Recipes

Pesto Pasta with Paprika Grilled chicken

October 15, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

As soon as I made my first batch of spinach pesto I threw it on penne along with some spicy grilled chicken. The paprika rubbed chicken added a nice counterpoint to the creamy pesto sauce. Even though it was a simple spice rub (paprika and olive oil) it tasted great. Before grilling, I tenderized the chicken by pounding it thin. The pasta was flavorful and the warm colors of the chicken and green pasta were very pleasing to the eye as well! I topped the pasta with a little crumbled feta and walnuts.

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Spinach Pesto

October 14, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I was craving penne pasta the other night but I wanted to do something different than a tomato or cream sauce. I decided to go with a pesto sauce and I was not disappointed with the results! This pesto recipe has a light creaminess with just a hint of mint and walnuts. I threw in a little crumbled feta for extra creaminess. It was great on pasta and I would imagine it would be tasty on panini sandwiches as well. Since I don’t have a food processor I used a standard blender which worked fine.

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Moroccan Couscous with Figs, Dates, and Apricots

October 13, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Couscous is a tasty dish that is a great accompaniment to proteins like lamb, chicken, and beef. What makes couscous great is its versatility. You can pretty much add anything to it and make it your own. Couscous is great spicy or sweet but I prefer a little bit of both to give it a good balance. This recipe is sweet from the fruit and has just the right amount of heat that comes from the aromatic spices. This may not be quite traditional, but I like couscous to be a little more saucy and not so dry. It all depends on how much liquid goes into the pot so reducing the amount of beef stock by 1/2 cup would do the trick. Since couscous only takes a few minutes to cook, I steamed the dried fruit separately to soften before I added it to the couscous.

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Baingan Bharta (Eggplant Curry)

October 12, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Baingan Bharta is a traditional Indian dish that is made with mashed eggplant, aromatic spices, and simmered in a tomato based curry. Traditional eggplant curry calls for charcoal roasted and mashed eggplant. I diverged a bit from the traditional framework but I was very happy with the results. The creamy tomato curry tasted great with the flavors of the braised eggplant. The eggplant simmers in the sauce until it is melt in your mouth tender. It was really tasty with fresh baked naan and chopped cilantro on top.

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Naan

October 8, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Naan is an Indian flat bread baked in a Tandoor oven at high temperatures. I consider naan to be one of the best ways to get that last bit of curry sauce in a bowl eaten. It is similar to pita bread, though it is much lighter with lots of air pockets in the center. For a yeast based bread, Naan is pretty easy to make. As with any yeast bread, It’s just more time consuming since the yeast has to rise for several hours. I had a little trouble getting the naan as flat and thin as I wanted but in the end I would deem this recipe a success. I salted the dough just before baking in the oven and I thought this improved the flavor quite a bit. Naan can be served as a side dish with gee (clarified butter) or used for dipping in most kinds of Indian curry.

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Murgh Makhani (Butter Chicken)

October 3, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Butter chicken, or Murgh Makhani, is a popular Indian dish where chicken is marinated in a yogurt sauce and then cooked in a tomato curry sauce. Garam masala is used to season both sauces which gives them a delicious, aromatic flavor. The chicken was traditionally cooked in a tandoori oven but can be easily made in a regular oven too. Makhani, the tomato based sauce, is made by mixing tomato puree, butter, and cream to create a rich and creamy sauce. I also added almond butter to the yogurt marinade for another layer of creaminess. Cashew butter can also be used instead of almond butter. The recipe is easy to follow since the chicken marinates overnight and the tomato curry sauce is pretty straight forward. The only thing tricky was finding fenugreek and I could only find it at a spice store, not in a supermarket. I thought this dish turned out beautifully and I look forward to leftovers! Butter chicken can be served with naan, rice, and topped with cilantro or yogurt.

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Lentil Stew with Italian Sausage and Spinach

October 2, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

I wanted to kick off October with a good fall soup and lentil stew is a perfect fall and winter dish that is both hardy and healthy. I had never tried cooking Italian sausage in a soup before and I was happy with the results. The sausage became very tender through the slow cooking process. This stew is simply seasoned with bay, oregano, and balsamic vinegar. The balsamic vinegar gives a nice depth of flavor and the acidity is very nice. The recipe could be prepared over the stove in a sauce pot instead of a slow cooker, just cook it for 2-3 hours on low. The spiciness of the sausage flavored the broth wonderfully and all this soup really needs is a thick crusted bread to accompany it.

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Phở Ga (Vietnamese Chicken Soup)

September 29, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Pho is a Vietnamese soup that can be made with beef or chicken. Pho, to the best of my knowledge has something of a cult following among foodies and I was excited to try it out for myself. Pho is popular because of the amazing stock that is used to make the soup. The stock is flavored with star anise, cloves, cinnamon, lemongrass and nutmeg.* A list of ingredients and garnishes can be found here. I have never tried beef pho and this is the first time I have ever had chicken pho. Even though I don’t have any prior experience for comparison I really enjoyed this dish and I can see why it is so popular. The broth is really clean and fragrant and the flavors of the garnishes mixed with the noodles and broth are so good. The ingredients are basic but when eaten all together the flavors are more amazing than the sum of its parts. The star of pho is the beef soup and if the chicken version is as good as this was, I look forward to making that one too!

*I used ground spices for my soup but with most pho recipes it will require whole spices (I would imagine some pho purists would think this to be sacrilege). I thought the ground spices were great–I just made sure to strain the broth twice to remove the spice particles to get a clearer and cleaner broth.

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Pumpkin Bread with Dried Cranberries and White Chocolate

September 23, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since September has arrived I have been searching for a more fall inspired bread recipe. This recipe is a perfect fall bread and has so many good flavors. The pumpkin flavor and spices can clearly be tasted along with the delicious addition of cranberries and white chocolate chips. The white chocolate chips melted into the bread during baking so I might try a larger, white chocolate chunk next time. The bread was nice and moist and the pumpkin spice highlighted the flavors of the pumpkin puree. The aroma during baking was amazing and I can’t wait to have this for breakfast the next coming week!

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Chile Verde Roasted Pork Stew

September 18, 2011 by The Partial Ingredients

Since I had several pounds of shredded pork, I decided to make a stew out of the leftovers. This stew is an interpretation of a chile verde pork stew but with an addition of red chili flavors. Chile verde with pork is usually green and looks a lot like salsa verde. This stew has the flavors of a green chili with the addition of red chili flavors like paprika, chili powder, and ancho chilis. It turned out really well and I enjoyed all the layers of flavor this stew had. The recipe isn’t too difficult to throw together and it is a great way to use leftover pork roast. I recommend saving the bone from the pork shoulder and throwing it in this stew for added flavor.

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