Chickpea and Spinach Soup

For a few years I couldn't eat chickpeas or spinach because they interacted with a drug I was taking. This was a big loss in my life. Much to my delight, I'm now off the drug and back on chickpeas and spinach. I made this hearty soup today beginning with dried chickpeas soaked overnight. It makes a wonderful cold weather meal with good bread. If soaking beans isn't your thing, use three cups of canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed. The basic recipe is from Back To Square One by Joyce Goldstein. I simplified it and did not include the shrimp Ms. Goldstein calls for.

2 cups dried chickpeas

1 tbl. olive oil

2 onions, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 baking potato, sliced

1 stalk celery, diced

5-6 cups chicken stock

salt and pepper, to taste

2 tbl. olive oil

5 cups, spinach leaves, stems removed and cut into shreds

6 tbl. toasted sliced almonds, coarsely chopped

If using dried chickpeas, rinse them and soak overnight in cold water to cover. Drain and rinse again. Put the chickpeas in a Dutch Oven or stock pot with fresh, cold water to cover. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until tender, about 1 hour.

Heat the olive oil in the Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the onions and cook slowly for about 10 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook, stirring for 1 more minute. Add the potato slices, celery, half the cooked chickpeas and 5 cups of the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the potato and beans are falling apart, about 20 minutes. Puree using an immersion blender or mash with a potato masher for a chunkier soup. Add the salt and pepper to taste.

In a large skillet, heat 2 tbl. of olive oil over medium heat. Add the spinach and cook, stirring, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Toast the sliced almonds in the toaster oven until golden and set aside.

When ready to serve, thin the soup with 1 cup stock or water and bring it to a simmer. Add the spinach and almonds along with the remaining chickpeas. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Serves 6-8

Notes:To make a main dish soup add 1 lb. of medium shrimp which have bee previously poached in white wine or add chunks of cod directly to the soup shortly before serving. The fish should be cooked in a few minutes.

Date Nut Spice Bread

A few weeks ago my lovely niece Liz surprised me with a loaf of this date nut bread. I took one bite and fell in love. It is absolutely perfect. I would not change a thing. Liz got the recipe from Ina Garten's cookbook Back to Basics. Actually Liz sings the praises of Ina Garten's recipes. She says that they are not difficult and they work. This one sure works for me.

The accompanying cream cheese spread does not appeal to me and seems unnecessary but most people would disagree. You're the boss on this one.

2 cups coarsely chopped dates, 10 oz. pitted

1/3 cup orange liqueur

4 tbl. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter at room temperature

3/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 extra large egg

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 tbl. grated orange zest (2 oranges)

2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 tsp. Kosher salt

3/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice (3 oranges)

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans (3 oz.)

For the cream cheese spread:

6 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 tbl. grated orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of an 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 by 2 1/2" loaf pan. Line the bottom with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pan.

Combine the dates and orange liqueur in a small bowl and set aside for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment beat the butter and sugar together on medium speed for 1 minute. Scrape down the bowl. With the mixer on low, add the egg, vanilla and orange zest. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. With the mixture still on low, add the flour alternately with the orange juice to the creamed mixture, beating only until combined. By hand, stir in the dates and their liquid and the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and smooth the top. Bake the cake for 50-60 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes then turn out onto a wire rack and cool completely.

Meanwhile in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the cream cheese, sugar and orange zest until just combined.

Slice the bread and serve as is or with the orange cream cheese on the side for spreading.

Makes one 8" loaf

Salmon Curry

I bought salmon fillet for dinner and wanted a change from my usual broiled salmon. The rest of the meal was simple; roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli with mustard vinaigrette. I found a recipe for a very quick and easy curry in a cookbook called Feast of India by Rani and made some changes to suit my taste. Since I have many of the spices used in Indian cuisine I just had to pull them out of the kitchen cabinet. The salmon was delicious. Rice would have been a more traditional accompaniment but those roasted sweet potatoes were terrific. If you don't have all of the spices called for just use what you have. The salmon will still taste great. If you have some chutney, this is the time to get it from the back of the fridge and put it on the table.

lb. salmon fillet

salt to taste

2 tbl. vegetable oil

1 small onion, peeled and diced

3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 1" pice fresh gingerroot, peeled and chopped fine

1/2 tsp. poppy seeds

black pepper, to taste

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground dried red chilies

1 large tomato, chopped

juice of 1 small lemon

1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook over medium heat until the onion is browned. Mix in the poppy seeds and ground pepper, stirring for a minute. Add the coriander, cumin and ground chili and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the tomato and stir. Add the salmon fillet and lemon juice, gently mixing the masala sauce over the salmon. Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until the fish is done.

Garnish with cilantro leaves.

Serves 3

NOTE: Rani uses salmon steaks. She puts the salmon steaks on a plate and sprinkles them with lemon juice, turmeric and salt and allows them to marinate for 15 minutes, while making the masala sauce. She adds the marinated salmon and lemon juice after the tomato goes into the masala. I didn't think that a 15 minute marinade would add extra flavor so I eliminated that step. If using steaks, cook the fish for 10-15 minutes.

Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup

I can't seem to get enough home-made, hearty soup lately. It must be the snow and freezing temperatures that have been in New York City for weeks. It's also a pleasure to cook up a big batch of soup and have it around for a few meals. This soup comes from Martha Rose Shulman and her online series for the New York Times called Recipes for Health. The dried mushrooms give the soup a meaty flavor and feel and the time investment is minimal. Enjoy the soup with great bread, a salad and cheese.

1/2 oz. dried porcini mushrooms

2 cups boiling water

1-2 tbl. extra virgin olive oil, as needed

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium carrots, diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced thick

2 large garlic cloves, minced

salt to taste

2/3 cup wild rice

2 quarts chicken or veggie stock or water

bouquet garnis of a few sprigs of thyme and parsley, bay leaf and Parmesan rind (see Notes)

1 cup frozen peas

freshly grated pepper to taste

1. Place the dried porcini mushrooms in a bowl or a Pyrex measuring cup, and pour on 2 cups boiling water. Let sit for 30 minutes. Set a strainer over a bowl and line it with cheesecloth. Lift the mushrooms from the water, and squeeze them over the strainer. Rinse in several changes of water, squeeze out the water and set aside. Pour the soaking water through the cheesecloth-lined strainer, and set aside.

2. Heat the oil in a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery. Cook, stirring often, until just about tender, about five minutes. Add the sliced fresh mushrooms. Cook, stirring, until the mushrooms are beginning to soften, about three minutes. Add the garlic and a generous pinch of salt. Continue to cook for about five minutes until the mixture is juicy and fragrant. Add the reconstituted dried mushrooms, the wild rice, bouquet garni, mushroom soaking liquid, stock or water, and salt to taste. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer one hour. Add the peas, and simmer another 10 minutes. Remove the bouquet garni, taste and adjust salt, add a generous amount of freshly ground pepper and serve.

Serves six.

Advance preparation: The soup will keep for about three days in the refrigerator, but the rice will swell and absorb the liquid, so you will have to add more to the pot when you reheat.

NOTES: Since I did not have the ingredients for a bouquet garnis, I added what I had on hand, a bay leaf and 1/2 tsp. of dried thyme. I removed the bay leaf when the soup was done. I doubled the amount of carrot and celery called for and did not add the frozen peas. Truthfully, I also did not use wild rice. That would have tasted delicious but I had leftover bulgur wheat (from the Georgian beef ragout meal (see 1/16/11) and added that during the last 10 minutes of cooking. Next time I will try the soup with the wild rice.

Georgian Beef Ragout

When Deb comes for dinner it's a perfect time to cook red meat. She is a carnivore and I have an excuse to take a break from chicken and fish. I prepared Georgian Beef Ragout a day in advance since it tastes better the following day. Alas, snow was in the forecast and Deb decided to hightail it home. What was I to do with a pot of ragout serving six? Henry and I had a feast and the rest is in the freezer awaiting Deb's next visit. The recipe is from Joyce Goldstein's cookbook Back To Square One. I made a few minor changes but basically followed the recipe. If you have a Deb in your life, surprise her with this.

1 tsp. finely minced garlic

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. coriander

3 lbs. beef chuck, cut into 1 1/2 inch squares

2-3 tbl. olive oil

3 large onions, diced (about 4 cups)

1 tbl. minced garlic

2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. ground coriander

1 1/2 cups diced, canned tomatoes

1 1/2 cups water or beef stock

2 cups pitted prunes

1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

1 tbl. grated lemon zest

3 tbl. chopped fresh cilantro

1 1/2 tsp. chopped fresh tarragon

salt and pepper to taste

Combine the garlic, paprika and coriander and rub into beef cubes. Cover and refrigerate overnight (see note).

Heat 2 tbl. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add as many beef cubes as will comfortably fit without crowding and brown on all sides. Transfer to a stew pot or Dutch oven. Repeat to brown all beef cubes, adding oil to the pan as needed for each batch. Add the onions to the skillet and cook 12 minutes. Add the garlic, paprika and coriander and cook 5 more minutes. Scrape the onion mixture into the stew pot with the beef and then add the tomatoes and water or stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, until the meat is tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add the prunes, walnuts, lemon zest, cilantro and tarragon during the last 30 minutes of cooking time. Season to taste and serve with noodles, kasha or potatoes.

The stew can be made 1 to 2 days in advance and reheated over a low flame or in a 350 degree oven.

Serves 6-8

NOTES: I put the spices on the meat a few hours before cooking, not overnight. If you skip this step altogether I think the ragout would still taste fine.

I used only 1 cup of prunes and quartered them before putting into the stew pot. I did not have the fresh tarragon so eliminated it and doubled the amount of cilantro. I added 4 sliced carrots during the last 30 minutes of cooking since I didn't plan on serving a separate vegetable. It worked for me.

I think that noodles or kasha would be heavenly with this dish but didn't have them. Bulgur wheat was a fine substitute.