Jul 13

Simple Grilled Squid

The closest that most people come to squid is calamari in a restaurant. Usually these are just rings, breaded and deep fried. I don’t have anything against squid in this way, as I quite often have it as a starter when ever I get the chance, but buying squid with all the wiggly bits and cooking it yourself is so much better.

I’m sure that lots of people are put off of squid and other cephalopods such as cuttlefish and octopus because of their strange and scary looks, but squid is a fairly cheap seafood and is it really easy to prepare and quick to cook.

Most squid that you can buy will have been frozen already, including the ‘fresh’ squid at the fish counter, that has been de-frosted already for you. Most of the time you’ll find that the squid you buy has been cleaned and the beak and pen have already been removed. However it would be best to just give them a little rinse under some water before using. Also you might find that you’ve been cheated of the tentacles, but they are probably just hiding inside the squid body (mantle).

Ingredients

  • 1lb (450g) of squid
  • 2 tbsp of olive oil
  • 1 tsp of paprika
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 2 tbsp of lemon or lime juice
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Clean and pat dry the squid.

    Cleaned squid

    Cleaned squid

  2. You can cut the body into rings or leave them whole. Remove any super long tentacles if you want. It just makes them slightly easier to handle. Add the squid to a bowl and mix together with the olive oil, paprika, garlic, juice and salt and pepper. Thread the pieces of squid onto skewers. You may have to twist the tentacles around the skewers to prevent them dangling down too much.

    Marinated squid

    Marinated squid

  3. Cook the squid for about 3mins each side over a high barbeque or under a high grill (broiler). The tentacles should curl up and start to char a little.

    Squid grilling on the barbecue

    Squid grilling on the barbecue

  4. Serve while hot with a squeeze of lime.

    Simple Grilled Squid

    Simple Grilled Squid

 

Jul 12

Lupe Tortilla a Classic Houston Tex-Mex Restaurant

For as diverse as a city as Houston, TX, with its citizens both locally born and from the four corners of the United States and beyond, there is little consensus on which restaurants serves the best Tex-Mex food. There are few topics of discussions that will generate more passionate responses from people. What is most amazing is that there are those, including myself that will say that their favorite restaurant is the best and yet have tried very few other Tex-Mex restaurants.

Ninfa’s, Chuy’s and Pappasito’s are a few of the more popular Tex-Mex restaurants, but for me I go to the equally popular Lupe Tortilla. I was first introduced to Lupe Tortilla’s by my father who would to go to the original Lupe’s for lunch when he was in Houston for business. Lupe’s is one of those restaurants that know how to poke fun at itself while serving consistently good food each and every time at all of their locations with little to no variation. The menu is varied, but not so extensive making it impossible to choose a dish.

Lupe Tortilla's Sign

Lupe Tortilla Roadside Sign

Before Lupe Tortilla’s opened additional locations (Houston, Austin, College Station and San Antonio), the waiting time to be seated at the original location was infamously long. Patrons would arrive before the restaurant opened to position themselves high on the seating list. Although the waiting time has been reduced, the one thing that has not changed is that the restaurant is extremely child friendly. It is not unusual to see three generations of a family eating at Lupe Tortilla’s.

Lupe Tortilla Lime Margarita on the Rocks with Salt

Lupe Tortilla Lime Margarita on the Rocks with Salt

As with all Tex-Mex restaurants, the meal begins with your tortilla chips. At Lupe’s the chips are served with their fresh spicy version of salsa which thankfully more chunky then sauce. In addition to the salsa, a bowl of warm beans with chunks of smoked ham is also served which is my personal favorite. The margaritas are good and strong. I typically order one of two dishes at Lupe Tortilla’s. My perennial favorite is the Chicken Poblano; shredded chicken mixed with cheese and stuffed into a large Poblano pepper and then roasted on a open grill. The Steak Lupe, a marinated skirt steak (the same that is used for fajitas) is very good and is also topped with cheese.

Lupe Tortilla Chicken Poblano

Lupe Tortilla Chicken Poblano

In a city the size of Houston which has a long history of Tex-Mex cuisine, it is very difficult to go wrong with any Tex-Mex restaurant that you choose. If you are new to the city, briefly passing through or looking for a place to go with your family you will receive as many responses to your inquiry as people you ask. For me, the answer to your question is simple. Go to Lupe Tortilla.

 

Jul 11

How to make naan bread at home

Naan bread is a type of flat bread from Persia and Indian that is a great accompaniment to curry. Indian restaurant naan bread is amazing, but that is partly due to the fact that most of them use a tandoor oven for cooking them which creates an amazing char, but still has a soft and perfectly cooked centre. If you can get naan bread in a supermarket, it will be a very poor facsimile, and most likely quite dry. However making really great tasting naan bread at home isn’t that hard.

Ghee

Ghee

The secret to making really tasty naan bread is ghee and a really hot a grill (broiler). Ghee is basically clarified butter, which means that the milk solids have been removed from the butter fat. It originates from the Indian sub-continent and Persia. You can make it yourself, but it doesn’t cost that much to buy, and it lasts forever, even when not in the fridge. By removing the milk solids from the butter somehow increases the buttery-ness and sweetness of ghee, which is why you should really go the little extra mile to use it for making naan at home. It makes such a difference. You can find ghee in the ethic aisle of most large supermarkets.

Basic Naan Recipe

For other types of naan bread see below. You can make the basic naan dough by hand, a bread machine, or food mixer, however you will have to pull the dough into shape by hand and cook it in a tandoor, if you have one, or a very hot grill (broiler).

Ingredients

  • 0.5 cup (120ml) of water
  • 5 tbsp of plain yoghurt
  • 2.5 cups (340g) of white bread flour
  • 2 tbsp ghee (or clarified butter), melted
  • 2 tsp liquid honey
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp of dry active yeast

Method

If using a bread machine, add the ingredients to the pan as per your machines instructions and use a dough setting. Alternately mix the water, yoghurt, 1 tbsp of ghee, honey, salt, flour and yeast together to form a dough. Knead the dough for about 5 mins until it is smooth and uniform. Cover the dough and allow it to rest somewhere warm for about an hour or until it has doubled in size. Turn the grill (broiler) to its hottest setting. Separate the dough into 3 equal pieces. Using floured hands stretch the dough into a flat-ish naan shape roughly 10″ x 6″ (25cm x 15cm). Place the naan on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush with some melted ghee.

Naan stretched into shape and brushed with ghee

Naan stretched into shape and brushed with ghee

Place the naan directly under the grill. It should immediately start to puff up a little and maybe start to char. Cook for about 1.5 to 2 minutes. Brush with some more melted ghee and place somewhere warm until ready to eat.

Garlic and coriander naan bread

Garlic and coriander naan bread

For even better naan bread you could use a pre heated pizza stone to help increase the heat of the grill or even build your own outside tandoor oven made from a large terracotta flower pot like Alton Brown.

Garlic and Coriander Naan

  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp of black onion seeds (other names include nigella, kalonji or habbat al-barakah)
  • 2 tbsp of cilantro (fresh coriander), chopped

Follow the basic naan recipe, but add the garlic, ground coriander and black onion seeds to the dough before kneeding. Once the dough has proved fold the cilantro (fresh coriander) into the dough. Cook as the basic naan recipe.

Folding the cilantro into the naan

Folding the cilantro into the naan dough

Peshwari Naan

  • 0.5 cup (125ml) of finely chopped almonds, desiccated coconut and sultanas (golden raisins)

Follow the basic naan recipe. Once the dough has proved fold the chopped almonds, desiccated coconut and sultanas into the dough. Cook as the basic naan recipe.

Keema Naan

Follow the basic naan recipe. Once the dough has proved, divide the dough into portions. Stretch the dough into larger pieces than for the basic naan recipe, add some meat to the middle of dough and fold it in half. Cook as the basic naan recipe.

Jul 11

Braum’s, a Burger Joint, Ice Cream Shop and Grocery Store all rolled into one

For those that have not driven or lived within 300 miles of Tuttle, OK the ice cream shop, fast food restaurant and small grocery store all rolled into one known as Braum’s is probably unknown to you. However, is you have driven through Alma, AR to the east, Amarillo, TX to the west, Salina, KS to the north and Hillsboro, TX to the south and not stopped at Braum’s then you have missed out on unique experience.

Braun's Roadside Sign

Braun's Roadside Sign

I admit the first time I walked into a Braum’s in Vernon, TX, I was a little confused. Was it a small grocery store, an ice cream shop or a fast food restaurant? Depending on why you are going, it can be one, two or all three reasons.

Fast Food and Ice Cream Order Counter at Braum's

Braum's Fast Food and Ice Cream Order Counter

I like Braum’s for three basic reasons. The first is that even though it is a fast food restaurant, Braum’s is limited geographic range. If I am having a craving for a Jalapeno Pepper Jack Cheeseburger or Blue Cheese Bacon Burger (offered for a limited time), it is not like I can just drive down the street to a Braums’s. The second reason is that for a fast food restaurant, the burgers are really good. The fries are just okay, but the burgers are made fresh to order and the lettuce, tomatoes and onions are always fresh and generous. The third reason is that their ice cream is superior and their malt shakes are worthy of just stopping at Braum’s to order one.

Refrigerator Cases of the Grocery Section of Braum's

Braum's Refrigerator Cases of the Grocery Section

If you happen to be traveling within 300 miles of Tuttle, OK and you see a Braum’s sign, stop in; order yourself a burger and shake, then purchase some snacks from their small grocery store for the next leg of the road trip.

Store Sign of Braum's

Braum's Store Sign

Jul 10

Asperge Pannekoek – South African Asparagus Crepes

I recently came back from a business trip to South Africa, where I tried lots of really great South African food, and just had to buy a cookbook before I left, to give me some ideas to try at home. I was torn between a choice of two South African cookbooks, but in the end I choose the one written in English, the other being in Afrikaans.

The book I bought was ‘South Africa Eats’ by Phillippa Cheifitz, which won the ‘Best Culinary History Book’. Like South Africa itself, this cookbook, is a collection of the various cuisines that make up the country introduced by the various immigrants over the years, including the Dutch Afrikaans, Jews, Greeks, Italians, Indians, Indonesians, British, etc.

Since making crepes the other week I wanted to try this obviously Dutch influenced dish of asparagus crepes, or asperge pannekoek in Afrikaans. It is quite a simple dish of savoury parsley crepes, cooked asparagus and cheese, baked in the oven. They would great for a simple light lunch or starter as well as an addition to a main meal.

Asparagus Crepes and steak

Asparagus Crepes served with Steak au Poivre

Asperge Pannekoek

Ingredients

  • 8 plain parsley crepes (See Crepe Recipe)
  • 250g (8oz) of cream cheese
  • 24 stems of asparagus, cooked
  • Mozzarella cheese
  • 6 tbsp of single cream (half and half)
  • Parmesan Cheese
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

First make the crepes using this Crepe Recipe, but before cooking them add a handful of chopped parsley to the mix.

Parsley Crepe Batter

Parsley Crepe Batter

Take a spoon of cream cheese and smear it over a crepe. Place 3 spears of asparagus in the middle of the crepe and tear of some pieces of mozzarella over the asparagus. Add some salt and pepper.
Making the asparagus crepes

Roll up the crepes and place it in an oven proof dish. Sprinkle the cream over the crepes and then add some shaved  parmesan cheese.

Asparagus Crepes ready for the oven

Asparagus Crepes ready for the oven

Bake in a 200C (400F) oven for about 15mins until the crepes start to become golden brown and then serve.