I always tell myself I’m not going to order Indian food when I get home from an international flight, but I’m pretty much never right. Typically, it’s a Friday, and I’ve been on a plane all day, zoning out on movie after movie. We land, I go through customs, pick up my luggage, get in a taxi. It all feels like a bit of a time warp, difficult to remember how long you’ve been in between places. In between away and home. When I walk through my front door, into my warm house, I’m always so happy to be there.

When I get home, I check the fridge, thinking that I’m going to find some magical answer to my post-flight comfort food craving. But after being in transit for 12+ hours, mustering the energy to cook is just not realistic. So I cave and order malai kofta and naan and butter chicken (because it always takes two entrees to meet the delivery minimum) and $40 later I’m sitting on the couch, tucking in to the most delicious, creamy, comforting Indian food. It’s not the healthiest or most budget-conscious habit, but it’s a hard one to break.

The last time I did this, a few weeks back, I found myself wondering: what if I had my favorite Indian food in the freezer, waiting for me? That might solve the problem. Even at my most disoriented, I can usually manage to simmer rice. So I resolved to learn how to cook malai kofta and stash some away before my next trip.

Malai kofta is one of my favorite take-out orders. If you’re unfamiliar, they’re sort of a vegetable meatball served in a thick, tomato-based curry sauce. I’ve ordered them for years without ever really knowing what’s in them. When I made them myself, it became quite obvious why they’re one of my favorite foods – they’re basically fried potato and cheese balls served in a spicy tomato cream sauce. It’s probably not possible to get more of my favorite foods into one dish.

I have a little experience cooking Indian food but not very much, and it can be hard to get the same richness and balance of flavors as restaurant-quality takeout. These, however, were a very close approximation of my favorite malai kofta (and better than some of the ones I’ve had from inferior Indian restaurants). They’re still not particularly healthy – they are made of fried cheese and potatoes – but they are much more economical to prepare. And so good. Seriously, even if you don’t make these at home, promise me you’ll order them the next time you get takeout.

My plan to make this and stash it in the freezer for my next homecoming was good in theory. In practice, Trevor and I ate two thirds of this the first night. We couldn’t bring ourselves to freeze what was left, either – the idea of eating the leftovers for lunch the next day was too tempting. At least now I know how to make them. And since it’s not that difficult to scale up, next time I’ll make a double batch so that at least a little bit makes it into the freezer.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Malai Kofta

Malai Kofta – a favorite vegetarian Indian takeout dish. Potato, paneer, and vegetables are rolled into kofta and fried, then served in a rich tomato-cream masala sauce. 

Recipe adapted from Spice up the Curry, Padhu’s Kitchen, and Veg Recipes of India.

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 4
• Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

For the kofta:

• 3 medium red-skinned potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 8 oz. paneer cheese, grated or finely crumbled
• 1/3 c. frozen peas
• 1/4 c. grated carrot
• 2 TBS raisins
• 3 TBS finely chopped cashews
• 1 Thai green chile, chopped finely
• 3 TBS cornflour, plus more for rolling
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• canola oil, for frying

For the masala sauce:

• 2 TBS canola oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and pressed or pounded into a paste
• 2-inches fresh ginger, peeled and pounded into a paste
• 2 cups. crushed tomatoes
• 12 cashews
• 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp red chili powder
• 3/4 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 2–3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
• 1/4 cup heavy cream

Instructions

For the kofta:

1. Place the potatoes in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and boil until potatoes are very tender, about 15-20 minutes. Drain potatoes.
2. Add potatoes, grated paneer, peas, grated carrot, raisins, cashews, and chopped chile to a bowl. Mash the potatoes with a fork, then mix everything together thoroughly. Use your hands if it’s easier.
3. Stir in the 3 TBS of cornflour, sea salt, ground cumin, and ground coriander. Mix until evenly combined.
4. Roll mixture into golf-ball sized balls, pressing together gently with your hands. Pour the extra cornflour into a bowl and roll the balls through the cornflour so there is a light coating on the outside.
5. Pour enough canola oil into a high-sided frying pan to reach 1/4 inch up the sides. Heat over medium heat until a piece of potato mixture dropped into the oil sizzles on contact. Add two or three of the potato balls to the oil and fry until golden brown all over, using tongs to carefully turn the balls as each side cooks. When they are done, use tongs to transfer them to a plate lined with a paper towel.

For the masala sauce:

1. Heat 1 TBS of the oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and saute, stirring frequently, until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger paste and saute until fragrant, another 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, salt, cashews, and all the ground spices. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then remove from the heat.
2. Transfer the sauce to a blender (let cool first if your blender can’t process hot liquids). Add 1/2 cup of water to the sauce and blend on high until a very smooth sauce is formed. Set aside.
3. Rinse or wipe the frying pan out. Heat the remaining 1 TBS of oil and 1 TBS of butter in the pan until the butter has melted. Add the cloves, bay leaf, cardamom pods, and caraway seeds. Fry for 60-90 seconds, then add the blended sauce to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the oil begins to pool on the top of the sauce, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the heavy cream. Add the kofta to the sauce, and serve over basmati rice.

The post Malai Kofta appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m so happy that I’ve had this week at home. I expected fall to be over by the time I got back from Portugal last Friday night, but instead, I woke up early Saturday to find a brilliant, glowing fall morning. I went for a walk at sunrise (jet lag problems) and reveled in the pink sky, the orange leaves tinged with sunlight, the blue-green frost on the grass, the smell of woodsmoke, even the cold, which is still exhilarating and festive feeling, and not yet the menacing cold of January and February. All week I’ve been marveling in the outdoors, as well as in the simple pleasure of being home. It’s weeks like this that make me think I will always end up back in New England, no matter how far afield my adventures take me.

This week was also a bit of a roller coaster, for many. In my circles at least, there was a lot of negative emotion being dumped into the world – shock and anger and frustration. No matter what your political opinions are, it’s difficult to be surrounded by people who are upset. We all absorb each other’s emotions – empathy is a critical component of being able to function in our society – but when that emotion is overwhelmingly negative sometimes I feel the need to withdraw. So this weekend I am taking things slow, taking care of myself, fighting off the beginnings of a cold before I get on a plane again tomorrow night. And part of that care is this soup, into which I crammed as many autumnal flavors as I could. The base of this soup is roasted pumpkin and carrots tossed with curry powder, then pureed into a light and creamy bisque and topped with fried prosciutto and sage. I’m glad to have gotten at least one pumpkin recipe up this fall before we transition into holiday flavors (is it possible that there are only 7 weeks left this year? How absurd). I hope you enjoy the soup and these last few days of autumn!

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

Curried Pumpkin Bisque with Prosciutto and Sage

A Katie at the Kitchen Door original recipe. Serves 4-6.

• 1 medium (3 lb.) sugar pumpkin or acorn squash
• 2 carrots, peeled and cut into one inch pieces
• 4 TBS olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tsp curry powder, divided
• sea salt
• 2 TBS butter
• 1 large onion, peeled, halved, and sliced into thin half moons
• 8 sage leaves, divided
• 1 TBS minced fresh ginger, from a 1 inch piece of ginger
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, plus more for garnish
• 3 thin slices prosciutto, torn into pieces

1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and set aside. Carefully slice the pumpkin in half lengthwise. Scoop out the seeds and pulp and discard or save for roasting. Cut the pumpkin halves into thick wedges and place on a large rimmed baking sheet, along with the carrot pieces.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together 3 TBS of the olive oil, 1 tsp curry powder, and about 1/2 tsp sea salt. Drizzle over the pumpkin and carrot, using your hands to rub the oil onto both sides of the vegetables. Roast until the pumpkin and carrot are tender, about 30-40 minutes, flipping once halfway through. Use a spoon to scoop the soft roasted pumpkin flesh away from the skin, saving the flesh and discarding the skin.
3. In a large soup pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and saute until translucent and tender, about 5-7 minutes. Roll 4 of the sage leaves into a cylinder and thinly slice, then add the slices to the onions and butter. Add the minced ginger. the remaining 1/2 tsp curry powder and the cumin seeds to the pot as well and saute until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add the roasted carrots, roasted pumpkin flesh, and chicken stock to the pot and bring to a simmer. Simmer for for about 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the heavy cream. Transfer the soup to a blender (or use an immersion blender) and blend until very smooth and creamy. (Always be careful when blending hot liquids! If your blender is not designed to blend hot liquids, wait for the soup to cool to room temperature before blending). If necessary, thin out the soup with more cream or chicken stock until it reaches the desired consistency.
4. Before serving, heat the remaining 1 TBS of olive oil in a small frying pan. Roll the remaining 4 sage leaves into a cylinder and thinly slice, then add to the olive oil. Fry sage until crispy, about 3-4 minutes, then add the prosciutto pieces and fry until prosciutto is crispy, another 1-2 minutes. Remove from heat.
5. To serve, divide the soup between bowls. Drizzle with a little cream and top with the fried sage and prosciutto. Serve immediately.

The post Curried Pumpkin Bisque with Prosciutto and Sage appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I’m still organizing my thoughts, feelings, pictures, recipe notes, etc. from Hong Kong and Japan, trying to find the right way to share 6 weeks of travel with you all. One thing I have accomplished, is stocking up on Asian cookbooks (Vietnamese, Japanese, and Chinese are all fair game) and groceries. Last night we made an excursion to HMart, the giant Korean grocery store in Cambridge, and we were like kids in a candy store. I came home with 5 different varieties of frozen fresh egg noodles: there is a lot of ramen in my future. While I process everything and experiment with recipes, I can at least share this delicious curried fish chowder with you – especially because if I wait much longer, we will be decidedly out of chowder season.

I’m sure I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ve only really been eating fish for the past year and a half. As a kid, I found fish absolutely revolting, and have terrible memories of sitting at the dinner table crying over the piece of now-cold baked cod that I couldn’t bring myself to eat. And now, after a lifelong hatred of all things seafood, here I am, posting two seafood recipes in a row. Smoked fish was my gateway drug. I started eating it on airplanes when it was the only choice (really, it’s amazing how frequently airplanes serve smoked salmon, at least in my experience). Although there are still things that I can barely get down (squid sashimi, for example), I will now readily eat smoked fish, ceviche, most sushi, grilled fish, fried fish, and shrimp. This may not sound like much of an accomplishment to you, but I really didn’t expect my tastes to change so drastically in such a short period of time.

This soup, adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, A Change of Appetite, is the sort of thing that can help convert non-fish lovers into fish lovers. It has a lot of intense flavors – caramelized onions, curry and cayenne, savory lentils, smoked fish, and even smokier pancetta. It is not your average fish chowder. I love it – it’s something I make every few months (an anomaly in a house where we are pretty much constantly trying new recipes). One word of caution – this makes a giant batch. If you’re just feeding one or two people, cut this one in half.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Curried Smoked Whitefish Chowder

A hearty winter smoked fish chowder with two delicious twists – the addition of traditional curry spices like turmeric and cardamom, and a base of  lentils.

Adapted from A Change of Appetite. 

• Author: Katie at the Kitchen Door
• Yield: 6-8

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. Puy or green lentils
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 large onions
• 1 TBS olive oil
• 2 tsp dark brown sugar
• 1 TBS butter
• 2 oz. diced pancetta or bacon
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
• 3 medium Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 lb. smoked white fish, deboned and flaked into chunks
• 1 lb. fresh cod, deboned and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 1/3 c. heavy cream, plus more for serving

Instructions

1. First, prepare the lentils. Place the lentils and bay leaf in a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until just tender but not falling apart. This will vary slightly with each batch of lentils but should take between 15-30 minutes. Test your lentils at various cooking times to see if they are done. When they are tender, drain the lentils, season to taste with salt and pepper and set aside.
2. Peel one of the onions and cut into thin slices. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over medium-low heat and add the sliced onion. Cook until golden brown, stirring frequently, then add the brown sugar and caramelize until onions are dark brown and sweet. Set to the side for serving.
3. To prepare the chowder, melt the butter in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the pancetta or bacon and cook until crisped, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes. Peel the remaining onion and chop into small pieces, then saute with the butter and pancetta until translucent, about 5-8 minutes. Add the spices and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes and stock and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook until potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.
4. When potatoes are cooked, add the smoked fish and the cod to the chowder and cook until cod is opaque throughout and beginning to flake into smaller pieces, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the heat and gently stir the cream into the chowder.
5. Divide the lentils between bowls and ladle the chowder over the lentils to serve. Top with the caramelized onions.

The post Curried Smoked Whitefish Chowder appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

This post was supposed to be a cocktail. Something springlike and sparkling because we just bought a house. And, well, it’s worth celebrating. The problem is it’s 45° and raining, I’m leaving on another 10-day trip to Latin America in 36 hours, and the idea of packing and moving and fixing all of the things in the house that need fixing has my brain in overdrive. Don’t get me wrong – I’m excited and I know this is a huge milestone – it’s just all a little overwhelming right now. So a cocktail, however springlike and celebratory, is not what I needed today. What I needed was something comforting, energizing, nourishing, and whole. Something to warm me up and keep me focused. Like this soup.

This soup, which is lightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon, is healthy soul food  (because another thing I need right now is to be especially careful about what I put in my body). It’s based on a mixture of gently spiced sweet potatoes and coconut milk, served with a few spoonfuls of crisped black lentils to give it more staying power. I followed the original recipe fairly closely, only adding the step of roasting the sweet potatoes for a bit more sweetness and depth, and serving the whole thing over a bowl of brown rice for extra body. The flavors in this are balanced just right – I often find vegetable purees too spicy or too one-dimensional, but this uses a good amount of fresh ginger, and just a touch of turmeric and curry powder. You can taste the coconut but it doesn’t overwhelm the other flavors, and the soup has a good body. It’s a keeper. And despite the fact that it’s the first day of June and Sweet Potato Soup sounds like something you should make in October, it’s exactly what I want to eat right now.

I promise I’ll tell you all about the house soon. In fact, you might even get tired of hearing about it, given that we’re planning on remodeling practically everything, and I’m sure I’ll be coming here to share our victories and challenges. And maybe later this summer – once we have some furniture and a place to enjoy a cocktail – we’ll get to that festive, sparkling drink.

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door in the box on the right, on Feedly or Bloglovin‘, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, or Google+. Thanks for reading!

More nourishing soups…

Spicy Chorizo Soup with Italian Couscous

Lentil and Roasted Tomato Soup with Saffron

Black Bean Soup with Roasted Poblano

Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk with Brown Rice and Lentils

Slightly adapted from Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon. Serves 6.

• 2-3 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 2 TBS olive oil
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• 3 TBS coconut oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and diced
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 TBS curry powder
• 2 TBS freshly grated ginger (from a 1 inch piece of ginger)
• 4 c. vegetable or chicken broth
• 3/4 c. orange juice
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 2 large shallots, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 c. cooked black lentils
• 3 c. cooked brown rice
• yogurt, for serving
• fresh minced cilantro, for serving

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Toss the sweet potatoes with the olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender when pierced with a fork, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside.
2. Melt 2 TBS of the coconut oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add the onion and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the turmeric, curry powder, and ginger and saute until fragrant, 2 minutes more. Add the roasted sweet potato and broth and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 2o minutes, then remove from heat and carefully transfer to a blender. Add the orange juice and coconut milk and blend until very smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Set soup aside.
3. In a small frying pan, melt the remaining 1 TBS of coconut oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the cooked lentils and saute until crispy, another 2 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Scoop a 1/2 cup of brown rice into each bowl. Pour soup over the rice, then top with lentils, yogurt, and cilantro.

The post A House // Sweet Potato and Coconut Milk Soup with Brown Rice and Lentils appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Lately we’ve been making meals where almost every ingredient has come out of our garden, and it’s incredibly satisfying. With the cooler weather, we’ve been able to turn on our oven and stovetop again, saving us from daunting tasks like eating 20 gorgeous heirloom tomatoes raw before they start to mold (a 3 day window) and finding ways to use up pumpkin without the help of a long, slow, caramelizing roast. The first meal where nearly everything was homegrown was a Mediterranean Shepherd’s Pie – we had grown the garlic, the onion, the tomatoes, the eggplant, the zucchini, and the potatoes. Really the only ingredients that we hadn’t grown or made were the cheese and the ground beef. And now, we have this gorgeous yellow curry, packed full of vegetables taken straight from the ground – we even grew the cayenne chilies that give it its kick!

This yellow curry is relatively quick, easy, and deeply nourishing. It’s made from only vegetables, spices, and water, and I was skeptical about how much flavor I’d be able to coax out of such a limited number of ingredients. No rich and creamy coconut milk? No savory chunks of lamb? But the carrot and pumpkin deliver sweetness, the tomatoes acidity, and the potatoes break down into a thick, rich sauce that soaks up all the flavor of the toasted spices. It’s a lovely curry. Of course, I can’t take much credit for it, beyond, perhaps, the addition of the tomatoes, as it’s adapted from Mangoes and Curry Leaves, my Indian cooking bible. I love Indian food and have been attempting it at home since I first started cooking,  but it wasn’t until I took a step back and took time to learn the fundamentals that I started to turn out satisfying Indian dishes. Now my repertoire is slowly building – I love these potato and pea parathas and this chickea pulao, and now I can add this adaptable vegetarian curry to the list as well.

Bangladeshi Yellow Pumpkin Curry

Adapted from Mangoes and Curry Leaves. Serves 4.

• 3 TBS vegetable oil
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/4 tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
• 1/4 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp fennel seeds
• 1/4 tsp fenugreek
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
• 2 c. cubed (1/4 inch dice) Yukon gold potatoes
• 2 c. cubed (1/2 inch dice) pumpkin
• 1 large yellow tomato, cored and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
• large handful of green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch lengths
• 1 fresh cayenne chile, sliced into thin rings
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• juice from 1/2 fresh lime

1. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add all of the spices and bay leaves at once, and stir-fry in the hot oil until the mustard seeds start to pop and sizzle. Add the vegetables in order listed, stir-frying for 1-2 minutes between each addition. If the vegetables begin to stick to the pan as you are cooking, add a few tablespoons of water to the bottom to deglaze any sticky parts of the pan. Add the fresh cayenne chile and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.
2. Once you have added all the vegetables, pour the water into the pan and bring to a rapid simmer. Simmer until all vegetables are tender, potatoes and tomato have broken down, and the sauce is thick and spoonable. This should take about 15 minutes-20 minutes. Add the salt, sugar, and lime juice and taste for seasoning, adjusting as necessary. Remove from the heat and serve over rice.

The post Cooking from the Garden // Bangladeshi Yellow Pumpkin Curry appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The Book: The newest cookbook on my shelf is Eating with the Chefs, a photography-driven book that documents the family meals served at the world’s greatest restaurants. The goal of the book: to take you behind the scenes, into the kitchens and after-hours, to experience the “family life” of the people who make these restaurants run, and the “honest, simple food” they make for each other outside of the dining room. From the pillars of America’s modern dining scene (The French Laundry, Chez Panisse, Blue Hill at Stone Barns), to the international innovators that have been making global headlines for the past few years (Noma, Attica, Mugaritz), you will get a little taste of the experience and flavors of each restaurant, without needing to hop on a plane and fly to Denmark/Australia/Spain (as nice as that would be if you could). Like all of Phaidon’s books, Eating with the Chefs is gorgeously designed, an art book as much as a cookbook, if not more. The pages are thick and matte, the text sparse, and the stories are told primarily through the gorgeous and subtle photographs of Per-Anders Jorgensen, the book’s creator. The restaurant stories and recipes are found interspersed between the pictures in text “inserts,” further emphasizing the focus on the photography. It’s a book you’ll want to leave out on the coffee table. As for the recipes themselves, between the seemingly universal unwritten rule that family meals should be straightforward and comforting and the immense talent and creativity of the chefs cooking them, the 50 recipes included in this book fall right in the sweet spot of how I love to cook.

The Food: As soon as I saw the recipe for Indian Butter Chicken in Eating with the Chefs, I knew it had to be the first recipe I tried. I’m forever on the hunt for recipes that accurately approximate my favorite Indian takeout dishes, but making good Indian food requires such a thorough study of cooking techniques and knowledge of Indian pantry ingredients that it can be a real challenge. I’ve had good success with recipes like these Pea and Potato Parathas and this Pakistani Chickpea Pulao, but none of them have been “takeout-y,” by which I mean over-the-top rich and spicy and addictive. As you might expect from one of Australia’s pre-eminent chefs, this recipe hit all the right notes of great Indian food – creamy, spicy, salty, savory – and was perfectly balanced. I’m really excited to have added this one to my repertoire, and if the other recipes in the book are as dead-on as this one was, I’m going to have a lot more dinners in my rotation.

Recipe Shortlist: Basque-Style Garlic Soup; Emmer Wheat Foccaccia; Quark Pillows with Corn and Grilled Peaches; Holiday Cannelloni; Squab Torte; Roast Chicken with Apple and Onion Confit and Pommes Mousseline; Lentil Stew with Pork Ribs; Quay’s Green Chicken Curry; Chocolate Ripple Cake

Like what you just read? Subscribe to Katie at the Kitchen Door on Feedly or Bloglovin’, or follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram. Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Eating with the Chefs from Phaidon, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Indian Butter Chicken

Recipe from Eating with the Chefs. Serves 2.

• 1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 1/2 tsp garam masala
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 lb. 2 oz. skinless chicken breasts or thighs
• 3 TBS butter
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 TBS grated fresh ginger
• 1 TBS whole cumin seeds
• 1 small cinnamon stick
• 1/3 c. canned diced tomatoes
• 1 fresh red chile, seeded and sliced
• 1/4 c. chicken stock
• 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 tsp tomato paste
• 1 TBS ground almonds
• 3 sprigs fresh cilantro, to garnish
• salt to taste

1. Combine the yogurt, lemon juice, turmeric, salt (to taste, approximately 1/2 tsp), garam masala, and ground cumin in a small bowl and stir to combine. Pour over the chicken, making sure chicken is fully coated, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.
2. When ready to cook, melt the butter and oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for about 10 minutes or until translucent, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and cumin seeds, and cook for 3 minutes, until spices are fragrant and onions are lightly browned.
3. Add the cinnamon stick, diced tomatoes, and sliced chile to the pan and season with salt, then cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Add the chicken and it’s marinade to the pan and stir to combine, then cook for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the chicken broth to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the cream and tomato paste, and cook for another 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked through. Stir in the ground almonds and cook for a final 5 minutes. Serve with rice, garnished with fresh cilantro.

The post Book Club: Eating with the Chefs // Indian Butter Chicken appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

The Book: Full of Flavor: How to Create Like a Chef is a book that was released back in the spring – I’m not sure how I missed it the first time around, since the author, Maria Elia, is one of my favorite chefs. Her first book, The Modern Vegetarian, was one of the first cookbooks I purchased, and it’s still one of my favorites. But I’ll try to keep this post about this book, instead of my mini-chef crush on Maria. Full of Flavor attempts to capture and teach you Maria’s creative recipe development and cooking process, not only the final output. Each of the 18 ingredient-focused chapters opens with a cartoon “mind map” that associates different flavors and textures with the main ingredient of that chapter, and for many of her recipes she offers variations and ideas for making the recipe your own. I love the spirit of the book – open, passionate, sharing – and that she doesn’t take on that braggy tone that some chefs do when talking about their own recipes. Also, I’m a big fan of the flavor profiles that Maria uses in her recipes – they’re creative and exciting and slightly exotic without being too difficult or “out there.” I think it’s telling that she can write a great vegetarian cookbook, and then turn around and write a book where the first 8 chapters are all about meat and fish. As icing on the cake, the design of this book is a fun mix of drawings and photos, and the lovely pictures are straightforward, uncluttered, and richly colored, truly showing off the brilliant recipes.

The Food: The first recipe we made from this book was the Duck, Pineapple, and Coconut Curry. I’ve experimented quite a bit with homemade curry recipes, and it’s really difficult to achieve the depth and balance of flavors that most Thai/Indian/Vietnamese restaurants do. This recipe, which uses a fresh, homemade curry paste made from Thai chilies, lemongrass, ginger, and whole spices, is a really good one. The spiciness of the curry paste, richness of the coconut milk and the duck, and sweet acidity of the pineapple play really well off each other, resulting in a thick and balanced curry that will make you proud of your new-found international cooking skills. Maria offers two shortcuts here – buying pre-cooked Chinese style duck, and using homemade curry paste. I think the pre-cooked duck is a good idea if you’re short on time, but definitely make the curry paste yourself. It’s worth it. Scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe Shortlist: Italian Sausage, Red Wine, Chestnut, and Cabbage Risotto; Moroccan Lentils with Salmon and Avocado Cream; Butternut Squash Falafel; Carrot, Dill, Almond, and Feta Baklava; Green Olive Gnocchi; Bircher Muesli with Grated Apple; Pear Beignets with Rosemary Sugar and Creme Anglaise

Vedge

The Book: Vedge is the new cookbook from the chefs of the vegan Philadelphia restaurant of the same name. Like the restaurant, the book is full of creative and elegant vegan recipes, but the chefs urge you to think of it as “vegetable cooking,” making the recipes about the food, instead of the diet or ethics. There are a range of cuisines and flavors represented, many dishes clearly having been inspired by their travels, and I really like the little themed menus that pop-up throughout the book. Although I’m not a vegetarian or a vegan, I did find it a little bit disappointing that so many of the recipes called for vegan dairy substitutes – vegan mayo, vegan sour cream, vegan butter, etc. I would just make these recipes with the real versions, but there must be other non-dairy ways to add richness to recipes. It’s also worth pointing out that a handful of novel, sophisticated, and intriguing cocktail recipes – like the “Elder Sage” martini and the “Sherry Temple” – are included in the book. I’m guessing that vegans and vegetarians will find this book truly inspiring – and all the rest of us will find ourselves with an exciting new repertoire of healthy vegetable side dishes.

The Food: Trevor and I used this book to cook dinner for his dad and his dad’s wife a few weeks ago. They are both vegetarians, and are moving to a mostly vegan, mostly gluten-free diet as part of a cross-fit challenge as well, so this book was a bit of a blessing in terms of finding recipes that would still be delicious and interesting but would satisfy their dietary requirements. For dinner, we made Salt-Roasted Golden Beets with Dill, Avocado, and Capers (a visual play on cured salmon), and “BLTs,” with the last of our beautiful heirloom tomatoes from the garden, and crispy fried mushrooms in place of the bacon. Both dishes went over really well, and we liked the beets so much that we made them again at home to share here. There’s a ton of flavor and texture in this recipe, and while I suppose it’s possible that I mostly like it because it has mayo, avocado, and capers in it (three very craveable foods in my book), I think that all of the elements go really well together. The bright, contrasting colors also make it a very pretty appetizer. Scroll down for the recipe.

Recipe Shortlist: Saffron Cauliflower Soup with Persillade; Squash Empanadas with Green Romesco; Portobello and Celeria Shepherd’s Pie with Truffle; Parsnip and Chestnut Bisque with Mulled Wine Onion Confit

Duck, Pineapple, and Coconut Curry

Recipe from Full of Flavor. Serves 6.

For the curry paste:

• 1 TBS whole coriander
• 1 tsp whole cumin
• 4 red bird’s eye (Thai) chilies
• 2 shallots, peeled and finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 1/4 in. piece of ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 sticks lemongrass, tough outer leaves removed and interior finely sliced
• 2 lime leaves, finely chopped
• 6 cilantro roots, finely chopped, or 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 tsp cardamom pods
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp whole green peppercorns, or freshly ground pepper

1. Add the coriander and the cumin to a dry frying pan and toast over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant, shaking the pan to prevent them from burning.
2. Add the toasted seeds and the next 10 ingredients (chilies through green peppercorns) to a food processor and blend into a smooth paste. Set aside.

For the curry:

• 4 duck breasts (about 2 lbs.), fat lightly scored
• sea salt and black pepper to taste
• 2 cans (14 oz. each) of unsweetened coconut milk
• 2 whole lime leaves
• 2 TBS palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 lb. 2 oz fresh pineapple, diced
• 2 TBS fish sauce
• leaves from 1/2 bunch cilantro
• 1 red chili, thinly sliced
• handful of Thai basil leaves
• 1 or 2 limes, cut into quarters

1. Season the duck with the salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan (that has a lid) over medium heat and add the duck to the pan, fat side down. Sear on high heat until browned all over. Pour off extra fat and set duck aside.
2. Scoop the coconut cream off the top of the cans and add to the pan along with the curry paste. Cook for about 2-3 minutes or until fragrant, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add the rest of the coconut milk plus 1 cup of water, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and add the seared duck. Cover and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes or until the duck is tender. Uncover and add the lime leaves, palm sugar, and pineapple. Simmer for another 10 minutes. Skim the fat from the dish and discard, and finish the curry with the fish sauce and cilantro. Remove the duck breasts from the curry and slice them, then return to the sauce. Serve over rice, with the sliced chilies, basil leaves, and lime quarters.

Salt-Roasted Golden Beets with Dill, Avocado, Capers, and Red Onion

Recipe from Vedge. Serves 4 to 6.

• 2 c. coarse kosher salt
• 5 lbs. golden beets (no greens)
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 1 TBS sherry vinegar
• 2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, divided
• 1 1/2 c. peeled, seeded, chopped cucumber
• 3/4 c. vegan mayo
• 1/2 c. loosely packed dill fronds
• 1 TBS Dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and diced
• 1/4 c. capers, drained
• 1/4 c. finely diced red onions

1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Place the kosher salt in an even, thick layer on a large baking sheet. Arrange the beets in a single layer on the salt. Roast until fork-tender, about 2 hours. The skins will look very dark, almost burnt. Let the beets cool until you can comfortably handle them, then peel the beets. Slice the peeled beets as thinly as you can. Toss the beet slices in a large bowl with the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and 1 tsp of the black pepper. Let marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, and up to 24 hours.
2. Place the cucumber, mayo, dill, mustard, 1/2 tsp salt, and the remaining 1 tsp of black pepper in a food processor. Pulse into a smooth sauce, then set aside.
3. Fan the sliced, marinated beets out on a large platter. Garnish with the avocado, capers, and diced red onion, and a spoonful of the cucumber sauce.

Disclaimer: I received review copies of Vedge from The Experiment and Full of Flavor from Kyle Books free of charge, but was not otherwise compensated for writing this review.

The post Book Club: Full of Flavor + Vedge appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Over the summer I picked up a cookbook called Cooking with My Indian Mother-in-Law, written by Simon Daley.  I love Indian food, but I’ve struggled with several things when trying to cook it for myself – finding authentic and flavorful recipes, balancing the spices properly, and achieving that wonderful combination of sour, spicy, and warm that is so characteristic of many Indian dishes I’ve tried.  Glancing through this book, I was intrigued by the simple recipes and the idea of learning home recipes from a woman who has cooked these dishes every day of her life; it’s true that the simplest, most comforting, yet also most wonderful Indian food I’ve eaten has always been prepared by someone’s Indian mother.  So I checked the book out and began to read.

First, the book demystified the ingredients and techniques essential to Indian cooking.  I learned about the process of tempering whole vs. ground spices, how to ready-fry onions, how to make a basic garlic-ginger-chilie paste, what kind of tomatoes are best to use in sauces, and how to identify when a masala pools.  Then I looked through the recipes, and found myself confronted with a lot of excellent sounding dishes with very long ingredient lists.  The one that attracted me most, however, was a simple-ish recipe for Chickpea Dumplings.  It took me about 6 weeks from the time I first saw the recipe to the time I first made it.  To a lot of people, this may seem like a long time.  To  people who, like me, hoard recipes in word files, scans, clippings, and scribbled notes, it should seem fast.  At least it does to me.

This recipe absolutely lived up to my expectations.  I went all out and bought all the spices from the bulk spice section in Wholefoods. (Side note: I literally cannot get enough of the bulk section in Wholefoods.  Every time I come back with little baggies of grains and nuts and spices for super reasonable prices I show Megan and say things like “Look!  Three pounds of couscous only cost $4!  They had asafoetida!  And dried lemon balm!  Look how many pinto beans I have!”  And she looks at me like I have 3 to 4 heads.  Actually, I kind of can’t get enough of Wholefoods in general.  Like, every time I go I’m a little bit tempted just to start living there and subsisting off of cheese samples.  Not kidding.  Side note over.)  I even used those San Marzano tomatoes that food bloggers rave about all the time and are ridiculously expensive, at least for canned tomatoes.  I actually only bought them because I read the price tag wrong and thought they were a good deal.  The weren’t.  But they were good.  One day when I’m employed I will buy quality ingredients regularly.  Until then I love me some store brand staples.  I don’t even know what I’m talking about anymore.  I should move on.  I’m just gonna start this paragraph over.

This recipe absolutely lived up to my expectations.  The best way to describe it would be as an Indian version of pasta with tomato sauce – comforting, warm, tangy, hearty.  The dumplings were perfectly spiced and kind of fun to make.  To do so, you boil water with a ginger-garlic paste and then dump in some chickpea flour and stir until it forms a ball of dough.  Then you roll the dough out as quickly as possible and cut it into little diamonds.  Yes, this is fun for me.  The dumplings themselves are addictive.  I would estimate that both times I’ve made them I consumed one fourth of them before even starting the sauce.  After simmering them in a tomato-yogurt sauce, you have the kind of meal you can’t stop shoveling into your mouth after a long day – unpretentious, filling, flavorful, good.

Chickpea Dumplings in Tomato-Yogurt Sauce

Adapted from Simon Daley’s Cooking with My Indian Mother-in-Law. Serves 3-4.

For the chickpea dumplings:

• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger, peeled
• 1-2 jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 1/2 c. water
• 2 tsp. canola oil
• 2 c. chickpea flour

1. Peel the garlic.  Slice peeled ginger and seeded jalapeno into large chunks.  In a mortar and pestle, grind garlic, ginger, jalapeno, salt, and cumin seeds into a paste.
2. Oil a large cutting board and rolling pin.  Set aside.
3. In a medium pot, bring 1 1/2 c. water and ginger-garlic-pepper paste to a boil.  Turn vent on as steam may sting eyes.  When water is boiling.  Add 2 tsp. oil and stir.  Add chickpea flour, reduce heat, and cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until dough comes together in a ball.  Turn the dough out onto oiled board and let stand 1 minute.  Then quickly roll dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness.  Slice dough into diamonds, and set dumplings aside.

For the masala:

• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• 1 tsp. chili powder
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 2 TBS canola oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp asafetida
• 1 onion, sliced
• 14 oz. canned plum tomatoes, preferably San Marzanos
• 4 cloves garlic crushed into a paste with 1 tsp. salt
• 2 TBS cilantro stems
• 1 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1 c. warm water
• 1 recipe chickpea dumplings, above

1. Mix 1 tsp. cumin seeds, coriander, chili powder, and turmeric in a small bowl. Set aside.
2. Heat oil over medium-low heat.  Add mustard seeds and remaining 1 tsp. cumin seeds and cook for 1 minute.  Add asafetida and onion and sautee 2 minutes, until onion is beginning to soften.  Add garlic paste and sautee an additional 1 minute.  Add spice mixture from step 1, tomatoes, and cilantro stems.  Simmer over low heat until oil pools around edges of pan.
3. Mix yogurt with 1 c. warm water in large bowl.  Add 1 c. of hot tomato mixture to yogurt, stirring yogurt constantly, to temper yogurt and keep it from curdling.  Slowly add yogurt to remaining tomato mixture in pan, stirring constantly.  Bring to a slow boil, add dumplings, and cook 2-3 minutes to heat dumplings through.  Season with additional salt if necessary.  Serve hot.

The post Indian Comfort appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

I also did not have the foresight to buy things like canned soup, jello, and gatorade, which mothers seem to produce magically upon the first signs of flu.  And the grocery store is dauntingly far away from my bed.  I did, however, happen to have chicken and chickpeas in my freezer, coconut milk, canned tomatoes, and lots of root vegetables in my fridge.  This prompted me to decide that chicken curry is the perfect dish for someone sick and without a mother in the same state for the following reasons: it takes 20 minutes to put together, which is exactly the amount of energy I have, it involves one pan, which is only one more pan than I want to wash (maybe my roommate will do it…), the heat is good for clearing your head, and you can load it up with potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, and other vitamin C rich veggies that might be lying around your vegetable bin.  Also, on the off chance that I make it to class tomorrow, this totally solves the problem of lunch.

I originally found this recipe on AllRecipes but have ended up adding twice as many ingredients as are in the original recipe, and taking out half the things that were in the original recipe.  So I don’t really think it’s the same recipe anymore.  It’s also not authentic in the slightest, nor does it have particularly complex flavors, but it is easy, cheap, and delicious.

Coconut Chicken Curry

(makes 4 dinner sized servings)

• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 2 T olive oil
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 2-3 T curry powder
• 2 cloves garlic, diced
• 1 can (14 oz.) diced tomatoes
• 1 can coconut milk
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced
• 1 yukon gold potato, diced
• 1 c chickpeas, canned or pre-cooked
• 3 T sugar (optional)
• salt, pepper to taste

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat.  Add curry powder and sautee 1 to 2 minutes.  Then add onions, and sautee 3-5 minutes, until beginning to soften.
2. Add chicken strips and garlic to curry-onion mixture and cook for 5-8 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through (it will continue cooking in the tomato and coconut juices; overcooking at this stage will make it very tough).
3. Add coconut milk (don’t forget to shake before opening!), tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and chickpeas.  Simmer, covered, until potatoes and carrots are cooked through, about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent bottom from burning.  Season with salt, pepper, and sugar if desired.  Serve over rice.

*Some notes:

1. I hate chopping garlic because it makes your hand smell for days.  Literally.  So I almost always use crushed or minced garlic and plop 1 teaspoon of it into whatever I’m cooking for each clove of garlic called for.  Feel free to do this.
2. This is just a story about Corelle dishware.  So the second half of my onion was sitting quietly in one of my new Corelle bowls, when it inexplicably jumped off the counter.  Eyes squeezed shut in anticipation of shattered dish everywhere (exactly what you do not want when 19 of your 20 minutes of energy have already been used), I waited for the sound of cracking.  But there was none.  Opening my eyes, I saw onion pieces all over the floor, but the dish was not so much as chipped.  Kudos, Corelle.

The post Chicken Curry for the Slowly Dying appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.