Here in New England, we’re deep in the throes of the winter season. The trees are bare, the days are short, and the produce pickings are slim.
* Scroll down to go straight to the recipes! *
To cope with the chilly gray weather, I seek solace in cooking. I love brightening my dinner table with punchy, flavorful salads (citrus is a godsend in January and February), cozy, spiced stews, and vibrant-hued pasta.
This week, I’m sharing two fun recipes that fit the bill. The first is an insanely easy, simple, and tasty weeknight pasta from Joshua McFadden’s cookbook Six Seasons (are you into vegetables and seasonal cooking? get your hands on this treasure *asap*). Here, kale is blended with garlicky oil until smooth and velvety, then tossed with pasta. The second is a warming, spice-laden butter paneer. Rather than using cream itself, my version relies on the natural creaminess of cashews (and a little bit of butter) to provide richness to the sauce. Let’s get to it.
Weeknight Dinner: Joshua McFadden’s Kale Pasta
I’m always a little skeptical when I see a shockingly simple recipe like this one. When I first attempted the recipe, I felt an urge to adapt and alter the ingredient list, to add a pop of flavor here and there. But I resisted; I wanted to taste the pasta as written, as intended.
I’m thrilled I did because I was pleasantly surprised at the intensely delicious and complex flavor that emerged despite a short list of ingredients: garlic, olive oil, kale, pasta, parmigiano-reggiano cheese, and salt and pepper.
Dress it Up
This recipe is plenty delicious on its own, but I would not be offended if you doctored it up!
Add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the oil when sauteeing the garlic for a spicy kick.
Blend an anchovy or two into the kale sauce for additional umami.
Garnish the pasta with chopped toasted nuts, like walnuts or pine nuts, for a little nuttiness.
Make it a Meal
Serve this pasta alongside these roasted beets with herby skyr, shrimp cacciatore, or roasted squash and lentils.
I like to eat this pasta with some tinned fish for a quick mid-week lunch.
Tips and Tricks
Add a generous amount of salt and black pepper. With such a short list of ingredients, every ingredient matters. Salt brings out the vegetal flavors from the kale and the umami notes from the cheese, so season early and often!
Don’t be surprised if you end up with leftover sauce. Every time I try this recipe, I end up with extra sauce. So don’t feel like you need to add all of it. You want the pasta to be saucy, but not drowning in sauce. Leftover sauce can be used to make more pasta (obviously), but you can also doctor it up by swirling it in some greek yogurt or drizzling it over roasted vegetables.
Don’t throw away those kale stems! The kale stems are too tough to blend smoothly in this recipe, but they can be saved and frozen for when you make a vegetable broth. Or, you can chop them up finely and throw into a stir-fry or pasta.
Grab the full recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and answers to your questions below ↓
Weekend Project: Butter Paneer
A rich, spiced, creamy butter paneer recipe made with cashews. Most recipes for Indian butter paneer are developed to try to mimic the restaurant dish. This is not one of them. I enjoy the cream-laden restaurant version for what it is and leave it to the restaurants when I’m craving that flavor. Instead, I developed my own take on the dish.
For this version, the base creaminess comes from cashews — which are often — but not always found in butter paneer. The cream at the end is entirely optional, and I often do not need it as the cashews provide enough richness for me. The resulting dish is rich, comforting, slightly punchy from the spice, and perfect with some soft naan on the side.
What substitutions or changes can I make to the recipe?
1) The recipe can be completely vegan if you sub butter for vegan butter and tofu for the paneer.
2) Alter the flavor profile to your own preferences. I find that the tomato and cashews provide enough sweetness, but you can add a bit of sugar to the final puree if desired. If the dish isn’t spiced (or spicy) enough, add more garam masala (or chili powder).
3) Dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi) add a nice, almost maple-syrupy, earthy, nutty flavor to the butter paneer. It’s a classic flavor that distinguishes butter paneer from other tomato-based dishes. You can sub in a pinch of ground fenugreek if you don’t have the leaves. And if you don’t have either? Try adding in a little drizzle of maple syrup.
Tips and Tricks
A high-powered blender is necessary to ensure the sauce is as creamy and smooth as possible. If you don’t have one, I recommend omitting the cashews and subbing the fresh tomatoes for a 14 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes. It’ll change the flavor profile slightly but help smooth out the sauce. For this variation, you will likely need cream to cut the acidity of the tomatoes.
Soak your paneer: Store-bought paneer is usually quite dense, so I recommend softening it first. Cut the paneer into 1-inch cubes, then soak in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes. Drain paneer and set aside.
Grab the full recipe, plus all of my tips, tricks, and answers to your questions below ↓
What Else I’ve Been Cooking…
I’m currently finalizing a recipe for a *mini* burnt basque cheesecake. I am a huge fan of the basque cheesecake (tarta de queso), and as some of you know, I developed a pumpkin cheesecake variation a couple of years back. That said, in a household of 2, it takes a lot of effort to finish a whole cheesecake. So I’m developing a mini version of the popular dessert baked in a 6-inch cake pan. I hope to publish it by Valentine’s Day, so stay tuned!
Recently, we tried this Creamy Tom Yum Goong recipe from Hot Thai Kitchen, and it was so flavor-packed; the homemade shrimp stock is a must. I will note that the dish is quite spicy (in a delicious way!). I thought I had messed up when I accidentally poured in 1 cup of evaporated milk instead of the 1/2 cup the recipe called for, but the soup was still so flavorful!
This radicchio caesar salad recipe (lots of anchovies, crispy breadcrumbs!) and these gochujang sugar cookies (the best cookie I’ve eaten in a long time) by Eric Kim.
That’s all for this week!
-Karishma
This looks yummy. Definitely worth trying ...