Tag Archives: dinner

Gypsy Soup

9 Apr

Gypsy Soup

Salty feta crumbles. Soft curls of Parmesan.

Barely wilted lacinato kale, forest green.

Tender chickpeas with rough cut veggies and just enough liquid to eat from a bowl.

Gypsy soup, a delightful vegetable soup that you can mix and match with whatever orange and green vegetables you desire. Will last you for daysss. Yay to getting those veggies into the diet.

My trick to a great soup is to finish with a tiny drizzle of balsamic. I add the vinegar, then top with tons of cheese, and I’m good to go.

Gypsy soup

Serves 8-10; you can cut the recipe in half if you think this will be too much, but I appreciate a batch of soup that will last me a while. You can also freeze the soup, just see below in the directions…
Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
2-3 medium yellow onions, chopped coarsely
6 stalks celery, chopped
8 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1 jalapeno, seeds and membrane removed, diced
1 large sweet potato (or winter squash), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 large carrots, sliced into thin coins or roughly chopped
2 small zucchini, chopped
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
2 cans chickpeas (the original recipe uses about 3 cans)
5 cups liquid (I used 4 cups water + 1 cup veg. broth)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons turmeric
4 teaspoons mild paprika
1 bay leaf
Dash of cayenne
1 pound greens (I used a mixture of kale and mustard greens), trimmed and, if large, cut into 2-inch-wide pieces

Parmesan or Asiago cheese + crumbled feta, for topping (or any other yummy salty cheese)

Balsamic vinegar, for drizzling

Directions

In your biggest pot, heat the olive oil. Saute the onions, garlic, celery, and jalapeno until aromatic and beginning to soften, about 5-7 minutes. Add the sweet potato and carrots and continue to saute, stirring occasionally, for another 5 minutes or so. Add the zucchini, tomatoes, chickpeas, broth/water, salt, turmeric, paprika, bay leaf, and cayenne. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce to a rapid simmer, stirring occasionally until sweet potato and carrots are tender. Stir in the greens, allowing to wilt before removing the soup from the heat.

Serve with a good dusting of cheese and a small drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

To freeze the soup, allow to cool completely. Ladle into gallon-size freezer bags. Seal, smoothing out any air pockets, and lay flat in the freezer to store.

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Espinacas con Garbanzos [Spinach and Chickpeas]

16 Jun

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Last week I moved across the country to New York City. In addition to all of the clothes and shoes I lugged with me, I carefully managed to wrap up and bring along: my cast-iron skillet, ice cream maker, mixing bowls, knife case with knives in tow, ramekins, whisk, spatula, and a few other miscellaneous kitchen utensils. Also included in my suitcase was a beautiful photograph poster of Julia Child: Lobster Thermidor and a 1500 piece puzzle of a vintage world map.

After weighing my 2 bags of luggage making sure that no bag was more than 50 pounds heavy, I was off. Well, ok, I had a minor stint with security because I put my ice cream maker in my carry-on bag and they had to double and triple check my bag before letting me through. Alas, I am now here in New York, unpacked and in full use of my new kitchen.

Espinacas con Garbanzos. A Spanish snack, a picnic pick-me-up, a light lunch or dinner. Healthy and tasty. Perfect with toast, or homemade croutons, or rice. Smoked paprika should be in your spice cabinet. It will become your secret weapon for wowing your fellow eaters. It helps make this dish pop. Do it.

Espinacas con Garbanzos [Spinach and Chickpeas]

adapted from SmittenKitchen, originally adapted from Moro: The Cookbook and Lobstersquad

makes about 3 dinner-servings worth (double if you are feeding more people or want more leftovers)

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

9 oz. bag of spinach

1 hefty slice of bread from a country loaf or sandwich bread, crusts removed and cubed

2 garlic cloves, sliced thin

1/4 cup of tomato sauce

pinch of red pepper flakes

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

3/4 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 can of garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika

salt and pepper, to taste

squeeze of lemon, to taste

Heat half of your olive oil (1.5 tablespoons) in a pan over medium heat and saute your spinach in batches with a pinch of salt and stir well. Remove when leaves are just tender and set aside in another bowl.

In the same pan you just used, heat up 1 more tablespoon of olive oil. Add your bread and fry until lightly browned on all sides. This should take about 3-5 minutes. Add the remaining half tablespoon of olive oil, garlic, cumin, and pepper flakes. Continue cooking for about one minute more.

**NOTE: You do not have to put everything in the blender. I bet this dish would still taste great with the rustic bread cubes instead of a blended sauce.

Transfer the bread mix to a blender with the red wine vinegar and whiz until it becomes a thick-ish paste. Return it to the pan with the tomato sauce, garbanzo beans, and spinach. Add the paprika, salt, and pepper, and serve with lemon juice.

Serve with bread toasts or rice.

 

WANT MORE CHICKPEA RECIPES?

Garlicky Roasted Chickpea Salad with Feta, Herbs, and Lemon

Pumpkin Chickpea Quinoa with Haricot Vert and Almonds

 

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Co-op Food + Lemon Ginger Molasses Pinwheel Cookies

1 Mar


I come home from a good sweaty yoga sesh only to find myself munching on a frosted chocolate cake. Oh, living in a co-op. Food is EVERYWHERE at every hour of the day. I come home to a huge hotel pan of chocolate cake, to the smell of homemade granola just out of the oven, to waffles wafting throughout the house, to cookies and flan and pie.

Aside from all of the sweet stuff, I come home to dinner every night at 7pm. Salads and roasted veggies and grains and beans and meats and cheese. To something new and exciting. To soups, stews, and casseroles. Comfort food, health food, vegan food, ethnic food.

Fresh baked bread. Fresh baked bread made with wheat gluten instead of flour: an accidental miracle. Snack shift. Oh, snack shift. Brownies, salsa, midnight madness.

Here is a photo of a typical co-op meal made by moi:


Mini grilled cheese bites (with a rosemary butter), balsamic roasted asparagus with sautéed chard, couscous salad with chickpeas, roasted bell peppers, olives, onion, and peas, and a spring mix salad with citrus (blood oranges, cara cara oranges, and grapefruit), cranberries, and feta cheese. Oh yes, and lemon ginger molasses pinwheel cookies as well as vegan sugar cookies for the vegans.
And here is a picture of a strawberry streusel coffee cake that I made last week (recipe from JoytheBaker):

Buttermilk Biscuit Bonanza:

A Whole Lotta Breaded n’ Baked Chicken:

With the gargantuan amount of food that a cook makes for the house (I live with 60 people, some other co-ops have only 20 people, and some 160 people), it can be difficult to take nice photos because everything is made in large, industrial pots and pans, and I am usually rushing to finish cooking so I do not have a moment to photograph in nice lighting before someone devours the food.

What a rewarding experience it is to cook here. I get everything delivered (no grocery shopping necessary) and I get to cook with a variety of ingredients that come in seasonally. I can experiment and people will eat my experiments and compliment me, yay!

We even bought and entire cow to be more “green” and to save money for the house. We also recently switched to having all-organic Straus milk and yogurt in the house. Our eggs are organic, too.

While cooking for and living with 60 college students can be tough at times, it is nice to have a “family” to eat dinner with every night.

Oh, and here is the recipe for the Lemon Ginger Molasses Pinwheel Cookies. These cookies require a bit of time just because the dough has to be refrigerated a few times and rolled out and rolled up and cut. Worth it. I taste real ingredients and I taste something sweet, satisfying, and soothing for my body.

Alice in Wonderland, the movie, is coming out next weekend, and these cookies would be great to make if you are hosting a “mad hatter” themed party in honor of Alice. They’ve got that Treshire Cat vibe going on.

Lemon Ginger Molasses Pinwheel Cookies
From CookingLightyield: 40 cookies, serving size: 1 cookie

Ingredients

  • Ginger dough:
  • 1/4 cup (1/2 a stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup molasses
  • 1 large egg yolk
  • 6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Dash of ground allspice
  • Lemon dough:
  • 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
  • 2/3 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg white
  • 2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
  • 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 6 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/3 cups)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. To prepare ginger dough, place 1/4 cup butter and brown sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well combined (about 3 minutes). Add molasses and egg yolk; beat until well blended. Weigh or lightly spoon 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6 ounces flour, ginger, and next 4 ingredients (through allspice); stir with a whisk. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.

2. To prepare lemon dough, place 5 tablespoons butter and granulated sugar in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until blended (about 3 minutes). Add egg white; beat until blended. Beat in rind and vanilla. Weigh or lightly spoon 6 ounces (about 1 1/3 cups) flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 6 ounces flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat at low speed just until combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap; chill 30 minutes.

3. Unwrap ginger dough. Roll ginger dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 8 1/2–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick); chill 10 minutes. Unwrap lemon dough. Roll lemon dough between sheets of plastic wrap into a 13 x 9–inch rectangle (3/16 inch thick); chill 10 minutes. Carefully stack ginger dough on top of lemon dough, leaving a 1/2-inch border along one long edge. Starting with the long side without a border, roll up dough, jelly-roll fashion. Seal edges (do not seal ends of roll). Cover with plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes.

4. Preheat oven to 350°F.

5. Unwrap dough. Cut with a sharp knife into 40 slices (about 1/4 inch thick). Reshape rounds, if necessary. Arrange slices 1 inch apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Bake, 1 batch at a time, at 350° for 8 to 9 minutes or until set and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 81
Fat: 2.8g (sat 1.7g,mono 0.7g,poly 0.2g)
Protein: 1.1g
Carbohydrate: 13.1g
Fiber: 0.3g
Cholesterol: 12mg
Iron: 0.6mg
Sodium: 33mg
Calcium: 9mg

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