Winter Comfort Food

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Quick Use-Your-Veggies Quinoa Soup
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Arroz Con Pato
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My Classic Braised Short Ribs
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Pumpkin Soup with Garam Masala & Crème Fraiche
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Sal Rosada from Maras

Thursday, 26th January 2012

When someone mentions pink salt, I tend to always think about the curing sort, with sodium nitrite.  But finishing salts do come in all colors – black, pink, red, grey – and this pink salt I happened to pick up while I was exploring Peru.  A lot of times during my spice stories I talk about unique ingredients and their extraordinary flavor.  This salt I wanted to share with you more for the story and the experience it represented for me, less for its individual influence on cooking.

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Quinoa Crusted Shrimp with Chipotle Mayo

Monday, 23rd January 2012

It feels like over the last few years, Americans have gotten really smart about the health benefits and cooking of quinoa (and, in reality, about a lot of the ancient grains / foods that are showing up in supermarkets).  Quinoa, in particular, has gotten a lot of attention because it’s a complete protein source, high in fiber and minerals and is gluten-free.  The “pseudograin” is actually native to the Andes and a big part of the diet out there, so while I was in Peru a few weeks back, I was a bit obsessed with learning traditional quinoa recipes.

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Kodampuli or Malabar Tamarind

Thursday, 19th January 2012

This week, I came across an ingredient that has quickly become one of my favorite new foods – a smoky, heady dried fruit that had my mind racing for different ways to use it!  Although I tend to work on more of the modern dishes for Junoon, I decided to take a step back and focus on researching and developing a recipe for a traditional curry from the south of India, a Kerala shrimp curry.  From my experience in Goa and in cooking Indian cuisine, I knew about kokum and tamarind as souring agents but had never heard about kodampuli, a smoked, dried fruit that’s used almost exclusively in the Kerala region.

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