Gaji Namul (Korean Spicy Eggplant)

This is an old one. I made this the last time I was in NZ. I just never quite got around to writing it up. Which is a shame. Because it was delicious! Luckily, I kept a list of everything I made while I was over there. So I can rectify this grave oversight now.

Gaji Namul

Slightly adapted from Aaron & Claire

Ingredients

• 450g Asian eggplants
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp. gochugaru (Korean chile flakes)
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• pepper, to taste
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 green onions, chopped
• 1/2 mild red chile or bell pepper (optional), minced
• 1/2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Halve eggplants lengthwise, then cut into pieces about 5cm (2") long.
2. Set up a steamer, bring water to a boil, add eggplants to steamer, cover, and cook for ~5 minutes.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. Combine the soy sauce, sugar, gochugaru, fish sauce, sesame oil, and pepper to taste and stir to combine.
5. Add the garlic, green onion, and chile/bell pepper (if using). Set aside.
6. Once eggplant is cool enough to handle, tear it into bite-sized pieces.
7. Pour the sauce over the eggplant and toss to combine.
8. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.
9. Stir once more before serving.
10. Serve with rice and other banchan (side dishes) of your choice.

This was supposed to be a chickpea and turkey meatball soup. But I got mixed up about what was in the freezer and discovered that while we still had ground beef left, there was no turkey or chicken. So I ended up making it with beef instead. And it was delicious! (Possibly not quite as lean and healthy as it would've been with turkey, but very tasty nonetheless.)

Chickpea and Meatball Soup

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 450g ground turkey or extra lean beef
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. panko breadcrumbs
• 2-3 Tbsp. grated Parmesan
• 1 large egg
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Soup

• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 4 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1L chicken stock
• 1 bunch kale or mustard greens, chopped

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C (375°F) and line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.
2. Combine the mince, garlic, panko, Parmesan, egg, tomato paste, oregano, salt, and pepper and mix well.
3. Using very small amounts of the meat mixture, form tiny meatballs (~1.5cm across).
4. Place the meatballs in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, heat the oil over medium-high heat.
6. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened and beginning to brown (5-10 minutes).
7. Add the tomato paste and chickpeas and cook for a minute or two.
8. Season with salt and pepper and stir in the chicken stock.
9. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
10. Purée half the soup and return it to the pot (or use an immersion blender).
11. Add the meatballs and greens and stir to combine.
12. Cook until greens are wilted and everything is heated through (~5 minutes longer).

Cauliflower was on sale at the grocery store last week and it's been a while since we've had any, so I picked one up. I then consistently failed to cook it for the entire week. Luckily, I am finally getting back into the swing of meal planning now and hit upon this simple recipe to use it up. It's definitely not the most healthful vegetable side. Too much butter and oil for that. But it was very tasty!

Caramelized Cauliflower with Honey and Smoked Paprika

Slightly adapted from Vegetable of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 head caulflower, cut into florets
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1/2 tsp. sweet smoked paprika
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 2 Tbsp. water
• juice of 1/2 a lemon

Directions

1. Melt the butter with 1 Tbsp. of the oil over medium heat.
2. Add the cauliflower and sear for 3-4 minutes without disturbing.
3. Flip and sear for another 3-4 minutes. Repeat once or twice more.
4. Add the remaining Tbsp. of oil along with the onion, and garlic and cook until onion begins to brown (~5 minutes longer).
5. Add the chile flakes, paprika, honey, and water and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
6. Add the lemon juice and cook for ~30 seconds longer.
7. Remove from heat and serve.

Baked Rigatoni with Fennel, Sausage, and Peperonata

This was delicious! But I think it could have used more sausage. (And maybe a bit of spinach.)

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Peperonata

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 450g rigatoni
• 1 bulb fennel
• 450g Italian sausage, casings removed
• 3 bell peppers, julienned (preferably all different colours)
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp. brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar¹
• 1 1/2 c. tomato sauce
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream²
• 150g baby spinach (optional)
• 250g fontina cheese, grated
• 1/4 c. grated Parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 220°C (425°F) and grease a 23x33cm lasagne pan.
2. Cook the rigatoni according to package directions. Drain and set aside.
3. Remove and discard the core and stems from the fennel bulb. Dice the remaining bulb and set aside.
4. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the sausage.
5. Cook for 3-4 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks.
6. Add the fennel and cook until softened and beginning to brown (~5 minutes).
7. Add the sausage and fennel to the bowl with the pasta.
8. Add the bell peppers to the now-empty pan. Add a little oil if necessary, but the sausages released sufficient fat that I didn't need any for mine.
9. Season to taste with salt and pepper and cook for 2-3 minutes.
10. Add the sugar and vinegar and keep cooking until vegetables are glazed.
11. Add the tomato sauce and cream to the peppers and cook until slightly thickened (~5 minutes).
12. Pour the peppers and sauce over the pasta, add the spinach (if using) and the fontina, and toss to combine.
13. Dump the mixture into the prepared baking dish and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
14. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 10-15 minutes.

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¹ The recipe called for granulated sugar and red wine vinegar. I swapped out the white sugar for brown. But I used the red wine vinegar as specified. Having tasted it though, I'd be inclined to try balsamic next time. I think that'd be even better! ^Back
2 The recipe called for 1 c. of tomato sauce and 1 1/2 c. of cream. We had a bit of extra sauce though, so we just tossed it in. I'm not sure if it was a full extra half cup. It might've been more like 1/3 c. But... close enough. Meanwhile, after putting in just 1 c. of cream, the sauce looked both very rich and very pale already. So I opted to omit the extra half cup. If you wanted to make this dish a bit lighter, you could use half-and-half instead. (I normally would've done that. But the cream has been in the fridge for a while and needs to be used up.) ^Back

I'm used to stratas being savoury dishes. Layers of bread, maybe some sausage and/or veggies, probably cheese, and then eggs or custard to bind it all together. Baked up into a tasty breakfast dish.

This one is a bit different. It's a sweet strata! Basically a layered bread pudding. Full of apples, raisins, spices, and a lightly sweetened custard. And served with maple syrup. Rather than cheddar or mozzarella (as I might normally expect for a strata), it uses cream cheese.

I think, on the whole, I prefer my savoury stratas. But this was definitely a nice way to mix things up a bit. And the Kidlet loved it!

Apple Strata

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 6 slices stale bread, cubed and divided
• 125g cream cheese, cubed
• 2 apples, peeled and diced
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/4 c. milk
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

Directions

1. Grease a 23x23cm (9x9") square pan.
2. Place half of the bread cubes in an even layer in the bottom of the pan.
3. Scatter the cream cheese on top.
4. Layer the apples on top of this and sprinkle with the raisins.
5. Beat the eggs with the milk and mix in the sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves.
6. Pour the custard over the strata.
7. Cover and set aside to allow the bread to soak up the custard for at least an hour and as long as overnight. (Store in the fridge if there will be more than 2 hours between assembly and baking.)
8. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F)¹.
10. Bake strata at 180°C (350°F) until custard is just set (60-75 minutes).
11. Serve topped with icing sugar and/or maple syrup.

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¹ The original recipe says to bake your strata at 190°C (375°F) for 55 minutes. Mine was very dark on top after only 45, but still raw in the centre. I ended up covering it with foil and baking it for another 10 minutes and then reducing the temperature to 180°C (350°F) and baking it 10 more minutes. So, I think next time I'd just start it out at 180°C (350°F) and bake it for a bit longer to make sure that everything gets cooked through without burning. ^Back

This is meant to be made with fresh Chinese-style egg noodles. I didn't feel like making a special trip out to the shop though, so we just used dry spaghettini. It worked just fine and was delicious.

I also didn't bother trying to cook the chicken in a grill pan like the recipe called for. I just cooked it in a normal frying pan. No pretty grill marks on it that way. But it seemed just fine otherwise.

For the vegetables... It was meant to use edamame and carrots. I don't particularly like edamame, so I used frozen green peas instead. Honestly, I think it would've been good with even more veg. It was good as-is. But I might be tempted to add some thinly sliced bell pepper next time.

Sesame Noodles with Chicken

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 Tbsp. sesame oil
• 1/4 c. light soy sauce
• 1/4 c. rice vinegar
• 3 Tbsp. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 tsp. Sriracha
• 2 skinless boneless chicken breasts
• pepper, to taste
• 1 c. frozen peas
• 300g dry spaghettini (or similar)
• 1 bell pepper, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2-3 carrots, grated
• 3 green onions, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

Directions

1. Combine the oils, soy sauce, vinegar, juice, sugar, garlic, and Sriracha and mix well.
2. Season the chicken breasts with pepper and brush with 2 Tbsp. of the sauce.
3. Heat a pan over medium heat and add the chicken. Cook until no longer pink inside (5-6 minutes per side).
4. Remove from pan and slice.
5. Meanwhile, place the frozen peas in a colander.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt lightly, and add the pasta, cooking until al dente.
7. Drain the pasta by pouring it into the colander with the peas.
8. Toss the noodles and peas with the bell pepper (if using), carrots, chicken, remaining sauce, and green onions.
9. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve.

I didn't quite do this recipe to spec. It's very simple. You're meant to cut the topknots off of a few individual brioches, hollow out the larger bottom parts, butter both, and then bake eggs in the bases. They're seasoned with a little tarragon and parsley. But there's not much to them other than that.

So how, with a recipe so simple, could I have deviated? Well... I still had about half of this lovely poppyseed bubble loaf left. And some of the centre bits were ever so slightly underbaked. So it occurred to me that this might be the ideal way to use them! Hollow them out, fill them with eggs, and bake them again. Which is great, except the "bubbles" are all a bit smaller and much more awkwardly and irregularly shaped than a traditional brioche. So the eggs didn't really fit neatly into them. I did my best. But it still got a bit messy.

Eggs Baked in Brioche

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4 individual brioches
• 1-2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 4 large eggs
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 tsp. dried tarragon
• 4 tsp. chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and butter 4 custard cups or ramekins.
2. Cut the topknots off the brioches and set them aside.
3. Hollow out the brioche bases and butter them.
4. Crack and egg into each brioche base.
5. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, tarragon, and parsley.
6. Bake at 180°C (350°F) for 10 minutes.
7. Meanwhile, butter the topknots, wrap in foil, and set aside.
8. Once the eggs have been in the oven for 10 minutes, add the foil packet with the topknots and continue baking for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and serve.