Glorious One-Pot Meals (28 page)
Read Glorious One-Pot Meals Online
Authors: Elizabeth Yarnell
This easy pasta dish is fancy enough to serve to company, but simple enough for weekday dining. If you like spicy food, double the red pepper flakes (the amount given here is considered mildly to medium spicy). Or you can just leave them out.
SERVES 2
Olive oil spray
2 cups radiatore, fusilli, or rotini
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 cup ricotta cheese
¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
⅛ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ cup sliced fresh porcini mushrooms, or ¼ cup dried (softened if necessary; see page 166)
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with olive oil.
Arrange the pasta in the pot in an even layer.
Drain the tomatoes, reserving ⅔ cup liquid. (Add water if needed to make ⅔ cup.) Pour the liquid over the pasta and stir to coat the noodles.
Combine the basil in the can with the tomatoes and spread over the pasta. Add a layer of half of the zucchini.
In a small bowl, mix the ricotta with the red pepper flakes, salt, nutmeg, and garlic.
Spread the mixture over the zucchini, add the mushrooms, and top with the rest of the zucchini.
Cover and bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
I love the depth of flavor offered from the blend of fresh and roasted red peppers here. These sweet notes play off the salty feta for a delicious contrast.
SERVES 2
Olive oil spray
¼ cup hulled or pearl barley
½ cup vegetable broth or water
1 cup feta cheese, crumbled
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup roasted red peppers packed in oil, sliced lengthwise
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch slices
Juice of ½ lemon
2 portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced
2 cups roughly chopped greens (spinach, kale, etc.)
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with olive oil.
Pour the barley and liquid into the pot. Stir to make an even layer. Scatter the feta and garlic in a layer.
Layer in the roasted and fresh red peppers and sprinkle with lemon juice. Arrange a thick layer of mushrooms and top with as many greens as you can fit in the pot and still close the lid with a tight seal.
Bake for 45 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
This is a hearty vegetarian meal. The barley emerges al dente and a bit chewy, adding textural dimension to the meal and some of that meaty chewing satisfaction.
The more processed the barley, the softer it will be; that is, pearled barley will be softer than hulled barley I prefer to use hulled barley as it is a whole grain; pearled barley is more refined.
SERVES 2
Olive oil spray
¼ cup hulled barley
¼ cup vegetable broth or water
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch strips
4 ounces reduced-fat soft goat cheese (chevre), cut into ¼-inch slices
3 to 5 garlic cloves, minced
One 4-ounce can chopped roasted green chiles
2 portobello mushrooms, thickly sliced
½ cup jarred roasted red peppers, cut into strips
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with olive oil.
Pour the barley and liquid into the pot and stir to make an even layer.
Add a layer of the red and green bell peppers. Scatter half the cheese slices across the peppers. Sprinkle with the garlic and half of the green chiles.
Cut the mushroom slices into thirds and add to the pot. Top with the rest of the cheese, the roasted red peppers, and the rest of the green chiles.
Cover and bake for 50 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
Believe it or not, eggplants have genders. Look for male eggplants, which have a shallow scar at their base, rather than female eggplants, which have a deeper indentation like a belly button. Male eggplants have fewer seeds and supposedly taste less bitter.
SERVES 2
Olive oil spray
½ cup couscous
4 to 7 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
¼ medium onion, chopped
1 small eggplant, peeled or not, cubed
Half of a 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
½ yellow or red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into 1-inch squares
1 small zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch slices
2 medium tomatoes, chopped, or one 15-ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
4 to 7 mushrooms, quartered
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh marjoram, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, or 1 teaspoon dried
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
2 teaspoons paprika
2 pinches red pepper flakes
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Spray the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with olive oil.
Pour the couscous and ½ cup water into the pot and stir to spread in an even layer. Scatter on half the garlic and onion.
Layer half the eggplant in the pot and top with half of the chickpeas, bell pepper, zucchini, tomatoes, and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and half of the marjoram, parsley, sesame seeds, paprika, and red pepper flakes. Repeat the layers, beginning with the eggplant.
Cover and bake for 40 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
This is a great way to introduce kids to tofu. Be sure to press all the liquid out of the tofu before adding it to the pot so that it will absorb as much of the sesame and peanut flavors as possible. See page 168 for advice on pressing tofu.
I consider this recipe to be mildly spicy. If you need to make it blander for tender palates, use only ¼ teaspoon cayenne or none at all. If you like more heat, simply add more cayenne.
Instant brown rice has been parboiled, precooked, and then dried and packaged. It looks just like regular rice, except it is a whole grain rather than a refined one, and nothing artificial has been added.
SERVES 2
2 teaspoons sesame oil
1 cup instant brown rice
⅓ cups vegetable broth
tablespoons peanut butter 2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
⅛ teaspoon ground ginger
2 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
½ teaspoon cayenne
8 ounces firm tofu, drained, pressed, and cut into bite-size cubes
½ orange bell pepper, cored, seeded, and sliced
One 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained
½ head broccoli, cut into florets (about 2 cups)
Preheat the oven to 450°F.
Wipe the inside and lid of a cast-iron Dutch oven with sesame oil.
Pour the rice and broth into the pot. Stir to coat the grains and smooth into an even layer.
In a medium bowl, whisk the peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, vinegar, ginger, garlic, and cayenne until the peanut butter is emulsified. Add the tofu and stir gently to coat the cubes. Add the tofu to the pot in an even layer, leaving some of the sauce in the bowl.
Scatter in the bell pepper, water chestnuts, and broccoli. Top with the rest of the peanut butter mixture.
Cover and bake for 50 minutes, or until 3 minutes after the aroma of a fully cooked meal escapes the oven. Serve immediately.
