My Spin On Persian Noodle Soup

A while back, my friend Tracey posted a picture on FB of a soup that her mother-in-law made. Ever the curious one, I asked what it was. Ash Reshteh. Off to the interwebs I went, looking for recipes for this intriguing soup. Based on what I found, every Persian family must have its own version of the soup, because there were as many differences as there were similarities. I will admit, up front, that this recipe is a very loose adaptation of the classic Persian soup, Ash Reshteh. I don't have kashk, I don't have Persian noodles, and I don't like chickpeas. There. I admitted it. I don't like chickpeas. I like hummus, but not big, chunky, grainy peas. The first time I made this, I used chickpeas and red kidney beans. This time I used red kidney beans and lentils. Yup, I left out the chickpeas. This can be made on the stove top, just increase your cooking time so that the beans are tender. My experiment this time was to see if it could be made in the pressure cooker, which it could. I am sure that the noodles don't get as soft when you cook on the stove top, but they get softer when you store the leftovers in the fridge anyway.  So, here goes!

Persian Noodle Soup

2 T vegetable oil
2 onions, thinly sliced vertically (retain a few for garnish, or cook up more separately)
2 t turmeric
1 small pinch of saffron
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups water (can  use a combination of water and stock)
1/4 to 1/2 lb red kidney beans (I soaked overnight, and used 1/2 and it was really, really thick)
1 cup lentils
1 small bag of Fideo noodles (Totally non-traditional, I know. A common substitution for authentic Persian noodles I found was linguine, broken in three. Feel free to use this instead.)
1 bag or clam shell box of baby spinach
chopped leaves from 1 bunch of cilantro
chopped leaves from 1 large or 2 small bunches of flat parsley
1 bunch of scallions, green part only, cut in to 2 inch pieces
1 cup of sour cream (a substitute for kashk, a fermented yogurt ingredient)
salt/pepper to taste

Set your pressure cooker on brown. Add the oil and let it heat up for a minute. Add the thinly sliced onions and stir to coat with oil. Cook for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they start to turn golden brown. Next, add the garlic, and cook for another minute or two. Add the turmeric and the pinch of saffron. Add the kidney beans, the water/stock, and salt and pepper to taste. Cover, lock lid in place, and set for 15 minutes, high pressure. (This step would take about 30-45 minutes on the stove, until beans were tender).  When timer goes off, quick release the pressure. Add in the lentils and noodles. Re-cover and set for 7 minutes high pressure. (This step would take about 15 minutes on the stove) When done, quick release pressure. Before adding the vegetables, give it a good stir to make sure nothing is sticking. Now is a good time to check your seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed. Stir in the baby spinach and the herbs. Close the lid, set for low pressure for 5 minutes.

To serve, I spooned in to bowls and added dollops of sour cream on top, and garnished with crispy onion.

Forget The Takeout - Hot And Sour Soup

I am a sucker for Chinese takeout, and when the temperatures dip, there is nothing like a hearty bowl of hot and sour soup to warm you up. The problem is, the local takeout place uses more cornstarch than I like. My friend TJ recently posted a picture of hot and sour soup that she made in her pressure cooker. What a perfect time to try to make my own batch. Now before you say that this isn't authentic hot and sour soup because it doesn't have the funky mushrooms, or the exotic flower buds, I will that you are correct, it isn't authentic. But it is accessible to most people with an Asian section in their grocery store.



Hot And Sour Soup

1 T sesame oil
1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
8 ounces white mushrooms, quartered
2 dried shitake mushrooms, broken into little pieces
1 can sliced bamboo shoots
1 can sliced water chestnuts
1/4 c low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c rice wine vinegar (not flavored)
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t fried chili crisp (optional, I have it in my pantry and it adds a spicy smoky taste)
6 cups chicken stock
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2 eggs, beaten
1 T cornstarch mixed with water
1 package extra firm tofu, cut in to thin strips
1 green scallion, thinly sliced (optional garnish)

Heat the sesame oil and onion on the Brown setting of your cooker and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onion has softened.  Add the white mushrooms, the shitake mushroom pieces, bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, soy sauce, vinegar and the hot pepper. Cover and lock the cooker. Set for high pressure for 5 minutes.

After the 5 minutes has ended, release the pressure using the quick release method. Quickly pour in the beaten eggs, whisking them in with a fork, making wisps of egg while they cook. Next, add the tofu strips, folding them in to the soup. Finally, add the cornstarch slurry and mix for a minute or so, letting the soup thicken. Ladle soup in to bowls and garnish with scallion slices.

Quick(er) and Easy Bolognese Sauce - Oh, Yes, I Love My Kitchen Gadgets

The other evening, The Aussie and I were strolling down memory lane via Google Maps in satellite view. We used to work in NYC, which is light years away from the Texas suburbs. We love living in Texas, but we really miss all of the old places we used to go. Especially our favorite restaurants. It was good to see that some of them are still there, years later.

Our favorite Italian restaurant has changed, unfortunately. New name, new menu. I used to order the old restaurant's pappardelle with bolognese sauce. Oh, it was good.  In honor of the old restaurant and the many meals we enjoyed there, I wanted to make a bolognese sauce last night. Traditionally, bolognese takes at least an hour and a half to simmer on the stove. I have seen some recipes that call for 4 hours of cooking. I had (almost) enough time to make it on the stove, but I really wanted to see how it would come out in the pressure cooker. Brilliantly well, as it turns out.   

Bolognese Sauce

1 lb lean ground beef
1 lb ground pork
3 oz pancetta (or bacon) chopped
3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped *
1 onion, finely chopped *
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 can tomato paste
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 cup red wine
1 cup stock (I used chicken)
1 T oregano
olive oil
salt to taste
1/2 cup milk

To Do:

* Being the gadget hound that I am, I put the carrots and onion in to my Ninja and blitzed them until they were very finely chopped. If you don't have any sort of food processor, finely chop the onions and carrots.

With the pressure cooker insert in place, heat up the cooker on saute. Add a small drizzle of olive oil and let it heat up. Put the pancetta in the pot and cook until fat starts to render off, about 5 minutes.

Next, add the onion and carrot mixture and the minced garlic, cook for about 7 minutes, stirring occasionally, to cook out some of the moisture.

The ground pork and ground beef go in next. Browning the meat should take about 10 minutes, and while it browns, use your spoon to break the meat in to small pieces. The tomato paste can be added halfway through the browning.

Finally, the red wine, stock, Worcestershire sauce, oregano, and a big pinch of salt go in. Mix thoroughly.  (Don't worry about the milk yet, it goes in after you pressure cook the sauce)

Double check that the gasket is in place, put the cover on your cooker, and move it into the locked position. Turn the cooker on to high pressure and set the timer for 30 minutes.  

Because I am impatient, I used the quick release method to let the pressure out of the cooker.  The beauty of electric pressure cookers is that you can't open the cover until the pressure is released.  They may not cook at as high a pressure as older style pressure cookers, but you won't have to worry about scaring yourself. *boom* They can make a very loud noise when you open them too soon. Not that I ever did that... nope... must have been someone else... *looks around whistling*

Once the pressure is released, open up the cooker. Select simmer, stir in the milk, and let the sauce cook down for 10 minutes or until it reaches a consistency that you prefer. Adjust seasoning if needed.

Please excuse the less than brilliant pictures. They just didn't design home kitchens with food bloggers in mind when they built our house.  If you aren't a fan of pasta, or if it isn't a fan of you, this sauce would be fantastic on spaghetti squash or zoodles.

If you are looking to prepare this on the stove top, use a heavy bottomed pan, such as a dutch oven, with a cover. Follow the same steps, but the milk can be added after about 30 minutes. Simmer on medium low for at least 90 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure it isn't sticking on the bottom of the pan.

I hope you enjoy this recipe. It's rich, hearty, and not too tomato-y. The perfect thing for a winter dinner.

Red Beans And Rice - But Not On Monday - Axis Of Ineptitude

Today's prompt for Axis Of Ineptitude is "Soup For The Soul." What better to feed the soul than something delicious, warming, and spicy, that could have been a family tradition, passed down from your grandparents.

From what I have read, traditionally, red beans and rice were cooked on a Monday, because Monday was laundry day, and the pot of red beans could cook on the stove without a lot of fuss. I don't know if that's how my grandmother's family did it, but they were from Louisiana, so I'd like to think they did. Now, I have to admit, while I did cook red beans and rice yesterday, I did not do any laundry. I also did not cook it on the stove. And it didn't take hours and hours to soak the beans and to cook. In fact, from start to finish, it took about two hours. In a pressure cooker. Yup. A pressure cooker. That means you don't need to soak beans overnight before you cook them. Hooray for gadgets.

My electric pressure cooker has different settings, including saute, so I started with the "trinity" of chopped celery, onion and bell pepper, about a cup of each, and cooked them down in a drizzle of olive oil (no, not bacon grease last night, although I could have used that), for about five minutes.
 

Next, I added a package of smoked ham hocks. That was a first for me, let me tell you. I stirred that around a little, then added a large link of andouille sausage, cut in to half in sliced rounds. Next in to the pot was a couple of bay leaves, a tablespoon of cajun seasoning mix, a tablespoon of dried oregano, and a tablespoon of garlic powder.

Finally, I added a pound of dried red kidney beans that I had rinsed off, a 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes, and 6 cups of water. Here it is, ready to put the cover on. It looks like a lot of liquid, but the beans will soak up a lot of it.

 

It's the final countdown.... Just kidding. I have the lid on and locked, and have set the cooker on high pressure for 90 minutes. I've read anywhere from 60 minutes to 90 minutes for timing, but since I didn't pre-soak the beans, I wanted to make sure they would be well cooked and soft.

 

After 90 minutes, presto. You have red beans and rice with amazing flavor. At this point, I removed the ham hocks. For extra yum factor, I sliced up some smoked ham and mixed that in.

Served over some hot rice, it's smoky, spicy, cream, meaty. Delicious. Truly, a soul warming dish. Not soup, but for the soul...