Harira--two types

I first had this soup in Jerusalem, while there for a week to attend a conference. I was staying at the YMCA (small room, but great location and an indoor pool big enough to swim laps). It also has a restaurant with a lovely outdoor terrace, where I ordered the harira more than once. Once I got home, I searched out a recipe, and found two versions that I like very much, one vegetarian and one with meat. This soup is both delicious and comforting.

HARIRA (vegetarian)

from Moosewood Restaurant Low-Fat Favorites

serves 4-6

total time: 1 hour

1 cup chopped onions

4 cups vegetable stock

1 t. ground cinnamon

1 t. turmeric

1 T. grated fresh ginger root

1/8 t. cayenne

1 cup peeled and diced carrots

1/2 cup diced celery

1 cup undrained canned tomatoes, chopped

1-1/2 cups diced potatoes

pinch of saffron

1 cup cooked lentils (about 1/3 to 1/2 cup dried)

1 cup drained cooked chickpeas

1-2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

1 T. fresh lemon juice (I use lime)

salt and black pepper to tast

lemon (or lime) wedges

In a covered soup pot, simmer the onions in 1 cup of the stock for 10 minutes.  Combine the cinnamon, turmeric, ginger, and cayenne in a small bowl and add 2-3 T. of the hot liquid to form a paste.  Stir this paste into the pot along with the carrots, celery, and the remaining stock.  Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 5 min.  Add the tomatoes and potatoes and continue to cook, covered, for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender.  Crumble in the saffron.  Stir in the lentils, chickpeas, cilantro, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Reheat.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Harira (with meat)

from The New York Times International Cookbook

8-10 servings

1/2 cup barley

1/3 cup lentils

1/3 cup split peas

2 lbs. shin of beef (meat and bones)

3 T. vegetable oil

3 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrot

1 T. turmeric

10 cups beef stock or water

salt and freshly ground pepper1/2 cup uncooked rice

1 cup canned, drained chick-peas

1-1/2 T. all-purpose flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

lime juice, lemon juice, or vinegar to taste

1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander

lime wedges

            1. Place the barley in a mixing bowl and add water to cover.  Soak overnight.  If package directions indicate it, soak the lentils and split peas overnight.

            2. Cut the meat from the bones of the shin of beef.  Cut the meat into small cubes.  Reserve the bones.

            3. In a kettle, heat the oil and add the onion, celery, and carrot.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables give up most of their moisture.  Add the meat and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the mixture browns,  Sprinkle with the turmeric and add the bones.  Stir in the beef stock or water and add salt and pepper to taste.  Bring to a boil, partly cover, and simmer, skimming the surface to remove foam and fat.  Simmer, stirring occasionally, about one hour.  Take out bones.

            4. Drain and add the barley, lentils, and split peas and simmer 15 minutes.  Add the rice and chick-peas and cook thirty minutes longer.

            5. Place the flour in a small mixing bowl and blend with a little of the soup.  Return this to the kettle, stirring. Beat the egg with a little soup liquid and add it.  Bring just to a boil, but do not boil.  Add the lime juice and coriander and serve, with a lime wedge on the side.

            Note:  If this soup stands it will become thick.  If it is to be served later, thin it with more beef broth.

Coconut Salmon Chowder

This is a simple and very tasty chowder, leaning towards Thai. With a salad on the side, this is a filling meal. I've made it with salmon, which is what the original recipe called for, but I think it would be great with many other kinds of fish. The strong flavor is all in the broth.

COCONUT SALMON (OR OTHER FISH) CHOWDER

adapted from http://www.driftersfish.com/coconut-sockeye-salmon-chowder

serves 6

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

4 medium shallots, thinly sliced crosswise

2-inch knob fresh ginger, chopped fine

4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth

1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk (low-fat is fine)  

3 tablespoons curry paste (either green or red or a mixture)

3 tablespoons fish sauce

12 ounces baby potatoes, quartered (or any size potato, cut into about 1/2-3/4" pieces)

1 to 1-1/2 lb. salmon (or other fish), skinned and cut into 1" pieces

chopped cilantro, for garnish

3 to 4 green onions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced, for garnish

2 limes, sliced into wedges

If using salmon: remove the skin from the salmon by searing the fish, skin-side down for 20-30 seconds; the skin will then scrape off easily. Then cut the fish into 1" pieces. 

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and sauté until soft, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the ginger and sauté until fragrant, about 3 minutes.

Add the broth, coconut milk, curry paste, and fish sauce and mix thoroughly to combine. Cover, increase heat to high, and bring to boil. Decrease the heat to medium-low; add the potatoes and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, until potatoes are tender but not fully cooked. Add the salmon and simmer until the salmon is just cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Ladle into serving bowls. Garnish with the cilantro leaves and green onions, and serve with lime wedges on the side. 

Farro broccoli bowl with lemony tahini

I enjoy the taste and texture of farro, and am working to build up a collection of recipes that use it. After my success with the ramen bowl, this recipe for a farro bowl caught my eye. With the inclusion of a soft-boiled egg as well as the vegetables and sauce, this makes a very satisfying and delicious vegetarian meal. The method of cooking the eggs along with the farro was simple and efficient (using just one pot).

FARRO BROCCOLI BOWL WITH LEMONY TAHINI

adapted from

https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019878-farro-broccoli-bowl-with-lemony-tahini

4 servings, about 440 calories per serving

FOR THE GRAIN BOWL:

1 ½ cups farro, rinsed and drained (NB The holes in my colander are too big for this)

4 large eggs

1 large head broccoli, cut into florets, tender stems sliced (about 1-1/4 pounds or a little more)

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

1 t soy sauce, plus more for serving

2 T toasted sesame oil

1 T sesame seeds

Thinly sliced radishes or Hakurei turnips (I've also substituted radishes, red pepper, carrots and/or celery)

2 scallions, thinly sliced

Hot sauce or thinly sliced green chiles, for serving (optional)

FOR THE DRESSING:

2 ½ T. fresh lemon juice, plus more for serving

1 garlic clove, finely grated or minced

⅓ cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed

3 T tahini

1. Preheat the oven to 450. Spray some olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Start bringing a medium pot of water to a boil. (The farro will be drained after it's cooked, so you don't need a precise measure of water.)
3. While the water comes to a boil, CUT THE BROCCOLI into florets and slice the stems. Put in a large bowl and toss with olive oil and soy sauce. Spread the broccoli out into an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and set aside. 
4. Slice the RADISHES AND SCALLIONS, and set aside in small bowls.
5. When the pot of water has come to a boil, add farro and then the eggs. Set two timers: 
1. EGGS: Set a timer for 6 or 7 minutes for the eggs--6 minutes for very runny centers and 7 minutes for medium-runny.
2. FARRO: Set for 15 minutes now, to mark when broccoli is to go in the oven. Then set for another 15 minutes to finish the farro.
6. Get ready A BOWL OF ICE WATER for cooling the eggs. When the eggs are done,  use a slotted spoon to transfer eggs to the bowl of ice water. Leave them in the ice water for at least a few minutes. Peel the eggs being served at this meal; if saving half for another meal, leave those eggs unpeeled and put them in the fridge.
7. When the farro has cooked for 15 minutes, PUT THE BROCCOLI IN THE OVEN.  
8. Continue to cook the farro cook until done, about 30 minutes. Drain the farro, and then toss with 5-6 tablespoons of the tahini dressing.
9. The broccoli roasts for about 15 minutes, until there some charred spots. Remove from oven, and toss with SESAME OIL and SESAME SEEDS. 
10. While the farro and broccoli are cooking, PREPARE THE DRESSING: In a medium bowl, whisk together lemon juice and garlic. Let sit for 1 minute, then whisk in olive oil, a little bit at a time, until emulsified. Whisk in tahini and set aside. 

To serve:

• Divide FARRO across 4 serving bowls and drizzle with REMAINING DRESSING

• Top with RADISHES/turnips/other crunchy veggies, and sprinkle with some LEMON JUICE

• Add BROCCOLI, EGG (cut in half), and sliced SCALLIONS.

• Serve immediately, with soy sauce, hot sauce, and/or sliced chiles on the side, if you like.

Eggs with sautéed greens and mushrooms

I really enjoy having eggs for dinner every once in a while. I recently bought more kale than I needed for a soup I was making, so I looked in my files for an egg dish I vaguely remembered.  Here it is—definitely fits in the comfort food category. Served with a salad or a light soup, this is a very satisfying dinner. I think next time, I'll try it with a can of Campbell's tomato and rice soup. . .

EGGS WITH sautéEd greens AND MUSHROOMS

adapted from https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/eggs_nested_in_sauteed_chard_and_mushrooms/

serves 2

2 T. olive oil

1 cup chopped onion

1 pound fresh chard or kale

8 oz. mushrooms, sliced (small portabellos are nice)

freshly ground pepper

4 eggs (can substitute eggwhites for some of the eggs)

Put the chopped onions and the sliced mushrooms in a large bowl.

If using chard: cut out the center ribs of the chard leaves. Chop the ribs into 1/2-inch pieces and place in the bowl with onions and mushrooms. Cut the remaining chard leaves crosswise into 1" ribbons, and set aside.

If using kale, discard the ribs and chop the leaves into bite-size pieces. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick sauté pan on medium heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, and chard ribs (if using), toss to coat in oil, and cook for about 4-5 minutes.

Add the chard or kale leaves to the pan and mix all together. Sprinkle with pepper (and salt if desired). Cook until the leaves are wilted and ready to eat.

While the greens are cooking, fry the eggs in a separate pan, however you like them.  You can also cook the eggs right on top of the greens (covering the pan), but David likes runny yolks and I like them cooked all the way through, so it's easier to get them just how we like them by using a separate pan.

Put the greens mixture on a plate and top with two eggs for each person.

Lentil Shepherd's Pie

Sometimes a combination of ingredients turns into a dish that seems more delicious than you would expect, and this is one of those recipes. It's just lentils and sweet potatoes, with a little well-chosen seasoning. The fresh ginger is key.  The toppings of scallions and yogurt also provide additional flavor and texture. But the bottom line is, this is a wonderful vegetarian dish, and easy to put together.

I would also recommend the cookbook I got this recipe from--I have enjoyed everything I've made from it. You can get a used copy for a very reasonable price on Amazon.

LENTIL SHEPHERD'S PIE

adapted from Good Housekeeping, Vegetarian Meals

makes 4-5 servings

1 cup dry lentils, rinsed

1 T. grated, peeled fresh ginger

1 t. ground cumin

1 can (14-1/2 oz) vegetable broth (1-3/4 cups)

1 bay leaf

2 cups water (divided 1-1/4 c. and 3/4 c.)

1 T. olive oil

1 t. curry powder

1/8 t. crushed red pepper

2 lbs. sweet potatoes (about 3 large), peeled and cut into 1" pieces

4 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

plain yogurt

In a medium saucepan, combine lentils, ginger, cumin, broth, bay leaf, and 1-1/4 cups water. Heat to boiling over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook until lentils are tender, about 20-30 minutes. Discard bay leaf and drain off almost all of the liquid. Put the lentils into a large pie-plate (10") or other shallow serving dish.

While the lentils are cooking, put the oil in a large saucepan (3-quart), and heat over medium heat. Add curry powder and crushed red pepper and cook, stirring, 15 seconds. Add sweet potatoes and 3/4 cup water and heat to boiling. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.

Drain the potatoes, reserving the liquid. Mash the potatoes, adding enough liquid to get a smooth texture. Spoon the mashed sweet potatoes over the lentils. Sprinkle with scallions and serve with plain yogurt.

One-quarter of the recipe (without yogurt) = about 410 calories

Matzah pizza

I love that the name for this sounds so much like Machu Picchu. . .

I remember three favorite lunches from my childhood: Kraft dinner, Chef Boyardi ravioli, and English muffin pizza. I will admit to still having Kraft dinner from time to time, but the others have fallen away. This Passover, looking for something else to make with matzah for lunch one day, I hit on this--make pizza with matzah as the base instead of an English muffin. Actually, there was an intermediary step, which is that I've been doing this with pita bread. But pita bread is a bit of a hassle, having to cut it cross-wise into two pieces. The matzah makes this so easy that I will definitely have it outside of Passover as well! 

I've made this twice, with feta cheese and kalamata olives as the only toppings. So the other toppings on the ingredient list below are just things I happen to think would be good.

My mother's English muffin pizza was a little different: the muffin half, tomato sauce, then a slice of mozzarella cheese. Maybe she sprinkled a little oregano on top. I don't know why I've never made it that way myself.

MATZAH PIZZA

serves 2

two squares of matzah

about 6 oz. tomato sauce (canned or home-made)

shredded or crumbled cheese (mozarella, Monterey jack, feta, blue cheese)

whatever other toppings you would like to add, e.g.

            kalamata olives, halved

            anchovies

            sautéed mushrooms

            a handful of chopped kale or spinach

            roasted red peppers

Preheat broiler, putting rack about 8" below the heat.

Place the two squares of matzah on a rimmed baking sheet.

Spread tomato sauce over the matzah.

Add toppings, and then sprinkle on cheese.

Put under the broiler for about 5 minutes.

Sheet pan chicken sausage and veggies

I clipped this recipe from an insert in my local newspaper. It combines two things I often make—roasted veggies and smoked chicken sausage, but I never thought to combine them in a sheet pan. The recipe also includes a marinade that looked like a great addition. Now, the original recipe called for butternut squash, but in my new routine of buying groceries for two weeks of cooking rather than one, by the time I got to this recipe, I realized I had added the butternut squash to a soup made the week before, forgetting it was for this dish. But I had plenty of potatoes on hand, so I cut up those instead, and cooked them for a while on their own. I'm curious to try the dish with butternut squash, but it was certainly delicious with potatoes! If you use squash instead, you can mix everything together and bake it all at once for 30-35 minutes at 450 degrees.

SHEET PAN CHICKEN SAUSAGE AND VEGGIES

adapted from Relish magazine (p. 14 in this link)

4 servings

1/4 cup maple syrup

2 T. Dijon mustard

3 T. olive oil

1/2 t. garlic powder (or two minced garlic cloves)

1/4 t. pepper

5 medium red potatoes (no need to peel), cut into about 1" cubes

12 oz fresh green beans (I used pre-trimmed/washed beans from a steam-in bag, uncooked)

1 medium red onion, roughly chopped

12 oz. Aidells chicken sausage (or other brand), sliced diagonally

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Put cubed potatoes into a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 T. of olive oil and toss until coated. Spread potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes. (Set aside the bowl to use again for the veggies; no need to wash it.)

While the potatoes are baking, prepare the marinade and the rest of the vegetables.

Marinade: In a medium bowl, whisk together the syrup, mustard, 2 T. olive oil, garlic powder, and pepper. (Add salt if you wish.)

Veggies and sausage: Put the beans, onion, and sausage in the bowl. Pour over the marinade, and toss to coat.

When the potatoes have baked 30 minutes, take them out of the oven and turn the oven up to 450.

Add the potatoes to the bowl with the veggies, sausage, and marinade and toss until all is coated. Put everything back on the baking sheet and bake for about 35 minutes, or until veggies are done.