Learn Something New Fresh Family Recipes

This issue’s Fresh Family Recipes come from two respected cooking instructors and our editor’s former life as a private chef. These are all delicious, summery recipes that are great for making with your family.

photo credit: Dixya Bhattarai/FoodPleasureHealth

Chukauni – Nepali Potato Yogurt Salad
One of the owners of The Table and a partner of Hao & Dixya, Dixya Bhattarai is a culinary dietician. As if she doesn’t have enough on her plate, she founded Indulge FW, a new cooking studio and tearoom inside the 3^rd Street Market. Indulge will host cooking classes for all ages and skill levels, as well as a weekly afternoon tea because, as Dixya said, “Everyone deserves a break from this hectic life.” This salad is spicy, sour, zesty, and just plain delicious.

Ingredients
4 small, waxy potatoes (Dixya suggests red potatoes)
1/2 cup plain, full-fat yogurt (depending on your preference and the thickness of yogurt, may need more or less)
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1 small Serrano pepper, finely chopped
1 heaping tablespoon lemon juice (may need more or less depending on how sour the yogurt is)
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
salt to taste
2 teaspoon mustard oil
1/4 teaspoon fenugreek seed
small pinch of turmeric
chopped cilantro to garnish

Directions
In a medium pot, add the potatoes and cover with about 1 inch of water. Bring the water to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook until the potatoes are tender all the way through when pierced with a fork, about 8 to 12 minutes.

Once the potatoes are cooked, turn off the heat. Drain the potatoes and rinse them under cool water. Once the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel and cube into chunks. Transfer to a large bowl.

To the bowl, add the yogurt, chopped onion, chopped serrano, lemon juice, red chili powder, and salt. Mix everything well and adjust salt and acid to your liking. If the yogurt is too thick, add little water to help mix everything.

Heat the mustard oil in a small pan. Add the fenugreek seeds to the hot oil. Adjust the heat as needed and once the fenugreek seeds start to turn dark, turn off the heat and add a small pinch of turmeric.

Pour the hot oil with fenugreek and turmeric to the bowl. Mix everything together, adjust the seasoning and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Enjoy the salad at room temperature or serve it chilled. Serves 4

Saigon Pancakes (Banh Xeo)
Hao Tran is another co-owner of The Table and the other partner of Hao & Dixya. She is also a chemistry teacher at Trimble Tech AND is opening Fort Worth’s first dumpling house, The Pantry, this summer. Her recipe for bahn xeo (“sizzling cake” or Saigon pancakes) is bright and utterly delicious.

Ingredients

1/2 cup dried mung beans
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk, stirred before using
2 cups white rice flour
1 cup cornstarch
4 cups water
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/2 teaspoons turmeric
Salt
Vegetable oil
1 pound cooked, sliced pork loin or belly
1 pound edium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 medium white onion, thin sliced
3 cups bean sprouts
1 cup of julienned jicama
1 cup of shredded carrots
Red leaf lettuce and mint leaves, for serving

Directions

In a small bowl, soak the dried mung beans in warm water until they are softened, about 30 minutes. Drain the beans and transfer them to a blender. Add the coconut milk and puree until very smooth. Transfer the mung-bean puree to a large bowl and whisk in the white rice flour, cornstarch, water, scallions and turmeric, and season lightly with salt. Let the crêpe batter rest for at least 20 minutes or refrigerate overnight.

Heat 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet. Add a few slices of pork, a couple of shrimp, and a few slivers of white onion and cook for 30 seconds.

Stir the crêpe batter and pour 2/3 cup of it into the pan; tilt and swirl the pan to coat the bottom with a very thin layer of batter, letting it come up the side of the pan.

Scatter 1/4 cup of the bean sprouts over the crêpe and drizzle 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil around the edges. Cover the skillet and cook over moderately high heat until the bottom of the crêpe is golden and crisp, about 2 minutes.

Slide the crêpe onto a plate and serve with lettuce leaves and mint. If you like, you can serve it with a drizzle of sriracha and/or a combination of soy sauce, unseasoned rice vinegar, minced garlic, sugar, and red pepper flakes. Repeat with the remaining ingredients, serving the crêpes as soon as they are cooked. Makes 12 crêpes.

The Perfect Picnic Sandwich
This recipe, from the files of It’s About Thyme’s cooking classes, is truly what the name says. It’s perfect for taking on a picnic to the park or beach or serving at a casual party.

Ingredients
1 round loaf of bread, like a French boule or Italian pagnotta
1/4 pound thinly sliced Genoa or hard salami
1/4 pound thinly sliced Black Forest ham
1/4 pound thinly sliced mortadella
1/2 pound thinly sliced sliced mild cheese, like provolone or Edam
1 cup sundried tomatoes in oil
handful basil leaves
1 cup pickled banana pepper rings
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
¼ cup capers

Directions

Cut the top off the bread loaf, saving the top, and hollow the loaf out. (Save the bread for breadcrumbs!)

Start layering the meats, cheese, tomatoes, banana peppers, red onions, and capers in the bread. There should be at least three layers of good stuff, and the loaf should be filled side to side and top to bottom.

Put the lid of the loaf back, and wrap the whole loaf tightly in foil. Weigh the sandwich. (A cast iron skillet with a couple of big cans of tomatoes is great. If you don’t have a cast iron skillet, use a cutting board or a plate instead.) Let stand, weighted, for about 30 minutes and then refrigerate. This sandwich ideally should be made the night before your picnic or party and brought to room temperature before serving.

To serve, cut wedges or slices of the loaf.