Summer is here, but for the last couple of weeks, it was not really summer, it was grey, cloudy and mostly rainy. Sometimes it was also cold. This weather, and the fact that my husband still insists on not eating, pushed me to look for something new to add to my life, or at least my table. My husband was working with a beige palette: waffles, corn flakes etc., I, on the other hand, tried to have some action by always adding salads and fruits. But since I was working, I didn't have enough time or energy to really think about something actually new. I kept repeating the same menus until I really got fed up. As usual, my menus were planned according to the need of having the leftovers for lunch the following day over a salad of lettuce, cucumber and tomato. I was not happy. Every now and then, I came up with some ideas that I thought I should put together in one blog. So today we are going out of the ordinary and adding lots of color in our meals.
TORTELLINI PRIMAVERA
The easiest way to add color to a meal is to make it "primavera". The word may have meant something different when people started using it to qualify certain pasta dishes, but today almost everyone considers a pasta dish "primavera" if they simply add some vegetables to it. When I was confronted with the need of going out of my husband's beige palette, I decided to use the vegetables I had in the refrigerator to have a pinch of color in my dinner. This dish does not need an actual recipe. Use what you have. It can be made with regular pasta and any vegetables you have. I chose cheese tortellini with asparagus, carrots and some chicken that I had cooked the day before. The ratio also depends on your taste, you can put more or less from any ingredient you like. Simply boil some salted water in a large pot to cook the tortellini, add the carrots to cook with the pasta. I used baby carrots that I cut almost the same size of the pasta. Add the asparagus, also cut the same size, to the pot just before you remove it from heat. Drain, add the chicken pieces. I made a rather big batch, so that I can have some of it for lunch the next day at work. To make different dishes out of this one, change the dressing. The options are limitless starting from a simple vinaigrette to an elaborate blue cheese dressing. Also you can make it from scratch or simply add a store bought dressing, it's up to you. Just keep in mind that you only add dressing to the quantity you are going to use, the rest can keep in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. When you use the last batch, add some fresh lettuce and tomato to it, you'll have the feeling of having something fresh that you just made.
CARROT SOUP
When we had a couple of cold rainy days, salad was not really an option for dinner. I needed something soothing, something light but delicious. What better than soup? Luckily I was in a good mood, so I decided to make something new. I usually buy big bags of baby carrots and keep them in the refrigerator to cook with them and have as a snack. I think many chefs have elaborate recipes for carrot soup, but I thought I didn't need a recipe to make a good soup. So I used 40 baby carrots and 1 potato cut in small chunks. In a large pot I cooked 2 tbsp chopped onions in a drop of oil until translucent, added the carrots and potato, covered with stock (or water), and let cook until tender. Puree the vegetables in a blender or with an immersion blender. Return to medium low heat, add some cumin and half a can of tomato sauce. I decided to add the sauce because I felt it was not colorful enough. Don't add too much though or else you'll have tomato soup. Adjust the seasoning and serve hot. You can add a dollop of sour cream or some croutons. I didn't, I like it plain, and the potato is enough.
BULGHUR SALAD SURPRISE
Today my husband asked for his usual dish, veal Milanese. I made it for him, but I simply cannot serve a meat dish without anything colorful on the side. For some reason I had left on the counter a can of whole beets that I forgot to put back in the pantry after I reorganized it yesterday. Looking at the beets I had an "Aha" moment: I decided to use it in a salad, not the ordinary beet salad that I usually make, but a salad with a twist. The day before I had organized my pantry, checked out what needed to be replaced or used asap. So I looked at the pastas in front of me: I had a jar of fine cut bulghur. We usually use it in Lebanese tabbouleh, with green herbs. What if we changed the color? What? How? It's simple, beets. Beets are the solution. You'll need:
1 can (15 oz) whole beets
1 cup bulghur very fine cut
1/2 heart of romaine lettuce
1 avocado
2 to 3 scallions
1/2 bunch each dill and cilantro
1 tbsp oil
Lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste
Drain the can of beets in a cup to measure the liquid. It will be about 3/4 cup. Rinse the can with enough water just to fill up the cup (the bulghur I had needs 1 cup liquid for 1 cup grains). Bring the liquid to a boil in a sauce pan, then add the bulghur. Stir once or twice, then remove from heat and let it absorb all the liquid. In a bowl, chop the beets, finely chop the scallions, white part and a little green, the dill and cilantro. Add the bulghur, lemon juice and oil. Mix and season to taste. Finely slice the lettuce, arrange it on a serving dish, pile the bulghur mixture over it. Seed, peel and slice the avocado. Arrange the avocado slices in the corners of the plate and dice some on top. You will be pleasantly surprised by the explosion of flavors of the herbs in this salad.
