Taco Pasta (and Homemade Taco Seasoning)

You know how sometimes you're eating tacos with your friends and you're all like "I wish I could have all the flavors of a taco without the annoying crumbly taco shell that falls apart all over my shirt." And then your bitchy friend Patrice says "make it into taco pasta you idiot." And then you say "back off bitch." And then she says "make me." And then you say "I'll cut you." And then she says "the water could be boiling by now." Yeah, me neither. And yet here it is. Pasta (pause) that tastes like (wait for it) tacos! (It really does.)

TACO PASTA

Yield: 6-8 servings

12 ounces medium pasta shells or other small dry pasta shape

1 pound ground beef

1 small onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 clove garlic, minced
4 tablespoons homemade taco seasoning (see recipe below) or 1 packet store-bought

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies (or plain diced tomatoes)
3 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1.      Bring a large pot of water to boil. Cook pasta according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. Set aside.

2.      Meanwhile, in a large skillet or sauté pan, cook the ground meat over medium-high heat until no longer pink. A few minutes before the meat is cooked through, add the chopped onion to the skillet. Once the meat is cooked through, mix in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the taco seasoning and then the diced tomatoes and let simmer over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes. 

3.      Stir in the cream cheese and sour cream until the cream cheese is melted. Stir in the cooked pasta and stir until well blended. Add reserved pasta water if needed to loosen up the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4.      Stir in the cilantro right before serving. Serve with a green salad.

slightly reordered/reworded from the-girl-who-ate-everything.com (who adapted it from fakeginger.com, who adapted it from delish-blog.com).

cooked pasta shells, draining

beef browning with onions

adding garlic

adding homemade taco seasoning

I added plain tomatoes and half
a can of mild green chiles too

adding cream cheese & sour cream

adding pasta shells

adding cilantro

taco pasta mixed in the pot

taco pasta served

I do wish I'd had some cold, crisp salad
to go with it. I think that would have really
increased the taco experience. Next time.

- - - - - - - -

TACO SEASONING

Yield: 6 heaping tablespoons

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons sea salt

2 teaspoons ground black pepper

In a small bowl or spice grinder, mix together chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, salt and pepper. Mix (or grind). Store in an airtight container.

from allrecipes.com, submitted by Bill Echols (recipe doubled)

red pepper flakesI decided to grind my spices instead, only so
I could grind the red pepper flakes more finely.

But since the grinder was already out and dirty,
I figured why not grind them all together.

taco seasoning

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Saag Paneer (Spinach with Indian Cheese)

This saag paneer is a little different from the ones I've had in restaurants (the paneer cubes aren't usually spiced and the dish tends to be saucier). Of course if you want, you can always add cream or coconut milk to loosen it up. I hope it doesn't seem like I'm down on this particular recipe though, because I liked it. I just want you to know it might not be exactly the same experience. But this went fast at my house.

SAAG PANEER (SPINACH WITH INDIAN CHEESE)

Yield: 4 servings

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

Kosher salt

3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil

12 oz. paneer (Indian cheese), cut into 1-inch cubes

1 (16 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 large green serrano chile, finely chopped (seeds removed if you don't like it too spicy)

1/2 teaspoon garam masala

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred until smooth

1.      In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss, taking care not to break the cubes if you're using the homemade kind. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.

2.      Puree the thawed spinach in a food processor until smooth (or chop very finely with a knife).

3.      Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the paneer as the pan warms. In a couple of minutes give the pan a toss; each piece of paneer should be browned on one side. Fry another minute or so, and then remove the paneer from the pan onto a plate.

4.      Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chile. Now here's the important part: saute the mixture until it's evenly toffee-coloured, which should take about 15 minutes. Don't skip this step - this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.

5.      Add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. If you haven't already, sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cook out, and it all smells a bit more melodious, 3 to 5 minutes.

6.      Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup water; stir and cook about 5 minutes with the lid off.

7.      Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.

from Aarti Sequeira

spices and oil

folding in the homemade paneer cubes

paneer cubes marinating

pureed spinach

browning the paneer

onion, garlic, ginger and chile

caramelized

adding spices

adding spinach

adding yogurt

adding paneer

saag paneer

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Paneer (Homemade Indian Cheese)

Since paneer isn't one of those things they sell at my local grocery store (and fresher is usually better anyway), I thought it would be fun to make it at home. It turns out it's the same procedure as making fresh ricotta, except there's no salt and you compress the cheese into a block instead of leaving the curds loose and creamy. That way you can cut it into little cubes and use it in whatever Indian dish you have planned for later that day (more on that next time). But don't wait too long to make it, as simple as this stuff is, it's tasty enough to snack on and just might disappear before you add it to your dinner.

PANEER (HOMEMADE INDIAN CHEESE)

Yield: 12 ounces

8 cups whole milk

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more if needed*

___________________________________________________________________

1.      Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink.

2.      In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom (a nonstick pot works really well for this purpose). This will take a little while, so be patient.

3.      Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect.

4.      Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor. At this point, you could squeeze out some of the liquid, and serve with some honey and some nuts, almost like a fresh ricotta.

5.      Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow the cheese to drain for about 5 minutes.

6.      Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (this will ensure your block of cheese is nice and smooth), and set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the refrigerator and let it sit about 20 minutes.

7.      Unwrap your beautiful disc of homemade cheese! You can now use this in any number of traditional Indian dishes, like saag paneer.

*Cook's Note: If the milk doesn't separate juice some more lemons and add another tablespoon or two. Boost the heat again and the milk should separate. Stir in a motion that gathers the curds together rather than breaks them up.

from Aarti Sequeira

lemons

pouring lemon juice into hot milk

curds forming

draining in cheesecloth

rinsing

twisting to squeeze out the whey

hanging on the kitchen faucet

on a plate

in the fridge, weighed down with a gallon of water

unwrapped

block of homemade paneer cheese

cutting the paneer

paneer cubes

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