The above picture looks like fresh homemade Mozzarella cheese, doesn’t it? Yummy though it sounds (Love that stuff!), its sadly not. But what I have is something which when baked with assorted topping can make everyone’s taste buds go into excited frenzy! Yup – Its Pizza dough. Easy, homemade, Italian Yeast Pizza dough. Crafted and molded right by your hands. Its not only satisfactory but something about making stuff on your own for your family adds a special touch to the pizza – and guess what? Its tastes additionally delicious. If you said – Yeah! Right, trust me – make it and tell me There are zillion versions of making pizza dough, but for today lets go into making this easy to follow recipe for “Pizza Dough” taken from Peter Reinhart’s famous cookbook “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” . It yields a beautifully tasty, thin, crispy, delicate yet chewy pizza crust matching the ones which your local pizzaioli makes and rotates so flamboyantly in the air. Will post the more easier ones later. Lets go into this recipe now shall we?(...)
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© DK for Chef In You, 2010. | Permalink | 21 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: bread flour, cornmeal, Fast rising yeast, olive oil, semolina, sugar, vegetable oil

I have been off baking (in fact even cooking!!) for past few weeks. At least I did cook simple meals day to day but baking was something I have ignored for last 3-4 weeks! Its the max I have ever been without baking. It all started with a mini vacation and after eating out so much, we were like enough is enough! We craved for simple foods – like lemon rice, Tamarind rice, lentil/Legumesalads, Upma, dals etc..If you notice they all are simple to put together and do not consume much time/effort from me either.

It is at these times that I am thankful for all those thoughtful drafts I saved for myself thinking I wouldn’t use them that soon! Hah! The jokes on me for sure! I have used almost all my drafts and soon there is going to be a famine in my drafts section if I don’t start “cooking” something soon! Too much of work and work deadlines have just kept me away from tinkering too much in the kitchen. Anyways talking about which, I was really worried (in fact even my husband for that matter) that I was not baking! Of all the reactions that my husband could have found about me, he says -”Hey, you don’t seem to be baking? What happened? Are you not feeling well?!”.!!!!!! All this “concern” worried me too (...)
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Post tags: black olives, Fast rising yeast, garlic, olive oil, onions, rosemary, saffron

It was another of those fridge cleaning moments -you know, the time when you see bits and scraps of assorted vegetables which cannot be made on their own. But together, they create magic (provided you don’t try too much of weird experiments like me ). I was also in my pantry cleaning process, so was wondering what I can do. Umm..Lets check the fridge – carrots, peas, tomatoes, kale and some Triticale Bread. I checked the section where I store legumes and aha, cannellini beans! Of course – Ribollita!

Ribollita is a Tuscany white bean and bread soup. The term “Ribollita” means “Reboiled” (...)
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Post tags: bay leaf, cannellini beans, carrots, Kale, olive oil, onion, Parmesan, potato, rosemary, tempeh, tomatoes

Exactly a week ago, I got a request from a reader for Arabiata! Pasta arabiata or Penne all’arabiata is one of the most simplest of all pasta recipes (as if most of the other pasta recipes aren’t simple enough!). I have made it often enough, hence was surprised that I hadn’t posted it already at Chef In you. Anyways, if you love ‘hot’ dishes, then this is perfect for you. Next time you have Tomato season or if you grow your own tomatoes – then don’t forget to make this dish which glorifies fresh tomatoes. Using ripe tomatoes is the key.
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Post tags: olive oil, onions, Parmesan, red chillies, tomatoes

I dig simple recipes – after all one should be incentivized, for even thinking of cooking at home after a hectic day at work isnt it? But cooking same old day to day meals can be boring! And who has the time to think of new stuff anyways? When I wanted to make changes to my same old meals, I thought of simply revamping some of my oft repeated dinners with minor changes. Instead of kidney beans, switch it to cannellini beans, instead of couscous try quinoa, try brown rice instead of regular white rice, go for hearty one pot soups instead of elaborate 3 course meal, go for Orzo instead of regular macaroni or spaghetti pasta! Probably same recipe but with a new makeover! Avoids tedious ‘oh-no-same-old-stew’ voices around the house and you don’t have to struggle to make this happen to!
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Post tags: chives, garlic, lemon, marjoram, olive oil, onions, oregano, Orzo, Parmesan, parsley, peas, pistachios, thyme

Another one of my fav. recipes during my DETOX diet was this – Artichoke and Spinach dip. Its one of those 5 minute meals especially when you happen to have a canned artichoke hearts on hand. Few vegetable crudites and toasted wheat bread along with it actually made an excellent light lunch for me.  Such type of recipes are the ones which don’t make me feel that I am on a diet – even if its only DETOX. It hardly has any steps for me to show. The ingredients are approximate since you can change it to suit your taste preferences. Serve it as a light meal or as an appetizer, it is as healthy and wealthy as it can get. Now to the recipe
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Post tags: artichoke, garlic, olive oil, spinach

I love breadsticks but I don’t like making them . And that’s for 2 main reasons! One – I have no patience to roll them out thin into elegantly smooth long sticks. Two – err..ahem..I have no patience at all!! If you ask me for a third, it would be the same too! But the only way I actually make them is because I love them so much to give it a miss, and I prefer home made ‘rustic’ ones to the ‘sophisticated’ store bought ones!

I like them with my salads and my soups. I like as they are too. My Basil plant has been growing well and I was looking out for ways to make use of them. I came across this recipe by Linda Fraser and I love them. I just halved her recipe and kept the recipe as they are. They are yummy and I dint feel like making any modification to them. According to her, they are pretty low in calories with no butter and good fat from Olive oil.

I have been predominantly having soups for my lunch thanks to a self imposed and charted Detox diet (will supply the complete schedule with recipes soon after I complete it – have been at it for a month now!!) and these breadsticks made a hearty accompaniment to the soup.

Without further ado, lets go to the recipe shall we?

Method

Infuse the saffron with the hot water for 10 minutes. Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl.

Stir in the yeast, and the saffron infused liquid and mix lightly. Add the Olive oil and basil and mix to make a soft dough.

Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead it until smooth and elastic.

Place it a greased bowl, cover with a plastic wrap and set aside,until doubled in size. Takes approx an hour or so depending on the climate where you live

Punch it down, knead for 1-2 minutes and divide the dough about 15 pieces. If, unlike me, you have the patience, shape it into beautiful long sticks – or else you can do a quick ‘rustic‘ looking ones like me! *half-arsed * job more like it!!!! – but lets call it rustic shall we? Sounds better!

Place them on a greased baking sheet spaced well and leave them for another 20-30 minutes until puffy. Then bake them in a preheated 425F oven for 15-20 minutes until they become slightly golden and crisp.

Serve them warm with soups, salads or in any way you prefer.

Related posts:

1. Saffron-Rosemary-Onion-Garlic Focaccia
2. Basil and Parmesan Grissini
3. Saffron Tea Loaf
4. JFI – Saffron (December 2009)
5. JFI – Saffron (Roundup)
6. Tomato Basil Arugula Stuffed Crust Pizza

© DK for Chef In You, 2009. | Permalink | 11 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: basil, bread flour, Fast rising yeast, olive oil, saffron

Its amazing to know the number of varieties that one gets for Pasta nowadays. I am not talking about the shapes of the pasta but the kind of flours used to make the pasta – wholegrain, sprouted, wheat, buckwheat, kamut etc etc! Mind blowing I must say. Its been ages since I bought the original make – why go for it when you have so many yet to be finished! The last time I did my pantry check, I found I had some unused Kamut pasta spirals left. My fridge had some left over Asparagus from my soup of 2 days back.

Thought of baking the asparagus crispy and crunchy and making a simple, quick and easy pasta dinner for us. The recipe is very fast to make with minimal steps and it is one healthy meal too. Nuts, Vegetables, wholegrain and healthy fats. Nothing to bargain isn’t it. The recipe may sound lengthy but different steps can be done simultaneously thus saving time. Actually in totality, I finish this recipe in about 15 minutes. While baking the asparagus, Pasta can be cooked on the side. At the same time, you can start the actual cooking process. Now to the recipe, this is how I made it

Method

In a zip lock bag, place the asparagus along with garlic oil. You can otherwise just put some olive oil along with minced garlic. Close the bag and shake it so that the asparagus is coated with oil.

Bake these asparagus by placing them in a baking sheet at 400F for about 10-15 min (depends on oven – mine takes about 10m) until crispy.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to Package instructions.

Toast the pine nuts in a skillet.

Once toasted, add the cherry tomato halves along with spring onion whites. You don’t have to cook the tomatoes through. A little stir fry for 2 minutes should do.

Add the cooked and drained pasta along with baked Asparagus.

Give it a quick stir , you can add a little pasta water if desired.

Garnish with grated Parmesan and tada – you have a healthy, wealthy good looking gourmet lunch/dinner under 15 minutes.

Related posts:

1. 4 Cheese Baked Pasta Shells
2. Asparagus and Pista Risotto
3. What is Kamut and How to cook Kamut
4. Healthy Leek,Broccoli and Asparagus Soup
5. Kamut and Mixed Greens Pilaf
6. Summer Tomato Pasta Salad

© DK for Chef In You, 2009. | Permalink | 18 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: asparagus, garlic, kamut, olive oil, pine nuts

I am quick fix type of gal. I love it if any dish could be done in a jiffy without having to depend on a load of pre made products, tastes good at the same time and yet is simple to make. Sounds like a tall order isn’t it? But then you would be surprised to know that there are quite a number of such fixes out there which makes life so much easier. You can find some of my such “fast” home cooked foods here under 15 minutes section. Bissara – otherwise in understandable terminology called as ‘Fava bean dip” is such a dish which takes minuscule amount of time to make, is good for you and tastes divine.

I saw beautiful and fresh fava beans the other day at the market and like always picked them out immediately. I simply cant get enough of them. I go for dried fava beans when I cannot get fresh. To prepare this dish, the only time consuming thing would be to shell them. To get about a cup of shelled Fava beans, it takes me approximately 5-6 minutes. yes! I timed myself. I personally don’t think it would take more than 10minutes.

Once that’s done, the rest of the dish is a breeze. Usually there are multiple ways to make this dip. You can either soak the dried fava beans overnight and boil them the next day to make this dip or you can use canned/fresh ones, cook them with garlic and seasoning in a skillet for few minutes before blending them to a puree. I have tried quite a few variations and I prefer the following method where I steam the beans for few minutes. This helps in preserving more nutrition. Here is how I make it

Method

Steam cook the fresh fava beans for about a minute along with garlic and chilli. It gets done in a jiffy so keep an eye. Adding garlic to it is just to mellow down its strong flavor. I have avoided bringing out the skillet to cook, hence the addition of these along with the beans. Remove the outer waxy covering of these Fava beans. This is important otherwise it will taste bitter.

Place them in a blender/food processor along with other seasoning, blend them and with a running motor add some olive oil until it reaches your desired dip consistency. It does not take lots since steaming the beans brings in more water.

And taste first to add the salt. That’s it! Cant it get any simpler? Traditionally you can use Pita bread as a side. Here I had some endives – both red and yellow and used it for my dip. The slight bitterness goes v well with this dip. Made a healthy snack and that too at minimal time.

This is my entry to “WYF: Quick meal” event hosted by dear EC and to “15-minute-cooking’ event hosted by Mahimaa.

You can refer to my other “Under 15 minutes” recipes here

Related posts:

1. How to cook Fava beans
2. Green Bean Casserole
3. Spaghetti With Bean Balls
4. Grilled Black Bean Burgers
5. Healthy Wheat Berry and Pinto bean Soup
6. Lentil and Bean “Meatloaf”

© DK for Chef In You, 2009. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Endives, fava beans, olive oil

Who does not love Pasta? It forms part of my diet on a regular basis. They are simple, delicious and healthy too – of course as long as you are not generous with your Alfredo sauce that is Pastas are so flexible and versatile. You can make anything and everything with them. Add as many ingredients you want, add even your kitchen sink to it, it would still turn out to be delicious (OK! Don’t add your kitchen sink – that’s a lot of hard work, the theme is to be simple and less time consuming anyways!:))
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© DK for Chef In You, 2009. | Permalink | 25 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: almonds, chickpeas, cilantro, cumin, garlic, mint, olive oil, olives, onions, saffron, tomato