Salty Cumin Lassi

You may notice that this post is tagged "work snacks" and wonder what kind of tricked-out office kitchens we have. But seriously, you can do this--Hannah does happen to have a tricked-out office kitchen, but all you need is a glass, a water cooler, yogurt, salt, and a fork. If you keep a 32-ounce container of plain yogurt in your office fridge, you can enjoy lassis all week, either with your lunch or as a mid-afternoon pick-me-up. You can even leave out the cumin and it's still delicious. And while everyone else is microwaving a soggy burrito, you'll be dreaming of India.

These measurements are approximations--just eyeball it if you're at the office with no measuring cup, since what really matters is texture.

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
1/3 cup cold water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cumin

Whisk. Enjoy.

Lentils with Red Wine

We have a bit of an alcohol problem in our house...by which I mean, people bring booze when they come over for dinner, and the leftover wine sits, neglected, in the fridge for about a month. We just kind of forget to drink wine unless we have company, and that means we end up with a lot of half-drunk bottles of wine slowly turning to vinegar. This particular recipe came about because we threw the remaining 1/2 cup of Shiraz from our Seder into Hannah's breakfast lentils, immediately elevating them to lunch lentils!

Twenty cloves of garlic may seem like a lot, but browning them whole and them simmering them with the lentils really softens them up, leaving you with a sweeter taste and no garlic breath!

2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or a combination
20 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole
2 cups green lentils
4 cups water
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry red wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint
Za'atar and/or yogurt for topping

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add garlic and stir for 5-10 minutes, until it starts to color a bit. Add the cumin and stir for 30 seconds to temper. Pour in lentils, water and pepper, bring to a boil, and simmer until tender, about 20-30 minutes. Add wine and salt, stir, and cook 5 minutes more. Remove from heat, sprinkle in the chopped mint, and top individual portions with yogurt and/or za'atar.

Parmesan-Crusted Fava Beans

We love fava beans, but the laborious shelling often deters us from actually dealing with them, especially on a weeknight. Enter this ingenious idea passed along to us from several of our friends at the Riverdog farm stand: blanch the pods and broil them with garlic and parmesan, rendering the entire vegetable edible! So if you love fava beans but have a mortal dread of shelling, try this (or get some therapy).

1 lb fava beans, tough strings removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan or asiago cheese

Blanch the fava beans for 5 minutes in plenty of boiling water, then drain and transfer to a large pan (or cast-iron skillet). Toss with the oil, garlic, pepper and salt, transfer to the oven and broil for 5 minutes, or until burnt spots appear. Flip, top with the cheese, return to oven, and remove when cheese is bubbly and browning. Eat pods and all, keeping an eye out for any tough strings that you may have missed.

Denise's Croatian Goat Cheese Spread

Our friend Denise (she of the tomato bounty and zucchini prowess) returned last summer from a Croatian bike riding adventure and brought this dip to a party, where it was promptly devoured by hungry guests unable to believe that it contained nothing but goat cheese and olive oil. Indeed, the Croatians appear to be masters at more-than-sum-of-parts cuisine: this is an unbelievably simple appetizer that involves nothing other than a quick stir. You can fancy it up with chopped fresh herbs or a little citrus zest, but it's totally addictive in its unadorned state, too. If you're the kind of person who has goat cheese lying around, you can whip it up for unexpected guests--thus guaranteeing a flood of future unexpected guests, so you'd better be consistent about stocking goat cheese!

8 ounces chevre
1/2 cup olive oil

Stir chevre and olive oil together with a fork until well combined. Break out the crackers and instantly become the most popular person on your block. (We've got a few gluten-free neighbors, hence the Mary's Gone Crackers in the photo above).

Cauliflower Paneer Masala

Another recipe we learned at cooking school in India. Our instructor battered his cauliflower before frying it, but we're lazy and generally not inclined to batter anything, so we tried throwing the cauliflower right into the hot oil. The result -- still fatty and delicious! Also, we can hardly be blamed for giving in to the temptation to throw a little non-traditional paneer in the oil, since it was already nice and hot. Everything is better with cheese.

1 head of cauliflower, floretted and dried
1 cup of paneer, diced into 3/4 inch cubes
1/3 cup oil (high-heat friendly, like coconut, peanut or canola)
2 large shallots, sliced into half-moons
2 sprigs curry leaves (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 inch ginger, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 1/2 teaspoons coriander
1 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups pureed tomatoes (canned okay)
salt to taste

Optional batter:
8 tablespoons chickpea flour
1 teaspoon cornstarch
sprinkle of water
salt
black pepper

Optional: If you want to make a batter, mix the batter ingredients in a large bowl and toss in the cauliflower, stirring to coat.

Heat the oil in a wok until it's hot enough to sizzle on contact with cauliflower, but not smoking. Add the cauliflower in small batches, frying until it's tipped with brown, then remove to a paper-lined plate to drain. Repeat with the paneer, frying until it's golden brown on all six sides.


Pour off the extra oil, leaving about 2 tablespoons in the pan. Set the heat to medium-high and add the curry leaves, allowing them to sizzle for 30 seconds before adding the sliced shallots. Stir continuously until the shallots are soft and brown, then add the garlic and ginger. Once they are browned and the raw smell is gone, add the tumeric, chile powder, coriander and garam masala. Stir until the onions are well coated, then pour in the pureed tomatoes. Simmer until the tomatoes are reduced, then stir in the cauliflower, paneer and salt and allow to simmer a few more minutes to meld the flavors. We served ours on a bed of upma with red cabbage.

South Indian Asparagus

It's springtime again, and that means another season of asparagus dishes! This year, it's found a home in our South Indian repertoire, brought to life by the usual suspects of mustard seeds, shallots, turmeric and chiles. Once again, if you can't find curry leaves or urad dal, just leave them out.

1 tablespoon oil or ghee
1 teaspo0n mustard seeds
2 shallots, sliced into rings
1 tablespoon urad dal
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 dried red chile, broken into three pieces
1 sprig curry leaves
1 bunch asparagus (about 30 stalks), cut into 1.5 inch pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a wok over medium high-heat. When it is hot, add the mustard seeds and the urad dal. Stand back and allow them to fruy until the dal takes on a toasted color, about two minutes. Add the shallots and stir for another minute or two, only until the shallots are no longer raw. Stir in the turmeric, chile and curry leaves. As soon as the curry leaves begin to crackle, toss in the asparagus, salt and a tablespoon of water. Stir continuously, still over medium-high heat, adding a few more sprinkles of water if the asparagus gets dry. Once the asparagus is tender-crisp (5-10 minutes), remove from heat and serve immediately.

Yogurt Cheese with Za'atar

Lebneh is one of our favorite party treats: rich balls of oil-drizzled whole-milk yogurt, perfect for spreading on bread and crackers. Add some olives and a bowl of dates and you have yourself the beginnings of an awesome spread.

Za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that usually includes sumac, thyme and sesame seeds. Once you have some, you'll start sprinkling it on everything--especially your morning toast and scrambled eggs! If you don't have a Middle Eastern grocery store or a Middle Eastern grandma at your disposal, you can make your own or buy it online. Or just skip it!

If you're short on time, this is just as delicious served in a bowl--no need to roll the strained yogurt into individual-sized portions. The quality of the finished product depends a lot on the kind of yogurt you start with--you want a nice creamy one, not too watery. We always make ours with whole-milk yogurt; you're welcome to try it with low-fat, but nonfat might not be creamy enough.


1 quart plain whole milk yogurt
1 teaspoon salt
Za'atar for sprinkling (optional)
Olive oil for rolling & drizzling

Line a large bowl with a thick layer of cheesecloth. Pour in the yogurt, tie a knot in the cheesecloth and hang it over the bowl, as shown (refrigeration optional). Let it sit for 6-8 hours, until yogurt is very thick. The whey will drip into the bowl--don't throw it out! Add a little salt or sugar to the whey for a refreshing drink.

Transfer yogurt to a bowl and mix in salt. Rub some olive oil on your hands and roll the yogurt into golf-sized balls. Drizzle finished platter of yogurt balls with olive oil and sprinkle generously with za'atar.