Writers don’t just write, and blogs need variety, or at
least that’s what Google tells me. So, cooking. I like to cook. A lot. I go
through the usual meat-based periods, but I’m on a vegetable-heavy Indian kick
lately, with a variety of masalas and curries.
I should offer one disclaimer. I don’t follow recipes. I
toss things in until it looks, feels and tastes right to me, so I wind up
talking about cooking as a process, not a sequence of additions; even when I
bake it’s by eye. But here’s one you can try the next time you feel like Kraft
Dinner just isn’t going to cut it.
Start with a hot pan and some olive oil, dump in the base
for your marsala – a bay leaf, chopped garlic, half a chopped onion, masala mix
(garam or red, or a bit of both) , and work it until the paste is coherent. Set
paste aside. Add and stir in cubed chicken or pork, add parsley (chopped fresh
or dry) and some grated ginger – keep it moist and add water and paste once the
meat is seared, then cook it down. Add diced veggies (broccoli, green peas,
whatever you fancy) before it reduces completely so they cook. Keep the heat on
until the consistency is nice and thick and most of the water is gone. Dump
over basmati rice or noodles or whip up some naan. You could try couscous as
well. Garnish with a bit of pickled ginger.
The whole works takes about half an hour and is much, much
nicer than instant mac and cheese.
