dinner in under an hour

Greek Red Lentil Soup

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ 3 Comments

finished red lentil soupThe days are so changeable now. One day its 90 and humid and the next it’s in the 60s. Soup is the perfect meal for days like that and this simple, and very flavorful Greek red lentil soup is vegan and totally satisfying. However, if you wish to add some sausage to it or a dollop of Greek yogurt when serving it, I certainly won’t complain. All this needs is good bread and a simple green salad. This soup is so quick and delicious, I have even made it before leaving the house for work! What’s not to love? Afterall, Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of these delicious lentils.

Greek Red Lentil Soup adapted from soup served at George’s Restaurant in Astoria, NY

Yield: 6 -8 first course servings or 4 dinner servings

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons EVOO

1 large onion, chopped (1 cup)

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

2 carrots diced or cut into rounds about 1/8 inch thick (about 1 cup)

2 stalks celery, sliced thinly or diced (about 1 cup)

4 cups vegetable stock or chicken stock

1 cup water

2 bay leaves

1.5 cups dried red lentils, picked through and rinsed (try to buy the really small red lentils, although either large or small will work) dried red lentils

1 28 ounce can or 1 large box of Pomi chopped tomatoes, with the liquid

1 teaspoon dried basil, crushed

1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed

Fresh basil leaves or fresh thyme for serving (optional)

Directions:

  1. In a 5-6 quart pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent – about 3 minutes
  2. Add the garlic, salt and pepper and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally (How much salt you use will depend on several factors: tomatoes and celery are high in natural sodium and I use unsalted stock. I don’t like things heavily salted becasue I want to taste the food not the salt. However, your tastes may be different and you may use stock that is already salted. You can always add salt later.)
  3. Add the celery and carrot and saute for another 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. lentil soup stage 1
  4. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover the pot partially and simmer for 35 minutes, or until the lentils and vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaves before serving.

NOTE: The soup is ready to go at this point, but if you are serving it as a first course to company and you want it to be a bit more elegant, take an immersion blender (thank you Matthew and Frances for that wonderful GIFT!) and puree the soup to the desired consistency. You can do this in a blender but make certain that the soup is cool and you do this in batches. I learned the hard way about the mess that blending hot soup can make. Garnish with fresh basil leaves or fresh thyme if you have it.

Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas – Greek-Style

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

Spinach black-eyed peas finished

When I was a young girl, we used to shop in a grocery store whose produce section was run by a loud and generous Greek woman named Carla. She always had a smile, story and a treat for her special customers – and with Carla, everyone was special. One day she was telling us about this dish that her family made and it sounded delicious and easy to make. There never was a recipe – just Carla’s story – but ever since then I have been making this dish – first with my mother and now on my own. If it has a name, I don’t know it, but what I do know is that it is delicious and over the years I have never tired of making it. Now Frances makes it too.

I make mine with country pork ribs* (See Note) because that was how Carla told me the recipe, but I think it could be equally delicious with beef short ribs. You would simply need to adjust your cooking time to be somewhat longer for the beef, which also means you would add your black-eyed peas and spinach later. Try it that way and let me know how it works out. For now, here is my version of Carla’s family recipe.

Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas with Country Ribs

Yields: 4 servings

Ingredients:

1 large yellow onion, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 – 28 ounce can or 1 large box of crushed Marzano tomatoes with their liquid

4 meaty country ribs

2 Tablespoons EVOO

2 teaspoons finely chopped or crushed garlic

1/3 cup red wine (choose anything you would enjoy also drinking that deals well with tomato)

2 to 3 (15 ounce) cans ounces of black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed (See Note)

16 ounces of frozen chopped spinach or its equivalent fresh

Kosher salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste

1 -2 bay leaves

1 Tablespoon fresh oregano or 1.5 teaspoons good quality dried Greek oregano

1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped

3 to 4 Tablespoons of fresh dill, chopped

NOTE: I have made this dish with fresh, canned and frozen black-eyed peas and it has always turned out delicious. If you use canned peas, be sure to drain and rinse the peas. I use two cans around 15 ounces each. If I can’t find frozen or fresh or canned black-eyed peas, I have also used Crowder beans. And while the dish called for spinach, I believe it would also be tasty (different) with kale or even collard greens. Don’t be afraid to try what is freshest or most easily available. I no longer eat pork, but made this with lamb shoulder chops and it was as delicious if not more so than with the country ribs.

Directions:

  1. Using a large, deep pan with a lid or a Dutch oven, sauté the onion in the EVOO until just beginning to get translucent – about 5 minutes. Then add the garlic and stirring, gently, sauté this for another 3 minutes. I like to salt and pepper in layers. I don’t use any more this way, but I know that my onions are flavored and then my ribs etc.
  2. Add the ribs by pushing the onion and garlic towards the side of the pan and brown them quickly, turning once. This will only take a few minutes. You should have enough oil in the pan, but if you feel the need to add a smidgen more, that’s okay too. If your pan is hot, the ribs shouldn’t really stick. Spinach black-eyed peas stage 1
  3. Add your tomatoes, bay leaves and red wine. If you are using dried herbs, add them now. Bring to a boil, cover and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes.
  4. After 30 minutes, add your beans, spinach, fresh oregano, salt and pepper and cook for 15 -20 minutes more. Yup, that’s it! And when you eat this dish, raise a glass to Carla, wherever she may be.

Eat with a lovely crusty bread (something with sesames would be great) and salad and serve the remainder of the red wine. This can be made ahead and gently reheated.

Better than a restaurant and in under an hour

~ lisaandfrancescook ~ Leave a comment

So this summer my herbs have been growing like crazy and I decided I really should do a bit of trimming. Of course I couldn’t just throw out perfectly good, fresh herbs. On the other hand, it has been REALLY hot and the last thing I want is to spend hours by a hot oven or stove.

The herb in question here is sage.

I happen to love sage with butternut squash ravioli and brown butter or with eggs, but my husband is not a huge fan. I was undeterred. I had some beautiful fresh sage leaves and I was going to use them. I also happened to have some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and a package of La Quercia Speck Americano (Prosciutto or Jamon would have worked as well) in the fridge. I ALWAYS have several good cheese options and in this case it was an Asiago Fresco. (A good Mozzarella, Pecorino, Cubadu etc. would also work.) My pantry ALWAYS has a good bottle of pasta sauce – in this case a simple, but delicious marinara with basil – some kind of pasta (spinach fettuccine nests). The key is not to get bogged down in finding the exact same ingredients that the recipe calls for but to let yourself work with what you have or is easily available. I really, really hate when a recipe calls for 2 Tablespoons of something that I have no other idea how to use and then I am stuck having spent a fair amount of money on a single ingredient that I don’t even know if I will like. Soooooooooooooooooo while I will always, always advocate for using great quality ingredients, you can and should not feel like a slave to a recipe.

Have I mentioned yet what I decided to make?? Chicken Saltimbocca a la Lisa. This is a recipe that really doesn’t require a lot of careful measuring. I used a large rectangular baking dish (12″ x 9″ x 2.5″). Mine is stoneware and makes clean-up a snap. I also gave in a year ago and treated myself to a really nice meat pounder. It’s round with a handle and has a nice heft to it. The meat doesn’t get torn up and it is highly recommended for getting rid of any aggression you may be feeling.

I preheated my oven to 375 degrees F. I pounded my chicken breast as flat as I could between two pieces of plastic wrap. You could use parchment or waxed paper too. I then generously salted (Kosher salt only) and peppered (cracked black) both sides. With what would have been the skin side facing up, I began my assembly. I took some finely chopped fresh garlic (a generous 1/2 teaspoon for each breast) and spread it across the top. I then took several sage leaves and lay those over the top of each breast. On top of that went one slice of Speck and several thin slices of my Asiago Fresco. I poured about 1/2 of the large jar of pasta sauce in the bottom of my baking dish and carefully laid the chicken on top of the sauce in a single layer. I drizzled a bit of EVOO over everything and I popped it in the oven uncovered for 25 minutes. After 25 minutes, I turned the broiler on high and let the cheese brown for five minutes. Watch it, though, since all ovens are different!

While the chicken cooked, I made my pasta al dente and after draining it, I mixed in the remaining pasta sauce and added some freshly grated pecorino. I could have added some fresh basil or used a different kind of pasta, but this is what I had. When the chicken was finished and the cheese was bubbling, I plated everything and served it with a simple salad. This took less than an hour and was full of umami goodness. The chicken was tender and all of the flavors were present and accounted for. People will think you slaved over a hot stove and you will smile (not too smugly) when they are thanking you for this glorious dinner.  Buon Appetito!