There’s nothing like fresh barbecue sauce. Give this Kansas City barbecue-inspired sauce a try!
Ingredients
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup honey
¼ cup tomato paste
¼ cup molasses
3 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp freshly-ground black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp fine sea salt Optional: Pinch of cayenne for extra heat
Directions
Whisk ingredients together in a medium saucepan.
Cook over medium-high heat until sauce simmers. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, or until sauce has thickened slightly.
Use sauce immediately, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to one week.
Poke evolved from a snack enjoyed by fishermen while they were still at sea processing their catch. “Leftover” bits of raw fish were traditionally mixed with spices, seaweed flakes and other easily available ingredients for a tasty, protein-packed meal.
They were on to something, since these days you’ll see prepared poke available in many places just waiting for you to enjoy, including BriarPatch! Here’s a great recipe to get you started on your poke journey.
Ingredients
1 ahi tuna steak, about ¾ lb
2 Tbsp tamari
2 tsp rice vinegar
1 Tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp chili oil
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 avocado
1 medium cucumber, sliced thin
1 carrot, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks
1 green onion, chopped
3 cups cooked sushi rice
Directions
Cut tuna into 1-inch pieces. In medium-sized bowl, stir together tamari, rice vinegar, sesame oil and chili oil. Marinate tuna in poke sauce in refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Cut avocado in slices right before serving. Divide warm sushi rice in three bowls. Divide marinated tuna on top of rice among the bowls. Place cucumbers, carrots and avocados in small decorative sections in bowls. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions.
Saag Paneer pairs paneer cheese with greens like spinach, mustard and/or kale with a blend of spices, aromatics and tomato. You can also use radish tops – what a great way to re-purpose something that might just end up in the compost bin!
Use pre-made paneer, or why not make your own? The fresh flavor is definitely worth the effort. Find the recipe here.
1 serrano or jalapeno chili, de-seeded and de-veined and chopped
6-7 garlic cloves, minced – divided
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
2 Tbsp ghee, butter or vegetable oil
½ tsp whole cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 roma tomato, finely chopped
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp smoked paprika
¼ – ½ tsp garam masala powder
3/4 – 1 cup water – divided
8-10 whole raw unsalted cashews
2 Tbsp cream or coconut cream, for garnish
Directions
Fill a large pot with water. Add greens and swirl around to clean thoroughly. Scoop greens out by hand so any debris stays at bottom of pot. Place greens in salad spinner or colander, spinning/draining out as much water as possible. Roughly chop greens.
Heat ½ Tbsp ghee/oil in pan. Sauté 2 minced garlic cloves, chili, cashews and greens for 3-4 minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely. Blend with ¼ cup water, adding more as need to get a smooth, thick purée. Set aside.
Clean out the pan and use it to heat remaining 1 ½ Tbsp ghee/oil. Add whole spices. When they begin to sizzle, add onion and cook until translucent/golden. Add minced ginger and remaining minced garlic, sauté 1-2 minutes.
Add tomato and sauté until it breaks down/turns mushy. Add ground spices and sauté about 2 minutes more, until you can smell spices. Add remaining water to pan and cook until onions are completely soft. You should still have some water in the pan.
Lower flame, add puréed spinach, tofu and cook until it just begins to bubble, 2-3 minutes. If sauce is too thick add a few Tbsp hot water. Add in paneer and mix well. Remove from heat to a serving bowl and garnish with cream of choice.
How cool is it to make your own cheese? It’s worth the extra effort and you might just feel like a “mad scientist” watching the curds and whey separate. Use the resulting whey in any baked goods recipes calling for water or milk. This recipe makes about 1/2 pound of paneer.
Enjoy it sliced on salads, toast, or in a traditional Indian recipe like Saag Paneer. Find the recipe here.
Ingredients
5 cups whole milk, NOT ultra high-temp processed
3-5 tsp lemon juice or 5-7 Tbsp buttermilk
Cheesecloth or nut milk bag
Directions
Rinse a large pot with water and make sure it’s completely clean. Add milk to the pot and heat over medium-low flame. Stir occasionally so a skin doesn’t form on the top of the milk and the bottom doesn’t burn.
Place a strainer or colander over another pot, or a bowl. Line strainer with double-layer of cheesecloth or a nut milk bag turned inside out so seams are outside.
When milk starts boiling, add the lower quantity of lemon juice or buttermilk. Begin to stir. The milk will start to curdle; keep stirring so it doesn’t stick to the base of the pot. You may see the milk has curdled part-way, but no watery whey is visible. Add 1-2 tsp more lemon juice, or 1-2 Tbsp buttermilk, and stir again. Then you should see the greenish colored whey in the milk.
After you see the milk has curdled completely and you see the watery, greenish whey, remove from heat and immediately pour entire mixture into the cheesecloth-lined strainer/colander. Gather the edges of the cheesecloth carefully, as the milk mixture is very hot. Run some water over the gathered bundle to rinse. Squeeze very gently to remove excess moisture.
Put the cheesecloth bundle onto one plate and under another, weighing the top plate with a heavy object (about a pound). Let sit for 30-40 minutes. Or, hang the bundle from your kitchen faucet for one hour so it can drain into the sink. Let sit in refrigerator about 20 minutes, and can then be used immediately or refrigerated 2-3 days.
Charoset is one part of the Passover seder, and it comes in different forms that might look similar to fruit and nut relish, a thick spread, or a pliable sweet truffle like you see here. Its name come from the Hebrew word for “clay,” and it’s meant to recall the mortar Jews used to construct the Egyptian pharaoh’s buildings.
Along with fruit and nuts, charoset is made with spices, wine or fruit juice and often a binder like honey. Ingredients depend on what’s abundant in the area where it’s made, like this Moroccan-inspired version that relies on dates and other dried fruit.
Ingredients
¾ – 1 cup Turkish dried apricots, cut into ¼’s
6 – 9 dates, pitted and crowns removed, roughly chopped
¼ cup golden raisins
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup almonds and shelled pistachios, mixed
2-4 Tbsp raw honey
2-3 Tbsp grape juice, kosher wine or pomegranate molasses (reserve for end)
Optional: Additional finely ground almond flour or shredded coconut, for rolling balls in
Directions
Make sure there are no crowns/pits/stems in dried fruit.
Pre-chop nuts in food processor so they’re close to the size you’d like. Remove from food processor and set aside. Separate and save any dust/crumbs for rolling the balls in.
Add dried fruit, cinnamon, honey to food processor. Blend everything together completely. If texture is too thick, add grape juice/wine/pomegranate molasses, to thin it out.
Add chopped nuts (minus dust) back into food processor along with fruit mixture. Pulse several times to incorporate into fruit mixture but not chop nut pieces too much smaller.
Roll mixture into balls about 1” inch diameter. Roll these in reserved nut dust, as well as additional ground almond flour and/or shredded coconut as desired.
Store in a cool place in a tightly sealed container.
These Turkish rolls are filled with herbed feta filling. This recipe calls for baking them, although you could shallow-fry them in olive oil for a more traditional preparation. Feel free to get creative with the cheese/herbs depending on what you’ve got on hand. No salt is needed if you’re using feta; if you use something else, adjust seasonings to your taste.
Ingredients
6 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cups feta cheese, crumbled
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
4 scallions, both white and green parts, chopped
1 cup chopped parsley
2 tsp fresh thyme, finely minced
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Salt/pepper to taste
Optional: 1 tsp red pepper flakes
Directions
Preheat oven to 375° and put one rack in the middle of the oven. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, combine cheeses, parsley, scallions and thyme. Add pepper flakes (if using) and a drizzle of olive oil.
Lay phyllo sheets flat on cutting board. With a sharp knife, cut into four equal strips along the long edge of the dough. Working with one strip at a time, spoon about 1 ½ Tbsp cheese mixture onto phyllo along bottom edge closest to you. Leave a little room on either side for filling to expand. Roll tightly away from you (4-5 times) so filling is encased in the roll. Repeat until strips/filling are used up and brush outside of rolls with olive oil.
Place rolls on sheet pans in a single layer. Bake on center rack of the oven for about 10 minutes; turn them over halfway through cooking, until golden brown and crispy on all sides.
