The Louisville Chef

I've always been big fan of Korean food, but had never made any dishes at home. I always went out to a local restaurant. I assumed it was very complicated, but in fact, the basics are quite simple. 

The key, as with all cooking, is to have excellent and authentic ingredients. Most areas will have a Korean market and that will be your one stop shop for all of your ingredients. Additionally, the produce is usually excellent, very fresh and a faction of the price of a large grocery store.

This recipe came from my follow foodie Kenneth, and it is a dish called Sundubu Jigae. I also picked up a great cookbook from Maangchi. It is well written and very easy to follow. I highly recommend it. Its called Real Korean Cooking and she also has a wonderful blog. 



Ingredients 
1 Tbsp Hot Korean Pepper Flakes, or more to taste. 1 tsp Toasted Sesame Seed Oil 1 1/2 cup Fish Stock, low sodium 1/2 Onion chopped 2 Garlic clove chopped 1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil  1 Green Onion/spring onion chopped 1 cup well fermented…

This is the kind of comfort food that I really enjoy cooking. It is the kind of food your Nonna would make on Sunday, and it is both comforting and very tasty.


It takes a little prep time, but I find the end result really satisfying. It's still amazing to me how such simple ingredients can transform into something so incredibly good.  And, they are wonderful the next day, if they last that long.



Ingredients

1 12 oz box of Jumbo Pasta Shells
2 Egg Yolks
1 Egg
1 Package of Ricotta Cheese
1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese, grated.
2 cups Mozzarella Cheese, grated.
1/4 cup Parsley, chopped.
Freshly grated Nutmeg, just a bit, or a pinch.
1/8 tsp Oregano
3-4 cups Marinara, good quality store bought is fine, but feel free to make your own if you're inspired.

Begin by boiling water in a large pot, once the water is boiling, salt it generously and add the shells. Give it a soft stir, but don't disturb the shells too much. Timing is critical here, because if you over cook the shells, you will have a mushy…