Vino

Food52 is my new favorite recipe website. Its truly an accumulation of recipes by home cooks for home cooks. I will be adding some of the recipes from here that have become staples in our home. Here is an Israeli dish that Adit and I have come to love, I suspect because there is something “Indian” and therefore, comforting about how it tastes.

Source: Food52

Servings: 4

Time: Approximately 60 minutes

Ingredients:

For the Mujaddara:

• 3/4 cups Puy lentils (aka French lentils, the tiny dark brown ones)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup jasmine or basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cups onions (about 3 medium onions), halved and thinly sliced

For the yogurt:

• 1/2 cup Greek or whole milk yogurt (should be thick)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon, cumin, freshly ground
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander, freshly ground
• 1/2 teaspoon spicy paprika or aleppo pepper
• 3 tablespoons fresh mint, chopped
• Juice and zest of half a lemon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method:

Who knew watermelon and tomato went so well together! This is such a simple, refreshing summer salad. I predict it will be appearing frequently in our weekly menu this summer

Source: Mark Bittman’s NYT column titled The Minimalist

Servings: 4

Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups seedless watermelon, in 1-inch cubes or balls (cut over a bowl to catch the juice and reserve it)
• 1 1/2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup finely diced or crumbled Stilton, Gorgonzola, Roquefort or Maytag blue cheese
• 1/2 cup minced scallions
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• Pinch cayenne
• 1/2 cup parsley or cilantro, roughly chopped

Method:

Martha Rose Shulman’s recipes never fail me. And this summer I am especially grateful for all her recipes involving tomatoes because it has given me an opportunity to use the endless supply from my garden in so many different and delicious ways. Here is another one of our favorites.

Source:Martha Rose Shulman’s NYT column titled Recipes for Health

Servings: 4 to 6

Ingredients:

• 4 cups cubed seedless watermelon, about 1 1/4 pounds

• 1 pound ripe tomatoes, quartered or cut into sixths

• 2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, to taste

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

• Generous 1/2 cup chopped celery (2 ounces)

• Salt and freshly ground pepper

• Thin celery slices or sticks for garnish

Method:

Working in batches, purée all of the ingredients except the garnish in a blender for two minutes or longer until frothy and smooth. Taste and adjust seasonings, making sure you have used enough salt and lemon juice for a vivid flavor. Transfer to a bowl, and chill for several hours. Taste and adjust seasonings. Serve, garnishing each bowl with thinly sliced celery or, if serving in glasses, with a thin lengthwise slice of celery stick.

I am thrilled that my garden has produced over 50 lbs of tomatoes this season. That also means I have been on a kick to try and use the tomatoes in as many innovative ways as possible. Here is one of our favorites so far. Since the tomatoes are front and center in this recipe, I do recommend using fresh, organic and preferably, locally grown tomatoes. For tomato lovers, this is a treat on hot summer nights!

Source: Martha Rose Shulman’s NYT column titled Recipes for Health

Servings: 4

Ingredients:

2 pounds ripe tomatoes (organic and locally grown recommended)

Salt to taste

1 large garlic clove, peeled

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, plus a few leaves, slivered, for garnish

1 cup water

Pinch of cayenne (optional)

Method:

1. Cut 1/2 pound of the tomatoes (2 medium) in half across the equator, and grate on the large holes of a box grater set over a bowl. Line a strainer with cheesecloth, and set over a bowl. Place the grated tomatoes in the cheesecloth and allow to drain for one hour. (The “tomato water” that drips through will have an intense, pure flavor.) Meanwhile, cut the remaining tomatoes in wedges and toss in a bowl with salt to taste, the garlic clove, vinegar and olive oil.

2. After one hour, gather up the cheesecloth around the tomato pulp that remains and squeeze to extract all of the remaining juice. Transfer the juice to a blender. Add the tomato wedges and all of the juice in the bowl, along with the tomato paste, basil leaves and water. Blend until smooth (if necessary do this in two batches). Adjust seasoning, and if you want a hint of heat, add a small pinch of cayenne.

3. Strain the soup through a medium strainer set over a bowl, pushing the soup through with a spatula or the bottom of a ladle. Serve right away, or for the best flavor refrigerate for one to 24 hours before serving. Blend again or whisk before serving. Serve, garnishing each bowl with slivered basil.

This is an adaptation of Mark Bittman’s recipe from “How to Cook Everything.” It is a simple and easy way to create a tasty cream sauce, a nice change for us as we typically have pasta with tomato sauce or with vegetables in olive oil.

Serving size: 4 (with salad)

Time: Approximately 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound penne or similar pasta
• 1/2 lb cremini mushroom, sliced
• 1/4 red onion, diced finely
• About 3/4 cup fresh ricotta
• 1 tablespoon softened butter (optional)
• 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup freshly shelled or frozen peas
• Crushed red pepper, to taste (optional)
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• Parsley (optional)

This is a recipe I modified from a friend’s blog and made in Singapore for the family. I must say the outcome was good enough for the Vino forum .

Ingredients

1) Pomfret! – sliced into pieces. If you want to make the whole fish follow Reshma’s recipe from her blog. I was working with 3 fish. So recipe is to scale accoring to the # of fish.

2) Marinade: 1 sprig of fresh coriander, 6-7 cloves of garlic, 1-1.2 inch ginger, 5-7 green chillies, 1 hunk of frozen shredded coconut, 1 tbsp tamarind paste, dried curry leaves (microwave fresh curry leaves for 1 min) salt to taste.

3) Rub the fish pieces with the marinade.

4) Coating: Rice flour and semolina mixed with salt, turmeric and chilli powder.

Rub the fish with the marinade well before coating thickly with the rice flour and semolina mix. Shallow fry in oil. While frying you have to be careful. fry well on one side till the flour batter crips and then turn over.

Garnish with lemon and serve hot!