Abby's Chicken Pasole Soup

Serves 4 people

 Ingredients:

Chicken thighs (3)

Chicken bouillon

Yellow onion diced (1)

Minced garlic (3 fat cloves ish)

6 large tomatoes roughly chopped

2 cans black beans

2 25oz cans of hominy

bottle of salsa verde (La Victoria brand)

Toppings:

Thinly sliced green cabbage

shredded cheese

sour cream

tortilla chips

Directions: Put chicken thighs in the bottom of a soup pot, cover with water and add some bullion. Add tomatoes, drained black beans, drained hominy, and whole bottle of salsa verde. Season soup with pepper, oregano, cumin, and red chile powder. Don't salt, since bullion is quite salty. 

Meanwhile, sauté onion and garlic in a pan. Once chicken has been boiled for about 15 minutes, take out the chicken pieces, shred finely (don't be lazy PK this is important) and add back to soup. Let the soup boil a little more until it's thick ish. Meanwhile, finely chop the cabbage into thin shreds and sauté until a bit soft and brown. 

Top soup with cabbage, shredded cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.  Add fresh pepper on top. 

Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Start by making about 1.5 cups of brown rice in the instant pot, equal parts rice/water, 20 minutes on manual. You probably won't need all the rice, but better safe than sorry.

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Prep four peppers, whatever color you want, by cutting around the stem and pulling out the seeds. They should be hollow inside.

Prep about 3/4 cup of grated mozzarella.

To prepare the filling:

Start by finely mincing about 1/4 onion, 1/2 shallot, 4 cloves garlic. 

Then chop up an herb mixture. We used a handful of parsely, a couple green onions, and a little dill, but the herb mixture is very open to creative inspiration. 

Next, mix in and cook 1lb of ground turkey.

Mix spices into the turkey: Ground cumin, paprika, white pepper, black pepper, salt, cayenne pepper, thyme, a dash of celery seed.

After mixing in, add about 1/4 cup or so of red pasta sauce.

Then add in about 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

Now when the rice finishes, add in the rice to the filling. You can use as much rice as you think looks like a good ratio with the meat.

To prepare the peppers:

Stuff the peppers with the filling.

Add grated mozzarella on top of each pepper. 

Put in the oven on a thin layer of chicken broth to help keep the peppers moist. You may want to try covering with foil as well, although we didn't.

Cook for 30 minutes. You can cook longer if you want softer peppers.

Serve with hot sauce.

Famous Chicken Gumbo

This is some seriously tasty chicken gumbo, made in the instant pot.

First, make a roux by using the saute setting in the instant pot. About 1/4 cup oil and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour. You'll have to cycle the saute setting from on to off so that you don't burn the roux while you're mixing. It's ready once it starts smelling like popcorn a little bit and gets dark brown.

Then add in a diced onion, diced green pepper, diced celery, and 4 diced garlic cloves.

Add in 4 chicken thighs, sliced into chunks. 

Now it's time to spice it!

Add a tablespoon of chicken bouillon, two tablespoons of tomato paste, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, paprika, celery seed, cayenne, white pepper, black pepper. 

Add sliced frozen okra.

Then add about 2 cups of chicken broth.

Sprinkle on a little rice for just a little more texture in the end product.

Stir this up and cook it on manual for 50 minutes - this will make everything gooey and delicious.

As it cooks, cut up 3 green onions and a handful of parsley for garnishing at the end. When it gets close to finishing, cook up some andouille chicken sausage on the stove. Mix it all together at the end and serve with bread!

Oooo, la la, ....ah, oui, oui!

Surprisingly easy empanadas

 Note: For this recipe, dough needs to sit at least an hour, up to overnight, in the fridge before making. But active time is pretty small. 

Dough: Mix the following together:

    -1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

    -1.5 tsp salt

    -1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt

    -1.5 tbsp melted butter

    -3 tbsp water

Mix until it's a smooth ball, but don't overwork. Put it in an airtight tupperware in the fridge for at least an hour, up to overnight. 

After chilling, divide dough into five pieces. Preheat oven to 350F. Make filling by mixing together shredded carrots, peas and spiced ground meat (or any other filling that sounds nice). Roll out each dough ball into 6 inch circles ish, put filling in there, fold in half and seal edges thoroughly. Now can do some twists to make it look extra fancy, like in video below. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRBPfmd2XJM&ab_channel=CuriousCuisiniere

Brush sealed empanadas with egg yolk wash (1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp water). Bake for 30 minutes, or a couple of minutes longer. You want them to be puffy and golden brown. 

No fuss tamales

 Start soaking corn husks in warm water, use baking tray and weigh down. 15 husks or so should be good for this recipe.

Meanwhile, one person can prepare filling and one person can prepare the dough.

Filling: Shred some cabbage, mix with raw ground turkey (1 lb, a little might be left over) and spices (cumin, paprika, chilli powder, etc). Can put in some salsa verde too. 

Dough: Mix 2 cups masa harina, 2.5 cups mostly pureed corn (if frozen, bring to RT first), 1/2 cup broth, 4 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tsp baking powder, 1 tsp salt. Mix well. Will probably want to add more warm water a bit at a time, you want the texture to be spreadable with a spatula. 

Assembling tamales: take each corn husk, spread a golf ball or so amount into each husk in the middle and flatten with your hand until it's about 1/4 inch thick. In the middle, put a strip of filling , maybe 2 tbsp or so. Fold over and seal edges of the masa together, wrap remaining corn husk around itself, fold up bottom, and tie with a strip of corn husk. 

In instant pot, place trivet. Line that with a big corn husk. Place tamales with open side up in the instant pot, place a corn husk or two over the top of all tamales so condensation doesn't drip into them. 

Close pot, make sure valve is on "sealing" and cook on high pressure on manual for 20 minutes, followed by a 10 minute natural release. 

Take out tamales, serve with chopped chilles, cilantro, avocado, and lots of salsa verde. Wait a couple of minutes after taking out to unwrap, otherwise dough will stick to husks. Makes about 9 tamales, maybe more if Ben doesn't make giant ones next time. This recipe makes good meal for Ben, good 2 meals for symp.

Really quick and easy way to make tamales, and Ben says they're the best tamales he's ever had.

Herbaceous Meatballs

 Preheat oven to 425F. In a big mixing bowl, put:

-4-5 fat cloves of minced garlic

-1 cup of finely chopped herbs (dill, parsley and green onions are great)

-3 tbsp of a pickly thing (pickles, olives, capers, whatever you have on hand)

-1/4 cup chopped walnuts

-1 egg

-spices (paprika, thyme oregano for example. Or fennel. or just salt and pepper. or cumin)

-1 tbsp olive oil

-1.5 tsp salt

Mix all that together. Then add 3/4 cup of oats (ground finely into flour) and 1 pound of meat. I usually do turkey, but beef or pork would also work. Mix enough to combine well, but don't overwork the meat, lest it become too tough. 

On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, form your mixture into balls. Make 22 balls, pretty small, like golf balls. 

Bake for 20 min. 

I like to serve this with roasted spaghetti squash, which you can put in the oven ahead of time to roast cut side down for about an hour at 425F. Goes really well with chimichurri. 

Mum's gola roti

Recipe makes two big gola rutis. Mix 2/3 cup whole wheat four with 2/3 cup 2% milk. Mix. Add a little more water until consistency is like pancake batter, thick but pours. Whisk out the lumps. Add a pinch of baking powder, chilli powder and salt. Heat a pan with some olive oil and spread the batter over it once hot. Pour batter and jiggle the pan a bit to get it to spread. Don't make it ultra thin because then it will tear. Once dark brown spots develop on one side, flip and cook until dark brown spots appear on the other side. Roti will fluff a bit. Texture is really soft and delicious. Great plain with a little ghee and salt or as a wrap for taco filling or as a breakfast egg wrap. Serve with chopped lanka. 

Benji's favorite rice bowls

Start a pot of brown rice. Meanwhile, stir fry lots of mushrooms, garlic and onion in a pan with some olive oil. Add a handful of finely chopped mint towards the end. On another pan, cook strips of turkey bacon until crispy (2 per person). Chop the bacon into chunks once cooked. Finely dice some lankas (one per person). Once rice is cooked, mix with veggie mix and turkey bacon chunks. Salt. Serve with Banda's famous lemon pickle.

Lemon pistachio spinach pasta

Boil a pot of water for pasta, whole wheat rotini is great. Cook pasta until al dente. Meanwhile chop and sautee a few fat cloves of garlic until browned. In immersion blender container, put the garlic, 1/3 cup pistachios, 1/3 cup water, a big hot pepper (fresno is great, otherwise lanka), 2 tbsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth, start on low speed. Add some big handfuls of baby spinach. Blend again until smooth. Quarter some cherry tomatoes, chop some green onion. Once pasta is done, drain, add green sauce, tomatoes and green onions. Add fresh cracked pepper. Add generous squeezes of lemon (really puts this dish over the top), mix. Serve.

Creamy tempeh and broccoli curry

Preheat oven to 450F. Put thinly sliced tempeh in there and bake for 10 min, or until crispy and brown around the edges. Cook some brown rice to go with curry. Meanwhile, sautee broccoli, sliced bell peppers, corn (any stir fry veggies you want). In immersion blender, put 1/3 cup shelled and roasted pistachios, 1/3 cup water, 2 tbsp olive oil, one sliced fresno pepper, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Pour sauce over cooking veggies, cook until it's thick and veggies are done. Broccoli should still be a little firm, not too soft. Put in tempeh towards the end and stir to make sure everything is coated in sauce. Benji is somewhat ambivalent towards tempeh, but called this killer.

Green Linguine

Symplax original. Start boiling a pot of water,  cook whole wheat linguine until just al dente. Chop a few fat cloves of garlic, sautee in olive oil until brown. Put into immersion blender. Put a packet of baby spinach in the pan, cook until wilted and put that into immersion blender as well. Throw in some chopped walnuts, a splash of olive oil, salt, a whole fresno pepper (coarsely chopped), and the secret ingredient: boullion (veggie or chicken) dissolved in a splash of boiling water. The bullion makes the green sauce sooo umami. Drain cooked noodles well, toss with green sauce. Absolutely marvelous.

Urad gnocci

Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, mix urad flour with enough water to make a thick, goopy dough. Add spices like thyme, rosemary, salt, pepper (pepper especially). Once water is at a rolling boil, drop dough in one gloop at a time. Boil for 20 min. Once done, strain, cut into bite sized pieces. Add marinara, chilli powder, salt, and lots of black pepper. Add a spoon full of ricotta on top (the grainy, creamy texture adds a lot to this dish) and some fresh herbs of choice on top.  Symplax original :) Excellent less-starchy version of gnocci. Great served with a light salad.

Buckwheat pizza

Preheat oven to 400F. In a bowl, mix 2 cups buckwheat flour with a half cup of water and some salt. Add a splash more water once you've mixed it until it forms a dough. On a baking sheet, scatter some cornmeal, then press the dough onto the pan in the desired shape. Bake 5 min. Meanwhile, prepare toppings (in this case: pizza sauce, sauteed veggies, smoked salmon, shredded mozzarella). Take crust out, put toppings on, bake ten more min. Serve.

Wild rice tofu veggie pesto

Cook long grain black rice in the instant pot, 35 min. 2 cups washed rice, one block of long cubed tofu, and 3.5 cups water. While that's cooking, saute two cut zucchinis in a little oily tomato pesto. Cook on low stirring occasionally until browned and soft. Also make two softs boiled eggs. Once rice is done, add to cooked zucchini, add a couple of big dollops of tomato pesto. Add chili powder and salt. Serve topped with sliced eggs and cilantro.

Urad dumplings

These taste like a delightful cross between Indian idlis and Chinese dumplings. Bring a pot of water to a boil. Meanwhile, mix urad flour with enough water to make a goopy dough. Mix with any spices you want (I used rasam powder), and salt. When water is at a rolling boil, drop in one goop of the urad flour mixture at a time. Let it boil vigorously for about 20 min. After that, take out dumplings, chop into thick slices. Mix with soy sauce, fish sauce, fresh chilles, a squeeze of lime, and fresh chopped herbs (spring onions and cilantro are both great). Serve :) Symplax original. 

The Aunt Nancy Special

Preheat oven to 400F, cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise, scoop out seedy guts, rub with a little olive oil and bake cut sides down for 35-50 min (depending on if you open the oven). Meanwhile, cook 2 large or 3 med chicken breasts (or one block shredded tofu) with seasonings (cajun is great). In a big bowl, mix chopped chilles, green onion, 1/2 cup enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup corn (this is pretty important actually), 1/4 cup sour cream, cilantro, more cajun seasoning. Add the cooked (shredded) chicken or tofu. Mix. Take squash out when done, scrape out the cooked spaghetti flesh, mix it into the other stuff in the big bowl. Top with a little shredded queso fresco or other fresh Mexican cheese. Bake 15 more min.
Note: if you want to roast the squash seeds at the same time to make pepitas to put on top, just put seeds with a little olive oil and seasoning onto tray with squash for 15-20 min.
Accompaniments: sliced avocado, hot sauce, cilantro, chopped chilles, sour cream. All go well.

Chilli mole (veg or non-veg)

Makes one of our big glass bowls full. No soaking of beans required.

Blend a chopped onion, several cloves of garlic, 4 roma tomatoes, salt, chilli powder, 3 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened coco powder, lots of cumin, turmeric if you want. Put that into instant pot along with a chopped bell pepper, a couple of stalks of chopped celery, and 1.5 cups of rinsed dry kidney beans. Shred most of a block of extra firm tofu on biggest cheese grater setting, put that in as well. Ground meat would also be great, a bit less than a pound. Put in 2 cups water. Give it a good stir, check the spicing, add anything it needs. Cook on manual setting in instant pot for 45 min. Let it naturally release for 20 min, then release the rest of the steam. FASTASTIC. Symplax original.

Larb

In a wok, stir fry generous garlic, ginger and shallots (or onion). Add ground meat (1 lb is generous portion for two), chopped chilles, chopped veggies like carrots and celery, fish sauce, soy sauce, chopped spring onions, and a generous chopped handful of cilantro and of fresh mint (key ingredient). Cook until water from meat and veggies is evaporated. Squeeze lime on top. Serve in lettuce wraps.

Vinesha made a version with shredded tofu instead of meat, added chopped peanuts too. Can try that.

Ginger butternut squash soup, instant pot

Turn on instant pot to sautee mode. Meanwhile, chop a big white onion coarsely. When it reads "hot" throw in onion, a few sprigs of sage and thyme (count them, so you can retrieve them later), some salt and pepper too. Stir it until onions are soft. Meanwhile, peel butternut squash, cut into cubes. You'll need 2 cups of squash for this. Throw the cubes in with the onions, sautee that for about five min. Add in about an inch of fresh shredded ginger (fresh is key!), a pinch of nutmeg (careful, not too much), and 4 cups of stock (chicken, veggie, bone broth, whatever you feel like). Close instant pot and set to manual for 10 min. Meanwhile, wash and toast the squash seeds in a dry pan on the stove. When done, quick release. Remove the stems of the herbs. Puree contents with an immersion blender. Can garnish with toasted seeds. Taste is squash-creamy and ginger-spicy. Delightful!

Symplax meatloaf

Basically, mix one pound ground meat with same volume of cooked veggies and a few generous spoons of cooked quinoa. 

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut up onion, garlic, bell pepper, celery, tomato. Cook that in a pan for a few min until soft. Mix into ground turkey. Add salt, chopped chilles, stone ground mustard, an egg, black pepper, and fresh poultry herbs like thyme and rosemary (this is key). Put onto baking sheet and make into whatever shape you want. Bake for 40 min. 

Would be great with a spicy tomato sauce to accompany.