4 warming recipes from the season’s best new cookbooks
As the weather takes a turn, four chefs share the comforting recipes they’re serving up from their brand-new cookbooks
Method
Heat the oil in a large casserole dish set over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and cook slowly, turning down the heat to low-medium and stirring every 4-5 minutes until softened and starting to lightly brown in color and become oily but not crispy (this should take about 15 minutes).
Meanwhile, crush the garlic cloves and ginger to a paste using a pestle and mortar, or blitz in a food processor.
Once the onions are ready, add the garlic and ginger paste and fry for two minutes to release the gorgeous flavors.
Add a splash more oil, then brown the chicken pieces with the onion/garlic/ginger mix. Add the spices and creamed coconut, breaking it up into smaller pieces as you stir – it should melt.
Stir in the toasted gram flour, followed by the chicken stock, fish sauce, and the cold water. Bring to the boil and allow to simmer, uncovered, over a low, gentle heat for about 30 minutes. If the broth is too thick, add some water.
Serve hot on a bed of cooked egg noodles. Add a squeeze of lime and top with halved boiled eggs and the remaining garnishes in little bowls for everyone to help themselves to. (Storage notes: this chicken curry can be made in advance and stored in the fridge for up to four days. It can also be frozen for up to three months.)
From Amy and Emily Chung’s The Rangoon Sisters: Recipes from our Burmese Family Kitchen
Coconut chicken noodles, by Emily and Amy Chung
“This dish is packed full of flavor with its rich coconut sauce combined with chilli, lime, coriander and crispy fried noodles. It is a bowl of comfort for those cold and wet days ahead, when all you want is something tasty and warming.”
Serves 6
Ingredients
5tbsp oil (vegetable, sunflower or peanut), plus extra for browning the chicken
5 medium onions, chopped
10 garlic cloves, peeled
2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, peeled
8 skinless and boneless chicken thighs, chopped into 3cm pieces
2tbsp paprika
1tsp turmeric powder
2tsp chilli powder
100g creamed coconut (the solid block type), or 200ml coconut milk would work
2tbsp gram flour, toasted
600ml chicken stock
2-3tbsp fish sauce
400ml cold water
To serve
6 nests (450-500g) dried chow mein or egg noodles, cooked
3 limes, cut into wedges
6 hard-boiled eggs, cut in half
Coriander leaves
4 shallots, thinly sliced
1 batch of crispy fried rice noodles
Chilli flakes or chilli oil
Fish sauce
Cranberry orange pie, by Erin Jeanne McDowell
“I love sour flavors, so cranberries have a special place in my heart. Because they are high in pectin, they make a naturally thick filling on the stovetop. A thin layer of silky cream cheese filling, spiked with orange zest, helps temper the tartness and round the whole thing out with a little creaminess (the perfect pairing in my book).”
Makes a 9-inch/23-cm pie
Ingredients
For the cranberry filling:
2lbs (906g) cranberries (fresh or frozen, no need to thaw)
1/2 cup (113g) fresh orange juice
1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
1/2 cup (106g) packed light brown sugar
1tsp ground cinnamon
3/4tsp ground ginger
Scant 1/4tsp ground cloves
1/2tsp fine sea salt
1/2tsp vanilla extract
For the Orange Cream Cheese Filling:
8oz (226g) cream cheese, at room temperature
Grated zest of 2 medium oranges
1/2cup (56g) powdered sugar
1 large egg, lightly whisked
1/2tsp vanilla extract or Fiori di Sicilia
1/4tsp fine sea salt
One 9-inch/23-cm pie crust (homemade or shop bought), parbaked if needed, brushed with egg wash, and cooled completely
Method
First, make the cranberry filling. In a medium pot, mix the cranberries (and any juices from thawing), orange juice, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt to combine.
Cook over a medium heat until the cranberries begin to soften or break down, 12-15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to low and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture has thickened, 6-8 minutes; some of the berries will break down and become jammy, some will be whole or in chunky pieces. Stir in the vanilla. Cool completely.
Prepare the cream cheese filling. In a medium bowl, using a silicone spatula, stir the cream cheese until smooth. Add the orange zest and mix well, then add the powdered sugar and mix until fully incorporated.
Add the egg, vanilla extract, and salt, and mix to combine.
Place the cooled pie crust on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Pour in the cream cheese filling and spread into an even layer. Freeze the pie for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C with a rack in the lower third (preferably with a Baking Steel or stone on it)
Spoon the cooled cranberry filling on top of the chilled cream cheese filling and spread into an even layer. Transfer the pie to the oven and bake until the crust is deeply golden brown (the filling will have sort of a matte appearance), 35-40 minutes. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
From Erin Jeanne McDowell’s The Book on Pie © 2020 by Erin Jeanne McDowell. Photography © 2020 by Mark Weinberg. Reproduced by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. All rights reserved.
Method
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, cut the butter into a few pieces and place it in a large, high-sided sauté pan or skillet over medium heat to melt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the butter is pale golden, taking about three minutes.
Add the hazelnuts to the sauté pan or skillet to toast, stirring occasionally, until the nuts are glossy and golden and the butter is just beginning to turn toasted brown and have a nutty aroma – it should take 2-3 minutes.
Add the shallot to the pan with the butter and hazelnuts and sauté, until softened, for about one minute. Remove from the heat and carefully stir in 3tbs (45ml) of balsamic vinegar, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and several grinds of black pepper.
Add the tortellini to the boiling water and cook (opt for one minute less than the package instructions, for al dente). When the tortellini are ready, reserve ¼ cup (60ml) of the pasta water with a measuring cup, then drain the tortellini.
Add the reserved pasta water and tortellini to the pan with the butter, nuts and vinegar, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
Add the spinach, handful by handful, tossing and gently stirring until the spinach has wilted and the sauce has thickened enough to coat the pasta evenly, 1-2 minutes.
Remove from the heat and stir in the remaining 1tbs (15ml) of balsamic vinegar. Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, as needed.
Serve garnished with shaved Parmesan.
From Sheela Prakash’s Mediterranean Every Day. Reprinted with permission from Mediterranean Every Day © 2020 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. Text © 2020 Sheela Prakash Photography: Kristin Teig Photography. First Published in 2020 by The Harvard Common Press, an imprint of The Quarto Group
Balsamic brown-butter tortellini with spinach and hazelnuts, by Sheela Prakash
“As the weather gets cooler, I can’t help but crave pasta on repeat. For this recipe, cheese tortellini is wrapped in a cozy blanket of balsamic brown butter sauce and dotted with toasted hazelnuts. A few generous handfuls of baby spinach are wilted in for balance, but there’s no denying this is total comfort food and a dinner that’s perfect for the season.”
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
6tbs (84g) unsalted butter
1/2cup (70g) hazelnuts, chopped
2tbs (20g) finely chopped shallots
4tbs (60ml) balsamic vinegar, divided
Freshly ground black pepper
Kosher salt
16-20oz (454-567g) fresh or frozen cheese-filled tortellini
5oz (about 5 packed cups; 142g) baby spinach
Freshly shaved Parmesan cheese, for serving
Spiced corn fritters with tomato sambal, by Lara Lee
“My aunty Tje Ie in Kupang, Timor, loves to make these when she has visitors – a tradition I’ve carried over to my home in London. Juicy, chunky kernels of corn come together with fragrant spices and aromatics to form these delicious fritters. And I think of the tomato relish as a beginner’s guide to sambal, as it works beautifully either spicy or mild, depending on your preference. For those with chilli-sensitive palates, like my Devonshire mother-in-law, Caroline, deseeding the chillies lowers the potency of the heat. The addition of tomatoes makes it a mellow and umami-rich relish that is irresistible drizzled over soups, added to stews or used as a dipping sauce for the fritters.”
Makes 15 large fritters
Ingredients
For the Fritters:
4 corn on the cob or 350g canned/frozen sweetcorn kernels (if using canned/frozen, squeeze out as much moisture as possible – the easiest way is between layers of paper towels)
1tbsp sunflower oil, plus extra for deep-frying
6cm piece of ginger (about 30g), peeled and thinly sliced
6 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
2 long red chillies, thinly sliced
2 small banana shallots or 4 Thai shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large spring onions, thinly sliced
5 kaffir lime leaves (optional), stems removed, very thinly sliced
2tsp ground coriander
1tsp ground cumin
3 pinches of sea salt
Large pinch of black pepper
2 eggs, beaten
6tbsp cornflour
Chilli sauce, to serve (optional)
For the tomato sambal:
Makes 250g (about 16 portions)
20 long red chillies (about 250g), deseeded and sliced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
4cm piece of ginger (about 20g), peeled and sliced
2 small banana shallots or 4 Thai shallots, peeled and sliced
180g cherry tomatoes (this is typically made with intensely flavored bush tomatoes in the parts of Indonesia where they are lucky enough to grow them, but in my home kitchen in London I’m happy to use good-quality cherry tomatoes)
1tsp tamarind paste (or 1tsp lime juice mixed with 1tsp brown sugar)
½tsp palm sugar or brown sugar
Sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Coconut oil or sunflower oil, for frying
Method
Make the sambal first. Place the chillies, garlic, ginger, shallots and tomatoes in a food processor and blend to a semi-fine paste, retaining a little texture.
Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add 4tbs oil. Add the paste to the pan and cook, stirring continuously, for 10-15 minutes or until the sambal darkens, is fragrant and reduces to a thick consistency.
Season with the tamarind paste, sugar, salt and pepper. Leave to cool. The sambal keeps for up to one week in the fridge covered with a thin layer of sunflower oil, or for up to three months in the freezer.
Next, the fritters. If using fresh corn on the cob, remove the outer husk and threads, then carefully slice down the outside of the cob with a knife, as close to the core as possible, to remove the kernels. Set them aside.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the ginger, garlic, chillies and shallots and fry, stirring, for 10 minutes.
Blend to a medium-fine paste in a small food processor with the spring onions and kaffir lime leaves, if using.
Mix the spice paste with the corn kernels in a bowl and add the coriander, cumin, salt, pepper and eggs. Stir well to combine, then add the cornflour.
Fill a deep saucepan one-third full with oil. Heat the oil to 180°C. (If you don’t have a kitchen thermometer, check the oil is at temperature by adding a cube of bread; it should turn golden in 15 seconds.)
Carefully drop a dessert spoonful of the batter into the hot oil – it should settle into a roughly circular shape. Repeat to make 6-8 fritters, without overcrowding the pan. Fry until golden all over, about four minutes.
Test one to ensure it is cooked through. Transfer to a tray lined with paper towels to soak up excess oil.
Repeat to use up all the mixture, topping up the oil if needed.
Serve immediately, with the sambal or chilli sauce to dip, if using. (The fritters keep for up to two days in the fridge and, if prepared in advance, are best reheated in the oven for 10 minutes at 170°C/150°C fan/gas 3.)
Reprinted from Lara Lee’s Coconut & Sambal by arrangement with Bloomsbury Publishing. Copyright © 2020, Lara Lee
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