This was really good! I never would have thought of putting hominy into scrambled eggs, but it was actually a nice addition.

I swapped out the pork bacon for chicken "bacon" and then added a little bacon grease when cooking the green onions. I also added a bit of mild cheddar right at the end. The recipe doesn't call for any cheese, but I felt like it made a nice addition and complemented the other flavours well.

Scrambled Eggs with Hominy, Bacon, and Chilies

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 4-6 slices of bacon (or chicken bacon), chopped
• 3-6 green onions, chopped
• 1 small (~400mL) can hominy, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (~100mL) chopped green chilies
• 6 large eggs
• 2 Tbsp. milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 c. grated cheddar (optional)
• ~1/2 c. salsa (optional)

Directions

1. Cook the bacon and the green onions until bacon is done and green onions are softened (~5 minutes).
2. Add the hominy and chilies and cook until heated through (3-5 minutes).
3. Beat the eggs with the milk.
4. Pour the egg mixture into the pan with the hominy and season to taste with salt and pepper.
5. Leave undisturbed for a minute or so then cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggs look dry.
6. Sprinkle with cheese (if using).
7. Serve with salsa (if using).

I was planning on making a cheese and avocado scramble for breakfast this morning. But, when we went to cut it open, the avocado had gone off. But I'd already cracked all the eggs. So I had to quickly pivot to something else. Luckily we had all the bits for this "Mexican scramble". And it was delicious! I actually liked it a lot better than I think I would have liked the avocado scramble.

It was meant to use a fresh tomato and then be topped with salsa and sour cream. But I decided to just leave the tomato out and stir the salsa directly into the eggs instead. We then just topped it with the sour cream alone. I was also a bit scant on the green onions, but it still came out very nice.

Mexican Scramble

Slightly adapted from The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt

Ingredients

• 8 large eggs
• 1/4 c. milk
• 1/2 tsp. dried oregano
• 1/8 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• pepper, to taste
• 1-2 tsp. butter
• 4-8 green onions, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped (or 1/3 c. salsa)
• 3-4 Tbsp. sliced Kalamata olives
• 1 small (~100mL) can chopped green chilies
• 1/2-3/4 c. grated cheese (cheddar or monterey jack)
• salsa and/or sour cream, to serve

Directions

1. Beat the eggs with the milk, oregano, salt and pepper.
2. Melt the butter over medium heat.
3. Pour in the eggs and cook for a minute or so.
4. Stir the eggs.
5. Add the green onions, tomato (or salsa), olives, and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, for another few minutes.
6. Add the cheese and continue cooking, stirring occasionally, until the eggs are fully set.
7. Serve with salsa and sour cream (and, optionally, toast).

Gosht Kebab aur Pudhinay ki Chutney (Beef Kebabs with Mint Chutney)

We've made most of the beef curries in the book at this point. But this one in the appetizer section caught my eye. It's really meant to be made on skewers and grilled (on the barbecue), but I chose to leave mine loose and cook it under the broiler indoors. Definitely not as flavourful, but it was very easy!

Gosht Kebab aur Pudhinay ki Chutney

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

Kebabs

• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 6-8 fresh green Thai, serrano, or finger chilies
• 6-7 cloves garlic
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 450g stewing beef
• 1 tsp. ground Deggi chilies (or 1/2 tsp. ground cayenne + 1/2 tsp. sweet paprika)
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1/2 tsp. ground cloves

Sauce

• 1/4 c. water
• 1/4 c. firmly packed fresh mint
• 1/4 c. firmly packed fresh cilantro
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1-2 fresh green Thai, serrano, or finger chilies

Directions

1. Combine the yogurt, green chilies, garlic, and ginger paste and a blender and purée.
2. Pour the yogurt mixture over the beef.
3. Add the ground chilies, salt, turmeric, and ground cloves and stir to combine.
4. Cover and chill for at least one hour (or as long as overnight).
5. Add the water, mint, cilantro, sugar, salt, tamarind, and chilies to the blender and purée.
6. If using bamboo skewers, soak them in water for an hour or two before cooking.
7. Preheat a charcoal or gas grill or oven broiler to high heat.
8. Pour into a small pot and keep warm while beef cooks.
9. Lightly oil the grates of the grill or broiling pan.
10. If using skewers, thread the beef (with all of its marinade) onto the skewers and arrange them on the grill over direct heat (or on the broiler pan ~5cm under the element).
11. Grill until medium-rare (~6-10 minutes), turning once or twice.
12. Serve the skewered meat topped with the mint sauce.

Gud Bhaat (Good Rice)

Truth in advertising! This is, indeed, very good rice. So good, in fact, that I've doubled the quantity because we were sad to only have a single batch of it.

Compared to the original recipe, I've swapped out the white rice for brown, subbed in ghee for the oil and halved it as well as halving the salt. I've also adjusted it for InstantPot cooking. Otherwise, it's perfection just as it is.

Gud Bhaat

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 2 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 large or 2 small red onions, halved and sliced
• 6-12 dried red Thai, cayenne, or arbol chilies, stems removed
• 2 c. long-grain brown rice
• 2 c. water (more if cooking on stovetop rather than pressure cooker)
• 1/4 c. crumbled jaggery or brown sugar
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt

Directions

1. Heat ghee over medium-high heat (sauté high).
2. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until they've stopped popping (30-60 seconds).
3. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion and chilies. Cook for 8-10 minutes.
4. Add rice and stir to coat.
5. Stir in water, jaggery, and salt.
6. Cover and cook until rice is done and water is absorbed (20 minutes on high pressure for InstantPot).
7. Remove from heat (leave on "keep warm") for 10 minutes.
8. Remove lid (release remaining pressure) and fluff the rice.
9. Remove the chilies if desired or serve it with "prizes" included.

This is very different from what I normally expect a masala to be. It is also incredibly delicious. Acidic, pungent, spicy... full of garlic! It is goodness in a jar that you can add to all your favourite dishes to kick them up a notch. (Okay, maybe don't add it to your trifle, but you get the idea.)

Balchao Masala

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. cider or malt vinegar
• 1 tsp. tamarind concentrate
• 1 c. dried red Thai, arbol, cayenne, or Kashmiri¹ chilies
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp. black pappercorns
• 1/2 tsp. whole cloves
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 12-14 cloves garlic
• 2 (6cm by 2.5cm by 3mm) slices of ginger or 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 2 (7.5cm) cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces²

Directions

1. Pour the vinegar into a blender jar.
2. Add all the remaining ingredients to the blender.
3. Purée, scraping down as needed, until a paste is formed.
4. Store in a sealed container in the fridge. (Iyer says it'll only keep in the fridge for 2 weeks; in my experience it's gone long before you have to worry about it going off!)

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¹ Iyer only mentions Thai and cayenne chilies in his recipe. I really like Kashmiri chilies thoug, so I opted to use a mix of arbol and Kashmiri chilies for my masala. I am extremely happy with the results! ^Back
2Our blender is not good at fully reducing the cinnamon sticks in this environment; it would probably be a good idea to run them through the spice grinder first, to reduce the prevalence of cinnamon chunks in the final paste. ^Back

I wanted something to round out our meal and we had a bunch of mushrooms and hot peppers that needed used, so this recipe seemed like a good fit. I cut back on the peppers a bit due to the Kidlet still being very intolerant of spicy food. The serrano peppers weren't really spicy at all, especially with all their seeds and pith scraped out. There was still a little bit of heat from the spicy bean paste, but it came out as more "flavourful" than "spicy" to my palate. If you want it proper spicy, use the full number of chilies, don't deseed them, and use a hotter variety. It could also be made with bell peppers for a sweeter alternative.

Photo goes here.

King Oyster Mushroom Stir-Fry

Slightly adapted from Woks of Life

Ingredients

• 450-500g king oyster (chicken leg/king trumpet) mushrooms
• 5 Tbsp. neutral oil, divided
• 6 (3mm thick) slices of fresh ginger
• 8-10 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. Szechuan spicy bean paste
• 3-5 hot peppers¹, sliced
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp. sugar

Directions

1. Cut each mushroom in half lengthwise. Place each mushroom half cut-side down and make several lengthwise scores/slices almost, but not quite all the way, through. Now make similar scores crosswise (perpendicular to the original score lines), but cut all the way through on every third one.
2. Heat wok over high heat.
3. Add 1/4 c. oil to wok and swirl to coat.
4. Add the mushrooms and stir-fry until slightly golden and cooked down.²
5. Remove the mushrooms from the wok and set aside.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and add remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil to the wok and swirl to coat.
7. Add the ginger slices and cook for 1 minute.
8. Add the garlic and cook for 30-60 seconds.
9. Add the spicy bean paste and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
10. Add peppers and cook for another 30-60 seconds.
11. Return the mushrooms to the wok and add the soy sauce and sugar.
12. Stir-fry for 2 minutes.
13. Enjoy over rice or noodles.

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¹ Choose the number and variety of peppers according to your tastes. More and hotter peppers for a very spicy stir-fry, fewer and milder peppers for a less spicy option. For extra mild, remove the seeds and pith/veins from the chilies. For slightly sweet, substitute 1 bell pepper instead. ^Back
2 The original recipe has you carefully laying out mushroom slices, browning them on one side and then flipping them over to brown the other side. Go ahead and do that if you want. I couldn't be arsed, so I just gave them a quick stir-fry in the oil and took them out when they started looking somewhat cooked. ^Back

Kali aur Hari Mirch Urad Dal (Black and Green Pepper Split Black Lentils)

This dal smells amazing while cooking! The scent of garlic completely suffused the kitchen. It's a fairly simple dish, but the garlic, chilies, and black peppercorns give it a reasonably assertive flavour despite the short ingredient list. I would happily eat this one again.

Iyer calls for a hefty 6-8 chilies for this recipe. Since I know how sensitive the Kidlet's palate can be, I scaled that back to just three. The Kidlet still found it spicy, but not overly so. I found it had a nice mellow heat to it. And TF couldn't detect any hint of the chilies at all! I've specified a very wide range for the chilies here. Stick to the lower end if you're looking for robust flavour without much heat. Or pile those chilies on if you're after something with a little more fire in it. (Iyer insists that, even with the higher number of chilies, it's still not overly spicy due to the lentil's ability to protect the tongue.) If you want to cut the spice even more -- and also add a nice acidic tang -- try squeezing a bit of fresh lime juice over the dal just before serving. This will add another layer of flavour as well as reducing the perceived potency of the chilies.

Dal (top right), pictured with simla mirch fry (top left) and Kashmiri mirchi waale murghi (bottom left).

Kali aur Hari Mirch Urad Dal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1 c. skinned split black lentils/mapte beans (urad dal)
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 3-8 fresh green Thai chilies, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 4-5 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 c. chopped fresh cilantro
• 3/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp. sugar

Directions

1. Rinse well and place in pot along with water.
2. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat.
3. Skim any foam from surface of water, stir in turmeric, and reduce heat to medium-low.
4. Cover and cook for 15-20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, add peppercorns and chilies to a mortar and pound until a somewhat chunky paste forms.
6. Heat ghee over medium-high heat.
7. Add mustard seeds, cover, and cook until seeds stop popping (30-60 seconds).
8. Add garlic and cook until golden (30-60 seconds).
9. Add pounded pepper mixture and cook for another minute or so.
10. Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, salt, and sugar. Set aside until lentils are done.
11. Once lentils are tender, stir in the garlicky pepper mixture.
12. Cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until desired consistency (10-20 minutes depending on how thick you like your dal).

I think I probably would've preferred to just toss all the "stick" components of this curry into the sauce and serve it as a saucy, chunky stew. But the Kidlet loves any sort of food on sticks and I had the skewers already anyway, so I figured I'd give it a go. It was fun, but the chunky tomato sauce didn't really cling to the meat very well. Serving it as a more traditional curry with chunks of meat in a savoury sauce would've made it easier to enjoy everything together. Plus it saves you the effort of making the little kebabs!

Somewhat out-of-focus photo of "stick" curry (upper left), served with sing pitta (right) and zarda chaawal (lower left).

"Stick" Curry

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 450g stewing beef, cut into 3cm cubes
• 12-15 cloves garlic
• 4-6 fresh green Thai chilies or 1 green bell pepper, cut into 1cm pieces
• 12-15 nickel-sized slices of peeled fresh ginger
• ~12 short bamboo skewers (10-15cm long)
• 2 Tbsp. canola (or other neutral) oil
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 c. diced tomatoes (fresh or canned)
• 1 Tbsp. Dhania-Jeera Masala
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/4 c. malt vinegar
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Place beef in a pot and add water to cover.
2. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 20-25 minutes.
3. Drain beef and set aside. (You may save the liquid for anothe use or discard it.)
4. Create small kebabs out of the cooked beef chunks, whole cloves of garlic, ginger slices, and chile/pepper pieces.
5. Heat oil over medium heat.
6. Add cumin seeds and cook for 15-30 seconds.
7. Add onion, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion begins to turn caramel-brown (15-20 minutes).
8. Add the tomato, masala, turmeric, and salt and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for ~5 minutes.
9. Add the skewers and coat them with sauce.
10. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
11. Remove skewers to a serving platter.
12. Stir the vinegar into the sauce and pour it over the skewers.
13. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.

We've had a couple of beef roasts languishing in the freezer for... longer than I'd care to admit now. I'm just not a big roast person. I tried cooking up one of them as an actual roast and it was okay, but I couldn't help thinking that I would've enjoyed it so much more as a nice curry, stew, or chili. So, rather than trying to do another roast, I figured I'd thaw one of the remaining ones out and chop it up for curry. I know this may sound sacreligious; hacking up a beautiful roast and using it for stew/curry. But if I enjoy it more that way than I would as a roast, then why not?!

I initially ran across a simple recipe for beef rendang on a Dutch blog. It was enough to pique my interest, but the recipe looked a little plain. So I went search for other beef rendang recipes to compare and contrast and see if I could find any that looked a little more punchy. The chilies and kerisik (toasted coconut) sold me on this one.

Beef Rendang

Slightly adapted from Rasa Malaysia

Ingredients

• 5-12 dried arbol or cayenne chilies¹
• 5 shallots
• 2-3cm piece galangal²
• 4 stalks lemongrass, divided; 1 cut into 10cm lengths and pounded, 3 green parts removed and white parts coarsely chopped (or 3 Tbsp. frozen minced lemongrass, divided)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3-4cm piece fresh ginger, peeled
• 4-5 Tbsp. oil³
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 whole cloves
• 3 star anise
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 700g boneless beef short ribs (or other cut of your choice), cut into cubes
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1 c. water
• 1-2 tsp. tamarind concentrate⁴
• 6 kaffir lime leaves, very finely sliced⁵
• 6 Tbsp. kerisik (toasted coconut)⁶
• 1 Tbsp. palm sugar
• salt, to taste

Directions

1. Pour hot water over chilies to cover and set aside for at least 10 minutes.
2. Remove chilies from water and remove stems and seeds.
3. Add deseeded chilies, shallots, galangal, white parts of three stalks of lemongrass (or 2 Tbsp. frozen minced lemongrass), garlic, and ginger to blender or food processor and process into a paste. If needed, add some of the oil from the next step to the blender jar to help it break down into a nice smooth paste.
4. Heat oil over medium heat. (Sauté medium on InstantPot.)
5. Add paste, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, and cardamom and stir-fry until aromatic (1-2 minutes).
6. Add beef and pounded lemongrass and cook for another minute or two.
7. Add coconut milk, water, and tamarind concentrate and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until meat is almost cooked (~10 minutes).
8. Add lime leaves, kerisik, and sugar and stir to combine.
9. Reduce heat to low (slow cook medium on InstantPot), partially cover, and cook until pot is almost dry⁷.
10. Season to taste with salt and sugar.
11. Serve with rice.

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¹ The original recipe calls for 10-12 and I think that would've been a nice number. I scaled it back to five because I was worried that the Kidlet would object otherwise. With only 5 chilies, there is no detectable spiciness whatsoever -- not even to the Kidlet's super-sensitive tongue! ^Back
2 I was all out of fresh galangal so I substituted 1 tsp. of galangal powder. Definitely use fresh if you have it though! ^Back
3 The original recipe calls for 5 Tbsp. oil. I used this amount but found the final dish somewhat fattier than I would've preferred. I'd try cutting it back to 3 or 4 Tbsp. next time. ^Back
4 The original recipe calls for 2 tsp. of tamarind pulp (presumably from fresh tamarind). I was going to use 2 tsp. of tamarind concentrate, but then got worried that this might be too much. I scaled it back to 1 tsp. I was happy with the final result, but I think 1 1/2 or 2 tsp. probably would've been fine. ^Back
5 I didn't have any fresh lime leaves, so I crumbled a few dried ones instead. ^Back
6 To make kerisik, slowly and gently toast fresh or dried shredded coconut in a dry pan. It's important to get it dark enough to impart good flavour without getting it so dark that it becomes burnt. Watch it carefully and stir often. Remove from heat promptly once browned. If your coconut was coarsely shredded, pound it thoroughly after toasting to break it down into very small pieces. ^Back
7 I initially fully covered the pot and set it to low for 8 hours. It was still looking very soupy after the first few hours though, so I bumped the temperature up a bit (from slow cook low to slow cook medium) and set the lid slightly askew. It still needed another 12-ish hours after that to cook down enough. The end result was delectably tender and flavourful though. The exact cooking time will vary depending on your pot and stove/slow cooker/etc. Check it periodically and use your best judgement. ^Back

I needed something to go with our Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas and I had this recipe kicking around and zucchini just happened to be on sale...

I'm not normally a big fan of zucchini (unless it's in the form of zucchini bread), but this was really good! I mean, cheese and heavy cream will go a long way toward making most things good, but still... it was better than I was expecting. The Kidlet didn't care for it (I thought she'd like the corn at least), but everyone else liked it. Definitely worth keeping in mind when looking for a good vegetable side.

Calabacitas

Slightly adapted from Cook's Country August/September 2017

Ingredients

• 3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 poblano chile, seeded and chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. black peppercorns, ground
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 (~230g) zucchini, diced
• 1 (~230g) yellow summer squash¹, diced
• 3-4 ears corn, kernels cut from cobs
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• ~1/2 c. crumbled feta²
• lime wedges (optional)

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add onion, poblano, bell pepper, garlic, salt, and pepper and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
3. Add zucchini and summer squash and cook until tender (~6 minutes).
4. Stir in corn and cream.
5. Pat into and even layer and cook, without stirring, until liquid has evaporated and vegetables have browned slightly (~7 minutes).
6. Sprinkle with feta (or Cotija).
7. Serve with lime wedges.

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¹ I couldn't find any yellow summer squash this time of year, so I just tossed in an extra zucchini instead. ^Back
2 Use Cotija cheese if you can find it. I don't think I've ever seen it for sale around here, so I generally just substitute feta instead. ^Back

These were delicious! Not particularly healthy, but definitely delicious. I thought they'd be bland without the sauce, but they're still amazing even on their own. The sauce just takes them to the next level. We had our sopaipillas with calabacitas. I feel like they probably could've used another vegetable side as well, but this dinner already had enough moving parts as it was. Maybe some sort of simple garden salad next time?

Sopaipillas, as it turns out, can take on many different forms. Sometimes they're made entirely with masa harina; sometimes wheat flour is added. Sometimes they're stuffed; sometimes they're not. They may be flat or puffy. And they can run the gamut from sweet to savoury; part of the main course or a sweet treat for dessert. Based on a quick internet search, the sweet varieties seem to be more widespread than the savoury ones. So the "default" sopaipilla (as much as there can be said to be a default) might be something along the lines of a corn-based doughnut/fry-bread possibly coated in sugar and/or served with honey. These stuffed, savoury sopaipillas seem to be somewhat less common. Which is a shame because they are wonderful!

Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas with Green Chile Sauce

From Cook's Country October/November 2019

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. lard
• 14 Tbsp. water

Refried Beans

• 1/4 c. lard
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 c. cooked pinto beans
• 1 c. chicken broth

Green Chile Sauce

• 900g fresh Anaheim chiles
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile
• 2 Tbsp. lard
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flour (hard or soft is fine)
• 1 c. chicken broth

Assembly

• ~2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• oil for frying

Directions

Dough

1. Sift together flour, salt, and baking powder and mix well.
2. Cut lard into flour.
3. Stir in water.
4. Turn out dough and knead a little (1-2 dozen strokes).
5. Divide into 8 equal portions, cover and chill for at least 30 minutes¹.

Refried Beans

1. Melt lard over medium heat.
2. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
3. Add beans and broth.
4. Mash beans with potato masher and cook until thickened (~8 minutes).
5. Season to taste and set aside to cool.

Green Chile Sauce

1. Adjust oven rack to ~15cm (6") from broiler element and preheat broiler.
2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.
3. Place whole chiles (Anaheims and jalapeño) in single layer on prepared sheet.
4. Broil until blackened all over, turning every 4-5 minutes so that all sides get charred.
5. Remove from oven and quickly wrap chiles and foil to trap steam. Set aside for ~10 minutes.
6. Unwrap chiles and remove skins.
7. Stem and seed Anaheims.
8. Stem (but do not seed) jalapeño.
9. Chop all chiles into half cm (~1/4") pieces.
10. Melt lard over medium heat.
11. Add onion and cook until softened (~4 minutes).
12. Add garlic and cook for another minute or so.
13. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute.
14. Stir in broth and chiles and bring to a simmer.
15. Simmer until thickened (~6 minutes).
16. Season to taste, cover, and set aside.

Assembly

1. Retrieve dough balls from fridge and keep all but the one you're currently working with covered with a damp tea towel.
2. Working with one dough ball at a time, roll into an 18cm (~7") circle on a floured surface.
3. Squeeze ~1/4 of Cheddar to form a slight oblong shape (vaguely like an American football or rugby ball).
4. Place your cheesy ovoid in the centre of the dough round and top it with ~1/4 c. of refried beans.
5. Fold the dough round in half to create a semi-circle/half moon shape.
6. Press around edges to seal.
7. Moisten the top of the sealed edge with a bit of water and pinch the dough diagonally up and over the sealed edge to seal again and create a decorative rope-like border.
8. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings. (You may have some beans left over.)
9. Use a paring knife to poke a 1cm (~1/2") hole in the top of each sopaipilla².
10. Line a baking sheet with paper towels (preferably a double or triple layer).
11. Heat frying oil to 190°C (375°F). Oil should be ~4cm (1.5") deep.
12. Add 2-4 sopaipillas at a time to the oil (depending on the size of your fryer/Dutche oven) and fry until golden brown (~3-4 minutes per side).
13. Transfer fried sopaipillas to prepared baking sheet.
14. Reheat green chile sauce over medium-high heat.
15. Serve sopaipillas smothered in chile sauce and accompanied by vegetable side(s) of your choice.

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Variations

Vegetarian Bean and Cheese Sopaipillas

Ingredients

Dough

• 2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt, ground
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 14 Tbsp. water

Refried Beans

• 1/4 c. vegetable shortening
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 c. cooked pinto beans
• 1 c. vegetable broth

Green Chile Sauce

• 900g fresh Anaheim chiles
• 1 fresh jalapeño chile
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable shortening
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbsp. flour (hard or soft is fine)
• 1 c. vegetable broth

Assembly

• ~2 c. shredded Cheddar cheese
• oil for frying

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¹ If you want to make ahead, dough will keep in fridge for up to 2 days. ^Back
2 Assembled but uncooked sopaipillas can be covered and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. ^Back

This is a quick and easy-to-make paste that adds a nice, flavourful kick to curries. If you want to make it even quicker and easier, you can do what I do and just blend a few chiles into some ready-made ginger paste.

Ginger-Chile Paste

From 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. water
• 227g fresh ginger, coarsely chopped
• 12 fresh green Thai chiles

Directions

1. Pour water into blender, followed by ginger and chiles.
2. Purée until smooth.
3. Paste can be stored in the fridge for up to a week or frozen for later use.

Ultimate Chili?

America's Test Kitchen bills this as the "ultimate vegetarian chili". And the recipe is good, don't get me wrong. I'll definitely be keeping it around and making it (or some version of it) again. But I think I'd stop short of calling it the "ultimate" chili.

I made the recipe as directed and sampled it at the end of cooking. It was tasty. But it was definitely better after a few tweaks. And I think I'd make a few more if I made it again as well.

Ultimate Vegetarian Chili

Adapted from The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

Ingredients

• 1kg assorted dried beans¹
• 3 Tbsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 dried ancho chiles
• 2 dried California or New Mexican chiles
• 1 arbol chile (optional)
• 1/2 c. chopped walnuts
• 14g dried porcini mushrooms²
• 4 tsp. dried oregano
• 1 Tbsp. cumin seeds
• 1/4 c. canola oil (or other neutral oil)
• 1kg onions, chopped
• 1L water
• 500mL vegetable broth
• 2/3 c. bulgur³
• 4 c. chopped plum tomatoes⁴
• 1/4 c. tomato paste
• 1 jalapeño, minced⁵
• 6 garlic coves, minced
• 3 Tbsp. dark soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1-2 Tbsp. roasted garlic paste (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
• 1/4 c. fresh cilantro, minced

Directions

1. Dissolve salt in 3L cold water. Add beans and soak (at room temperature) overnight.
2. Drain and rinse the beans. Set aside.
3. Place dried chiles on baking tray and roast at 300°F (150°C) for 8 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, toast walnuts⁶.
5. Grind chiles, mushrooms, oregano, and cumin seeds and set aside.
6. Heat oil⁷ and add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes.
7. Add ground chiles, mushrooms, oregano, and cumin and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
8. Add beans, water, and vegetable broth.
9. If using range/oven: Bring to a boil, cover, then transfer to 300°F (150°C) oven to cook for 45 minutes.
   If using InstantPot: Cook at high pressure for 20 minutes.
10. Add bulgur, walnuts, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, dark soy, light soy, brown sugar, and roasted garlic. Stir to combine, cover, and continue to cook.
    If using oven: Place back in oven for ~2 hours.
    If using InstantPot: Slow cook on high for 1 hour.
11. Stir in vinegar, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

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¹ I used a 50-50 mix of kidney beans and black beans. ^Back
2 Use shiitake if you can find them. ^Back
3 The recipe calls for medium grind bulgur. I could only find coarse white bulgur or fine brown bulgur. I ended up going with the fine. I think any grind would probably be okay, it just depends what sort of mouthfeel you're going for. I think I would actually prefer the medium, but fine grind is still perfectly acceptable. ^Back
4 Feel free to use tinned diced tomatoes for this. I just had a tonne of fresh tomatoes on hand that needed to be eaten, so they went into the chili. ^Back
5 I'd be tempted to replace the fresh jalapeño with an equivalent quantity of pickled next time. ^Back
6 The original recipe called for walnuts to be toasted and then finely ground. I did this and found the results to be acceptable. That said, I think that just toasting chopped walnuts and not bothering to grind them down further would be even better. ^Back
7 I used medium heat on the InstantPot sauté setting. I'd recommend medium-high for electric ranges or medium for gas. ^Back

Ginger Chile Paste

I've never actually made this paste. I generally find that having both ginger paste and garlic paste on hand are sufficient for my aromatic flavouring paste needs. The few times that I have found myself in need of ginger chile paste, I've simply pureed a few chiles into some existing ginger paste and called it a day. That said, if you want to do it the "right" way and make sure your proportions are correct and everything, here's how!

Ginger Chile Paste
From 660 Curries
1/2 lb. chopped fresh ginger
12 fresh Thai (bird's eye) chiles

1. Pour 1/2 c. water into a blender jar and add the ginger and chiles.
2. Puree.

Red Chile, Garlic, and Shallot Sauce

This is a scorchingly hot, sinus clearing, wonderful sauce. It is, as noted, very hot, but it's not just heat for heat's sake. It has flavour! It is lovely and garlic-y and just thinking about it makes my mouth water and my tongue burn.

Red Chile, Garlic, and Shallot Sauce

From 660 Curries

1 c. boiling water

20 dried red Thai chiles

1/4 c. sliced shallots (or red onion)

1 tsp. sugar

1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt

6 cloves garlic

1. Pour the boiling water over the chiles in a small bowl and set aside for 1-2 hours.

2. Reserving 1/4 c. of the soaking liquid, drain the chiles.

3. Combine chiles, reserved soaking liquid, and remaining ingredients in blender and puree until smooth.

4. Store in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. (Will keep for 5-7 days in the fridge.)

Mint-Yogurt Sauce with Chiles

This is a wonderful chutney. I really love the cilantro-mint combo. That said, I can't generally be bothered to make it from scratch these days. There is an Indian grocery store right around the corner from us that sells jars of "cilantro-mint chutney" that, while not as good as homemade, are still perfectly acceptable condiments.

If you do decide that you want to make your own chutney (or if you can't easily buy ready-made sauces), here's the recipe I use.

Mint-Yogurt Sauce
Slightly adapted from 660 Curries
1/2 c. firmly packed fresh cilantro
1/2 c. firmly packed fresh mint
1 Tbsp. plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
6 fresh green Thai chiles
1 Tbsp. ginger paste

1. Combine all ingredients in blender jar along with 1/4 c. water. Puree until smooth.
2. Store in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer until ready to use. Will keep 5-7 days in the fridge.

Beef in Adobo

We usually keep a few tins of chilis in adobo on hand, for a warm, smoky sauce that emphasizes the flavour rather than the heat of the chilis. This recipe, however, makes the adobo from scratch.

And it's amazing.

The original recipe calls for ancho and pasilla chilis, and flank steak; we had none of these, and replaced them with guajillo and california chilis and stewing beef, respectively. There is nothing to complain about the results, and the beef comes out deliciously tender.

As accompaniments and toppings, it suggests flour tortillas or rice and queso fresco or feta. We used brown rice, tortillas, and cheddar cheese.

Adobo Ingredients

• 1½ oz dried ancho or guajilla chilis, stemmed and seeded
• 1 oz dried pasilla or california chilis, stemmed and seeded
• ¾ C salsa verde
• ¾ C chicken broth
• ½ C orange juice
• ⅓ C packed brown sugar
• ¼ C lime juice (~2 limes)
• 1½ tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper

Beef Ingredients

• 3 lbs stewing beef
• 2 tbsp oil
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• an entire garlic bulb, minced (no, that is not a typo)
• 1½ tbsp cumin, ground

Procedure

1. Adjust oven rack to middle-bottom and preheat to 350°F. Arrange anchos and pasillas on rimmed baking sheet and bake until fragrant, ~5 minutes.
2. Immediately transfer chilis to bowl and cover with hot tap water. Let stand until softened and pliable, ~5 minutes. Drain (or reserve! Halfway through making this, we realized that we should have saved the delicious chili-water water to make the chicken broth with. Sadly, the original recipe doesn't suggest this).
3. Combine chilis, salsa verde, chicken broth, orange and lime juices, sugar, oregano, salt, and pepper, and puree in blender until smooth, ~1 minute. Set aside (but taste the blender blades first).
4. Reduce oven temperature to 300°F.
5. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook beef until browned all over, ~10 minutes -- you may need to do two batches, there's a lot of beef. Remove beef using slotted spoon and buffer.
6. Add onion and ½ tsp salt to pot. Reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 3-5 minutes.
7. Add garlic and cumin and cook until fragrant, ~30 seconds.
8. Stir in adobo, beef, and any accumulated juices. Bring to a simmer.
9. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Bake for 90 minutes.
10. > put beef in face

Marmalade-Mustard Glazed Gammon

This was supposed to be served with mashed potatoes and a parsley sauce. I did roast vegetables instead and skipped on the parsley sauce because it really doesn't need any extra sauce with all that glaze.

Marmalade-Mustard Glazed Gammon
Slightly adapted from BBC Food
1.3kg smoked gammon joint
1 lemon, halved
1 orange, halved
1 apple, halved
1 onion, halved
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
2 good dashes cayenne
1/2 pint ale (optional)
5 star anise
340g marmalade
5 fl. oz. honey
~2 Tbsp. wholegrain mustard
1/4 tsp. ground cloves

Roast Veg
5 parsnips, peeled and chopped
5 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
1 packed cubed sweet potato and butternut squash
6-8 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly smashed
2 Tbsp. olive oil
~1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning
salt and pepper
dash cayenne

1. Place gammon in a large pot with lemon, orange, apple, onion, cinnamon stick, bay leaves, cayenne, ale, and 2 of the star anise. Add water to just cover everything.
2. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for ~1 hour.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
4. In a small pot combine marmalade with remaining star anise, honey, mustard, and cloves. Heat until marmalade has melted and everything is well-blended.
5. Remove gammon from cooking water and place in a roasting pan.
6. Drizzle the chopped veg with olive oil and toss with salt, pepper, cayenne, and herbs.
7. Dump the chopped veg in around the meat.
8. Glaze the gammon with the marmalade mixture.
9. Bake at 210C (~400F) for ~45 minutes, basting with additional glaze every 10-15 minutes.
10. When glaze is slightly blackened around the edges and veggies are cooked, remove from oven and serve. (Serving some additional green veg along side probably wouldn't go amiss, I just didn't have anything appropriate on hand when I was making this.)

I'm pleased with how this came out, but I'd definitely tweak it a bit next time.

For the Boil
1.3kg smoked gammon joint
1 lemon, halved
1 orange, halved
1 apple, halved
1 onion, halved
3-4 scallions, rough chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
1 tsp. black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 tsp. whole cloves
2 dried chiles de arbol
2 star anise

For the Glaze
200g marmalade
4 fl. oz. honey
3 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
2 Tbsp. wholegrain mustard
1/2 tsp. whole cloves

Huevos Rancheros

I had a general idea of how to make huevos rancheros and was just gonna roll with it, but decided to peek at a few recipes at the last minute and ended up mostly following Jamie Oliver's recipe with a few little substitutions and additions along the way.

Huevos Rancheros
Adapted from Jamie Oliver
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
generous dash cayenne
salt
black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 (226g) jars mild salsa
1 package black beans (230g drained), rinsed
1/4 c. fresh cilantro, chopped
6 eggs
6 whole wheat tortillas
Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat oil over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, bell pepper, and bay leaves. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne. Cook until vegetables begin to brown.
2. Add salsa and beans. Cook until slightly thickened.
3. Stir in cilantro.
4. Make six wells in the tomato mixture. Break an egg into each well. Cover pan and reduce heat to medium-low.
5. When eggs reach desired done-ness, remove from heat.
6. Serve on warm tortillas with grated Cheddar.

If I'd been making this at home with access to my usual spices, I'd probably try replacing the cayenne with a bit of minced chipotle in adobo. I might also add a dried guajillo chile or two. I'd probably just use diced tomatoes instead of the salsa next time as well.

Rhode Island Dynamites

Easy, tasty, and comes together relatively quickly = Weeknight winner!

Rhode Island Dynamites
Slightly adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2015
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt
3/4 tsp. pepper, divided
2 lbs. ground beef
1 Tbsp. canola oil
2 onions, chopped
2 bell peppers, chopped (I used orange because they looked the nicest this week)
1/4 c. minced pickled hot cherry peppers + 2 Tbsp. brine
1/4 c. tomato paste
1/4 c. garlic paste
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 (15 oz.) can tomato sauce
Sub rolls or hot dog buns

1. Stir baking soda, salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper into 3 Tbsp. water until dissolved.
2. Combine baking soda mixture with beef. Let stand 15 minutes.
3. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Add beef and cook until liquid evaporates and meat starts to sizzle.
4. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook until veggies soften.
5. Add cherry peppers, brine, tomato paste, garlic paste, Italian seasoning, and red pepper flakes. Cook for an additional 3 minutes.
6. Add tomato sauce. Stir and scrape bottom of pot/pan. Reduce heat to low. Simmer until desired consistency achieved. (Original recipe calls for 45 minutes of simmering, but we didn't have time for that and called it done after only 10 minutes. It was still delicious!)