add the cashews and raisins (for the topping) and cook, stirring frequently, for 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove the cashews and raisins from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside.
6. Add another 2 Tbsp. of ghee to the pan.
7. Add the cumin, cardamom, bay leaves, and cinnamon (for the curry) to the pan and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the sliced onion to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes.
9. Pour in the puréed mixture from the blender, reduce heat to medium-low and cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.
10. Stir in 1 tsp. salt, sambhar masala, and Punjabi masala and cook for a minute or so.
11. Stir in 2 c. of water and the greens.
12. Cover and cook until greens have wilted.
13. Stir in cauliflower (or zucchini) and chickpeas.
14. Cover and set aside while you prepare the rice.
15. Drain the rice.
16. Heat 2 Tbsp. of ghee over medium heat.
17. Add the rice and saffron and cook, stirring, for a minute or two.
18. Add water and salt, stir once, and allow to boil.
19. Cook rice (without stirring) until the water has almost completely absorbed.
20. Remove from heat, cover, and set aside while oven preheats.
21. Grease a 23x33cm (9x13") pan and preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
22. Pour the curry into the greased pan and spread it out to form an even layer.
23. Spread the rice into an even layer on top of the curry.
24. Top with mint and cilantro.
25. Cover and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 1 hour.
26. Remove from oven, uncover, and top with cashews and raisins.
27. Serve with flatbread(s), raita(s), and/or pickles of your choice.

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¹ I didn't have any cauliflower, but I did have an excess of zucchini. I tossed in 225g of chopped grilled zucchini in place of the cauliflower for my version and it worked very well. ^Back

Sarson da Saag (Mustard Green Curry)

We got some fresh and very pungent mustard greens from Psyche and were very excited to try them in a curry. I picked this simple mustard and ghee curry because I wanted something that would really let the greens shine. Unfortunately, this particular variety seems to become extremely bitter when cooked. I think, in future, I'll enjoy those greens fresh and save the curry recipes for the milder store-bought greens.

Sarson da Saag

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. mustard oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 4-6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1-2 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies
• 1-2 fresh green Thai chilies
• 450g mustard greens, rinsed and chopped
• 2 c. water
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 2 Tbsp. cornmeal
• juice of 1 lime

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the cumin seeds and sizzle for 10-15 seconds.
3. Immediately add garlic, dried chilies, and fresh chilies and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the mustard greens a handful at a time and cook until wilted.
5. Continue cooking, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 minutes.
6. Add water and bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
8. Transfer the curry to a blender and blend until smooth.
9. Return the blended mixture to the pan and add the ghee and cornmeal.
10. Cook, covered, over low heat, stirring occasionally, for ~15 more minutes.
11. Stir in lime juice and serve immediately.
12. Top each portion with additional ghee if desired.

The original recipe calls for making this with either grapfruits or pomelo. I'd never had a pomelo before, so I figured I'd take that option and give it a try. As it turns out, I don't really care for pomelo, so I wasn't really crazy about this salad. I'm still glad I tried it though! That said, in the future, I think I'll stick with grapefruits and give the pomelo a miss.

Grapefruit Salad

From Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

• 2 medium grapefruits (or 1 small pomelo)
• 1/4 c. thinly sliced shallots, soaked in cold water
• 1 tsp. Dried Shrimp Powder
• 1 Tbsp. Toasted Chickpea Flour
• 2 Tbsp. Fried Shallots
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. Shallot Oil

Directions

1. Peel the grapfruits with a sharp knife, being sure to remove the pith as well as the peel.
2. Carefully cut along the membranes between the segments to free the fruit from all traces of membrane and/or pith. Place the juicy segments in a bowl and set aside.
3. Squeeze the membranes over the bowl to release any remaining juice.
4. Once the shallots have soaked for at least 10 minutes, drain them and add them to the bowl with the grapefruit segments.
5. Add shrimp powder, chickpea flour, and fried shallots and toss to mix.
6. Add fish sauce and shallot oil and toss again.
7. Season to taste with additional fish sauce and/or salt.

I have, apparently, been quite remiss in writing up the Burmese recipes that I've tried. I've made quite a few at this point. I've liked most of them. But when I went to check the blog... I could only find one!

I'm trying to rectify this now. This means that the Burmese recipes will probably be coming thick and fast for a few days with not too much in the way of notes or musings since it's been ages since I cooked most of them. I'll do my best to add relevant commentary, but it may be a bit sparse. I know, for instance, that I made this carrot salad. But I can't remember a darn thing about it!

Mandalay Grated Carrot Salad

Slightly adapted from Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

• 225g carrots, grated
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 2 tsp. Dried Shrimp Powder
• 1 tsp. Toasted Chickpea Flour
• 1 tsp. minced green Thai or cayenne chili
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1 Tbsp. chopped toasted or dry-roasted unsalted peanuts
• 2 Tbsp. Fried Shallots
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro or mint

Directions

1. Place the carrots in a bowl and add the lime juice and fish sauce.
2. Press/mash with the back of a wooden spoon for a few minutes to break them up a bit.
3. Add the shrimp powder and chickpea flour and toss to mix.
4. Add the chili and salt and toss again.
5. Add the peanuts, fried shallots, and herbs and toss a final time.
6. Adjust seasoning to taste with salt, lime juice, and/or fish sauce and serve immediately.

This is pretty much exactly what it says on the tin: get some dried shrimp, soak them, then grind them up. The author stresses the importance of getting good-quality dried shrimp. She recommends getting the largest ones you can find with the darkest colour: Red > pink > beige. She also advises looking for shrimp that still have a little give to them rather than being rock-hard and completely dry.

Dried Shrimp Powder

From Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

• 1 c. dried shrimp

Directions

1. Place the shrimp in a bowl and add enough water to just cover them. Set aside for 10-20 minutes.
2. Drain the shrimp and dry them off.
3. Use a mortar and pestle or a food processor to grind them into a somewhat fluffy powder.
4. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Fish Cakes (Burmese)

I don't have a food processor, so I always find these a little labour-intensive as I have to grind the fish by hand. But, with the appropriate appliances, this is a very easy dish to make. Very different from what I grew up calling "fish cakes", which really seem to be more like fish croquettes with their mashed potato and crispy breading. Both are good, but I think I'd give the edge to these Burmese fish cakes with their mouth-watering aromatics and the tendency to let the fish really take centre stage and shine.

Fish Cakes

From Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

• 225g tilapia (or other white fish) fillets, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. minced shallots
• 2 tsp. minced garlic
• 1 tsp. minced ginger
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• canola (or other neutral) oil, for frying

Directions

1. Combine fish chunks, shallots, garlic, ginger, and salt in a bowl or food processor. Mash, grind, or process the fish until it's broken down and the mixture is as smooth and homogenous as possible.
2. Lightly oil a plate and set it next to you.
3. Working with ~1 Tbsp. of the fish mixture at a time, shape it into a smooth ball, flatten it into a disc about 4cm across, and set on the oiled plate.
4. Once all of the fish mixture has been used up, heat ~0.5cm of oil over medium-high heat.
5. Carefully pick up a fish cake and slide it into the oil. Keep adding patties to the pan until it starts seeming too crowded to add more.
6. Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side.
7. Once patties are cooked through and golden on both sides, remove from pan and allow to drain off excess oil. (You can hold them over the pan in a spider for a minute or fit a small rack over one side of the pan/wok where they can sit and drain.)
8. Transfer cooked fish cakes to a plate to cool.

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Variations

Fish Balls

Ingredients

as above

Directions

1. Make fish mixture as above.
2. Working with ~1/2 Tbsp. of fish mixture, shape it into a small ball and set it on the oiled plate. Repeat until all of the fish mixture has been used.
3. Bring a pot of broth or water to a boil.
4. Drop the fish balls in and allow to cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Fish balls may be eaten immediately or frozen for later use.

FODMAP-Friendly Version

Ingredients

• 225g tilapia (or other white fish) fillets, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. minced scallion, green parts only
• 1 tsp. minced ginger
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• Garlic Oil, for frying

Batirsh (Eggplant Dip with Tomato Sauce and Ground Lamb)

I've only ever had eggplant dip as an appetizer/mezze. I was intrigued to find this main course dish that uses baba ganouj/mutabal as its base. It's really good. The different flavours and textures all complement each other really well. It's meant to be enjoyed as-is on pitas or bell peppers, but I like to add another layer and a bit of grilled halloumi and mint to my pita.

Batirsh

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1/2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 400-500g fresh tomatoes, blended OR canned crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 250g ground lamb
• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1 recipe mutabal
• 1-2 Tbsp. pine nuts, toasted
• 2 Tbsp. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• flatbread and bell peppers, to serve

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat.
2. Add garlic and cook until fragrant and just starting to brown.
3. Add tomatoes and salt, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium heat.
5. Add the lamb to the oil and cook, breaking up any large chunks, until all the pink is gone. You may season the lamb with salt and pepper if desired. I used ~1/2 tsp. of coarse sea salt and maybe two dozen grinds of pepper.
6. Place the mutabal in a serving dish, layer some tomato sauce on top of it and place the lamb on top of that.
7. Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley and serve with pita wedges and pieces of bell pwpper for dipping.

Mutabal (Eggplant Dip)

I grew up eating an eggplant dip very much like this. Everyone seems to call it baba ganouj here. It's very garlicky and delicious. This seems to be a very similar dish, but apparently "baba ganouj/ganoush" is something completely different in Syria and they call this dip "mutabal". It's a little less garlicky and more lemony than the version I grew up with, but very similar otherwise.

I strongly recommend charring the eggplant over an open flame if you can. It makes a world of difference. Personally, I think wood or charcoal gives a better flavour than gas. I've tried cooking my eggplants under a gas broiler and directly over a gas burner on the stove, but the flavour when I did them on a charcoal barbecue was much, much better. That said, if you don't have any way of doing a wood or charcoal fire, gas will work. And the dip will still be nice. It just won't have the same smoky element to it.

Mutabal

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants
• 2 cloves garlic¹
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 3 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 2 Tbsp. tahini
• juice of 1 lemon²
• olive oil, to serve
• polegranate arils, to serve (optional)
• flatbread and/or veggies, to serve

Directions

1. Fire up your grill, preheat your broiler, or turn on a gas burner.
2. Poke the eggplants all over with a sharp knife.
3. Cook over (or under) open flame, turning occasionally, until the skin is blackened and crispy all over. The flesh will get very soft and the skin will begin to split. Make sure the eggplants are thoroughly charred over their entire surface.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Carefully peel off the blackened skin. Discard the skin and stems.
6. Mash or purée the flesh.
7. Crush the garlic and salt with a mortar and pestle and add it to the mashed eggplant.
8. Mix in the yogurt, tahini, and lemon juice.
9. Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.
10. Drizzle with olive oil.
11. Sprinkle a few pomegranate arils on top (if using)
12. Serve with wedges of flatbread for dipping.

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¹ If you're feeling lazy, you can swap out the fresh garlic for garlic paste. ^Back
2 I found my mutabal to be very lemony. I was using it for batrish, so the strong lemon flavour ended up balancing out with the other ingredients, but I think it would've been too strong on its own. If you're planning on serving the mutabal alone, it might be worth holding back half the lemon juice. Taste it and see if you think it needs the rest first. ^Back

Ghraibi (Butter Cookies)

I was craving dessert tonight and wanted something that could easily be shared with friends, so I made these simple cookies. They're delicious and very easy to make. The flavours balance each other perfectly. The rose water is present without being overwhelming. I like them a lot.

Ghraibi

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 75g unsalted butter
• 75g icing (powdered/confectioners') sugar
• 1 tsp. rose water
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 150g all-purpose flour
• 1 egg white
• 1 Tbsp. neutral oil
• 15-20 shelled pistachios

Directions

1. Warm the butter until very soft and beginning to melt.
2. Sift in the icing sugar and beat with a wooden spoon until fully incorporated. It may seem dry at first, but if you keep stirring it will form a smooth, buttery paste.
3. Stir in rose water and vanilla.
4. Mix in the flour, egg white, and oil.
5. Knead for a few minutes, adding a little more oil if the dough is too dry.
6. Cover and chill for 30 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
8. Shape the dough into several small balls and place on a lined baking sheet. You should get 15-20 in all.
9. Slightly flatten the balls and press a pistachio into the top of each one.
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 12-13 minutes. The cookies should still be pale and very nearly the same colour after baking as before.
11. Best enjoyed fresh!

Labneh (Strained Yogurt)

Labneh is distinct from "Greek yogurt" which is another thick, strained yogurt. Greek yogurt is usually just strained overnight. This strains off most of the whey and results in a deliciously thick and creamy yogurt. Labneh takes it a step further. You add salt to the yogurt before straining and let it drain for a full 24 hours, with a weight on top. This draws out even more moisture. So, rather than having a thick, spoonable yogurt, you end up with something that's more akin to a fresh cheese. It can be used as a spread or even shaped into balls.

The recipe I have says that 500mL of plain yogurt should make ~250mL of labneh. I started with just of 1L of yogurt, and by the looks of it I'm going to end up with maybe 300mL of labneh. I suspect that the recipe authors may be used to working with richer yogurt with a higher concentration of milk solids. I did add a little bit of skim milk powder to my milk to help produce a thicker yogurt, but I think next time I'd be inclined to add some cream as well. It should still work fine regardless. Just be aware that you may lose a lot of volume depending on how rich the milk/yogurt you're starting with is.

Labneh

Slightly adapted from Our Syria by Itab Azzam and Dina Mousawi

Ingredients

• 1L plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• olive oil
• fresh mint, chopped (optional)

Directions

1. If making your own yogurt be sure to use whole milk. I recommend adding a bit of cream and/or dry milk powder as well.¹ If using store-bought yogurt, be sure that it doesn't have any gelatine or other stabilizers added as those will likely prevent it from draining properly.
2. Stir the salt into the yogurt.
3. Line a fine mesh seive with a double layer of cheesecloth and pour the salted yogurt into it.
4. Fold the cheesecloth over the yogurt and place a weight on top.²
5. Allow yogurt to drain at room temperature for a full 24 hours.
6. Once drained, it should be thick enough to handle and shape into balls. (Almost like a slightly dry ricotta.)
7. Shape into several small balls (maybe ~1 Tbsp. each) and store submerged in olive oil in the fridge or transfer to a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with fresh mint, and serve as a spread.

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¹ I used 1L of whole (3.25%) milk + 1/4 c. skim milk powder. Next time I'd probably replace 250mL of milk with cream (either 18 or 35%) as well. This version worked fine. I just ended up with a lot less labneh than expected. ^Back
2 I let my yogurt drain for several hours first. Once it had stiffened up a bit, then I folded the cheesecloth over and placed the weight on top. (This wasn't actually an intentional decision at the outset; I simply forgot that you were supposed to use a weight. But, now that I've had a chance to think about it, I think that it would've been difficult to press the very runny yogurt that I started out with. Better to let it firm up a little first and then press that. ^Back

The kidlet was lukewarm on this and I thought it was ok but not outstanding, but symbol loved it and had two bowls, and it's very easy to make -- apart from the greens, it even uses ingredients that we almost always have on hand. So I could definitely see us making this again.

I made a few modifications to make the green onions more evenly distributed, and it's that modified version I record here.

Sesame-Soy Salad

Hello Fresh

Ingredients

• 1 lb beyond meat (or ground beef)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 2-4 tsp sriracha
• ¼ C oyster sauce
  
• 1+1 tbsp soy sauce, divided
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
  
• 2 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 1 tsp sugar
• ½ lb spring mix

Directions

1. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
2. Add the meat, breaking into bite-sized pieces. Cook until slightly crispy.
3. Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, ~1 minute.
4. Add the sriracha, oyster sauce, and half of the soy sauce. Stir together until the sauce is absorbed.
5. Remove from the heat and stir in the green onions.
   
6. Whisk together the remaining soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and sugar.
7. Toss with the spring mix and bell peppers.
8. Serve salad topped with meat.

Tonnarelli ai Canestrelli

We made this with minor variation; symbol brought home half a pound of discount scallops, and we had about 200g of corn spaghetti that needed to be used up, so I combined the two to make a half batch of this recipe. I've written up the original recipe here, using 1lb of scallops and tonnarelli.

It comes together very quickly, and you can skip toasting the bread crumbs if you want to.

Tonnarelli ai Canestrelli (Tonnarelli with Scallops)

The Classic Pasta Cookbook, p.107

Ingredients

• 1 lb dried pasta
• ½ C + 2 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 2-4 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼-½ tsp red pepper flakes
• 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 lb scallops, of which ¼ are finely chopped
• ¼ C breadcrumbs, toasted

Directions

1. Begin bringing the water for the pasta to a boil.
2. While that happens, put ½ C of olive oil, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook until the garlic turns fragrant, ~30 seconds.
3. Stir in the parsley.
4. Add the whole scallops, season with salt, and cook, stirring often, until they are no longer translucent, 3-5 minutes.
5. Add the chopped scallops and cook, stirring, for 1-2 minutes.
6. Remove from the heat.
7. Cook the pasta al dente.
8. Drain pasta and toss with the scallops, remaining olive oil, and bread crumbs.
9. Serve as is or with parmesan.

I had some extra egg yolks to use up and decided to try out this baked custard now that we've restocked on chocolate. I'm really pleased with how it came out. Pleasantly chocolatey and not too sweet. I served it with a dollop of unswetened whipped cream.

Chocolate Custard

Slightly adapted from the Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 2 c. whole (3-4%) milk
• 85g dark chocolate
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 large egg yolks¹
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Heat milk over medium-low heat until hot, but not boiling.
3. Add chocolate and sugar and stir until chocolate has melted and sugar has dissolved.
4. Remove from heat and set aside.
5. Whisk together eggs, egg yolks, and vanilla.
6. Slowly whisk in the milk mixture.
7. If desired, strain the mixture. (I didn't bother with straining.)
8. Pour the mixture into a baking dish or several small ramekins.
9. Place the dish(es) into a large baking pan and pour boiling water into the pan so that it comes halfway up the sides of the dish(es).
10. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 30 minutes.
11. My custard didn't seem quite set yet, so I removed it from the bain marie and baked it at 160°C (325°F) for another 5 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and allow to cool.
13. Serve room temperature or chilled. Top with whipped cream if desired.

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¹ My eggs were a little on the small side and I had three egg yolks to use up, so I just put them all in. ^Back

This is yet another recipe courtesy of the Good Egg. We made this one a few weeks ago, but I've been slow to get recipes written up lately and it initially slipped through the cracks.

The basic recipe is very simple: just scrambled eggs with some garlic, herbs, and Parmesan tossed with fresh noodles. It reminds me a bit of a spaghetti fritatta and a bit of the onion and fried egg pasta dish that TF and I used to make often (also from this cookbook). This one just uses scrambled eggs rather than fried.

In the notes below the recipe, the author mentions several possibile additions to the recipe: mushrooms, bacon, chicken, broccoli, sausage, or roasted red pepper. We had most of those things on hand already, so we decided to add a whole selection! The resulting pasta was probably much "busier" than the original recipe intended, but we liked it quite a lot and felt that it worked fairly well as a self-contained meal.

Hugo's Pasta Mama

Adapted from the Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 onion, chopped (optional)
• 250g cremini mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 450g Beyond Meat Italian sausage (optional)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped (optional)
• 1-2 c. chopped frozen spinach or kale (optional)
• 6-7 large eggs
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh (flat-leaf) parsley
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp. dried oregano)
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 350g pasta of your chohice
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium heat and put a pot of water on to boil.
2. Once the water boils, add the pasta and cook until al dente/tender-firm, then drain.
3. Meanwhile, add garlic and onion (if using).
4. Once onion has softened, add the mushrooms (if using). Cover and cook until mushroom have released their liquid.
5. Add sausage (if using) and cook until mushroom water has evaporated and sausage is cooked through.
6. Add bell pepper (if using) and cook for a minute or two.
7. Add spinach or kale (if using) and cook until greens have thawed and are heated through.
8. Whisk together the eggs, Parmesan, parsley, oregano, salt, and pepper and set aside.
9. Once pasta is cooked and drained and all of the various inclusions are cooked, add the pasta to the pan.
10. Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and cook, stirring gently, until the eggs are just set.
11. Sprinkle with basil and more Parmesan and serve.

I can't believe I haven't written this recipe up yet! It's one of our favourites. The fishcakes are a little fiddly to make (only because I hate trying to grind up the fish), but the results are absolutely delicious. And once you have the fish cakes, the rest of the salad is easy-peasy. We've made this one a bunch of times and I'm sure we'll be making it again. So tasty!

Fish Cake Salad

Slightly adapted from Burma: Rivers of Flavour by Naomi Duguid

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. Scallion Oil, made with green parts only
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 green Thai or cayenne chili, minced
• 1 tsp. Toasted Chickpea Flour
• 1 Tbsp. Fried Shallots, from scallion oil made with green parts only
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Salad

• 1 recipe Fish Cakes
• 1 c. shredded Napa cabbage¹

Directions

1. Whisk together all dressing ingredients and set aside.
2. Cut each fishcake in half and place in a large bowl.
3. Add the cabbage.
4. Whisk the dressing and pour it over the salad.
5. Toss to mix.
6. Adjust seasonings to taste with additional fish sauce, lime juice, or salt.

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Variants

FODMAP-Friendly Version

Ingredients

Dressing

• 1 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 tsp. Shallot Oil
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1 green Thai or cayenne chili, minced
• 1 tsp. Toasted Chickpea Flour
• 1 Tbsp. Fried Shallots
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Salad

• 1 recipe Fish Cakes
• 1 c. shredded Napa cabbage

Do not substitue "brocco-slaw" for the shredded cabbage if preparing this salad as a low-FODMAP dish. While cabbage is usually well-tolerated in servings of up to half a cup (and many people can have up to a cup at a time), broccoli stems are high FODMAP and should be avoided.

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¹ I've also had great success using coleslaw, "kale-slaw", and "brocco-slaw" mix. You can also make your own "brocco-slaw" by julienning broccoli stems and a small carrot. It's a great way to use up the stems! ^Back

The Kidlet and I wanted to try this funfetti cupcake recipe. I already have a good one, but I wanted to give this one a go and see how it compared. Overall, I think I like the America's Test Kitchen recipe better, but this one is still nice. The cupcakes rise fairly well, and they're tender. They are very sweet. So sweet that the Kidlet and I decided that we didn't want to ice them after all. That said, flavour is nice and they do work quite well as an uniced cupcake.

In future I'll probably go back to the ATK recipe for my future confetti cupcake needs, but I'm glad I gave this one a try.

Funfetti Cupcakes

slightly adapted from C&C Cakery via the Something Awful Forums

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
• 1 c. sugar
• 3 large egg whites
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract
• 1/4 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. sprinkles

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a miffin tin with cupcake liners/papers.
2. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Beat in egg whites one at a time.
5. Beat in vanilla and almond extracts.
6. In a small measuring cup, whisk together milk and yogurt.
7. Add half of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and stir to combine.
8. Pour in the milk mixture and stir to combine.
9. Stir in the remaining flour mixture along with the sprinkles.
10. Spoon into cupcake liners. Do not overfill. This recipe should just make 12 cupcakes. It may look like the wells are underfulled, but they should rise fairly well during baking.
11. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for ~20 minutes.
12. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool.
13. Once completely cooled, ice if desired. The original recipe recommends a Swiss meringue buttercream, but I would be inclined to try a French buttercream to help use up the excess egg yolks.
14. Garnish with additional sprinkles.

In the stock recipe I wrote up yesterday, I kept referring to the braising liquid from these ribs. Given that, I figured I'd better write up this recipe next.

These ribs were really excellent. The homemade barbecue sauce really made them. I found it a bit on the tomato-y/ketchup-y side for my tastes, but that's probably because I didn't boil the braising liquid down as much as I was supposed to. You're supposed to strain it and then boil it down until you have only ~3/4 of a cup left. I didn't want to do that for reasons of both time and heat and humidity. I also didn't feel like straining the sauce. So instead, I boiled it down 'til there was maybe 2 cups left (including all the solids) and then I used a generous 3/4 c. in the sauce and the rest went into the roasting pan with the vegetables and soup bones. I'm sure if I'd concentrated the liquid as much as I was supposed to it would've balanced out the tomato flavour. In lieu of that, I think that next time I'd try adding a teaspoon or two of dark mushroom soy sauce.

Braised Barbecued Short Ribs

Slightly adapted from The Right Recipe

Ingredients

Braising

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds
• 2 bottles of beer¹
• 1 c. dry white wine
• 1 chipotle in adobo²
• 1 tsp. chicken stock powder (or amount needed to make 1 c. of stock)
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 bay leaf
• 2-2.3kg short (braising/English cut) ribs
• water³ (optional, see footnote)

Barbecuing

• braising liquid (from above)
• 1 c. ketchup
• 2 Tbsp. molasses
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1-2 tsp. dark soy sauce (optional)

Directions

Braising

1. Heat oil over medium heat. (Or use "sauté" setting on InstantPot.)
2. Add onion and garlic and cook until softened.
3. Add oregano and cumin and sizzle for 30-60 seconds.
4. Pour in beer and wine.
5. Add chipotle, stock powder, peppercorns, bay leaf, and ribs.
6. If necessary, add water to just cover the ribs.
7. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
8. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2-3 hours.
9. Remove ribs from braising liquid and set aside to cool.

Barbecuing

1. If desired, strain the braising liquid and remove the solids.
2. Return liquid to pot and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Cook, uncovered for ~60 minutes.
4. Combine 3/4 c. of the braising liquid (which may or may not be all of it) with the ketchup, molasses, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and soy sauce (if using). Excess braising liquid can be reserved for another use.
5. Stir to combine and heat sauce over medium heat. Simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes to marry the flavours.
6. Meanwhile, heat up your grill. The ribs will be cooked over direct heat, so arrange your coals/burners accordingly.
7. Oil either the cooking grates or the meat or both and toss the ribs on the grill.
8. Once the ribs have some good colour on them (3-5 minutes per side), baste with sauce and cook for another minute or two on each side.
9. Serve hot with additinal sauce and roasted veggies or other sides of your choice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 3 bottles of lager. I didn't have any lager, but I did have a bottle each of alcoholic ginger beer, some sort of raspberry beer, and white wine. I put in both of the sugary beers + some dry white wine to balance it out a bit. ^Back
2 The original recipe calls for a fresh jalapeño to be minced and sautéed with the onion and garlic. I didn't have any fresh jalapeños, but I did have a tin of chipotles in adobo. I figured it would work just fine since chipotles are just smoked jalapeños anyway. There were some aditional flavours from the adobo, but I think they were all harmonious. If you don't have any chipotles on hand, feel free to use a jalapeño instead. ^Back
3 I was using up the last of my braising ribs and only had ~1.6kg left. Because the quantity of ribs was less, I found that I didn't need any water to get enough liquid to cover the ribs. If you're making this with the full amount of ribs, you may find that you need to add water to get the ribs fully submerged. ^Back

I have a bunch of other recipes to write up, but I'm doing this one right away because I took a lot of liberties with the recipe and I don't want to forget what I did. I don't normally use a recipe for stock, I pretty much just put a bunch of things in a pot, add water and heat, and wait for it to become delicious. That method has always worked pretty well for me. And it's a great way to use up odd bits of stuff and vegetable peels. I actually made an amazing stock a few months ago that was pretty much just leftover chicken bones, onion, garlic, vegetable peels, and some spices. I honestly wish I'd done a write-up for that one. It ended up being one of the best stocks I've ever made. But I should stop reminiscing about that stock and start talking about this stock. This stock is (loosely) based on a recipe out of Offal Good. As I said, I made quite a few modifications to make it fit what I had avaialbe, but it's still inspired by their recipe.

The original recipe is for veal stock. It calls for veal knuckles, onion, carrot, celery, fennel, garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, black pepper, coriander seeds, fresh parsley, and thyme. I didn't have veal knuckles, but I did have some beef soup bones that needed using, so I used them! I didn't have any fennel either, so I just tossed in some fennel seeds instead. I did have tomato paste, but I also had some fire-roasted diced tomatoes sitting in the fridge that needed to be used, so I swapped them in. The tomato paste is more concentrated and was meant to be added to the vegetables for roasting. Hopefully the larger volume and fire-roasting helps make up for the less concentrated flavour. I also tossed in a small amount of cilantro, mostly because I had it and I figured it would complement the coriander seeds.

The other big change with this recipe is that I was making it after grilling some short ribs. The ribs were braised for a couple hours first and then grilled and basted with a barbecue sauce made from some of the braising liquid. Afterward I filled a roasting pan with soup bones and vegetables and poured the leftover braising liquid over them. I roasted everything together until the veggies were tender and delicious and the liquid had cooked down to a delicious glaze. We ate most of the roasted veggies with dinner, but the soup bones and glaze went into the pot for stock. Then, instead of roasting more veggies for the stock, I just put raw ones into the pot. Maybe the broth won't be quite as flavourful that way, but I'm hoping that the glaze and roasted bones will make up for it. It certainly smells like it's going to be a delicious stock!

Veal/Beef Stock

Adapted from Offal Good by Chris Cosentino

Ingredients

• 2kg beef or veal bones¹
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 carrot, cut into large chunks
• 2 stalks celery, cut into large chunks
• 2-6 cloves garlic²
• 2L water
• 2 c. diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
• 1/4 c. fresh parsley
• 1 Tbsp. fresh cilantro (optional)
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Roast your soup bones. I roasted mine on the barbecue with a whole mess of veggies, garlic, scallion oil, and some leftover braising liquid from cooking short ribs. If you're not doing any of that, then just roast them in the oven at 180°C (350°F) for ~45 minutes.
2. Dump your roasted soup bones into a pot. (I like using the InstantPot for this, but a regular pot on the stove works too.)
3. Optional: You may also roast your veggies if desired. Half an hour at 180°C (350°F) should do the trick. If you're using tomato paste, rather than diced tomatoes, toss the veggies with it before roasting. Otherwise, leave the tomatoes out until you're adding everything to the pot.
4. Add (optionally roaste) veggies to the pot with the roasted bones.
5. Add water, tomatoes (if using), bay leaf, peppercorns, coriander, fennel, parsley, cilantro (if using), thyme, and salt.
6. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for at least 8 hours.
7. Cool, strain, and discard solids.
8. Stock may be frozen for future use. I like to freeze mine in ice cube trays to have easy portions available as needed.

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¹ I'm not sure exactly how many soup bones I had, but I think it was probably ~2kg give or take. ^Back
2 I only added two cloves of garlic to the stock because I'd already added six cloves to the braising liquid for the ribs and a further nine to the roasting pan when cooking the veggies. Now, some of that garlic ended up in the barbecue sauce and some ended up getting eaten with dinner, but there was still a lot of garlic-y goodness in the soup bones and the glaze that went into the pot with them, so I felt pretty comfortable going light on the garlic in the pot. If you're making this fresh, without the benefit of braising liquid/glaze/etc., then I'd recommend tossing at least five or six cloves of garlic in the pot. ^Back

I made quiche the other day. The recipe was for a "shallow 9 inch tart tin", which is what I used. My eggs weren't overly large, but I still somehow managed to have nearly a cup of custard left over. Since the custard was unseasoned, I decided to look for something else to do with it to use it up and landed on this coconut custard recipe. The original recipe alls for 3 large eggs + 1 yolk and 2 cups of milk or half-and-half. I figured that since I had about a cup of custard left (made with heavy cream), I'd just add two whole eggs and a cup of milk and call it a day.

The recipe below follows the book, rather than exactly what I did since I don't expect everyone to be making this with half a portion of left over custard mixture. The only change I've made is to mix the full amount of coconut into the custard rather than saving a portion for sprinkling on top. I tried it with extra coconut sprinkled on top and it was fine, but I don't think I added anything that mixing the extra into the custard wouldn't have done.

Coconut Custard

Slightly adapted from the Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 2/3 c. sweetened flaked coconut
• 3 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1/3 c. sugar
• 2 c. half-and-half (10%) or table (18%) cream
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 160°C (325°F) and boil some water.
2. Spread coconut out on a pie plate or baking sheet and bake until golden (~5 minutes).
3. If using individual custard cups, divide the coconut evenly between the cups and place them in a 23x33cm (9x13") baking pan. If using one large dish, place the coconut in the bottom of the dish and set it inside a larger pan.
4. Whisk eggs, egg yolk, and sugar together.
5. Whisk in cream and vanilla.
6. Pour mixture into baking dish or divide between custard cups.
7. Add boiling water to the outer pan to come ~halfway up the side of the custard dish(es).
8. Bake until set but still jiggly (25-30 minutes).
9. Remove from oven and cool slightly before serving. Serve warm or chilled.

I've already written up a couple different recipes for chilaquiles. The chicken chilaquiles from Cook's Country were delicious, but then I started trying to reduce my meat intake, so I tried out a vegetarian recipe instead. It was okay but, I have to admit, not as good as the Cook's Country recipe. I've been enjoying the recipes from this Spoon Fork Bacon blog though, so I figured I'd give one of their recipes for chilaquiles a go.

I like this recipe. It's pretty quick and simple to throw together and the flavour is nice. I can see myself coming back to this one for an easy breakfast when I have tortilla chips on hand (which, admittedly, isn't often).

Easy Chilaquiles

Slightly adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients

Sauce

• 3 Tbsp. oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 1/2 c. crushed tomatoes
• 4 chipotles in adobo
• 1 c. chicken or vegetable stock
• tortilla chips

Toppings

As many or as few as you like. I recommend eggs, cheese, and cilantro as the minimum set, but mix and match as you see fit.

• 2 Tbsp. oil
• 4 eggs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. crumbled queso fresco or feta
• 2 radishes, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 avocado, chopped
• hot sauce

Directions

Sauce

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for another 2 minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, chipotles, and stock and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, get the fried eggs going.
6. Once the eggs are done or nearly done, bring the sauce to a boil and stir in a few handfulls of tortilla chips.
7. Stir to coat the chips. Add more if needed. Each chip should be well-coated in sauce, but the mixture should not be soupy or have excess sauce.
8. If you like very crunchy chips, remove from heat immediately and add desired toppings. If you like softer chips, let the mixture cook for 2-3 minutes before continuing.

Toppings

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Crack eggs into pan, season to taste with salt and pepper, and fry to desired done-ness. 3-4 minutes should result in set whites with runny yolks. To ensure the film of white over the yolk cooks, you may cover the pan in order to allow the egg to steam slightly as it fries. For firm yolks, flip the eggs.
3. Once the chips have been added to the sauce and the desired level of crispiness/softness has been achieved, add the fried eggs and other toppings to the chilaquiles.
4. Serve immediately.

Lovage, Tomato, and Cheese Tart

This tart is way tastier than it has any right to be! I don't understand it. There's nothing wrong with the ingredient list, but it didn't seem particularly inspiring either. No herbs, no spices (beyond black pepper), no Parmesan. There's some onion and garlic and Cheddar and things, but I wasn't confident that any of it would really shine. I put one or more kinds of cheese in almost every quiche I make -- onions and garlic are pretty common too -- but they don't all come out like this! They're usually tasty, sure, but not the addictive, rich, satisfying flavour-bomb that this one turned out to be. I am really impressed. I was already planning the modifications and improvements in my head while preparing it but, now that I've actually tried it, I don't think it needs any changes at all.

Loveage, Tomato, and Cheese Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts by Elizabeth Hodder

Ingredients

• 175g Pastry
• 25g unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. finely chopped fresh lovage (young leaves only)¹
• 3 large eggs
• 300mL heavy (35%) cream
• black pepper, to taste
• 4 ripe tomatoes, skinned, chopped, and juices drained²
• 115g old/sharp/mature Cheddar, grated

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200°C (400°F) and line a shallow 23cm (9") tart tin³ with the pastry.
2. Line the pie shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Blind bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat.
4. Add the onions and garlic and cook for 2-3 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10-15 minutes.
6. Add the lovage and cook, uncovered, for 1 more minute. If using celery instead, cook for 5 more minutes.
7. Remove from heat and set aside.
8. Lightly beat the eggs.
9. Remove the parchemnt paper and pie weights from the pie shell and brush the pastry with beaten egg.
10. Return the pie shell to the oven and bake for another 5 minutes.
11. Mix the cream with the beaten eggs and season to taste with pepper.
12. Once the pie shell is fully baked, remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 190°C (375°F).
13. Sprinkle ~1/2 of the cheese over the bottom of the pie shell.
14. Add the onion mixture in an even layer on top of the cheese.
15. Add an even layer of chopped tomatoes over the onion.
16. Pour in the custard, being careful not to overflow the pie shell.
17. Top with remaining cheese.
18. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 30 minutes.
19. Serve warm.

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¹ If you don't have access to fresh lovage, you may use celery instead. (This is, incidentally, what I did.) Celery has a much milder flavour than lovage, so you'll need a lot more of it. Use 3-4 stalks of minced celery to replace the lovage. ^Back
2 I didn't have any fresh tomatoes on hand, so I used fire-roasted tinned diced tomatoes with the juices drained. I didn't measure the amount. I think I probably used ~300mL of tomatoes. ^Back
3 I used a shallow 23cm tart tin as directed but found that there wasn't enough room for all the custard. I had a scant cup left over. I would recommend either using a deep dish 23cm pie plate or scaling back the custard slightly. Maybe just two eggs and 200mL of cream. ^Back

Chinese Chicken Stock

I don't normally use a recipe for chicken stock. Chicken bones, maybe a neck, and a bunch of veggies and/or peelings go in a pot with some salt and water and maybe a few herbs. Cook everything together until delicious, strain, use or freeze as needed. No recipe necessary! But, after trying the Chinese vegetable stock recipe and being so impressed by it, I figured I'd give the chicken stock recipe on the next page a try as well.

It was fine. It was a perfectly acceptable chicken stock. But it wasn't really anything special. It wasn't any better than my "just throw a bunch of things in a pot" method. It wasn't worse. It was just... very standard, run-of-the-mill chicken stock. It didn't have the depth and intensity that I was expecting based on how the vegetable stock came out. Nothing wrong with it; it just didn't rock my world.

Chicken Stock

Slightly adapted from Mastering the Art of Chinese Cooking by Eileen Yin-Fei Lo

Ingredients

• 1 whole (3.5kg) chicken, quartered
• 900g chicken wings
• 4L water
• 125g fresh ginger, lightly smashed
• 4-5 cloves garlic
• 4-5 scallions, cut crosswise into thrids
• 2 onions, quartered
• 60g fresh cilantro, cut into 7cm lengths
• 1/4 c. fried onions (from Onion Oil)
• 1/4 c. goji berries (boxthorn seeds), soaked in hot water for 10 minutes
• 1 Tbsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Place the chicken parts (including giblets) in a large pot.
2. Add the water and other ingredients.
3. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Reduce heat to simmer and adjust lid so that the pot is still mostly covered, but with a small crack for steam to escape. Simmer for 5 hours, skimming as needed.
5. Remove from heat and allow to cool in pot.
6. Strain.
7. Stock may be refrigerated or frozen for later use.

This has been a very busy week; lots of appointments and running around. I was tired today and really didn't feel much like cooking, but I know that tomorrow is going to be another busy day and I may not get a chance to cook, so I figured I'd better cobble something together for dinner tonight.
I had some ready-made pie crusts in the freezer that really want used, so I decided to peruse the Book of Old Tarts to see if it held any inspiration. I've been buying Beyond Meat sausages whenever they go on sale and stashing them in the freezer for later use and I've finally restocked on cream as well, so this sausage and mustard tart caught my eye. I didn't have the right kind of beans, but I figured I'd swap in gigantes and give it a try anyway.

The original recipe calls for a "shallow 9-inch tart tin". I have a shallow 9" tart tin, so I baked it in that. This worked fine, but only, I think, because I was a little shy on the beans and didn't press the sausages down into the filling as directed. The sausages were also a bit too long to fit neatly in the tin. I think I'd be inclined to try it with a 10" tin next time.

As you can see, the tart lacked some structural integrity. I'm not sure if the filling was too wet or the crust was too thin or if it needed more time in the oven or what. That said, the flavour was excellent!

Sausage and Mustard Tart

Slightly adapted from the Book of Old Tarts

Ingredients

• 175g pastry
• 4 c. cooked butter beans or great northern beans (haricot beans)¹
• 3 Tbsp. Roman Mustard, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 3 Tbsp. table (18%) cream
• salt and pepper, to taste²
• 8 chipolata sausages or 4 mild Italian sausages, halved
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Directions

1. Roll out the pastry and use it to line a 23 or 25cm (9 or 10") shallow tart tin.³
2. Blind bake at 200°C (400°F) for 15 minutes. Ideally you would then remove the pie weights, brush with egg, and bake for another 5 minutes. I skipped the brushing with egg step.
3. Meanwhile, purée the beans with 2 Tbsp. of the mustard, ketchup, cream, salt, and pepper.
4. Pour the bean purée into the baked pie shell.
5. Place the sausages (or sausage halves) on top in a wheel spoke pattern, pressing them down into the filling.
6. Cover the pie with foil and bake at 180°C (350°F) for 35 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, combine the remaining 1 Tbsp. mustard, brown sugar, lemon juice, and Worcestershire sauce and mix well.
8. After 35 minutes, uncover the pie and brush with the mustard mixture.
9. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes.
10. Serve with fried onions, gravy, and/or creamed kale.

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Variations

Vegetarian Version

This makes for an easy vegetarian meal. Just use vegetarian sausages and Worcestershire sauce.

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¹ I didn't have either, so I used gigantes (mature lima beans). I cooked them in mixture of water and chicken stock with onion, garlic, bay leaves, peppercorns, chili flakes, and a Parmesan rind. ^Back
2 I didn't add any salt and pepper since there was already some in the cooking liquid from the beans. When I drained the beans, I removed the bay leaves and the Parmesan rind but left the peppercorns in. ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for a 9" tin, but that size seemed a bit small to me. I'll probably use a 10" tin the next time I make this recipe. ^Back

This cake was a rousing success! It's very rich and chocolate-y, not too sweet, the pecans come through nicely, and the ganache is just right; not too firm, not too sweet, just a perfect complement to the cake.

Chocolate-Pecan Torte

Slightly adapted from The Perfect Cake by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

Cake

• 227g dark chocolate
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 c. pecans
• 1 c. all-purpose flour
• 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• scant 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 4 large eggs, separated
• 1 c. packed brown sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/3 c. spiced rum

Ganache

• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 227g dark chocolate
• 2 Tbsp. corn syrup
• ~35 pecan halves

Directions

Cake

1. Preheat oven to 150°C (300°F) and grease and flour¹ a 23cm (9") springform pan.
2. Melt chocolate and butter together. (Microwaving at 50% power for 1-2 minutes works well.)
3. Process or blend pecans, flour, cinnamon, and salt together until ground and mostly uniform. (A few chunks are okay.)
4. Beat until light and fluffy but not quite at the soft peak stage.
5. Gradually add 1/4 c. of the sugar and continue beating to soft, glossy peaks.
6. Beat egg yolks with remaining 3/4 c. sugar and vanilla until pale and thick.
7. Gradually beat chocolate mixture into egg yolk mixture.
8. Slowly beat the rum into the chocolate-egg yolk mixture as well. (If you pour it in too quickly it'll splatter everywhere; go slow!)
9. Mix about 1/3 of the egg whites into the batter to loosen it. (No need to worry too much about deflating the eggs at this point.)
10. Using a spatula, fold in ~1/2 the pecan mixture.
11. Now gently fold in ~1/2 of the remaining egg whites. (Now being careful not to deflate them.)
12. Fold in the remaining pecan mixture followed by the remaining egg whites.
13. Carefully pour the batter into the prepared pan.
14. Bake at 150°C (300°F) for 45-55 minutes.
15. Transfer cake (still in the pan) to a wire rack to cool for at least two hours.
16. Once cooled, run a knife around the edge and remove the sides of the pan. Invert the cake onto either a serving platter or a wire rack over a baking sheet depending on how fancy you want to be. Remove the bottom of the pan from what is now the top of your cake.

Ganache

1. Bring cream to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Immediately pour over chocolate and let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Whisk until smooth and mix in corn syrup.
4. Pour ganache over cake, letting it run down the sides and coat the entire surface.
5. Transfer cake to fridge and chill for 30 minutes.
6. If you went the fancy route and cake is on a wire rack, transfer it to the serving platter at this point, leaving all the pooled ganache behind.
7. Decorate the bottom edge of the cake with the pecan halves and serve.

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¹ If you want to be very sure of not having any flecks of white flour left clinging to the surface of the cake once baked, you can use cocoa instead of flour. Making a paste of cocoa powder and melted butter and painting it on the pan works well. I usually don't bother with that and just use flour. ^Back

We put this together for breakfast a few days ago, and it was quite nice -- grating the potatoes takes a little while but once that's done the rest comes together very easily.

As usual, some modifications were made. We pre-cooked the bacon (actually tofu "bacon") in the skillet before adding the potatoes, so we didn't preheat the skillet in the oven; we also mixed in some onion and added an extra egg. As the authors mention, it's a versatile recipe that accepts a lot of variation.

Simple Cheesy Skillet Hashbrowns & Eggs

Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients

• 4 slices of tofu bacon
• 2+2+1 tbsp butter, divided
• 3 C grated potato
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 large eggs
• ½ C grated cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper
• chives and/or green onions

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
   
2. In a 10" oven-safe (ideally, cast-iron) skillet, cook the bacon.
3. Remove the bacon and mix it and the onion into the potato.
4. Add 2 tbsp of butter to the skillet, melt it, and swirl it around.
5. Add the potato-bacon-onion mix and spread it into an even layer. Make four shallow wells in it for the eggs.
6. Season with salt and pepper, crumble another 2 tbsp of butter over top, and bake until the potato is cooked, ~10 minutes.
7. Remove from the oven.
8. Divide the remaining 1 tbsp of butter between the four egg wells, then crack an egg into each well.
9. Top with shredded cheese.
10. Return to the oven until the cheese is melty and the egg whites are fully set, another 8-10 minutes.
11. Top with chives and/or green onions. Serve with chili-garlic sauce.

I was not previously familiar with the concept of roulades. I knew what a soufflé was, but not a roulade. As far as I can tell, it seems to be what happens when you bake a soufflé in a jelly roll pan and then top it with delicious fillings and roll it up. Like a savoury, fluffy, egg-y jelly roll. This is the basic roulade base. Once you have it baked, you can fill it with whatever strikes your fancy.

Basic Roulade

Slightly adapted from The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsalted butter
• 5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. white peppercorns, ground
• 1/8 tsp. ground cayenne
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 1/2 c. grated Swiss, Cheddar, or Gruyère (optional)
• 1/8 tsp. cream of tartar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F).
2. Grease a 25x38cm (10x15") jelly roll pan and then line the bottom and sides with parchment paper and grease the parchment paper as well. (If you have non-stick baking spray, it comes in handy here.)
3. Melt the butter over low heat.
4. Add the flour and cook, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes.
5. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
6. Cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes.
7. Stir in salt, white pepper, and cayenne and remove from heat.
8. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks to break them up.
9. Whisk in ~1/2 c. of the white sauce mixture to temper the yolks.
10. Gradually whisk in the remaining sauce until blended.
11. Stir in the cheese (if using).
12. Place the egg whites in a large bowl and add the cream of tartar.
13. Beat on low until soft peaks form.
14. Increase speed to high and beat until stiff peaks form.
15. Stir ~1/4 of the egg whites into the egg yolk mixture to loosen it.
16. Pour the loosened yolk mixture into the bowl with the remaining egg whites and carefully fold them together until blended.
17. Carefully pour the mixture into the prepared pan and spread evenly. (Keep the bowl very low so as not to deflate the eggs or use a spoon and spoon the mixture into the pan.)
18. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 15-18 minutes. The roulade should be puffed and golden when done.
19. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 2 minutes.
20. Grease a 38cm (15") long sheet of parchment paper and place it greased-side-down over the roulade.
21. Invert the roulade onto a cooling rack and lift off the jelly roll pand and carefully peel off the paper.
22. Roulade may be filled while still warm or once cooled to room temperature.
23. If not using immediately, roll it up in parchment paper, wrap it in tin foil, and refrigerate. It will keep in the fridge for up to two days.
24. Roulades that are intended to be served warm may be reheated in the oven once filled.

This was my first experience with both roulades and watercress. I think there will likely be more roulades in my future! They're a bit finicky to put together, but it makes for a really fun presentation.

Making the roulade base wasn't too difficult, but I found handling it once baked a bit tricky. It was extremely soft and delicate and I was constantly tearing it while trying to spread the cream cheese. I would recommend you make sure the cream cheese is very soft before trying to spread it. I think I'd be tempted to try to loosen it with a tablespoon or two of sour cream next time, just to make it a little easier to spread. Using a butter knife rather than a flexible spatula also helped.

The other thing to watch out for is the greasing. If you don't grease everything very, very well it will stick. My roulade base turned out of the pan beautifully, but it seems that I didn't grease the paper that I turned it out onto well enough and it stuck to that quite a bit when the time came to roll it up. Grease everything. And then grease it a bit more!

Smoked Salmon, Cream Cheese, and Watercress Roulade

From The Good Egg by Marie Simmons

Ingredients

• 250g cream cheese, softened
• 3 Tbsp. minced fresh chives
• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh dill
• 1-2 Tbsp. sour cream (optional)
• 1 recipe Basic Roulade, made without cheese, cooled
• 2 c. chopped watercress
• 250g smoked salmon, chopped¹
• 1/2 c. finely chopped cucumber²
• 2 Tbsp. capers, rinsed and chopped

Directions

1. Combine cream cheese, chives, dill, and sour cream (if using) and beat with a wooden spoon until light.
2. Spread the cream cheese mixture over the roulade leaving a 1cm (~1/2") border around the edges.
3. Top evenly with watercress followed by salmon, cucumber, and capers.
4. Gently roll up the roulade from the long edge. Use the parchment paper to help lift and roll it rather than trying to touch the roulade itself. Keep a spatula handy to help release the roulade from the paper in any spots where it might be sticking.
5. Cut into thick slices and serve.

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¹ Only just now realized that I totally forgot to chop the salmon. I just laid big ol' strips on the roulade and rolled it up! Simmons notes that chopping the salmon before adding it to the roulade makes the finished roll easier to slice. Good to know. ^Back
2 This was fine, but I'd be tempted to bump it up to 3/4 c. next time. ^Back