Red Lentil Dal (with Potatoes if you like)

Another Monday, another dal recipe! This one for Red Lentils, which are one of my favorite dals because red lentils cook up fast and become beautifully soft and smooth. Of course, luscious Indian spices are part of the appeal.

The potatoes are optional. If you add them, you will surely have a dish hearty enough to serve as an entree.

I specify Korean or Aleppo crushed red peppers because I love the fruity flavor with just a touch of heat of both these peppers. You could use a whole hot dried red pepper instead – put it in at the start, when you cook the mustard seeds. You could use Italian crushed red pepper (what you might sprinkle on pizza) but it is much, much sharper so cut back the amount unless you want this to be very spicy.

Non-cooking Prep: 10 minutes
Active cooking: 15 minutes
Unattended cooking: 30-60 minutes

Red Lentil Dal (with optional potatoes)

Serves 6-8

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 onion, cut into 1/4″ thick slices
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 whole clove
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon Korean or Aleppo crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1 large clove garlic, minced
4 cups vegetable broth + 1 teaspoon salt if broth is unsalted
1 cup red lentils
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed (optional)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro and/or parsley
juice of 1/2 a lime
more salt to taste

Heat up a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Place the onions in the pan and cook until quite brown on both sides. Remove to a plate lined with paper towels to drain. Set aside the Dutch oven while you toast the spices.

Heat up a small skillet over medium heat. Add the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, and clove. Toast until fragrant, a couple of minutes. Grind in a spice grinder or crush with the bottom of a heavy pan. Mix with ground cinnamon, ground cardamom, and crushed red pepper.

Add the remaining oil to the Dutch oven and heat over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and cook them until they start to pop. Add the ginger, garlic, and all the spices. Stir for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the vegetable broth, red lentils, and tomatoes. If your vegetable broth contains no salt, add a teaspoon now. Stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover. Cook for 30-45 minutes. You want the lentils very soft so you can’t really overcook them.

While dal is cooking, coarsely chop onions and set aside.

If you want to make this dish even more hearty, add potatoes. Stir them in after the lentils are cooked, replace the cover and cook until the potatoes are tender, 15-20 minutes.

Add chopped herbs-if you don’t like cilantro, use all parsley-chopped onions, and lime juice. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Serve hot with naan or rice.

Cabbage Creole

What is Creole anyway? Lots of people confuse Creole and Cajun because they are both Louisiana food traditions. But, they aren’t the same thing. They have similarities, sharing many flavor principles, however.

First, Cajun. The ancestral food tradition is Acadian, from what is now the Maritime Canadian provinces and parts of Quebec. Acadians were French colonists. They were driven out of Acadia by the British in the 18th century and many settled in Spanish Louisiana. Here, they became Cajun, adapting to a totally new pantry of ingredients: crawfish (not unlike the lobsters of their most recent homeland), local fish and game, peppers (both sweet and spicy), and rice. Like Creole, they adapted many culinary traditions from both the French and the local Native Americans. Cajun is the cuisine of the bayous of Louisiana. It’s bold, it’s rich, and like Cajun Zydeco, a lot of fun.

Creole cuisine is the cuisine of New Orleans. If you have never been to New Orleans, you need to go. It’s got a thoroughly unique vibe. The food is exceptional. Creole borrows heavily from the traditions of fine French cuisine. But, in the melting pot known as New Orleans, French is only one of the cuisines adding to the charm of Creole. You have the “Holy Trinty,” Creole’s answer to mirepoix. In Creole, it’s composed of onions, celery, and green peppers, not the traditional French combo of onions, celery, and carrots. Then there’s a healthy dose of garlic, which is called “The Pope,” giving you a sense of how important it is. Garlic? Classic French cuisine doesn’t emphasize garlic. But, the Spanish and the Italians do, both represented in New Orleans. West Indian and African cuisine played a part too, bringing okra and the hearty spiciness (definitely NOT part of classic French cuisine). It’s one big delicious melting pot of food representing the melting pot of cultures in New Orleans.

Cabbage Creole. The dish itself says melting pot. Cabbage is very French. How well loved is cabbage in France? A term of endearment is “mon petit chou” which means “my little cabbage.” The Creole part is the use of their version of mirepoix plus some garlic and a touch of cayenne (or more than a touch, you decide).

Cabbage Creole
(serve 6-8)

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or bacon drippings
1 medium green pepper, cored and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium cabbage, cored and chopped
1 15-oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained (or 2 cups diced fresh tomatoes)
1  teaspoon salt
a pinch to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Heat the fat in a large skillet (cast iron is the material of choice in Creole cooking) over medium-high heat. Add green pepper, onion, and celery. Sauté until vegetables soften, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in remaining ingredients. Lower heat to medium-low, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes until cabbage is tender. Check for salt before serving.

Fish Stew

I often look in the fridge, maybe get some guidance from a trusted source (in this case Pierre Franey’s 60 Minute Gourmet), then wing it. Over time you learn what goes with what. That makes it easier to look in the fridge and figure out something delicious with what you have on hand. I’m a big fan of simple cooking, so it’s not like I’m trying to create something new or unique. I just trying to get dinner on the table. You can create a delicious fish stew with simple seasoning. If you have some or all of the optional ingredients, it will be even better.

Fish Stew
(serves 4-6)

4 Tablespoons oil (olive oil is great but use what you have), divided
1 medium onion, chopped
2 scallions, white part minced and green part sliced, optional
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fennel seeds, optional
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 bay leaves
2 cups tomato puree
1 14-16 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
6.5 oz. can of chopped clams
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 teaspoons kosher salt (start w/less if using clam juice or salted stock)
2 cups clam juice, fish stock, or shrimp stock
a pinch of saffron, optional
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine, optional
12 golf-ball sized new potatoes or 1 lb. of potatoes, cut into chunks
12 25-30 shrimp, peeled or not
3/4 pound fish fillet (cod, snapper, sea bass)
chopped fresh parsley, and/or basil

Heat 3 Tablespoons oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add onion, white part of scallions, celery, and garlic. Cook gently until onion is translucent. Add fennel seeds, thyme, 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, bay leaves, tomato puree, and diced tomatoes. Cook for a few minutes. Drain juice from the can of clams into pot. Add clam juice/stock. Bring to a boil. Taste for salt. Add more if the stock is bland. If you don’t add enough at this point, your potatoes will taste bland.  Add potatoes. Cook until potatoes are nearly done, about 15 minutes. Add chopped clams, shrimp, and fish. Cook for about 10 minutes until shrimp turn pink. Add chopped herbs and green part of scallions. Check for salt.

To serve, drizzle on a little more olive oil. If you used vegetable oil, this would be a good place to use good olive oil to enhance your stew but you can skip it if you want. Some crusty toasted bread and a simple green salad would be great accompaniments.

Mussels Baked with Tomatoes and Potatoes

Sadly not my local seafood market. These are HUGE mussels on display at the River Market in Valdivia Chile

Dropped off the map recently. Went to Texas to visit family. Not much cooking going on there, though I did make a damn good Greek lamb stew for the fam. Did manage to snag some epically good BBQ at Pecan Lodge in Dallas. Boy, if you are near there, check it out! Delicious. Seriously delicious. Just expect to wait in line – it’s also very popular. Back to reality…my husband breaks his collarbone. Yeah, that’s been fun. And, we just broke ground on our new house in the mountains and we had relatives visiting from Chile. Whew!

Just had to share a photo of the spread at Pecan Lodge. That beef rib weighed nearly 1 1/2 lbs! No, I didn’t eat it by myself.

I made this because mussels were on sale. I love mussels. Actually, I like most food that comes from the sea. Mussels are cheap, very nutritious, and amenable to many preparations. Most mussel lovers know of moules frites. This is a bit different, a casserole. Hearty and tasty. The original recipe came from Marcella Hazan and I pulled it out of Gourmet. And I tweaked it. Because that’s what I do.

Mussels Baked with Tomatoes and Potatoes
(serves 4)

3 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 ½ pounds potatoes, scrubbed
1 14-16 oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
3 pounds mussels, debreaded and scrubbed
3 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
4 Tablespoons panko crumbs
4 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
salt & black pepper
non-stick cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spray a 2 quart deep gratin dish with cooking spray or grease with a little olive oil.

Place the potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water, add about ½ Tablespoon salt, and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender but not soft. Drain and run cold water over the potatoes to cool. Set aside while you cook the mussels.

In a large pot, cook the mussels, covered, over medium heat until they open. It takes about 5 minutes for most of them to open. Remove the open ones to large bowl and cook for another 2 minutes. If a mussel doesn’t open, discard it.

While the mussels are cooling, peel the potatoes and slice in ¼” slices. Lay the potatoes in the gratin dish and season with salt and black pepper.

As soon as the mussels are cool enough to handle, remove the meat from the shells and set the meat aside in a medium bowl. Add olive oil, parsley, garlic, 2 Tablespoons bread crumbs, 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese, 1 teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Mix to combine well. Taste it for seasoning and adjust if needed.  Spread the mussels on top of the potatoes. Top with the drained tomatoes. Sprinkle lightly with salt. Cover with the remaining bread crumbs and cheese. Spray generously with cooking spray (see Note). Bake for 20 minutes until the top is golden. Let the dish sit for 5 minutes before serving.

Note: Being a small person, I try to cut back on the fat (which adds lots of calories) where I can. If you want to make this richer, toss the bread crumbs for topping the casserole with an additional 2 Tablespoons olive oil rather than using the cooking spray.