Still cooking with Pomegranates

spinach salad with quinoa, feta, almonds, and pomegranate seeds

I can't seem to stop buying pomegranates.  Aren't they beautiful?  Last week, I made several batches of pomegranate molasses (a common ingredient in dishes from the middle east, but difficult to find here in Fort Wayne) and it turned out pretty good.  Today, I used the pomegranate molasses to make a tangy dressing for this spinach salad.  I also added a few tablespoons to a spread I made using eggplant.

eggplant dip with cilantro and pomegranate seeds

Have you ever eaten pomegranate seeds?  Some people do not like the crunch of the seed and are annoyed by their very presence in a dish.  They can be a bit of a surprise.  But the sweet, juicy burst of flavor from the surrounding flesh is worth the annoyance!  My daughter shared a funny story with me today.  She said her housemate recently told her about a friend who can't stand to eat pomegranate seeds because of all the work involved in removing the tiny seed from the ruby-red jewels.  Can you imagine trying to eat the juicy red part while leaving the itsy bitsy seed behind?

I think the salad looks very Christmas-y, with the bright green spinach leaves, the glistening red pomegranate seeds, and the snow white feta.  I also tossed in some black quinoa, toasted almond slices, and slivered red onions.

Here's how I made my dressing;

Ingredients:
2 T pomegranate molasses
1 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
6 T extra virgin olive oil
1 t madras curry powder

Method
Measure all ingredients into a small jar.  Put the lid on and shake it up!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Cooking with Pomegranates

Lentil kofte with Pomegranate and cilantro salad

I suppose they've been selling pomegranates in my neighborhood stores for quite some time, but I just never paid them much attention.  They seemed like too much work.  But while reading the book Traveling with Pomegranates by Sue Monk Kidd and her daughter, Ann Kidd Taylor, I became enamored with this enchanting fruit and began reading more about them, their history and significance in the ancient world right up to the present time. I'm embarrassed that it has taken me so long to appreciate their importance and their charming contribution to the world of culinary delights!

The pomegranate has a rich history, stretching all the way back into the ancient world, that is heavy with tradition and superstition.  The leathery globe filled with ruby-red seeds is believed to have originated in Persia and is mentioned in many sacred texts.  It plays a significant role in mythology and in many of the world's religions. 

As I began experimenting with recipes that call for pomegranates, I became very excited about a recipe I found in 660 Curries (a book I've mentioned several times before.)  The recipe was simple to make but involved a lot of steps in order to prepare all the different elements.

Layers of spicy potato, tart date sauce, hot chili sauce, pomegranate seeds and peanuts on flatbread

The original recipe called for all the various elements to be sandwiched between two toasted bun halves, but I thought it sounded way to pretty to cover up with a sandwich bun, so I layered everything on a square of flatbread.  It turned out delicious, with each mouthful delivering a spicy, salty, sweet, tart, soft and crunchy dance.  I decided it's way too involved to post here but if you want to give it a try, it's the recipe for spiced potato and pomegranate sandwiches on page 105.

Today, I made a much simpler recipe that I found in a book called Purple Citrus & Sweet Perfume, a collection of recipes from the eastern Mediterranean.  This recipe for red lentil kofte with pomegranate and cilantro salad was very tasty and quick to make!

Pomegranate seeds and lemon come together in a bright tasting salad

Ingredients for the kofte:
2 T olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 T cumin
1 T Za'atar
1 t sweet paprika
1/2 c red lentils (toor dal)
1 T Pomegranate molasses
2/3 c finely ground bulgur
1 T finely chopped cilantro
1 T tomato paste

Method:
1.  Heat olive oil over medium high heat and saute onion till soft.  Stir in cumin, za'atar, and paprika and cook for 2 more minutes.

2.  Stir in the lentils, pomegranate molasses and 1 1/2 c water.  Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer on low for about 8 minutes or until lentils are soft.

3.  Stir in the bulgur.  Combine well, remove from heat and let cool.

4.  Stir in cilantro and tomato paste.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the salad


Ingredients for salad:
seeds from 1 pomegranate
1/2 c finely chopped cilantro
grated zest and juice from one small lemon
3 T olive oil

Method:
Combine all ingredients together and mix well.

To Serve:
Remove lentil mixture from refrigerator and form into small patties, pressing a dent into the center of each.  Arrange on a plate and spoon some salad into the center of each.

Lentil koftes with Pomegranate salad

Japchae - Korean noodle dish

I miss the days when my best friend was a young mother from Korea.   She was a flutist and her two young daughters took piano lessons from me.  In addition to music, we quickly found that we had another passion in common:  FOOD!  Maria was an amazing cook!  Our families would get together often for potluck meals and fellowship.  Maria was skilled in the kitchen and introduced my family to bibimbop, dumplings, and other delicious Korean dishes.  Since Maria and her family moved away, I've missed her friendship and her cooking  with a longing that is almost palpable.

I hope to try my hand at bibimbop some day soon.  Although it doesn't seem hard, it involves a lot of individual steps that appear to be very time consuming.  In the meantime, I decided to dip my toe in the pool with this much easier recipe for Japchae, a dish made with starchy sweet potato noodles.  The noodles are readily available in any Asian market carrying Korean ingredients as this is a very popular dish in Korea.  I love the chewy texture of these noodles!


Ingredients:
1 lb Dangmyeon (sweet potato noodles)
1 T canola oil
5 dried shiitake mushrooms - soaked in hot water until soft, then squeezed dry and sliced thin
3 carrots, julienned
8 oz spinach
1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced in medium-thin slices
3 cloves garlic, minced
5 green onions, chopped in one inch pieces
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 T sugar
1 T sesame oil
1 T sesame seeds, toasted


Method:
1.  Soak noodles in very hot water for about 15 minutes.  Drain.  Cut into 3 inch pieces and set aside.

2.  Place spinach in large bowl and cover with boiling water.  Let wilt then drain and squeeze dry.

3.  Mix soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil in a small bowl and set aside.

4.  Heat oil in large wok over medium-high heat.  Add mushrooms, carrots, onions, garlic, and green onions.  Stir-fry for about three minutes.

5.  Add noodles and soy sauce mixture.  Continue stir-frying, adding more oil if noodles stick to pan.

6.  Mix in the spinach and sesame seeds.

Note:  I like things spicy so I tossed in some red pepper flakes before adding the vegetables.  Many recipes also call for an egg, fried as an omelet and then sliced thin for garnish.

Curried Squash and Red Lentil Bisque with Quinoa

A fellow foodie and good friend of mine recently emailed me a recipe for soup.  It read something like this:

Saute some onions and curry spices in oil.  Add squash and cover with vegetable broth.  Cook until squash is almost done then add some red lentils.  Let cook about 15 minutes and then mash it up.  Add a can of coconut milk and a handful of quinoa and cook until quinoa "blooms."

I had everything I needed to give this a try, so try it I did and it was AMAZING!  Here is what I did, in a bit more detail.

INGREDIENTS:
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T Madras curry powder (I make my own and it's delicious.  I'll give the recipe for that another day.)
1/2 T Indian chili powder (or to taste.  or leave out completely if the curry powder is enough heat for you)
2 T canola oil
1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped into 1 1/2 inch pieces (about 8 cups)
1 cup red lentils (called masoor dal in Indian grocery stores)
4 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1/2 cup quinoa (I used tri-color quinoa because it's so pretty!)
1 can coconut milk
1 T lime juice
chopped cilantro for garnish

METHOD:
1.  Saute onion, garlic, and curry powder in oil until soft and beginning to carmalize

2.  Stir in squash and broth.  Bring to a boil.   Cover and simmer until squash is tender, but not too soft.

3.  Stir in red lentils and continue cooking until lentils are soft (about 15 minutes)

4.  Use an immersion blender (or any other method) to puree the soup.

5.  Stir in coconut milk and quinoa.  Cook until quinoa is soft, but still has a slight bite.

6.  Stir in lime juice and adjust seasonings as needed (salt, pepper, curry powder)

7.  If the soup is too thick, add water or broth to achieve the consistency you prefer.

8.  Garnish with cilantro

My niece LOVES quinoa, so I'm posting this recipe especially for her.  I hope she tries it!

red lentils (masoor dal) and tri-color quinoa

Sabudana Vada (potato, peanut, and tapioca fritters) with coconut-sesame dipping sauce

Sabudana vada with coconut-sesame dipping sauce

Lately, I have been so busy cooking that I haven't had time to post!  This ridiculous flurry of activity started several weeks ago when I decided I wanted Ethiopian food.  I spent a weekend making a batch of niter kibbeh and another of berbere.  That same weekend I also made a huge jar of ginger/garlic paste, a jar of coconut chutney, and a wet spice blend for making green curry.

The next week, I found myself up to my eyebrows in Indian adventures.  I made a batch of paneer and a batch of milk solids.  I roasted and mixed up a variety of spice blends, including Madras curry powder, sambhar masala and a Punjabi garam masala.

Some things turned out quite undesirable, like the injera I made to go with my Ethiopian wats.  Ugh!  Not sure where I went wrong with such a simple recipe, but something was very not right!  But other things turned out amazingly good, like the tapioca, potato, and peanut fritters with coconut-sesame dipping sauce.

I more or less followed Ragahavan Iyer's recipe in his wonderful book, 660 Curries.  Here's what he says to do, with just a few changes:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup pearl tapioca (rinsed, soaked for 20 minutes, drained)
1 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 cup tightly packed cilantro
10 (or more!) hot chilies (such as Thai or cayenne)
6 large cloves garlic
2 thick slices fresh ginger (1/2 inch)
1 pound russet potatoes, boiled and coarsely mashed (I mashed mine by squishing them through my fingers!)
1 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt (depending on whether or not your peanuts are already salted)
Canola oil for frying


Method:
1.  Grind peanuts in food processor by pulsing until coarsely chopped.  Dump in large mixing bowl.

2.  Combine cilantro, chilies, garlic, and ginger in processor and mince.  Add to peanuts.

3.  Add drained tapioca and mashed potatoes to mixing bowl and mix well.  This will look and feel doughy.  You can knead it like you would bread until the ingredients are well blended.

4.  Grease or wet your palms and pull off about 2 T dough.  Roll into a ball and then flatten into a disc.  Continue until all the dough is used up.

5.  Heat about 1 1/2 inches of oil over medium-high heat and fry fritters until golden and crispy on both sides.

6.  Drain on paper towels.


Ingredients for the sauce:
1 T Canola oil
1/4 c shredded, unsweetened flaked coconut
1 T white sesame seeds
1/2 c dry-roasted peanuts
2 T chopped cilantro
1 t kosher salt
1 medium tomato, cored and coarsely chopped
4 hot green chilies (more or less to taste)

Method:
1.  Heat the oil over medium-high heat.  Add coconut and sesame seeds and fry, stirring frequently, until fragrant and golden.

2.  Transfer to a blender and add 1 c water plus all the remaining ingredients.  Puree until smooth and blended, scraping down sides of blender when necessary.

3.  Transfer sauce to a small pot and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and simmer gently for a minute or so.

To serve, you can place a couple of fritters on a plate and spoon some sauce over.  Or you can place the sauce in a small bowl and dip the fritters.  The sauce is got warm or at room temperature.

Chilies, cilantro, garlic, and ginger

Minced herb and spices

Tapioca, peanut and herb mince, mashed potatoes

The dough

The patties before frying

Fritters with dipping sauce

Pesto Pizza

oh-so-easy pesto

I love this time of year!  Ripe, juicy tomatoes bursting off the vine, sweeter-than-candy sweet corn being sold on the honor system from yard-stands sprinkled throughout the countryside, endless varieties of eggplant and peppers and an over-abundance of fresh herbs.  Like basil!  I recently came home from a trip to a friend's house with bags and bags of basil.  She had given me sweet Italian basil, Thai basil, pepper basil, and Ruben basil.  What to do with all that basil?

Of course, the obvious answer is make pesto.  Which I did.  I made a big batch and tossed it with bow tie pasta and spicy Italian sausage.  It was yummy!  The next day I made another patch and slathered it on top of individual pizzas.  Oh!  So good!  Today, I'm going to use up all the rest of the basil and make pesto for the freezer so I can continue enjoying the taste of summer even when the winter snow is on the ground!

My idea for the pizzas was inspired by a bottle of Carmen's Habitual Habanero that I always have sitting on the counter next to the stove.  This stuff is soooo good!  Of course, you can make this pizza without the Carmen's oil, but you will have no idea what you are missing!!!  You can read about the company and order a bottle for yourself by clicking here.

For my pizza, I started out by spreading a generous layer of pesto on top of a bread square.

Next, I sprinkled on a layer of sliced red onions, covered that with thin slices of fresh, juicy tomatoes, then drizzled on the Carmen's Habitual Habanero.  (This stuff packs a wallop and will leave your lips tingling happily!)

I sprinkled the tomatoes with torn chunks of fresh mozzarella cheese.

After baking at 425 for 10 minutes, my pizza came out of the oven looking like this:

Here is my simple recipe for pesto.

Ingredients:


1/4 cup pine nuts
2 large cloves garlic
2 cups tightly packed basil
2/3 cups EVOO (olive oil)
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or pecorino cheese

Method:


1.  Throw the pine nuts, garlic, and basil into the bowl of a small food processor (I used a hand blender) and process until finely chopped.

2.  Blend in the olive oil and then the cheese.

3.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Indian Spiced Green Beans

Green Beans with Stewed split peas and potatoes and collard paratha

My sister planted a ginormous garden this year and I'm reaping the wonderful benefits.  Last week she gave me several bags of produce from her garden and today I turned them into an Indian vegetarian meal.

Flaky Collard Paratha

  The collards I blanched and processed
   into a dough I used to make paratha.

Raiti with fresh cucumber and tomato

The sweet, juicy tomato and crisp cucumber got chopped up and added to a tangy raita.












The green beans I fried in ghee with cumin and mustard seeds and then stewed them in a bit of water.  This recipe is so simple and quick that it qualifies as an Emmi.

This recipe comes from Yamuna Devi.  She has written one of the most comprehensive cookbooks on Indian Vegetarian Cuisine that I've ever seen!  The book is called Lord Krishna's Cuisine: The Art of Indian Vegetarian Cooking and no collection on Indian cooking can be considered complete without it.  If you don't own it, what are you waiting for?

Ingredients:

• 1 lb green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces
• 4 T ghee or light oil
• 2 t black mustard seeds
• 1 t cumin seeds
• 1/4 t crushed red pepper (more or less to taste)
• 1/2 c water
• 1 t corriander
• 1 t kosher salt
• 1 t sugar

Method:

1. Heat the ghee or oil over medium high heat.  Toss in the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and red pepper.  The cumin seeds will turn dark reddish brown and the mustard seeds will turn gray and pop.  
2. When the mustard seeds are done popping, add in the green beans and fry for about 3 minutes, stirring to coat with the seasoned ghee
3. Add the water.  Lower heat to medium low.  Cover and cook until crisp tender (about 10 - 12 minutes.)
4. Uncover and stir in corriander, salt, and sugar.  Raise heat and cook until water evaporates.

Indian Spiced Green Beans

To finish out my meal, I made stewed split peas and potatoes.  If you are interested in that recipe, click here.

Salmon with orecchiette and horseradish cream sauce

Salmon and pasta with horseradish cream

The heat has been so brutal for so long now, that I think my brain has started to melt.  All my energy has been sizzled away and I find myself just laying around in a stupor, blinking at the foggy walls and ceiling.  Normally, I love to cook.  But lately, I've been too lazy to cook and too hot to eat.  My family has been forced to graze on salads.  Like these:

Salad with grilled veggies, salami, and goat cheese

Nicoise Salad with asparagus, new potatoes, and tuna fish

Cannellini and Fennel salad with roasted veggies

But, after a week of salads, I decided to drag myself out into the kitchen and cook up something a little more solid for dinner.  Feeling inspired by a recipe I found in an old issue of Bon Appetite, I cooked up a salmon and pasta dish that the whole family loved!  I think it was good enough to serve to company (my husband and I always rate a new dish by whether or not we'd serve it to company!)  I used salmon fillets (with skin on), baby broccoli (also called broccolini - it is a cross between broccoli and Chinese kale), caramelized onions, Parmesan cheese, and orecchiette.

Ingredients:


for the sauce

• 1 cup clam juice (one 8 oz bottle)
• 1 cup 1/2 and 1/2
• 1 cup cream
• 3 T prepared horseradish (not sauce)

for the pasta

• 12 oz orecchiette (or any other fun pasta shape of your choice)
• 1 1/2 lb onions, caramelized
• 12 oz baby broccoli
• 1 cup grated Parmesan
• 2 T olive oil

for the salmon

• 2 T olive oil
• 6 6oz salmon fillets with skin on

Method:

for the sauce

1. bring clam juice, 1/2 and 1/2, and cream to a gentle boil.  Let boil until reduced to about one cup
2. whisk in horseradish 
3. season to taste with salt and pepper.  set aside

for the pasta

1. bring a large pan of salted water to a boil
2. cook baby broccoli in salted water for about 3 minutes or until crunchy tender.  remove with slotted spoon
3. cook pasta in salted water for about 11 minutes.  drain, reserving one cup of pasta water
4. cut broccoli into pieces about 1 inch long
5. return pasta to pan along with broccoli, caramelized onions, olive oil, Parmesan cheese and about 2/3 c of the reserved pasta water.  Mix well.  (If pasta seems dry, add remaining pasta water)

for the salmon

1. heat 2 T olive oil in large pan
2. season salmon with salt and pepper
3. place salmon in pan, skin facing up, and cook for about two minutes, or until nicely colored
4. flip over and continue cooking for another 3 minutes or until skin is crispy and salmon is just opaque in the center

To serve:

• place some pasta in the middle of a serving plate
• place a salmon fillet, skin side down, on top of pasta
• drizzle sauce over fillet

Delicious!!!

Chicken and Swiss Chard Burmese Style

Every few days, I like to check the stats on my blog.  I usually have about a half dozen page views every day.  It's interesting to see where the traffic is coming from and what countries my readers are in.  The two posts that get the most views are the blog I did on Vietnamese Pork Chops and the one I did on Burmese Fried Noodles.  The Vietnamese Pork Chop recipe gets several views a day.  It seems a lot of folks are doing a google search for the recipe!

There are some serious food bloggers out there with thousands of followers and fans.  They post almost daily and their food photography is stunning!  Their dedication and enthusiasm makes me look like a slacker!  Never-the-less, I plod along, posting my mediocre food adventures and hoping somebody somewhere will read about them someday.  And even if they don't, I'm creating a collection of my family's favorite recipes that is much quicker and easier to access than pulling out cookbooks or note cards.

But a couple of days ago, when I checked my blog stats, I was stunned to see that overnight I had had 2,748 views to my post on Burmese Fried Noodles.  It seems all the visitors were referred by Stumbleupon.  How bizarre!  So, in an effort to repeat my one day success, I've decided to post another Burmese recipe.

This isn't an authentic Burmese recipe, however.  I recently acquired a cookbook called The Burmese Kitchen and while it has some pretty unusual recipes calling for odd ingredients, it also has a lot of very simple recipes.  One is for pork with Swiss chard and it calls for nothing more than some pork, Swiss chard, oil, garlic, and soy sauce.

My sister and her husband planted an amazing garden this year and she gave me a large bag full of Swiss chard last week.  Today, I decided to use some of it to make this simple dish.  I didn't have any pork, so I used chicken instead.  I also made a few other changes.  I don't know if my changes disqualify this as a Burmese recipe, but here's what I did.

stir frying the chicken and chard stems

Ingredients:
1/3 lb chicken breast, sliced in skinny pieces
2 t mushroom soy sauce (more or less to taste)
1 T canola oil
1 large clove garlic, chopped fine
pinch of crushed red pepper flakes
1 heaping cup Swiss chard stems, cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths
4 cups Swiss chard leaves, sliced into ribbons

Method:
1.  sprinkle chicken with 1 t soy sauce and let set for 30 minutes or so

2.  heat oil in frying pan over medium/high heat.  toss in garlic and pepper flakes and stir quickly for about one minute, until garlic begins to turn golden

3.  add chicken to pan.  stir and cook until chicken begins to darken

4.  toss in chard stems and remaining soy sauce. continue stirring and cooking for about another 3 - 5 minutes or until chard is tender.  (be careful with the mushroom soy sauce as it is pretty salty.  you can always add more, but you can't take away!)

5.  toss in chard leaves and stir until wilted.  if you want a little moisture, drizzle in about a T of water and let the steam help wilt the chard.

I'm trying to limit my carbs and I ate this for lunch today without rice.  It was delicious, but would probably be good with rice too!

My Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

Grandma's Rhubarb Pie

I know I'm not the only one who thinks that her grandma made the best pies in the world.  But mine really did.  Even people from outside the family said so!  My second cousin opened a restaurant in the area several years ago and she told me all the pies she served were made by her mother, who learned how to make pies from my grandma.  People raved about those pies and would go there to eat just for the pleasure of finishing the meal with one of their homemade pies.  My grandma passed away over 20 years ago and although I don't always make the right choices at the right time, thank God I had the good sense to spend some time with her in the kitchen before it was too late.  My grandma showed me how she made her delicious, flaky pie crusts in just a fraction of the time it took other folks.  She didn't bother rolling the dough out.  She mixed flour, a  little cold milk, a bit of sugar, a pinch of salt, and some vegetable oil together in a mixing bowl and then dumped it into a pie plate.

Pie dough dumped in a pie plate

Then she would pat the dough down into the plate until she had a beautifully formed pie crust.

This method takes about five minutes, start to finish, and the crust always turns out flaky and delicious.  Whenever I'm making fruit pies, I always hold out some of the dough clumps to crumble on the top of the pie before baking.

I loved all my grandma's pies, but my favorite was her rhubarb.  It's taken me a while to be willing to share her recipe, but good food should be shared with family and friends and perhaps, in this case, maybe even a few strangers.  In the tradition of most grandma's, she never measured things out and I've had to guess and adjust the amount of ingredients.  Although my pies are very good, they don't taste quite like Grandma's.  I don't know if it's because I'm missing that emotional element that made eating my grandma's food so pleasurable, but I've resigned myself to the possibility that my pies might never be quite as good as hers.  If you give this a try, do let me know how it turns out for you!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c (more or less) chopped rhubarb (about 1 inch or smaller pieces)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1/3 c unsalted butter, melted
1/4 t salt
dash of cinnamon
2 c sugar (I don't like my pie real sweet so I use a bit less)
1/4 (scant) c flour
1 c half and half
1 9 inch pie crust

Method:
1.  Mix all the ingredients, except crust, in a large bowl.  Do this in the order listed, mixing after each addition (salt, cinnamon, and sugar can be added all at once) so that the ingredients blend correctly and adhere nicely to the fruit.

2.  Pour filling into pie crust (sprinkle crumbs on top if you saved any out, dot with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon.)

3.  Bake at 350 for one hour.  (Check to make sure it doesn't get too brown.  If the crust is browning too quiclkly cover lightly with tin foil.)

A slice of rhubarb pie with homemade ginger ice cream

Lemongrass Bars with Coconut Shortbread Crust

My friend, Suzi, is crazy about lemon bars, so I'm always on the lookout for a good bar I can make for her. When I came across this recipe for lemongrass bars in the March issue of Bon Appetit (the same issue I found the recipe for Fish Wrapped in Savoy Cabbage) I knew I had to try them.

The hardest thing about making these bars was having to lug out my food processor so I could pulverize the lemongrass with the sugar.  But other than that, this recipe was a breeze to make and I'll definitely be making them again!  The lemongrass filling was tart and delicious and the crust had just the right amount of chewiness.  Too bad Suzi wasn't around to taste these wonderful treats, but that just means I'll be making them again soon.  My plan is to exchange a batch of these bars for an invitation to her lake cottage!

It seems every dessert recipe I share involves coconut.  What can I say?  I am without apology!!  Coconut is one of my favorite flavors; from the milky juice to the moist, flaky flesh it is so versatile! 

Ingredients:

crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 T unsalted butter, room temperature

filling:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 lemongrass stalks, tough outer layers peeled away, bottom white part only, finely chopped
5 T fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 large eggs
1/4 cup flour
powdered sugar

Method:

1.  Preheat oven to 350.  Butter 13 X 9 inch baking pan.  Mix flour, coconut, powdered sugar, and 1/2 t salt together in a large bowl.  Using an electric mixer, add in butter and beat until well blended.

2.  Press dough into bottom and up sides of pan.  Bake until golden, about 25 minutes.

3.  While dough is baking, place sugar and lemongrass in food processor and pulse until lemongrass is pulverized and mixed well with sugar.

4.  Add lemon juice and blend for 30 seconds.  Add eggs and process to blend briefly.  Add flour and a pinch of salt and process until smooth.

5.  Reduce oven temperature to 325.  Pour filling over crust and return to oven until filling is firm, about 25 minutes.

6.  Let cool.  Cut into squares and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Fish Wrapped in Savoy Cabbage with Caper Butter Sauce

In an effort to eat cheaper and healthier, I've been trying to make two meals a week meatless, and two meals a week with fish.  This is a recipe I've made a couple of times now and it's always been moist and tasty.  I think it's even good enough to serve to company.  And as an added bonus, it qualifies as an Emmi!

The only things that might ruin this recipe are overcooking the fish (which I have not yet done) or under cooking the cabbage (which happened to me last night.)  The flavor and texture of the fish was perfect, but the cabbage was crunchy, somewhat spoiling what would have been a perfect dinner!  Next time, I will either cook the cabbage longer, or maybe, cut out the tough stem.

Here's my version of the recipe that I found in the March issue of Bon Appetit.

Ingredients:

9 T butter, at room temperature
4 T capers
2 T minced Italian parsley
6 large Savoy cabbage leaves
6 4-oz fish fillets (Halibut, Cod, or other firm fish of your choosing)
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Method:

1.  Mince or finely chop 2 T of the capers and then add them to a bowl along with 5 T of the butter, the parsley, and salt and pepper to taste.  Mix well and set aside.

2.  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and drop in the cabbage leaves.  Let cook for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on how tough the leaves are.  You want them to be pliable enough to wrap around the fish.  Remove leaves, drain, and pat dry.

3.  Take one leaf and trim the thick part of the stem so the leaf will lie flat (or cut out and remove the stem completely.)

4.  Lay the leaf flat, stem end towards you, and place a fish fillet about an inch and a half from the bottom.  Sprinkle the fish lightly with salt and pepper.  Spread 1/6th of the caper butter on top of the fish.  Fold the bottom up, then the sides, then continue rolling until you have a nice, tight packet.  (Use a toothpick, if needed, to hold the packet shut.)

5.  Place the fish packet on a large baking sheet, seam-side down, and continue with remaining fish, cabbage, and caper butter.  Sprinkle packets with kosher salt and fresh ground pepper.

6.  Melt 1 T butter in a large, non-stick skillet.  Place the packets, seam-side down, in the skillet and cook until lightly brown (2-3 minutes.)  Turn fish over and repeat.  Return fish to baking sheet.

7.  Bake fish at 350 degrees for 7 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

8.  Melt remaining butter in skillet used to brown the packets.  Add remaining capers.  Cook over medium-low heat until butter turns a nutty brown.

9.  To serve, place a packet on a plate and drizzle with brown-butter sauce. 

Caper Butter

Getting ready to roll up the packet

Packets browning in the skillet

YUM!!