Chicken and Chick Pea Saag

I kept the camera in the bag for one of the less photogenic Indian dishes I've seen....saag. The 'saag' refers to spinach and there are all types of saag dishes at the local Indian restaurants. Typically they involve chick peas or paneer (cheese), but recently at India Garden there was Chicken Saag.

So I decided to mesh my two favorites into one. This was incredibly easy to make and the results were great. Despite its appearance (think pesto), it's very accessible to the skeptics. I saw the saag time after time at the buffet, skipping over it again and again, until one time I just went for it. As with most things, the fear was unjustified, and it was delicious.

I started with this recipe from Allrecipes.com (http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-saag/detail.aspx?event8=1&prop24=SR_Title&e11=chicken%20saag&e8=Quick%20Search&event10=1&e7=Home%20Page) and made some adjustments based on what I had on hand. The best part about it....it's pretty much a one-pot meal (except for blanching the spinach).

Here's my version and what you need to make it:

2 large bags fresh baby spinach, blanched
3 or so garlic cloves, minced and mashed
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, minced and mashed
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
1 15 oz can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
1 medium-sized yellow onion, minced
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup half and half
1-2 teaspoons garam masala


Set the 1/4 cup of water in a large pot over high heat, add the spinach, and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, remove from the heat and put a lid on the pot. Let the spinach sit for about 10 minutes, then add it and the water to a blender jar with the minced/mashed ginger and the tomatoes. Blend to a smooth puree.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add a few swirls of olive oil (or veg oil) to the pan. Add the chicken and fry until lightly browned on all sides. Remove the chicken from the pan. Add the onions and garlic and fry together until lightly browned and soft (about 5-7 min).

Thrown in all the spices and stir to combine for another 2 minutes or so (add a few tablespoons of water to the pan as needed to help incorporate everything). Then add the spinach mixture and reduce heat to medium-low. Add the half and half, chicken, and the chickpeas.

Simmer on low for about 20 minutes until the chickpeas are nice and tender and the chicken is cooked through.

Adjust spices, primarily salt, curry powder, and garam masala, as necessary to your taste.

And that's it...it's that easy. Summon your inner popeye and try this out. I served it (to myself) with some naan and paratha (Indian flat breads) from the freezer section of my local Indian grocery store and some jasmine rice. Speaking of that...here's a tip. If you're interested in making Indian food at home, don't go buying spices or rice at your regular grocery store. You can get all of those listed in the ingredients list at a fraction of the price at an Indian grocery store.

I'll post pictures here the next time I make this. Think more Van Gogh than DaVinci...but it sure is tasty.

Pork Tenderloin Tacos with Heirloom Tomato and Peach Salsa

Want tasty yet healthy?
 
Want simple techniques that yield complex and bold flavors?

Try this recipe...you won't be disappointed.

Pork Tenderloin Tacos with Heirloom Tomato and Peach Salsa:

1 pork tenderloin
1/2 white onion, chopped
water to cover the meat about halfway
cumin
salt
pepper

Sprinkle salt, pepper, and cumin on all sides of the pork.

Heat a little bit of olive oil (enough to just cover the pan when hot) in a deep skillet, which is large enough for the pork tenderloin, over medium high heat. When the oil is good and hot, sear the pork tenderloin, allowing the meat to brown before turning. Brown all sides of the meat this way, it should take about 2 or 3 minutes per side. Tip: browning meat is not difficult, but it will work better if you dry your meats thoroughly using paper towels before putting them into the hot oil. Any water on the surface of the meat when it meets the hot oil will hinder the browning.

Once browned, reduce the heat to medium and add the onions. When the onions are soft, add enough water to the pan to cover the meat about halfway, then cover the pan tightly. Let the pork cook simmering in the water for about 1 or 1.5 hours. (Later on when the pork is finished cooking and is very tender, let it rest for a while by removing it from the heat. Then shred the meat just before you plan to assemble the tacos. If you shred it too soon, it will become very dry. Tenderloin is not the most moist cut of pork, so you want to preserve any juices still in the meat.)

While the pork is cooking, you will have plenty of time to make the salsa.

For which you will need:

small package heirloom tomatoes (if not available use a small package of cherry or grape tomatoes)
1 medium sized peach
handful of finely diced red onion
handful of finely chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno
juice of 1/2 lime (or more if you like)
salt, to taste


Take half of the heirloom tomatoes and put them in a food processor or small food chopper, and pulse until a nice sauce has formed. Transfer these tomatoes to a strainer (but reserve that juice!). Once most of the juice is strained, add the pureed tomatoes to a large bowl.

Chop up the other half of the tomatoes roughly and add to the same bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients, adding more of the tomato juice as you see fit. (I like to put a little salt in that juice and drink it...I'm weird like that.)

The next step is my favorite. Assemble the tacos (using corn or flour tortillas) and let the flavors explode in your mouth!

Fate Brought Us Together....

Sometimes things just happen for a reason right? It had to be fate that I ended up at La Lupe in Philadelphia yesterday for a couple of the best tacos I have ever eaten. Let me explain...

First off, I've been on hiatus for three months. I burned myself out badly on Mexican food during the first part of the year, so I needed a break. And just when I was wondering if I'd ever get back to it...along came La Lupe. This past Saturday night I was watching 'Best Food Ever' on TLC, specifically the episode on 'Buzzworthy BBQ.' Wouldn't you know it, #6 on their top 10 list, Bebe's BBQ, is right in my backyard in Philly! So I made plans to head down there Sunday with the kids while my wife was working. Everything was going according to plan until we arrived at the location where Bebe's USED TO BE. That's right...it's closed. Not sure if this is a temporary thing or permanent...but what a bummer.

Fortunately I had parked near Pat's and Geno's...so I figured I'd just get myself a cheesesteak instead right? WRONG. I'm not sure what was going on in Philly yesterday, but there were throngs of people at both joints, with lines wrapping around each building.

Two choices left...a Vietnamese sandwich shop, or an authentic Mexican restaurant. Should have been an easy call right? Not exactly. The Mexican restaurant is in a spot where countless other restaurants have tried boldly to survive right next door to Pat's and Geno's. So I had this preconception that any restaurant in that particular spot just couldn't be very good, which is completely ridiculous, I know. But I decided on the Mexican, parked myself and three kids at a table inside, not realizing I was about to be completely throttled by flavor...

The wait staff at La Lupe were courteous, friendly, and took an immediate liking to my children as they took turns holding the baby. When this 'baby' (more aptly called beastie) decided to pull everything off the table, they were only too happy to help me clean up our mess.

As is standard in the U.S., they gave us a basket of freshly-made tortilla chips and some delicious salsa to start things off. The food came out only shortly after ordering...two tacos al pastor and one taco de carnitas. The kids had french fries (they had already eaten lunch at home!), which were actually really good.  As I bit into my first taco, which by the way was wrapped in a conical shape in some tissue paper to help keep everything together, I forgot about the baby grabbing things off the table and throwing them across the restaurant. I had reached some type of zen I guess. Each taco was prepared with a dollop of guacamole, fresh cilantro, and some diced white onion. The pork carnitas were obviously slow cooked and shredded and just incredibly flavorful. The pork al pastor was a nice contrast, rubbed with spices and grilled, then finely chopped with some grilled pineapple. Oh, and let's not forget the freshly made corn tortillas that held all this deliciousness together! Still warm, these corn tortillas were the best I've had, hands down. Even through the intense flavors of the pork, guacamole, and pineapple (in the tacos al pastor), these delightful corn wrappers refused to be lost in the crowd. At $2.50 per taco (I would have paid double that, easily), this is a place you absolutely have to visit if you like Mexican food. And I haven't even breached the surface of their extensive menu...

All said and done, La Lupe brought me right back to where I was a couple months ago, in love with Mexican food, and ready to try my hand at some tacos al pastor...

Love in an Enchilada

What was I saying about a tangent? Oh yeah, I'm on one. Deviating once again from any recipes or cookbooks, I decided to try my hand at making enchiladas, off the cuff, using the techniques and methods I have learned over the past few months from watching the master. What I came up with was probably a combination of traditional Mexican and Tex-Mex...cheese enchiladas (Mexican) topped with chili con carne (Tex-Mex). They got the vote of approval from my wife, who is beyond sick of Mexican food at this point. Kudos to her for soldiering on and continuing to allow me to cook these meals for her.