Tag: Fall

Deviled Eggs with Dungeness Crab

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Every year, denizens of the Bay Area eagerly await a very special season. The weather is getting chillier, the nights are getting longer, and a very special something is along the way: Dungeness crab.

Outsiders may ridicule our obsession, but they haven’t tasted the sweet, juicy, tender delicacy that is Dungeness. And no holiday season is complete without a few crabs at the table, right?

This appetizer brings together Dungeness crab, which everyone loves, and deviled eggs, which everyone also loves, unless you have no taste. (Or maybe you haven’t had a good deviled egg? I was once there, my friend. I understand the struggle.)

Creamy, salty-sweet, and easy to prepare ahead of time, these get eaten up in an instant. You might want to make extra.

Deviled Eggs with Dungenness Crab

Ingredients:

1 dozen eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 minced shallot
2 tablespoons snipped chives, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
1 tablespoon capers, rinsed and finely chopped
1 teaspoon finely chopped thyme
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
Salt
1/4 pound Dungeness crab
Salmon roe, for garnish (optional)

1. Fill a large bowl with ice water. In a saucepan, cover the eggs with water by 1 inch and bring to a boil. Cover and remove the pan from the heat. Let stand for 10 minutes. Drain the eggs and transfer to the ice water bath to cool completely.

2. Peel and halve the eggs lengthwise. Transfer the yolks to a medium bowl and mash with the back of a spoon. Arrange the egg whites on a platter. Add the mayonnaise, mustard, shallot, 2 tablespoons of chives, parsley, capers, thyme, vinegar and Tabasco to the bowl with the egg yolks and mix until smooth. Season with salt. Transfer the mixture to a piping bag and fill the egg whites. Top each deviled egg with some of the crab and garnish with roe and chives.

Radicchio and Arugula Salad

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This simple salad is my new go-to when the weather starts getting chilly: it hits all the right notes: savory, earthy, and bitter, with a hit of acidity to boot. Hearty radicchio adds heft and a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese makes this salad go faster than you’d expect.

Make a double portion of this one and thank me later.

Radicchio and arugula salad

Ingredients:

3 cups arugula
1 radicchio, thinly sliced
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons olive oil
Salt
Pepper

1. In a large bowl, toss together the arugula, radicchio, and Parmesan cheese. Dress with vinegar, olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Lightly toss again and serve with a little bit of extra grated Parmesan cheese on top.

Beef Meatballs with Kale and Radishes

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The weather is getting chillier these days, the mornings foggier, and I’m layering again, Bay Area-style. In other words, the temperature has dropped below 75 degrees and I’m freezing. I’m also craving heartier food, like meatballs and leafy greens. I can turn on the oven in this weather too, which is perfect, because quite frankly, I’ve always kind of sucked at stovetop meatballs. But oven-baked? I’m a pro.

These oven-baked beef meatballs are among my favorites to prepare. No red sauce here: just the meatballs, sauteed kale and radishes, and a couple of secret ingredients: garam masala and miso. That’s right. You’d never guess it, but a dollop of salty-sweet white miso and a sprinkling of warm spices gives these meatballs an extra depth.

Cold weather isn’t so bad after all.

Beef meatballs with kale and radishes

Ingredients:

1 egg
4 garlic cloves, 2 finely grated, 2 thinly sliced
3 tablespoons white miso
3 tablespoons milk
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Pecorino, finely grated
3 tablespoons panko breadcrumbs
1 pound ground beef
2 bunches Tuscan kale, ribs and stems removed, leaves torn
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
8 radishes, trimmed, halved lengthwise
1 tablespoon lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees. Whisk egg, grated garlic, miso, milk, garam masala, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Mix in Pecorino and panko. Add beef gently mix with your hands just until all ingredients are evenly incorporated (do not over-mix).

2. Working one at a time, scoop out 2 heaping tablespoons mealtball mixture and roll into balls between your palms. Place on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake meatballs until lightly browned on top and cooked through, about 25 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add radishes and cook, tossing occasionally, until golden and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add kale and stir, until they wilt, about 5 minutes. Push kale and radishes to one side of skillet. Pour remaining 1 teaspoon oil on the empty side and add sliced garlic. As soon as garlic starts to sizzle, stir it into vegetables. Remove pan from heat and add lemon juice to mixture; season with salt. Toss well.

3. Tear meatballs in half and add to skillet. Toss everything together and serve warm.

Spaghetti with Mushroom Bolognese

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This recipe shouldn’t make any sense, but it does. It’s Bolognese, but it’s vegetarian. Oh, and there’s miso. And a loooot of vegetables. But the resulting sauce is so umami-laden that you won’t miss the meat, I promise. (Even Nishan, who counts a traditional spaghetti Bolognese among his favorite foods of all time, couldn’t get enough of this.)

Adapted from a Food & Wine recipe, I’ve played around with the vegetable proportions to my preference. Feel free to do the same.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup dried porcini mushrooms
5 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 small eggplant (8 ounces), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 pound cremini mushrooms, 1/4 sliced, the rest cut into 1/4-inch dice
8 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, caps cut into 1/4-inch dice
Salt
Pepper
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 1/2 tablespoons white miso
One 2-inch chunk of Parmesan cheese, plus grated cheese for serving
One 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, crushed
1 thyme sprig
1/2 teaspoon sugar
12 ounces spaghetti
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

1. In a small bowl, cover the porcini with 1 cup of boiling water; soak until softened, about 30 minutes. Finely chop the porcini. Pour off and reserve 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid.

2. In a large enameled cast-iron casserole, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add the onion and carrots and cook over moderate heat until lightly golden, about 8 minutes. Add the eggplant and 2 tablespoons of the oil and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 8 minutes. Stir in the cremini, shiitake, chopped porcini and the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste and miso and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chunk of cheese, the tomatoes and their juices, the thyme, sugar and reserved mushroom soaking liquid and bring to a simmer.


3. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is very thick, about 1 hour. Discard the thyme sprig; season the sauce with salt and pepper. 


4. In a pot of salted boiling water, cook the spaghetti until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the pasta water.

5. Add the pasta, pasta water, and parsley to the sauce; toss to coat. Serve topped with grated cheese.

Halvah-Stuffed Challah

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Growing up, one of my favorite after-school snacks was halvah rolled up with lavash flatbread: simple, sweet, and satisfying. Called halvardeh in Persian, Middle Eastern halvah is ubiquitous these days in well-stocked American grocery stores. But when I was a kid, halvah was precious: we’d make semi-monthly drives from Santa Rosa to San Jose to stock up on Iranian favorites, including halvah, sour cherry jam, lavashak (sour fruit roll ups), and spices and herbs for days.

This halvah-stuffed challah is a grown-up version of my childhood snack and make no mistake about it: this is a weekend project. Adapted from a Food and Wine recipe, this takes the better part of an afternoon to make, and the results are well worth it. This recipe makes two loaves so make like me and freeze one for eating later, when the craving strikes.

Halvah-stuffed challah

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 1/2 tablespoons active dry yeast
1/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup canola oil
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
8 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup tahini
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
Salt
1 1/2 cups chopped halvah
Sesame seeds and more sugar, for sprinkling

1. Make the dough: In a small bowl, whisk the water with the yeast and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Let stand for 10 minutes, until foamy.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk 4 of the eggs with the oil and 1 teaspoon of the vanilla. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the flour, pinch of salt, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon cardamom and the remaining 1/3 cup of sugar. Mix to blend. Add the egg and yeast mixtures and knead until the dough comes together, scraping down the side and bottom of the bowl, about 3 minutes. Scrape the dough out onto a work surface and knead until smooth and slightly sticky, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer the dough to an oiled large bowl and cover with wax paper and a towel on top.

3. Make the filling and topping: In a medium bowl, stir the tahini with 1/3 cup of the honey, the remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, the remaining 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, a pinch of salt, and 2 tablespoons of water until smooth. In a small bowl, beat the remaining egg with the remaining 1 tablespoon of honey and 1 tablespoon of water.

4. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 2 equal pieces. Transfer 1 piece to a lightly floured work surface and keep the other piece covered with a damp kitchen towel. Divide the dough on the work surface into 3 equal pieces. Using a rolling pin, roll out 1 piece into a 
14-by-6-inch rectangle. Spread 1/4 cup of the tahini mixture on top, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the halvah over the tahini in an even layer. With a long side facing you, tightly roll up the dough into a log, pressing the seam and ends together to seal in the filling. Repeat with the other 2 pieces of dough, 1/2 cup of the tahini mixture and 1/2 cup of the halvah. Arrange the 3 logs on one of the prepared sheets and braid them together. Brush with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds and sugar. Repeat with the second piece of dough and the remaining filling, egg wash and toppings. Bake the challahs for about 25-30 minutes on the middle and bottom racks of the oven, shifting and rotating halfway through, until deep golden. Transfer to racks to cool.