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Spicy Turkish eggs

 I love the combination of ingredients in this dish -never thought it could go together until I tried it in London. I made a spicy version for Valentine's brunch which I like better but you can choose to reduce the heat. Regardless it's rich, creamy and luscious way to eat poached eggs and can be changed up to use different herbs or garlic.The paprika adds a smoky flavour and reddish golden colour, which was fitting for this occasion!

Ingredients:
4 very fresh eggs, preferably organic
Sage leaves
sea salt
a few tablespoons butter
Olive oil
paprika
a few generous pinches chili flakes
1 cup (whole milk) Greek yogurt

Method:Split and spread half the yogurt in 2 shallow serving dishes. This makes the creamy, pillowy base for the eggs. Poach eggs one at a time, drain and place over the yogurt, two in each dish. Heat the butter with olive oil until just melted, add the sage leaves, salt, chili flakes and let the leaves get slightly crispy. Remove from heat and sprinkle paprika in the sauce to give it the golden hue and flavour. Spoon the sage leaves and sauce immediately over the eggs in the dishes and serve with toast.

Note: For a perfect poached egg: crack an egg into a little container and slide into simmering (not boiling) water to which a tsp. of vinegar is added. The vinegar helps the egg whites stay together but it is also important to use really fresh eggs. Remove with a slotted spoon when the whites are set but the yolk is still runny - around 30 seconds.

Chicken mole

For most authentic Mexican mole sauce in Seattle, I head to La Carta de Oaxaca in Ballard. I usually get the chicken mole tamale rather than the mole dish itself, can never get past that on the menu no matter how many times I go! Still, have always wanted to figure out a fresh mole sauce at home that is extremely flavourful but not sweet, exactly how I like it. This recipe yields a really complex, flavourful sauce with a hint of sweetness and is great served with a few slices of radish on rice or tortillas. This recipe serves 4 - 6.

Ingredients:
For the sauce:
1 large dried Ancho Chile
4 dried Chipotle peppers
3-4 pieces cinnamon
4 cloves
2 tbsp. coriander seeds
4 tbsp. black sesame seeds
4 tbsp raw blister peanuts
12 almonds

6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large onions, diced

3-4 Serrano peppers, chopped (de-seeded if you don't want the heat)

4 tbsp. semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips

4 cups chicken stock

4-6 tbsp. oil 

2 lb. chicken, boneless and skinless thigh or breast meat.
2 tsp. dried thyme
1 lemon
3-4 radishes, sliced for garnish
Cilantro, chopped for garnish


Method:
Marinate the chicken for an hour with salt, pepper, 1tsp. thyme and juice from half a lemon. Heat the chicken stock in a separate sauce pan.

Toast the chilies in a dry pan on both sides. They become easily pliable after being on the heat for bit and are easier to tear into pieces as needed, discarding any seeds. There should be a wonderful aroma but don't let them burn. Pour a cup of hot stock into a bowl and add the toasted chilies to it to soften.

Toast the almonds on a pan, toss into the blender jar. Then repeat with sesame, coriander, cloves, cinnamon and peanuts. Saute the onions, garlic and Serrano peppers in a little oil until softened. Add to rest of the ingredients in the blender jar, add the chilies softened in stock along with the liquid and blitz until pureed.
Heat some oil in a dutch oven, add the mole sauce with the rest of the stock, chocolate, salt, rest of the thyme and simmer. You can add more chocolate if you prefer a sweeter sauce.
Keep stirring the sauce often and simmering for around 15 minutes, add more water if needed to maintain the consistency. It should be a really rich, dark, chocolatey sauce.

Heat a shallow frying pan, add sufficient oil to coat, add the chicken pieces in a single layer with lots of room and cook until brown on all sides. Repeat with rest of the chicken pieces. Cover with foil and let the chicken rest. When cool, cut into smaller pieces. Add the chicken to the mole and keep simmering until the chicken is tender. You can also cover and cook to quicken this process - should take around 20-30 minutes.

Garnish with lemon slices, radish slices and chopped coriander.

Lavender panna cotta

This is my all-time favorite panna cotta flavour...lavender! The lavender adds such an incredible freshness and the consistency is light and delightful. It was a big hit at my Christmas party this year and is a really simple dessert to feed a lot of people! This recipe serves 8-12.

Ingredients:


2 cups heavy cream
1 cup milk
1 cup condensed milk
1/4 cup honey (more or less to taste)
2 heaped tsp. dried lavender
4 tbsp. cold water
3 tsp. powdered gelatin

Method:

In a small bowl let the gelatin bloom in cold water.

Heat the heavy cream, milk, condensed milk, honey with lavender until just heated through and bubbles form on the outside.  Turn off the heat, add the gelatin to the warm milk mixture, whisk until dissolved completely. Cover and let the lavender infuse for 2 minutes.

Strain the mixture through a sieve into serving cups or a large bowl. When cool, cover it with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 6 hours but preferably overnight.

Serve drizzled with honey.

Spicy Curry noodles

I recently visited one of my Portland favorites Pok Pok for some incredible street-style Thai food. Inspired by one of the curry noodle dishes, I decided to make some good curry paste from scratch which I think is the reason their food tastes phenomenal.


Ingredients:
For the dry spice mix:
4-6 dried red chilies or to taste
2 tbsp. coriander seeds
2 tsp. cumin seeds
6 green cardamom pods, de-seeded (just use the seeds)
1 tsp. dried mace
2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. nutmeg, grated
1 tsp. turmeric powder
2 tsp. fish sauce (optional)
1 tsp. soy sauce (optional)

For curry paste:
ginger - 1" piece
6 cloves garlic
2 tbsp. coriander stems, chopped
6 shallots

1 small can coconut milk
veges (sliced green and red peppers, bokchoy, mushrooms, tomatoes)
chicken or meat (optional)
1 small sprig cilantro
1 package noodles

Method:


Cook flat egg noodles according to the package instructions and set aside. I prefer to rinse in cold water to prevent overcooking while I prep the rest of the curry.

Dry roast the spices in a pan until it's aromatic and golden. Grind it to a powder using a spice grinder. Add the turmeric, curry powder and grate fresh nutmeg to this, mix well.
In a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic, ginger, shallots, cilantro stems with coarse sea salt to make a fine paste. Combine the dry spices with the wet paste, fish and soy sauces.

In a wok on medium heat, add the coconut milk, keep stirring until it reduces to a thick glossy paste and you smell the coconut oil in it.
It helps to use a really good quality coconut extract...not the lite, tasteless ones. The good news is that I actually did not use any oil to make this and just that tiny can gives you all the flavor.

Then add the prepared curry paste and saute until fragrant. Add the veges and/or chicken and saute with the curry paste until cooked through.
Then add 3-4 cups of water and let the curry simmer on low heat until thickened. Turn off the heat, add the noodles and toss until heated through and garnish with chopped cilantro.

This curry paste is pretty versatile with meat or veges and also soupy or fairly thick depending on what you prefer. I served it soupy, Chiang-Mai style, which was delicious!

Chouquette

This is my favorite pastry for breakfast when I can get my hands on a bag of them of course!
I first ate these at one my favorite bakeries in Portland - St. Honore. Since then, I've been obsessed with tracking down the best chouquettes every time I visit Paris...
It is made with choux pastry which is extremely easy and has a multitude of applications and I really need to start doing this more often.

Traditionally these pastries are sprinkled with pearl sugar which gives it the crunchy white bits I love but I used turbinado sugar I had at home. Surprisingly, they turned out really, really good! These are great plain but this time I served it with milk jam from my recent trip to Paris which made for a really great combination.

Ingredients:
for the choux pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 stick butter
3 eggs
1 cup water
1 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
4 tbsp. turbinado sugar
2 tbsp cream or milk


Method:

Heat the water, sugar, salt, butter in a sauce pan until simmering. Remove from heat, add the flour, combine and return to the heat. Keep stirring with a wooden spoon until it is well combined and the dough forms a ball without sticking to the sides of the pan. This should really take less than a minute.

Remove the pan from heat and add the eggs, one at a time. After each egg is added, keep stirring vigorously until the egg is completely absorbed. The end result should be a very eggy, tacky pastry dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 mins. to 1 hour.

Heat the oven to 400F. Pipe walnut sized portions of the pastry dough onto a parchment sheet leaving some space between them. Brush with the cream or milk and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar. Bake for 20 mins. until they are golden and risen into delicate puffs.

Butternut squash soup

This is a simple and satisfying soup for a cold, rainy day like today.
It is also one of my favorite ways of eating this squash. I've used a pinch of cayenne to cut down the sweetness of the squash, but you can always skip that or try chili oil as a variation.
I typically like to top this soup with crispy sage (love that combination!) but today, I used rosemary as flavouring and topped it with some grated sheep's milk cheese instead...the options are endless!


Ingredients:
Butternut squash - 4- 6 cups (cut, peeled and cubed)
1 cup diced onion
3-4 cups chicken or veg. stock
salt
pepper
1 pinch cayenne
2 tbsp. hard, grated cheese
1/2 cup milk or cream
Rosemary 1 sprig


Method:

Heat a tbsp of butter in a pot. Add the onions, salt, pepper, rosemary and cook until translucent.
Add the squash, chicken stock and simmer until the squash is tender and cooked through. Discard the rosemary sprig and puree with a hand-held blender until smooth and silky. Stir in the cayenne, milk or cream to give it extra creaminess.

Serve warm with the grated cheese on top.

Walnut loaf (pain aux noix)

This is a moist walnut loaf that is perfect for tea or delicious with fruit and cheese. Pain aux noix literally translates to "bread with walnuts" in french but this version is much richer than any walnut bread and is more like a tea-cake.


Ingredients:
1 3/4 sticks butter
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs at room temp.
1 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped coarsely and then pulsed in a food processor to a coarse meal
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed tightly
Powdered sugar for dusting


Method:
Preheat oven to 350 ° F. Grease a loaf pan with butter and set aside.

Melt the butter, brown sugar and honey on low heat and then set aside to cool. Stir in the walnut meal. Whisk the eggs with the milk in a separate bowl and stir that into the pan that has cooled.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients and add to the pan to combine. Pour into prepared loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes at 350 ° F and then for 30 minutes at 300 ° F or until when pressed the top of the cake springs back.

Cool completely on a wire rack and then store until next day, wrapped in foil and refigerated. Serve at room temperature with dusting of powdered sugar.

Hearty bread soup

This is a Portuguese inspired, hearty, bread soup. I used left over baguette from a day ago but you could use similar stale, crusty bread (not sourdough). I also served it with homemade piri-piri sauce for extra zing!

Ingredients:
1/2 baguette, torn into large pieces
a handful of rocket or arugula
4-5 garlic cloves, smashed
4 cups chicken or vege. stock
salt
black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, sliced
1 bay leaf
1 sprig fresh or dried rosemary

Method:
Saute the onion, bay leaf and garlic in hot oil until softened. Add the stock, bread, rosemary and simmer. Season with salt and pepper to taste. The bread should soften in a few minutes...you can additional water if needed. Now, add the rocket and stir until wilted.
Turn off heat, ladle into bowls and top with some piri-piri.

Salmon kebabs with yoghurt sauce

This is a middle eastern inspired dish and all started when I found this large, round, yeasty, sesame encrusted, Turkish lavash bread at the Farmer's market over the weekend! Who knew?! I also found some great salmon steaks, rocket and chives which I used to create this quick week night dinner recipe.

Highly recommend the lavash but you could always use a pita to recreate this dish. I also use Greek yoghurt to create this sauce as it gives it a creamy, sour cream like texture.

Ingredients:
1 lb salmon, cut into large strips
2 tbsp. tandoori or kebab masala
2 tbsp Greek yoghurt
2 tsp. dried mint leaves
1 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 lavash bread
Olive oil
rocket or favorite salad leaves
salt
black pepper


Method:
Mix the tandoori or kebab seasoning with the lemon juice, salt, black pepper and 1 tsp. olive oil. Marinate the salmon in spices for at least 30 minutes.
Mix the yoghurt with the juice of half a lemon, mint, chives, salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for the flavours to mix.

Heat and film a pan with oil, add the salmon strips and cook on both sides until golden brown.
Open up the lavash bread with a serrated knife and cut in half. Or use a pita cut in half.
Place the rocket leaves on the bread to create a bed for the salmon. Place the salmon strips over it taking care to remove any bones, drizzle with the yoghurt sauce and serve immediately.

Blue cheese and chive pasta

This is a really simple, delicious pasta that I served here with spaghetti.
Use your favourite creamy, blue cheese for the sauce...the more pungent the better! ;)

I served this with a very simple, chickweed salad...yes, it is a weed! I actually stumbled upon it at the farmer's market today....tasted it and loved it! It is also extremely nutritious and high in vitamin C!

Ingredients:
2 servings pasta
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 tbsp. creme fraiche
1 tbsp. chives, chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Heat the oil, add the garlic and toss until softened. Then add the blue cheese, milk and whisk over low heat until the cheese is incorporated into the sauce. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Turn off the heat, add the chives and creme fraiche.

Cook pasta until al dente, add to the cheese sauce and combine. Serve with a green salad.

Papardelle carbonara

It's really all about the pancetta! I was able to get some of Salumi pancetta, anise flavoured, a limited edition seasonal version, which just made this to-die-for!

Traditional versions of carbonara, in fact the first time I tried this was in Rome...is made with spaghetti but I like it with the flat pastas too like fettuccine and papardelle.

Ingredients:

1 slick slice of pancetta (Italian bacon), chopped

1/2 cup grated percorino

1 egg and 2 yolks

fresh pasta sheets, cut into papardelle (or whatever you like) to serve 2

salt

black pepper, freshly ground

olive oil

1 tbsp Parsley, chopped

Method:

Render the pancetta in a pan with a little olive oil until crispy, drain over paper towels to remove excess fat. Whisk the egg and yolks with the cheese, salt and pepper.

Cook the pasta until al dente, add to the egg and cheese mixture and toss immediately to coat. Add a few tablespoons of the pasta water as needed. Add the pancetta and toss again, garnish with parsley, drizzle with a little extra olive oil and serve with a simple, green salad of arugula or watercress.

Pannetone french toast

Pannetone is an Italian fruit bread that is common during the holidays but I was happy to find it at whole foods the other day. It has candied citrus in it, has a spongy consistency and is not too sweet. Perfect for luscious french toast!

Ingredients:

1 lb pannetone, sliced into 1" thick slices
6 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup milk
maple syrup
1 tbsp. butter


Method:

Whisk the eggs, milk and vanilla in a shallow pan and set aside to infuse for 30 minutes.
Heat a nonstick pan. Coat the pan with some butter.

Take a slice of pannetone, dip both sides into the egg mixture and place on pan. Flip when golden and place on serving plate. Repeat with the rest of the pannetone.

Serve immediately drizzled with maple syrup. Simply divine!

Andouille and fennel galette

Brunches are my favorite way to start a lazy Sunday. Sometimes, I simply like to head out but on other days when I have great ingredients at hand, it's time to get creative! Today, I was craving something savoury to go with the creamy pannetone french toast. So, started with some fresh fennel, great andouille and then topped it off with some really tangy Bulgarian feta (I am fan now!)

Ingredients:

1 small fennel bulb, sliced
2 links andouille sausage, sliced
1 small red onion, sliced
3-4 tbsp fennel greens, chopped
1 tbsp fennel seeds
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced
olive oil
2 tbsp. feta (I used a Bulgarian version that is really soft and extra creamy)
black pepper and salt to taste
1 pie crust - home made or store-bought

Method:

Film the bottom of a skillet with olive oil over medium flame. Add the fennel and garlic and toss around for a minute. Then add the sausage and saute until golden.


Now add the onion and cook until translucent. Finally add the sliced fennel, salt and pepper and cook until softened. Turn off the heat and then mix in the chopped fennel leaves.


Roll the pie-crust into a circle. Add the cooled sausage mixture on top leaving 2" around the edges. Now fold the edges inwards to make a rustic presentation. Spread the mixture evenly within the edges. Brush edges with an egg wash. Cook in a 375°F oven for 35 minutes or until golden.


Crumble the cheese over the galette and serve while still warm. I served it for brunch along with pannetone french toast. It would also be great with a simple salad for lunch.

Melktert (milk tart, South African style)

This is the original South African version of melktert but I used a store bought crust instead of doing that from scratch.

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter, room temp.
4 tbsp. corn flour
6 tbsp sugar
2 eggs, yolks separated
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1 cinnamon stick
1 ready made pie crust

Method:
Roll out the pie crust over the tart pan, line the tart pan with it and trim the edges as needed.
Preheat the oven to 375°C.

Heat the milk in a pan with the cinnamon stick.
In a bowl, cream the butter sugar and corn flour. Now add the heated milk in a thin stream and keep whisking until combined. Now transfer back to pan and heat for a few minutes until it thickens and forms a custard. Pour this through a sieve into a bowl to cool slightly.

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolks to the thickened milk mixture and whisk.
Fold the egg whites. Pour this custard into the prepared tart pan and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes or until cooked and firm. Remove and sprinkle with cinnamon. Chill in refrigerator when cooled.

Cut into wedges and serve.

Green papaya curry

Lately, I have been looking to eat a little less meat and add more vegetarian options to my diet. This is not just because of the health benefits but also to do my little part for the environment.

So, was pleasantly surprised to find the green papaya quite by accident... my husband actually brought it home thinking it was regular papaya :)
Anyways, I am glad, as it made a truly delightful curry and am going to seek this out the next time around!

It reminded me of gourds or quashes in texture and I thought it would work well as a substitute for green jackfruit or chayote squash in an Indonesian or Thai curry. So, it borrows from both but looks (and tastes) more like a green curry.





Ingredients:

1 small green papaya, peeled, deseeded and cubed
4-5 kaffir leaves
5-6 curry leaves
1 tsp. shrimp paste (skip for vegetarian version )
1 " piece galangal (or ginger) sliced with skin on
1 cup coconut milk (small can works great)

for spice paste:

1 tbsp. coriander seeds
2-4 green chilies, cut into chunks
15 shallots (pearl size), peeled
10 raw cashews

Method:

Grind all the ingredients for spice paste with a little bit of water.
Transfer the papaya cubes, spice paste and 2 cups water into a sauce pan. Add the ginger, shrimp paste, kaffir and curry leaves and let it cook until the papaya is fork tender.

Now turn the heat to low and add the coconut milk and stir until heated through. Serve with rice.

Banana and saffron malpuas

I was recently in Udaipur, Rajastan at a friend's wedding and tasted malpuas for the very first time. They had a very delicate Swedish crepe like texture, glossy with the syrup on top and accompanied with the creaminess of kheer, simply delicious! I never really imagined that combination before but it really worked.

So, inspired by that, and also wanting to use some really ripe bananas :) , I created this version and served it with vanilla ice cream instead.















Ingredients:
2 tbsp. ghee for making the pancakes

for the batter:
1 large really ripe banana, mashed with a fork into a paste
1 tbsp sugar
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)

1 cup milk

saffron strands

for the syrup:

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tsp rose water or orange blossom water

Method:

Warm the milk and add saffron strands, let it steep.

Whisk the flours, 2 tbsp ghee, sugar and then add the banana to it. Now add milk in a thin stream, continue whisking to form an even batter. It should be slightly thinner, like crepe batter... add a little more water to achieve that consistency, if needed. Let it rest while you make the syrup.

Heat the sugar in a saucepan with the water until it reaches the right consistency (around 10 minutes). Turn off the heat, add the rosewater and keep in a warm place.

Heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat. Pour 2 tbsp. of batter, help form a small round pancake with the back of the spoon. Dot with ghee around the sides and flip when golden.

Take a flat serving plate or dish, spoon some syrup in the bottom, place the warm malpua over it as soon as you remove from the pan. Immediately coat the pancake with a tsp. of syrup. It should look really glossy and absorb some of the syrup. Repeat with another/rest of the pancakes.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

papardelle with cauliflower, garlic breadcrumbs and pine nuts

It's not often that you find pasta dishes with cauliflower but this one is a staple in my repertoire. It has great texture ...crunchiness from the breadcrumbs and pine nuts and the creaminess of cauliflower. The florets have to be cooked until really soft. It is a great way to add nutritional value to your meal - I specifically steam the florets so it retains all the goodness.



Ingredients:
1 cauliflower - cut into florets
1/2 tsp. red chili flakes
4 - anchovy fillets, minced
1 cup - fresh breadcrumbs made from day old french bread
2 tbsp. - pine nuts
1 tsp. - parsley, chopped
olive oil
4-5 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup stock (chicken or vege.)

Method:
Steam the florets until cooked through and soft, rough chop and set aside. Boil water for the pasta in the mean time with plenty of salt.

Heat olive oil in a pan, add sliced garlic and saute until golden. Then add breadcrumbs and pine nuts, parsley and toss for a few minutes until golden. Then remove and cool on a plate.

Now for the sauce, heat some oil in a skillet, add the minced anchovy fillets and stir until they disintegrate and flavour the oil. Skip the anchovies for a vegetarian version but they do add great flavour! Then add the chili flakes and then the cauliflower and cook for a few minutes. Add stock as needed to combine and form a sauce.

Cook the pasta until al dente, then add to the sauce and toss. Top with bread crumbs , drizzle some good olive oil and serve.

Curried oyster mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms are really delicate when fresh and are delectable in curries with a surprisingly firm texture when cooked. These are the easiest wild mushrooms to find in super markets year round, esp. in the NW but this recipe is great for maitake mushrooms too.

This version in fond memory of my grand mom who loved mushrooms and cooked them in so many memorable ways!





Ingredients:
4 cups -Mushrooms, torn to pieces
1 medium red onion (sliced)
1 tsp. curry powder
1 cup green peas (fresh or frozen)
1 tbsp. coriander (chopped)
oil
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp. creme fraiche

Method:
Heat 1 tbsp. of vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the bay leaf to flavour the oil, then add the onions and saute with a bit of salt to make the onions sweat. Meanwhile, discard the tough parts of the stalks and simply tear the mushrooms into bite size pieces. When translucent, add the mushrooms and saute until the mushrooms wilt and are cooked (around 5 mins.). Then, add the curry powder and peas and toss until the peas are cooked.

Finally add the creme fraiche and combine, add the coriander and salt to taste. It should give a really creamy consistency. Serve with rice, roti or with french bread.

Shahi Tukda

This is one of my favorite Indian desserts...I am not much of a sweet tooth at all but do like anything made from milk. This one is particularly sinful :) and good way to top off a north Indian meal.



Ingredients:
4 slices white bread, trimmed, cut into triangles
4 tbsp chopped pistachios
1 can condensed milk
1 pint whole milk
4 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter)
1/2 cup sugar or to taste
2 pods cardamom, peel and powder the seeds

Method:
Heat the ghee in a pan and coat the bread on both sides before letting the bread fry in ghee to a golden brown. Continue with the rest of the bread and keep aside.

Pour the milk and the condensed milk in a double boiler. Add the sugar or to taste and bring to a boil. Then lower the heat and simmer constantly stirring every few minutes. This is a slightly laborious process and can take 30- 45 mins. for the milk to evaporate and reach a creamier consistency ...like double cream. But so worth it!!

Turn off the heat and stir in the cardamom powder. Let it cool to room temperature.

In a serving dish line the crisp bread triangles and pour the cream on top to cover all the slices. Garnish with chopped pistachios and chill before serving.