Summertime Picnic with Asian Spice

All recipes serve six

*Eggplant Yogurt Dip with Naan Chips

*Sambal Deviled Eggs

*Roasted Chicken Everest

*Jasmine Rice and Corn Salad with Thai Flavors

*Ripe Red Tomatoes with Basil Ginger Sauce

*Apricot Tartlettes with Spiced Glaze

Eggplant Yogurt Dip with Naan Chips

Ingredients:

3 Tbs peanut oil

1 tsp. Black mustard seeds

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 fresh green chilies, chopped

1 medium eggplant, peeled and diced

1 small ripe tomato, diced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp garam masala

1 cup yogurt

2 Tbs cilantro, chopped

Cilantro leaves for garnish

6 pieces naan bread cut into wedges

Method: In a saucepan heat oil and fry the mustard seeds until they pop. Add the onions and chilies and fry until onion is soft. Add the eggplant and fry for a few minutes, stirring, then add tomato, salt, and garam masala. Stir well, add water, cover and cook until the eggplant and tomato can be mashed to a puree. Allow to cool and stir in yogurt and chopped cilantro. Garnish with cilantro leaves and serve.

Preheat the oven to 400F. Spread the naan wedges on a sheet pan. Bake them until warm and crunchy and serve with the Eggplant Yogurt Dip. (Pita chips also work well.)

Sambal Deviled Eggs

6 hard boiled eggs

3 Tbs peanut oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp Asian chili paste

1 Tbs Thai fish sauce

1 tsp ground coriander

4 macadamia nuts, ground

½ tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

½ cup coconut milk

Lemon juice to taste

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Method: Heat the oil and fry the onion and garlic until the onion is soft. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer gently, stirring constantly, until thick and the oil separates. Allow to cool. Cut the eggs in half and remove the yolks . Crumble them into the chili mixture and mix thoroughly. Spoon the mixture into the egg whites and garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Chicken Everest

Ingredients:

1 large free range chicken

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp finely grated ginger

1½ Tbs curry powder

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp salt

½ tsp fresh ground black pepper

1 tsp garam masala

2 Tbs lemon juice

1 crumbled bay leaf

2 tsp soy sauce

2 Tbs peanut oil

2 Tbs rice, ground in a spice mill

Spring onions, sliced for garnish

Cilantro leaves for garnish

Method: Wash and dry the chicken. Combine all other ingredients with sufficient warm water to make a paste. Rub the paste inside and outside the chicken and refrigerate for one hour. Preheat the oven to 350F. Roast the chicken 1 to 1½ hours until the juices run clear. Cover the bird with foil if it starts to brown too quickly. When the chicken is done section it and serve it hot or cold for the picnic.

Jasmine Rice and Corn Salad with Thai Flavors

Ingredients:

3 cups Jasmine rice, cooked and cold

3 Tbs peanut oil

2 shallots, minced

2 cups fresh corn kernels

1 cup fresh peas, blanched

3 Tbs fish sauce

3 Tbs soy sauce

1 cup chopped spring onions

½ cup (Thai) basil, chopped

¼ cup mint, chopped

Salt (optional)

2 red chili flowers* for garnish

Cilantro sprigs

Method: Heat oil in a wok and sauté the shallots for one minute. Add the corn, peas and rice and stir-fry until warm through. Add the fish and soy sauces, spring onions, basil, and mint and stir-fry, coating each grain for rice with the sauces. Season with salt if necessary. Serve warm or cold for the picnic and garnish with chili flowers and mint leaves.

*To make chili flowers slice a chili in strips from the stem to the tip leaving the stem end intact. Place the chilies in a bowl of ice water and leave 1 hour. The chilies will spread open forming a flower.

Ripe Red Tomatoes with Basil Ginger Sauce

Ingredients:

4 ripe red tomatoes, sliced

2 Tbs chopped basil

1 tsp grated ginger

1 Tbs minced shallot

4 Tbs rice wine vinegar

6 Tbs olive oil

Gray salt

Fresh ground black pepper

Method: Arrange the tomatoes on a platter. Combine the basil, ginger, shallot, vinegar and olive oil. Pour the sauce over the top and season with gray salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve at room temperature.

Apricot Tartlettes with Spiced Syrup

Ingredients:

3¾ cup flour

1½ Tbs sugar

2 tsp salt

1 2/3 cup unsalted butter, cold

2 eggs

2 Tbs water

Method: Combine the flour, 1½ Tbs. sugar, and salt in a food processor. Add the cold butter and process until the mixture is granular. Add the eggs and water and process until the mixture forms a ball. Refrigerate one hour.

Ingredients for Apricots:

6 large apricots, halved and pitted

¼ cup sugar

Method: Preheat the oven to 350F. Roll out the dough into 6 rounds and place them in individual tart tins with a generous overlay of dough. (You will have left over dough which you can freeze.) Toss the apricots in the sugar and place 2 halves in each tart shell. Fold the excess dough over the fruit so the middle of the apricots show. This is a freeform tart. Bake in the oven 15 minutes or until golden brown and the apricots bubble. Set aside to cool.

Ingredients for Syrup:

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

½ vanilla bean

½ cinnamon stick

2 star anis

10 Sichuan peppercorns

Method: While the tarts are cooking combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Allow to reduce until syrupy and then pour a thin stream of syrup over the tarts being careful to strain out the spices. Serve the tarts at room temperature.