Flashback Friday
featuring Coconut Curry & Tomato-Braised Chicken (+ my Sourdough English Muffins)
When I think back on some of my favorite Restaurant Dropout menus, Embracing Fall is one that comes to mind.
To me, it’s a menu that screams cooking for a transitional season—it’s flavorful, hearty, & perfect for colder weather, but the kicker is:
It doesn’t heavily utilize seasonal produce outside of cabbage (which is currently in peak season for most); however, you’ll find use of cauliflower, carrots, and a singular bell pepper, which if you have trouble finding, you can either leave them out or use the next best thing.
Plus, now that January is officially over (thank goodness), it’s time to savor the tail-end of stew season before the weather warms up and the rain (or snow) subsides.
Let’s dive right into it.
You’ll see that I have a couple of varieties of cabbage featured in the recipe videos—ignore them (you don’t need 2 varieties of cabbage this week).
Essential Ingredients
We’re adding both garam masala and curry powder to our list of essential ingredients. While both are spice blends, meaning you can totally make your own versions at home, I’d recommend having them on hand to make life a bit simpler.
We’ll use them in the future, so don’t worry; this will not be a single-time use.
Grocery List
Printable Menu
Meatball Flatbread OR Saucy Meatballs over Rice
I had a very difficult time deciding on the final dinner of the week.
That said, while I ended up with meatball flatbreads (Day 3), you can choose to make Cumin-Braised Meatballs over Basmati Rice for Day 4. For these meatballs, you’d essentially cook them similarly to our Meatball Subs (with cabbage and sauce) and then serve them over a bed of basmati rice (you’d have to make 2 more servings of rice ahead of time).
The best part: do this process with all of the meatballs, cabbage, and remaining cumin-spiced tomato sauce on Day 4, reserve 2 servings in a container, pop them on the stove the following day, toast up your hoagie rolls, and boom. Serve it up. It’ll make life far easier on Day 5 (however, it would be 2 similar dishes in a row, which is why I changed it up).
This is just an option I’m throwing out there for those who are craving simplicity over diversity in food this week.
Protein Choices
Fish
For the first meal of the week, you can use whichever fish you like. We’ll be poaching it, so I highly recommend using a delicate, flaky fish with a mild taste. While I used salmon (it’s what I had on hand), I’d recommend something like Cod or Halibut.
Of course, for vegetarians, a soft tofu would work beautifully as a vegetarian alternative.
Ground Meat
This week, we’re making a new variation of the Spiced Feta Meatballs, which means we’ll need ground meat. You can opt for chicken, as written in the recipe, OR use beef, pork, or turkey. The choice is yours.
Note: I haven’t tested these meatballs with alternative ground meats, so if you do choose to use beef or pork, I’d recommend having breadcrumbs and eggs on hand in case they start to fall apart (I’d start off with 1 egg with 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs).
Prep List
Basmati Rice
Fun Fact: Cooking basmati rice to perfection was one of the most difficult tasks for me in cooking school. We were tasked with making a Dill Butter Rice, which was made with onions and garlic, among other things. My group ended up with rice mush, which led me to learn the following lessons:
Don’t rinse your basmati rice—rinsing might result in a disproportionate water ratio.
Use the right rice-to-water ratio. Since basmati rice is a long-grain rice, it’s usually assumed to use the same ratio as most long-grain rice varieties (1 cup rice to 2 cups water); however, it should be 1 cup rice to 1.5 cups water.
Don’t open up the lid prematurely. Once your rice has simmered for 20 minutes, turn off the heat and leave the lid on for another 10 minutes. The starches in rice need to rest before you can ‘fluff’ it up, so let it be to avoid rice mush.
Flatbread Dough/Hoagie Rolls
This week, if you’re down for it, we’re making 1 dough for 2 types of bread: flatbread and hoagie rolls (pictured below).
I’m not calling it naan since naan is typically cooked in a tandoor—our chef instructor made this abundantly clear to me in cooking school after I innocently asked if we’d learn how to make naan on a skillet. In her words, if it’s cooked on a skillet, it’s flatbread, not naan.
Just know this is a recipe heavily inspired by naan 😃.
Tangent aside, the dough-making process will be the same as in previous weeks; however, this time, we’ll be segmenting our dough into small rounds and medium-sized rolls (demo below).
Protein Substitutions
Yellow Coconut Curry with Basmati Rice
Protein Substitution: Tofu, Halibut, Cod, Tilapia, Chickpeas, White Beans
Tomato-braised chicken with Cumin & Feta
Protein Substitution: Paneer, Beef
Spiced Feta Meatball Flatbreads with Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
Protein Substitution: Beef, Pork, Turkey, Plant-Based Ground Meat
Curried Couscous with Spiced Shrimp
Protein Substitution: Tofu, Halibut, Cod
Spiced Feta Meatball Subs with Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
Protein Substitution: Beef, Pork, Turkey, Plant-Based Ground Meat
Additional Substitutions
Feta 🔄 Cotija, Queso Fresco, Paneer
Cabbage 🔄 Your Choice of Green (Kale, Spinach, etc; if Romaine, serve it cold/raw)
Carrots & Cauliflower 🔄 Your Choice of Vegetable (Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, Broccoli, Green Beans)
Coconut Milk 🔄 Cashew Milk
Basmati Rice 🔄 Jasmine Rice
Elements
Bread
Flatbread Dough
Sauces
Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
Yellow Coconut Curry Base
Cumin-Spiced Tomato Sauce
Meat
Spiced Feta Meatballs
Dishes
Yellow Coconut Curry with Basmati Rice
Tomato-Braised Chicken with Cumin & Feta
Spiced Feta Meatball Flatbreads with Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
Curried Couscous with Spiced Shrimp
Spiced Feta Meatball Subs with Garlicky Yogurt Sauce
Consolidated Lists
Consolidated Recipes
From the Restaurant Dropout Community
Since we’re cooking an older menu this week, it only felt right to include some of our favorite pointers/suggestions from my favorite community, the Restaurant Dropout community…
Re: Low/No Carb Substitutes (thank you, Ebony!)
Re: Beans in lieu of Tofu or Fish (thank you, Hetty & Sheena!)
Re: Coconut Rice (great idea) — here’s the recipe for that
Sourdough English Muffins
As promised last week, here’s the recipe for my Sourdough English Muffins. They’re a favorite of mine and the sole reason I keep my sourdough starter alive <3
The Windowpane Test: To ensure your dough has been kneaded sufficiently, stretch it out—facing it towards light—to see if it tears. If it stretches and becomes slightly see-through (like a window), WITHOUT tearing, it’s good to go. See the video demo (below) for more information.
Video Demo
Note: The featured video demo is for a double batch of English muffins (12 total).
We’ll be back next week with a new menu!
As always, thank you so much for being here. Ciao for now, and happy cooking! 💖
Xo,
Zoe
Can't wait for this but the Asian in me in seeing "don't wash your rice" as blasphemy
Do you have a sourdough recipe?