Leek and Kale Coconut Curry with Rice Noodles

I spent last weekend at a conference for rabbinical students from all over the country. It was a fantastic experience and I learned so much from the students and "full-grown" rabbis there. I also increased my understanding of strict kosher eating practices, like not being allowed to bring my water bottle into the cafeteria (the staff took it away but I got it back!) and using tea essence rather than tea bags on shabbat. I don't really keep kosher at home. I'm a vegetarian, so I don't mix meat and milk because I'm not ever consuming meat, but I buy products that aren't marked kosher, and since my roommates aren't vegetarian, my pots and pans and dishes aren't kosher. I feel like my practices make sense for me, and when I have my own kitchen I might just keep it vegetarian. In any case, some of the practices at the conference were new to me, and it was awesome to learn from my more traditionally-observant colleagues.

When I got back yesterday afternoon, all I really wanted to do was curl up and chill, but instead I ran out to the co-op for groceries and then hopped in the car to get to choir practice on time. (I'm a good little chorister.) So I didn't really have a lot of time to cook yesterday, but when I got home from work today I decided it was time to use yesterday's hastily-purchased groceries to make something awesome. And then I did. These proportions worked out well for me, but the veggie amounts are really up to you. Also, feel free to sub other greens for the kale if you like. This recipe is quite forgiving and can hang out without constant attention for most of the cooking process.

Ingredients

• 4 garlic cloves, sliced or diced large
• about 2 inches ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 large leek, greens and whites washed well and sliced thinly
• a handful of mushrooms, washed and sliced
• half a package of tofu (you could use more-- that's what I had), pressed and cubed
• about half a head of kale, stemmed (if you like) washed and torn into bite-sized chunks
• 2 TBS canola oil or other cooking oil
• 1 14 oz can light coconut milk
• 1 TBS red curry paste (I use thai kitchen)
• about half a package rice noodles
• 1 tsp soy sauce, plus more to taste
• sesame chili oil to taste

Procedure

• Cook the rice noodles according to package directions. If they're done before your veggies are, rinse in cool water and set aside. 
• Heat the canola oil in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring occasionally, for a couple of minutes. 
• Add the leeks and let cook slowly for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften up.
• Add the tofu and mushrooms. Continue to cook over medium-low for perhaps another 5 minutes, stirring about from time to time. Add more oil if the veggies start to stick or get super dry. 
• 
• When the veggies are softish and starting to look cohesive, add in the kale. It may well take over your pan. Be patient. Stir it gently. Eventually the kale will start to break down and fit properly in the pan. 



Before



• After the kale has been cooking for about 5 minutes, stir in the coconut milk and curry paste. Cook for about 5 minutes more or until veggies are as tender as you like. 
• Stir in rice noodles, soy sauce, and chili oil (if using).
• Eat up.  
• 

Leek, Potato, and Mushroom Soufflé

Yes, I know. Soufflés are crazy. They fall. They don't rise to begin with. They don't taste better than quiche and are so much harder to get right! And yet, there is so very much satisfaction to be gained from pulling a soufflé out of the oven with the knowledge that you, little old you, have attained such clichéd kitchen mastery.

Here's a secret: the potatoes help! They create starchy structure that make this particular dish much more likely to stand tall. So, especially if this is your first soufflé adventure, this is a great recipe to use. I based my recipe very closely off of one in last week's NYT: Leek and Potato Soufflé with Ham and Fontina. If you're a meat-eater, by all means try the original recipe; it's probably delicious! Being a vegetarian, I opted to mess around a bit with the ingredients and ended up very happy with the result. Also, I was cooking for two, and in retrospect I think I would have tried to more or less halve the recipe and use a 1 qt. soufflé dish so as to avoid leftovers. The leftovers weren't bad, but it was best fresh.

For this recipe, you'll need two things: a 2 qt. soufflé dish (although a deep casserole dish might work?), and some form of hand beaters (see above) or a mixer to work with the egg whites. I've tried whisking egg whites to stiff peaks before. Believe me, it ain't pretty. I almost never go for working with electronic cooking implements, because I so enjoy the process of doing everything by hand, but if you haven't got one of those handheld beaters (my new favorite kitchen implement, by the way), put the egg whites in the mixer and plug it in.

Ingredients

Oh Trader Joe's. You are just the cutest thing.
Even your potatoes are friendly.

-1.5 lbs preferably yellow-fleshed potatoes, chopped and peeled (if you like)
-about 1 c milk and 1/4 cup cream. Or all milk, or half-and-half, or cream
-salt and pepper to taste
-2 TB butter, divided
-1.5 leeks, split down the center and chopped relatively thinly. 
-1/2 tsp. dried thyme 
-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
-3 minced cloves of garlic
-cayenne to taste
-1/2 red pepper, diced
-3 oz mushrooms, diced
-4 oz. grated cheese (we used a gruyere-cheddar hybrid, but a fontina or swiss could also be nice)
-3 eggs, separated
-a couple TB of grated parmesan


Procedure
1. Boil the potatoes and mash them with the milk or cream and a bit of salt and pepper. Cool slightly
2. Pre-heat the oven to 375°F, coat a 2 qt. soufflé dish with butter and sprinkle the bottom and sides with parmesan.









3. Heat 1.5 TB butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the leaks, along with some salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 minutes until softened but still very green. Add in the garlic, red pepper, thyme, and oregano and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the leeks mix to the potato mix. 

4. Add the other half TB of butter to the skillet, and saute the mushrooms over medium high heat until they release their liquid and are nicely brown, then stir into the potato mix along with the cheese and a bit of cayenne. Adjust the seasonings, making it a little stronger than you think it should be to make up for the eggs. 

5. Separate the eggs, placing the whites into a medium bowl and mixing the yolks into the potato mixture.  Use your hand beater or electric mixer to peat the egg whites to stiff peaks. Stir 1/3 of the egg whites into the potato mix, and then quickly and gently fold in the other 2/3s. 

                                       soft peaks

stiff peaks

6. Scrape the batter into the soufflé dish and top with grated parmesan.
7. Bake for about 40-50 minutes until nicely browned. Check with a toothpick or skewer, but keep in mind that the potatoes add some moisture that will leave the toothpick looking a bit damp even when it's done--don't assume it's raw egg!

8. Remove carefully from the oven and serve.