Experimenting with NY Times recipes

my latest obsession is recipes on NYTimes.com...i typically bring home a new ingredient or an old fav...usually some produce item like say Kale or Golden Beets or sometimes a spice like say Yuzu or Acer Biber & then try some recipe on NYTimes.com & perhaps tweak it some. 3 such experiments were very successful recently -

1.  i used tuscan kale & roasted it instead, added walnuts instead of almonds & also added sauteed sugar snap peas...very healthy & delish to top it all:
Kale Salad With Apples, Cheddar and Toasted Almonds or Pine Nuts - Recipes For Health

2. great recipe!! i substituted mint with thyme & instead of ricotta, used a home-made 'cheese sauce', which was just a blend of odds & ends of cheese, white wine & thyme :) yummy...
Braised Endives With Orange, Toasted Almonds and Ricotta - Recipes for Health

3. this last one was my utmost favorite...i substituted Dill with Mint as i'm not a big Dill fan. also i added some Zaatar into it.
Mediterranean Beet and Yogurt Salad

Enjoy!!

One Pot Stew with a Moroccan/Turkish twist

I've tried this one twice now & both times its come out very successful, which makes me feel compelled to share it. The basis is this recipe from the NYTimes, but i pretty much throw anything i have at home into it. Today i made it with the following -

1 cup cooked Quinoa

1 cup Borlotti Beans, soaked & cooked

1 large bag Southern Greens

1 Watermelon radish (radish with variegated red color inside)

1/2 Turnip

2 fresh Tomatoes, chopped

the way this worked is - i sauteed roughly chopped garlic, onions until lightly browned. then i tossed in the radish & turnip & sauteed for 2-3 min. Next came the spices - ground cumin, turkish salsiccia (pepper paste that is not too spicy but flavorful), allspice, cinnamon, crushed red pepper & salt. then came the tomatoes. Saute for 3-4 minutes & add the cooked beans & quinoa with 1/2 cup of water. Let everything simmer until tomatoes soften. Lastly add the greens & lightly fold until they shrivel. Don't forget to taste & adjust the salt & spices. Turn off the heat & serve immediately.

Note - i don't put the yoghurt as in the original recipe.

the best part about this recipe is its very delicious while being highly nutritious & a good source of greens/veggies & grains. So net of it, makes a complete meal & is a breeze to make (if you've pre-cooked the beans or prefer to use canned ones).

Outstanding Summer Tomato Soup with a Moroccan touch

I just made this amazing soup so i had to share...the original recipe came from the NY Times but i made some practical tweaks based on available (or not available) ingredients...here's my version:
3 medium cloves of garlic, smashed, peeled and minced
1 tsp cayenne
3/4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp olive oil
1 lb fresh tomatoes
1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt to taste
In a small saucepan, heat the olive oil, garlic, cayenne & cumin for 5 min, stirring constantly. put aside. Crush the tomatoes in a food processor & strain to remove seeds (or use food mill). add salt to taste, vinegar, the spiced oil & lemon juice. Chill for 30 min to an hour before serving.
Note - i would recommend adding chopped cilantro if you have it. Celery is optional.

Beet & Citrus Mediterranean Summer Salad

Boil or roast 3 medium sized beets.

Make a salad dressing with 2-3T olive oil, 1.5T champagne muscat or any white wine vinegar, 1/2t salt, 1/2t coarsely crushed black pepper & 1/2t turkish salad spice (or 1T freshly chopped mint). Toss all ingredients with a fork to mix well.

Add peeled & sliced beets to the vinaigrette. Add 1 navel orange, peeled & chopped into chunks. Add a handful of olives, coarsely chopped. Add shaved pecorino to taste. Mix well & chill for 15-30 min before serving.

Roasted Balsamic & Date Radicchio Salad

so this was an experiment that pieced together 2-3 recipes + some creativity from my end. took only 2 minutes to disappear once i made it :)

2 large heads of radicchio (about 1 pound total), halved through core end, each half cut into 3 wedges with some core still attached

3 chopped garlic cloves

3 chopped dates

1/2 cup olive oil, plus more to coat radicchio

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon mustard

Salt and black pepper

Pecorino or parmesan cheese for garnish

Preheat oven to 450°F. Rinse radicchio wedges in cold water; gently shake off excess water (do not dry completely). Place radicchio in large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil; toss to coat. Arrange radicchio wedges, 1 cut side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Roast until wilted, about 12 minutes. Turn over, sprinkle chopped garlic & dates and roast until tender, about 8 minutes longer.

Make the dressing. Put the salt, garlic, mustard and balsamic vinegar into a food processor or blender and pulse to combine. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil slowly until the dressing comes together.

Chop the radicchio quarters into bite-sized pieces and toss with the dressing and some black pepper.

Serve hot or at room temperature, garnished with grated pecorino or parmesan cheese.

Serves 4 to 6.

Brussels Sprouts with Dates & Bacon!

Wow, i had these at a place called Gjelina's in Venice, CA & couldn't get them out of my mind. Couldn't find a recipe online so recreated them from memory, using a couple similar recipes from food network as aids for technique.

I made these as a side dish for 8 people for X'mas dinner.
so start with 2 bags of brussels sprouts (1 lb each) & roast them using this recipe from Barefoot Contessa. When the sprouts are roasting, dice 4 strips of bacon (i used the Niman Ranch one from Trader Joe's) & a handful of dates. Heat 1-2 tsp olive oil in a saute pan & add the bacon. When the bacon is crisp, add a handful of pine nuts & brown. Add the chopped dates and 2T of white wine vinegar & cook for 2-3 min until dates are soft & everything is well blended. Remove the brussels sprouts from the oven, mix & serve immediately. Note - you can cook a bit earlier & reheat before serving - still tastes good but brussels sprouts will not be as crunchy.

Gujju style Collard Greens

this is a quick & simple new recipe i came up with, using ingredients i had handy at home. The sweet potatoes cut through the bitterness of the collards & really complement the flavors.

Temper 2 tsp hot oil with 1 tsp jeera seeds, 1/2 tsp methi seeds and a pinch of hing. when the seeds are sizzling, add 1T chopped garlic. when garlic browns, add 1/2 sliced jalapeno & 1 Med onion & saute until softened. add 1 large chopped sweet potato or yam & cook for 2 min. add 1bunch chopped collard greens & stir until wilted. add 1/2 cup of water & cook for 15-20 min until yams are soft.

End result - delish, healthy & a simple way to use new ingredients