Lucid Food_ Cooking for an Eco-Conscious Life - Louisa Shafia [22]
Serves 4
1 bunch kale, thick stems removed and coarsely chopped
1 ripe avocado, diced
Salt and freshly ground pepper
½ clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and sliced into thin half moons
1 small sweet, crisp apple, sliced thin
1 scallion, green part only, thinly sliced
1 large handful toasted almonds
½ sheet nori
Place the kale in a large bowl with the avocado. Add a dash of salt, the garlic, and olive oil. Gently massage everything together for about 3 minutes. The kale will shrink and become darker and more pliable.
Reserve a small handful of the carrot and apple slices for garnish, then gently fold in the carrot and apple to the kale mixture. Taste and season with salt.
Divide the salad among four plates. Top each plate with the sliced carrots, apples, and scallions. Season with pepper. Scatter the almonds on top.
Turn a burner to medium heat, pick up the sheet of nori with a pair of tongs, and pass it over the flame 3 or 4 times. Let the nori cool for a moment, then fold the sheet in half lengthwise and cut with scissors along the crease. Using the scissors, cut several thin ribbons of nori over each plate. This salad can keep for up to a day in the refrigerator.
Seven-Vegetable Miso Soup
This brothy, colorful soup is a potent tonic that will cure what ails you. Miso paste, made from fermented soybeans, is an essential component of Japanese cuisine. As with yogurt and other fermented products, miso is most beneficial uncooked, so stir it into the soup only after turning off the heat. Wakame is a mild-tasting green sea vegetable most commonly used in the traditional miso soup that accompanies sushi. Burdock root (see image at end of recipe) has a texture reminiscent of water chestnuts. It grows wild throughout the United States and can also be found in Japanese markets. After slicing burdock root, soak it in cold water to prevent it from turning brown. If burdock root isn’t available, simply use more of the other vegetables.
Serves 4 as a starter, or 2 as a meal
½ cup burdock root, peeled and cut into 1-inch matchsticks
1 cup sweet potato, peeled and diced
1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
2 scallions, green and white parts thinly sliced
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Salt
½ cup soft tofu, diced
6 shiitake mushrooms, stems removed and thinly sliced
¼ cup sweet white miso
2 tablespoons dried wakame, soaked in ½ cup cold water
1 egg, lightly beaten (optional)
1 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Put the burdock, sweet potato, ginger, scallions, and 5 cups water in a saucepan. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Decrease the heat and add the soy sauce and a dash of salt. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes. Add the tofu and shiitakes and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes more.
Place the miso in a small bowl and add ½ cup of the hot broth. Use a fork to break up the miso and whisk it until smooth. Drain the wakame and add it to the saucepan. Add the egg if using and stir. Turn off the heat and stir the dissolved miso into the saucepan. Taste and season with salt, if necessary.
To serve, divide the cilantro leaves evenly among the bowls and ladle the hot soup on top.
Red Lentil and Spinach Soup
Red lentils are quick-cooking beans, making them an obvious choice for last-minute meals. Their texture is starchier than regular lentils, and they have a light, sweet taste reminiscent of potatoes. For a creamier soup, add a dollop of Cucumber Yogurt. For a hint of spice, serve it with the Cilantro-Jalapeño Sauce.
Serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small yellow onion, minced
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon brown mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1 cup red lentils
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
2 cups firmly packed spinach leaves, coarsely chopped
In a soup pot, heat the olive oil and add the onion.