Asparagus salad (and Dan makes dinner!)

Last weekend, I walked into the apartment after a long day of working brunch to find that Dan was preparing a fantabulous dinner of grilled lamb chops with a minted cucumber-yogurt coulis! Wow! The food was delicious. And for once, I got to take the backseat. (Unfortunately, we were both so excited that I forgot to take a picture to show off.)

My only contribution was a simple salad of more of that lovely spring asparagus.


Warm Asparagus Vinaigrette
(serves 3-4 as a side)

- 1 bunch asparagus, blanched and cut on the bias into 1-inch pieces
- 1/2 red onion, sliced thin
- 1/2 cup mint leaves, torn or chiffonaded

- 2 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
- 2 teaspoons dijon mustard
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 cup olive oil
- salt and white pepper to taste

To prepare, simply toss the first three ingredients together, and make the vinaigrette with the remaining ingredients, whisking in the olive oil last. Season with the salt and white pepper and enjoy while the asparagus is still warm from blanching.

A condiment occasion

One would think my full-time job as a cook might slow my pace of home-cooking, but not so, sir! Yesterday I spent exactly the entire day in the kitchen, made two new spice blends (a fish spice and some Ras El-Hanout), used the latter to make homemade harissa, made a pickled red onion condiment, and also whipped up some parsley butter with loads of garlic. Also, I oven-dried some tomatoes to use in my harissa. Here's the aerial view:


You may be asking yourself, what's this harissa stuff? Well, it's a sauce typically used in North African (ie. Moroccan, Algerian, Tunisian) kitchens for many purposes, such as flavoring meats, brightening soups, mixing into cous-cous, etc. The uses are rather infinite because it's so damn tasty. The number of recipes for harissa are just about as infinite, but mine is a blend of the following (makes about 1 cup):

1/2 cup ground hot red chilis
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (I used my oven-dried ones)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup water
2 teaspoons Ras el Hanout **
2 tablespoons olive oil

Note: you'll want to strain this blend through a fine-mesh sieve before serving to extract all the chili pepper skins and seeds.

** Ras el Hanout translates from Moroccan Arabic to "head of the shop" and refers to a spice mixture comprised of the best products the shop owner has to offer. So, again, many different variations on this tune. Mine has cumin, saffron, cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, black pepper, and loads of medium-hot paprika.

After I had played mad-scientist with my spices for long enough, I made a simple dinner of grilled steak strips placed on pita bread to showcase my new repertoire of condiments: the still hot steak got a slight schmear of parsley butter, then a pile of pickled onions, then a drizzle of my extra hot harissa.

Accompanying the main was a salad of thinly-sliced fennel bulbs, sectioned oranges, and baby greens, seasoned simply with olive oil, salt and pepper, and a light sprinkling of chopped parsley.


Oh, and there was plenty of vino! Dan contributed a shiraz, and Steph a syrah - both totally hit the bulls-eye of appropriate meat-pairing wines. And both were mercilessly drained by the end of the evening!

SPiCE II

I'm still totally digging this cookbook, Spice, and have finally stopped drooling long enough to produce one of its recipes: "Spoon Lamb," alongside a jeweled basmati rice pilaf of my own invention and the previously mentioned roasted chickpeas. While I would love to share with you all the exact steps I took to make this ridiculously delicious braised lamb dish, I fear copyright law infringement and will therefore keep this vague and picture-laden. Please note, the photos are courtesy of Kat Cheng Photography, and they're awesome. Check out Kat's site for other amazing photographs of non-edibles.

Some lamb highlights:
1. The butcher cut the lamb shoulder chops to order, as requested, in 2-inch thick crosswise pieces, with a really scary table saw.
2. After browning the lamb and sprinkling it with fresh ground cumin, I braised it in red wine with some vegetables for 3 hours, totally unattended. Meaning: Ultimate couch-potato time with Dan!
3. The sauce I later made from the strained braising liquid included a never-before-used ingredient: pomegranate molasses. Very tart, and good when counterbalanced with the acidity of lemon juice and the richness of butter.
4. The lamb consumption was accompanied by grateful moans. Always a good sign :)

"spoon lamb" with jeweled rice pilaf and crunchy roasted chickpeas

We're back!

When 2010 hit (Welcome to the food-ture!) and I realized I'd neglected to share my homemade meals with you all for over a month, I decided a resolution was needed: at least one posting a month! I'm sure that between my job cooking at the restaurant, sleeping, spending time with Danimal, cleaning the house, staying connected with friends, getting adequate exercise, reading my book, and trying to relax (ommmm...), there ought to be some time left for "What Color..."!

Today after hitting the gym I threw together a delicious and easy French lentil soup. Lentils are an amazing kind of legume that require no soaking, very little cooking time, and that are so tasty you can cook them in water and the finished liquid will taste like a rich vegetable stock. Plus, these fancy little beans weigh in at about $1.50 a pound, so they're great for living on the cheap.
French Lentil Soup
(makes about 6 cups)

- 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil (or a mix)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 cup diced onion (about 1/2 medium onion)
- 1 red chile pepper, deseeded and minced
- 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
- 2 cups French lentils (or brown, green, black, red... pick your poison)
- 6 cups water
- 1 28-oz can organic crushed tomatoes
- 1 bouquet garni: small bunch thyme, 2 bay leaves, 5 peppercorns (bundled together in cheesecloth)
- 1/4 cup picked thyme leaves
- salt and pepper to taste

1. Set a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add the cooking oil/butter. Once hot, add the garlic and onion and a pinch of salt and stir until fragrant and translucent. Add the chile pepper and cook, stirring, a minute longer. Then add the sweet potato, cover the pot, and let cook 3-5 more minutes.
2. Stir in lentils, water, tomatoes, and drop in the bouquet garni. Bring to a boil and lower to simmer. Leave simmering, partially covered, for 30-45 minutes, until the lentils are fully cooked and the soup has thickened to the desired consistency.
3. Remove from heat, stir in the thyme leaves, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately, or allow to cool and store in refrigerator up to a week or freezer up to a month!