Khoresh-e Bademjoon (Persian Eggplant and Tomato Stew)

By Samin Nosrat
YIELD: 6 to 8 servings
Time: 3 hours

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound boneless lamb shoulder, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground turmeric
• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 to 8 Japanese eggplants (about 2 pounds)
• 5 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 4 small or 2 medium tomatoes (about 2 pounds)
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1⁄4 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
• 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (from 2 to 4 limes)
• 1⁄3 cup fresh or frozen unripe grapes (ghooreh)
• Polo Ba Tahdig (Persian Rice With Bread Crust), for serving (see recipe (https://cooking.nytimes.c om/recipes/1020207))
• Mast-o Khiar (see recipe (https://cooking.nytimes.c om/recipes/1020213)) or plain yogurt, for serving
• Persian liteh or garlic pickles, for serving (optional)
• Assorted fresh herbs (such as mint, tarragon and basil), scallions and radishes, for serving (optional)

PREPARATION:

Step 1

In a large bowl, season lamb with turmeric, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Set aside.

Step 2

Peel the eggplants but leave the green skin on the stem end intact. Trim the tips of the stems and make an incomplete lengthwise cut in each eggplant from the bottom, leaving both halves attached at the stem. Place eggplants in a colander set inside a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.

Step 3

In the meantime, set a large Dutch oven or similar pot over medium-high heat. When the pot is hot, add 3 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers, add onion and cook, stirring regularly, until softened and browned, 16 to 18 minutes.

Step 4

Add the meat and cook, turning regularly, until it browns evenly on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 4 cups water and increase heat to high. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 1 hour.

Step 5

In the meantime, rinse the eggplants, dry thoroughly and set aside. Remove stems and halve tomatoes through their cores and set aside. Line a baking sheet with two layers of paper towels and set aside.

Step 6

Set a large frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, add 1/4 cup oil and carefully lay eggplants in the pan in a single layer. It’s crucial to leave space between each eggplant for steam to escape, so brown in batches if necessary. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook, turning regularly, until eggplants are browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove browned eggplants to lined baking sheet and allow to drain.

Step 7

Use the same pan to brown tomatoes, cut-side down, in remaining 2 tablespoons oil for about 5 minutes. Flip and cook tomatoes on skin side until lightly browned, 1 to 2 minutes, then remove to lined baking sheet.

Step 8

Once the meat has cooked for 1 hour, stir in the tomato paste, saffron and 1/4 cup lime juice. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Carefully arrange the browned eggplants and tomatoes atop the stew and then sprinkle on the young grapes. Allow the stew to come to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer, uncovered, until meat is falling apart and stew is thick and unctuous, about 1 hour. Without jostling the eggplants too much, taste a spoonful or two of the stew. It should be pleasantly tart, so adjust the seasoning with salt and lime juice as needed.

Step 9

Serve hot, with Persian rice and mast-o khiar, as well as pickles, fresh herbs, scallions and radishes, if desired.

Our goal is to make one new (hopefully amazing) recipe that is outside our wheelhouse once a week. The NYTimes asked Yewande Komolafe to provide 10 recipes that best represent her Nigerian culture. Jollof Rice was on the list, and M was fascinated by the sheer number of habaneros in the recipe. So, of course, we had to make it.

Jollof Rice
By Yewande Komolafe
YIELD: 8 to 10 servings
Time: 1 1/2 hours

INGREDIENTS FOR THE OBE ATA:

• 1 (14-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with their juices
• 1 medium red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1⁄2 medium red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 red habanero chile, stemmed
• 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil

INGREDIENTS FOR THE JOLLOF RICE:

• 1⁄2 cup canola or other neutral oil
• 2 medium red onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1⁄4 teaspoon smoked paprika (optional)
• 3 cups parboiled long-grain rice (such as Carolina Gold or Uncle Ben’s Original), basmati or jasmine rice (about 1 1⁄4 pounds)
• 5 fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups beef, chicken or vegetable stock

PREPARATION

Step 1

Prepare the obe ata: Working in batches if needed, combine all the obe ata ingredients except the canola oil in a blender and purée on high until smooth. The liquid from the can of tomatoes should suffice, but you can add up to 1/4 cup of water if necessary to get the purée going. (You should have about 3 cups of purée.)

Step 2

Heat the 2 tablespoons canola oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add the purée and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until the sauce is slightly reduced by about a third of its original volume, 18 to 20 minutes. (It should make about 2 cups. Obe ata can be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 weeks, or frozen for up to 1 month.)

Step 3

Prepare the rice: Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Heat the 1/2 cup canola oil in a large Dutch oven over medium until shimmering, about 1 minute. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 6 to 8 minutes. Remove half the onions to a plate and set aside. Add the garlic and sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, turmeric and smoked paprika, if using, and toast, stirring occasionally, until turmeric is fragrant and tomato paste has deepened to a dark red color, about 2 minutes.

Step 4

Stir in the obe ata sauce and bring to a simmer over medium heat. The habanero oils love to disperse in the air, so you may want to turn on your stovetop fan or open a window while simmering the obe ata. Stir in the rice, thyme and bay leaf, and season with salt and pepper. Stir in the stock and cover with a lid. Transfer the pot to the oven and cook until rice is just tender, 35 minutes.

Step 5

Remove the pot from the oven and let sit, covered (no peeking) for 15 minutes. Uncover, fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the reserved sautéed onions. Adjust seasoning, if necessary, and discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Serve warm.

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Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Instant Pot Pinto Beans

Prep Time: 10 mins
Cook Time: 25 mins
Total Time: 1 hr
Servings: 12 servings
Calories: 136kcal

Ingredients

• 1 pound dry pinto beans
• ½ small white onion chopped
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 jalapeño seeds and ribs removed and chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 4 cups water filtered if possible
• ½ teaspoon salt or more to taste

Instructions

• Rinse and pick over beans to make sure there are no small pebbles or other debris.
• Optional: Soak beans in a large bowl of water (use filtered water, if possible) for at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours, at room temperature. Transfer soaked beans to a colander and rinse them well.
• Put pinto beans (soaked and drained or unsoaked) in the Instant Pot. Add the water and remaining ingredients, except for the salt, and stir to combine.
• Close the Instant Pot lid and turn the steam release valve to the sealing position. Set the cook time using the Pressure Cook or Manual button at high pressure:
  Unsoaked beans: 30 minutes.
  Soaked beans: 15 minutes.
• The Instant Pot will take about 10 to 15 minutes to reach pressure and then the cook time will begin counting down. When the cook time ends, allow the pressure to release naturally for at least 15 minutes by leaving the Instant Pot alone.
• Then turn the steam release valve to the venting position to make sure all of the pressure has been released. Once the pin has dropped down, carefully open the Instant Pot lid. Stir and season the beans to taste with salt.
• Cooled beans can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Been making lots of peanut butter and pairing it with honey. It’s hard to find raw peanuts but we managed just fine with lightly salted ones from Smart & Final and we all enjoy this recipe from kitchn.

How To Make Boba & Bubble Tea at Home from The Kitchn

Makes 1 drink

What You Need
Ingredients
1/4 cup dried boba tapioca pearls per serving (NOT quick-cooking boba)
1 to 2 tea bags per serving, any kind
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
Milk, almond milk, or sweetened condensed milk
Fruit juice or nectar (optional)

Equipment
Saucepan
Bowl for holding the cooked boba
Measuring cups

Instructions
Combine the boba with water: Measure 2 cups of water for every 1/4 cup of boba being prepared into a saucepan. Bring the water to a boil over high heat. Add the boba and stir gently until they begin floating to the top of the water.

Cook the boba: Turn the heat to medium and cook the boba for 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from heat, cover, and let the pearls sit for another 12 to 15 minutes.

Prepare the sugar syrup for the boba: While the boba are cooking, make a simple sugar syrup to sweeten and preserve them once cooked. Bring 1/2 cup of water to a boil over high heat on the stove or in the microwave. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup sugar until dissolved. Set aside to cool.

Prepare a strong cup of tea: This can be done either while the boba are cooking or ahead of time. Allow enough time for the tea to cool completely before making the boba. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add the tea bag (or bags); use one tea bag for regular-strength bubble tea or two for a stronger tea flavor. Remove the tea bag after 15 minutes and chill the tea.

Store the boba until ready to assemble: Once the boba have finished cooking, drain them from the water and transfer them to a small bowl or container. Pour the sugar syrup over top until the boba are submerged. Let sit until the boba are room temperature, at least 15 minutes, or refrigerate until ready to use. Boba are best if used within a few hours of cooking, but will keep refrigerated for several days. The boba will gradually harden and become crunchy as they sit.

Make the bubble tea: Pour the prepared tea into a tall glass and add the boba. Add milk for a creamy bubble tea, juice for a fruity tea, or leave plain and add a little extra water. Sweeten to taste with the simple syrup from soaking the boba.

Recipe Notes
Very chilled bubble tea: For an extra-chilly bubble tea, combine all the tea, milk, and/or juice, but not the boba in a cocktail shaker. Add a few ice cubes and shake for 20 seconds. Pour into a tall glass and add the boba.
Shortcut boba: If you want immediate gratification, just cook your boba until they are tender, 5 to 10 minutes, and use them as soon as they’re cool. This kind of boba doesn’t keep for very long (turning rock-hard in a few hours), but is delicious if eaten right away.
Saving leftover boba and making boba for later: Boba are best if used within a few hours of cooking, but will keep refrigerated with simple syrup for several days. The boba will gradually harden and become crunchy as they sit.

HRJ has been cooking for us and he recently made a bolognese with a Barbara Lynch pasta recipe. This dough has some serious chew. We rolled to KA #6 and then hand cut them into pappardelle. They were a bit too thick but very, very good. I don’t know what flour he used but we made it for AZ+G (using KA unbleached AP flour) and then again the next day for ourselves (using Gold Medal unbleached AP flour), both rolled to #6 and then rolled through the spaghetti attachment. We pureed the puttanesca the second time. The KA flour was definitely toothier. This dough works very well for spaghetti. Bring the water to a boil and then cook for 1-1.5 minutes. Our sheets always roll out a little wavy, but so do the sheets in the referenced blog recipe so we don’t feel that bad…yet.

Homemade Fresh Pasta Dough
Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt, plus more for pasta water
2 large eggs
4 large egg yolks
Directions
1) Combine flour and salt in a small mound on a clean work surface. Using your fingers, create a small well in the center of the flour.Crack the whole eggs into the well, then add the egg yolks. Whisk the egs gently with a fork, just to break them up a little.
2) Continue to whisk the eggs, slowly incorporating flour from the perimeter of the flour mound. Do this slowly until the dough becomes too stiff to mix with a fork, and then use your hands to continue mixing. You may not need all of the flour (I didn’t), so only add more until the dough starts to come together and doesn’t stick to your hands.
3) Once enough flour has been incorporated, push any excess to the side, and continue to knead your ball of dough until, as the book says, “it feels as soft and supple as your earlobe.” This could take anywhere from 5-8 minutes.
4) Once your dough is sufficiently kneaded, cover it with a light dusting of flour and plastic wrap, and let it rest for one hour.
5) When ready to roll, set your pasta maker to it’s widest setting, and cut your dough in half. Begin by running each half through the machine on it’s widest setting.
6) Continue to run each piece of dough through the machine, moving up the settings as you go. Our machine has 9 settings, and I didn’t run the dough through all 9, but probably 6 or 7 of the settings. You are looking to gradually thin your dough, so if it’s soft and supple and not tearing or ripping, you could try to skip one setting, say go from 5-7 without putting it through 6. If the dough does tear or start to shred, simply gold it over itself, and run it through a wider setting again until smooth. Continue until your dough has gone through the thinnest setting.
7) At this point, your dough is ready to use! You could keep it in sheets and use it for lasagna, but I’d suggest running it through a fettuccine or spaghetti attachment like we did here. For thicker pasta like a papperdelle, you could use a pastry cutter and make 1″ strips – it’s really up to you! Cook immediately (for 3-4 minutes, until it rises to the surface of a pot of boiling water), or freeze. To freeze, simply wrap pasta strands around your hand, creating a small nest, and place on a floured baking sheet until frozen. From there, they nests can be transferred to a tupperware for more long-term freezer storage.

Perfect Loaf has a sourdough starter pancake recipe. I have a cup of starter that I was going to make bread with but need more time *not* doing bread today so let’s use the cup in pancakes!

This is 15 minutes after mixing dry and wet and melted butter. Already my starter is working hard.

M knows I love macaroni salad but it so rarely lives up to my expectations. I should try it at every deli I have access to, but I just forget, even though it’s one of those things that I remember very fondly from my childhood. I suppose that not having it all the time makes it even more special, like Lorna Doone shortbread cookies and whole milk I used to have a Aunt A’s all those years ago before I turned double digits in age.

We made it on Labor Day and then again on today. So. good.

Another salmon burger Friday. This time, we spiced the burgers with Berbere spice and mayo instead of mustard and capers. M found an Ethiopian mint yogurt mix and we quick pickled cucumbers. Recipes in comments. We finely chopped all the ingredients for the yogurt mix instead of blending it smooth. Awesome. Will eat the rest with heirloom tomatoes from the farmers market.

INGREDIENTS
1 1⁄2 pounds skinless, boneless salmon
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 shallots, peeled and cut into chunks
1⁄2 cup coarse bread crumbs
1 tablespoon capers, drained
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
Lemon wedges
Tabasco sauce

Step 1
Cut the salmon into large chunks, and put about a quarter of it into the container of a food processor, along with the mustard. Turn the machine on, and let it run — stopping to scrape down the sides if necessary — until the mixture becomes pasty.
Step 2
Add the shallots and the remaining salmon, and pulse the machine on and off until the fish is chopped and well combined with the puree. No piece should be larger than a quarter inch or so; be careful not make the mixture too fine.
Step 3
Scrape the mixture into a bowl, and by hand, stir in the bread crumbs, capers and some salt and pepper. Shape into four burgers. (You can cover and refrigerate the burgers for a few hours at this point.)
Step 4
Place the butter or oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet, and turn the heat to medium-high. When the butter foam subsides or the oil is hot, cook the burgers for 2 to 3 minutes a side, turning once. Alternatively, you can grill them: let them firm up on the first side, grilling about 4 minutes, before turning over and finishing for just another minute or two. To check for doneness, make a small cut and peek inside. Be careful not to overcook. Serve on a bed of greens or on buns or by themselves, with lemon wedges and Tabasco or any dressing you like.

I am attempting whole wheat dinner rolls at M’s request after having a version at Hatchet Hall. I am using the ridiculously tasty red fife wheat from SG. I am only making a half batch because can the two of us really eat 24 rolls? Don’t answer that.