522. Fried Riceless Cauliflower Shrimp

They said it and they kept on saying it, but I just would not believe it until I tasted it for myself!
It is a bit far-fetched: grated cauliflower tasting just-like-rice? No way.
Oh, yes way! This fried rice-without-the-rice tastes exactly like fried rice-rice. Not similarly; I couldn't tell the difference had I not known.
And the recipe itself is so accessibly exotic. Red chili, peanuts, shrimp, coriander, coconut oil, sesame oil... These are all ingredients commonly available at no extra cost in regular supermarkets.
I adapted the recipe from the Londoner, but made it simpler by blitzing the cauliflower for a couple of seconds in the food processor rather than laboriously grating an entire head. Served with a sprinkling of fresh lime juice, this dish will shock you.
It is worthy to note that, like the chicken in milk, this dish tastes better than it looks, so do not dismiss it on grounds of its appearance.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp sesame oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 or 3 fresh chillies, seeded and chopped
1 cauliflower
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 handfuls prawns
2 eggs
2 spring onions, chopped
1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro), chopped
1 handful of peanuts, roughly chopped
soy sauce sweet chilli sauce for serving

Method:

Cut the cauliflower into florettes and blitz it in the food processor until it resembles rice.
In a hot pan over medium-high, add the oils and the garlic and chilli and saute for a minute or two.
Add the cauliflower "rice" and saute to incorporate the flavors.
Add the shrimp and 2 tablespoons of soy sauce.
Stir around until the prawns have turned pink.
Add the spring onion, stir, then form a well in the center.
Crack the eggs in the well, and let it fry a bit before scrambling it and incorporating it in the cauliflower.
Finally, stir in the coriander and peanuts, and serve immediately.
Serve with extra soy, chilli paste, and lime wedges for sprinkling on the side.

صحة و عافية

521. Roast Parsley Potato Halves

Have you ever pressed flowers in a book, forgotten about it, and were so pleased when you found it accidentally again? This recipe reminds me of pressed flowers.
Every time I think I have the perfect potato repertoire, I find another perfect potato recipe.
When I came across this recipe on Smitten Kitchen, I felt like I knew this all along, but I just didn't know I knew it. So simple, so easy, so beautiful, so delicious. A delightful crunch on the outside, amazing fluffiness on the inside, plus the incredible Nature's art on the outside.
You really don't need a recipe for this. Cut potato in half, put salt and parsley, roast in buttered pan until golden and cooked through. Done.
I see no reason to stop at parsley. Sage and dill seem like very plausible options as well.

Ingredients:

3 potatoes
2 Tbsp butter
salt
parsley leaves

Method:

Preheat oven to 400F.
Put butter in a rimmed baking pan and put in the oven to melt; remove when melted.
Scrub and dry whole unpeeled potatoes.
Cut each potato longitudinally in half.
Press one or two parsley leaves on the cut side of the potato.
Salt generously.
Put the potatoes cut-side down in the buttered pan.
Bake for 1 hour.
If the bottom gets too brown, simply turn over and continue baking.
Serve immediately.

صحة و عافية

520. Ageeli Qatari Cake

Ageeli (عقيلي) is a Qatari cake that tickles the senses with its luxurious perfume of saffron, cardamom, and rosewater.
If you happened to be in the Arabian Gulf, you might find Ageeli as one large bundt cake. I have been gifted the cake as mini bundts, and found purchasing a mini-bundt mold totally justified.
The recipe can be found in Arabic on 5anfaroush.
Instead of the usual buttering and flouring, the pans are brushed with tahini and sprinkles with sesame seeds before pouring in the batter.
I have also been told that some recipes use two thirds flour to one third rice flour, which is the traditional Qatari way to make it. I have tried both and found the all-flour method to be fluffier.

Ingredients:

4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup yogurt
1 1/2 tsp saffron, crushed
1/2 tsp powdered cardamom
2 Tbsp rosewater
1/4 cup oil
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
tahini, for mold
sesame, for mold

Method:

Preheat oven to 350F.
Brush mini bundt tins with tahini and sprinkle with sesame.
In a bowl, put the saffron, cardamom, and rosewater. Microwave for 10 to 15 seconds.
Whisk in the milk, yogurt, and oil. Set aside.
Using a stand or electric whisker, whisk the eggs, sugar, and vanilla until pale, frothy, and creamy (a good 7 to 10 minutes).
Gently fold in the flour and baking powder and the reserved saffron mixture.
Try to keep as much air in the batter as possible.
I poured my batter in a beaker to have easier control over pouring in the prepared molds.
Bake for 15 to 18 minutes.
Let cool in molds for 5-10 minutes before inverting.

صحة و عافية

519. Blooming Onion

Onion rings used to be all the rage once upon a time.
Now, they have been replaced by all sorts of variants of themselves.
The concept is still the same: breaded fried onion, it's just that people have gotten more creative with their food.
The blooming onion is a favorite appetizer at the Outback restaurant. The onion is repetitively cut all around to yield "petals" like a flower. The idea is to cut almost to the end, but not all the way through, to keep the whole thing intact. I used large onions, but I have seen larger onions, and I do believe people have even tried this with medium and small onions.

Ingredients:

2 large onions
2 cups flour
2 Tbsp paprika
1 tsp chilli
2 tsp salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano, 1/2 tsp pepper
2 eggs
1 cup milk
oil for frying

Method:

In a bowl, whisk together the flour, paprika, chili, salt, garlic powder, oregano, and pepper.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and milk.
Cut off the top of the onion, keeping the root end intact, and remove the skin.
Cut an "X" pattern into the the onion, being careful not to cut all the way through the onion. Leave 1/2" of the base of the onion in tact. Continue cutting "X" patterns into the onion by turning the onion 90 degrees, then cut another "X" shape. Keep doing this until you cut at least 10-14 times across the onion. Remember to leave the bottom of the onion intact, otherwise the flower will be destroyed. After cutting the "X" patterns into the top of the onion cut out or pull out the center of the onion.
Put the onion in a bowl of ice and water and spread out the "petals."
Drain from the water, then coat in flour mixture, then egg mixture, the flour mixture again, making sure to get in all the nooks and crannies.
Deep fry in hot oil until crisp and brown.
Drain on absorbent paper and serve with dipping sauces.

صحة و عافية

518. Roast Chicken in Milk

This is one of those dishes that tastes better than it looks. Lets get this straight: curdled milk or yogurt is a complete no-no in dishes like kubba labania. In this dish, the milk is supposed to curdle. It also makes for the ideal chicken sauce.
It really is a great dish because not only is it classically Jamie Oliver simple and delicious, but the chicken is first seared in a cast iron pot over the stove, then roasted in the oven, and then served -all in the same pot!
IKEA is fantastic and has great cast-iron pots. Those kinds of lidded pots, that withstand both stove top and oven, are named Dutch ovens.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken (1.3-1.5kg)
1 tsp salt
fresh ground pepper
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 stick cinnamon
1 handful sage leaves
2 lemons, zest only
10 cloves garlic, unpeeled
3 cups milk

Method:

Preheat oven to 375F.
Season the chicken inside and out with the salt and pepper.
Heat a dutch oven over the stove top, add the olive oil, and sear the chicken on all sides.
When the chicken is golden on all sides, drain the excess oil from the pot, leaving the chicken in.
Add all the rest of the ingredients to the chicken, cover the pot, and bake for 1 hour in the oven.
Uncover, and bake for 30 minutes more.
Serve by pulling the chicken apart and spooning over the sauce along with some greens and maybe potatoes.

صحة و عافية

517. Butterscotch Cake

A curious thing happened the other day. I was surprised to see -for the first time here- butterscotch chips at the supermarket. So I bought it on a whim, not having any specific plans of what to do with it.
The very next day, the Food Librarian posts a recipe for a delicious looking butterscotch bundt cake.
I simply had to make it. I just used my regular tube tin, which could tolerantly double as a make-shift bundt pan (I've got my eye on this, but this is also really nice).
The recipe makes alot of batter; I was afraid my tin would overflow. But it doesn't rise too much, so it was borderline but fine.

Ingredients:

Cake:
1 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
3 1/3 cup flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup butterscotch chips

Glaze:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
2 Tbsp whole milk
1 cup sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla

Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter and flour a 10 or 12-cup capacity Bundt pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt to combine.
Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes.
Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.
Blend in sour cream. Scrape down sides of bowl.
On slow speed, alternately add 1/3 of the flour mixture with 1/2 the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture until blended. Scrape down sides of bowl to combine.
Add 1/3 of the batter to the Bundt pan.
Sprinkled half the butterscotch chips on top, avoiding the sides of the pan.
Add half the remaining batter into the pan, spreading out to cover the first layer and chips.
Add the remaining chips on top, followed by the rest of the batter. Smooth out the top.
Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
Remove from the oven and place on wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes.
Remove from pan and let cool completely before glazing.
To make the glaze: In a medium saucepan, stir together the butter, brown sugar, milk. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Pour hot glaze over cooled cake.

صحة و عافية