3. Add the spinach, broccoli, and garlic paste. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the broccoli is very tender.
4. Add the milk, remove the pot from the heat, and let it sit until the soup cools down to a comfortable puréeing temperature.
5. Use a blender or immersion blender (see Chapter 1: Soups) to purée the soup until it is smooth. When you’re finished blending, stir in the basil.
6. Reheat the soup gently over medium-low heat, being careful not to let it boil (which would cook it further and alter its flavor). Add a few grinds of black pepper to taste, and serve hot.
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GET CREATIVE
Pair this with Taco Salad (Chapter 2: Salads) for a very satisfying—and unexpected—soup-salad combo dinner.
Top each serving with a dash of nutmeg. (It will be more aromatic and flavorful if you grate it from a whole seed, which also makes for a nice serving touch at the table.)
Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt and/or a small sprig of basil or a sprinkling of minced chives.
Make this vegan by omitting the butter and using plain soy milk instead of the regular milk.
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north african red lentil soup
Makes 6 to 8 servings
This is one of those remarkable dishes that manages to be both quick and complex-tasting at the same time—and with just a few ingredients. The key lies in cooking the lentils first, and then adding sautéed onion, carrot, and garlic toward the end of the cooking process, so you really taste their full flavor in every spoonful. Look for red lentils in the bulk section near the brown lentils. (They’re actually orange, not red, and turn a deep golden yellow when cooked. For some reason, they’re confusingly labeled.)
This soup is vegan.
2 cups red lentils
8 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium red or yellow onion, chopped
1 large carrot, diced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 good-sized cloves)
1½ teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Lime wedges, for garnish
1. Combine the lentils and water in a soup pot or a Dutch oven. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Partially cover, and simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the lentils are completely soft.
2. Meanwhile, place a large (10-to 12-inch) skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion, carrot, cumin, garlic, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes, or until the onion is golden and very soft and the carrot is tender.
3. Transfer the onion mixture to the cooked lentils, and add the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Partially cover, and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the flavors are well blended.
4. Grind in a generous amount of black pepper (about 10 or more turns), and stir to blend. Serve hot, with a lime wedge on the side.
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GET CREATIVE
Add a Greek Salad (Chapter 2: Salads) and a wedge or two of toasted pita, and you’ve got yourself a seriously rib-sticking dinner.
Drizzle some high-quality olive oil onto each serving.
Sprinkle some lightly toasted whole cumin seeds (up to 2 teaspoons total; see below) onto each serving, or mix them into the soup just before serving.
Brown a spicy lamb or chicken sausage or two in a skillet while the soup simmers. Slice, and stir into the finished soup.
Garnish each serving with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, and a sprig of flat-leaf parsley or cilantro.
* * *
TOASTING SEEDS
Toasting mellows and deepens the flavor of cumin seeds, sesame seeds, and many other seeds and spices. It’s as easy as spreading the seeds in a shallow layer on the tray of a toaster oven (or on a baking tray, if you’re using a regular oven) and toasting them at 200°F for about 5 minutes (give or take) until they’re lightly browned and aromatic. You can also toast them on the stovetop in a dry cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat. Either way, shake the tray or the pan frequently, and hover. If you turn away for too long, the seeds can suddenly go from toasty to scorched.
roasted butternut squash and apple soup
Makes 4 to 5 servings
You are probably expecting something sweet and cinnamon-y, but that’s not what you’re going to get. This soups heads in another, very refreshing direction, opting for tart over sweet (or, to be more accurate, a playful tension between both sweet and tart) and it chooses the mysterious savory presence of sage over the more predictable (and in my opinion, overused) pumpkin-pie family of spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves). Ix-nay on those this time around! It’s time for something entirely different—and quite utterly great-tasting.
Unless you give it a little help, squash can be bland. Roasting it in chunks at a high temperature intensifies its natural sugars, bringing out a wonderfully sweet, toasty flavor. You can roast the squash in advance. If you do, let it cool and then store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days; let it come to room temperature (or warm it in the microwave) before making the soup.
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 medium (about 4 pounds) butternut squash
2 tablespoons butter
1 medium red or yellow onion, chopped
1½ teaspoons salt
2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and thinly sliced
½ teaspoon crumbled dried (or rubbed) sage
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
4 cups water
Up to 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice, as needed
Up to 1 tablespoon brown sugar (light or dark), as needed
1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position, and preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking tray with foil and drizzle it with the olive oil.
2. Use a sharp heavy knife to cut the squash in half lengthwise. (Do this very carefully. Safest technique: Insert the point of the knife first, and use a gentle sawing motion to initiate the cutting.) Use scissors to cut loose the strands of pulp around the seeds, and then scrape the seeds away with a spoon. Discard the seeds or reserve them to toast (see Chapter 1: Soups). Use a sturdy vegetable peeler to peel the squash halves. Then cut the flesh into 1-inch pieces, once again being careful with your knife because the squash can be both very hard and very slippery. (The shape and uniformity of the chunks do not matter, since it will all get puréed.)
3. Arrange the squash chunks in a single layer on the prepared tray, and roast in the center of the oven for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the pieces are fork-tender and turning golden around the edges. (Shake the tray a few times during the roasting to keep the pieces from sticking.) Remove from the oven and set aside.
4. While the squash is roasting, melt the butter in a soup pot or a Dutch oven over medium heat. When the butter foams, swirl to coat the pan, and then add the onion and salt.
Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until the onion begins to soften.
5. Add the apple slices, along with the sage and thyme, and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for about 10 minutes, or until the apples are very tender.
6. Add the roasted squash and the water to the onion-apple mixture. Turn up the heat and bring the soup to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Cover, and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
7. Remove the pot from the heat, uncover, and let it sit until the soup cools down to a comfortable puréeing temperature. Use a blender or immersion blender (see Chapter 1: Soups) to purée the soup until it is smooth.
8. Time for the taste test: If the soup tastes good, you’re there. If it seems too sweet, add some or all of the lemon ju
ice. If it’s tarter than you like, add brown sugar to taste.
9. If necessary, reheat the soup gently over medium-low heat, being careful not to let it cook or boil. Serve hot.
TOASTING SQUASH SEEDS
The next time you cook a butternut or acorn squash (or carve a pumpkin), save the seeds for toasting. They make a tasty little snack and a crunchy garnish for soups and salads. Preheat the oven or a toaster oven to 300°F. Put the seeds in a colander and rinse them under cold water, discarding any bits of stringy squash. Drain the seeds, dry them with paper towels or a clean tea towel, and then spread them on a foil-lined baking tray or toaster oven tray. Sprinkle on a little olive oil and salt, and toss to coat well. (You can also add a bit of seasoning, like chili powder or cumin.) Roast the seeds for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring them once during that time, until they’re golden brown and just starting to pop open. Let the toasted seeds cool; you can store them in an airtight container at room temperature for a week or more. Or just snack on them right away.
* * *
GET CREATIVE
This soup goes particularly well with Old-Fashioned Iceberg Wedges with Luxurious Bleu Cheese Dressing (Chapter 2: Salads).
Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.
Top with a sprinkling of fresh apple, minced or grated on the large holes of a grater.
Garnish each serving with a sprinkling of toasted squash seeds (see preceding note).
Top with a few toasted sliced almonds or chopped toasted pecans.
Garnish with a fresh sage leaf or a sprig of fresh thyme.
Garnish with a scattering of pomegranate seeds or a drizzle of pomegranate molasses (see Get Cooking).
Make this vegan by replacing the butter with canola, soy, or peanut oil.
* * *
salads.
THE BIG FIVE: AMERICA’S MOST WANTED SALAD DRESSINGS
RASPBERRY-SHALLOT DRESSING
CREAMY BALSAMIC-HONEY DRESSING
HONEY-MUSTARD DRESSING
HOMEMADE RANCH DRESSING
RUSSIAN DRESSING
ALL-AMERICAN THREE-BEAN SALAD
POTATO SALAD, BASIC AND BEYOND
MOSTLY CLASSIC COLE SLAW
CAESAR SALAD WITH ITS OWN FROM-SCRATCH DRESSING
GREEK SALAD WITH OREGANO-LACED VINAIGRETTE
BEST PASTA SALAD
OLD-FASHIONED ICEBERG WEDGES WITH LUXURIOUS BLEU CHEESE DRESSING
ORIGINAL-ISH WALDORF SALAD
CHINESE CHICKEN SALAD WITH SOY-GINGER-SESAME VINAIGRETTE
WILTED SPINACH SALAD WITH HAZELNUTS, GOAT CHEESE, AND GOLDEN RAISINS
TACO SALAD WITH CUMIN-LIME-CILANTRO DRESSING
A Salad a Day
A salad should be a thing of beauty, not duty. Salads can be colorful, filled with flavor, easy and inexpensive to make, and, generally speaking, a brilliant vegetable delivery system.
I’m about to teach you how to make a stellar tossed green salad—beautifully and often. In addition, I’ve included in this chapter some popular standards (pasta salad, potato salad, cole slaw, three-bean) that you can enjoy for picnics (outdoors on a Saturday in the spring, or at your desk on a winter Wednesday) or as easy dinners, supplemented with soup and bread. Many of these keep well and can be made in advance and eaten over a period of days as meals or snacks.
Think of these recipes as templates to which you can add other ingredients to fit your taste and appetite. Salads are a great place to experiment with becoming a more improvisational cook, because you really can’t go wrong. Also, most, if not all, of these recipes welcome the addition of cooked meat or strips of omelet or tofu, so they can be elevated easily to main-dish status.
TOSSED GREEN SALAD BASICS
I want to say, right out of the gate, that there is no excuse (and no need)—ever—for bringing a package of plain salad greens to the table along with a bottle of dressing. If you think this is a real way to serve green salad, a wonderful upgrade awaits you in these pages.
Homemade dressing can be so much better than the bottled kind that it’s almost a different category of food altogether. And there is no comparison between a plate of limp greens with an indiscriminate puddle of dressing simply dumped on and a carefully tossed, perfectly and evenly coated plateful of crisp leaf-heaven.
ABOUT SALAD DRESSINGS IN GENERAL
For some reason, many people are blocked when it comes to making salad dressing. Hence the wild success of the bottled stuff, which is always ridiculously overpriced and, in my opinion, never great. Once you whip them up (and as you’ll see, that’s not hard to do), homemade dressings can be kept in jars in the refrigerator, so they’re just as convenient as store-bought ones. They keep for months and take up very little space. So start saving little jars—like the ones mustard comes in—to use for mixing and storing salad dressing.
In this chapter, in addition to the Five Most Wanted dressings, many of the recipes list the dressing ingredients separately—so if you like, you can make one of those dressings on its own and keep it on hand to use with your own combinations of salad ingredients. Also try these dressings as sauces on warm cooked vegetables, on cold leftover cooked vegetables, or on plain cooked chicken or fish.
The ratio of dressing to salad in these recipes is on the generous side. Add most, but not all, of the dressing to begin with. Then toss and taste. You might want to stop right there, or add more, or pass extra dressing at the table so people can add as much as they like.
About mayonnaise If you want to use reduced-fat mayo, look for a good brand, one that is not full of sugar. I prefer full-fat regular mayo made with no added sugar. I tend to lighten it by mixing it with low-fat or nonfat yogurt in a ratio of about 3 or 4 parts yogurt to 1 part mayo. This scheme works very nicely, and is fresher tasting and better for you than “lite” mayo.
About buttermilk Buttermilk is another secret ingredient that adds a subtle creaminess to various dressings (like Bleu Cheese, Creamy Balsamic, and more). It’s very much like a liquid yogurt—a cultured low-fat product that contributes both heft and tang without adding much fat.
About yogurt As I mentioned above, I like to use yogurt in conjunction with mayonnaise. This brings out the best traits of both and keeps things light. I use plain nonfat yogurt, spooning out just the thick part and leaving behind any liquid (whey) that has separated out. You can also whisk the whey back in, and then the yogurt will be a little thinner. Either approach is fine.
HOW TO SHOP FOR GREEN SALAD INGREDIENTS
Buy only the freshest greens available. Avoid yellow wilted leaves or anything that appears wet or slimy (or that looks like it’s even thinking of becoming wet or slimy). Small young leaves tend to be tender; old overgrown leaves are usually tough.
Lettuce, salad mix, and spinach Packaged salad mix often comes in 5-ounce bags and is also frequently available loose, in bulk. You can substitute baby spinach for some of it.
When you get it home, use it as soon as possible, but if you need to store it, keep it very dry and wait until just before making the salad to wash it. Tired-looking-but-still-okay leaves can usually be perked up by soaking them in cold water for 5 minutes and then drying them in a salad spinner.
Wash salad greens in cold running water in the basket of your salad spinner, a colander, or in a sinkful of cold water. Dry them as thoroughly as possible in a salad spinner. The drier the leaves, the better their relationship with the dressing will be. If the greens are really water-soaked when you get them home (owing to overactive misters in the produce aisle), spin them dry before storing them.
Remove and discard any damaged leaves, and store the good leaves in any of the following ways:
In plastic bags with almost all the air squeezed out of them (the greens need to be very dry for this).
Directly in the salad spinner in the refrigerator, if you have room (the greens can be a little wet).
In a food storage container with a tightly fitting lid, with a folded paper towel in the bottom of the container (the pa
per towel helps absorb excess moisture and the covered container helps keep excess air out).
Get Cooking Page 5