Tag: coriander

Categories
Main Dish

You ‘nita’ stop what you’re doing and try this pressure cooker recipe

Pork carnitas can be made in a pressure cooker and yield flavorful, delicious pulled pork that is especially delicious in a taco.
Pork carnitas can be made in a pressure cooker and yield flavorful, delicious pulled pork that is especially delicious in a taco.

Any time I find pork shoulder at a great price at our local grocery store, it’s a no-brainer for me to put it in the cart and let Joey know that I wouldn’t mind if he threw it on his smoker over the weekend.

That’s why it was a little weird last week when Joey put one in the cart and asked if I would prepare it instead.

He found a recipe for carnitas made in a pressure cooker, and of course, we had to give it a try.

This comes from the blog “Platings and Pairings.” You can find the original post at https://www.platingsandpairings.com/best-instant-pot-pork-carnitas/. I added extra seasoning in my version and added a step to the preparation.

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Pressure Cooker Pork Carnitas

Pork carnitas can be made in a pressure cooker and yield flavorful, delicious pulled pork that is especially delicious in a taco.
Course Main Course
Keyword basil, brown sugar, carnitas, chili powder, coriander, cumin, fresh lime, fresh oranges, garlic salt, Instantpot, oregano, paprika, pork butt, pork shoulder, pressure cooker, smoked paprika, tacos

Ingredients

  • 4 to 6 pounds pork shoulder
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon garlic salt
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 tablespoon oregano
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon basil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 oranges
  • 1 lime

Instructions

  • Trim most of the fat off the pork shoulder and cut the meat into two-inch cubes.
  • Combine the garlic salt, cumin, oregano, brown sugar, basil, coriander, chili powder and paprika in a bowl and stir to combine. Reserve about 2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons, of the mixture.
  • With the rest of the spice rub, pour it over the pork, coating it as evenly as possible.
  • Add the pork to your pressure cooker, along with one cup of water.
  • Cut your oranges and lime in half. Squeeze as much juice out of each half as you can into the pressure cooker, and then place the fruit, cut side down, into the pressure cooker, as well.
  • Seal the pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 40 minutes, and then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before opening the cooker.
  • While the pork cooks, prepare a rimmed baking sheet by lining it with aluminum foil or parchment paper.
  • When the pork is done, remove it with a slotted spoon and shred it with two forks. Put the shredded pork on the prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the reserved seasoning over top of the pork and give it a stir, spreading it out evenly on the sheet.
  • Preheat the broiler in your oven to high and place the baking sheet under it. Let the pork crisp for around three minutes, checking regularly. Remove the pork when it’s just starting to crisp up along the edges.
  • Serve the pork as a taco, sandwich, or however you like it.

This was delicious. Joey graciously acted as my sous chef, trimming and breaking down the pork shoulder while I prepared the spices. We enjoyed the pork in some corn tortillas, along with avocado, fresh spinach and some hot sauce.

The leftovers reheated very nicely, too.

The next time we find a good deal on a large piece of pork, Joey and I may have to thumb wrestle to see who will be the one to cook it.

The good news is that no matter who wins, there won’t be any losers.

This piece first appeared in print May 8, 2025.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Keep ‘arayes’ open for a delicious Lebanese dish

These are called almost arayes because they weren’t cooked inside the pita like the traditional Lebanese dish, but they are still jam-packed with flavor from Middle Eastern spices, fresh herbs and a zingy sauce on the side.
These are called almost arayes because they weren’t cooked inside the pita like the traditional Lebanese dish, but they are still jam-packed with flavor from Middle Eastern spices, fresh herbs and a zingy sauce on the side.

With Internet shopping, pretty much any ingredient can be at our fingertips in a matter of days. That being said, my goal when choosing recipes is to try to stay away from exotic items that can’t be purchased locally.

We have to support our local grocery stores if we want them to continue to be a part of our communities.

Of course, sometimes that means taking a left turn on a recipe, and that happened this week when I tried a recipe for arayes, a Lebanese dish that features lamb cooked inside of pita. Well, unfortunately, the pita bread I found locally wasn’t thick enough to hold up to the traditional cooking method, so I decided to keep the spirit of the dish without actually doing it quite the right way.

So I’m giving you “almost arayes,” made with a recipe from Chef Derek Chen from his Instagram page @derekkchen. Like I said, I changed the way this dish was cooked from the original. If you want to do it his way, please check out his Instagram page. I also added extra garlic and substituted for baharat, because I couldn’t find that locally, either.

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Almost Arayes

These are called almost arayes because they weren’t cooked inside the pita like the traditional Lebanese dish, but they are still jam-packed with flavor from Middle Eastern spices, fresh herbs and a zingy sauce on the side.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Lebanese
Keyword allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, fresh cilantro, fresh garlic, fresh parsley, Greek yogurt, ground lamb, lemon juice, minced garlic, olive oil, onion, paprika, pita bread, pita pocket, tahini

Ingredients

Arayes Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground lamb
  • 1/2 large onion grated (I used a vidalia)
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley chopped
  • 1/4 cup fresh cilantro chopped
  • 4 to 6 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 to 5 thick small pita

Sauce Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons parsley chopped
  • 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • For the meat mixture, grate the onion and then squeeze it out really well with a clean kitchen towel.
  • Add the onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, coriander, allspice, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, one tablespoon olive oil, salt and pepper, and give it a good stir to combine.
  • Add in the ground lamb and mix with a spoon or your hands until everything is very well combined.
  • Heat the last two tablespoons of olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the meat and saute, breaking it into large pieces as you go. Cook it until the largest piece registers 160 degrees in the middle, and remove it from the heat.
  • While the lamb mixture cooks, make the sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together until it is smooth.
  • Cut the pita into halves so you have pockets for the meat, and serve the lamb stuffed in the pita bread with the sauce on the side for dipping.

This was so good, and the sauce was phenomenal, too. I immediately tried to think of ways to use the leftovers on other dishes. This has a great depth of flavor, and it pulls in some spices we don’t normally see in Western dishes.

And now I need to learn how to bake nice, thick pita bread, too, for the next time I try this. If you have a good recipe, let me know.

This piece first appeared in print Sept. 19, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Bored with dinner? End your ‘saffron’ with something totally different

Moroccan lamb meatballs are made with an earthy, spicy mix of herbs and spices and served doused in a delicious tomato sauce that pairs perfectly with couscous and some plain Greek yogurt on the side.
Moroccan lamb meatballs are made with an earthy, spicy mix of herbs and spices and served doused in a delicious tomato sauce that pairs perfectly with couscous and some plain Greek yogurt on the side.

For a couple months now, every time I open the pantry, I glance at this tiny canister of saffron I managed to buy on an extreme clearance.

The Britannica Encyclopedia explains that saffron is the most expensive herb because it has to be hand harvested from the tiny stigmas in the center of a particular crocus flower. It goes on to say that if you wanted to have a whole pound of saffron, you’d end up harvesting from about 75,000 flowers.

So I’ve also been slightly terrified of trying any of my small bunch of saffron in a recipe that doesn’t hold up.

I finally took the plunge, though, thanks to finding another generally expensive ingredient on sale: ground lamb. And boy, oh, boy, was it good.

Now, let me preface this recipe by saying that you don’t have to include saffron in it. It’s just a little flavor enhancer, but it’s not critical. I would be sure to use the lamb, though. It paired so beautifully with the spices and sauce, I just couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.

The recipe I tried comes from the blog “Moorlands Eater.” You can find the original post at https://moorlandseater.com/moroccan-lamb-meatballs-in-spicy-tomato-sauce/. I added extra garlic, lamb and a few other ingredients in my version.

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Moroccan Lamb Meatballs

Moroccan lamb meatballs are made with an earthy, spicy mix of herbs and spices and served doused in a delicious tomato sauce that pairs perfectly with couscous and some plain Greek yogurt on the side.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Moroccan
Keyword allspice, cinnamon, coriander, cumin, diced tomatoes, fresh garlic, ginger, ground lamb, honey, minced garlic, minced lamb, onion, paprika, red pepper flakes, saffron, spicy, tomato puree, tomatoes, turmeric

Ingredients

Spice Mix Ingredients

  • 3 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons ginger
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Meatball Ingredients

  • 1 pound ground/minced lamb
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

Tomato Sauce Ingredients

  • 1 medium onion diced (I used yellow)
  • 8 to 10 cloves garlic minced
  • 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
  • a small pinch of saffron strands soaked in 1 tablespoon warm water
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Combine all the ingredients for the spice mix in a bowl, stir it well, and set it aside.
  • For the meatballs, add the lamb to a mixing bowl along with about one-third of the spice mixture, salt and pepper. Mix well with a spoon or your hands until everything is well incorporated.
  • Roll the lamb into about one-inch balls.
  • In a large skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the meatballs, in batches, and brown on all sides (don’t worry if they’re cooked through yet). Once they’re browned, remove them from the pan and place them to the side on a plate.
  • Start building the sauce by adding the onions to the skillet, sauteing until they are cooked through. Add in the garlic. Let it saute for one to two minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant.
  • Add the rest of the spice mixture, and saute for a couple minutes, letting it soak up any remaining oil or juices in the pan.
  • Add the diced tomatoes. Pour three-fourths cup of water into the empty can, and swirl it around to catch any remaining juices, and then pour that into the skillet, too. Also add in the saffron/water mixture, tomato puree, honey, coriander, salt and pepper. Stir well to combine.
  • Raise the heat a bit to bring the mixture to a boil, and then reduce the heat to low. Simmer the sauce without a lid on the pan for 10 minutes.
  • Put the meatballs into the pan, stirring them to make sure they’re coated in the sauce. Add the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the meatballs are cooked through. (Lamb should be cooked to 160 degrees. Be careful not to go far past that. It can dry out very quickly.)
  • Remove the skillet from the heat and serve immediately. We had ours with couscous with peas and a big dollop of plain Greek yogurt.

These were absolutely delicious, and it reheated well as leftovers, too. This is definitely a spicy dish, but it’s not overly scary, and if you serve it with some yogurt, not only do the flavors meld really well, but it also helps cool your tongue a bit.

This was earthy and full of great spices, many of which I don’t get to use off my spice rack very often.

Plus, the added bonus was I finally got to use my saffron, which made me feel quite fancy, to say the least. Now I just have to figure out how I will use the rest of it.

This piece first appeared in print Sept. 5, 2024.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish

Seize the ‘carne’ with a summer-friendly chili recipe

Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you're ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it's a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.
Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you’re ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it’s a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.

There is an in-depth article that appeared back in 2017 in Texas Monthly by John Nova Lomax about the origins of chili con carne in the United States.

It’s a great read, if you get the chance, and apparently there’s a lot of controversy about the recipe’s origins from historians, but I did love a quoted section from a Kansas newspaper reporter who visited Texas in the late 1800s.

“Speaking of hot things, at San Antonio they have a dish called chili con carne,” he wrote. “[…] It is awful seductive looking […] They always have enough to go around, for no stranger, no matter how terrific a durned fool he is, ever calls for a second dish. He almost always calls for a big cistern full of water, and you can’t put the water in him fast enough with a steam engine hose.”

Let me assure you that although I did decide to try this Texas staple this week, it is not spicy enough to call for cisterns of water. Instead, the recipe I tried has great depth of flavor and is easy to adapt, based on your own favorite spices.

This comes from the blog “Chili Pepper Madness” by Mike Hultquist. You can find the original post at https://www.chilipeppermadness.com/recipes/chili-con-carne/. I added lots of extra spices in my version. And, yes, despite the strong opinion of many Texans, I added beans, too.

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Chili con Carne

Chili con carne is an easy recipe that just simmers on your stove until you're ready for dinner. With tons of spices and several types of peppers, it's a great meal for a crowd or one that provides plenty of leftovers.
Course Main Course
Cuisine Mexican
Keyword ancho peppers, beef, chili con carne, chuck roast, coriander, cumin, garlic, guajillo peppers, jalapeno peppers, kidney beans, oregano, paprika, Tex-Mex, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 2 ounces dried guajillo peppers
  • 2 ounces dried ancho pasilla peppers
  • 4 to 6 pounds chuck roast cut into one-inch pieces
  • 4 tablespoons paprika
  • 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
  • 2 tablespoons oregano
  • 1 tablespoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons cumin
  • 2 teaspoons coriander
  • salt to taste
  • 2 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • 1 large yellow onion diced
  • 2 jalapeno peppers diced
  • 20 cloves garlic minced
  • 2 to 4 cups beef stock optional
  • 2 15.5- ounce cans light red kidney beans rinsed and drained

Instructions

  • Start by heating a large pot with a lid over medium heat. Drop in the dried peppers, turning them every so often, until they are warmed through.
  • Remove from the pot and remove the stems and seeds from the dried peppers and submerge them in very hot water (at least three cups) in a container with a lid. Let them sit for 20 minutes. When the peppers are done, combine them with three cups of the soaking liquid in a food processor or blender and process until smooth.
  • While the peppers soak, place the cubed roast in a large bowl along with the paprika, smoked paprika, oregano, black pepper, brown sugar, cumin, coriander and salt. Mix well to coat the meat evenly.
  • Heat the oil in your large pot over medium heat and add the meat, onions and jalapenos. Saute for around six minutes or until the meat is nicely browned and the vegetables are softened.
  • Add in the garlic and pepper sauce. If you already have a decent amount of liquid in the pot from the meat and vegetables, bring the mixture to a boil. If there isn’t much liquid or not enough to your liking, add beef stock to the pot and then bring it to a boil.
  • Reduce the heat to a low simmer and place the lid on the pot. Let it cook for at least two hours or until the beef is tender.
  • If desired, shred the beef at this point. Add in the beans, and add more beef stock, if desired.
  • Serve in a bowl with rice, wrapped in tortillas, with chips or however you like it.

This was extremely delicious. We ate our chili con carne with some Mexican rice along with some corn chips on the side. When we ate the leftovers, we rolled it up in tortillas and ate it like burritos.

If you like peppers, you’ll love the flavors in this chili. It was fairly mild (I did deseed my jalapenos), if you’re not into something overly spicy.

And unlike the long-ago reporter from Kansas, we did go back for second helpings when we were finished. I guess that cements us as durned fools in our house.

This piece first appeared in print on June 23, 2022.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

Categories
Main Dish Soup

Soup recipe lets me tell counter leftovers ‘see you tater’

Potato poblano corn chowder is creamy and filling, especially with the addition of shredded chicken and extra potatoes.
Potato poblano corn chowder is creamy and filling, especially with the addition of shredded chicken and extra potatoes.

They’ve just been staring at me.

Four potatoes have been sitting on my kitchen counter since Thanksgiving, and as the days passed, they literally were growing some eyes to look at me with.

So I knew I needed to make something to use them up, and with the weather finally hitting a dreaded cold snap, I decided to pull out a chowder recipe I’ve been meaning to try.

Of course, I had to do some tweaking, including making it a bit heartier by adding chicken and increasing the spices and vegetables, too.

If you’re looking for a vegetarian recipe, just leave out the chicken, use some vegetable broth and throw in even more potatoes. It’ll still be delicious.

The recipe I tried, by Ivy Manning, appeared in “Fine Cooking” magazine in 2018. You can find it on their website at https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/potato-poblano-corn-chowder.

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Potato Poblano Corn Chowder

Potato poblano corn chowder is creamy and filling, especially with the addition of shredded chicken and extra potatoes.
Course Main Course
Keyword baked potatoes, broth, carrots, celery, chicken, chowder, coriander, corn, cumin, mashed potatoes, poblano peppers, soup, yellow onion

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 2 poblano peppers diced
  • 2 carrots peeled and diced
  • 2 ribs celery diced
  • 1 teaspoon coriander
  • 2 teaspoons cumin
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
  • 1 1/2 cups milk I used skim
  • 2 medium-sized potatoes diced
  • 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
  • 2 cups corn kernels I used frozen
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • Cayenne pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, peppers, carrots and celery and saute until the vegetables are soft.
  • Add the coriander, cumin, thyme, salt and pepper and flour, and stir to combine. Saute for a couple minutes to cook out the flour taste. Stir in the tomato paste, and then add the broth, milk, potatoes, chicken and corn to the pot.
  • Bring the mixture to a low boil, and then turn the heat down to low and simmer, with a lid on the pot, for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the potatoes are fork tender.
  • Stir in the lemon juice and cayenne pepper and then serve immediately.

Add as much or as little cayenne as you want to this to control the spice level. Poblano peppers tend to be on the milder side, but if you’re nervous, make sure you remove the ribs and seeds when you dice them up, too.

This had a creamy taste and was a good belly warmer. I actually ended up doubling the recipe so I could store the leftovers as quick weeknight dinners in our freezer.

I was glad to finally get some of my counter space back just in time for all my holiday baking. But I have a feeling that when I’m staring down a mountain of treat containers over the next few weeks, I’ll really miss those potatoes.

This piece first appeared in print on Dec. 23, 2021.

Spice Up Your Life is a weekly newspaper column written by Lindsey Young in south central Kansas. If you are interested in sponsoring this column, please contact us through the “Contact Lindsey” link at the top of the page.

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