Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Side Dishes

  • A Delicious New Spin on a Cauliflower Side – NY Times Cauliflower Piccata

    What is new is new again in my kitchen, so again I turned to NY Times Cooking for my latest cooking project, Cauliflower Piccata. 

    I was attracted to this recipe for 1) the simple desire to try something new with cauliflower and 2) the excuse to buy some new capers.  Thankfully my low expectations were stampeded by the great result – only slightly tangy from the brined capers and lemon, a great texture from the well-cooked but firm cauliflower, and sweet undertones from the melted butter.

    Cauilfower Piccata - Served Straight

    As you can tell, my mouth is still salivating over this diverse set of flavors, weeks after I actually consumed the dish!  I made a few modifications to the NY Times recipe:

    • No chickpeas or parsley, and I did not serve the dish with lemon slices as directed
    • I made the cauliflower in advance of preparing the final dish, so the cooked cauliflower sat for an hour
    • 3 tbsp butter instead of 4
    • Less zest (from 1/2 lemon) and I didn't measure the lemon juice

    Cauliflower Piccata - Served

  • 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

  • Instant Pot Indian-Spiced Cauliflower Two Ways – Winning Technique

    Thanks to the Ministry of Curry Instant Pot cookbook, I discovered a new way to prepare cauliflower with the Instant Pot.  And no, the result isn't an over processed cauliflower mash, but rather nicely just-tender florets.  

    Julie Sahni Cauliflower

    Ministry of Curry Cauliflower

    The secret?  One minute of high pressure followed by a quick release and removing the cauliflower (1/2 head, cut into 2-inch florets) from the Pot.  Voila!  That's it!

    Yes, I could talk about the recipes I used to prepared the above served dishes, but neither was fabulous.  The first was Julie Sahni's Gohbi Sabzi, which similar to many of the Classic Indian Cooking recipes I have tried was quite bland.  The second was the Essential Indian Instant Pot Cookbook Curried Cauliflower with Peas, which was a bit over spiced from the coriander (1 tbsp in recipe, which I reduced to 1 tsp, but was still too much), garam masala, and tomato that didn't quite land.  But the technique is one I will use to find a quick prep cauliflower to my liking!

  • 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.

  • Lisa Fain / The Homesick Texan’s Salsa Tatemado – Mild, Smokey Tomato Salsa

    With Cinco de Mayo fast approaching, I decided that I wanted to up my salsa game and turned to the excellent Homesick Texan for advice.  I settled on Lisa Fain's salsa tatemada recipe because it seemed sufficiently different from other salsas that I've made.

    Salsa Tatemada

    The salsa ended up being quite easy to prepare, even with my substitution of tomatoes on the vine for plum tomatoes and my use of a foil-lined quarter baking sheet instead of a skillet.  You basically roast the heck out of the ingredients before blending the ingredients with salt and water.

    The result was smokey, mildly spicy, and had an unexpected herbiness from the fresh cilantro blended into the salsa.  I added extra salt to to get more of the ingredients' flavor to come out, and moving forward I will likely play with the cilantro ratio.  There was something  unpleasant I found about the fresh cilantro blended in with the roasted ingredients, even though I otherwise like cilantro. 

    Regardless, this will likely be a recipe repeat this summer!

  • Incredibly Fast Hot & Sour Napa Cabbage

    With some withering napa cabbage in the fridge, what to do?  Put it in the wok!  

    CI Napa Cabbage

    But for my first carbon steel wok experience, an important lesson was learned – wok cooking is very fast!  I learned this through overcooking the cabbage, which meant cooking it for 6 minutes instead of 4, which the Cook's Illustrated recipe I used recommended.  I also didn't adjust the sauce ratio for the smaller amount of napa cabbage that I used, so the result was not only overcooked, but also a little watery.

    Despite those issues, the cabbage still had a wonderful flavor – tangy and slightly spicy.  I will make this recipe again, but with everything prepped well prior to flash cook the cabbage.

  • Rancho Gordo’s Lentil and Carrot Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette – A New Lunchtime Staple

    When I ordered my first supply of Rancho Gordo beans, I signed up for their email list which includes periodic bean recipes.  If the first recipe is an indication of how good their recipes are, consider me a fan! 

    Their lentil and carrot salad with mustard vinaigrette was delicious – the lentils (earthy), parsley (herby), carrot (sweet), and mustard vinaigrette (tart) all individually and collectively shined in this simple salad that can last for days.  I can see myself making this not only for lunches, but also for summertime gatherings as a healthy side.

    Carrot Lentil Salad

    The modifications I made included:

    • Used 1/2 cup dried lentils, cooked for 7 minutes high pressure in the Instant Pot (natural release)
    • I didn't measure the vinaigrette ingredients apart from the mustard, and I used approx. 2/3 of the vinaigrette (leftovers in a conventional lettuce salad later in the week)
    • Used 5 small carrots

  • 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.

  • Jessica Murnane’s Delicious Za’atar Sweet Potatoes and Kale

    Sumac has made a comeback in my kitchen.  After not touching it for five years, I've used it twice in the past two months.  Today's version is thanks to a delicious sweet potato and kale recipe via Epicurious and cookbook author Jessica Murnane.  

    Roasted Sweet Potato and Kale

    I simplified the recipe by following some of the commenter's approach of just roasting the 1/2-inch sweet potato chunks for 25 minutes (stirring once at the 15-minute mark) instead of parboiling then roasting the potatoes.  I also inadvertently simplified the recipe by not tossing the potatoes in za'atar before adding to the kale, rather just added the za'atar at the end to both the cooked kale and sweet potato.  

    Key tips – don't skip on the za'atar.  It really makes this deliciously tart, spiced, and earthy meal come alive.  I also didn't mix the olive oil in the za'atar to store the leftover za'atar (excellent on popcorn!) for longer.  I will definitely make this again as a healthy and hearty side dish or lunch in the future.

  • A Truly Unique and Mouthwatering Saag Paneer – with Feta!

    I checked out Priya Krishna's great Indian-ish cookbook from our library ebook reader, and the recipe that immediately caught my eye was the Feta Saag Paneer recipe.  

    Feta Saag Paneer Served

    Feta instead of paneer?  Yes, it works!  And it works really, really well.  The saltiness and brine of the feta melts wonderfully into the cooked spinach to create a creamy, tart, and herby dish, though I think Krishna's liberal use of butter helps enhance the flavor as well 🙂

    I made a few modifications to this recipe – substituted 1 tsp. of ground coriander for seeds based on the recipe reviews and personal preference, less butter (don't remember how much, but I think just a small amount works), and one Thai red chile.  I also reduced the spices overall because I had only 10 oz of spinach and about 4 oz of feta.  

    Yum!  I look forward to making this recipe again.