Tag: Fall

Roasted Squash Curry

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‘Tis the season for pumpkin and all manner of squash. And yeah, I know, squash isn’t the most exciting vegetable, but I promise you that this comforting coconutty Sri Lankan curry will change your mind. You can use any kind of pumpkin or orange squash here, but I like to use butternut squash (delicata works well too). Don’t skip the roasting step — it adds a ton of flavor.

Ingredients:

For the squash curry:

  • 2 pounds butternut squash, peeled and cubed into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
  • 1/2 teaspoon Sri Lankan curry powder (recipe follows)
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 20 curry leaves, divided
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 2 cardamom pods, lightly smashed in a mortar and pestle
  • 1/2 of a 14 ounce can coconut milk (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 inches ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 lime

For the Sri Lankan curry powder:

  • 6 teaspoons coriander seeds
  • 3 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 3 teaspoons fennel seeds
  • 3 teaspoons black peppercorns
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 3 teaspoons dried Kashmiri chiles
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
  1. Make the Sri Lankan curry powder: In a dry pan over medium-low heat, toast the coriander, cumin, fennel, and black peppercorns for 2-3 minutes, stirring regularly, until they’re fragrant, and pour them into a bowl. Add the curry leaves and dried chiles to the pan and toast for about 3 minutes, stirring often until the curry leaves are completely dried (make sure the chiles don’t burn). Remove from the heat and when cool, grind in a spice grinder until fine. Stir in the turmeric and store in a jar. Curry powder will keep in a cool, dry place for months.
  2. Make the curry: Roast the pumpkin: Preheat the oven to 425F degrees. Place butternut squash on a baking sheet and toss with 1 tablespoon coconut oil and season with salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the curry powder. Roast squash for 25 minutes, until tender and golden and beginning to brown at the edges. Remove from oven and set aside.
  3. Heat a medium-sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and when hot, fry the onion until beginning to brown. Add 10 curry leaves and garlic for one minute, then add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, and cardamom. Fry for 1 minute.
  4. Pour in the coconut milk and add the turmeric and remaining 1/4 teaspoon of curry powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and the roasted squash. Cook at a gentle simmer for 3-4 minutes, then remove from heat.
  5. In the meantime, heat the remaining tablespoon oil in a small pan and add the remaining 10 curry leaves, letting them crisp up.
  6. Plate the roasted squash curry in a serving bowl, top with the tempered curry leaves, the fresh ginger, and squeeze the lime juice over. Serve with rice.

Kimchi Mac and Cheese

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I love kimchi. I eat it straight out of the jar. To me, kimchi is torshi-adjacent — after all, my family has been buying kimchi since before it entered the American lexicon in the 1990s. We eat it alongside all manner of khoresh and rice. It works!

Kimchi is versatile. And if it works so well with Iranian food, then why not with American food too? Behold, your new favorite mac and cheese recipe. Tangy, fermented kimchi is the perfect foil to cheddar cheese. I can’t get enough.

Ingredients:
  • 1 pound elbow macaroni or similar
  • 1 cup panko
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 2 cups milk, warmed
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons gochujang
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
  • 3 1/2 to 4 cups grated aged extra-sharp cheddar cheese
  • 1 cup kimchi, roughly chopped
  1. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees.
  2. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add macaroni and boil for 4 to 5 minutes. Drain, rinse with cold water, and set aside.
  3. Put the panko in a small bowl and drizzle with olive oil, mixing until the panko is evenly coated. Set aside.
  4. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Add the flour and whisk for 1 minute. Drizzle in the warm milk, continuing to whisk to get rid of any clumps. Once the mixture is smooth, whisk in the mustard, gochujang, nutmeg, and salt. Stir mixture with a wooden spoon until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, for a few minutes.
  5. Remove from the heat and add both cheeses, macaroni, and kimchi and mix until the pasta is coated with the sauce. Pour the pasta into a wide, shallow, oven-proof baking dish, top with the panko mixture and transfer the dish to the oven.
  6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the panko topping is golden brown and the cheese sauce is bubbling at the edges.

Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

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I know there’s a million and one chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but I’m picky about cookies. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but I love a good chocolate chip cookie that’s chewy, nutty, and flecked with dark chocolate. Easy on the sugar, high on flavor. This recipe is my new go-to.

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 3/4 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 to 1/2 cup sugar, depending on how sweet you like your cookies
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 11.5-ounce package (about 2 cups) dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
  1. Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Finely grind oats in a food processor. Add flour, baking soda, and salt and blend for 5 seconds.
  2. Beat butter and both sugars in a large bowl until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in dry ingredients. Mix in walnuts and chocolate chips.
  3. For each cookie, form 2 rounded tablespoons dough into a ball and place on an ungreased baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten dough slightly. Bake until edges are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Cool on baking sheets for 5 minutes. Transfer to racks; cool completely.

Marinated Portobello Mushroom and Pesto Sandwich

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I’m not a huge sandwich person, and I rarely seek them out, but I haven’t been able to stop thinking about this flavor bomb of a sandwich I made recently. Garlicy pesto, meaty mushrooms, tangy sourdough, vinegary peppers, creamy mozzarella — this sandwich has it all.

Maybe I’m a sandwich person after all.

Ingredients:
  • 2 to 3 tablespoons prepared pesto
  • 1 pound portobello mushrooms
  • 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons avocado oil
  • Salt
  • 1 12-inch wide sourdough baguette or boule, halved lengthwise, toasted
  • 1 garlic clove, halved crosswise
  • 4 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
  • 1/4 cup sliced pickled cherry peppers
  • 1/4 cup basil leaves
  1. Place pesto in a large bowl. Remove stems and gills from portobello mushrooms. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium heavy skillet over medium-high. Arrange half of mushrooms in a single layer in skilled and cook until they start to sizzle, then wrap the bottom of a second heavy skillet that is small enough to nestle into the first with foil and use it to press down on mushrooms evenly. Cook, pressing down, until mushrooms shrink and are deeply browned underneath, about 3 minutes. Remove top skillet; season mushrooms with salt. Turn mushrooms over, add 1 teaspoon oil to pan, and re-cover with foil-lined skillet. Cook, pressing, until second sides of mushrooms are well-browned, about 3 minutes. Transfer mushrooms to bowl with pesto. Repeat process with remaining mushrooms and 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil. Toss mushrooms in pesto to coat.
  2. Rub cut sides of baguette with garlic. Arrange mushrooms on bottom half of bread, then layer mozzarella on top. Top with cherry peppers and basil. Close and cut in quarters to make 4 sandwiches.

Butter Chicken

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Butter chicken is ubiquitous on every Indian restaurant menu, but there’s no reason you can’t make it at home. This warming dish is easily made a day ahead and can reheated to be served with rice. I like to serve it with tahdig, sabzi khordan, and torshi on the side for an Indian-Iranian mashup. Trust me, it works.

Ingredients:
  • 1 teaspoon garam masala
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground oregano
  • 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, quartered
  • 3 tablespoons avocado oil or ghee
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 teaspoons peeled and grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 15-ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice, plus more to taste
  1. In a large bowl, stir together the garam masala, cumin, turmeric, cardamom, paprika, cinnamon, and oregano. Add the chicken and turn to coat all the pieces. Set aside for 10 minutes.
  2. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons of the oil and the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute, stirring.
  3. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the pan, then add the chicken and any leftover spices and sprinkle with the salt. Cook for 5 minutes, turning the chicken halfway through when it releases easily from the pan, then add the crushed tomatoes, butter, coconut milk, bay leaf, and lemon juice. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and tender, about 30 minutes. Season with additional salt and lemon juice, if desired. Serve warm.