Mix the following ingredients well. Makes enough for a beef brisket, a couple of steaks or a whole chicken cut in pieces.
4 TBS chili power
1 TBS black pepper
1 tsp Hungarian Hot Paprika
1 TBS ground cumin
1 tsp dried thyme
This is based on the seasoning for a simmered pork tenderloin, but it works well as a rub for pork tenderloin or fat pork chops. Makes enough for two pork tenderloins or 4 pork chops. Rub the meat well—this mixture will not cover the meat the way the other rubs do. Add 3 TBS oil and 3 cloves chopped garlic in place of the dried to make it a rub.
1 tsp dried garlic
1 TBS paprika
1 TBS cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 TBS dried sage, rubbed to a power between your fingers
1/4 tsp powdered cloves (or 4 cloves crushed in a mortar)
This is a simple and elegant seasoning for beef or chicken. Before you gussy it up, try it as is. Mix the following ingredients in a small bowl and rub into the meat with your fingers.
4-6 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped into small pieces.
2 TBS cracked or coarse ground black pepper
3 TBS olive oil.
The key ingredients in a jerk paste are scallions, thyme, and allspice with a good dose of hot pepper. I have a lot of chives in my garden, so I often use a combination of chives and grated onion instead of scallions. Traditionally, habenero or scotch bonnet peppers are used in a jerk. I don’t like their flavor and find them too hot, so I use Serrano or Jalapeno peppers. If you use habeneros, start with half a pepper and wash your hands well after cutting them.
1 bunch scallions, white and green parts roughly chopped (or 1/4 cup chopped chives and half an onion, grated)
1/2 habenero pepper or 3 serrano peppers chopped (remove the seeds if you want a milder paste)
1 TBS ground allspice
2 TBS chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp chopped fresh thyme plus 1 tsp dried thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
3 cloves garlic, chopped
3 TBS orange juice
3 TBS olive oil
Place all the ingredients in a food processor and grind to a paste. Rub on your chicken or a meaty fish like swordfish or tuna.
When I lived in Cambridge in the 70’s, one of my housemates was Pakistani. He taught me a lot about Northern Indian home cooking. His mother stayed with us for a month and I spent every evening hanging over the stove while she cooked Riaz his childhood favorites. This is one of her recipes.
Traditionally, tandoori pastes are colored with red food coloring. You can save the water in which you’ve cooked beets and use a tablespoon or two of the water as a natural food coloring or you can leave the coloring out.
1 cup full fat or lowfat yoghurt
1 medium onion
1 piece of ginger about 1 inch long
4 cloves garlic
3 Serrano peppers (seeds removed for a milder paste)
1 TBS cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 TBS turmeric
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground cardamom
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek
1/2 tsp red food coloring or up to 2 TBS beet cooking water (optional)
Chop the onion and garlic. Peel the ginger, slice it into coins, and chop it. Slice the serranos, and mince. Add all of these to the blender. Add the spices and half the yoghurt. Blend until the mixture is a smooth paste. Add the rest of the yoghurt and the food coloring, if you use it, and give the paste a quick mix.
Place two chickens cut in pieces into a large zip-lock bag. Pour in the paste and mix well, being careful not to puncture the baggie. Marinate the chickens overnight. Grill over medium flame.
Serves 4 to 6
When I lived in Cambridge, my housemate’s mother came over from Britain and stayed with us for a month, cooking the Indian foods Riaz liked as a child. She taught me how to make this marinade, which we used mostly for chicken. You can add food coloring to get the traditional red color or add beet juice as a natural alternative, but I^usually just leave it out.
It is best to use whole spices and grind them in a mortar or spice grinder after toasting. You can substitute cayenne or ground chillis (not chili powder) or hot Hungarian paprika for some or all of the sweet paprika for a hotter marinade.
1 cup yogurt (preferably whole-fat)
1 knob ginger the size of a walnut, peeled
3 to 5 large cloves garlic, peeled
3 Serrano peppers
1-1/2 tablespoons ground coriander
1 tablespoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground fenugreek
2 to 3 pounds chicken - either a whole chicken cut in parts; 2 pounds thighs; 3 whole breasts, bone-in and split; or 3 pounds wings, tips cut off
Cilantro leaves for garnish
Place the coriander and cumin on small pieces of aluminum foil and toast separately in a toaster oven. When they darken slightly and are fragrant, they are done. Be careful not to burn them.
Chop the ginger into several chunks, cut the garlic cloves in half, and chop the Serranos roughly. If you want less heat, remove the seeds and white membrane from the peppers first. Place in a blender with a couple of tablespoons of water and blend until the chunks are smooth. Add a little of the yogurt if you need some extra moisture. Add the remaining ingredients and blend well.
Place the chicken in a 1-quart plastic bag and pour in the marinade. Mix well, seal and place on a plate in the refrigerator. Let marinate for at least an hour or as long as overnight. Turn the bag a few times while it is sitting.
Broil or grill the chicken over indirect heat, basting with any remaining marinade during the first 15 minutes. It will take about 30 to 45 minutes to cook. Sprinkle with the cilantro just before serving.
Serve with rice, hot pita bread, raita (a cucmber and yogurt salad) and mango chutney.
Serves 4 to 6
2 large cucumbers
1 cup yogurt
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Cilantro leaves and Serrano peppers sliced into rings (optional)
If you have the time, and especially if you are using low- or no-fat yogurt, line a colander with cheesecloth or a clean cotton dish towel, put the yogurt in the towel and place the colander on a dinner plate. Let sit for an hour. You could also use Turkish yogurt, which is much thicker and creamier.
Peel the cucumbers, slice lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with a spoon. Grate the cucumbers (or chop into small dice) and place in a colander. Add the salt and let sit for 30 minutes. Rinse well and shake dry.
Combine the cucumber and yogurt. Garnish with cilantro leaves and Serrano rings just before serving, if desired.
My mother’s tip for buying eggplants is to choose the lightest one for its size. It will have fewer seeds.
1 large eggplant
Kosher salt
1 Spanish or large red onion
1 red bell pepper
1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper, optional
2 stalks celery
3 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup green olives, pitted or filled with pimientos
1 teaspoon capers
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Chopped parsley
Peel the eggplant, cut it in ½-inch thick slices and sprinkle with kosher salt. Let it sit in a colander for an hour to drain. Slice the onion in ½-inch thick slices and thread a toothpick or skewer to the center to hold the rings together. Wash the red pepper and jalapeno. Cut the celery into ½-inch thick dice.
Dry off the eggplant. Brush one side of each slice liberally with olive oil, then place the slices on the grill. Do the same with the onion slices and the peppers. Grill the eggplant until it is nicely colored. Brush the other sides of the eggplant and onions with oil before you turn them. Return the vegetables to the grill until the eggplant is cooked through but not mushy, and the onions are nicely colored and soft. Turn the peppers until they are charred black on all sides.
Let everything cool. Peel the skin off the peppers, wiping the seeds off with paper towels. Remove the toothpicks from the onions. Cut everything into small chunks. Mince the jalapeno.
In a large frying pan, heat about 3 tablespoons of olive oil. When it is hot, add the celery and stir for a minute until the celery softens slightly. Add the eggplant, onions, peppers, olives, capers and tomato paste and mix well. Add the sugar and the vinegar. Simmer for a couple of minutes to blend the flavors. Add salt and pepper and more vinegar or sugar as necessary. If the mixture gets too dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water or red wine. Remove from the fire, place in a bowl and let sit. Sprinkle with parsley and serve warm or at room temperature.
This works best with small- or medium-sized red or yellow onions. The amounts vary, but you’ll probably want an onion per person. Mix equal parts bourbon, brown sugar and soy sauce. Peel the onions, then cut them in quarters or sixths. Thread a skewer through the wedges to hold the slices together. Place in a Pyrex baking dish and pour the marinade over them. Let them sit, turning often, for up to 4 hours. Baste with the marinade while you grill them until they are cooked to the degree you desire.
At the CIA, I made a reduction of shrimp shells and aromatics. I didn’t take it down enough to be syrupy (I couldn’t watch it and I was afraid it would burn.). I’ve been wanting to make it again. Our friend Gail is visiting and for lunch, I rubbed some shrimp with lemon and orange zest, paprika, and salt, skewered and grilled them. I took the stock down to syrupy. It got brown and sweet, with a shrimp overtone. I squeezed half an orange into the syrup, reduced it again, not as far. I served the shrimp on arugula with some tomato slices and good bread. and poured the orange reduction over it. Wonderful.
Serves 4 to 6
These days, with the profusion of Asian markets, you can find various dals (Indian lentils) pretty easily. They taste nothing like the brown lentils you find in supermarkets. I like masoor dal, also called pink lentils, chana dal and moong dal (yellow lentils). They are a good side dish with spicy food, especially paired with rice. If you happen to have ghee (clarified butter), it is the most authentic flavor. If not, use a mixture of canola oil and butter. If you can’t find dal, green split peas are a good substitute. If you like pea soup, try topping it with caramelized onions. Sriracha or a similar hot sauce will perk up the flavor nicely.
1 cup pink lentils
1 knob ginger, the size of a walnut, peeled and left whole
1 1/2 cups water
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large Spanish onion or 2 large yellow onions
3 to 5 tablespoons ghee or 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil and 1 tablespoon butter
Wash the dal and put in a 2-quart pot with the water and the peeled knob of ginger. Bring to a boil and simmer 20 minutes until the dal is cooked and nearly falling apart. Stir often to keep it from sticking.
Slice the onion lengthwise into strips and cook over medium heat until caramelized.
To serve, fish out the ginger, and add salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a serving bowl. Top with the onions and the oil in which they were cooked. If your guests are likely to hog the onions, give the onions a quick stir into the dal before serving.
These onions do not color as much as the other recipes, but have a long-cooked taste. You can stuff thick pork chops or a split pork tenderloin with them. They also make a great topping for grilled chicken or pork sandwiches.
I like navel oranges for zesting. I get organic oranges for zest, since they are not dyed. Wash the orange thoroughly with soap and water before you zest it. I sometimes use dried cranberries instead of raisins in this dish.
By the way, marmalade is one of those words being redefined by today’s chefs. ‘Joy of Cooking’ defines marmalades as ‘bits of fruit cooked to a translucent state in a heavy syrup.’ You wouldn’t want to put this marmalade on your morning toast. Neither fruit nor a heavy syrup is involved, and I suppose you could just as easily call it an onion chutney or an onion compote. Whatever you call it, it’s pretty tasty
1 large Spanish onion or 2 large yellow onions
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon cayenne (or to taste)
2 cloves
Dash ground cinnamon
1 navel orange, preferably organic
2 tablespoons cider or sherry vinegar
1/4 cup raisins, preferably golden
1 teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Slice the onions lengthwise into wide strips and sautￇ in the olive oil until they color lightly. When they turn translucent, add the spices and continue cooking.
While the onions are cooking, zest half the orange into a small saucepan. Add the juice of the orange, the vinegar and the raisins, and simmer slowly uncovered for 10 minutes. Add the mixture to the onions and cook, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the sugar and salt and pepper and cook, uncovered, until the onions are almost falling apart and the mixture is almost dry.
I only use livers from organic, free-range chickens for this dish. Given the way modern chickens are raised, you want an organic liver.
When you cook livers, your goal is to cook them fully but leave the centers pink. By the time the centers are gray, the liver is grainy and dry and the reason people hate liver.
1 pound organic chicken livers
1 medium onion
2 tablespoons butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Salt
Pepper
1 tablespoon cognac
Cut the livers into lobes and remove any fat and gristle. Chop the onion into pieces about 1/2-inch square. Melt the butter in a frying pan over a medium-hot flame. Saute the onions until they are soft and translucent. Add the chicken livers and saute until cooked through but still pink at the center, about 5 minutes.
Pour the contents of the frying pan into a food processor. Add salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Add the cloves and cognac. Process until smooth. Spoon into the serving bowl, let cool slightly and cover, laying the plastic wrap directly on the pate.
When I was a boy, this was called Mock Liver and fed to those who didn’t like chopped liver. I don’t eat mock anything. This is good enough to stand on its own and is a great vegetarian appetizer.
1 pound string beans
2 large Spanish or Bermuda onions
1/2 cup shelled walnuts or pecans
2 eggs
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper
Peel and chop the onions into 1-inch dice. Melt the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and lower the heat slightly. Cook the onions, stirring from time to time, until they are dark brown and caramelized. It will take up to a half hour, but don’t try to hurry it or skimp on the browning; this is what gives the dish its flavor. Add additional butter if the pan seems dry.
Cut off the stem ends of the string beans and steam them until they are completely done. For this dish, you do not want al dente string beans. Let the beans cool and drain in a colander.
Place the eggs in a small pan, cover with water and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, drain and let cool. Peel and slice.
Pour the nuts into a food processor and grind for a minute until they resemble coarse sand. Add the onions and the string beans and pulse for 30 seconds. Add the eggs plus salt and pepper to taste and process until the mixture is smooth, but still has a texture. Add a touch of oil if it seems dry.
3 large red peppers
3 cloves garlic
Cracked or coarsely ground black pepper
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 pound block Parmesan, Asiago or aged provolone cheese
Wash and dry the whole peppers. Rub a little olive oil on them. You can either grill them or broil them, but the technique is the same. Let them blacken on each side and turn. When the skins are completely blackened, let cool on a plate for 15 minutes or more. Do not place them in a plastic bag or cover, as some cooks advise. They will steam and become mushy.
To peel the peppers, simply rub the skin off. It will slide off easily. Do this over a plate to keep the juices from becoming messy. Pull the stem out and divide the pepper into 4 or 5 sections. Use a paper towel to wipe the seeds off the pepper pieces. Don’t rinse them. Place the peppers on a separate plate as you do.
Slice the peppers into long strips about 1/4-inch wide and slice each strip lengthwise in half. Place in a shallow bowl, alternating with thin slices of garlic and coarsely ground black pepper. Add a little olive oil and let marinate. Serve at room temperature. Use a cheese slicer to add a thin slice of cheese to each crostini.
This is adapted from Penelope Casas’ Tapas
1 package Linguica or Chorizo sausage
1 pound pitted dates
1 pound bacon
Toothpicks
Either sausage is available in area supermarkets. If you are using Chorizo, cut one sausage in 1/2-inch wide circles and cut each circle in half. If you are using Linguica, cut one sausage into 3-inch sections, then cut each section lengthwise into quarters. Cut the quarters into 1-inch lengths. Your goal is to have a sausage piece that fits inside the date.
Cut the bacon slices into thirds.
To assemble, slice each date lengthwise to open it. Don’t cut the date in two pieces. Put a piece of sausage into the date and wrap with a piece of bacon. Use a toothpick to hold the bacon in place.
Heat your oven to 425 degrees. Place the dates in a Pyrex or ceramic baking dish and cook until the bacon is brown. Turn the pieces every 5 minutes so they brown evenly. Let the pieces cool on a plate.
To serve, place the pieces in a baking dish and heat at 375 degrees until the bacon is sizzling, about 5 minutes. Place in a ceramic serving dish. Warn your guests that the dates are hot.
1 pound calamari
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
3 cloves chopped garlic
1 egg, slightly beaten
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
ﾨ cup dried bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes (if canned, drain them first)
1/2 cup white wine
4 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Most supermarkets sell the calamari cleaned. If not, rub off the purple skin, pull out the insides and the quill and wash thoroughly. Cut the tentacles off and wash well.
Chop the tentacles into small pieces and place in a bowl. Chop the garlic and add to the bowl. Mix with the oil, egg, cheese, bread crumbs, parsley, and salt and pepper. Spoon the stuffing into the calamari and use a toothpick, skewer or kitchen twine to close. I have a carpet needle that works great with kitchen twine. Do not overfill the calamari–the stuffing expands as it cooks.
Saute the sliced garlic cloves in the oil until they are fragrant. Add the calamari and saute until they are browned. Add the tomatoes and the wine, bring to a boil and simmer for 30 minutes. You can stop at this point and reheat the calamari just before serving.
To serve, cut off the ends with the toothpicks or twine and discard. Slice the calamari into bite-sized pieces and either spear with a toothpick or serve with toothpicks. You can drizzle the pieces with the sauce, if you like.
This is the simplest tomato sauce I know and is complements a side dish of pasta like nothing else. I learned it from a woman I worked with in Cambridge a long time ago. You can mess with it, but try it as described below. It makes a perfectly clean-tasting sauce and is an especially good base for a red mussel or clam sauce.
Marcella Hazan talks about cooking a tomato sauce until the oil separates. If you watch, in about 15 minutes this sauce will develop a film of olive oil droplets. When it does, the sauce is done.
(Makes enough for four servings.)
Ingredients
1 can (28 oz.) ground peeled tomatoes
6 cloves garlic
Several TBS olive oil
Salt and pepper
Heat the olive oil in a 2 qt. saucepan over medium heat. Peel the garlic and flatten it slightly with the side of a knife. When you can smell the olive oil, toss the garlic in the oil. Sauté until the garlic is browned on both sides and remove. Put the tomatoes in the saucepan and stir. Cook fifteen minutes. Add salt and fresh ground pepper to taste.
You can add fresh basil, cut into strips, and a sprinkling of hot pepper flakes. You can also add 2 lbs of mussels or clams, cover and cook until the shellfish are open. The sauce will get a little watery from the juice that the shellfish release so you want to serve it in bowls.
A white sauce, it is rich and creamy and goes extremely well with fresh noodles. The originals are made with cream and are delicious. However, I have made it with half and half or whole milk and it is also good. Sometimes you have to indulge and this is a good way to do it. If you are going to the trouble of making this, use freshly grated parmesan rather than the boxed “shaker cheese.” You really will taste the difference. Time this so that the pasta is cooked and drained by the time the sauce is ready.
(Makes enough for 4 servings)
Ingredients
1 ½ cups of milk, half and half, or light cream
3 TBS butter
3 TBS flour
salt
nutmeg
½ cup freshly grated parmesan
more cheese for serving.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon to mix. Cook the flour until it is slightly yellowish. You don’t want it to brown, just to lose the raw taste. Add a little of the milk or cream and stir. Add a little more and mix until the roux is incorporated. Add the rest and bring to a low boil. Add salt and several gratings of fresh nutmeg (1/4 tsp of ground).
Immediately turn the heat down and let the sauce bubble and thicken for 10 minutes or so. Stir in the parmesan and stir. Add some of the cooked pasta and stir to cover the pasta with the sauce. Keep adding pasta until you have added it all or reached the limits of your pan. Dump the sauce and pasta into a large bowl. Add any remaining pasta and stir. Serve immediately with additional parmesan.
Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
2 ½ cups flour
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp olive oil
½ tsp salt
Tools
Long, straight rolling pin
Large wooden cutting board
Making the Dough
Sift 2 cups flour and the salt into a large bowl. Make a well in the center. Break the eggs in a small bowl. Add the olive oil and mix with a fork. Pour the eggs into the well. Using the fork, stir around the edges of the well to incorporate the flour slowly into the eggs.
After the eggs are all absorbed, turn the dough onto the wooden cutting board. It will not hold together at this point.Fold the dough until you form a ball. Incorporate most or all of the flour. If it is very sticky, sprinkle some flour on the ball. Push the dough away from you with the heel of your hand, fold it over, and give it a quarter turn. Repeat for about 5-8 minutes. The dough will stretch and at a certain point, it will “seize” and feel stiff. When it does, roll it into a ball.
Wrap the ball in plastic and put into the refrigerator to rest for at least an hour.
Rolling the Dough
Remove the dough from the fridge and cut it into four sections. Roll the first section into a ball. Cover the rest. Sprinkle some flour on the cutting board and put the ball in the center. Flatten it into a pancake with the rolling pin. Starting from the center of the ball, roll in each direction to keep the mass generally round. If you can’t keep it round, try for a rectangular shape. Sprinkle a little flour on the dough and the board as needed to keep the dough soft and not sticky.
Turn the dough over and keep rolling. Work quickly to keep the dough from drying out and cracking. As the dough thins, you’ll want to try to push the dough away from you, stretching it rather than pressing straight down. At the edge, give the dough an extra push to thin it.
The dough is ready when it is thin enough for you to see the printing on a piece of newspaper slid under the dough. Usually the dough will be dry enough to cut. If it isn’t, put it on some paper towels or a kitchen towel to dry slightly.
Cutting the Dough
Fold the dough like a letter—fold the bottom third up and the top third down over it.
Use a sharp kitchen knife to cut one end of the folded dough to make a straight edge. Using your knuckle as a guide, cut the dough into ¼” strips.
When you are done, unroll the dough. I have found it easy to slip the knife under the upper fold of a section of the roll and lift the pasta. Hold the pasta against the knife with one hand and shake to unroll it. Wrap the dough into a nest shape and set it off to one side. Roll and cut the remaining dough.
When the pasta is cut, you can cook it immediately or cover it with wax paper and let it sit on your counter for several hours. The extra small pieces can be cut into rough shapes and added to a soup. I freeze several batches until I have enough.
Cooking the Pasta
Fill a large pot ¾ full of water. Add a TBS of salt and cover. Bring to a rolling boil. (I often do this while I am making the pasta, then turn the heat off. The water stays pretty hot and can be brought to a rolling boil in a short time when you need it.) Add the pasta. Cover and let come to a boil. (The water will boil over if you do not keep checking it.) Uncover as soon as it is boiling and stir. The cookbooks say it is done 1 minute after the water returns to a rolling boil. I have found that it takes as long as 4 minutes to get the pasta cooked. It should be chewy, but cooked all the way through. Keep stirring and tasting until it is as done as you like.
Put some sauce into a large bowl. Add the drained pasta and mix slightly. Add more sauce and mix again. Serve the pasta with a good homemade tomato sauce, a Bolognese Sauce, or a creamy Alfredo Sauce.