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Senin, 28 April 2014

Chef John is Flying High

Chef John is currently flying cross-country, back to beautiful San Francisco. In addition to typing in the third person, for no apparent reason, Chef John is plotting a whole bunch of exciting new video recipes. Stay tuned!

Rabu, 26 Maret 2014

Baba Ganouj and this is no godman

The first time I came across Baba Ganouj ( Pronounced "Ga-NOOSH" )was in BASHA, a Greek restaurant in Rochester, NY-where they had accidentally brought this onto our table instead of Hummus. One taste of the stuff and I knew that it was surely smoked brinjal and not chickpeas that I was tasting.

Baba Ganouj is a classic Mediterranean eggplant dip. Its silky, smokey and bursting with flavour. Here goes my version :

Ingredients:
1 mid-sized eggplant / brinjal
2 tbsp sesame seeds- roasted
4 fat cloves of garlic
2 tbsp thick yogurt
3/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1-2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp freshly minced parsely / coriander

Directions

1. Roasting the brinjal- Doing it on a direct flame or the grill gives the best smokey taste.
Place the brinjal on a medium flame, and rotate regularly so that the skin gets evenly blistered. It will take about 10-12 min for the entire brinjal to get roasted and soft from within.

However you can roast it on a lightly greased baking sheet by slitting it in half lengthwise at 350 F. I prefer to broil rather than bake, for that browning effect.

Peel off the blistered skin, chop roughly and keep aside.

2.Assembling the ingredients- In a blender, roughly grind the roasted sesame seeds. Then add the chopped roasted brinjal and all other ingredients except parsely/ coriander and olive oil. Blend to a smooth paste.

3. Finale-Remove the paste onto a shallow dish. Mix in the olive oil. Garnish with minced parsely / coriander and a swirl of some more olive oil.

Serving suggestion-
Serve the chilled Baba Ganouj with warm pita bread brushed with olive oil. If pita bread is not readily available, you can either serve it with toasted slices of a whole wheat bread / foccasia or whole wheat crackers.

Last evening, I served it to my guests with wedges of garlic bread toasted till warm. They loved it!

Note-
The original recipe calls for Tahini, which a sesame seed paste in olive oil. Since Tahini is not easily available in grocery stores in India, I ground roasted sesame seeds along with other ingredients. I did not find much of a taste deviation from the original.

(2011 update)
Al Fez brand of Tahini is now available in most supermarkets in cities, such as Natures Basket.

Kamis, 13 Maret 2014

This is What Happened to the Other Half of the Pie Dough

It was rolled out and filled with a pint of fresh blueberries. They were mixed with just the right amounts of sugar, cornstarch, and cinnamon. The dough was folded up and around, covering some berries, while leaving others exposed to be dotted with small pieces of butter. A light sprinkling of sugar rained down, and in the oven it went. After being baked golden, in a 33 cent pie tin, it was served with vanilla ice cream and my family. It was almost transferred to a pretty plate to be photographed, but that just didn’t seem right. Enjoy!

Sabtu, 01 Februari 2014

Spicy Tarragon Yogurt Grilled Chicken – This One is for the Haters

I’m not sure exactly when it’ll happen, but at some point this spring or summer, you’re going to start hating every one of your go-to grilled chicken recipes. Those recipes are delicious, but after decades of the same old, same old, you just get fatigued. Hopefully when that happens, you’ll remember this spicy, tarragon yogurt chicken recipe.

And you don’t even need to remember the specific ingredients. Except for the plain yogurt, the other components are completely adaptable. The endless varieties of vinegar/citrus options, fresh herbs, and hot sauces, means there’s an endless number of ways to personalize this recipe.

Imagine writing all your favorite herbs down on cards, and throwing them in a hat. Then, doing the same thing with your favorite vinegars and citrus juices, as well as hot sauces and salsas. When ready, close your eyes, and randomly picks cards to see what tasty version awaits you. It’s like a Mad Lib, only useful, and not stupid.

Here, let me try...[picks cards from old beaver skin hat]…okay, next time, along with the yogurt I’ll be using…[drum roll]…Sambal, lime juice, and basil…hey, that sounds awesome! See, it totally works.

As usual, I insist on you sharing any particularly amazing combinations you stumble upon. Anyway, I hope you give this super-easy, always juicy, and infinitely adjustable, grilled chicken recipe a try soon. Enjoy!

Marinade ingredients, enough for 4 large breasts:

1 bunch picked tarragon, leaves only

1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 hot sauce or salsa (amounts will depend on spiciness, of course)

1 tbsp cumin

2 tsp kosher salt

2 peeled garlic cloves

2 tbsp vinegar or citrus juice

*Blend and marinade, chilled, for 2 to 3 hours before grilling.

View the complete recipe