Absolutely Most-Basic Lentil Soup

This is my basic recipe for lentil soup. No photo because to be honest it's not particularly attractive, but it is soothing and filling. It's a scaled-down version of my basic chicken soup (which will indubitably appear here eventually), but relies on already-made chicken broth (your own or store-bought). It's good if you're feeling under the weather. Make sure you use red lentils, or the cooking time will be way off.

Most-Basic Lentil Soup

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked over
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 to 1 tsp allspice
small pinch cardamom
small pinch cumin

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, about 20 minutes, until lentils are tender and have begun to fall apart. Add salt if necessary (if using your own broth). Let cool a little, fish out the bay leaf, and serve!

Serves 2.

For a basic but not "most-basic" version, first saute some chopped onion in the bottom of the saucepan before adding the lentils and broth.

Dosa-Inspired Potato Omelet

This is all delicate crisp crust and fluffy center, and the potatoes are spicy and turn a lovely yellow. I will definitely make this again (though perhaps with three eggs).

Dosa-Inspired Potato Omelet

2 medium-sized red potatoes, in large dice
1 tblsp butter plus more as necessary
2 eggs, separated
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp black pepper
good pinch cayenne pepper
good pinch turmeric
1 tblsp brown mustard (or mustard seeds if you have them)
salt to taste

In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When hot, add the spices (except mustard, but do include mustard seeds if using) and fry about 40 seconds. Add the potatoes and mustard. Cook, covered, over medium heat, stirring and turning regularly, until nearly tender (about 15 minutes). Turn off the heat but keep warm.

In a large bowl, beat the egg whites just until they hold a firm peak. In another bowl, beat the yolks until lemon-yellow. Gently fold the yolks and whites together.

Spoon the eggs over the potatoes in the pan, being sure that all the potatoes are covered. Cook, covered, on medium heat until the tops of the eggs are nearly dry, about 10 minutes. Lift out of the pan with a spatula. Slice the omelet in half, and place on half atop the other so that there is a crisp crust on top but the inside is soft and fluffy. Cut in half and serve immediately.

Serves 2 with a green salad and bread, or 1 on its own.

White-Bean Chili

This dish was born in Washington, DC, where I was subletting an apartment for the summer. I had planned to make chili, but was shocked to discover--just before my guests arrived--that the girl I was subletting from had no chili powder. She did, however, have "Yemenite hwaig" seasoning, which seemed to be a mixture of cumin and turmeric. Combined with hot pepper, it did a fair job of approximating chili. Now, I add some regular chili powder as well, but I still concentrate on cumin and turmeric.

White-Bean Chili

2 cans small white beans (Goya brand is good)
2 cans cannellini beans, or 1 of cannellini and 1 of large butter beans
1 medium onion, chopped roughly
1 clove garlic, crushed
6-8 green onions, chopped finely
1 medium bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce, any type
2 tsp tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
Good pinch red pepper flakes
olive oil
about 2 cups water
3 oz queso casera or feta for garnish

Saute half the onion and the garlic in olive oil till translucent but not too soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and rinse the beans carefully. Combine beans and remaining half onion with onions and garlic in pot. Add 2 cups water and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer. Add cumin, turmeric, black pepper, chili powder and red pepper flakes. Simmer about 15 minutes, adding water if becomes too thick. When you have about 3 minutes to go, add 1/3 of the cilantro. Just before serving, add half the remaining cilantro and half the green onions.
Garnish with remaining cilantro, green onions, and queso casera (if you have a good Hispanic foods section at your grocery store) or feta.

Serves 3 or 4.

Pasta with Peas and Feta

This is probably the dish I make most often. It's very quick, has three food groups, and I always have all these ingredients on hand (thanks, super cheap feta at Foodmaster). The fennel brings out the sweetness of the peas and the saltiness of the feta.

Pasta with Peas and Feta

1/2 box cavatappi or other short pasta
2 or 3 oz. crumbled feta
1 cup frozen peas
1 tsp olive oil
1 pinch fennel seeds
black pepper

Cook pasta. In the last minute or so of cooking, add the peas to the pasta water and continue cooking just until hot, one to two minutes. Drain pasta and peas. Combine with feta, olive oil, fennel seeds, and pepper. Serve right away.

Serves 2 (or one very hungry person).

Quinoa Pilaf with Dates

Really on a quinoa kick here. This is subtly sweet, a little spicy, and a nice deep brown color. Some chopped pistachios would be a really great addition.

Quinoa Pilaf with Dates

2 cups red quinoa
4 cups water
2 small sweet yellow onions (or 1 large), sliced thinly
2 cloves garlic, crushed
25 or so dates, chopped roughly
2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
good pinch salt
three shakes hot pepper flakes
olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
zest of 1 lemon
6 tsp sesame seeds.

In a large pot, bring quinoa and water to a boil. When boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer until the water is absorbed and the germ separates from the quinoa, about 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, saute the onions in olive oil over medium-low heat until just starting to caramelize, about 12 minutes. (After about 10 minutes, add the crushed garlic.) While they are cooking, in a separate saucepan toast sesame seeds over low heat until they turn golden, about three minutes. Immediately remove from heat and put in a separate bowl. When the onions are soft and starting to color, add cardamom, black pepper, and hot pepper; cook over medium heat until the spices become very fragrant, about one or two minutes. Remove from heat.
When the quinoa is done, add the onions, sesame seeds, 3/4 of the dates, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix well. Mound in a large bowl and garnish with the remaining dates. Serve at room temperature.

Serves one billion as a side dish.

Quinoa Salad

This salad has a wide variety of flavors that match well together--bitter mustard greens, sweet apricots and onions, mellow Brie. It's also pretty. I used 2 cups of mustard greens and that turned out to be a little too much for my taste, but it can easily be varied. Red quinoa is prettier but regular would be fine as well.

Quinoa Salad


1 cup red quinoa
1-2 cups chopped frozen (or fresh) mustard greens
1 small red onion, sliced thinly
10 dried apricots, quartered
about 2 oz. Brie cheese, in small cubes
2 tbsp olive oil plus more for sauteing
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 pinch dried basil
salt and pepper

In a saucepan, bring quinoa and two cups water to a boil. When boiling, turn the heat down to low and simmer about 15 min, until all the water is absorbed and the spring-like germ has separated from the quinoa.
Meanwhile, saute the onion in olive oil until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the mustard greens (do not thaw if frozen; if not frozen, also add enough water to prevent them from burning). Saute over low heat about 10 more minutes, until the quinoa is nearly done. Combine greens/onions and quinoa in a large bowl. Season with basil, salt, and pepper. In a small cup, beat together the oil, vinegar, and mustard; pour over the quinoa mixture and toss to coat. Add the chopped apricots and Brie and toss. Chill and serve. Noticeably better the next day after the flavors have blended.

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a side dish.

Pumpkin Ravioli with Poppyseed Butter

I wanted something filling yet vegetarian for a dinner party, and came up with this experiment (based on beet ravioli with poppyseed butter that I've been served elsewhere). The ravioli do stick together a lot, which causes some of them to rip and leak contents--this is a problem that oil helped with but did not cure. I used drained yogurt to lighten the filling, but probably ricotta would work too. It looks like a lot of butter--and is--but the recipe also serves 10 people. Also, it is more appetizing than in the badly-flashed picture!

Pumpkin Ravioli with Poppyseed Butter

3 packages won ton wrappers
3 15 oz. cans pumpkin
12 oz fat-free plain yogurt
1 small shallot, diced finely
1.5 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp cumin
a few good shakes red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ginger
1 stick butter
2 tbsp poppyseeds
olive oil as needed

An hour a head of time, line a strainer with two sturdy paper towels. Empty the yogurt in the lined strainer and drain one hour.

In a large bowl, mix pumpkin, shallot, drained yogurt, allspice, cumin, ginger and red pepper flakes. Lay out several won ton wrappers. Place 1/2 tsp pumpkin mixture in the center. Dip your fingers in water and wet the edges, then fold the wrapper in half around the filling. Make sure to seal the corners. Continue until you have used up all the wrappers and filling. Working in batches, boil the ravioli for about 2 minutes--do not overcook or they will become gummy and even stickier. As each batch drains, drizzle with olive oil to prevent sticking. When all ravioli are cooked, melt butter in a saute pan. When it starts to foam, add poppy seeds and cook for a minute or two, until the butter JUST starts to color. Pour the butter-poppyseed mixture over the ravioli and toss to coat (it may be helpful to put the ravioli in more than one dish). Serve warm or equally good at room temperature.

Serves 10.