Maccheroni with cavolo nero and red lentils

The Boyfriend and I are moving in one month. Again. I remember saying to him that I wouldn't go anywhere for a while when we moved into the apartment we now live in. That was not even three years ago. And now things turned out differently at work than I ever expected, big and exciting (scary?) changes await and instead of me trying to find a new job in the town where we live now, he gave up his job and is looking for work in the town I've been commuting to for the last three years. Did I mention that I love him?

Moving, of course, equals the cleaning out of cupboards. We filled large bags with clothes to give to charity and are feasting on pulses like they're going out of fashion. Last week: Treberwurst (a large, ground-meat sausage with a local grappa-style spirit and raisins) with lentils, later this week: thai-scented sweet potato soup (featuring red lentils) and yesterday: maccheroni with cavolo nero and red lentils. We'll be ready to tackle the Beluga lentils by the beginning of next week.

Maccheroni with cavolo nero and red lentils (serves 4)

• 1 cavolo nero (a kind of cabbage often used in italian cooking)
  
• 1 small red onion
• 40g pancetta, diced
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 200g red lentils
• 200g maccheroni or other short pasta
• 1 stock cube
• water
• 10 cherry tomatoes (optional)
  
• salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Cut the leaves of the cabbage and chop them roughly. Boil them in salted water for 5 minutes, then drain. Finely chop the onion. In a very large and deep frying pan with a cover, gently fry the onion and pancetta in the olive oil. Add the tomato purée and fry for another minute, stirring continuously. Add the drained cabbage, red lentils, stock cube and add enough water to generously cover everything. Cover the pan and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the pasta and the quartered cherry tomatoes if using and cook, uncovered, until the pasta is done. You might need to add more water. Check the seasoning and serve in deep plates with some grated cheese on top.

Canned food cuisine

Would you consider making a meal using almost exclusively canned foods? No? It had never occurred to me, either. I plan nearly every meal (to the point of being a bit obsessive, maybe) and I always plan friday night dinner with extra care. Friday is just so special, the week's work done or maybe not but then it has to wait, and the whole weekend lies ahead. It feels like standing in front of a meadow covered in snow, pristine, without foodprints. So many possibilites! Then, when you've ran all over it and it's all messed up - that's sunday evening when you iron a shirt and discover it misses a button. But let's stick to friday for the moment. Last friday I had decided to make the aptly named Single Girl Salmon for a night of solitary dining from Amanda Hesser's Cooking for Mr. Latte. But then, as the afternoon went by, I suddenly felt so unspeakably tired. So tired, that, in fact, I could not fry a piece of salmon steak, let alone simmer puy lentils. No way. Luckily, Amanda Hesser provided just the solution to my problem and that was canned food cuisine such as Canned Tuna with Beans, Creamy Red Pepper Spread and Aged Sherry Vinegar. It was perfect. Ready in ten minutes max., tasty and satisfying and hardly anything to wash up. I immediately stocked up on the cadillac of canned tuna on my saturday shop. Just in case I get hit by that kind of tiredness again. Or laziness, come to think of it.

Canned Tuna with Beans, Creamy Red Pepper Spread and Aged Sherry Vinegar

(Tapas for 4)

Recipe from Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser

• 12 ounces fine tuna preserved in oil


• 1/4 teaspoon Spanish smoked paprika (the sweet, not hot variety)


• 3/4 cup roasted red pepper spread, preferably coarse (or canned roasted piquillo peppers, drained and pulsed in the food processor with a little olive oil)


• 1/2 cup marinated gigante beans or jarred white beans (also preferably in oil)


• Extra virgin olive oil


• Aged sherry vinegar

Begin with all ingredients at room temperature. Drain the tuna from the oil and place it in a bowl. Sprinkle over the paprika and stir gently to mix. On each of four small plates, spread a 3-inch circle of red pepper spread. Divide the tuna among them, placing it on top of the peppers. Spoon the beans on and around the tuna. Sprinkle with olive oil and a little sherry vinegar.

I do not know anything about cups and ounces and inches, I just measured things out as it looked right. I couldn't get any marinated beans, so I used canned but added a little chopped parsley.

Bean soup with sausage, celery, carrots and tomatoes

The Boyfriend and I are moving to another city. Only in december but I'm dreading it now already. As much as I'm looking forward to living in a new place, I just find moving so unsettling. Rummaging through my kitchen cupboard the other day, I found a half-empty bag of soissons beans in a remote corner and immediately decided they had to be cooked for fear of having to pack and unpack them in a couple of months. I hear there are pulses where we are going. Apart from the beans I had some sausage that needed to be used up and that's how this meal came together. Autumn has been creeping in and this dish fits the weather perfectly.

Bean soup with sausage, celery, carrots and tomatoes (serves 2)

• 160g of soissons beans
• a pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 large ground meat sausage
  
• 2-3 celery stalks, finely chopped
  
• 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
  
• 2 tomatoes, deseeded and chopped
  
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small dried chili, crumbled
  
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 sprigs of dill, finely chopped
  

Soak the beans with the bicarbonate of soda in cold water over night. Drain and cook until soft. (I used my tried and tested pressure cooker and it took only ten minutes.) Blend the beans and the garlic with some of the cooking water until smooth. Pour back into the pan and season with salt and pepper. While the beans are cooking, prepare the topping. Remove the sausage meat from the casing and roll into small balls. Fry them in a large frying pan until nicely browned, then remove. Wipe the pan with kitchen paper, add the olive oil and heat gently. Add the celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Cover the pan and cook the vegetables until just done. Add the sausage balls, tomatoes, chili and dill and correct the seasoning. Divide the soup between two plates and top with the sausage and vegetables.

Red lentil salad with avocado, tomatoes and grilled parma ham

Do you know the feeling when you come back from a holiday and suddenly crave simple, wholeseome dishes? If you do and you've just spent a week or so sampling the local specialties of wherever you went, enjoying leisurely lunches and lengthy dinners with one amazing course following the next, all accompanied by bottles of locally produced wine which is completely average but in your blissful holiday-state of mind seemed to you like the best ever, this red lentil salad with avocado, tomatoes and grilled parma ham might just be the ticket. It'll provide the simple pleasures you might be looking for and yet makes for a gentle (culinary) landing back into everyday life.

Red lentil salad with avocado, tomatoes and grilled parma ham (serves 2)

• 120g red lentils
• 1 avocado, diced
• 4 tomatoes, deseeded and diced
• 4 slices parma ham
• 2 teaspoons mustard
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon chopped chives
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• salad leaves (optional)
  

Cook the lentils in salted water until soft. Rinse quickly under the cold tap and put in a bowl and let cool slightly. Add the diced avocado and tomatoes. Combine the mustard, honey, vinegar, olive oil, chives and salt and pepper to make the dressing and add to the lentils. Grill the parma ham until crisp and crumble over the salad. If you happen to have some salad leaves waiting to be used up (as I did), add them, too, toss and serve immediately.

Chickpea, tomato and pepper salad

I could drool over Fran Warde's Eat Drink Live, 150 Recipes for Morning, Noon, Night forever and yet, the only thing I have ever made from it is the vegetable couscous. I'm a bit embarassed to tell you this but there you go. The 2007 challenge will hopefully help me do something about it. The chickpea, tomato and pepper salad I made to accompany the barbecued steaks and sausages the other day was a great start, I tought. I swear I'll make the rosemary and lemon roasted chicken next.

Chickpea, tomato and pepper salad (serves 4)

• 5 plum tomatoes, halved and deseeded
• 3 large red peppers, halved and deseeded
• 375 canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• a bunch of flat leaf parsley
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Lightly oil a roasting tin and add the tomatoes and peppers. Cook in a preheated oven at 190° for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the tomatoes and pepper to a bowl. Add the drained chickpeas, then mix in the parsley and seasoning. Transfer the salad to a serving dish, sprinkle with a little olive oil, then serve at room temperature. Perfectly easy and summery. If you want a little more "zing", add a dash of aged balsamic vinegar or a sprinkling of Ras el hanout or Dukkah for an oriental feel.

Beluga lentil salad with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes

There are things I am strangely drawn to in shops. When I spot them, I simply have to go and marvel at them, feel them and, alas, often buy them. Pretty summer dresses and jewelled sandals are two of those things, pulses are another (the former presenting more of a danger to my bank balance than the latter). You'll understand that I couldn't possibly walk by a bag of tiny, pitch-black lentils seductively called Beluga, don't you? To be honest, I couldn't taste a big difference to green or brown lentils but at least, they make for a very dramatic-looking lentil salad!

Beluga lentil salad with slow-roasted cherry tomatoes (serves 4)

• 240g Beluga lentils
• 20 cherry tomatoes, halved
• icing sugar
• olive oil (for roasting and for dressing the salad)
• balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper
  
• a bunch of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

Preheat the oven to 180°. Cut the tomatoes in half and place on a lined baking tray. Dust with a little icing sugar and sprinkle with olive oil. Roast four at least 40 minutes until the tomatoes are reduced in size. In the meantime, cook the lentils until done. Drain and let cool for about thirty minutes before adding the tomatoes, parsley, salt and pepper and olive oil and vinegar. Stir carefully and let stand at room temperature for thirty minutes before serving. With a little feta crumbled on top, this makes a perfect protein-rich lunchbox salad.

Pasta with chicken, lentil and spinach

I failed my 2007 challenge miserably last week (shame on me) but I'm back on track this week with this slightly unusual pasta dish. Pasta and lentils seemed like a weird combination to me at first but then I remembered how much I had liked the pasta e fagioli, a similar combination, so I give this one a try and I loved it. If you leave the chicken out - and I might just do that the next time - it's a bit like a vegetarian bolognese, filling and healthy and any leftovers make great lunchbox fare. Surprisingly, the recipe comes from a book called Recettes minceur, originally published in English under the title Low-fat Meals in Minutes but don't let that put you off - it's nothing like a boring diet meals but very, very good.

Pasta with chicken, lentil and spinach (serves 4)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 150g minced chicken or finely chopped chicken breast
• salt and pepper
  
• 100g red lentils
• 680 ml vegetable or chicken stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato purée
• 250g fresh spinach
• 375g pasta - conchiglie work well

Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the pan and fry until browned. Add the tomato purée, lentils and stock. Simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes until the lentils are soft. In the meantime, cook the pasta. Add the spinach to the lentils and let it wilt. Add the pasta and mix until well combined.

This is one of these great recipes where the quantities given are more of a guideline. I used more lentils and less pasta, about half and half. If you have unexpected guests you could easily "expand" this to serve more people by adding lentils or pasta.

Bean and pasta soup

I've read many rave reviews about this soup before I actually tried it myself. For some reason, the combination of beans and pasta never appealed to me and I imagined this soup would be a bit bland and boring. Until I, having promised to make a new dish every week of this year, finally decided to give pasta e fagioli a try. Oh, dear. I can't even begin to tell you what I have been missing. Though made from only a handful of ingredients, it is surprisingly flavourful, the tastes of the beans and the cooked garlic emulsified, extremely satisfying and utterly comforting - a true winner which has immediately established itself as a staple in my kitchen. What was I thinking all these years, not making this soup? Pasta and bean soup is a classic italian dish and there must be many variations. I made mine according to hearty soups, delicious meals in a bowl, published at Ryland Peters & Small.

Pasta and bean soup (serves 6)

• 185 dried cannellini or haricot beans
• a pinch of bicarbonate of soda
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1.75 litres chicken stock
• 100g short pasta shapes (I used ditaloni from Barilla)
• 4 tomatoes skinned, deseeded and chopped
• 4 tablespoons freshly chopped flat leaf parsley
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the beans and the bicarbonate of soda in a bowl, cover with water and soak overnight. Drain and put in a large saucepan. Add the olive oil, garlic and stock. Bring to the the boil, reduce the heat and simmer, part-covered with a lid for one to two hours until the beans are tender. Blend the beans with the cooking liquid. Return the bean purée to the rinsed pan, adding extra water or stock as necessary. Add the pasta and simmer gently for fifteen minutes until tender. Stir in the tomatoes and parsley and season well with salt and pepper. Serve with an extra trickle of olive oil.

If you, like me, are hungry and impatient when making this, cook the beans in a pressure cooker and then simmer them for about fifteen minutes with the olive oil and garlic in order for the flavours to combine. I also added a sprig of rosemary which I removed before blending the beans. Watch out when cooking the pasta, the bean purée has a nasty tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan. The only regret I have about this soup: it's not so great when reheated because the pasta will be overcooked. But then it tastes so good you might not even have leftovers.

Turkish carrot, tomato and lentil soup

My 2007 challenge dish for week three was this turkish carrot, tomato and lentil soup for which the recipe can be found - guess where - on www.mediterrasian.com, here to be precise. I was wondering for a while whether that would count as a new recipe for 2007 seeing it's from a website and not a book. The thing is, though, I have pre-ordered their cookbook called The MediterrAsian Way and even though I don't know yet whether the recipe will be in there, I reckon that in making this soup I anticipate another book on my shelves, waiting to be used, so anyhow, that's good. Ok, I'm rambling - it's late, I've had a hectic day and I have to get some sleep. I'll cut this post short: I highly recommend this lentil soup, it's wonderfully creamy and bursting with flavour - perfect for cold winter nights. Careful with the quantities: I only made half and it was more than the Boyfriend and I could eat in one go. But then, soup-leftovers are never a bad thing.

Beans on toast mediterranian style

While studying (and living on campus with lots of other girls in a small space), I was always appalled at the beans on toast my flatmates used to eat. In fact, I was convinced that those beans alone were disgusting and not once did I try them during the whole year. I can't say what put me up against them as I don't share the general mistrust many people have when it comes to British cooking - on the contrary. Sometimes I still now longingly think of the weekly shopping trip (either Asda or Sainsbury's) and the lovely things I used to buy - crumpets for instance, or hot cross buns, to be eaten warm and with a little of that naughty-but-nice salted butter after lectures in the afternoon. But no beans. It wasn't until I met the Boyfriend years after that I first tried them - I wasn't going to say no to food he made for me, was I? And guess what - I liked them. Since then, baked beans and I have come a long way as you can tell from today's post. I guess I just needed a little time.

Beans on toast mediterranian style (serves 2)

• one small can of baked beans
• some spicy sausage such as chorizo, coarsely chopped
• a little chili paste, tabasco, dried chili - anything hot
• a little finely chopped parsley
  
• 2 slices of brown bread
• 1 garlic clove
• salt
• a little olive oil

Place the beans and sausage in a pan and heat through. Add the parsley and as much chili as you like. While the beans are heating up, toast the bread, then rub a halved garlic clove over it. Sprinkle with a little salt and olive oil. Distribute the beans on top and serve immediately.

Just one thing: I never did take to the bread commonly sold in Britain and I probably never will. For me, the use of flavourful, crusty brown bread (it can even be a little stale) makes all the difference here.