shain

This feeds 4 at my place. Ingredients 400g dry pasta - I prefer to use y "open" pasta e.g. conchiglie, orecchiette, pipe, castellane; but most short or long pasta shape will work. 130-150g walnuts, lightly toasted and roughly chopped For walnut sauce: half of the walnuts apx. 20g Parmesan 1/4 cup (60g) milk 1/4-1/2 tsp salt 1 tsp honey (optional) freshly ground pepper to taste a generous grating of nutmeg For ricotta: 200-250g ricotta cheese A good ricotta should be naturally sweet enough, but if not, you can add some honey a bit of lemon zest (optional) a little grated nutmeg (optional) salt to taste pepper to taste To serve: More grated Parmesan remaining half of walnuts a small drizzle of honey, per serving (optional) Method Toast the pasta in a 150 C (300 F) hot oven, until reddish-brown. If it starts to crack, that's the time to stop. Make sure to toast evenly, otherwise it won't boil evenly either. Mix together the ricotta mixture, set aside. Blend the walnut sauce ingredients together until smooth. Add a bit of milk if needed. Cook the pasta in salted water until it's to your liking. You will find that toasted pasta takes a while longer to cook. Meanwhile, bring the ricotta to a warmish serving temp. A careful short pass through the microwave does the trick. Mix the pasta with the walnut sauce, adding from the cooking water as needed. Taste and adjust. Plate the pasta. Place dollops of ricotta on the plate. Finish with chopped walnuts, Parmesan and honey.

Chinese style hot-pot broth (incl. carrots, celery, onion, ginger, chili, cinnamon, anise, licorice root, Sichuan peppercorns, bay leaves, coriander, soy sauce, rice wine, gochujang, sugar, MSG). Tofu, mushrooms, kombu, spinach, alkaline noodles. Dry Sacha sauce (more like powder).

Toasted pasta in walnut sauce with milk, nutmeg, pepper. Dollops of ricotta with lemon zest, Parmesan, nutmeg. Toasted walnuts and Parmesan.

@BonVivant & @liamsaunt - Beautiful tacos, you both I wish we had good tortilla here. I might just end up trying to make some myself.

Baked mac and cheese with Cheddar, smoked Gouda and Parmesan. Toasted cornflakes topping. Apologies for the pictures that make the dish no justice.

I'm also sometimes adverse to shredded coconut, though I do like them in basbousa and macaroons. In cakes and other dishes that call for it, I often give the shreds a pass through the blender. I never saw the sweetened kind, so I can't compare.

Basbousa, with semolina, coconut, pistachios and walnuts. Flavored with orange zest, orange blossom water, cardamom, clove.

Using oil is helpful, but I don't like using it due to it's (lack of) flavor. In some cakes, where the flavor will work I use olive oil. Another few ideas: Adding acidity, in the form of citrus juice, or as I tend to do sour cream. Not overtaking (the number one cause of dry cakes that I see). Soaking with thin sugar syrup after baking (you can usually reduce some sugar from the cake itself and use it for the syrup).

Soup of roasted sweet potato, pumpkin and carrots; parsley root, Thai red curry paste, loads of ginger, star anise, bay, coriander seeds. Fished with coconut cream and pumpkin seeds. Orange salad with chili, scallions, fish sauce, dark sugar, garlic, peanuts.

Answered in the recipe thread. But more than additional textures (which is fun), I had odds and ends of pasa boxes to use up.

Yes, the mixture of shapes adds some texture variation. I rarely cook such pasta mista, but I had some odds and ends of pastas to use up I took the suggested cooking times in order to decide how long to cook one before adding the rest, then prayed to the gods of pasta (flying spaghetti monster?). Endded up pretty good. But I would have cooked the shells a minute more, if I could. Will update the recipe with reasoning.

The pasta is fried for texture (and to a lesser degree flavor). Some version call for mixing the fried pasta with the hot sauce, so that it softens and gains a chewy texture. Other, me among them (being the crunch addict that I am), add the fried pasta as topping. I make this dish every year, usually with freshly made pasta. But this time I opted to use packaged dry pasta. Frying it requires the pasta to be soaked in cold salted water for an hour (you can cook it instead, but then it tends to stick). Baking also works perfectly well (though you still need a decent amount of oil). The sauce itself also changes between versions. The simplest call for simply chickpeas and a few herbs. More complex version cook the chickpeas in stock. Some use soffritto.

4 large servings. The fried pasta adds another crisp texture to the toothsome pasta and tender chickpeas. Ingredients: 180g dry small chickpeas, soaked overnight in salted water 3 bay leaves ~ apx 380g dry pasta (tagliatelle is traditional, but short pastas also work) - or - fresh pasta from 350g flour (I opt for egg based pasta) oil for frying ~ 1 large onion, finely diced 1 small carrot (or half of a big one), finely diced 2 large stalks of celery 2 tbsp tomato paste 4 cloves garlic, minced hot chili flakes, to taste 2-3 tsp thyme 2-3 tsp rosemary optional: 1/3 tsp cinnamon optional: 1 tsp dark sugar (I use date molasses) 2-3 tbsp lemon juice Plenty of freshly ground black pepper, for serving Parmesan, for serving Method: If using dry pasta, soak apx 80g of it in cold salted water for an hour. Then drain and dry it well. If using fresh pasta, set aside apx 160g of it, and cut into shorter pieces. Fry the pasta in shallow oil until brown and crisp - or - mix generously with oil and bake at 180dC (medium heat) until brown and crisp. Season slightly with salt and pepper. ~ Cook chickpeas in salted water (or better, stock) with bay leaves, until very tender. Pressure cooker is recommended. Drain and set aside. Cooking liquid can be reserved for cooking the pasta. ~ In a pot or tall pan, cook onion and carrot with some butter or olive oil until the onion browns. Add the celery and cook until it is softened. Add the tomato paste and cook for a couple of minutes. Set the vegetables to one side of the pan Add some butter or olive oil to the cleared pan, and fry the garlic, chili, thyme and rosemary until aromatic. Mix in the cooked and drained chickpeas. Add cinnamon (optional), sugar (optional). It's optional, but recommended, to blend smooth a third of the mixture. ~ Cook the (not fried) pasta in salted water (you can reuse the chickpeas cooking liquid). Mix with the sauce, adding from the cooking water as needed. Add lemon to taste, and salt to taste. ~ Serve, topped with the fried pasta, and a grating of Parmesan and pepper. 2019 2017

Mushroom risotto. Simple and perfect for a winter night. Whine wine, portobello mushrooms, some dried porcini, stock, milk, thyme, pepper, Parm.

Ciceri e tria. Pasta mista, some of it fried. Chickpeas, Italian soffritto, rosemary, parsley, garlic, parm.

That's looks delicious, the recipe also seems to be well spiced (thought personally, I'd skip the lemon). Shakshuka sauce keeps well, I always makes double or triple batches. Makes a great weekday dinner - just throw in an egg

Persimmon and orange crumble.

Baked potatoes with feta, dill, oregano, lemon zest, olive oil, paprika. Baked eggplants with bechamel, mushrooms, tomato, oregano, thyme, galic, nutmeg.

Massabacha is a vegan dish, similar to hummus, but it is not blended. It is a hearty, healthy breakfast that can keep you going until evening

Spiced lentil soup (cumin, garlic, paprika, hawaij , turmeric, bay leaves), carrot, caramelized onions, celery, tomato. With crisp fried noodles. Gremolata of parsley, garlic, lemon zest, chili, olive oil. Pickled beetroot raita, with fennel seed, pepper, chili, cumin. Toasted sesame and nigella. Lachuch.

Beautiful breads. I love my steel, I find that it is most beneficial for breads baked at high temperatures. Pizzas and flat breads especially so. I wouldn't use it for a pullman and other breads that reuqire even and consistent heating. I also found it useful for laminated pastry, where the quick heating leads to good rise, but you must be careful not to bake them too hot,and be prepared to remove them from the stone if the bottom shows signs of over browning.

I've had an old box of matzo in need of being used, so I decided to pretended it's Passover and make matzobrie. Served with rosewater and cinnamon flavored date paste; and walnuts.

Oranges, olive oil, smoked paprika, Kalamata olives, a touch of garlic. Baked small potatoes with onions, mustard, rosemary, garlic, parsley. Frittata with cabbage, Gouda, lots of seeds.

Persimmon salad, dressed with butter, and spices (turmeric, anise, paprika, coriander, cumin), lemon. Yogurt with cumin, mint and cilantro. Mint, chili. Lachuch flat bread with avocado and egg salad, with tomatoes, onion, coriander, cumin, pickled chilies. I later had some with yogurt and honey. I was really happy to find a store selling lachuch (and really good ones!). They are not hard to make (I did so a few times before), and still, I'm happy to know have it always available For the unfamiliar - It's an elastic, tender bread, made of a thin yeasted dough, flavored with fenugreek. It's then effectively steamed in a wide pan. As the similarity suggests, it resembles an injera, but is not acidic and being made if wheat, it's more tender and sweet. It's commonly eaten with stews.

It's not a bad ingredient,if used correctly. My rules are: - Use good quality product. - Always cook it if using more than a pinch (cooking breaks its smell). - It is not a cheese substitute. It's more akin to msg.