Jhal Muri Meets Asian Fusion

Awaken your taste buds with this aromatic Kolkatan street snack, reinvented with East Asian riffs and toasted Kashi cereal.

It's so good & healthy, you'll feel totally replenished. I like mine with the ingredients below, mostly because we often have them on hand - but feel free to mix around with items like cucumber, tomato, mustard oil, tamarind paste and Indian spices, all part of a traditional jhal muri.

1/3 c Kashi 7 Whole Grain Puffs
A few chopped pecans

+

1/4 c Yellow dal, slightly undercooked
1/3 c Chickpeas
Curry, paprika, chili powder, mustard seed
EVOO

+

Thinly chopped:
Fresh ginger
Daikon
Parsley or cilantro
Bok choy
1/4 Mild, sweet onion

+

"Dressing:"

Drizzle olive oil

1 tbsp Coconut milk

1 tsp Honey

Dash soy sauce

Coarse salt, pepper

+

1/2 squeezed lime (or more, to your tasting!)

Toast puffed rice with pecans until slightly browned. Set aside. In that same pan, drizzle olive oil and toast dal for 2 minutes. Add chickpeas and spices, cooking for one minute more.

In a steel bowl, mix "thinly chopped" ingredients with chickpeas/dal combo and puffed rice. Add "dressing" ingredients and stir together with your hands. Yes, your hands.

Top with lime, mix once more, and serve in a newspaper cone a la jhal muri master Angus Denoon.

Please enjoy these summer recipes I assembled for TheLatinKitchen.com. :)

Always,
- J

Peach-Mango Sangria Blanca

Grilled Lime, Scallop & Plantain Skewers

Peruvian Shrimp & Corncob Stew

22.

It is my birthday.  And let me tell you what kind of elaborate, gourmet meal I am having - Packaged hot dogs with the works. Sauerkraut, chili, mustard, all those fixings that when combined with processed franks are probably decaying my vitality as we speak. But you know, sometimes you just need a good old fashioned splurge.



Oh, and we made these lemon wheat cookies by The Daily Green -- they are fantastic!

A little glaze wouldn't hurt if you like them on the sweet side. Just whisk 1 cup powdered sugar with the juice and zest of 1/2 lemon.

- J

Protein Power! Egg, Avo & Radish Greens

I'm off on a road trip today and wanted to start it right with a meal of complete proteins. - That is, proteins which contain all nine amino acids and in turn keep you fuller, longer. Since I'm on the trim (can you say chicken wing pizza splurge yesterday?,) I thought I'd restore my balance with something vitamin-rich and satisfying. Instead of snoozy carbs, I chose omega-threes and leafy greens to boost my energy and keep me moving on this long day. All thanks to this great recipe by my little sis.

I hope you enjoy! Really I feel great, might not even need a Dunkies run. Sike.


Open-Faced Egg and Avocado with Radish Greens
SERVES 1


ON TOASTED RYE —


+ Mash 1/2 avocado
+ Top with pan seared radish greens, leaves only
+ 1 brown egg overeasy (cooked in EVOO)
+ Coarse salt, pepper




Always,
- J


   

Lazy Lunch: Lemon-Veggie Tuna in a Flash

♪ Tell me more, tell me more

Easy as pie, except, it's tuna. This fresh fix blends crunchy veggies with a blast of herbs and citrus, making even the dreariest canned tuna seem glam. Plus, it takes little-to-no energy to whip up. For those days when it's just too damn hot to cook.

Did I mention it's totally healthy?



Lemon-Veggie Tuna
SERVES 1

Good quality canned tuna (in water)
One large slice yellow bell pepper
A few leaves fresh flatleaf parsley
1/2 stalk celery
1/2 lemon
+ Coarse salt, pepper, robust olive oil

IN A DECENT-SIZED BOWL —
Mash tuna slightly. Add diced veggies, the juice of 1/2 lemon, chopped parsley, coarse salt, pepper and a heavy-handed drizzle of EVOO. Give it a little toss. The end.



Enjoy! And make yourself a lemonade out of the other lemon half. :) You deserve it.

- J

Bossa Nova Breakfast

Recipe by Everyday Food, September 2010

Morning sunshines. Here's my brekkie. And its soundtrack, of course: Getz/Gilberto - The Girl From Ipanema.

In case you were wondering, the real "Girl from Ipanema" is none other than bossa nova legend Astrud Gilberto. You can get to know her here.

Now, onto the food. I'm trying these bad boys with veggies over bacon (because we don't have bacon - not because I'm some crazed, bacon-hater/deprived human. I mean dang, after Hellmann's recent BLT ad, who could really give it up?)

If you're feeling as crafty as I am on this fine Summer day, take on these Bacon, Egg and Toast Cups by Everyday Food. Striking out the meat? Be sure to give the veggies a little sear before adding them to the mix, especially if they're on the sturdy side. Serves 6. Enjoy!


BACON, EGG AND TOAST CUPS


Try cooked, crumbled sausage in place of bacon or make a vegetarian version with sauteed spinach. Dress things up with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

• Prep Time15 minutes
• Total Time35 minutes
• YieldMakes 6

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 8 slices white or whole-wheat sandwich bread
• 6 slices bacon
• 6 large eggs
• Coarse salt and ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter 6 standard muffin cups. With a rolling pin, flatten bread slices slightly and, with a 4 1/4-inch cookie cutter, cut into 8 rounds. Cut each round in half, then press 2 halves into each muffin cup, overlapping slightly and making sure bread comes up to edge of cup. Use extra bread to patch any gaps. Brush bread with remaining butter.
2. In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium, until almost crisp, 4 minutes, flipping once. (It will continue to cook in the oven.) Lay 1 bacon slice in each bread cup and crack an egg over each. Season with salt and pepper. Bake until egg whites are just set, 20 to 25 minutes. Run a small knife around cups to loosen toasts. Serve immediately.

Cook's Note

Standard muffin pans come in 6- or 12-cup size; if baking 6 items in a 12-cup pan, leave empty space in between. Nonstick pans are nice but not essential. Beware of very thin pans, which often lead to burning. Place pans on a baking sheet to make them easier to get in and out of the oven.

Lazy Lunch: Makeshift Piadina

Piadina is a crispy, crunchy terracotta-cooked flatbread native to Italy's Romagna region. Today, the bread is a street cart favorite often griddled and filled with all sorts of marketplace fixings (think: prosciutto, buffalo mozzarella, roasted peppers, and salty-tangy tapenades.)

If you're feeling ambitious, you can make the real thing in 40 minutes or less.
As for me, I'm taking the day off.

This quick-fix tortilla version will give you that healthy, wholesome crunch in ten minutes or less and keep your piadina cravings at bay. Who knows, it might even inspire you to knead some authentic piadine from scratch.

image: romagna.net/blog/wp-content/uploads/piadina-days2.jpg

Makeshift Piadina Supplies
(serves one)


Three's company: Oozing egg yolk, creamy ricotta and crisp veggies collaborate inside a crunchy hull. Wrap in tin foil for a street food feel.


1 whole wheat tortilla
A few leaves each fresh arugula and basil
1 plum tomato, sliced medium thickness
1 tbsp fresh ricotta
1 medium brown egg

Olive oil / EVOO
Coarse salt

- Heat a skillet on med-low until piping hot. Flick in a water droplet and listen for the sizzle to check if it's ready.

- Drizzle pan with some olive oil, about 1 tsp.

- Turn heat to medium-high and add the tortilla, briefly swirling it around the pan to distribute the olive oil.

- Cook tortilla for one minute on each side, checking for char marks. Remove from heat and set aside.

- Add a spritz of pan spray and cook the egg over-easy.

To assemble:

- Spread ricotta on one side of tortilla followed by basil and arugula, one drizzle of EVOO, tomato slices and egg. Top with a sprinkle of coarse salt and carefully fold "piadina" in half. Enjoy!