Posts tagged as:

thyme

Of Updates and Olive Oil

July 16, 2010

Garlic Infused Oil

Things have been a little quiet on the blog, but it’s quite the opposite in the Purple Foodie kitchen.

Last week, friends who run a Bombay-based lifestyle website coaxed me into selling my bakes. Just two days after that conversation, The Purple Foodie Catering was born. “It won’t be much,” they told me. Clearly, they underestimated their reach. Messages and emails from readers and well wishers poured in, as did orders for a whole bunch of things. My recipe list doubled up as a menu for requests, and that’s how it’s pretty much going to work until I get a few hours to finalise and design the menu. If you’re in Bombay, you’ve got to subscribe to Brown Paper Bag’s weekend guides. They find these cute hole-in-the-wall places and report about new and fun things to do in the city.

A catering mini-launch was just one thing. I also began writing for another popular city blog. I submitted a story that I’m really proud of – a Crawford Market Guide; a guide to the city’s best food market. I worked with Matt to put the the interiors of the market on paper – something that’s not been done before for this Victorian era market. I looked through almost every shop to put together all the information you’re going to need on your next visit to Crawford Market. Be sure to download the map.

All of this week, I’ve pretty much been elbow deep in flour, and absolutely loving every bit of it. So here I am running around getting some basic packaging in place, buying supplies and delivering the bakes! Regular food blogging should resume soonish.

Another thing I wanted to talk to you about is garlic oil. Loads of sliced up garlic, fresh thyme, red chilli flakes infused into fruity extra virgin olive oil over the slightest simmer (yes, simmer because the moisture from the garlic will make the oil bubble and appear as though the oil were simmering). In all of 15 minutes, you will have sweet garlic slices that you could eat without feeling the bite. I can imagine this being so perfect with plain boiled pasta. And to top that you will be hit by a fragrance of sweet, spicy and herby all at the same time.

Garlic oil is excellent in salad dressings, as a finishing oil for pastas and risottos, or best of all, to make these garlicky baked fries (which incidentally, have got 171K views so far). I pretty much eyeballed the garlic oil, so measurements are approximates: 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, 7-9 cloves of garlic (sliced), a few sprigs of fresh thyme and 1 tsp red chilli flakes. This makes enough to last me about a week, so it should for you, too.

{ 22 comments }

The Best Zucchini Brushchetta

June 28, 2010

Zucchini Bruschetta

I’m going to keep it short for two reasons: words fail me because this is more delicious than I ever expected something with zucchini to be and secondly because you must run to the kitchen and make the zucchini bruschetta this very minute (or head to the store if you haven’t any zucchini).

I had this bruschetta at a brunch I went for recently and I absolutely loved it! I learned a few things I’d like to share:

Thyme and zucchini is a match made in heaven.
The bruschetta tastes especially good at room temperature. This makes it an excellent do-ahead recipe.
The bread was toasted in a ridged pan until some spots were slightly charred, imparting a pleasantly earthy taste. This was a refreshing change from my usual practice of toasting bread in the oven.

It’s so easy to put together, can be made ahead of time, and is so full of flavour. What’s not to like? I can imagine a smear of goat’s cheese on the bruschetta being a superb addition to the flavours. Reminds me of the zucchini and goat cheese pizza I made a while ago. Mmmm.

Zucchini Bruschetta

Zucchini Bruschetta Recipe

Serves: 4-5

1 large zucchini or two medium ones if you want a mix of colours, diced into small cubes
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, very finely chopped
Few sprigs of thyme, leaves removed
1 baguette, sliced
3-4 tablespoon olive oil or melted butter to brush on the bread
Parmesan cheese, to serve

On a medium flame, heat a pan and add olive oil and garlic followed by thyme. Add the zucchini when the oil gets fragrant. Cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly browned in spots. Do not cook for too long, else it might get too soft and mushy. Transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In the meantime, brush the sliced baguette with a little olive oil or butter and toast it in a hot cast iron skillet or a ridged pan until crisp on both sides. Lay it on a platter.
Spoon the zucchini over the toasted bread and grate some parmesan cheese over it. Dig in!

{ 26 comments }

Za’atar and Feta Pizza

August 23, 2009

A few weeks ago I discovered a new local restaurant with a wood fired oven. With the quality of ingredients on the pizza and the smoky flavour from the oven, I was sold. Since then, I’ve been having sporadic bouts of pizza craving.

When I’m low on supplies, I just stand in front of my refrigerator and stare at it, hoping something materialises. This time around I gaped until my mind paired the tub of feta with the za’atar. Perfect! I’d mix the za’atar with some extra virgin olive oil until it is spreadable then brush it on some pizza dough (oh, the craving!) top it off with some crumbled feta. Why didn’t I so this sooner?! I used the whole wheat pizza dough recipe I got off Oprah’s website and made two thin crust pizzas. After taking a bite from the first one, I realised it needed a kick, so I added some chopped jalapenos to the next one I made and finally achieved the flavour I was looking for.

Za’atar and Feta Pizza
Yield: 2 thin crust pizzas

Pizza dough (your favoruite recipe)
Cornmeal for sprinkling
4 tbsp za’atar
4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
8-10 pickled jalapenos (depending on how spicy you like your pizza)
200g/ about 8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled

Roll out the pizza dough thinner than you’d like your pizza crust, because the bread’s going to rise.
Transfer the dough to the baking stone or a thick baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal.
In a small bowl, mix together the olive oil and za’atar. Add enough olive oil until you get a spreadable mixture (since sometimes the za’atar contain roasted wheat which tends to absorb the oil).
Generously brush the rolled out pizza dough with the za’atar mixture.
Dot the pizza with crumbled feta.
Bake for 8-10 minutes in a preheated oven set at 250°C/500°F or as high as your oven can go (if it’s higher make sure to watch the pizza closely because it’ll be done in no time!)
Slice it and serve.

{ 29 comments }

Time for Thyme

November 25, 2008

Besides having a rich history as a mystical and medicinal herb, thyme is also one of the most versatile culinary herbs. They get their characteristic fragrance because of the chemical thymol. It’s easy to confuse Ajwain with thyme, since the chemical is common to both.

Whenever I buy herbs, I get a lot of flak from the folks at home because they know most of it is going to sit in the refrigerator and dry up (though I’m not complaining – I get more concentrated flavours!). So, what does one do when you need just a tiny bunch of it? I put together a list of things that I could do to use up fresh thyme and found that thyme can be your best friend because it’s almost like an all-purpose herb.

What one can do with fresh thyme:
• Stuff chicken
• Use it in soups and stews
• Baste steak when mixed with olive oil , garlic, salt and pepper
• Use it with rosemary for a more robust and woody flavour
• Also pairs well with pairs particularly well with lemon, garlic and basil
• Sprinkle on pita mixed with sumac, slat and sesame for fresh za’atar
• Flavoured butter! (Oh, how I have a weakness for this).
• Pastas and risottos
• Scalloped potatoes
• Chimichurri. Kelly has a great recipe for a Herby Chimichurri.

Got more ideas for using thyme? Let me know!

Just have a look at the search results for thyme on FoodBlogSearch and you will have so many recipes to choose from.

I made some thyme toasted pecans as soon as I saw them on A Yankee in a Southern Kitchen. I’ve saved my precious pecans for cinnamon rolls, but I just had to make these. They are so darn addictive!

Thyme Roasted Pecans

4 cups pecan halves
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• In a bowl, mix all your ingredients except the pecans, set aside.
• Toast the pecans over medium heat until golden brown and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• Add the pecans to the spice mix and toss gently until they’re coated.
• Let ‘em cool a bit before serving.
Like always, if you’ve got only dried thyme, use half the amount of the dried herb.

This post is off to Ruth’s Bookmarked Recipes, a food event where you can blog about a recipe that’s been bookmarked from a cook book, food magazine, food blog, food website, from TV etc. Remember to catch the round up next Monday!

{ 6 comments }