Roasted Cumin Potatoes

This recipe is my take on a classic north Indian jeera aaloo—cumin potatoes. Unlike the traditional version, which is cooked stovetop, I use the customary ingredients called for, but roast the potatoes in the oven for a crisp and dry finish.

Ingredients 

2 lbs [1 kg] Potatoes, washed and cut, skin-on, into 1-inch-thick pieces
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1 tsp whole Cumin
1 tsp Turmeric powder
½ tsp Chilli powder
1/4 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
Sea Salt (to taste)
2 tbsp Olive Oil

1. Pre-heat oven to 450º F (230ºC). Arrange potatoes in one layer in a baking dish. 
2. Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet or frying pan over high heat. Add cumin and let sputter for about 1 min. Remove from heat and pour the spice and oil over the potatoes. 
3. Sprinkle turmeric, chilli powder, black pepper, and sea salt, drizzle with olive oil, and using your hands, toss well to mix. 
4. Roast in the oven for 30 mins, then stir the potatoes with a large spoon to ensure that they caramelise evenly. Continue roasting for another 15 mins. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Braised Red Chard with Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Spicy Sausage

This is one of those super versatile dishes that I came up with using leftovers in my fridge. And like all truly great leftover recipes, you can easily substitute a lot of the main ingredients with whatever you have handy. If red chard is not available, then spinach or kale will do just as well; red kidney beans or black-eyed peas can swap-in for chickpeas; and any savoury or cured meat (bacon/sausage/ham) will do. Serve it as a side dish or, even better, as a main course, piled on top a steaming mound of couscous or rice.

Ingredients 

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
12 oz [340 gms] Spicy Sausage (like Chorizo or Spicy Italian), cut into ½”-thick pieces
1 tbsp whole Fennel seeds
2 sticks Cinnamon
2 Bay leaves
3 cloves Garlic, finely minced
4 small Tomatoes, chopped
1½ lbs [750 gms] Red Chard, washed and cut into 2-inch strips, including stalks
16oz [½ kg] canned Chickpeas, drained and thoroughly washed
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper
½ tsp Chili powder
Juice of ½ Lemon (reserve the leftover lemon—rind, pith, and pulp—cut into quarters, for use later in the recipe)
½ cup Chicken stock, or Water
1/3 cup Cilantro, finely chopped

1. Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large skillet or frying pan. When the oil is smoking, add sausage and brown evenly on both sides. Remove sausage onto a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. 
2. Add remaining oil to same pan and heat. Add fennel, cinnamon, and bay leaves and allow the spices to sputter for 1 minute. Add garlic and stir for 1–2 mins, until lightly golden. Add tomatoes and cook for 3–4 mins, until they start to break down. 
3. Add chard in batches and stir briskly until the leaves are wilted. Add sausage, chickpeas, salt, pepper, chilli powder, lemon juice, and lemon pieces and stir well. Add chicken stock, lower heat, and continue cooking for 5 mins. 
4. Turn off heat, sprinkle with cilantro and let sit for 5 mins. Serve hot over steamed couscous or rice.

Red Chard with Tomatoes and Blackened Chillis

We’ve had our first snow fall in New York already, even though it is still October! This means that the farmer’s market will soon be devoid of all fresh leafy produce. So as a last hurrah to the vestiges of warm weather, I cooked-up two bunches of glorious red-tinged chard, accented with beefy steak tomatoes and smoky blackened chillis. Until April . . . .

Ingredients
1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
2 tbsp Olive Oil
6 cloves Garlic, finely minced
2 lbs [1 kgs] Red Chard, washed and cut into 2-inch strips, including stalks
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
Salt (to taste)
1 tsp freshly ground Black Pepper

1. Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat. When the oil is smoking, add chillis and sauté briskly for 1 min until they are blackened. Remove chillis to a small bowl. When they are cool to touch, using your hands, crush the whole chillis roughly into small pieces and set aside. 
2. Add olive oil to same pan and heat. Add garlic and stir for 1 min until lightly golden. Add chard in batches and stir briskly until the leaves are wilted. Add tomatoes, salt, and pepper, lower heat, and continue cooking till the tomatoes have softened, about 5 mins. Turn off heat. 
3. Sprinkle with crushed chillis and stir gently. Let the flavours steep for 15 mins before serving.

Broccoli Rabe and Chickpeas with Cumin and Dried Red Chillis

Rapini, also known as Broccoli Rabe, has a distinct bitter taste, which mellows when charred. The key is to cook it in a smoking hot skillet without any oil or fat. I paired that delicious blackened flavour with the smokiness of cumin and dried red chillis, and the sweetness of caramelized shallots and garlic. This dish is great served warm, or just as delicious when made ahead of time and put out as cold antipasti.

Ingredients 

1 tbsp Vegetable Oil
1½ tbsp whole Cumin
6–8 whole Dried Red Chillis
3 Shallots, finely sliced
3–4 cloves of Garlic, cut into thin slivers
1½ lbs [700 gms] Broccoli Rabe, washed and with the ends of the stalks trimmed off
16 oz [2 cups] canned Chickpeas, drained and thoroughly washed
Salt (to taste)

1. Heat oil in a large skillet or frying pan over high heat until smoking. Add cumin and dried red chillis and stir briskly for about a minute until the chillis just start to blacken. Lower heat to medium, add shallots and fry for about 3 mins until they are lightly golden. Add garlic and stir for another min. Remove skillet from heat and pour shallot-garlic-spice mixture, including the oil, into a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat the same skillet until smoking. Add broccoli rabe and sauté for 5–7 mins until the ends start to char and blacken. Add chickpeas and salt, and continue to stir for another 2–3 mins, making sure the greens are evenly charred and the chickpeas start taking on some colour.
3. Turn off heat, add shallot-garlic-spice mixture to skillet, and stir well. Put a lid on the skillet and let sit for 5 mins before serving.