Lamb Kofta

A traditional Mediterranean dish made from almost any ground meat, though sometimes vegetables are used. Normally formed as long torpedoes on wide flat skewers, you may also making small oblong patties (without a skewer) , in the latter case use a frying pan. This recipe may be used for both the smaller patties cooked in a pan or on skewers. I made the patties this time.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground meat – preferably lamb, but lamb/beef, or even ground turkey will work
3-4 cloves garlic minced
1/2 onion grated
1 green chili, finely chopped
1 Tbs ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 bunch parsley minced (I had no parsley but did have a cilantro bunch, so I used that)

Directions
Measure out the dry spices.

I used the food processor to make short work of the garlic, onion; chile and cilantro.

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

For Patties:

Form into golfball sized meatballs.  Chill for an hour or over night.

Flatten and elongate into oblong shaped patties.

Heat 1 tbs oil in pan over medium high heat

Cook in batches (add more oil if necessary) in a pan over medium heat until a crust forms, turn and brown other side.

Drain if necessary.

Served with pita, lettuce, and tahini lemon sauce.

Spicy, tender, moist and delicious.

Until next time, Eat Well and Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
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Pastrami Hash

Corned beef hash often conjures thoughts of pink glop from a can, seared in a pan until crusty. The canned stuff looks and smells like dog food.  But home made? It is a crispy chewy and tender delight.

The word hash comes from old French  "hacher" - to cut up, (derivative of hache ax, hatchet) so anything chopped up and cooked in pan can rightfully be called a "hash".

But I digress, and I'm hungry. I've got some pastrami that I made and a few left over baked potatoes. Sounds like makings of hash to me!

You can make hash out of almost anything, leftover meat (chicken, beef, pork), some chopped vegetables but I think potatoes are a necessary ingredient.

My best tip for this is to cook the components separately before combining them at the end. They all have different cook times so this method gives you more control than if you were to just put them all in the pan at the same time.

Ingredients:
Vegetable oil
Bacon
Diced potatoes
Sliced onion
Diced pastrami

Crisp up the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat - rendering the fat.

While I was doing this, I found some mushrooms in the crisper, so I chopped them up as well.

After the bacon is crisp and the fat is in the pan , remove the bacon  to a paper towel covered plate.

Add the onions and mushrooms, reduce heat to medium low. You want to stew the onions, not brown or crisp them.

Remove the cooked vegetables to a plate.

Add the chopped pastrami (or corned beef or chicken or pork or...)

The pastrami rendered a little fat, and while it took on a pretty dark red (cured meat reacting with heat) and looks crispy, it is in fact meltingly tender.

Remove from pan, add the potatoes and increase the heat to medium high.

Add a spot of oil if needed. I wanted the potatoes to have a crunchy golden crust.

Add the meat, and onion/mushroom mixture back to the pan.

Toss together and heat through. Serve with a fried egg on top. My friend Marcy gave me that egg from her chickens. Some folks might like ketchup, others a splash of vinegar based hot sauce. Do as you like.

Sweet onion, peppery pastrami, crispy potatoes awash in egg yolk. A darn fine breakfast!

For breakfast, lunch, or dinner; hash is a great way to use up what's on hand.

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging.

The Gastronomic Gardener

Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/

Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/

Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt

http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Vegetable Curry - Meatless Monday

This is a quick dish, and very versatile – you may use almost any vegetable you choose. This dish will use the basic curry sauce. To really speed things up, microwave your prepped vegetables in a covered bowl with a little water for 3-5 minutes. This par cooking will reduce the overall time in getting dinner on the table. If you do choose to precook the vegetables, be sure to drain and dry them well before adding them to the hot oil.



Ingredients:
1-3 tbs vegetable oil
3-4 cups of vegetables cut up into bite size pieces and dried on paper towel (didn't parcook them)
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground coriander seed
½ tsp ground cumin
½ cup cooked (or half a can) chick peas
3-5 oz of basic curry sauce

¼  cup water if needed

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pan over medium high heat.

Add vegetables and stir-fry until vegetables begin to brown.  if you need a little more oil, go ahead and add it. Add more water if needed to soften vegetables. If so - cook until water is evaporated

Reduce heat to medium.

Add spices and stir-fry for another minute to coat vegetables with spice.

I like the way the tumeric colors the dish....

Reduce heat to low.

Add curry sauce, I used the whole batch of the sauce, I like my curry saucy.

Toss/stir to coat all vegetables and cook over low heat until vegetables are tender. Add a little more water if needed to thin out the curry sauce.

Garnish with chopped cilantro.  Serve over rice or with Naan. Click the link to see how easy that is to make!

Makes 2-4 servings



 Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Homemade Naan

If you've been following along, you know I am a big fan of the no knead bread recipes. Fortunately the second one I tried also can be used for Naan, which will accompany my Meatless Monday Vegetable Curry, which utilizes the Basic Curry Sauce I made yesterday.

For the Naan:

Start with the basic bread recipe.

I cut up some garlic to use one it, purely optional.

You'll want a large heavy skillet, and about a tablespoon of oil.

Heat the pan over high heat.

Dust board with a little flour.

Take a peach sized piece of the premade dough, dust with a little flour and put it on the board, roll it out to about 8- 9 inches diameter and about 1/8" thick. Use minimal flour - just enough to keep from sticking.

This is where I added the garlic.

When the pan is hot and drops of water skitter across the surface before they evaporate, add the oil (or ghee) coat the bottom of the pan and pour out the extra oil. I got two naan from 1 tbs oil.

Put the dough round in the pan, reduce heat to medium.

Cover to trap heat and steam. Notice my fancy cover!

Check for doneness with a spatula after about 3 minutes or sooner if you smell it overcooking. That's a nice way to say burning,

It was pretty spectacular when i removed covering sheet pan!

Though it is a bit dark.

I made another one without garlic and had better control over the heat. Sorta like pancakes - you always burn the first one or two!

Served it tonight with the Vegetable Curry.   

Give this versatile recipe a try!

Until next time Eat Well  & Keep Digging! 

The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener

Basic Curry Sauce

It is very helpful to have on hand a basic curry sauce. With it you can put together a very quick dinner, often in the time it takes to cook the rice. This recipe, adapted from http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/ is easy to make and delicious. It will make between 8 and 9 oz of curry. It will freeze for up to 3 weeks. If you freeze it, be sure to wrap it  well in order to reduce odor or taste transfer to other frozen foods.

I'm making this today to get a head start on Meatless Monday.




Ingredients:
3 tbs vegetable oil  (use or ghee (clarified butter) if you have it)
1 medium onion shredded
4 cloves of garlic peeled and finely sliced
1 1/2” piece of root ginger peeled and finely sliced – it should be about the same volume as the garlic
2 medium heat green chilies, seeds and veins removed the finely chopped (optional)
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground coriander seed
1 tbs tomato paste
½ cup + 4-5 tbs water

Directions:
Heat oil in a heavy pan over high heat
Add onions and cook, stirring for 2-3 minutes

Add ginger, garlic, and chilies, stir constantly for 30 seconds.

Turn heat down to low.

Cook for 15 minutes stirring, be sure not to brown or burn the mixture.

Add turmeric, cumin, and coriander.

Cook very gently for 5 minutes. Take extra care not to burn the spices  - sprinkle with a few drops of water if need be. (If you do burn them, start over!)

Take pan off heat and cool slightly.

Put water in food processor; add contents of sauce pan.

Process until very smooth  - about a minute.

Add tomato paste – process again.

Return mixture to sauce pan.

Cook over very low heat for 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

The color will darken to a rich orange/brown as you gently fry the sauce, if need be add a little hot water to keep it from catching on the pan.

Use immediately or cool and refrigerate or freeze for future use.

This is a versitile sauce, and while it does take some time, it is worth it!

Until next time, Eat Well & Keep Digging!


The Gastronomic Gardener
Garden blog http://amidwestgarden.blogspot.com/
Cooking blog http://ihopeyouarehungry.blogspot.com/
Twitter - www.twitter.com/DavidPOffutt
http://www.facebook.com/TheGastronomicGardener