Dinner party redux

I attended a lovely dinner party on Saturday evening, and the hostess made a special effort to make a vegetarian casserole for those of us who could not eat her roast chicken. It was wonderful: barely, pinto beans and polenta-- mmm. :) I had volunteered to bring a vegetarian dish, too, and settled on Indian. I HIGHLY recommend this watermelon curry recipe. I know it sounds like a strange flavor combination, but it was a huge hit at the party. I'm putting it into the regular rotation. But the star was the chana masala; the leftovers went home with a friend, and she said they were even better the next day. I wasn't quite happy with the flavors the first time around, but I think I found the answer in tonight's version. The cinnamon is in no way traditional to this dish, but I find it takes the edge off the tomato acidity and adds a wonderful warmth to the sauce.

Chana Masala (adapted from Orangette)

olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp garam masala
3 green cardamom pods, crushed lightly with the blade of a large knife (open slightly, but do not crush so much that the seeds escape)
1/4 cup water
1 28-ounce can peeled, crushed tomatoes
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, plus a bit more to taste
2 15-ounce cans organic chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp cinnamon
juice of one half lime

Coat the bottom of a large skillet with olive oil; heat over medium heat. Add onion and sautee-- stirring frequently-- until browning and caramelized. This generally takes about 25 to 30 minutes on my stove top; most importantly, please do not rush the process. The slower the color builds, the better. Once onions have deepened (even begun to char in some places?), add garlic and cook until the flavors bloom-- usually a minute or so, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat to low and add spices: cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala and cardamom pods. Stir well, and cook until fragrant (30 to 90 seconds, depending on your heat). Deglaze pan by adding 1/4 cup of water, and scraping all the browned flavorful bits from the bottom of the pan. Let cook until water has dissolved and the spice onion slurry is all that remains.

Add tomatoes, breaking them up into pieces with your hands. Salt and stir well. Raise heat back to medium; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes. Add cinnamon and lime juice; simmer until sauce begins to thicken a bit. Reduce heat to low, add chickpeas and stir well.

Add 2 tablespoons water to the dish, and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes. Add 2 more tablespoons water, and simmer 5 minutes. This repeated process keeps the chickpeas plump and deepens the flavors of the sauce. Check for seasoning, and serve over rice/quinoa/any other grain-- or be adventurous and serve alongside roasted potatoes with garlic as I did this evening. It was still phenomenal, if not traditional. Squeeze additional limes over at table, if desired.

Small Army

I love being part of big family. I grew up as one child in five, and moving to New Mexico has only made my family bigger. I cooked dinner at Grandma's house tonight-- there were 11 of us, total. That's a lot of people to feed; and a lot of relatively picky palates. Luckily, pasta is almost universally appealing, so long as I keep the sauce/toppings simple. I reverted to a non-vegan meal.... it's all a process. :)

Caprese Pasta for Eleven

1 1/2 lbs pasta (I used orecchiette, but any small pasta will do)
extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pints cherry tomatoes
2 pints yellow pear tomatoes
1/3 cup dry white wine (I used Sauvignon blanc-- just be careful your wine is not too rich or oaked here)
16 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into bite size pieces
2 ounces basil, torn into pieces

Boil pasta per package directions. Please do not forget to salt the water before adding pasta-- this is the only chance you will have to season the pasta itself.

While pasta cooks, heavily coat bottom of a large skillet with olive oil. (I probably used 1/4 cup of olive oil here.) Heat over medium heat; add minced garlic and sautee until fragrant (but not browned). Add all cherry tomatoes, coat well in olive oil and garlic. If needed, add more olive oil to coat well. Season well with salt and fresh cracked pepper. Cover skillet and let cook, stirring occasionally. When the tomatoes are beginning to burst open, add wine and let cook uncovered for a few minutes. You want the concentrated flavor of the wine, but not too much extra liquid.

Drain pasta, but reserve one cup of starchy cooking water-- set aside. Add pasta to skillet with tomatoes; remove from heat. Add mozzarella pieces and basil-- toss well to combine. If pasta is dry, add some of the starchy cooking water and taste again for seasoning.

Serve with a green salad and garlic bread. (Make the salad a little bigger than you think you might need-- especially if you're feeding a small army, as I was.) Enjoy!