When it comes to weeknight dining, time often determines quality. But when it’s 7 p.m. and you’re hungry, a supermarket convenience product can look really, really good. Add a little invention, and the results can look and taste really good as well.
Those who work on the Good Eating staff are no different. They, too, have their favorite quick-meal tricks, pulling a can of this or a box of that from the cupboard and turning it into a meal.
Here are some of their secret (till now) products and the stories that go with them.
MAKE MINE DRIED-AND FLAVORFUL
“Fresh” is a watchword of the best cooks, but I couldn’t survive a week without dried ingredients: dried pasta, dried chilies, rice, sun-dried tomatoes, etc. They suit my erratic cooking urges.
Dried mushrooms, sold in little cellophane bags, are a star staple. (My favorite so far is the curiously inexpensive porcini sold at Fresh Fields under the Urbani brand, $8 per 4-ounce bag.) Pour some boiling water over their wizened forms, wait about 20 minutes, then rinse and chop before adding to risottos, pilafs, stir-fries or whatever other dish needs a flavor boost.
Speaking of flavor: The soaking liquid is where much of it resides; use it as part of the liquid in your recipe. (Run it through a coffee filter first to remove grit.)
– Andy Badeker
RISOTTO ROSSO
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking time: 30 minutes
This dish ends up a brick-red color because of the mushroom liquid and the sun-dried tomatoes. If you have some leftover cooked chicken, stir it in near the end of cooking.
1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms, about 1 ounce
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), about 1 ounce
2 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup arborio rice
2 cans (13 3/4 ounces each) reduced-sodium chicken broth, heated
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano
1/2 cup dry white wine, optional
Salt, pepper to taste
Grated Parmesan, chopped parsley
1. Reconstitute tomatoes and mushrooms in separate small bowls by pouring 1 cup or so of the boiling water over each. Let soak 20 minutes or until softened (don’t worry if tomatoes are a little stiff at this point). Drain tomatoes, reserving liquid, and chop. Drain mushrooms, reserving liquid, and rinse. Squeeze dry and chop. Filter mushroom liquid to remove grit. Add liquids to chicken broth; you should have about 5 cups.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat in a 4-quart saucepan. When hot, add onion and garlic and cook until translucent, 1 minute. Add rice and cook, stirring, until rice is coated with oil and translucent, about 1 minute.
3. Add 1 cup of the heated broth; cook, stirring constantly. Add more broth in 1-cup additions as mixture thickens. When you have used about half the broth, add mushrooms, tomatoes and thyme or oregano. Toward the end of cooking sample rice for consistency; it should be firm but not crunchy. You may not need all the liquid.
4. Stir in wine, cook a couple of minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve topped with grated Parmesan and parsley.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…………350 Fat…………….9 g Cholesterol……..0 mg
Sodium………..435 mg Carbohydrates…..52 g Protein…………12 g
THE AURA OF ARTICHOKES
Artichokes, those green hand grenades with more detritus than edible flesh, always have held an exotic allure to a Midwestern boy.
The fresh ones are seasonal and tedious to prepare. But canned or frozen artichokes are available all year long to provide sophistication and an aura of “California dreamin’ ” to salads, stews and entrees.
When I see them on sale or at a fair price, I buy several containers to keep on hand.
Artichokes have the kind of warm background flavor that blends well with other flavors, mellowing the harsher ones and reinforcing those more subtle. They even work with fruits, though I’ve yet to try them with pineapples or mangoes.
The following light recipe can be thrown together at the last minute.
– Steven Pratt
PASTA WITH ARTICHOKE HEARTS
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 6 side-dish servings
Cooking time: 15 minutes
This recipe can be made with any variety of ingredients depending on what’s available: asparagus, peppers, eggplant, mushrooms, etc. The artichokes provide the cachet.
1 pound fusilli, farfalle or other pasta
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 stalk fennel, bulb and ribs cut in 3/4-inch chunks, green sprigs reserved
1 can (14 ounces) artichoke hearts, drained, quartered (reserve liquid, if canned) or 1 package (10 ounces) frozen
3/4 cup Kalamata or other ripe olives, sliced
1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon granules, optional
1 teaspoon hot pepper flakes or more to taste
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper, freshly grated Parmesan cheese to taste
1. Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions or until al dente.
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2. Heat olive oil in large skillet; cook onion, half of the garlic, and fennel bulb and ribs just until translucent. Add artichoke hearts, olives, hot pepper flakes, two tablespoons artichoke juice or water, bouillon cubes if using, remainder of garlic and lemon juice. Cook until thoroughly heated and saucy. Add more artichoke juice or water if necessary.
3. Drain pasta; toss with vegetables. Add salt and pepper. Sprinkle with freshly grated Parmesan cheese; garnish with reserved fennel sprigs.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories…………..195 Fat……………….5 g Cholesterol….25 mg
Sodium………….300 mg Carbohydrates……..31 g Protein……….7 g
SALSA AS SAVIOR
Nachos are my quick-fix when the cupboard’s bare and time is pressed. But there are no nachos without salsa–and a trusty can of tomatoes delivers that key ingredient in a hurry.
The original recipe comes from Isabel Mercado, who moved to River Grove from Mexico City. Isabel used fresh, ripe tomatoes–a year-round product in sunny Mexico but not in Chicago.
My sister, Denise, adapted the recipe to use Italian-style canned tomatoes, and now they’re a permanent fixture in my kitchen too. I part ways with them on the subject of garlic; the recipe from Mexico uses 1 teaspoon of garlic salt. I use a garlic clove and salt to taste.
– Renee Enna
DENISABEL’S SALSA
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Yield: 31/2 cups
The salsa is great on a nachos platter: Layer it cold on tortilla chips covered with melted cheese, refried beans and guacamole (I mash an avocado with oil, salt and pepper to taste). This sauce also works warm, topped on a chicken breast.
2 jalapeno peppers, boiled 5 minutes, chopped (but not seeded), with 1 teaspoon reserved
1 can (28 ounces) Italian-style whole, plum tomatoes
1 small onion, chopped, with 1 teaspoon reserved
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt to taste
1. Place tomatoes in saucepan; heat to boiling.
2. Put tomatoes and remaining ingredients except for reserved jalapenos and onions in blender or food processor. Pulse until blended. Stir in reserved onion and peppers. Serve cold or warm.
Nutrition information per 2 cup:
Calories…………..15 Fat……………..0 g Cholesterol……..0 mg
Sodium………….95 mg Carbohydrates…….4 g Protein………….1 g
TUNA REDUX
When my daughter was young, tuna casserole starred as a weekly staple. It was quick, easy (especially when I simply opened a can of soup to make the sauce–but don’t tell anyone). She loved it. But once she was off to college, the tuna casserole seemed to disappear too.
But then a strange thing happened. Mom rediscovered tuna for herself. It’s no longer the chunk light version in oil purchased in whatever brand was on sale that week. Now it is white albacore in spring water and its taste is as different from that old tuna as baby-food custard is from creme brulee.
And instead of Mueller’s noodles, I now use fettuccine or fusilli, penne or rotini. And the skimpy frozen peas that once mixed with the tuna, have become a bounty of any fresh vegetable that’s handy. Asparagus, broccoli, zucchini or spinach are fav-orites.
As for the sauce, it no longer is a kind of library paste. As often as not, it can be a reduced chicken broth flavored with herbs. Or, if it is creaminess I have a hankering for, it will be made with 2 percent or skim milk and just a touch of flour for thickening.
Here is one likely version of my quick, weeknight tuna concoction.
– Carol Mighton Haddix
NEW TUNA CASSEROLE
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 servings
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Boiling water for pasta
1/2 pound fusilli or fettuccine
1 small head broccoli, separated into florets, cooked to almost tender
1 cup any combination of other cooked, sliced vegetables, such as zucchini, red or yellow peppers, spinach or mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter or olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can (6 ounces) white albacore tuna
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon or other herbs, such as dill or thyme to taste
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
Freshly grated Parmesan
1. Heat water to boil in large pot. Add pasta; cook until tender, according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, heat butter in large skillet. Add onion; cook until tender, about 2 minutes. (If you like a thicker sauce, add a heaping teaspoon of flour; cook 1 minute.) Add tuna, broth, herbs, salt and pepper. Cook 5 minutes over medium heat. Add the vegetables.
3. Drain pasta; return to pot. Pour broth and vegetables over. Toss lightly to coat. Pour into large serving bowl. Serve with Parmesan.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories……………330 Fat……………….5 g Cholesterol…20 mg
Sodium…………..405 mg Carbohydrates……..50 g Protein……..22 g
GNOCCHI MEET GORGONZOLA
Duck fat offers partial proof that I’m not exactly normal. Foodwise, anyway.
When asked to name my favorite, can’t-live-without-it staple, I kept insisting it’s the little container of duck fat that has permanent residence in my freezer. My reasoning is along the lines of “a little dab will do ya.” Vegetable gumbo, thrown together in minutes, with whatever, sings when the base is a little of the demon duck fat. Potatoes and onions border on sublime. Ditto for simple pasta and rice dishes.
The response from colleagues was along the lines of “get real.” Defeated, I dug behind the duck fat and found the other constants in the freezer. There’s always an array of pastas, and gnocchi has recently become the favored among them, supplanting the tortellini.
These little potato dumplings have all sorts of assets, with quick being high on the list.
As to how I cook them, I’m fixated on a dish served at La Rampa, a restaurant in Rome that’s just off the Spanish Steps. There, gnocchi is served in a pool of creamy Gorgonzola sauce that’s so good it’s hard not to get rhapsodic. I can’t be that indulgent for weeknight meals so the amounts of cream and cheese have been reduced. I add some vegetables to the mix, too, creating a one-dish meal.
– Pat Dailey
GNOCCHI WITH SPINACH, PEPPERS AND GORGONZOLA
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Cooking time: 10 minutes
1 package (12 ounces) frozen gnocchi
1 tablespoon hot chili oil (or use olive oil and a large pinch of crushed red pepper flakes)
1/2 small onion, diced
1 small red bell pepper, diced
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1 cup packed baby spinach leaves
2 teaspoons minced fresh herbs, preferably a mix, such as rosemary, chives, thyme
2 tablespoons each: whipping cream, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
1. Heat a pan of water to a boil. Add gnocchi and cook until they rise to the top of the water, 4 to 6 minutes.
2. While the gnocchi are cooking, heat the oil, with the crushed pepper flakes if using, in a large skillet over high heat. Add onion and bell pepper. Cook, stirring often, until they are charred, 5 minutes.
3. Drain gnocchi and add to the skillet along with spinach and herbs. Cook until spinach wilts, 1 minute. Add cream and cheese, stir to combine and remove from heat. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories……………410 Fat……………..27 g Cholesterol….60 mg
Sodium…………..285 mg Carbohydrates……..8 g Protein………35 g
A BEAN FETISH
Very few dietary pronouncements make me happy. But when the news went forth that we should eat more “pulses” (as dried beans and peas are known in nutritionland), I was delighted.
My bean fetish began early. My father was a native of Boston, so molasses- and pork-enriched baked beans were a weekly fixture in my childhood diet. A stay in Puerto Rico introduced me to turtle beans and the addictive combination of black beans and rice. In France, I discovered that delicate-looking, gray-green flageolets are the perfect companion to garlic-flavored roast lamb. In Italy, I quickly fell in love with the big, white, meaty beans called cannellini that are served plain or used to give body to a soup, stew or salad.
Back home, I made the useful and time-saving discovery that these canned beans, when drained, rinsed and combined with olive oil or broth, herbs and other flavorings, are very acceptable, even delicious.
Talk about convenience! The beans heat in less time than it takes to set a table. When time presses, I use them to accompany a steak or chicken breast, or in quick and satisfying preparations such as the accompanying one.
– William Rice
WHITE BEANS WITH ESCAROLE
Preparation time: 7 to 10 minutes
Yield: 2 servings
Cooking time: 10 to 12 minutes
3 tablespoons olive oil, extra-virgin preferred
2 cloves garlic, peeled, slivered or coarsely chopped
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 small head escarole, torn into bite-size pieces
1 can (19 ounces) white beans,
Italian cannellini (white kidney) preferred, drained, rinsed
Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste
1 1/2 to 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice, or to taste
1. Heat oil with garlic and red pepper flakes over medium-low heat in a high-sided pan or casserole until garlic turns golden, about 3 minutes. Add escarole and 1/4 cup water; raise heat to medium-high. Stir to coat leaves with oil; cover.
2. Cook until escarole has softened, stirring once, about 4 minutes. Add beans, stir, lower heat to medium, cover pan and heat beans only until warmed through, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Season with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Portion into bowls or onto plates and serve.
Nutrition information per serving:
Calories……………535 Fat…………….22 g Cholesterol……0 mg
Sodium……………60 mg Carbohydrates……67 g Protein……….22 g