Meat loaf

1 lb ground pork
1 lb ground beef
1 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1 heaping tsp salt
2 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp paprika
3-4 strips bacon

Combine all but bacon until well mixed.

Pack meat into bread loaf pan.

Cover top of loaf with bacon

Cook at 425 until internal temp is 145 F (aprox 35-45 min).

Doesn't need a sauce, it is so juicy. Serve with a starch and light veggies like a salad.

Soffritto Potatoes

I am not a big potato fan. This dish is a real treat even for me.

About a pound of new potatoes, ideally fingerlings

1/4 cup soffritto

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Boil the potatoes until tender with a fork.

If the potatoes are larger than about 2 inches, quarter them

Combine the oil and soffritto to make a slurry.

Put the potatoes in a large bowl. Sprinkle the salt over the potatoes. Add the soffritto slurry and gently toss the potatoes to coat them.

You can serve immediately or reheat in the oven.

Beluga Lentils with Soffritto

This is a lovely quick dish. I love the color of the beluga lentils, and they have a nice texture. If you can't find beluga lentils, French or brown lentils work equally well. I prefer the French to the brown, but mostly just on appearance. This can either be a side dish, or turned into a weekday main if served with a whole grain (go go complete protein!).

1 cup lentils

4 cups water

3 tablespoons soffritto

3 cloves garlic (optional)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 teaspoon oregano

Combine water and lentils in a pot and bring to boil. Reduce heat to lowest setting and cover. The pot should still simmer. You do not need to stir.

Simmer the lentils for 20-30 minutes, until tender.

If you are using garlic, mince the garlic and fry in a small amount of oil.

Once the lentils are done, combine all the remaining ingredients in the lentils and stir GENTLY. If the lentils are stirred too hard they'll turn to mush.

Please don't balk at the amount of oil. The lentils have no oil in them. The oil is important for texture, taste, and satiety. You won't feel full if there isn't enough oil in the dish.

Soffritto

This is easy to make, and can be used in so many dishes to add an incredible flavor. Rather than actual amounts, I have given portions. It is easy to make as much or as little as you need.

2 parts minced onion

1 part minced celery

1 part minced carrot (or grated)

olive oil to coat the pan

Heat a pan large enough to comfortably hold all the minced veggies. You want a fairly high heat, but not too hot. On most stoves I use between the 2/3 and 3/4 mark.

Add enough oil to coat the pan. Once the oil starts to crawl, add all the mince at once. You want to stir only enough to keep the veggies from sticking to the pan, so one every couple of minutes is enough.

Cook the veggies until they have caramelized. You can make soffritto either "blonde" (a lovely golden color), medium (a light brown), or dark (natch). I like the stronger flavor of the medium or dark for most things.

Soffritto will keep for a week or so in the refrigerator, and pretty much indefinitely in the freezer. I like to put the soffritto in a jar and cover it with extra virgin olive oil to store it in the fridge.

Squash soup

1 hubbard squash

2 apples

2 medium red onions

2 tablespoons oil

2 cups stock

2 cups water

1/4 inch piece of ginger

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon salt

Split and seed the squash. Cook for 30 minutes at 350.

Dice the onion. slice the ginger into thin chips. Dice the apples.

Fry the onion in half the oil until they are just starting the brown. Add the rest of the oil, ginger and apple. fry for an additional 5 minutes. Add the stock and spices. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Scoop the squash from it's skin. Mash about half of the squash and divide the other half into bite sized chunks. Add the squash and water to the pot. Simmer 10 minutes.

Serve with mojo and roti.

Delicata Ravioli

Filling

2 delicata squash

1 cup walnuts

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

pinch oragano

pinch sage

Pasta

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

Water as necessary

Sauce

2 cups tomato

3 cloves garlic

2 tbs oil

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp oragano

1/4 cup milk

Directions

Filling

Half, seed, and roast the delicata (400 for 30 mins). Scoop out the flesh and mash or blend in a food processor. Crush or chop the walnuts. Mix all the ingredients together and then set aside.

Pasta

Combine the flour and salt. Beat the eggs and then add to the flour. Work the egg into the flour. It should form a stiff, fairly dry dough. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide the dough into 4 pieces to make it easier to handle. Roll the dough out as thin as possible. Dust the bottom of the dough with flour, if necessary to keep it from sticking. Use a biscuit cutter or drinking glass to cut the dough into rounds.

To fill the pasta, place a teaspoon full of filling on one circle of pasta. Lay another circle over the top and press the two pieces together all around the edge. If the dough is too dry to stick together nicely, you can wipe a little water on the pasta before adding the filling.

In boiling water the pasta should take about 6 minutes to cook.

Sauce

Chop the tomatoes into small pieces. Chop the garlic and add it to the oil in a pan at high heat. When the garlic has started to brown, add the tomatoes. Simmer for about 5 minutes then add the remaining ingredients, low heat and cook for another 10 minutes.

In the winter, if you have frozen some tomatoes for you garden, you can smash the thawing tomatoes with a rolling pin as opposed to chopping them.

Chana Dal

You can make this recipe with chana, yellow split peas, or masoor dal. The consistancy and taste will be different, but they are all equally yummy.

Pulse:

2 cups dal

4 cups water

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon paprika

tarka:

2 tablespoons oil or ghee

1 inch cinnamon stick

2-5 red chillies (according to taste)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon kalonji (aka onion seeds)

1 bay leaf

3 green cardamom pods

2 small tomatoes coarsely diced

Cilantro to garnish. optionally a little cream or youghurt.

Directions

Simmer the dal in the water until tender. Depending on the variaty of dal this can take from 30 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. Masoor (red lentils) are the fastest, chana are the slowest, with split peas in the middle. Once the dal is tender, add the turmeric and paprika.

In a frying pan, heat the oil over a low heat and then add the bay leaf, cinamon, and cardamom. As they start to brown (1 min) add chillis, cumin, and kalonji. After another 2 minutes add the tomatoes, and gently stirfly for another minute.

Add the tarka to the dal and stir. Garnish and serve.

Boneless Lamb Roast

This was loosely inspired by a sephardic recipe I saw. It turned out well, but it very much a work in progress. 

Rub

• 1/4 cup almonds
• 2 tbs sesame seeds 
• 1 tsp peppercorns
• 1 tsp thyme
• 4-6 cloves
• 6-10 cloves garlic

Directions for the rub

In a mortar or food processor, make a paste of the sesame, pepper thyme and cloves. Add the almonds and garlic. Add the oil as necessary to keep the mixture from clumping too much to mix. Ideally most of the oil will be added after the mixture is a fairly smooth paste, so that the oil isn't damaged by the mixing.

Directions for the lamb

Soak lamb for several hours in a brine. Pat dry. Apply the rub to the outside of the lamb. If your roast is already tied, attempt to work some of the rub inside the roast. Spread the rest of the rub across the top of the roast. Preheat oven to 375 F. Place in a roasting pan and cook until your meat thermometer reads 170. Personally, I like lamb roasts rarer than that, which is a "well done". Also, if you have more time, you can let the roast rest with the rub applied for as long as you like.

 

Chole Masala

Ingredients 

• 2 cups chickpeas
  

• 1/4 tsp asfotedia 
  
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  

• 2 tsp cumin
  
• 2 tsp fenugreek
  
• 1 chili pod
  
• 1 tsp peppercorns
  
• 1 tbs mustard seeds 
  
• 1 tbs sesame seeds
  
• 2 tbs coconut powder or 3 tbs shredded coconut
  

• 1/2 tsp turmeric
  
• 1 tsp paprika 
  
• 1/2 tsp amchor powder
  
• 1/2 cup  tamarind juice
  
• 1-2 tsp salt
  
• 1/4-1/2 cup oil or ghee
  

Directions

Rinse chickpeas, set to simmer on low. After about an hour add the cinnamon and asfotedia to improve the odor of cooking beans. 

Put all the whole spices and coconut in a a fry pan and gently roast for 2-7 minutes until golden and aromatic. Grind until it forms a smooth powdery paste.

After about 4 hours the chickpeas should be tender. Add the spice paste and the powdered spices. Still until the spices have integrated into water. Add the oil and tamarind. continue to cook on low for 20 minutes. Add salt and serve.