Roast Chicken Tagine

My new schedule at work doesn't generally allow me to spend three hours making dinner afterwards. I do get to have more breakfasts at home, which is a plus.  While I can throw together something in half an hour for an average meal, it does make it hard to cook a blog dinner in under two hours.

I came up with this variation of a Sunday Roast dinner, with chicken instead so it would be ready in an hour.  I haven't cooked with North African flavors in a while.  It's kind of like Stoo with chicken, but in the oven.  This tagine is just special enough that I had it for Rosh Hashanah dinner with the raisin challah.  It's lightly sweet for the holiday and complex enough to feel like a festive meal.

I'm using my Williams-Sonoma tagine spice mix that I should probably toss because it's so old.  There isn't much left.  It's mostly cinnamon, cumin, and paprika.  I vote that if you buy spice mixes like curry powder or lemon pepper, you might as well get a generic tagine spice.

It's also helping to clear out the Pond so I can start planting for fall.  Used up the last of the carrots.  The beets died during the extreme heat wave and I had to throw out the last two.  Pickled all the cucumbers I could get to grow.  The problem is the cauliflower.  They're supposed to bloom within 70 days.  It's been something like 4 months.  They take up a ton of space that I would rather be using for peas and salad greens.

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (or the 4 huge ones I got)
1 large sweet potato
*2 large carrots
1 yellow onion
*2 ribs celery
12 pitted dates
*1 Tb honey
olive oil
*1 Tb tagine spice
almonds for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Peeling the sweet potato is optional, but I always peel my carrots.  Cut sweet potato, carrots, onion, and celery into bite-sized pieces.  Toss in a drizzle of olive oil to coat.  Distribute around the edges of a roasting pan.  It's ok if some of it lands in the middle.  Evenly distribute dates among the veggies.

2.  Place chicken pieces over vegetables in pan.  I swear, those were marked chicken thighs.  I'd hate to meet the whole chicken in a dark alley.  And there was another package with even bigger ones.  Sprinkle chicken with tagine spice.  Pour 1/2 C water into the pan to help the vegetables cook in the same amount of time as the chicken.  Cover, either with the pan's lid or foil.

3.  Roast for 1 hour.  Remove foil and check temperature of largest piece of chicken.  You're looking for 160ºF.  If not done, replace foil and continue to roast in 20 minute increments.  Finish with a drizzle of honey and a sprinkle of almonds.  Serve hot, with rice, couscous, or another starchy side.

Serves 4-6

Difficulty rating  π

Round Raisin Challah

Since the High Holy Days are virtual this year and choir won't get the round challahs from Sisterhood at the end of services, I decided to make my own.

I'm not a huge fan of raisin challah, but it's traditional.  I did find a fantastic recipe from Tori Avey where you encase chopped apples in the strands.  I was planning to make mini challahs, so that wasn't going to work.  The strands wouldn't be thick enough.  Might do it when large gatherings are a thing again.

I did learn how to braid a round.  It is so much easier than the step-by-step blogs make it seem.  I forget which one had over 30 steps.  Weighing out the dough balls took longer than the actual braid.  I'm going to have to do this with other kinds of bread, just because it looks cool.

I'm not sure if I over-proofed these, because they collapsed as soon as they were egg-washed.  The two that had more flour coating the strands fared better.  I'm thinking bread flour next time, which most challah recipes suggest anyway.

3/4 C warm water
1-1/2 Tb oil
*1 Tb honey
2 tsp yeast
~3 C flour
2 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1 C golden raisins

1.  Into the water at about 100ºF, stir oil, honey, and yeast.  Let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.  While it's doing that, separate one of the eggs and put the yolk in the fridge for later.

2.  Place 1 C flour in stand mixer with the paddle.  Add water mixture and beat into a batter for 2 minutes.  Add egg white and other whole egg, another cup of flour, and the salt.  Beat into a stringy batter, 2 more minutes.  Beat in raisins.

3.  Pour a generous 1/2 C flour onto a work surface.  Scrape bread batter onto the flour and knead into a ball, adding only as much flour as necessary to achieve an elastic consistency and a ball that doesn't sag instantly.  Lightly coat a bowl with oil and turn dough ball over to coat all sides.  Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.

4.  Punch down dough and allow to rest on work surface 10 minutes.  Use a scale to divide the dough into half because the raisins might not be evenly distributed.  (I divided it into quarters at this point because I was making mini loaves.)  Divide each piece again into four more pieces, and round all of them into balls.

5.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or a Silpat.  Roll each dough ball into a long rope.  To make my 1/4 minis, the ropes were about 9" long.  I'm guessing 14" for half-recipe loaves.  Place two horizontally, then the other two vertically, alternating over-under into a weave.

6.  To make the round braid, number each of the 8 ends in your mind.  Take all the odd numbers and fold them over the even strand next to it clockwise.

7.  Next, take all the even strands, the ones you haven't moved yet, and fold them counter-clockwise until they cross a folded strand.  You'll end up with four sets of folded ends facing each other.  Pinch those closed and tuck under the ends.  Transfer loaf to prepared sheet and allow to rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

8.  Preheat oven to 350º.  I'm going with a lower temperature so the outer edges don't overbake before the middle is done.  Get the egg yolk out of the fridge and beat it with a teaspoon of water into an egg wash.  Brush egg wash onto loaves with a light touch.  I should get a spray bottle to do this, like bakeries do.  It's a pain to wash them out every time, but it's worth it.

9.  Bake loaves for 20 minutes.  Rotate and bake again, 10 minutes for 4 minis or 20-25 minutes for 2 loaves.  They should be golden and sound slightly hollow when thumped.  Cool on a rack, so the undersides don't get mushy.  These store at room temperature for 2 days, or wrapped in the freezer for a month.

Makes 2 loaves or 4 mini-loaves, about 12-16 servings

Difficulty rating  :-0

Lamb and Chickpea Pizza

I found a way to use up the last of the crème fraîche!  You won't have to hear about it after this.  I swear, I'm buying light (neufchâtel) cream cheese from now on for any recipe asking for crème fraîche.  Even if it wasn't expensive, all the accents are a pain to type.

I was going to make naan for this, but my schedule changed and I didn't have time.  Bought some kind of organic, vegan crusts instead...and then put cheese and meat on them.  Whatever.  The advantage of doing it this way is that all the ingredients are prepped ahead and you only have to stick the pizzas under the broiler.

The kale is negotiable.  You can use any other green, or omit it and have a side salad.  My plants needed a trim to stay healthy, so there you go.

Wow, this is post #1200.  That sneaked up on me.

1 can (15 oz) chickpeas
*1/2 C crème fraîche
*1 tsp minced garlic
2 C kale or other leafy green
1 lb lamb for stew
1 Tb olive oil
kosher salt and pepper
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
4 pieces naan or single-serve pizza crust

1.  Drain chickpeas and reserve liquid.  I happened to do it from scratch, so you're seeing a saucepan, but canned is fine.  Smash with a fork or potato masher until beans are mostly broken down, but still have some texture.  Combine with garlic, crème fraîche, and salt and pepper to taste.  Add some of the reserved liquid if necessary to make a thick sauce consistency.  Refrigerate until needed.

2.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Rub lamb pieces with olive oil and place in a baking dish.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and rosemary.  Roast until rare, about 20 min.

3.  While lamb is cooking, steam greens in a saucepan with 1/2" water and salt to taste.  Pull from heat when mostly wilted.

4.  Turn on the broiler and set the crusts on a baking sheet or pizza trays.  Onto each piece of bread, spread about 1/2 C of the chickpea mixture.  Top with greens and pieces of lamb.  (Cut the meat smaller if the pieces are larger than bite-sized.)  Broil for 3-5 minutes, until heated through and edges of bread are getting crispy.  Cut as desired and serve hot.

Difficulty rating  :)

Taming the Briar Patch

After the gardener trimmed off some runaway vines, I decided to do a better job of cutting back the boysenberry this year.  I don't remember if I even did it last year, and it was getting to be a fire hazard.  Unlike other times I've worked on it, I pulled back everything to get all the dead vines and the new rhizomes that formed near the planter walls.  About a third of the way in, I stepped back to look at how things were going and decided to start a blog post.

It was about an hour of hard work for a twelve-foot planter.  I set free the little plastic borders that were vainly trying to hold everything in.  Found a solar-powered path light buried in there, as well as the original root.  That had died quite some time before and came out.  A couple of vines with good root systems went in cups of soil as gifts to neighbors.

I probably owe the gardener an apology for filling the greens bin the day before he came.  It did push down about halfway, since most of the vines were dead and brittle.

I guess I didn't get as cut up as it felt, but the skin on my arms was pretty upset for about an hour.  I pulled out a couple of thin spikes in the shower after.  Thornless, my butt.  I'll try to remember to wear two layers of long sleeves next year.  At least there wasn't a ton of spiders.  Then I would have gone back for the long sleeves.  And coveralls.

I'm happy with the amount that's left.  It's still kind of a lot, but all of it is healthy.  I gave it an apology watering, which soaked the fallen leaves so they will become mulch.  Now we just need cool weather so the bramble can winter over.

Lemony Vegetable Pasta

The crème fraîche from the edamame soup came in a one-cup container for $7.99, and the recipe only called for 1/4 C.  Damned if I'm going to let the rest languish until it spoils.  Off I went searching for "recipes to use up creme fraiche" and found a lovely list on brit+co.  There were several I liked, but this one fit my vegetarian rotation and the part where I didn't feel like cooking all afternoon.

The original version from The Millennial Cook calls it Asparagus pasta.  It's off-season, and I didn't want to compound using up an expensive ingredient by buying $4/lb asparagus.  Plus, they were all thick and woody.  Free carrot from the garden.  I did approve of her motivation with the asparagus being because zucchini noodles sounded gross to her.  About time someone was brave enough to admit that.

If you don't have crème fraîche, you can use cream cheese.  Mascarpone works if that's what you're stuck with.  You're going to taste the lemon the most, with tangy undertones of the cheese.

My only real issue with the original recipe was the serving size.  I made a half recipe, but kept the full amount of peas, and it was quite a bit more than 3 servings.  I even measured the pasta in my little spaghetti-portion tool.  I'm calling it a standard 4-portion recipe here.

8 oz thin pasta like spaghetti (I used linguine)
kosher salt
*1 large carrot
1 C fresh or frozen peas
*1 lemon
*1/4 C crème fraîche
*1/4 C shredded Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp black pepper
garnishes such as toasted pine nuts, more parm, fresh basil, or lemon zest

1.  Start boiling 4 quarts of lightly salted water for your pasta.

2.  While it's coming to a boil, peel the carrot.  If you have a spiralizer, go for it.  If not, make long strips with the peeler, like wide noodles.  This is why I got linguine instead of spaghetti, so the strips would mimic the shape of the pasta somewhat.

3.  Assuming the water still isn't boiling, start the sauce.  Zest the lemon into a bowl.  Save some of the zest on the side if you want to garnish with it.  Once that's done, cut and juice the lemon and add the juice to the bowl.  Stir in the crème fraîche, cheese, pepper, and salt to taste.

4.  The water should finally be boiling.  Add the pasta.  About halfway through the cooking, add the peas.  When the pasta is nearly done, add the carrot strips, just for one minute to soften them a bit.  Since I was going to be microwaving leftovers, I didn't add them to the pot.  I left them in the colander and poured the hot pasta water over them to blanch.  But that's the next step.

5.  Before draining pasta, reserve 1/2 C of the liquid in case the sauce needs to be thinned.  Drain into a colander over the sink, do not rinse, and return to the pot.  Add the sauce and toss, adding back some of the pasta water if too thick.  You won't really be able to see the sauce on the pasta, being the same color, but you can taste it.

6.  Plate pasta and garnish as desired.  Serve immediately.

Chilled Edamame Soup

A search of chilled soups comes up with mostly Spanish options.  Nothing wrong with that, but I've made most of them at some point.  I'm saving the pea ones for the next time I grow some.  That left this interesting option from Food & Wine with a Japanese feel.

Being F&W, this got a little uppity and pricey for a soup.  There is apparently a reason I never buy crème fraîche.  If it isn't in your budget, you can sub sour cream or Greek yogurt.  For vegan, use coconut cream (and vegetable broth).  It's just a garnish.

That said, the actual process of making this soup is very simple.  Not many ingredients, only one thing to chop, and the blender does most of the work.  It does need to be done with plenty of time to simmer then chill, as do most cold soups.  You can't get around that.

1 Tb unsalted butter
1 med onion, finely chopped
1 qt unsalted chicken stock
2 C frozen shelled edamame (about 10 oz)
1/4 C crème fraîche
*2 tsp grated fresh ginger
kosher salt to taste

1.  In a medium saucepan, melt butter.  Add chopped onion and cook over medium-low until softened, about 7 minutes.  Add stock and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

2.  Stir in edamame and cook until softened, about 10 minutes.  Purée in blender in batches until smooth.  Chill at least 3 hours.

3.  Taste chilled soup and salt as needed.  It's going to go from bland to salty very fast, and will depend on the brands of stock and beans you used.  That's why you didn't salt while cooking.  Chilling changes the balance.  I used maybe 1/2 tsp for the whole batch, but I don't use much salt in general.

4.  In a separate bowl, whisk together crème fraîche and ginger until smooth.  Ladle soup into bowls and top with dollops of the ginger cream.  Serve very cold.

Difficulty rating  π

Monte Cristo Sandwich

I had some Swiss left over from the quiche Lorraine and went in search of something interesting to do with it.  I haven't had a Monte Cristo in ages, mainly because they're hard to find in diners and I never think to make them at home.

A cousin of the croque monsieur, it's basically a ham and Swiss melt inside French toast.  You can use deli turkey if you're not a fan of ham.  Great for brunches, they only need a side salad to be a complete meal.  I opened the last jar of daikon and carrot pickles for the occasion.

Strawberry jam is a common condiment for these sandwiches, but I still haven't made this year's batch.  I used the last of the spiced plum jam, and it was an excellent combination.  What that told me was that the jam would make a nice sauce with a holiday ham, maybe mixed together with a brown mustard.

I'm not a fan of putting mayo on sandwiches, but it serves a real purpose here.  It insulates the bread so the egg custard doesn't soak all the way through.  You don't want egg mixed with the fillings because it won't get hot enough to cook to a safe temperature.  If you're like me and don't like mayo, just put on a thin coat, enough to seal the holes on the insides of the slices.

*8 slices white or wheat sandwich bread
*4 slices Swiss cheese
12 oz thinly sliced deli ham
*approx 1/4 C mayonnaise
*1 Tb-ish mustard of choice
*3 eggs
*1/4 C milk
2 Tb butter
powdered sugar and jam for serving

1.  Spread mayo on the insides of all 8 slices of bread.  Add a slice of cheese to 4 pieces of bread.  Top with a drizzle of mustard, then 3 oz of ham.  Top with an un-cheesed slice of bread.  Press down lightly to push all the ingredients together.  Cut off the crusts to "seal" the edges.

2.  In a shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and milk to make a thick custard.  Melt butter in a large skillet or pancake griddle over medium-low heat.  Dip the sandwiches in the egg custard to coat both sides and the edges.  You don't have to let it soak all the way in.

3.  Fry sandwiches on the griddle until underside is browned, 5-8 minutes.  You're going for a slow cook to make sure all of the egg is done.  Flip and cook the other side another 5 minutes.  Cut in half, plate, and sprinkle with powdered sugar.  Serve with strawberry jam on the side for dipping.

Difficulty rating  π

Orange Blossom Yogurt Lemon Loaf

This recipe from the L.A. Times came with the long name.  I would probably leave out the yogurt part to reduce its length.  The orange blossom part is what caught my attention.  While the recipe uses orange blossom water, I did make my own orange blossom extract and have been looking for a use for it.

The directions have you use the food processor, which to me seemed very dangerous for a quick bread.  They're easy to over-mix by hand, much less in a machine.  I added some almond flour to reduce the gluten and a little extra lemon juice to the batter to offset it.  That also allowed me to sprinkle the top with almonds.

If you can't find orange blossom water, you can use lemon, coconut, or almond extract in its place.  That will change the flavor of the loaf slightly, but should still work.

If you choose to go by the original recipe link, beware that it's not well written.  The amount of lemon juice in step 2 is if you do the simple syrup brushing, which I did not do and am not listing here.  I used the glaze, and ended up with an extra lemon.  I have an idea what to do with that.  The recipe link does have instructions at the bottom for making it without a food processor.  My guess is the author decided that as long as she was using the processor for the lemon sugar, she might as well do the whole thing that way.

1-1/3 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 C granulated sugar
1 lemon
*2 Tb almond flour
1/3 C vegetable oil
2 eggs, room temperature
1 C full-fat Greek yogurt
*1 tsp orange blossom water, divided
1 C powdered sugar
sliced almonds for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 350º.  Lightly spray a standard loaf pan (or 3 minis) with pan spray.  Line the bottom with parchment and spray again.

2.  Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt and set aside.  In bowl of food processor, add granulated sugar and almond flour.  Use a microplane grater to zest lemon directly into the processor.  Juice the lemon and set the juice aside.

3.  Pulse the sugar mixture until it's even and has the texture of wet sand.  Add oil and pulse again until well mixed.  Add eggs and pulse to incorporate.  Add the yogurt, 1-1/2 Tb of the lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp of the orange blossom water.  Pulse until the last streak of yogurt disappears.  This is the last of the gluten-free portion of the recipe, when it's difficult to over-mix.

4.  Sprinkle flour mixture over wet ingredients and pulse until just mixed.  Alternately, you can pour the wet ingredients in a bowl and fold in the flour by hand if you don't care about getting an extra bowl dirty.  Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.  Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes for a full loaf or 30-35 for minis.  Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes.

5.  Turn loaves out of the pan, peel off the parchment, and allow to cool completely.  In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar, remaining 1/2 tsp of orange blossom water, and as much lemon juice as necessary to create a thick glaze.  Powdered sugar glazes go from too thick to runny very easily, so add 1/2 tsp at a time.  Drizzle glaze over cake and sprinkle with almond slices before the glaze has set.

Makes one full loaf or 3 minis, about 12 servings

Difficulty rating  :)

Beet Hummus

It's amazing how much oven can go into a cold dinner.  Sure, you can do this recipe with canned beets, but I had some in the garden to pull.  Which brings up another point, make sure you actually have the two beets you think you do before deciding not to buy backups at the market.  Ended up cutting the recipe in half and making the rest of the chickpeas into regular hummus.

I do prefer to use canned chickpeas in hummus instead of soaking and cooking my own.  The texture created during pressure canning breaks down better in the food processor and makes a creamier product.  Similarly, I'm roasting the beet here instead of simmering for a richer flavor and a texture that won't add as much water to the hummus.

The big supermarket was out of tahini.  Sprouts had one unsalted can left, tucked behind the garlic ones.  Both stores were stocked the week before.  I had a similar problem with half the items on my shopping list.  It's like someone knew exactly what I was planning and got to it first.  Soy sauce (not in this recipe) is having a similar issue, as is canned pumpkin.  I should have planted pie pumpkins this summer, but who could anticipate that?  If I can't find canned pumpkin in the next month, I'll just buy a pie pumpkin at Halloween and cook it.

1 15 oz can chickpeas
*2 medium or 3 small beets
*3 cloves garlic
kosher salt to taste
1/2 C unsalted tahini
1/2 tsp paprika
*1/4 C fresh lemon juice
1/2 C olive oil

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  I actually used the toaster oven, since that was the only thing I was cooking that day.  Wash beets well.  Trim off leaf and taproot ends, then wrap securely in foil.  Roast 20-25 minutes, until softening but not mushy.  Allow to cool, then peel off skin.

2.  Roughly chop beets and garlic.  Add to food processor with chickpeas, lemon juice, paprika, and a bit of salt.  Process until broken down.  Add tahini and run until smooth.  While running, slowly drizzle in oil until desired consistency is reached.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  This could involve more salt, garlic, and/or lemon juice.  It isn't going to taste very beet-y yet.  Chill for at least 2 hours, for flavors to meld.

3.  Serve cold with vegetables and pita.  I sprinkled it with feta because I had some.  It's vegan without.

Makes about 2 C

Difficulty rating  π

Eggplant with Rice and Lentils

It got hot and I felt like making something light.  This still involves the oven and stove, but the result can be eaten either warm or out of the fridge the next day.

I was shooting for Mediterranean when I started making this, but the flavors quickly veered into Indian cuisine, thanks to the dressing.  You could use Italian out of a bottle if you don't feel like making your own.

This was on my vegetarian rotation.  It's light, so a small piece of grilled chicken or fish would work well.  I had it with a few slices of my butter bread.

2 medium eggplants
1/2 C long grain rice (I used basmati)
1/2 C red lentils
*1 tsp grated ginger
*1/2 tsp minced garlic
*2 Tb white wine vinegar
2 Tb olive oil
kosher salt
parsley (fresh or dried) for garnish

1.  Preheat oven to 375º.  Remove caps from eggplants and slice in half lengthwise.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.  Roast 45 minutes.  They will look dry on top, but are easily pierced with a fork.  Set aside to cool slightly while you make the filling and dressing.

2.  Combine rice and lentils in a medium saucepan.  Rinse thoroughly several times, then cover with water by 1/2".  Bring to a low boil over medium.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, about 20 minutes.

3.  To make the dressing, whisk together vinegar, oil, garlic, ginger, and salt to taste.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

4.  To serve, first cut channels in eggplant with a sharp knife.  I recommend using steak knives when serving, because eggplant skin can be tough.  Plate eggplant halves, then top with rice and lentil mix.  Drizzle with dressing, then sprinkle with parsley garnish.

Difficulty rating  :)