Veganomicon_ The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook - Isa Chandra Moskowitz [94]
➣Use long-grain brown rice, not short-grain, because that kind doesn’t like to cook in tomato broth.
➣If you don’t have any roasted garlic hanging around and don’t intend on making any, then sauté 6 cloves of minced garlic along with the onion.
2 bulbs garlic
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, diced as small as possible
1 cup long-grain brown rice
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon dried marjoram
2 teaspoons salt
Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
2 (28-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1 (15-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed (about 1½ cups)
PREHEAT THE oven to 425°F. Following the directions on page 32, roast the garlic for about 45 minutes, until soft. You should be able to feel if it’s soft by pressing with a knife or your finger. Don’t burn yourself, though.
Preheat a soup pot over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes, until translucent.
Add the rice, bay leaves, thyme, marjoram, salt, and pepper and cook, stirring, for about 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, then fill up the can with water twice and add the water (so that’s 56 ounces of water).
Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for about 45 minutes.
Remove the garlic from the oven. When it is cool enough to handle, squeeze the roasted garlic out of its skin and into a small bowl. Use a fork to mash the garlic to a relatively smooth consistency, then add to the soup once the rice is nearly tender.
When the rice is completely cooked, add the beans and heat through. Then it’s ready to serve—just remove the bay leaves beforehand.
ANCHO-LENTIL SOUP WITH GRILLED PINEAPPLE
SERVES 6
TIME: 45 MINUTES
Okay, even though this recipe involves you making your own chile powder, we promise this is a fast soup that is even a little fancy. Not to mention yummy, warm and comforting. The tart-sweet pineapple couples well with the deep, smoky chiles. Ancho chiles are fairly mild, so don’t worry that this soup will be too spicy, unless you’re a real big wimp. In fact, serve with hot sauce to prove your manhood.
Chile powder: 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 dried ancho chile, seeds removed, ripped into bite-size pieces
Soup: 2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, cut into small dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups green lentils, washed
7-8 cups vegetable stock or water or a mix of both
3 tablespoons of lime juice, or to taste
Nonstick cooking spray
6-8 pineapple rings
Slices of lime
Hot sauce
WE’RE GOING to make our own ancho chile powder! Preheat a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the cumin seeds and ancho chile pieces and stir often, until fragrant and toasted, 3 to 5 minutes.
Transfer to a spice grinder (we use a clean coffee grinder) or small food processor and grind to a coarse powder. Some bigger pieces of chile are okay. Add the coriander seeds and pulse a few times to crush them—you don’t want them completely ground to a powder, just broken up pretty well.
Preheat a big stockpot over medium heat. Sauté the onions in the olive oil until transparent, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the chile powder and mix into the onions. Add the bay leaves, salt, lentils, and 7 cups of water. Mix well. Raise the heat to high, cover, and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and let simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every now and again.
Meanwhile, heat your grill pan over high heat or preheat a broiler. Spray your grill pan with cooking spray and grill the pineapple slices for 4 minutes on each side, or until grill lines appear. If using a broiler, cook on one side for 3 minutes and on the