January 5th, 2014
It’s cold season and everyone in the family has taken their turns being sick. First it was Paloma, picked up from someone in school, then her papa, then me. Soup has always been my answer to a cold, I crave nothing more when under the weather.
I’ve recently become intrigued with Dahl, a spicy and warming Indian lentil or bean stew, and have been dreaming about making it according to all the rules. My good friend Irina, whom I can’t seem to stop talking about on this blog, is an expert on Ayurveda and Ayurvedic cooking, and helped me track down all the proper ingredients for the soup. It turned out to be quite easy, as any Indian market will have hing, kala namak, nigella seeds, curry leaves, moong dal and a kaleidoscope of spices, all for a very low price.
Onions and garlic are never used in Ayurvedic cuisine, as they are believed to disturb peacefulness of the mind. I was curious to know what is used in their place, as they possess such amazing flavor and are essential to so many dishes around the world. Turns out, the magical ingredient is Hing (also known as Asafoetida), a spice derived from a species of giant fennel, which is known for its balancing properties and ability to aid digestion. When uncooked, hing is quite stinky, smelling something like garlic and resin combined, but it is an addictive kind of stink, like a nicely aged cheese. When cooked, any smelliness goes away leaving behind a beautiful, complex flavour somewhat similar to both onions and garlic.
I also made gluten-free Naan bread to go with the Dahl. Naan is one of my great loves and I’ve been wanting to experiment with a gluten-free version, having made the traditional kind at home several times. Mixing buckwheat, millet and tapioca flours produced a tasty bread, not too close in flavour to the original but satisfying in its own way. Eaten together with the Dahl and sprinkled with Nigella Seeds (another amazing Indian market discovery, they taste like toasted onions!), it made for a perfect cold-fighting meal.
Tomato Dahl
Note: Many Dahl recipes call for cinnamon and cloves, but I left them out as a personal taste preference. If you cannot get your hands on the special Indian ingredients, you can substitute lentils for moong dal and garlic and onions for hing.
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seed
seeds of 2-4 cardamom pods
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon ghee or vegetable oil
2-inch piece ginger – peeled and minced
1/2 teaspoon hing (I suggest Vandevi brand) – or more to taste
3 celery stalks – thinly diced
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon kala namak (black salt) or other salt
1 1/4 cups yellow moong dal or lentils
2-3 medium sized tomatoes – cubed
8 cups purified water
1. Grind coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard seeds, cardamom seeds and peppercorns in a coffee grinder or a mortar with pestle and set aside.
2. Warm up the ghee in a large pot over low medium heat. Add ginger and hing and saute for 1 minute. Add celery and cook for another 4 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add in the ground spices, pepper flakes, turmeric and salt, stirring for another minute. Add in the moong dal/lentils, tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes until dal is completely cooked and vegetables are soft.
4. Puree 1/2 of the soup in a blender and return it to the pot. Alternatively, puree the whole amount or leave everything chunky (I like to combine both textures). Adjust salt.
5. Squeeze a fresh lemon over the dahl and serve with fresh cilantro leaves and toasted nigella seeds.
Gluten-Free Naan
3/4 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon coconut sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
3 tablespoons ground chia seeds
6 tablespoons almond milk
1 cup ( 140 g) buckwheat flour
1 cup (120 g) tapioca flour
1/2 cup (70 g) millet flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon nigella seeds
1. Warm 3/4 cup of almond milk to 110 F. Add in sugar and yeast, whisk together and leave for 10 minutes. The mixture should be very foamy.
2. Bring 6 tablespoons of almond milk to a boil and pour it over the ground chia seeds. Let sit for 10 minutes.
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a food processor, combine the yeasty mixture, chia gel and the rest or ingredients, with exception of nigella seeds. Mix until well combined into a runny dough.
4. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and oil lightly. With a wet spoon, shape your breads into traditional tear-drop shaped thin breads (or any other way you fancy). Sprinkle with nigella seeds and let rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 375 F.
5. Bake for 30-35 minutes until golden. Keep tightly covered to prevent the bread from drying.
Tags: ayurveda, dahl, gluten free, naan, recipe, soup, tomato
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September 3rd, 2013
This post is also available in: French
As a child, I always felt a persistent sadness come over me at the end of summer. It’s not that I didn’t like the beautiful autumn colors that overtook the crowns of the trees, or those walks in the park, when the dry leaves made a pleasant crunching noise with each step I took. I loved all of that, along with the smell of fire and wet forest while mushroom foraging with my father, and bundling up in a newly knitted wool scarf. But whichever way you look at it, the end of summer will always represent the end of warmth, the end of vacations, and, to an extent, the end of freedom. Back to school, how I hated those words. I was always a good student, and once school got going, I didn’t mind it that much, but it was that transitional period between summer and fall that always gave me the blues.
Even now, in my adult years, those feelings manage to come back during this time of year. Although the end of summer in Florida represents relief from exhausting heat, I still cringe when I see too many school buses on the road. Paloma started kindergarten this year, and although it is just kindergarten (that’s what I keep telling myself), there are all of a sudden all these rules and restrictions that have to be followed, and I was never a fan of that aspect of school. Luckily, Paloma doesn’t share my feelings and is very excited about a new environment. After only two days as a kindergartener, I noticed how friendly she’s managed to become with all of her teachers and other school staff, greeting everyone by name in the morning with a big shining smile. I am jealous and not ready to let summer go.
Before summer tomatoes disappear until next year, I want to share this hearty salad recipe with you. I’ve made it with different grains, beans and even orzo over the course of the summer and loved it every time. This variation with barley and forbidden black rice is particularly pretty when combined with multicolored heirloom tomatoes and herbs. Aside from eating them raw, slow roasting tomatoes is my favourite way of preparing them. Their caramelized juices work beautifully with any grains and eliminate the need for additional dressing. This dish is substantial enough to serve as a meal on its own and becomes even better the next day, when the flavours are further incorporated.
Barley Tomato Salad
1 lb tomatoes on the vine
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon coconut sugar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, plus more for cherry tomatoes
3 garlic cloves – minced
2 cups yellow or red cherry tomatoes – cut in half
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup pearled barley – soaked overnight and cooked for about 20 minutes, until soft, drained and cooled
1/2 cup heirloom forbidden black rice or other black rice – cooked according to package instructions, cooled
assorted 3-5 heirloom tomatoes – sliced
3 tablespoons chopped mint leaves
handful basil leaves – torn
about 2 tablespoons each minced dill and parsley – optional
1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Place your tomatoes on the vine into a baking dish. In a small, bowl whisk together 1/4 cup of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, coconut sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt and garlic. Pour over the tomatoes, place in the oven and roast for 1 to 11/2 hours until they are soft and appear cooked.
2. Increase oven temperature to 400 F. Spread the cherry tomatoes on a parchment paper-covered baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and cook for about 12 minutes.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine the barley, rice, both types of roasted tomatoes and their juices, fresh sliced heirloom tomatoes and herbs. Gently toss to combine. Season with more salt and pepper if desired and add more olive oil if needed.
4. Serve immediately or let cool completely and store covered in a refrigerator.
Note: Substitute the barley and/or rice with any other grains, beans or pasta. You don’t have to use 2 types, just one will be very good as well.
Tags: barley, basil, black rice, mint, recipe, salad, tomato, vegan
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July 28th, 2013
Cold pureed soup is something that I didn’t know about when growing up but absolutely cannot live without now. Every summer, I seem to find a new variation of cold soup to obsess about (there was watermelon and pineapple gazpacho, and apple-anise soup among many others). This year it’s this Spicy Strawberry Gazpacho which I’ve been making almost weekly, sometimes even every other day, since the beginning of June. It’s simple and ideal for summer heat, with just a few ingredients blended together. You can make it as spicy as you like – I prefer a hint of heat here, so as to frame but not overwhelm the sweetness of strawberries and summer tomatoes.
Paloma is turning five in just a few days and it’s difficult to believe. Her vocabulary is becoming more mature every day and as any parent, I wish she wasn’t growing up so fast! Her preferences in food have been evolving as well. I raised Paloma eating spicy foods and will never forget how much she loved the green soup I used to make her with fresh jalapeno and loads of cilantro when she was just two and three. Now, I have to be very careful about adding any spices into our food if I’m counting on Paloma to try it. Kids’ taste is so bizarrely selective at this age – she won’t eat peaches, for instance, but can inhale twenty olives in one sitting, and a simple Russian cabbage soup, that I very much disliked as a child, is suddenly her favorite. Thankfully, green juice is still on our daily menu, while candies and other traditional sweets are just a distant thought. Hopefully, Paloma will grow out of her no-spice phase soon enough and begin enjoying this gazpacho as much as the rest of the family.
Spicy Strawberry Gazpacho
(adapted form Salatshop)
10 ripe sweet strawberries – divided
3 large heirloom tomatoes – roughly chopped
1 small bell pepper – seeded and roughly chopped
1 medium cucumber – peeled and roughly chopped
1/3 cup soft sun-dried tomatoes
juice of 1/2 lemon
1-2 garlic cloves – roughly chopped
about 1/4 small red chili pepper or more to taste – seeded, or 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
dash of cayenne pepper – optional
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
large handful fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
Reserve 5 strawberries. Place the rest of the ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Taste for salt and spice, adjusting if needed. Chill very well. Slice the reserved strawberries. Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and garnish with strawberry slices and basil leaves. Enjoy on a hot summer day.
Tags: gazpacho, recipe, soup, spicy, strawberry, tomato, vegan
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