Szechuan eggplant with pork and hot bean sauce

My friend Chantal and I were feeling pretty relaxed and rejuvenated after our acupuncture sessions recently.   We left with instructions to refrain from touching our right ears for a couple of hours.   Do you know that your ears alone have dozens of reflex points that address a myriad of ailments including hypertension, nervous disorders and inflammation?   The bursa in my shoulder felt great after being stimulated by a dozen or so tiny needles and we decided on a casual lunch in nearby Chinatown.  

Le Lai Restaurant is situated in the old Dynasty Plaza shopping mall on Bellaire.   One of the original Chinese malls built long before the massive expansion of Chinatown in west Houston, Dynasty Plaza is now in desperate need of a facelift inside and out.   For now, it seems to be holding its own against umpteen spiffy malls nearby, thanks to an old and loyal clientele.

In Le Lai Restaurant, we noticed that were were the only Caucasians present – not an unusual sight considering the size of Houston’s Chinese community.   It is also a great indicator that were about to enjoy an authentic Chinese meal!   A large menu foreign to us both was posted at the counter but our table menus provided us with translations.   Service was terse and brisk and our order of whole fried fish and Szechwan eggplant was delicious.   At $4.50 per lunch plate, our bill came to $9.89 including tax.  To our surprise Chantal’s iced tea, my jasmine tea and two bowls of soup were included for free - quite a bargain!   We were quite satisfied until… 

An Oriental woman walked towards the exit, paused beside our table and smiled at us.  We were somewhat surprised to be acknowledged by this little old lady.   Before she disappeared through the door she gibed sarcastically,  “Cheaper than McDonald’s, eh?” 

Her question took several stunned seconds to digest.   We looked at each other in dismay and sheer disbelief.    We were obviously the result of a common stereotype that all Americans eat at McDonald’s.    We have never taken to fast food since we both grew up in foreign lands and are accomplished cooks.   Much of our friendship revolves around dining on gourmet food and wine, cooking and experimenting in the kitchen.   Heck, our meals and desserts are all made from scratch; my husband and I tend a vegetable garden every year; and for the Chinese lady’s information I make pasta, filo dough for strudel and even her native homeland’s dumplings from scratch!

Stereotypes about the eating habits of groups of people are unfortunate but very prevalent.   We all have them in varying degrees.   Had the old Chinese lady kept hers to herself she would not have shown herself to be ignorant and rude and we would have ended our meal on a more positive note. 

Bad vibes aside, here’s a recipe Chantal shared with me that she learned from Dorothy Huang, a local cooking instructor and author.   It’s important to have all of the ingredients ready before you start to cook as tender Japanese eggplant cooks quickly.   Here it is coated in a rich sweet and spicy brown sauce.

Szechwan Eggplant with pork and hot bean sauce

adapted from Dorothy Huang’s Chinese Cooking

Serves 2

Seasoning sauce:

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2 tablespoons chicken stock

2 tablespoons hot bean sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Mix all of the ingredients listed for the seasoning sauce in a small bowl.  

 

Have all of the following ingredients ready before cooking:

1½ pounds Japanese eggplant (the long, slender kind with thin skins)

3 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon minced ginger root

2 teaspoons minced garlic

¼ pound lean ground pork

salt, to taste

½ cup chicken broth

2 green onions, chopped

Rinse the eggplant.  If they are small, the peel will be tender and you do not have to peel them; if they are large with a tough skin, peel them first.  Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch chunks.

Heat oil in a wok over high heat.  Add ginger root, garlic and ground pork; stir for 1 minute.

Add eggplant and salt, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Add chicken broth, turn heat to medium, cover and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or more.

Add seasoning sauce and chopped green onions; stir until thickened and serve with steamed rice.

Prijatno!

Asparagus, tomato and Gruyère tart

This colorful vegetable tart is the reason favorite Daughter is hooked on asparagus!   I came across this simple recipe in Martha’s vast recipe collection several years ago and it has been requested many times.   Served as an appetizer or main dish when accompanied with a soup or salad, this tart has a handful of ingredients and is very easy to prepare  – it fits right into a young lady’s busy college schedule.  

I have been fortunate to have children that love vegetables.  We were never a fast-food family as that option was not available to my parents in South Africa when I was little.   My kids ate what was served at our dinner table and our extended family feasts from the get-go.   I was spared the drama of picky eaters and watched their friends exhibit some strange behaviors.  One young neighbor never ate at our home.   He subsisted on a diet of chicken nuggets alone.   I’m sad to see that he is now an obese young man.   Another young girl asked me what that whole bird was I had sitting in a roasting pan.  It was a chicken… And I once come across a kid at the check-out counter that could not recognize broccoli (!) so he couldn’t look up the PLU code.   It’s no wonder we are now in the midst of a health crisis with no change in sight.

When it comes to asparagus,  I always buy the bunch with the thinnest spears and fresh buds.    It’s just a personal preference, but any thickness is good.   An excellent provider of Vitamin K, folate, Vitamins C and A, asparagus is also a natural diuretic and is high in antioxidants.

This recipe combines the flavors or asparagus and Swiss-made Gruyère cheese.  They pair beautifully together and it’s no wonder – they are both common items in the Swiss kitchen.  Here I have added sliced cherry tomatoes to the mix for a beautiful and delicious presentation.

   

Asparagus, tomato and Gruyère tart  adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart

a little flour for the work surface

1 sheet frozen puff pastry

5½ ozs (2 cups) Gruyère cheese, grated

1½ pounds thin or medium asparagus

8 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF.

On a floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a 16-by-10-inch rectangle.  Trim uneven edges.  Place pastry on a baking sheet (I line mine with a silpat).  With a sharp knife, lightly score pastry dough 1 inch in from the edges to mark a rectangle.  Using a fork, pierce dough inside the markings at 1/2-inch intervals.

Sprinkle pastry with Gruyère.  Trim the bottoms of the asparagus spears to fit crosswise inside the tart shell. Arrange asparagus and tomato halves in a single layer over Gruyère.  Brush with oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake until spears are tender, 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.

Cut tart with a pizza cutter into desirable pieces.  Serve hot.

 

Make sure you sprinkle some cheese on the edges too! 

Prijatno!

Sōté seasoned salmon, roasted Hatch pepper sauce and Jicama mango ‘slaw’

I was introduced to a great seasoning blend after a volunteer stint recently.  If you are a Houston Chowhound, you are undoubtedly thinking about food most of your waking hours.   Which vendor has the freshest seafood?   Which taco truck is conveniently located on your errand route?   Where to savor your next gourmet meal?   So it was no surprise to me when a fellow civically-minded Chowhound organized a meeting of our food-obsessed minds at the Houston Food Bank early one Saturday morning.  

After a short tour of the facility, we entered the vast kitchen.   A thorough hand-washing followed, and then we donned the oh-so-flattering hairnets, plastic aprons and gloves and formed two long assembly lines.   I was in first position in my line, separating individual containers and portioning out handfuls of ice-cold spaghetti from an enormous bin to my right.   My friend Maureen followed with a piece or two of chicken, and the rest in line scooped vegetables, sauce, parmesan, fresh basil (yes fresh basil) and lastly, canned fruit.   By the time each container reached Gary, Maureen’s husband,  it was pretty greasy and sticky.  Gary was responsible for one of the ‘sealing machines’ and tried gallantly to keep the plastic wrap in position so that it could form a tight seal on each tray before it was carted off to the freezer.   Fortunately for us he is mechanically inclined and in less than three hours we had assembled almost 1,000 wholesome meals!

To my left was a quiet gentleman named Larry.   He was not part of our assembly line.  He had a special spot at the head of the table and was our designated “basil chopper”.   Larry wowed us with his superior knife skills by mincing bushels of basil for the spaghetti dinners we were packaging.   I later found out that his ‘gramma’ Douglas developed a recipe for a delicious Kosher seasoning named Sōté. 

Sōté, pronounced So-tay, stands for “salt of the earth”.    The Serb in me and my knowledge of Cyrillic loves the use of diacritic marks in the label!   Sōté is a mixture of Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika, garlic, chilli, ginger, spice extract, turmeric and other spices.   It is not spicy and contains no MSG.   Salt is King here and the accompanying spices dance delicately around him.  

Coarse Kosher salt, black pepper, paprika…

Larry gifted me with a few containers to share with friends and family (disclaimer: I am not making a dime as I promote it).   I have used it on baby back ribs and flatiron steaks with great results.    Sōté is also suitable for vegetables but be forewarned that it is mostly salt so a little sprinkle goes a long way.   I lightly sprinkled the salmon in my recipe below and paired it with a homemade roasted Hatch pepper sauce for a little fire and a sweet and crunchy jicama salad – the pairings were excellent!     

Sōté is locally produced (another positive point in my mind) and packaged by the Texas Custom Spice Company in Houston.   The packaging is understated and comes in a well-sealed metal container with a see-through lid.  To order Sōté, click on the link.   Also for sale are cool t-shirts and salt shakers.  

Juicy ‘slaw’

Sōté rubbed salmon with Hatch pepper sauce and Jicama mango slaw

Serves 2

¾ lb salmon filet

Sōté seasoning or seasoning of your choice

1 tablespoon olive oil

Pat salmon dry with a paper towel to remove any moisture. Rub a little Sōté seasoning on the salmon, remembering that the Sōté is mostly salt.

Pour olive oil into an oven-proof pan or cast iron skillet. Heat pan over medium heat until the oil is very hot. Carefully add the salmon, skin side down. Cover with a splatter shield if necessary to prevent oil from splashing everywhere. Sauté salmon until the edges begin to turn color, about 5 – 6 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the broiler. Remove pan with salmon from heat and place under broiler for 2 minutes to sear the top. Remove pan from oven using an oven mitt. Serve with Hatch pepper green sauce and Jicama mango slaw.

Hatch pepper sauce

¼ cup mayonnaise

¼ cup sour cream

1 roasted Hatch pepper (spicy or not), skin removed, stemmed and seeded

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

¼ cup lightly packed cilantro leaves

1 peeled and chopped Roma tomato

Place all ingredients in a small blender and blend until smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Jicama mango ‘slaw’

½ lb jicama, peeled and julienned (use the mandoline for this if you have one)

1 mango, peeled, sliced thin and then longwise into thin strips

8 radishes, sliced thinly (here again, the mandoline comes in handy)

1/3 cup red onion, sliced thin

¼ cup cilantro, chopped

4 tablespoons fresh orange juice

4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon sesame oil

salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Chill until ready to serve.  Serve using tongs to drain slaw from the juices.

 

Colorful juice from the ‘slaw’

Prijatno!

Hatch chilies in scalloped potatoes and gruyere cheese

If ever there is too short a season for a flavorful vegetable it has to be Hatch pepper season.  Two to three weeks is all we get and if you’re not paying attention, you might miss the call of these extraordinary chilies.  The arrival of Hatch chilies from New Mexico around mid-August is a much anticipated event in Houston.   It’s when my favorite grocery stores, Central Market and H.E.B roll out the rotating cages, crank up the fires and for a few lively weeks excite our senses during the Hatch Chile Festival. 

The aroma of roasting Hatches emanating from the parking lots act as a magnet to pepper lovers miles away.   As if we haven’t already perspired enough through the hot and humid summer, the Hatch heat index sweats our foreheads and clears our sinuses with spice levels from mild to very hot.   Live music adds to the festivities and a feeling of merriment and well-being follows!   In what must be a highly lucrative operation, Central Market has included Hatch chilies in products such as sausage, guacamole, meatballs, crab cakes, tortilla chips, bread and even granola and brownies.   They know a good thing when they see it!

A good char intensifies the deep rich green flesh and easily releases the thin skin.  Because the Hatch’s flesh is delicate, a quick tumble in the cage over flames for only 7 –10 minutes is all it takes.   I let the experts roast mine every year and purchase several pounds.  They freeze well and I plan to enjoy them in soups, stews and omelets for months to come.  

Hatch chilies are not a seed variety but are named after the village of Hatch in southern New Mexico around which they are farmed.  Considered to be the chili capital of the world, the area exports over 250,000 chilies to Texas alone!   For a recent family gathering I decided to add chopped roasted hatch peppers to scalloped potatoes.    The chilies complemented the sharpness of the gruyere, and the cream…enough said!  

Hatch chili scalloped potatoes with baby back ribs and green beans

Layer upon layer

Hatch chilies in scalloped potatoes and gruyere cheese

8 russet potatoes, peeled, sliced crosswise as thin as possible. This is a good time to use a mandoline slicer, if you own one.

4 cups whipping cream or half-and-half

5 -6 roasted Hatch chilies (spicy or mild), peeled, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

8 ounces gruyere cheese, coarsely grated

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Have a 9 x 13 casserole dish ready. Pour about 2 tablespoons of cream or half-and-half on the bottom of the dish and spread evenly.

Arrange potato slices evenly in a layer on the bottom of the dish. The potatoes should be touching but not overlapping each other. Sprinkle about 1 – 2 tablespoons of chilies on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle about ¼ cup of gruyere cheese on top of the chilies and potatoes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour about ½ cup of cream or half-and-half over cheese.

Continue layering potatoes, chilies, cheese, salt, pepper and cream. End with a layer of potatoes and then gruyere cheese. Pour the rest of the cream over the potatoes.

Heat oven to 400ºF. Cover the potatoes with foil. Bake for 1 hour.

After an hour, remove the foil. Bake for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft when pricked with a fork, the cream is set and the top is nicely browned.

Remove from the oven and allow potatoes to rest for about 10 minutes.

 Creamy, spicy, gooey deliciousness!

Prijatno!

Shrimp salad with avocado and radish sprouts

I came across something beautiful in the grocery store that I had never seen before – radish sprouts.   Easily overlooked amidst the bigger and bolder green vegetables, these lovely delicate young shoots from the daikon radish remind me of the shamrock clover.   Growing happily together in high concentrations (each determined to be the tallest) a fresh bunch will surely cheer your soul! 

If you love spicy radishes, you’ll love radish sprouts.  Their bright green heart-shaped leaves look innocent enough, but they pack a fair amount of spice – enough to clear the sinuses!   They house a significant amount of Vitamins C, B6 and A due to the fact that they are germinating seeds.   Potassium is abundant, and in 5 - 6 days of rapid-fire growth the sprouts can reach 8 inches.    Since a sprout is the beginning of a larger vegetable, higher levels of enzymes and photochemical compounds are present within their small bodies.   The are therefore considered by many to be a ‘miracle food’.  

Sprouts can be grown year round with little attention.  Too delicate to be cooked, they are a brilliant addition to salads and sandwiches, wraps and spring rolls.  

Bright green leaves 

The tender roots barely take hold of the moist medium underneath, as lanky stems support leaf tops. 

Shrimp, avocado and radish sprout salad

Serves 4 as a first course

12 Jumbo shrimp, shelled and deveined

1 cup boiled, diced potato

½ red pepper, diced

1 avocado, peeled, seeded and diced

½ cup radish sprouts

marinade and dressing (below)

a few long chive leaves or 1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped

Marinade (and dressing)

1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice

1½ tablespoons red wine vinegar

¼ cup tightly packed radish sprouts

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

½ teaspoon sugar

salt, to taste

For the marinade and dressing:

Place all ingredients in a small food processor and blend until sprouts are finely chopped and the mixture comes together.  Place shrimp in a medium bowl.  Add 3 tablespoons of the sprout mixture to the shrimp.  Marinate shrimp for about 20 minutes while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Set aside the left over mixture to be used as a dressing.

Marinate the shrimp first

Grill or broil shrimp until cooked tender, about 3 minutes on each side.  Discard shrimp marinade. 

You can either layer the salad in martini glasses, or in individual bowls.  Layer as follows.

Bottom to top: diced potatoes, diced red pepper, a little dressing, shrimp, fresh sprouts, avocado, more dressing.  Stick the chive leaves in for a dramatic presentation or chop them up and sprinkle on top of the salad.

Prijatno!

Fresh fig, gorgonzola and prosciutto salad with lemon-honey dressing

Dried figs are a year round treat, but when July rolls around I get giddy with anticipation for fresh figs.   Knowing my passion for figs (my blog header tells all) my dear husband gifted me with three trees that are finally producing enough of their precious fruit so that I can satisfy my craving!   I’m a lucky girl!   I’ve beaten the pesky birds and bugs many mornings to enjoy them fresh off the tree, standing in the shade created by their large leaves.  Restraint was difficult, but restrain myself I did!  I saved a batch and made fig ice cream to die for, fig chutney (recipe will come soon) and several fig-inspired salads. 

If you ask me, there is no sweeter or more luscious fruit than a perfectly ripe and juicy black fig.   Technically not a fruit, the fig is actually a flower that is inverted into itself    The skin starts firm and green but ripens to a delicate covering for the pulp within - soft tiny flowers that house its unique nectar.    The skin is actually stem tissue and the pulp is comprised of male and female flower parts with tiny sandy grains that are actually unfertilized ovaries.  The fig was revered by Greek and Roman gods and considered an aphrodisiac and is likened by many a poet to female sexual organs.  Lovely analogy!

Pity me that the season for fresh figs is so short!   Other than their delicious taste, they provide us with numerous benefits:  one cup (149g) contains 58% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of dietary fiber!   Also, 38% of RDA of Manganese, an important enzyme activator;  29% of vitamin K for healthy blood clotting;  29% of Potassium for healthy muscles and nerves;  25% Magnesium and Calcium for strong bones, muscles and blood flow.  And if you’re very active, there’s a substantial amount of natural sugar to keep you moving for a long time!

In my salad, piquant gorgonzola cheese is a perfect match for a syrupy fig.   Add savory prosciutto and you have a winning trifecta!

Fresh figs are best eaten or cooked immediately, or refrigerated for a minimal time (I’d say two days max.).    Since figs are so delicate once they ripen, most producers dry them before shipping around the world.

Fig, gorgonzola and prosciutto salad with Honey-lemon dressing

Adapted from a recipe by Jamie Oliver in The Best American Recipes 2003 – 2004.  Serves 4

4 handfuls mixed salad greens

6 ripe fresh figs, any type

8 thin slices prosciutto or Serrano ham

8 fresh basil leaves

4 ounces gorgonzola or other blue cheese of your choice

Place the salad greens in a large bowl. Cut the stems off the figs and slice them in half lengthwise and add to the salad greens. Roll prosciutto into small tube shapes, if desired, and add to the bowl. Add the basil leaves and crumble the blue cheese on top.  Drizzle generously with Honey-lemon dressing.

Honey-lemon dressing

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 tablespoon honey

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake until well combined.

 

Prijatno!

Potato Salad with red peppers and mustard vinaigrette

The quintessential summer meal in America must include a potato salad.   No barbeque or picnic would be complete without this comfort food!   There are as many versions of potato salad as there are varieties of the potato - would you believe over 5,000 with 3,000 originating in the Andes alone?  

Soothing to the tongue and neutral in flavor, potatoes are a versatile starchy tuber that lend themselves to many interpretations and flavors.   In Eastern Europe vinegar and oil are the preferred dressings over mayonnaise.   This version has a little of each.   Hot cooked new potatoes are first tossed in vinegar which allows their starch to absorb its acidity.   The acidity is balanced by a thin coating of creamy mayonnaise, grainy Dijon mustard, crisp chopped red peppers and a few pungent scallions. 

No peeling is necessary as this salad is made with new potatoes.  Favorite daughter has a fit when she sees me peeling any variety of potato…and with good reason:  much of the fiber and nutrients are housed in the potato peel which acts as a jacket to keep the nutrients inside the potato during the cooking process.

Unfortunately potatoes have received a bad rap since the emergence of low carbohydrate diets.   I have recently discovered that they have enormous nutritional value and are considered by many to be one of mother nature’s whole foods.   Yes, they are high in carbohydrates (21% of the recommended daily allowance - RDA), but of that percentage 26% is beneficial fiber. 

Vitamins galore!  Potatoes contain a variety of important vitamins and high amounts in several.   Vitamin C has 48%of the RDA!  Vitamin B6 46%!  Niacin and Folate 21% each, Thiamin 13%, and many more.   Now let’s talk minerals:  Potassium 46%, Manganese 33%, Magnesium and Phosphorus 21% each, and Iron and copper 18% each.   It contains no fat and because it’s a vegetable it has no cholesterol either.   One portion size is 1/3 lb or one medium potato.  Enjoy your potatoes so that your body can reap the benefits!

 Potato Salad with red pepper and mustard vinaigrette, adapted from Gourmet Magazine, June 2002

Makes 8 - 10 servings

4 lb fingerling or new potatoes, skin left on

½ cup diced red bell pepper

2 scallions (green onions), finely sliced
1 tablespoon sugar
½ cup walnut vinegar or white-wine vinegar, divided
2/3 cup finely chopped shallots
¼ cup coarse-grained Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Cover potatoes with salted cold water. Bring to a boil and simmer, uncovered, until just tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Drain in a colander and cool slightly.

Whisk together sugar and 6 tablespoons vinegar in a large bowl until sugar is dissolved.

When potatoes are just cool enough to handle, peel and cut diagonally into 1/2-inch-thick slices if using fingerlings or cut in half if using new potatoes. Add potatoes to vinegar mixture and toss gently to combine. Add diced red pepper and scallions.

Whisk together shallot, mustard, vegetable oil, mayonnaise and remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar in a small bowl. Add dressing to potatoes, then season with salt and pepper and stir gently with a rubber spatula.

Serve immediately at room temperature or chill if serving later. 

 Prijatno!