Jackson Heights Jjajangmyun

JH jjajangmyun

Traditional Chinese-Korean jjajangmyun

Jackson Heights cuisine is a fusion style that incorporates Latin, East Asian, South Asian, and European or American flavors and ingredients that I like to think I invented. This dish was inspired by the Chinese-Korean dish called jjajangmyun which usually is fermented black bean sauce with pork and vegetables like zucchini, potatoes, and peas over soft wheat noodles.  

For my version I used left overs from a meal of Mexican tamales and black beans and paired with linguini.

1 can black beans
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic or 1 tbs garlic paste
1 tbl olive oil
1 tsp. salt, plus more to taste
1/2 lb cooked linguini

Saute the onion and garlic in the oil and salt until the onions are soft and translucent. Add the canned beans with half a can of water. Simmer for 15 minutes. Mash the beans so most are pureed, but some are still whole. Adjust consistency to sauce-like thickness by adding water or simmering uncovered. Adjust salt. It should be fairly salty. Serve over hot linguini.

Sweet Pea Hummus

I served this with herb-grilled lamb chops, cucumber yogurt sauce, stuffed grape leaves, cucumber -vidalia onion-grape tomato- basil salad, and pitas yesterday for Easter. Today leftover hummus with sardines in vinaigrette along with the grape leaves and grape tomatoes makes a nice lunch.

The recipe originally appeared on the Serious Eats blog.

1 lb frozen green peas, thawed
1 lemon juice
10 mint leaves
1/4 olive oil
1 tsp garlic paste
salt and pepper to taste

Pulse all the ingredients together until you get a hummus consistency. Add water if necessary.

Delicious, fast, cheap, easy, and healthy!

Sweet Challah Toast

This isn't healthy but it is healthier than donuts, which it will satisfy a craving for. Faster, easier, and just as yummy as French toast, too. For a brunch it will provide a bread product that isn't too filling and can be served with the honey on the side to be customized by each person to be either sweet or savory.

1/4 loaf challah bread
4 tbls unsalted butter, softened
pinch kosher salt
1 tbls honey

Cut challah into 3/4-inch slices. Butter on both sides with unsalted, softened butter. Cut in half. Toast in a hot skillet on both sides. Add a modest pinch of kosher salt and a drizzle of honey on one side. Serve with hot coffee. Serves 2

Ravioli avec ratatouille

This recipe took about 15-20 minutes, start to finish. It cost about $8 for 4-6 servings because Celli marinara is a little expensive but uses about 1/3 of the jar. (I like this sauce because it tastes good and has no high fructose corn syrup or sugar.) You can use Pomi diced or stewed tomatoes which are cheaper, and add more seasonings, but it's quicker and easier to use marinara sauce. This can be eaten hot, cold, or room temperature.

$3.99 1 13 oz. pkg of Celentano large cheese ravioli
$1.00 1 large zucchini, about 2 inches in diameter
$1.00 1 medium Italian eggplant, about the same size as the zucchini
$0.20 1 medium onion
$4.89 1 1/2 c. Celli marinara sauce
$0.02 2 tsp garlic, crushed

salt & pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
garlic croûtons for garish

Set a large pot of water to boil for the ravioli.

In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Julienne the onion and toss into the skillet. Add the garlic. Slice the two halves of the zucchini into half-inch slices and toss them in. Increase the heat to medium-high. Peel and halve the eggplant and slice into half-inch slices, too. Toss into the pan. Add salt, pepper and sauté for 3-4 minutes. Add the marinara sauce. Add the ravioli to the boiling water. Cover the vegetables and simmer for 5 minutes, which is the same amount of time that it takes for the ravioli to cook. When the ravioli are done, use a slotted spoon to add them to the vegetables. Serve garnished with croûtons.

Caldo Verde "Green Soup"

This is a Portuguese soup that is easy to make with or without the meat because the base of the soup is olive oil, garlic, and onion. A quick alternative is below.

1 bunch of kale, shredded paper-thin
(some kids call this soup "grass soup", so that should give you an idea about the look of the kale. To shred, tightly roll 3-4 leaves and chiffanade. You should cut out any large tough stems.)

8 c. water
3 potatoes, peeled and diced as for mashed potatoes
1 small onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbls. olive oil
salt & pepper

Optional:
1/4 lb choriço (dried Portuguese sausage), halved and sliced thin
Acceptable substitutes: Goya chorizo, keilbasa- basically a spicy drier sausage. (Obviously for vegetarian/vegan, halal/kosher version, don't add the pork.)

In a large soup pot, sweat the onion and garlic with about a teaspoon of salt in the olive oil. When they are soft and translucent, add the water and bring to a boil with the potatoes. When the potatoes are cooked (about 20 minutes) break them up in the pot to make the base of the soup. Add the kale and simmer uncovered on medium low heat until the kale is tender, about 30-40 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Add the optional choriço while the soup is cooking or add to keep it meat-free until plated.

Quicker version:
If you don't want to chop and peel so much you can use 1 box of chopped frozen kale and 1 1/2 cups of instant mashed potato flakes or 1 envelope of instant mashed potato powder.