Junebugs

As per my June 4th entry…J. and I had been wanting to try to re-create the “Pasta Yia-Yia” that we enjoyed at Lula Cafe.  Last night was the night. We walked through the alley behind J.’s house to the local mercado /fruteria /verduleria, Armitage Produce. The owner of that shop stands in the entryway to say “hola” as you walk in, and helps the check-out ladies pack bags as you leave. I think his motivation is more surveillance than kindness. Nevertheless, I think he’s getting to know the white kids who live around the block pretty well, now. We picked up a fresh avocado, garlic, cinnamon sticks, roma tomato, romaine lettuce & mango.  

With a little bit of guesswork and online research, here is our take on the delicious and flavorful pasta. To go alongside, J made a wicked fresh salad.

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Pasta Yia-Yia (a.k.a. bucatini with brown butter and Moroccan cinnamon)
1.5 sticks of unsalted butter (3/4 cup)
3/4 t cumin
1 cinnamonstick
1/2 t ground cinnamon
4-5 cloves of garlic, sliced thin
16 oz bucatini pasta
2 T vegetable oil
3-4 oz feta  (or queso fresco, if a mercado is all you have nearby)
salt & pepper

- In a large stock pot, cook the pasta al dente to package instructions.
- In a smal pot, over low heat, brown the butter.*
- In a separate skillet, heat vegetable oil and when oil is hot add cinnamonstick, ground cinnamon and cumin. Heat for a few minutes until you can smell the aroma of the spices. Lower heat and add garlic. Cook the garlic, careful not to burn.
- Once butter is browned properly, drain the pasta and combine the pasta, browned butter and oil+spices mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste (they really brought out the other flavors). Top with crumbled feta or queso fresco (Lula served with a fresh feta, but our local mercado only had queso fresco. And I actually think I enjoyed the queso better).

*This is the first time I really looked into the technique of browning butter, and it reminded me of ghee in Indian cooking. Anyone have experience or tips on this? I may have to write more about this later.

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Guacamole Salad
1 avocado, cubed
1 lime, juiced
1 tomato, cubed
red onion, diced
cilantro, chopped
roman lettuce

J titled this “guacamole salad,” and it’s fantastic with fresh vegetables. Combine everything above, and if you need to.. add a bit of oil and vinegar for extra dressing.

….C

Last Friday night, J. and I enjoyed a late dinner at Lula Cafe.  We split the feta cheese plate appetizer, he ordered the Pasta Yiayai (jokes included) and I the Moroccan Chickpea and Sweet Potato Tagine.  Both dishes were wonderful.  The next afternoon I was still thinking about Tagine, so I attempted to re-create it. I had extra mushrooms around, so I added those to the dish, and swapped out the cous-cous for brown rice.  Here’s my take:

Sweet Potato Tagine

2 tsp vegetable oil
2 1-inch pieces of cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
2 teaspoon cumin
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 red onion, diced
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1-2 pinches of cayenne pepper (add to taste)
1 can Chickpeas
1 large sweet potato
4-5 tomatoes (canned & stewed) + their juice
6 oz diced white mushrooms
1 small box of raisins

Pre-heat oven to 450. With a fork, poke a few holes in the sweet potato & coat it a little vegetable oil (just enough to coat). Wrap sweet potato in tin-foil and put in the over for 20-30 min until cooked soft. Once it’s done, peel the sweet potato and dice it into 1/2 inch cubes.  

Heat oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, and cumin; sauté about 2 minutes. Add onions; sauté until 1/2 way translucent. Add garlic; sauté until onions are fully translucent (careful not to brown the garlic nor the onions). Add the can of chick peas (including liquid) and  stewed tomatoes (plus their sauce). Add turmeric and salt. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and add cayenne pepper (1 pinch at a time). Break up tomatoes into smaller pieces, if desired. Stir in the sweet potato cubes, mushrooms and rasins. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft. Serve over brown rice.

Next time… we attempt to re-create the Pasta Yiayia….

……C