The Dal Before the Storm

Right about now youre probably thinking to yourself, “Wait I thought this was a blog about some crazy French diet and French cooking. What happened to the complicated French recipes, lady?” To which I would tell you a woman has needs. In this case the need for spices, specifically the need to sniffle in joyful pain over a bowl of stew perfectly seasoned with curry and cayenne. Therefore Ive taken a break from insane French recipes that have me online translating ingredients like courgettes, aubergines and fresh coriander into plain English in order to cook. (Zucchini, eggplant and cilantro, in case you were wondering.) I just cant take it right now. Sorry, Boulud its not you, its me.

Also Im a little scared about Sunday. Its Easter and Ive invited my family over for a feast. Ive never had a family holiday dinner at my house before so Im entitled to a tiny dose of freaking out, right? Rather than doing something simple like roasting a chicken I had to go and make things as complex as possible by promising Boeuf En Daube. Five pounds of beef, a bottle of Burgundy, and a pound of shallots cooked for eight hours, this couldnt possibly go wrong. There is nothing to be anxious about at all. Oh no. There is also a complicated torte involved for dessert, I should add. It will be fine, really. Did I mention I have to work on Easter morning? There really need to be more hours in a day and less yuppies needing to by wine and lattes.

Thankfully I thrive in stressful situations, they turn off the part of my brain that over thinks and is busy keeping track of all of the people Im currently holding a grudge against in chronological order. Take that out of the picture and suddenly the genius part of my brain kicks into gear and amazing things happen. However I need to rest that part of my brain until Sunday so until then Im going anti-Emeril and taking things down several notches. Bam.

Dal surprisingly enough is one of the easiest things in the world to cook. I would have never thought it after the many highly flavored satisfying bowls of it Ive cooed over in ethnic restaurants certain that it was too complex for me to ever try my hand at. This is why I need the fella around (okay one of about a million reasons, he is also useful for reaching things on high shelves) he gets in the mood for things and insists we make then regardless of their difficulty. He is either very brave or very silly because weve made some nutty stuff on the spur of the moment to curb a craving. This particular craving worked out very well because I will now being making Dal quite often.

The original recipe calls for split peas and requires an hour of cooking. The heck with that I say. We used lentils. Unfortunately in the excitement of buying $30 worth of organic boeuf we forgot the lentils. The good news is we had red lentils hiding in the back of the cupboard and they were lovely not to mention they cut down the cooking time even more. They are the tenderest lentil so only need about 10 minutes or less to absorb water. So we sat down to Dal while waiting for the vegetable curry to takes its sweet time cooking. During which time the fella asks, “Is this what it means to eat in courses?”

Its a fair question considering we usually sit down and eat our various dishes in one frenzied swoop as Im not very good at planning out cooking times in order to eat any other way. This was a nice change of pace. And we even got to eat while the sun was out.

Dal

8 ounces lentils
2 1/2 cups water (more if you want a thinner soup)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes, or 2 medium fresh, skinned and diced
1 medium onion, diced

2 tablespoons oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon mustard seed

cilantro for garnish


Combine lentils, water, salt, curry powder, tomatoes, and onions in a sauce pan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer to cook covered until lentils are tender, time will depend on variety of lentils being used. Add more water to adjust the consistency of the soup as the lentils absorb the liquid.

Add the oil, garlic, and mustard seed and simmer another 5 to 10 minutes, until garlic is tender.

Add salt and pepper to taste and top with cilantro if you like.

Original recipe from The New York Times Cook Book by Craig Claiborne.

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Toor Dal Palak Toor Dal Spinach

Im not going to try to deny it anymore; French food just isnt my favorite. There I said it. The sauces gross me out. Terrines give me nightmares. And I dont have the time after work for the complicated recipes. So as of this moment Im embracing the fact that Im on a French diet and eating from every other possible ethnicity but French. Perhaps Ill go on a crazy French food kick while the fella is out of town. Get some people who dig aspics and internal organs over to help me cook things Im afraid of and see what Im missing. But this weeks menu doesnt have a single French recipe, not even anything close. Im okay with that. Im a curry addict and cant help it, I refuse to change.

Finding Lisas Kitchen has only fueled the curry and lentil eating frenzy in my kitchen. I want to cook everything on this site. Its my new go to for high fiber low fat meal nights. Everything weve made from this site so far has been a keeper. This lentil and spinach dish was no exception, it was spicy and filling and flavorful. Best of all it requires obtaining a strange spice in order to prepare it.

This was my first time using asafoetida and it was quite the experience. The fella wasnt big on seeking it out remembering that the one time he tried it the stuff reeked of feet. When I saw it in the bulk spice jars at Whole Foods I decided it was a sign to go ahead an buy some. Then I opened the jar. Holy crap. Literally. It did smell like feet, combined with the worst turned bottle of wine ever opened and a vague sniff of incense from a Catholic mass. Its powerful stuff. If you buy it I suggest you put in some tupperware and store it in the garage because I now have a very smelly spice drawer.

Youve got to fight through the smell though because once its cooked up its worth the yucky scent. Somehow it rounds out all the other spices and adds a delicious depth to the flavor of the dish. Its hard to describe but now that Ive tasted it I will do what it takes to keep this smelly monster around to cook with more in the future.

Unfortunately I didnt get a picture of this glorious creation. So instead I leave you with a picture of me embracing my new favorite bottle of wine. I was riding a Riesling high so dont judge me too hard. This is what I do for you so as not to go two days in a row blogging picture-less.

Toor Dal Palak

2/3 cup toor dal (or whatever color lentils you have around)
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 pound spinach, trimmed and chopped
1 tablespoon ghee or a mix of butter and olive oil
1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced
3 dried whole red chilies
1 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Thoroughly rinse the toor dal under running water. Place in a medium saucepan and soak for 2-3 hours in 2 cups of water (skip this step if using lentils.) Add the turmeric and bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium and cook, partially covered, until the dal is tender, about 20 to 30 minutes. Stir in the spinach, replace the lid to partially covered, and continue to cook until the spinach is cooked and most of the liquid is gone. Turn off the heat and let the dal and spinach sit.

Heat the ghee or butter and olive oil mixture over medium heat in a frying pan. Toss in the chilies and ginger and fry, stirring frequently, until the ginger just begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garam masala, then add the asafoetida, stir once, and pour the seasonings into the dal and spinach. Stir in the lemon juice and salt.

Serve over brown rice.

Original recipe from Lisas Kitchen Blog.

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Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds

The end of CSA season meant Ive had seemingly one of every kind of squash in existence sitting in my kitchen waiting for me to be inspired to do something with them. Then the chef brought over a couple more squash just to mock me the other day. At that point there was no point in delaying it any longer, I took a knife to every squash in the kitchen and roasted them. This will force me to find something to do with their various roasted flesh as every time I open the fridge there they are tempting me. Tonight I simply warmed the acorn squash in some butter in a frying pan and was very happy with it.

However Im very much my mothers daughter (no worries, I mean it in a good way mom) and the thought of all those squash seeds going to waste was unthinkable, I had to do something with them. Ive never made roasted squash seeds before so it was fun to grab the first spice that came to me out of the spice cupboard. Cinnamon with salt sounded divine and it was. I was very pleasantly surprised with the results and made this same combination twice since then.

Even better than the cinnamony seeds themselves is that they are awesome in a salad. Ive been hooked on throwing them in mixed greens and spinach with feta cheese and a vinaigrette of olive oil and fig vinegar. Its tastes way too good to be that simple.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Seeds

pumpkin seeds
olive oil
salt
cinnamon

Reserve however many seeds you get from pumpkins and other random squashes you have around for cooking. Toss the slimy pits from around the seeds. Rinse the seeds then spread them over a baking sheet.

Heat oven to 350. Put just enough oil over the seeds so that they are coated. Sprinkle with salt and cinnamon to suit your taste.

Bake for 20 minutes or until well toasted.

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Sun Dried Tomato and Lentil Soup

After cooking this three times, I finally stopped myself from devouring it and took a picture.  Isnt it beautiful?

 

This soup was so good it never crossed my mind to take a picture of it.  I was way too busy eating it.  Its that freaking good.  And I thought it up all by myself.

See in my odd little world Monday is my day off to have the house to myself and do whatever I please unmolested.  This usually involves laying in bed until 10 or 11.  Reading in bed with the dog.  Having breakfast while watching an episode of some mindless TV show online.  Then I spend the rest of the day grocery shopping and cooking.  Usually while singing along to Goldfrappe/Lily Allen radio on Pandora.  There are are also periodic bouts of dog love throughout the day. 

And that for me is the perfect day off.  Thats partly because Im a huge food nerd who loves to cook and also because if I dont cook on Monday I wont get a chance to the next two days while working double jobs.  I learned early on that I can put up with most anything at work as long as I know I have something good to eat on my break, it keeps me from ripping out my hair and wanting to strangle co-workers.  So on Monday I make something delicious that will re-heat well to keep me sane at work the two following days. 

The fella also benefits from this situation as he doesnt have to spend his evenings alone trying to decifer whatever gibberish Ive written on the weekly menu that he should be cooking that night, that almost never ended well.  I love him like crazy but one of his talents is not reading Emily-ese.    And yeah thats right I plan a menu every week so that everything that gets bought gets cooked.  I hear about people who go to the store throw things in the cart and hope for the best when they get home, I cant imagine it.  Its insanity.

So being the super planny sort it probably wont surprise you that my next weird admission is that Im a terminal follower of recipes. Im lost without them.  Or was until recently.  Something clicked in my brain this week and I noticed I dont need recipes much anymore, theyre more of a way to come up with a concept and then I cook it the way I would like it better.  Its worked out so far. 

Then magically on Monday I closed my eyes thought “lentil sundried tomato soup” and made it happen with no recipe guidance whatsoever.  It was a big moment for me and I was rewarded with literally the best soup Ive ever made.  Its big and thick and tasty.  Exactly what I want to eat when its cold and the lack of sun is making me a bit punchy.

Something tells me this newly concocted recipe will be in heavy rotation on the menu for the rest of the winter.  And it should be on yours too because it couldnt be easier.

 

Sun Dried Tomato and Lentil Soup

2 tablespoons oil from jar of sundried tomatoes
2 small onions, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 large stalks celery, chopped

1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 cup lentils
5 cups vegetable stock

8 sundried tomatoes packed in oil, rinsed and chopped
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
salt and pepper to taste

In a soup pot over medium high heat warm the sun dried tomato oil, when oil is warm add onions, garlic and celery.  Saute the vegetables until soft but not browned, agitating them often while cooking.

Add the bay leaf, thyme, lentils and vegetable stock.  Allow to come to a boil then reduce heat to a simmer.  Let cook about 15 or 20 minutes, or until lentils are tender.  Depending on how thick you like your soups you may need to add more vegetable broth at this point.

Add the rinsed sundried tomatoes and red pepper flakes to the soup.  Stir well and cook soup just until tomatoes are heated through.  Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.  Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf and enjoy.

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