A Good Dish

making food simpler

Same dinner, different meal: Taming the Flavor-Seeking Beast

While our son was away at college this year, Brooks and I ate mostly vegetables, beans, whole grains, fruit and some fish and seafood with an occasional grass-fed burger or free-range turkey or chicken, piece of cheese or yogurt and lots and lots of salad. It suited us just fine and we were feeling pretty virtuous. When Alex came home and snapped out of his exam-induced, lack of sleep stupor and finished his seemingly endless loads of laundry, he looked up one day and asked “Couldn’t we eat something fun for a change?” My heart sank but I put on a smile and replied “sure!”

Lobster roll from Luke's was a temporary solution
Lobster roll from Luke’s was a temporary solution

I actually enjoy cooking for my family, especially when they enjoy what I make. I thought I was making appealing meals but they were not satisfying my flavor-craving son. We don’t want to eat the salty, fatty, white flour way he wishes, but could I find a compromise? Our boy had thrown down the gauntlet and I wanted to rise to the challenge. I needed time to think so when it was time for lunch, we walked down Amsterdam Avenue and got a lobster roll at Luke’s – delicious every time but a temporary fix that didn’t solve the problem.

I knew seasoning and spice factored into his ideas of flavor so I began there. I bought some fresh black pepper linguini with the zip already in the pasta and added some veggies Alex likes – peas and arugula – with some garlic in olive oil. Pretty simple and a hit – Hoorah! Next I pulled out the chicken and apple sausage, an old standby for him, and coupled it with seasoned rice and broccoli, 2 sides he eats without complaining. When I heard “boring”, I curbed my instinctual reaction to tell him where he could go and tried to think how these ingredients could be better combined. As I was thinking fried rice, Alex asked why I didn’t make a stir-fry. There it was – we had come to the same idea at the same time and I knew how to go forward. I wouldn’t have to completely change our diet, just rearrange the parts and add a little zing. I could stir fry some onion and celery with plenty of ginger and garlic, toss in the broccoli, rice, sausage and some sesame soy combo to satisfy his taste. Yes, he would have been happier with white rice but he would have to settle for brown as that was where I drew the line of compromise. (If you are not eating grains, add more veggies and cut down the amount of sauce). When I tried it again the next day with leftover chicken and more ginger and garlic, we all liked it even better. (I did notice he was picking out the celery!)

garlic

Even though I was insulted by his comments at first, Alex helped me realize I was not being as adventurous with food as I imagined. I still like pretty simple cooking but now I am making an effort to add a little zest and more seasoning to shake up my routine. The real bonus to his involvement is that our son is discovering what goes into food prep and stands on the edge of cooking for himself.

Stir Fried Rice with Whatever You Like

2 TBs neutral oil, like canola or avocado

1 medium onion, sliced and chopped

2 stalks celery, thinly sliced

3″ piece of ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1-2 cups cooked and cut up protein (sausages, ham, chicken, shrimp or tofu)

1-2 cups lightly steamed broccoli (or whatever green veg you like or have leftover)

3 cups cooked rice (I used brown but use any kind you like)

Sauce:

2 TBs soy sauce

2 TBs water

1 TB rice vinegar

1 TB toasted sesame oil

Big pinch cayenne

Heat oil in a large sauté pan, add onion and cook 2 minutes. Add celery and cook another 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and ginger and cook another 30 seconds. Add cut up sausage (or whatever protein you are using), rice and broccoli and stir until combined well. Add sauce and cook one more minute, stirring to mix completely. Taste and add more sauce ingredients as you choose. This would be good sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and scallions. Serves 2-4 people or one hungry 20 year old.

Stir Fried Leftovers Plate by Anthony Phillips
Stir Fried Leftovers
Plate by Anthony Phillips

A few other solutions I think will suffice: Sriracha-glazed lamb chops on garlic mashed potatoes with sautéed greens, brown rice nori rolls (lots of wasabi) with watercress salad, leftover chicken doused in green sauce and made into tacos, and rice and beans with salsa and guacamole wrapped into a burrito. It may not be Eleven Madison or Amada but it sure beats what he will get back at school!

What to Make for Dinner is Whatever is Seasonal

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We can create beautiful plates of food when cooking but it is more important that the dishes be tasty and nutritious. When they also look good, that is a side benefit. Any plate you present will be attractive if you use enough fresh, seasonal vegetables and don’t overcook them. Our family meals now incorporate many more vegetables than anything else. Sometimes we eat vegetarian, sometimes vegan, sometimes omnivorous. As diet and nutrition fads come and go, I try to stay focused on vegetables as the largest portion on our plates, supplemented by smaller amounts of fats, proteins and whole grains.

Using what is in season is an easy way to plan what to make for dinner. If you take a minute to think about what is fresh locally, the options become clearer and more limited. It is spring now so what is fresh in the market is asparagus, fiddlehead ferns, artichokes(from California), green garlic and ramps, soon to be followed by sugar snap and shell peas, radishes and spring onions.

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With these seasonal vegetables in mind, you can start to think about making a simple pasta, risotto, quiche or frittata with any of these. When you add a side salad, you have an easy spring supper. With or without a grain or potato, roasted asparagus, sautéed sugar snaps or radishes or steamed fiddleheads, asparagus, artichokes or peas accompanying a piece of baked or broiled fish, chicken, tempeh or tofu constitute a satisfying simple meal. If you aren’t serving a starch, just enhance your plate with a second vegetable or salad.

It really is that easy.

ASPARAGUS TWO WAYS:

ROASTED ASPARAGUS

  • 1 bunch fresh green asparagus, trimmed and cleaned
  • 1 TBs olive oil
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)
  • 1 big pinch each of salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Spread cleaned asparagus in a single layer on a rimmed cookie sheet or roasting pan (I like to use a piece of parchment paper to make clean-up easy)

Sprinkle with oil and roll asparagus around to coat

Sprinkle with sesame seeds and salt and pepper

Bake 9-12 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus. I usually try them for doneness at 10 minutes.

roasted

SAUTEED ASPARAGUS AND GREEN GARLIC

  • 1 bunch fresh green asparagus, trimmed and cleaned and cut in bite-sized pieces
  • 1 bunch green garlic, cleaned like scallions and sliced thinly

    chopped green garlic
    chopped green garlic
  • 1 TBs olive oil
  • 1 pinch salt
  • zest from a small lemon (a microplane grater is the best tool for zesting)

Heat a wide skillet on medium high heat.

Add oil and, when hot, add green garlic and salt and sauté one minute.

Add asparagus pieces and sauté, stirring, over medium heat about 4 minutes, depending on the thickness of the asparagus, and add a splash of water if it all starts to stick.

As soon as you can pierce a piece of asparagus easily with a fork, take off heat and put in a serving dish.

Sprinkle with lemon zest.

Note – If you don’t have green garlic, simply use 2-3 cloves of the ordinary stuff, minced.

greengarlic

 

Dressing Spring Vegetables

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When artichokes and asparagus are as beautiful and fresh as they are right now, I want to make them often. A steamed artichoke is a treat with melted butter but is elevated to another state with a scrumptious dip. Hollandaise sauce, a traditional accompaniment to both artichokes and asparagus, has alway been too rich for me. Plus, unless I’ve met the chicken whose eggs I’m eating, anything with raw egg in it makes me feel squeamish.

dish by Kirk Mangus
dish by Kirk Mangus

Growing up, we dipped our artichoke leaves in a homemade mustardy vinaigrette with chopped, hard boiled eggs. My mother clipped vinrecipethe recipe from a monthly newsletter more than 40 years ago and still pulls it out out every spring to sauce artichokes. When I went to copy down the recipe decades ago, it was already worn and speckled with drops of oil and now my own copy looks much the same. The vinaigrette in the newsletter came from Paul Steindler, a Czech chef who ran La Popette restaurant in New York.

For years I made Mom’s recipe just as she had prepared it, but then it occurred to me that a few changes might suit me better. I swapped in apple cider vinegar for white distilled, replaced the white sugar with maple syrup and went back to the Dijon mustard that was in the original (not the bright yellow “French’s” hot dog mustard we used at home). The newsletter recipe called for half a cup of olive oil but that made the vinaigrette too rich for my taste and tolerance. I cut the oil to 2 tablespoons and instead of adding a chopped egg at the end, I added 2 hard boiled eggs and blended them completely to thicken it all into an unctuous and tangy dip, similar to but lighter than the original.

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We still celebrate spring with artichokes and asparagus dipped in this delicious mustardy vinaigrette and I feel good about making it. This combination of a vegetable with a protein makes it a meal, especially if you don’t want a heavy supper. If there is any sauce left over, it makes a pretty good dip for carrots or cold, cooked asparagus the next afternoon. You can prepare this vinaigrette ahead, as it will keep in the refrigerator a day or so, and just re-blend it while the artichokes or asparagus are steaming.

UN-HOLLANDAISE SAUCE

plate by Sabina Teutenberg
plate by Sabina Teutenberg

Blend well:

  • 3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
  • 2 Tbs Dijon mustard
  • 2 tsps maple syrup (or honey)
  • 1/4 tsp Worcester sauce
  • 2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Add and blend until smooth:

  • 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled

Great as a dip for artichokes (pour right into the center of a cooked and cleaned artichoke) or drizzled over steamed asparagus (or served in a small dish on the side). Store any leftover in the refrigerator for one day. Fills 4 large artichokes.

A Simple Green Salad

Any Season Salad Plate by Mary Briggs
Any Season Salad
Plate by Mary Briggs

I eat salad in some form almost every day. Eating salad helps me get in the daily minimum requirement of vegetables, fills me up and satisfies my desire for something crunchy, hopefully better than reaching for chips or crackers. Sometimes I make a generic tossed salad with whatever I happen to have in the crisper. Other times, I follow a recipe for a shredded cabbage, beet or carrot slaw (I will share these in future posts) or put together a composed salad from leftover cooked vegetables. What kind of salad I make depends on what is in season or available to buy.

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The following recipe is not extraordinary, just a simple, reliable salad based on ingredients that are almost always in stock at my local market (Mani Market on 94th and Columbus in New York) or at nearby chain stores like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods and will most likely be available at any good supermarket near you. I prefer to buy vegetables in season but in the northeast, that isn’t always possible. In summer and early fall, salad ingredients are abundant at our farmers’ markets but in other seasons, I depend on my local grocers. Bagged romaine (the 12 oz bag with 3 small heads), hothouse cukes, celery and fresh dill, all organic, are on their shelves year round. I think it is the dill that gives this particular salad its fresh taste while the rest of the vegetables provide crunch and textural variety.

This salad recipe is my go-to when I don’t have the energy to be creative. It comes together quickly so you can rely on making it in a pinch. It is a very basic recipe. Please vary it according to your preferences and the contents of your refrigerator. If you don’t like dill, use cilantro, chives or parsley. If you don’t have cucumbers, use green peppers or a leftover cooked vegetable such as asparagus or peas. And if you don’t have celery, use sliced daikon or jicama – something for crunch. If you don’t like sunflower seeds, use pumpkin or sesame or omit them completely. Finally, if you want to make this more of a main course salad, add a cup or so of crumbled feta cheese, cooked chicken or shrimp or cooked beans like kidney or cannellini. Fruit is a nice addition, especially orange or grapefruit sections. You can enrich the dressing, if you like it heavier, with a little yogurt or cream.

salad2

ANY SEASON SALAD

Place in a large salad bowl:

  • 1 12 oz bag or 1 large head romaine lettuce, torn in bite sized pieces
  • 1 long hothouse cucumber (or 4-5 mini cukes), sliced in half moons
  • 4-5 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 1 generous cup chopped dill without the heavier stems (probably a whole small or half of a large bunch)
  • 1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds (toasted adds flavor but raw is fine) – optional

For the dressing, mix together:

  • 2 TBs rice or apple cider vinegar
  • 3 TBs olive oil
  • Generous pinch each of salt, black pepper and garlic powder

Toss and serve. Feeds 4-6 as a side salad or, in our case, 2 with generous lunch leftovers. (Because the lettuce is romaine, this salad holds up well for the next day’s lunch).

 

Rethinking Watercress

I never paid much attention to watercress. For most of my life, it appeared only as an occasional garnish or in a salad in an upscale restaurant. Then one day, wanting something other than broccoli or bok choy, I ordered it as a cooked vegetable at our local Chinese restaurant. I was hooked! Bright green, garlicky, good texture (not mushy) and none of the bitterness of raw watercress – how could I resist? It was so flavorful that I was certain there had to be drawbacks: Surely it must contain MSG to make it taste so good? When I tried to replicate the dish in my kitchen, I was surprised when it was so easy to make. Just some chopped garlic sautéed in oil, a sprinkle of salt, a splash of broth or water and a lot more watercress than you might imagine – it shrinks almost as much as spinach. If you like a hearty helping of greens, plan at least one bunch per person. Leftovers are always welcome in our home – another vegetable for tomorrow that is already prepared.

Watercress is high in vitamins A, C and K among other nutrients and very low in calories (Let me Google that for you). More importantly to a cook, it is one of those green vegetables available at all times of year, especially valuable in winter and early spring when you are tired of kale and cauliflower. This simple recipe is especially delicious with mashed or boiled potatoes.

bowl by Mary Barringer
bowl by Mary Barringer

SAUTÉED WATERCRESS

  • 2 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
  • 1 Tablespoon olive, avocado or grapeseed oil
  • 1 big pinch of kosher or sea salt
  • 2 bunches of watercress, washed and cut in half (or smaller if you prefer more delicate bites)
  • 1/4 cup stock or water

Heat a large sauté pan and then add oil.

Add garlic and salt, turn heat to medium and cook about one minute – do not brown.

Add watercress and stir until beginning to change color and wilt.

Add the broth or water and stir occasionally until most of the water has evaporated and the watercress has softened, about 3-4 minutes. Some like it still crisp while others prefer it limp. Try it at various points in cooking the first time you make it until you figure out how you like it prepared. Taste for salt and add more if you feel it needs it.

Feeds 2 (in our home) -4 people as a side dish.