Pamela Toman

Somali Red Lentil Stew (Maraq Misir)

Delicious. Makes 6 servings.

If you really want to go all out, you can toast any of the spices that you have whole, then grind them. Add the other pre-ground spices at the end.

Serve chunky or blended, with salad or rice or bread.

Ingredients Step
oil
1 large white onion, diced		 Saute in large pot until translucent.
1½ c. red lentils Rinse in colander.
8 cloves garlic, minced
4 t. cumin
1 t. coriander
½ t. black pepper
⅛ t. cloves
⅛ t. cinnamon
⅛ t. cardamom
½ t. turmeric
1½ t. salt		 Measure.
1.5 c passata (equivalent to 6 Romas)
rinsed red lentils
1 large carrot, diced
¾ c. cilantro, diced
spices
6 c. warm water		 Add to the onions, stir, and cover pot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until cooked, about 25 minutes.

Source: Ifrah F. Ahmed (NYT Cooking)

Somali Red Lentil Stew (Maraq Misir) was published on 13 November 2024.

Recipe uses: red-lentils, carrots, cilantro, passata

Baked Risotto with Greens

An easy and delicious way to serve greens.

Violife parmesan is acceptable, but dairy parmesan is better. I often split the meal in half before the last "saucy" step to target both diets.

First enjoyed with Tom and Tobi.

Ingredients Step
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
1 small onion, diced
olive oil		 In a cast iron skillet with a lid, saute onion until softened.
1 small garlic clove minced
1 heaping c. Arborio rice		 Add garlic and stir until fragrant (about 1 minute), then stir in rice. Season with salt and pepper, and fry rice until lightly toasted (about 2 minutes).
4 oz. kale leaves, as bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper		 Add. Stir until wilted.
quart of no-chicken broth Add broth. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Cover and bake until liquid is almost all absorbed and rice is tender, about 20 minutes.
4 oz. spinach (chopped)
1 c. frozen peas, thawed --or-- asparagus, sliced
1 T. lemon juice		 Stir in. (Don't add too much lemon -- we're not making lemon risotto!)
¾ c. parmesan
3 T. butter		 Add. Stir until well blended and saucy.

Source: Kay Chun (NYT Cooking)

Baked Risotto with Greens was published on 12 November 2024.

Recipe uses: arborio-rice, kale, stock, spinach, peas, parmesan, lemon

Pan de Cristal

Very similar to the ciabatta recipe -- but this recipe does not require preparation the day before, and it uses a slightly different folding method.

Between starting and being able to cut into the bread, you're probably looking at about 8 hours, with the first 2 hours of that period requiring regular but brief attention. You'll need to be home to pay a few minutes of attention to this bread every 20 minutes, so it fits into a Pomodoro workday best (just like the ciabatta).

This bread goes well with broccoli sandwiches and with basically any soup.

If the bread goes stale (it is such high hydration that it is likely to go stale easily), reheat at 400 for about 10 minutes to recover it.

Ingredients Step
500 g. bread flour
500 g. warm water
¾ t. yeast
2 t. (10 g.) salt		 Mix until homogenous. You want the (extremely slack, pourable) dough to have an internal temperature of 72 degrees.
olive oil
2 rectangular baking dishes		 Oil a rectangular baking dish. (It does not need to be oven safe.) Pour dough into the oiled pan and cover it with the other pan. If it seems cooler than 72 degrees Fahrenheit, put it in the oven with the light on. Let it rest 20 minutes.
Bowl fold: Using wet hands, fold the dough from the edges to the center repeatedly, until it can't take it anymore (8-12 times). Cover and let rest 20 minutes.
First coil fold: Using wet hands, reach under the middle of the dough and lift it until it no longer touches the dish. Fold it in thirds (there's a video on the KAF site). Rotate 90 degrees and repeat, until the dough won't take it anymore. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.
Second coil fold. Cover and let rest 20 minutes.
Third coil fold. Cover and let rest 20 minutes. (Or, if it's already extremely tight, skip the fourth fold and move directly into resting for 80 minutes.)
Fourth coil fold. Cover and let rest 80 minutes.
Flour the surface, and very gently turn the dough out onto it, trying to not deflate it and trying to maintain the rectangular shape. Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Place each piece of parchment. Let rest at room temperature, uncovered, for 2 hours. (You can rush this, but if you can wait 2 hours, you'll get the most open crumb.)
At least an hour before baking, place two cast iron skillets on the bottom rack of the oven and place the other rack toward the top of the oven. Then preheat to 475 degrees.
After about 2 hours, when the loaves are light and airy and you can see some large bubbles on the surface, transfer 1 loaf to each cast iron skillet. Bake them for 15 minutes, ignoring the other 2 loaves for the moment. They should see some nice oven spring! After 15 minutes, transfer the loaves to the top rack to bake for another ~10 minutes (this lets the cast iron heat up again for the next round).
Repeat with the last two loaves.

Source: Martin Philip at KAF

Pan de Cristal was published on 10 November 2024.

Sweet Potato Tofu Hash

Easy sheet pan meal. Top it with pickled onions and other sorts of toppings (fried egg, poached egg, cilantro, hot sauce, feta, ketchup, sour cream, ...).

First enjoyed with Chris.

Ingredients Step
Set racks at 1/3 and 2/3, and preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line 2 sheet pans with parchment.
2 red onions Thinly slice half of one onion. Chop the other onion and a half into ½-inch pieces
thinly sliced onions
2 T. apple cider vinegar or lime juice
½ t. chili powder
salt		 Toss onions with vinegar in small bowl to make a quick pickle.
2 blocks extra-firm tofu, dried and cubed
16 oz. sweet potato (likely 2-3), cubed
4 T. cornstarch
2 t. chili powder
salt (3 t?)		 Toss gently until well-coated. Then add more oil (2-4 T?) and toss to coat. Spread in a single layer across 1.5 sheet pans.
2 red bell pepper at ½-inch dice
red onion at ½-inch dice
2 rosemary sprigs
4 T olive oil		 Toss. Season with pinch of salt. Spread next to sweet potatoes and tofu. Roast on top rack until vegetables are tender and the tofu is crisp, about 30-35 minutes.
2 cans black beans, rinsed (1 c. from dry) Stir everything from sheet pans with the beans into a final hash dish. Serve with pickled onions.

Source: Ali Slagle (NYT Cooking)

Sweet Potato Tofu Hash was published on 6 November 2024.

Recipe uses: tofu, sweet-potato, red-bell-pepper, rosemary, black-beans

Semolina Pizza

Makes 2 small-to-medium pizzas, enough to feed about 4 people. Rises in the fridge for better flavor and flexibility.

Apparently you can take the parbaked pizza crust and save it for another night. Somehow ours always gets eaten.

Ingredients Step
210g AP flour (1¾ c.)
206g semolina flour (1¼ c.)
1 t. yeast
8g salt (1¼ t.)
25g olive oil (2 T.)
1+ c. water, lukewarm (up to 1¼ c.)
dash garlic powder		 Stir together until shaggy and let rest about 15 minutes. Then knead with dough hook in mixer for 5-10 minutes, until sticky like a post-it and soft like a marshmallow.
Grease a large container with a lid that will fit in fridge. Transfer dough to container, cover, and let rise 45 minutes on the counter. Transfer to fridge for the next 4-36 hours.
Divide dough in half. Form 2 pizza crusts of the thickness you'd like, finishing them on parchment on a baking sheet. Cover and let the crusts rise. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
After about 30 minutes, dock the dough, then parbake the pizza crusts for 6-8 minutes.
Top with tomato sauce and toppings, and bake another 8 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.

Source: PJ Hamel's Now or Later Pizza Crust at KAF

Semolina Pizza was published on 5 September 2024.