Red Lentil Soup

The other night along with Mr. a, we went to this wonderful book launch and tasting event (pictured above) for "The Essential New York Times Cookbook" and "In The Kitchen With A Good Appetite" With Authors Amanda Hesser and Melissa Clark. We ate copious amounts of delicious bites from well known restaurants including Blue Hill, Gramercy Tavern, Locanda Verde to name a few. The event was to benefit an incredible program started by Bill Telepan, Wellness in the Schools. It took place in a cool chelsea market space and the place was peppered with food-literati-celebrities. I met Dorie Greenspan (yay!), and both Amanda Hesser and Melissa Clark. I thought I could not possibly leave without a book purchase and I went with Ms. Clark's book given the lower price tag. She was lovely by the way.
Looking through the book her Red Lentil Soup seemed like the perfect fall dinner and it did not disappoiint. It was a lot of soup so I froze half, also I added some grated ginger and Aleppo pepper I had at hand. Hope you enjoy!



Red Lentil Soup with Lemon
Adapted slightly from In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite, by Melissa Clark

4 Tbsp. olive oil, plus additional good oil for drizzling
2 large yellow onions, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
2 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste
A few grinds of freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne or Aleppo pepper, or more to taste
2 quarts chicken or vegetable broth
2 cups red lentils, picked through for stones and debris
2 large carrots, peeled and diced
Juice of 1 lemon, or more to taste
1 1/2 tsp grated ginger
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro

In a large pot, warm the oil over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering. Add the onions and garlic and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, cumin, salt, pepper, and cayenne, and cook for 2 minutes longer. Add the broth, 2 cups water, the lentils, and the carrots. Bring to a simmer, then partially cover the pot and reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Continue to cook until the lentils are soft, about 30 minutes. Taste, and add more salt if necessary. Using an immersion or regular blender, puree about half of the soup. It should still be somewhat chunky, not completely smooth. Reheat if necessary, then stir in the lemon juice, grated ginger and cilantro. Serve the soup drizzled with good olive oil and dusted very lightly with cayenne, if desired.
* I also added some avocado slices into the soup at the end as a garnish, it was yum.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings

a poached salad for lunch

I had my friend Carol over the other day for lunch. It was a lovely sunny autumn day and a light poached salmon salad dressed up seemed perfect for the occassion. I ran into this recipe as I was reading through one of my favorite food blogs. It was delicious! I only adapted it slightly, breaking down the raw edge of the shallots by soaking them in lemon juice a few minutes. I always think this is better than the raw oniony taste. Enjoy!

poached salmon salad with crumbled feta, chickpeas, and crispy capers. (mustard horseradish dressing)
recipe adapted slightly from what katie ate
Ingredients
10 oz salmon fillet
juice of 1 lemon
1 tsp black peppercorns

2 large handfuls of baby arugula
1 small shallot thinly sliced soaked in lemon juice and pinch of salt (to take edge off)
1 15 oz. can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
5 oz good quality Feta cheese
3 tsp salted capers, well rinsed
3 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:
1 tbsp mincred fresh horseradish
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard (or dijon)

Procedure:
Into a medium-sized saucepan place 3 cups of water, the peppercorns and lemon juice, bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes to infuse flavors. Place raw salmon fillet into the pot, cover and take off the heat. Set aside for 15 minutes. By the end of this time, the salmon will be cooked. Allow to cool to touch then remove salmon using slotted spoon and flake into pieces.

Using a large flat platter (or bowl if you prefer), scatter the baby arugula, shallots, chickpeas and poached salmon then crumble the feta cheese on top. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan and when sufficiently hot, add the capers and fry for a few minutes until crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper to remove excess oil. Sprinkle crispy capers all over plated salad. Season with a pinch of sea salt and a generous amount of black pepper.

To make the dressing:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and drizzle over salad.

Kitchen Love

Hello! Welcome to another series of drool-worthy-dreamy kitchens. Enjoy.

First two images via Lonny. Last three via Desire to Inspire

Fall Salad & Crostini

The other night I had time (a catering-gig-free-night)to cook dinner for us and I spoiled mr. a rotten, one of my favorite things to do. I whipped up a meal from things I had hanging out in the fridge. First I started off with pan seared foie gras (left over from catered dinner) over thinly sliced caramelized bosc pear on olive oil crostini finished with a balsamic reduction. They were inhaled to say the least! Then we moved on to Roasted Cauliflower with Gremolata Crumbs, which again was really quickly eaten up. We rounded out the meal with this delicious in season warm butternutsquash salad. Once the fall begins, I cannot seem to have enough butternutsquash! See recipe below. It keeps wonderfully in the fridge for days. I am just finishing the left overs as I write this! Enjoy!

Warm Butternut and Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Adapted from Orangette, who adapted it from Casa Moro

Yield: 4 servings

For salad:
1 medium butternut squash (about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed
1/2 teaspoons ground allspice (I skip this)
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed (1 1/2 cups)
1/4 of a medium red onion, finely chopped (I caramelized them! Yum!)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

For tahini dressing:
1 medium garlic clove, finely minced with a pinch of salt
1/4 cup lemon juice
3 tablespoons well-stirred tahini
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more to taste

Preheat the oven to 425°F.

In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, garlic, allspice, olive oil, and a few pinches of salt. Toss the squash pieces until evenly coated. Roast them on a baking sheet for 25 minutes, or until soft. Remove from the oven and cool.

Meanwhile, make the tahini dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic and lemon juice. Add the tahini, and whisk to blend. Add the water and olive oil, whisk well, and taste for seasoning. The sauce should have plenty of nutty tahini flavor, but also a little kick of lemon. You will probably need to add more water to thin it out.

To assemble the salad, combine the squash, chickpeas, onion, and cilantro or parsley in a mixing bowl. Either add the tahini dressing to taste, and toss carefully, or you could serve the salad with the dressing on the side. Serve immediately.

Do ahead: Molly says this salad, lightly dressed, keeps beautifully in the fridge, that you should hold a little of the dressing on the side and that it can be reheated in the microwave.

Breaking the fast

I had my friend Alexis over a few days ago this is what we ate for breakfast/brunch. It is a riff on huevos rancheros, greek baked eggs, with a bit of spanish kick to it. Enjoy!

Tomato and Feta Baked Eggs
(makes generous 2 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large shallot (diced)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)
28 oz can whole peeled tomatoes (chopped, I used half the can only)
1/4 teaspoon oregano
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 handful fresh herbs (chopped, I used parsley)
1/2 cup feta (crumbled)
4 eggs



Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the shallot and saute until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
3. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and saute until fragrant, about a minute.
4. Add the tomato, oregano, cumin, smoked paprika, salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 5-10 minutes.
5. Remove from heat and mix in the fresh herbs and feta.
6. Divide between two individually sized baking dishes, indent the centers with a spoon and crack the eggs into the indentations.
7. Bake in a preheated 425F oven until the sauce is bubbly and the egg whites have just set, about 8-14 minutes.

Conscious Chocolate

Theo Chocolate, my latest chocolate obsession. Walking aroud wholefoods the other day I stopped to taste a free sample. Free chocolate...'yes thank you very much'. I asked the lady at the stand which one was her favorite, I took a piece, savored, and before she finished her sentence I was hooked. Some people talk about chocolate the way other people talk about wine and cheese. To be honest I don't fully get all the nuances, this chocolate was simply ridiculously delicious. I bought two of their 75% cacao bars. Needless to say we inhaled them. I looked at their website and they are a really cool company. They are the first and only organic and fair trade chocolate producers in the United States. Chocolate with a conscience.

Olla New York

I am so happy to finally share with you my new website, Olla. A huge big thanks to my dear friend, computer genius and talented writer, Nina, who more than helped me put it all together. Thanks Ninis! I am excited about this new adventure, although it has been going on for a while, this website makes it all the more "official". I look forward to sharing with you all culinary journeys. xx