Tag Archives: brooklyn bloggers

Tikka Masala-ish chicken stew

In case you haven’t noticed, I love stewing things - there’s lamb curry stew, ground turkey stew, chick pea stew, beef stew, Italian sausage and vegetable stew, and of course let’s not forget the infamous French peasant classics, coq au vin and bouef bourguignon. Stew is a comforting, unpretentious, feel good food. If the list above is any indication, stewing is my go-to cooking technique - I’m pretty sure that at this point I could stew an old shoe and make it taste good.

Tikka masala-ish chicken stew (3)

The other day I was thawing out some chicken but had no idea what I was going to do with it. I looked up a recipe for chicken tikka masala and it looked good but seemed a little laborious, and plus I didn’t have any yogurt. So I kept the elements of the recipe that I liked and ditched the rest, edited some things around, and thus this recipe was born. The stew is fast and easy to make, and it goes well over quinoa.

(Yield: 4 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1″ cubes

1 tomato, finely diced

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp sour cream

1/2 tsp cumin

1/3 tsp cayenne pepper

1/3 tsp cinnamon

3/4 tsp sugar

1 tbsp flour

A handful of white raisins

Salt + pepper

Chopped scallions or cilantro for garnish, if desired

Procedure: Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add half of the chicken and cook until browned, about 4 min, turning occasionally. Remove chicken and set aside, and repeat with other half of chicken. When all chicken is browned and removed from the pan, turn heat down to low and add tomato and garlic. Stir and deglaze the pan for about 1 min. Then add sour cream, spices, sugar and flour. Stir until combined and add chicken back to pan. Stir to coat and cover tightly with a lid. Cook for 15 min, stirring occasionally. Then stir in raisins. Taste and re-season if necessary. Serve hot over quinoa; garnish if desired.

What is your favorite type of stew?

Cafe Luluc in Cobble Hill, Brooklyn

Brunch is the most important meal of the week. You get to sleep in, take extra time to get dressed, complain about work and gossip about mutual friends - basically ‘de-fluster,’ as I like to call it. In a country where most meals are a grab-and-go kind of affair, brunch is the one occasion when a meal can, and is encouraged to, stretch out into two or three hours. It is also a time when one can get daytime drunk and not be thought an alcoholic for it. For these reasons and more, brunch is a tradition to be cherished.

Here’s what my friend Paige and I sampled during a recent brunch at this downtown Brooklyn cafe.

A Bloody Mary is a brunch-time must. Most bartenders have a difficult time mixing this drink well but it’s worth it to do the legwork and find the ones that are worthy. This one was not great as it was of the pre-mixed variety but the good news is that it did not give me heartburn!

I had the pressed pulled work sandwich with Fontina cheese and roasted garlic aioli - with a choice like this, it’s clear that I was nursing a hangover. The pork was less juicy than most of the pulled pork I’ve had but I didn’t mind. This sandwich is perfect, especially for the pork aficionados out there.

Paige had a croque madame - look at how awesome and sloppy it is! Layers of thinly sliced ham, melted cheese, and thick bechamel sauce sandwiched between slices of brioche, broiled until crispy and topped with runny eggs… Croque madame always, always hits the spot.

And to top things off, a glass of champagne!

Cafe Luluc does not try to seem like something that it’s not. It’s a popular neighborhood restaurant where the food is simple, satisfying and generously portioned. It’s also super affordable. If I lived in cobble hill, this would so be my go-to spot.

Note: No credit cards accepted.

Chick pea stew

Chick peas, aka garbanzo beans, are one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. They are healthy (high in protein and fiber), tasty and, most importantly, versatile - they’re like the chicken of the legume world. I tend to use the canned variety because it’s a lot more convenient and time efficient than boiling the dried kind, but if you have the time and desire to cook your own, more power to you.

This recipe is vegetarian and vegan friendly.

(Yield: 4-6 servings)

Ingredients:

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 vine tomatoes, chopped

½ tsp sugar

½ tsp cumin

2 15 oz cans chick peas, drained and rinsed

1 c packed baby spinach leaves

Salt + pepper

Procedure: Heat a high-sided skillet over medium heat and add olive oil. Add onion with a pinch of salt and cook until translucent, 3-4 min. Add garlic and cook for 60 secs. Add tomatoes, a pinch of salt and pepper, sugar and cumin. Stir, turn heat down to low, cover and cook for 10 min, stirring occasionally. Then add chick peas and spinach. Stir continuously to warm chick peas throughout and wilt the spinach. After spinach has wilted, about 2 min, turn heat off, taste and re-season if necessary. Serve hot over creamy grits or polenta, or with hunks of fresh bread.

If you are interested in more chick pea recipes, check out my falafel post as well as this chick pea and eggplant sauté.