House Spouse

To encourage me in my embrace of giving up meat (pork, poultry, and chicken), Andrew bought me my own copy of Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian (I had been reading and oohing and aahing over a library copy). It’s one of those good reference cookbooks, with the recipes organized by vegetables and grains. I had a few cans of chickpeas in the cupboard and a huge bag of organic baby spinach I’d bought on sale (meaning it was on its way out the door).

Jaffrey claims that this is a common tapas dish in Seville where it is often enjoyed with a few glasses of dry sherry. I took this as inspiration and added a splash to the dish while it was cooking. I also substituted homemade vegetable stock (no salt) for the water she says to cook it with. Thus, the recipe I’ve provided here is an adapted version, as the original includes directions for cooking dried chickpeas.

It’s a nice snack or dish for tapas, but works exceptionally well for dinner. We grilled bread and used it to sop up the salty sauce left behind. I think it would go well with rice (especially basmati) and a salad of cold vegetables with simple oil and vinegar. And of course, a glass of dry sherry wouldn’t hurt.

Spanish-Style Spinach and Chickpeas
(Adapted from World Vegetarian)
Serves 2 as a main dish

Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 T olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1 lb spinach (chopped if not baby spinach)
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
3/4 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne or red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp salt
1/2-3/4 cups vegetable stock
splash dry sherry

In a medium pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and stir a couple of times. Add the spinach and stir until it just wilts. Add the chickpeas, the spices, salt, stock and sherry. Stir and cook on medium heat, uncovered, for 20 or so minutes. Stir occasionally. It’s ready when there is a little thick sauce left in the bottom of the pain. Serve hot or at room temperature.

I confess that I am a bit of a lurker over at food blog, My Feasts. The recipes shared usually use either exciting ingredients or common ingredients in an exciting way. While searching for some dinner inspiration earlier this week, I was extra excited to find that she’d posted a recipe for Spicy Eggplant. I am always searching for ways to cook eggplant that don’t include breading and frying it or roasting and pureéing it into a dip.

She names this as a “dry curry,” a pirattal, meaning a dish cooked with very little liquid. I name this recipe as perhaps the best thing I’ve cooked in months. Every bite is satisfying. While the sauce is spicy and complex, the flavor and texture of the eggplant holds its own. This dish is heavy on ground coriander. I topped the finished product with fresh cilantro to accent that flavor.

I’m posting the recipe here, but I highly suggest visiting My Feasts, as that blog has many more recipes worth trying.

Also, I should warn you that I emerged from the library last week with a hefty cookbook full of similar recipes: Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian. (Yes, I took the plunge and am no longer eating meat.) I’ve got a jar of South Indian lemon pickle sitting in my window sill, just waiting to be opened and used in a lentil dish in the next two weeks.

Spicy Eggplant
Adapted from My Feasts

Note: Any time I’m cooking dishes with lots of spices such as this, I read through the entire recipe and measure everything out accordingly. For example, since the coriander, turmeric and cayenne will all be added at once, you can measure all three into the same small dish ready to be tossed into the pan. Andrew has taken this advice, to have everything ready before starting the recipe, and has subsequently become more and more comfortable in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
6 small eggplants, washed and quartered (or 2 long eggplants, cut into thirds and then quartered)
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
2 tb minced ginger (if you have a good blender, you don’t have to mince it too finely)
4 garlic cloves, minced (see above)
4 tb vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4 small shallots, minced
salt to taste
1 tsp cayenne powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 Tb coriander powder
3 curry leaves (optional)
3 green chillies (serranos work well)
Fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Wash and quarter eggplants.
Heat 2/4 tablespoons of vegetable oil and saute eggplant quarters in a single layer until brown on all sides and set aside. (While I haven’t tried it, I plan to try grilling the eggplants next time in order to cut down the amount of oil used.)

While eggplant is browning, purée tomatoes with minced ginger and garlic.

Using the same saute pan that you used to brown eggplant, heat 2 tablespoons of oil on medium heat and saute minced shallots, curry leaves, whole green chillies, cumin seeds and black mustard seeds. Once the spices start to pop, add in coriander powder, chili powder, turmeric powder and a pinch of salt and saute for a few seconds. Pour in pureed tomatoes and stir well. Adjust seasonings and add in cooked eggplants. Stir gently and cook covered on medium heat until the mixture looks dry. This could take around 6 to 8 minutes. I actually had to lift the cover for some of the liquid to evaporate. This took about a minute. Serve with hot steamed rice or roti.

I suppose that homemade roti could be a future project of mine… I just served with rice and topped with fresh chopped cilantro.

I think I got this recipe from Real Simple a few months ago before my subscription ran out. Their recipes are really hit and miss (sometimes really simple equals really flavorless), but this one is a stand out. It’s healthy, filling and pleasantly citrusy. I’ve labeled it a “Lunch for One Recipe” because it’s a quick one that can be made in the morning before work or, if you’re lucky to be at home during the lunch hour, prepared fresh to order. And of course, it’s lovely for a light supper as well.

Warm White Bean and Shrimp Salad
adapted from Real Simple

Ingredients
Several medium-large raw shrimp (about 1/4 lb), peeled and deveined
1/2 cup canned white beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 cup green onion tops sliced
2 T fresh parsley, chopped
zest and juice of a half lemon
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp butter, unsalted
salt and pepper

In a skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter and olive oil. Add the garlic and sauté quickly for about 30 seconds. Add the shrimp and cook for 2-3 minutes. Toss in the green onions, beans, and lemon zest and stir, allowing everything to warm and the shrimp to finish cooking through. Turn off the heat and add the fresh parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and remove to a plate.