grape leaf pie

i think it's fair to say

that this may be one of the

oddest things i've made in

a long time. and you know,

i make some odd things.

--

six years ago, i was working

at the magazine, living by myself

in a tiny studio apartment and

needed to make a little more money.

i thought about it for a few months,

hesitant to add another job to

my busy schedule. but, when i found

out that the gym i already frequented

five days a week was in search of a

part timer, i jumped at the chance.

the job helped in two ways:

it gave me extra money.

it gave me a free gym membership.

at first, i struggled with my two

identities. it was hard waking up

early to go to the gym for myself,

come home, shower,

pack a bag, go to work,

drive as fast as i could back to the gym

and then dash into the small changing

room that i entered in heels

and dresses and emerged in sneakers,

workout pants and an old camp t-shirt.

but, before i knew it,

it was two years later. i was living

with larry in our two bedroom

apartment, enjoying the relationships

that i had made with the people who

attended the gym and still resenting having

to wake up at 7am every sunday morning

to open the gym, just as much as i disliked

not getting home until 9pm on monday

and tuesday nights.

and then, i decided to go to culinary school

full time and still keep my monday to friday job.

and, i made the decision that in spite of

the fact that i was putting myself into

thousands of dollars of debt, i had no choice

but to walk away from the little bit of money

that helped bridge the gap between

scared and making it.

i was quitting the gym.

telling my never-there boss was a breeze.

it was the gym-goers, who i had formed real

relationships with, that i was dreading addressing.

but, the gym goers, the ones who had spent

two years working out

while discussing recipes with me,

were wonderful

and supportive.

and one of them, linda, asked me a question

that i had never really thought of before,

but has stuck with me everyday since:

can you taste the recipe before you make it?

she elaborated, can you look at a recipe,

read the ingredients, the techniques

and know what you will

be tasting at the very end?

and, i know it sounds strange,

but every time i think of those two

weird transitional years in my life in which i

was food editor by day/gym something-or-other

at night, i think about linda and how

in the end, her question, forcing me to always

critically examine a recipe before making it,

made it all worth it.

--

and that's why i had to make this

grape leaf pie. i read the headnote provided,

discussing how unusual of a recipe it was.

i read the ingredients,

a combination of:

greek yogurt,

shallots,

toasted nuts,

herbs,

lemon zest,

lemon juice

and

rice flour.

i read that i, the recipe-maker, was to

line the bottom of a dish with soaked

grape leaves, spread them with the

yogurt paste, cover them with more grape

leaves and after brushing with oil and

topping with panko, i was to bake the pie

and then cut it into wedges.

and i, for the life of me, had no idea

what i would see when i peered into that

savory cake.

would it be firm? a solid piece that

cut into beautiful wedges? or would

it have only firmed slightly, still

holding onto some of that squish

that yogurt is famous for, the filling

oozing out of the sides of the slices? or,

after 40 minutes in the oven,

would it be a scoopable mess?

i didn't know. i didn't understand it.

the directions were easy enough.

just before throwing the cake pan

into the oven, i compared my pie to

the picture: it was the spitting image,

just unbaked. 40 minutes was perfect -

the pie came out with a crispy golden

brown top; the house smelled like

a greek restaurant. i stared at it for

10 minutes.

and then, i started to cut.

the top leaves crackled

and lifted from the filling. the bottom

leaves, more tender, sort of clung better.

the filling was sturdy, handling the knife

like a champ.

and still, i don't know how to describe it.

instead, i'll tell give you

this random collection of thoughts:

-the center of the pie was very firm.

-every time i think of something to compare it to,

i want to say that i reminded me a little bit of tempeh,

but i know that that would turn off people who are

anti-meat replacement products and possibly infuriate

tempeh lovers who once they try it, may think

that this pie is nothing like tempeh.

-if i didn't make it, i wouldn't have known that

there was yogurt inside, holding it all together.

-i wish that i had used more herbs.

-even though i thought that the perfect large

grape leaves would look beautiful on top, next

time i would use smaller ones. i think that they

would cover better and not be so hard to cut.

but, still, i liked it.

i know that's hard to accept,

what with me not really able to give

you any information and all.

but i did. it was light and filling

and unusual and actually reheated

pretty well the next day for lunch.

but, i maintain my stance:

this really may be one of the

oddest things i've made in

a long time.*

grape leaf pie

adapted from plenty

i followed the concept completely, but i did make changes based on what i like and what i had in the house: eliminating tarragon and parsley, keeping the mint and adding basil, throwing in two cloves of garlic, switching in chopped walnuts for pine nuts and reducing the oil and butter used. the original instructions said to make and bake in a shallow bowl. i opted to use an 8" cake pan, which worked well. i think.

also, the recipe calls for 20-25 grape leaves. i ended up using 12. i wish i had used more on top because as you can see in the picture, as they baked and shrunk a little bit, they exposed the filling. but, i still think the most i would have used was 16. use your judgement.

last thing. because it's so creamy, i always use fat-free greek yogurt. even though i'm sure the recipe intended for a full-fat yogurt to be used, i wanted to go with my normal pick, but i did have my doubts that it was the wrong move. luckily, the store was out, so i opted for 2%, which i think was fine.

15-25 grape leaves (see headnote)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 container (7 ounces) greek yogurt, plus more for serving (see headnote)

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

3 tablespoons thinly sliced basil

3 tablespoons thinly sliced mint

1 lemon, grated and juiced

1/2 cup rice flour

3 tablespoons panko

salt and black pepper

heat oven to 375˚f.

place grape leaves in bowl; cover with boiling water. let sit 10 minutes. drain; dry well. using scissors, trim and discard any hard stalks on the bottom of the leaves.

in small skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat; add shallots. cook 7 minutes, or until just starting to turn light brown, adjusting heat, if necessary and stirring occasionally. add garlic; cook 1-2 minutes more, or until the shallots and garlic are both golden brown, stirring occasionally. remove from heat; let cool.

whisk together melted butter and remaining olive oil.

cover bottom and sides of 8-inch cake pan with grape leaves, overlapping slightly. using pastry brush, gently brush bottom of leaves with butter-oil mixture. set aside.

in bowl, stir together shallots, yogurt, walnuts, herbs, lemon zest, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and salt and pepper; taste and adjust, if necessary. stir in rice flour. using offset spatula, spread yogurt paste evenly in serving dish, making sure to get the filling all the way to the edges.

fold grape leaves evenly over top of filling. top with remaining grape leaves, overlapping slightly and covering well. brush gently with butter-oil mixture. sprinkle with panko; drizzle with remaining butter-oil mixture.

bake 40 minutes, or until leaves crisp and the breadcrumbs are golden brown. let sit at least 10 minutes. cut into wedges. serve with dollops of yogurt, if desired.**

*just as i finished writing this, larry came in and asked what i was blogging about. when i told him grape leaf pie, he said, that was good. when i looked at him, he said, yes, in retrospect, i liked it a lot. it's not that he hadn't eaten it or even complained about it. he just originally had the same what-is-this? reaction that i did.

**i picked up an extra 7 ounce container of yogurt to serve on the side. while i planned to just dollop it, i had a last minute change of heart, squeezing in lemon juice and adding chopped mint and basil. i'm very glad i went that route. i think it added a very necessary something to the pie.

roasted spaghetti squash with spicy yogurt and seared shrimp

last week i was faced with

a very common dilemma:

what to do with

leftover herbs.

in this case:

the mint.

i had caved,

agreeing to add it

to the salad,

but i needed only 1/4 cup

and mint is sold

in very large bunches.

i had created my situation.

now i had to live with it.

and eat it.

i spent a long time

thinking and looking

up recipes

until i remembered the one

thing made with mint

that i can semi-tolerate.

--

until very recently,

i've had a

hate-hate relationship

with indian food,

much to my mother's dismay.

she tried many times to get

all three of us - all three

of us who will eat almost

anything - to eat indian food,

but it was always a struggle.

finally, last year, i realized

that my indian food issues

stem from a single spice:

curry.

(it's funny. i've always

considered myself a very open

eater, willing to try most

things, but this blog is like

a mirror, pointing out all

my quirks, all my weaknesses,

all the things that i do not like.

it turns out, there are a lot.

that's sad.)

i finally understood that if

i could just find dishes that are

curry-less, i could enjoy

indian food. and, so, for the past

year, i've visited a few places -

ok, one restaurant several times -

and have come to appreciate

the cuisine.

especially the spicy

tamarind and mint chutneys

that are always served with

the breads and salads.

together, they're sweet,

bold and spicy and i always

look forward to drizzling

them over the naan and

potato, onion, cucumber mixtures.

usually, i regret it because

they. are. spicy. but, my burning

mouth doesn't stop me from

eating more.

--

so, it came to be that i

researched mint chutneys

and mercifully

a) settled for one of the first

recipes i found, which

b) was made up only of

ingredients i already had

at home.

the day before,

at the farmer's market,

i had picked up our first

spaghetti squash of the season

and i was determined to

use it - not let it waste away

on the counter.

somehow, once i connected

the chutney and the squash,

the rest of the dish came

together rather quickly.

in my head.

i would pick up greek yogurt,

and stir a couple tablespoons

into the chutney, dollop

the creamy sauce

over roasted strands of squash

and top the whole tangle

with seared shrimp.

in reality,

it's another story.

have you ever made spaghetti squash?

i love it - it's my favorite of the squash,

but it's up there with a butternut squash

or large pumpkin when it comes

time to halve the sucker.

it is hard and heavy and thick.

and to halve it means to have

an excellent knife,

strong muscles

and a willingness to forget

the fear of cutting yourself.

so, by the time both larry

and i wrestled the squash and

the oven heated up

(maybe it's rusty from a

summer spent sitting idle?),

then the squash

cooked

and

cooled,

let's just say it was later than i

had expected.

in the meantime,

i had made the chutney.

and maybe the recipe had

called for a teaspoon and a half

of a small chopped serrano.

and maybe i used

a large one and did not bother to measure.

this chutney was very hot.

i had originally planned to mix

it with a few spoonfuls of yogurt,

but the heat called for

a change of plans.

instead, i took all of the yogurt,

and stirred in three tablespoons

of the chutney. it was very spicy,

but closer to tolerable.

i took some of the

remaining chutney and mixed it

with the shrimp to marinate.

i crossed my fingers

that our tongues would still

have feeling after we ate.

once the squash was out

of the oven, i let it sit

until cool enough

to handle, before remembering

that i could use those crazy

pluck-lobsters-out-of-boiling-water-mitts

to hold the squash with one

hand and separate into

strands with the other.

i seared the shrimp,

then tossed them on top

of two bowls:

one, squash, simply topped with spicy yogurt

and another

squash mixed with the mixture.

i'm not sure which we liked better, but

i know that the former option

allows you to occasionally seek relief

by stumbling upon a few sauce-less pieces.

i like spicy, but the mixture - although

oddly irresistible - was a bit spicy for me.

larry thought it was perfect.

we both loved the chutney.

mint and all.

roasted spaghetti squash with spicy yogurt and seared shrimp

you can cook a spaghetti squash by boiling or microwaving it, but i love the flavor that comes with roasting. surprised? you want the strands to be just a bit al dente, not mushy. if you're unsure if the squash is done, don't worry, it will tell you: if it won't separate into spaghetti, it's not ready. for the greek yogurt, i always use nonfat. it's so thick and creamy anyway that the full fat just feels way too indulgent.

you could also skip the shrimp and serve the rest of the dish as a side for chicken or fish.

1 spaghetti squash (about 3 pounds), halved

2 teaspoons olive oil

kosher salt and pepper

1 container (6 ounces) fat-free greek yogurt (i like fage)

6 tablespoons mint chutney, divided (recipe below)

1 pound shrimp, peeled and deveined (13-16 count)

heat oven to 400˚f. brush cut side of squash halves with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. roast, cut side up, 50 minutes to 1 hour, or until golden brown and strands separate easily from squash. let sit 20 minutes, or until cool enough to handle.

meanwhile, stir together yogurt and 3 tablespoons mint chutney; cover and set aside.

twenty minutes before you're ready to cook (after the squash has been sitting for about 10 minutes is probably a good idea), stir together remaining mint chutney and shrimp. cover; chill. (you don't want the shrimp to marinate longer than that - the lime in the chutney could start to cook them.)

using spoon, scoop the seeds from the squash; discard (squash should look like picture, above). using fork, separate flesh into strands over a bowl. discard squash shells.

in large skillet coated with a mist of olive oil over high heat, sear shrimp 5 minutes, turning once.

you have two choices: either toss the squash with the yogurt or place squash in serving bowls and top with dollops of yogurt. top with seared shrimp. garnish with mint leaves, if desired.

spicy mint chutney

adapted from gourmet magazine

when on first taste the mixture was very spicy, i added an extra 1/4 cup of mint leaves an extra teaspoon of sugar. both changes are included, here. i also had originally added ground coriander, which i'd say is optional. the original recipe recommends using the chutney the same day that you make it or risk it turning an ugly brown. when first made, it's a beautiful bright green. i made this in my mini food processor - it was the perfect size.

1 1/4 cups packed fresh mint leaves

4 scallions, sliced

1 serrano chile, including seeds, chopped (use your judgement)

1 large clove garlic

1/4 cup fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)

in bowl of mini food processor (large would work, too), puree all ingredients until combined. it will still be coarse. taste and adjust seasoning, if desired.