Two days ago we showed how to give international flair to poke, the Hawaiian spin on sashimi salad.

Today, our colleague Hannah Kaminsky transforms one of the blandest foods in America (via Italy): gnocchi.

Here, she makes a fusion dish of potato gnocchi and Indian spices (photo #1), to create “samosa* gnocchi,” inspired by the spicy Indian fried potato dumplings.

She illustrates how you can take any bland food, from noodles to tofu to chicken breasts to tilapia, and turn them into fab food with the right spices.

“Fix up the gnocchi with a pinch of curry powder, for example” says Hannah, “and you could consider each starchy sphere as a naked samosa, stripped of its deep-fried pastry shell.”

Hannah, who specializes in making flavorful food in under 10 minutes (see her new book in photo #3), notes that packaged gnocchi make fast work of this preparation.

In addition to a main dish, she suggests serving them “as a brilliantly spiced side dish that could complement a wide range of proteins or simple stews.”
 
 
RECIPE: SAMOSA GNOCCHI

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. BRING a medium pot of water to a boil and add the gnocchi, using a spatula to gently break them apart. Cook just shy of al dente, as the dumplings will continue to soften in the curry sauce. In some cases, this might amount to only 1 or 2 minutes in the water, so keep a close eye on the process and test frequently by poking the pieces with a fork. Drain and rinse with cold water to immediately stop the cooking process.

2. MELT the coconut oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the par-boiled gnocchi. Spread out the gnocchi to cover the bottom of the pan as evenly as possible. Resist the urge to stir for about two minutes, allowing the gnocchi to dry and very lightly toast. Separately…

3. WHISK together the coconut milk, both spice mixtures, and salt before pouring them into the pan. Turn down the heat to medium-low, stir thoroughly, and simmer for 1 or 2 minutes longer, until the sauce coats the gnocchi nicely. Toss in the thawed peas and serve with mango chutney on the side, if desired.
 
 
RECIPE: QUICK MANGO CHUTNEY

Chutney is a spiced condiment of Indian origin (chatni is the Hindi word for strongly spiced) made of fruit or vegetables. It is typically served as an accompaniment to food, not as a spread.

[1] Fusion food: Italian gnocchi meet Indian curry (photo courtesy Hannah Kaminsky).

[2] There are many recipes for chutney, both sweet and savory. You can buy them or make them (photo courtesy Indian Home Cooking). Here, cilantro and tamarind chutneys.

[3] Delicious, plant-based meals in 10 minutes? How can you resist? Get Hannah Kaminsky’s book on Amazon.

“There are more types of chutney on the market than there are days in the year,” says Hannah, “from creamy coconut to fiery habanero varieties. One of my favorites is made from mango. You can pick up a jar of it at most grocery stores, but you can also throw together a quick version at home.”

This recipe makes 2 cups (3 – 4 servings).
 
Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. PLACE the mango and all ingredients in a microwave safe dish, stir well, and heat on full power for 4 to 7 minutes. The fruit should be softened, syrupy, and well-seasoned. This chutney will keep well for up to a week if stored in an airtight container in the fridge.
 
 
ABOUT HANNAH KAMINSKY

Hannah is a food photographer, recipe developer, and specialist in vegan cooking and baking. She is the author of five books, most recently, Real Food, Really Fast.

Follow her on BittersweetBlog.com.

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*Samosas are individual fried or baked triangles, often eaten as an appetizer or snack food. It has a savory filling, such as spiced potatoes, onions, peas and lentils, minced lamb or minced beef. They can also include macaroni/noodles and cheese. Here’s more about them.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[2] Jackie Chan commissioned this portrait, made from 64,000 chopsticks (photo courtesy Red Hong-Yi).

Take inspiration from the edible collages by Malaysian artist Red Hong-Yi, created on dinner plates [photo #1].

She calls them “painting without a brush.”

In 2012, Red Hong-Yi, was an architect designing residential towers on a computer screen. Then she decided to take a right turn, and transitioned to handmade art.

She created massive portraits:

It’s less than a month to Father’s Day. If you’re looking for something special and Dad is a pork lover, we love this idea:

Consider a gourmet combination plate—a pork version of a pu pu platter*.

This idea was inspired by steakhouse Rare Steak and Seafood in Washington, D.C. (photo #1).

Executive Chef Marc Hennessy serves a Pork Tasting charcuterie board that highlights nose-to-tail cuisine. He turns heritage pork from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia into a pork-four-ways plate, celebrating some of the different textures and flavors of pork cuisine:

 
The combination provides four different texture and flavor experiences.
 
 
CREATE YOUR OWN PORK EXPERIENCE

You can serve a pork variety plate as a first or second course, depending on the size of the portions. You can also purchase some of the ingredients, such as bacon jam, dumplings, fried pork rinds, meatballs pork sausage and pulled pork, among others, can be purchased.

While there are many, many pork dishes, select four or five that can easily be served in neat portions on a combination plate. Pulled pork sliders work, pork stew doesn’t, unless you serve it in a ramekin to hold in the juices.

Here are some ideas for your combination plate.

 
 
PORK RECIPES

 
 
CHECK OUT OUR PORK CUTS GLOSSARY.
 
 

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*A pu pu platter is an assortment of Chinese restaurant appetizers, is fun—and sounds so much more interesting than “assorted appetizers.” Here’s more about it.

†Pork loin and pork tenderloin are not cut from the same part of the animal, and in fact, look really different — pork tenderloin is thin and small, while a pork loin is wide enough that you can cut steak-like pieces from it.

[1] Gourmet pork combination plate from Rare Steak and Seafood in D.C.: pork pâté, slow-cooked pork belly, chicharrón and lardo.

[2] Pork skewers (photo courtesy National Pork Board).

[3] BBQ Pork Sliders (photo courtesy Pig Of The Month).

[4] Pork meatballs (photo courtesy Frontier Fiesta).

[4] Pork belly on spicy tomatillo salad (photo courtesy Chef Eric B. LeVine).

[5] Bacon or pork belly potato skins (here’s the recipe from Idaho Potato Commission)

[6] Ham croquettes (photo courtesy Kyle Books).

[2] A more traditional poke bowl. Here’s how to customize your own from Kirbie Cravings.

Poke is a raw fish and vegetable dish served as an appetizer or salad course in Hawaiian cuisine.

A relative of ceviche, crudo, tartare and tataki, poke is a combination of raw fish and vegetables, served as a light lunch or appetizer.

Poke is Hawaiian for “to section” or “to slice or cut.” The most popular recipe, ahi poke, is made with yellowfin tuna marinated in sea salt, plus soy sauce, roasted crushed candlenut (inamona), sesame oil, limu seaweed and chopped chili pepper.

You can customize poke however you like, using local or seasonal ingredients. For vegetarians, here’s a tofu poke recipe.
 
HOW DO YOU PRONOUNCE POKE?

Actually pronounced poe-KEH, it is mis-pronounced POE-key or POE-kay by enough people that the latter pronunciation is becoming an accepted alternative outside of the Hawaiian Islands.

Poke is Hawaiian for “to section” or “to slice or cut.” Here’s more about it.
 
HOW DO YOU RIFF ON POKE?

Sujan Sarkar, Executive Chef at Indian bistro Rooh in San Francisco, re-shapes poke as Tuna Bhel, an Indian-seasoned version of the dish.

Inspired by bhel puri, a traditional Indian chaat* made from puffed rice, vegetables and tamarind sauce, Chef Sarkar took the traditional poke base of ahi tuna and mixed it with puffed black rice, crunchy chickpea snack, boiled potatoes, red onion, green apple and green mango, baby radish and avocado.

He then seasoned the medley with seasoned with chaat masala, chutney, and a sprinkle of the Japanese chile-based spice mix, shichimi togarashi, on the plate.

You, too can create a designer poke dish (or apply the lesson to any other conventional food preparation).

Take this poke recipe from Kirbie Cravings (photo #2) and think of what flavors you’d like to add.

Avocado and scallions are popular, but how about:

 
Let the sky be your limit: orange zest, castelvetrano olives, rice sticks. We might hold the line at potato chips and pretzels, but you don’t have to.

In his presentation, Chef Sarkar garnishes with watermelon radishes and edible flowers. Here, you can use something fun and crunchy (freeze-dried edamame?).

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*Chaat are savory snacks that originated as Indian street food. They are now served as hors d’oeuvres or first courses in Indian restaurants. The word derives from Hindi for tasting. More about chaat.

Once every five or ten years we see a product innovation that we would be delighted to consume regularly.

Some never make it commercially.

We still lament the pizza cone, made from pizza crust shaped like an ice cream cone. You could stuff with your favorite pizza ingredients—mozzarella, pepperoni, sauce, etc.—and eat your cone on the go.

The latest innovation that we hope will be a big success:

Folios Cheese Wraps. The Gourmet Retailer awarded them the 2017 Editor’s Pick for Best New Products.

You can take the 100% cheese wraps and use them to wrap, roll, melt, crisp, or crisp and shape. See their versatility in the photos.
 
 
WHAT ARE FOLIOS CHEESE WRAPS?

Folios Cheese Wraps (photo #7) are all natural, 100% cheese circles/slices.

They are used instead of bread, flour-based wraps or corn-based tortillas; and can be shaped into bowls, pockets and taco shells.

They have no fillers or additives and are rBST free and gluten free (all cheese is gluten-free; gluten only occurs in certain cereal grains).

And, they are also lactose free. That takes an extra step in production, for which lactose-sensitive cheese lovers will be grateful.

The wraps are 7 inches in diameter, but are not simply sliced from a block of cheese.

Rather, a lot of research and development went into a process involving baking the slices (that’s the only secret divulged), to end up with a slice a cheese that looks like…a slice of cheese.

They are made in three varieties: Cheddar, Jarlsberg and Parmesan.

Each slice has 13g of protein, plus just 1g of carbs and 150 calories per slice.
 
 
WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THE CHEESE WRAPS?

Use them instead of bread, wraps, tortillas and other carb-laden bread substitutes. You can:

 
You can shape, bake, microwave or enjoy them in their natural state.

Some ideas:
 
For The Cheddar Wraps

In addition to the uses above, substitute in Tex-Mex dishes:

 
You can get even more creative by, for example, pressing jalapeño slices into the Folios (photo #6).
 
For The Jarlsberg Wraps

 
For The Parmesan Wraps

 
A natural pairing is with foods that typically contain Parmesan cheese.

 
Experiment to your heart’s desire. For recipes and videos, head to CheeseFolios.com.
 
 
ABOUT LOTITO FOODS

Folios Cheese Wraps are made by Lotito Foods, a fourth-generation family business that sells retail, consumer and private label food product lines.

Their products are available nationwide.

[1] Jarlsberg Folios Cheese Wrap with roast beef and a drizzle of balsamic reduction. You can make it or buy balsamic glaze (all photos courtesy Lotito Foods).

[2] A Parmesan Folios Cheese Wrap is turned into a bowl for a Caesar salad. Just heat it and shape it over a bowl.

[3] A Cheddar Folios Cheese Wrap becomes a taco shell. Heat it and shape it over a form.

[4] Fold up into a tart or galette.

[5] Cut a wrap into pinwheels.

[6] Press in slices of jalapeño.

[7] The varieties of Folios Cheese Wraps: Cheddar, Jarlsberg and Parmesan.

Folios Cheese Wraps are made by Lotito Foods, a fourth-generation family business that sells retail, consumer and private label food product lines.

Their products are available nationwide.