Baked eggs in hot tomato sauce

Also called Eggs in Purgatory, this is an easy breakfast dish that tastes great, and looks good too. Thought to be have originated in Turkey and in Tunisia, this dish is called Shakshouka in the Middle East, and it appears in other parts of the world with slight or no variations. Thus it is similar to the Mexican huevos rancheros, the Portuguese and Spanish baked eggs, the Turkish menemen and so forth. Can be made on stove top and can also be baked in the oven. In Kerala, we have a similar dish where the eggs are in a lentil sauce, and another one in a spicy coconut milk bases sauce.

This recipe is a combination of all of those.

1 medium onion, chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, crushed and minced
1 large bell pepper, chopped
2 large tomatoes, chopped (use canned petite diced tomatoes - 2 cans - if in a hurry)
1 cup black beans (use canned to make it easy (1 can)  but that is not as healthy as when made the hard way, they say)
1 small bunch cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped ( I don't mind the seeds - but it adds heat, remember!)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp dried oregano - if fresh, use more
1- 2  tsp  dried basil- if fresh use more
1/2 tsp red pepper
a sprinkle of paprika
black pepper, salt
4-5 eggs
Olive oil
grated cheddar - 1/4 cup or as much as you like

Soak the beans overnight (8 hours, more or less). Drain. Pour enough water to cover the beans, maybe a little over, bring to a boil, Simmer, covered. Cook till tender but firm (not mushy). Or, if you are using canned, you can skip all that. ;)

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Heat oil in a skillet. Saute the onions and garlic till almost brown. Add the spices.
Stir. Add the bell peppers, cilantro, jalapenos, tomatoes. Stir around. Cover. Simmer. 20 minutes.

Remove the lid, add the beans now. cook some more till the sauce is thick.
Now, you may make indents in the thick sauce, Put a little dot of butter in each space,
and crack  an egg into each. Sprinkle the cheese on top of the eggs. Now there are two ways to do this. You may either cover the skillet and cook it for 5 minutes or so, or, bake it like I did here.
Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes, or until the eggs are set to your liking.

Garnish with cilantro or jalapeno peppers, or basil or all of those.

Serve with toast or tortillas, or pita, or Indian roti, It is even good with rice, for dinner.

Use less or more red pepper, according to your preference,  when you make the dish.

huevos rancheros

leftover roast duck stirfry

It was roast duck with orange glaze for our quiet New Year dinner. Even though the duck was not that big, there was some meat left over. Enough for a quick stirfry.

I am not going to give a list here. Because there's n't much to expand on.

I had a small green bell pepper in the fridge. can use any other veg. I like bell peppers in stirfries. Heated a little oil in a wok and sautéd the green bell pepper first, and set it aside. Then did the same with some chopped onion + a few cloves of garlic, crushed/minced, in that oil.
Added a couple of tsp of crushed red pepper. Next, a few dashes of the sauces in the following picture:

That is, a splash of vinegar - say, a tbsp, 2 tsps of the sweet chili sauce, 3-4 tsps of the green chili sauce, 3 tsps of the  dark soy sauce. The aim was a sweet-sour-hot taste - just a teeny tiny hint of sweet and a little more sour and a lot more heat.

Anyway, stirred the thing around for a minute or two. Added the shredded (roast)duck. Gave a good stir. And don't let's forget the bell peppers, or broccoli or whatever vegetable you may have lying around. Added that now. Stirred it all around for some more.
 Should taste to see if you like the seasoning. Correct to your taste - salt and such.
If you still don't like it, nothing much you can do really, except tip it into the waste bin while no one's looking. Just kidding, you will like it. :)

Have it with some rice.

Now, you can make this using roast chicken or regular chicken, beef, or pork. Pretty much your basic stir fry. Just be sure to use thinly cut pieces. For instance, to make it easy, buy beef that's cut for asian-style stir fries. Or that Milanese cut , which you can further cut into smaller pieces.
This was the roast duck, btw.

Asha's beef-potato-cabbage-sausage casserole

beef-potato-cabbage-sausage casserole

When the cold season strikes, these days, I somehow look to warm comfort foods with an Eastern European slant. This casserole is based on the cabbage-sausage-potato recipes that originate from that part of our world. The sausage that I used is one of the uncooked kinds, my favorite, the brat. You may reduce the amount of garlic and red pepper according to your preference, of course. By the way, this is not a healthy version, just plain delicious. :)

Ground beef - 1 lb.
Johnsonville original bratwurst -3

1 Savoy cabbage - shredded
6-8 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes - sliced thin
Onion, diced small- 1 large
Garlic, crushed - 1 large  bulb
Vegeta seasoning (optional) - 1/2- 1 tsp
garlic powder - a good sprinkling in the meat and the veggies later
dried sage- 1tsp
dried marjoram - 1 tsp
crushed red pepper flakes - 4 tsp
ground black pepper- 1- 2 tsp
white vinegar - 2 tsp
salt
Olive oil, and/or butter - 2 or 3 tbsp

Draw a sharp knife down the middle of the sausage, lengthwise. Peel off the skin so as to remove the meat.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet or other large vessel. Saute half of the onion and garlic till almost brown.
Add the spices - 1 tsp of the black pepper, or more, if you like-  and herbs.Stir for a minute. Add the beef and the sausage meat. Brown the meat for a few minutes, Add the vinegar. Stir. Remove from heat.

Now add a little more olive oil or a little piece of butter to the same skillet or pot, and saute the rest of the onion and garlic till almost brown.  Add 1 tsp of black pepper. Or crushed red pepper if you like. Or both. No set rules. Fry for a minute. Add the potatoes and cabbage. Stir well so that the veggies are coated well with the spicy oil. Add enough salt to taste, Remove from heat. You do not need to cook the veggies.

Butter a large baking pan or Dutch oven. Place a layer of the cabbage-potato mixture in the pan.

beef-potato-cabbage-sausage casserole

Next add  layer of the browned beef-sausage mixture. Repeat layers ending with potato-cabbage mix at the top. Cover pan with aluminum foil.

 Bake at 375° for 40 minutes to an hour, till the top is browned a little.

PS: Browning the meat before baking is optional. Alternately, you can saute all of the onion-garlic at once. Divide into two. Mix one half with the meat, and the other with the veggies. Then do the layering, cover, and bake.

For the meat part, make it with just beef or just sausage, or more sausage, cooked or otherwise.

Serve warm with  rolls, and a salad, for health, and for color. :).

buttery rolls

easy spicy tomato- mozzarella bake

6 medium-sized roma tomatoes
1 package fresh mozzarella
1 medium onion, diced small
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp red pepper flakes
fresh or dried basil
2-3 tbsp olive oil
salt
pepper

preheat oven to 400° F.

Grease a baking pan with a little olive oil

Cut the tomatoes in half, . Scoop out some of the pulp and seeds. Set it aside. Place the tomato cups in the baking pan.

Cut the mozzarella into cubes. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a skillet. Add the onion and garlic to this. Saute till the onions are wilted, and the garlic sends out its aroma. Now add the red pepper flakes. Add the scooped out stuff here. Stir well. Add enough salt, pepper. Remove from heat. Add the basil. Stir well.

Spoon the cooked filling into each tomato cups. Top with the cubed cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes.

That's all, folks!

asha's seafood stew

a hearty stew, me hearties! a reminder of my pirate days. ya, right!

asha's seafood stew

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. shrimp
1/4 lb. scallops
1 skinless fillet of salmon, diced
1 small can crabmeat
1 med. onion, chopped
3 stalks of green onion, chopped, keep aside a tbsp or so for garnish.
3 celery stalks, chopped
6 green chilies, slit (according to your taste - this here will be hot)
6-7 cloves of garlic, crushed ( again, acc. to your taste)
1 small piece of ginger, crushed
1/4 tsp turmeric (optional)
3 leek stems, chopped
3 roma tomatoes, chopped
3 small Yukon Gold potatoes, diced
2 carrots, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1-2 tbsp clam juice
1 tbsp vinegar
1 can coconut milk
Olive oil
Salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes

Method:

Pan sear all the seafood (except the crabmeat),  sprinkled with some salt and black pepper, a pinch of turmeric,  in a little olive oil, for three minutes.  Set aside. Drain the crabmeat. Set aside.

Heat 2-3 tbsps of olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic in it, till they wilt. Add the ginger, leek,  the green chilies, and green onion.  Stir well, cook for a couple of minutes. Add the crushed red pepper. Saute for a minute. Add the tomatoes. Stir for two or three minutes. Add the clam juice. Add the wine. When it boils, add the coconut milk . If it is too thick, add about half a cup of water. Let it come to a boil. Add  the vinegar now. Add  the carrots and potatoes. Cook till tender. Add the seared seafood, and the crabmeat. When the stew comes to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with green onions.

To make it easier,  microwave the potatoes and carrots separately.

Serve on its own. Or with rice. Or roti.

seafood stew with rice

seafood stew with rice and spinach mezhukkupuratti

roast turkey aftermath

Thanksgiving is not Thanksgiving without the roast turkey. But then there are the leftovers. And so naturally, to soups, and paté.

turkey paté with rye bread

Easy paté

Sauté 2 cups of the cooked turkey meat with a half cup of chopped onion, and 2 tsp of chopped garlic, in 2 tbsp of olive oil. At this point, I add either chopped green chili peppers or crushed red pepper flakes. That is optional. Grind this spiced meat in the food processor along with a cup (or more -- to your taste) of cream cheese or sour cream. A tbsp or two of coarse- grained mustard may be added too, if you like. Add a 1/4 cup of chopped tomatoes, any color bell peppers, a tbsp of chives or spring onion, and fried bacon bits, if you happen to have some,  to this and mix well. You may add cheese too, if you like.

Now serve as a dip, spread, in rolls etc.

turkey paté pinwheels

Above is the same paté rolled in grilled and buttered tortillas, and garnished with jalapenos.

For info on the bread, please go to "my gallery".

panzanella

I like this Italian salad for the obvious reason that it is addictively delicious. And that we can use up leftover breads. Especially when there is a little more than usual, after a frenzied bread-baking period.
And I can pretend that I am eating healthy as there are  some vegetables in here --( compare it to bread pudding! another item that I like ). The other day we had to do a lot of work in the yard, including some big time tree pruning. By the time it was done, we really appreciated the crunch and chewiness of this salad. Along with a glass of wine, it tasted like heaven!

I am not going to do the ingredients list for this one. hehe

Let's  go straight to the making. This is what  I did -- dont know if it's the right way, but it worked fr me.

400° F oven. Halve a baguette lengthwise or cut long thick strips of a boule on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile heat two or three tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Medium heat. Add a few crushed - 4 or 5 - cloves of garlic. Let'em sweat in there. (serves them right! ). Now is the time to prepare the veggies you want to add. I had some yellow cherry tomatoes -- about 2 cups, an orange bell pepper, a few diced  red tomatoes, and some arugula. Of course, a sliced red onion should be there. And chopped fresh basil. . Put all these except the arugula in a large mixing bowl. Add a little salt and freshly ground pepper. Check the garlic. Add crushed red pepper flakes to the oil, if you like. I did. You may take out the garlic chunks now, if you prefer. Pour in the hot  garlic oil into the mixing bowl with the veggies. . Toss well. Get the toasted bread out of the oven, and tear  to bite sized pieces. Add that to the bowl. Toss . Add the arugula. Toss. A round of olive oil, if you like. Sprinkle goat cheese on top. Garnish with more basil. Enjoy with a glass of wine. :)

PS: You may add other veggies to this salad, grilled or pan-seared for a minute or two. Zucchini, butternut squash, green beans, mushrooms and asparagus -- all will add spice and substance to the experience. and what if we added various meats or fish? wow.