Lentils with Greens & Ginger

August 2020, adapted from Mudhar Jaffrey’s “Green Lentils with Spinach and Ginger”

 

When I finished staining and adding soil to the giant planters on my deck, one of the things I planted in them was Swiss chard. To my surprise, it took off amazingly and my friend Pradnya told me that the chard would grow through the winter. She suggested that I cook it with lentils – that it is absolutely the best cooked. So, I read a few recipes and came up with what is below. 

 

Serendipitously, the NY Times published a recipe for “Weeknight Fancy Chicken and Rice,” (October 14, 2020 edition) which is an easily made variation of rice palau. Switching the chicken stock for vegetable stock and omitting the chicken makes a wonderful vegetarian complement to this dish. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1018299-weeknight-fancy-chicken-and-rice

 

EQUIPMENT

Small bowl

Measuring cup

Measuring spoons

Saucepan

Colander

Chef’s knife

Wooden Spoon

Cutting board

Large pan (skillet, saute pan, or small stock pot w/lid

Citrus reamer or heavy-duty spoon

 

INGREDIENTS

1 cup green lentils

4 cups water

1 bay leaf

1T extra virgin olive oil 

1 medium white onion, finely chopped

1t sea salt

2 fresh green chilis, thinly sliced in rounds

1t grated or minced fresh ginger

¼ t turmeric powder

4-5 of fresh greens, rinsed and stemmed (spinach, kale, chard, mustard, turnip, beet, or what-have-ye)

½ fresh cilantro, chopped and tightly packed

2T fresh lemon juice, or more to taste

1t garam masala

Freshly ground black pepper

RECIPE

1.     Rinse and sort the lentils, removing stones and debris. Strain and scoop into a small stock pot. 

2.     Add 4 cups of water, 1 bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer on low heat for 1 hour. When finished, the lentils will have a bit of liquid when finished, that’s fine. Turn off the heat and set aside.

3.     While cooking rinse your greens well in a large colander. Remove the stems for compost or for freezing for later use in a homemade broth. 

4.     Bring your larger pot to temperature over medium heat. Add the oil and once it begins to shimmer, add the diced onion and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion begins to brown on the edges, but do not burn it (about 10 minutes).

5.     While the onions cook pile,
roll, and slice your greens into thin strips (chiffonade), mince the ginger, chop the cilantro, and slice the hot green chilis. Don’t forget to wash your hands after you handle cut hot peppers! 

6.     Add the ginger and chili slices, the turmeric, and stir for about 10 seconds. Then add the greens and cilantro. Allow to wilt for a minute or two, then add the lentil mixture. If you need to, add up to 1 cup of water. You want this to have a sauce. 

7.     Bring to a boil over Medium-High heat. Reduce the heat to very low, cover and cook gently for 25 minutes. 

8.     Add the lemon juice (and zest if you like). Sprinkle the garam masala over the dish and mix. Add a few grinds of black pepper. Continue cooking for 10 minutes.

 

Enjoy! This is fabulous served with rice palau from the recipe above. For meat eaters, it would be a hearty accompaniment to lamb or salmon. I’ve found it delicious enough that I keep it stockpiled in 12 oz frozen containers for school lunch! 

Thai-inspired Pasta

I would call this Pad Thai, but I know better!

This simple dish takes no time at all and is light and healthful!

Ingrédients

Fistful of angel hair pasta
2 Tbsp peanut butter
1/4 cup hot water Or You can use coconut milk
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tsp garlic, minced or powder
1/2 lime
Rd pepper flakes, if you desire
Tbsp brown sugar
1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 cup broccoli, chopped finely
Drained and pressed firm tofu, cut into small cubes
 Chopped peanuts, to taste
 Cilantro, chopped

Bring pasta to a boil.  Mix together peanut butter, water, soy sauce, ginger, garlic, squeeze lime juice into mix, pepper flakes, sugar.  Mix until peanut butter is completely dissolved. Meanwhile, chop veggies, and add broccoli to boiling pasta. When done, drain pasta, and add celery, tofu and sauce.  Stir to mix well, top with peanut and cilantro, and serve.

Serves 2.

Summery Pasta Salad

I’ve been making this throughout the quarantine - it’s light, crunchy and full of flavor!

2/3 C pasta (I prefer shells, but you can use any)
1/4 C peas
1/2 C marinated artichoke hearts, chopped
1/4 C diced yellow onion
1/4 C edemame, cooked and chilled
1 stalk celery, sliced
1/4 green pepper, diced
Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
Dash of garlic salt
1 tsp vegan mayo
Tsp of mixed Italian spices
1/4 C feta cheese
2 sprigs green onion, sliced

Cook pasta, add peas towards end of cooking time. Cook thoroughly, then drain and rinse with cold water.  Add all ingredients together and mix well.  Chill and serve.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

Kudo's to Bon Appetit on this one... I make the recipe pretty much verbatim. My modifications are as follows:

1) I add a ½ teaspoon of dried thyme (fresh if I have it on hand).

2) I exchange the Greek yogurt for whole fat organic plain yogurt. I always have that on hand for breakfast and for sauces (and please just buy whole fat yogurt... it's so much better). 
3) I use what potatoes I have on hand, which is usually yukon golds or red-skinned. For the substitution, 4-5 potatoes work. 

3) I use half white cheddar and half sharp yellow cheddar. 
4) I love a nice hearty grain bread for the croutons.

I have to say, this recipe is a home run. 

EQUIPMENT NEEDED:

cutting board

chef's knife

potato peeler

stock pot

blender or immersion blender

And, the recipe is here:https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/broccoli-cheddar-soup

Vegetarian and Hearty Spanish Onion Soup

Developed sometime around 2010

This is my take on a vegetarian version of French onion soup, and at least as hearty. Creating a vegetarian version of this classic beef-broth based soup takes finesse and time, but is well-worth the effort. Especially if you make your own broth. As a cooks hint: I save stems from herbs like parsley and cilantro in the freezer for making broths. 

MAKE YOUR BROTH
(or if using store bought, purchase the vegetarian choice that has onion as the first ingredient)

2T extra virgin olive oil

Mirepoix (one chopped onion plus half the amount each of celery and carrots) 

2 bay leaves

1t salt

2 cloves garlic

1T whole peppercorns

Stems of one bunch of parsley, about ½ cup

1 8-oz package button mushrooms

10 cups water

1-2 T black bean paste or miso 

½ cup whiskey (optional)

Heat a heavy-bottomed stock pot over medium high heat.  Rough chop the mirepoix and garlic. (For the mirepoix, the volume of carrots and celery together should equal that of the onions for good balance.) Add the olive oil, bay leaf and mirepoix to the pot. Stir occasionally but leave the heat up as the onions begin to brown, but not burn. 

Once the onions are starting to brown, reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic, mushrooms and salt. Allow the mixture to cook for 3-4 minutes, until the mushrooms soften. It’s okay if material sticks to the bottom of the pot, as long as things aren’t burning. Add the remainder of the ingredients, being sure to release any stuck vegetables from the bottom of the pot. While the whiskey and black bean paste are not necessary, they add quite a bit of nuance to the broth that is really fantastic.

Increase the heat to high, bring to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Allow the soup to cool and then strain through a mesh strainer or colander into a bowl or large measuring cup. (We do not need a clear broth in this case, so straining with a cheesecloth is not necessary). Set aside.

SOUP INGREDIENTS

1-oz package of dried shitake (or other) mushrooms

3 cups boiling water

2T unsalted butter

1T extra virgin olive oil

5 Vidalia or sweet onions, peeled, halved, and very thinly sliced

1 t sea salt

½ T turbinado sugar

4 oz thinly sliced button mushrooms (about half a package) (optional) 

2 cups of fresh spinach, rinsed, destemmed and cut into thin strips or chiffonade  

2 quarts of homemade broth or 1 quart of store-bought plus 1 quart of water

2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

zest of 1 lemon

(optional) ½ cup dry red wine (I use Malbec)

1 t freshly ground black pepper

½ t dried oregano

½ t thyme, stems removed

Oven-toasted cubes of toasted bread 

Gruyere cheese

RECIPE
Place the dried mushrooms in a heat proof bowl. Pour 3 cups of boiling water over the mushrooms, ensuring all are covered. Set aside.

Heat a large heavy-bottomed stock pot over a low flame. When the pot is hot, add the butter and olive oil. Once the butter has melted, add the salt and sugar. Cook the onions over very low heat, stirring occasionally until they are caramelized (medium dark brown). This will take an hour or longer, depending on your pot. 

Once Once the onions are nicely caramelized, add the diced apples, sliced mushrooms and spinach to the pot and cook gently for 5 minutes. 

Strain the liquid from the dried mushrooms into the pot. Chop the remaining mushroom

into bite-sized pieces (about ¾”) and add to the pot. Add the remaining ingredients,

including the broth you made. If you are using store-bought broth add the broth and water.

Raise the heat to medium high to bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to a nice simmer and cook for about 20 minutes. 

Serve topped with croutons and shredded gruyere cheese. If you have oven-proof bowls, you can throw the soup under the broiler to melt the cheese and make it nice and bubbly. Broil on low for about 3 minutes and enjoy!