Skirt Steak with Chimichurri & Husk Cherry Sauce

We enjoyed a lovely 10 day holiday in Montauk over Labor Day which included a BBQ at the house with friends.  I was determined to use those husky little guys above and decided to serve grilled skirt steak with two sauces... An herby chimichurri and a sweeter, roasted husk cherry sauce. 

Skirt steak is a perfect crowd-feeding cut because not only is it in-expensive, it is super easy to prepare (salt, grill, serve) and just looks good sliced on a serving platter. Paired with a choice of a sweet or spicy sauce, there was a taste for everyone.  Forgive me for the strange lighting in the picture of the final plate; I still had my camera on the night setting trying to capture the Harvest Moon below!

Grilled Skirt Steak with Chimichurri & Husk Cherry Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/3 a pound per person of skirt steak
• Salt & Pepper

Directions 

• Salt & pepper the steak liberally
• Grill 3 minutes per side over medium heat
• Let rest 5 minutes before slicing

Roasted Husk Cherry Sauce
Ingredients

• 1 cup of husk cherries, husks removed*
• 1/2 cup of olive oil
• 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes
• Salt & Pepper 

*Cherry tomatoes can be substituted if husk cherries / ground cherries are not readily available 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325
• Peel the husks off the fruit
• Toss the husk cherries / ground cherries with the half of the oil, salt & pepper and red pepper flakes
• Spread in an even layer in a glass pan and roast for 25-35 minutes until they just start to wrinkle
• Let cool, then puree adding the remaining olive oil as needed
• Heat gently before serving

Before

After

Chimchurri
Modified courtesy of Food52 

Ingredients

• 1 cup of cilantro
• 1/2 cup of mint
• 1/4 cup of fresh oregano
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced and sauteed in olive oil 
• 4 tablespoons red wine, rice or sherry vinegar 
• 1/4 cup of olive oil 
• 1/4 cup of fresh lemon juice
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

• Saute the roughly minced garlic in olive oil until fragrant
• Cool and transfer to a food processor or blender
• Add the remaining ingredients, and blend until processed
• Salt & pepper to taste

About Husk Cherries or Cape Gooseberries

Husk Cherries or Cape Gooseberries (not be confused with regular Gooseberries!) are little nightshades, covered in a papery husk.  Sweeter than a cherry tomato, they almost have a pineapple or jammy flavor.  They can be eaten raw in salads, dried or cooked into a dessert.

Vegetable Chana Masala

My love for all things food is happily extending into my relationships with others as friends and family increasingly reach out to gab about cooking.  Conversations with one high school friend lately have almost exclusively been about food. "What do you think about swapping goat cheese for feta in this recipe?" "Have you seen this foodblog?" "Tonight I'm making a crumble, I will let you know how it turns out...."  It's so fun for me.

So this post is a little virtual nod to our conversations.  It's vegetarian, because she is one, and it's an Indian recipe in tribute to the many lunch buffets we enjoyed when living in the same town years ago.

While the numbers of different spices might seem overwhelming at first glance, fear not.  You basically plop them all in the pot at one time and after a quick visit to a specialty market, you have enough spices for a number of dinners. I tried a handful of different recipes before settling on a modified version from this site. I omit fancy spice grinding and ginger (hubby hates it!) with the hopes of compiling an easy go-to curry for you.

My one suggestion? The first time you make this recipe, create identical mounds of the spice base.  Seal the second heap away in a zip lock bag, and voila, you are that much closer to your next curry.

Vegetable Chana Masala

Modified courtesy of Aarti Paarti

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes, finely diced (about 2 cups)
• 1 summer squash diced into cubes  
• 2 cups of chopped greens (collards, kale, swiss chard) 
• 1 large white or red onion, finely diced
• 2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin 
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon amchur powder
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2-3 tablespoons peanut oil
• Juice of half a lemon or lime 
• 1 cup water
• Salt and pepper

 Directions

• Combine all the spices, except the cumin, in a bowl
• Set a skillet over medium-high heat, and warm the peanut oil until it’s shimmering.  Add the onions,  cumin and a little kosher salt, and saute until they start to brown (about 15 minutes). If the onions start to stick to the bottom of the pan, sprinkle with water and scrub up the pan bits.
• Add garlic; saute 30 seconds.
• Add the spice mixture (“masala”), and saute for 30 seconds. Then add the tomatoes and summer squash. Cook, seasoning with a little salt again, picking up anything that’s sticking to the bottom of the pan, until the tomatoes soften, deepen in colour and form a coarse sauce, about 5 minutes.
• Add the greens and chickpeas, and cover in the masala, cooking a minute or so.
• Stir in the cup of water, then gently simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding salt, pepper and citrus juice as needed. Turn the heat off, cover and let sit for 10 minutes. Serve over rice.

Tomatillo and Avocado Dressing

I have been patiently waiting for tomatillo's to arrive so I could share this recipe with you. Inspired by my favorite Midtown lunch spot, this dressing is so easy to make, so versatile and oh so yummy. Between this dressing, and last years tomatillo salsa I am obsessed. I couldn't stop taking pictures of these little treasures, as you will see below, and have used one batch of the dressing three ways this week already!

It has served as as:

1. A dip for crudites at work;
2. Water-downed as a dressing for a tomato, cucumber and mozzarella salad, and
3. As the sauce accompaniment to roasted shrimp over rice.  (Toss shrimp with salt, pepper, olive oil and lemon zest and roast for 8-12 minutes at 375.)

Scoop up the next tomatilos you see and enjoy this easy peasy recipe with me.

Tomatillo and Avocado Dressing
Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado 
• 10 small to medium tomatillos 
• 3 spring onions
• Salt and pepper 
• Water

Directions

• Bring a small pot of water to boil, and drop in the peeled tomatillos. Cook for 6-7 minutes until they turn a nice mustardy yellow.
• Drain, reserving one cup of the cooking water, and let the tomatillos cool.
• Mince the onions in the food processor or blender until finely chopped. Add the tomatillos and avocado and then blend. One tablespoon at a time, add the reserve cooking water until you reach your desired consistency.

New Food Blog Design!

It's here! My new, custom design thanks to a collaboration with Courtney at DesignerBlogs. What do you think? I love how it captures the local food and funky veggie vibe I strive for. While there is more page content to come, I just couldn't wait any longer to debut the new design.

If you receive this update via email, I'd love for you to click over and take a look at the shiny new LaurenLivingLocally!

Gojee, Go thee!

How did I not know about gojee.com?  Seriously, I cook, I am obsessed with food photography, I work in Internet search... Thank goodness a dear friend clued me in after reading this post.

Gojee is part food porn, part geek heaven. Drop-downs like "I have", "I crave" and "I dislike!" are combined with search results of gorgeous food images and quick links to recipes.  It's fantastic.  Check out the screen grabs below. 

Have an ingredient but at a loss of what to do with it? Gojee!  

Roasted Eggplant with Basil

I whipped this up this for lunch the other day after a very complicated Google search for ingredients on hand in my fridge.... "eggplant and basil." Wow did it knock my socks off, or really, knock the fork out of my hand. 

I love when unexpectedly a dish becomes a favorite. Four main ingredients, about 5 minutes of prep time, and voila! So simple but oh so good. On its own over rice, tossed with a protein in pasta or as a vegetable side to a larger supper, this eggplant dish is delish. Thanks, Martha!

Roasted Eggplant with Basil

Ingredients

• 2 medium eggplants, diced into 1 inch cubes
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• Coarse salt and ground pepper 
• 2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar 
• 1 cup torn fresh basil leaves 

Directions

• Preheat oven to 475 degrees
• On a rimmed baking sheet, toss eggplant with olive oil and season with salt and pepper
• Roast until browned and tender, about 25 minutes
• Toss with red-wine vinegar and basil leaves 

About Eggplant

While closely related to the potato family, eggplant is botanically classified as a fruit or berry because of the edible seeds. Salting eggplant, or aubergine, before cooking it will reduce the amount of oil absorbed during cooking. Thomas Jefferson, an avid gardener, introduced eggplant as one of many "exotic" plants into his impressive garden at Monticello. Good for Thomas, because these veg are full of vitamin C, calcium and potassium.

#FoodBlog

I promise I haven't forgotten about you. It's just that exciting changes are underway at LaurenLivingLocally. Stay tuned--The big reveal is just around the corner!