Madhu Knits and Cooks

Pureed White Bean and Tomato Soup - Luscious and Creamy

As I've been working my way through my Rancho Gordo dried bean stash, I've finally had to confront the beans that...I don't like that much.  I know, I know - who doesn't love every single costly Rancho Gordo artisanal bean that one covets for months before finally convincing yourself the price is "worth it"?  

Now that we're (hopefully) past the judgment reaction, we can get to the topic of today's post - Rancho Gordo's Creamy Lima Bean, Tomato, and Feta Soup.  This soup not only used up the giant lima beans that have been hardening in my cupboard, but also produced a fantastic one-post dinner as well.  

I precooked 1/2 cup of dried lima beans in the Instant Pot (soaked overnight, 25 minutes high pressure with a natural release - in the future, I may increase to 30 minutes of cooking time) a day or two ahead of time, which made the soup prep just 25 minutes.  

The result was comforting, rich, salty, slightly briny, and coated your mouth with a pleasing fulsome texture.  I could have sworn this was a heavy cream-based soup, which is a wonderful mental trick from pureed white beans.  I will keep this idea handy for thickening future soups with a healthier protein than dairy.

Some modifications I made - I used traditional feta instead of Valbreso and 1/2 of a 140z can of crushed tomatoes.  I think you can experiment with cheese types here as well - other salty or flavored cheeses will probably add their own special imprint to this soup, even a sharp cheddar or herb-inflected cheese.

Simple Miso Corn Chowder with Interesting Enough Flavors for Several Days

The title of the post says it all - this Milk Street Corn Chowder with Miso and Scallions is not only a perfect weeknight meal, but also has enough complex flavors to make for great leftovers for days.  

I made a few edits to this recipe.  I partially blended the soup with an immersion blender instead of placing a portion into a stand blender.  I substituted russet for the gold potatoes because of grocery store availability, and used unsalted butter in place of salted.  And because I made this in the spring, I used frozen corn instead of fresh. 

I look forward to making this salty, subtly sweet, and herby soup again and again!

Restorative and Light Celery and Potato Soup - Great for a Luncheon

My winter soup posts continue with a light and refreshing celery and potato soup, which really is a year-round soup. 

This soup had a lightweight, almost broth-like consistency and was simply flavored by celery, potato, and chives.  I think it could be a great addition to a simple luncheon - served with salad, bread, maybe an egg dish, and dessert.  

I didn't strain the soup and used an immersion blender, and neither seemed to have an effect on the soup's smooth consistency.  Other modifications I made:

• 2 tsp. of Better than Bouillon 
• 5.5 cups of water
• No walnut oil (allergic)
• Chopped chives for garnish
• I didn't reserve any celery for the garnish, just used it all in the soup itself
• I didn't make a formal bouquet garni, and just took the bay leaf, parsley, and thyme out on its own

The only other modification I might make is to add more vegetables, perhaps some cauliflower, to make it more substantive as a stand-alone meal.

Pan-Fried Salt and Pepper Eggplant - Excellent Savory Flavors

Yes, another Hetty McKinnon To Asia, With Love recipe to report on today - the pan-fried Salt and Pepper Eggplant.  This simple, marinated eggplant is coated in cornstarch before being lightly pan-fried and dusted with a savory and sweet salt and pepper / five spice mix.

The complex flavors of the spice mix are a great complement to the sweet and sour eggplant, which is perfectly tender under its crisp cornstarch coating. 

I would make this recipe again, and continue to use less oil (I basically just lightly coated the pan instead of filling it to 1/2 inch). 

The only downside of this multi-step recipe is the number of dishes it uses (marinating eggplant, cornstarch mix, salt and pepper mix, paper towel-lined plate for the post-cooked eggplant) so it might not be an everyday dish!

Solid Classic Egg Salad

Egg salad, egg salad - how you have entered our lives!  Building on the success of my first homemade egg salad, I decided to try a more traditional, mayonnaise-based egg salad from the Cook's Illustrated team.   

This egg salad was pretty good - the eggs cooked better this time (less dry) and the inclusion of mayonnaise didn't result in too bland of a flavor.  Instead, the herb, red onion, and celery flavors came through pretty well.  I added some leftover tarragon to this recipe as well. 

And while the dijon mustard added a nice tang, I think a slash of champagne vinegar would have also helped add more diversity of flavors to this otherwise tasty egg salad.  I look forward to making this recipe again! 

Eggs, Eggs, Eggs! Herbed Deviled Eggs - Likely Not a Recipe Repeat

Inspired by my deliciously herby egg salad, I decided to try some Herbed Deviled Eggs.  Unfortunately, as it turns out, chopped herbs aren't as wonderful in deviled eggs.

I found their texture to be displeasing in the otherwise smooth filling.  And unfortunately, I also found the mayonnaise in this recipe to be too overwhelming, and it also washed out the flavor of the herbs.  So not great texture and not great flavor. 

Granted, I didn't have sour cream on hand to cut the mayonnaise flavor, and I also didn't bring the eggs to a boil on high enough heat, so the yolks were also overcooked.  Combination of user error and a recipe that didn't match my tastes.  On to the next!

My First Egg Salad - Sans Mayonnaise, Slightly Tart, and Full of Herbs

I don't know if I had ever consumed egg salad prior to a few years ago.  Why?  I wasn't a big fan of cooked eggs growing up (hence 2018 for my first hard boiled eggs attempt), and I also have similarly never been a huge fan of mayonnaise.  So you can tell why egg salad hasn't been that appealing.

How did that change?  Well, ever so slowly, I have been trying egg salad sandwiches, largely because vegetarian sandwich options can sometimes be very limited.  This includes during a driving trip we took to Nova Scotia last summer.  As it turns out, limited options can lead to great discoveries, including a truly marvelous, herby egg salad sandwich at the Bread Gallery in West Hants, Nova Scotia.

While tasting that remarkable egg salad, not heavy on mayonnaise and very heavy on fresh herbs, I thought I was a full egg salad convert.  Sadly, in the months that followed, I largely ate mushy, bland, and too mayonnaise-filled egg salads.  So when I finally decided to make an egg salad at home, I searched for recipes that would be heavier on the herbs and light on the mayonnaise.

I was quite surprised to ultimately find an entirely mayonnaise-less, herb-heavy recipe on Milk Street.  Thankfully, the result was great - not quite what I remembered from the Bread Gallery, but very good with tarragon, chives, parsley, red onions, and ground turmeric.  And the best part - some light tartness from some champagne vinegar.  

Halving the recipe was great for 3 - 4 servings. The only modifications I would make moving forward are to chop the eggs a bit smaller than the recipe calls for and perhaps experiment with a bit of vegenaise for slightly more creaminess.  Otherwise, I loved that the eggs weren't pulverized into a mushy, dry paste like too many egg salad sandwiches and that the fresh herb flavors came through.

Milk Street's Ndambe - A Sadly Bland Attempt at a Senegalese Sweet Potato and Black-Eyed Pea Stew

Sometimes meals can taste too healthy.  And while I generally strive for the intersection of healthy and flavorful, today's recipe, Milk Street's Ndambe, illustrates how easy it is to veer too far in one direction or the other.

It's particularly sad given how pretty this soup looks, with its bright orange, red, and green colors.  My guess is that I should have probably used vegetable broth instead of water to add more flavor, and also lots more herbs beyond the 1/2 cup of chopped parsley and lemon juice added at the end? 

I don't know if I will make it again, but at least I know with its sweet potatoes, black-eyed peas, and fresh vegetables, it's a recipe for longevity!

Savory, Creamy, Sweet, and Tart White Bean, Apple, and Celery Salad - A New Lunchtime Staple

Rancho Gordo continues to deliver not only amazing heirloom beans, but also equally impressive recipes.  My latest attempt was their innocuously named Celery and White Bean Salad.  

This room temperature / chilled bean salad is a tour de force.  It has crunchy, bright diced celery and carrots; apple; blue cheese; lemon juice; and parsley.  The original recipe also calls for pecans which I omitted because of my nut allergy.  Combined with a base of creamy alubia beans, each bite is delightful.

I made some additional recipe edits beyond the pecan omission.  I used approx. 1 - 1.5 cups of cooked alubia beans (8 minutes high pressure in the Instant Pot, natural release).  I substituted gorgonzola for the Stilton, and a honeycrisp for the green apple.  I also added more salt and pepper to amp up the flavors. 

I will be making this salad again and again, including later this week!

Hetty McKinnon Obsession Continues - NYT Silken Tofu with Spicy Soy Dressing

As recent posts have shown, I've been on a true Hetty McKinnon kick the past few months.  The latest?  Not from one of her wonderful cookbooks, but instead a NYT Cooking recipe.  

I slightly freestyled this recipe for Silken Tofu with Spicy Soy Dressing because I was using a partial block of leftover silken tofu, but the result was really wonderful. 

Salty from the soy sauce, savory from the sesame oil, slightly sweet from the sugar and rice wine vinegar, spicy from the chile oil, and crunchy from the scallions - yum. 

A benefit of using a partial leftover block of silken tofu is that it had naturally drained in the fridge, making prep that much more of a cinch. 

The tofu I used had been out of the fridge for an hour or two, so slightly more room temperature than cold, which I liked a lot.