Archive for the 'fast' Category

01
May
11

Roasted Red-Curry Salmon with Green Beans

By Elisa Leave a Comment
Categories: entree, fast, healthy, herbs and seafood
Tags: , , ,

I’ve become a slacker lately when it comes to weeknight meals. I could spend the next few sentences explaining why — valid excuses, considering how much I’ve been working lately — but really it’s because of this: I’m tired!!!  And when I’m tired, we eat leftovers all week! You can relate? You know how it feels to spend days eating jarred pasta sauce and frozen meals?

Last week, this recipe got us out of the weeknight rut. I found it in Bon Appetit’s Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook– a tome filled with simple and fresh meals. Many of them are so simple they feel like cheating. This salmon takes less time than boiling water. I made it twice, after working 10 hour- plus days. I came home exhausted and in need of something healthy.

There’s a fair degree of heat to this dish because of the red curry paste. The paste is a Thai staple made from a concentration dried red chile, garlic, shallot, lemongrass and a few other spices. Like soy sauce, there are winners and losers when it comes to the packaged stuff. If you have an international market near you, look for Mae Ploy. Otherwise, use what’s available. Once you whisk the curry paste with lime juice and vegetable oil, you coat the salmon with the mixture. Then toss green beans and slices of red bell pepper with a bit of oil and salt. Place the salmon and veggies on the same sheet pan and roast for 12 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped basil and mint. That’s it. It couldn’t be easier.

Is this dinner party quality? I say no, but you be the judge. On a weeknight, it’s fast, easy and healthy. And it certainly is better than jarred pasta sauce.

Roasted Red-Curry Salmon with Green Beans
Bon Appetit Fast Easy Fresh Cookbook

4 6-ounce salmon fillets (each about 1 1/2 inches thick)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice, plus lime wedges for serving
8 ounces green beans, trimmed
1 red bell pepper, cut into long strips
1 generous tablespoon thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
1 generous tablespoon thinly sliced fresh basil leaves

Preheat oven to 400°F. Spay a heavy rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray, or lightly grease with vegetable oil. Place fish on half of prepared baking sheet. Whisk 1 tablespoon of the oil, lime juice, and curry paste in a small bowl. Spread the mixture over the salmon. Toss green beans and bell pepper in a medium bowl with remaining 1 teaspoon oil. Arrange green beans and pepper on other half of the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

Roast in oven until fish is just opaque in center and veggies are crisp tender, about 12 minutes. Put fish on plates and veggies next to the salmon. Sprinkle mint and basil on top. Serve with lime wedges.

Serves 4

18
Apr
11

Moroccan Vegetable Stew with Couscous and Mint Gremolata

By Elisa Leave a Comment
Categories: entree, fast, Middle Eastern / Mediterranean, peas, soup, vegan and vegetarian
Tags: , , , ,

The plan Saturday was to get through a gigantic to-do list: a jewelry party, playing with Gabi, getting Gabi’s haircut, running three miles, cleaning the kitchen, exchanging a shirt, and replacing the dead pansies in one of the window boxes. I accomplished half of it — no small feat when you have a scrumptious and distracting toddler.

Amazingly, she went down for a morning nap (we thought the morning naps had ended), so I took advantage of the quiet and made this stew. I’d intended to make it last weekend. But the sun was out and we spent hours at the park instead. But this past Saturday was dreary — perfect cooking weather.

Now about this stew. I come back to it year after year, and for good reason. It’s an aromatic combination of tomato, leeks, carrots, chickpeas, green peas, spinach and couscous. It’s the first thing that comes to mind when I need to throw something together for someone who doesn’t eat meat or dairy. It’s fairly quick to make, but has layers of flavor. It’s incredibly healthy. It’s incredibly hearty. It’s nothing short of amazing.

It calls for saffron, a warm spice commonly found in Spanish and Mediterranean dishes. Saffron is pricey, so good thing that a little goes a long way. The additional combination of cinnamon, ground ginger and red chili flakes is what makes this stew so wonderful. The gremolata — finely chopped garlic, parsley, mint and lemon zest — adds freshness. Don’t skip it.

Moroccan Vegetable Stew with Couscous and Mint Gremolata
Simple Meals by Organic Style, Summer 2003

Stew
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 leeks, white and light green parts only, washed and sliced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch diagonals
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
Large pinch saffron threads
1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/2 cup peas, frozen or fresh
1/2 pound spinach, washed, stemmed and roughly chopped

Couscous
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup plain couscous
1 teaspoon salt

Gremolata
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1 small garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons fresh lemon zest

To make the stew:

Heat the oil in a large saucepan, 5 quarts or so, over medium heat. Add the leeks and saute, stirring frequently, until softened, about 7 or 8 minutes. Watch so they don’t burn.

Add the tomato paste and cook for another 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in carrots, tomatoes, saffron, crushed red pepper, cinnamon, and ginger. Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

Add the beans, salt, pepper, and 1 3/4 cups of water. Cover the pan and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until carrots are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the peas and spinach, and cook uncovered for another 2 minutes, just until the spinach is wilted. (Can be made a few hours ahead of time. Anything more than that, the peas and spinach will not be bright green.)

To make the couscous:

Heat oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the couscous and stir until lightly browned, about 4 minutes.Meanwhile, bring 1 1/3 cups of water to a boil. Sprinkle salt over couscous. Pour water over couscous and cover. Let the couscous stand for 5 minutes, until the water is absorbed.

Make the gremolata:

Combine the finely chopped mint, parsley, garlic and lemon zest in a small bowl.

Assemble:

Divide the stew evenly among 4 shallow bowls. Dish couscous into the center of each bowl (a half-cup measure works wonders). Sprinkle gremolata over each bowl of stew.

Serves 4

28
Feb
11

Raw Tuscan Kale Salad

By Elisa 1 Comment
Categories: fall, fast, greens, healthy, kale, salad, spring, summer, vegetarian and winter
Tags: , ,

I intended to make a kale caesar. My friends Nancy and Jeremy raved about one they made last month — a true caesar salad, with a creamy dressing from egg yolks and anchovies. It sounded interesting. I picked up the ingredients. I started to measure. Then I looked at my mortar and pestle and thought about how much I didn’t want to use it to pound the anchovies into a paste. Yes, I chickened out. I made this kale salad instead.

Why kale? The past two weekends of decent temperatures have made me crave green. Spring is flirting with us here in St. Louis. Crocuses are blooming in our front yard, and a couple of days last week were warm enough to shed coats. But then, sadly, spring scampered off  today and the cold returned.  It’s gray, gray, gray. And I want green — green leaves, green grass, and green food.

I used to shy from raw kale. Then last summer, I had a phenomenal salad of kale and red cabbage while passing through Boulder, Colorado. I still think about it. For best results, use Tuscan/lacinato kale if you make this. It’s also called dinosaur or black kale. The leaves are more tender. This is a strong-tasting salad, as you’d expect from raw kale. The lemon, garlic and Pecorino offset the bitterness of the leaves. It’s incredibly nutritious — exactly what we all need after months of gray weather. The beauty of this salad is that it won’t wilt. Dress it, put it in the fridge and it’s just as good the next day.

Raw Tuscan Kale Salad
New York Times, Oct. 24, 2007

1 bunch Tuscan kale (also known as black, dinosaur or lacinato kale)
1/4 cup homemade bread crumbs (coarse) [I used crumbled up croutons]
1/2 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely grated Pecorino cheese, more for garnish
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, more for garnish
Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste.

1. Wash the kale. Trim bottom 2 inches of the stems and throw them out. Slice kale, including ribs, into 3/4-inch-wide ribbons. You should have 4 to 5 cups. Place the kale in a large bowl.

2. If making homemade bread crumbs, toast a slice of bread until golden on both sides. Tear it into small pieces and grind in a food processor until mixture forms coarse crumbs. If using croutons, grind in a food pro until crumbs are coarse.

3. Pound garlic into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Transfer garlic to a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup cheese, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper flakes and black pepper, and whisk to combine. Pour dressing over kale and toss very well to combine (dressing will be thick and need lots of tossing to coat leaves).

4. Let salad sit for 5 minutes, then serve topped with bread crumbs, additional cheese and a drizzle of oil.

Serves 2 to 4.

01
Feb
11

Quick Coq Au Vin

By Elisa 1 Comment
Categories: chicken, entree, fall, fast and winter
Tags: , ,

Two days ago, I visualized us holed up in a hotel room with pipes bursting at home and limbs all over the yard. The predictions about this wintry mix/blizzard have been SCARY. Just about everyone in St. Louis stayed home today bracing for the worst blizzard in decades. Jeff and I worked from home, Gabi ran around the house, and the blizzard never really came. There were no white out conditions. No power outages or strong winds. We didn’t end up hovering over a fondue pot and sterno, cooking chicken in cooking oil. We didn’t have to pack our bags and search for an inn. There was sleet, a bit of snow, a few wind gusts and that’s it.

Instead, Jeff and I are splitting a bottle of vino after finishing off this Coq au Vin. It was perfect for tonight. All the flavors here are hints. Mushrooms and shallots are infused with bacon and stewed in red wine. The sauce is spooned over crispy chicken, and garnished with chopped parsley. I love finding a recipe for something French and comforting like this that takes 45 minutes or less. A blizzard is still in the forecast. We could have 10 inches of snow tomorrow, according to all of the hyperventilation. I’m warm, toasty and doubtful.

Quick Coq Au Vin
slightly adapted from Bon Appetit, October 2010

4 bacon slices, coarsely chopped
1 3-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, or 4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
8 ounces large crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, halved
8 large shallots, peeled, halved through root end
3garlic cloves, pressed
1 1/2 cups dry red wine (such as Shiraz or Syrah)
1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken broth, divided
4 teaspoons all purpose flour

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Sauté bacon in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer the bacon to a plate lined with a paper towel. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon parsley. Add to drippings in skillet. Sauté until cooked through, about 6 minutes per side; transfer to a baking dish. Place in oven to keep warm.

Add mushrooms and shallots to skillet; season lightly with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic to skillet; toss 10 seconds. Add wine, 1 1/4 cups broth, bacon, and 1 tablespoon parsley. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Boil 10 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour in small cup.

Add 1/4 cup broth, stirring until smooth. Add flour mixture to sauce. Cook until sauce thickens, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Arrange chicken on platter; stir juices from pie dish into sauce and spoon over chicken. Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon parsley.

Serve with a wedge of crusty bread.

Serves 4

07
Jan
11

Brussels Sprouts with Chorizo and Croutons

By Elisa Leave a Comment
Categories: brussel sprouts, entree, fall, fast, healthy and winter
Tags: , ,

I have Georgina to thank for this one. She has fabulous food sense. She KNOWS what to do with parsnips. She has A ZILLION ideas for kale. She’s passed along a half dozen recipes that have become favorites around here. She’s mentioned this concoction, what, a half dozen times in the past three months? And it’s taken me this long to make it.

It was inspired by Deb on SmittenKitchen. Georgina then made her own version using Brussels sprouts instead of asparagus. I made it tonight, using pinto beans rather than white or cranberry beans that Deb used, simply because I had them already.

This would have been a super-quick meal had I not chosen to use dried beans. Canned beans — white, pintos or red kidney beans — are perfectly acceptable. In fact, I’d say preferrable because they’re faster and just as good as dried.

This was perfect for a Friday night — after a week of deadlines for Jeff, a radio interview and the beginnings of about four stories for me. I took comp time and left work early today. Snow was falling. I stopped at the grocery store before picking up Gabi and did some prep work quartering Brussels sprouts and slicing bread into croutons.

The meal came together in less than 10 minutes. The kitchen smelled of chorizo, and that’s always a good thing. We had whole almonds on hand — they’re worth buying for this if you don’t have them. Jeff and I ate this with a bottle of red wine. It was sort of Spanish, sort of seasonal, sort of  nothing like we’ve ever had before. It was wonderful. Thanks G!!

Brussel Sprouts with Chorizo and Croutons
adapted from Smitten Kitchen

1 pound Brussels sprouts, quartered
1/4 cup olive oil
4 ounces chorizo cut into 3/4-inch slices
1 1/2 cups 3/4-inch bread cubes from a baguette or country bread loaf
1/4 cup whole almonds
1 cup cooked beans (such as cannelini, kidney or pinto)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Start cooking when you’re about ready to eat. Heat the oil in a large skillet or saute pan until very hot. Add all the ingredients except the beans, salt and pepper. Cover and saute over high heat for about 5 to 6 minutes, tossing or stirring the mixture a few times, so it browns and cooks on all sides. Add the beans, salt and pepper, and toss again. Serve.

Serves 4.


31
Oct
10

Chicken Korma

By Elisa 3 Comments
Categories: chicken, entree, fast and Indian

My friend Elie is moving to Peru. How cool is that? She was determined to do it months ago, even before she fell in love with a Peruvian photographer. And now she leaves in two weeks. Her house is rented, she’s sold most of her furniture and her ex-boyfriend has assumed custody of her dog.

I had Elie over for dinner last week. She came over on a Tuesday, which presented a small problem. Since she was coming over right after work, I needed to have my cooking done the night before. Fortunately, I have an amazing slow cooker — a friend gave it to me a couple of years ago. I love it so much I pet it sometimes.

Chicken korma is a mild north Indian dish that doesn’t require much prep work. After you chop the onion, mince the garlic and grate the ginger, you simply measure the spices and start sauteing everything. Korma is creamy and tangy. Cashews really draw out the flavor, which is dominated by a mix of ground coriander, cumin, tumeric, cayenne and a cinnamon stick. Some kormas call for yogurt. This one uses buttermilk. It’s as good (if not better) than any chicken curry you’ve had in any Indian restaurant.

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you can make this in a large pot on the stove, with the flame on low. But do consider getting a slow cooker. It’s a wonderful piece of equipment. It took less than 30 minutes for me to prep the ingredients, saute, and then hit the slow cook button on my machine. It cooked overnight, then waited in the fridge to be heated up for dinner.

Continue reading ‘Chicken Korma’

04
Oct
10

Warm Black Bean and Vegetable Wraps

By Elisa 1 Comment
Categories: butternut squash, fast, healthy, vegetarian and wraps
Tags: ,

I love to cook the most when the season changes. Or maybe that’s when I love to eat the most. Either way, I get excited about making something as simple as wraps.  End-of-summer zucchini, butternut squash, bell peppers, onion and black beans held together with melty pepper jack cheese and a sprinkle of cilantro. If I were forced to become a vegetarian, I wouldn’t mind if I could have food like this every day.

I made these yesterday afternoon while Jeff was on one of his final marathon training runs and Gabi was down for her afternoon nap. Jeff and I shared one after he came home from the park. Then we stashed the rest in the fridge for lunches this week.  Today at work, we took them out of the foil, wrapped them in paper towels and nuked them for about 45 seconds. Yum!!  They’re even better with two or three spoonfuls of store-bought salsa.

Warm Black Bean and Vegetable Wraps
The Bon Appetit Cookbook: Fast Easy Fresh

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, minced
2 cups diced red or yellow bell peppers, or both
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes zucchini
1 cup 1/2-inch cubes peeled seeded butternut squash
1 cup chopped red onion
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup (packed) grated hot pepper Monterey Jack cheese
4 9- to 10-inch-diameter flour tortillas (burrito size)
4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, divided

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat olive oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and stir 30 seconds. Add all vegetables and saute until crisp tender, about 8 minutes. Mix in cumin and saute until vegetables are tender, about 2 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. Place beans in large bowl, mash coarsely with fork. Mix in vegetables, then cheese.

Place tortillas on work surface. Spoon 1/4 of filling down the center of each, sprinkle filling on each with 1 tablespoon cilantro. Roll up tortillas, enclosing filling. Arrange wraps seam side down, on baking sheet. Cover wraps with foil. Bake until just heated through, about 10 minutes. Cut each in half.

Makes 4 wraps.

23
Sep
10

Wild and Brown Rice Salad

By Elisa Leave a Comment
Categories: fast, healthy, vegan and vegetarian
Tags:

A certain person in this house doesn’t like raw bell pepper. Specifically, it’s Jeff. I’ve never quite understood why. I understand green bell peppers, but how could you not like red bell pepper? It’s so sweet and yummy. But more often than not it ends up pushed to the side of Jeff’s plate. He’s also not crazy about cucumber. Needless to say, he has steered clear of this salad.

I, on the other hand, love everything on this ingredient list. Lately I’ve been on the prowl for recipes like this one. It’s quick, full of flavor and easy to eat while I’m stuck at my desk on deadline. This was a incredibly busy week, so a container of wild and brown rice salad and an apple has been my lunch almost daily. And because it’s so incredibly healthy, I’ve felt zero guilt about indulging my 3 p.m. chocolate cravings.

Wild and Brown Rice Salad
Martha Stewart Living 2002 Annual Recipes

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups cooked wild rice
3 cups cooked brown and/or brown basmati rice (about 1 1/3 cups uncooked)
1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces [I also added 1 red bell pepper]
1/2 red onion, finely chopped
2 celery stalks, strings removed, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1/2 seedless cucumber, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1/4-inch slices
6 ounces cherry tomatoes, quartered
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and mustard; set aside.

Place the wild rice, brown rice, bell pepper, onion, celery, cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and cilantro in a medium bowl. Add the dressing, and toss well to combine. Transfer to a bowl.

Serves 8 to 10 as a side dish.

20
Aug
10

Pasta Caprese

By Elisa Leave a Comment
Categories: basil, entree, fast, healthy, Italian, pasta and noodles, summer, tomato and vegetarian
Tags: , ,

It’s tomato season. And that means raw tomato sauces.

Among my favorites: cherry tomatoes marinated in balsamic, olive oil, salt and pepper, and tossed with arugula. Romas diced and tossed with lemon juice, olive oil and garlic. Heirlooms chopped and mixed with olives, red wine vinegar and majoram. There are hundreds of ways.

A few days ago, I used  romas from our garden and several heirlooms from our Fair Shares box to make this rustic raw tomato sauce. If you like caprese salads, you’ll like this. And if you have little time to make dinner, you’ll thank me for it, too.

It comes together in less than a half hour, and the ingredient list is small. The success depends on quality, like so many recipes that rely on a handful of fresh ingredients. Tomatoes must be in season. Your olive oil must be good enough to stand alone. Your mozzarella must be fresh, packed in water.

This is a nice way to use summer tomatoes. I ate the leftovers last week for lunch. It’s great at room temperature, or even cold, as a pasta salad.

Pasta Caprese
Cook’s Illustrated, July 2007

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2-4 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 small garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press
1 small shallot, minced fine
1 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut in 1/2-inch dice
12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 pound penne, or other tubular pasta
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

Whisk oil, 2 teaspoons lemon juice, garlic, shallot, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper together in a large bowl. Add tomatoes and gently toss to combine; set aside. Do not marinate tomatoes longer than 45 minutes.

While tomatoes are marinating, place mozzarella on a plate and freeze until slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Bring 4 quarts of water to a rolling boil in a stockpot. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta, stir to separate, and cook until al dente. Drain well.

Add pasta and mozzarella to tomato mixture and gently toss to combine. Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in basil; adjust seasonings with salt, pepper and additional lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 to 7.
24
Jul
10

Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart

By Elisa Leave a Comment
Categories: basil, entree, fast, summer, tomato and vegetarian
Tags: , ,

We’re finally settling into a routine. It’s been four weeks since I returned to work, and two weeks since our 10-month-old started daycare. It’s not as crazy around here as it was 14 days ago. Still, finding time to cook during the week is tough.  Making this fabulous tart on a Tuesday night felt like a coup.

I must disclose that I did come home from work early. I picked Gabi up from daycare around 2, stopped at the store, put her down for a nap and made the tart dough.  By 5:30 the tart was ready to pop in the oven. It was about then that two of my favorite people — Colleen and Don — knocked on the door. They were passing through town on their way from Providence, RI to Seattle. They’re about to move to Hawaii, lucky them, and they were staying  the night with us.

I put the tart in the oven a couple hours later, when Gabi was down for the night. We ate it with a green salad and crisp white wine.

The tomatoes and onions are sweet, the crust is flaky and buttery, and the goat cheese lends offers tome tang. Make this tart once and you’ll want to make it again and again.

Continue reading ‘Tomato and Goat Cheese Tart’

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