Recipes | A Good Dish

What a Difference an Ingredient Makes – Even Better Soup!

November 2, 2017

Split pea soup with boosted flavor
Porcelain cup by Rachel Donner

What a difference a small amount of an ingredient can make in preparing soup! I make split pea and lentil soup quite often during the colder months and think they are both terrific recipes. But when we had dinner at a friend’s home last week, his yellow split pea soup had me reconsidering mine. Paul told us he had not only added smoked paprika, which I do as well and which resulted in a big discussion of how to pronounce paprika, but also some chipotle pepper in adobo sauce. It increased the depth of flavor, making it not just spicy but also savory and smoky. My husband often adds hot sauce or Japanese red pepper to his food but this was hot and complex enough that it didn’t need any more heat.

Chipotle in Adobo sauce is widely available in small cans like these. Store unused contents in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Other simple additions to soup recipes have big flavor boosts, such as adding fresh herbs. Try dill in lentil or chicken soup or cilantro in split pea, lentil or chili. Ditto a can of chopped green chilis to pozole, a cup of cut up watermelon to gazpacho, Parmesan rinds or pesto in white bean or some turmeric or curry to your butternut squash soup. And certainly use up any leftover cooked vegetables, greens or salsa by adding them to the pot. There is always the reliable splash of vinegar or lemon juice at the end of cooking to zing up an otherwise bland sauce or soup.

Coincidentally, I had just made a big pot of green split pea in preparation for a couple of nights when we would be getting home later than usual and would need dinner at the ready. Having a fennel salad (which improves with sitting) and freshly made sauerkraut in the fridge meant we could have a complete meal on the table both nights in about 10 minutes. When warming the soup, I added a spoonful of the chipotle chili with adobo sauce (you can buy it at most groceries or supermarkets-if canned, put it in a glass jar once opened to store in the fridge) and let the soup simmer for about 5 minutes. I topped each bowl with some fresh cilantro and put out hot sauce in case anyone wanted his soup spicier (which he didn’t). Don’t be afraid to try a new addition. As I found this week, even the most reliable recipe can be varied and improved. Thanks, Paul – it was delicious!

Spiced split pea soup
Porcelain bowl by Rachel Donner

When Autumn Gives You Apples, Make Applesauce!

October 26, 2017

Homemade applesauce in a Maiolica bowl
by Stanley Mace Andersen

Fall is apple season and right now bins of fresh crisp red, green and yellow apples are ours to buy – the markets are full of them. When you have more than you can eat out of hand, cooking apples is a way to intensify and diversify their flavor. Making applesauce is the simplest means by which to transform apples to another level and doing so will generate wonderfully sweet aromas in your kitchen. Homemade applesauce tastes great served with pork, chicken, potato pancakes, with walnuts, pumpkin and chia seeds or on its own. It can be tailored to your own preferences for spice and consistency and is much more flavorful than the generally bland jarred varieties. You can substitute some applesauce for part of the butter in a muffin or cake recipe and it supplies a healthy amount of fiber, always a positive. I make it because I love to eat it and it is one of the easiest things I know how to cook.

A potful of cut apples with cinnamon ready to be cooked

There is almost nothing to it except cutting up the apples. We like to eat applesauce made with the skins (which also adds lovely color) but if you don’t, all you have to do is put it through a food mill after cooking or peel the apples before cutting (although the peels add color and flavor). I usually buy the 2 bags for $5 of sometimes bruised and sometimes perfect apples that one of the farmers at our market offers but any variety you like will work. Just cut up an assortment of apples (composting the cores), add 1/2 cup of water to get things cooking, toss in a cinnamon stick, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, cover and simmer until mushy (about 20-30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Really – that is it!

Mason jars of applesauce can stay in your refrigerator for weeks

If you like ginger or cardamom or nutmeg, add some. If you like the consistency thinner, add more water or a little apple juice or cider. If you have a ripe pear, plum or a handful of cranberries or raspberries, toss them in to cook along with the apples. Apples and cinnamon together are sweet enough that I never add sugar of any kind. The finished applesauce keeps for weeks in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator or you can process it in a water bath like jam and keep it on a shelf until summer. If you make it now, I’ll bet it will be gone long before we even get to winter!

The Rockaways – A Fun Boat Ride and Some Tasty Mexican Street Food

September 26, 2017

*Pepinos y Frutas con Chili y Limon*
Porcelain Bowl by Bryan Hopkins

You could always take the A train but now you can take a boat to Rockaway Beach! The ferry from the Wall Street pier to the Rockaways has been up and running for a few months. We took it for the first time recently and it was delightful! For $2.75, the cost of a subway trip, you get an hour long boat ride and end up, after a stop at Sunset Park, just a 5 minute walk from the Rockaway boardwalk. The views of downtown Brooklyn (seeing it from the water helps you understand what a huge borough it is – larger than many cities), the ever changing skyline of lower Manhattan, Governor’s Island, Jersey City, Staten Island, Bay Ridge, Coney Island, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge and finally the Rockaways. We sat on the sunny and breezy top deck alongside a woman drawing and writing in her journal, a man who had grown up in Brooklyn and was taking a nostalgic trip back, a group of male pals downing beers (yes, there is a bar downstairs in the air conditioned cabin on the boat) and a swarm of kids who crowded the railing, excited simply to be out on the water.

Heading under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge

The Rockaways or Rockaway is a peninsula on the edge of Queens which was slammed by Hurricane Sandy and in some places is still rebuilding. The gorgeous Atlantic side beach is wide and sandy with lots of recently planted grasses, playgrounds and pounding surf. It is known to have a fierce undertow and the big waves are beloved by surfers, of which we saw many! There is a completely new boardwalk that, when I heard it was made of concrete, I was prepared to hate. But it is great – plenty wide with a lovely mosaic glass border, lots of seating (and well designed, attractive seating at that – you will recognize it from the High Line), accessible bathroom and food pavilions. We had delicious arepas with taro fries at one (unfortunately the good looking organic juice and sandwich bar had just closed) at Caracas Arepa Bar and only passed up the burgers at the next stand in favor of an off boardwalk spot about which we had read.

Taro Fries with Avocado dip at Caracas Arepa on the boardwalk

“Mermaid” at Caracas Arepas on the boardwalk

Rockaway Taco at the Surf Club is a few blocks back toward the bayside of the island in a struggling neighborhood dominated by a Popeye’s chicken joint. The taco bar is set alongside a large outdoor patio with picnic tables (movies were about to be screened as we were leaving), a friendly bar which is the adjacent Surf Club, surfboard lockers and a convivial local as well as day-tripping crowd. We quickly joined the line to order and got pretty good fish tacos and what were called cukes. And not just cukes, this was a cup full of cucumber, mango and jicama sticks doused with lime juice and sprinkled liberally with chili salt. The salad is a common Mexican street treat, the kind of thing you might find at a roadside stand, called pepiños y frutas con chili y limón. When made only with fruit (could be mango, pineapple, cantaloupe, honeydew or watermelon) it is referred to as just frutas con chili y limon. Not only crunchy, it was refreshing on a warm night and a good balance to the spicy tacos.

Two types of chili salt at La Paloma Market on 100th St off Broadway

You can buy the salt in any Mexican grocery (two brands sold here are Pico Limón and tajin) or you can make it yourself by combining ground chili powder or cayenne with salt. And the whole dish is one of the simplest salads to make – it only takes as long as cleaning and cutting the vegetables, squeezing a lemon or lime over them and sprinkling with chili salt. If you want to make a whole meal out of it, add some crumbled cojita or feta cheese and sprinkle with cilantro or parsley.

I had forgotten about this salad and it took a trip to the Rockaways to remind me. It’s good to visit different neighborhoods, especially when you get there via a lovely boat ride, when it includes a walk on a beautiful beach, when it brings to mind the great Ramones’ song and when you wind up eating some delicious food that can be replicated at home. “Rock rock Rockaway Beach ….”

Simple Chilled Cucumber Soup with Herbs – Just Blend!

September 8, 2017

Chilled Cucumber Soup
Wood fired Mug by Linda Christianson

Labor Day has passed and although you may have put away your summer whites, summer vegetables are still plentiful in the markets. This is what we might label late summer, when ripe tomatoes are still available and the hefty winter squashes are just beginning to make an appearance. Although the intense heat of summer is gone, days are not yet cool and I still want something refreshing to eat so I make a simple cucumber and yogurt soup. Cucumbers last on the vine (and in my crisper) longer than most summer vegetables and if you grow them, you know they can pile up in August and September.

A few weeks ago, I posted ideas for easy cucumber salads. The other way I love to prepare cucumbers is as the primary ingredient in a cold soup. It is light and refreshing, especially in the lingering humidity at summer’s end. If you are using organic cucumbers, you can leave the peel intact unless you don’t like the taste. Otherwise, please peel them – residual pesticides do no one any favors! Cucumbers are very low in calories and high in water content which is why they are so satisfying on a warm day.

Organic cucumbers at the 97th Street Greenmarket

This simple soup includes yogurt so it has protein and could be a complete meal, sprinkled with toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds and served with a savory cracker or bread. There are almost too few ingredients to call this a recipe and it comes together very quickly and can be varied to suit your taste. It is essentially a little more cucumber than yogurt and if you don’t like mint or dill, for example, substitute fresh cilantro or basil. You could add some garlic or jalapeño for heat and a little cumin for spice. If you don’t eat cow yogurt, try goat, sheep, almond or coconut. Florence Fabricant published a recipe in The Times last year using avocado instead of yogurt so if you are vegan, try her recipe). Until the roasted vegetables and soups of fall replace big tomato salads and steamed fresh green beans, take advantage of cucumbers and blend up this easy and cooling soup.

Fresh Mint
Wood fired Stoneware Cup by Linda Christianson

Cold Cucumber Soup

2-3 Japanese, English or Persian-style cucumbers, cut in pieces to equal 3 cups (If seeds are large, scoop out and discard)
2cups plain yogurt (I use either nonfat or whole, depending on what I have)
A generous handful of washed fresh mint leaves and some fresh dill
A big pinch (about 1/2 tsp) cumin (optional)
A handful of washed fresh parsley leaves (optional)
1/2 avocado, peeled (optional)
Juice of 1/2 a lime (optional)
Salt to taste

Blend all ingredients in a blender or processor until smooth and chill until cold. Serve in tumblers or mugs, garnished with mint leaves or chives. Serves 6.

Pourer by Linda Christianson
Wood fired stoneware

Cool as a Cucumber Salad

August 8, 2017

Kirby cucumbers with tomatoes, arugula, walnuts and pesto vinaigrette
Salad bowl by Nick Joerling

Cucumber salad is easy to make and to vary and can even help keep us cool. Cucumbers are plentiful from mid-summer into the fall and have enough crunch and body to be the star ingredient in a main course or side salad. Since they are mostly water, they are refreshing to eat, especially in summer. Like zucchini, cukes can grow large quickly and become too seedy to be tasty. Try to buy slimmer, smaller cucumbers – they may have less seeds and more crispy flesh. If you end up with a giant cuke, just scoop out the seeds.

Japanese cucumbers at the 79th Street Sunday Greenmarket

Solo cucumbers with a vinaigrette make a refreshing lunch or dinner salad but for a little more interest, add herbs. Dill combines deliciously with cukes, as does mint or basil. (I am not a tarragon fan but if you like it, it also works). All kinds of vinaigrettes dress cucumbers well from a simple oil and vinegar to a citrus, berry or mustard base. You could even go all out and use a yogurt, ranch or blue cheese dressing – the cukes can handle it. The most striking presentation of cucumber salad I ever saw was at our favorite ramen restaurant, Ippudo. There they overlap cucumber slices down a long rectangular plate and drizzle with a spicy chili dressing. So simple but appealing and tasty!

Kirby cucumbers from J & A Farm at the Friday 97th Street Greenmarket

Many vegetables pair well with cucumbers including peppers of all colors both sweet and spicy, radishes, jicama, carrots, red onions and lettuce. Some fruits are especially good with cukes, including citrus, tomatoes, avocado, plums and berries. One of my all time favorite salads combines cucumbers with pineapple, mint and lime juice – a simple but surprisingly delicious variation.

Cucumbers with yogurt, toasted cumin seeds, lime juice, salt and fresh mint
Batter bowl by Nick Joerling

The most basic cucumber salad can be fortified to become a main course salad with cooked chicken, shrimp, ham or bacon, toasted walnuts, seeds or pistachios. You might serve a plain, dressed cucumber salad alongside almost anything – fish, chicken, smoked salmon or avocado toast. It makes a tasty sandwich, especially with the addition of a slice or two of cheese, green apple and walnuts, and packs well for a picnic.

I admit there are hot nights when all I do is cut up some cucumbers into spears or rounds and call it a side salad. But if slicing, dicing or spiralizing a few cukes and tossing with herbs and dressing is not too much work, you will be rewarded with a pretty, cooling and satisfying salad.

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