The Minimalist: The Way We Cook

As Keerthi so eloquently put it, "This is soooo like OUR LIVES." (Glad she's shelling out for that higher education...). All jokes aside, this Minimalist piece from the NYTimes certainly sums up our philosophy on cooking -- keeping it as simple as possible. On this note, a favourite for me is the following recipe:

Pasta with Butter, Cheese, Nutmeg, and Peas
Boil pasta (I prefer a long noodle, like buccatini or spaghetti, but penne is also excellent with this) until al-dente. Drain in sieve and set aside reserving a glass or so of pasta-water.

In the same pan heat butter. Add some garlic (out of the jar works just fine), a pinch or two of nutmeg, and a shake of chili flakes. Dump pasta back in. Add pasta water after a minute of tossing the pasta in the butter+flavouring combination. Add frozen peas with the pasta water. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the peas are cooked. Garnish with loads of pecorino romano+parmesan+any hard grated cheese. Add black pepper if desired.

Simple, easy, and utterly delicious (also amazing with the addition of bits of leftover roast chicken).

As for the Minimalist? I admit I am intrigued by both #3 and #4:

"3. Cut eight sea scallops into four horizontal slices each. Arrange on plates. Sprinkle with lime juice, salt and crushed chilies; serve after five minutes

4. Open a can of white beans and combine with olive oil, salt, small or chopped shrimp, minced garlic and thyme leaves in a pan. Cook, stirring, until the shrimp are done; garnish with more olive oil."*

Pseudo-med food is always fun...

*Extracted from Source:Mark Bittman, The New York Times, July 18 2007

Last Hurrah!

Hurrah! Hurrah! We had a Last Hurrah for a few of our friends last night. In an effort to combat the cold that seeps into my building at night, I wanted to make something stick-to-your-bones-ish. I also needed to use up the groceries I have left before I move yet again next week. Settling on Shepard's Pie but lacking a functioning oven, I improvised!

The menu was "Deconstructed Shepard's Pie" and "Homemade Minestrone."

The Shepard's pie was by far the favourite, so here's a rough outline of the recipe.

Deconstructed Shepard's Pie (a recipe on the fly!)
Mincemeat "filling"
4 parts Minced beef/lamb/other red meat
1 part Chopped Onions
1 part Chopped Celery
1 part Frozen Peas
1 part Sliced Carrots
2 parts Diced Mushrooms
Half a standard tin diced tomatoes (w/ juice)
Olive oil
Garlic
Paprika
Cayenne Pepper
Fresh Thyme
Cinnamon
Sea Salt
Tater "topping"
4 Large Potatoes
Unsalted Butter
Whole Milk
Sea Salt
Pecorino Romano (grated)
Parmesan (grated)
For the mince:
Heat oil (about 3 tblspoons?) in a large sauté pan. Add chopped garlic. Add onions. When slightly cooked add mincemeat. Fry briefly (about 2-3 mins). Add all veggies. Add generous amounts of fresh thyme, about a pinch of cinnamon (I just gave the bottle a quick shake -- not too much!), paprika (I used quite a lot, maybe 1.5 tsps?), and a bit of cayenne to give it some kick. When it seems like the meat has cooked mostly/the veggies start to soften a bit, add the tomatoes including juice. Let it continue cooking until the juice pretty much is gone and all the meat is cooked. Add a bit of salt at the end, but not a lot, as the potatoes will have most of the salty-flavoring.
For the potatoes:
Boil water in a pot big enough to hold the potatoes. Add potatoes in their skins. Cover and cook til the skins start to come off. Remove from pot. Run under cold water to cool a bit. Remove skins (should be easy if they've been cooked enough). Put potatoes (sans skins) into a large bowl. Begin to mash vigorously with a fork. Add a knob of butter, some whole milk, some pecorino romano, some Parmesan, and (lastly, because the cheese has a fair bit of salt) taste and then add salt as necessary.

Serve together with brown sauce, ketchup, sriracha hot sauce, etc.

Mmmmm. Deconstructed Pie.