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Tag: mint

  • Chicken Shawarma Dinner

     

    First and foremost, this is a multi-recipe post! Nothing here is too complicated, and when you make (and eat) all these things together, the result is immensely satisfying; it’s a favorite weeknight—yes, weeknight—spread for us. This is a dinner that really exemplifies some of our favorite flavors: bold spices, fresh herbs, and obscene amounts of garlic. While we understand that this recipe might not be exactly authentic (it isn’t), we can promise that it’s completely delicious. The styles of shawarma, after all, are completely dependent on what’s around and what’s good, and we used what was in our pantry. We can also promise that this is one of the easiest and quickest smorgasbords you can make to impress a small crowd. It makes a great sit-down meal, but also could promote casual grazing at a party. We’ve tried it both ways: 10/10, would recommend.

    The zhoug was inspired from the Jerusalem cookbook, and has since found its way into many dinners of ours. Call us predictable, but we are suckers for fresh and spicy sauces that brighten things up.

    Parsley and Mint Zhoug:

    • 1 cup of fresh parsley leaves, packed, some stems are okay
    • ½ cup fresh mint leaves, packed
    • 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
    • 2 green chiles, stems removed
      • Note: You can use whatever green chiles might be available to you for this such as jalapeños or serranos. We love using Thai chiles, and for this particular recipe we us 4–5. It all depends to how spicy you want this condiment to be.
    • 1 heaping teaspoon of ground cumin
    • Juice of 1 lemon, seeds removed
    • ¼ cup olive oil
    • Salt to taste

    Combine parsley, mint, garlic, chiles, cumin, and lemon juice in a food processor and pulse the ingredients together, occasionally scraping the sides of the bowl. Once the mixture resembles a thick paste, keep the blade running and pour in the olive oil through the top slowly, creating an emulsion. Season with salt and double check the mixture for smoothness, pulsing occasionally if needed. Serve in a small serving bowl.

    Chicken Shawarma:

    • 1 pound of chicken breasts, trimmed of silver skin
    • Kosher salt
    • Shawarma spice mix:
      • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
      • 2 teaspoons curry powder
      • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
      • 1 teaspoon sumac
      • 1 teaspoon paprika
      • ½ teaspoon ground allspice
      • ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
      • ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
    • Oil as needed
    • ½ large sweet onion, thinly sliced into strips


    Rinse the chicken pat dry with a paper towel. Fillet meat into pieces with even thicknesses; about an inch. Cover one side of the meat liberally in salt and spices and set aside.

    Bring a pan to medium high heat with half a tablespoon of oil or so and place the chicken in the pan. As the meat cooks, salt and cover the other side with salt and spices. Cook until the chicken starts to whiten up the sides, then flip to finish cooking. Test the chicken for doneness (160-165°F) then remove from the pan to rest for 10 minutes before serving. While the chicken rests, add the onions to the pan and a little bit of water to help the drippings from the pan release. Cook onions until they become soft, translucent, and have sopped up all the drippings. Remove from the pan and serve.

    Serve with pita, hummus, baba ghanouj, and, if you can swing it, throw together a two second Greek salad.

    Serves 4.


  • Tiger Cry Steak

    This recipe from my childhood grew up over the years as I grew as a cook and — in its final form — it has changed into something simpler and more representative of my relationship with Nate, highlighting both of our strengths in the kitchen. Nate is all about technique (and very good at cooking meat) while I tend to be more of the flavor-combiner/mad scientist sauce making type, and this recipe relies on the success of both of these schools of thought. Nate’s well executed marinated steak is the perfect platform for this fresh herb chimichurri which will sear your face off and keep you coming back for more.


    Tiger Cry Steak:

    • 2 beef or buffalo steaks (any kind will do, but we used buffalo top sirloin), 8 ounces each, trimmed of fat and silver skin

    • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    • 1 stalk of lemongrass, tender white interior sliced thinly, green and husks discarded

    • 2 tablespoons thin soy sauce

    • 2 tablespoons lime juice

    Mix the pepper, lemongrass, soy sauce, and lime juice together to make a quick marinade then transfer to a plastic bag big enough to hold the meat. Add the steaks to the bag, distribute the marinade evenly, then marinate the meat in the fridge for a couple of hours to overnight (overnight is best). Before cooking, allow the steaks to come up to room temperature and be patted dry.


    On the grill or stovetop, cook the steaks for 4–5 minutes on one side to create a nice sear, then flip them and cook for another 3–5 minutes. For medium-rare steak, test the temperature with a meat thermometer to make sure the interior is around 135 degrees. Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes, reserving the meat juices, then serve with chimichurri.

    Thai Style Chimichurri:

    • 2 cups of fresh cilantro leaves, packed, some stems are okay.

    • ½ cup of fresh mint leaves, packed

    • 4–5 thai chilies, stems removed

    • 1 shallot, roughly chopped

    • 2 large cloves of garlic

    • 2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon of fish sauce

    • ⅓ cup lime juice (about 2 limes)

    • ¼ cup vegetable oil

    • Leftover meat drippings

    In a food processor, combine the cilantro, mint, chiles, shallot, and garlic and pulse until the ingredients are all finely minced. Mix the fish sauce, lime juice, vegetable oil, and meat drippings together into a vessel with a spout and pour into the food processor with the blade running. Blend until it becomes a smooth sauce. Serve with rested meat.

    Serves 4.


  • Larb Burgers


    larb_burgers_02.jpg

    All I can really glean from this recipe is that we come up with really good ideas when we’re drunk.
    So, one hot day recently, we were making larb and drinking a questionable amount of a tasty IPA (like you do), and then one of us—of course I can’t remember who—came up with the idea that instead of sticking to the plan and making salad, that we were actually craving burgers. Sure, it might have been the alcohol talking, but tell me, when you’re sloshed, what are you more inclined to eat: salad or a burger? Yeah. That’s what I thought you’d say. Glad we are all being honest here.

    Of course it was written in the stars that we had some leftover coconut milk in the fridge that we could transform into an amazing peanut sauce, and thus, the larb burger was born. After the incident, we made it three times in two weeks. We just couldn’t get it off our minds, and we also constructed some additions to spruce it up. What we’ve ended up with, we felt we really needed to share on the blog.

    For those of you who don’t know what larb is, it is ground chicken salad blended with Thai aromatics and chili, dressed in lime and fish sauce, then traditionally served on big leaves of lettuce. What we’ve done is form the ground chicken with aromatics into patties, then seared (or grilled) them up. We serve them on huge lettuce leaves, then smother those bitches in homemade peanut sauce. The burger is then topped with a fresh slaw dressed in lime, a juicy slice of mango, and crispy fried shallots. Wrap up burger. Put in face.

    You’re welcome.


    larb_burgers_03

    larb_burgers_03

    Larb Burgers

    • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken thighs
    • 1 shallot, thickly sliced
    • 3 cloves garlic, peeled
    • 6–8 kaffir lime leaves
    • 1 stalk lemongrass, roughly chopped
    • 1 tbs. fish sauce
    • 2-inch piece of ginger or galangal, peeled, roughly chopped
    • ripe mango, peeled sliced
    • 2 small shallots, thinly sliced
    • green leaf lettuce

    Peanut Sauce

    • ½ 15-oz can coconut milk.
    • ½ cup creamy peanut butter
    • 2 tsp. fish sauce
    • ½ tsp. chili paste (or Sriracha)
    • 2 tsp. palm sugar simple syrup
    • ⅓ cup water

    Slaw

    • 1 cup cabbage, shredded
    • ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
    • ¼ cup mint, chopped
    • Juice of 1 lime
    • ½ tsp. fish sauce

    In a food processor, pulse shallot, garlic, kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, fish sauce, and ginger or galangal until minced, scraping sides as needed. Add chicken and process until chicken is ground up and the aromatics are evenly distributed. Set aside to rest.

    In a small skillet, heat coconut milk, peanut butter, fish sauce, chili paste, and palm sugar simple syrup over low heat. Stir constantly until warmed through and it starts to thicken and eventually congeal. Remove from heat. Gently stir in water until a smooth paste. Set aside.

    Heat a large skillet to medium high heat and coat with oil. Form 6 patties from the chicken mixture and cook until done (160°F), about 5–7 minutes a side. Remove burgers from heat and set aside to rest. In the same pan, add a little more oil and toss in the sliced shallots. Fry until golden and crispy. Set aside on a plate to cool and crisp up.

    In a small bowl, combine cabbage, cilantro, mint, lime juice, and fish sauce. Set aside.

    Serve burgers immediately topped with peanut sauce, mango, slaw, and shallots.


    larb_burgers_01

    larb_burgers_01

    Yields 6 burgers.