Grated Radish Salad

Am I the only person who didn't realize that you can grate radishes? I wish I'd thought of this earlier this summer: grated radishes + avocado + salt and pepper + rice or white wine vinegar. Yum.

Easy Lentil Salad With Tarragon-Mustard Dressing

I love these little lentils. Don't the swirls of color remind you of a Van Gogh painting?

And, I love this lentil salad, with a tangy tarragon-mustard dressing. It makes a great addition to a summer salad, and most of the ingredients are probably already in your refrigerator or pantry.

Dressing adapted from this potato salad recipe.

Ingredients
1 cup lentils, picked over and rinsed (I used French lentils)
3 cups water
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 scant tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 and 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot, washed and minced
3 teaspoons dried tarragon, crushed (or 2 tablespoons fresh tarragon, washed and minced)
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
black pepper to taste

Place the lentils and water in a small saucepan. Cover, bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are cooked but still firm (this will probably be between 15 and 20 minutes, depending on the type of lentils you are using).

While the lentils are cooking, whisk the remaining ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside.

Drain the cooked lentils and place them in a medium-sized bowl.

Pour the dressing over the warm lentils and toss to coat.

Serve warm or chilled.

Pasta With Chickpeas, Rosemary, and Garlic

Yes, it is a lot of garlic. And rosemary. And red pepper flakes. But soooo darn addictive.

The first time I made this, I used my blender to puree the chickpeas. The second time, I just went at them with a potato masher. As might be expected, the sauce made with the blender was smoother -- but I kind of like the chunky mashed chickpea texture, too.

Ingredients
16 ounces campanelle or other small pasta, prepared per package instructions
5 cups drained cooked or canned chickpeas (rinse if using canned)
3 cups water, divided
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 ounce rosemary sprigs, washed, with the leaves removed and minced
1 teaspoon salt (I used 2 teaspoons with unsalted cooked chickpeas)

Place the chickpeas and 1 cup water in a blender and puree until smooth (or, alternatively, place the chickpeas and 1 cup water in a large bowl and mash until the chickpeas are smooth or you are tired).

Heat the olive oil and red pepper flakes in a large skillet over medium heat.

Add the garlic and minced rosemary and cook, stirring frequently, for about a minute, or until the garlic begins to brown.

Stir in the salt.

Carefully add the pureed/mashed chickpeas to the skillet, and stir to combine with the seasoned oil.

Add the remaining two cups of water to the skillet and stir until the chickpea mixture is smooth.

Allow the chickpea mixture to come to a boil, and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Stir in the cooked pasta and serve.

44 Hour Pizza Dough (30 Minutes From Fridge To Plate)

I love homemade pizza (see exhibits A, B, C, and D), but it can be hard to find time to let the dough rise between assembly and baking. So, a recent New York Times article about allowing pizza dough to rest for 24 to 48 hours before baking appealed to me in terms of efficiency, rather than improved taste or texture.

I mixed up my dough on a Thursday evening (using my standard recipe from Bittman's How To Cook Everything Vegetarian), and then placed it in a covered bowl in the refrigerator. On Saturday afternoon, I came home, peeked into the fridge, and saw that the dough had risen nicely. The pizza was in the oven about 20 minutes later. Ten minutes after that, I was marveling at how much better a pizza crust that's rested for a couple of days really is. And not just because I was pleased to be eating a freshly-baked homemade pizza about a half-hour after I walked in the door (although that was nice, too).

The flavor and texture of the crust were lighter, even though it was the same recipe that I normally use. (The NYT used the word "nuanced" to describe the change in flavor, which sounds silly when applied to pizza crust but is, I think, accurate). The only downside is that I ate much more pizza than I normally would, because I kept wanting to "confirm" the difference.

Spicy Lentil Stew (Mesir Wat) Part II

I am completely addicted to the spicy lentil stew I made a few weeks back. Turns out, it's even good for breakfast. And, it was one of the only things that made my head feel better during a recent cold/sinus infection.

The original recipe calls for four tablespoons of butter; two tablespoons of canola (or other vegetable) oil make a good substitute.

(Yes, the stew looks completely different in this photo than it did in the original post -- what can I say? -- the first photo was shabby.)

Green Pizza (Pizza With Spinach, Mushrooms, and Garlic)

I've been experimenting with pizza toppings again. This combination includes a green sauce of pureed spinach, garlic, red pepper flakes, and olive oil, with mushrooms (and more garlic) and parmesan cheese on top.

Yes, I do like garlic. Why do you ask?

Ingredients
1 batch pizza dough
9-10 button mushrooms, washed and diced
16 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
5 cloves of garlic, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for brushing
dash red pepper flakes
3/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese

In a medium bowl, toss the diced mushrooms with 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a food processor, puree the frozen spinach with 3 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the red pepper flakes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 500F.

Lightly brush a baking sheet with olive oil.

Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface, and transfer to the baking sheet.

Carefully spread the pureed spinach mixture over the pizza dough. Top with the mushrooms and parmesan cheese.

Bake at 500F for 6-12 minutes, monitoring carefully after the 6 minute mark.

Ethiopian Split Pea Stew (Kik Alicha) and Spicy Lentil Stew (Mesir Wat)

I haven't been eating many legumes lately. Perhaps I needed a break after a long winter of stews and soups? But, a recent meal at an Ethiopian restaurant made me realize that I'd actually missed lentils and split peas -- and left me craving more Ethiopian food. So, I sorted through different recipes on the internet, tracked down some spicy berbere seasoning, and made my very first attempt at mesir wat (spicy lentil stew, seasoned with berbere) and kik alicha (a mild but tasty yellow split pea stew, which provides a nice counterbalance to the wat). As you can see from the photo, I cheated a bit and made naan to eat with my stew, rather than injera.

The result? I can't vouch for authenticity, but they are both delicious. I think I would even be happy to eat them during a mid-winter slump.

Spicy lentil stew recipe here, yellow split pea stew recipe here. I found bebere seasoning ($7.99 for a 1-pound bag) at the World Food Bazaar, 242 N. Havana in Aurora.