what's cooking? part 5: 2017-2027

not because it really needs to go to 2027 because we'll all be under the ocean by then but because part 4 started in 2007

i made some pretty great tomato soup yesterday

san marzano toms + butter in pressure cooker w salt and baking soda
veggie stock + drained liquid from toms + a few bags of lapsang souchong
puree toms w stick blender, drain through sieve, combine with liquid ingredients
maple syrup + fish sauce to taste

how do you get to the point in life where you're putting heterodox ingredients like tea, maple syrup and fish sauce in tomato soup? is this entirely your own invention or are you following some unknown and wild tradition?

its the food of my people

bored single men who spend a lot of time on food blogs

well I am impressed, it sounds delicious (though not sure about the tea). how long did you cook it for?

toms were in the pressure cooker for 20mins, which is the bulk of the cooking time

in the context of bold tomato flavor and stock, the tea adds primarily smokiness and some sweetness. it's worth trying, i think!

Were these canned whole toms? Why pressure cooker? Why baking soda???

whole canned toms

pressure cooker reaches higher temperatures, which, in combination with the increased pH you get with baking soda, leads to caramelization that would be impossible otherwise

i actually made a batch earlier in the week that i forgot to add baking soda to and the difference is pretty noticeable --- w/o it the soup is much brighter and more acidic/tomato-y (which might be what you want!)

i have a bream in the oven, stuffed it with lemon, garlic and parsley, threw a few slices of potato around it and i've got cabbage braising in some stock on the hob. been roasting fish a lot in the last few months, feels like one of the nicest things to eat without much effort.

Making a lamb shoulder tonight with broccoli and the serious eats roasted potatoes that I believe somebody posted on the other thread and have been intriguing me since.

how do you get to the point in life where you're putting heterodox ingredients like tea, maple syrup and fish sauce in tomato soup?

otm

its the food of my people

bored single men who spend a lot of time on food blogs

loltm

What are these blogs? Are they instant pot propagandists?

hey gbx do you do a natural release or quick release on the p.c. with this method?

mine's electric so i just do a slow release

should I get an instant pot? it seems like more like an appliance of convenience rather than one of, like, some crazy new benefit (like sous vide)

rfi: what is yr favorite way to prepare fennel?
preferably side dish but i'll take all comers

one place i worked at useda make a potato, fennel and leek gratin that was nice. other ideas: superthin sliced and put in a salad is great, too. or "melted", cooked slowly in olive oil with onions and garlic to get it really soft and borderline carmelised could be a nice side?

fennel is nice roasted

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/02/vegan-ramen-miso-creamy-vegan-vegetarian-food-lab-recipe.html

going to cook this at the weekend

I like fennel raw in salads, sautéed with leeks & green beans, roasted & carved up with a piece of meat or fish

Jim: it's good. Double and freeze, for all the effort.

thanks everyone! pretty new to fennel. i tried braising it in stock & vermouth last night & it turned out delicious, keen to try some of these recommendations

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/02/vegan-ramen-miso-creamy-vegan-vegetarian-food-lab-recipe.html

going to cook this at the weekend

― Islamic State of Mind (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, January 10, 2017 5:28 PM (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

oh man i've been wanting to try that but its daunting --- soda, you've done it? how long did it take?

i like fennel here are some things

fen risotto, maybe w/ salami
fen & chickpea broth w/ lemon zest and chilli
fen & potato soup
baked fen in like a puttanesca sauce w/ orange zest and feta
roast pork w fen (add fen seeds to pork herb rub too)
any bit of wite fish w/ fen, thyme, rosemary, lemon zest, capers etc

pernod good to have around just for fen

also if u ever want to parboil fen for anything do it in milk, or mostly milk, and keep for mash potato or gratin later

I don't like fennel because it is anise-y. I feel like I need to broaden my horizons tho w/r/t winter vegetables, I can't only eat potatoes all year, and I love kale but let's be honest it's not in season in February.

A friend is coming over on Sat bc she wants advice on cooking large hunks of meat. Considering a pot roast alongside a rolled stuffed pork loin -- one easy, one complicated.

try parsnips! one of our favorite winter things is just roasted winter veggies (beets, onions, carrots, garlic, parsnips, turnips, potatoes) mixed up with some olive oil, rosemary, and a bit of sausage, cover and bake.

best way to enjoy fennel is to throw it in the damn garbage bcz it tastes like licorice and it is GROSS

I made a great pork dish with star anise the other night and the first time I made it I used like one star anise (recipe says 5) because I hate licorice but actually it's so subtle it's really good so I always use 5 now

THANK U STEVIE YOU <---> ME = SAME TEAM

anise and fennel are wonderful flavors

that said i have bought fennel bulbs in the past and they have rotted in my fridge bc i couldn't decide what to do with them fast enough :/

tbh I wish I didnt' loathe anise/fennel bcz it wd make things a lot easier but welp here we are, what can ya do

parsnips are the devil fyi

hmph

parsnips are fine, they're sweet and a lil weird but they're fine

quickest way to ruin a soup imo

THE DEVIL

parsnips are good caramelized together with other vegetables as the base for a winter soup stock, they contribute a lot of complexity and are similar to carrots w/ their sweetness. im not a fan of plain parsnips though

for burly winter root vegetables i prefer celeriac

I stand with VG.

Honey roast parsnips are my secret ingredient in a veggie soup

monsters, all of u

mushroom pizza that has a bunch of rehydrated porcinis sauteed with a load of criminis and garlic, on top of fontina, carmelized onions with rosemary playing the role of sauce on some bland-o plain white dough i made

haven't had farinata in years, might attempt this recipe for saturday lunch http://www.seriouseats.com/2015/05/how-to-make-farinata-italian-chickpea-pancake.html

we had my brother and his family over for dinner the other night. they love cooking indian and so do we, so we made a huge feast. i haven't cooked this much food in a while:

masoor dal
benghali green beans and potatoes
tomato sambal
summer squash w/ mustard seeds
saag tofu

All the way at the other end of the vegetarian-omnivore spectrum, I'm making beef stock today.

I agree with VG that parsnips would not work well in any soup I know about, but they roast well and were quite acceptable in a beef and peanut stew recipe my wife made just a few days ago.

I really like roasted parsnips but they are such a damn awkward shape--the top fat part and the itty bitty skinny end make it diffcult to get evenly-roasting pieces.

I find that impossible meat substitute is pretty good. Now that my kids are vegetarian I’ve been wanting to try it in some of my older recipes. If only there was an impossible turkey

So I made this bean salad to go along side roasted Japanese sweet potatoes, quinoa and pan fried tofu and apart from the beans it was delicious (I don’t really like beans unless they’re in Mexican food):

2 cans black beans
Zest and juice of one lime
1 grated clove of garlic
1tsp ground ginger powder
4 tsp maple syrup
2 tbsp soy sauce
Half a cup of minced parsley and basil (original recipe used cilantro instead)
5 tsp toasted sesame oil
1-2 diced avocados

Original recipe used twice as much garlic and also chili oil (I don’t enjoy chili).

Since I didn’t like the beans I’m trying to figure what else I could use the rest of the recipe with.

Forgot to add: mix and then salt to your liking

That looks amazing

Justine, are you trying to keep it vegetarian/vegan? In which case, a non-bean protein source like lentils or mushrooms? And I think maybe some eggplant could work too.

Yeah trying to keep it vegan.

It might be too wet for this but I’m thinking of using it like a salsa over taco lentils in a tortilla with some romaine.

add some more soy sauce

I’m trying to get back into cooking again now that I have a way nicer kitchen. This recipe was from a meal kit box years ago - it didn’t have complete measurements so some of this is just my guesses, but it tastes really good and is super fast and easy.

Creamy mushroom pasta:
Get half a pound of penne or similar pasta boiling. About 5mins before it’s done, add a couple tbsp of sundried tomatoes to the pot.

Get a couple of tbsp of oil heating in a large pan. Add a punnet (like 8oz I guess) of mushrooms (my fav is shiitake but reg ones are fine. I don’t like the texture of sliced mushrooms so I dice mine) and sauté till golden (5mins).
Add half a diced onion and a big handful of frozen peas. Sauté till onion is translucent (5mins).
Add 1/2 c coconut cream, 1/4 c pasta water, about a cup of mushroom stock concentrate (I didn’t have any last time so I just used water and like a a tsp of umami seasoning), a pinch of Italian seasoning and 2 tbsp of any kind of parm (I use the cheap shelf stable powder). Stir and let thicken them take off heat and toss in pasta and sun dried tomatoes.

I made shredded and roasted Brussels last time and dumped them on top and it was a great match.

I sometimes add a dash of Braggs at the end just to pump up the umami even more.

I've got my first ever microwave oven arriving tomorrow. If there is another heatwave this summer I'm only using the instant pot or the microwave. And also cooking becomes absolutely exhausting at times. It can be a really stimulating activity when you are learning new tricks and recipes, but doing it routinely for years without a break it becomes like too much work. Perhaps ultra-processed dross in plastic boxes is a necessary evil that I'm going to have to get into for a bit.

I never had a microwave until a couple years ago. Use it pretty regularly to heat rice/grains/soups/etc. Also think it's perfectly acceptable for steaming veg.
Have fun with it!

I've not really got into anything other than warming up chicken chow mein ready meals yet. It's quite liberating having the option of taking a day or two off cooking and just warming up some ultra processed food in a carton, which has actually turned out to be much more substantial and decent than I was expecting.

just made some rice in a microwave steamer pot. It wasn't really any quicker but an easier washing up job and creates less heat and gas is so expensive. So yeah that's one thing I'm into now.

Those microwave rice steamers changed my life. So much easier and zero guesswork.

This certainly broccoli soup is epic, and pretty easy!

https://rainbowplantlife.com/vegan-broccoli-soup/#recipe

xp

yep, just filled it rice with a 2:1 water ratio and pressed the button on 12 mins. The 20th century was pretty neat in some ways!

calzino do you have an immersion blender? it's great for things like humus and gazpacho when it's too hot out too cook on the stovetop.

something like this is a good option during a heat wave:

https://thewoksoflife.com/cold-skin-noodles-liangpi/

i can't be bothered with making the noodles from scratch. i just make the dressing and the toppings. i live next to a Korean super mega market but you could cook some rice noodles or something in the microwave if fresh ones aren't available.

I have to cook for a young autistic guy with multiple sensory issues with food and trying new things can be difficult and unpredictable. I can't explain the heartbreak I feel when I've been working on a culinary masterpiece for hours and he coldly pushes the plate away and says "bin". Lol it's funny really, but at that moment it really fucking isn't.

aw man, now that's a tough critic <3

feel for you. how many things do you have that are accepted easily?

he generally errs towards spicy food, it's hard to nail anything that he will reliably accept. Some days it takes him 2 to even 3 hours to eat a meal and I'm never sure if it will end up in the bin or be eaten. I'd say the most reliable one is any curry with chick-peas and some other protein with some rice. At his college he frequently misses the afternoon program because by the time he has finished his dinner it's time to go home!

this trend is what has driven me to get a microwave oven and say bollox to 7 days a week cooking for a bit. I still made a curry for dinner today though, just a basic one with jarred spice paste. And it was much more successful than ones I have planned and spent hours on marinating and following instructions pedantically from an Indian food cookbook.

successful = he ate it within half an hour of being served!

that's quite a responsibility and sounds very challenging emotionally and everything. if processed or packaged food gets the job done and gives you some relief, awesome. i also hear you about cooking becoming a drudgery when you have to do it all the time. i've been feeling that way lately.

I finally made tofu (for my husband) and chicken (for me) satay this weekend and it was so fuckin good! I didn’t make the satay marinade or peanut sauce from scratch though so maybe it doesn’t count. It’s always my fav Thai food to order and it never occurred to me how easy it would be to make at home. Made a quick-pickle cuke and onion salad, roasted broccoli and jasmine rice to go with it and it was delicious.

This is delicious, made it last night but added lemon juice at the end:

https://www.platingsandpairings.com/spaghetti-alla-nerano-recipe/

I also didn’t really deep fry the zucchini they way they say to in the recipe - I just fried them in about a 1/4” of oil in a wide cast iron enamel pan, and they came out just the same.

I've been obsessed w/Korean bbq, I tried this marinade with beef ribs, then chicken thighs, then round steak, delicious every time

https://www.177milkstreet.com/recipes/korean-grilled-marinated-short-ribs-yangneom-galbi

1 Asian pear (see headnote), peeled, cored and cut into rough 1-inch chunks
10 medium garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
1/2 cup sake
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup mirin
Ground black pepper
3 pounds thin (⅛- to ¼-inch-thick) bone-in, flanken-cut beef short ribs (see headnote)
Lettuce leaves, to serve
Ssamjang, to serve

n a blender, combine the pear, garlic, ginger, sake, soy sauce, sugar, mirin and ½ teaspoon pepper. Blend until smooth, 15 to 20 seconds. Pour the mixture into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Add the short ribs, turning them to coat with the marinade, and arrange in an even layer; the ribs should be mostly submerged. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours, turning them once or twice to ensure they marinate evenly.
02
Prepare a charcoal or gas grill. For a charcoal grill, ignite a large chimney of coals, let burn until lightly ashed over, then distribute evenly over one side of the grill bed; open the bottom grill vents. Heat the grill, covered, for 5 minutes, then clean and oil the grate. For a gas grill, turn all burners to high and heat, covered, for 15 minutes, then clean and oil the grate.
03
Transfer the short ribs from the marinade to a large plate, allowing excess marinade to drip off. Place as many ribs as will comfortably fit on the grill grate (on the hot side if using charcoal). Cook, uncovered, until nicely charred on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs, flip the ribs and grill until the second sides are nicely charred, about 2 minutes, then transfer to a platter. If not all ribs fit onto the grill, cook the remainder in the same way.
04
Serve the ribs with lettuce leaves and ssamjang. To eat, smear a little ssamjang on a piece of lettuce, cut a piece of meat from the bone and wrap it in the lettuce.

Ssamjang recipe, just mix:

1/3 cup doenjang
1/4 cup gochujang
3 scallions, thinly sliced
4 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon minced yellow onion
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons toasted and finely chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted
1 tablespoon white sugar

Just going to throw together a salad with black-eye peas, fresh chopped tomato, cucumber, red onion, maybe some parsley along with some kind of acidic dressing. We'll eat it with ham, either on the side or in the salad. I haven't decided, yet.

This was awesome the first time I made it (vegan spinach curry):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjDCJcO6njI

One suggestion would be to add a little bit of mint as well.

sleeve, that bbq recipe looks amazing. I will have to give that a try soon.

Why can’t I find light soy sauce anywhere except for a very high price online? Is “lite” the same as “light”?

Nevermind - I just read that regular and light are interchangeable. Dark is the really different one.

talking of dark and light soy I attempted a basic Cantonese Chow Mein the other day that was a fail because the noodles I used were crappy uk supermarket brand fine ones. I've got the dark and light soy sorted, just needed one of them bags of pan fried egg noodles you get from Chinese supermarkets that I couldn't find at Morrisons.

I think the light soy is cheaper and generally the standard one because it hasn't been fermented as long

homebrew green pea curry with lots of cumin, greens and coconut milk i've been making once a week all summer, my lunch most days. very bright, almost fluorescent yellow color.

heat neutral oil in a soup pot on med-high, add whole spices (1 tbsp black mustard seed, 1.5 tbsp cumin seed, 4 or 5 shelled cardamom pods, a few whole cloves, a pinch of smashed coriander seeds) and a pinch of hing. add a diced onion when the seeds start to pop. when onion is translucent add thumb sized piece of ginger (minced) and equal amount of garlic (also minced) and 1/2 tbsp cumin powder. saute for a couple of minutes until the garlic and ginger is fragrant.

add 1 lb of split green peas (rinsed), 8 cups of water, however much salt you like and 2 tsp turmeric powder. bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer until peas are more or less soft. add a can of coconut milk (pref Brad's Organic) and puree with an immersion blender. simmer until peas are completely cooked.

remove from heat and add a bunch of greens (stalked kale or baby spinach), juice of half a lime, 2 teaspoons S&B curry powder (you can use garam masala i guess). give it another quick blitz with the immersion blender to chop up the greens. serve it the next day ideally, with fresh cilantro. on its own, over rice, or with roti. i like it chilled.

the cardamom, cloves and coriander don't affect the overall flavor of the dish very much in such small amounts but you get a few mouthfuls with nice surprises.

had a really good quinoa "Alla Nerano" recently, from a posh deli next to Lennox Hill Hospital. it was $4 for a little taste, like half a serving. i might try to make it myself. there were pistachios in it!!

Is hing worth going out of my way to find? I saw that it's similar to fennel seeds.

xp yummmmm

Hing = asoefatida (sp?) or no?

I believe that's the case, quincie!

haha, i call it asafoetida irl but hing is easier to type :)

prob worth having if you make lots of dal, otherwise no. it's generally "optional" and most recipes that use it only call for a pinch (Madhur Jaffrey's daily tarka uses like half a tsp, which is a lot) so a 3.5 gram container can last practically forever.

Brahmin ascetics who don't eat onions or garlic use it to flavor their food, to give an idea of its pungency.

I've got two packets of asafoetida powder on my spice wrack only used it a handful of times for chana dal. One of them subtle ingredients where through my own ignorance I wasn't sure what it added so its become an underused one.

It's also one of them ingredients that I couldn't find easily with online supermarket deliveries - I think I got it from ebay

dark soy sauce is mostly for marinades and glazes for meat

it's quite mad that the evolution of soy as a top notch condiment came about because most ppl were getting priced out of salt

Xp I have Thai tofu recipe that requires light & dark for the sauce

same with the recipe I was doing, it was a mix of light/dark plus oyster sauce and sugar. I love how so little of it can flavour so much.

Question for you all. Years ago my Colombian friend made me a meal, which was delicious and I often make some version of it myself, but I wondered if it had a specific name?
It's just a rice salad, white rice mixed with black beans, black olives, diced spring onions, cucumber and cherry tomatoes, with lots of cilantro. We have it with chicken just cooked with basic or Mexican kind of chicken seasoning.

that sounds delicious. I am hoping somebody who knows says something like "it's called 'ensalada de arroz'" and you immediately enter the rice poll thread with "well there's no goddamn ensalada de arroz so...".

Doesn’t sound familiar to me as a known dish w a specific name but it does sound tasty!