Vegetarian Chili and North-Meets-South Skillet Cornbread

Check out this recipe on my new and improved website: thewalkingcookbook.com

Some people are obsessed with Chili... I am not. I am, however, obsessed with food and with language (shocker!), and if a dish is going to be called Chili, it must contain chiles. I am shocked and saddened by the quantity of Chili recipes I found in the world that did not have the word "chile" or "pepper" anywhere in them. The Chili I made this week may be controversial in some circles... there are beans and there is no meat. Some would say it's not even a real Chili. To that I say, "Change the name of the dish to Meati and I will put meat in it." I feel confident that I have some form of Chili based on the three different types of chiles in the dish.

I may have just gotten this blog banned in Texas. Maybe not Austin...

This week I made a big batch of Vegetarian Chili and paired it with a Skillet Cornbread. Both were memorized from the best recipes I could find and added to my Walking Cookbook index. Read on for myth, fact, history, and epic battles over these two famous dishes.

About Chili & Cornbread

Chili and Cornbread are tricky subjects to touch for a Californian-- I have no real geographic claim on either of these in modern sense. However, if we look back to the roots of the ingredients, we will find that they were part of American cooking long before America was called America. 

Chili seems to be Texas's baby, but according to the International Chili Society it has been in existence ever since Mayans, Incas, and Aztecs cooked meat, beans, and chiles together long before the Americas were conquered/settled/invaded. At some point it became a competition, and the rest is history. I won't attempt to summarize public opinion on Chili in this short section, but if you are curious, here is a trick: Next time you're at a group gathering, toss out the question, "What makes the perfect Chili?" I have a feeling you won't have trouble gathering people's thoughts.

As for Cornbread, we have Native Americans to thank as well. Corn (maize, maíz, etc.) has been grown and eaten in America for ages, and it has been dried and ground into flour for just as long. I remember going to summer camp in inland Southern California and seeing big rocks with holes ground in them. These grinding stones, my counselors told me, were how Native Americans would turn corn into cornmeal. I still love to close my eyes and imagine someone centuries ago making dinner for their family on a rock outside. It's a wonderful reminder that our food has an origin that we don't always get to see but should always appreciate. 

More modern Cornbread wars take place between the North and the South. Mark Twain, in fact, is quoted as saying: "Perhaps no bread in the world is quite as good as Southern cornbread, and perhaps no bread in the world is quite so bad as the Northern imitation of it." The main differences, as I have been able to sort out, are the following:

Northern Cornbread:

• yellow cornmeal
• 50:50 flour-to-cornmeal ratio
• plenty of sugar
• a cake-like consistency
• ideal for eating plain

Southern Cornbread:

• white cornmeal
• little to no added flour
• little to no added sugar
• a flat, dense, crumbly consistency
• ideal for eating with soup (or chili!)

While I do love a nice, sweet cornbread that tastes like a muffin, I knew what had to be done for this particular meal-- Southern style it would be.

Choosing the Recipes

My requirements for a vegetarian Chili were pretty straightforward: no meat substitutes, real chiles, and something extra that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. The Serious Eats recipe combined all of these, mimicking the effect of meat in a Chili without trying to replace the flavor. The chunky chickpea puree had the course texture of ground meat, giving the Chili something more than just broth and beans. The recipe also included vegemite and soy sauce, two umami-building ingredients that I would not have considered adding on my own. They upped the savory nature of the Chili without standing out as individual flavors. The combination of chiles, while not readily available and requiring some substitutions, meant that chili powder didn't come anywhere near the pot. It also bulked up the consistency of the broth.

As for the Cornbread, I had a few requirements as well. Since I am always giddy about buying a new kitchen gadget, I was sure to choose a Cornbread recipe that needed a cast-iron skillet. How could I resist? There are plenty of skillet Cornbread recipes, but the America's Test Kitchen recipe helped me fuse together the best of the North and the South. It used yellow cornmeal and a little bit of sugar, but it remained not too sweet and without added flour.

Memorizing the Recipes

Memorizing the Chili was mainly a matter of knowing what to puree (chiles and chickpeas), what spices/herbs to use (cumin and oregano), and tossing it all together. Bourbon and cornmeal at the end thickened it, and the rest was all common sense.

As with all baked goods, the Cornbread recipe was harder to memorize. The nice trick that I saw in the ingredient list is that the measurements of all the "extra" (but completely necessary) dry ingredients had  half-life-esque quantities: 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda. Keeping them organized in this way helped a lot.

The Verdict

I would have no qualms about bringing this Chili to a cook-off and setting it up next to beefy, meaty, non-beany ones. It may not be traditional, but it is a force to be reckoned with. With heat, umami, a varied texture, and the right amount of spices, it was a definite winner. My roommate couldn't stop talking about how spicy it was while she simultaneously scraped every last drop of it from her bowl. The lifesaver for those of us who can't take much heat was definitely the combination of toppings-- sour cream and lime took the spice level down a couple of notches.

The Cornbread that went with it was perfect as an accompaniment. While I wouldn't eat this Cornbread plain (it was a little salty and ended up in chunks on top of my Chili), I was thrilled with the crumbly, toasty component that it gave the overall meal. The crust was awesome to crunch into, making my cast-iron skillet purchase a wonderful investment already!

The Recipes

Vegetarian Chili
adapted from Serious Eats
Yield: 8 servings

This Chili packs a punch, so serve with sour cream and lime to temper the spice.

Ingredients:

• 2 whole Poblano peppers, stems and seeds removed
• 1 small hot chile (Serrano), stems and seeds removed
• 3 whole rich fruity dried chiles (Ancho Mulato, Negro, or Pasilla), stems and seeds removed
• 1 quart water
• 2 whole chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (canned) and 2 tbsp sauce
• 2 14-oz cans chickpeas
• 1 28-oz can whole tomatoes packed in juice
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 1 1/2 tbsp cumin
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp marmite or vegemite
• 2 14-oz cans dark red kidney beans, drained and liquid reserved
• 2 tbsp bourbon
• 2-3 tbsp cornmeal

A cutting board story

Preparation:

• Soak Poblano, Serrano, and dried peppers in the water, covered, for 15 minutes.
• Drain the liquid from the peppers into a separate bowl and set aside. Place soaked peppers, chipotle peppers, and adobo sauce in a food processor and blend until a smooth puree is formed, about 15 seconds.
• Drain the liquid from the chickpeas and add to the bowl of chile soaking liquid.
• Pulse the chickpeas in the food processor until they have a chunky, thick consistency (5-7 pulses).

A food processor story

• Drain the tomato juice into the bowl of liquids. Chop the tomatoes and add to the bowl of liquids as well.
• In a large pot, heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions and garlic. Cook over medium heat until soft, about 4 minutes.
• Add the cumin and oregano. Stir for 30 seconds.
• Turn the stove to low heat. Add the chile puree and stir for 30 seconds.
• Add the chickpeas, vegemite, and soy sauce and stir for 1 minute.
• Drain the kidney beans, keeping the liquid separate. Add the beans to the pot.
• Cover the kidney beans with the chile/chickpea/tomato liquids and add kidney bean liquid if the beans are not yet covered by liquid.
• Give the pot a stir and cook, uncovered, at medium-low heat for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

A stovetop story

• Add the bourbon and stir for a minute. Turn off the heat and add in the cornmeal until the chili is your desired thickness.

North-Meets-South Skillet Cornbread

adapted from America's Test Kitchen
Yield: 8 servings

The crispy outside comes from the scalding hot buttered skillet

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp melted butter and 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, stone ground if possible
• 2 tsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup rapidly boiling water
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (or make your own)
• 1 large egg, beaten lightly

Preparation:

• Spread the melted butter and oil around the inside of an 8-inch cast-iron skillet. Place the skillet in a 450°F oven on the bottom rack. Let it preheat for 15 minutes or more.
• In a small mixing bowl, combine 2/3 cup cornmeal with the sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir together.
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the remaining 1/3 cup cornmeal with the boiling water. Whisk it together to make a mush.
• Pour the buttermilk over the cornmeal mush and whisk out lumps. Add the egg and whisk together.
• Stir the dry ingredients into the liquid ingredients and mix until just moistened.

Dry ingredients and their ratios: just cut each one in half
(2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp baking soda)

The cast-iron skillet needs a dose of melted butter before it goes in the oven to heat up.

• Remove the skillet from the oven. It should be outrageously hot, so be careful. Pour any excess butter/oil from the skillet into the cornbread batter. Then, pour the batter into the skillet. It will make a loud hissing noise because of the hot fat touching the cool liquids in the batter.
• Return the skillet to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
• Remove from the oven, immediately turn the bread out onto a cooling rack, and let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Double up on oven mitts and towels-- this skillet is hot!

Enlightened Gnocchi

Check out this recipe on my new and improved website: thewalkingcookbook.com

Let's say it all together: Nyoh---kee. Nyoh---kee. Nyoh---kee. It's Italian, yes, but if we can say linguini and lasagna, why is gnocchi so difficult for English-speaking Americans? I am a language teacher, and despite the fact that I teach Spanish (not Italian), I have a deep love for language and an inability to not teach people things. So here is the phonetic breakdown of gnocchi in a layperson's terms:

• In Italian, the gn is like a Spanish ñ or the ny in the English word canyon. Same in French, actually. Think about lasagna or cognac and you'll get it.
• The letter combination ch is always pronounced like a hard k sound. Think of Pinocchio or Chianti.
• The appearance of a double c simply means that we linger on the sound of that letter for an extra beat. This lingering or lack thereof can make a difference in the meaning of a word, though, so speak carefully. When you are in the mood for pasta, for instance, I highly recommend ordering penne and not pene (look it up).

So there we have it: gno=nyoh and cchi=kee. Nyoh-kee. If you stuck with me, you earned an A+! There is a lot to know about Gnocchi. I memorized a master recipe for Gnocchi this week and will present it to you here along with a million little things that you never knew you never knew about potatoes, flour, and the Italian delight that they produce.

About Gnocchi

I bet you feel so much better reading this now that you can pronounce the word, huh? Aside from the pronunciation, there is a good amount to know about Gnocchi. Gnocchi (the plural form of gnocco) are dumplings most commonly made of potato, flour, and salt. The dish originated as a peasant food in Italy due to its hearty and inexpensive ingredients. Variations have arisen to include vegetables, cheese, alternative flours, and other goodies in the dough. Some recipes, like American's Test Kitchen, even add egg into the dough for light fluffiness. Gnocchi can be found on menus in soups, as a primi (first) course, or as a main pasta dish. In Rome, Thursday is traditionally Gnocchi day, but I didn't let that stop me from making them a day early (I just made extra so I could enjoy leftovers on Thursday).

Choosing the Recipe

Gnocchi should be fairly small (like the top of your thumb) and extremely fluffy. Dense Gnocchi are not properly made, so my test this week was to ensure that my Gnocchi were perfect baby clouds. To do that, each part of the recipe had to be perfect. I did my research and found a few experts to guide me. The most concise set of instructions came from Paula Wolfert's contribution to Food & Wine: "Six Steps to Reaching Gnocchi Nirvana." I don't know a ton about Buddhism, but I do know that nirvana is the enlightenment that comes (to some) after much trial and error (aka: life). I trusted Wolfert to lead me there. Since there are so few ingredients in Gnocchi, perfection had to come in three different forms: potatoes, flour, and mixing them together.

Perfect Gnocchi Potatoes

• Use mealy or all-purpose potatoes, not waxy ones. The same potatoes that make excellent baked and mashed potatoes lead to beautiful Gnocchi. This is because when a potato is going to lose its form, a mealy potato (less water content, more starch) is ideal. The most common mealy potato is a Russet or Idaho potato. Yukon Golds are moderate, and Wolfert recommends them for their nutty flavor. Trying to fight against the firmness of a waxy potato (more water, less starch) like a Red Potato will lead to splitting the potato's cells and releasing a starchy gel that makes the potato gummy and gross. Jeffrey Steingarten has an essay in his book, The Man Who Ate Everything, dedicated to preventing potato gumminess. He suggests testing potatoes for mealiness or waxiness by making a brine at home (9.5 cups water to 1 cup salt) and placing your potatoes in it. Those that sink are mealy (higher in starch) and those that float (lower in starch) are waxy. This is a great trick if the potatoes at your store aren't on this list.
• Bake the potatoes instead of boiling them, and peel while hot. As Wolfert says, "Water is the enemy of good gnocchi dough." While Wolfert recommends investing 1.5 hours to bake the potatoes, I took a tip from America's Test Kitchen and parcooked them in the microwave before baking them in the oven on a thick bed of salt. That saved me an hour of prep time. Peeling the potatoes while hot (using a towel to protect your hand and a paring knife to remove the skin) helps facilitate steam escaping from the potato.

 

 

• Use a ricer or a tamis to break up the potatoes, not a masher. Remember, we want light, fluffy, airy Gnocchi. Mashing will push out all the air from the potato, making it dense and tough to incorporate into the flour. Also, the little potato pieces from the ricer have more surface area, therefore allowing more water to evaporate from them. America's Test Kitchen's Gadget Review highly recommends the RSVP International Potato Ricer, which also happens to be one of the cheapest ones out there.

Perfect Gnocchi Flour

• Use 2/3 all-purpose flour to 1/3 cake flour. Cake flour is lower in protein, meaning the Gnocchi will be less dense. Also, it is finer, so it will mix in better with the potato. Italian 00 flour should work wonderfully also.

Mixing them Together like a Pro

• Be aware of your measurements. After baking and ricing the potatoes, they will have lost almost half their weight. The ratio is 1 cup flour mixture to 1 lb riced potato. When grocery shopping, this means 1 cup flour to 2 lb uncooked potatoes.
• Mix the dough with a scraper, not your hands. We have fairly heavy hands, which-- you guessed it-- leads to dense Gnocchi if we knead the dough. Using a bench scraper (aka: pastry scraper) will keep things-- you guessed it again-- nice and airy.

• Test the Gnocchi. Doing a test run helps ensure that the Gnocchi are not too light (so they fall apart) or too dense (so they taste store-bought). You can always fix the dough after cooking one gnocco.

Memorizing the Recipe

I don't know if it's because of all the research I did or because the ingredients are so simple and the steps are logical, but this ranks among one of the easiest recipes I have memorized. 2 lb potatoes: 1 cup flour: 1 pinch salt and take it from there. Handle with care, and there isn't a huge way to mess it up.

The Verdict

Funny enough, these Gnocchi were so light and fluffy that it actually took me some time to get used to them-- I'm not accustomed to eating clouds! They truly were enlightened in two senses of the word-- they were light, and they had reached a level of nirvana. Tossed in with some pesto and some marinara (separately), they were a great alternative to standard pasta.

As light as the Gnocchi were, the meal could have been heavy if it weren't for the Panzanella Salad I made to go with it. The bright flavors of tomato and cucumber with a little vinaigrette made the whole meal cool and fresh.

While making Gnocchi is time consuming, there is something that everyone can help with-- if you have a family and want to get everybody involved in cooking dinner, I highly recommend this recipe.

The Recipe

Enlightened Gnocchi

adapted from Paula Wolfert's Potato Gnocchi in Food & Wine with help from America's Test Kitchen

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. Yukon gold potatoes
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cake flour
• salt

Preparation:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F. Pour a 1/2 inch layer of salt into a baking dish just large enough to fit all of the potatoes. Set aside.
• Prick the potatoes 8 times each with a fork and cook in the microwave for 10 minutes, turning halfway through.
• Move the potatoes to the salted baking dish and place in the middle rack of the oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer can poke through the potato without resistance. Remove from the oven and split potatoes open lengthwise. Let cool a bit until they can be handled.
• Line a large baking sheet with paper towels. Carefully scoop the potato flesh into a potato ricer and pass through onto the paper towels. Repeat with all potatoes, making sure you create a single layer of riced potato. Let cool completely.
• Measure 1 lb. riced potato (about 4 cups, but use a scale) onto a clean, dry work surface.
• In a medium bowl, sift the flours together with a large pinch of salt and sprinkle over the potato.
• Using a pastry scraper, incorporate the potato with the flour until thoroughly mixed. Form into a firm ball.

• Bring a small saucepan of salted water to a boil. Remove a 1/2 inch oval of dough (the size of the tip of a woman's thumb) and drop in the water. Boil for 1 minute, until the gnocco starts to float. Remove from the water, let cool, and taste. If the gnocco falls apart, add a little more flour to the dough (1 tbsp at a time) and test again. If it is too dense, cut in a little of the leftover riced potato.
• Line a baking sheet with paper towels. Divide the dough into fourths. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope 1/2 inch wide and cut into 1/2 inch pieces with a sharp knife or the pastry scraper. Scatter the gnocchi around the baking sheet.
• Place a fork upside down on your work surface. One at a time, roll the cut side of a gnocchi along the tines of the fork, leaving ridges and creating a soft fold in the back that will help the gnocchi hold onto their sauce. Fast forward to 5:20 in this video for a visual.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add half of the gnocchi at a time and boil fifteen seconds beyond when they rise to the surface (about 60-90 seconds total). Remove with a slotted spoon and add to a skillet containing the warm sauce, or read on for freezing instructions.

• To freeze, remove the gnocchi from the boiling water and add to a bowl of ice water. Drain on paper towels and pat dry. Coat lightly in olive oil and freeze in a single layer. Once frozen, the gnocchi can be put into an airtight container and frozen for six weeks. Reheat by placing them in boiling water for a minute or so.

About My Sources

While this post may seem like it was sponsored by America's Test Kitchen or that I was given something in exchange, it actually wasn't. I honestly just love their website and all the research that they do for home cooks like me. Don't get me wrong-- I would happily accept bribes from them in exchange for saying how cool they are-- but unfortunately they haven't offered.

Remy's Ratatouille

Check out this recipe on my new and improved website: thewalkingcookbook.com

As I watched the Pixar movie Ratatouille to do some "research" for this week's recipe, I couldn't help but get teary eyed. I'm a sucker for a good underdog story, and Remy, the rat who wants to be a chef, is most definitely an underdog. The poor little guy has such a gift and has to battle prejudices to simply do what he loves. While the rat/cooking metaphor might not work for everyone, can't we all sympathize with someone who is told they can't do something because of something they can't change? Sex, race, physical ability... this is only the start of a cumbersome list of ways that people are held down. Ratatouille serves as a reminder that when given a chance, people (and rodents) can do extraordinary things. To honor this message, I made Remy's Ratatouille this week.

About Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a French dish from Nice, and it is considered a "peasant food," basically meaning that it is simple to find the ingredients and inexpensive to make. With only four main ingredients-- eggplant, tomato, squash/zucchini, and bell pepper-- and a touch of olive oil, this dish comes from the French word touiller, which means to toss. Ratatouille is typically sautéed and served as a side dish or stew. Over time, people have added and omitted things based on their preference, just like with all classic dishes.

That brings us to the movie version, which maintains the integrity of the ingredients while changing up the "touille" part. For those of you who have not seen Ratatouille (SPOILER ALERT), the protagonist rat Remy reimagines the peasant dish, making it elegant and refined, and ultimately beating the odds to realize his dreams and win over a haughty food critic. Chef Thomas Keller (The French Laundry, Per Se) was consulted during the creation of the film in order to guide the crew through the dynamics of a professional kitchen and how food is prepped, cooked, plated, and served. He also provided the revamped Raratouille recipe, actually called Confit Byaldi. If you are familiar with Keller and his recipes, you will first notice the relative simplicity of this dish. This video has some words from Keller about his role in the movie.

Regardless of the chosen method of preparation or supplementary ingredients, the key to Ratatouille is to have wonderfully fresh ingredients. Like in a well-balanced orchestra, where neither flutes nor tubas should dominate, the vegetables in a good Ratatouille should work harmoniously.

Choosing the Recipe

My parents were in town this week (woooo hooooo!), and both of them have been diligent with their Weight Watchers Points Plus program. I don't know a ton about the new Points Plus system, but I do know that keeping food relatively low in fat, low in carbs, high in protein, and high in fiber is their guide to sensible eating. I decided to browse my Master Plan List for a recipe that would compliment those dietary choices... there weren't many! However, Ratatouille was on the list and I knew I could work with an all-veggie dish, add a baked piece of fish, and I would be in the WW happy zone.

Ratatouille, in modern days, brings the Pixar movie to most of our minds, and I was no exception. After crying my way through the film (Remy's big, innocent mouse eyes made me gush), I knew I had to make Remy's version of the dish. As I mentioned before, it is actually called Confit Byaldi (there is not touiller involved whatsoever), but I will just call it Remy's Ratatouille (it sounds way cuter).

A little rat with big dreams

Memorizing the Recipe

I knew from the get-go that my version of Remy's Ratatouille would be a little more like the cartoon and a little less like Thomas Keller's Confit Byaldi. With hosting my parents, I didn't want to pick anything overly complex or onerous. They didn't travel across the country to see me stressing out because my home-cooked meal is not of French Laundry caliber. Nevertheless, there are three main components to the dish that I wanted to include: a piperade (pepper and tomato sauce) that goes in the bottom of the pan, the thin-sliced vegetables, and the vinaigrette for the top. All three of them needed to be present for the dish to come together.

The Verdict

Although Remy's Ratatouille was labor intensive (amazing that a rat could pull it off!), it was well worth the effort to produce this fresh, healthy, beautiful side dish. While the thin-sliced vegetables made the bulk of the dish pretty mild in flavor, the coming together of the balsamic, oil, and piperade at the bottom of the pan created an explosion of flavors that I could have eaten by itself or put on top of pasta. It had acidity, a little fat, and a warm, slow-cooked meltiness to it that I can't imagine acquiring any other way than by baking it low and slow. Served with some flounder and a Brussels sprout salad, the meal was a lovely, simple delight. And if you are looking for a healthy party piece, the fanned vegetables are a beauty to behold.

The Recipe

Remy's Ratatouille (aka Confit Byaldi)
adapted from The New York Times, courtesy of Thomas Keller
Yield: 8 side servings

Piperade Ingredients:

• 1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed
• 1/2 orange bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed
• 3 Roma (plum) tomatoes
• 1/2 cup onion, finely diced
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 sprig thyme
• 1 sprig flat-leaf parsley
• 1 bay leaf

Vegetable Ingredients:

• 2 Japanese eggplants
• 2 yellow squash
• 2 zucchini
• 4 Roma (plum) tomatoes
• salt and pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Vinaigrette Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
• chopped fresh herbs (I used parsley and dill)
• salt and pepper

Preparation:

• Preheat oven to 450°F.
• Line a baking sheet with foil. Place bell pepper halves cut-side down on the foil and bake for 15-20 minutes, until skin begins to blister and separate from the pepper flesh. Remove from heat and let cool. Lower the oven to 250°F. Once the peppers are cool, scrape the skin off and discard. Chop the pepper flesh into a fine dice.

• Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Cut an X shape into the top of three tomatoes (about 1/4 inch deep). Once the water is boiling, place the three tomatoes in the boiling water, one at a time, for 20 seconds each. Remove carefully and place into a bowl of cold water. Once the tomatoes have cooled, remove the skin with your fingers and discard. Cut the peeled tomatoes in half, squeeze their juices into a bowl, and set juice aside. Chop the tomatoes as fine as possible.

• While the peppers are roasting and the water for tomatoes is coming to a boil, slice the zucchini and squash using a mandoline (or making the slices ridiculously thin with a knife). Slice the eggplant and the remaining four tomatoes as thin as possible with your chef's knife. About 1/16 inch is ideal. If you have a mandoline that can slice an eggplant and tomatoes, feel free to use it! Mine did not work for them because of the skin. Toss all the slices with 2 tbsp olive oil and some salt and pepper.

• Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a non-stick pan over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, and herbs and cook until soft, about four minutes.

• Add the bell pepper, tomato, tomato juice, salt, and pepper. Cook over medium-low heat until most of the liquid is gone from the pan, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the herbs.

 

• Spread the piperade (pepper and tomato mixture) into the bottom of an oven-safe serving pan. You may use a casserole, an 8" stainless steel skillet, or any other dish you have that works for you. Just don't make it too large-- the surface area should be about 50 square inches (in round dishes, A=πr^2 and in rectangular dishes A=l*w).
• Arrange your sliced vegetables on top of the piperade, alternating vegetables in a pattern (I used eggplant, yellow squash, tomato, then zucchini) and keeping them upright like dominoes. Once you work your way around the edge of the dish, fill in the middle with another round (if there is space) or arrange them like a star. Take a look at my picture, or see this video clip for animated details (don't watch it if you don't want the movie ending given away!)

• Place foil over the top of your cooking dish and seal by crumpling the foil around the edge. Place in the low-heat oven (250°F) for 1.5-2 hours.
• Combine vinaigrette ingredients and beat together with a fork until emulsified (oil and vinegar united as one).
• Remove the foil and place the pan under the broiler until lightly browned.
• Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve hot.

Ethiopian Feast: The 5 Recipes (Whew!)

Check out this recipe on my new and improved website: thewalkingcookbook.com

Ethiopian food is served on a piece of injera, with many dishes to try

One of the benefits of life in New York is the bounty of cuisines that it boasts. I use the word cuisine to refer to a set of culinary ingredients, styles, and techniques, all of which can be linked to a specific region (Japanese food, Southern food, Amazonian food), dietary preference (vegetarian, gluten-free, raw), dining culture (street food, fine dining) or even religion (kosher, halal). Within each cuisine are various subcuisines (just think of "American" food and all of its subcuisines). I feel like I can confidently say that if New York's five boroughs does not have a particular cuisine, it probably only exists in its region of origin. I can't imagine a regional cuisine traveling outside its birthplace and not making its way to this amazing city.

I had Ethiopian food for the first time when I visited New York to interview for my teaching job, and I have been a little obsessed with it ever since. In larger cities it is becoming more common to hear the words injera, alicha, and wat used when talking about what to get for dinner. However, it still has not had its big break to arise to the levels of Thai, Chinese, or Indian food.

In case you have not had Ethiopian food, here are a few things you can expect:

• No utensils-- injera, a gluten-free spongey crepe-like bread, is used as a utensil to scoop up all of the food. I still haven't figured out what to do when they serve you salad-- please comment if you have some insight
• A high presence of turmeric, cardamom, and berbere (pronounced somewhere in between "bear berry" and "Burberry"), a spice blend that adds heat to many dishes
• Most dishes are stews or purees, slow cooked with aromatic ingredients
• Plenty of vegetarian and meat options

I got excited about the prospect of learning Ethiopian cuisine when I read about it in my Food & Wine magazine (Nov. 2012). The article highlights a man named Hiyaw Gebreyohannes, who developed a line of prepared Ethiopian food, Taste of Ethiopia, which is actually now available at Fairway Market, Whole Foods, Brooklyn Fare, and Union Market. He included some recipes, which made me feel less daunted by the idea of making Ethiopian in my own kitchen.

This week I will be cooking a vegan and gluten-free Ethiopian feast with four dishes (I like going between multiple flavors as I eat) plus a boatload of injera (be advised that the injera needs to sit overnight, so get an early start!). Although the spices will be a little costly to get started, the staple ingredients are extremely affordable: onions, garlic, lentils, cabbage, collard greens, etc. If this is successful, then future Ethiopian dinners will be done on the cheap!

The Recipes:

Tear this bread apart to scoop up your food-- it replaces silverware

Injera (crepe-bread), adapted from Food & Wine

Yield: Eight 12" pieces

Ingredients:

• 4 cups (5 oz.) teff flour
• 5 cups water
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

Preparation:

• In a large bowl, whisk the teff flour with the water until a smooth batter forms. 
• Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature overnight; the batter should be slightly foamy.
• Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat.
• Whisk the salt into the batter.
• Ladle 3/4 cup of batter into the skillet and swirl to cover the entire skillet.
• Cook over medium-high heat until the injera starts to bubble, about 30 seconds.
• Cover the skillet and cook for 30 more seconds, until the injera is cooked through and the surface is slightly glossy.
• Invert the injera on a work surface and repeat with the remaining batter.
• Fold the injera into quarters to serve.

NOTE FROM THE WALKING COOKBOOK:

This injera was an embarrassing failure and led me to buy premade Injera from a local Ethiopian restaurant... I attribute it to incorrect measurements in the recipe, which calls for 4 cups (5 oz.) of flour. Four cups is definitely not 5 oz (it's more like 20 oz), so unless they were referring to 5 oz per cup, the recipe was just wrong. See Ethiopian Feast: The Results and Modified Recipes for details!

Don't let the spoon deceive you-- you will still be scooping

Gomen (collard greens), adapted from Saveur

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/8 tsp cardamom seeds
• 1/8 tsp ground fenugreek seeds
• 1/8 tsp nigella seeds
• 1 1/2 lbs. collard greens, stemmed and cut crosswise into 1/4" wide strips
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1 large yellow onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Thai chiles or 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded, and minced
• 1" piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

• Heat 4 tbsp oil in a large pot over medium heat.
• Add cardamom, fenugreek, and nigella and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, (1-2 minutes).
• Increase heat to medium-high and add the remaining oil.
• Add onions and cook, stirring often, until browned (10 minutes).
• Add garlic, chiles, and ginger and cook, stirring often, until soft and fragrant (3 minutes).
• Add collard greens, water, and salt and pepper.
• Cover and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until the greens are tender, 50-55 minutes. 

This dish is perfect for the guests that don't like spice.
I like going back and forth between the spicier Misir Wat
and this Kik Alicha to tame the spice on my own.

Kik Alicha (Mild Split Peas), adapted from The Culinary Life

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 1 large tomato, very finely chopped
• 1/2 lb. yellow split peas
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp bessobela (Ethiopian basil-- dried basil works too)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

• Wash split peas in warm water. Drain and set aside.
• In a large pot, cook onions over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until translucent, adding water as needed.
• Add tomatoes and garlic and cook for 5 minutes (do not let them brown or burn)
• Add the ginger and cook for 5 more minutes (add water if necessary but don't let the mixture get soupy)
• Add olive oil and stir until well mixed. Cook briskly, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
• Add split peas, turmeric, bessobela, cardamom, salt, and pepper.
• Cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently and adding water gradually until split peas are soft but the mixture is not watery (I would add 1/2 cup every time I see the mixture start to get dry).

Misir Wat-- I will probably try to cook mine so it is slightly thicker than in this picture

Misir Wat (Red Lentils with Berbere), adapted from Food & Wine

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb. red lentils
• 4 cups water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 1/2 red onions, minced
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1" piece of ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 1/2 tbsp berbere
• 1 tsp nigella seeds
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

Preparation:

• In a large casserole pan, heat the olive oil.
• Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until they are soft and just beginning to brown (8 minutes).
• Add the garlic, ginger, berbere, nigella, cardamom, salt, and pepper and cook until fragrant and deeply colored (10 minutes).
• Add the red lentils and water and bring to a boil.
• Cover and cook over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until lentils are softened and the mixture has thickened (25 minutes).
• Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle with berbere.

Atkilt Wat usually has potatoes as well,
but Food & Wine adapted the recipe, omitting them

Atkilt Wat (Cabbage and Carrots, minus the potatoes), adapted from Food & Wine

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 lbs green cabbage, cored and cut into 3/4" pieces
• 1/2 lb carrots, quartered and cut into 1 1/2" lengths
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 1/2 red onions, finely chopped
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation:

• In a large casserole pan, heat the olive oil.
• Add the onions and cook over medium-high heat until they are soft and just beginning to brown (8 minutes).
• Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt, and pepper and cook until softened and fragrant (5 minutes).
• Add the carrots and water and cook over medium heat, stirring, until the carrots are just starting to soften (7 minutes).
• Stir in the cabbage in large handfuls, letting each batch wilt slightly before adding more. Add a little water if the pan begins to dry out.
• Once all the cabbage has been added, cover and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the cabbage is soft and tender, (30-40 minutes).

Time to Memorize: 4 days (And yes, I will be memorizing all of these)