warming spiced daal
with plumped raisins, roasted kuri squash and a poached egg
i started writing this the night before the fires in los angeles began. i had just finished dinner with a friend and decided to leave her house early as the winds had picked up and it felt dangerous.
little did know what that night would turn into.
i have much to say and write about in regard to the LA fires recently, but do not quite have the words to speak, yet.
just know we are safe and have been working around the clock with incredible grassroots organizations on the ground to help with immediate relief to first responders and fire relief victims. and some of that has been providing daily food and sustenance.
i will talk more soon, but here is the substack post i began writing that fateful night. i hope it brings some sort of comfort. because we all need that right now.
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i will also link my wonderful friends, emily & kate’s joint substack here which is a moving document on ways that you can support LA right now.
thank you to everyone checking in on me constantly (i’m talking daily check-ins from my amazing family, friends and colleagues). it has been so appreciated.
new year, same cravings.
we arrived home from being in the bay area for NYE, and in classic chloe style—i ran straight to the farmers market.
after being away on a trip, no matter what time of year, i need to come home and immediately stock on nourishing elixirs (for example, honey from the farm stands on the i-5), various seasonal vegetables and nutrient-dense grains. it is what centers me again, after being away.
some might come home and want to order take-out for ease. i need to cook.
admittedly—i wouldn’t say that i necessarily indulged in too much food this holiday season (i still ate mostly vegetable/salad heavy with the odd bit of fish or meat protein. but of course, i indulged in more deserts than i normally would—i’m only human after all). but i did perhaps overindulge a little on booze. that, and i got so sick the day before christmas eve, my body just feels overall depleted.
for some reason, my body, mind, and soul were craving some kind of veg heavy, spiced lentils—and i couldn’t quite put my finger on why. and then i remembered a cookbook i had buried myself into one day over the period between christmas and new year, whilst on the couch and my friends house. and when i say buried, i mean buried.
deborah madison
i discovered deborah a few years ago, whilst living in sf. she was one of the original chef-owners of greens restaurant in fort mason, sf. though, i did not discover her via greens—i have actually never been, but dying to go because my friend kate raves about it. but, because i purchased her brilliant book, onion in my pocket, whilst roaming around north beach one afternoon, which is her memoir that talks about her life and love of vegetables.
i loved the book, and i loved her writing—but until last week, i had never read any of her cookbooks.
typically, as soon as i arrive at my friends rita & gilly’s house (i say friends, but they are more like family), i set myself down on the sofa, usually make us all a pot of tea, and pull all of gilly’s cookbooks down from the shelve and dig in for the afternoon. his cookbook collection is unmatched.
gilly is a an incredible chef, and his cookbook collection is a source of inspiration, always.
gilly handed me ‘in my kitchen, by deborah madison’ and could not believe i had never read this cookbook before. ‘she cooks and thinks about food just like you do’ he exclaimed.
i spent the next few hours reading (devouring) the cookbook cover to cover, and i would say close to 70% of the recipes i had already made in some way shape or form, without having ready any of her cookbooks, ever. we do indeed, seem to think the same way about food, vegetables and cooking.
deborah does eat meat, but good meat—quality meat, and not everyday. her diet is very much vegetable forward, and very much champions vegetables. not in so much of a hero-worship kind of way, but more that vegetables can be just as much as the centre piece as meat or fish can. it’s a simple and beautiful way of thinking, really.
it’s truly the way i think about eating meat.
i came across a recipe for a berbere-spiced (berbere is a spice mixture whose constituent elements usually include chili peppers, coriander, garlic, ginger, ethiopian holy basil seeds, korarima, rue, ajwain or radhuni, nigella, and fenugreek. it is a key ingredient in the cuisines of ethiopia and eritrea) red lentil stew that just looked like something i would just demolish. and so, whilst still sitting on the sofa—consuming every page like it was going to disappear, i ordered her book online.
so, i arrived home from our trip and the book was yet to arrive, but i needed lentils stat. so, here is my recipe for warming spiced daal with plumped raisins, roasted kuri squash and a poached egg. based off of one look at deborah’s recipe and also based off flavors i was craving the night i got home.
warming spiced daal with plumped raisins, roasted kuri squash and a poached egg
i don’t usually name specific spices and very specific brands, but this dish was so incredibly good i had to name names. and this is not sponsored at all, these spices were all gifted to me to try separately and quite a while back—i might add, but wow did they make this dish!
use whatever you can find, if you can’t find these specific ones.
serves 4-6
2 cups of red lentils
1 kuri squash, de-seeded and cut into 1 inch pieces (or squash of your choice)
2 anaheim peppers, de-seeded and sliced thinly
2 carrots, peeled and julienned
1 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly into half moons
1 tbsp of droosh everyday spice, or a similar curry powder
1 tbsp of droosh tikka masala spice, or a similar tikka masala
2 tbsp of sauce goddess moroccan twist, or a similar ras el hanot
1 tsp of better than boullion ‘no chicken base’
1 tbsp on cinnamon
1 tbsp of cumin seeds
1/2 cup of golden raisins
1 quart of homemade chicken / vegetable stock (store bought is perfect too)
water, as needed
1 egg, poached (per person)
salt
white pepper (black pepper will work too)
oil for finishing
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begin by roasting the squash in a 375 degree oven for approximately 45 minutes or until softened and charred in a few places
next, in a large heavy-bottomed pan or large saute pan with a lid, over medium heat—drizzle in 1 tbsp of olive oil and begin sautéing the onion, carrots, and anaheim pepper.
once the vegetables are softened a little (2-3 minutes) add in all the spices and let them toast in the oily vegetable mixture for 1-2 minutes.
next add in the lentils and stir everything to combine, followed by the chicken or vegetable stock. season to taste with salt and white pepper.
let all of this cook gently on medium to low heat until all of the stock has been absorbed and the lentils are incredibly soft and somewhat broken down (approximately 35 minutes). after 15 minutes, add in the golden raisins to plump up in the liquids. add in more water as neeeded until the lentils are fully cooked.
this daal should have a thick soup consistency without being blended. i like texture, and it is daal afterall.
this is a good time to check on the squash. once the squash is cooked, pull it out of the oven and let it cool a little.
check the lentils and once they look pretty much done, this would be a good time to poach the egg(s). check the lentils for a final seasoning.
serve the lentils in your favorite bowl with a few cubes of the roasted squash, the poached egg placed gently on top, a good drizzled of really good olive oil, more flaky salt and white pepper.
i hope that you enjoy!
talk soon
xo
This looks delicious and perfectly comforting for an incredibly difficult time x
thank you for doing everything you're doing, chloe!