Category Archives: recipe

Spicy chickpeas with cauliflower, raisins & olives

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File under “C” – Chickpeas, cauliflower, chard, cumin, cayenne…

Everyone in my family has started on the winter cycle of sniffles, so I thought it would be nice to have something brothy and spicy – something that clears your head when you breathe in the vapors. We had this over pasta, but it would also be good with couscous or rice, or even with just a crusty loaf of bread. The seasoning is simple but slightly unusual – thyme, allspice, cumin, and as much cayenne as you like. “Raisins and olives?” you cry! In the same dish! Yes! They’re actually delicious together. The raisins impart a mysterious sweetness, and the olives lend their good old olive-y saltiness. Finished with a squeeze of lemon and topped with crumbled goat cheese, this easy, quick workaday dinner has a complex blend of spicy, sweet and tart that goes together perfectly, and makes it quite memorable.

Here’s Wild Mountain Thyme by the Tannahill Weavers. Bloomin’ heather!
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Broccoli & Garlic Sauce

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brocolli with garlic sauce

This is my version of the dish that’s on every take out Chinese food menu in America. I’ve always loved it, and I’ve been known to eat a quart of it all by myself. Lately, however, it’s seemed unpleasantly sweet and sticky. I don’t think the dish has changed, it’s probably just me getting sour in my old age, and wanting my food to keep pace with me. I decided to make a less sweet, brothier version. It’s simple as pie to make, takes no time at all, and is very tasty – retaining the appealing salty/sweet/hot dynamic without the heavy syrup.

Here’s Immortal Technique’s diatribe against preachy vegetarians Beef and Broccoli. (Don’t listen if you don’t like sweary music!!) I’ve been a vegetarian since I was twelve, but I’ve got a sense of humor about it, and I think this song is pretty funny (but it has a lot of curse words! You’ve been warned!)
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Millionaire Shortbread Cake

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Millionaire Shortbread Cake

When I was little we lived in England for a while, and I have vivid and fond memories of being out somewhere, a museum, maybe, and becoming very tired all of a sudden. We’d all decide to stop for “tea and a sweetie” as my dad called it. And we’d all be instantly restored, and I remember talking about how remarkable it was that we all felt more lively. The restorative powers of tea are not to be underestimated! On these occasions, as I recall, my mother used to love millionaire’s shortbread, which (as I recall it) was a perfect combination of shortbread, caramel, and chocolate. And then there were variations – some had a digestive crust, some had milk chocolate, some had dark, one (my mother’s favorite) had lemon curd and dark chocolate.

Yesterday when faced with the delightful conundrum of what kind of cake to make for my mother’s birthday, I decided to make a cakey version of millionaire’s shortbread – combining different elements of my memories of the sweetie. So I made a cake very loosely based on a digestive biscuit (well, it had a tiny bit of oats and whole wheat flour in it, and I used brown sugar), a lemon caramel coating (turned out really tasty! I ate it by the spoonful as I was cleaning up) and a bittersweet chocolate ganache on top of that. My mom said it was the best cake ever! Result!

Here’s Barbara Dane’s It isn’t Nice. A song my mom likes, and I love, too.
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Harissa-spiced roasted cauliflower

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This is easy peasy. Actually, this would have been good with a squeeze of lemon. I should have but I didn’t. Next time.

I like cauliflower roasted with various spice mixes, and this is my latest effort. It’s loosely-based on the Tunisian fiery pepper mix called “harissa.” (What a great word!) This is so easy I’m not even going to wait till after the jump to tell you how to make it. Here’s what you do…chop up your cauliflower into bite-sized pieces. In a bowl, mix the cauliflower with 2 minced cloves of garlic, as much cayenne as you like, cumin, caraway seeds, coriander, salt and black pepper. As much of each as you like, depending on how much cauliflower you have. Drizzle a tablespoonful or more of olive oil to lightly coat each piece and stir it all together. Turn it out onto a baking tray and cook in a hot oven 425ish, till it starts to get brown and crispy on the edges. (20 minutes, maybe?)

Here’s Dan le Sac vs. Scroobius Pip with Cauliflower (thanks, Shane!)

Parsnip gnocchi

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parsnip gnocchi

Have you ever had a brilliant idea for something? It comes to you all in a flash – the most wonderful invention, which you’re sure nobody could have ever thought of ever. Like that time I invented these little colorful plastic blocks that fit together so that you can build something and then take it apart and build something else. What?!? Legos?!? D’oh!

Anyway, the other night, in the middle of the night, I was having trouble sleeping. So I tried to distract myself from worries by thinking about what I could make the next day to go with my drunken puttanesca sofrito. Something sweet and bright to go with all of that intense flavor. Of course I thought of parsnips! But what to do with them? Croquettes? Nah, just did that. Pies? Someday, but not just now. Then it came to me! Gnocchi! Nobody would ever have thought of making parsnip gnocchi, right? Well, it turns out other people have thought of it. But I still invented them! Others may have done so too, and hooray for them.

They turned out very good, as it happens. I baked them instead of boiling them, because I like the idea of gnocchi, but they can be stodgy and slimy (I’m sorry, gnocchi, but it’s true). They turned out light, crisp, flavorful and perfect with my drunken sofrito puttanesca. Although they’d also go well with romesco, or a simple tomato sauce, or pesto, or chermoula…

Here’s Parsnip Snips by Michael Hurley, a regular on the 60s Greenwhich Village folk scene, and friend of the Unholy Modal Rounders.

These would also work with pureed butternut squash, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, carrots, etc, although you might want to alter the herbies.
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Quince!

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membrillo

I have to admit to being somewhat quince-obsessed. I’m fascinated by any fruit that requires a bit of attention before it’s palatable. (I have a black currant bush and a quince bush in my garden, but I haven’t really had fruit from either yet.) It’s such a contrast to the standard American attitude toward fruit, which is that it should be sweet the instant you pick it, and then it should be individually packed in corn syrup and plastic.

So, quince. They’re so odd-looking but pretty, and they have such an intoxicating fragrance when they’re ripe. Plus, they’re elusive. It’s quite a quest to find quince fruit where I live, although you see quince bushes with their crazy bright-pink flowers everywhere in the springtime. A few years ago I pestered the produce people at my local shoprite every time I went. Eventually they got a big batch of quinces. I hope somebody else was glad to see them there!

So yesterday, when my friend Kate gave me a bag containing 5 quinces, it made my day! They were past the first blush of youth, and looked a little grey and furry, but they smelled ridiculously good!

I poached some in port wine with a large apple, and I made a sort of compote to go on my almond cake.

port-poached quince compote

And with the rest I made membrillo, a Spanish quince paste that I’ve tried to make several times over the years with varying results. Well, it worked this time! I haven’t tasted it yet, but I almost don’t care how it tastes! Because it’s so damned pretty. I bought a vanilla bean towards the end of the summer, and I’ve been saving it the way I save really beautiful blank books that are too nice to actually write in. Well…membrillo was worth it! I’ll try to find some manchego cheese to go with it, which is how it’s meant to be eaten!
Here’s Quince, by Sonny Stitt
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Port wine tomato sauce w. olives and mushrooms

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This sauce is incredibly easy, and it turned out very very delicious and quite beautiful, with its rich dark red broth. It’s a little like sofrito, because I cooked it for quite a while, so that it would be intensely flavored. And it’s a little like puttanesca, because it has olives and capers in it. And the port wine gives it a deep sweet acidity. It’s a drunken sofrito puttanesca!!

We had it with the roasted butternut squash and greens pie, and the combination was uncannily good – a little sweet, a little tart, a little richly acidic. My boys ate it with gemelli pasta – also a good choice!

port wine-tomato sauce

Here’s bluesman Bill Samuels singing about Port Wine.
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Almond sherry cake

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Almond cake with port-poached quince

This is a simple cake that goes well with other things – like fruit compotes and whipped cream. It’s nice in the morning with a slathering of blueberry jam and a cup of coffee. It’s nice after dinner with a square of bittersweet chocolate and a glass of wine. It makes a nice base for a trifle, what with the sherry and all. We had it last night with a port-poached quince compote. And tonight I think it will be a blackberry, apple cassis compote. And chantilly cream, of course! Know what that is? Whipped cream with vanilla essence, that’s what!

almond sherry cake

Here’s Cake Walking Babies From Home by Sidney Bechet 1925 (and Louis Armstrong!)
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Greens & roasted butternut squash in a hazelnut crust

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Greens & butternut squash in a hazelnut crust

It’s a big handsome pie! This is another good option for a vegetarian holiday meal. It’s pretty enough and satisfying enough. I love the combination of butternut squash, goat’s cheese and hazelnut. Something about the nuttiness, tartness and sweetness just blends perfectly together. The crust is crispy and delicious, with ground hazelnuts and white & black pepper. Inside we find layers of butternut squash roasted with sage and rosemary, alternated with layers of fresh ricotta mixed with greens, artichoke hearts, capers, and goat cheese. It sounds complicated, but it’s not hard to make. I love this particular shape of pie. I think I might have invented it! I think it looks nice, but it’s completely easy and forgiving and fun to make.

This is delicious served with romesco sauce or a simple tomato sauce.

Here’s Squash Dance, from the Anthology of Central and South American Indian Music
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Isaac crackers

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hazelnut crackers

Well, you may have noticed that I make many many dinners that involve savory pastries. Funnily enough, I have 2 boys. One boy always likes the filling and one boy always likes the crust. I’ve taken to making some extra crust, rolling it out, putting it on a greased tray, adding some black pepper and coarse salt, and baking until it’s toasty and crispy. My little one gobbles them up! I may have mentioned that in my philosophy of savory pastry crusts, the crust is so tasty by itself that you could make it into crackers. So that’s what I’ve been doing! I recommend it to anybody, whether you have finicky children or not. The crackers are so good! These are white pepper hazelnut crackers. A preview of coming attractions!

Here’s one of Isaac’s favorite songs…Clint Eastwood by the Gorillaz