A Twist on the Classic Pisco Sour

Happy New Year! As many of you know, I spent the past few weeks doing some serious culinary exploration of Peru and Brazil (so expect me to go a bit South American-crazy with my recipes in the coming weeks). I was blown away in Peru by the incredible produce – fruits, vegetables and herbs I had never seen or heard of. The cooking was super fresh, with Lima highlighting a lot of the country’s famous seafood dishes and Cusco showing me more of the homey, Andean classics. I thought I’d start this year with a cheers to 2012, a twist on a classic Peruvian cocktail (which I drank like water…).

Pisco is a clear grape brandy produced in the winemaking regions of Peru and Chile and is the national spirit of both countries. Both also lay claim to the pisco sour, but I’ve only experienced the Peruvian version, which I was taught has 3 parts pisco to 1 part lime juice. Throw in some simple syrup for sweetness, an egg white for a bit of foamy, creaminess and a dash of bitters and you have one of the most refreshing cocktails out there.

I saw a ton of different versions while I was there, everything from passionfruit to mint. But I thought I would make something a bit more seasonally appropriate, since this mid-20’s temperature makes “refreshing” the last thing you want to think about. This is sort of a cross, a pisco sour-apple really. I used a combination of fresh fuji apple juice and lime juice and infused the simple syrup with some mulling spices – cinnamon, clove, allspice, and a star anise for good measure. The result is a cold drink with warm spices that’s totally in the winter spirit…

A few things: For pisco sours, Peruvians use the juice of a local, small lime that’s extremely aromatic. I suggest using key lime juice to get as close to that flavor as possible. Also, if you are making these for a party, I suggest making them in batches to prevent the drink getting a bit bitter or the egg white from completely separating out. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

Spice-Infused Simple Syrup*:

Yields about ¾ cup

½ cup white sugar

½ cup water

2 cinnamon stick

3 whole cloves

3 whole dried allspice berries

2 star anise

2 bay leaf

pinch of ground nutmeg

1 inch piece of meyer lemon rind

Pisco Sour Apple:

1 ¾ cups pisco

¼ cup lime juice (preferably key lime)

1/3 cup fresh apple juice

¾ cup spice-infused simple syrup

2 egg whites

ice

angostura bitters (garnish)

Procedure

For the simple syrup, bring all ingredients in a small saucepan up to a boil, stirring so the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat, cover and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool before using.

For the pisco sour apple, pour pisco, both juices, and the simple syrup into a blender. Blend briefly. Add egg whites and blend for another 10 seconds. Pour into glasses over ice and add a few dashes of angostura bitters to each. Serve immediately.

*Feel free to use your favorite mulling spices here and make this your own. I used meyer lemon rind because I had some sitting around and felt it would work well with the lime juice. Orange rind is great too.

Frittata with Caramelized Garlic, Squash & Aleppo

Frittata with Caramelized Garlic, Butternut Squash & Aleppo

One thing I get asked about all the time is how to incorporate spices into your every day foods. I write here a lot about “exotic” spices or ingredients, and the reality is I do cook with them all of the time. It doesn’t have to be a special occasion. It doesn’t even have to be an overtly ethnic dish. I like the foods everyone else does, but I tend to add a little something extra to them.

This frittata with caramelized garlic (like savoury candy!) and butternut squash is the perfect example. Wait, I need to reiterate how ridiculously delicious caramelized garlic is. This recipe is exact, but I encourage you to double the garlic portion and save half for other dishes later in the week – it’s like balsamic-y, glazed, nutty goodness and the cloves are fantastic on a salad, as part of a cheese plate, or worked into a pork or lamb chop sauce.

In any case, back to spices…here I use Aleppo chili flakes for heat. These are my go-to-on-top-of-pizza chili flake and just have a really sweet, mild flavor. Pairing this with a bit of smoked Spanish paprika brings a real richness to the dish; the scent as it’s cooking is maddening (particularly if you are starving like I was when I made this).

I love the idea of working a fall squash into breakfast, and this is a fantastic dish to entertain with for a brunch. I used grana padano cheese here because it’s delicate, and there are so many outspoken flavors here: the caramelized garlic adds that savoury / sweet quality as does the butternut squash, the chilis and paprika a bit of smokiness and heat and the scallions that bright finish. This is definitely one of my Sunday morning fall faves…Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

Caramelized garlic:

15 – 20 whole garlic cloves

¾ cup milk

1 tbsp unsalted butter

2 tsps olive oil

2 tsps balsamic vinegar

½ cup water

2 tsps sugar

pinch salt

pinch Aleppo chili flakes

Frittata:

2 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into a ½” dice

olive oil

salt

freshly ground black pepper

10 eggs

½ cup crème fraiche

2 tsps pimentón de la Vera (smoked Spanish paprika)

1 tbsp Aleppo chili flakes

1 cup grana padano cheese, grated*

½ cup mozzarella, shredded

2 tbsps scallions or chives, green parts only, finely chopped

1 ¼ tsp salt

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a small saucepan, add whole garlic cloves and milk. Bring up to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Be careful it doesn’t boil over!

Strain and rinse garlic cloves. Wipe out saucepan and place back over medium heat. Add butter and oil. When hot, add garlic and sauté for 5 minutes. Add remaining caramelized garlic ingredients and simmer until almost all of the liquid is reduced and the cloves are dry. Swirl the garlic in the pan from time to time during this process to keep from sticking and to make sure the cloves cook evenly. Strain off any excess liquid and set aside.

In an ovenproof skillet, toss together the squash cubes with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes until squash is fork tender.

In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients, reserving ¼ cup of the grated cheese. Add to the hot skillet with the squash. Top with the remaining cheese and a sprinkle of salt and place back in the oven. Cook at this temperature for 15 minutes and increase the temperature to 425° F for another 5 minutes. Serve warm.

*You can substitute in Parmigiano Reggiano or any other grated hard cheese you like.

My Classic Braised Short Ribs

Inevitably, there are certain dishes in a cook’s culinary arsenal that get whipped out from time to time and become their signature. It’s usually something that’s a big crowd pleaser, that they can basically do in their sleep, and that fools others into thinking they slaved for hours making it. The dish often becomes something close friends (close enough to get repeat dishes) associate that cook with, and other friends (who may not get the repeat) leave asking for a detailed recipe. For me, and you can ask any of my friends, it’s my classic braised short ribs (I know, not exactly exotic, but damn good).

I happened to serve these at Thanksgiving this year, and, like any cook who is cooking from muscle memory and not a recipe, I decided to tweak my method a bit based on timing, what’s on hand. I thought my short ribs were already delicious but this version outdid all the previous ones! SO the time has come for me to actually write this recipe down, and I’m now sharing it with you.

When you look at any classic short rib recipe, there are some basic truths – sear the ribs, cook vegetables down, add wine and stock, simmer for hours. Most of the recipes start with the ribs, salt and freshly ground pepper and go from there – and they are fantastic. But what I did differently this year was simple – I marinated the ribs in some onions and garlic and a few spices the night before I cooked them…and it just took this dish to the next level! This has now become my classic braised short ribs – rich, red wine-infused, flavorful, fall completely and utterly off the bone….Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 6

For the marinade:

1 onion, quartered

8 garlic cloves

1 small red chili pepper

1 ½ tsps whole black peppercorns

2 tsps Spanish paprika

¾ tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

¾ cup of vegetable oil

5 lbs short ribs, bone-in (5 to 6 ribs)

For the braise:

2 medium onions, cut into a medium dice

1 leek, thickly sliced

1 stalk celery, cut into a medium dice

5 – 6 garlic cloves, minced

1 small plum tomato, roughly chopped

1 cup red wine

small bunch thyme

1-2 fresh bay leaves

3 ½ cups chicken stock

2-4 tbsps heavy cream (optional)

vegetable oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

In the bowl of a food processor, add the onion, garlic, chili pepper, black peppercorns and ground spices. Pulse until finely chopped, scraping down the sides. With the food processor on, stream in the vegetable oil until a uniform paste forms. Place short ribs in a resealable plastic bag and toss in the marinade. Try to remove as much air as possible before resealing. Move ribs around until all are coated with the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 325° F.

Remove ribs from the marinade, wiping off all excess (should be dry). Let ribs come to room temperature. Season all sides generously with salt and freshly ground pepper.

Heat a Dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pot over high heat. Sear ribs in the pan for about 2 minutes per side to develop a nice brown. You don’t want to overcrowd the pan, so it’s best to work in batches of 2 to 3 ribs at a time. Set ribs aside and drain pan of any excess oil.

Turn heat down to medium-low and add onions, leeks, and celery with a bit of salt to draw out the moisture. You want to cook the vegetables until they have softened and the onions are translucent, about 7 to 9 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds and then throw in the chopped tomato. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Add red wine and use your wooden spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the pan. You want to dislodge all of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan so they really flavor the cooking liquid. Let the red wine simmer and reduce until the vegetables are almost dry.

Nestle the browned ribs back in the pot amongst the vegetables. Don’t forget to throw in any accumulated juices from the plate where you were resting the ribs as well. Add in the thyme, bay leaves, and chicken stock and increase the heat to bring it all up to a boil.

Immediately, cover tightly with a lid or foil-line and then place a lid on top. Place pot in the oven and cook for 3 to 3 ½ hours until the meat is fork tender (or basically falling off the bone…). Season to taste.

Now, these are absolutely delicious like this. You have a number of choices depending on what kind of time you have:

(1) You can serve as is with a bit of the cooking liquid (thin). Completely delicious.

(2) You can remove the ribs and skim off as much fat from the top of the cooking liquid using a ladle. Then, reduce the liquid by half over a medium flame, strain through a mesh strainer into another pan, and add heavy cream to thicken. The ribs can be simmered in this if you want to heat them up a bit.

(3) This is what I like to do. I like to make the night before and cool the ribs in the cooking liquid. The fat solidifies in the fridge, so it’s really easy to spoon off. Then, I just follow #2. I love to just throw the ribs back into the strained sauce and reheat.

Kourabiedes-Inspired Madeleines

Madeleines to me have always been a bit untouchable – you know, one of those things you look at and say that is better left to someone else to make (because I couldn’t possibly produce that sort of perfection!). I loved conquering that fear here. Yes, they take a bit of finesse to make the genoise batter (the base of them) but can easily be mastered in one or two try’s, and THEN become a serious piece in your culinary arsenal. I plan to show these off, in fact, at my Thanksgiving table…

Kourabiedes are a Greek, shortbread cookie that are served at holidays, particularly Christmas. As opposed to a traditional shortbread, these cookies have almonds ground up in the batter, rosewater to scent them, and are crescent-shaped and dusted with powdered sugar.

Kourabiedes were absolutely the inspiration for me to create these fluffy, buttery madeleines. As opposed to grinding up the almonds, I used almond extract here to keep the integrity of the madeleine – that signature spongy texture. I also went ahead and browned the butter before adding it to the batter; brown butter is simply butter that has been cooked until the milk solids turn a golden color and it smells like hazelnuts. It adds a beautiful, nutty undertone to complement the almond flavor. The key to this batter is beating the eggs until they have tripled in volume, not deflating it when adding in the flour and browned butter, and resting it a bit before cooking. The result: light as air, addictive and buttery madeleines that are nutty and perfumed with rosewater. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 dozen

5 tbsps unsalted butter

2 large eggs

1/3 cups sugar

½ tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp almond extract

1 ½ tbsps rose water

1/2 cup + 2 tbsps all-purpose flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

extra butter and flour for greasing

powdered sugar

Procedure

In a small pan, heat butter over medium-low heat until it browns and gives off a hazelnut aroma. Be careful not to burn. Strain butter through a cheesecloth or paper towel-lined mesh strainer and set aside to cool completely.

Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat eggs with sugar until they have tripled in volume and the mixture is extremely foamy. When the beater is lifted, a ribbon should form. Add the vanilla extract, almond extract and rosewater and beat for a few seconds to incorporate.

Sift together the all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt. If you are using a stand mixer, remove the bowl from the stand. Otherwise, carefully fold in the flour mixture using a spatula. You don’t want to work it too much or the mixture will deflate. Add a little of the mixture to the cooled brown butter and fold it all back in carefully. Cover and refrigerate the batter for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 375º F. Generously grease a madeleine pan (I used non-stick) with softened or melted butter and then dust with flour, shaking off any excess. Divide the dough amongst the 12 molds, letting a tablespoon or so just heap in the center.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes on the center rack of the oven until the edges look golden brown and the centers feel a bit spongy. Serve the same day sprinkled with powdered sugar.

Tempura Wings with Sriracha-Honey

So when I dream up a recipe, I usually come home and google to see what else is out there. Is it truly a unique idea or am I late to the game?!? The once in a while that I see something similar, I am really happy that people are inspired to experiment with exotic spices and flavors. I was making this tempura batter the other day when the idea of frying wings in it and drizzling them with a sweetened sauce of sriracha popped into my head. And, when I googled, I found out I’m not the only one that appreciates this combo!

That said, this is a bit of a departure from any of the other recipes out there. First of all, I use a traditional tempura batter as a base, which gives quite a different texture than a typical wing batter. Second, I like to remove the skin from the wings – it’s not necessary to achieve the crisp texture, and it’s much healthier. Third, I don’t completely coat the wings in the sauce because they can get a bit soggy, so I use this sauce more for dipping or to drizzle on top.

The light as air, crispy (and NOT greasy) texture of the resulting wings goes without saying. But the sauce made from sriracha, honey, lime, and a bit of fish sauce for that umami flavor is divine! It’s such a salty-sweet satisfaction and pairs beautifully with the crunchy wings. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 4 servings as an appetizer

For the wings:

Oil for deep-frying (I use peanut)

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup rice flour

½ tsp hot paprika

1 tsp finely ground black pepper

½ tsp salt

1 egg yolk

½ tsp baking powder

2/3 cup seltzer water / club soda, very cold

1.5 lbs chicken wings (approximately 12), trimmed, skinned and at room temperature

flour for dredging

For the sauce:

2 tbsps unsalted butter

2 tbsps sriracha*

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp lime juice

½ tsp fish sauce

pinch of salt

toasted sesame seeds (optional , for garnish)

chopped chives (optional , for garnish)

Procedure

Heat 2 to 3 inches of oil in a Dutch oven to 360° F.

In a bowl, mix together flours, paprika, black pepper and salt. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg yolk with baking powder and the cold seltzer water. Whisk the wet mixture into the flour mixture until uniform and lump free.

Make sure chicken wings are room temperature. Dredge chicken wings in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip into the batter and let excess drip off. Fry for 6 to 8 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. If the wings are particularly large, you can place them on a rack on a baking sheet and bake for another 5 to 10 minutes in a 350° F oven. Otherwise, they can be kept warm in a 200° F oven.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter. Add remaining ingredient and simmer for a few minutes to let the flavors combine.

Serve wings hot, drizzled with the sauce and garnished with sesame seeds and chopped chives.

*Sriracha is a Southeast Asian hot sauce that you can find now at most grocery stores in the ethnic foods isle. It’s tangy, sweet, and spicy and is my table hot sauce of choice…

Guava & Sweet Cheese Crèpes

That was fast! I mentioned a few days ago in my post about guava paste and the popular pairing of it with soft, creamy cheese in various Latin American dishes like empanadas, turnovers and tarts. As I was writing that post, I was dreaming of just how to marry the two, and this weekend gave me the perfect opportunity to test out that savoury combo. I thought a paper-thin crèpe would be the perfect vehicle, and so it was…

I used here what has become one of my favorite cheeses of all time – fromager d’affinois. It’s a cow’s milk cheese that resembles Brie, with about 65% butterfat and an edible rind – it’s buttery, supple, creamy and goes incredibly well with fruit, jams and jellies. That creaminess makes for the perfect crèpe filling alongside the sweet guava paste.

Now, the process of making crèpes can seem really intimidating, but it’s seriously like riding a bike. And, no matter how long you’ve been doing it, just forget about that first one (and possibly the second), pour and whirl with confidence, and the rest will come out like magic once you get that wrist work down.

This crepe batter is a great neutral one that would work for both sweet or salty fillings (with or without the cinnamon). So to enhance the sweetness a bit for this dish, I drizzle a touch of honey on top and throw in some toasted almonds for a bit of texture and a nutty crunch. This is a satisfying treat, perfect for breakfast, dessert, or an elegant afternoon tea. What’s great is that this dish can be prepped ahead of time and thrown in the oven right before serving – makes it great for entertaining. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

For the crèpes (yields 8 to 10 crèpes):

3/4 cup whole milk

¼ cup water

2 large eggs

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp vanilla extract

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

melted butter for cooking

For the filling and garnish:

Guava paste

Soft cheese like fromager d’affinois, brie or your favorite triple-crème

Honey

Toasted almond slices

Procedure

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a blender, mix all of the crèpe ingredients and pulse until fully blended and foamy. Rest batter in the refrigerator at least an hour. Strain batter.

Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat. Brush pan with melted butter. Pour crèpe batter, a little less than ¼ cup, into the pan while turning the pan to coat the bottom. Cook for one minute or until the edges become crispy and start to brown. Carefully, flip and cook for a little less than a minute. Keep crèpes stacked together on a plate or cutting board until all of the batter has been used.

Place a crèpe on a cutting board. Place a thin sliver of cheese in the center and a sliver of the guava paste on top of it. Fold crepe and place seam-side down on a greased baking sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted and guava paste is soft.

Serve warm, drizzled with honey and sprinkled with toasted almond slices.

Shrimp and Grits

This weekend, I taught a class with the De Gustibus cooking school over at Junoon. I had a blast (!) chatting about spices in our spice room and walking the students through a traditional South Indian curry – which they made by themselves to rave reviews! In any case, one of the students asked me about vadouvan, a mix I wrote about months back and in what dishes I might use it. It put the bug in my brain, and this French-Indian spice blend became my seasoning du jour for some exotic shrimp and grits I whipped up for Sunday brunch.

Now, I’m honestly in favor of blending your own curry powder from spices you have on hand, tailoring to your palate. But vadouvan is a fantastic blend to keep on hand. It has a softer approach to curry, with ingredients like dried shallots, bay leaves and even fennel seeds blended in. There is a warm sweetness to it that I think complements shrimp tremendously, and when you use a bit of butter to cook the shrimp, the pan drippings become a beautiful, fragrant golden sauce.

I know bacon or smoked sausage is traditional in shrimp and grits (not that tradition is reigning here anyway…), but the friend I cooked for is not big on pork. For that reason, I used some grated smoked mozzarella to infuse the creamy grits with that signature smokiness. Using milk and chicken stock give the grits a silkiness and rich flavor. The shrimp need little else besides the vadouvan and a bit of salt, but the shallots and minced jalapeno are great here. Finishing with fresh herbs brings in brightness, and this dish has so much body it could easily be a (super) easy weeknight dinner. The curry notes, sweet shrimp and creamy smoky grits…heavenly. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 cups milk

2 cups chicken stock

salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 cup stone ground grits

5 tbsps unsalted butter

1 ½ cups smoked mozzarella, grated

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

3 ½ tsps vadouvan

1 tbsp olive oil

1 shallot, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined and minced

Chopped scallions and parsley / cilantro (for garnish)

Procedure

In a saucepan, bring milk and chicken stock up to a boil. Lower to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, and whisk in grits. Cover and cook at a low simmer for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and add in 3 tablespoons of the butter and the smoked mozzarella, whisking to incorporate fully. Keep covered and warm.

Make sure the shrimp are dry and toss with vadouvan and some salt. Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 of olive oil. Add shrimp and cook for a minute or so. Flip shrimp, lower heat to medium-low and add in the shallots and jalapeno, tossing to combine. Cook for another 2 minutes.

Serve grits hot and spoon shrimp mixture on top, letting some of the pan juices drip on to the grits. Garnish with some chopped scallions and parsley or cilantro.

Apple Pie with Star Anise Brown Butter

Fall may just be my favorite time of year. I grew up in Florida, where seasons blend and highs in the 80’s are not unheard of in mid-December. Now that I’ve been in NYC for so long, I can’t tell you how much I look forward to that first cool breeze, the leaf change and, of course, something I NEVER did before living up here…apple-picking! Yes, a beautiful, clear Fall day driving out to a farm, apple-picking, rooting around a pumpkin patch (and, potentially, a hayride to my husband’s dismay) is for me perfection.

Now, the reality is once you get out amongst the orchards, apple-picking turns to sport. And you can’t help but go a bit loony and bring back a quantity of apples that most normal people couldn’t consume in a year. I end up making pies, apple butter and chutneys until I can’t look at another apple for a year, and this weekend was no exception. I went in on some Red Delicious, Idareds, and Mushus, and this pie was the (necessary) result.

In fact, it was really my post from last week where I was dreaming up incorporating star anise into an apple pie that led me to create this recipe. The star anise infuses the brown butter, and that fragrant nuttiness complements the light, licorice-like flavor of the spice. In combination with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a rich vanilla bean, the pie has a complexity that still doesn’t take away from the simplicity of the apple pie itself – that traditional apple flavor and buttery, flaky crust. I love to make the crust from scratch, but feel free to use your own recipe here or go ready-made. The filling could not be more simple, and this is now my go-to apple pie…Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields (1) 9-inch pie

Double crust:

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp sugar

2 sticks butter, chilled and cut into cubes

8-9 tbsps ice water

For the pie filling:

6 apples, peeled, cored and sliced 1/8” thick*

a generous squeeze lemon juice

½ cup light brown sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp ground nutmeg

½ tsp ground star anise

3 tbsps all-purpose flour

4 tbsps butter

1 vanilla bean, split and scraped

1 star anise

heavy cream for brushing

sugar for sprinkling

Procedure

First, we’re going to make and chill the crust. To the bowl of a food processor, add the flour, salt, sugar and butter and pulse until mixture resembles a coarse meal. Turn mixture out into a bowl and add water, a tablespoon at a time, pressing dough using a pastry cutter or a fork until dough starts to come together. Dough will have both sandier crumbs and more clumped wet pieces. Divide dough in half and wrap each piece in plastic wrap forming each into flattened discs. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 425° F.

In a large bowl, mix together the sliced apples with lemon juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, star anise, and flour.

In a small sauté pan over medium-low heat, melt butter with vanilla bean, the scraped vanilla seeds, and the star anise. Swirl pan and watch carefully as the foam subsides and the milk solids take on a golden brown color. The butter should look like the color of and smell like hazelnuts. Remove from the heat immediately, take out the vanilla bean and star anise and add to the apple mixture, stirring to incorporate thoroughly.

On a floured surface or between parchment paper, roll out the first disc to a 12” diameter circle and place carefully in the pie dish. Fill with apple mixture. Roll out the second disc and cut strips using a knife or pastry cutter to desired width. Place strips over pie and place remaining strips at a right angle, weaving if desired. Brush top crust with heavy cream and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 15 minutes keeping the pie on the middle rack with a baking sheet on the rack just below it to catch anything that might bubble over. Reduce heat to 350° F and bake for another 35 to 40 minutes until top is golden brown.

Let cool on a rack for 2 hours before serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.

*I used a combination of Idareds and Mushus here.

Buttermilk Gruyère Biscuits with Ajwain

Let’s face it. Those biscuits in the refrigerated section of the grocery are easy (and tasty!), and we’ve all used them in a pinch to deliver some buttery goodness to the breakfast or dinner table. BUT. It’s just not the same as the homemade kind (see: nothing artificial), and this recipe, with or without the fancy cheese and spices, is so easy and quick, you may swear off the metal tube-sort for good…

I have always loved cheddar-thyme biscuits, and those were precisely the inspiration for this spice-flecked version. I wrote about ajwain some months ago and used it in a gorgeous pissaladière with mushrooms and onions, and what I think is fantastic about this spice is its resemblance to thyme, albeit with a slightly more pungent, menthol quality to it. It’s used a lot in South Asian cooking and is often added to flatbread or samosa dough.

The base of this recipe is self-rising flour. I used it because it has a slightly lower protein content than all-purpose, which translates into super tender, flaky biscuits. White Lily brand is supposedly the go-to flour for Southern biscuits because it has a significantly lower protein content than some of the other national brands out there, but if you can’t find it, any self-rising flour works well here. You whir the flour with cold butter, pour in some buttermilk and voilá! Biscuit dough in about 2 minutes flat. I add in some grated gruyere or cheddar, typically, along with a bit of ajwain for that signature flavor. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 1 dozen biscuits

2 cups self-rising flour

¼ tsp black pepper

½ stick cold, unsalted butter, cut into small cubes + 1 tbsp for brushing

1 cup grated gruyère or cheddar cheese

½ tsp ajwain seeds

¾ cups cold buttermilk

kosher or maldon salt

Procedure

The key to making tender, flaky biscuits is to not over-develop the glutens in the dough. One way to do this is to keep all of the ingredients cold, and another is to not work the dough too much.

Preheat the oven to 425° F.

In a food processor or stand mixer, sift the flour and the black pepper together. Add the cold, cubed butter and pulse or mix just until a sandy texture forms, and there are no visible clumps of butter. Add the cheese and ajwain seeds and pulse to combine. Pour the buttermilk in all at once and pulse until the dough sticks together.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Gently knead the dough a few times so that it comes together and form into a flat, 1-inch thick disc. Use a 2-inch cutter to cut out a dozen biscuits.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter over low heat in a small saucepan. Place the biscuits so they are touching on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Paint the tops of the biscuits with the melted butter and sprinkle with a little salt.

Bake for 15 – 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm…

Popcorn + Homemade Furikake

Popcorn (with, ahem, a goblet of red wine) is my signature comfort food; it’s what I crave after a hard day or if I’m settling down on the couch for a night of t.v. or to watch a movie. A number of years back, I went through this Hawaiian Hurricane popcorn faze where I must have consumed this concoction of buttery popcorn with Japanese furikake and rice crackers on a daily basis for weeks on end. As expected, I made myself sick and had to swear off the stuff, but a recent conversation with a friend (who is a homemade popcorn snob!) made me think revisiting the idea, on a healthier, homemade basis, might not be such a bad idea…

Furikake is a Japanese seasoning that is typically sprinkled on top of cooked rice but is truly an all-purpose condiment. There are different versions with the core of roasted seaweed, sesame seeds, salt and sugar mixed in with other ingredients like bonito flakes, ground shiso leaf, dried egg, miso, salmon flakes, and powdered soy sauce. It’s a truly umami experience, and once you try it, you start thinking of other ways to incorporate furikake into your cooking.

And, on top of popcorn, drizzled with butter – it’s perfect! You get that crunch of the popcorn along with lovely butteriness, saltiness, a touch of sweet, nuttiness from the sesame and rice crackers, a (very pleasant) touch of fishiness from the bonito flakes, and that umami of the seaweed. Consume this in moderation lest you fall into an addictive phase like I did. This is an elevated version of popcorn worthy of being served at parties or simply as a special treat for the family. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 14 cups (one big bowl)

4 tbsps vegetable or blended oil

½ cup popcorn kernels

4 tbsps unsalted butter

½ tsp soy sauce

4 tbsps furikake (see recipe below)

1 ¼ cups Japanese rice crackers (optional)

Procedure

In a medium-sized pot or large saucepan with a cover, add the oil so that it coats the bottom of the pan. Add the popcorn, cover, and place over medium-high heat. When the kernels start to pop, shake the pan until the popping slows to a few seconds between each pop. Shaking the pan will help to prevent the popcorn from burning.

In a small saucepan, melt the butter and add the soy sauce and furikake. If using, add the rice crackers to the popped popcorn, and pour the butter-soy-furikake mixture all over, tossing to coat. Tranfer to a large bowl and serve warm.

Homemade Furikake Ingredients

Yields approximately 4 tbsps

3 tbsps roasted shredded seaweed*, torn into smaller pieces

¾ tsp bonito flakes**

1 ½ tsps black and/or white sesame seeds, toasted

1 tsp salt

1 tsp light brown sugar

Procedure

Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

*If you can’t find this, you can roast nori or seaweed sheets in a skillet over medium heat until they turn crisp. They can then easily be torn or crumbled into small pieces.

** Look for the smallest flakes to use here. Bonito flakes are from a type of tuna that is cooked, smoked and dried.

Farm Stand Corn & Mushroom Tortilla Salad

I walked into a coffee shop the other day, Nina Simone playing in the background, an unidentifiable buzz and warmth in the room and the scent of hot beverages brewing, and it totally transported me; I feel ready for the cooler months ahead to be filled with days of apple picking, Fall dinners with friends in Fort Greene, weekend drives to go leaf peeping, the build to the holidays and rum toddies. I’m finally facing the fact that it’s the end of summer and am filled with this mixture of wistful nostalgia and excited anticipation of the fall to come. That said, it’s my last hurrah! And I couldn’t help but take one last shot at summer with this beautiful salad inspired by the farm stands I visited out in the South Fork this past week and a Mexican tortilleria in Queens where I spent the day cooking.

In thinking about Mexican food and traditions, I wanted to visit Tortilleria Nixtamal because they make incredible corn tortillas in keeping with true Mexican tradition, a not-so-straightforward process that hinges on corn quality, cal, humidity, and timing (they happen to supply to many of the best of the best Mexican restos in town). The restaurant also turns out gorgeous authentic food to boot, so I headed out to Queens to learn a few dishes from the Chef there, Santiago, and see just how this tortilla process works. My time at Nixtamal and this dish is the basis for my next webisode of Exotic Table, so stay tuned!

One dish Chef Santiago taught me was a quesadilla with Oaxaca cheese, corn, and huitlacoche, a fungus that actually grows on the corn and is a Mexican delicacy. Here, I decided to use that as inspiration for a salad, substituting some farm stand shitakes to add the earthy kick from otherwise hard-to-find huitlacoche and threw in some gorgeous grape tomatoes. Bright and filled with end of summer flavors, this is a super easy dish to make at home, tortilla bowls included. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 4 servings

4 corn tortillas (the thinnest you can find)

Butter and olive oil

¾ cup shitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 shallot, finely chopped

1 jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped

1 ¼ cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)

6 – 8 grape tomatoes, halved

handful of cilantro, chopped

farmer’s cheese or queso fresco

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Procedure

The first step is to make the tortilla “bowls.” Rather than deep-frying to achieve pliability and moldability, I like to go a bit healthier and just use a skillet with a touch of butter and/or olive oil to get similar results. While doing this, you’re going to use small bowls that fit inside each other to mold the tortillas. They will not turn out as crisp (and using thinner tortillas will help), but this method makes me feel better about calling this a salad.

Simply heat a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. When hot, add the tortilla and flip at intervals until it puffs and browns a bit. You’ll feel the edges start to get crispy. At this point, add a ½ tablespoon of butter or olive oil and let coat the tortilla. Place a small bowl upside down on a cookie sheet. Remove tortilla carefully and place on top of the overturned bowl. Take another bowl, overturned, and put it on top. It should mold the tortilla to the shape of the bowl and hold it in place as it cools. Repeat for remaining tortillas, and let cool while preparing the rest of the ingredients.

Heat the same skillet over medium-high heat, and add another tablespoon of butter with 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil. When the foam subsides, add the mushrooms and let sit undisturbed in a single layer for about 2 minutes. You want to develop a nice, golden brown on the mushrooms and bring out the flavor. Stir the mushrooms and sauté for another minute or two to cook through. Add salt at the end to taste and, using a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl.

Add another tablespoon or two of butter or olive oil to the pan. Add shallots and jalapeno and a bit of salt to draw out the moisture. When shallots are translucent (about 3 to 4 minutes), add corn kernels and tomatoes and toss to mix thoroughly. I like to crank the heat up a bit here to develop a more roasted flavor to the corn, but be careful because the corn can start to pop a bit. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until corn is cooked through and tomatoes have puckered a bit.

Remove from the heat, toss back in the mushrooms, season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste and add some chopped cilantro, reserving some of the cilantro for garnish. Spoon mixture into tortilla bowls and dollop farmer’s cheese or queso fresco to your heart’s content. Garnish with remaining cilantro and serve warm or room temperature.

Heirloom Tomato Shakshuka

Summer’s tomatoes have been a constant source of inspiration – from different salads to bruschetta toppings to side dishes and even simply roasted and sprinkled with sea salt. The late summer varieties and, particularly, the heirlooms were speaking to me last weekend. I wanted to create a dish that, typically calling for canned whole tomatoes, would benefit from the intense flavor and sweetness these tomatoes offer. I went with a Maghreb dish called shakshuka.

My inspiration started with a local farm stand’s crazy number of heirloom varieties. I went with the heirloom plum tomatoes, which are excellent for a sauce like this.

The Maghreb region incorporates the northwest portion of Africa – Tunisia, Morocco, Libya, Algeria and Mauritania. Shakshuka is a mainstay there – baked eggs over an onion and tomato sauce that’s eaten for breakfast or supper – and even made its way to Israel where it’s an extremely popular dish. The main ingredients for the dish are tomatoes, onions, garlic and eggs, and it differs from country to country, city to city, family to family. It can be as simple or extravagant as you like – I tailored this version to my tastes, but feel free to make it your own!

First, please excuse the overcooked eggs in these pictures. My husband likes everything well done and I didn’t take the dish out early enough for the final picture…ha! It was still delicious and the cheese melted down and got all brown and bubbly. The sweet onions, the intensity of those tomatoes, a bit of heat from the chilies and the fragrant spices – cumin, saffron, smoked paprika….it was all a bit heady. I got a fresh-baked, roasted garlic loaf, sliced that baby up and toasted with a bit of butter. The combination was heavenly! I could put that sauce on anything (grilled fish, some nicely seared scallops, that bread alone…) and be incredibly happy. This is my brunch staple…enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4 – 5

¾ tsp whole cumin seeds

2-3 tbsps olive oil

2 yellow onions, thinly sliced

3 – 4 red peppers, mix of hot and sweet*

pinch of saffron

1 tsp smoked paprika

3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

4 sprigs thyme

2 bay leaves

2 lbs heirloom plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

handful of cilantro, chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup fresh cheese (cream cheese, farmer’s cheese or queso fresco all work well)

6 whole eggs

Procedure

I like to cook this in a skillet and then transfer to a clay baking dish to finish in the oven. You can just as easily make this in a cast-iron pan for double-duty or simply cover and finish this dish on the stove. If you are finishing in the oven, preheat the broiler.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add cumin seeds and dry toast until fragrant. Add olive oil, sliced onions, peppers, saffron, and paprika and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until onions are translucent. Add garlic, thyme and bay leaf and sauté another minute or two until the garlic is fragrant. I add in the thyme whole, let the leaves fall off, and pull off the stems later. If you want to remove the leaves from the stems before adding, feel free.

Now, add in the rough-chopped tomatoes (seeds and all!) and cook for another 12 to 15 minutes until tomatoes have softened, much of the liquid has evaporated, and the dish has taken on a thick, sauce-like consistency.

Remove the thyme stems, if left in, and bay leaves. Add the chopped cilantro, reserving a few tablespoons for garnish, and adjust seasoning.

If you are transferring to a baking dish, do this now. Divide the cheese into small bite-sized pieces with your hands, and dot the surface of the sauce with it. Carefully, crack the eggs over the sauce so that the eggs are distributed evenly across the surface. Sprinkle the tops of the eggs with a bit of salt. Either cover dish with a lid or foil and cook for another 6 to 8 minutes or place under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes until the whites of the eggs have set and the cheese is melted.

Garnish with remaining chopped cilantro and serve hot with thick-cut pieces of toast.

* I used (2) hot red chilies and (2) medium-sized sweet peppers, but feel free to adapt to your own tastes.

Smoked Peach Chutney

Biting through velvet skin into the honeyed-sweet juiciness of a peach is such a summer pleasure. I’ve been on a quest, from farm stand to farm stand, to find the best of the bunch and have tasted this summer the stuff poets write about. Of course, a few weekends back, I got a bit carried away at a local stand, and I ended up with more peaches than I knew what to do with. What better way to use up this peak season fruit than to turn it into a chutney…Interestingly enough, it was a cocktail that inspired the flavor combo for the chutney; the drink had bourbon, crème de peche and cumin. Genius! The smokiness of the bourbon played beautifully off of the sweet tanginess of the peach intermingling with the warm earthiness of the cumin. I wanted to figure out how to capture that in this chutney.

Smoking was the answer, and you can use either a stovetop smoker (my lifesaver in a NYC kitchen…) or the grill. The smoked peaches by themselves are distinctive but a bit overwhelming until cooked down a bit more with some sugar, honey and the roasted cumin seeds. The resulting chutney has a gorgeous flavor! Smoky, sweet, tangy, with the bite of the cumin seed…it’s perfect on pork chops, fish or even with creamy brie on crackers. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 1 quart

6 large, lusciously-ripe peaches, halved with pit removed (skin on)

1 ¼ tbsps cumin seeds

2-3 tbsps water

¼ cup sugar

¼ cup honey

pinch of salt

Procedure

The first step of this chutney is smoking the peaches. I used a stovetop smoker and cherry wood. Placing the peaches cut side down on the grate, I smoked the peaches for 6 minutes and achieved the perfect level of smokiness. If you choose to do this on the grill, I would keep the temperature low (200° F to 225° F). Once the chips start to smoke, place the peaches cut side down on the side with no flame (indirect heat), cover, and smoke for about 10-15 minutes.

Peel the peaches, the skin should slip off relatively easily, and cut into a fine dice. Set aside.

Heat a medium-sized pot over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds, and toast, stirring, until fragrant and slightly darker in color. Reduce the heat slightly, add the diced peaches and remaining ingredients and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring at intervals, until the peaches are soft. You want this chutney to have form, so overcooking will turn the peaches to mush.

You can serve this warm, cold, or at room temperature.

Yuzu-Basil Rickey

The art of the summer cocktail…something light, refreshing, icy cool, perfect for a summer bbq or a breezy night out on the porch (or stoop as the case may be), and preferably in a pitcher so friends can help themselves! I personally love something that has a tart-sweetness to it like a mojito, caipirinha, or a spiked lime rickey, which was the inspiration for this drink.

I’ve talked a bit about yuzu in the past, but, basically, it’s a Japanese citrus that has an interesting flavor mix of lime, grapefruit and mandarin with a musky and slightly salty quality to it. It’s rarely found fresh here, but a bottle of yuzu juice from the Asian market will last forever (a few dashes go a long way). I love it in salad dressings, anywhere I might use lemon, and particularly in cocktails like this one.

A lime rickey is pretty simple – usually it’s made from fresh lime juice, carbonated water, and sometimes simple syrup to sweeten. My take here replaces lime juice with lemon and yuzu juices, includes club soda, and is spiked with vodka. The very simple syrup gets infused with fresh basil leaves, which complements the yuzu incredibly. This drink goes down a bit too easy if you know what I mean (what vodka?), but truly it’s my perfect summer drink – flavorful and totally refreshing. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 8 to 10

1 ¼ cups water

1 ¼ cups sugar

10 to 12 leaves of basil

¾ cup lemon juice

1 ½ tbsp yuzu juice

2 ¾ cups club soda

1 ¼ cup vodka

Procedure

First, make the basil-infused simple syrup. In a saucepan, heat the water, sugar and basil stirring until water comes up to a boil. Remove from the heat, cover, and let steep for 15 minutes. Strain and cool.

In a large pitcher, mix together the remaining ingredients with the cooled simple syrup. It’s best to let it chill for a few hours for the flavors to come together, but it’s still great right away.

Serve the yuzu-basil rickey over ice.

Porcini Macaroni Pie

So I’m working on my second episode of Exotic Table, and this one is inspired by a nonna I met at Enoteca Maria, an Italian spot in Staten Island that has grandmas from all over Italy as chefs making specialties from their individual regions. How inviting is that? I found the concept so powerful – I had to dig deeper, and a nonna by the name of Rosa Turano showed me her simple and elegant porcini dish.

Of course, I can never leave well enough alone, so I did a bit of a double twist here drawing from my incredible day in the kitchen with Rosa and one of my favorites, Trinidadian Macaroni Pie. The result is this beautiful baked mac ‘n cheese threaded with porcinis. Cheesy, buttery, with a crust and that gorgeous porcini flavor…Enjoy and look out for the Exotic Table episode in a few weeks!

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8 (yields (1) 3-quart baking dish)

olive oil or butter

1 cup fresh or rehydrated porcini mushrooms, thinly sliced*

1 yellow onion, finely diced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 stick unsalted butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

1 quart milk

½ tsp white pepper

½ tsp black pepper

2 tsps salt

2 ½ cups grated gruyère

2 eggs

1 lb pasta (I used pappardelle here)

1 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh chives, finely chopped

1 ½ tsps fresh thyme, finely chopped

Procedure

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add olive oil, and, when hot, add mushrooms. Leave them alone and let them brown for a minute or two and then throw in a pat of butter to help with the browning. Stir and add salt – browning the mushrooms will really bring out their earthy flavor and adding salt at the end will prevent moisture from ruining the browning process. Lower the heat to medium-low and throw in the onions. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes until the onions are translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds or so until fragrant. Remove from heat and cool in a bowl.

In a large sauté pan or pot over medium heat, melt butter. Add flour all at once and whisk vigorously to avoid lumps. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes. You just want to remove the raw taste. Add milk and spices and continue to whisk to prevent lumps (remember to get the corners!). Once the mixture starts to bubble, reduce heat to low and cook for 8 to 10 minutes whisking often. You want this to simmer gently while it’s thickening. Remove from heat.

To the onion mixture in the bowl, add 2 cups of the grated cheese as well as the eggs. Add a ladle full of the béchamel (milk mixture) and stir. Continue to add ladlefuls until the egg mixture is up to temperature with the béchamel. Add everything back to the béchamel in the sauté pan and stir to combine thoroughly and make sure cheese is completely melted.

Add pasta to boiling, heavily salted water and cook until it’s a bit underdone. It depends on what type of pasta you are using. I used fresh pappardelle, and it cooked in 2 to 3 minutes. It’s going to continue cooking in the oven, so leave it al dente. Drain pasta and add to the béchamel/cheese mixture. Add 1 tablespoon of the chopped chives and 1 teaspoon of the chopped thyme and combine thoroughly. Pour into a heavily greased, 3-quart baking dish.

In a bowl, combine remaining herbs, ½ cup of cheese, and breadcrumbs. Sprinkle on top of macaroni and either dot with butter or drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 35 minutes until top is browned and bubbly.

Cinnamon-Passion Fruit Fool

When the weather is hot and beautiful fresh fruits abound, I always turn to a fruit fool as dessert. A classic British dessert, a fool is quite simply puréed fruit and a bit of sugar folded in with fluffy whipped cream. They are light, no fuss, and always highlight the flavors of the season.

There are umpteen variations and shortcuts for this dish – from the type of fruit (gooseberries, strawberries, peaches) to using a frozen purée or pre-fab whipped cream. You really can’t go wrong with this one. With the fragrant passion fruits in season right now, this latest incarnation of a fool became doubly inspired by a staple Brazilian dessert, mousse de maracujá. Maracujá is Portuguese for passion fruit, and the Brazilian version uses thick cream, sweetened condensed milk, and sometimes gelatin.

This dessert literally could not be easier. Passion fruits are basically already puréed, so you simply have to split and remove the pulp; you can, of course, use a frozen purée if you can’t find fresh. I sweeten the passion fruit pulp with a bit of sugar, add a squeeze of lime juice for brightness and a bit of cinnamon because I think it really brings out the signature flavor of the fruit. Fold all of that into whipped cream, and that’s it! It’s shockingly delicious. My fussy I-only-eat-meat-and-no-dessert husband went to town on a few bowls after initially, begrudgingly taste-testing. Light, fluffy, tart, sweet – this might be my favorite, easy summer dessert. Enjoy!

Ingredients

4 passion fruits, seeds and pulp removed to a bowl*

squeeze of lime juice

1 tsp cinnamon

½ cup sugar

2 cups heavy cream, cold

Procedure

In a bowl, mix together thoroughly all except a few tablespoons of the passion fruit seeds and pulp, the squeeze of lime juice, cinnamon and ¼ cup of the sugar.

In another bowl using a stand or hand mixer, beat the heavy cream with the other ¼ cup of sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold the passion fruit mixture carefully into the sweetened whipped cream. I like to add a third at a time and not overmix to avoid collapsing the fluffy cream.

Spoon mixture into dessert glasses and top with a few of the reserved passion fruit seeds and a bit of juice / pulp. I like to refrigerate for a bit before serving, but it can be eaten straight away.

*Slice the top off of a passion fruit, and use a spoon to remove all of the seeds and pulp to be used. You could also substitute about one cup of thawed, frozen passion fruit purée.

Saffron Fried Chicken

Is there anything more satisfying than biting into a salty, flavorful, crisp piece of fried chicken? I know I have a particular weakness for the stuff (umm, it’s my post-workout week splurge) and if I head down to visit my family in Florida, driving by a particular chain that starts with a “P” and has the same name as an old children’s cartoon and NOT hitting the drive-thru is next to impossible. Perfecting fried chicken is not easy, and it’s taken me years, a bit of a fried chicken connoisseur myself, to create a recipe that I’m fully happy with. Of course, leaving it well alone is not an option, so I created my own twist with saffron.

A friend of mine gave me this beautiful gift of Persian saffron that I am treasuring and using sparingly. Saffron is used in a lot of Middle Eastern and South Asian marinades, oftentimes with yoghurt, and it complements the flavor of chicken amazingly. Fried chicken was my perfect reason to break into the saffron stash.

So the reality is that there are a few (worthwhile!) steps here. I marinate the chicken in saffron buttermilk that serves to brine the chicken, make it even juicier, and deeply infuse it with all of the marinade ingredients – a pinch of saffron, garlic, a touch of mustard. I then double dip the chicken to create a super-crisp crust, and let it air-dry while the meat loses its chill. Finally, frying at the perfect temperature ensures fried chicken nirvana – crisp, flavorful, aromatic, tender and juicy. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 3 to 4 servings

1 (3 to 4 lb) broiler / fryer chicken, cut into 8 pieces

Marinade / Brine:

3 cups buttermilk

1 generous pinch saffron

2 eggs

3 cloves garlic

½ tsp dijon mustard

2 tbsps kosher salt

1 tbsp sugar

Crust:

1 cup all purpose flour

½ cup cornstarch

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 ½ tsps garlic powder

1 ½ tsps onion powder

1 tsp paprika

pinch of cayenne pepper

Vegetable shortening or oil for frying

Procedure

In a small saucepan, heat a ½ cup of the buttermilk until it comes up to a simmer. Add saffron and switch off heat. Let it sit for 10 minutes.

Pour this mixture along with the remaining buttermilk and the rest of the marinade ingredients into a blender and blend on high until smooth. Place chicken in a bowl or casserole dish and cover with the marinade. Refrigerate for a minimum of 6 hours and up to 24.

In a large bowl, paper or plastic bag, combine the crust ingredients thoroughly. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a colander for a few minutes to drain, reserving the marinade. Dredge or shake chicken pieces individually in the flour mixture and place on a wire rack fitted over a baking sheet.

Dip chicken once more in the marinade, letting any excess drip off. Coat again in the flour mixture and place back on the wire rack. Let chicken sit on the rack for an hour to dry / come up to room temperature.

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat 2 inches of oil to 350º F. You actually want to fry the chicken at 325º F for the entire time, but the temperature will drop once you add it in. Place chicken in the hot oil and fry for 13 to 17 minutes making sure the temperature stays at 325º F. I like to take the wings out at 13 minutes , and fry the rest between 15 and 17 minutes depending on the size of the pieces and the type of meat. White meat cooks faster than the dark meat, and fatter pieces will cook slower. If the juices run clear, the chicken is cooked through.

Serve hot! It can be held uncovered in a 250º F oven to stay warm, but it’s preferable to serve immediately.

Pão de Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

One of my favorite Brazilian restaurants in the city is Casa. Tucked away on a quiet block in the West Village, this cozy spot gets it right – spot on flavors, perfect portions, delicious wines, an intimate setting. The feijoada and moqueca are killer, but I can never make it through a dinner there without ordering their little basket of farm cheese bread, or pão de queijo. These little cheesy, chewy, buttery balls are perfection, so I decided to dig further to satisfy my cheese bread cravings at home.

Brazilian cuisine is completely amazing to me because of the number and span of cultures that have contributed to it – Portuguese, African, Native American, Japanese, Syrian, Lebanese. Cassava or yucca is a staple ingredient in Brazilian cooking, and the resulting flour is used, in its coarse form, for farofa, and its finely ground form to make these lovely rolls.

We are familiar with one form of cassava or manioc starch, which is tapioca, but Brazilians have a sour fermented version, polvilho azedo, and a sweet one, polvilho doce. Traditionally, both are used to make this bread, but, on the fly, I only found plain manioc starch and went with it. If you can find both kinds, I suggest using them in 2/3rd sour / 1/3rd sweet ratio.

The great thing about these is, if you have a stand mixer, they are really easy to make. Otherwise, it’s a bit of a work out and requires some sweat to knead! The procedure and form is not unlike those lovely, French gougères, but the result here is a lot more dense and toothsome than that. They are the perfect dinner roll – buttery and cheesy with a delicately crunchy exterior. I added a touch of black pepper and nutmeg, not traditional but I think gives it a balanced flavor. Be forewarned, they are addictive…Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields 20 golf ball-sized pieces

1 ½ cup manioc or tapioca starch

½ cup all-purpose flour*

2 tsps kosher salt

1 tsp sugar

½ tsp black pepper

pinch of ground nutmeg

1 cup milk

6 tbsps stick butter

3 eggs

1 ½ cups finely grated parmesan

Procedure**

Preheat oven to 350° F.

Fit a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. In the bowl of the stand mixer, sift together starch, flour, salt, sugar, and spices. In a small saucepan, heat milk and butter over medium-high heat until mixture comes up to a full boil (make sure it doesn’t boil over!). Add milk mixture to dry ingredients and mix on low for 2 minutes.

In a small bowl, beat together 1 egg and 1 egg yolk. With the mixer still running, add eggs to the dough. When eggs are incorporated, add grated parmesan and mix/knead for another 5 minutes, scraping down at intervals. Refrigerate for a minimum of 1 hour.

Using a small ice cream scoop or your hands, portion out dough into even-sized pieces. Heavily (and repeatedly) flour hands and roll portioned pieces into balls. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. In a small bowl, beat the other egg. Brush dough balls with egg wash and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until browned and the outside is crisp and a bit cracked. Serve immediately.

*If you want these to be gluten-free, just use manioc starch in lieu of all-purpose flour here.

**A few points on procedure. The dough can be kneaded traditionally – that is, by hand – if desired. It just takes a bit of upper body strength. The resulting dough should be soft and very sticky. If not baking immediately (or that day), the dough can be frozen when formed into balls and popped in the oven at a later time. This bread is best served warm and straight from the oven as it turns a bit gummy when cold (though, of course, if can be reheated).

Sweet Chili Jam

Happy 4th of July! I hope everyone is having a fantastic day, and enjoying a nice bbq with friends and family (I know I am!). I have gone waay too far with my menu today – lamb burgers with pickled cukes, some shrimp cakes, grilled corn, roasted potato salad, spiced grilled shitakes, a big green salad with cherry tomatoes and asparagus, pineapples soaked in orange liqueur, and a great pitcher of rum punch…

As promised, here’s the chili jam I use (on basically everything…) on my lamb burgers. Sweet, spicy, tart, and jammy…a beautifully versatile condiment that is soooo easy to make. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Yields approximately 3 cups

2-3 tbsp oil

3 medium white onions, thinly sliced (~2 lbs)

3 plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped

10 red fresno chilies or combination red fresno / red finger chilies, finely chopped

1 cinnamon stick

1 dried bay leaf

¾ cup apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup water

Salt to taste

Procedure

In a medium-sized pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and a bit of salt and cook slowly to caramelize, about 25 to 30 minutes. You don’t want the onions to brown quickly but rather develop a caramel color as they soften and sweeten, so keep the heat at about medium-low and stir at intervals.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring up to a boil for 5 minutes, covered. Lower to a simmer for another 25 minutes, removing the lid and stirring for the last 5 to 10 minutes of cooking.

Remove bay leaf and cinnamon stick and process in a food processor to a jam-like texture.

Smoky Lamb Burgers w/ Mint-Chili Pickled Cucumbers

Smoky Lamb Burgers with Mint-Chili Pickled Cucumbers

Does anyone else have summer fever? I seriously have been dreaming about barbecues for months, and now that it’s upon us I’m living for summer Sundays, hanging with friends and family and eating simple, flavorful meals that can be done on the grill. The recipe for these smoky lamb burgers came out of wanting to create a kicked-up burger that was no-fuss and would taste delicious with an ice-cold beer…

I have two (not one, but TWO) secret ingredients in this burger that give it that smoky, peppery edge. The first is black cardamom, which you may remember me writing about a few months back. The flavor is a bit lighter than green cardamom – earthier and with a woodsy smokiness. Black cardamom is used throughout North and East African cooking, in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine, and even in Sichuan cooking.

But, don’t worry if you only have the green kind. It works beautifully here as well because there is still the second secret ingredient: pimentón de la Vera. If you’ve never used it before, this dish is a great intro – it’s smoked paprika and is a key ingredient in Spanish cooking. Both of these spices meld together here and bring out what’s best about lamb.

Now, I’m a burger-with-pickles kind of gal, so I had to do a super quick pickle (ready in an hour!) to go with these. Thinly sliced cucumbers get quick-pickled with Thai green chilies, some fresh mint, garlic and thinly sliced shallots. The shallots pickle too, so I use both along with some fresh chopped mint and a nice piece of butter lettuce to top this burger. And these burgers are not for the faint of heart – they are big and bold! Feel free to turn this recipe into sliders or more modestly-sized patties if you so desire. Smoky, earthy, juicy lamb burgers with mint- and chili-pickled cucumbers on a gorgeously toasted bun is the perfect summer bbq food (and I WILL be serving these this weekend…) Enjoy!

Ingredients

Serves 4

Lamb Burgers:

6 tbsps butter

2 shallots, finely chopped

4-5 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsps ground black cardamom*

1 ½ tsps black pepper

2 tsps cayenne**

2 ½ tsps pimentón / smoked paprika

1 tbsp kosher salt

2 lbs ground lamb

vegetable oil

Mint-Chili Pickled Cucumbers:

¾ cup rice vinegar

¾ tsp kosher salt

1 ¼ tsps sugar

2 Thai chilies, halved

1 shallot, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves thinly sliced

2 mini seedless cucumbers, sliced thin

handful of mint, roughly torn

Procedure

For the lamb, in a medium skillet, heat butter over medium heat. Swirl the pan as the foam subsides and continue to heat until butter starts to brown. Don’t let it burn! Immediately, throw in the shallots, garlic and spices and cook stirring continuously to prevent sticking for 2 to 3 minutes until shallots are translucent and cooked through. Remove and let cool briefly.

Place lamb in a bowl and make a well in the center. Add cooled shallot and spice mixture and mix thoroughly. Do not overmix or the meat will get tough. Form mixture into 4 equal patties, keeping the center a bit thinner than the edges. Conversely, you can make this mixture up to a day ahead of time and the flavors will come together even more beautifully.

Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium-high heat and coat with a thin layer of oil or grill on the outdoor grill. Cook for about 4 minutes per side to get to a medium rare and longer for more well-cooked burgers.

For the cucumbers, in a bowl, whisk together vinegar, salt and sugar until dissolved. Add remaining ingredients and toss to coat. I like to put the cucumbers in a wider, shallow container to increase the surface area as they are pickling. Let sit at least an hour before serving, but it can also be refrigerated and will keep for a few days.

Serve burgers on a toasted bun topped with the pickled cucumbers and a few of the pickled shallots.

*I use my spice grinder to grind the whole pods of black cardamom, and then I pass it through a fine mesh sieve to get rid of the coarse bits. If you only have green cardamom on hand, that works; it’s still delicious.

**Go easier if you like less heat.

Sign up to receive exclusive recipes, tips, updates and other goodies from Aliya!