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A Good Dish

making food simpler

Udon With Vegetables Might Be Your New Go To Comfort Recipe

February 4, 2021

 

Udon with Broccoli, Mushrooms and Garlic
Stoneware Serving Dish by Nick Joerling

There are so many different kinds of Japanese noodles and so many ways to prepare them. Ramen, a thin wheat noodle, is most commonly eaten in soup. Soba noodles, at least part and sometimes all buckwheat flour, are perhaps the most versatile, used for dipping in sauces, in soup, chilled and dressed with a sesame sauce, pan fried or as a side for tempura. Somen, a very thin white wheat noodle, is served chilled to dip in a sauce or warm in soup. Udon, a thicker, wheat flour noodle, is most commonly served with a dipping sauce or in soup but may be pan fried, my favorite preparation. There are also yam, rice and potato starch noodles, all without gluten, used in soup or for dipping.

Sautéed garlic mashed with a fork in the pan

I’ve always preferred soba over udon, choosing buckwheat over white wheat flour for a more robust taste, when eating Japanese noodles that are not ramen. But over the years I’ve warmed to udon, especially now that there are some whole wheat varieties. Like most noodles—eastern or western—udon is best when it is not overcooked so it maintains a toothsome chew.

Mushrooms cooking with the smashed garlic

The udon recipe I like best is one I learned at the now defunct Natural Gourmet Cookery School (RIP!) and this is my adaptation of that recipe. It combines eastern (udon and umeboshi plum vinegar) and western (Italian herbs and olive oil) ingredients with those used in both the East and West (garlic, mushroom, broccoli) so it’s quite a global dish. Easy to make and loved by kids as well as adults, it is good leftover either cold or warmed up. Do yourself a favor and make a double recipe so you can serve it again in a day or two, if you can resist eating it straight out of the fridge before then.

Udon with Vegetables and Italian Herbs
Stoneware Serving Dish by Nick Joerling

UDON PRIMAVERA

  • 8 oz dry udon noodles (or soba or even spaghetti)
  • 2 Tbs olive oil (more if you find it too dry at the end)
  • 1 bunch broccoli (3+ cups bite sized pieces)
  • 1 head garlic, separated into cleaned whole cloves
  • 3 cups sliced mushrooms, Cremini or any mix you like
  • 1 Tbs dried oregano
  • 1 tsp dried basil
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • Pinch salt and pepper
  • 2 Tbs umeboshi plum vinegar (more to taste but sparingly)
  • Put up a big pot of water to boil (for udon).

Blanche broccoli in boiling water 2 minutes, scoop out, drain and set aside.

Heat oil in a large sauté pan and add whole garlic cloves.

When the garlic begins to soften, smash each clove with a fork, breaking it down into strands.

Add mushrooms, pinch of salt and pepper and continue to cook until mushrooms lose water. Add herbs and broccoli and cook about 2 minutes longer until all are well mixed and cooked.

While cooking vegetables, cook udon in the boiled broccoli water, stirring several times until al dente. Drain and add to cooked vegetables. Add vinegar to all and toss well. Taste and add more vinegar or oil, if needed. Serve immediately.

Leftovers keep well and can be eaten at room temperature or reheated.

Serves 4.

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Filed Under: leftover, Recipes, Starches

A Savory Barley Salad For Personal Mid-Pandemic Celebrations Of Labor Day

September 7, 2020

Vegetable Barley Salad
Squared Stoneware Bowl by Royce Yoder

Labor Day is not only the American celebration of workers but also the traditional day off to mark the end of summer even though technically the fall equinox is still weeks away. Although this has been a strange summer for so many reasons, September’s cooler nights and memories of back to school spark hopefulness for me. Labor Day usually brings to mind union parades, barbecues and last gasp summer picnics. With all that not happening, I propose we try to use the day this year to recharge for all the political work ahead. We can still grill or picnic, even if by ourselves, with the people we live with or distanced with our neighbors rather than in unsafe large gatherings. A great dish for a still-warm-but-getting-cooler outdoor meal is a zesty barley salad with lots of vegetables and herbs.

Barley is a nutritional powerhouse. It happens to be one of my favorite grains and I am always looking for new ways to use it. I found a recipe for a cold barley salad by Melissa Clark using barley and it was pleasant, a little bit tangy and chewy in a good way, but needed some oomph. Maybe in ordinary times it would have been enough but in these fraught days, I seem to want stronger flavors. There is something soothing about barley, perhaps the sweetness or the density of the “chew,” but it can take quite a lot of seasoning. So I used Clark’s recipe as a springboard and tried to add crunch and zing.

A few types of barley
Any will work in this recipe

Barley needs to be cooked thoroughly, but overcook it and it turns to mush. This is great if you want a porridge, but for a salad you want some density so watch the cooking time and keep  testing while it simmers. I tried both pearled Italian and black barley because they cook faster (important when there is no air conditioning in your kitchen) but hulled works, too, for more nutrition and fiber. If you don’t eat gluten, try making this with Job’s Tears (little orbs of chewiness that for years I thought was a type of barley but is a completely different grass seed called coix seed) but it is harder to find.

Raw vegetables add textural contrast, color and nutrition to the barley and hold up to whatever vinaigrette you use. I find them most appealing finely diced rather than in big chunks or slices, but that is a personal preference. I use dill and parsley but fresh cilantro, basil, oregano or mint could all work. My vinaigrette is pretty simple with garlic, cumin, lemon or lime juice and mustard but curry, balsamic, tamarind or sesame could be delicious additions. Carrots, celery and jalapeños are my go-to veggies here but chopped cukes, roasted peppers, cooked corn, sun-dried tomatoes, avocado or radish would be good, too. A rinsed can of beans makes this salad a complete vegan protein or you can serve it as a starch alongside some cold or grilled chicken or fish. Make it a few hours ahead and the flavors will really pop. Composed of mostly pantry ingredients, this salad is an easy one dish meal for a warm end of summer day. Happy Labor Day!

Barley Salad with Vegetables
Stoneware Bowl by Royce Yoder

EASY BARLEY SALAD

  • 1 generous cup uncooked pearled or hulled barley
  • 2 medium carrots, finely diced
  • 2 stalks celery, finely diced
  • 1 jalapeño, fresh or pickled, finely diced
  • 2 TBs (or more to taste) fresh dill, chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 2-3 scallions, finely sliced
  • 8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
  • 1 red or yellow bell pepper, finely diced (optional)
  • 1-2 cups cooked beans (optional)
  • 1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan (optional)

Dressing:

  • 2 garlic cloves, grated
  • 3 TBs fresh lime (or lemon) juice plus zest of 1 lime (or lemon)
  • 1 1/2 tsps ground cumin
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 TBs umeboshi plum or other vinegar (optional but tasty)
  • 3 TBs olive oil

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil, add a pinch of salt and barley, stir and simmer until just cooked (15-45 minutes depending on the barley you use). Drain well and put in a non-reactive mixing bowl. One cup dry should yield 3-4 cups cooked.

Add carrots, celery, jalapeño, tomatoes, parsley, scallions, peppers, beans and Parmesan if using.

In a small bowl or glass jar, combine grated garlic, lime juice, cumin, dill, mustard, salt & pepper, ume vinegar and oil. Whisk or shake to emulsify. Pour over barley mixture, toss well and adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve warm or at room temperature, especially pretty on a bed of arugula or lettuce. Set out a bottle of hot sauce for those who desire it.

Lasts 2-3 days covered in the fridge

Echinacea

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Filed Under: Recipes, Starches

Cold Sesame Noodles: A Simple, Spicy And Addictive Recipe That Is An Easy Fix On A Hot Summer Day

July 1, 2020

Sesame noodles with peas and shoots
Stoneware plate by Mary Barringer

The Upper West Side of Manhattan used to be home to loads of good Chinese restaurants. Every few blocks, there was another reliably decent spot. Unfortunately, with gentrification came rising rents. As a result, our favorite local Chinese restaurants, Empire Szechuan and Chun Cha Fu, have been closed for years and we’ve never found a satisfactory replacement in our neighborhood. We can always go to to Chinatown or Flushing but we sure do miss having a good local standby. 

Small stoneware plates
by Mary Barringer

I ate at Empire when I first moved to the Upper West Side, when I was dating my husband, with our son and my sister and her family and with my in-laws as well as with out-of-town guests. It was our go-to for delivery whenever I just couldn’t cook. Their spicy soups got me through a lot of colds in my 20’s. Chun Cha Fu (now Carmine’s) had banquet rooms that could serve 3 or 4 families at big round tables with an enormous turntable in the center for rotating dishes. My husband’s family ate there when he was a kid and my family went there with 2 others to celebrate our college graduation. In college, we often ate at the Cantonese style Moon Palace a few blocks from school, but once we discovered the sesame noodles (and everything else) at Empire, there was no turning back. That big plate of spicy and sweet cold noodles with a heap of julienned cucumber was my gateway dish to a whole other world of food. 

I like udon in this recipe
but spaghetti or Chinese egg noodles
or soba also work well

I recently got a craving for those noodles and since there isn’t a local Szechuan place I can reliably order from, I decided to recreate them as best I could. There are lots of sesame noodle recipes out there. Some use tahini and others peanut butter. Some include black tea, sriracha, garlic oil or sugar. I culled the ingredients that I thought would taste good and then added a splash of mirin, a Japanese rice wine that is definitely not traditional but gave a little sweetness without added sugar. I didn’t have cucumber so, since I am trying to make do with what I do have, I substituted frozen peas, scallions and some pea shoots I’ve been growing in a sunny window. (When I made it a second time, I added the more traditional cucumber but actually liked the peas better). I used udon noodles but spaghetti, egg or rice noodles would work, too. If you are not eating any flour or grain, I think this sauce would be delicious on broccoli, chicken skewers or baked tofu. I’m not sure I got the recipe just like Empire’s but on a hot day when I didn’t want to heat up the kitchen, these cold noodles took me down memory lane and hit the spot.

Sesame noodles with cucumbers
Stoneware plate by Mary Barringer

SPICY SESAME NOODLES 

Cook one 8 oz package of udon noodles according to directions (don’t overcook), drain, cool with cold water and set aside. Save a splash of the pasta water to thin the sauce.

For the sauce whisk together:

  • 1/3 cup peanut butter, chunky or smooth or 1/4 cup tahini
  • 3 TBs soy sauce
  • 1 TBs neutral oil 
  • 1 TBs toasted sesame oil
  • 1TBs mirin
  • 1TBs rice or sherry vinegar
  • 1/2 tsp granulated garlic or 1TBs grated fresh garlic
  • 1 TBs grated ginger
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste (or chili oil or sriracha)

Loosen with a splash of the pasta water

Add noodles to sauce and toss to coat along with your choice of:

  • 1/2 cup frozen peas, blanched and cooled
  • 1 bell pepper, any color, julienned or diced
  • 2-3 scallions, thinly sliced
  • A big handful of pea shoots or bean sprouts
  • Cold cooked or blanched greens like arugula, watercress, spinach or kale
  • Even leftover broccoli could work in bite sized pieces

Top with your choice of:

  • Toasted sesame seeds
  • Chopped peanuts
  • Chopped fresh cilantro, parsley or mint
  • Julienned cucumber
  • Squeeze of lime juice
  • Thinly sliced or cubed baked tofu

Serves 3-4 people (or 2 if your son is hungry) and can be easily doubled to serve more or leave in the fridge to eat the next day. It makes a perfect picnic lunch. 

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Filed Under: Recipes, Restaurants, Starches

Kitchari/Khichri Is A Comfort Food For These Stressful Moments In Which We Need Comfort Where We Can Find It

May 25, 2020

 

Kitchari/Khichri is easy comfort food
Stoneware bowl by Melissa Weiss

On a “normal” Memorial Day weekend, I would be posting ideas for a picnic or barbecue but there is nothing normal about this year. Instead, I will share one of my comfort food recipes, kitchari (also known as khichri, khichdi, khichuri and other variations). In times of stress, like during this pandemic, we tend to crave whatever it is we personally think of as filling and soothing food. For different people, that means different things. Some will go for macaroni and cheese, goldfish crackers or chicken pot pies. For others, pizza, grilled cheese or a big bowl of minestrone or chicken soup with a side of crusty bread will do it. My mom always goes for meatloaf and mashed potatoes. I have a friend in Virginia for whom simple buttered toast does the trick. I’ve noticed that my family has been carbo loading, eating more pasta, rice and bread than usual and our fair share of my go-to garlicky bean salad (which I’ve been making with big scarlet runner beans). Maybe that is because those are the stable ingredients we have on hand or maybe starchy things calm or soothe, I’m not sure. Maybe both. I find both cooking and eating comforting and I have been doing quite a lot, as have, I believe, many people, judging by how hard it became to procure those ingredients!

Split mung beans known as moong dahl
Inlaid Stoneware bowl by Melissa Weiss

One of my many comfort foods, kitchari, a combination of basmati rice with mung beans and spices, is also one of the easiest to make. I first tasted it a few years ago at Kripalu, a wellness center in the Berkshires, and then learned to make it from their cookbook, in which they call it the “chicken soup of India.” Yes, it is an appropriated taste but so are falafel, spaghetti, fried rice, posole and salsa and chips, all in my top 10 of comfort foods. In my mind, it is the East Asian version of rice and beans, another popular comfort food which takes various forms in so many cultures. Think Cuban yellow rice with black beans, Louisiana red beans and rice, Italian riso e fagioli with tomatoes, Persian herbed rice with fava beans, Japanese red bean rice made with aduki beans and southern Hoppin’ John. Jeremy Rock Smith, Kripalu’s chef, explains that “kitchari provides a full complement of beneficial amino acids in a complete meal that is easy to digest.” Perhaps that is one reason it is so soothing.

Measure spices before you start cooking
Stoneware bowls, each 2″ tall, by Melissa Weiss

This is also an adaptable dish that can accommodate what you have in your pantry. If you don’t have split mung beans, you can use whole (but make sure you’ve soaked them overnight), or use lentils. If you are eating grain free, use riced cauliflower. This recipe is easily doubled so you will have leftovers for breakfast or lunch the next day. You can make kitchari soupy or dry, gently or highly seasoned and plain or topped with scallions or sesame seeds. If you want it to be warming, add fresh ginger and cinnamon. Add more greens and cilantro for cooling. If you have already cooked veggies, add them at the end of cooking. My son and husband find it bland (they don’t love it but humor me and eat it) and add huge amounts of hot sauce. I like kitchari because it is tasty, filling, inexpensive, quick and easy to make from ingredients you probably have at home plus filling and soothing. What could be more comforting?

Add whatever vegetables you like to make kitchari to your taste

KITCHARI/KHICHRI

  • 1 TBs ghee or vegetable oil
  • 1 tsp brown or black mustard seeds
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp fennel seeds (optional)
  • 2 or 3 cracked green cardamom pods (optional)
  • 1 tsp turmeric 
  • 1 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup moong dahl (split mung beans) or lentils
  • 1 cup white basmati rice
  • 5-6 cups broth or water (Start with 5 and add depending on how soupy you like it)
  • 2-3 cups chopped vegetables (chopped carrots, greens, cauliflower, celery, etc)
  • 1/2 tsp fine sea salt (or to taste)
  • Chopped cilantro
  • Lemon wedges, for serving

Rinse the beans or lentils and rice until water runs clear and set aside. 

Measure out seeds and spices and set aside. 

Heat the ghee or oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. 

Add seeds and stir until they pop. Add the powdered spices and bay leaves and cook another 30 seconds, stirring. 

Add the beans and rice and cook 2-3 minutes to toast. 

Add the vegetables and liquid, bring to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. Cover and cook another 15-20 minutes until soft. Add more liquid if you want it softer or soupier. Turn off but leave covered and let sit a few minutes. Stir in the salt and a handful of chopped cilantro and serve with lemon wedges, chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds (and hot sauce) so people can add what they please. 

Serves 4-6 and stores well in the refrigerator for a few days. Reheated leftovers make a good breakfast or lunch. This recipe can be doubled easily if you want to cook once and eat many times. 

Set of 4 deep bowls, each 4-41/2″ tall
Slab/mold built stoneware with ash and underglaze by Melissa Weiss

Melissa Weiss makes some of the funkiest, loosest and friendliest (not unlike the potter herself) pots around. Her pieces are handbuilt (from clay she digs herself in Arkansas) and have an appealing directness both in structure and surface. Weiss layers slips and glazes over her wild clay, as she says, “to complement the clay as opposed to covering it up”and she fires in reduction in a gas kiln, reduction cooled with wood. We actually felt fortunate to be able to buy this set of 4 blue bowls recently (her online sales go lightningly fast) and are so enjoying using them as well as just having them on our table.

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Filed Under: Recipes, Starches

Wild Rice Salad Is An Easy-To-Make And Easy-To-Vary Summer Meal

June 28, 2018

Wild Rice Salad with Dried Cherries
Earthenware Sheep Cup by Ayumi Horie

One of the simplest and most universally liked dishes I serve at parties or take to a potluck is a wild rice salad with walnuts, cherries, parsley and an orange raspberry vinaigrette. All you do is mix together the cooked wild rice with finely chopped raw vegetables, a dried fruit, nuts or seeds and toss with an easy dressing. You might think of wild rice as a Thanksgiving food but this salad makes a great summer meal because all you have to cook is the wild rice and then add the other, uncooked, ingredients.

Originally, I got a version of this recipe from the Whole Foods website. It is like the one that shows up on their salad bar from time to time. I just varied it to meet my tastes. It is an extremely flexible recipe. Almost every ingredient in the salad may be substituted for by another depending on season and what you have on hand. No celery, use fennel or zucchini. No red onion, use scallions or shallots. No dried cherries, use cranberries, currants or apricots or substitute fresh berries, cherries or citrus sections. No walnuts, use almonds, pecans or pumpkin seeds. No red pepper, use green, orange or yellow peppers or jalapeños, jicama or leave it out altogether. I had sugar snap peas this week so I sliced some and tossed them in. If you don’t like the raspberry vinegar in the dressing, use wine, pomegranate or sherry vinegar instead.

Last week I had some leftover wild rice and I tried a completely different version, essentially rice mixed with a Greek salad minus the lettuce. I added chopped cucumber, radishes, scallions (I didn’t have any red onion), cherry tomatoes, arugula, crumbled feta cheese, oregano and a dash of cayenne to about an equal amount of wild rice and tossed it with a balsamic vinaigrette. It made a very tasty and quite satisfying summer supper plus it held up well for lunch the next day. You could also use the raspberry version as a main course since it contains nuts for protein, or top it with crumbled feta or goat cheese, baked tofu strips, bacon or cooked salmon and plate it on a bed of arugula or lettuce leaves.

Greek salad version of wild rice salad
Earthenware dish by Ayumi Horie

Wild rice is really a nutritional grass and like true rice, its cousin, it does not contain gluten. It can be blended with brown rice in this recipe, if you prefer a milder flavor or have leftover rice to use up. This salad is quite hearty and will last (and even improve in flavor) for a couple of days in the refrigerator. I often serve it at a buffet supper because it can sit out for hours. Every time, someone asks for the recipe.

Other side (verso) of Ayumi Horie’s Sheep Mug

WILD RICE SALAD WITH RASPBERRY VINAIGRETTE

Mix together:

  • 4-5 cups cooked wild rice (I cook it like pasta in lots of water until tender and then drain)
  • 1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
  • 1 cup finely chopped celery
  • 1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 1/2 cup chopped fresh red bell pepper
  • 1/3 cup dried cherries, without pits or 1 cup fresh cherries, pitted and sliced
  • 1/3 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, raw or lightly toasted

Toss with:

  • 2 TBs raspberry vinegar
  • 2 TBs orange juice
  • 3 TBs olive oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Serves 6 and keeps well for a few days refrigerated.

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Filed Under: Salads, Starches Tagged With: Ayumi Horie, Summer supper, Wild rice

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Welcome to A Good Dish

Here you will find recipes and ideas for easy to make and tasty meals, sources for interesting dinnerware on which to serve those meals and resources for ingredients, classes and food related travel. My goal is to make daily cooking simpler and to inspire you to try different recipes beyond the handful you already make repeatedly. I hope that relaying my experiences will enhance yours. Follow along and let me know about your own cooking and food journeys.

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