Week of March 8th

Weeknight Fancy Chicken and Rice

Cook Time: 50 minutes | Servings: Yield 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
¼ cup ghee (or use unsalted butter)
1 large yellow onion, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
6 green cardamom pods, crushed
3 whole star anise
1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt, divided
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 ½ teaspoons turmeric powder
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
2 ¼ cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 ½ cups basmati rice
¼ cup chopped dried apricots
¼ cup sliced raw almonds, toasted
¼ cup chopped cilantro leaves

Directions:
In a medium saucepan with a lid, melt ghee over medium-high heat. Add onions, cardamom, star anise and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and a very deep golden brown, about 15 minutes, lowering heat if necessary to keep from burning them. Add garlic and turmeric; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until very fragrant. Add chicken and cook for 4 minutes, stirring to coat chicken with the onion mixture.
Add stock and remaining salt, increase the heat and bring to a boil. Add rice, stir and cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the rice has absorbed liquid, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 12 minutes. Remove lid and fluff rice with a fork.
Transfer chicken and rice to a bowl, taking care to remove and discard cardamom pods and star anise. Garnish with apricots, almonds and cilantro. Serve at once.

I believe the title of this recipe is misleading- it takes me about an hour to make this, which is on the long side of a weeknight meal. This is more of a Sunday night affair for me.

The optimal place to find star anise and cardamom pods is at a well-stocked bulk foods aisle, but if you can't make that happen, sub a tsp of ground cardamom and a tsp of fennel seed. It will be almost as good.

A quick note about chicken (or vegetable or beef) broth. If I have a recipe that calls for exactly 4 cups (32 oz) of broth, I buy one of those square tetra packs of broth from the soup aisle cause it's easy. BTW, expert reviewers (not me) have declared that Swanson's broth is as good as any if you're going this route. But if the recipe calls for something less, I use Better than Bouillon. You can get it at every grocery store, it keeps for a long time and it's 99% as good as the best non-concentrate broth on the shelf. You can mix a tsp of Better than Bouillon to a cup of water and make exactly what you need. Keep in mind that most broth you buy in cans or boxes also comes from concentrate- it's just mixed at the packaging plant. In which case you're paying extra to ship the water.

By now, you should have already bought your Benreiner, so slicing those onions super thin will be a snap.

Easy Salmon Cakes

Cook Time: 30 minutes | Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:
GATHER YOUR INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons plus 3/4 cup panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
4 teaspoons lemon juice
1 scallion, sliced thin
1 small shallot, minced
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
pinch cayenne pepper
1 (1 1/4 pound) skinless salmon fillet, cut into 1-inch pieces
½ cup vegetable oil

Directions:
Combine 3 tablespoons panko, parsley, mayonnaise, lemon juice, scallion, shallot, mustard, salt, pepper, and cayenne in bowl. Working in 3 batches, pulse salmon in food processor until coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch pieces, about 2 pulses, transferring each batch to bowl with panko mixture. Gently mix until uniformly combined.
Place remaining 3/4 cup panko in pie plate. Using 1/3-cup measure, scoop level amount of salmon mixture and transfer to baking sheet; repeat to make 8 cakes. Carefully coat each cake in bread crumbs, gently patting into disk measuring 2 3/4 inches in diameter and 1 inch high. Return coated cakes to baking sheet.
Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Place salmon cakes in skillet and cook without moving until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip cakes and cook until second side is golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer cakes to paper towel–lined plate to drain 1 minute. Serve.

I always pair these with extra crispy tater tots from the freezer aisle.

Spray the 1/3 cup with cooking spray before scooping the salmon mixture.

Cornbread Tamale Pie

Cook Time: 1 hour | Servings: Yield 6 servings

Ingredients:
COOKING-OIL SPRAY FOR GREASING PAN
1 pound ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
1 cup corn, drained, canned or frozen (thawed if frozen)
1 cup tomato sauce
1 cup beef or chicken broth
½ cup diced green bell pepper, optional
1 tablespoon chile powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 ½ teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
¼ teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
¾ cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 egg
⅓ cup milk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Grease a 3-quart high-sided casserole dish with cooking spray. In a large skillet, saute the beef and onion over medium-high heat until the meat is brown and the onion translucent, about 10 minutes. Then add the beans, corn, tomato sauce, broth, bell pepper (if using), chili powder, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper. Simmer for 15 minutes. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt. In a small bowl whisk together the egg, milk and oil until combined. Whisk the milk mixture into the flour mixture until combined. Spread the meat mixture into the casserole dish and cover with the corn bread topping. The topping will disappear into the meat mixture but will rise during baking and form a layer of corn bread. Bake until the corn bread is brown, 20 to 25 minutes.

See note above about broth. I also don't really buy normal cornmeal, instead I always have a bag of Bobs Red Mill Polenta in my pantry- it's just a coarser grind cornmeal and more useful. I make polenta once a month or so, and it also works fine in cornbread.

Similarly, there is almost no reason to have a casserole dish if you have a 6.75 qt dutch oven. Dutch ovens are about 100X more versatile, IMO.

Penne with Red Pepper Pesto (Pesto Calabrese)

Cook Time: 1 hour | Servings: Serves 4

Ingredients:
3 red bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips (5 cups)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 small onion, chopped
1 plum tomato, cored, seeded, and chopped
⅓ cup chopped fresh basil
½ - ¾ teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon garlic, minced to paste
½ cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for serving
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 pound penne

Directions:
Toss two-thirds of bell peppers with 1 tablespoon oil and ¼ teaspoon salt in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Cover and place over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until bell peppers are softened and just starting to brown, about 15 minutes.
Add onion, tomato, basil, pepper flakes, and ½ teaspoon garlic and continue to cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened and bell peppers are browned in spots, 6 to 7 minutes longer. Remove skillet from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Place ricotta, Parmesan, remaining one-third of bell peppers, remaining ½ teaspoon garlic, ¾ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in bowl of food processor. Add cooked bell pepper mixture and process for 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl. With processor running, add vinegar and remaining 2 tablespoons oil; process for about 20 seconds. Scrape down sides of bowl, then continue to process until smooth, about 20 seconds longer.
Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add pasta and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve ½ cup cooking water, then drain pasta and return it to pot. Add pesto and toss to combine, adjusting consistency with reserved cooking water as needed. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve, passing extra Parmesan separately.

Thai-Inspired Chicken Meatball Soup

Cook Time: 30 minutes | Servings: Yield 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1 (4-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled
6 garlic cloves, peeled
1 jalapeño
2 pounds ground chicken
1 large bunch cilantro, leaves and stems finely chopped, a few whole leaves reserved for serving
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons vegetable or coconut oil, plus more as needed
2 cups chicken broth
1 (14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
½ teaspoon granulated sugar
5 ounces baby spinach
1 tablespoon lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
Steamed white or brown rice, for serving

Directions:
Using the small holes of a box grater, or a Microplane, grate the ginger, garlic and jalapeño (or finely chop them by hand). Transfer half to a large bowl and set the rest aside. To the large bowl, add the chicken, finely chopped cilantro, 2 tablespoons fish sauce and 1 teaspoon salt. Use your hands or a fork to fully combine but do not overmix.
Use your hands or an ice cream scoop to form 2-inch meatballs (about 2 ounces each). In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the meatballs in a single layer and cook, flipping halfway through, until golden brown on two sides, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and repeat, adding oil as needed.
Once all the meatballs are browned and out of the pot, if the oil is burned, wipe it out and add a bit more to the pot. Reduce the heat to medium, add the reserved ginger mixture and sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, sugar and the remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce, and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs and any juices from the plate, and simmer until the flavors come together and the meatballs are cooked through, 5 to 8 minutes.
Remove from heat, and stir in the spinach and lime juice. Divide rice among bowls, then top with meatballs, broth and cilantro. Serve with lime wedges.

See note above about broth. And dutch ovens.

3 Tbs of fish sauce is a lot for fish sauce novices. You would be forgiven if you cut that in half until you have dipped your toes in the flavor pool of fish sauce umami and got a feel for what you're in for.

I spray my hands with cooking spray when I make meatballs. It helps form a proper ball, and they have nice oily sheen on them when you drop them in the pan.