Duck fat roasted potatoes. Potatoes roasted in duck fat. Beautiful words indeed. A very simple tweak to a million recipes on the internet that changes everything. I don’t know of a better way to cook potatoes than in duck fat. Butter – very tasty, olive oil and rosemary – very tasty, duck fat – freaking awesome. And there’s no excuse not to make them. Duck fat is not hard to find....
Green chili chana achari. Not like any other chana masala you’ve ever tasted. Different. But so tasty. I know you’ve never tried it. Because I made it up. It doesn’t exist. Or it didn’t. Until now. But now it does. And I hope you try it. Even though you’ve never heard of it. It’s easy. Healthy. Vegan even. Not that I care. I just like it. It passes my big flavour bar....
Lobster bisque. This is soup for when you want to impress. Creamy. Rich. Luxurious. It’s everything wrong with French cooking. And it’s everything right with French cooking. Wonderful stuff indeed. Lobster bisque is perfect for a really fancy dinner party I love making soup when I entertain. Everybody loves a good soup. And it’s a first course you can make ahead. Like before lunch. Takes the pressure off the cook....
For me bean dishes are all about cooking as you go. My friends are always asking me for the recipe for my bean dish. It’s never the same. It’s about what I have on hand. What I feel like. What will match the meal. Mexican pinto beans are a stable in my rotation though. Always good. Better than you’ll get at most restaurants. This recipe has lots of room for improvisation....
Palak chicken curry is something you need to try. If you haven’t already. Spinach, chicken, and spice. Deceptively simple. Seriously delicious. It’s not one of the big ones. But it’s a really good one. And a great way to sneak in a bit of greens. Although this isn’t really a sneak. Spinach is what makes this dish great. It there. Balanced perfectly against the other big flavours. A bit of magic....
Braised lamb shanks. Meltingly tender, rich, delicious. And hard to mess up. Browned meat, aromatics and stock. Simmer gently for a couple hours and you have a meal worthy of a special occasion. Slow food is good food. This recipe is from a PBS show from the dark ages before the internet. Used to be if you wanted to learn about cooking you either bought books or watched TV. PBS was the best back then....
A bowl full of chicken gumbo. Over rice or not. Runny like a soup or nice and thick like a stew. It all works. There are two types of gumbo. Those made with a roux and those that aren’t. This is the latter. It’s lighter and heavy on the vegetables. As healthy as a gumbo gets I guess. But it’s still damn tasty. Making a roux takes time. It’s time well spent when you’re looking for that rich, focus on the chicken and sausage kind of gumbo....
Green chili chicken curry prepared Indian hotel style. Seriously complex flavours brightened by green chilies and fresh tomatoes. If that sounds good, this one could be right for you. This is Indian restaurant style cooking. But not like you think. It’s not what’s going on at your local takeaway. This is about making the absolute best curry you can. Don’t let the simplicity of the recipe fool you. The ingredients may be humble....
If you want to learn how to make Indian restaurant curries at home this is the place to start. Indian restaurant curry base or base gravy is the foundation of the whole thing. Get this figured out and you are on your way to making better curries than you can buy. Indian restaurants cook a whack of different curries to order. Ever wonder how they do it? For sure they don’t have 25 curries simmering away in the kitchen....
Salmon salad nicoise makes a great fancy lunch or light dinner. Salmon, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes and olives. Perfectly cooked hardboiled eggs. Tied together with a simple mustard vinaigrette. Perfect. Technically I’m not sure you can call this salmon salad nicoise. Tuna instead of salmon – that would be closer. Add some anchovies. Then it would be nicoise. But it’s in the ballpark – riffing on the concept. And it’s a dead easy, tasty weeknight meal....
Vietnamese sate sauce is a garlicky, spicy flavour bomb you can throw at any Asian braise, soup, stir fry or noodle dish. Or smear it on chicken and grill. It’s loaded with big, bold southeast Asian flavours. This is not that Indonesian peanut sauce for grilled skewers. That’s satay sauce. This is sate sauce. Totally different beast. I’m not saying it wouldn’t be delicious on grilled skewers. But it is not the same....
Tandoori chicken is perfect for backyard BBQs. But the question is always what to serve with tandoori chicken. Pulled pork. Brisket. Ribs. Burgers even. They are all great. Worthy stars of the backyard BBQ. But I like to mix things up. And when I do I like tandoori chicken best. An Indian themed BBQ. A little unexpected. Always a hit. Tandoori chicken is obvious. Perfect even. That the easy part. The hard part is figuring out what to serve with tandoori chicken....
