Alla Norma

I sort of almost was gifted with a whole box of not so great tomatoes…you know the supermarket round cardboard tasting like kind…..and 8 small eggplants that were firm but were starting to rot near the tops so I either had to trash them or do a bit of work and make something delicious out of them.

To make the tomatoes delicious- they had to be cored and peeled.

Then I cut the tomatoes in thirds. The tomatoes were sprinkled lightly with sea salt and some extra virgin olive oil in half pans. The pans were put in a 225 degree F oven for 8 hours and reduced some.

While the tomatoes were doing their thing in the oven I used my other oven for the eggplants. I usually fry the eggplant for this dish but the eggplant always absorbs a lot of oil so I did the eggplant two ways on the oven to use less oil.

But first I sauté –

2 Tablespoons olive oil

3 green bell peppers – chopped

1 large sweet onion – chopped

5 red jalapeños – almost fine chopped

7 large garlic cloves – fine chopped

1 Tablespoon course sea salt.

I sautéed them till soft.

Next

1 1/2 cup dry white wine – let it reduce – put to the side

6 of the eggplants I cut in cubes and sprinkled with extra virgin olive oil. They went in a 500 degree F oven. I checked on them about every 15 minutes and mixed them up so they could get caramelized all over.

The other 2 eggplants I cut in half long ways and made cross hatch marks on them and also sprinkled them with extra virgin olive oil. They went in the same oven with the other eggplants at 500 degrees F for an hour.

They get scooped out like a mango or avocado. They have a buttery texture and more char taste.

In a pot add  the sautéd vegetables.

Season with –

1/4 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon ground aleppo pepper

1 teaspoon Hungarian sweet pepper

1 Tablespoon ground Urfa Biber Chili pepper

Add the eggplants

At this point the eggplant is very delicious and you just might want to use the eggplant as a bread dip.

The tomatoes aren’t done yet so you will put away the eggplant mixture. Tomorrow you finish.

After 8 hours I put the tomatoes away for the next day.

Day two-

I put the tomatoes in a 8 quart pot and cook them down some more on medium low heat for a few hours. These tomatoes are still not the meatiest or have the best flavor so I add two small cans of tomato paste and let the pot go another maybe three hours. Added a small amount of sugar.

Next

I add the eggplant mixture and let it cook together for about an hour.

added a small palm full of dried oregano

and a small palm full of dried basil

At this point it FORKING DELICIOUS so I let it cool on the counter and then put in containers for most to go off to the freezer.

Alla Norma

I know most people wouldn’t season the eggplant with Aleppo, Urfa biber and paprika but those ingredients make eggplant shine. My husband normally hates eggplant but when he tasted the sauce he said “That REALLY IS DELICIOUS” If you use better tasting salts and better tasting peppers your food will turn out more delicious! For the next few days my husband kept saying that is really GOOD Norma Sauce.

Alla Norma topped with a little parmesan and home made fresh ricotta

This kind of sauce is usually served with pasta and Italian cheese but you can serve it however the Fork you want.

Forking Delicious!

The Forking Truth

Jicama Carrot and Mango Slaw

I was reading about salsa and learned of carrot salsa and other salsas so I came up with something different that’s a slaw. There isn’t any difference in salsa and slaw it’s just the way you cut the vegetables. This slaw is light and refreshing with a little sweet from the mango and jicama and a little heat too. Jicama is a fruity crisp vegetable. Some people describe it as a cross between an apple and a potato but I think it taste and crunch more like a cross between a pear and a water chestnut. I used my pickled jalapeño to zip up the slaw but if you don’t have good pickled jalapeños you can just use a fresh one instead. For best results and flavors let the salad rest in the refrigerator a few hours before serving. This slaw can be served cold or warmed up.

Ingredients for about 4 servings

1/2 a medium/small jicama (about 8 oz) -shredded

4 medium carrots – peeled and shredded – I used rainbow carrots

2 small yellow mangos – thin slices

8 grape tomatoes – cut in quarters

1/4 cup scallion – thin slices

1/4 cup fresh cilantro – chopped

1 pickled jalapeno – my recipe is preferred – chopped fine

2 garlic cloves – ground to paste

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon course sea salt

2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lime juice

1 Tablespoon sugar

1 Tablespoon canola oil

Jicama, Carrot and Mango Slaw

Directions

In a large bowl add the jicama, carrots, mango, jalapeño, tomatoes, scallions, cilantro and set to the side.

In a small bowl combine the remaining ingredients that make up the dressing. Mix well and pour over slaw. Gently mix. leave it sit on the counter for a half hour to let the flavors develop. Set in the refrigerator and serve latter.

Jicama Carrot and Mango Slaw

These are the colors of carrots I used and the Asian side slicer for the shreds.

This is how I made the mango slices.

Jicama Carrot and Mango Slaw

It came out light refreshing and delicious! I bet it would be Forking Great in a fish or chicken taco!

The Forking Truth

Potato Cakes so easy you don’t need a recipe recipe

I whipped up these potato cakes without measuring but it was pretty easy and I don’t think you need an exact recipe for this kind of thing. You can do this kind of thing free style and maybe add an interesting ingredient to the potato cakes if you want to make them fancier than I did. I wasn’t going to publish this recipe since I didn’t measure but these potato cakes came out really great. My husband really enjoyed them. He said they are really perfect. The ingredients were all guesstimated…….This is the kind of thing you just guesstimate. They would be really good with added spinach or even seafood…ummmm!

Ingredients for about 25 potato cakes about 6 servings

2 lbs potatoes (peeled)

2 jalapeños (cut in half longways for boiling with the potatoes just to add flavor and you throw them out after the boiling)

2 XL eggs – slightly beaten

1/4 cup flour

1 Tablespoon kosher salt (for boiling the potatoes)

1/2 onion – grated and in paper towel squeeze all the juice out)

1 fried serrano chili – finely chopped

about 2 teaspoons sea salt

about 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Canola oil for frying

Directions

Boil the potatoes with the jalapeños and salt till they are almost fork tender ( about 15 minutes)

Put them away in the refrigerator and let them chill three or more hours.

When the potatoes are chilled grate them on the bigger holes and add in the eggs, onions, chili, flour and salt and pepper. Mix. This should be like extra thick mashed potatoes.

Put your fry pan on medium high heat with about a 1/2 inch of oil.

Use a fork and grab about a meatball size amount of potato mixture and made it into a patty shapes.

When the oil seems hot carefully fry up the patties. They need a few minutes on each side.

They should look like this.

Potato Cakes so easy you don’t need a recipe recipe

Really yummy! Give them a try and you will enjoy!

The Forking Truth

Spicy Hatch Chili and Peach Brownies

It’s Hatch Chili Time again in Phoenix so I have to come up with more ways to use Hatch Chili Peppers. Here are my fudgy Brownies that I added some fire roasted hatch chilies too and added some peach to counter the heat. For a little added taste and texture I topped the brownies with just a Tablespoon of Turbinado Sugar and just a Tablespoon of Salted Roasted Pepitas. The brownies are moist with a great deep chocolatey flavor with heat and sweet and more! If you can handle a little heat and you like chocolate then you should love the brownies. BTW- they are super easy to prepare.

Ingredients for around 18 servings

ingredients

4 oz unsweetened butter

10 oz 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate chips

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/4 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon course sea salt

3 large eggs – beaten

1 teaspoon pure vanilla

1/4 cup fire roasted charred hatch chili peppers – stem and seeds removed – chopped

1 large ripe white peach – pit and stem removed – cube the peach

non – stick spray (either canola or vegetable)

1 Tablespoon turbinado sugar (to finish brownies with)

1 Tablespoon pepitas  (pumpkin seeds) – roasted with sea salt

Directions

Turn oven on to 350 degree F

Use an oblong cake pan that is around 12 1/4 inch by 8 1/4 inch in size and spray the pan with non-stick spray.

Put a small fry pan on medium heat and melt the butter. When the butter is melted add the chocolate chips and stir. Shut off the heat and take the fry pan off the burner. Stir again and set the pan to the side. Doesn’t matter if the chips aren’t all melted yet.

In a large mixing bowl add the sugars, flour, baking powder, salt, beaten eggs and vanilla and hand stir till 1/2  mixed. Now stir in the butter/chocolate mixture. Stir. Add the peppers and the peach and gently stir. Pour into sprayed pan and top by sprinkling the turbinado and pepitas across the surface of the brownies.

Put in the oven for about 25 minutes or until the center feels just cooked.

After 25 minutes mine came out like this.

I let the brownies rest and set on the counter for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes they were still warm and ready to serve.

Spicy Hatch Chili and Peach Brownies

We got a FORKING WINNER here!

These brownies are smooth, rich and moist with that just right chocolate flavor. The Hatch Chili peppers, peach go well with the rich brownie. A little crunch from the turbinado sugar and salted pepitas add another layer and texture that makes the brownie more interesting and not too sweet.

Better than many of the desserts I eat out!

The Forking Truth