Madhu Knits and Cooks

Recipe, knitting, and sewing project notes

Tag: Cooking — Appetizers

  • Lentil Soup with Gremolata – Easy Way to Brighten a Pantry Staple

    Serious Eats is on a serious tear in my kitchen.  From their awesome vegan Sichuan recipes to their soups, I have become a major fan.  My latest Serious Eats recipe attempt is another winner that I will return to in the future – Lentil Soup with Gremolata.  

    Creating a garlic and herb gremolata is a great way to liven up any soup, and I can't believe I didn't think about it earlier for lentil soup in particular.  It definitely adds a flavor explosion and brightness to an otherwise heavy cold weather soup.  

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Done

    I made a few modifications to the Serious Eats recipe, to fit what was in my kitchen.  I halved the recipe, substituted one onion for the onion / leek combo called for in the recipe, and used about half as much lemon.  In the future, I will probably increase the amount of lemon, but otherwise think the recipe is flexible enough to make even more changes.

    The best part of the recipe – it's easy enough to make on a weeknight, and have plenty of leftovers for days.  You start by cooking your aromatics, before adding the lentils.

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Carrots Onions Celery

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Lentils Cooking

    Then add your broth, prepare the gremolata, and clean up your kitchen while the lentils cook.

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Soup Cooking

    Lentil Soup Gremolata - Gremolata

    Enjoy!

  • Weeknight White Bean and Leek Soup – Delicious, Year-Round Meal

    I am not quite sure what got me started on making a white bean and leek soup nearly weekly, but whatever the inspiration was, I'm glad it came and that I acted on it!  In short, I've been making variants of this Food & Wine White Bean and Leek Soup for a few months.  It's a fantastic soup to whip up during a week night, and even halving the recipe provides at least 3 light and flavorful servings.

    I've made a number of modifications to the recipe, and my approach follows the picture below.

    White Bean Soup - Served

    Ingredients (for 3 – 4 servings)

    • 2 tbsp. butter or olive oil
    • 1 carrot, diced
    • 2 leeks or onions, diced
    • 1 bay leaf
    • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
    • 1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
    • 3 tsp. Better than Bouillon (or use vegetable broth in place of bouillon and water)
    • 4 cups water
    • 1/2 cup small pasta (optional)
    • 1/4 cup grated parmesan or to taste
    • salt and pepper, to taste

    Directions

    • Melt butter on medium heat in a thick-bottomed soup pot
    • When melted, add leeks and carrot.  Stir periodically and cook for approx. 7 – 10 minutes or until leeks and carrots are wilted

    White Bean Soup - Leeks Cooking

    White Bean Soup - Carrots and Leeks Cooking

    • Add white beans, bay leaf, and cayenne.  Saute for approx. 1 minute.

    White Bean Soup - White Beans Carrots and Leeks

    • Add water and broth, and bring to a boil.  Lower heat and then simmer for approx. 10 minutes.

    White Bean Soup - Cooking on Stovetop

    • If you desire, add the pasta at this stage and cook until tender.
    • Remove soup from the heat, season with salt and pepper, and garnish with parmesan before serving.

    BONUS:  If you want to make fresh croutons to add to the soup, while the soup is cooking, preheat an oven to 350 degrees.  Cut bread into one-inch cubes, and toss with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper.  Bake for ten minutes or until crisp.  

    White Bean Soup - Croutons

  • Three Cheese Onion Dip with Chives and Peperoncini

    For the Super Bowl this year, we basically prepared (and turned on the TV) just for the Lady Gaga halftime show.  It's not a surprise given that neither of us watch football, but in times past, we have tried to fake an interest and invite people over for food and drink.  

    For our halftime show watching, we prepared ultimate comfort food – a baked Mexican layer dip and a three cheese onion dip with chives and peperoncini.  The cheese dip recipe was from Bon Appetit, and in fact, I found it by looking through a BA print edition on a friend's coffee table the day before.

    Three Cheese Dip - recipe

    I halved the dip ingredients, but otherwise followed the recipe as is.  It was really easy to make, and the peperoncini added a nice mild spice to an otherwise simple dip.  I really enjoyed eating the leftovers over the coming days and I think it'll be a great dinner party app in the future.

    Three Cheese Dip - Grated Cheese

    Three Cheese Dip - prebaking

    Three Cheese Dip - Baked

    Three Cheese Dip - Compiled

  • Velvety Pureed Cauliflower Soup – a New Winter Favorite

    Unlike some of my recent blog entries, I am having a physical reaction as I am typing this post.  I am actually salivating as I think about the velvety, rich soup I made of cauliflower and chives.  The soup could not have been simpler, and really turned out wonderfully – basically like a warm hug to get you through cold winter nights.

    I did modify the Cook's Illustrated recipe in some ways though, and will likely continue to update it in the future.  First, I reduced the amount of butter I used in the recipe, starting by using only 2 tbsp. for sautéing the leeks and then another 2 tbsp. for cooking down the florets.

    Cauliflower Soup - leeks cooking down

    Cauliflower Soup - Pan frying cauliflower

    Second, I didn't have any sherry vinegar on hand and omitted it – which may have led to a soup that was a bit one-note in flavor.  I will definitely include some sort of vinegar in it moving forward to help add another flavor aspect.

    Cauliflower soup - soup simmering

    Cauliflower soup - soup cooked down

    I then only partially pureed the soup to keep some cauliflower chunks – which worked out perfectly for my tastes.

    Cauliflower soup - pureed

    Cauliflower soup - pureed in pot

    Look forward to making this soup again next winter!

    Cauliflower soup - served

  • Ten Minute Sichuan Warm Silken Tofu

    Serious Eats continues to deliver amazing, weeknight vegan / vegetarian Sichuan options.  The most recent recipe of theirs I have sampled is the Spicy Warm Silken Tofu with Celery and Cilantro Salad.  True to the title of this post, this recipe couldn't be easier to assemble and takes virtually no time, particularly with some additional modifications.

    Sichuan Tofu - Served

    First, grind the Sichuan peppercorns and cumin in either a mortar and pestle or through a fine chop on the cutting board, and then just combine with the other sauce ingredients.  Second, chop the vegetables while the tofu is warming in the microwave, omitting the ice water bath.  Third, top the warm tofu with the sauce and the vegetables, and eat immediately!

    In my two or three versions of this dish, I have made some other slight omissions depending on the ingredients in my fridge, e.g., omitting celery or sesame seeds depending on my kitchen.  In any case, the resulting output has been fantastic – reminds me a lot of the Xi'an Famous Foods Chang-an Spicy Tofu, which I love.  

    This is definitely comfort food at it's finest – warm tofu; spicy, complex sauce; and nice freshness from the cilantro, scallions and celery.

    Sichuan Tofu - Close Up

  • Perfect Summer Side – Greek-Inspired Quinoa, Feta and Scallion Salad

    Continuing with my summer-long attempts to incorporate more protein into my diet and create more healthy side dishes, I think I have now perfected a wonderful Quinoa, Feta and Scallion summer salad recipe.  This dish was inspired by a Food.com recipe for Quinoa, Feta, and Spinach salad that we tried at an early summer get-together and that my husband declared made him a quinoa convert.  

    Quinoa Feta Salad Served

    We subsequently tried making this salad a few different ways, tailored to our personal tastes.  This ultimately meant simplifying the salad by removing the spinach and instead increasing the amount of other seasonings, e.g., the red wine vinegar, olive oil, and cucumber.  This could not be easier to make as you can chop the vegetables and measure out the seasonings while the quinoa is cooking, and then just toss everything together.  It's a great base for make-ahead work lunches as well.  Can't wait to continue making this salad again and again!

    Quinoa, Feta and Scallion Salad

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup quinoa, rinsed and drained
    • 2.5 – 3 tbsp. olive oil (to taste)
    • 2.5 – 3 tbsp. red wine vinegar (to taste)
    • 1 – 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
    • 4 – 5 oz. feta (to taste)
    • 1 small cucumber, diced (preferably Israeli cucumber)
    • 4 – 5 scallions, finely chopped
    • 2 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced (optional)
    • salt and ground black pepper (to taste)

    Directions

    • Bring quinoa to a boil with 2 cups water on medium-high heat.  When boiling, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook until quinoa is tender.

    Quinoa Feta Salad - Quinoa Cooking

    Quinoa Feta Salad - Cooked Quinoa 

    • While quinoa is cooking, mix together olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic and cumin in small bowl.  Chop the vegetables, and cut the feta into small pieces.

    Quinoa Feta Salad - Feta Block

    Quinoa Feta Salad - Cut Feta

    • Add to quinoa after it is cooked, and then stir in other ingredients.

    Quinoa Feta Salad - with Cooked Quinoa with Scallions

    Quinoa Feta Salad - Mixed Together

    • Season with salt and pepper to taste, and then serve immediately or refrigerate until serving.

  • Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame, Ginger and Lemon Zest – Early Summer Heaven

    While I have had sugar snap peas before in stir fry dishes, cold salads and in other vegetable medley dishes, I have never actually purchased or cooked with them before.  On a whim, I saw some delicious-looking sugar snap peas at the farmers market earlier this summer, and I picked up a small bag full.

    My resulting first-time attempt at cooking this vegetable could not have gone better.  The sugar snap peas were perfectly delicate, flavorful, and completed perfectly by herbs and citrus.  While I give a lot of credit to the great Sugar Snap Peas with Sesame, Ginger and Lemon Zest recipe I used from Cook's Illustrated, I think that no matter how you cook these vegetables when they are in season, they will turn out amazingly good.

    To that end, is it next summer yet?  :-)

    Sugar Snap Peas - Roasting Sesame Seeds

    Sugar Snap Peas - Roasted Sesame Seeds and Lemon Zest

    Sugar Snap Peas - Sauteeing

    Sugar Snap Peas Sauteeing with Herbs

    Sugar Snap Peas Completed

  • Miso Soup with Tofu and Kale – Healthy and Easy Weeknight Soup

    With a large tub of low-sodium white miso paste in my fridge, a result of the Miso, Polenta and Kale soup , I have been thinking of more ways to use miso.  While I hope for more innovative miso experiments in the future (e.g., salad dressing, glazes for tofu or vegetables, or even miso cookies), my latest miso attempt was…miso soup.  With kale.  And tofu.  So basically the Miso, Polenta and Kale soup without the polenta.

    IMG_3107

    While completely uninteresting from the innovation agenda, the resulting soup is actually quite good and easy to make during a weeknight.  In addition to using the Serious Eats polenta soup recipe as a guide, I also took inspiration from Martha Stewart and the Minimalist Baker and improvised the soup.  

    The only change I will make to the below recipe in the future is to omit some of the salty inputs to create a more balanced output.  So that could mean removing the bouillon or reducing the sea salt.

    Miso Soup

    Miso Soup with Tofu and Kale

    Ingredients

    • 2 tbsp. olive oil
    • 3 tbsp. diced onion (optional)
    • 2 cloves garlic, minced
    • 1 tsp. minced ginger
    • 2 tsp. Better than Bouillon
    • 1 package silken firm tofu, cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
    • 4 tbsp. reduced sodium white miso paste
    • 2 cups ripped / coarsely chopped kale
    • 2 scallions, diced
    • 6 cups water
    • 1 – 2 tsp. soy sauce (to taste)
    • crushed red pepper (to taste)

    Directions

    • Heat oil in a medium soup pot on medium-high heat, and when warm, stir in onion
    • When onion becomes translucent (3 – 5 minutes), add the ginger and garlic and saute for approx. 45 seconds – 1 minute or until fragrant
    • Add water and bring to a boil.  When boiling, add bouillon, tofu, miso, kale and scallions.
    • Cook until kale is to your preferred consistency, and add soy sauce / red pepper to taste.

  • Balaboosta Crispy Kale with Nigella and Sesame Seeds

    Kale chips are not an uncommon output from my kitchen.  Baking kale to thin crisps is a great way to use slightly wilted, leftover kale that I recommend everyone try.  

    However, my kale chips aren't usually that special - just some olive oil and salt.  I've thrown some garlic on kale chips on the past, but that's about it.  

    I've never felt a desire to gussy up this approach until I checked the Balaboosta restaurant cookbook from the library, on the recommendation of a co-worker.  I've never been to the Balaboosta Mediterranean / Middle Eastern restaurant in NY, but one of my London-based co-workers highly championed this cookbook, so why not?  

    The Balaboosta Crispy Kale with Nigella and Sesame Seeds recipe provided just a few slight variations to my usual kale chips approach.  First, you bake the kale chips for a longer period of time (approx. 30 min) at 275 degrees instead of a shorter period of time at a higher heat.  Second, you spice up these chips by adding nigella and sesame seeds, as well as the optional ingredients of lemon juice, tahini, and garlic.  I ended up using just the nigella seeds, citrus juice (lime instead of lemon), and garlic, and omitted the tahini.

    Balaboosta Kale - Baked Close Up

    The final dish, pictured above, was good, but not great.  The citrus, nigella, sesame, and garlic added just marginal, additional flavor to the chips and didn't really "wow" me.  That being said, this might be a good approach for a Mediterranean / Middle Eastern dinner party in the future.

    Balaboosta Kale - Baked

    In addition, at least this approach retained the general simplicity of my kale chips recipe and probably just adds 1 minute to the overall preparation time.

    Balaboosta Kale - Pre-Baking Close Up

    Balaboosta Kale - Pre-Baking

  • Vegan Miso, Polenta and Kale Soup – Oh My!

    I have to admit I have no idea how I stumbled on this recipe.  Maybe it was from trying to figure out how to use up the stoneground cornmeal in my pantry?  In any case, somewhere, somehow, and at some time, I added the Serious Eats Hearty Vegan Polenta and Kale Soup with Miso and Toasted Sesame Oil recipe to my Pinterest account.  

    Also unclear is why I decided to make this recipe a few weeks ago.  In any case, something inspired me to buy a leek, miso and kale for the task.  Looking at the recipe comments, I opted for low-sodium miso and low-sodium bouillon for the soup base to avoid over-salting the soup.  Other than those modifications though, I largely followed the recipe as is.

    I started by sauteeing the leeks in oil

    Miso Polenta Soup - Leeks Cooking

    Then added the vegetable stock and cornmeal

    Miso Polenta Soup - Cooking without Kale

    As the cornmeal thickened up the soup, I added a quart of ribbed kale leaves

    Miso Polenta Soup - with Kale

    Cooked the kale down for 5 – 10 minutes

    Miso Polenta Soup - Cooking with Kale

    And then added in the miso, (low-sodium) soy sauce, and some scallions

    Miso Polenta Kale Soup - in Pot

    The final result was perhaps not surprisingly a little under salted!  I ended up adding some more salt, and found the dish to be creamy and filling for a winter night.  I also thought the miso had a wonderful effect on the kale, by cutting the bitterness in this really delicious way.  I had no idea I could like kale this much in soup!  

    I ended up making this soup again the next week, and added in some regular sodium bouillon which had the effect of resulting in a perfectly salted soup.  I definitely think this will become a welcome staple to my weeknight winter dinner rotation!

    Miso Polenta Soup - Served