Two of my favorite dinner recipes. The first is a hearty, wintry dish that's SSSS-friendly. The second.... isn't. But it's super-good.
Roasted Cauliflower & Leek Gratin
Serves 4-6 as a main course, 8 as a side dish [though I usually make a half-portion, e.g. just one cauliflower, 1 cup milk, etc. Also, I love leeks, so I often use 3 rather than 2.]
Courtesy of the San Francisco Chronicle.
Roasting the leeks and cauliflower (which you can do well ahead) brings out deeper flavor and a crisp-around-the edges texture. Serve as a side dish with roasted meat, or as a main course with salad and bread.
Roasted vegetables
2 small heads cauliflower, about 3 pounds untrimmed
4 tablespoons olive oil
-- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
3 cloves garlic, minced [or 1-2 tsp. garlic paste]
2 large leeks
Gratin
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 tablespoons flour
2 cups low-fat milk
1/2 cup (generous) grated Parmesan, gruyere or Manchego cheese
-- Kosher salt and white or black pepper
1 teaspoon whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 to 2 ounces ham, cut into baton shapes [optional -- I never use it]
1/4 cup breadcrumbs (optional)
To make the roasted vegetables: Preheat the oven to 400°.
Cut the cauliflower into florets that are 1 1/2 inches wide. In a large bowl, toss the florets with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and spread out on a large rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender with just a bit of bite and browned, 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic after 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, remove the coarse dark tops of the leek and cut lengthwise. Wash thoroughly, then cut each half into 2-inch lengths, discarding any more dark green ends and checking for hidden dirt.
Separate the layers and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and some salt, then spread out on another large rimmed baking sheet and roast until crispy in some parts and thoroughly soft throughout, about 15 minutes. (You can roast the vegetables several hours ahead and refrigerate before completing the dish.)
To make the gratin: In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 3-5 minutes, taking care that it doesn't brown. Whisk in the milk until smooth, then bring to a simmer. Maintain the heat so it's bubbling gently; stir often until the sauce thickens and the flour cooks, about 15 minutes. Add 1/3 cup of the Parmesan and stir until just melted. Remove from the heat and season well with salt and pepper, then stir in the mustard.
When the vegetables are done, reduce the oven temperature to 350°. Toss the vegetables with the ham, if using, in a 13- by 9-inch baking pan, such as a Pyrex. Pour the sauce evenly over the vegetables. Combine the breadcrumbs (if using) with the remaining cheese and sprinkle over the top.
Bake until bubbly and lightly browned, 20 minutes. If you like, run the gratin briefly under the broiler to brown well. Serve warm.
Per main-course serving: 246 calories, 9 g protein, 17 g carbohydrate, 17 g fat (6 g saturated), 21 mg cholesterol, 281 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.
The next recipe is a meal for one, an easy and relatively quick way to recreate the ambrosial flavors of Thai food at home. The secret ingredient is Thai green curry paste, which contains hard-to-find seasonings such as galangal, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves.
Note: I have a timid palate, so I entirely omit the hot sauce and drop the amount of curry paste to 1 Tbsp. Someone like JoB would probably double both seasonings!
Thai chicken, sweet potato and spinach curryFrom the Telegraph newspaper.2 chicken thigh filets, skin removed
1 tbsp cooking oil
½ onion, cut into wedges
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped [or 1 tsp. garlic puree]
2 tbsp Thai green curry paste
200ml (7fl oz) chicken stock or water
200ml (7fl oz) coconut milk [light coconut milk works fine and is somewhat less fatty]
300g (10½oz) sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks [cooked Kabocha squash also works]
1 tsp Tabasco, chilli sauce or hot sauce (or to taste)
½ tbsp soft light-brown sugar
100g (3½oz) spinach, washed, tough stalks removed [bok choy or other Asian greens also work]
½ tbsp fish sauce
Juice of ½ lime
Small handful of cilantro, roughly chopped
Cut the chicken into chunks and season. Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan and add the onion and chicken. You just want to get a little color on the meat and start it cooking. Add the garlic and the curry paste and cook for a further two minutes.
Add the stock or water, coconut cream, sweet potato, hot sauce and sugar. Bring to just under the boil then turn down the heat to simmer for 15 minutes. In this time the potato should become completely soft and the chicken chunks cooked through. You can press some of the potato chunks with the back of a wooden spoon if you want to thicken the mixture a little.
Add all the spinach, fish sauce and lime, stir and heat through. Taste – you may want a little more hot sauce, fish sauce, sugar or lime, depending on your taste. Scatter with the chopped cilantro and ladle over steamed rice.
