Peanut Gochijang Tofu

Flavoring tofu is a trick.  Marinading, grilling well, and saucing generously is the ticket.  This asian inspired tofu is not only tasty, but hearty and satisfying.
1 brick extra firm tofu

Marinade:
2 Tbsp cream sherry
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp chili paste with garlic

Peanut Gochujang sauce:
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 Tbsp gochujang Korean chili bean paste
2 Tbsp sesame oil
1 Tbsp soy sauce

About an hour or two (or one day) before cooking, wrap the tofu in 2 layers of clean paper towels. place a plate or small cutting board on top and place a large can of tomatoes on the board. Center it evenly and allow the tofu to drain for about 20 minutes. Unwrap the tofu and slice 1/4-inch.

Whisk together the marinade in a medium flat casserole. Place the tofu slices in the marinade and flip several times.

Allow the tofu to marinate at least an hour, or up to a day in the refrigerator.

While the tofu marinates, mix sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook another few minutes. Remove from heat, and keep warm until ready to eat. Store in refrigerator if marinating a long time. Gently reheat, whisking often, when ready to eat.

Heat a non-stick grill pan to medium high, and spray with oil. Lay the tofu slices on the pan and cook without moving for about 3-4 minutes, just until the tofu forms nice brown grill marks.

Flip and repeat on the other side.

Place tofu on serving platter and garnish with some sauce and fresh cilantro leaves. Serve extra sauce on the side. Serves 4.

Cook's Note:  I used the same spicy peanut gochujang sauce I posted with grilled short ribs - whatever your favorite substrate, it's a great sauce.

Paella Primavera

Adding tomato paste to the paella gives the dish a rich flavor note that elevates this vegetarian rice and bean dish to something quite extraordinary.  Especially if you are generous with the red pepper flakes.
2 cups cauliflower floweretts
2 cups green beans cut 1-1/2 inch
1 carrot diced
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1 cup short grain brown rice
1 red onion, sliced
1 red pepper, sliced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 cups water

1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained

Sauté the cauliflower, green beans and carrot in a dash of olive oil in a large skillet. Salt and pepper to taste and add red pepper flakes.

Cook veggies about 5 minutes, only until the veggies heat through and the green beans just begin to soften - the veggies will cook more later.

You want them still very crisp. Remove veggies to a bowl.

Tip the rice along with the onion and red pepper into the skillet with a dash more olive oil. Toast the rice with the veggies for about 5 minutes, stirring almost regularly.

Add the tomato paste and cook for another 3-4 minutes, until the tomato paste darkens up a bit.

Add the water to the rice and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook about 10 minutes, until the rice is just about cooked.

Now the messy part. Stir the veggies and the pinto beans into the rice to mix well.

Cover the skillet and cook the paella for another 5-10 minutes, until the rice is fully cooked.

Serves 4.

Moroccan Chickpeas

Last weekend on my way to mountain biking, I was listening to Milk Street Radio, a great cooking show on Saturday WHYY radio.  They asked an Indian chef, Vikram Vij what she would cook on a simple weeknight.  She described a nice vegetarian chickpea curry in about 3-4 sentences which seemed so simple, wholesome, delicious and most importantly - fast!  I hopped on my bike and as I rode I worked out how I would make this dish, and it went something like this.
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved
2 Tbsp tomato paste

2 cloves garlic, minced
1-inch fresh ginger, minced
2 Tbsp Ras el Hanout, Moroccan spice blend
1 tsp ground cumin

2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1/2 can coconut cream (I used Trader Joe’s)

Sauté the onion and carrot for about 5-8 minutes in a medium pot.

Add the drained tomatoes and cook another 8-10 minutes.

Add the tomato paste to the veggies and cook about 5 minutes, until the tomato paste darkens up a bit and enriches its flavor.

Remove mixture to a bowl.  Add a dash of oil to the pot and toss in the garlic and ginger.

Cook about 2-3 minutes. Add the Das el Hanout powder and cook another minute, stirring constantly.

Return the tomato mixture to the pot along with the chick peas.

Add the coconut cream and the reserved tomato liquid. Add enough water (only if necessary) to make a nice stew consistency.

Salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat, stir, and cover. Cook for about 15-20 minutes to develop the flavor - just about enough time to make some rice.

Serve with rice. Serves 4-6.

Cook's Note:  This is a quick dish directly from the pantry - a real fast weeknight dinner.

If you do not have Das el Hanout, just use whatever curry spices or garam masalas you do have.  You could mix 1/2 Tbsp cumin with 1/2 Tbsp turmeric, 1/2 Tbsp ground coriander and 1/2 Tbsp smokey pimenton paprika, for example.

Cauliflower Anita

My colleague Anita is a real foodie.  She describes a clean, simple cuisine so attractive to the busy professional - wonderful food prepared quickly with simple ingredients.

Recently she described a quick dinner made of roasted cauliflower and pasta, flavored by toasted capers.  I reverse engineer it here, but had to add some garlic and peas to make it my own.  With or without garlic and peas, a fine inspiration from a like-minded foodie spirit - thanks Anita!
1 small head cauliflower cut into flowerettes, about 4 cups
1/4 tsp dried crushed red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp olive oil

2 Tbsp capers
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup peas (if frozen, defrosted)

1/2 lb campanelle pasta

Preheat oven to 425F. Bring a pot with 3 quarts water to a boil for the pasta. Liberally salt the water with 1-2 tablespoons Kosher salt.

Toss the cauliflower with the red pepper and oil in a large bowl. Salt and pepper to taste.

Tip cauliflower onto a rimmed roasting pan and shake to achieve a single layer evenly distributed. Roast in oven for about 20-30 minutes until browned, turning once or twice.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet. Add the capers and allow to cook for about 3-4 minutes, until they are fragrant and begin to ‘pop’. Transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

Cook the pasta until just al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water and then drain pasta.

Now add the garlic and shallot to the skillet and cook for about 2-3 minutes. Add the peas and just heat through.

Return the capers to the peas and stir.

Tip the pasta, cauliflower and pea mixture into a large bowl and gently fold together.

Add a dash of the cooking water, just enough to moisten the dish to taste. Turn into a serving platter and garnish with fresh parsley.

Serves 4.

Cook's note:  Though perhaps over adorning this simple wonderful combination, pass the parmesan, as many will appreciate it.

It may seem like a lot of olive oil in the skillet, but it becomes a very flavored oil with the capers, shallot and garlic, and is not too much to flavor a quart of cauliflower and a half pound of pasta.  Adjust to taste.

Acorn Squash Stuffed with Black Bean and Kale

If you ever do get a cold day this mild winter, warm up with baked squash - a traditional winter dish.  Here I stuff a carnival squash with a mixture of black beans, kale and leek, baked under a toasted hazelnut topping sweetened with dried cranberries. Hearty, warming and stick-to-your-ribs.  And you get to turn the oven on in winter.
1 Acorn squash, quartered and seeded
1 Tbsp brown sugar

1 leek, trimmed, cleaned and sliced
1/2 purple Bermuda onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups Tuscan kale, chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 cup cooked rice

Topping:
1/4 cup hazel nuts
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 clove garlic
1 Tbsp olive oil

Toast the hazelnuts in a 375F oven for about 3-5 minutes, just until aromatic. Watch, or they can burn quickly. Remove from oven and allow to return to room temperature. Keep oven at temperature.

Place squash, skin-side down, in a an oiled casserole. Sprinkle with sugar and season with coarse salt.

Roast covered in oven for about 15 minutes. Continue cooking uncovered about 15 minutes.

While squash cooks, sauté leek and onion in a skillet with a dash of olive oil.

After about 10 minutes, add the garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes. Add the kale and cook another 10 minutes. Add the black beans and rice and warm through. Season with salt and pepper.

Toss hazel nuts, cranberries and garlic in a small food processor. Pulse to form a coarse meal.

Tip into a small bowl and toss with the olive oil.

Remove squash from the oven and carefully stuff the squash evenly with the kale mixture. Top each squash with the hazel nut topping, distributing evenly.

Return to the oven and cook another 30 minutes.

Serves 4.

Creamy Gnocchi Baked with Goat Cheese

Gnocchi - especially fresh - have this toothsome bite to them, that satisfies even meat eaters (I am one of them!).  While I will not claim this to be a healthful meal - too much simple carb, and cream and cheese - it is most certainly a wonderful dish.  Sometimes you should prepare a wonderful dish to enjoy and keep yourself going.  Then you can be good.
1 lb fresh gnocchi (I used Trader Joe’s)
2 Tbsp butter plus 1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tbsp snipped chives
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley
1/4 lb goat cheese with herbs

Preheat oven to 400F. Melt the butter in the oil in a large non-stick skillet. Add the gnocchi and heat through.

Add the cream and the chives and bring to a gentle boil.

Season with coriander and then salt and pepper to taste. Allow the cream to boil down a bit to thicken up.

Transfer Gnocchi mixture to a medium oiled casserole. Top with the goat cheese and parsley.

Bake for about 20-30 minutes uncovered until brown and bubbly.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Tempeh with Sesame Coconut Peanut Sauce

A vegetarian stir fry that really satisfies.

Sauce:
1/4 cup peanuts
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp hoisin sauce
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp chili paste with garlic
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/4 cup pale dry sherry

1 14-oz tempeh, cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 carrot, sliced
3-4 cups broccoli, cut into coarse flowerets
1/2 large onion, sliced (about 1 cup)
1/2-inch fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
toasted sesame seeds

Blend peanuts in a small food processor until smooth, like chunky peanut butter. Add remaining sauce ingredients and blend well, stirring down sides of processor.  Get together your 'miss en place' - all your ingredients in bowls and ready to go.

Heat a wok and add a tablespoon canola or peanut oil. Stir fry the tempeh for a few minutes, until the tempe is well browned. Set tempeh aside in a bowl. Heat another tablespoon of oil in the wok. Stir fry the broccoli, carrot and onion, stirring briskly. Add about a tablespoon water while stirring and allow the veggies to steam a bit as the water cooks off. Add the ginger and garlic and cook another few minutes.

Return the tempeh to the wok and pour in the sauce. Heat through while gently folding the veggies with the sauce. Transfer to a platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.

Pumpkin Apple Soup Over Savory White Beans

There's a reason they call it winter squash.  My smaller pumpkins from Halloween, kept in the cool, dark basement were still beautiful right after New Year's.  OK, they may not have been so sweet as at harvest, but let's not forget what our forefathers had, as they stored their harvest for winter feeding.

If you don't have a nice medium-small sweet pumpkin, stored from fall and still ''rooking mawh-velous" (a shoutout to Saturday Night Live) in January, then you can simply use a nice butternut squash that you find in the market.  Really, any winter squash would work wonders here.  But don't fret about how sweet your pumpkin or squash might be (so long as it looks unblemished, beautiful and smells absolutely fresh), because this soup is sweetened by apple and sweet potato.

This soup becomes a full meal when coupled with savory beans, stewed with tomatoes and fennel and rich herbs like rosemary.  This is a warm, hearty winter dish, probably not unlike those eaten many decades ago in a simpler time.
1 medium pumpkin, about 8-inch diameter (or 1 large butternut squash)
1 lb carrots, peeled and thickly sliced, about 5-6
1 apple, peeled, cored and diced (I used Honey Crisp - choose something sweet)
1 sweet potato, peeled and coarsely diced
1 quart vegetable (or chicken) broth
about 2 cups water, more or less as needed
1 cup half and half

1 fennel bulb, finely diced
1 medium onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp rosemary, crushed or minced
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground coriander
2 cans white beans, lightly drained
1 cup water
1 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 400F. Cut the top off the pumpkin and scoop out and discard all the seeds and wet internals. Carefully slice the pumpkin (or squash) into 1-2 inch slices. Lay the slices on rimmed baking sheets and sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper.

Roast for about 40 minutes, or until they brown at the edges and smell very aromatic. Check the pumpkin every once in a while and turn pans if necessary to assure even heating.

While the pumpkin roasts, sauté the onion, carrot and apple in a dash of olive oil in large soup pot. Cook for about 10-15 minutes, until the veggies begin to brown and caramelize a bit. Remove from heat.

When the pumpkin is roasted, remove from oven and carefully slice the meat from the peel and add the meat to the carrots and onions in the pot. Add the broth and enough water just to cover the veggies. Bring to a boil, and stir. Reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring several times. Add the sweet potato and cook another 20-30 minutes, stirring often.

While the soup cooks, sauté the fennel and onion in a medium pot with a dash of olive oil.

Cook for about 15 minutes, until the veggies soften and begin to caramelize. Add the garlic, rosemary, red pepper flakes and coriander.

Cook another 2-3 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook for another 8-10 minutes.

Add the beans and water and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, stir, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, stirring often. Then add the butter to the beans and stir to incorporate.

Purée the soup with an emersion blender. Pour soup into shallow serving bowls. Mound a cohesive mound of beans, about 3/4 cup, into the center of each bowl protruding from the soup.

Serve with crusty bread. Serves 6.