Saba and Alan Shaya

We spent a wonderful 4 days in New Orleans at the New Orleans Collection Antiques Forum which we tend to do the first weekend in August every year. This year the subject was objects of utility. I have very little to say about all that----I go for the food!!

We got to try Saba (means grandfather in Hebrew) the new restaurant of Alon Shaya. It is hard to get in but I made the reservation a month in advance. It was worth the wait. I have talked about Alon Shaya before when he opened his first Israeli restaurant, Shaya. He is a two-times James Beard award winning chef and his restaurants have been celebrated as the country’s most innovative and best by Bon Appétit, Food and Wine, Saveur, Eater, GQ and Esquire. He was the founder of Domenica, a regional Italian restaurant in the New Orleans historic Roosevelt Hotel in 2009. Five years later he opened Pizza Domenica. After several visits to Israel, he was inspired to go back to his roots of cooking, and in 2015 opened Shaya, in New Orleans. Saba opened earlier this year and is already a big hit.

I had ordered Alon Shaya’s new cookbook called, “Shaya, An Odyssey of Food, My Journey Back to Israel” before I left for New Orleans and upon my return it was here. Such a great cookbook. His journey with food began in Israel and winds its way from the U.S.A.(Philadelphia) to Italy (Parma and Bergamo), back to Israel (Tel Aviv), and that all comes together in the American South, in the heart of New Orleans. It is a book that tells how food saved the author’s life, and how through a circuitous path of cooking he embraced his cultural heritage and combined his genius as a student of Italian cooking to create a whole new Southern-Israeli-Italian cuisine.

Shaya’s story is of a lost teenager uprooted from Israel at a young age, living in tough circumstances, first in northeast Philadelphia and then in a Philadelphia suburb with his Bulgarian-Israeli mother and his Romanian-Israeli father struggling to find odd jobs, not speaking the language, with Alon caught between two cultures, bullied in school, and wanting to belong to his American present and renounce his Israeli past. Alon was very alone and then rebuilt his life through food and creating a cuisine that today is celebrated and acknowledged as perfection.

His cookbook is user friendly. He gives information at the beginning about his spices, oils and vinegars, what salt he uses, best cheese and butter, how to buy meal and fish, and techniques. He tells how to make the best biscuits. We all need to know this! Grate your cold butter and freeze it for 30 minutes before putting it in the flour. How to have flaky crusts? Add vodka with the water. I was told just recently by a friend to use wine and water for a flaky crust so I guess the alcohol helps make it flaky. 

I think Shaya and Saba have the best pita bread I have ever eaten. They have the correct oven for cooking this bread to make it rise and blistered before bringing it hot to the table. The bread alone is worth the reservation. Also, the hummus is the best I have every eaten. I have a short-cut recipe below from the cookbook. The toppings on the hummus can make it even more delicious. We had a blue crab hummus at Saba! YUM! But you can add roasted cauliflower, Brussel sprouts, lamb, or anything you wish. 

This recipe is when you need to make hummus in a pinch. Making hummus with dried chickpeas is preferred but does take more time. This makes a lot of hummus but great for a party.

Shortcut Hummus

Makes 1 quart

Ingredients:

Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas

1 ½ quarts plus 6 tablespoons water, divided, plus more as needed

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 clove garlic, crushed

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

¼ cup canola oil

2 tablespoons raw tahini

1 ½ teaspoons Morton kosher salt

¼ teaspoon ground cumin

Drain the chickpeas, and rinse them well, gently, since they’re already soft; massage them in your hands to loosen the skins so that they slip off in cooking.

Add the chickpeas, skins and all to a pot with 1 ½ quarts water. Bring it to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. With a slotted spoon or small sieve, periodically skim away any of the skins that have floated to the top over the course of 10 to 15 minutes. If you would like to track your progress, reserve the skins in a measuring cup, aiming to have about 3/4 cup of skins by the time your purée the beans. The more time you take here, the smoother the results will be.

Meanwhile, combine the lemon juice and garlic, and let them steep for at least 30 minutes. Fish out the garlic before proceeding.

Drain the chickpeas, and combine them in a food processor with the garlic-infused lemon juice, 6 tablespoons water, olive oil, canola oil, tahini, salt, and cumin. Process for at least 5 minutes, until the hummus is very smooth and light. If you find that it is still thick and grainy, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time, with the processor running, until it smooths itself into the consistency of buttercream frosting.

Serve at room temperature, drizzled with more olive oil if you like.

New week: more recipes from this great cookbook. I have tried several that you need to try.

Gujarati Corn on the Cob Curry

We all love corn on the cob in the summer. It is great grilled with spicy butter or whatever spices you wish to add.

I saw a recipe on the Splendid Table website for corn on the cob curry and since I like all things Indian I just had to do it.

This recipe is from a new cookbook called Fresh India by Meera Sodha, and she tells that her 83 year old grandma moved quickly to the table when this curry was on the menu. It is a favorite of a lot of Gujaratis. It is different in that is uses no garlic or onions but peanuts, chickpea flour and yogurt. It is a complete meal using rice or Indian bread to sop up the curry.

It will probably not be served with your outdoor cookout of hamburgers and normal corn on the cob but it is good and certainly worth the effort.

From the Splendid Table

Gujarati Corn on the Cob Curry

You will need a food processor or spice grinder for the peanuts.

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted peanuts, preferably red-skinned (plus extra to serve)

6 ears of corn

5 tablespoons canola oil

¾ cup chickpea flour (in most groceries and also called besan or gram flour)

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

1 ½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

1 ½ teaspoons ground red chili

1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

First grind the nuts to a fine consistency in a spice grinder or food processor and set aside.

Next, husk the corn and pull off any silky strands. Make a deep horizontal cut halfway down each ear and break in half. Bring a pan of water to boil, add the corn,, and boil for 6 to 8 minutes, until tender, then drain.

Put the oil into a large lidded frying pan over low to medium heat and once hot, add the chickpea flour, stirring continuously to smooth out any lumps. After around 4 minutes it will start to turn a pinkish brown. When it does, add the ground peanuts, turn the heat right down, and cook for 5 minutes. Stirring frequently.

Add the yogurt, salt, turmeric, ground red chili, and sugar to the pan. Stir to mix, then increase the heat to medium. Slowly ladle in 2 ½ cups of water, stirring until you have a smooth consistency.

Put the ears of corn into the pan, cover with the lid, and leave to heat through for around 5 minutes, until the sauce is the consistency of heavy cream. Transfer to a serving dish or individual bowls and scatter over some crushed peanuts. Serve with rice or chapatis and encourage people to use their hands.

Tucson '18

Continuing on our trip out West we made an overnight stop in San Antonio. Of course we ate at our favorite place, “La Gloria.” I know we should try a new place there, but we just love sitting out in the heat on the patio with the mister blowing, and having our beer and tacos! The food is fairly cheap and good, so it is a must for us. My husband is now into guayaberas for summertime dressy casual and Garden and Gun recently had an article on a local producer in San Antonio, Dos Carolinas, so we also paid a visit. It is about a block from La Gloria. And we bought two.

We did our next stop in Las Cruces, New Mexico, and stayed at the Lundeen Bed and Breakfast. This place was filled with southwestern art and the hostess was a charming lady who had lived there for 50 years, running a B&B for 30 of them. Her husband was an architect who had worked with Frank Lloyd Wright and she was full of stories about her husband (he died last year) and the famous people who had stayed at the bed and breakfast. A charming visit and a very nice breakfast. Her husband had designed the Double Eagle Saloon and Restaurant in the historic area of Las Cruces, Mesilla, so we felt obligated to have a drink there. The bar had wonderful chandeliers and was rather glamorous in a late Victorian style, and the drinks were terrific. They had 50 different kinds of margaritas! But we ate at our perennial favorite, Andele which is also in Mesilla where we had posole; where we first discovered posole actually.

On to our destination of Tucson. We stayed at our favorite place, The Arizona Inn. Very good rates in the summer and such a nice place to relax. Our daughter was married there last year so it will always be a special place. 

We did something new on this visit and drove up Mt. Lemmon where it was a cool 59 degrees and 9,000 feet up. Quite a difference to the 100 plus in Tucson. Great views, and in winter one can ski—the most southern ski area in the US. The city of Tucson is sprawling but you have the mountains surrounding it so a great city for good views.

Our favorite place to visit in Tucson is the Desert Museum. It is a no-miss if you are in the area. We have been several times in the past. Our daughter is a member and we got free tickets. We spent about 4 hours roaming the area which is full of exhibits: animals, birds, and even fish, and of course reptiles. We visited a presentation on two different venomous ones: the rattlesnake and one we did not realize as venomous, the gila monster. His bite won’t kill a healthy adult but he will hold on tenaciously and painfully. You might wind up in the ER with him still attached. My husband loves all the flora of the desert. It is amazing how varied and colorful it is. And I always spend some time in the shop and usually buy.

Tucson is not really a foodie city but we know a few places. The Arizona Inn has a great bar and the bar tender even remembered our drinks from the past visits! We do like breakfast there on the patio. Get our coffee, read the paper in the library and go for breakfast. An omelet one morning and tacos another. We usually have tamales at Tucson Tamale at least once. We tried 2 new restaurants this year. One was a winner, Downtown Kitchen, a new restaurant by a James Beard Award winner, Janos Wilder.

From the cookbook, Savvy Southwest Cooking by Janet E. Taylor

Tortilla Soup

Serves 4-6

Soup:

2 cups quartered tomatoes, or use canned tomatoes

½ sweet yellow onion, coarsely cut

4 garlic cloves. Cut into pieces

½ cup roughly cut cilantro leaves and stems

½-1 serrano chili, cut into tiny pieces

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon oregano, crushed to release flavor

4-6 cups chicken broth

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

Garnish:

3 corn tortillas

Olive oil to rub on tortillas

½ ripe Haas avocado, sliced, peeled, and chopped

4-5 pinches of feta cheese, for each serving

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (for the tortilla strips, which you will prepare while the soup is cooking).

For the soup: Using a food processor, place the tomatoes, onion, garlic, cilantro, and serrano by pressing the pulse button a couple of times to assure even chopping; then hold down the button and release a couple times until the tomatoes and onions are finely chopped or almost minced. If using canned tomatoes, don’t process them with the other ingredients.

In a 4-quart saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Carefully scrape the tomato mixture into the hot oil; sauté it for a few minutes, add the oregano and stir to combine. Continue sautéing, stirring occasionally, for about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, start preparing the tortilla strips (still keeping an eye on the mixture on the stove). Either spray the tortillas with olive oil or put some oil in the palm of one hand, rub your palms together, and then rub the tortillas. Cut the tortillas into thin strips and space the strips, without touching each other, on a cookie sheet; bake until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove from the oven, and reserve for garnish.

Back to the soup: stir in the chicken broth and bring the soup mixture to a boil; taste, adding salt and pepper as needed. Turn heat to low and simmer for 3-4 minutes.

Ladle into individual bowls and top with tortilla strips, avocado pieces, and tiny pinches of feta cheese.

Trip West---Houston

We have just returned from our yearly trip to Tucson and it was cooler there than in Mississippi. The monsoon season is in July and with the rain and overcast skies it was a pleasant stay. We were going to take a trip down the Grand Canyon by mule this year but learned that that must be booked a year in advance---we have made our reservations for July 2019!

We usually begin our journey with a stop in Houston where there are so many good places to eat. We ate at Xochi and Hugo’s, both restaurants the creation of Hugo Ortego, a James Beard Award winning chef.

At Xochi pronounced (so-chee) I had my first grilled octopus and it was delicious but a little chewy. But I guess that is to be expected. It was wood-roasted with a masa pancake, toasted pumpkin seeds, and pepper adobo. Our appetizer was a flash-seared tuna, cucumber, jicama, mangosteen, and mole vinaigrette. Best of all was a crispy pork belly, cactus salad, rice, beans, pickled onions, and tortillas. The dessert was the cocoa shell with ice cream and chocolate which I have talked about before. But it is the most decadent dessert I have ever eaten. Even the two of us couldn’t finish it.

 

Hugo’s again had their summer squash blossoms menu. We chose everything from the squash blossom menu and everything was delicious. We ordered three items: one was a salad of spring mixed lettuces, balls of goat cheese, avocado, purslane, squash ribbons, squash blossoms, herbs, and olive oil. We then ordered a ceviche consisting of shrimp, snapper, crab meat, tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, squash blosoms, and lime. Our last item was three empanadas of corn, squash, quesillo, and mole amarillo. I was so taken with the menu I got an order of squash blossom soup to go, so dinner was prepared for five hours later.

 

You may ask why use squash blossoms? They are rather tasteless in themselves, but they do add beauty and interest to dishes. They can be found in farmer’s markets and your gardens. Being extremely perishable, they need to be prepared straight from the garden or upon returning from the farmer’s market. They are a good source of calcium, iron, and vitamins A and C. Choose the slender-stemmed male blossoms instead of the females, which have a small bulb at their base. If you plan to stuff them, it is best to cut them early in the morning while they are still open and more easily stuffed.

Our trip to Houston included a visit to Peckerwood Gardens in nearby Hempstead. They are not open daily and visits have to be scheduled in advance. The garden was originally created by the late John G. Fairey and the Peckerwood Garden Conservation Foundation was created to preserve the existing collection and support continued plant exploration and trials. They are also now propagating plants for sale. The climate is not so different from here. We spent two hours with a very knowledgeable guide, fortunately mostly in the shade. If you are a plant person, this is a great garden. They have many plants collected from northern Mexico as well as natives and many from the Orient.

 

Breakfast in Houston was of course a koloche. I love these balls of dough stuffed with goodies. I had one with peppers and cheese, very hot but good.

 

Here is a recipe for ceviche, perhaps almost like Hugo’s!

Ceviche should of course be served well-chilled. It is a delicious summer treat, and very low in calories.

Shrimp Ceviche with Avocado

Serves 12

2 lbs. large shrimp, cooked and cut into 1-inch bite size pieces

1 cup lump crabmeat picked over, optional

1 fresh lemon, juice of

Salt, to taste

3 medium cucumbers, peeled and roughly diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

1 medium onion, diced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

1 bunch green onion, chopped

4 medium firm tomatoes, diced

3 fresh limes, juice of

1 fresh lemon, juice of

Garlic powder, to taste

Lemon pepper, to taste

3-4 medium firm avocados, diced

Chili or seafood cocktail sauce, optional to serve

Tostadas chips or scoops, to serve

In a medium bowl, mix together the chunks of shrimp and crab if using and the juice of one lemon; season to taste with salt and black pepper. Set aside and chill (in the refrigerator or on ice) for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

Meanwhile, prepare the ceviche by combining all the ingredients (add the avocados last, just before serving) in a large bowl with ice water, stirring well to combine. Drain well, fold in the shrimp and season to taste with garlic powder and lemon pepper.

Keep well chilled until serving time.

Serve with tortilla chips and optional chili sauce.

Ceviche is best served on the day it is made.

 

Long Beans '18

We are having a bumper crop of long beans or yard beans. They are also known as Chinese long beans, snake beans or asparagus beans. They are usually used in Chinese, Indian, and Caribbean cuisines. They grow easily but should be picked while young when they are crisp, sweet, and tender. Young beans develop within sixty days of cultivation, and the long pods grow in pairs from the stem. Known for their extraordinary length, the beans can grow up to thirty inches but should be harvested between twelve and eighteen inches. The flavor of long beans is grassy and slightly sweet with a more intense bean flavor than traditional green beans.

Long beans are rich in Vitamin A, C, fiber, protein, magnesium, thiamine, potassium and iron. They can be preserved or pickled and are great with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger.

I have been doing the recipe below for years using long beans, sausage or chicken, olives, ginger, soy sauce, and balsamic vinegar. We had it for three nights this week it is so good. Another recipe I tried was long beans with peanuts, shallots, and soy sauce. Also good. My husband is fond of savory peanut dishes. You can always substitute green beans for the long beans but the flavor is not quite the same. You can find these beans in Oriental food stores and sometimes at the local farmer’s markets. Or grow them (with support) as they are easy. If you are saving seed, long beans are related to field peas, not green or pole beans.

 

From ‘Saveur’ Magazine

This recipe was published in 2008 and again in 2016 but it is so good you must try it.

Serves 4

Wok-Charred Long Beans with Black Olives

Trim and cut 1 ½ lbs. long beans into 2 inch pieces. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add beans, cook until crisp-tender, 1-2 minutes. Using tongs, transfer beans to a bowl of ice water, chill. Drain beans. Heat 3 tbsp. canola oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 4 oz. ground pork or chicken; break into small pieces. Cook pork or chicken until browned, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer pork or chicken to a plate, leaving fat in skillet. Raise heat to high; add beans and cook, without stirring, until hot, about 2 minutes. Toss beans; cook, without stirring until caramelized, 1 minute more. Add 2 tbsp. minced garlic, 2 tbsp. minced ginger, and 1 minced Thai chili (or other hot chili), cook for 1 minute. Add 1/3 cup chicken broth, 2 tbsp. Chinese black or balsamic vinegar, and 1 tbsp. soy sauce; cook until almost evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add ½ lb. halved and pitted dry-cured black olives and reserved pork or chicken, cook for 1 minute more. Serve over rice for a complete meal.

 

From ‘Gourmet’ 2006

This recipe is equally delicious and a good way to use peanuts.

Spicy Stir-Fried Chinese Long Beans with Peanuts

Makes 4 servings

1 ½ lb. long beans

½ cup unsalted dry-roasted peanuts

2 teaspoons soy sauce

2-3 small Thai chilies (can use other chilies)

½ teaspoon salt

1 ½ tablespoons peanut oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1 large shallot, halved lengthwise, then very thinly sliced crosswise (1/2 cup)

2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Cook untrimmed beans in a 6-8 quart pot of boiling salted water, uncovered, stirring occasionally until just tender, 3-5 minutes. Transfer with tongs to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain in a colander and pat dry with paper towels. Trim beans and cut crosswise into ¾ inch pieces.

Meanwhile,  pulse peanuts in a food processor until half of peanuts are finely ground and remainder are in very large pieces (do not grind to a paste).

Stir together soy sauce, chilies, and salt in a small bowl.

Heat wok over high heat until a bead of water dropped onto cooking surface evaporates immediately. Add oil, swirling to coat wok, then add garlic and stir-fry until garlic begins to turn pale golden, about 5 seconds. Add peanuts, and stir-fry until all of mixture is golden, about 30 seconds. Add beans, and stir-fry until hot and welll coated, about 2 minutes. Remove wok from heat, then stir in soy sauce mixture and shallot, stirring until shallot has wilted. Drizzle in lime juice and season with salt, then transfer to a bowl. Serve warm or at room temperature. Beans can be boiled, drained, and patted dry 3 hours ahead.

 

 

Figs

The fig tree is indeed an extraordinary creature with a complex and fascinating biology. What we think of as the fruit is really an inside-out blossom---a cluster of ingrowing flowers, known botanically as a syconium. The inside of the fig is lined with hundreds of male and female flowers. The males carry pollen while the females bear seeds.

Legend has it that fig trees were planted in the hanging gardens of Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar II. Greeks and Romans believed this delicate fruit had been sent from heaven. They’re also associated with Christmas since the time of Charles Dickens. Believed by some so be the actual “forbidden fruit” eaten in the Garden of Eden, since Adam and Eve clothed themselves in fig leaves after partaking; they are steeped in a complex and symbolic history---a kind of Holy Grail of fruits.

Figs are thought to be native to Asia Minor and western Asia, eventually spreading throughout the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The fig tree appears throughout the Old and New Testament of the Bible, and Sumerian stone tablets dating back to 2500 B.C. have recorded their culinary use. The remains of fig trees have been found in excavations of Neolithic sites dating from 5000 B.C.

They were introduced to the New World by Spanish and Portuguese missionaries, mainly to the West Indies in 1520 and to Peru in 1528. From the West Indies, figs quickly spread across the southeastern United States.

The first figs were reportedly flourishing at Parris Island, South Carolina by 1577. Two years later, they were in St. Augustine, Florida, and by 1629 they had been introduced to Virginia via Bermuda.

They were exported from the West Indies to Spanish missions in Mexico, and spread to California where the Franciscan missionaries planted them in their gardens in San Diego in the middle of the 18^th century-hence the name “mission” for the dark purple California figs we know and love today.

Thomas Jefferson had fig cuttings sent to Monticello from Paris at the end of the 18^th century. Jefferson’s passion for figs helped promote varieties in Virginia and the Carolinas. He deemed the white Marseille fig as being superior for its small seeds, jammy taste and unique creamy, white flesh. In many areas of the South, fig trees grow so abundantly that they became an accepted part of the countryside landscape.

There are many varieties of figs available but most are very difficult to transport, so the variety of figs in grocery stores or at farmer’s markets will depend on the distance from the source. The three most common varieties are the Black Mission, Brown Turkey and Kadota.

My husband’s fig trees froze this year due to the cold so he was not a source for figs. We had dinner with a neighbor the other evening and they told me about all the figs they were eating. Boy, did I want some of those figs. They told me to come down and pick all I wanted early in the morning so that I did. The variety is the Celeste which is a Southern favorite. It is a small, pear-shaped fig that has purple-brown skin and very light pink pulp. They are deliciously sweet and are therefore also called honey or sugar figs.

I wanted to do something nice for picking their figs so I made them a Carolina Fig Cake. I found this recipe in a magazine in North Carolina. In the Outer Banks, Ocracoke Island is dotted with 14 varieties of figs that thrive despite the heat, salt, and sand. The island has become famous for its moist, spice fig cake that was first made in the 1950’s or 1960’s by the late Margaret Garrish. Her children say she did not have dates for a date cake recipe and her fig version spread to other home cooks via church suppers and community potlucks. The cake is now served at a number of restaurants on the island and sold by the slice at a fish house.

Recipe adapted from the Ocracoke Cook Book published by the United Methodist Women of Ocracoke Island, and Nancie McDermott’s Southern Cakes.

Ingredients:

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup unsalted butter

3 eggs

1 tsp. baking soda (dissolved in buttermilk)

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. salt

½ cup buttermilk

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup fresh figs, chopped (preserved figs were originally used in the recipe)

1 cup walnuts, chopped

Preparation:

Cream together butter, sugar and eggs until pale yellow and fluffy. Add sifted dry ingredients to the egg mixture alternating with the buttermilk. Add vanilla and fold in the figs and nuts. Pour into greased bundt or tube pan and bake at 50 degrees for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Dust with confectioner’s sugar and roasted walnuts.

I gave the cake away and never tasted it, but it sure did smell good so I would say it was a winner!

 

Tandoori Lamb Kebabs and Somosa Mashed Potatoes

In the new issues of my favorite food magazines, all the talk was of lamb kebabs. I have never seen a kebab that I did not like so these recipes appealed to me. One of greater interest than the others was an Indian inspired recipe with a side of mashed potatoes with a flavor of the filling of an Indian samosa. These were fabulously good. The potatoes were the best I have tasted in a long time. It would truly kick up your summer potato dishes to a higher level. Give these a try and if you can’t find the lamb for the kebabs you can always use beef. (Grass fed of course!)

From June/July, 2018 “Fine Cooking Magazine.”

Tandoori Lamb Kebabs

Serves 4-6

32 oz. plain whole-milk yogurt

1 Tbs. garam masala (can buy this at most stores these days in the spice section)

1 Tbs. paprika

½ tsp. ground cardamom

½ tsp. ground cumin

Kosher salt

2 lb. boneless leg of lamb cut into 1-inch pieces

2 large sweet onions, peeled and cut into ¾ -inch wedges

Oil, for the grill

1 Tbs. chopped fresh mint

1 Tbs. chopped fresh cilantro

Flaky sea salt

Lemon wedges

Chutney, preferably Major Grey’s

In a large bowl, combine the yogurt, garam masala, paprika, cardamom, cumin, and 1 tsp. salt. Add the lamb, toss, and marinate for 30 minutes at room temperature, or cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours.

Prepare a medium-high gas or charcoal grill fire or heat a grill pan on high.

Thread the lamb and onion onto metal skewers, alternating pieces of lamb and onion. (If you have leftover onion, make a skewer of just onions). Lightly oil the grill, then grill the kebabs, turning once or twice, until the lamb is cooked through and the onions are charred in places, 10 to 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the chopped herbs and flaky salt, and serve with the lemon wedges and chutney.

Samosa Mashed Potatoes

Serves 4 to 6

Thaw 2/3 cup frozen peas. Cut 1 ¼ lb. peeled Yukon Gold Potatoes in 1-inch pieces and bring to a boil in water seasoned generously with kosher salt. Reduce the heat and simmer until tender, 15-18 minutes. Drain. Melt 4 Tbs. unsalted butter in the same saucepan. Add 1/3 cup finely chopped onion, and cook, stirring until very soft, about 5 minutes. Add 1 ½ tsp. minced fresh ginger and ¾ tsp. minced garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in ¾ tsp. garam masala, ¾ tsp. ground turmeric, ¼ tsp. ground cumin, and a good pinch of cayenne; cook stirring until fragrant. Add ½ cup heavy cream and 1 tsp. salt, and bring to a simmer. Return the potatoes to the pan and mash. Stir in the peas and warm through. Stir in 2 Tbs. finely chopped fresh cilantro, and serve garnished with more cilantro and a lemon wedge, if you like.