Week of Feb 15

Slow Cooker Red Lentil Pumpkin Soup

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 4 hr | Total Time: 4 hr 5 min | Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
1½ cups red lentils
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
Kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
½ cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 red onion, chopped
1 lemon, juiced

Directions:
Add the lentils, pumpkin, turmeric, paprika, coriander, red pepper, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon salt to a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker; top with 5 cups water and stir to combine. Cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 6 hours, until the lentils are tender. (This soup holds well on warm if you need flexibility.)
Before serving, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet over high heat. Add the pepitas, cumin seeds and, if the pepitas are unsalted, a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring constantly, until the pepitas are toasted and the cumin is sizzling and popping, 2 to 3 minutes.
Scrape the seasoned pepitas onto a paper-towel lined plate. Put the skillet back over high heat and add the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil, the red onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is browned and softened, about 8 minutes.
Scrape the onion and its oil into the soup along with the lemon juice and stir to combine. Taste and add additional salt if necessary.
Serve the soup in bowls and sprinkle with the toasted pepitas. The soup will thicken as it cools, so adjust the texture with additional water as necessary.

This recipe appeared in NYT cooking last fall, and like almost every vegetarian recipe there, it has a whole bunch of 5 star reviews. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised. I made this for a dinner party last week and it was well received, but I'd consider the lemon and onion addition at the end as optional. I'm not convinced those two brought much to the party. I made it with the quinoa whole wheat bread, but in retrospect, I think a buttery cornbread would be an easier and tastier match.

Turmeric Cashew Chicken

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:
⅔ cup raw cashews
5 garlic cloves, divided
1 2" piece ginger, peeled, halved, divided
1½ lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed, cut into 2" pieces
2 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 1 tsp. Morton kosher salt, divided
1 small jalapeño, halved
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
1 tsp. cumin seeds
½ tsp. ground turmeric
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Steamed rice, cilantro sprigs, and lime wedges (for serving)

Directions:
Place ⅔ cup raw cashews in a small bowl and pour in hot water to cover. Let sit until softened (you should be able to crush a nut easily between 2 fingers), 15–20 minutes.
Meanwhile, finely grate 2 garlic cloves and half of one 2" piece ginger, peeled, into a medium bowl. Add 1½ lb. skinless, boneless chicken thighs, excess fat trimmed, cut into 2" pieces, and 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt and toss to combine. Let chicken sit while you make the sauce.
Drain cashews and transfer to a blender. Coarsely chop remaining 1" piece ginger, peeled. Add ginger, 1 small jalapeño, halved, 2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice, 1 tsp. cumin seeds, ½ tsp. ground turmeric, remaining 3 garlic cloves, remaining 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or ½ tsp. Morton kosher salt, and 1½ cups water to blender and blend until smooth. Set cashew sauce aside.
Heat 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Cook chicken, tossing occasionally, until cooked through, about 3 minutes. Add reserved cashew sauce and cook, stirring occasionally, until sauce is slightly thickened, about 3 minutes.
Divide steamed rice among shallow bowls and spoon cashew chicken over; top with cilantro sprigs. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.

So, chicken thighs are tasty and kind of a no brainer to cook, but in my experience they work really well in either slow cooker situations or on the other end of the spectrum in a high-heat wok, grill or broiler. Basically an environment where lots of heat has a chance to work on the fatty aspect of the thighs, or as a whole thigh that can sear. When you cut them into pieces and cook them on a normal consumer grade cooktop in a skillet, they produce a lot of moisture that dilutes the heat and they kinda look a bit gristly. It's not a big deal. They taste fine, and after you put the sauce on them it's downright delicious, but if you want something that looks a little less...rustic, I think regular chicken breasts would be OK here. The tell here is that these peeps at Bon Appetit (where this came from) are taking about cooking chicken thigh chunks in 3 minutes. Thats because they're on a pro-grade blast furnace strength cooktop, and can't conceive that you dont have a 60,000 BTU burner in your house. If you pull your thighs off the heat in 3 minutes, I wouldn't be too far away from a toilet for the next few hours.

Farmers Market Farro Bowls

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup semi-pearled farro
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
4 large eggs
1 large watermelon radish or 6–8 red radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced on a mandoline if you’ve got one
¼ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
2 Tbsp. sugar, divided
1 14-oz. block extra-firm tofu, drained
3 Tbsp. plus ¼ cup grapeseed or vegetable oil, divided
2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp. gochujang (Korean hot pepper paste)
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. toasted sesame oil
1 medium zucchini or summer squash, halved lengthwise, cut crosswise into ¼"-thick half-moons
2–3 cups thinly sliced or shredded raw vegetables (such as carrots, scallions, blanched sugar snap peas, baby bok choy, cucumbers, pea shoots, or alfalfa sprouts)

Directions:
Pour farro into a medium saucepan of boiling salted water, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until tender, 25–30 minutes. Drain farro and spread out on a rimmed baking sheet; let cool.
Meanwhile, using a slotted spoon, carefully lower eggs into a small saucepan of boiling water and cook 6½ minutes for an oozy, jammy yolk or 7 minutes for a slightly firmer middle. Transfer eggs to a bowl of ice water with slotted spoon and let sit until cool enough to handle, about 2 minutes. Remove eggs from ice water; peel and slice in half lengthwise.
Pack radish slices into a pint jar. Whisk vinegar, 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1 tsp. salt, and ½ cup hot water in a small bowl until sugar and salt are dissolved. Pour brine over radish slices; let cool. Cover and chill at least 1 hour before using.
Cut tofu crosswise into ½"-thick slabs, then cut each slab on a diagonal to create 2 triangles. Pat dry with a clean kitchen towel. Heat 2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high. Add tofu in a single layer, season with salt, and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown underneath, about 4 minutes. Turn over and cook until golden brown on second side, about 4 minutes. Transfer tofu to a plate; reserve skillet (no need to wipe out).
Whisk lime juice, gochujang, mayonnaise, ¼ cup grapeseed oil, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, 1 Tbsp. sesame oil, and remaining 1 Tbsp. sugar in a small bowl. Taste; season with salt if desired.
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. grapeseed oil in reserved skillet over medium-high. Add zucchini, season with salt, and cook, tossing just once or twice, until tender and blistered in spots, about 4 minutes. Add remaining 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1 tsp. sesame oil and toss to coat. Transfer to a plate.
To serve, divide farro among bowls. Arrange eggs, drained pickled radish, tofu, zucchini, and raw vegetables of choice on top as desired. Drizzle each bowl with a few spoonfuls of dressing to your liking.

ACTUAL IMPORTANT NOTE: this recipe calls for gochujang PASTE . You'll want to find gochujang paste- not sauce. Gochujang sauce is typically paste with other stuff mixed in already. Probably corn syrup. Barf. If you're not sure where to start with gochujang paste, here is a tasty, non-threatening (ie super spicy) place to start. It's not impossible to find this brand in regular grocery stores. Dont sweat buying a jar of gochujang if you're following along here. We are going to use it.

Other than that, this is a bit of a choose your own adventure recipe. The only necessities I think are the eggs (7 minutes is the right amount of boiling time), tofu and some kind of grain. I often use pearled barley. The rest of the veggies can be whatever. If you happen to be able to find a watermelon radish, the pickling recipe here is really fun and tastes great.

If you want to level up (and I know you do) you'll want to get a real mandoline slicer. It brings your food presentation to the next level. The good news is that I have read all of the ridiculous articles and watched all of the videos for you so I am in a unique position to tell what is generally accepted as the best mandoline slicer for home use. It's this bad boy. Make sure to get the 14.17" X 5.91" size. Just trust me on that. Caution: This thing is impossibly sharp. You must not fuck around with the Benriner Super Slicer, or you will lose a fingertip.

Chorizo, Egg and Cheese Tostadas

Prep Time: 5 min | Cook Time: 20 min | Total Time: 25 min | Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients:
12 ounces Mexican pork chorizo, casings removed if needed
2 (15-ounce) cans pinto beans, drained and rinsed
½ cup chicken broth
Kosher salt and black pepper
5 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil, plus more as needed
6 eggs
6 tostadas
½ cup finely crumbled cotija cheese or grated Parmesan
1 cup cilantro leaves
2 serrano chiles, thinly sliced
Lime wedges, for serving
Hot sauce or salsa (homemade or store-bought), for serving

Directions:
In a large skillet, heat the chorizo over medium-high. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the fat is rendered and chorizo is crisp, about 8 minutes.
Add beans and chicken broth to the skillet. Cook, stirring, until beans can be easily smashed with the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Using a potato masher or the back of a spoon, smash the beans and chorizo into a paste. Taste and season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl and set aside.
In a large (12-inch) well-seasoned cast-iron or nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium-high. Working in batches if needed, crack the eggs into the pan. Cook, occasionally tilting the pan toward you and spoon the hot oil over the whites, until whites are cooked through and the yolks are still runny, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a plate. (If frying eggs in batches, add more oil as needed.)
Spread a layer of the bean-chorizo mixture onto a tostada. Generously coat with cotija. Top with a fried egg, cilantro and serrano chiles to taste. Repeat with the remaining tostadas. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce or salsa.

This is the latin analogue to the egg/avocado/prosciutto deal from last week. A great 20 minute dinner.

Pasta with Fried Lemons and Chile Flakes

Cook Time: 30 minutes | Servings: Yield 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients:
4 lemons
1 pound linguine or spaghetti
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, more for drizzling
1 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed
Pinch of sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
¾ teaspoon chile flakes, more to taste
⅔ cup Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, more to taste
Black pepper, as needed
½ cup celery leaves, coarsely chopped (optional)
⅓ cup parsley, coarsely chopped (optional)
Flaky sea salt, for garnish

Directions:
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Finely zest 2 of the lemons and set aside. Trim the tops and bottoms off the other 2 lemons and cut lengthwise into quarters; remove seeds. Thinly slice the quarters crosswise into triangles. Blanch the lemon pieces in the boiling water for 2 minutes, then transfer with a slotted spoon to a dish towel. Blot dry.
In the boiling water, add pasta and cook until just barely al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over high heat. Add the dried lemon pieces and season with a pinch each of salt and sugar. Cook until the lemons are caramelized and browned at the edges, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Melt the butter with the remaining oil in the pan over medium heat. Add the chile flakes and zest of both lemons; cook until fragrant. Whisk in the reserved pasta water.
Toss in pasta, juice of 1 lemon, cheese, pepper and the remaining salt. Cook until pasta is well coated with sauce. Toss in the caramelized lemon and the celery leaves and parsley if using. Taste and add lemon juice if needed. Serve, topped with a drizzle of oil, more cheese if you like, and a sprinkle of sea salt.

When you "caramelize" the lemons, there is a good chance they will blacken the pan. Before I add the butter, lemon juice, etc I take a sec and clean out the pan, otherwise your sauce will be an unappealing grayish color with black flecks in it, which is gross and makes you look like an amateur.