Tortellini with fresh herbs

This year, just like last year, we have some perennials and some nice annuals in our garden, as usual. The strawberries and raspberries are yielding moderately (they are only one year old), the currants are alright, the veggies are just starting to flower, and the herbs are doing fine.

The fresh herbs are a treat - just to be able to walk into the garden and pick some fresh mint leaves, cilantro, basil, oregano, chives, rosemary, even lavender is such a blessing. I marvel at Mother Nature and never want to take all of this for granted.

Fresh herbs always inspire me to make a simple pasta. And, to dedicate a special post for WHB: Weekend Herb Blogging started by Kalyn of Kalyn's Kitchen fame, hosted this week by Susan from Food Blogga (her lobster post is quite informative and funny, lots of pictures and video too).

This pasta recipe here is very simple. Some tortellini, andouille (mock) chicken sausage, tofurkey kielbasa, kalamata olives, sun dried tomatoes, spring onions and fresh herbs is all that is needed. Of course, feel free to substitute real meat instead of soy-based mock-meats that I usually prefer ;-)

Preparation: Cook pasta per package directions. Chop up the fresh herbs, spring onions, sausages and anything else you'd like to toss in the dish. Heat some olive oil in a pan, add the sausage chunks and sauté a bit. Then throw in the herbs and the rest of the ingredients, adjust salt to taste, maybe a few turns of the pepper mill for some bite and there you have it.

The fresh herbs I used for this dish are pictured at the top - rosemary, oregano, chives and basil - picked fresh from the garden. They really bring out this dish, nothing fancy is needed. And, I used a whopping 2 cups of loosely packed chopped herbs for 2 cups of dry pasta.

penne with fennel and chives

Fennel seeds were an integral part of my mom's cooking when I was growing up. We had toasted fennel seeds mixed with little "rice" candy after a sumptuous and spicy meal to act a a digestive aid and a breath freshener. Even these days, I chew a spoonful of lightly toasted fennel seeds after meals, and have gotten D hooked on it as well.

And Fennel is my post for Kalyn's Weekend Herb Blogging hosted this week by Astrid from Paulchen's Food Blog.

Fennel in my garden

Fennel has a very subtle, distinct aroma and flavor - close to licorice and aniseed - that goes well in Indian cuisine. Common Fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare) plant resembles Dill - with spiky-thin yet soft and feathery leaves. Almost all parts of the perennial fennel plant are edible - including the leaves, the stalks, the seeds.

It is easy to grow in kitchen/herb garden where there is plenty of sun and once established they are quite sturdy; and being perennial, they come back each year to cast their magical spell :-)

Fennel leaves can be used in bouquet garnis, in salads, minced and infused in aromatic cooking oils, chopped up stirred into salad dressings and vinaigrettes, or even made into herbal tea. I have used weak tea made with dry fennel seeds or fresh fennel leaves as a digestive tonic for my baby anytime it feels like she might be having a tummy issue like gas or indigestion.

The simple pasta recipe here uses fresh fennel leaves and chive flowers as seasoning.

Ingredients:
whole wheat penne pasta, cooked per package directions, rinsed and drained
spring onions, sliced into 2-inch pieces
steamed broccoli florets
pepperoncini, sliced (optional)
1 Tbsp olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped fennel leaves
1 garlic clove finely minced
2 Tbsp finely chopped chives
3-4 chive fresh flowers, if handy
1 Tbsp sweet paprika
salt to taste
optional: toasted pine nuts for garnish

Preparation

Heat the olive oil in a pan, add the fennel leaves, garlic and chives, sauté till aromatic; add the rest of the ingredients, stir well, adjust flavors to taste.

Serve cool or at room temperature garnished with fennel leaves and chive flowers.

Pippali Rasam

I got introduced to Long Pepper (Piper longum) as Thippali/Pippali (alternately, Thippili/Pippili) when I was in my teens. My mom's kitchen is usually well-stocked with peppers of all forms, and now, so is mine.

Long Pepper was not a staple in my mom's kitchen, though. It only made an appearance when my mom was preparing special post-partum diets for my aunts and other relatives. I was terribly curious, naturally, and tasted some of my aunt's post partum diet back in my teens. It consisted of pipplai rasam, vegetable+lentil koottu, some roasted garlic and some sautéed sprouted fenugreek (as a galactagogue). I simply loved the aroma and the distinctive taste of pippali in the rasam.

But of course, there ended my affair with the pippali. Pippali didn't make an appearance in my life again until two years ago, when my mom put me on my very own post-partum diet. And boy did I love it! So much so that even now I make pipplai rasam on and off. And while on the subject, sprouted fenugreek is quite an incredible thing for a lactating mother - it not only stimulates lactation, but, takes care of any nagging digestive issues as well.

To use pippali, I simply crush it in a mortar and pestle, just like I would any black or green whole pepper. Sprinkle it on fresh goat cheese, or over scrambled eggs, or even as part of rub for meats. If used in large quantities it tends to numb the tongue with its intensity. It is not much hotter than black pepper, but, it has a special aroma and pleasant sweet pungency in addition to the medium heat that has to be experienced...

And, Pippali, aka Long Pepper is my post for Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Küchenlatein.

Here is a simple recipe to make pippali rasam. This rasam can be had as an appetizing soup, or served with rice and poduthuval as a meal.

Ingredients:
1 ripe medium tomato, finely chopped
4-6 pieces of pippali (start with lesser if preferred)
1-2 clove of garlic
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ cup chopped cilantro
1 Tbsp tamarind concentrate
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup cooked and mushed toor dal
water as needed
salt to taste

Tempering: 1 tsp home-made ghee or canola oil, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 4-6 curry leaves (optional)

Preparation

in a mortar and pestle, crush the pippali, cumin seeds and garlic; keep handy

tempering: heat oil in a pan, when shimmering add the mustard seeds and when they pop add the cumin seeds and curry leaves; throw in the crushed pippali+cumin+garlic mixture, a pinch of salt, and sauté till spices bloom a little

add about 5-6 cups of water, chopped tomato, tamarind concentrate (add half the quantity first, stir well, then add more to taste), brown sugar and let it simmer on medium low till tomato is cooked and flavors meld

adjust salt to taste, add the cooked and mushed lentils, chopped cilantro (reserve some for garnish, if preferred), stir well and let it simmer till lentils are well-incorporated

Serve it piping hot as a soup or with South Indian style meal of rice and vegetables.

rhubarb scones

D likes scones. He likes to have scones with clotted cream. I got him a jar of clotted cream a while back, but, didn't get around to making the scones to go with it until now...

The gnarly dark green leaves along with their deep red stalks are unmistakably signaling the rise of the rhubarb again this year. This hardy perennial heralds the start of the growing season, usually the garden's first gift I look forward to each spring.



The first spring stalks are supposed to be the best, so, I wanted to use it for making some baked goodies. I like its crisp tartness. Pie is not a favorite of mine, so, I decided to try something along the lines of scones, having tried a few other things with rhubarb before...

The leaves contain oxalic acid and are toxic; the deep red stalks are the only edible portion of this plant (Rheum rhabarbarum). Botanically, rhubarb is a vegetable.

And, rhubarb is the plant I would like to share for this week's Weekend Herb Blogging hosted by Anh at Food Lover's Journey.

A few uses of rhubarb (Rheum palmatum) that I found interesting:

• can be used to make an environmentally friendly cleaner for pots and pans - rhubarb brings back the shine in burnt pots and pans
• can be used as a hair dye
• can be used to make organic insecticide
  

This rhubarb scone recipe is a sweet version of the flatter soda scone, rather than traditional scones which are closer to biscuit in thickness and texture.

Ingredients
1¼ cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3 Tbsp wheat gluten flour
1 cup sugar (reserve 2 Tbsp of this for sprinkling on top)
¼ cup dried cranberries
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda

½ cup ghee

1 cup rhubarb, cooked, drained and mushed
2/3 to 3/4 cup buttermilk*
*(add a little at a time to form a dough that is not runny or loose)

Preparation

microwave the rhubarb till it is soft;(no extra water needed - usually a cup of coarsely chopped rhubarb cooks in about 45 seconds to a minute); drain well, or reduce buttermilk quantity

combine the dry ingredients in a bowl, cut in the ghee till the flour mixture feels like breadcrumbs; gradually stir in the rhubarb, then buttermilk

either roll the dough into a ball and flatten to a one-inch thick disk, score the tops into wedge shapes, and place on parchment paper lined cookie sheet ; OR, just roughly make triangular shaped heaps on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet

bake in a 400°F oven for about 20 minutes or till done - toothpick inserted comes out clean; sprinkle some of the reserved sugar on top

Serve warm with clotted cream or butter.

Achiote Potatoes and Black-eyed Peas

Achiote (ah-chee-OH-tay) is a tropical flowering tree. The fruits of achiote is not usually edible, but, its seeds (annatto ) are used as a flavoring and a natural dye.

It is traditionally used as seasoning in Yucatan and Central American dishes, and makes a nice marinade when combined with a few other spices to make a rub. The rich red color and a mild earthy flavor are its main attraction for me. The achiote red rub used in this recipe works well for chicken, but, i decided to use it for simple potatoes instead.

Achiote seeds (annatto) are usually sold in the form of small bricks of thick paste.


For the achiote red rub, combine the following ingredients into a fine paste:
2 Tbsp of annatto brick pictured above
1 Tbsp black pepper powder
1 Tbsp cayenne pepper powder
1 tsp ground corainder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 tsp all-spice powder
1 tsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp canola oil

Ingredients for black-eyed peas recipe:
1 cup cooked black eyed peas
1-2 ancho pasilla dry red chilies, soaked in hot water, chopped finely
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 Tbsp coriander powder
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 Tbsp lime juice
1 Tbsp achiote red rub
salt to taste
some cilantro for garnish

For the potatoes:
1 large baking potato, peeled, cubed
salt to taste
oil as needed to panfry
2 Tbsp achiote red rub

Preparation

par-cook the potatoes in boiling water or microwave; drain, coat well with the achiote red rub, set aside for 15 to 20 minutes

meanwhile, combine the ingredients for the black-eyed peas recipe and simmer gently in a pan, stirring often; adjust salt to taste; off heat garnish with cilantro

heat oil in a pan, add the potatoes and pan fry till desired crispness on the outside; alternately, roast it in the oven at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned

serve the potatoes and black-eyed peas with rice or warm tortillas

The achiote red rub lasts for about 5-7 days if refrigerated in an air-tight container.

Becky at Key Lime and Coconut is hosting this week's Weekend Herb Blogging (WHB), and this is my first entry for the WHB.