Cooking for Two - Bruce Weinstein [7]
An easy dish: ready in minutes with minimal cooking.
A workday dish that involves a little more cooking, or perhaps minimal cooking but a little more preparation time.
A dish suitable for more leisurely cooking, for quiet celebrations or nights when you can enjoy a slower dinner.
Soups and Stews
Step away from that kettle and get down a small saucepan—because what’s more comforting than soup, even when you’re cooking for two? Yes, these recipes begin with minuscule amounts—1 shallot, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon pepper—but none compromises taste. We’ve simplified the technique in jambalaya to make it a workday meal, morphed Yankee pot roast into a simple stew, and created a Thai-inspired one-pot vegetarian dinner. In all cases, the trick is to let the flavors meld in a slow simmer, just a bubble or two. With a little patience, you’ll have the deep flavors of a larger pot’s worth of stew, all in a two-serving package. It’s enough to push the Dutch oven into your cupboard’s recesses and put stews back in your weekly repertoire.
MUSHROOM BARLEY SOUP makes 2 hearty servings
Mushroom barley soup is an American diner favorite—if ever made at home, then usually made for crowds. But there’s no reason it can’t be made for two—with a few substitutions. It’s often made with lima beans for added body, but a whole can of limas is too much for two servings and dried beans take hours to soak. Our answer? Lentils, which give the soup a somewhat lighter but still earthy flavor. Use any mixture of fresh mushrooms you want; for a treat, add to the mix some exotic varieties such as hen of the wood, black trumpets, or porcini. Serve this soup with a salad of greens, toasted pecans, and cubed goat cheese, dressed in a light vinaigrette.
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 medium carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 medium celery rib, finely chopped
6 ounces fresh mushrooms, such as cremini, brushed clean and thinly sliced
One 14½-ounce can beef stock (regular, low-fat, or nonfat, but preferably low-sodium)
1 cup water
1 small Italian plum tomato, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons barley (not quick-cooking)
2 tablespoons green lentils
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary, or 1 teaspoon chopped dried rosemary
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat a medium saucepan over medium heat. Swirl in the oil, then stir in the onion, carrot, and celery. Cook for about 3 minutes, or until the carrots have softened somewhat and the onion is fragrant, stirring frequently. Stir in the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, or just until their juices begin to make a sauce in the pan, stirring frequently.
2. Once the mushrooms have begun to release their liquid, stir in the stock, water, tomato, barley, lentils, bay leaf, and rosemary. Bring the mixture to a simmer, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 1 hour, or until the barley and lentils are quite tender, stirring occasionally to prevent the barley from sticking to the pan’s bottom. Season with salt and pepper, discard the bay leaf, and serve immediately.
ESCAROLE, WHITE BEAN, and ROASTED GARLIC SOUP makes 2 servings
Lettuce soup? Well, not exactly. This is an Italian classic, a satisfying stew of tender white beans and wilted escarole, a green related to frisée or curly endive, but much sweeter, once only available in early summer but now in our markets year-round, thanks largely to Spanish farmers. Traditionally, this soup is thickened with egg yolks or cream—but a roasted garlic purée makes the broth light yet very aromatic. Since escarole can be sandy, wash it carefully before adding it to the saucepan.
3 large garlic cloves, left unpeeled
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 ounces pancetta (see page 10), finely chopped
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small