Tag: Make ahead

Chili Crisp Charred Beets with Ricotta

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I can’t get enough chili crisp and I know you can’t either. This unlikely pairing of chili crisp, beets, kale, and creamy ricotta has won me over and honestly, I can’t stop making (or eating) it. Adapted from Bon Appetit, you can easily prepare the beets a day ahead of time and assemble the rest of the dish the day of. And this side dish is just as delicious without the ricotta, too.

Ingredients:

  • 1 garlic clove, grated
  • 2 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons sugar
  • 2 teaspoons chili crisp
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 bunch Tuscan kale, stems and ribs removed
  • 1 pound prepared cooked beets, drained
  • 1/4 cup avocado oil
  • 4 ounces ricotta cheese
  1. Prepare a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Stir garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, chili crisp, and salt in a medium bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved. Set dressing aside.
  2. Toss kale, beets, and oil in a large bowl with your hands until coated. Cook kale and beets, turning occasionally, until kale is crisp and charred and beets are charred, about 4 minutes for kale, 12 minutes for beets. Transfer vegetables to a cutting board and let sit until cool enough to handle. Cut kale into large pieces. Cut beets into quarters. Add beets to reserved dressing and toss to coat. Let sit 20 minutes.
  3. To serve, spread ricotta on a platter. Add kale to bowl with beets, toss to combine. Spoon mixture over ricotta and drizzle remaining dressing all over.

Classic Ragu with Pasta

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Everyone needs a good ragu recipe in their back pocket, and this one is it. Cook a big batch slow and low, freeze it, and warm it up when the weather is chilly and you’re craving something super satisfying. Easy.

Ingredients:
  • 3 tablespoons milk
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • Black pepper
  • 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
  • 3 carrots, peeled and diced
  • 3 stalks celery, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3/4 cup dry red wine
  • 1 28-ounce can whole, peeled San Marzano tomatoes
  • 1 pound spaghetti, fettuccine, or similar
  • Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
  1. Prepare the meat: place the milk, 2 tablespoons olive oil, fish sauce, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, and a pinch of black pepper into a large bowl and stir. Add the beef and gently massage the marinade into the meat with your hands. Let the meat stand at room temperature for up to 1 hour while you prepare the sauce.
  2. Make the sauce: Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, celery, and onions and cook for 4 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds, until aromatic. Add 1 teaspoon salt and cook for another 5 minutes, until the vegetables soften.
  3. Add the meat to the pot, breaking it apart with a wooden spoon, and cook, without stirring, for about 5 minutes. Stir and continue cooking for another 5 minutes, until the meat is browned.
  4. Add the wine and cook for another 10 minutes, until the wine is reduced by half. Pour in the tomatoes and juice, breaking up the tomatoes with your hands before the go into the pot. Add a pinch of black pepper and let the sauce simmer, partially covered, over low heat, for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
  5. Fill a large pot with salted water and bring it to a boil. Cook pasta al dente according to package directions. Using tongs, transfer the pasta directly from the water to the sauce to finish cooking, about 2 minutes. Add 1/2 cup of the pasta water and gently toss. Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Chickpea Curry with Spinach “Puttu”

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I absolutely love puttu, the ubiquitious steamed ground rice dish that is popular in Sri Lanka and South India. I also cannot remotely figure out how to make puttu for the life of me. Enter couscous, a not-so-authentic shortcut that emulates that puttu feeling and satiates my cravings (oh, how I wish the Bay Area had more Sri Lankan and South Indian restaurants). Adapted from the Rambutan cookbook, this spinach-flecked puttu goes perfectly with fiery chickpea curry.

Ingredients:

For the chickpea curry:

  • 2 golf ball-sized pieces of tamarind, soaked in 1/2 cup warm water for 10 minutes
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, divided
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 2 teaspoons fenugreek seeds
  • 20 curry leaves, divided
  • 2 14-ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons Sri Lankan curry powder
  • 1/2 can coconut milk (about 3/4 cup)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons black mustard seeds

For the spinach puttu

  • 3/4 cup couscous
  • 3/4 cup boiling water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1/2 pound spinach (or kale), finely chopped
  • 1 serrano chili, finely chopped
  • 1 red onion, divided: 1/2 finely diced and 1/2 thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 cup fresh grated coconut (frozen is fine)
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 lime
  1. Make the chickpea curry: Squeeze the tamarind with your fingers, then discard the seeds and skin through a fine-mesh strainer, saving the tamarind water.
  2. Heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 5 minutes until translucent. Add the garlic, and fry until the onion is lightly browned. Add the fenugreek seeds and 10 curry leaves and fry, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.
  3. Add the chickpeas, tamarind water, salt, and Sri Lankan curry powder. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer for 20-30 minutes with the lid partially covering the saucepan. Stir in the coconut milk and cook for 3 minutes to warm through. Plate in a serving bowl and set aside.
  4. In the meantime, make the temper: heat the remaining tablespoon coconut oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat, add the remaining 10 curry leaves and black mustard seeds. After about 1 minute, when the curry leaves are crispy, pour the temper over the chickpea curry.
  5. Make the spinach puttu: Place the couscous and boiling water in a saucepan, sprinkle with salt to taste, stir, and tightly cover. Set aside for 12 minutes until couscous is tender. (Alternatively, cook couscous according to package directions.) Gently fluff couscous with a fork and set aside.
  6. In the meantime, add the oil to a saucepan over medium-high heat, and saute the spinach, serrano chili, onion, and a pinch of salt for 4 minutes, until the onion is softened. Remove from heat.
  7. Gently fold together the spinach mixture, couscous, sugar, and grated coconut and set aside.
  8. Put the curry leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, fenugreek seeds, and red onion in a small saucepan and cover with 1 1/2 inches water. Bring to a boil and after 2 minutes, add the coconut milk and stir until it is heated through. Remove from heat and just before serving, squeeze in the lime juice. To serve, pour the fenugreek mixture over the puttu and serve alongside the chickpea curry.

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.