Cilatro-lime rice

For the longest time, Chipotle owned the ciltro-lime rice game. In fact, their white rice is still to die for. The problem? They never quite hit home with their brown rice. But there is a way to do it. This is how. All ratios are normalized for a single cup of rice. Add olive or corn oil to a decent sized pot. Add:

• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• Zest from 1/2 lime
• Whole cumin

Toast that to extract the flavors into the oil.  Bring to high heat and add the rice.

Shortly after, add juice of whatever limes you used plus water to equal 1.75 cups.  Let the boil down to level, then turn the heat all the way down and steam for 35 minutes (at altitude; 30 might be enough at lower elevations).

Fluff the hot rice, then toss with 1/2 bunch of chopped cilantro and salt to taste.

Indian dinner

Way back when I just started writing this blog and wasn't sure what to do with it I started to draft some sort of essay on Indian cooking.  Check the archives; it never made it to publication.  Since then I've posted three Indian(ish) recipes, one of which hardly even counts despite having a semi-accurate flavor profile and ingredient list.

Which is all leading up to say: Indian cooking can be tricky.  Forget the ingredients; they're really not that unusual for the most part.  We all know about cumin and ginger and mustard and cinnamon and even some of the less obvious things spices like turmeric, coriander, and even cardamom aren't anything all that special.  In the end dal is just lentils and asafoetida isn't strictly necessary.

And yet it still ends up being somewhat tricky to figure out -- largely because of the process involved.  But rest assured, tricky doesn't mean hard.  Just... tricky.  All the rules about what goes in when and why in French cooking get tossed out the window (note: same is true of most Asian cuisines; it's just that Indian food is also quite different than anything with Sino-Japanese influences).  You end up building your spice profile from the beginning rather than the end, use odd thickening tricks, employ dairy in weird ways... etc, etc, etc.  But once you get the hang of it it's actually pretty hard to screw it up.  At least not too badly.  After trying a few (good) recipes (that actually try to explain themselves) and maybe using some of those boxed spice mixes (and analyzing what's in them and what each ingredient adds) improving becomes relatively simple.

Case in point: new year's eve 2010.  The wife (am I going to get used to saying that sometime?) calls on the way home and requests Indian.  A quick inventory of the kitchen and a run to the store yields:

• Almost 2 lbs of tri tip (thank god for discount meat but note that there's absolutely no reason to use this if you want to be authentic or otherwise cost-conscious; just replace with boneless skinless chicken breasts if you prefer)
• 2 yellow onions
• 3 bell peppers
• 3 jalapenos
• 7 red potatoes
• Chicken broth
• 1 large can diced tomatoes
• 1 can tomato paste
• Olive oil
• Cumin (whole; this is important)
• Coriander (whole; this is important)
• Cardamom pods (always pods; the flavor difference is substantial)
• Ginger (powder is fine but raw grated is always good)
• Cinnamon (ground; sticks are fine)
• Yogurt
• Rice
• Salt/pepper

I also had turmeric and a handful of masala blends laying around but opted against them this time around.

Looks viable... right?

Of course.  We'll start with the rice:

• Make rice

Basically I'd forget to do this until too late if I don't get it in early.  And if it's a little cool by the time you serve it it's no big deal.

Then move on to bigger, better things.  Like building a spice profile and braising a bit.  In a skillet combine:

• Olive oil
• Cumin seeds
• Coriander seeds

Get that HOT.  You want the seeds to be popping and jumping and generally scaring your domestic wildlife.  A little smoke from the oil isn't a bad thing.

In the meantime cube up your meat of choice.  Since mine was beef I felt obligated to conservatively apply salt and pepper.  Brown that in the superheated oil then transfer to a stock pot (along with some of the oil, naturally).

Take the heat down in the skillet, add a touch more oil along with the seeds from a half dozen cardamom pods.  Bring the heat back up a bit until they become pungent and then quickly add onions chunked rather largely and toss until they're just slightly cooked.  Then transfer everything to the stock pot, scraping for all the little bits of goodness left behind from the high heat.

Now you're just stewing.  Add:

• Bell peppers, also chunked
• Jalapenos, I like them ring sliced, seeds and all
• Diced tomatoes with juice
• Chicken broth
• Ginger

Bring to a boil and let that simmer together for a few minutes before adding:

• Potatoes, large chunks
• Cinnamon to taste -- but don't go overboard
• Tomato paste to thicken

Stir well, ensuring that the tomato paste is evenly distributed.  That's the only thickener you're using so make the most of it.  You're likely to want to add a bit of salt somewhere in here as well.

And that's it.  Walk away.  When the potatoes are done you have dinner.

Serve in a bowl with layers of rice, stew, and yogurt.  Garnish with cilantro if you're so inclined.

See?  Simple.  The spices toasted at the beginning are the primary flavor modifiers -- and they had to be whole in order to stand up to the high heat without burning.  The secondary spices are more mellow, present primarily to round out the flavor.  The onions are left nearly raw, imparting a very different flavor than the long sweats and browns you're used to.  The jalapenos add just enough heat to notice without being overpowering.  The potatoes take on the flavor of the broth, oil, and tomatoes.  And it all works wonderfully.

But yes, it does take some getting used to.

Simple bean/chicken salad

Well, mostly simple.  The actual prep is just a tiny bit time-consuming (if half an hour counts) but it's very good.  Especially for coming out of a can.

Basic idea: throw together some beans.  Make them taste good.  Make sure you have plenty of protein going so it's a full meal or more.  And make sure it's a complete protein or two.

Basic salad

And I mean really basic.  Five cans.  Oil.  Vinegar.

First, drain a can of diced tomatoes; retain the sauce in a bowl.  You're going to have the colander out anyway; just drain the juice into the bowl.  Crush the tomatoes by hand a bit.

Combine in a large bowl:

• 1 can black beans, drained and washed
• 1 can great northern beans, drained and washed
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and washed
• 1 can corn, drained (no washing needed)
• 2 celery stocks, finely cubed
• Chopped parsley; flat leaf if you have it
• Tomatoes without the juice
• Olive oil
• Red wine vinegar

 And that's your basic bean salad.  Get that in the refrigerator.

Chicken

I used two breasts to balance this and it seemed to work.  Marinate in:

• Red wine vinegar
• Orange juice
• Red pepper flake

After about half an hour, toss that in a pan, cover, heat, and more or less poach it.  When done, cube/shred and add to the salad, tossing well.

Rice

Prepare rice as normal, except:

• Use the reserved tomato juice to replace some of your water
• Add coriander
• Add one bay leaf

Very hearty.  Best served cold.  Makes a great summer meal.

Early summer risotto

First, read up on the basics of a decent risotto.  I'm not inclined to repeat myself, so that's what you get for an introduction.  (And seriously, this stuff becomes second nature after awhile; it's not like you have to read a recipe for risotto and do more than skim to see what ingredients are added when.  It's a great dish for experiments.)

This is a side dish, I suppose.  It can work well with anything from salmon to chicken to beef.

Start off the dish as usual: onions, garlic, rice, wine, stock in that order.

Let that go about half way to done; judging that might take some time.

Add about a dozen capers, drained and rinsed, choped finely.

Aside: capers are neat.  Some people have them; they're basically crazy.  What they do is add a floral note to a dish that you basically can't duplicate.  Probably because they are, in fact, flower buds.  Subtle but it adds quite a bit.

Finely chop about half a red bell pepper.  Grate sufficient cheese.

Don't forget to keep stirring and adding liquid.

When the mixture is about 90% done (ie, it's getting noticeably harder to stir), add the red pepper.

Finally, the basil.  Cooked basil loses flavor fast, so this goes in nearly at the end.  If you have fresh, great.  If perhaps you froze some from last year, make sure you give it enough time (and hot liquid and massive amounts of stirring helps here) to defrost.  Chop finely, add that, let that go for another minute or two, then add the cheese, take off the heat, and stir it in.

Works wonderfully.

Risotto: basics

Back to the basics.  I haven't started to go full-on chile and heat just yet.

And so: risotto.

Now, I'm going to assume that almost everyone who actually reads this knows what risotto is, but for the sake of anyone who doesn't and still stumbles across this: it's rice.  Creamy, delicious rice.  Usually with other stuff in it.  It's labor-intensive (less so if you trust Alton Brown ; I've never tried his method).

So here's a basic recipe; a few variations are to come whenever I get them properly written up.

Chop one medium yellow onion and soften in olive oil until transparent in a medium round-sided pot or pan.  A bit of garlic here wouldn't be uncalled-for.

In the meantime, bring some sort of broth (use chicken unless you have a reason not to) to a simmer in another, smaller pan.

Add about a cup of arborio  rice to the pot, take the heat up a bit, and toss vigorously.  Eventually, the edges of the rice grains will get translucent.  This is a good thing.

At that point, hit the pot with a cup or so of wine (again, use white until you get the idea down; I'm actually pondering what would happen with sake at this point).

Keep stirring; the alcohol will more or less vaporize.  When that's only slightly wet, start adding your heated broth.

Then stir.

Then add more broth.

Then stir.

Start at a low heat; knowing when to add more liquid is much easier if it's a slower process.  Higher heat will indeed finish the dish faster, but it also risks ruining it.  Especially when you live in a mile high desert.

Repeat.  And repeat.  Your arm will get tired.  So drop the heat and grate some cheese.  AB calls for reggiano exclusively; I like asiago as per usual.

Go back to stirring.  Eventually this mixture will firm up; the stirring is noticeably harder.  Taste the rice; it should be done.

So add the cheese.  Slowly, stirring to incorporate.

And you're done.  Take that thing off the heat and serve.  It will be delicious even plain like this.  But there's oh so much more that can be done.

Basic beef stir fry

(Part 3 (1 is here; 2 is here) of what I've taken as a challenge from my cousin.)

Since I can't sleep, I might as well write, right?

I'm assuming that I got my taste for noodles with stir fry from my mother who got it from Taiwan.  Most parts of China and southeast Asia would insist on rice instead.  So we'll go with rice this time.

First, get your rice started.  Do it as you will.  I'm not violently opposed to rice cookers even.  But a stove top Basmati really is better.

Basic ingredients:

• Beef, sliced thin.  Preferably a cut without too much gristle.
• Bell peppers, sliced as you like, but I also like to do long and thing for this
• Water chestnuts, lightly chopped
• Bok choy, chopped
• Ginger, garlic, the usual

Also have on hand and ready:

• Rice wine vinegar
• Soy sauce, and please use some type without MSG and with salt
• Sugar
• Corn starch
• Water

Heat your wok.  Add oil -- preferably peanut at this stage.  Maillard the beef; it shouldn't take long.  White sesame seeds are optional at this point but oh so tasty.  Remove and set aside.

Wipe the wok with a paper towel once it's cool enough to do so.

Add about a 50/50 blend of sesame oil and, if you can find it, Mongolian hot oil.  Vegetable time, but only go about half way through the cooking process.  Usual order; start with garlic, add ginger, add peppers, add water chestnuts.  Then bring the heat way down.

And this is where we develop the sauce.  It's pretty much to taste, but the listed ingredients will give you an idea of where to start.  Both the sugar and the corn starch will thicken, and the water is obviously there to make sure it isn't too thick.

When you're happy with the sauce, turn the heat back up a bit, add the beef, and toss in the chopped bok choy.  If you've timed it right, the rice should be about done as well.

And that's a meal.

Arroz con pollo

So one of the major ways I've learned to cook random things is to read about a half dozen sources, integrate the knowledge, and finally try something.  That's pretty much what happened here.  Sources include Dent, Cook's Illustrated, and the interwebs.

The concept, brought up by Cook's, was to do a decent to good arroz con pollo in a single pot.  This is harder than it sounds but far from impossible.

The pot

Cast iron dutch ovens are magic.  Especially when well-seasoned.  Nothing bar nothing translates better from the stove top to the oven.

The marinade

First step is to get your chicken marinating.  This worked for me:

• Chopped garlic.  Lots.
• White wine vinegar.  Straight white vinegar ought to work.
• Dried oregano
• A bit of cumin
• Chicken, of course.  I used breasts, four of them,  because I just always use breasts....

Let all that sit for some time; probably over an hour and less than three.

Start the process

Add oil to your dutch oven, heat it, chunk up an onion, and saute.

Take the heat up and brown your marinated chicken on all sides, reserving the marinade.

To the marinade, add:

• 1 bag frozen peas.  No, seriously.
• 1 container of extra hot green chile (I happen to like Bueno; nothing tastes quite like pure hatch)

After the chicken has browned (god bless the Maillard reaction) add:

• Remaining marinade with additions
• 2 cans or one box of chicken broth
• Red pepper flakes if so desired
• 4 tomatoes, nicely chunked up
• Roughly 3 cups of rice (short or medium grain would be traditional but use what you have)

Bring that to a boil, cover it, and toss it in the oven at 350 for half an hour or so.

Pull that out, toss it up, and you've got quite the meal.  Serve with perhaps cilantro or pico de gallo.