Wafuu Curry

I was looking for this recipe for a tart that used almond paste in its crumble topping. I saw it the other day but I don't remember where I saw it. I think it was in a magazine. Good luck finding it since there are SO MANY magazines floating around my house. While looking for the magazine that might hold the golden recipe I came along a Saveur from February 2007 that I never looked through (yes magazines just pile up unread). What an awesome discovery because inside was a recipe for one of my favorite dishes, Japanese curry, also known as wafuu curry! It was my turn to make dinner tonight so I decided to give it a whirl. I went to the market and picked up the veggies that I will need and I happened upon some other lovelies while I was there:
Some imported anchovies from Italy. Look, they are bigger then my finger!
And some gorgeous mixed olives. Yum!

Maybe I'll turn these into a delicious Puttanesca sauce. By the way, La Famiglia DelGrosso makes an awesome puttanesca sauce in a bottle called Uncle Jim's Late Night Puttanesca. Okay now I'm waaaay off track. Back to my wafuu curry. I usually use the instant kind but this recipe taste just as good and is just as easy. Here's my adaptation of Saveur magazine's wafuu curry:


Wafuu Curry (Japanese Curry)
3 c chicken stock
canola oil
1 lb chicken, cut into 1 inch cubes (I used skinless breast but you can use skinless thigh if you like)
3 T butter
1 inch chunk of ginger cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 T flour
5 T curry, S&B brand (I used the spicy one)
2 small tomatoes, large dice
1 dried bay leaf
1 medium carrot, medium diced
1 medium potato, medium diced
1 small apple, small diced
honey, soy sauce, salt to taste

1) Simmer chicken stock.
2) Liberally salt and pepper chicken chunks. Toss with a tablespoon of cornstarch. (T= tablespoon t= teaspoon, you all know that right?) Saute in oil until golden brown on all sides. Set aside.
3) In the same pan, melt butter and sweat onions. Add garlic and ginger.
4) Stir in the flour and cook until browned, stirring constantly.
5) Add curry powder and tomato. Slowly add half a cup of chicken stock, whisking vigorously to combine and scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Add the rest of the chicken stock slowly while stirring.
6) Add the chicken, onions, garlic, ginger, carrots, potatoes, apples and bay leaf and bring to a boil.
7) Simmer on medium-low until all the carrots and potatoes are soft. Make sure to stir once in a while. If the sauce gets too thick and dry add a little water.
8) Season with honey and soy sauce to taste. The more soy sauce you add the more honey you will need because soy sauce tends to be slightly acidic. Add some salt if you like the sweetness level but think it needs to be more salty.
9) Serve with a short grained rice.

Dear Pasta,With Love

I think pasta is the food of love. There really isn't a set recipe, you make the sauce by feel. Sometimes you feel like more of this, sometimes you feel like more of that. You really can't go wrong. The more love you put the better it tastes!

My mom really loves marinated artichokes so she suggested a pasta sauce with that. I really love anchovies and olives so I thought I would do a veggie tomato sauce with all of the above.

I am really excited about this sauce. It came out so delicious! I had to call my boyfriend to tell him that I just made this incredible sauce. Really there is no recipe. You can add more of something or less of something as you like. I made a huge batch so I can freeze some and eat it later. Here is what I did:


Linguine with Artichokes, Olives, and Vegetables

1 onion diced
5 cloves garlic minced
2 zucchinis diced
2 eggplants diced
1/3 lb of marinated artichokes cut into chunks
1/4 lb of olives ( I used Gaeta olives, make sure to take the pits out and roughly chop)
handful of sun dried tomatoes (rinsed and chopped into pieces)
1 can of crushed tomato
10 filets of anchovies (mine had capers too, slighty chopped)

1. Sweat onion in olive oil.
2. Push onion aside and saute garlic in olive oil.
3. Throw in zucchini and eggplant and saute until tender. You can throw the lid on the pan.
4. Sprinkle in a little dried oregano and freshly ground black pepper.
5. Once the eggplant and zucchini are tender throw in the artichokes, olives, anchovies, and sun dried tomatoes. Stir.
6. Pour in crushed tomatoes and simmer for a couple of minutes.
7. Add a spoonful of sugar. Because the artichokes, olives, anchovies, and sun dried tomatoes are already salty make sure to taste the sauce after the flavors have melded together. Add salt if needed.
6. Toss with al dente pasta.

Craving Anchovies

So I just got back from the gym and I am sooo craving anchovies! I love them, salty and fishy they are deeeeeeeeelicious! I love them on pizza, in sandwiches, in my salad, in a Caesar dressing, in dips, in pasta sauces, and straight up on a cracker! I just made an awesome impromptu pasta with the things I have in my fridge. It totally hit the spot!

Anchovy Pasta for one

1 clove of garlic sliced
5 anchovy filets
3 tablespoons olive oil.
1 tablespoon lemon juice
black pepper
parmesan reggiano

1. On low heat sautee one clove sliced garlic and 5 anchovies in 3 Tbspn olive oil. Break up anchovies slightly with spatula. Once the anchovies have slight softened and melted into the olive oil turn off heat. Don't brown the garlic!
2. Drizzle in 1 Tbspn lemon juice and a couple of grinds of black pepper. (none of that pre ground black pepper in a bottle business!)
3. When the pasta is al dente ( I prefer the toothyness of linguine) toss it right in the same pan with the sauce.

Soooooo good! It would have been better if I had some freshly shaved parmesan reggiano. You don't need to add any salt to this dish because the anchovies are already salty. Let me know how you like your anchovies!