Tag: Winter

Lasagna Soup

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Lasagna soup feels like the kind of thing that shouldn’t work, but absolutely does. It has all the comfort of a baked lasagna: the rich tomato broth, melted cheese, noodles soaking up flavor, but without the ceremony of layering and baking. Just one pot, a big spoon, and the kind of dinner that makes a spring California evening feel a little cozier.

Ingredients:
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 1/2 pound Italian sausage
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 1 jar marinara sauce
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup heavy cream
  • 8 ounces lasagna noodles, broken into pieces
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 8 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, shredded
  • 1/4 cup basil, chopped
  1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 7 minutes. Stir in garlic and saute for one minute. Add beef, sausage, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Break up meat and cook until cooked through, about 7 minutes.
  2. Stir in marinara sauce. Add chicken broth and heavy cream and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, add the lasagna noodles and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses, until melted. Garnish with basil and serve.

Sri Lankan Beef Patties

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These Sri Lankan beef patties are only nominally authentic, but they’re an ode to the beloved “short eats” or snacks that are ubiquitous throughout the island. Think fish cutlets, spicy rolls, and crispy vadai. These beef patties traditionally employ a more labor-intensive, handmade dough and are deep-fried, but I use buttery puff pastry and bake the patties here for results that are just as indulgent and aromatic. Serve these as an appetizer with chili sauce or even cooling yogurt and chutney.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 3-inch piece of pandan leaf
  • 1/2 pound ground beef
  • 2 tablespoons Sri Lankan Roasted Curry Powder or Madras curry powder
  • 1/4 cup coconut milk
  • 1/2 lime
  • 1 package puff pastry dough
  1. Heat the oil in a medium frying pan over medium heat. Fry the onion until starting to brown, then add the curry leaves and pandan leaf and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is golden brown. Add the ground beef, curry powder, and enough water to just cover the ingredients. Reduce the heat to a simmer and with the lid ajar, cook for about 20 minutes.
  2. Add the coconut milk and cook for 4 minutes, until the liquid is absorbed. Turn off the heat and mix through a squeeze of lime juice. Set aside.
  3. Roll out the puff pastry on a lightly floured surface to a thickness of about 1/4 inch. Cut out 4-inch squares with a pizza cutter. You should have about 12 to 16 squares. Spoon a tablespoon of the filling onto the center of each square and fold in half diagonally. Secure the border by pressing the tines of a fork alongside the edges.
  4. Preheat the oven to 375F degrees. Place the patties on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 minutes until golden, rotating the tray halfway.

Kale Ohitashi

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Ohitashi is a Japanese side dish made by blanching vegetables and soaking them in a light dashi and soy-based broth. This simple version features kale and it’s perfect because it’s easy, you can make it ahead of time, it’s super healthy, and it tastes great. Serve it room temperature alongside a Japanese meal and feel free to replace the kale with Swiss chard or any other hearty, leafy greens.

Ingredients:
  • Salt
  • 1/2 pound bunch curly kale (about 1 punch), bottom stems trimmed and discarded
  • 1 1/2 cups dashi
  • 1 teaspoon soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon mirin
  • 1 tablespoon bonito flakes
  1. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Prepare a medium mixing bowl full of ice water in the meantime.
  2. Blanch the kale in the boiling water until it is tender but still retains its texture, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the kale to the icy water and let it cool. Drain the kale in a colander and squeeze to remove excess water.
  3. Combine the dashi, soy sauce, mirin, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a small saucepan over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the salt dissolves. Let the dashi mixture cool and pour it into a medium bowl. Add the kale, stir, and cover the bowl. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
  4. When ready to eat, gently take the kale out of the bowl, leaving the liquid behind. Line up the kale leaves on a cutting board and gather them into a long bundle and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces and arrange them on a serving plate. Spoon on about 3 tablespoons of the reserved liquid or more to taste. Sprinkle the bonito flakes on top and serve.

Crab Fried Rice

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It’s Dungeness crab season! The best season! Crab curry! Pasta with crab! Crab fried rice! This Thai version of fried rice, fragrant and spicy with lemongrass and chiles and flecked with chunks of Dungeness crab, is one of my favorite renditions of the classic dish that seems to be ubiquitous throughout the Bay Area come every winter.

Ingredients:

For the prik nam pla:

  • 2 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice 
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 Thai chile, thinly sliced

For the fried rice:

  • 3 1/2 cups lump crab meat, preferably from Dungeness crab
  • 1 tablespoon minced lemongrass
  • 1/2 teaspoon minced makrut lime leaves
  • 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon canola oil
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic
  • 4 large eggs
  • 4 cups cold day-old cooked jasmine rice
  • 3 teaspoons granulated sugar 
  • 4 teaspoons soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions, plus more for garnish
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • Cilantro leaves, for garnish
  • Lime wedges, sliced cucumber, for serving
  1. Make the prik nam pla: whisk together all prik nam pla ingredients in a small bowl until well combined. Set aside until ready to use.
  2. Make the fried rice: heat oil in a large wok or large skillet over medium until shimmering. Add garlic, lemongrass, and makrut lime, and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 15 to 20 seconds. Crack eggs into wok; cook, undisturbed, just until edges of whites start to set, about 15 seconds. Stir eggs using a spatula until scrambled, about 30 seconds. Add rice and sugar; cook, stirring often, until rice is slightly caramelized, about 2 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, about 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in soy sauce, and fish sauce until incorporated, about 1 minute.
  3. Add reserved crabmeat to wok; cook, stirring constantly, until crab is heated through, 1 to 2 minutes. Add green onions and pepper; turn off heat, and stir until green onions soften, about 1 minute.
  4. Garnish with cilantro and extra green onions, and serve immediately with lime wedges, sliced cucumber, and prik nam pla.

Antipasto Salad

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Whatever happened to antipasto salad? (Unfortunately) relegated to the ’90s, I think of it as a chopped salad’s long-lost relative. Italian herbs, cheese, and salami may not have made the the healthiest salad a few decades ago, but this updated version features kale, radicchio, and avocado too for a Californian take on an updated classic. Serve this as a side to pasta, as I do, or eat it as a light meal on its own. Either way, it’s delicious.

Ingredients:

  • 1 small or medium garlic clove
  • 1/3 cup good quality olive oil
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh chopped thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 8 ounces mozzarella cheese, drained and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 4 ounces deli-sliced salami, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 bunch kale, stems and ribs removed, leaves coarsely chopped (about 2 cups)
  • 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 shallot, thinly sliced
  • Black pepper
  • 1 head radicchio, cored and coarsely chopped
  • 1 avocado, halved, peeled, and cut into 1-inch chunks
  • Grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
  1. Mince the garlic on a cutting board, then sprinkle with a pinch of salt and chop and scrape the garlic and salt back and forth with the flat side of a knife until it forms a mostly smooth paste.
  2. Scrape the garlic paste into a large serving bowl and whisk in the olive oil, vinegar, thyme, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Add the mozzarella, salami, kale, chickpeas, and shallot and season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine, then gently stir in the radicchio and avocado. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve.