The Man Who Ate Everything - Jeffrey Steingarten [19]
2 slices slab bacon, ¼ inch thick, cut crosswise into ¼-inch lardons, 41 cents
1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped to yield ½ cup, 46 cents
½ pound white mushrooms, caps only, cleaned and cut into ¼-inch dice, about 1 cup, $1.43
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped, 4 cents
½ teaspoon nutmeg, plus more for the toasts, 10 cents
2 quarts chicken stock (made at home by browning 2 pounds of chicken necks and backs in a 6-quart stockpot with chopped onion, celery, and carrots; covering with 10 cups of water; and simmering with parsley, ½ teaspoon of salt, and a few peppercorns for 2 to 3 hours), $1.60
1 cup dried navy or cannellini beans soaked overnight in cold water, 34 cents
1 pound Swiss chard, leaves only, washed and coarsely chopped, $1.49
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, 10 cents
¼ pound ricotta cheese, 50 cents
4 thin slices country bread, 30 cents
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese, 19 cents
Melt the butter in a 4-quart saucepan over medium-high heat and brown the bacon on all sides. Spoon off half the fat and add the onion, mushrooms, garlic, and the ½ teaspoon of nutmeg, and cook slowly until the vegetables have softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Meanwhile, warm the chicken stock in another pan, and when the vegetables are ready, add the stock and the presoaked beans, bring to a boil, and simmer for 35 to 40 minutes until the beans are just tender. Add the Swiss chard, ½ teaspoon of salt (or less if the bacon and broth are especially salty), and a pinch of pepper, and simmer for another 15 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Keep warm.
Spread the ricotta on the bread and sprinkle with the Parmesan and a grating of nutmeg. Toast under the broiler until golden. Ladle the soup into large soup plates and float the ricotta toasts on top. With more toasted country bread, this serves 4 as a complete supper, at $1.76 a person.
Perfumed Rice with Lamb and Lentils
Lentils and rice eaten together compose a complete and extremely economical source of protein. I have now discovered that lower grades of wonderfully aromatic basmati rice can be had for only $1.20 a pound in many health-food stores (and in the Little India section of Manhattan). The world champions in rice cookery are, I think, the Persians, and so the other evening I took a well-known Persian basmati rice and lentil recipe from the excellent New Food of Life by Najmieh Batmanglij (Mage Publishers), cut in half the amount of lamb, dates, and butter and eliminated the saffron (the four most expensive ingredients), and cooked a princely feast for six for $1.49 a person.
3 cups long-grain white basmati rice (slightly more than 1 pound), $1.20
Salt, 3 cents
2 medium onions (1 pound total), peeled and thinly sliced, 89 cents
4 tablespoons cooking oil, 36 cents
1 pound lamb shoulder, bone in, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces, $2.59
Freshly ground black pepper, 2 cents
¼ teaspoon turmeric, 3 cents
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, 7 cents
1½ teaspoons Persian allspice (approximated by mixing a generous ½ teaspoon each ground cinnamon and ground cardamom with a generous ¼ teaspoon ground cumin), 24 cents
2 cups water
1½ cups lentils, 58 cents
1 cup white raisins, 88 cents
4 ounces (about 1 cup) pitted dates, chopped, $1.25
1 stick (¼ pound) butter, 67 cents
2 tablespoons yogurt, 14 cents
Wash the rice vigorously in five changes of warm water and soak it for at least 2 hours in 8 cups of water mixed with 2 tablespoons of salt.
Sauté half the onions in 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium-high heat until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add the lamb; season with ¾ teaspoon of salt, a good pinch of pepper, the turmeric, cinnamon, and ½ teaspoon of the Persian allspice mixture; and sauté for another 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water, cover, and simmer until the meat is very tender, 2½ to 3 hours. Set aside.
In a saucepan, mix the lentils with 3 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of salt, bring to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes, and drain. In a frying pan, sauté the remaining sliced onion in 2 tablespoons of oil over mediumhigh heat until