Thai One On Southern Gumbo

This is a Thai-Southern infusion, which is basically a gumbo (sans file) with some added kick. We taste-tested this dish today and found it to be quite reasonable. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 lb okra
1 can Rotel "Mexican Fiesta" - the blue label.
3/4 cup chick peas
4 ears of white corn
2 fillets of orange roughy - if you'd like to be environmentally conscious, use cod instead.
1 medium onion
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 can of coconut milk - use your judgment here (read on later)
Salt / Pepper to taste
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp white pepper, ground
1/2 tsp coriander, ground
3 tbsp olive oil + dash of kosher salt

Preparation
Chop the onions into even pieces. Heat the olive oil and kosher salt in a large skillet or pan. Sweat the onions until they turn translucent - if they start to brown, turn the heat down. This should take about 3 minutes. Then, add the garlic and continue the sweat for another two minutes, stirring occasionally.

While that's going on, de-cap and de-tail the okra and slice them into even pieces. Set aside. De-ear the corn and set aside. For an added touch of flavor, roast the corn while still on the cob to toast it up. Add all these items as well as the chick peas into the pan, then kick the heat up to medium-high.

Poach the fish in a bit of olive oil and water. I wrap the fillet in parchment paper and pop it in the microwave for 4 minutes. After that's done, bust up the fillet and add into the pan. Add the coconut milk. Add the remainder of the spices and gently stir up, then just cook it all up until it's cooked to your satisfaction and the veg are tender.

Finally, drop the heat down to low (or off!) and let your gumbo simmer. After a few minutes, serve and enjoy!

Tabbuleh, Tabouli, Tabooley

Yes, well, it is a bit difficult to transliterate an Arabic word to an English word in any other form but phonetic, isn't it? Luckily, transliterating Tabouli (my preferred spelling) from a recipe to your table is pretty darn simple.

Ingredients

• Cracked Bulgur Wheat
• Parsley, chopped - remove stems as much as possible.
• Olive Oil - enough to coat the parsely. I usually eyeball this right from the bottle - no more than 2 tbsp.
• 1-2 Cucumbers, peeled & cubed. You can optionally seed the cukes, but I don't.
• 1 tomato, cubed. Roma tomatoes are good. For a Southern twist, try Green Fryer Tomatoes (not fried). They will add a nice crunch.
• Lemon Juice, to taste - adds a bit of acid bite.
• Salt & Pepper to taste optional.

Preparation

Cook the bulgar wheat per directions, and allow to cool off a bit, ideally to room temperature. While that's cooling, you can finish your mise en place on the vegetation. Note on quantities: I prefer more parsely such that the tabouli is more like a salad, however you may prefer a more wheatey dish, in which case, tailor the amount of parsely accordingly.

Take a large bowl, add the parsely and olive oil, toss to coat. Add tomatoes, cukes and lemon juice then toss to mix and coat. Finally, add the bulgar wheat and mix it all up.

Serve

You can use as a side salad (e.g. with kabobs), or top with peppery-crusted pork tenderloin and some tzatziki sauce - both of these will be forthcoming recipes once I get a moment to enter them in.

Tomato Sauce

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Tomatoes
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Yield: 4 cups

20 Roma tomatoes, halved and seeded
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1 cup finely diced onion
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon finely chopped oregano leaves
1 tablespoon finely chopped thyme leaves
1 cup white wine

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In 2 (13 by 9-inch) pans place tomato halves cut side up. Sprinkle with oil, salt and pepper, onion, garlic, and herbs. Bake tomatoes for 2 hours. Check the tomatoes after 1 hour and turn down the heat if they seem to be cooking too quickly. Then turn the oven to 400 degrees and bake another 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and process tomatoes through a food mill on medium dye setting over a small saucepan. Discard skins. Add white wine, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and cook for 5 minutes.

Pantry Friendly Tomato Sauce

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown
Show: Good Eats
Episode: Seeing Red
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Yield: 1.5 quarts

2 (28-ounce) cans whole, peeled tomatoes
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 onion
1 carrot
1 stalk celery
2 ounces olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup white wine
Kosher salt and black pepper, to tasteIn a sieve over a medium non-reactive saucepot, strain the tomatoes of their juice into the sauce pot. Add the sherry vinegar, sugar, red pepper flakes, oregano, and basil to the tomato juice. Stir and cook over high heat. Once bubbles begin to form on the surface, reduce to a simmer. Allow liquid to reduce by 1/2 or until liquid has thickened to a loose syrup consistency.

Squeeze each tomato thoroughly to ensure most seeds are removed. Set the tomatoes aside.

Cut carrot, onion, and celery into uniform sizes and combine with olive oil and garlic in a non-reactive roasting pan over low heat. Sweat the mirepoix until the carrots are tender and the onion becomes translucent, 15 to 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes and capers to the roasting pan.

Place roasting pan on the middle rack of the oven and broil for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Tomatoes should start to brown slightly on edges with light caramelization. Remove the pan from the broiler. Place the pan over 2 burners on the stove. Add the white wine to the tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3 more minutes over medium heat.

Put the tomatoes into a deep pot or bowl and add the reduced tomato liquid to the tomatoes. Blend to desired consistency and adjust seasoning.

Okra and Tomatoes

Recipe courtesy Alton Brown, 2006 Show: Good Eats Episode: Okraphobia
1 pound okra, rinsed and trimmed 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 1/2 cups finely chopped red onion 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 1 tablespoon minced garlic 2 cups peeled and chopped tomato 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger 1 teaspoon freshly ground grains of paradise* or black pepper 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom Cut each okra pod in half lengthwise and set aside. If there are any pods longer than 4 inches, cut them in half crosswise and then lengthwise. Heat the olive oil in a 4-quart saucepan over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions along with the salt and cook until they begin to turn golden, approximately 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer. Add the tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil. Decrease the heat to low and add the ginger, pepper, cardamom and okra. Stir to combine. Cook, uncovered for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning as desired. Serve immediately. *Cook's Note: Grains of Paradise are available online and in specialty spice markets. They have a zesty flavor reminiscent of pepper, coriander, and cardamom.