Category: Dana Treat Original

Cucumber Raita

February 23, 2010

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Whenever I make Indian food, or food that isn’t specifically Indian but that features those intoxicating spices, I make a raita to serve with it.  It is such a quick and easy thing to throw together and it complements the food so well.  The dhal I made the other night is, as I mentioned, very highly spiced so a nice cooling and and tangy raita goes perfectly with it.

My standard additions to the plain yogurt are cucumber, lime juice, and salt; but the other day I had some of this on hand.

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It’s called dukkah and it is a spice mixture that originated in Egypt.  I ground some for a dish that never made it to the table so, rather than waste it, I figured I’d just spice up my raita.  Although I mixed cultures and cuisines, the result was fantastic.  The dukkah stars coriander seed and cumin seed (among other wonderful things) and both of those spices are common in Indian cooking.  So I wasn’t that far off the mark.  It can be used, among other things, to garnish a bowl of your best olive oil for pita dipping, and it can also be used to coat soft boiled eggs that sit on greens which sit on toast (the original reason I made it).

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But don’t feel like you need to make dukkah to in order to enjoy the raita.  It is wonderful without the spices as well.  Oh, and those cute little boxes?  They are filled with a variety of sea salt courtesy of my good gift giver of a husband.

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One Year Ago: Palmiers

Cucumber Raita
Dana Treat Original
Makes about 1½ cups

Feel free to use full-fat yogurt here, or even Greek yogurt.  Just please don’t use that nasty non-fat stuff. If you are adding dukkah, use about 2 tablespoons.  If you are a cilantro hater, substitute the same amount of fresh mint.

1 cup plain low fat yogurt
½ English cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
Juice of 1 small lime (or to taste)
Pinch of salt
2 tbsp. chopped cilantro

Mix all ingredients together in a medium bowl.  Taste for balance of flavor.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

(Can be made one day ahead.  Be sure to give it a good stir before using.)

Dukkah
The Modern Vegetarian

1/3 cup hazelnuts, skinned
¼ cup sesame seeds
5 tsp. coriander seeds
4 tsp. cumin seeds
2 tsp. sea salt
½ tsp. black pepper
½ tsp. paprika
Large pinch of cayenne pepper

Heat the oven to 350° F.  Roast the hazelnuts and sesame seeds separately until golden.  Then, roast the coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes.

Transfer to a food processor or large mortar and pestle, add the remaining dukkah ingredients, and blend until a coarse mix is formed.  (Don’t overdo it; otherwise you will end up with a greasy mess.)  Store the dukkah in an airtight container until required.


Category: Dana Treat Original, Dip
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Honey Roasted Pear Salad

February 15, 2010

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When I find myself in a bookstore – alone – I head straight for the cookbook section.  I pull down a few that pique my interest and get lost in the possibility of cooking wonderful things.  Sometimes, the book is so enticing that I have to buy it.  But because my collection is pretty large, a book has to be pretty special – and useful – for me to walk out of the store with it.

Several years ago, I was paging through a book and I found a recipe that sounded incredible.  Honey Roasted Pear Salad.  I loved everything about it and thought for a moment about buying the book.  I don’t for the life of me remember the title or the author but I do remember that there was a lot of meat in those pages and I realized that the salad was probably the only recipe I would use.  So what did I do?  I made a few quick notes on a piece of paper and left the book in the store.

Tell me I am not the only person who has done this.  I love books.  I love authors.  I love cookbooks.  I love cookbook authors.  I don’t want to take anything away from anyone.  I just couldn’t justify paying $35 for one recipe.

I do believe in karma and karma paid me back.  After making the recipe a few times (and loving it), I lost the slip of paper with my notes.  I went digging through my kitchen drawers yesterday trying to find it and it is gone.  So I re-created it.  I hadn’t made it in over a year (why, I don’t know) so what I came up with is really my own creation.  The one (ingenious) idea I kept is using the marinade for the pears as the dressing.

If you love pears in salad, I highly recommend you give this a try.  How often do we want to use pears and they are as hard as rocks?  In this version, because the pears are roasted, you will still get a delicious result with semi-ripe fruit.  This is a fairly sweet salad so you will want a nice salty cheese to balance it.  I used a Gorgonzola but Parmesan would be delicious here as well.   I cut the pears into 1 inch pieces but if you want a fancier presentation, you can just thinly slice them and roast them that way.

One Year Ago: Macaroni and Cheese with Tomatoes and Vegetarian Caesar Salad

Honey Roasted Pear Salad
Dana Treat Original
Serves 4

2 ripe (ideally) pears, peeled, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tbsp. walnut oil
1 tbsp. white wine
2 tbsp. sherry vinegar
1 tbsp. honey
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1 cup walnuts, toasted and very coarsely chopped
3 oz. Gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
½ cup dried cranberries
5 oz. salad greens

Preheat the oven to 425°F with the rack in the middle position.

In a large bowl, whisk together the walnut oil, white wine, sherry vinegar, and honey.  Sprinkle in a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper and whisk again.  Taste for balance of flavor.  Add the pears and toss well to coat.  Let them sit for a few minutes then, using a spoon, transfer the pears to a baking sheet.  You will want to leave most of the liquid in the bowl.

Bake the pears for 15 minutes.  Remove from the oven and toss well.  Put the sheet back in the oven for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until the pears are lightly caramelized but not burned.  Remove and set aside.  Whisk the teaspoon of mustard into the pear marinade and again, taste for balance of flavor.  This will be your dressing.

Place the greens in a bowl and add the pears, walnuts, cranberries, and cheese.  Toss carefully with the dressing.


Category: Dana Treat Original, Quick and Easy, Salad
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Post-Superbowl Vegetarian Chili

February 8, 2010

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Yes, I realize I am late with this post.  If I had been home last week (instead of hitting the slopes in Sun Valley), I would have made this on, say, Wednesday and posted about it in time for you to make it for the Superbowl.  But let me ask this – how did chili become the Superbowl dish par excellence?  And if the chili is really good, shouldn’t we eat it post-Superbowl and while it is still winter?

Here is the thing about vegetarian chili.  It’s just so obvious.  This is a food blog written by a vegetarian – of course there is a vegetarian chili recipe, right?  Well, I’ve been writing this blog for over a year and a half without ever talking about it.  I have nothing against vegetarian chili, actually I quite like it, but to me it’s like having all my recipes feature eggplant and mushrooms because they are “meaty”.  Chili, even if it does not contain meat, is “meaty” which is why some carnivores think we vegetarians eat nothing other than chili, eggplant, mushrooms, and salad.  And pasta.  Sheesh.

I have made my fair share of vegetarian chilis.  Some have been good and some have not.  I have followed recipes that instructed me to use many different kinds of beans and one that used just kidney beans (which made me realize that I don’t like kidney beans).  I’ve added bulghur, tempeh, and TVP and didn’t like any of those additions.  My go-to recipe became the one in The New Basics but over time I decided that the chili just ended up being too busy.  The list of ingredients is a bit long and, for me, the flavor gets muddied.

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Last week, after a day on the slopes in the sunshine (sorry), my lunch of choice was a baked potato with vegetarian chili poured over the top of it.  Does that sound weird?  It’s not for two reasons.  One, if you have never had an Idaho potato in Idaho, it is worth the trip just to eat one.  They are huge and they are tasty and those Idahoans know how to bake them perfectly.  Two, I know people who eat chili over rice and given the choice between those two starches, I’m suggesting you pick a potato.

The chili in those beautiful mountain lodges was not half bad.  The faults were as follows:  too salty, too soupy, and not enough spice.  I knew that as soon as I got home I had to make a pot and make up the recipe myself.  I decided to keep what I liked about that Sun Valley chili (corn, chickpeas, very tomato-y broth) and improvise the rest.

I’m very happy with how my post-Superbowl but still winter chili came out.  Most chilis aren’t smoky enough for me, so I worked hard to get that flavor into mine.  We like spice in our house so my version was quite spicy, you can make yours more mild easily. Chipotle peppers in adobo sauce are found in the Mexican foods section of your grocery store.  They are an intoxicatingly smoky (and spicy) little pepper best used with caution of you are sensitive to heat.  For last night’s verison, I used two of them plus about a teaspoon of the sauce and next time I will only use one (which I have instructed you to do below).  Once you have opened the can, you can put the remaining peppers and sauce into an airtight container in the refrigerator where it will keep for a month or more.

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One Year Ago: Mushroom Enchiladas

Spicy Smoky Chili
A Dana Treat Original
Serves 4-6

My rule of thumb for chili is that all the vegetables be no larger than the beans.  I don’t like big chunks in my chili.  I used crushed tomatoes here for that reason but feel free to use diced (or even whole) if you like chunks.  I like my chili served with a dollop of plain yogurt but feel free to add any and all topping that you like.

Olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tsp. chile powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. coriander
½ tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. dried oregano
½ cayenne pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 small red bell pepper, diced
1 28 oz. can crushed fire roasted tomatoes
1 chipotle pepper in adobo, minced, plus ½ tsp. sauce
1 cup water
1 15-oz. can black beans, drained
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, drained
1 4-oz. can diced green chiles, drained
½ cup frozen corn

Place a large pot over medium heat and then drizzle in enough olive oil to coat the bottom.  Add the onion and cook until softened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.  Stir in all the spices and stir well to coat the vegetables with the spices.  Drop in the red pepper and cook for 3 minutes.  Pour in the canned tomatoes and water and bring to a boil.  Add the chipotle pepper and sauce and turn the heat down to a simmer.

Add all the beans, corn, and the green chiles and cook at a simmer, partially covered, until thickened and all the vegetables are cooked through – about 20 minutes.  Like most soups and stews, this can be made in advance and its flavors will deepen.  It will also become more spicy so, if you are making it in advance, you might want to add just a bit of heat while you are cooking it and add more when you re-heat if necessary.


Category: Dana Treat Original, Soup, Vegan
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Making Do with Soup

January 21, 2010

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I read a lot of food blogs.  There are about one bazillion of them out there and many of them are not all that good.  Many of them are good.  A few of them are great.  It’s the great ones where I get inspired.  When a dish leaps off the screen, that’s when I know it is time to make it.

When I saw this soup with the chickpea croutons, I immediately started my shopping list.  I love croutons in soup and had never thought to do anything like what Allison did with chickpea flour.  Brilliant, right?  Sadly, they did not work out for me.  I take total responsibility for the fail.  I’m not sure what I did wrong – did I stir enough?  too much? – but what I got was a slab of mush on my baking sheet.

Then, panic set in.  My brother Michael was coming to dinner.  Michael is a bike racer and has a large appetite.  I knew he was coming off a long ride and would be ravenous.  I wasn’t sure the soup as written was going to fill him up and so, I improvised.  I very loosely based this soup on a recipe in a Jeanne Lemlin book (Simple Vegetarian Pleasures) but really made it my own with what I had on hand.  I was really pleased with how the soup turned out.  If you read here often, you know anything with chickpeas is a favorite of mine.  The greens along with the couscous were a really nice combination.  I didn’t have any fresh herbs on hand (not even parsley!) but they would be most welcome here.  By the way, Michael left full.

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The two C’s together previously on Dana Treat: Chickpeas and Chard with Cilantro and Cumin
One Year Ago: Sicilian Eggplant Spread with Crostini

Chickpea, Chard, and Couscous Soup
Dana Treat Original
4 Servings

Olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ – 1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 15-oz. can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup couscous
1 large bunch chard, leaves cut off the stems and cut or torn into bite size pieces
6 cups vegetable stock
Crumbles of ricotta salata or feta cheese (for garnish)
Cherry tomatoes (for garnish)

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom.  Add the onions and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic, red pepper flakes, and thyme and stir for 2 minutes.  Add the chickpeas and the couscous and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring often to keep the couscous from sticking to the bottom.

Add the chard, in batches if need be, and stir well to combine.  Pour in the vegetable stock and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and allow the soup to simmer for about 30 minutes – enough time for the couscous to cook, the greens to soften, and the flavors to blend.  Serve in bowls topped with a crumble of cheese and a few cherry tomatoes.


Category: Dana Treat Original, Soup
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Last Minute Appetizer

November 25, 2009

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If you are hosting Thanksgiving, chances are you are in the kitchen with all burners going and the oven on.  Or you are at work just waiting until you get home so you can get all burners and the oven going.  Or, if you are like me, you are procrastinating and also waiting for your husband to wake up from a nap so he can deal with the 23-pound turkey in the refrigerator.  Whatever the case, probably the last thing you want to see is another recipe.

That’s why I’m not giving you a recipe.  Just an idea.  I made this lovely little appetizer for the party I catered a couple of weeks ago.  On the menu there was a lot of comfort food which was what the birthday girl requested.  As I was putting the dishes together, I thought we needed something a little fresh to balance out all the carbs and cheese.  I wanted to keep it as something you could pick up and thus this little appetizer was born.  Nothing earth-shattering or super fancy, but it looks pretty and has a perfect sweet/salty/bitter bite.

All you need is endive, radicchio, Manchego cheese, and membrillo (quince paste).  But before you email asking how dare I suggest you find a Spanish market on the day before Thanksgiving…hear me out.  You could really substitute any kind of hard cheese and any kind of fruit paste (I actually used apple because I wanted to try it and I did go to a Spanish market that has things like that.)  You could also just use jam or jelly and hell, you could use soft goat cheese too.  The key is to make sure the flavors balance and that it looks pretty.  Slice the radicchio into ribbons at the top (not the root) end where the leaves are much more colorful.  Have fun with this.  Or just file the idea away for a less harried time.

For those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope yours is one filled with friends, family, and delicious food.  For those of you who don’t, I wish you happy Thursday!


Category: Appetizer, Cheese, Dana Treat Original, Quick and Easy
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