Monthly Archives: March 2015

Curry & Flat Bread

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Flaky Bread Recipe

Recently called on the table by one of my dear friends for publishing a recipe that was not so user friendly….aka….it had more than one ingredient! Here is a go to small amount of ingredients recipe that produces such a lovely soft flat bread that is so worth it.

An unfloured surface provides some traction, so it’s easy to roll the dough very thin.

Ingredients

Servings: Makes 10

  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more, room temperature, for brushing (about 10 )
  • Flaky sea salt (such as Maldon)
  • Olive oil (for parchment)

Preparation

  • Whisk kosher salt and 3 cups flour in a large bowl. Drizzle in melted butter; mix well. Gradually mix in ¾ cup water. Knead on a lightly floured surface until dough is shiny and very soft, about 5 minutes. Wrap in plastic; let rest in a warm spot at least 4 hours.
  • Divide dough into 10 pieces and, using your palm, roll into balls. Place balls on a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and let rest 15 minutes.
  • Working with 1 piece at a time, roll out balls on an unfloured surface with a rolling pin into very thin rounds or ovals about 9” across. (If dough bounces back, cover with plastic and let rest a few minutes.)
  • Brush tops of rounds with room-temperature butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Roll up each round onto itself to create a long thin rope, then wind each rope around itself to create a tight coil.
  • Working with 1 coil at a time, roll out on an unfloured surface to 10” rounds no more than ⅛” thick. Stack as you go, separating with sheets of parchment brushed with oil.
  • Heat a large cast-iron griddle or skillet over medium-high heat. Working 1 at a time, brush both sides of a dough round with room-temperature butter and cook until lightly blistered and cooked through, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer bread to a wire rack and sprinkle with sea salt.

I would serve this with a terrific curry. Here’s one I make with ground pork or turkey.

 

Ground Pork Curry with Garbanzo Beans

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 lbs ground pork or dark meat chicken or turkey

Kosher salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

2 large onions, thinly sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 1/2 tablespoons grated peeled ginger

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed

2 cups (or more) low-sodium chicken broth

5 ounces baby spinach

1/4 cup Greek yogurt

1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves with tender stems

 

Preparation

Heat oil in a large heavy dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season meat and brown in the skillet. Add butter and onions to drippings in pot; season with salt. Cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and golden brown, 10-15 minutes.

 

Stir in garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, turmeric, curry and cayenne. Cook, stirring constantly, until spices are fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in chickpeas and 2 cups broth. Add more broth if needed to cover chicken about three-fourths of the way up. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes.

 

Add spinach to pot, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand until spinach is wilted, 5-7 minutes.

 

Stir yogurt into cooking liquid. Season with salt.

 

Savory Pie ~

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Made this Chicken Sausage, Porcini Mushroom, Lentil pie last night with a Pecorino Cheese Crust………looked and tasted terrific!

How it started…..I had a busy day planned and it didn’t include a large chunk of time in the kitchen. But I really was feeling a savory pie. So while I was making the morning coffee I whipped out the food processor and made the crust in just a couple of minutes. Wrapped it in plastic wrap and popped it in the fridge for later that day.  While getting the dogs breakfast ready I put the lentils and the chicken sausage in a pot of chicken stock and simmered them together with a shallot for 25 minutes. Which was just enough time to get dressed before I went out the door.  Everything prepped for later in the day. Here’s the recipe. It’s so worth it.

Ingredients:

Filling

1 cup lentils

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 ounce dried porcini mushrooms

2 chicken sausage fennel sausages

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

6 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced

1 medium onion, chopped

1 shallot

2 carrots, diced

1 1/2 teaspoons dried sage

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 cup chopped parsley

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

1 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, diced

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon sun dried tomatoes, chopped

Topping

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

6 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, diced

1/2 cup buttermilk

3/4 cup (packed) coarsely grated Soft Pecorino cheese (about 3 ounces)

 

Directions:

Filling:
Add lentils to pot and cover lentils with chicken stock 1”. Add the two chicken fennel sausages, 1/2 t salt and a shallot; bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Drain; set lentils and sausage aside. Or if you are prepping early pop it in the fridge.

Pour 1 cup of boiling chicken stock over porcini in medium bowl; soak 15 mins. Remove porcini from soaking liquid, chop coarsely. (Reserve soaking liquid.)

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add fresh mushrooms. Sauté 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oil, onion, carrot, sage, and thyme. Sauté 4 minutes. Add tomato paste and garlic; sauté 30 seconds.
Reduce heat to medium-low. Mix flour into vegetables; cook 1 minute. Add porcini soaking liquid and the remainder of the chicken stock.

Cover; simmer until potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally, 13 to 15 minutes. Add lentils; season with salt and pepper. Place the filling in a pie dish or 4 individual large ramekins. Let the mixture cool to room temperature before topping with the pie crust.

Do ahead. Can be made 2 days in advance Cover; chill. Bring to room temperature before continuing.

Crust:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in processor; blend 5 seconds. Add butter; pulse until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk; pulse until dough forms moist clumps. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Roll into a disc, cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least 20 mins.
Roll out the dough on a flour service and place on top of the pie dish with the filling. Crimp the edges. Slit the top of the pie 4 or 5 times. Egg wash the top and sprinkle some sea salt on the crust.

Bake pie on baking sheet until tester the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Remember the filling is already cooked. If the edges get too brown wrap them with foil 20 mins into the cooking.













					


		
	


		
			


	

		
Wow ~ Gorgeous & Water Saving


				

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Thanks once again to SA Baxter Architectural Hardware for sharing what’s currently new and beautiful in home design features. Not only is this one of the most attractive water features I’ve seen but it’s designed to conserve water as well. A London student recently designed this conservation-friendly faucet that swirls your water into captivating geometric patterns as soon as you turn on the tap. The faucet weaves small jets of water into intricate, cross-hatched designs that look like they belong on delicate crystal glassware. The faucet head is a simple, minimalistic curve, making the designs it spouts out all the more delightful.


In addition to the faucet’s pleasing aesthetic, it also makes conserving water feel elegant and effortless. The designer, London Royal College of Art student Simin Qiu, created the faucet to use up to 15 percent less water than traditional faucets. Given the unusual and creative design and its positive impact on the environment, this fixture is anything but mainstream.