Ingredients

• 12 ounces asparagus, trimmed, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
• 2 cups pearl barley
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 8 1/2 cups (about) canned vegetable broth
• 2 cups drained canned diced tomatoes in juice
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup chopped arugula or 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
• 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

Preparation

Cook asparagus in pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Drain. Transfer to bowl of ice water and cool. Drain. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

Stir barley in heavy large saucepan over medium heat until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Transfer barley to bowl. Melt butter in same saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and garlic; sauté until tender, about 5 minutes. Add barley and stir to coat. Add 2 cups broth; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid is absorbed, stirring frequently, about 7 minutes. Mix in 2 1/2 cups broth and simmer until absorbed, stirring frequently. Add 3 cups broth and simmer until barley is tender and creamy but still slightly firm to bite, stirring frequently and adding more broth if mixture is dry, about 45 minutes. Add tomatoes and asparagus; stir until heated through, about 3 minutes. Mix in cheese, arugula and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper.

Bon Appetit, March 2001

Ingredients

For the turkey stock:

• 4 tablespoons butter, more if necessary for gravy, and for seasoning (optional)
• 6 turkey legs or other dark meat turkey parts (thighs, wings, etc.), to make about 6 pounds
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 medium onion, peeled and stuck with 3 cloves
• 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
• 3 stalks celery with leaves, trimmed and cut into large chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 12 black peppercorns
• 1 cup white wine, Madeira, vermouth, dry sherry or water

For the gravy:

• 12 tablespoons (3/4 cup) all-purpose flour
• Salt and black pepper

Preparation

1. For the stock: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Melt 4 tablespoons butter. Sprinkle turkey parts with salt and pepper, place in roasting pan and brush with melted butter. Roast 2 hours, basting with butter every 20 minutes or so.

2. Transfer roasted turkey to a stockpot and set roasting pan aside. Add onion, carrots, celery, bay leaves and peppercorns to stockpot. Add cold water just to cover, bring to a simmer and cook, slightly uncovered, about 6 hours.

3. Meanwhile, place roasting pan on top of stove and bring juices to a simmer over low heat. Pour in wine (or water), stirring and scraping to bring up browned bits. (If using wine, simmer at least 5 minutes.) Pour all liquid into a bowl and refrigerate. When deglazing liquid is cool, lift off top layer of fat; reserve fat. Add deglazing liquid to stockpot.

4. When stock is golden and flavorful, strain into a large container and refrigerate. When cool, lift off fat and mix it with reserved fat from deglazing liquid. Reserve 3 quarts stock for gravy and refrigerate or freeze the rest for another use.

5. For the gravy: In a deep skillet or large heavy pot, melt 12 tablespoons ( 3/4 cup) reserved turkey fat over medium heat. If you do not have enough turkey fat, use additional butter to make 3/4 cup. Gradually whisk in the flour. Cook, whisking, until golden brown and toasty-smelling, 3 to 5 minutes or longer for darker gravy.

6. Whisk in a small amount of stock (this prevents lumps), then add remainder more quickly and whisk until smooth. Simmer, continually whisking, until thickened. If too thick, thin with more stock or a little wine and simmer briefly. Season with salt and pepper. If desired, whisk in a few tablespoons cold butter to smooth and enrich gravy.

Yield: 3 quarts, about 20 servings.

The New York Times

Ingredients

• A bit more than 1-1/8 c. warm water (but exactly 1-1/8 c. if you use all-purpose flour)
• 3 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose flour)
• 1 t. salt
• 1 T. oil
• 1-1/2 t. white sugar
• 1-1/2 t. active dry yeast

Preparation

Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.

Knead by hand for about 8 minutes (or let the KitchenAid do it for you).

Collect dough into a large lump in the bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Place covered bowl in a warm-ish area and leave until the dough has risen to about twice its original size.

When sufficiently puffy, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Gently roll and stretch dough into a 12 inch rope. Using a sharp knife, cut the dough rope into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball, then use a rolling pin to flatten each ball into a 6 or 7 inch diameter circle.

Set dough circles onto a lightly floured surface. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rise for about 30 minutes. After the 30 minutes, they should be just slightly puffier than they were at first.

At some point during the time when the dough circles are rising, preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. When dough circles are ready, place 2 or 3 circles on a wire cake rack, and place rack directly on an oven rack. Bake for 4 to 5 minutes. Pitas are done when they are puffed and their tops are slightly brown.

Remove pitas from oven and place them in a sealed brown paper bag (or just cover them with a damp kitchen towel) until they are soft. Once softened, cut pitas as desired.

Pitas can be stored in some kind of sealed container for several days. You can also freeze them for 1-2 months.

Erica Freeman

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup (12 oz.) chana dal, washed and drained
• 5 cups water
• 1 t. ground turmeric
• 1/2 t. ground cumin
• 1 t. ground coriander
• 1/2 t. cayenne pepper (optional)
• 3 T. butter or margarine
• 1 t. cumin seed
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1 T. grated fresh ginger
• 1 t. garam masala
• 2 T. chopped fresh coriander leaves

Preparation

Put chana dal in a bowl. Add enough cold water to cover and soak overnight.

To cook, drain chana dal. Place chana dal, water, turmeric, cumin, coriander, and cayenne in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to low, cover pan, and simmer for about 1 hour.

In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add cumin seed and cook for 1 minute. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, or until onion turns golden brown.

Add chana dal and cooking liquid to onion mixture. Turn heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Cover pan, reduce heat to low, and simmer 30 minutes or until chana dal is tender but not mushy.

Add garam masala and mix well.

Place chana dal in a serving dish and sprinkle with chopped coriander leaves.

Ingredients

• 6 cups water
• 1 1/3 cups farro
• ¾ teaspoon kosher salt, divided
• ½ cup pine nuts
• 1 ½ teaspoons coriander seeds
• ¼ teaspoon fennel seeds
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
• 3 tablespoons vinegar, such as aged sherry or white wine
• ½ cup chopped Italian parsley
• 1 medium Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Bring water to a boil in a 2-quart saucepan. Add farro, cover and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook 20 minutes, add ½ teaspoon salt and cook an additional 15 to 20 minutes. Farro should be tender. Drain well through a colander, then spread onto a large plate lined with several layers of paper towels. Set aside about 10 minutes.

Spread pine nuts in a large skillet and place over medium heat. Set timer for 5 minutes and toast, shaking pan occasionally, until nuts are lightly browned. Transfer to a cutting surface and chop coarsely. Place pan back on heat. Add coriander and fennel seeds and toast until grant. Transfer to a mortar and crush lightly with a pestle. Or spread on a cutting board and crush with the side of a chef’s knife.

Pour 1 tablespoon olive oil into the skillet and heat over medium heat. Add onions and cook about 5 minutes or until translucent. Add ¼ teaspoon salt, increase heat slightly and cook uncovered until golden brown, about 5 minutes longer. Stir in vinegar and cook until reduced by half. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and the reserved spices. Remove from heat.

Place farro in a bowl. Add nuts, onion mixture, parsley, apple and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Toss to coat, seasoning with a little more lemon juice and fresh ground black pepper. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Seattle Times

Ingredients

• 3 cups chicken broth
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 pound dried flageolets or Great Northern beans, picked over
• 3/4 cup wild rice (about 4 ounces)
• 2 large leeks, white and pale green parts only
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 pound fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced thin
• 1/4 cup hazelnuts, toasted and skinned and chopped coarse
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries

Preparation

In a large saucepan simmer broth, water, and beans, covered, 45 minutes. Stir in wild rice and simmer, covered, 45 minutes, or until beans and rice are tender. Drain rice mixture and return to pan.

Cut leeks crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and in a bowl soak in water, agitating occasionally to dislodge any sand, 5 minutes. Lift leeks out of water and drain in a colander. In a non-stick skillet sauté leeks in butter over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until almost tender, about 5 minutes. Add mushrooms with salt to taste and cook, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Stir leek mixture into rice mixture. Rice mixture may be made up to this point 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Reheat mixture, adding water to prevent it from sticking to skillet, before proceeding.

Stir hazelnuts and cranberries into rice mixture and serve warm.

Gourmet, November 1994

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c cooked corn kernels (you don’t need to cook frozen or canned corn in advance)
• 1/2 c coarsely chopped red or green bell pepper
• 1 to 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• sea salt

Preparation

Saute all ingredients over medium-high heat until corn in lightly browned. Sprinkle with sea slat.

Ingredients

• 1 pound russet potatoes
• 2 10-ounce packages ready-to-use spinach leaves, stemmed
• 1 small egg, beaten to blend
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 1/2 cups (about) all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
• 5 ounces Fontina cheese, thinly sliced

Preparation

Steam potatoes until very tender, about 35 minutes. Cool potatoes slightly and peel. Mash potatoes in large bowl until smooth. Set aside.

Meanwhile, bring 2 inches of salted water to boil in large pot. Add spinach leaves to pot and cook until wilted, stirring occasionally, about 2 minutes. Drain spinach, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Squeeze out as much liquid as possible from spinach. Puree spinach in processor, adding reserved cooking liquid 1 tablespoon at a time if necessary to help puree and scraping down sides of processor bowl occasionally.

Transfer spinach mixture to bowl with potatoes. Mix in egg, ground nutmeg and enough flour until soft and slightly sticky dough forms. Season dough to taste with salt.

Dust baking sheet with flour. Working in batches and using floured hands, roll 1/4 cup dough on lightly floured work surface to form 12-inch rope. Cut rope into 1-inch pieces. Roll each piece between palms to form oval ball. Lightly flour the wires of a whisk. Using thumb, gently roll each ball down length of wires, making ribbed impressions in gnocchi. Transfer gnocchi to prepared baking sheet. Repeat rolling, cutting and shaping of remaining dough.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Butter 13x9-inch baking dish. Working in batches, add gnocchi to large pot of boiling salted water and cook until gnocchi rise to surface of water, about 4 minutes. Using slotted spoon, remove gnocchi from water, draining off excess, and transfer to prepared baking dish. Pour 1/4 cup melted butter over gnocchi; toss thoroughly to coat. Top with Fontina cheese slices. (Gnocchi can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.) Bake until gnocchi are heated through and cheese bubbles, about 10 minutes.

Bon Appetit, May 1997

Ingredients

• 12 ounces sugar snap peas, trimmed (about 3 1/2 cups)
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1 1/2 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange peel

Preparation

Cook peas in large saucepan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes; drain. DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Melt butter in medium skillet over medium-high heat. Whisk in 1 tablespoon water. Stir in mint and orange peel; add sugar snap peas and sauté just until heated through, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl and serve.

Bon Appetit, June 2008

Ingredients

• 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled, very thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 8 medium carrots (about 1 1/4 pounds), peeled
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried
• 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, leaves only
• 2 bunches arugula, trimmed, rinsed, dried
• 6 ounces Bucheron or similar goat cheese, sliced 1/2-inch thick

Preparation

Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add garlic; cook, stirring, until just crisp and barely golden, about 20 seconds. Immediately remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate. Let the oil cool; pour into a bowl. Wipe out skillet.

Put vinegar in small bowl; whisk in 5 tablespoons of the cooled garlic oil. Season with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. (JP: Save remaining garlic oil to use at a later time).

Cut carrots crosswise in half; cut the halves into thick, rough sticks. Toss in a bowl with 3 tablespoons of the garlic oil, thyme, remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste.

Heat the same skillet over high heat. Add carrots in a single layer, working in batches if necessary. Cook until lightly charred (almost burnt) on one side, 3-5 minutes. Turn; cook other side, adjusting the heat as necessary, until lightly charred and tender within, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a tray. Wipe out the skillet; set aside.

Toss parsley, arugula and half of the vinaigrette on large serving platter. Arrange carrots on top.

Reheat skillet to very high heat; coat with 1-2 tablespoons of the remaining oil. Immediately add goat cheese slices (be careful — oil may spatter). As soon as you see the cheese blacken on the bottom, remove the slices with a thin spatula; invert onto the carrots. Sprinkle the garlic chips over the salad; drizzle with vinaigrette to taste.

Jean Marie Brownson, Chicago Tribune