Lentils with Broiled Eggplant

It's definitely the time in the CSA season when I am looking for some new ways to cook vegetables.  As much as I like vegetable stews and soups, I just wasn't in the mood for them tonight.  I had bookmarked a recipe from thekitchn.com a few weeks ago, and this week's vegetable share allowed me to try it out!

I've simplified some of the directions, but feel free to look at the original recipe.

Lentils with Broiled Eggplant
adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty via thekitchn.com

2 medium eggplants
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 cup small dark lentils (such as Puy or Castelluccio), rinsed
3 small carrots, keep 1 whole and make 3/8-inch dice with the other two
3 celery stalks, keep 1 whole and make 3/8-inch dice with the other two
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 white onion, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp dried parsley
1 tsp dried dill
2 tbsp sour cream or plain yogurt
salt and black pepper

1. Pierce the eggplants with a sharp knife in a few places. Put them on a foil-lined tray and place directly under a hot broiler for 20 minutes, turning at least once. The eggplants will deflate, and their skin should burn and break.
2. Remove the eggplants from the heat, and turn the oven down to 275°F.  Cut a slit down the center of the eggplants and scoop out the flesh into a colander. Leave to drain for at least 15 minutes.  Then add 1/2 tablespoon of vinegar and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the drained eggplant.
3. Mix chopped celery and carrots with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Bake in oven for about 20 minutes until carrots just tender. 
4. Place the lentils in a medium saucepan with whole celery stalk and carrot, bay leaf, thyme and onion.  Cover with plenty of water and bring to the boil. Simmer on a low heat for up to 20 minutes, or until the lentils are tender.  Drain lentils and discard carrot, celery, and bay leaf. Transfer the lentils to a mixing bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and salt and pepper to the lentil mixture to taste. 
5. When cooked vegetables are done, mix them with the warm lentils, followed by parsley and dill. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Spoon the lentils onto serving plates. Pile some eggplant in the center of each portion and top it with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.

Yields: 4 servings

Active and total time: about an hour

The Last of the Summer Vegetables: Veggie Enchiladas and Black Beans and Rice

We had a wonderful 4-day weekend in Buffalo, but I came home to a week's worth of vegetables from our CSA still to cook!  I searched the internet to figure out what I could make to consume the most number of vegetables.  Since my night classes have started again, I was hoping for a good casserole dish so that I could make something ahead of time and reheat for the rest of the week.

I ended up combining a few different enchilada recipes I found online. There are definitely easier and faster ways to make enchiladas, but my goal this week was purely consumption of maximum vegetables.  If you want to make this faster, you can use a canned enchilada sauce or a simpler enchilada sauce recipe.

Vegetable Enchiladas with Black Beans and Rice
adapted from epicurious, allrecipes, Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything, and the back of a Goya can of black beans

Filling
1 tbsp butter
3 cups coarsely chopped zucchini and/or yellow crookneck squash
1 cup chopped onion
1 1/2 cups fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears) or frozen
1 4-ounce can diced mild green chilies
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

Sauce
2 large fresh medium-hot dried chiles, cored, seeded, and minced
3 tbsps corn oil
2 large onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 pounds tomatoes, cored and chopped with their liquid (about 3 cups, can also use canned)
1 cup water or chicken broth
1 tbsp sugar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsps freshly squeezed lime juice

Black beans and rice
2 tbsps olive oil
1 green pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15.5-ounce can of black beans (undrained)
1 tsp chile powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp oregano
3/4 cup water or chicken broth
cooked rice

10 six-inch corn tortillas

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Make filling.  Melt 1 tablespoon butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add zucchini and onion and sauté until vegetables are just tender, about 4 minutes. Mix in corn, canned chilies.  Remove filling from heat into bowl.  Stir in sour cream, ricotta cheese, and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese.  Set aside.
3. Make enchilada sauce.  Put oil in medium saucepan or deep skillet over medium-high heat.  When hot, add chiles, onions, and garlic.  Stir occasionally until onions soften, about 5 minutes.  Add tomatoes, sugar, water or chicken broth, salt, and pepper.  Cook for about 20 minutes.  Stir in lime juice.  Taste and adjust seasoning.  Puree in blender or food processor.
4. Make enchiladas. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Warm each tortilla for about 15 seconds or until flexible. (Can also microwave each for about 30 seconds in a damp paper towel). Place about 1/4 cup of filling in each tortilla.  Roll up, and place seam side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of Monterey Jack.  Place pan into oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes or until cheese begins browning.
5. Make black beans and rice. Heat oil in medium saucepan or skillet over medium heat.  Add onion, pepper, and garlic.  Cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Serve over rice.

Yields: 10 enchiladas
Total time: about 2 hours
Active time: about an hour

Crispy Fried Goodness: Egg Rolls!

I was craving some good, crispy egg rolls the other day, but I remember what a production making them was from watching my mom when I was little.  It was a lot easier to just watch someone make the egg rolls and then eat them!  However, since my mom wasn't here to make some for me and I didn't have any classes for a few weeks, I relished the opportunity to spend a few hours making egg rolls.

We have a deep fryer, but the husband (a.k.a. the person who has to clean up after my cooking escapades) requested that I just deep fry on the stove top instead. I agree that was easier for this recipe since the egg rolls fry up so quickly. I can't really see in the window of our deep fryer, and the egg rolls really do require frequent monitoring. It was pretty fun flipping them while they were floating in oil and seeing them get darker!

A few recipe notes:

• If you don't have a whole afternoon to prep and cook, I would recommend making the filling the day before. It's a lot of chopping!  
• The original recipe called for celery, but I didn't have any and didn't miss it.  
• My mom used to serve egg rolls with a vinegar sauce, but I opted for a 50-50 mix of water and soy sauce heated in the microwave.  
• If having a dinner party, I probably would use wonton wrappers and make mini egg rolls!

Chinese Egg Rolls
adapted from epicurious.com

2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 teaspoons Asian sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
About 4 cups peanut or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic
1 1/2 bunches scallions (about 10), white and pale green parts cut into 2-inch lengths, then cut lengthwise into very thin matchsticks (2 1/2 cups)
1 medium carrot, cut into very thin matchsticks (1 cup)
8 large fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps sliced 1/4 inch thick (3 cups)
1 lb medium shrimp in shell, peeled, deveined, and coarsely chopped
1/4 lb ground pork
1 (1-lb) package Asian egg roll or spring roll wrappers
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Make filling

1. Stir together oyster sauce, soy sauce, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a small bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved.
2. Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add 2 tablespoons peanut oil, swirling skillet to coat. 
3. Stir-fry ginger, garlic, and scallions until scallions are wilted, about 1 minute. 
4. Add carrots and mushrooms and stir-fry until vegetables are softened, 4 to 6 minutes. 
5. Push vegetables toward edge of skillet, then add shrimp and pork to center and stir-fry until shrimp are just cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes. 
6. Add oyster sauce mixture and stir together all ingredients in skillet until combined. 
7. Season with salt and transfer to a large shallow bowl. 
8. Cool, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes.

Make egg rolls

1. Put 1 wrapper on a work surface, arranging wrapper with a corner nearest you and keeping remaining wrappers covered with plastic wrap. 
2. Spread a scant 1/4 cup filling horizontally across center of wrapper to form a 4-inch log. Fold bottom corner over filling, then fold in side corners. Brush top corner with egg and roll up wrapper tightly to enclose filling, sealing roll closed with top corner. Transfer roll, seam side down, to a paper-towel-lined baking sheet and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Make more egg rolls in same manner, transferring to baking sheet as formed (you may have some filling left over).
3. Heat 1 to 2 inches of peanut oil in a wide heavy pot (at least a 4-quart pot) until it registers 350°F on an instant thermometer
4. Fry 2 egg rolls (don't crowd pot), turning with a slotted spoon, until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to paper towel-lined colander and drain rolls upright 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Fry remaining egg rolls in batches, transferring to colander.
6. Serve immediately.

Yield: 12 to 14

Total time: About 2.5 to 3 hours

Cream of Zucchini Soup with Shrimp

So, most of my recent cooking has revolved around whatever vegetables we get in our weekly CSA box. The box has been an inspiration to try new recipes.  I've explored all types of squash, radishes, turnips, chard, and kale this summer.  I've found that soup is a wonderful way to use a mixture of the week's leftover vegetables.  Now that the weather is getting a little cooler, I believe veggie soup will be on our home menu more often!

This particular recipe from allrecipes.com uses a can of cream of mushroom soup.  I don't think the recipe really needs it, but I had a can in the pantry to throw into the pot.  Delicious with some seared shrimp!

Cream of Zucchini Soup with Shrimp
adapted from allrecipes.com
4 cups diced zucchini (about two medium squash)

• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 8 medium shrimp, shelled
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 3/4 cups milk
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1. In a large stock pot saute zucchini, carrots and onion in butter, until done, approximately 20 minutes.
2. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat.  Sear shrimp, about one minute per side.  Remove from heat and set aside.
3. In a small mixing bowl combine flour and milk. Mix until smooth and then add to stock pot.
4. Cook soup until thickened and then puree with stick blender until smooth and creamy.
5. Add cream of mushroom soup, chicken broth, wine and yogurt. Simmer until heated through and then serve with shrimp on top.

Yield: 4-6 servings

Total time:  45 minutes, half active

Chive and Gruyere Popovers

Wow!  It's been too long since I've posted.  I am still cooking, but finding time to post has been challenging.  I have a bunch of recipes and pictures saved up, so hopefully I'll be able to post a bunch of them before classes start again.

I might have to change the name of this blog to The Perfect Popover as there are now more popover recipes than dumpling ones!  I didn't grow up eating popovers, so I'm not sure why I really wanted to start making them.  The name just makes them sound delicious.  Now I have a popover pan; I need to put it to good use.  I was disappointed with my last popover outing, but I decided to try my hand at popovers again.

This time, I used a basic recipe from Epicurious because one reviewer said her 10-year-old kid made them, and they were delicious.  I added the chives and cheese to make them a bit more interesting, and everything's better with cheese!  I saw that different popover recipes had different egg to flour ratios, so I made this recipe twice in the last two weeks.  My husband voted for the ratio in the source recipe based on his excellent tastetesting skills.

Any suggestions for more popover flavorings?  I think I have to make a bunch more popovers before that pan pays for itself!

Chive and Gruyere Popovers
based on a recipe from epicurious.com


1 tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 6 pieces
2 large eggs, lightly beaten, at room temperature
1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon minced chives
1 ounce Gruyere cheese, shredded

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F for 20 minutes. Place 1 piece of butter in the bottom of each cup of a six-cup popover tin (or six 1/2-cup custard cups). Place the popover pan on a baking sheet.
2. In a smaller bowl, lightly whisk the eggs until they change color. Whisk in the milk.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt until well blended. Gently whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until only small lumps are left, and set aside.
4. Place the popover tin and baking sheet in the oven for 4 minutes. At 3 minutes, give the batter a light whisk and add chives. 
5. Using an oven mitt, remove the hot tin from the oven and immediately divide the batter among the prepared cups. Evenly divide shredded cheese and sprinkle on top of each cup.  
6. Bake for 25 minutes without opening the oven door. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 popovers

Total time: about an hour, half active

I'm back! Pan-Fried Whole Tilapia with Garlic-Ginger Sauce

Okay, it's been over three months since I've posted, but life has been busy.  I really can't remember a time when life was so busy, and yes, that includes residency!  It wasn't the hours so much but how much work bled into my home life.  I was barely cooking over the last few months, but I'm looking forward to spending a lot of time cooking this summer.  In truth, I really missed cooking, but it wasn't fun when I had to do it just to eat.  I love trying out new recipes.  Our vegetable CSA with Farmer Dave's starts soon, and I'll have to stay home and figure out what to do with all those veggies before they go bad.  I'm excited for the challenge.

Last night, I decided to venture back into the seafood section of my local Chinese grocery store.  I've been intimidated by it before.  There are no numbers or any order whatsoever to determine who is next to be served.  You just have to push to the front and get the attention of someone.  Some of the Chinese grandmothers even start grabbing fish that are laid out on the ice and throwing them into bags to hand to the guys to clean.  I've been so frustrated in the past that I've left the counter and decided to get something else for dinner instead.  Luckily, it wasn't too crowded yesterday, and I didn't have to elbow a grandma to get my fish.

Pan-Fried Whole Tilapia with Garlic-Ginger Sauce
adapted from Mark Bittman's "Crispy Sea Bass or Other Small Whole Fish with Garlic-Ginger Suace" in How to Cook Everything

vegetable oil
1 whole tilapia or similar fish, about 1.5 pounds, gilled, gutted, and scaled with head on
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil

1. Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add vegetable oil to a depth of 1/4 for an inch and heat for 3 or 4 minutes.

2. Pat fish dry.  Put fish in oil and cook undisturbed for about 8 minutes on first side.  Turn carefully with two spatulas.

3.  While fish is cooking, heat two tablespoons of oil over medium heat in a small saucepan.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook until garlic begins to color.  Keep warm.

4.  Cook fish on second side for 8 to 10 minutes or until flesh offers little resistance to knife or chopstick.

5.  Remove fish to a plate.  Drizzle with garlic ginger sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil.  Serve immediately.

The Search for Crispy Skin: Stovetop Roast Chicken with Lemon Herb Sauce

I'm surprised I haven't posted about this recipe already. The first time I made this chicken was a revelation to me--even the breast meat was juicy and the skin was crispy.  Of course, there's an extra step or two more than how I would usually pan roast chicken.  You have to crisp the skin then cook the chicken through then crisp the skin again, but the results are definitely worth it!  This makes for a nice weekend dinner that's easier for me than a traditional roast chicken, mostly because I haven't mastered covering a hot chicken.

The key to this recipe as with most roasting is having a good meat thermometer.  I used to use a Polder probe thermometer that would stay in the meat with a separate screen that monitored the meat and over temperatures.  The first one I had was great, and I used it for years.  However, eventually the temperatures became more inaccurate, and the replacement I purchased didn't work.  I spent a few years avoiding roasting altogether, lusting over the Thermapen recommended by Cook's Illustrated (CI).  However, I couldn't justify spending almost $100 on a meat thermometer.  Thankfully, the good people at CI did a kitchen test of inexpensive meat thermometers last year, and I purchased the recommended CDN ProAccurate Quick-Read Thermometer for about $13.  While I miss the convenience of a probe thermometer, the CDN Quick-Read lives up to its name, registering the temperature much faster than my old Polder. While cooking at my sister's this past Christmas, I found out she didn't have a working meat thermometer, and I immediately express shipped her the CDN thermometer!

If you're interested in hearing more about whether a Thermapen is worth the money, check out my former cooking teacher's kitchen test of meat thermometers.

Stovetop Roast Chicken with Lemon Herb Sauce

adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Chicken
3 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken parts (breasts, thighs, and drumsticks, or a mix, with breasts cut in half), trimmed of excess fat
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 - 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth

Lemon-Herb Sauce
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 small onion, minced
1 teaspoon unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter

1. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken pieces skin-side down and cook without moving until golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Using tongs, flip chicken pieces skin-side up. Reduce heat to medium-low, add 3/4 cup broth to skillet, cover, and cook until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of chicken registers 155 degrees for breasts and 170 degrees for legs and thighs, 10 to 16 minutes (smaller pieces may cook faster than larger pieces). Transfer chicken to plate, skin-side up.

3. Pour off liquid from skillet into 2-cup measuring cup and reserve. Using tongs, wipe skillet with paper towels. Add remaining teaspoon oil to skillet and heat over medium-high heat until oil is shimmering. Return chicken pieces skin-side down and cook undisturbed until skin is deep golden brown and crisp and it reaches 160 degrees for breasts and 175 degrees for legs and thighs, 4 to 7 minutes. Transfer to serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Using spoon, skim fat from reserved cooking liquid and add enough broth to measure 3/4 cup.

4. Heat teaspoon of oil in now-empty skillet over low heat. Add shallot and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high, add reserved cooking liquid, and bring to simmer, scraping skillet bottom with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Simmer rapidly until reduced to 1/2 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in any accumulated juices from resting chicken; return to simmer and cook 30 seconds. Off heat, whisk in lemon juice, parsley, and butter; season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce around chicken and serve immediately.

Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 45 to 60 minutes, mostly active