Red Lentil Soup

Red lentil soup

Lately I’m obsessed with lentils.  Our pantry shelves are lined with them—bags and boxes filled with miniature rounds of black, green and brown.  To those who rifle around looking for more readily edible snacks, my compulsion is slightly puzzling.  A collection of shoes in the closet or books on the shelf is easier to understand.  But mothers have other odd obsessions as well, best ignored, as teens well know; simply shove the legumes aside and move on to the chips.

Loving lentils makes sense to me, if to no one else.  I cook dinner every day for a vegetarian family, and legumes and beans offer us a rich source of vegetable protein that’s essential to our diet.  And beyond the nutrition, they’re a treasure trove of inspiration as well.  I’ve no doubt I could add lentils to the pot day after day, week after week, and never repeat the same concoction twice (unless I wanted to).  One day it’s soup, another a main-dish salad.  Then on to a stew or dal.

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Arugula Fava Bean Crostini

Arugula Fava Bean Crostini

This recipe was adapted from Bon Appetit magazine by guest writer, Lauren Hidalgo.

I first made this recipe a few years ago, after a farm box arrived with fava beans, and I didn’t know what to do with them.  Although it does involve some time to shuck, cook, and skin the fava beans, you’ll find the results well worth the effort.  When fava beans are not in season use frozen edamame.

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Roasted Cauliflower with Pangrattato Topping

Roasted Cauliflower with Pangrattato

If you’ve got a few stray ends of stale baguette or other crusty bread, don’t toss them.  Instead grind into crumbs and toast with butter and olive oil, garlic, orange zest and herbs.  You’ll have a quick and delicious topping, known in Italy as pangrattato, that dresses up roasted vegetables, like cauliflower, with crunchy flavor.  For an easy main dish, toss the entire lot with your favorite cooked pasta such as fusilli or farfalle.  This version of pangrattato is inspired by Nigel Slater.

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Parsley Oil

Parsley Oil

This recipe is adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s vegetarian cookbook, Plenty.  We’ve reduced the garlic and lemon juice slightly from the original recipe. The parsley oil can be served in many ways, but the one we like the best is parsley oil on sliced, toasted baguette with roasted baby tomatoes. This would make a great appetizer. Another way to use the parsley oil is on Smashed Roasted Potatoes. This recipe is good for a nice, acidic pop to complete a dish.  Try substituting other seasonal herbs, such as basil, cilantro or arugula.

This recipe was photographed and tested by Emma P, Ashley J, Ariana C and Katelyn E—7th graders at The Girls’ Middle School.

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Lemon Parsley Oil

Tess' Smashed Potatoes

This lemon-parsley oil is easy to make, flavorful, and adds a certain “zip” to any meal.  It would be terrific with Smashed Roasted Potatoes (pictured above). We’ve reduced the garlic and lemon juice slightly from the original version.

This recipe was adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi’s vegetarian cookbook, Plenty, by Tess M and Caroline W—6th graders at The Girls’ Middle School.

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