What can you expect in the Food Thread on PF?

[Monique]

One of my favorite vegetable dishes where it can be a main course and you don't miss the meat is Ratatouille. ..
This is heavenly stuff eaten hot or cold. Some people add herbs, but to me herbs overpower this dish, trust me, it doesn't need them.

I'll try that some time! The only times that I've put a dish resembling Ratatouille together was in a stir-fry (and I didn't like it that much), not in a slow-cooking stew. I do have a question: what do you eat with it? Mash of potatoes or something?

 

[Evo]

I'll try that some time! The only times that I've put a dish resembling Ratatouille together was in a stir-fry (and I didn't like it that much), not in a slow-cooking stew. I do have a question: what do you eat with it? Mash of potatoes or something?

I eat it just as it is, a big bowlful. Serving with rice would work nicely, but really potatoes sound good.

 

[trollcast]

Tonight is ratatouille. REAL ratatouille, not the imitation Julia Child kind (she changed the traditional recipe from a stew to a braise of individual vegetables), but the traditional french peasant stew. If you've only had the Julia Child vegetable dish or the "confit byaldi" that Chef Keller created for the Disney movie called ratatouille, you have no idea what you are missing. Both dishes are lovely vegetable dishes, but they are not ratatouille.

The original was made with bacon drippings, but the owner of a hippy vegetarian restaurant in Houston, called The Hobbit Hole, wanted my mom's recipe, so he changed the bacon drippings to olive oil.

I'll repeat the recipe here in case anyone wants to try it.


One of my favorite vegetable dishes where it can be a main course and you don't miss the meat is Ratatouille. I got the recipe from my French mother and it is simple. In a deep soup pan,

Sautee one diced onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic in olive oil, just until translucent,

add one large chopped (traditional) eggplant (medium small cubes), I leave the peel on

1-2 zucchini (sliced or chopped),

1 large seeded bell pepper (chopped),

add a 15oz can of diced tomatoes (2 cans if you like more tomatoes) (you can use fresh chopped), I use Hunts petite diced because it has a pleasant acidity, which is needed.

stir, add a large drizzle of olive oil, salt to taste, and cook until done, stirring occasionally (vegetables should be soft), this can take up to 3 hours (the longer it stews together, the more the flavours develop). Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

This is heavenly stuff eaten hot or cold. Some people add herbs, but to me herbs overpower this dish, trust me, it doesn't need them.

I'm sure that tastes lovely but there's a distinct lack of meat in that recipe for it to be a proper meal, imo.

Might go nice with some fried chicken breast or grilled thighs / legs.

 

[Evo]

I saw this being made the other day. They're next on my list to try.

Meatless meatballs

Eggplant polpette

Ingredients

1 large Eggplant (trim ends; cut in half)
1/2 cup Seasoned Bread Crumbs
1 cup Pecorino Romano Cheese (freshly grated)
Flour for dredging
Olive Oil for frying
Salt and Pepper to taste

Place the eggplant in a pot of boiling water, skin side down, water not covering but surrounding it. Lower heat, cover and cook until soft. Remove to a colander skin side up and drain well (about an hour). The eggplant will be very soft.

Transfer the eggplant to a bowl and chop it up until it is reduced to mush. Add the bread crumbs, grated cheese, and salt and pepper. If the mixture is too soft add some more bread crumbs.

Roll the mixture into balls and dredge in flour. Fry the balls in olive oil until browned on all sides, about 8 minutes



http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/recipes/Polpettas-Mama-T

http://beta.abc.go.com/shows/the-chew/videos/PL55135842/_m_VD55282069

 

[Monique]

I can't view the video's, outside US territory.. I wonder what polpette is?

Since we're talking about Eggplant a lot, here's the Sichuan recipe: absolutely delicious.

Stir fry in 1 tbsp oil:
1 garlic clove minced
1 tbsp ginger minced
.5 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
Add and cook until browned:
2 asian long purple eggplant quartered and sliced (add some water when oil is absorbed)
Add sauce:
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp chili bean sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar
.5 tsp cornstarch
Stir fry until the eggplant is soft (add water when necessary).
Serve and sprinkle with 1 sliced spring onion.

The eggplant acquires a delicious sweet fragrant flavor.

 

[Evo]

I can't view the video's, outside US territory.. I wonder what polpette is?

Since we're talking about Eggplant a lot, here's the Sichuan recipe: absolutely delicious.

Stir fry in 1 tbsp oil:
1 garlic clove minced
1 tbsp ginger minced
.5 tsp Sichuan peppercorn
Add and cook until browned:
2 asian long purple eggplant quartered and sliced (add some water when oil is absorbed)
Add sauce:
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp chili bean sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
1 tbsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
1 tsp sugar
.5 tsp cornstarch
Stir fry until the eggplant is soft (add water when necessary).
Serve and sprinkle with 1 sliced spring onion.

The eggplant acquires a delicious sweet fragrant flavor.

Oh YUM! I love Sichuan, and I'm looking for ways to cook it. I'm ordering some special eggplant plants to grow this summer, so I'm hoping for a nice crop.

The first link should just be the recipe, are you blocked for viewing that too? I added the recipe.

 

[Monique]

The first link should just be the recipe, are you blocked for viewing that too? I added the recipe.

Oh yumm, yeah now I see the first link works. Instead of boiling the eggplant it's better to steam it in the microwave I think (a waste of flavor otherwise), just pierce the skin in a few places and rotate halfway. I'll definitely try that, looks like fun.

I'm currently attempting to make a vegetarian fish sauce, based on seaweed (since that smells fishy).. an experiment and I'm curious how it'll taste. I'll be trying it out in a vietnamese dip sauce (Nuoc Cham) to go with deep fried tofu..

 

[Monique]

apparently the other package of seaweed I bought contains inorganic arsenic and should not be consumed according to food inspection agencies.. there goes my hijiki seaweed salad..

http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed#.UTtvpY7A5j0
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22561181

 

[Evo]

apparently the other package of seaweed I bought contains inorganic arsenic and should not be consumed according to food inspection agencies.. there goes my hijiki seaweed salad..

http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed#.UTtvpY7A5j0
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22561181

 

[Monique]

Tonight is ratatouille. [..]

I'll repeat the recipe here in case anyone wants to try it.

Tonight I made your ratatouille, a friend came over for dinner and he thought it was delicious I had to rescue it at some point, because the tomatoes were releasing too much liquid. I fished out the veggies and reduced the tomato down to a thicker consistency, reunited both and placed it in the oven to slow-cook for about two hours. I combined it with couscous, good to soak up the sauce!

 

[Velikovsky]

apparently the other package of seaweed I bought contains inorganic arsenic and should not be consumed according to food inspection agencies.. there goes my hijiki seaweed salad..

http://www.food.gov.uk/news-updates/news/2010/aug/hijikiseaweed#.UTtvpY7A5j0
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22561181

Seeweed is quite popular here in Ireland. It's a type called "Dulse" Palmaria palmata. It is dried in the sun [when we get it] and becomes very crisp with a coating of sea salt. It is to die for, when we were kids we ate it like crisps [ potato chips].
http://www.irishseaweeds.com/irish_seaweeds__dulse_dillisk_palmaria_palmata_red_seaweed__algae_from_ireland.asp
[PLAIN]http://https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?
Has anyone noticed that posting images from Google images is getting increasingly difficult? I gave up after six attempts to post a picture of dulse. They were all encrypted!
q=tbn:ANd9GcQOgaFtS0edYmdOTlddcK0gpBiV9nb2NfYVS1B8a5fu9P5L_4YJNg[/PLAIN]

 

[Monique]

Yeah, I also love crispy seaweed. The only thing stopping me from eating too much is the iodine content (and possibly now also the arsenic).

 

[Andre]

Seeweed is quite popular here in Ireland. It's a type called "Dulse" Palmaria palmata. It is dried in the sun [when we get it] and becomes very crisp with a coating of sea salt. It is to die for, when we were kids we ate it like crisps [ potato chips].
http://www.irishseaweeds.com/irish_seaweeds__dulse_dillisk_palmaria_palmata_red_seaweed__algae_from_ireland.asp
[PLAIN]http://https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?
Has anyone noticed that posting images from Google images is getting increasingly difficult? I gave up after six attempts to post a picture of dulse. They were all encrypted!
q=tbn:ANd9GcQOgaFtS0edYmdOTlddcK0gpBiV9nb2NfYVS1B8a5fu9P5L_4YJNg[/PLAIN]

Not sure what problem you seem to run into, http://www.irishseaweeds.com/irish_seaweeds__dulse_dillisk_palmaria_palmata_red_seaweed__algae_from_ireland.asp seems to work okay

http://www.irishseaweeds.com/images/Palpal1.jpg

or this one.

 

[HeLiXe]

escoveitched fish...right now. I love Jamaican cuisine!

 

[ZapperZ]

Went to a dinner party last night, and I made these empanadas to the party. I don't make this very often since it is tedious to make. It is filled with ground beef, potatoes, onions, and parsley, and is spiced with curry and extra turmeric and coriander powder.

I made the pastry shell myself using a variation of the typical pie crust recipe. However, I substitute all the shortening with butter (no more hydrogenated fats for me, thank you). I had taken a shortcut before by buying puff pastry dough from the supermarket, but after seeing what goes into one of these things, I can't see eating such a thing, or feeding it to my friends. And instead of deep-frying them as one would normally do for many types of empanadas, I baked them.

It turned out pretty well and people loved it (at least, the non-vegetarians at the party did). I made way more than there were people attending the party, and these things aren't bad for breakfast the next morning! :)

Can't you just tell that this was homemade by an amateur by how uneven and non-uniform each one of the empanadas look? :)

Zz.

 

[turbo]

Looks pretty tasty, z

 

[Evo]

Zz, can you post the recipe? Those look incredible.

 

[ZapperZ]

Zz, can you post the recipe? Those look incredible.

Hum.. I can give you some idea of the ingredients and stuff, but it is essentially something I come up with off the top of my head. Even the pastry itself I modified from a recipe. I had to add more water than required because I wanted the dough to actually clump tighter than if I were making a pie crust.

Zz.

 

[Evo]

Is it kind of like a meat and potato hash inside a pastry?

 

[ZapperZ]

Is it kind of like a meat and potato hash inside a pastry?

Kinda. It is closer to a samosa-type filling, but with more ground beef than potatoes.

Zz.

 

[dlgoff]

Hum.. I can give you some idea of the ingredients and stuff, but it is essentially something I come up with off the top of my head. ...
Zz.

When my daughter called and asked for a particular recipe, I had to take photos of the steps as I prepared it, then put them in a PowerPoint explanation.

 

[Astronuc]

Went to a dinner party last night, and I made these empanadas to the party. I don't make this very often since it is tedious to make. It is filled with ground beef, potatoes, onions, and parsley, and is spiced with curry and extra turmeric and coriander powder.

I made the pastry shell myself using a variation of the typical pie crust recipe. However, I substitute all the shortening with butter (no more hydrogenated fats for me, thank you). I had taken a shortcut before by buying puff pastry dough from the supermarket, but after seeing what goes into one of these things, I can't see eating such a thing, or feeding it to my friends. And instead of deep-frying them as one would normally do for many types of empanadas, I baked them.

It turned out pretty well and people loved it (at least, the non-vegetarians at the party did). I made way more than there were people attending the party, and these things aren't bad for breakfast the next morning! :)

Can't you just tell that this was homemade by an amateur by how uneven and non-uniform each one of the empanadas look? :)

Zz.

They look like Cornish pasties, but an order of magnitude smaller. We have a local shop that does Brazilian-Argentinian food, and Empanadas are part of the cuisine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empanada

Basically its a pie crust wrapping meat and vegetables. We get beef, pork, chicken or goat cheese empanadas.

Cornish pasties use diced or minced meat - usually beef (but lamb would do), with diced potatoes and/or turnips and carrots, which are then seasoned and baked.

I think baking is the way to go empanadas, and the only way to do pasties.

 

[lisab]

When my daughter called and asked for a particular recipe, I had to take photos of the steps as I prepared it, then put them in a PowerPoint explanation.

That's so awesome.

 

[Evo]

I bought some beautiful beef shanks on sale for half price today. I feel a lovely soup happening tomorrow.

 

[Borek]

Sautee one diced onion and 3-4 cloves of garlic in olive oil, just until translucent,

add one large chopped (traditional) eggplant (medium small cubes), I leave the peel on

1-2 zucchini (sliced or chopped),

1 large seeded bell pepper (chopped),

add a 15oz can of diced tomatoes (2 cans if you like more tomatoes) (you can use fresh chopped), I use Hunts petite diced because it has a pleasant acidity, which is needed.

stir, add a large drizzle of olive oil, salt to taste, and cook until done, stirring occasionally (vegetables should be soft), this can take up to 3 hours (the longer it stews together, the more the flavours develop). Finish with a generous drizzle of olive oil.

Done, eaten... Oh my.

Marzena asked me to make it again when Junior and his GF come to visit us tomorrow

 

[Evo]

Done, eaten... Oh my.

Marzena asked me to make it again when Junior and his GF come to visit us tomorrow

I am so happy you and Marzena enjoyed it. This is my "comfort food", I grew up on it. It's as yummy eaten hot or cold and even tastier the next day (if any is left).

 

[dlgoff]

Yummy fresh from the pasture.

 

[Evo]

Wow dl, you lucky dog!

 

[Borek]

They grow in Poland as well (although they are rare and protected):

 

[Monique]

I've never seen those mushrooms before, they look weird!

Tonight I tried out a new dessert, I happened to have all the ingredients for Honey & Rose Water Tapioca and it was so delicious I ate it all hot It was my first custard-from-scratch and I wonder why they sell custard powder, it's so simple to make with staple ingredients.

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Honey-_-rose-water-tapioca-334276