BASICS: EVERYDAY LENTIL SOUP

Your day may be filled with potatoes and pecans and cranberries but dinner tonight may not have crossed your mind. And maybe this is not just a Thanksgiving eve problem, I get stuck with less than exciting options in my fridge to throw a dinner together but I usually have the staples for a simple bowl of lentil soup. I am excited to build up that "basics" section I mentioned and I absolutely believe that lentil soup has a place there. This soup builds off of a dependable mirepoix with the addition of sweet potato. I use two types of lentils for their texture differences and a gentle hand with the spices and then it's hands off while the dutch oven works it comfy, warm meal magic. There is maybe an Indian background from the turmeric and just enough spice to keep it from being bland. Add and get creative as you wish, but hope that this quick soup of pantry staples can make meal time a little easier some night soon. 

EVERYDAY LENTIL SOUP // Serves 4
I did not use two types of lentils to make it complicated for you, I believe they add a different texture and color. The reds will break down and add some heartiness to the broth where the green will hold their individual shape. Both are lovely, but if you find this to be a hassle, go with just green. Once you blend a bit of the soup, the broth with still get some bulk to it regardless. The color will be a little more murky. If you like a bit of heat, add one chopped jalapeno to the vegetable mixture.

Both lentils and spices are available on Thrive if you’re looking to order by mail! The link here gets you 30-days free and a 25% off discount on your first box.

2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion
1 large carrot, peeled
1 medium sweet potato, peeled
2 stalks of celery
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 tsp. lemon pepper (or something similar, like Mrs. Dash)
1 tsp. dried Italian herbs
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, to taste
1/2 cup green or dePuy Lentils
1/2 cup split red lentils
5 cups vegetable or chicken broth*
1/2 tsp. turmeric or coriander
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter or olive oil
3 cups roughly chopped kale

squeeze of lemon, optional
1/2 cup chopped parsley, for garnish
1/2-3/4 cup grated parmesan or something similar (dry and sharp)
fresh, toasted baguette, for serving

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil. Chop the onion, carrot, sweet potato and celery into roughly 1/4" pieces. Put all of the vegetables, including garlic, into the warm pot with the sea salt and saute until just softened, about 5-6 minutes. Stir in the lemon pepper, Italian herbs, red pepper and both lentils. Add the broth and stir. Turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for 30-40 minutes until everything is tender but not mushy. Using an immersion or regular blender, blend up about half of the soup just so it gets thicker but nowhere close to purees. You still want the texture of the vegetables to come through. Turn off the heat. Stir in the turmeric, butter/oil and kale and stir for the greens to just soften and marry into the soup. Taste for seasoning. 
Serve each bowl with a squeeze of lemon, parsley and generous sprinkle of parmesan. Best served with crusty baguette on the side. 

*Soup texture is a personal preference. I don't really like them stewy, but it's always easier to add liquid than go back. I found five cups to be about right after blending and letting it cool down a bit (where it thickens slightly), you may adjust to taste. 

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Sara Forte 2019-02-12

Lentil Soup

4

An everyday lentil soup that builds off of a dependable mirepoix.

• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 large carrot, peeled
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled
• 2 stalks of celery
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp. lemon pepper (or something similar, like Mrs. Dash)
• 1 tsp. Italian herbs
• 1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes, to taste
• 1/2 cup green or dePuy Lentils
• 1/2 cup split red lentils
• 5 cups vegetable or chicken broth*
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter or olive oil
• 3 cups roughly chopped kale
• squeeze of lemon, optional
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley, for garnish
• 1/2-3/4 cup grated parmesan or something similar (dry and sharp)
• fresh, toasted baguette, for serving

365 calories14 grams fat49 grams carbohydrate16 grams protein

In a large dutch oven over medium heat, warm the olive oil.

Chop the onion, carrot, sweet potato and celery into roughly 1/4" pieces. Put all of the vegetables, including garlic, into the warm pot with the sea salt and saute until just softened, about 5-6 minutes.

Stir in the lemon pepper, Italian herbs, red pepper and both lentils.

Add the broth and stir. Turn the heat to low and cover. Cook for 30-40 minutes until everything is tender but not mushy.

Using an immersion or regular blender, blend up about half of the soup just so it gets thicker but nowhere close to purees. You still want the texture of the vegetables to come through. Turn off the heat.

Stir in the turmeric, butter/oil and kale and stir for the greens to just soften and marry into the soup. Taste for seasoning.

Serve each bowl with a squeeze of lemon, parsley and generous sprinkle of parmesan. Best served with crusty baguette on the side.

*Soup texture is a personal preference. I don't really like them stewy, but it's always easier to add liquid than go back. I found five cups to be about right after blending and letting it cool down a bit (where it thickens slightly), you may adjust to taste.

PT15M

PT40M

PT55M

Italian

Entrée

soup, vegetarian, gluten free

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PUMPKIN PIE TART

Well that didn't turn out how I thought it would. I was so excited yesterday - grateful that at one point in history women weren't considered important or intelligent enough to even vote and now one may be president! That is huge. But today, feeling pretty disappointed that he is the best we could come up with, and with that, the vicious comments and hate that are being tossed around far lightly. I was encouraged by Glennon Doyle's words: 

Woman Warriors have always made beautiful worlds out of nothing.

Every time a child gets sick or a man leaves or a parent dies or a community crumbles, the women are the ones who carry on, who do what must be done in the midst of their own pain. While those around them fall away, the women hold the sick and nurse the the weak, put food on the table, carry their families' sadness and anger and love and hope. They keep showing up for their lives and their people with the odds stacked against them and the weight of the world on their shoulders. They never stop singing songs of truth, love, and redemption in the face of hopelessness. They are inexhaustible, ferocious, relentless.

We've been Warriors all along, and nothing will change that.

We are not what just happened. But we might be what we do next.

The world needs our relentless, inexhaustible, fierce, boundlessness love today more than it ever has before. So let's do what we do: Let's feed some hungry babies and clothe some hurting families and get the heat turned back on for as many as possible.

- Glennon Doyle Melton

I signed up for a vegetable side and a non-pie dessert for Thanksgiving. I didn't necessarily have any dishes in mind besides not liking overcooked green beans or marshmallows on my sweet potatoes and generally not liking pie. We are having dinner with Hugh's side and there are a lot of people - three generations down from a family of five kids and it makes for a full house and a pretty random spread sometimes. So what is "of the season" but not pie? I understand the buttery crust is a vehicle for flavorful fillings and some people are all about it, but I will take most anything else before pie. The crust is a little plain and the filling usually overly sweet to compensate and I'll just take a scoop of the a la mode portion please. I tinkered with a pumpkin pie filling, cleaning it up as much as I could, and made a rough crust of dates, nuts and oats to carry it. Before the whipped topping, it resembles a breakfast good, I would suggest it for such - kind of like granola on the bottom with barely sweetened squash goodness on top. I heaped creaminess on top and sprinkled a little turbinado sugar and I'm already excited to eat this again in a couple weeks.

Remember we get to choose to be good to each other. 

* If you live in the So Cal area, come to Heritage Mercantile in Costa Mesa this Sunday, 11/13 for a small book event! There will be snacks and drinks and beautiful home and kitchen goods so come hang and maybe do a little holiday shopping. You can rsvp on their site. Hope to see you!

PUMPKIN PIE TART // Serves 8-10

The tart is both gluten and dairy free and then I leave the whipped topping decision to you. You could make a coconut cream or go straight whipping cream and both options are in the published recipe. If you are taking this somewhere to share, a hot tip I learned was to add a couple tablespoons of mascarpone or cream cheese to the whipping cream and it'll help it stay set for longer. I also love the depth of flavor. This direction does take us away from the dairy free camp but is delicious. The coconut cream should keep fine as long as it is cold. 

Crust:

• 1 cup pecan pieces

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 1/4 cup crystallized ginger

• 6-7 soft Medjool dates, pitted and halved

• 1/4 cup coconut oil, softened

• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Cake:

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 eggs

• 1 cup full fat coconut milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 1/2 cup maple syrup

• 1/4 cup natural cane sugar

• Turbinado sugar or toasted pecan pieces, for garnish

Coconut Whipping Cream:

• 1 14-oz. can full fat coconut milk, chilled overnight

• 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Maple Whipping Cream:

• 8 ounces heavy whipping cream, chilled

• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 3 tablespoons real maple syrup

For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Prepare an 8” or 9” springform pan with the bottom lip upside down, so the tart is easy to remove. Line pan with parchment paper and grease with coconut oil.

In a food processor, pulse pecans and oats together until a coarse meal forms. Add ginger, dates, coconut oil, and salt, and pulse until it begins to stick together. You should be able to press it together between your fingertips; add one more date if needed. Press mixture into the bottom of the springform pan and chill for 10-20 minutes. Prick the bottom with a fork and bake for 10 minutes until just toasted on top. Remove to cool completely.

While the crust cools, make the cake. Bump the oven up to 350°F. Combine pumpkin puree and eggs in a bowl, and whisk well to combine. Add coconut milk, vanilla, pie spice, sea salt, both sugars, and mix well. Spread on top of the crust and smooth the top. Bake on the middle rack for 30 minutes until just set. Remove to set and cool completely.

This much can be done up to two days in advance, covered with plastic wrap and kept in the fridge.

Once cooled, garnish cake with whipped cream or coconut cream, and turbinado sugar or toasted pecans, and serve.

For the dairy-free coconut cream:

Scoop the firm coconut cream layer off the top of coconut milk and reserve for smoothies or another use. In a stand mixer or with an electric mixer, blend the chunks of coconut cream until broken down. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, and beat another minute or two until light and creamy. Coconut whipped cream is best served immediately. It can be stored, covered, in the fridge—but it will turn hard, so you will need to whip it again to soften.

For the maple whiping cream:

In a stand or electric mixer, whisk cold cream until soft peaks form. Add vanilla and maple, and whip to combine.

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BASICS : MIXED ROASTED POTATOES

We all come to the kitchen with a different level of experience. Maybe you grew up around the stove with your mom or you've taught yourself through trial and error and many Food Network episodes or you've stayed away completely because you're scared of failing. I think our audience here is largely somewhere in the middle of all that, a practiced homecook, but I thought it'd be nice to incorporate a number of posts that are cornerstones of our families table. This may seem redundant and boring for some or maybe a step forward for those that want to be confident in a few recipes so they can feel good about cooking for other people. I also feel like having basics down helps you to experiment just outside of them. You mastered roasted potatoes? You can do the same thing with cauliflower or other root vegetables, no problem. Now you basically have three sides down, perhaps change up the seasonings next time? Go, you. I took a Food Science class in college and read a book called  What Einstein Told His Cook (wish I knew where that was now) and it helped me to understand the why about food, instead of just blindly following a recipe. I've made A LOT of bad potatoes before consistently making good ones. 

These potatoes look pretty basic at first glance, but it's a few details that make them delicious every time. A few notes from the field:

- I use a mix of potatoes for flavor and texture and because they look pretty. You can use all one kind in the same volume with the same results. I wouldn't use more than one sweet potato if you go for the mix because they have a higher water content which means they'll cook faster and keep the potatoes from crisping. This is also why I par boil any other potatoes besides the sweet, it allows the potatoes to get ahead so you can roast them at a higher heat for browning without burning them before the centers are cooked through. 

- Do not overcrowd! Leave the potatoes enough space for the edges to brown. Overcrowding = steaming = no crisping. It's also good to let them give off a little steam before transferring to a serving dish if you're going to pile them on top of each other. We usually just scoop from the sheet pan because we're very fancy.

- Potatoes love salt, don't be shy, but remember it's always easier to add than take away so I will finish with a little more if I didn't add enough before the roast. I use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic because the later burns with 40 minutes in the oven. The herbs are better after for the same reason, and because the vibrant green is pretty on brown foods. 

In other news, I am hosting a book event with Heritage Mercantile in Costa Mesa, CA on 11/13 from 3-5pm. You can sign up on that link so we can get a head count. Would love to meet you if you're in the area!

MIXED ROASTED POTATOES // Serves 4

This recipe can be doubled but you will for sure need two large sheet pans. The garlic here will roast with the potatoes to be smooth and delicious, we smush some out of the skin and dip our fork in it before taking a bite of potato.
The par boil and chopping may be done in advance. I don't like to keep them in the fridge but you can do this morning of or even the night before and let them sit out at room temp until you are ready to roast. 
These love a little sprinkle of parmesan in the last minute of roasting too if you're into that sort of thing. 

2.5-3 lbs. mixed potatoes*
3 whole garlic cloves, whole, in peel
3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
2 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. smoked paprika
1/2 tsp. fresh ground pepper
1 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste

3 Tbsp. rosemary
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley
zest of one small lemon

In a large pot, combine the baby red, white, purple potatoes and the fingerlings. Bring the water to a gentle boil and cook for 10 minutes, drain and cool to the touch. Preheat the oven to 425'.
Peel the sweet potato and cut it into larger 2" chunks. Leave smaller fingerlings whole and hack larger ones in half or thirds. Cut the remaining baby potatoes in halves and quarters - go for uneven, imperfect chunks for lots of edges. Collect all the potatoes and the garlic cloves on a large rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with the oil, garlic powder, smoked paprika, pepper and salt and toss everything to coat. The potatoes should be generously coated, add a little more oil if needed. Sprinkle a little more salt on top.
Bake in the middle rack of the oven for 35 minutes, stirring once halfway through, until browned on the edges and the largest potato chunk can be easily pierced. If you’re fancy, sprinkle grated parm and pop them back in for a few minutes so it creates a parmy crust (SO GOOD!).
While the potatoes roast, chop your rosemary, parsley and lemon zest. 
Pull the potatoes and let them cool for a moment. Add the herbs and lemon zest to the baking tray and stir to mix. Taste for salt. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy warm. 
 

* I use one medium sweet potato, and the rest a mixture of baby red, baby white, baby purple and fingerlings. Trader Joes sells a small medley bag.

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