I’m a creature of habit when it comes to pastas. I don’t do many meat versions either. (A vegetarian husband requires that my meat component is always on the side, and never in the pasta itself.) To make it into our regular meal rotations I make sure my pasta dishes follow these general rules. 1)… Read more »
Mexican bean toasts aka molletes. Molletes are open-faced sandwiches with a bean mash, cheese, and a zingy pico de gallo for freshness and balance. They’re traditionally made with black beans but I’ve used kidney beans (rajma) here. The mash itself is pretty straight forward – sautéed onions and garlic, spices, and cooked beans. For some… Read more »
‘Lighter’ for a few reasons: for starters this dhal makhani contains no cream, and only a quarter the amount of butter that’d typically go into it. Traditionally, the dhal is cooked separately with water and added to a base of onions, tomatoes, and spices. Simmered over a low heat, it’s then finished with (copious amounts… Read more »
Soft scrambled eggs and crispy garlic bits are my favourite additions to fried rice. If you buy and stock garlic granules by the pound like this alliomaniac writing the recipe, use that by all means. (A word! For the garlic obsessed!) Don’t worry if you don’t though – I’ve put instructions below for how you… Read more »
My Thai basil plant has gone rogue. It won’t stop sprouting new leaves every day and—as was to be expected—regular pruning has only made it more hardy and prolific. It sounds like I’m whingeing about it, and I kinda am, but that’s only because I can’t think up enough ways to cook with it; it’s… Read more »
Just learned that the phrase ‘easy as pie’ refers to how easy it is to eat pie, and not how easy it is to make one. Thank god for that minor clarification, the world makes sense again. Not that making a pie (quiche in this case) is hard, but it’s admittedly not as easy as… Read more »
Caramelized onions are made to sound way harder to make than they actually are. Sure, they take a bit of time to cook down and become jammy, but other than the occasional stirring, there’s really not much effort that goes into it. A few key things to remember and you’re good to go – start… Read more »
Writing out this recipe was not fun. There are four different components here and although the instructions under each read “add all the ingredients to a bowl and toss”, it required a bit of uncharacteristic patience on my part to type out. The irony, since the dish itself comes together so easily. Start with the… Read more »
Salads for dinner. I’m all for it. We’re not talking lettuce heavy, wimpy salads. We’re talking big, bulked up salads: seasonal fruit, meat, punchy dressing, the whole shebang. A salad that can double as a meal in itself. And that can only happen (for me) if there’s enough substance in here to qualify that. A… Read more »
It’s been a hot minute since I posted a recipe on here that doesn’t include mushrooms, spinach and eggs. Clearly breaking my own rules so I’m here to promptly correct that. Baking eggs this way somehow seems to transcend the whole ‘eggs are breakfast’ mindset. Or so I’ve gathered from conversations. (We eat salads for… Read more »
I’ve noticed in conversation that when I say “I made ricotta”, people think it’s a lot more complicated than making paneer. Here’s the deal. Paneer is made by boiling milk and breaking it with some kind of acid (yogurt/lemon juice/vinegar). The resulting curds are then drained and what you’re left with is paneer. Ricotta is… Read more »
The goal is to always keep things–in order of preference and priority–delicious, speedy and nutritious. This means adding protein and vegetables into the mix, while also making sure it comes together really quickly and easily. I’m talking no more than 45 mins tops in total, with no more than 15 mins of my involvement. This… Read more »
There are dishes that look easy and effortless to make, and then there are those that look like you need a quarter of a day and a culinary degree to whip up. But looks can be deceptive. Some dishes look simple to make, but the prep can seem endless because of the amount of hands-on… Read more »
Patatas bravas or ‘spicy potatoes’ is a dish native to Spain, and served typically as a part of tapas: small plates of shared food. Like most tapas dishes go, they’re pretty straight-forward and simple to make but without compromising on flavour. Full disclosure: I’ve never been to Spain. Everything I know about their food only… Read more »
Given that a major chunk of my life’s mission is to French toast and ‘casserole’ everything, I’m making a case for this caponata version today. Both French toasts and casseroles are ideal candidates to use up leftover bread. A stale/dried up loaf is actually a good thing in both cases. In French toasts, a dry… Read more »
