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.

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.

Italian-ish Ramen

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This is the most comforting soup you’re going to have this winter. If tortellini soup and ramen had a baby, this would be it.

Ingredients:
  • 2 large chicken thighs, preferably skinless and boneless
  • 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon salt, divided
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 4 cups lower-sodium chicken stock
  • 3/4 ounce Parmesan cheese, grated (about 3 tablespoons), divided
  • 8 ounces uncooked thin spaghetti 
  • 10 basil leaves, sliced, divided
  • 4 soft-cooked large eggs, peeled and halved lengthwise
  • Calabrian chile paste, for serving
  1. Pat chicken dry using paper towels; sprinkle with pepper and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Place chicken and cook, undisturbed, until crispy and golden brown, about 7 minutes. Flip chicken, and cook until browned on other side, about 4 minutes. Carefully remove and discard all but 2 tablespoons of rendered chicken fat from Dutch oven, leaving chicken in Dutch oven.
  2. Add chicken stock and 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan to Dutch oven; bring to a simmer over medium-high. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook about 15 minutes.
  3. While chicken cooks, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high. Add pasta, and cook 1 minute less than package directions for al dente.
  4. Remove chicken from Dutch oven, and let cool slightly, about 10 minutes. Shred chicken (discard skin and bones if using), and set aside. Reduce heat under Dutch oven to low; sprinkle stock mixture with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste. Add shredded chicken and half of sliced basil (about 1 tablespoon) to stock in Dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium-high. Drain pasta, and add to simmering stock mixture in Dutch oven. Cook until pasta is al dente, about 1 minute.
  5. Divide pasta, chicken, and broth among 4 bowls. Top evenly with eggs, remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons Parmesan; remaining basil, and a small spoonful of Calabrian chile paste, to taste.