Lentil Potato Curry Crazy

Curry.  Maybe it is my English roots, or the fact that I have a sick addiction to Indian food… ohhh how I love a lamb vindaloo, but tonight was a big batch of vegetarian curry.  Many people have the wrong idea about Indian food.  Its going to be too spicy.  It is going to be fatty and unhealthy.  Sure I have ventured into some “authentic” Indian eateries and walked out pissed off about a bunch of mushy crap.  But good Indian food, and I mean from people that know what they are doing, can make some fantastic dishes with not 10, not 5, but 0ne or two spices and some great healthy and fresh ingredients.  Indian food to me is an art in blending spices and layering of flavors.  My father, now retired, has all the time in the world to let a good Indian curry simmer and develop.  For myself, time is a little harder to come by which is why I have not experimented too much with this line of food.  But on occasion, I will set into the kitchen with a goal of spice and aroma that leads me to some sort of curry dish.

So in the theme of the month, eating on the cheap, curry is a super way to add tons of flavor to legumes and starches, without breaking the bank.  I poked around at some recipes and stuck my head in the pantry and found some things that worked quite well if I do say so myself.

I sort of went at tonight’s dinner with a blank notepad and a bunch of stuff I had on hand.

1 cup green lentils

4 potatoes (cut into 1/2 inch cubes)

3 tablespoons of curry powder

2 dried habanero peppers (from last years crop)

32 oz of diced tomatoes

one red onion

4 cloves of garlic

3 cups water

salt and pepper

-Bring the water to a boil in a big stew pot and put in the lentils with one tablespoon of the curry powder to cook for 15-20 min.  Add the potatoes and tomatoes to the lentils and simmer.  Heat up a pan and add oil and the sliced onion and saute till soft, then add the minced garlic till aromatic (maybe a minute or two more).  Add this to the big pot and add the rest of the curry powder and some more water to cover the potatoes.  Crush the dried habanero’s and stir in.  Let simmer as low as possible for 45 minutes.  Taste and season.  Done.  Wait, what was I saying about simmering all day!  I had some long grain rice on hand, so I served the curry over the top.

The whole house smelt amazing.  Curry will do that, and of course I made myself a extra large helping that caught me off guard, but the food region of my brain was doing all the talking.  Lentils, potatoes and rice are very filling.  So I have a good amount left, which will come with me for lunch that I will serve over the veggi cutlet I have left over from two nights ago ( I love leftovers.  Sometimes they are even better than when you make it fresh!)  I do believe that this whole curry set me back about $3.50.  This was dinner for two and at least another 4 or 5 servings.  Man, at this rate I can retire in a few months.  Come to think of it.  How come every high school does not offer a “eating at college on a budget” cooking class?  I mean when it come to push comes to shove (please read: when it comes to food or booze), we all know what a college student chooses… freshman and sophomore year anyway.  Maybe I am onto something.

The Easy, Juicy, Simple Roast Chicken Recipe

 

So, I guess that I should tell you how to do the chicken I was talking about huh?  Well it could not be more easy so here goes.

1.    Take your 6 lb chicken out of the fridge and remove the giblets.  

2.   Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees.

3.   Make a paste of 3 tbsp fresh thyme (minced), 2 cloves of garlic (minced) and 3 tbsp of butter.  Mash all of this together and season with a bit of salt and pepper.

4.   Next we need to separate the skin from the bird w/o tearing it.  To do this turn the bird so the large cavity is towards you.  The flap of skin on top can be held up and then carefully take your fingers and push through the membrane so your fingers enter between the skin and the meat.  Once you are through the membrane, then gently move your fingers up the breast to the neck region, separating the skin from the meat, then down into the leg area.  Repeat for the other side of the breast and leg.

5.  Take half of the butter/thyme paste and rub it into the area between skin and meat.  Do this for both sides.  Any extra rub on the skin.  

6.  Sprinkle the bird and cavity with kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper.

7.  Stuff some fresh thyme into the cavity.

8.  Put some root veggies into the base of a baking pan large enough to hold the bird and toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.

9.   Place the chicken into the pan and roast in the oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

10. Let it sit for 10 minutes before carving.

To make a nice simple gravy, take all the juices and simmer it with some thyme, salt and pepper.  Then add a bit of butter just before serving.  Strain out the thyme and enjoy!

How easy was that.  Serve with the root veggies that were under the bird, and some fingerling potatoes.  mmmmmmmmmnnnnnnn!

What the Cluck

What the Cluck

I mean really, is there anything better than a simple roast chicken drizzled with its own juices!  I always get annoyed when people tell me that they do not have enough time to cook and eat well.  I am not going to lie, I have a secret affair with a few fast food joints, but I indulge as the exception, not as the rule, and I would go as far to say that you can make a golden, juicy roast chicken in the same (active) time as it takes you to get down to the local drive through and back.  

An added bonus of this roast chicken thing is that you have a few meals taken care of as well.  Sandwiches, soups, whatever you like, there is a fair amount of meat on a 6 lb. roaster, so tomorrows sandwich, done.  Dinner after a long day… done!  So why bother to delude yourself into thinking that making good food is time consuming and difficult.  

A roast chicken is one of those things I grew up eating and remember the leftovers even more.  Today at the farmers market I picked up some of my favorite organic fingerling potatoes and baby carrots from Weiser Family Farms, so I needed a protein to pair them with.  Chicken was the call, and now that I am satiated, a good one.

In the era of overly processed meat “items” that all look identical, a whole chicken is something that probably gets overlooked as you prowl the meat section.  The fear of winding up with a dry and bland bird is very real, unless you follow a few little tips. Ready?

1.   Size of the bird is important.  Too small and the meat is overcooked before the skin is crispy and golden.  I like to find a bird 6 lbs to 6 1/2 lbs, because crispy skin it the best part.  

2.   Butter, yes the stuff that makes everything taste better.  Make a paste of butter, fresh thyme, garlic and salt and pepper and rub it in between the skin and the meat (more on this in the recipe).  This bastes the bird, makes the skin all crispy, and coats the root veggies below the bird in lip smacking magic.

3.   425 degrees for 1 hour and 20 minutes, let it rest for 10 minutes.

So next time you are deciding on what to make for dinner, make a roast chicken.  It is 30 minutes of active time, and a little over an hour of free time in the middle to do other things that you use as excuses for why you are short on time and have to eat “fast food”.