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Broccoli 3 Ways with Confit Egg, Onion Jam, Blue Cheese, Crispy Cabbage and Tempura Radish Recipe based on Chef Ivan Tisdall-Downs Recipe for Broccoli Stalk with confit egg and blue cheese recipe

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This is an outstanding recipe that I found in the internet by chef Ivan Tisdall-Downs for Broccoli Stalk with Confit Egg and Blue Cheese Recipe. This recipe has a lot of steps to it but nothing is too hard to do. I did change only a few things but maybe not enough to take any credit for this recipe. I wanted my broccoli cooked instead of raw so that was one change. I thought the broccoli puree needed chives so I added that. Instead of making blue cheese dressing I just added blue cheese because the creamy extra rich broccoli puree was enough richness for me. I also didn’t have kale so I substituted cabbage and crisped it up in the microwave but I do have to admit that when you use kale like YOU SHOULD that the kale crisp will turn out tastier than my microwaved crisp cabbage. Still even with the slight changes I made this is an exceptional recipe that taste FORKING AMAZING. I do note that this recipe is A LOT OF WORK for only 4 servings…..You make this recipe when you want to make something very special. This recipe is in metric. One thing that isn’t very clear when you read the recipe is how much broccoli to use. I used two very large heads of broccoli for the whole recipe.

Ingredients for 4 servings

4 egg yolks – confit eggs

250ml neutral oil – confit eggs

500g onions – finely sliced – onion jam

75g demerara sugar – onion jam

75ml cider vinegar – onion jam

50ml water – onion jam

1 dash vegetable oil – onion jam

285g broccoli washed and fine chopped – broccoli puree

200ml heavy cream – broccoli puree

100ml whole milk – broccoli puree

77g unsalted butter – broccoli puree

1g baking soda – broccoli puree

1 pinch sea salt – broccoli puree

2 Tablespoons chives – fine chopped – broccoli puree

115g blue cheese crumbled

1 bunch of kale (I used a small head of cabbage that I microwaved the leaves crisp but I do note that crispy kale chips would indeed be better)

1 Tbsp neutral oil – kale chips

1Tbsp sugar – kale chips

1 Tbsp salt – kale chips

180g flour (this batter recipe made maybe twice as much as I needed) tempura radish

1 Tablespoon baking powder – tempura radish

250ml ice water – tempura radish

1 pinch sea salt – tempura radish

12 radishes – tempura radish

neutral oil for frying – tempura radish

2 broccoli stalks only – broccoli stalks

1 teaspoon honey – broccoli stalks

10ml apple cider vinegar – broccoli stalks

1 knob butter – broccoli stalks

sea salt to taste – broccoli stalks

remaining broccoli cut in manageable pieces for eating

Directions

Make the confit eggs. Set sous vide to 63C and carefully add yolks to a small dish and cover the yolks with oil for around an hour. If you don’t have a sous vide you will slightly over cook the eggs in the oven. Confit eggs on the oven should be done at around 150 degrees F for around 30 minutes…Good LucK.

Make the onion jam. Put a sauce pan on medium heat. Add oil and when it’s hot add the onions and cook till soft and golden. Add sugar and cook till sugar turns to caramel and then deglaze with the vinegar. Add water and cook till jam consistency.

Make broccoli puree. Melt butter in the pan and add the milk and cream. Take off heat and add the baking soda. This mixture with the broccoli gets blended till as smooth as possible. Add chives and blend some more. Add seasoning to taste.

Set your oven to 400 degrees F or 200C. Make the kale chips. Spread leaves on baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Set another tray on the top of the kale and cook it for 5 minutes. Then season with the salt and sugar. (I note that I didn’t do this step and just microwaved cabbage leaves in a lightly non stick sprayed microwavable safe bowl for 5 minutes on one side. Blotted leaves dry and turned them over and around another 5 minutes and they were crispy…They do burn easy and I did accidentally burn some)

Peel the broccoli stalks. Slice in half long ways and boil for 8 minutes (I added sea salt and cut in chunks) Then shook in ice water.

Either set up a fryer with oil to 180C or a pot on the stove with neutral oil for frying at around medium heat. Make batter. Flour, pinch salt and ice water till smooth. Batter up those radishes and fry till golden. Drain on cooling rack…Or pan lined with paper towels. Season with salt.

Get a sauce pan with a knob of butter and cook till butter turns brown on medium high heat. Add the broccoli stalks and cook till caramelized. Add the honey cook around 2 minutes and deglaze with vinegar.

While you are doing the broccoli stalks blanch broccoli crown tops in salted water till tender crisp (around 3 minutes and then shock in ice water. Season with salt and pepper.

Put this all together and sprinkle with blue cheese.

Broccoli Three Ways with Confit Egg, Onion Jam, Blue Cheese, Crispy Cabbage and Tempura Radish

When I served this with dinner mine looked more like this.

This REALLY IS a FORKING AWSOME RECIPE!

A SPECIAL THANKS!!!!!!! To Chef Ivan Tisdall-Downs for his FORKING AMAZING Recipe so I could make this.

The Forking Truth

Spicy HOT Delicious Indian Style Red Sauce Recipe – DIFFERENT but based on a Milk Street Magazine Recipe

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I came across a recipe for a Maharashtra Indian Style chicken recipe from Milk Street Magazine that I want to try sometime. I read that this type of Indian style is always very deeply flavored. I had plenty of grilled and sous vide meats prepared and only had boring cauliflower around so I figured out on how to convert this recipe for cauliflower. I didn’t make it with the creamy yogurt that this dish should contain…Instead I changed it up a little more and put jack cheese and the sauce on my roasted cauliflower and it was MIGHTY FORKING TASTY and DELICIOUS. This comes out very hot but not too hot if you eat at South Indian Restaurants. My husband said that this taste just like it came from a very good Indian Restaurant. I think this sauce makes around 6 servings. I used it on cauliflower at least 4 times and on grilled chicken twice….maybe I used it more I forget? I wanted to write down how I made it before I forget how the heck I made it.

Ingredients for 6 (or more) servings

1 – 14 oz can Italian diced tomatoes

1 large onion fine chopped

1 Tablespoon canola oil

8 cloves garlic – fine chopped

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger (fresh is better but I didn’t have any)

1 1/2 Tablespoons paprika

1 1/2 Tablespoons cayenne pepper (We thought that this was delicious but you might want to use less)

1 teaspoon sea salt

3 Tablespoons cumin seeds (you need a spice grinder to grind them but these don’t go in to the end)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (some tender stems ok)

Directions

In a sauce pot and medium high heat add the oil. When hot add the onions and cook until clear. Now add the tomatoes. Stir occasionally. Now add garlic, ginger, paprika, cayenne, and salt. Bring to simmer. Cook until you are satisfied with the way the tomatoes taste.Before you are finished add the ground cumin seeds. Finish your dish with fresh cilantro leaves.

Sorry I didn’t get a better picture for you.

Spicy HOT Delicious Indian Style Red Sauce

This is pretty simple but very delicious. Would be a great for Indian pizza too!

A special THANKS to Milk Street Magazine for this inspiration.

The Forking Truth

Slighter LIGHTER Healthier Quick EASY Miso Hollandaise Sauce Recipe

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Hollandaise sauce is delicious but it is basically mostly melted butter and egg yolks made into an emulsified sauce. Often this sauce is served with asparagus, fish, eggs, and steaks. I got the idea to do Miso Hollandaise Sauce for my bok choy today but I don’t want to use mostly just melted butter and just egg yolks because that is too unhealthy to enjoy at home. For my research on something slightly lighter I read a healthy style hollandaise recipe from someone else who used buttermilk and corn starch to cut the amount of egg yolks and butter……..That might be a very good recipe but I started to think why don’t I just use the egg white instead of buttermilk and corn starch. After all egg whites are a very healthy lean food. I just don’t see a reason NOT to use the egg whites. Somehow I guessed the flavors perfect but I had to make this recipe twice. First time around I did the recipe in a sauce pan and I accidentally over cooked the sauce slightly (still useable but not nice enough to photo so I tried again). The second time I just microwaved the butter ….Then I added the hot butter to my beaten whole egg, blended them together with my stick blender, and microwaved that for 30 seconds. Then I blended it again with the miso. Added the rest and I was done. It was almost instant and came out perfect. The serving size is hard to give you because I don’t know how much that you want to use. This recipe is for one very large portion (like enough to drown a sandwich) or what I really think is two proper sized portions ( like two dollops). (for my taste it didn’t need salt because my miso was salty enough but you might want salt) I also need to note that I used a stick blender. It might be hazardous to prepare this with a regular blender because it the hot liquids that you are messing with.

Ingredients for two servings

1 1/2 oz unsalted butter

1 1/2 oz white miso

1 whole egg

pinch ground white pepper

small dab garlic confit or a very small or 1/2 a garlic clove ground to paste (I usually make garlic confit when I buy bags of garlic because it taste so much better for sauces and certain things….To make garlic confit take garlic heads and cut across and drizzle well with olive oil and cover and place in a 350 degree F oven till soft and roasted (around an hour) pop out the cloves when cool enough to handle and blend till smooth. It keeps for a very long time refrigerated)

1/2 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

optional finish with chives or scallions

Directions

Melt the butter in a microwaveable dish (mine took 30 seconds).

In a small microwavable dish add egg and beat it. Now add the hot melted butter and blend. This blend of egg and butter are not cooked yet. This goes in the microwave another 30 seconds and gets blended till smooth.

The miso, garlic, white pepper. some chives if using…rest of chives will look nice on the top.

Add fresh squeezed lemon juice and blend that in.

SERVE!

Slightly Lighter Healthier Easy QUICK Miso Hollandaise Sauce

Enjoy!

The Forking Truth

Charred Asparagus with Pickled Egg Yolk and Hazelnut Pesto Recipe – different but based on chef Josh Egglton’s recipe

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I came across chef Josh Egglton’s recipe for Charred white and green asparagus with pickled egg and pesto when I was searching for another really great asparagus recipe. I never heard of a brined and pickled egg yolk before so I had to try this recipe. I already had hazelnut pesto that I made recently that I had to use so I didn’t make chef Egglton’s for the pesto. I pretty much followed the brined and pickled egg recipe because I didn’t know how to do that. The only minor difference was that I didn’t have a teaspoon of pickling spice so I used a pinch of each of the ingredients that picking spice is made of (mustard seed, allspice, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, ginger, bay, cinnamon and clove). I’m sure mine might taste slightly different but it still came out amazing. I did have one issue with the pickled yolk. The recipe is written that you are suppose to brine the eggs for 30 minutes and then pickle them for 30 minutes for runny and longer (it does say how long..) for less runny. I do note that I wanted less runny so I pickled for 45 minutes. Mine came out with a jammy surface but very delicate (they broke very easy) and were runny but very delicious. I will try them again but next time I might try an hour of pickling and see what happens.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

4 eggs (just the yolks)

4 cups water

3 1/2 oz sea salt

8 oz sugar

10 2/3 oz white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon pickling spice (I did a pinch of mustard seeds, 4 allspice berries, coriander seeds, red pepper flakes, ginger, bay leaf, cinnamon, 2 cloves)

1 sprig rosemary

1 sprig fresh thyme

1 bay leaf

2 black peppercorns (I upped to 3)

28 oz asparagus (I did two bunches) – hard woody ends removed

1 large shallot – fine chopped

1 teaspoon olive oil

sea salt to taste

lemon juice to taste

heaping 1/4 cup pesto (mine was around a bunch parsley (just leaves), handful of toasted hazelnuts, a good amount of grated parmigiana, smallest amount of garlic (you can leave out) very small amounts of salt and pepper and just enough extra virgin olive oil to blend.

Directions

Make brine for egg yolks.

Combine the water with salt and 1 2/3 Tablespoons of sugar, rosemary, thyme, bayleaf and peppercorns in a pan. Heat till sugar is dissolved. Cover and leave pan to the side to cool.

Make the pickling liquid.

White wine vinegar, remaining sugar, and pickling spice go in a pan. Stir some. You heat it till the sugar is dissolved. Leave to cool. Strain and then set to the side.

As soon as the brine is cool. Separate the eggs and carefully place the egg yolks in the brine for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes the egg yolks get placed in the pickling liquid for another 30 minutes or longer for harder.

Make the asparagus tartare. Take two asparagus and slice extra thin and mix with the finely chopped shallots. Season lightly with some sea salt.

Boil the asparagus for a minute. Then shock them with ice water. Dry them off.

Griddle, fry or grill the asparagus till you get them charred.

Dress the asparagus with lemon and oil and very lightly with sea salt and pepper.

Serve them with the brined/pickled eggs and the pesto.

Charred Asparagus with Pickled Egg Yolk and Hazelnut Pesto

A special THANKS! to chef Eggleton for his Amazing recipe!

The Forking Truth

Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf Butter and Crispy Fried Beet Leaves Recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi

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I’ve must have done beets over 50 different ways so far but I am still always searching for something new and different. I came across the most FORKING AMAZING white albino beets from from Singh Meadows Farm in Tempe Arizona. I got lucky and found this FORKING AMAZING recipe for beets and a FORKING AMAZING recipe for crispy fried beet leaves both from genius chef Yotam Ottolenghi on www.TheGuardian.com There are more recipes to both recipes but I thought for me I had enough to enjoy. You can add a blend of heavy cream and greek style yogurt to the beets if you want. To the battered crispy beet leaves you can make a tangerine dipping dipping sauce. Serving size here is difficult to call. The recipe says that it makes 4 side servings from 8-10 medium/large beets…..for me that sounds more like 8 servings…?????? I will say 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings.

2 pounds beets with leaves (reserve leaves for frying if desired)

sea salt

1 stick unsalted butter

1 1/3 oz olive oil

5 lime leaves – chopped

1/3 oz fresh ginger – peeled and chopped

1 garlic clove – crushed

1 Tablespoon lime juice + 2 tsp to serve

10 lime leaves – stalks removed and finely chopped – lime leaf salsa

1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger – peeled and fine chopped – lime leaf salsa

1/2 garlic clove -crushed- lime leaf salsa

1/2 green chili – fine chopped – lime leaf salsa

1 Tablespoon cilantro leaves, tender stems ok – chopped – lime leaf salsa

3 Tablespoons olive oil – lime leaf salsa

beet greens (I used just the leaves but it is ok to include stems)

scant ounce – dill – torn in small pieces

1/2 ounce fresh mint – torn in small pieces

1/2 Tablespoon Szechuan peppercorns – crushed

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup corn starch

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1 cup ice water

1/2 teaspoon black sesame seeds

pinch ground white pepper

oil for frying

Directions

Set oven to 425 F. Place beets (not leaves) in a in a baking dish with a thumbs length of water. Add one tablespoon of salt and cover tight with a lid or foil. Bake one hour and twenty minutes or until beets are fork tender. Let them cool and remove skins when cool enough to handle.

While beet are cooking put the butter, oil, lime leaves, ginger and garlic in a sauce pan on medium high heat. Gently cook until butter begins to bubble about 4 minutes. Then let flavors infuse for around 40 minutes. Discard solids and stir in 1 Tablespoon lime juice and one teaspoon salt (preferably flaked salt).

Make lime leaf salsa. Mix the lime leaves, ginger, garlic, green chilli, cilantro and olive oil together. Set to the side.

By now the beets are cool and peeled. Make the hasselback on the beets. Cut slits on the backs….I used chopsticks around each beet as I made the cuts so I wouldn’t accidentally cut all the way threw. Place the beets on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Spoon the melted butter over the beets and into the cuts. They need around 1 hour and 15 minutes in the oven. Baste them around every 20 minutes. They need to cook till they are cooked threw and have crisp edges and are caramelized.

While the beets are in the oven you can make the crisp battered beet leaves. Have a pot of oil on medium heat slightly towards high. In a small bowl add the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, sesame seeds, dill, mint, peppers and salt. Add ice-water till you have a nice smooth batter. Dip a few leaves to fry up. They get done when golden. Use a cooling rack or a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Repeat till done.

To serve – Spoon the butter over them, (if using yogurt cream spoon that on too) Drizzle with salsa and remaining lime juice.

Hasselback Beets with Lime Leaf Butter and Crispy Fried Beet Leaves

ENJOY!

A special THANKS! to Yotam Ottolenghi for his FORKING AMAZING recipe and to the Guardian for putting his recipes up on the web.

The Forking Truth

Chili Pepper Roasted Cauliflower with Sumac Dressing and Feta Cheese Recipe

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I was reading about all kinds of Turkish Pepper Paste and I thought that I could make pepper paste out of roasted bell pepper and add Aleppo and Urfa peppers. I roasted those flavored on to a cauliflower. I added sumac dressing and feta cheese and got something tasty. Serving size will differ because our cauliflowers aren’t the same size and we all eat different size portions of food. I’d say that mine made 6 side servings.

Ingredients for around 6 side servings

1 large head cauliflower

3 roasted red bell peppers – skin, seeds, stem removed, keep bell pepper liquid

2 Tablespoons Aleppo pepper

1 Tablespoon Urfa Biber pepper

1 teaspoon sea salt

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil + plus a little extra to oil pan

3 garlic cloves – ground to paste – dressing

3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil – dressing

1 + 1/2 large lemons (just the fresh squeezed juice) – dressing

1 Tablespoon honey – dressing

Reserved pepper juices from roasting the cauliflower – dressing

sea salt to taste

3 oz crumbled feta cheese

2 Tablespoons fresh parsley leaves

Directions

Set oven to 400 degrees F

Cut the cauliflower in serving size wedges….(depending on size of cauliflower it will be 4,6, or 8 wedges)…

Lightly oil a baking sheet and set it to the side.

Blend together the roasted red peppers, Aleppo, Urfa, sea salt and olive oil. Rub this mixture all over the cauliflower wedges. Thee cauliflower goes on a baking sheet in the preheated 400 degree F oven for 10-13 minutes. Carefully remove the cauliflower and add the reed pepper juices to the dressing. Clean off the baking sheet and put the cauliflower back on. Broil lightly on each side till slightly caramelized. (around 5 minutes a side)

In a small mixing bowl mix together the feta with some of the dressing and add it to the cauliflower with some fresh parsley.

Chili Pepper Roasted Cauliflower with Sumac Dressing and Feta Cheese

ENJOY!

The Forking Truth

Vegetarian Eggplant Pibil with Habanero Salsa and Citrus Pickled Red Onions – based on chef Nud Dudhia’s Recipe on www.GreatBritishChefs.com

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I had a bunch of eggplants that I needed to cook and wanted to do a dish that was new to me. I thought the most intriguing eggplant recipe that I found was called Aubergine ‘Cochinita Pibil’ Habanero Salsa, X ni pek by chef Nud Dudhia. I read the recipe. I have most of the ingredients. It makes sense and sounds delicious so I gave it a try. I didn’t have to change much at all here. I didn’t have seville orange juice so I used regular fresh squeezed orange juice. I did round the metric measurements to American. But WOW! It IS FORKING DELICIOUS….It’s a recipe to keep and would be pretty easy to use with meat. For me it came out slightly different. Instead of four 1/2 eggplants stuffed with eggplant I got two halves…(most likely because I stuffed Tham more). I also got extra salsa and extra onions….(no big deal as they are delicious and will be easy to adapt to meals). According to the recipe this makes 4 servings.

Ingredients for 4 servings

3 red onions – very thinly sliced and soaked in ice water for ten minutes (X ni pek)

5 Tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice (X ni pek)

1 Tablespoon fresh squeezed grapefruit juice (X ni pek)

4 limes – just the fresh squeezed juice (X ni pek)

1/2 fresh habanero – remove seeds and stem – finely chop (X ni pek)

3 large tomatoes – rough chop

1 onion – peeled and halved

3 fresh habaneros or scotch bonnets – stems and seeds removed

3 cloves garlic skin on

3 1/2 oz water or chicken stock

1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 pinch salt

2 eggplants

4 garlic cloves peeled

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 Tablespoon achiote paste (I used a 1/2 brick)

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 clove

1 cinnamon stick

1 Tablespoon black peppercorns

1/2 Tablespoon cumin seeds

4 allspice berries

1 orange – fresh squeezed juice

2 limes – fresh squeezed juice

2 Tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/4 cup cilantro leaves

2 Tablespoons mint leaves

2 Tablespoons scallions (sliced thin)

1 lime – cut into 4 wedges

4 Tablespoons sour cream, creme fraiche or queso fresco

Directions

Broil the tomatoes, onion, garlic cloves and habaneros. Remove them when they turn blackened. Set them to the side to cool.

Make the X ni pek. Drain the onions and place them in a bowl. Add the orange, grapefruit, lime juices and 1/2 habanero. Mix well. This stays on the counter till onions turn pink. ( a little over an hour)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Peirce the eggplants all over with a fork. Cook them till the eggplants are cooked all the way threw. (Mine took an hour.) Put on counter till cool enough to handle.

While eggplants are cooking make the marinade. Add oil to a fry pan on medium heat. When hot add the cumin seeds, oregano, cinnamon, allspice, peppercorns and achiote. Toast 2-3 minutes or until aromatic. Brake down the achiote while you cook.

The contents of your pan get blended and add the garlic cloves, orange juice, white vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth.

Cut each eggplant in half longways. Scoop out flesh while keeping the skins intact. Place eggplant flesh in a bowl and mix in marinade as desired. Spoon the mixed up eggplant back into the eggplant skins and return to the oven for ten minutes. To the remaining salsa add the blacked garlic, onions, habaneros. Add water, salt and vinegar. Serve the eggplant with the X ni Pak (onions) salsa, sour cream, herbs and lime wedges. Add tortillas if desired.

Vegetarian Eggplant Pibil with Habanero Salad and Citrus Pickled Onions

It’s FORKING Delicious!

A special THANKS to chef Nud Dudhia and www.GreatBritishChefs.com for this FORKING AMAZING Recipe.

The Forking Truth

Kashmiri Masala Spiced Butternut Squash Walnuts Pomegranate Stuffed Chili Peppers with Green Coconut Chutney and Yogurt Miso Mayo Recipe

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I started out by reading about Kashmiri Masala spice blend and I thought it might taste good on butternut squash…..Then I started reading more about Kashmiri cuisine and got a bunch of ideas that are NOT authentic to Kashmiri cuisine but I thought that this combination taste good anyway and it does. Servings will differ ….I got seven stuffed peppers out of this that made seven servings for me. Some were small and some were bigger depending on the pepper.

Ingredients for around 6 servings

1 small butternut squash – peeled – seeds, stem, end button, and membranes removed and sliced very thin on a mandolin

2-3 Tablespoons Kashmiri Masala Seasoning – Add to taste – I used Archana’s Kitchen’s recipe for Kashmiri Masala. I thought the whole recipe 2-3 Tablespoons was perfect for one butternut squash.

1 lb Anaheim chili peppers (or any peppers that you like but timing might differ)

1 cup white vinegar

4 oz walnuts – lightly crushed

4 oz Pomegranate seeds (reserve 1-2 Tablespoons to finish)

1 teaspoon cumin seed

4 Tablespoons canola oil (1/2 goes in squash mixture the rest gets drizzled on pan and squash)

sea salt to taste

1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut flakes

1/2 cup cilantro leaves and tender stems (packed tight)

1 Tablespoon dried mint (fresh mint is better but I didn’t have any..about two Tablespoons)

2 jalapeno peppers – fine chopped

4 garlic cloves – fine chopped

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 lemon – just the fresh squeezed juice

1/2-3/4 cup water – to make chutney to desired consistency

1 Tablespoon (heaping) yogurt

1 Tablespoon (heaping) white miso

1 Tablespoon (heaping) mayonnaise

Directions

Cut peppers by making a slit across the stem area and down the middle and remove seeds and core. Once all the peppers are done put them in a ziplock bag with the vinegar and let them marinate at least 30 minutes.

Set oven to 400 degrees F.

In a large bowl combine the butternut squash, walnuts, pomegranate (reserve a heaping tablespoon for finishing) cumin seeds and two tablespoons of canola oil. Mix well.

Get a baking sheet ready and drizzle it lightly with canola oil.

Shake off the peppers and stuff them full as much as you can. Put them on the baking sheet and drizzle lightly with oil.

Place in the middle rack of the oven till cooked threw and a little browned. Timing will differ but mine took around 25 minutes.

Make the Green coconut chutney.

Blend together the coconut, cilantro, mint, jalapeño, garlic, ginger, cumin, lemon juice and water to desired consistency. Add sea salt to taste. Put to the side.

Make the yogurt-miso-mayo. Just combine equal amounts of yogurt, miso and mayo. You don’t need much…just a little drizzle.

Kashmiri Masala Spiced Butternut Squash,Walnuts, Pomegranate, stuffed Peppers with Green Coconut Chutney and Yogurt-Miso-Mayo

Finish with remaining pomegranate, Serve with chutney and drizzle with yogurt-miso-mayo.

ENJOY!

A SPECIAL THANKS to Archana’s Kitchen for your amazing Kashmiri Masala Recipe so I could come up with mine.

The Forking Truth

A Taste of Confluence in Carefree AZ – GREAT VALUE Fine Dining – Worth a Fork!

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Confluence is a small restaurant that serves an ever changing menu of farm fresh modern elevated American cuisine located in Carefree Arizona. They offer patio dining with a view of the mountains. They also offer a cozy dining room and bar seating.

They always start you off with a house made bread.

Today it was a generous slice of crusty sourdough served with oil and white balsamic vinegar.

We started out with a hot appetizer of gnocchi.

The gnocchi were pan fried and were elevated with morel mushrooms, cured goose egg yolk, ramps and thyme.

For dinner I usually go with a fish dish because Confluence serves some of the best fish dishes in the valley and it’s hard to get super great fish dishes in the valley…….(but really everything they serve is always excellent)………. Today I went with the filet mignon. This is the first time I ever ordered a steak from here for dinner.

The fillet is very flavorful and is tender like butter. For me it’s a very large portion too. The flavors of the vegetables next to the steak go magically well together. They are fiddlehead ferns, white asparagus, black eyed peas, basil creme fraiche and a fried green tomato. This plate cost much less than filet my husband had from a well known steak house and is so much better and a million times more flavorful. This has to be maybe the nicest best filet mignon plate that you can get anywhere. Prices for filet mignon start at what this steak cost and sometimes are $25. MORE and DON’T come with sides……and if you buy the sides they sure won’t be this nice……….. That is part of the reason on why it’s a great fine dining value to eat here. The tasting menu options are the other reason. They just knock it out of the park with them.

My husband got the Iberiaco pork loin.

It’s as pretty as a picture.

It was also prepared to perfection and came with corn grits, caulilini, brussel’s sprouts, and pomegranate.

For dessert we went with the lemon curd with shortbread, elderflower macerated strawberries and fresh mint.

Everything was equally stupendous!

That was just a Taste of Confluence in Carefree – Great Value Fine Dining

Worth a Fork!

Worth A Fork!

www.RestaurantConfluence.com

Everything is subject to change.

The Forking Truth

Fiddlehead Ferns and Black Trumpet Mushrooms with Tahini Verde and Miso Aioli Recipe

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I took a trip up to Singh Meadows in Tempe AZ and picked up some amazing produce. Fiddlehead Ferns and Black Trumpet mushrooms are hard to come by and are highly prized by food lovers. You cook fiddle head ferns sort of like asparagus but longer. You MUST clean the fiddle head ferns very well and you have to cook them completely because they contain some sort of toxin that you have to cook all the way out. I read that if you boil them for 5 minutes that is enough so that is how I cooked mine. I think the sauces I picked go really well with this dish. This makes around 4 servings.

Ingredients for around 4 servings

1 lb fiddlehead ferns – cleaned really well

6 oz black trumpet mushrooms – cleaned

1 oz unsalted butter

1/4 cup tahini (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons fresh tarragon (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh cilantro (tahini verde)

1 Tablespoon fresh Thai Basil (tahini verde)

ice water (I didn’t measure but I think it was around 1/4 cup) (tahini verde)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt (tahini verde)

pinch ground white pepper (tahini verde)

2 Tablespoons white miso (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon sour cream or greek yogurt (miso aioli)

1 Tablespoon mayonaise (miso aioli)

1 teaspoon garlic confit (miso aioli)

small splash rice wine vinegar (around a teaspoon or 2) (miso aioli)

sea salt to taste

ground black pepper to taste

optional – white and black sesame seeds to finish

Directions

Make the sauces.

For the tahini verde blend together the tahini, tarragon, cilantro, Thai basil, sea salt and white pepper. You will need to add ice water to get it to the right consistency. I think I used around 1/4 cup off ice water. Put this to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Make the miso aioli. In a small bowl combine the miso, sour cream, mayo, garlic confit and rice wine vinegar. Mix well. Set to the side or refrigerate for latter.

Get a pot of water to boil the fiddlehead ferns. Medium boil them for 5 minutes. Shock them with ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain the fiddlehead ferns and put them on a serving platter. I used the same pot to cook up my mushrooms. I dumped the water out and melted the butter and then added the mushrooms. I cooked them till they looked cooked. Then I dumped the mushrooms and all the mushroomy butter all over the fiddlehead ferns. I served the sauces on the side and sprinkled lightly with salt and pepper. I also added a few white and black sesame seeds.

Fiddlehead Ferns & Black Trumpet Mushrooms with Tahini Verde & Miso Aioli

ENJOY!

The Forking Truth