I was surprised at the britani recipe in Persiana because my recollection (from reading about the origins of biryani) is that Persian biryani is very lightly spiced - more like what we would call a pulao. But then I read the guardian article and she credits Asma Khan, which makes much more sense! (Except for the part where SG says “authentic” biryani doesn’t have chillies… hahahahahaha)
Tonight’s dinner was a simple pantry meal, a result of continuing to clean and organize bit by bit.
A bottled pasta sauce was doctored in the PC while the pasta boiled. A can of cannelini beans, the sauce, and a generous addition of calabrian chile sauce, and some leftover spinach, plus the pasta and some pasta water to finish.
Very tasty for not a lot of work. And also aligned with my desire for a few meat-free meals.
Earlier in the evening I had some Patra recovered from the freezer - colacasia leaves rolled with a spiced chickpea paste, steamed, and then shallow (or deep) fried. Sounds strange but very tasty.
Hot night . Windows open . Fan blowing. The end result. That was one great cut of pork . Cucumber salad. Equal parts rice vinegar , white sugar , and water. 1/4 cup each . With carrot and cilantro. This was super delicious. Cheers.
Me too! Though I learned that at a Thai cooking class, so I don’t know that I had any real reason to be…
I know what you mean by fresh - my favorite green curry is from a pan-asian place nearby, and that’s exactly why: it tastes FRESH compared to all the others. I suspect that they add more cilantro to their base, but your point about frying paste the less sounds like it may be why.
I’ve been carbo-overloading today as if I was running a marathon tomorrow.
:::Anyone who knows me is hysterical laughing on the floor right now, hoping they don’t pee their pants:::
Elsa decided to show up this morning with a LOT of rain and wind. I dealt with some window leakage at work, other “stuff”, and decided the Friday Company Lunch for the 13 of us physically in the office was pizza and Caesar salad from Stachey’s in our complex. (Carbo Load #1)
I over ordered, so some Caesar salad came home tonight after work.
Had I taken anything out of the freezer for dinner? Of course not. So Rana’s Chicken and Roasted Garlic ravs to the rescue. (Carbo Load #2)
Made a quick roasted garlic sauce to put on top of the ravs, and put out some of the Caesar, and grabbed a piece of the fluffy, soft pita Stachey’s always serves with their salads. (Carbo Load #3).
Tonight’s dinner courtesy procrastination - I’ve been planning to make this meal for a week at least.
But anyway better late than never - and YUM!
Spanish tortilla, chorizo with a bit of sherry, and sautéed spinach.
Meant to make fennel and orange salad, but I was on the phone the whole time I was cooking, and washed up the mandolin after the potatoes, so that’s for tomorrow.
I think this is the tastiest tortilla I’ve made to date. And the faux alioli didn’t hurt - it was deliciously garlicky.
Need to work on getting the tortilla not to stick - or at least paying attention while cooking it rather than absent-mindedly doing it while deep in conversation
She wasn’t pretty, but she was muy delicioso. Spanish night - albondigas al ajillo - a recipe i’ve been making for about 25 years now. A bit ambitious for a work day (24 cloves of garlic! and i didn’t have the already peeled ones) but it turned out great. my tomatoes weren’t very juicy, the sauce for the albondigas is usually a little more tomato-y, but not much; it’s not a tomato sauce, it’s a garlic sauce! Pan con tomate, my favorite tapa of all time, and garbanzos con espinacas y champiñones - a blend of two dishes, with garlic too, harissa, and lots of smokey Spanish pimenton.
Mrs. P prepared another awesome dinner tonight with enough leftovers for another dinner. She made deep fried soft shell crabs and avocados; figs stuffed with blue cheese and pine nuts; roasted delicata squash; asparagus, and a delicious sauce consisting of homegrown herbs, capers, and vermouth, to go with the crab and asparagus. It all went great with a nice Spanish Garnacha.
Yesss… I actually had real alioli, but apparently it went bad while I was procrastinating.
So plan B - mayo (Duke’s - first time trying it), microplaned garlic, and some lemon juice to fix the flavor of the mayo. And a pinch of salt. SO GOOD.