Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen (22 page)
Read Get Cooking: 150 Simple Recipes to Get You Started in the Kitchen Online
Authors: Mollie Katzen
Tags: #Food
4.
Add the beans and the crushed and diced tomatoes (with all their liquid) to the pot. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat all the way down to the lowest possible setting. Cover the pot with the lid slightly askew and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.
5.
Grind in some black pepper to taste, and serve hot, with the cornbread alongside.
GET CREATIVE
- For four-alarm chili, add a big pinch or two of red pepper flakes along with the onion. You can also pass a shaker of red pepper flakes at the table so people can add their own.
- Top each serving with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt; some grated Cheddar, jack, or pepper jack cheese; a spoonful of salsa; finely diced red onion; and/or some minced cilantro and/or parsley.
- Garnish with Peppy Pepitas (Chapter 8: Party Snacks).
- Add up to a cup of pitted black olives along with the beans.
- Substitute 1 can of corn, drained (or 2 cups frozen or fresh corn kernels) for one of the cans of beans.
- Stir in a tablespoon of Dijon mustard along with the vinegar for extra-tangy flavor.
cornbread
Makes 6 servings
Use regular fine-milled cornmeal for this, not the coarser polenta. If you don’t have any vegetable oil spray on hand, use a little softened butter to grease the pan instead.
Also, you could swap 1 cup buttermilk for the milk-plus-vinegar.
Vegetable oil spray for the pan
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
¼ cup sugar
3 tablespoons butter
1 cup milk
2 teaspoons vinegar (any kind)
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1.
Adjust the oven rack to the center position, and preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly coat an 8-inch square baking pan (or its equivalent, such as a 6-by 9-inch pan) with vegetable oil spray.
2.
Combine the cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar in a medium-sized bowl, and whisk together to completely blend.
3.
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a microwave-safe bowl in the microwave (about 30 seconds on high power).
4.
Measure the milk into a 2-cup-capacity measuring cup with a spout (so you’ll have room to mix and it will be easy to pour). Add the vinegar, egg, and melted butter, and whisk until uniform.
5.
Pour the milk mixture into the cornmeal mixture, and use a wooden spoon to mix just enough to blend. (Don’t try to beat it or over-mix. Just stir.) Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, scraping in every last bit with a rubber spatula.
6.
Bake for 20 minutes, or until the center feels firm when lightly touched and a toothpick or sharp knife inserted all the way into the center comes out clean. Remove the pan from the oven and let the cornbread cool in the pan for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving. Serve warm or at room temperature.
GET CREATIVE
- Add up to ½ cup canned, frozen, or fresh sweet corn kernels to the batter.
- Add one 4-ounce can diced roasted green chiles (spicy or mild, depending on your taste) to the batter.
- Add ½ cup (packed) grated Cheddar cheese to the batter.
mushroom-zucchini ragout over creamy polenta
Makes 4 servings
I
can think of few things more comforting than a hearty, aromatic vegetable stew served over a hot portion of creamy, soft polenta. Good any time of year, and downright great in the winter, this tastes best when made with a combination of domestic (white or cremini) mushrooms, shiitakes, and portobellos. If all three are available, buy equal amounts to make a combined total of ½ pound. If you can only get regular domestic mushrooms, increase the quantity to ¾ pound to compensate for the fact that these mushrooms shrink more during cooking and have a milder flavor than the other two kinds. Before starting, see “Mushroom Prep Tips” (Chapter 4: Vegetarian Entrées). Make the ragout first, and then while it simmers (the final step) make the polenta, so they’ll be ready at the same time.
This recipe is vegan.
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red or yellow onion, chopped
½ teaspoon salt
½ to ¾ pound mixed fresh mushrooms (stemmed if using shiitakes), sliced or diced
2 small zucchini, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
2 small yellow crookneck or summer squash, cut into ¼-inch-thick slices
1 teaspoon minced garlic (about 1 good-sized clove)
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning (or a combination of oregano, basil, thyme, and rosemary)
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes
About 1/3 cup water
Creamy Polenta (recipe follows)
1.
Place a large (10-to 12-inch) heavy skillet or a Dutch oven over medium heat. After about a minute, pour in the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the onion and ¼ teaspoon of the salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until the onion becomes translucent. Add the mushrooms and the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to soften and any liquid they have given off has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
2.
Add the zucchini and yellow squash, plus the garlic, Italian seasoning, and black pepper. Cook for just 2 minutes, stirring often. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the tomatoes with all their liquid, plus the water. Cover the pot with the lid slightly askew and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. (While the ragout is simmering, make the polenta.)
3.
Serve the polenta in soup bowls or pasta plates, topped with the ragout.
GET CREATIVE
- Garnish with crunchy coarse salt.
- Pass grated Parmesan cheese at the table for sprinkling over the ragout.
- Drizzle a high-quality olive oil over each serving.
- For a richer flavor, you can substitute butter for half of the olive oil.
- You could serve the ragout with penne pasta instead of polenta. Boil 6 ounces penne, drain, and toss with the warm ragout.
creamy polenta
Makes 4 servings
Polenta, the dish, is Italian-style cornmeal mush. Polenta, the ingredient, is coarsely ground cornmeal, often found in the bulk bins in supermarkets and also commonly available packaged. Rich, creamy polenta isn’t difficult to make. As long as you keep it warm and keep stirring, it will stay nice and soft. You can add a little water if it starts to get too thick. It will firm up the more you let it cool.
4 cups cold water
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup polenta
1.
Pour the water into a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan, add the salt, and bring to a boil over high heat. Then very gradually sprinkle in the polenta while whisking continuously.
2.
Reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking or stirring very frequently, for 15 minutes, or until the grains are no longer crunchy and the texture is smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.
GET CREATIVE
- To make this polenta richer, stir in 2 tablespoons butter and ¼ cup grated Parmesan or other flavorful grating cheese (such as pecorino or Asiago). You can also add a spoonful of Gorgonzola.
- You can pour fully cooked polenta into a loaf pan (rinse the pan first with cold water but don’t dry it) and refrigerate it. Once it’s chilled, unmold it, cut it into thick slices, and fry them in butter or olive oil in a nonstick skillet until golden brown. Serve with your favorite toppings or just a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese and black pepper.
artichoke, goat cheese, tomato, and red onion focaccia
Makes 2 or 3 servings
F
ocaccia, that soft, irresistible bread that’s so popular in restaurants and sandwich shops, is basically just pizza dough baked in a pan with sides, so it rises a bit higher than pizza and takes on a squared-off shape. It’s easy to bake your own using store-bought pizza dough, which is sold both fresh (in the refrigerator case) and frozen (often near the pie dough) in many supermarkets. Topping it with a few vegetables and some goat cheese is all it takes to turn focaccia into a great main dish. Look for whole wheat dough, which is particularly nice in this recipe. The topping amounts suggested below are on the modest side, because that’s the balance I like, but feel free to increase them a bit—just be sure to leave some dough showing through here and there so it browns nicely. You can cut this into large pieces for dinner, or into smaller ones to serve warm or at room temperature for lunch or as a party snack. It wouldn’t be a bad breakfast-grab, either.
1 tablespoon cornmeal or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 pound store-bought pizza dough (thawed according to package directions, if purchased frozen)
One 6.5-ounce jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced in half, if large
6 large cherry tomatoes (about 1-inch diameter), cut into 3 slices each
1 medium red onion, cut into
¼-inch-thick slices
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
½ cup crumbled goat cheese (plain or herbed)
Freshly ground black pepper
1.
Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 450°F.
2.
Sprinkle the cornmeal or flour onto a baking tray, and spread it into a thin layer. Place the dough on top of the cornmeal, and gently stretch and press it into a 9-by 13-inch rectangle (see “Working with Pizza Dough,” below). Let the dough rest for 20 to 30 minutes to rise and puff up slightly.