Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

August 13, 2009 / Ren

Because the fridge was nearly empty today, I took the opportunity to completely empty it out and give it a good cleaning. While I was at it, I threw away the few remaining bottles and jars of processed stuff. For now, at least, my fridge contains nothing but fresh whole foods and homemade stuff.

Because the fridge was nearly empty today, there wasn’t much on hand to make dinner with. Half a head of cauliflower, a few inches of leek, a can of chickpeas and some spices was pretty much it. Seems a perfect challenge for The Nourishing Gourmet’s Pennywise Platter..

Curry Roasted Cauliflower and Chickpeas

Wash, trim and separate fresh cauliflower into small, individual florets.

Drain and rinse 1 BPA-free can of chickpeas.

Combine cauliflower, chickpeas, melted ghee (clarified butter) or coconut oil, some good curry powder, sea salt, black pepper, cumin and coriander seeds and a little lemon juice in a bowl. Don’t spare the fat, and don’t spare the spices.

Spread the mixture single-layer on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet and roast in a 375 degree oven (just shy of the fat’s smoking point) until caramelized and tender, about 45-60 minutes. Toss 2 or 3 times to ensure even cooking, adding the sliced leeks about 1/2 hour into the cooking process.

Garnish with some sprouts for additional protein and visual appeal.

I only used 1/2 of the chickpeas, so I roasted the rest of them with a Moroccan blend of cumin, ginger, sea salt, pepper, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne, allspice and cloves. This will make a healthy snack for later..

(from Kalyn’s Kitchen)

Crispy Roasted Chickpeas

Murgh Jalfrezi Pilau

July 30, 2009 / Ren

A simple, inexpensive, healing curried chicken with rice..

Murgh Jalfrezi Pilau

Pastured chicken thighs, peppers, onions, tomatoes, ginger, cardamom, coriander, lemon juice, cilantro, cumin, chili pepper, turmeric, sea salt, black pepper and saffron.

Toast whole spices in a dry skillet over medium-low until fragrant, perhaps 5 minutes.

Add ghee, pastured butter or coconut oil to the pan and sauté chicken until brown on both sides. Add vegetables and a little filtered water or chicken stock and remaining spices, cover and simmer until fork-tender (about 30 minutes). Brighten with fresh cilantro and a little lemon juice just before serving.

Meanwhile, cook basmati rice in filtered water and/or coconut water and/or chicken stock with curry leaves (optional) until most of the liquid is absorbed, add saffron threads (optional) and seedless raisins, cover two minutes until raisins are plump.

Serve garnished with a dollop of yoghurt or Crème fraîche for a cooling contrast to the spicy curry.

This post is part of the Pennywise Platter at The Nourishing Gourmet

Show Me The Whey pt. 2

July 2, 2009November 14, 2016 / Ren

In an earlier post, I took at look a using yoghurt as a source of liquid whey, which in turn can be used to make all sorts of great stuff like lacto-fermented ketchup or raisin chutney. I also touched on some of the ways to use the solids that are left after the whey is removed.

In Show Me The Whey part 2, I take a closer look at some of the ways to use those solids, including a fresh cream cheese replacement and the traditional Middle-eastern labneh and oil-preserved, spice-coated dried labneh balls, all of which may be made at a cost of less than $5.

Once separated from its liquid whey, the solid labneh is ready for use as a replacement for cream cheese, including everything from a sweet or savory spread to crab & cream cheese wontons to cheesecake. In this form, it will keep in the refrigerator for up to about a week, a little longer if salted.

Here, I’ve spread labneh on some thin pumpernickel (made from whole-grain sprouted rye) and topped with lingonberries & rosemary, fresh chives & black sea salt flakes and homemade orange-ginger jam with red pepper. It would work just as nicely on a sprouted bagel with smoked salmon..

Labneh on Pumpernickel with Assorted Toppings

Another good use for labneh is as labneh balls, which are made by rolling the labneh into balls, removing the remaining water by air-drying on absorbent paper for a day or so, rolling in spices such as dried mint or za’atar (sumac, thyme, sesame seeds and salt) and then preserving in olive oil. Made this way, the labneh will last indefinitely on the counter (no refrigeration needed), or at least until it gets eaten..