Skip straight to the recipe

I’m good with it though (and based on how my family devoured it, I would venture to guess they are too!). The skillet lasagna did not disappoint. In a traditional lasagna, all of the ingredients – ricotta cheese, sauce, veggies and crumbles – are forced into a rigid layered order and packed in. In this lasagna, they are allowed to run free in what is essentially deconstructed lasagna.

But I was missing a key ingredient…Harissa – a spicy Tunisian condiment that makes everything you put it on infinitely more delicious.

I decided to make it at home, which I based off of this recipe from the Kitchn. It was quick and much more flavorful than the store bought harissa. It will last for about a month in your fridge.

A little bit of harissa will go a long way so this will last. We have been dropping dollops of this in soups, on quinoa bites, egg and cheese sandwiches, frittatas and a vegetarian version of this skillet lasagna.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:24]

It’s been rainy, windy and cold in Hoboken and NYC. It’s the kind of weather that makes your bones cold. The kind of weather that you cannot really warm back up from even if Mother Nature surprises you with a 70 degree and sunny day of weather amidst the cold.

As we head into the winter, a little jar of this harissa is just what you need to spice up pretty much anything you are eating (I cannot think of anything it does not go with) and keep yourself warm.

And try out that skillet lasagna. Even my almost 9-year-old who believes strongly that noodles should be coated in nothing other than butter and cheese agreed. “Mmm that’s actually really good.” I don’t know how it is in your house, but in ours this is considered a 5-star review.

Thank you to everyone for sharing your sweet thoughts and hugs on my post about my Dad and his language of love. I look forward to sharing more of his favorites as foods to remember.

Holy hot avocados. Until this summer, I hated avocados (and guacamole). After a taste of my friend Christina‘s guac (just to be polite) this summer, I’ve converted.  Especially when they are hot. I toss cubed handfuls into eggs with cheddar cheese (green eggs no ham) and into stir fries. The few friends I’ve shared this discovery with have all had the same response: “What happens to the avocado? Does it melt?” Nope. It gets nice and soft and even richer in taste. And it imparts that richness to the rest of the dish. So yes, holy hot avocados.

After a relaxing child-free, spa-filled weekend at the Lodge at Woodloch with Christina [A lovely surprise present for each of us from our husbands], I came home armed with recipe ideas and creative juices flowing. We watched a cooking demo using fresh ingredients with natural medicinal properties like shitake mushrooms, asparagus, watercress and leeks. Nathanial Whitmore, a herbalist from Hawley, Pennsylvania, was on hand to explain to explain fascinating details like how shitake mushrooms have natural immune boosting properties.

The best take away from the entire weekend was this easy recipe for a soba noodle stir-fry sauce. And a discovery that Hoisin sauce is not non-vegetarian after all (read the label though just to be sure). It’s a perfect blend of salty and sweet and pairs really well with nutty sesame oil. This has become my go-to weeknight meal – especialy since all of the sauce ingredients are always stocked in my fridge.

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:11]

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:4]

Recipes that can be transformed from one dish into another and that hold up well as leftovers are really appealing to my schedule.  I usually leave home early in the morning and don’t return until after dark, sometimes toting along more work.  So, recipes like these which make for a quick and easy weeknight meal using a combination of fresh and prepared ingredients are lifesavers.  

On Wednesday night, I stopped into Russo’s on 7th Avenue and picked up a loaf of fresh bread, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside, a package of whole wheat linguine, a jar of spicy marinara sauce, one bunch of fresh basil and a wedge of pecorino romano.  I added in a few ingredients waiting in my kitchen to be used – one bunch of mint, a handful of pine nuts and a few dried red chili peppers.  

The result was a spicy pesto sauce which yielded 3 dishes – a hearty dinner, a quick snack and a savory breakfast.  Thus, Spicy Pesto 3 Ways. Here’s the first: Whole Wheat Pasta with Spicy Pesto Marinara.  Stay tuned for the other two.

Another spicy pasta dish you might enjoy is Roasted Tomato Vindaloo Sauce.

Earlier this week, I posted a recipe for a really easy stir-fry sauce with the forewarning that it’s really saucy.  It was so saucy and flavor packed that I thought it might work well as a soup and gave it a shot with the stir-fry leftovers.  As we watched President Obama address the nation, the only sound in our living room was “Slurp.  Slurp.  Slurrrrrp.”  We drenched buckwheat soba noodles in the broth-y sauce and veggies.  This is the kind of soup you’ll need a fork AND a spoon to fully enjoy.  

Here are some other soba noodle recipes that you might enjoy:

Soba Noodles in Green Curry Sauce

Soba Noodles and Tofu in Cilantro-Tamarind Sauce

We like it saucy (no R rated pun intended – that sounds dirty right?).  This stir-fry started off as an experiment.  It was so delicious that everytime we made stir-fry, Rajat would ask me to “make it in ‘that’ sauce.” Kitchen experiments are fabulous unless you forget to write down what you did because recreating a taste logged in your memory as “off the charts” is near impossible. [Disclaimer: that’s not meat in the picture. It’s vegetarian black pepper steak made from soy.]

After lots of re-experimenting, I finally recreated the sauce.  It’s quick to make and uses ingredients common to find in your pantry – vegetable stock, ketchup, tamari or soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, chili-garlic hot sauce (or your favorite asian hot sauce) and garlic-ginger paste (or fresh garlic and ginger).

I’ve been using Rapunzil cubes (it’s vegan and I like the no salt added type) since reading about it on 101 Cookbooks.  You don’t have to use that brand, but after trying a few different varieties, Rapunzil’s has the most flavor, is vegan (meaning no mysterious “natural flavors”) and low in sodium.  Also, some of you may wonder if rice wine vinegar is really common to have – I started keeping it on hand because it’s a very common ingredient for stir-fry sauces and used for sushi rice and use it pretty frequently. 

Feel free to leave a comment letting me know if you have your own take on this simple stir-fry sauce or any other ideas for easy stir-fry sauces and additions.

I finally mustered the courage to buy two ridge gourds from the Indian grocery store, and it turned out to not be so scary an endeavor after all.  We like to mix a heaping amount of ridge gourd chutney with plain rice, and if we weren’t living in the era of heart healthy eating would probably add a teaspoon of ghee in it too.  It’s also a good side for curd rice/dahi chawal/curried yogurt rice.

A few other interesting ridge gourd recipes that I found are this one for a ridge gourd subzi from One Hot Stove and this ridge gourd stew-like curry recipe from Saffron Hut.  Fun fact about ridge gourds – luffa sponges that are used for exfoliating come from the vine that ridge gourds grow on…who knew?

Grocery:
2 cups cilantro leaves
1/2 cup walnuts, roasted
3 cloves garlic
1 jalapeno pepper

Staples:
1/4 cup EVOO

Pulse 2 cups of cilantro leaves (stems removed), 1/2 cup of roasted walnuts, 3 cloves of garlic, and 1 jalapeno pepper in your food processor.  Drizzle about 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil into the food processor while it’s on (being careful to keep all bodily appendages away from the food processor of course!).  Add the cheese and pulse until well mixed.  Add salt to taste.

*Regular pesto sauce will likely not alter the taste of the Vindaloo Pasta Sauce too much because the pesto sauce mostly adds texture and creaminess from the cheese that’s in it…features that are common to all pesto. So you could try using just good ole pesto or even blend some fresh cilantro into the pesto sauce – let me know how it goes.

The chilly, windy weather outside made me want to cozy up with a big bowl of spicy, saucy pasta.  So, I fired up the oven and roasted some tomatoes, onions and garlic.  The freshness of these three, simple ingredients roasted with a splash of olive oil and sea salt is a treat but a sprinkle of vindaloo powder gives it a zing that really heats you up. 

A few weeks ago, I picked up Vindaloo Curry Powder from Kalustyan’s, a speciality food store in Manhattan’s Curry Hill which carries fresh spices, herbs, teas and much more.  Kalustyan’s vindaloo powder is a blend of cumin powder, coriander powder, black pepper powder, cinnamon powder, clove powder, cardamom powder, ginger powder, nutmeg powder, turmeric powder and chili powder.  I also picked up Chicken Tikka Masala powder that I’m saving for Unchicken Tikka Masala.  I don’t usually buy spice blends but these are two basics that are handy to keep around.  Not to mention, if I tried to combine that many powders in my kitchen, I think it would explode!

Spread olive oil along a baking tray and line it with the tomatoes (skin side down), onions and garlic – rub a little olive oil onto the top of the onions and sprinkle with sea salt.  Roast in the oven on 350 degrees for about 45 minutes.  Once cooled, peel the garlic cloves and blend the tomatoes, onions and garlic along with 1/4 cup of water until pureed.  Add pesto sauce, vindaloo powder and salt and blend again until well mixed. 

I made the sauce a day ahead of time and heated it up when ready to serve.  I also added a few thin slices of pan fried paneer to the sauce before mixing it with the pasta.  Tofu or any other soy protein would be a good substitute for paneer.

We had our vindaloo sauce with wide macaroni noodles to allow for ultimate coating and chin dribbling goodness but any noodle would do.  Serve along with crusty garlic bread to sop up the sauce. 

*I found 2 tspn. of vindaloo spice to be spicy enough, but you can add more to taste.  A pre-made vindaloo sauce (usually sold in the dairy, refrigerated section or the “ethnic” aisle) may be a good substitute for vindaloo powder if you can’t find it in your market.

The result was chewy soba noodles and pan fried tofu coated in a fresh, vibrant cilantro sauce with a tinge of tangy tamarind, onions and tomatoes.  Next time I’ll add a sweet, ripe red bell pepper thinly sliced to the mix.

R was a little jealous that I made these while he was traveling, so he took them for lunch when he got back. They heated up pretty nicely in the microwave and the tofu actually tasted better after marinating in the sauce overnight.