Red Lentil Dal

One of the things I love about red lentils is that they cook up so quickly. Unlike their sturdier brown and green lentil cousins, when cooked, red lentils quickly fall apart into a smooth mush-like consistency.

So, if you get a late morning hankering for some lentils, you can easily whip up a batch in time for lunch.

This red lentil dal recipe comes by way of my friend Kerissa Barron, who spent several months living and traveling through India.

According to Kerissa, every region of India has its own version of the Indian staple dal, which is essentially lentil soup.


This particular version comes out of the state of West Bengal and features Bengali five spice, called panch phoran, a fragrant blend of fennel seed, fenugreek, black sesame seed, cumin seed and mustard seed.

In West Bengal and throughout India, dal is eaten at nearly every meal, serving as a sauce, a soup and a way to mash and stick food together (traditionally they eat with their hands in this region).
I’ve made Kerissa’s recipe a couple of times and love the flavors and how easy it is to make. Do you have a favorite Indian dal recipe? Please let us know about it in the comments.

Red Lentil Dal Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup red lentils (orange lentils will work as well)
• 3 cups water
• 3 plum tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons grapeseed, vegetable, canola or other high-heat oil
• 1/2 cup white or yellow onion, finely chopped
• 2 medium cloves garlic, finely chopped and made into a paste*
• 2 teaspoons of Bengali five spice mix (panch phoron) or 1/2 tsp black (or white) sesame seeds, 1/2 tsp cumin seeds, 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, 1/2 tsp mustard seeds, and (if available) 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt plus more to taste
• 1 lime, juiced (equal to about 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice)
• 8 sprigs cilantro, de-stemmed and chopped

• Cooked basmati rice, optional

*To create a garlic paste, finely chop the garlic, then sprinkle with a little kosher salt (to act as an abrasive) and crush with the side of a large chopping knife over the mixture until garlic breaks down and becomes paste-like.

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Pork Stuffed Cabbage Rolls

Have you ever had stuffed cabbage rolls with sauerkraut? It’s a classic Hungarian dish. Lightly cooked large cabbage leaves are stuffed with a mixture of paprika-spiced ground pork and pork sausage, and then rolled up into little bundles.

They’re cooked over tomato-infused sauerkraut and then served with a sour-cream sauerkraut sauce. So good!

Like tamales, they take some time to prepare, but the result? Fabulous.

Pork Stuffed Cabbage Rolls Recipe

Paprika can go flat if it's too old. Make sure you taste test your paprika for cooking with it in this recipe. If it doesn't have a strong flavor, it's no longer good and you'll need to replace it.

Cook the rice while preparing the cooked cabbage.

Caraway seeds can also be used to season the stuffing in this recipe.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs sauerkraut (preferably a good brand, such as Bubbies, that you would find in the refrigerated section of your grocery store)
• 1 large head green cabbage
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup minced onions
• 1/4 tsp of minced garlic
• 1 lb ground pork
• 3/4 cup cooked white rice (from about 1/4 cup of dry rice)
• 2 lightly beaten eggs
• 2 Tbsp sweet Hungarian paprika (or plain paprika if your market doesn't offer a choice)
• 1/8 teaspoon dried marjoram (can sub oregano)
• 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup water mixed with 1 cup tomato puree
• 1 cup sour cream

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Hawaiian Oxtail Soup

Oxtails! My oh my how I love oxtails.

We grew up with oxtail stew, a deeply rich, hearty stew perfect for cold days. You don’t find them that often in the market, so when they appear I’ll usually pick up a few pounds.

The oxtail is the tail of a steer, usually cut into segments. It is a flavorful, tough cut, perfect for slow braising in stews or soups, well marbled with fat, and here’s the best part, the bones have a ton of collagen, so good for making a gelatinous stock.

Several years ago, my colleague Reid from the Hawaiian blog Ono Kine Grindz wrote about Hawaiian oxtail soup, which completely piqued my interest.

Apparently oxtail soup is served all over Hawaii. Unlike the thick and hearty stew I grew up with, the Hawaiian soup is relatively light (a blessing post holidays), with a thin broth and seasonings from ginger, star anise, orange, green onions, and cilantro.

Peanuts make an appearance too. What a combination! The flavors just sparkle together.

By the way, although oxtails are often hard to find at regular markets, Costco often carries them.

Hawaiian Oxtail Soup Recipe

An odd ingredient, one that isn't readily accessible in the stores around here at least, is dried orange peel. (Apparently you can buy it pretty easily in Hawaii.)

What I did for this ingredient is I used a vegetable peeler to strip off a long strip of peel (just the zest) from an orange. This I set on a shelf in my kitchen for a week to dry out. It worked great!

I wondered why one would use the dried and not fresh orange peel and I think perhaps it's because of the long cook time; maybe the dried peel holds up better to long cooking?

If I didn't think ahead to dry the peel, I would just use a couple teaspoons of orange zest instead.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs oxtails
• 1 strip dried orange peel (zest, not the pith)
• 2 star anise
• 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• Salt, at least a tablespoon, more to taste
• 1/2 cup of shelled, skinned, raw peanuts (can sub roasted unsalted peanuts)
• 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or more to taste)
• A handful of fresh mustard greens, coarsely chopped (about 2 cups, loosely packed)

Garnishes:

• Fresh cilantro, chopped
• Green onions, white and green parts, sliced on diagonal
• Freshly grated ginger

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Spinach and Orzo Salad

“Needs more cheese.” “Needs more vinegar.” “Needs fewer olives.” “You could add more spinach.”

My parents love it when I cook for them, especially when it’s a new recipe and they get to be the taste testers.

They happily put up with the delays to the meal due to my tweaking the dish as they “dish out” their suggestions. And with the delays that come from my attempts to take the perfect photo (“Don’t touch that, I still haven’t shot it!”).

I love their input, as they know much more about food than I do, and their suggestions almost always result in something better.



 This spinach, orzo, and feta salad recipe comes from our happy family collaboration. Feel free to experiment with the proportions.

Many recipes I’ve found online call for twice as much orzo to the other ingredients than I’ve listed here. I think there is a lot of room for maneuvering when you are working with great ingredients like these.

Spinach and Orzo Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 ounces orzo pasta
• Salt
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 6 ounces feta cheese, roughly crumbled
• 2 ounces Kalamata Greek olives pitted, roughly chopped, about 1/2 cup (about 20 olives)
• 4 ounces baby spinach
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion (about half a red onion)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar (can substitute white vinegar or lemon juice)
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• Pinch dried basil
• Pinch dried tarragon
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

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Bavarian Sauerkraut

One of our favorite side dishes is hot sauerkraut, delicious served with pork or bockwurst – a mild German sausage. You can also make a sandwich with toasted or grilled dark rye bread, melted Jack, havarti, or Muenster cheese, the sauerkraut, and avocado.

Bavarian Sauerkraut Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 16-oz can or jar of sauerkraut (best is fresh sauerkraut in jars, found in refrigerated section of grocery store)
• 1 cup white wine
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup peeled and chopped apple
• 10 juniper berries, cracked
• Salt and pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

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Eggs Mimosa with Artichoke Tapenade

So pretty! 
Have you ever heard of eggs mimosa? Neither had I until my French sweetheart introduced me to them. They’re like deviled eggs, except they’re not deviled.

Instead, you stuff hard boiled egg whites and then grate the yolks over everything, resulting in a gorgeous platter reminiscent of the puff-like brilliant yellow mimosa flowers that abound in Provence and along the Mediterranean coast.

Since most of the egg yolks are used to create the mimosa affect, we need to stuff the egg whites with something else. For this recipe we use an artichoke tapenade, made with artichoke hearts, green olives, capers, fresh herbs, and some mayonnaise to bind it all together.

I’ve also tossed some grated Parmesan into the mixture, because it just tastes good with the artichokes. You can leave it out if you want.

I’m so used to stuffed eggs with some variation of yolks and mayonnaise for the stuffing that this one took some playing with to get right. It isn’t your typical deviled egg.

It’s as if our tried-and-true version took a road trip to France and came back decked out in flowers and singing Edith Piaf. Both my Frenchman and my mother approve; I hope you do too!

Eggs Mimosa with Artichoke Tapenade Recipe

We are using canned artichoke hearts that have been packed in water. You could also use freshly cooked artichoke hearts. Just avoid the artichoke hearts that are packed in a marinade; those would overwhelm this dish.

Ingredients

• 6 eggs, hard boiled
• 3/4 cup chopped artichoke hearts (from about 1/2 14-ounce can artichokes hearts in water, drained)
• 1/2 teaspoon capers, drained
• 4 pitted green olives, chopped
• 1 teaspoon minced chives or green onion greens, packed
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon and/or parsley, packed
• 2 Tbsp mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese, packed
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Sprigs of mâche lettuce or baby spinach for garnish 

 

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Danish Pork Burgers

I met Iowa hog farmer Paul Willis at the Fancy Food Show in January and naturally our conversation turned to food and recipes. “Have you ever had a pork burger?,” Paul asked, eyes bright. Upon hearing my response in the negative, Paul added, “You have to try my wife Phyllis’ pork burgers. They’re amazing.”

Thinking of burgers made out of pork, I can’t say I was convinced, even when he continued, “Everyone in Iowa eats pork burgers.” But when Paul pointed out his wife’s recipe in the Niman Ranch Cookbook I saw the light.

These burgers aren’t hamburgers made out of ground pork. They are more like large, flattened Swedish meatballs. Very tasty. Thank you Paul and Niman Ranch, and thank you Phyllis for a fabulous recipe.

Danish Pork Burgers Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground pork
• 1 red onion, finely diced
• 16 saltine crackers, crumbled
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• Vegetable oil for cooking
• Dijon mustard for serving

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