Better Then The Hot New Restaurant

Wine:

De Fontsainte Gris de Gris Rose 2006

We love all things Indian and when we read in the LA Times of a great new Indian Restaurant we quickly made reservations and went. We were very disappointed. We had planed to cook an Indian dinner and the very next night after our disappointing dinner we cooked our own food. Ours was better! No doubt about it!

We started with a non-Indian Salad, but a real winner! I strongly suggest you try it when tomatoes are in season. It is called: Feta Salad with Anise Bread, tomatoes and Oregano from the Casa Moro Cookbook. We purchased the tomatoes at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market. The Feta, olives and the La Panzanella Croccantini (Fennel) were from The Cheese Store of Silver Lake. We modified the recipe to use Croccantini crackers rather than Anise Brea.

We made Cauliflower Vindaloo and a Chicken Coconut Curry. For both of these dishes we used Maya Kaimal Sauces available at your Grocery Store. Check first. The sauces are great, the recipes are on the sauce. It will be found in a refrigerated part of the store if they have it.

We made Breyani Rice imported from South Africa by Spice and all things nice. This is available at the Cheese Store of Silver Lake.

FETA SALAD WITH ANISE BREAD, TOMATOES AND OREGANO
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Modified from Casa Moro Cookbook
This salad is a cross between the Tuscan bread salad panzanella, and Greek salad. When tomatoes are in season, it is definitely worth making and can be done a little in advance.
Serves 6-8 as a mezze, 4 for a starter or light meal
6 x 1.5cm thick slices Anise Bread, broken into bite-sized pieces We subtituted Croccantini.
400g sweet vine-ripened cherry tomatoes, cut into halves or quarters
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped 150g feta cheese
2 tablespoons fresh or dried oregano leaves
2 handfuls oily black olives
DRESSING
1 garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt
1-l/2 tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar
100 g tomatoes, sliced and pureed to juice in a food processor
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and black pepper

For the dressing, whisk the garlic, vinegar, tomato juice and olive oil together, then season with salt and pepper.

Place the anise bread croutons in a large bowl, pour on half the dressing, toss well and leave for 10 minutes. Now add the tomatoes and chopped onion, crumble on the feta, then add the oregano and olives. Add the rest of the dressing. Season with salt and pepper and toss.