Studio of Good Living Blog

Takashi’s Noodles by Takashi Yagihashi with Harris Salat

under: Main Dish

My new favorite ‘quick and easy recipe for home cooking’ sounds like a character from Star Wars.  It’s called Ja Ja Men (close to, but not quite Jar Jar Binks), and it is from Takashi’s Noodles, a fantastic cookbook that I can highly endorse.  This book is filled with quick and easy Asian noodle recipes that are delicious and perfect for weeknight cooking. I’m all about quick and easy recipes these days, more so than ever.  Pete and I challenged ourselves to stop ordering take out about a month ago to see not only the impact on our wallets, but also how we feel primarily eating homemade food—that is all natural, fresh foods without any additives or preservatives.   I think that we all want something that we can put on the table really fast and we want it to taste good.  I hate eating ill prepared and ill tasting food. (Airport food sends a chill up and down my spine.)  I would rather be hungry.    Relaxing with a glass of wine over a dinner that really tastes good and is healthy is something that I look forward to all day.

Here it is:

Spicy Eggplant Ja Ja Men Udon

Adapted from Takashi’s Noodles, by Takashi Yagihashi with Harris Salat

2 cups peeled, cubed eggplant, about 1 moderately sized eggplant or two small ones.
½ cup chopped red, yellow or orange bell pepper (This recipe originally calls for green bell pepper which is one of the few vegetables that I actively dislike, but if you like green bell pepper, by all means use it.)
1/3 cup drained, canned bamboo shoots, cut into ½ inch pieces
4 scallions, green and white parts separated and chopped

Combine the eggplant, bell pepper and bamboo shoots in a large bowl.  Cover with cold water and set aside to soak for 10 minutes, then drain.

While the eggplant is soaking, combine the following and set aside:

3 Tbsp. sake
2 Tbsp. red miso
2 Tbsp. sesame paste
6 Tbsp. Soy Sauce (I used Tamari)
2 Tbsp. Chinese chili paste, if unavailable, you may use 1 Tbsp. Siracha.  As always with chilies, add more or less according to your liking.
5 Tbsp. Mirin
½ cup Dashi or Water

Combine 1 tsp cornstarch with 1 tsp. water and set aside.

2 Tbsp or so of vegetable oil for sautéing.
1 Tbsp. minced garlic
1 Tbsp. minced ginger
8 oz. ground pork (If you are vegetarian, you could substitute 8 oz of tofu cut into a small dice.)
2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 # dried udon noodles

Heat the vegetable oil in a large-ish sauté pan over medium high heat.  When the oil is hot, sauté the garlic and ginger until they are a light golden brown.  Add the ground pork or tofu and the chopped green scallion. Use a spoon to combine the ingredients in the pan. When the pork is no longer pink, add the eggplant, bamboo shoots and bell pepper. Cook for a few minutes so that the vegetable start to soften and the flavors begin to mingle.  Add the sesame oil and stir well to combine.  Add the sake/miso/spice mixture and bring to a boil.  Stir the cornstarch and water if it has separated and pour it into the sauce.  Stir well to combine and continue to cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens and the eggplant is cooked to your liking. Remove the pot from the heat.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and cook the udon noodles according to the directions on the package.  Drain and place a portion of noodles in each serving bowl.  If the sauce has cooled, reheat and top the noodles with the sauce.  Garnish with the reserved chopped white scallion.

Enjoy!

*If you can’t find udon noodles, you can use linguine

Lamb Meatballs with Spring Onions, Fava Beans and Asparagus

under: Main Dish

Inspiration for my cooking comes in many different forms.   Magazines and cookbooks, trips to the farmer’s market and exquisite in season produce all inspire me.  Sometimes, I just like to look a picture of a finished dish, glimpse a recipe and re-interpret it .  That’s what I did this week with these lamb meatballs.  The picture that I saw called them ‘Polpetonne di Agnello’ which is Italian for lamb meatballs.   I loved the idea of a spring meatball with lamb and mint—mint is such a classic pairing for lamb, and my garden is full of it at the moment.  I added a little parmesan cheese for richness, flavor and mouth feel. Then, I wanted to add a little bit of texture and a little bit of an eastern Mediterranean flair, so I incorporated some steamed bulgur and toasted pine nuts into the mix. I browned the meatballs and braised them in chicken stock.  I tossed in fava beans, spring onions and asparagus at the very end and finished the sauce with a walnut sized lump of butter and a generous pinch of chopped fresh mint.

Phoebe’s Lamb Meatballs with Spring Onions, Fava Beans and Asparagus

1# ground lamb

1 egg yolk

2 cloves of garlic, minced or grated

¼ cup of cracked bulgur, cooked

*To cook simply cover the bulgur with boiling water, cover and let steep for 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

¼ c. grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup pine nuts, toasted and chopped

1 tsp. salt

½ tsp. pepper

4-6 Tbsp. of chopped mint, depending on how much you like mint

¼ cup flour to roll the meatballs in

1 cup of chicken stock

½ cup white wine, water or more chicken stock

Vegetables

1 bunch of spring onions, outside layer peeled off

1 bunch of asparagus, about 12 ounces, ends trimmed, and remaining stalks chopped into 1 inch lengths

1 # of fava beans, shucked, blanched and peeled or if you don’t have the time for favas you can easily substitute 1 cup of fresh or frozen peas

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp chopped mint

Meatballs

Combine the all of the ingredients and go ahead and make meatballs. Roll the meatballs in the flour, gently knocking off the excess.  Heat a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a 10” sauté pan with sides. Brown the meatballs in the oil and remove from the pan. Drain any excess oil from the sauté pan.  Return the pan to the heat and add the onions.  Brown the onions lightly and deglaze the pan with white wine.  Add the meatballs and the chicken stock to the pan. Bring to a simmer and continue to simmer covered for 10 minutes. Add the fava beans to the pan and simmer for an additional five minutes.   Add a little more chicken stock if necessary to keep the pan from drying out. Add the chopped asparagus to the pan and cover.  Cook for just a couple of minutes more—until the asparagus is just tender.  *If you are using peas instead of fava beans, they will cook more quickly so just add them in with the asparagus to preserve color and flavor. Finish with a tablespoon of butter—this will add richness and texture to the sauce and sprinkle with the remaining chopped mint.

Voila! Enjoy!

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