lamb tacos

 

1. Sauté onion, jalapeno, green pepper in olive oil

2. season with coriander, cinnamon, pimento dulce, and cumin

3. let soften and then remove or push to the edge of the pot before adding the lamb to brown. flatten for maximum surface contact and then once brown, break up into small chunks with wooden spoon.

4. in corporate the rest of the mixture and let simmer on low heat

5. prepare the pico de Gallo by chopping the beets, onion, kimichi into small pieces and adding to a bowl, squeeze lime or if you don't have, vinegar.

6. purée beets with yogurt and lemon juice, with the hot sauce of your preference.

7. mince scallion, mint, parsley and whatever other aromatics you want.

8. toast tortillas and serve with lamb, then beet yogurt sauce, and pico de Gallo to top.

Vegetable Tagine

The key here is to have chucks of veg big enough to feel satisfying, but not huge enough that they take ages to cook. Also try to keep all of the chopped veg relatively the same size for a homogenous looking dish.

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large red onion, peeled and roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
• 1 large red potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 large sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
• 1 small zucchini, roughly chopped
• kosher salt and black pepper for seasoning
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp pimento dulce or paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 8oz low-sodium vegetable broth (or broth of your choice)
• 1 1/2 cup chickpeas (1 15.5oz can mostly drained)
• juice of 1 lemon, plus zest
• 1tbsp vinegar of your choosing

RECIPE:

1. In a large Dutch Oven or similar pot, heat olive oil until it sparkles then add onions, over medium-high. Sauté for 5 minutes, tossing regularly.
2. Add all the chopped veg, season with salt, pepper and spices, stir to combine.
3. Cover and cook 7-9 minutes on medium heat, checking in once in a while to mix and scrape the bottom of the pot.
4. Add tomato paste, chickpeas and broth, and keeping the heat on medium, cover and simmer for another 20 to 25 minutes or until veggies are tender.
5. Turn off heat, and stir in lemon juice, zest and vinegar. Adjust salt and pepper, plus add any aromatics you like (Parsley, mint, cilantro etc)
6. Serve in pasta bowls over a bed of couscous.

kimchi tuna melt

If you have good bread and a decent collection of pantry basics, you can make this. A friend who works a bread stall at the farmer’s market brought us this amazing multigrain loaf from she-wolf bakery so besides making toad in the holes, what better use for fresh artisanal bread than a sando? Since we’re all rich in pantry goods right now due to the initial pandemic panic, and also because I was feel really lazy but wanted a big pay-off, in terms of meal-prep to food on a plate, a tuna melt it is!

Let us go over the correct anatomy of a good tuna sandwich, by my standards:

1) moisture

The bread must be moist (if you can’t handle that word, grow up), and also the tuna mixture must have a wetness as well. Tuna itself has the ability to be stuck-to-your-palette dry so you really can’t afford to drain all the juice from the can. Use the tin lid as a way to save the tuna from falling out into the sink, not as a compressor so that all you have left is a fish puck in a can. (If you’re using tuna in oil, you better not be throwing that oil down the sick you heathen, save that shit!!) Other ingredients will bring varying degrees of moisture to the table depending on what you add, so keep that in mind.

2) creaminess

Usually some kind of dairy or dairy replacement if you’re vegan. A little bit of oil helps as well, if your tuna was in water. You can omit cheese if you’re not feeling a melt but a slice of swiss never hurt in the mouthfeel department. I’ve used greek yogurt with much success, as well as store bought mayo, and homemade aioli. Tuna is a lean little thing in a can, you need to beef it up a bit otherwise you will definitely feel like you’re just someone…eating something from a can. Make it luxurious! Even if that is a complete illusion! What else is dress-up for?

3) acidity

very important. this tuna has been in a can for a long time before it got to you. it needs some cheering up! nothing brightens the day more than a little drop of acidity, or if you’re like me, an overload. PICKLES ARE YOUR FRIEND. This is where the kimchi comes in. But do I stop there? NO, there are also little cornichons, the puckeriest of pickles, in this recipe! I am an animal!

4) texture

consider the fact that once you have mixed all your ingredients together, the tuna has been broken down into…mush. Add your creamy and even more so. It is up to your other ingredients, like acidity or what else have you, to add texture. how do we achieve texture you ask? first, pick CRONCHY add-ins, and then just don’t butcher them. to do this will we employ our knife skills. you are not mincing your onion, your celery, your kimchi, your cornichon, you are dicing, cubing, ie, letting them retain their natural toothiness. when you bite through your sandwich and your teeth go through the creamy soft tuna, you want some kind of crunchy contact for a satisfying bite. otherwise just slap baby food on soft bread and call it day. this is AN ART. so don’t mash or mince, don’t fuck it up!