Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Main Courses

  • Weeknight Tofu Makes Its Return – NYT Black Pepper Tofu and Asparagus

    I've gotten bored with most at-home, sautéed versions of tofu, so rarely make this weeknight-appropriate preparation.  Instead, I'll hold panko-crusted tofu or other more complicated tofu preparations for the weekends.

    Some aging tofu and asparagus though brought me to the NY Times Cooking Black Pepper and Asparagus Tofu dish, a truly delicious sautéed tofu preparation.

    Black Pepper Tofu - Cilantro on Top

    I made a few modifications to the recipe, including halving the sauce and using only the top thirds of thicker asparagus. 

    The result was still excellent though – spicy from the black pepper, tangy from the Worcestershire sauce, and a nice lightness from the fresh cilantro.  

    I was really surprised at how much great texture and flavor contrast the asparagus provided, and this easy and flavorful sauce will put tofu back into my regular food rotation.  Thank you NYT Cooking!

    Black Pepper Tofu Full Pan

  • Pizza Dough with a Food Processor? If Chris Kimball Says So…I Will Try!

    I have one tried-and-true pizza dough recipe that has yet to be displaced, despite many attempts at new dough preparations.  Could I be narrowing in on an alteration that could take this recipe standard to the next level?  Cautiously, yes. 

    FP Pizza Dough - Cut on Cutting Board

    The recipe innovation?  Kneading the dough in the food processor instead of by hand, a tip we picked up listening to Christopher Kimball's Milk Street podcast.  Kimball made a passing reference to using a food processor for pizza dough, sparking our minds that this could be the accelerant to extra delicious dough.

    FP Second Dough Full

    Fueled by this tip, I found a Williams Sonoma food processor dough recipe online.  I added 3 teaspoons of the King Arthur Flour pizza dough flavor to this fairly standard recipe.  With a regular metal food processor attachment – not a special dough attachment – I developed very smooth and glossy dough in just under a minute of processing.  I then halved the dough into two balls, covered them in olive oil, and put them in the fridge for a 24 hour cold rise.  The dough balls rose significantly in the fridge, perhaps even more than doubling?

    When I prepared the pizzas themselves, I found the dough less easy to roll than my standard dough, even at room temperature.  I used my fists to drape the dough over as I found gravity more helpful than anything else I was trying.  

    I then did my standard pre-baking of the dough on a heated pizza stone before adding the toppings to place ~4 inches away from the broiler.  The result was a chewier dough than we are used to, but not one that was unpleasant.  The crust held up to the toppings, and had a nice yeasted flavor.  

    FP Second Pizza Crust Close Up

    I think my next step is to try my standard pizza dough recipe (with King Arthur pizza flour) using the food processor and going from there.  Excited to see what this innovation, that is so much easier on my arms, results in!

  • Milk Street’s Sichaun Cauliflower – A Little Salty but Pretty Good Stovetop Cauliflower Preparation!

    I generally roast or steam cauliflower – almost never prepare it on the stovetop.  That is partly why I was attracted to the Milk Street Sichuan Dry-Fried Cauliflower recipe – could I achieve a tender, well-browned cauliflower on the stovetop? Coupled with one of my favorite spice flavorings, this recipe quickly went from intriguing to a must-try.

    Milk Street Sichuan Cauliflower Prepared

    The recipe was relatively easy to prepare, though I definitely crowded too much cauliflower into the pan, requiring a longer cooking time throughout. 

    While I kept the spice and sauce ingredients as-is, the recipe's 2 tablespoons of soy sauce sadly overwhelmed the other flavorings – ginger, garlic, Sichuan peppercorns, and even the Shaoxing vinegar that I substituted for the dry sherry.  So while we ate all of the cauliflower, we did so with a lot of rice to offset the saltiness of the prepared dish.

    The cauliflower itself though was tender and well-browned, so I will repeat this preparation, and likely this recipe, with less soy sauce.   

  • Kenji’s Lighter Fettucine Alfredo from the Food Lab – Simple Recipe, Great Flavor

    As Serious Eats fans, we checked out J. Kenji Lopez-Alt's Food Lab from the library recently.  Our first recipe was his Lighter Fettuccine Alfredo – a hit despite a few modifications.

    Kenji Low Fat Alfredo

    My modifications included:

    • Substituting parmesan for the pecorino
    • No chives or parsley (none on hand)
    • A little bit of lemon zest and Penzey's Italian spice blend
    • 10 oz. of pasta
    • Only 1 cup of pasta water
    • Cooked the sauce and pasta for 4-5 minutes more than called for

    While the finished result was definitely lighter (less gloppy, sauce held to the noodles better) than my standard Fettucine Alfredo, I did miss the lightness that fresh herbs would have added.

    While the book version is different than the Serious Eats website version (no egg, less cheese), I look forward to trying that lighter version as well in the months ahead!

  • Palak Makai (Corn with Spinach) – A Winning Recipe By Adapting a “New Classic”

    In years past, I have struggled to make a restaurant-quality palak makai, a north Indian corn and spinach dish.  One recipe attempt was too spiced, the other too bland.  Well, I think I have finally nailed a great palak makai, thanks to Priya Krishna's "new classic" feta saag paneer recipe.  

    Corn Saag - Served

    I didn't take many notes for this recipe attempt, but I remember following my previous modifications to Krishna's recipe (less butter, significantly less coriander), adding some thawed frozen corn, and voila – a well spiced, tangy, and creamy palak makai.  A perfect vegetable accompaniment to my meal of paneer makhani, chana masala, and rice.

    Corn Saag Served on Table

  • Excellent Braised White Beans, Kale and Parmesan – Thanks NYT Cooking!

    In my latest effort to ignore my overstuffed shelf of cookbooks, I subscribed to New York Times Cooking when they recently had a half-off sale.  While the site has an overwhelming number of options, I decided to start with the basics and try the Braised White Beans and Greens with Parmesan recipe to use up some Rancho Gordo alubia blanco beans at home.  

    Braised White Beans Kale and Parm - in Pot

    The recipe turned out really well – super creamy, nice lemony, and slightly bitter from the greens.  This is a great winter side dish or main course.  My only wish is that I followed the recipe recommendation to serve the beans with a crusty bread to sop up the liquid and add a nice textural contrast.

    Braised White Beans Kale and Parm - Served

    My modifications included:

    • 1.5 cups of dried alubia blanco beans, soaked overnight, and cooked in the Instant Pot for 10 minutes of high pressure and natural release.  In the future, I will start by cooking them for 8 minutes, but this recipe called for mashing beans into the broth so it worked out well that they were slightly mushy post-Instant Pot
    • 10oz bag of chopped kale (with stems) from Trader Joes
    • Better than Bouillon with 2 cups of water
    • No mozzarella
    • No fennel, instead used some frozen chopped celery instead

  • New Go-To Instant Pot Chana Masala Recipe – Thanks “Ministry of Curry”!

    With the local libraries now open for browsing, I've returned to picking up cookbooks on a whim.  One of my latest is The Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook by Archana Mundhe, who runs the Ministry of Curry blog.  The first recipe I tried was her Chickpea Curry or Chana Masala.  One benefit of this recipe is that you don't need to soak the chickpeas overnight, approx. 4 – 5 hours in hot water is sufficient to result in creamy, evenly cooked chickpeas.

    Instant Pot Chole - Served

    I've made this recipe twice, and I suggest making a few modifications:

    • I've halved the dried chickpeas to 1/2 cup each time, and this amount of chickpeas probably can be cooked in less than 35 minutes.  I recommend starting at 32 minutes on high pressure the next time.
    • Omit the coriander – it's just not to my personal preference.
    • Try substituting a chana masala spice blend for the garam masala, per the online recipe (I've only used the garam masala before, but want to try mixing it up because I do like the chana masala spice blend I have).
    • Note:  The online recipe calls for 1 tsp. of minced ginger and 1 tbsp. of minced garlic, but the cookbook calls for 1 tsp. each so not sure how much garlic would end up tasting if I follow the online recipe next time.

  • Dishoom’s Rajma – good, not great, with an unexpected twist

    With the Dishoom cookbook now mine, all mine, I've been trying more of their recipes, including their version of rajma.  I made some modifications to Dishoom's recipe though, including estimating ingredients to make ~100g of the onion masala, using the Instant Pot to pre-cook 2/3 cup of dried red beans, and omitting tomato paste because I didn't have any at home.  

    Dishoom Rajma Served

    The resulting flavor was very good, with an unexpected added richness from butter, which I don't think I have ever seen in a rajma recipe.  

    Ultimately, I would say this recipe was very good but not excellent – nice ginger, garlic, and tomato flavors coupled with well-cooked red beans – but nothing really wowed me.  I think the tomato paste would have added a deeper sweet and tart flavor to the beans though, so that will be a feature of my next attempt which I imagine is more months and years ahead instead of in days or weeks.

  • Vegan Pho – Surprisingly Easy and Delicious Complete Meal

    We ordered our first pho delivery of the pandemic several weeks ago, which reignited my desire to make vegan pho at home.  I've been quietly planning for this moment for years, with star anise in the pantry and dried rice noodles at the ready.  But whenever I've thought about actually making vegan pho, I've rejected what I thought would be a too-consuming effort to produce a quality meal.

    Vegan Pho

    Of course, the punch line is that making top-quality vegan pho at home couldn't be easier.  You don't need to simmer the broth for too long (30 minutes before adding the vegetables and noodles) thanks to charring ginger and onion in broiler beforehand to achieve deep flavor.

    The final broth is umami-rich and deeply sweetly spiced, with almost caramel notes, and contrasts nicely with the fresh cilantro, scallions, and chile.  Thanks to two online recipes – Gimme Some Oven and Cookies and Kate – for providing basic guidance and inspiration for my personalized, mushroom-free approach.

    Ingredients

    (2-3 main course servings)

    • 1/2 red onion, halved
    • 1.5 inch piece of ginger, cut into 3-4 large chunks
    • 1 star anise
    • 2 cloves
    • 1 cinnamon stick
    • 1 tbsp. Better than Bouillon No Chicken Base
    • 1 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
    • Splash of rice vinegar
    • ~8-10 Baby bok choy, cleaned and halved, or greens desired
    • 1/2 package dried rice noodles, prepared via package directions (I soaked in hot water for 30 minutes while the soup broth simmered)
    • Diced scallions, cilantro, green chile, or other toppings (e.g., Thai basil, sprouts) to taste
    • Lime wedges for serving

    Directions

    • Pre-heat broiler on high, and place halved red onion and ginger on baking sheet.  Broil on high for 8 minutes approx. 4 inches from broiler, turning once halfway
    • In a soup pot or dutch oven, dry toast the star anise, cloves and cinnamon for 3 minutes on medium-high heat or until fragrant
    • Add 6 cupes water, charred onion and ginger, Better than Bouillon, and tamari, and bring to a boil
    • Reduce heat to medium and simmer broth for 30 minutes
    • Remove the spices, ginger, and onions from the broth, and add a splash of rice vinegar and the halved baby bok choy.  Cook for 3 minutes, then add noodles for another 2 – 4 minutes.
    • Served immediately with scallions, cilantro, chile, and lime wedges

  • The Tik Tok Feta Tomato Pasta Sensation – Via the Washington Post

    I don't have Tik Tok, but as the Washington Post recently displayed with their version of the Tik Tok #bakedfetapasta, its reach far surpasses the app.  With some leftover feta in the fridge, why not try this global sensation?

    Tik Tok Feta Tomato Pasta (1)

    Despite my modifications to fit the amount of feta I had, the result was very good – creamy, spicy, tart, and salty.  A great and easy weeknight pasta!  My modifications were as follows:

    • I didn't measure the olive oil, but think I had slightly more than half the amount of sauce with 1.25 pints of grape / cherry tomatoes and 4 oz of feta
    • I put may more crushed red pepper than called for, and probably could have reduced to the called-for amount
    • Cooked for 40 minutes
    • Approx. 8 oz of pasta
    • No basil