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).

This was pretty tasty! Definitely not health food. But a nice treat. Especially on the first day. (I do think it loses something in the reheating. It's still good. Just not as good.)

Marry Me Shrimp Pasta

Slightly adapted from Delish.com

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. sun-dried tomato oil¹
• 450g shrimp, shelled and deveined
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 450g dry pasta (rigatoni, shells, or penne all work well)
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 c. sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
• 2 c. chicken stock
• 1 c. heavy (35%) cream or half-and-half (10% MF)
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning²
• 300g spinach
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• fresh basil, to serve (optional)

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-high heat.
2. Add the shrimp, season with salt and pepper, and cook until pink and opaque (3-5 minutes).
3. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside.
4. Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to package directions. Drain, reserving ~1/2 c. of pasta water, and set aside.
5. Reduce pan temperature to medium.
6. Add garlic, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes and cook until paste darkens (1-2 minutes).
7. Add sun-dried tomatoes, broth, cream, and Italian seasoning, deglaze the pan, and bring to a simmer.
8. Cook until the sauce thickens slightly (~5 minutes).
9. Add spinach and cook until wilted (1-2 minutes).
10. Add pasta, shrimp, and reserved pasta water, stir vigorously for a few seconds, and cook until pasta is well-coated and sauce is glossy.
11. Stir in Parmesan.
12. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
13. Sprinkle with fresh basil (if using) and server.

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¹ My tomatoes were not oil-packed, so I didn't have any tomato oil for my sauce. Instead I used a bit of oil from some spicy, oil-packed anchovies. I feel like this was an acceptable substitute. ^Back
2 I didn't have any ready-made Italian seasoning, so I just mixed in a few herbs separately: mostly parsley, oregano, and basil with just a touch of rosemary and thyme. ^Back

I've been continuing to try to work my way through the ridiculous quantity of feijoas that we've suddenly come into. So far I've made two apple-feijoa crumbles, a batch of chocolate-feijoa friands, and a feijoa custard tart. I have a bunch of other feijao recipes queued up as well. But, for today, I decided to give this chutney a try.

It was certainly... interesting.

Recipe as written called for a truly terrifying amount of both vinegar and sugar. I tried it with half the amount of vinegar and no sugar at first. But it tasted a little flat, so I decided to add some of the sugar called for in the recipe and adjust from there.

I actually started with only 1/3 the quantity of sugar called for. I felt like that was being quite conservative. But, having tasted it, I think it probably could have done with even less. I'd probably cut the sugar back to just 50g (1/6 the amount called for in the original recipe) next time.

I also added a few more seasonings after tasting it several times. I think the seasonings helped. A lot. But, I have to admit, this is still not an amazing recipe. It's fine. It's not bad. It's just not great either. All-in-all, I think I'd rather do other things with my feijoas.

Feijoa Chutney

Adapted from RNZ

Ingredients

• 1kg feijoa pulp
• 500g onions
• 300g dates
• 200g raisins
• 400-500mL malt vinegar¹
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 50g brown sugar
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground ginger
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 tsp. Maggi liquid seasoning
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne

Directions

1. Purée the feijoas with the onions, dates, raisins, and vinegar (or blitz in a food processor).
2. Stir in the tomato paste, sugar, curry powder, ginger, garlic, Maggi seasoning, soy sauce, salt, and cayenne and bring to a boil over medium heat.
3. Reduce heat to low and continue to simmer, stirring often, until mixutre is heated through and desired conistency is achieved.
4. Adjust seasoning to taste.

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¹ The original recipe called for a whopping 1L of vinegar. I cut this back to 500mL in my rendition. That said, I think it probably could have stood to have been cut back even further. I might try it with just 400mL next time. This would make the vinegar a little less overpowering and hopefully make the chutney a little thicker as well. ^Back

This was meant to be done with lamb shanks, but I found some bone-in "lamb pieces" and shoulder chops on sale, so I opted to use those instead. The shanks would have been lovely (and probably resulted in everyone getting a bit more meat), but these were tasty too. And a lot cheaper!

Citrus-Braised Lamb Shanks

From Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan (p. 123)

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 4 lamb shanks, about 1 lb (450 g) each
• 2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 3 small sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp tomato paste
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 1 c. chicken broth
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
• Grated zest and juice of 1 lime
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange

Directions

1. Heat 1 Tbsp of the oil over medium-high heat (preferably in a Dutch oven).
2. Season the shanks with salt and pepper.
3. Working in batches, sear the shanks, turning as needed, until browned on all sides, 6–8 minutes. Set aside.
4. Preheat the oven to 120°C (250°F).
5. Add the remaining 1 Tbsp oil to the pot and place over medium-low heat.
6. Add the carrot, onion, and celery and sauté until softened (~5 minutes).
7. Add the thyme, bay leaf, garlic, and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the wine, broth, and lemon and lime zests and juices.
9. Return the shanks to the pot and bring the liquid to a gentle simmer.
10. Cover and cook in the oven, turning the shanks every hour, until the meat is completely tender (2-3 hours).
11. Transfer the shanks to a platter and keep warm in the oven.
12. Pour the juices from the pot into a large, heatproof measuring pitcher and let stand for 1 minute. The fat will rise to the top. Use a bulb baster to transfer the juices underneath the fat to a small saucepan.
13. Simmer to reduce slightly. Stir in the orange zest and juice.
14. Drizzle the reduced juices over the lamb shanks and serve.

I've picked up a few cookbook bundles from Humble Bundle over the years, but I haven't ended up using them much. To be fair, that's true of a lot of my hardcopy cookbooks as well. The problem is that -- between the Internet, the curry cookbook, and our collection of Cook's Country magazines -- I already have a massive pile of easy-to-access recipes that I haven't tried yet. So it can sometimes feel a bit awkward or difficult to pull things out of other books and sources.

But, I kind of wanted to mix things up a bit this week. So I decided to leaf through some of my Humble Bundle books. I started out looking for good sweet potato recipes, but then ended up branching out and just looking for anything that looked like a good way to use up ingredients on hand.

I knew I had some ground chicken in the freezer, so I figured I could do these meatballs over some pasta with some sort of salad on the side and call that dinner. My original plan had been to just serve them with spaghetti and maybe give the "French salad" from "The Cookbook" a try. But that was before I had a mix-up with the meal plan earlier in the week which left me with surplus radishes in the middle of the week. Thus, I swapped out the French salad for a celery and herb salad from one of the other Humble Bundle books. And then I ended up coming across half-off tortellini at the grocery store on Tuesday and figured no one would be sad if I swapped the plain spaghetti out for that. And, indeed, they weren't! (Although this change did mean that TF now needed a fist full of Lactaid to go with her meal, but it was still enjoyed by all.)

Despite the meal being a big success once I managed to get it to the table, I did experience a few issues during cooking. I don't know if my sauce was too thick or what, but the InstantPot just could not seem to get up to pressure. It steamed and rattled a bit, but never sealed. (And yes, I did check to make sure the valve was in the proper position.) Eventually it started beeping in distress and alerting me of a burn.

Luckily the burn didn't seem to be too severe; just a little light scortching at the bottom of the pot which I was able to scrape and stir in to no discernable detriment. And the meatballs seemed like they were pretty much cooked at that point, so I wasn't too worried. Just to be on the safe side, I put it on slow cook "high" for a bit while TF got a pot of water boiling and cooked the pasta.

As noted, the meal was still very good. I liked it a lot. But I am a bit disappointed that I wasn't able to cook it as directed. Maybe next time I'll try adding a bit more stock and see if that helps it to get up to pressure more easily. Barring that, I think that this would also work quite well as a "fast" slow cooker recipe provided you had the time to cook it for a few hours, rather than just a few minutes.

So, with that in mind, I have provided the recipe with the original cooking instructions here. Just be aware that they did not work as written for me. Keep an eye on your pot and if it seems to be having trouble sealing, turn it off and finish cooking your sauce by another method.

Turkey Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Slightly adapted from Healthy Instant Pot by Alexis Mersel

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, minced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 c. dried breadcrumbs
• 1/2 c. grated Parmesan
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh Basil
• 1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 450g ground turkey or chicken

Sauce

• 1/2 c. (or more?) chicken stock
• 1 (800mL) can crushed tomatoes
• 1/2 c. tomato paste
• 1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
• 2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning (optional)
• 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
• 1 tsp. dried garlic
• 1 tsp. dried onion
• 1 Tbsp. Dijon or Roman mustard
• up to 1 tsp. coarse sea salt¹
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2-4 Tbsp. olive oil²
• cooked pasta or spaghetti squash, to serve
• extra basil and Parmesan, to serve

Directions

Meatballs

1. Turn the InstantPot on to sauté "low" and add the oil.
2. Add the onion and cook for ~5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another 3-5 minutes.
4. Turn off the instant pot and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, combine the egg, breadcrumbs, Parmesan, basil, pepper flakes, salt, pepper, chicken/turkey, and sauté mix and add well.
6. Shape mixture into small (2-3cm diameter) balls and set aside on a plate.

Sauce

1. Add the crushed tomato, tomato paste, basil, oregano, Italian seasoning (if using), pepper flakes, garlic, onion, mustard, salt, pepper, and oil to the Instant Pot and mix well.
2. Carefully drop the meatballs into the sauce and gently turn to coat.
3. Seal the lid and pressure cook "high" for 10 minutes followed by a 10-minute natural release.
4. When the sauce is done, toss it with freshly cooked pasta or spaghetti squash and top with additional Parmesan and basil.

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¹ You may not need the full amount of salt if using store-bought stock or broth. Taste your sauce before adding any salt -- or raw meat! -- and then add up to 1 tsp. of salt as needed. ^Back
2 The original recipe called for 1/4 c. of oil to be added to the sauce, but I halved this amount to try to make it a bit healthier and cut the calories. However, it's possible that the lower fat content also contributed to the scortching. I think that the most likely culprit is the thikness of the sauce, but I can't completely rule out the oil as a factor. Just something to keep in mind... ^Back

Jhinga Balchao (Pan-Seared Shrimp with Chile Vinegar Paste)

This is a dish we can only make when the Kidlet isn't around, because it contains shrimp (which she is mildly allergic to) and is quite spicy. It's really, really tasty though! And not too hard to make, either, especially if you already have the masala on hand. Strongly recommended.

Jhinga Balchao

660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer, p.270

Ingredients

• 1 lb large (16-20/lb) shrimp, peeled and deveined, with the tails left on
• 2 tbsp balchao masala
• 4 tbsp oil
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 8-10 large fresh curry leaves
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ tsp salt

Directions

1. Toss the shrimp with the balchao masala until thoroughly coated. Cover and refrigerate for 30-120 minutes.
2. Heat half the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Add the shrimp with their marinade and cook until seared pink on one side, about 1 minute.
4. Flip the shrimp over and sear the other side, too; remove and buffer.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add the remaining oil, onion, and curry leaves.
6. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until onions have softened and darkened, 10-12 minutes.
7. Stir in tomato paste and salt to make a thick sauce.
8. Stir in shrimp, cover, and cook until shrimp are orange and cooked through, ~5 minutes.

I found a bone-in leg of lamb on sale at the grocery store a few weeks ago. I nabbed it and stuck it in the freezer for later. I was initially planning on trying out a Cook's Country recipe with it. But then I spotted this recipe in the contemporary curries chapter of 660 Curries. Iyer notes that a beef roast makes a perfectly fine alternative to lamb here, but... I like lamb and I wanted to give it a try this way.

The roast is, as expected, delicious. I mean, it's lamb smeared with a spiced nut paste; what's not to like? But the sauce really stole the show. It was amazing! I think the long cooking time really brings out the best in everything.

Leg of Lamb with Onion-Coconut Sauce

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Lamb

• 1 (1.1-1.4kg) bone-in leg of lamb
• 1/4 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1/4 c. raw cashews
• 1/4 c. raw shelled pistachios
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1-2 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Sauce

• 1-2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. bottle masala
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. water
• 1 (400mL) can coconut milk²
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Make four or five 6-mm deep slashes in the meat and set it in a shallow baking pan.
2. Add the yogurt, almonds, cashews, pistachios, and ginger and garlic pastes to a blender and purée until smooth.
3. Pour the nut paste into a bowl and stir in the chilies and salt.
4. Slather the marinade over the lamb, being sure to coat it thoroughly.
5. Cover and chill overnight.
6. The next day, preheat the oven to 220°C (425°F).
7. Meanwhile, place a rack in a roasting pan (or on a rimmed baking sheet). Spray it with cooking spray and transfer the lamb to the prepared rack. Allow to sit at room temperature while the oven preheats. Reserve any marinade that doesn't cling to the lamb.
8. Roast the lamb at 220°C (425°F) until lightly browned on the outside (10-15 minutes).
9. Reduce temperature to 160°C (325°F) and cook for another 15 minutes.
10. Remove lamb from oven and baste with any reserved marinade. If the pan is dry, pour a little water in to help keep everything moist and prevent the drippings from burning.
11. Continue to roast until meat registers 57-60°C (135-140°F) in the thickest part (60-80 minutes). Check every 20 minutes or so to see if the pan needs more water or if the meat drippings are in danger of overflowing.
12. Meanwhile, heat the oil for the sauce over medium-high heat.
13. Add the onion and garlic and stir-fry until caramel-brown (10-15 minutes).
14. Add the tomato paste, bottle masala, and salt and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the paste begins to look oily on the surface (1-2 minutes).
15. Add the water and deglaze the pan.
16. Add the coconut milk and bring to a boil.
17. Reduce heat to medium and boil, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced to just over half its original volume (20-25 minutes). Cover and keep warm until ready to serve.
18. Once lamb is done, remove from oven and rest for 10 minutes.
19. Slice the lamb and stir the cilantro into the sauce.
20. Serve the lamb, allowing diners to top with sauce at the table.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 2 tsp. I scaled this back slightly for the sake of the Kidlet. I used 1/2 Tbsp. this time and that seemed to be okay. Might try the full amount next time. Also, if you don't have Kashmiri chilies, you can substitute a mixture of 1 part ground cayenne to 3 parts sweet paprika. ^Back
2 We used regular coconut milk this time around because we had a can that was getting close to its expiry. That said, you could probably shave quite a few calories by swapping the regular coconut milk out for lite. ^Back

I've been wanting to try out this recipe for ropa vieja since this issue of Cook's Country first came out back in 2017. My original plans to make it ended up falling through and it just never quite made it back to the top of the stack again after that.

Well, I am pleased to report that I finally made it and it is delicious!

The original recipe is written for the slow cooker with an initial sauté of the veggies on the stovetop. Given that format, I was able to do the whole thing in the InstantPot. It worked quite well. Although I did have to bump the temperature up partway through cooking as the "medium" slow cook setting didn't appear to be getting the job done. Nudging it up to high for the last three hours seems to have work though, so I'd recommend just putting it on high from the get-go next time.

I served my ropa vieja over Congrí with some green beans on the side to make it a complete meal.

Ropa Vieja

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2017

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 2-3 onions, halved and sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, sliced
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano
• 1 1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 1/2 c. dry white wine
• 2 Tbsp. light soy sauce¹
• 2 bay leaves
• 900g flank steak, cut against the grain into 4 pieces
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 3/4 c. sliced green olives
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium-low heat. (Sauté low on InstantPot.)
2. Add onion and bell pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, for ~8 minutes.
3. Move vegetables to sides of pot and add the tomato paste, garlic, cumin, oregano, and 1/4 tsp. of the salt to the cleared spot in the middle.
4. Cook for a minute or two, then stir the vegetables into the paste mixture.
5. Add the wine and cook until nearly evaporated (1-2 minutes).
6. Add the soy sauce and bay leaves.
7. Season steak with the pepper and the remaining 1 tsp. of salt and add it to the pot on top of the sauce.
8. Cover and slow cook on high for ~6 hours.
9. Once meat is tender, remove steak from pot and shred with two forks.
10. Return meat to sauce and stir in olives and vinegar.
11. Serve over plain rice, congri, or your starch of choice. (I've seen both potatoes and polenta suggested as alternatives to rice.

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¹ I'd be inclined to try a mix of light and dark soy next time. ^Back

Chana Rajmah (Chickpeas and Kidney Beans)

An easy legume curry with a thick, spiced, tomato sauce. Iyer suggests that it's good -- if non-traditional -- with cornbread instead of or as well as rice.

Chana Rajmah

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/2 c. dried kidney beans
• 4 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. panch phoron
• 1/4 c. fried onion paste
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. jaggery
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Rinse the chickpeas and kidney beans and place them in a pressure cooker/InstantPot with 4 c. of water.
2. Pressure cook (high) for 75 minutes followed by a 15-minute natural release.
3. Meanwhile, melt the ghee over medium-high heat.
4. Add the panch phoron and sizzle for 15-20 seconds.
5. Add the onion paste, ginger paste, and garlic paste, reduce heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~5 minutes.
6. Add the coriander, salt, Kashmiri chilies, and turmeric and cook for ~1 minute. Be careful not to burn the spices.
7. Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook for another minute.
8. Add the remaining 1/2 c. water and scrape to deglaze the pan.
9. Cook for a minute or two, then set aside until beans are ready.
10. Once beans are cooked, add the sauce to the pressure cooker and stir to combine.
11. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 10-15 minutes.
12. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

---

Variations

Vegan Version

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/2 c. dried kidney beans
• 4 1/2 c. water, divided
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. panch phoron
• 1/4 c. fried onion paste
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 1 Tbsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. jaggery
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

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¹ The original recipe calls for 1 tsp. ground Deggi chilies or 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne + 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika. I didn't have any Deggi chilies, so I decided to swap in and equal amount of ground Kashmiri chilies instead of using the cayenne-paprika substitute. ^Back

Rajmah Shalgum (Turnips and Kidney Beans)

I really like this curry. The tomato and spices give it a deeply satisfying savouriness. I served it up along side a few other curries, but it's hearty enough to stand on its own if you only want to worry about making a single dish for dinner. All that being said, I do question the cooking instructions. Iyer instructs to cut the turnips into 1" cubes and cook them for only 15-20 minutes. He claims that they should be "fork tender" by this point. My turnips were still rock hard. Even after an extra half hour of cooking, they still were more "al dente" than tender.

I ended up making another curry involving turnips shortly after this one. In that one he also advises cutting the turnips into 1" cubes and simmering for 15-20 minutes. Although, that recipe also calls for a few minutes of stir-frying before the simmering. After my experience with this recipe, I opted to cut the turnips for the next recipe into 1cm cubes rather than 1". Even with the smaller size and the stir-frying, 20 minutes did not seem like enough to get the turnips sufficiently tender. I think, in the future, I'd keep the smaller cube size but also plan to simmer them for at least half an hour. I don't know, maybe I was using a different kind of turnip than Iyer. But my turnips certainly weren't cooking fully in the times he was recommending!

Rajmah Shalgum

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 4 black cardamom pods
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 2 tsp. fennel seeds, ground
• 2 tsp. cumin seeds, ground
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 1/2-1 tsp. ground Kashmiri chilies¹
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 4 c. water, divided
• 3 c. cooked kidney beans²
• 4 small turnips, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 6 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add onion, ginger paste, garlic paste, and cardamom pods and stir-fry for 15 minutes.
3. Add the tomato paste, fennel, cumin, coriander, chilies, and turmeric and stir to combine.
4. Add 1 c. of the water and deglaze the pan.
5. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
6. Add another 1 c. of water and simmer, covered, for a further 8 minutes.
7. Add the remaining 2 c. of water along with the kidney beans, turnips, salt, and 1/4 c. of the cilantro.
8. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce heat to medium and simmer vigorously, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for ~30 minutes.
9. Sprinkle with the remaining 2 Tbsp. of cilantro and serve.

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¹ Or substitute 1/4 tsp. ground cayenne + 3/4 tsp. sweet paprika ^Back
2 Use tinned beans if you're in a hurry or get a few dried beans cooking in advance. If you're cooking your beans on the stovetop, it's best to give them an overnight soak first. If you're using a pressure cooker, you can get away without the soaking: Place 1 c. of dried beans in a pressure cooker/InstantPot along with 3 1/2 c. of water, stock, or a mix thereof and cook (on high pressure) for 40 minutes with a 15-minute natural release. Release any remaining pressure, drain, and your beans are ready to go! ^Back

Masala Pudhina Paneer (Spiced Minty Paneer)

I would've sworn we'd already written this recipe up, but I can't find it anywhere, so I guess it got missed. It's been ages since we last made it, so the details are a little fuzzy, but I do remember this being the recipe that introduced me to the idea of mixing seasonings into the curds before pressing homemade paneer.

Masala Pudhina Paneer

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 4L whole (3.25%) or 2L half-and-half (10% cream)
• 1/4 c. vinegar
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 2 tsp. Balti Masala
• 1/2 Tbsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• 6 Tbsp. canola oil, divided
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1/4 c. mint leaves, chopped
• 1-2 fresh green Thai chilies, thinly sliced
• 1 c. water
• 1 c. half-and-half (10% cream)

Directions

1. Bring milk to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in vinegar and remove from heat.
3. If the whey still looks milky (rather than watery) after 30-60 seconds, stir in another Tbsp. or two of vinegar.
4. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth and pour the curds and whey into it to separate them and allow to drain for 5-10 minutes. The whey can be saved for baking or making soup stocks or discarded.
5. Add cilantro, balti masala, and 1 tsp. of salt to the curds and mix well.
6. Fold over the edges of the cheesecloth to cover the cheese.
7. Place a water-filled pot or other heavy object on top and press the cheese for 3-5 hours.
8. Remove the weight and the cheesecloth and cut the paneer into cubes.
9. Heat 1/4 c. of oil over medium heat.
10. Fry the paneer for 7-10 minutes, doing your best to get the cubes brown and crispy on all sides. Transfer to paper-towel-lined plate to drain.
11. Heat remaining 2 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat.
12. Add the onion and cook for 5-8 minutes.
13. Stir in tomato paste, remaining 1/4 c. cilantro, remaining 1/2 tsp. salt, mint, and chilies.
14. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, for ~5 minutes.
15. Stir in water.
16. Add the paneer, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally for ~10 minutes.
17. Stir in the half-and-half and increase heat to medium.
18. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
19. Serve with rice and your favourite flatbread.

Lubiyeh wa Banadoura (Green Bean and Tomato Stew with Rice)

Another hit from Our Syria! We played fast and loose with the proportions here and it still turned out delicious; I suspect it will take quite a lot of variation.

The original calls for ground beef (if you are adding meat at all), and I have reproduced it thus; we used imitation vegetarian ground beef.

Lubiyeh wa Banadoura

Our Syria, p.119

Ingredients

• 225g ground beef [optional]
  
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved
• 450g green beans, trimmed
• 6 large ripe tomatoes, diced
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Heat the oil over medium-low heat in a large, deep skillet.
2. Add the onion and ground beef and cook until the onion is softened and the beef browned, 5-10 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and beans and fry for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the tomatoes, bring to a boil, then simmer, covered, for ten minutes.
5. Add the tomato paste, salt, and pepper, and continue to simmer for another 20-30 minutes.
6. Serve with olive oil and some sort of rice.

Our other recent recipe from Our Syria. We had an already-made batch of tomato sauce that just needed some extra onion and garlic (and the bell peppers, which I forgot -- brain was on short supply that evening), but for this writeup I have recreated the entire recipe.

Meatballs in Tomato and Pepper Stew

Our Syria p.164

Ingredients

• Sauce
• 1 onion, finely diced
• oil
• 5 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 500g tomatoes, diced
• 30mL tomato paste
• Meatballs
• 500g ground lamb (or beef, or ground veggie protein)
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• ½ large bunch of parsley or cilantro, finely chopped
• 5mL 7 baharat
  
• ¼ tsp salt
  
• oil
  

Directions

1. Heat a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add a bit of oil and the onion. Cook until soft.
3. Add the garlic and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
4. Add the bell pepper and tomato, fry for another 2-3 minutes, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Stir in the tomato paste and continue simmering for another 30 minutes, until the tomatoes are reduced.
6. Meanwhile, combine the lamb, onion, parsley or cilantro, 7 baharat, and salt in a large bowl.
7. Form meat mix into 2-2.5cm meatballs, roll in oil, and place evenly on a large baking sheet.
8. Bake at 320°F for 10 minutes.
9. Transfer meatballs and their juices to the pot with the tomato sauce, cover, and simmer for another 5-10 minutes.
10. Serve over rice.

Cabbage-Lentil Minestrone with Cheese Tortellini

After a couple days we were down to half a pot of soup again, so I decided to make a few more modifications to turn it into yet another new soup. This time I wanted to take it in more of a minestrone direction. More veggies, some extra tomato paste, and a package of cheese tortellini did the trick quite nicely. I really like this version! And I've really enjoyed seeing how many times I can keep building on and adding to the original lentil-cabbage soup as well.

Cabbage-Lentil Minestrone

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe of Smoky Chickpea, Cabbage, and Lentil Soup
• 1-2 c. vegetable broth
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 c. cooked kidney or cannellini beans
• Parmesan rind
• 1 (400g) package cheese tortellini
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1-2 carrots, chopped
• 2-3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 c. water (optional)
• 1-2 small zucchinis (courgettes), chopped
• 450g green beans, chopped
• 1/4-1/2 tsp. red chile flakes
• salt and pepper to taste¹

Directions

1. Add broth, tomato paste, oregano, bay leaf, kidney/cannellini beans, and Parmesan rind to soup, cover, and bring to a simmer.
2. In a separate pot, cook tortellini until al dente, drain, and rinse/shock with cold water.
3. Add tortellini to soup.
4. Heat olive oil over medium heat.
5. Add onion and cook for 2-3 minutes.
6. Add carrot and celery and cook for another 2-3 minutes.
7. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
8. Add zucchini and cook for 3-4 minutes.
9. If necessary, deglaze pan with water.
10. Add green beans, cover, and cook for 1-2 minutes.
11. Add vegetable mixture to soup.
12. Add chile flakes, salt, and pepper and mix well.
13. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

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¹ I was using home-made broth with almost no salt in it, so I added ~1/2 tsp. of coarse sea salt to my soup. You may need more or less depending on your taste and the broth you use. ^Back

We ate about half the lentil-cabbage soup for dinner the night I made it. I decided to try to turn the leftovers into a new soup. After dinner, I added a few more ingredients to turn it into this smoky chickpea, cabbage, and lentil soup.

The recipe below follows what I actually did. If you don't want to build this soup from a pre-existing soup, you can follow the link to the recipe I used for direction/inspiration to make this soup directly.

Smoky Chickpea, Cabbage, and Lentil Soup

Adapted from The First Mess

Ingredients

• 1/2 recipe Cabbage-Lentil Soup
• 1/4 tsp. hot paprika
• 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 2 c. cooked chickpeas
• 1 c. chopped kale
• 1 tsp. dark soy sauce
• 3-4 drops liquid smoke
• bones from beef rib roast¹ (optional)

Directions

1. Add all ingredients to soup and mix well.
2. Cover and simmer for at least 20 minutes.
3. Serve with salad and garlic toast.

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¹ A few months ago I disassembled a rib roast for a recipe. I used the meat, but didn't need the bones so I tossed them in the freezer in the hopes of finding a use for them later. I don't think this soup particularly needed the meat added to it, but I had it available and it needed to be used up. It certainly didn't hurt, I just don't think it necessarily added much. If you've got some bones or scraps of meat that seem like they'd go well in soup, toss them in², but don't sweat it if you don't. ^Back
2 If the bones have already been cooked (leftover after cooking a roast or similar), just toss them straight in. If the bones are raw (as mine were), slather them with a bit of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and roast for an hour or so before adding them to the soup. ^Back

This wasn't so great, honestly. The Kidlet didn't like it and just picked the noodles out around everything else. symbol and I ate it, but we've had (and made) better and probably won't be making it again. It makes a plentiful amount, but this just means that you'll still have lots of leftovers after everyone is sick of them.

Vegan Eggplant Bolognese

TheKitchn

Ingredients

• 1 medium (~1lb) eggplant
• 1 lb cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 stalks celery, finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tsp kosher salt, divided
• 2 C dry red wine
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 2 tsp finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• ¼ C tomato paste
• 28 oz tinned crushed tomatoes
• 8 oz rigatoni
• freshly grated parmesan

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake eggplant directly on the oven rack, whole, 60-90 minutes, until very tender. Remove and let cool.
2. Heat a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until they release their liquid and shrink, 8-10 minutes. Set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Add celery, carrots, onion, and ½ tsp salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften, 10-12 minutes.
4. Add the wine and cook until reduced by half, ~5 minutes.
5. Add garlic, basil, oregano, thyme, and tomato paste, and cook until thickened and fragrant, ~5 minutes.
6. Peel and coarsely chop the eggplant. Add eggplant, mushrooms, and tomatoes and stir until combined.
7. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for at least 1 hour.
8. Cook the pasta al dente, then transfer to the sauce and simmer for another 2 minutes to finish.
9. Serve with parmesan.

This tasty vegetarian stroganoff calls for rice; we made it over rice rotini and it worked pretty well there, too. It would likely also go nicely with egg noodles (as with a classic stroganoff) or standard durum-wheat pasta.

Compared to the original, the recipe has been tweaked slightly; cream, mushrooms, and onions have been bumped up, as has the parsley, and the garlic paste has been replaced with roasted garlic purée (and doubled).

Mushroom Stroganoff

BBC Food

Ingredients

• 25g butter
• 15mL oil
• 180g onions, sliced
• 680g mushrooms, sliced
• 5mL roasted garlic purée
• 5mL paprika
• a pinch chili powder
• 50mL white wine
• 30g tomato purée
• 100mL vegetable stock
• 120mL cream
• 60mL fresh chopped parsley, or half that lightly dried

Directions

1. Melt the butter with the oil in a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add the onions, mushrooms, garlic, paprika, chili, and wine, and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in the tomato and stock. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer until thickened. The sauce can, if necessary, be removed from the heat and held at this point until the rest of dinner is ready.
4. Return to the heat. Stir in the cream and simmer a bit more until desired thickness is reached.
5. Stir in parsley and serve over noodles with parmesan.

American-Style Spaghetti Sauce (Minus the Hypertension)

Normally, if I'm craving pasta, Hazan is my guy. His Classic Pasta Cookbook has served us in good stead for many years. It has a huge variety of amazing recipes. All the classics plus a bunch of less well-known ones as well. It is full of wondrous and delicious things. This is not a Hazan recipe. Not even close! I can see some similar elements to his marvelous ragu/Bolognaise recipe, but the ingredients are completely different. This sauce looks like what would happen if a Bolognaise and a pomodoro sauce had a baby and then moved to the States and discovered the canned goods aisle in the supermarket. It is very tomato-y, has no dairy and less beef than I'd expect for a standard ragu and uses A LOT of canned ingredients. But, if what you're craving is a big ol' plate of American-style spaghetti and meat sauce, this looks like a very nice rendition of it. And that's exactly what I wanted today.

I tried to stick pretty much to the recipe as I was building this sauce. I did add a carrot since it seemed like it would go well with the celery and onion, but no other additions were made. Carrot just feels like such a natural companion of onions and celery in the pot. It's mirepoix! A classic sauce/soup foundation.

It felt like way too many tomatoes going in -- a whole large tin of diced tomatoes and a large tin of tomato sauce? Really?! -- but I stuck to what it said. My tin of tomato sauce was slightly smaller than the one called for in the recipe, but I couldn't find any that were exactly right and I didn't want to open a second tin just to use <1/3 of it. Besides, there's already so much tomato in this recipe! I think it'll be fine.

The original original recipe (from the blog author's mother) calls for "1 can of beef broth (condensed!)". Her write-up simply asks for "1 15-ounce can of beef broth". No mention of how concentrated it should be. Around here beef broth usually comes in a can or a carton. The cartons are not condensed. The cans are. But the cans are also only 284mL (10 fluid ounces). I'm not sure whether they just get larger cans there or whether she was using some variety of non-condensed beef broth or what. I decided to just go with one 284mL can of condensed broth. Hopefully that's alright.

The last change I made was to completely omit the salt. I usually halve the salt called for in recipes from American authors. In my experience using the full amount of salt results in a dish that is nearly inedible. The idea of adding any salt at all to this recipe made me nervous though. It already has tomato sauce (which contains sugar and salt) and beef broth (very salty). The sauce is still simmering on the stove right now, but after tasting it, I think that leaving out the extra salt -- a whole teaspoon! -- was the right call. Honestly, I think I probably should've halved the sugar as well. It is very sweet. I thought 2 Tbsp. seemed like a lot of sugar, but I was trying not to deviate too far from the recipe. And it is meant to be an American-style sauce after all.

I think I will want to tweak this a bit more if/when I make it again though. Maybe it's not really American-style if it's not full of sugar and salt, but I think it still could be. I think the tomato-y, beef-y spirit of the recipe could be preserved while scaling back the sugar and salt to more tolerable levels. And, while I'm tweaking anyway, I think it'd be nice to trade out a portion of the black pepper for a touch of crushed chili flakes. Nothing major, just something to give it another layer of flavour and a tiny bit of heat.

American-Style Spaghetti Sauce

Adapted from Foodie Crush

Ingredients

• 450g lean ground beef
• 1 onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 1 carrot, peeled and chopped fine
• 5 cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 (156mL) can tomato paste
• 1 (800mL) can diced tomatoes
• 1 (680mL) can tomato sauce
• 1 (284mL) can condensed beef broth
• 2 (284mL) cans sliced mushrooms, drained
• 1 c. red wine
• 1/4 c. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh basil
• 1 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. red chili flakes

Directions

1. Brown the beef over medium heat.
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, and carrot and cook until vegetables soften (5-7 minutes).
3. Add cloves and bay leaves and cook for another minute or so.
4. Stir in tomato paste an allow for another 1-2 minutes of cooking.
5. Stir in remaining ingredients.
6. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered for 3-4 hours.
7. Serve by mixing cooked spaghetti into the sauce and then dishing up individual portions.

The Kidlet really liked these. Like, a lot. They are pretty tasty. The filling is kind of like a mash-up (haha) between chana masala and refried beans. I'm not sure what was in the little "Indian spice" seasoning packet HelloFresh sent us, but I'm sure I could recreate something similar on my own. I'd actually be tempted to try sizzling some whole spices in the pan at the beginning of cooking next time.

Spiced Chickpea Wraps

Adapted from HelloFresh

Ingredients

Wraps

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 Tbsp. coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp. brown mustard seeds
• 1 Indian bay leaf
• 1-2 dried chile¹
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 onion, chopped
• 6-8 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 2 c. cooked chickpeas
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 12 medium (6-8") flour tortillas
• 1-2 tsp. canola (or other neutral) oil

Raita

• 200mL plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt, divided
• ~150g cucumber
• 2 Tbsp. fresh cilantro, chopped
• 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns, ground

Directions

Cucumber Raita

1. Grate cucumber and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp. salt. Set aside while you prepare the wraps.
2. While wraps are baking, drain the cucumber. (I like to squeeze it a bit to remove excess moisture.)
3. Add cilantro, yogurt, pepper, and remaining salt and mix well.

Wraps

1. Melt ghee over medium-high heat.
2. Add cumin, coriander, mustard, bay leaf, and chile to pan and cook for 30-60 seconds. (Cover the pan so the mustard seeds don't escape!)
3. Add ground pepper, turmeric, and ginger and sizzle for another 10 seconds or so. (Don't burn it!)
4. Immediately add onion, garlic, and ginger paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
5. Reduce heat to medium and add tomato paste.
6. Cook until paste has darkened.
7. Add water and chickpeas and simmer until sauce has thickened slightly (~3-4 minutes).
8. Remove bay leaf and chile and stir in cilantro.
9. Remove from heat and discard bay leaf and chile.
10. Mash chickpeas.
11. Divide chickpea mixture between the tortillas, placing a line down the centre of each.
12. Tightly roll up and place seam-side down on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
13. Brush with oil.
14. Bake at 220°C (425°F) for 6-7 minutes.
15. Serve with cucumber raita. (Add a salad to round out the meal.)

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¹ I think arbol or kashmiri chiles would work well here. ^Back

I am really pleased with how this came out. It's delicious. It's easy. Everyone loved it. And, as an added bonus, it used up all the braising ribs that'd been languishing in our freezer. Don't be alarmed by the uncovered cooking, it gives the meat a chance to brown without having to do a separate searing step.

Served over polenta with roasted carrots and parsnips.

Wine-Braised Short Ribs

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country February/March 2018

Ingredients

• 2.25kg bone-in "English-style" short ribs¹
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 1 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. flour
• 2 c. dry white wine
• 3 c. vegetable broth
• 4-6 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1/2 Tbsp. dried thyme
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1 tsp. cornstarch

Directions

1. Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium heat.
3. Add onion and cook until lightly browned (4-6 minutes).
4. Add tomato paste and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until slightly darkened (~1 minute).
5. Add wine and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
6. Cook until mixture is slightly thickened (~3 minutes).
7. Add broth, garlic, thyme, and bay leaves.
8. Nestle ribs into braising liquid, bone-side-up.
9. Bring to a simmer, then transfer pot to oven and bake, covered², at 160°C (325°F) for 1.5 hours.
10. Remove pot from oven, flip the ribs meat-side-up and return to oven.
11. Cook, uncovered, for another 1.5 hours.
12. Transfer ribs to serving platter.
13. Spoon a few tablespoons of the broth into a small bowl and whisk in cornstarch.
14. Pour cornstarch mixture into sauce and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
15. Cook until thickened.
16. Serve ribs over substrate of choice (mashed potatoes or polenta work well), topped with gravy.

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1 They recommend "English-style short ribs 4-5 inches long with 1-1.5 inches of meat on top of bone". I had a bunch of braising ribs on hand already, so I just used those. They had about the right amount of meat on top of the bone, but were cut much shorter. Probably only ~1" (2.5cm). They were a little trickier to manipulate and get to stand up the right way, but other than that they seem to have worked just fine. ^Back
2 The original recipe has you leave the pot uncovered for the entire cook time. I cooked it covered for the first half and uncovered it for the last part of cooking. I didn't get quite as much browning this way, but it did leave me with a bit more sauce. I'm okay with this trade-off. ^Back