rishtayeh - lentils with pasta

 When I asked friends what their favorite lentil recipes are, I got a heap of wonderful ideas.  One, whose husband is Palestinian and they often visit in Jordan, said rushtayeh, which set me on a search and I found this recipe.  It differs from my friend's in several ways - she also fries garlic for the top, she uses brown lentils instead of red, and she uses homemade frozen pasta or dumplings instead of dried pasta.  But it was tasty this way, too!  This recipe only really made two servings of a big bowl as a dinner, so if I make it again I will probably triple it to have plenty to share.  

Red Split Lentils with Pasta (Rishtayeh) عدس رشتاية

Ingredients:

• 1 cup split lentils (red lentils - or another kind)
• ¾ cup pasta (we used pappardelle from Trader Joe's but homemade would be better)
• 4 cups boiled water (or broth)
• salt to taste
• 1 teaspoon cumin powder
• ½ teaspoon turmeric

For garnish:

• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 1 small onion (red or yellow), to serve raw mixed with sumac
• 1 teaspoon sumac
• handful of parsley

Instructions:

1. Add chopped yellow onions to heated olive oil, continue with occasional stirring and until onions are fried.
2. Rinse lentils and cover with boiled water and let it boil for 10 minutes
3. Add salt, cumin, and turmeric.
4. Add squarely chopped pasta over the mix and stir together, lower heat and let it simmer.
5. Pour whatever little olive oil left from fried onions over the pot and stir one more time.
6. Keep frequent stirring for another 8-10 minutes and until the pasta has softened and the mix looks pasty.
7. Pour into serving plates.
8. Decorate plates with parsley, onion with sumac, and fried onions.

 

black bean soup

This soup is so good and perfect on a rainy Sunday.  Big thanks to Ms. Moon for clueing me into it and sharing screenshots!  It's from the NY Times recipe by Julia Moskin, which is behind a paywall so I can't see it.

Ingredients 

 

FOR THE SOUP:

1 small can chipotle chiles in adobo
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 carrots, diced 
2 onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup red wine
2 jalapeño peppers, seeded and chopped
1 pound dry black beans (do not soak)
2 quarts stock
1 tablespoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Red wine vinegar, to taste 

FOR THE PICKLED ONIONS AND GARNISHES (OPTIONAL but don't skip the onion!):

1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
Freshly squeezed juice of 2 limes
Salt
Sour cream or Mexican crema
Whole cilantro leaves
Thinly sliced fresh chiles
Sliced avocado

Instructions:
1. Puree can of chilis in blender/food processor, put aside.
2. Heat oil in large heavy pot.  When hot, add onions, garlic, and carrots. Cook until soft (about 5-8 minutes) but not brown.
3. Add in wine and simmer until pan almost dry.  Add jalapenos and cook until soft (2-3 minutes). Push vegetables to sides and add 2 teaspoons of chipotle sauce and fry a minute or so, then blend it in with the rest of the vegetables.
4. Add beans, stock, oregano, and bay leaves. Stir, bring to boil, let boil 10-15 minutes, then reduce heat and simmer an hour or two until beans are "soft and fragrant."*  Add salt and pepper.
5. Meanwhile, make "pickled onions."  Put lime juice and salt in with onion and let it sit about 30 minutes, then remove liquid and refrigerate. Serve onions with soup, with sour cream, etc. 

Some beans can be mashed if necessary for proper texture.  Taste and add salt, pepper, red wine vinegar, chipotles, etc. to taste.



For canning: I pulled a bunch of soup out when the beans were nearly soft and I put in pint jars and canned.  I wasn't sure of the time, so I went ahead with 75 minutes for pints. 

kusherie (a reasonable portion)

One of my favorite meals is a rice/lentil/tomato/onion/yogurt dish that I got many years ago from the More with Less cookbook by the Mennonite Central Committee, submitted by missionaries in Egypt.

Ignore what I think of missionary work.  The food is good.

But the size of the final dish is overwhelming and can barely be eaten by me with the help of chickens and dogs. 

So, I'm tweaking it to make it smaller.  Reasonable.  Like 3-4 meals worth.  And also using brown rice, because I've rediscovered my taste for that.

WArning, this will make you need to do a lot of dishes. 

***
Pot #1:
Heat oil in large pan and then add 3/4 c. lentils.  Brown them for about 5 minutes, stirring often. 

Add in 3/4 c. rice and stir to brown a bit. 

Then add 2 c. chicken stock or water (with some salt if necessary and a bit of pepper). 

Bring it to a boil and then reduce heat to low, cover, and let it cook without stirring for 40 minutes.

Pot #2:
Combine
1 can tomato sauce
a squeeze of tomato paste
celery leaves
1/2 green pepper if on hand (I never have one)
 1/2 T. sugar
1/4 tsp. sale
1 t. cumin
dash of cayenne

Bring ot boiling and then reduce heat and let it simmer 20-30 minutes.

Pan #3:
Heat oil in skillet, add:
1 onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic

Cook slowly to let them caramelize. 

All together:

Serve with rice/lentils on bottom with tomato sauce over it and then browned onions, topped with yogurt. 

chicken soup to cure malaria

Well, that's the hope.

Stock:
chicken carcass, most good meat removed
2 small onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
(celery would be great but there's none here; would have put in celery seed if I could find it)
(I threw in 5 small very hot peppers. Next time I'd try it with 1-2.)
Herbes de provence (about 1 T)
basil (about 1 T)
salt
pepper

Boil that all for a few hours, until it tastes like chicken stock. Then drain it, pick meat off the bones, and discard the solids.

Soup:
Take the broth and add:
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 small onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
seasoning to taste (more pepper and salt)
chopped chicken meat

Cook until carrots are soft (about half an hour).

Add frozen vegetables (I put in peas, beans, and broccoli) and egg noodles, cooking 8 minutes until noodles are tender.

(It's better to cook the noodles separately, otherwise they get too mushy with reheating. But I really didn't want to wash another pot.)

okra soup

An impending move has me seriously examining the contents of my freezer, knowing I need to empty it. I've spent the past year filling it with all sorts of treasures, so this is a challenge for me. But also a fun challenge!

Fry pancetta or bacon (alternatively, use cubed meat and/or a soup bone). Then saute onion & garlic & chopped peppers (bell and/or spicy).

Add in vegetables. I shall add:
*okra, frozen
*corn, frozen
*green beans, frozen
*spinach, frozen
*diced tomatoes, canned
*1 c tomato juice

Add enough stock/water/whey/bouillon to cover. Cook 30 minutes or so.

Season to taste with salt, pepper, herbs & spices. Probably a dash of salt and a few grinds of lemon pepper will satisfy me (and cayenne if no hot peppers).

Curried Potato and Onion Curry

also from Aarti!

4 T olive or canola oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 large onion, diced
a few curry leaves
1-4 green Thai chilies (per preference)
2 pounds russet or Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch cubes & submerged in bowl of cool water to prevent browning
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ginger-garlic paste
2 T chopped fresh cilantro

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds, then once they beign to pop add the cumin seeds which which will turn reddish.

Toss in the onion, ginger-garlic paste, curry leaves and green chilies. Stir fry for two minutes.

Cover pan and cook 15-18 minutes.

Drain potatoes and add to the pan. Add salt and turmeric. Stir. Add 1 cup of water and cover the pan. Cook until potatoes are tender, 15 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro and serve.

roasted chicken & vegetables

Oh, YUM! The chicken was sooo moist and juicy and the vegetables fantastic as well.

***
Prep vegetables. This is the mixture I used but it could totally be altered:

*10 small potatoes, de-eyed and chopped in half
*3 carrots, chopped in rounds
*1/3 head cauliflower, in florets
*1/2 onion in big chunks
(sweet potatoes would be good, but I wouldn't recommend beets unless you want pink chicken)

I tossed all that with about 1 T of olive oil and a dash of cumin & salt & pepper. Lay it out in a 9x13 pan (or equivalent).

On top of that put a washed chicken. I put it breast side up first. Rub about 2 T kosher salt and some pepper into the skin with 2 T or so of olive oil. I also rubbed some garlic and then threw the cloves in the body cavity.

Lay the chicken on top and bake at 425 for 45 minutes.

At that time, mix up the vegetables and pour the chicken juices from the cavity onto the vegetables. Put the chicken its other side and bake another 30 or so minutes at 350 degrees - you want the temperature in the chicken to be about 170 degrees (use a thermometer).

Let it sit about 15 minutes before carving and then enjoy - and shock and awe your friends! :)