Grilled Naan

Yes, my basting brush is a man figure - and I love it.

I seem to like making naan bread.  It may not be the most authentic versions ever, but I manage to make it taste pretty darn good - and in the end, that's what matters right?

We got some green garlic in our CSA a couple weeks ago and it was really just sitting in the fridge waiting to be used.  I thought it would be a welcome addition to this naan.  Next time though, I may roll it in with the dough, instead of just using it as a topping in order to incorporate the flavor a bit more.

I love this grilled version because it provides a little bit more of a crispier naan, which I have no complaints about.  And hell... I just like using my grill, so why not?  Right?  Right.


Ingredients:

2 & 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 teaspoons sugar
3/4 cup warm water
2 & 1/2 to 3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, melted plus more for brushing
2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
1 stalk of green garlic, sliced thinly

In a small bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and warm water.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, sift 2 & 1/2 cups of flour with salt.  Pour in melted butter, yogurt, and yeast mixture.  Mix well. If dough is too sticky, add remaining 1/2 cup of flour a little bit at a time, until you reach your desired texture.

Knead for about 15 minutes (yes, I got in my arm workout for the day with this one), or until dough is smooth and elastic.

Place dough in a clean and oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a warm towel.  Let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Punch dough down and knead for about a minute.  Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and roll each one out into a circle/oval about 1/4 inch thickness.

Light a charcoal grill under medium high heat. 

Before placing on grill, brush each flatbread with melted butter and place on grill.  Brush top of bread with additional butter and top with green garlic.  Grill for about 2-3 minutes, or until dough is crisp on the bottom.  Be careful not to leave it on there too long because it will burn easily (trust me, I had a casualty or two, lol). 

I'm working on my food styling - comments/criticisms welcome!

We served this with some freshly made raita and Indian spiced salmon fillets (recipe soon to come, of course) and it was just a great dinner all around. 

So next time you're in the mood for some naan... bust out that grill and throw those dough pieces on there!

See you guys tomorrow for a CSA Week #4 update - we got some more great stuff!  And let me know if you want me to feature your CSA, as well - there's still time to e-mail me =)

Homemade Naan Bread

Happy Friday everyone!  This particular Friday is a very special one.  Not only is it April's Fools (don't worry, I'm not going to try any trickery on you guys!), but as of 8:30pm tonight, I'm officially on vacation! 

It's definitely more of a "stay"-cation, but hey, I won't have to work for a full 11 days.  So it's going to be amazing.

What will I be doing? 

SPRING CLEANING.  There's so much I want to throw out and do over, it's not even funny.  Will I get to it all done in one week?  Umm... no.  I highly doubt it.  I'll probably only get through 3, maybe 4 rooms out of the house, but hey, it's a start.

Anyway, let's get on with some naan!

Ingredients:
Adapted from Food for my Family's recipe

3/4 cup warm water
1 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 cups flour, plus more if needed
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 pinch baking powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 & 1/2 tablespoons sour cream
cornmeal, for dusting
unsalted butter, optional

In a small bowl, add the water and sprinkle yeast over top.  Allow to sit for about 10 minutes until foamy. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.  Mix in olive oil and sour cream until mixture is crumbly.  Slowly stir in the yeast and water mixture until a ball of dough forms.  My mixture was still a tad wet, so I added maybe 1/2 to 1 cup extra flour to get a desired consistency.

Knead dough on a floured surface for a few minutes until smooth.  Place the dough ball in a clean and greased bowl.  Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 to 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 500F with a baking stone or an upside-down rimmed baking sheet (i don't have a baking stone, so this is the method I used). 

Flip dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for a couple minutes.  Divide dough into about 5-6 equally sized balls.  Dip each ball into flour and roll out to about 1/4 inch thickness.

Dust preheated baking stone or baking sheet with a light layer of cornmeal.  Wet hands and gently wet each piece of dough before placing them on hot baking stone or sheet (I did batches of 3).

Bake for about 5-7 minutes, or until tops are starting to brown and get bubbly.

Transfer each piece of naan to a plate and top with a pat of unsalted butter.

This was my first attempt at making naan and I must say that it couldn't have been easier!  Or more delicious!  I had a 1/2 piece of naan with each of my dinners this week, and it was the perfect accompaniment to my curried lentil soup I had the other night!  It's even great by itself!

How about you guys... have you ever made naan at home? 

Have a great weekend guys!  I'll see you next week for some goodies (and maybe some before and after pictures of the rooms I clean out!)

Loaded Vegetable Flatbreads

Hello Monday!  It's going to be a busy week for me, I can already sense it.  I've already conquered one test, my Spanish test.  I don't know what it is, but I just find it comes really easy to me.  Or maybe I just put forth more effort than my fellow classmates who seem clueless the whole time?  Either or... I've got an A, so that's good enough for me.

And tomorrow's test in my Developmental Biology class is going to be a different story.  I've been hit or miss for the past three exams and I just can't seem to get a good study routine going on.  I mean, it's mostly just how an embryo develops and the stages that occur... but they're quite detailed and this girl is sometimes foggy on details.  But hopefully this time around, we'll see better results!

How was everyone's Halloween weekend?  We didn't do much of anything.  We checked out a new sushi place, Wild Ginger.  We were definitely very impressed.  With only being open for about a week or so, their service and timing was impeccable.  They definitely have their work flow down and the sushi was unique and delicious, as well.  Kind of on the higher priced side, but I think taking everything into consideration, it was worth it.  We'll definitely be back... especially since they're open until 1 am from Thursday to Saturday (big because I usually have to work late some nights and there's never anything real appetizing still open, but now there is!) 

Saturday we had a couple of our friends over and we ate pizza, drank beer, and played board games.  Andy wasn't feeling so hot (he thinks he had borderline food poisoning - from McDonald's... and I told him it was Karma for eating at Mcdonald's, hehe)  but he's feeling better now, so no worries! 

Anyway, today's recipe is from last month's Bon Appetit and it was a pretty darn good concoction!  It's definitely vegetarian friendly, and you can always substitute different vegetables for the ones you don't like!  And of course, the fried egg on top sets it off!  I do love me some runny yolk! =)

Ingredients:
Adapted from Bon Appetit's recipe

1 cup spinach
1 cup arugula leaves, plus more for garnish
1/2 cup olive oil, plus additional for brushing
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup warm water, divided
1 tablespoon honey
2 packets active dry yeast (1/4 ounce each)
3 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cornmeal (for sprinkling)
3-4 red potatoes, cooked, cooled, and sliced thinly
1/2 bunch asparagus, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup frozen corn
2/3 cup frozen peas
3/4 cup ricotta cheese
8 eggs
parmesan cheese shavings (optional)

You can start by making the dough for the flatbreads.  In a small bowl, mix 1/4 cup warm water with honey.  Stir in yeast and let stand for about 10 minutes.  It should be pretty foamy, if not, start again with new yeast.

In a large bowl, combine flour and salt.  Add 3/4 warm water and yeast mixture.  Mix until dough starts to come together, adding more water if dough seems too dry.

Brush a large bowl with olive oil.  Form the dough into a ball and place in bowl, turning the dough to coat it in the oil.  Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place damp towel over top.  Let dough rest for 1 hour.

After the hour, knead the dough in the bowl for about a minute or two.  Cover and let rise again for about 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, you can make your pesto sauce.  Place spinach in a microwave safe bowl and sprinkle with water.  Microwave for about 20-30 seconds, or until spinach starts to wilt.  Drain the spinach, releasing any liquid. 

In the bowl of a food processor, add spinach, 1 cup of arugula, 1/2 cup olive oil, and garlic.  Pulse until you reach a desired consistency.  I like mine pretty smooth.  Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and set aside.

Place pizza stone or baking sheet (if doing this method, which is the one I did, turn baking sheet upside-down) in oven and preheat oven to 500 F.

Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and form each into a ball.  Place on floured work surface and cover the balls with plastic wrap and let rest for an additional 10 minutes.

Sprinkle the baking sheet with cornmeal.  Using 1 dough ball at a time, roll out into a thin oval on a floured surface, about personal pizza size.   Transfer to a sheet or pizza peel so it is easy to transfer in and out of the oven.  Spread 2 tablespoons of spinach pesto over dough, leaving a little border.  Then top with sliced potatoes, asparagus, corn, and peas.  Do however much of each, but remember to "top lightly"... you don't want your flatbread weighing a million pounds, so use some will power and don't overdo the toppings.  Then spoon 3 dollops of ricotta over the vegetables. 

Slide flatbread onto pizza stone or baking sheet.  Bake for about 10-12 minutes, or until edges of flatbread are golden brown.

While flatbread is cooking, you can fry your eggs.  Heat a large skillet under medium high heat and add olive oil to coat pan.  Crack 2 eggs into skillet and cook until whites are just set, leaving yolks still runny, about 3 to 5 minutes. 

Take flatbread out of oven and transfer to a cutting board or work surface.  Top with 2 fried eggs and shaved parmesan.  Spread arugula leaves on top, also.  Repeat with remaining dough balls, or store them in the freezer for a later time!

These were definitely awesome!  It's an all day ordeal if you make your own dough, but trust me, it's well worth it!  If you're a carnivore like me, you won't even miss the meat here because the massive amount of vegetables packed into these things will definitely keep you satisfied!  Enjoy guys!