Beans, Beans, the Magical Fruit: Red Lentil Soup

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Soup

This is one of those recipes that I have to confess I came up with by throwing together pantry ingredients when I was looking for a quick and easy supper to make. I had some red lentils leftover from another recipe and thought, “What can I do with those?” A quick look around and I saw a can of diced tomatoes, chicken stock, herbs and the usual mirepoix (onion, celery, carrot) and thought they’d make a great hearty soup, especially in the slow-cooker, which really shines for cooking beans.

The soup (or stew—it’s thick) was amazing, if I do say so myself. Very flavorful and even better when reheat it a day or two later. I also had some Irish banger sausages in the freezer that I threw in, but you could substitute a different kind of sausage and still come up with a great main course soup. You could even go vegetarian—just leave out the meat and swap the chicken stock for vegetable.

Ingredients
½ onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced (or do what I do—use baby carrots already peeled and ready)
2 stalks celery, sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 quart chicken stock (homemade is best, but who has time for that?)
2 cups red lentils (I suppose another color would suffice too)
1 teaspoon dried basil
2 teaspoons herbes de Provence
1/2 teaspoon each garlic powder and onion powder
½ lb. sausage (I used bangers, but a good chicken sausage or Andouille, would also work well—just, for God’s sake—don’t use breakfast links)
Salt and pepper to taste (I am generous with my S&P); the best way to do salt and pepper is be conservative at the start of the recipe and taste and adjust just before serving.

Directions
Really, this couldn’t be easier. Simply dump all the above into a slow cooker, stir, cover and set to low for 8-9 hours. The great thing about dried lentils is they need no pre-soaking or prep (you might want to pick through quickly to make sure there are no stones mixed in).

At the end of cooking, remove sausage, halve lengthwise, then slice, and return to soup.
(Serves 4-6)

I served with grated cheese and more freshly ground black pepper. A loaf of crusty bread is almost a must-have with this.

Cover Reveal: Dinner at Home

BIG COVER REVEAL!

My "romance with recipes" just got a new face, courtesy of cover artist extraordinaire, Reese Dante. I'm just thrilled with it. Here's the blurb for the book, which comes out in May:

It only takes a few days for Ollie D'Angelo to lose his boyfriend, his job, and his home. Instead of mourning what he doesn’t have, Ollie celebrates what he does: the freedom to pursue his real passion—cooking. He begins Dinner at Home, a home-catering business, and it takes off.

Late one night, Ollie catches Hank Mellinger, a street-wise hood down on his luck, about to rob his car. Ollie soon discovers that appearances aren’t necessarily what they seem. Hank isn’t a criminal caught red-handed but a hungry young man trying to make a life for himself and the four-year-old niece he’s trying desperately to take care of. 

Instead of calling the cops, Ollie offers Hank a job and a way to pull himself up by his bootstraps. Together, they discover they can really cook... and that their shared passion for food just might lead to a passion for each other.

Dinner from Home will appear soon on Dreamspinner Press's Coming Soon page and you can pre-order. It will be widely available beginning in May.

Fish on Friday: Parmesan Crusted Tilapia and Arugula Salad

When I was a little Catholic boy growing up in the 1960s, fish on Friday was pretty much a given. For my mom, it was usually breaded cod, fried, a salad with oil and vinegar, and homemade mac and cheese. Hey, if we didn't eat this way, we'd go to Hell! I pity those poor fools burning down there now while the rest of us lapsed Catholics can munch away on meat on Friday with impunity.

When I cook, I often like to forge a connection to my past and these two recipes below do just that.

Parmesan Crusted Tilapia
2 tilapia (or other white fish) filets
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup grated Parmesan (please grate it yourself! Parmigiano-Reggiano is a staple at my house)
3/4 cup panko bread crumbs (or make your own if you're inspired)
1 t red pepper flakes
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried basil
i t garlic power
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil

Heat skillet over medium-high heat and add in a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Mix breadcrumbs and seasonings on a plate. Rinse filets, pat dry, and season with salt and pepper. Dip in egg then in seasoned panko crumbs, coating both sides. Immediately place in hot skillet (you should hear a sizzle). Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip, and cook for another 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

Arugula, Blueberry, and Beecher Salad
Note: This is more of a technique, but the dressing below is one of my go-to salad dressings. I rarely buy store-bought dressings; this dressing is one example of why not. It's simple, fresh, and takes about a minute to make.

Everyday Dressing
In the bottom of a salad bowl, drizzle about a quarter cup of good quality olive oil, drop in 2-3 tablespoons of red wine vinegar, add in 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic (I use my mincer, but you can certainly mince with a knife, just make sure it's very fine). Whisk until the ingredients emulsify or come together with no separation.

Top the dressing with a couple big handfuls of baby arugula (or greens of your choice). I work with handfuls, but I am guessing about three cups for this amount of dressing. Sprinkle on a handful of fresh blueberries and about a quarter cup of your favorite cheese, coarsely grated or use a vegetable peeler. I like Seattle's own Beecher's Flagship with this.

Mix it all up with tongs and serve as a side with the fish. Up to you if you want to add a starch.

Yes, yes, I know this is going out on Monday. I'm just giving you time to shop and plan for it!

Panettone French Toast

One of our Christmas traditions at our house is to buy a panetonne, the gorgeous Italian bread-that-could-pass-for-cake traditionally served at the holidays. It's sweet, delicious, and usually filled with pieces of candied fruit (the one we got this year is chocolate and figs) Since there's only two of us, we usually can't eat all of it. But last year, I hit upon the idea (and I know it's not my idea alone; nothing new under the sun and all that) of making some of the panettone into French toast.

It's super easy and makes a wonderful Christmas morning breakfast. Here's my recipe for two; be fruitful and multiply if you want to make more.

Panetonne French Toast

Ingredients
4 thick slices panetonne
4 eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1/4 cup milk
dash of cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1 T sugar
pinch of salt
zest of one lemon
juice of half that same lemon (oranges work equally well, too)
splash of Grand Marnier (Triple Sec would work too and I bet bourbon wouldn't be bad either)

Also:
Butter for pan
Powdered sugar and/or fresh berries for garnish
Maple syrup

Directions
Set a griddle or large pan over medium heat; put a generous pat of butter on the surface. While the

butter is melting whisk together all the ingredients except for the panettone (d'uh). When the butter has melted, dip each piece of panettone in the egg/milk mixture. It will soak it up quickly, so no need to leave it soaking. Take each slice out, shake off excess mixture and lay on griddle or in pan. Let cook approximately 4-5 minutes per side, depending on thickness and how high you have your heat. In other words, just check your slices, when they're golden brown, flip 'em over.

Serve with powdered sugar, maple syrup, and fresh berries if you have them. And yes, I know Sophia Petrillo would tell you that, "If God intended for us to eat like that, He would have handed us our teeth in a bag." But this is for a special occasion and you're not going to have it every morning. Mangia!

Veggie Minestrone

The following recipe is pretty close to the one in the wonderful book, Cook This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding. That recipe is a slimmed-down version of the minestrone served at Carraba's Italian Grill. This goes great with some crusty Italian bread and a green salad.

Vegetarian Minestrone

 (Serves 6-8)

 Ingredients 
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup diced potato (peel or unpeeled, your choice; I like the skin)
2 carrots, diced
1 medium zucchini or yellow squash diced
1 cup fresh green beans, ends trimmed and halved
1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, diced
1 T tomato paste
1 t dried thyme
1 t dried basil
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 bay leaf
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes in juice with Italian seasonings
4 cups chicken stock
4 cups mushroom stock (or all chicken stock or use vegetable if you want to keep truly vegetarian) Salt and pepper, to taste
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
Grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Pesto, optional

Instructions 
1. Heat oil over medium heat.
2. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring, for five minutes.
3. Add potato, carrots, zucchini, and green beans and cook until the vegetables are just beginning to soften.
 4. Add the bay leaf, crushed red pepper, tomatoes, sun-dried tomatoes, tomato paste, thyme, basil, and stock. Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer for as little as 15 minutes and up to 45 minutes (longer is better, in my book, but keep it at a simmer and give it a stir once in a while).
5. Add cannellini beans and warm through.
6. Adjust taste with salt and pepper.
7. Serve topped with Parmesan and a dollop of your favorite pesto.