One Pan, Two Plates (20 page)

it’s that easy:
Ready-to-heat prepared polenta is a weeknight cook’s godsend, because it tastes almost as fresh as if you just cooked it, and there are so many ways to use it. Cooked polenta is packaged in “logs” of about 1 lb/455 g. After you slice off the polenta rounds for this recipe, you have infinite options for how to use up the rest of the log in the next few days—for example, as the crust for a frittata or smothered with tomato sauce for a vegetarian main course, or just fry it up and serve with maple syrup for an easy, breakfast-y dinner.

extra hungry?
A few handfuls of arugula tossed with a squirt of lemon, a glug of olive oil, and a scattering of rinsed capers would be a nice counterpoint to the richness of this dish.

in the glass:
For a “good enough for company” meal like this, I’d like to uncork a Pouilly-Fuisséfrom Jadot. Made in the Burgundy region of France from Chardonnay grapes, it’s light, refreshing, and can be found inexpensively almost anywhere.

Lamb Kebabs

with
HARISSA, CHICKPEAS,
and
SUMMER SQUASH

Everyday kebabs of pork, beef, or chicken are certainly delicious, but there’s something celebratory about lamb kebabs, especially when the meat has a short bath in the flavors of North Africa: spicy harissa paste, garlic, and olive oil. A quick sauté of onion, summer squash, and chickpeas flavored with the marinade you used for the lamb makes this dish easy enough for weeknights but good enough for company. And a drizzle of lemony sour cream takes this meal from really good to really, really good. After all, we are celebrating these lamb kebabs, right?

........

START TO FINISH
40 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
30 minutes

...

serves 2

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1 garlic clove, minced

2 tbsp harissa paste (see “It’s that easy”)

2 tbsp olive oil

12 oz/340 g boneless lamb sirloin or loin roast, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 small yellow onion, diced

2 summer squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into slices about ½ in/12 mm thick

One 15-oz/430-g can chickpeas, drained

¼ cup/55 g sour cream

Juice from ½ lemon

2 tsp minced fresh cilantro

1.
Soak four 6-in/15-cm wooden skewers in water for about 10 minutes.

2.
In a medium bowl, combine the garlic, harissa, and 1 tbsp of the olive oil. Set aside about 1 tbsp of the mixture. Add the lamb to the bowl and toss to coat it with the spice paste. Thread the lamb loosely onto the soaked skewers and sprinkle them with salt and pepper. Let the lamb sit at room temperature for 15 to 20 minutes.

3.
Preheat the broiler with the rack in the second position from the top.

4.
Heat a 12-in/30.5-cm ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 1 tbsp olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add the lamb skewers and brown them on one side, about 1 minute. Turn the lamb and brown the opposite side for another minute. Remove the pan from the heat and
transfer the kebabs to a plate. (They will not be cooked through at this point.)

5.
Return the pan to medium-high heat and add the onion, ¼ tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper. Sauté the onion until it begins to soften, about 2 minutes, then add the squash. Continue to sauté until the squash begins to soften, another 2 minutes or so, and then add the chickpeas, another sprinkle of salt and pepper, and the reserved 1 tbsp harissa blend. Toss the vegetables with the spices and cook until heated through and tender, about 3 minutes longer. Lay the kebabs on top of the veggies and slip the pan under the broiler for 3 minutes to cook the kebabs to medium-rare, or 4 minutes for medium. Meanwhile, in a bowl, stir together the sour cream and lemon juice.

6.
Mound the chickpeas and vegetables onto two warmed plates and top them with the kebabs, a drizzle of the lemon sour cream, and a sprinkling of the cilantro. Serve hot.

it’s that easy:
Harissa is a fiery Tunisian spice paste made from hot chiles, lemon, garlic, and ground spices like cumin and coriander. Sort of like the ketchup of North Africa, harissa can be rubbed onto lamb, goat, fish, and vegetables, or served as a condiment to ramp up the flavor of couscous-based dishes. At my grocery, it comes in a small metal can. Once opened, just transfer the paste to an airtight container and pour a little olive oil over the top to help keep it from drying out. Tightly sealed, it will last for months and months in the fridge (maybe even years), but use it up by putting a dollop on your next frittata, in ho-hum barbecue sauce, or just about anyplace you’d like a little “pow!”

extra hungry?
Add 1 cup/140 g thawed frozen green beans along with the chickpeas. They add a nice touch of green and are delicious with the flavors here as well.

in the glass:
A spicy meal like this is looking for a spicy wine. Try a full-bodied old-vine Zinfandel from Lodi, California, such as Klinker Brick. Lodi is home to many vines that are more than fifty years old; these are thought to yield a more concentrated fruit, adding more body, balance, and structure to the wine. If the grapes are from Lodi, most of the labels will say so. Check it out.

Lamb Korma

How about a trip to India tonight? Redolent with cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, and ginger, korma is a fragrant Indian dish more often reserved for time-consuming celebratory-event cooking than for dinner on a hungry Tuesday night. I’ve simplified it without sacrificing flavor by using a tender cut of meat and the spice blend garam masala instead of the multitude of traditional spices. It’s so rich and delicious, you’ll think it’s been simmering for hours, and the addition of yogurt makes it deliciously creamy without the calories.

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START TO FINISH
40 minutes

...

HANDS-ON TIME
25 minutes

...

serves 2

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1 tsp garam masala (see “It’s that easy”), plus more if needed

Pinch of ground cloves

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Pinch of ground cinnamon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

10 oz/280 g boneless lamb sirloin or loin roast, cut into 1-in/2.5-cm cubes

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tbsp peeled and minced fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

½ cup/120 ml beef broth

½ cup/70 g frozen peas, thawed

½ cup/115 g whole-fat plain Greek yogurt

Microwave steam-in-the-bag rice for serving

¼ cup/35 g slivered almonds

2 tsp minced fresh cilantro

1.
In a medium bowl, combine the garam masala, cloves, cayenne, cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Add the lamb and toss to coat with the spices.

2.
In a 12-in/30.5-cm skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and sauté until softened, about 1 minute. Add the ginger, garlic, and lamb and cook until the lamb is browned on the first side, 2 to 3 minutes. Turn the lamb to brown the opposite side, another 2 minutes or so. Add the beef broth and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Bring to a simmer, cover, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer the korma until the lamb is tender and the flavors have blended, about 15 minutes. Remove the pan from
the heat and stir in the peas. Let the korma cool for a few minutes so that the yogurt doesn’t curdle, then add the yogurt and stir until well blended. Taste and add more garam masala, salt, and/or pepper if you like.

3.
Spoon the cooked rice onto two warmed plates and top it with the lamb korma. Sprinkle the tops with the almonds and cilantro and serve hot.

it’s that easy:
Garam masala is an Indian spice blend of coriander, cumin, cinnamon, clove, cardamom, cayenne, and even spices that don’t begin with a C, such as fennel, mace, and nutmeg. Buy it at the grocery store or online. It’s also delicious sprinkled over chicken, fish, or vegetable dishes.