Apricot Couscous Curry with Honey-Glazed Tofu

This is a nice, quick and easy meal that I make at least a couple of times a month. It is one of those wonderful few meals which everyone in my family likes. The couscous is tossed with a curry dressing (adapted from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone), dried apricots, and cubes of honey-glazed, fried tofu. It tastes good served warm or chilled, like a pasta salad.


Apricot Couscous Curry with Honey Glazed Tofu
2 cups dry couscous
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ½ cups water
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped, dried apricots
12 oz block of extra firm tofu
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon salt
vegetable oil for frying
Curry dressing (see below)
sliced almonds (optional)

Curry dressing
1 garlic clove, minced
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons yogurt
4 teaspoons curry powder
3 tablespoons lemon juice
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro

1. For the curry dressing, mix garlic and salt in a small bowl. Add the yogurt, curry powder and lemon juice and stir to combine. Whisk in the olive oil. Set aside. Stir in the chopped cilantro right before serving.

 

2. In a kettle or a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add the dry couscous and, stirring frequently, lightly toast. Stir in the ¼ teaspoon salt, and then pour the hot water into the couscous. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 12 minutes.

 

3. Remove from heat. Stir couscous to fluff, then mix in the chopped, dried apricots. Cover the pot and let sit while you prepare the tofu.

4. Drain tofu. Cut into ½ inch cubes. Mix lemon juice, honey and salt in a small bowl and set aside.    

5. Cover bottom of a large cast iron or non-stick skillet with vegetable oil and heat over medium heat. Put tofu in the pan and fry, stirring occasionally, until tofu is golden.

6. Pour honey mixture over tofu in the pan and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until liquid is cooked off and tofu is lightly glazed, about 1 minute.

 7. Add tofu to the couscous. Toss couscous mixture with the curry dressing. Serve topped with sliced almonds.



Mushroom Risotto

I don’t have the time to make risotto much these days. Standing at the stove and stirring constantly doesn’t work so well when you have to repeatedly leave the stove to pull your 20 month old off of the shelves he is climbing, out of the trash can he is investigating, or to pry his tightly clenched little fists off of his sister’s pigtails. When I have the opportunity for toddler-free cooking time, however, I love to make risotto.

A couple of years ago Cook’s Illustrated published a recipe for “Almost Hands-Free Risotto”, which involved much less stirring than traditional risotto and claimed to be just as creamy. That sounded good to me, so I decided to try converting their recipe, which uses chicken and chicken broth, into a vegetarian version. My favorite risotto is mushroom risotto so that’s the direction I went with it.

In the original recipe the flavor of the broth is boosted by poaching seared chicken breasts in it before using it to cook the rice. I decided to try the same technique for my version, first browning the mushrooms and then letting them steep in mushroom broth and it worked great. Then I followed the rest of their technique for cooking the risotto and it did indeed turn out creamy and perfectly cooked. It still took more attention than cooking with a toddler usually allows (they did call it “almost” hands-free after all), but it was much easier than other risottos I’ve made. I even have the time to throw together a salad to go with it during the most hands free part of the process.

Another reason I like this risotto is that it makes enough that I almost always end up with plenty of leftovers for lunch the next day. You can gently reheat it with a little more broth to loosen it up again and eat it as usual, but my favorite way to eat leftover risotto is to make croquettes. Fried and crispy on the outside, soft and creamy on the inside, mushroom risotto croquettes, served alongside a nice salad of bitter greens with a lemon vinaigrette, is wonderful.

Mushroom Risotto

5 cups mushroom broth
2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 lb cremini mushrooms, chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
1 large onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups Arborio rice
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 tablespoons chopped chives


1. Bring broth and water to a simmer in a saucepan over medium heat. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat and cook the chopped mushrooms until they begin to brown.

Then, put the browned mushrooms into the simmering broth, cover, and cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Before you begin to cook the rice in step two below, use a slotted spoon to scoop the mushrooms out of the broth and transfer to a bowl. Cover the bowl to keep them warm or place them in a warm oven on very low heat until ready to use later.

2. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in the now empty Dutch oven.

Add the onion and ¾ teaspoon salt and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 to 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for a few seconds, then add the rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the grains are translucent around the edges, about 3 minutes. 

3. Add the wine and cook, stirring constantly, until fully absorbed, 2 to 3 minutes.  Stir 5 cups of the hot broth into the rice; reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until almost all the liquid has been absorbed and rice is just al dente, about 16 minutes, stirring twice during cooking.

This is what it looks like right after you add the 5 cups of broth.

This is 6 minutes later, when I checked it to stir the first time.

This is what it looked like 5 minutes after that, when I checked it to stir the second time.

And finally, this is what it looked like another 5 minutes later, after the full 16 minutes was up.

4. Add ¾ cup hot broth to risotto and stir constantly until it becomes creamy, about 3 minutes.

At the begining of the stirring.

After stirring for three minutes.

5. Stir in the Parmesan. Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let stand for 5 minutes.

6. Now stir the mushrooms, 2 tablespoons of butter, the lemon juice, parsley and chives into the risotto.

Season with salt to taste. Add a little more broth if you prefer your risotto looser. Serve!

Risotto Croquettes
Leftover risotto (any kind is fine), chilled
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups fresh bread crumbs
olive oil for frying

1. Form the cold, leftover risotto into small patties (mine were about 2 to 3 tablespoons in size).

2. Dip each patty into the beaten egg and then into the bread crumbs. Set aside till they are all breaded.

 

 3. Fry the patties in the olive oil over medium heat until they are golden brown on each side (you may have to cook them in batches, if there isn’t room in your pan for all of them at once). Serve hot. Delicious!
 

Flour Tortillas

It is probably safe to say that most foods, when made from scratch, taste much better than their supermarket counterparts. There are some foods for which this is an understatement, and one of them is flour tortillas. Homemade flour tortillas are not just “better” than prepackaged supermarket tortillas they are superior. The first time I made them it was just for fun, but I have never been able to go back. If you try it yourself you won’t be able to either, but don’t worry, they’re not all that hard to make! With a little practice you can turn out a dozen tortillas in no time.

 My recipe is adapted from “Flatbreads & Flavors” by Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid. I like it because it uses oil as the fat instead of the more traditional lard or shortening, two things I prefer not to feed to my family. As with pasta dough, this dough can be mixed together by hand or with a food processor.

Flour Tortillas
3 cups unbleached white flour
¾ teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons vegetable oil (or other oil of your choice, the original recipe uses corn oil)
¾ cup warm water

1. Place the flour and salt in the workbowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade and run for a few second to mix (or stir together by hand in a large bowl).

Then, with the machine running, slowly pour in the oil until well combined (or use your hands to thoroughly mix the oil into the flour in the bowl).

Next, with the machine running again, slowly pour in the warm water. The resulting dough should not be overly wet or dry but should be fairly soft and easy to knead. If it sticks to your hands, add a little bit of flour. If it is very stiff and hard to work, or doesn’t hold together, add a little bit more water, a tablespoon at a time.

2. Take the dough out of the bowl and knead briefly on a clean work surface.

Using a dough scraper or a knife, divide into 12 pieces. Shape each piece into a ball and then flatten it between your palms into a little round disc. Cover the discs with a sheet of plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.

3. To cook the tortillas you will need a heavy skillet, preferably cast-iron, 8 inches or larger. Heat the skillet dry over medium heat until very hot. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out the first tortilla. Roll it out paper thin, to a diameter of about 8 or 9 inches.

Don’t worry about making it a perfect circle, irregular tortillas taste just as good as perfectly symmetrical tortillas

The dough should be very thin

Put the tortilla in the hot skillet and cook for about 45 seconds.

You should see little bubbles beginning to form on the surface.

The cooked side should be speckled with golden brown spots. Flip the tortilla over and cook on the other side for about 30 to 40 seconds. 

Remove from the skillet and place in a folded kitchen towel. As each tortilla cooks, you should have just enough time to roll out the next one. Stack the finished tortillas inside the kitchen towel as they come off the stove.

4. Serve warm with your favorite fillings! In the winter I regularly make these for bean burritos. In the summer my favorite way to eat them is filled with grilled veggies, pico de gallo, and guacamole. Store any unused tortillas in a plastic bag. To reheat, place in a dry, hot cast-iron skillet and warm for a few seconds on each side. These tortillas also freeze well.

Noodles from Scratch

A few months ago, a friend of mine told me that I should start a food blog.  I laughed and replied that I didn’t have the time, but I gradually found myself thinking about it more and more and was warming to the idea.  When the daydreaming turned to serious contemplation, I asked myself (and all my friends on Facebook), am I insane?   I am the mother of two small children, ages 5 years and 18 months, working a part time job from a home office.  Between the kids, the housework and work I have no time to spare (or sleep).

On the other hand, I told myself, perhaps it is for this very reason that I should start a blog.  I need to start doing something for me on a regular basis.  Keeping up a blog would remind me to do something that I love, being creative in the kitchen.  I love to cook, and I love to share what I cook with friends.  Taking up yoga might be a more relaxing use of my valuable time, but I think this will be more fun and just as good for my soul. After this little pep talk (and much encouragement from the Facebook friends), I decided I’d do it. Now I just had to decide what to make first, and perhaps even more important, what to name the blog!

I think anyone who knows me well knows that my favorite thing to cook (and eat) is pasta.   Long, short, stuffed, sauced, east or west, I love noodles.  When I was about 8 years old, my family went to my aunt’s house to celebrate my cousin’s high school graduation.   A big gathering of family and friends were there and, besides my younger brother, I was the smallest one there.  My aunt had made spaghetti for dinner and asked me if I’d like to serve myself.  So I happily grabbed the spoon and scooped myself up what I have since been told was a huge portion.  Apparently it was so large that everyone was worried there wouldn’t be enough food left for all the other guests.  No one has forgotten this.  When visiting the same aunt in Italy 7 years ago, we went to the market to buy pasta.  I don’t speak Italian, but I understood when the man behind the counter asked if this was enough and she replied, “More, more.  She may be small but she eats a lot!”

So, starting with pasta seemed like it might be a good way to kick things off, and when my husband came home from work with a dozen lovely eggs from a colleague who keeps chickens, I knew what I had to make, and what I should name my blog, noodles from scratch.

I decided to make two batches of pasta dough, one for fettuccine and one for butternut squash ravioli.  The fettuccine is your basic, fresh egg noodle, served best with a light sauce or simply butter or oil and cheese, to really let the flavor of the fresh pasta shine through.  The ravioli recipe is one I’ve been developing for a few years now with the help of my favorite taste-tester (and probably my harshest critic), my 5 year old daughter. It has become her favorite meal.  Not only does she like to eat it, she likes to help me make it too!

Fettuccine

2 cups all-purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten

1.  Put the flour in a food processor and run for a few seconds to distribute it evenly.  Add the eggs and process for 20 to 30 seconds, until it begins to form into a ball of dough.  If it’s too dry to hold together, add water about a teaspoon at a time.  If it’s too wet and sticks to the workbowl, add flour about a tablespoon at a time.

2.  Take the dough ball and any loose bits and briefly knead together to form a smooth ball.  Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes.  (At this stage the dough may be stored in the refrigerator for up to a day before rolling out.)

3. After the dough has rested, divide it into six smaller pieces.  Keep the pieces you aren’t working with wrapped in plastic (I keep them all in a plastic bag) to keep them from drying out.  Take the first piece of dough and run it through the widest setting of the rollers of a pasta machine.  Fold it into thirds, like a letter, and run it through again. Continue to fold and run through on the widest setting until you have a nice, smooth, rectangular sheet of dough.  Now continue to roll the dough through the machine, reducing the width between the rollers each time through until you have the thickness you desire (I prefer the thinnest setting).

4. Place the rolled sheet of pasta to rest on a lightly floured work surface or cookie sheet and roll out the next piece of dough.  By the time the next sheet of dough is ready to start its rest, the previous sheet of dough is usually ready to be cut into noodles.  Feed the rested sheet through the machine’s fettuccine cutter (or whatever other cut you want).  Hang the noodles to dry on the dowels of a wooden pasta rack while you roll, rest and cut the remaining noodles.

Once all the noodles are cut you may cook them right away or you can continue to dry them for several hours and then store them in a plastic bag or other airtight container in the refrigerator (for up to one week) or in the freezer (for up to a month).

5.  Cook your finished noodles in plenty of boiling water (salting the water is optional, I try to avoid the extra sodium).  Boil till al dente, about 3 minutes, depending on how thick you cut your noodles.   Serve with a little butter or olive oil, salt, pepper and grated cheese.  A few fresh chopped herbs are a great addition too.

Butternut Squash Ravioli

For the Filling:
1 small butternut squash (about 2 lbs)
olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 tsp brown sugar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp Chinese five spice powder
½ cup pecorino romano or parmesan cheese, grated

For the Pasta Dough:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten

2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons butter

For the filling:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out and discard the seeds.  Brush cut surfaces of squash halves with olive oil and place cut side down on a rimmed baking sheet.  Bake until soft, about 30 to 40 minutes.  Remove from oven.

2. When squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh and place in a small frying pan.  Sautee for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring frequently, until excess moisture has cooked off and the squash is thick and smooth.  Remove pan from heat and stir in the butter, brown sugar, salt and five spice powder.  Place squash mixture in a small bowl and stir in the cheese.  Cover and set aside to cool until you are ready to fill the pasta.

For the pasta dough:
Prepare as for Fettucine through step 3, rolling the dough sheet to the thinnest setting and making the sheet about 4 inches wide.

To assemble the ravioli:
As soon as you have finished rolling the dough into a sheet, lay the strip down on a clean, dry work surface and trim the ends straight with a fluted pastry wheel or a pizza cutter.  Use a teaspoon measure to place small balls of squash filling in a line down the pasta sheet, one inch from the bottom and about two inches apart.  Fold the top of the pasta sheet over the filling, lining it up with the bottom edge.  Seal the edges of the sheet together with your fingers.  Use the pastry wheel to trim the bottom edge and then run it between the balls of filling to cut out the individual ravioli. (Be sure to save the dough trimmings as you cut the ravioli. I gather them into a ball in the plastic bag as I work and then run the ball of scraps through the machine when I've finished with the original 6 balls of dough. You can get several more ravioli out of the scrap pieces!) Place cut ravioli on a well floured baking sheet and repeat with the remaining dough and filling.  You should end up with about 6 dozen two-inch ravioli.

To cook:  Melt butter in a small pan over medium-low heat, add garlic and cook until garlic is very lightly browned. Bring 4 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot.  Place half of the ravioli in the pot and gently boil for 3 to 4 minutes, till al dente.  Scoop the ravioli from the pot using a small mesh strainer or a slotted spoon and place in a serving dish with a little garlic butter.  Cook other half of the ravioli and add to the serving dish with more garlic butter.  Serve with additional grated pecorino or parmesan.

Note:  If you aren’t going to cook the ravioli right away, or if you only want to cook part of the batch and save the rest for later, place it in the freezer on the baking sheets.  When the ravioli is completely frozen you can take them off the sheets and put them in a freezer bag instead.  When cooking the frozen ravioli, add one or two minutes to the boiling time.