Three Square
Dirty Gourmet: uncomplicated, outdoor-friendly recipes from three friends
Pistachio Date Balls
There are only three ingredients in these treats, but they’re much more than the sum of their parts. The combination of salty pistachios, sweet dates, and herbal cardamom just works. The flavor reminds me of the dairy-heavy treats we used to buy at our favorite Indian sweet shop. We took these on a recent day trip to our local beach and had to fight the kids to keep them from grabbing them straight out of the container. Sandy hands and communal food don’t mix! —Aimee
- 1½ cups shelled roasted salted pistachios, divided
- 2 cups soft Medjool dates, pitted
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
- In the bowl of a food processor, buzz 1/4 cup of the pistachios until powdery. Don’t process too long, or it will turn to nut butter. Transfer to a bowl and set aside; no need to wipe the food processor bowl clean.
- In the bowl of the food processor, process the dates until they are broken down and form a paste. In processing, the dates will form a big ball around the blade of the food processor.
- Add the remaining pistachios and the cardamom to the date paste and process until the mixture comes together. If you have a smaller food processor, it may help to do this in batches. In that case, try to break the date ball up into little chunks as you add smaller amounts of pistachios.
- Turn the mixture out onto a clean work surface and pull off pieces to roll into 1-inch balls.
- Roll each ball in the reserved finely ground pistachios and store in an airtight container.
Smoky SoCal Hash
It takes awhile to appreciate Los Angeles, but after over twenty years of living here, I have to admit I love this place. This Smoky SoCal Hash is an attempt to share a little taste of my personal LA experience: taco trucks on every corner and the roasted chiles that you can get as a side, Wahoo’s creamy cilantro sauce, smoky smog and wildfires, 24-hour diners, and bountiful produce available year-round. It’s fun to create an ode to your own favorite place using food. Try it for yours! —Mai-Yan
- 2 (4.2-ounce) boxes dehydrated hash browns
- 4 cups water
- 2 to 4 tablespoons neutral oil
- 1 (12-ounce) package Soyrizo or chorizo
- 8 ounces fresh baby spinach
- Creamy Cilantro Sauce
- 8 ounces firm tofu, crumbled
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
- ⅓ cup water
- 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 cup chopped cilantro
- 1 cup chopped parsley
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For Serving
- Avocado, cubed
- Chopped red onion
- 4 whole jalapeño chiles or yellow peppers (güero chiles)
- Lime wedges
- At home: To make the sauce, put the tofu, oil, water, nutritional yeast, lime juice, garlic, cilantro, parsley, and salt in a blender. Blend on high until thick and creamy, about 30 seconds. Season to taste with additional salt. Transfer the sauce to a leakproof container and keep refrigerated.
- At camp: Place the chiles over the fire in a skillet, in a foil pouch, or directly over the grate. Roast them until the skin is charred on all sides. Set aside.
- Meanwhile, rehydrate the hash browns according to the package instructions.
- Once the hash browns are rehydrated, heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in your skillet over medium-high heat, and add the Soyrizo or chorizo. Break it up with your spatula and add the rehydrated hash browns. Stir to combine.
- Make an even layer of hash and press it down with the spatula. Let it brown for about 3 minutes without stirring.
- When the bottom layer is crispy and golden brown, flip the hash in sections as needed, and rearrange it in an even layer, again pressing it down. Let the other side brown for 3 to 5 minutes or until crispy and golden brown.
- Sprinkle the fresh spinach across the top of the hash, and flip sections of hash again to create a spinach bed underneath. Remove from the heat, drizzle with the sauce, and serve immediately with all of the garnishes.
Spicy and Sweet Tempeh Stir-Fry
Tempeh, a high-protein fermented soybean product, is a staple of Indonesian cuisine. If you’re not familiar with tempeh, consider this your gateway dish. Even if you have tried it and said “not my favorite” (like Aimee and Emily), this dish could win you over. It’s for spice lovers, but the recipe is balanced with sweetness for those still building up their spice tolerance. —Mai-Yan
- 1½ to 2 cups uncooked white rice
- 6 tablespoons neutral oil
- 16 ounces tempeh, cut into matchsticks
- 2 red bell peppers, cut into matchsticks
- 1 to 2 chiles, such as Thai bird, serrano, or jalapeño, thinly sliced diagonally
- 1 large cucumber, sliced, for serving
- Sauce
- 1 shallot, minced
- 6 tablespoons kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 2 bay leaves
- At home (optional): Measure all the sauce ingredients into a leakproof container such as a Mason jar.
- At camp: Cook the rice according to the package instructions. Set aside until ready to serve.
- Pour the oil into the skillet and heat it over medium-high heat. When the oil is shimmering, carefully add the tempeh to the oil, starting with a few matchsticks to test the temperature. The temperature is right if small bubbles form around the tempeh when it hits the oil. Fry the tempeh, occasionally flipping the matchsticks around, until all the pieces are golden brown, around 10 minutes.
- Add the bell peppers and chiles and sauté until slightly tender, about 2 minutes.
- Finally, add the sauce and mix well so all of the ingredients are fully coated. Lower the heat to medium and stir-fry for another 5 minutes to meld the flavors and cook the sauce ingredients.
- Serve with the rice and sliced cucumber.
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