white beans with rosemary

mmm! a yummy appetizer made mostly out of pantry staples.

1 can small white beans, rinsed well
1 big or 2 small shallots, finely minced
1 or 2 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
small pinch of salt and pepper

put your beans in a bowl, and add the following ingredients slowly, tasting often. you may want more or less of them than i've indicated. you can use any tender small white bean; i usually use goya's "small white beans," which work well. this is best on toasty bread, in my humble opinion, as a kind of bruschetta. i like to mash it just a little bit so that it will stay on top of the bread, but not so much so that the texture and look of individual beans are lost. if you want to cut the slight bitterness of the rosemary and shallots, you could add a teeny amount (1/4 tsp?) of balsamic vinegar. it's not needed, though.

The Philosopher's Lunchbox: Edition #5

I should be writing my second year paper now; hence this post.

Lentil and Chorizo Stew

Ingredients
4 little chorizo sausages (the cooking kind, not the slicing kind), sliced into hefty chunks
1 large shallot
pinch red pepper flakes
pinch Spanish paprika
1 can tomatoes
1/2 pound green lentils
pinch sea salt
2 bay leaves
32 fluid oz chicken stock
2 large chard leaves, rinsed and sliced (I used rainbow chard, but I'm sure swiss or ruby or even spinach would be fine here)
a few sprigs parsley
freshly ground black pepper

Optional saffron yoghurt garnish:
a small pinch saffron threads
1 tbsp boiling water
2 tbsp greek yoghurt (I used Fage 0% fat)
pinch sea salt

Method
Pop the sausage into a heavy, broad soup pot, and saute over high heat until nicely browned.
Add the shallot; reduce the heat and saute until softened.
Add the red pepper flakes and paprika, and saute for another minute.
Add the tomatoes, lentils, bay leaves, salt and chicken stock.
Bring to a boil and let the mixture bubble away, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes (or until the lentils are soft but retain their integrity).
Meanwhile, make the yoghurt (if you want), by steeping the saffron threads in the boiling water for a few minutes. Then add the saffron water to the yoghurt, along with a pinch of salt.
Taste the stew and yoghurt for seasoning, and add the chard to the soup pot to soften for a minute.
Serve the stew with a small dollop of the saffron yoghurt, some minced parsley, and a good grind of black pepper.

Serves 4.

Substitutions: I think vegetarian sausage would work well in this, too, as long as it had a robust, assertive flavour. Vegetable stock would also be fine in place of the chicken.
Some garlic (added alongside the red pepper flakes and paprika) could be nice with this too, although I tend to think that garlic is somewhat overused in soups and stews.

puy lentils and frilly fennel fronds

say the title of this post five times very quickly—did you say 'frennel' or 'fonds'?? i like fennel because you get a vegetable and an herb all in one, and they're both quite tasty. the fronds are also good in salads (make a citrus vinaigrette with them), and, i'm told, make an excellent bed for roasting fish.

serves 2+

1 cup french puy lentils (the small dark green ones)
1 fennel bulb, diced
1 sweet onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
fennel fronds, chopped
some goat cheese, crumbled
some cherry tomatoes, halved
a small squeeze of lemon

cook the lentils in boiling water, without any salt, until they are done (but not overdone—they should retain their shape and still have some bite to them); then rinse them in cold water and drain. while the lentils are cooking, sauté the onion, fennel and carrot in a glug of olive oil over moderate heat until they are softened. when they're softened, add the garlic and a good pinch of salt and sauté a minute or two more. combine the lentils and the vegetables, and add the goat cheese (not too much), fennel fronds, and tomatoes. mix everything together so that the goat cheese can get things creamy. a bit of lemon adds extra zing.

this is best eaten right away, as the onion flavor takes over if left in the fridge overnight. (onions can be quite aggressive in that way.)

rainy day

hmpf. what can you do but make soup?

tomato chickpea orzo soup

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 leek, sliced (optional)
2 sprigs of celery, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14 oz can of chickpeas, drained
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 cups vegetable broth
1 large handful of fresh parsley, chopped
salt, pepper

1/2 pack of orzo pasta (about one cup)

Pour the olive oil into your soup pot and heat over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until it softens, stirring, ca 5 min.

Throw in the leek, the celery, garlic and thyme. Saute for a few minutes until the vegetables soften a little and you can smell the garlic.

Add the diced tomatoes, the chickpeas and the vegetable broth. Bring to a boil and lower the temperature and let the soup simmer for about 10-15 min.

Meanwhile cook the orzo in a separate sauce pan. Drain when it's al dente.

Using an immersion blender, blend the soup, though not too much--you want some chunky pieces and some chickpeas remaining. Throw in the orzo, the chopped parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Eat with yoghurt on top.

Serves 3.

spring! lentils!

I usually associate lentils with more wintery dishes but this is spring-like and crunchy and easy and makes sublime leftovers. i put it on a plate with a soft boiled egg and some baguette and it made friends with them immediately.

spring-like lentil salad

1 cup French lentils
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme
3 cups of water

1/2 red onion, finely diced
1/2 cucumber, peeled, deseeded (half lenghtwise and scoop out the seeds) and finely diced
1 bunch of radishes, diced
1 stalk of celery, finely diced
1 handful of parsley, chopped
some crumbled goat cheese
a handful of toasted sunflower seeds

dressing:
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp red wine vinegar (or balsamico)
1 Tbsp soy sauce
salt, freshly ground pepper


Put the lentils in a sauce pan together with the water, the thyme and the crushed garlic cloves. Bring to a boil and then let it simmer for about 30 min or until the lentils are tender. Don't add salt to the water, as (so the legend goes) it will make the lentils tough.

When the lentils are done, fish out the garlic, drain them and let them cool off for a little while. Ideally, you don't want them to be much warmer than room temperature.

Mix together the ingredients for the dressing, adding salt and lots of freshly ground pepper.

Mix the lentils, chopped vegetables, parsley and dressing together. Taste and add more salt and pepper, if required. And maybe another Tbsp of vinegar? Sprinkle with the sunflower seeds and the goat cheese.

Eat. Serves 3.

Lunch burritos

Cooking for one, as I do most of the time here in Cambridge, I often eat the same thing several days in a row. That's because things like a wedge of cheese, a package of tortillas, and a bunch of fresh herbs will last one person many meals, and I try not to waste too much food. Luckily, I don't mind this: when I find a good combination, it usually takes me quite a while to get sick of it.

Burritos are an easy, healthy and yummy lunch staple for me. I bring a package of the hand-made whole wheat ones from Trader Joe's to the department, keep it in our fridge, and then bring in fillings every day. The tortillas are best when warmed up slightly. Here are some of my favorite fillings:

1. Hummus and grated carrot (very simple, but surprisingly good)
2. Diced avocado, lemon juice, black beans, sweet corn and cilantro*
3. (2) with diced tomatoes
4. (2) or (3) with some sort of rice mixture (combine rice with cilantro and lime, or cook with onions, garlic and tomato for spanish rice, etc.)

I usually add lettuce to the fillings above, but I'm a big salad-in-sandwiches fan. Plain lettuce or a mixture of salad greens adds great freshness and crunch, which I love. You could add a little hot sauce or salsa to (2)-(4), or even a little yogurt or cheese, but they're not necessary.

*I also like this on its own, as a salad. Combine one avocado, about 2/3 can of black beans, about the same amount of sweet white corn (fresh in summer, frozen in winter), the juice of one lemon, and a sprinkle of cilantro. Or even leave out the cilantro, if you don't have any on hand. Mmm. Methinks the tartness of the lemon and the sweetness of the corn and avocado go very well together.

giggle peas

today's piece of trivia: one of the few endearing features of the native tongue of kant, hegel and fichte is that chickpeas are called 'kichererbsen', i.e. giggle peas. not sure about the etymology of that...
the following is one of my stand-by lunches when I was very hungry the night before and am faced with no leftovers.

chickpea salad (makes enough for one)

the basics:
one can of chickpeas (alias garbanzos)
a hand full of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino
half a lemon
good sea salt and freshly ground pepper
a glug of olive oil

rinse the chickpeas and put them into your lunch tupperware. squeeze in the lemon juice, pour over the olive oil. add a few grinds of pepper, the parmesan and salt to taste.

you can upgrade, depending on the contents of your fridge and your patience. any of the following is nice:
a grated carrot
some fresh chopped parsley
some chopped avocado
...

I must say, I like the basic best. some bread to mop up the dressing is nice.