Vegetable Red Lentil Stew, & 

Palak Paneer (Indian Spinach & Cheese)

I was busy doing summery things recently, including making dinner for special visitors ... Vegetable Red Lentil Stew, and Palak Paneer (Indian Spinach & Cheese). These are the leftovers. 

The Lentil Stew is based on Supper with Michelle's recipe. I say "based on," because 1) I used the Instant Pot (not sponsored ) and so needed to modify the instructions, and 2) I had no zucchini, the carrots weren't good, and after cleaning and tidying the house, I was just too tired to chop onions or cut up potatoes. (Apologies to Michelle. 😐) Instead, I used frozen chopped mirepoix mix (carrot, celery, onion), as well as frozen chopped broccoli. The lentils ended up very creamy. I hope that next time, I'll make it according to the recipe. My visitors and I enjoyed this version, so thanks, Michelle! 😃

The Palak Paneer is from Madhu Gadhia's New Indian Home Cooking, which has a lot of great, simple, healthy recipes. The Paneer (cheese) was also homemade, leftovers from the freezer. I don't actually press the Paneer very thoroughly, so I just broke it up and stirred it into the spinach. The key here seems to be slowly cooking the spinach for at least a half-hour, until it smells less like raw spinach. We also enjoyed this! 

Supper with Michelle Website, Vegetable Red Lentil Stew

Passover Mina/Pastel con Gomo de Espinaca 

(Sefardi Passover Matzah Spinach Pie)

The recipe is from Olive Trees & Honey, by Gil Marks. This Sefardi Jewish pie is often referred to online as a kind of lasagna. However, instead of a pastry crust or pasta, it is 2 layers of matzah (the cracker-like unleavened "bread" of Passover) which contain the filling. The top is brushed with an eggwash, and then it's all baked until golden.

One of the fillings the book recommends contains spinach, and that reminded me of the leftover Saag Paneer in the freezer. Saag Paneer is an Indian dish that here contains spinach, onion, and tofu (in place of Indian cheese), so I thought it would make a reasonable shortcut for the first time making this Mina.

I really enjoyed this Mina. Now that I'm more familiar with the technique, maybe some time I can make it again with more traditional fillings.

Palak "Paneer," 

with Tofu

Throwback to: Palak "Paneer," from March 2015. This is an Indian dish featuring palak = spinach and paneer = Indian cheese. Tofu fills in for the paneer in this version. (Also included are a couple of whole dried chili peppers, which smelled sweet, when still dry). Now that I think of it, it's about time to try this again!