It was NYT cooking day in my house yesterday, I guess. This was our dinner, and boy was it good. And easy. LLD said “huge winner” at least 3 times while eating it. I did make some adjustments to how I did this, some based on comments online, some on personal preference, etc. The recipe makes 2 toasts, and I was worried that wouldn’t be enough for us for dinner so I doubled it. I ended up not being able to finish my second piece (it’s rich) but LLD bravely took on the task. I doubled everything, but next time wouldn’t double the chili; may have just been exceptionally hot chilies but I didn’t need this much. I used green onion instead of red. Used dijon mustard because that’s what we keep in the house. I only buttered one side of the bread, stuck that in the hot oven butter side up for about 5 minutes, then took out and built it up- mustard and then the cheese, chili, onion, cilantro mix, and back in the oven while I fried the eggs. I served it with plain sliced bell peppers, which was great for regulating the heat of the chilies. This would be fantastic with a beer.
This looks and sounds delicious, but I always chuckle at what’s been popularized as Kejriwal Eggs in the UK & beyond.
The “Dish” was “invented” at the club in Mumbai by a vegetarian member (Mr. Kejriwal) who wanted to eat eggs without anyone knowing he was violating his (religious) vegetarianism – a double fried egg on buttered white toast, hidden under a sea of green chutney and melted Amul cheese – no visible egg whatsoever! – that’s all
But all variations on masala cheese toast with or without eggs are delicious!
I was looking on the site for a spinach rice recipe (I loved the one from Pati Jinich last quarter) and came across a bunch of recipes from a writer for the Style section in the early 2000s, which seemed so incongruous but fun, so I went down the rabbithole of reading his articles with recipes.
Anyway, this one is for spinach rice balls (like arancini) which I would make next time when I make extra rice, but this time I stopped with the rice part.
Simple ingredients – aromatics, spinach, hot sauce (I used chilli flakes), pine nuts (didn’t have any), and parmesan cheese.
Funnily enough, there is also a Spinach Rice recipe in the same article that skips the aromatics but includes cilantro and parsley, and purees the greens.
It’s def a very riffable recipe — I could see using broccoli or other Asian greens (we used baby shanghai instead of bok choy) — very basic, yet absolutely delish. I could eat this at least once a week.
This is a standard in our household, though I’m still tinkering with the perfect amount / type of seasoning. I buy chicken tenders instead of slicing up breasts. Pre-browning the panko (not a step in the recipe) is a must as otherwise they don’t get the golden crispy exterior we like. I think I underseasoned/undersalted them this time because they were a little bland- nothing some sauce of your choice can’t fix- but we find them perfectly juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
BRAISED RED CABBAGE WITH APPLES
This is a stunner of a recipe - so easy and such great results. I’m going to add it to our Thanksgiving menu. We had some leftover cabbage hanging around our fridge and even with past-prime produce the flavors of this were fabulous and perfect for fall. Mine didn’t need an hour and I also splashed some water in a few times when the pan was looking dry. No other notes. Fantastic.
Trying to get more spinach variation in for a husband and child who aren’t huge fans. I only had cilantro so I doubled that. Our long grain rice took double the time to cook that the recipe suggested. While flavorful from the cilantro, it was seriously lacking salt and I also added lime. After the fact, my husband commented it would be a good vehicle for TJ’s zhoug, which would definitely perk it up a bit. With tinkering, I will make this again.
I like to start the cabbage off with rendered bacon. I also usually add a small grated onion along with the apple, which I also grate – I find them to meld better with the cabbage that way vs sliced.
Just a whisper of ground clove to finish.
I make it as a side dish for turkey day a lot. The traditional German side with roast goose or turkey.
I thought I was being lazy when I skipped stuffing raw dough with the filling and used tortillas instead for a shortcut version of Gozleme when Turkish was CuisineOTQ, but apparently it’s a legit Analtolian version!
The recipe is from Ghillie Basan’s Classic Turkish Cooking, and Saveur has it here if you can’t access the NYT link (there’s also a helpful picture). The cheese is flexible as the substitutes for the Turkish cheese vary from pecorino or parmesan in the NYT & Saveur to cheddar or mozzarella in Ozlem’s version of the same recipe. I used a bit of feta and a bit of aged cheddar. Also added a bit of both Maras and Urfa biber.
And since I still have most of a bag of handmade flour tortillas to use up, I started with those (again) and saved myself making the dough.
I like folding in thirds marginally better than my quesadilla-style fold-over for eating by hand (also helps that I am not over-stuffing them quite as much anymore haha).
I actually made this soon over the recipe was printed in NYT…in 1997! The dough is rolled out very thinly and mine cooked fine following the instructions (I was a bit skeptical way back then, too). It finishes cooking once wrapped up in the foil. I remember making some kind of Turkish-spiced yogurt to serve with it.
Thanks for the memory! I think I have the cut-out newprint recipe in a box of recipes, somewhere. If I make it again, I’ll look up some Paula Wolfert or other Turkish recipes and add some different spices, maybe.
I think making the flatbreads from scratch would yield a lighter and chewier outcome – and I have no issue making flatbreads with all the chapati practice, but I do have trouble using up a package of tortillas every time I buy one! (Might be a decent shortcut for you if you don’t have time for a project.)
