This is one of those “best of both worlds” type recipes. Combining all my favorite things about ratatouille and risotto until they meld into one extra delicious food is a feat. This is a bit busy as a recipe but the end result is well worth the effort and it certainly makes sure you’ll get your daily dose of vegetables in one sitting.
I ran across this Moroccan soup a few months ago and figured I’d eventually get around to it and now it’s easily one of my favorites. With a hearty tomato and spice base it contains what seems like an overwhelming amount of things (chickpeas, lentils, and a small amount of meat as well) but that gives it a great base but makes it hearty enough for a full meal.
This soup has a wonderful simplicity to it. Sometimes coconut in soup can be really cloyingly sweet of overwhelming but in this soup its nicely balanced with the soft flavor of rice and the heartiness of mushroom. Since this takes only a few minutes to come together it’s perfect for when you don’t feel well or on a cold night where you just want a warm dinner right away.
I really love this recipe because frying is just a bridge too far for me most days. I understand most people don’t fry because of health but for me it’s mostly just laziness so if you want the delicious taste of sweet and sour chicken but less work – this is the recipe for you.
This is one of those recipes that doesn’t seem like much but it takes mushrooms from a bland, boring food to the perfect topping for almost anything. I used this ragu smothered over the tops of popovers but it’d be great on polenta, over rice, and even as a pasta sauce.
I made a turnip gratin previously but I wasn’t in love with it but I think I’ve cracked the code this time. This potato gratin is so good it’s hard to stop eating! Layering the cheese and milk mixture is the most important part but also don’t cheap out and use poor quality cheese because the minimal nature of the ingredients means that basically there’s no where for flavors to hide.
A basic staple of cooking re-fried beans. I hemmed and hawed if I wanted to post this recipe because it’s so basic and also because I used to buy re-fried bean (gasp!) instead of making them but since moving to Estonia that is no longer an option so now I make my own. They’re super easy to make and delicious so if you don’t have access to canned ones, give it a go.
This is actually a really easy to make meal. It isn’t exactly like take out but it’s also not completely healthy either so it fills that need for take out without having to do too much work and unlike a lot of Chinese-American food it isn’t fried so it’s not too terrible as long as you’re not worried about salt content. You can easily switch out snow peas for broccoli/other vegetables or add them in this one dish, just make sure to par-boil or soften them in the microwave beforehand so it all cooks together.
These creamy coconut lentils are a total treat. They have a really nice color to them and you can easily change up what vegetables you use depending what you have on hand or what is in season to make a filling meal.
Stovetop pudding comes together easily in a couple of minutes and can be made to look extremely fancy for an easy dinner party treat. Top with whipped cream, pieces of fruit, or shaved chocolate for maximum effect or simply eat it right out of the bowl. Also you can sieve all the ingredients to make sure it doesn’t have any lumps at all or you can be like me and take your lumps where they happen.