Carrot Slaw with Cranberries, Toasted Walnuts & Citrus Vinaigrette

Servings: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
• 1 pound shredded carrots, or 1⅓ pounds carrots, peeled and shredded
• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil or walnut oil
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest and 2 tablespoons lemon juice, from 1 lemon
• 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed orange juice, from 1 orange
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• 3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
• Heaping ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Set oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place walnuts on baking sheet and bake until toasted and fragrant, 5 minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Combine all remaining ingredients in a large bowl and toss well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 15 minutes to allow the flavors to blend. Season to taste with salt, pepper, honey or more citrus. Toss in walnuts and serve.

From: https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/carrot-slaw-with-cranberries-toasted-walnuts-citrus-vinaigrette.html

Spicy Black Bean Soup

SERVES: around 9

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 medium yellow onions, chopped
• 3 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1 large carrot, peeled and sliced into thin rounds
• 6 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
• 4 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (use 1/4 teaspoon if you’re sensitive to spice)
• 4 cans (15 ounces each) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 4 cups (32 ounces) chicken broth
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
• fresh lime juice to taste (about 2 - 3 limes)
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Optional garnishes: diced avocado, extra cilantro, thinly sliced radishes, tortilla chips…

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and carrot and a light sprinkle of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetable are soft, about 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Stir in the garlic, cumin and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Pour in the beans and broth and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, reducing heat as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer, until the broth is flavorful and the beans are very tender, about 30 minutes.
3. Transfer about 4 cups of the soup to a stand blender, securely fasten the lid, and blend until smooth (never fill your blender past the maximum fill line, and beware the steam that escapes from the top of the blender, it’s very hot). Or, use an immersion blender to blend a portion of the soup.
4. Return the pureed soup to the pot, stir in the cilantro, lime juice and salt and pepper, to taste. Serve.

NOTE: Might be able to cook this in a slow cooker for 6 hours by combining everything at once.

Adapted from: https://cookieandkate.com/spicy-vegan-black-bean-soup/

Italian Wedding Soup

Ingredients

Meatballs

• 8 oz lean ground beef
• 8 oz ground pork
• 1/2 cup fresh hearty white bread crumbs*
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 1/2 tsp minced fresh oregano
• 1/2 cup finely shredded parmesan
• 1 large egg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 Tbsp olive oil

Soup

• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 1/4 cups 1/4-inch diced carrots
• 1 1/4 cups diced yellow onion
• 3/4 cup 1/4-inch diced celery
• 4 cloves garlic , minced (1 1/2 Tbsp)
• 5 (14.5 oz) cans low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup dry acini de pepe or orzo pasta**
• 6 oz fresh spinach , chopped
• Finely shredded parmesan , for serving

Instructions

For the meatballs:

1. Add beef and pork to a large mixing bowl. Add in bread crumbs, parsley, oregano, parmesan, egg, 1 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
2. Gently toss and break up mixture with hands to evenly coat and distribute. Shape mixture into very small meatballs, about 3/4 inch to 1 inch and transfer to a large plate.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of the meatballs and cook until browned, turning occasionally (to brown on 2 or 3 sides), about 4 minutes total.
4. Transfer meatballs to a plate lined with paper towels while leaving oil in skillet. Repeat process with remaining meatballs (note that meatballs won't be cooked through at this point, they'll continue to cook through in the soup).

For the soup:

1. While meatballs are browning, heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add carrots, onions and celery and saute until veggies have softened about 6 - 8 minutes, add garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
2. Pour in chicken broth, season soup with salt and pepper to taste and bring mixture to a boil. Add in pasta and meatballs, reduce heat to light boil (about medium or medium-low).
3. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until pasta is tender and meatballs have cooked through, about 10 minutes, while adding in spinach during the last minute of cooking. Serve warm, sprinkle each serving with parmesan cheese.

Notes

*I recommend using bread such as a La Brea french loaf. Just grind up a slice in a food processor to fine crumbs. Save the remaining bread for serving (slathered with butter of course) or freeze for another later use.

**If you like a more brothier soup you can reduce pasta to 3/4 cup. Note that as the soup sits the pasta will absorb more broth so you can add more broth to thin the soup as desired.

From: https://www.cookingclassy.com/italian-wedding-soup/

Pao De Queijo (Brazilian Cheese Bread)

Ingredients

• 3 cups tapioca flour
• 1 cup grated Asiago cheese 
• 1 cup milk 
• 1 cup vegetable oil, plus for oiling the pan 
• 1 tablespoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic 
• 3 eggs

Directions

1. Special equipment: a 48-cup mini muffin pan
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a 48-cup mini muffin pan with vegetable oil.
3. In a food processor, combine the tapioca flour, Asiago, milk, vegetable oil, salt, garlic and eggs. Process for 2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
4. Fill each mini muffin cup with 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, then remove from the oven and let stand for 2 minutes.
5. Remove the pao de queijo from the muffin pan and enjoy.

Cook’s Note
This is a very forgiving gluten-free bread. For a sweeter option, cut out the garlic and replace the cheese with 1 cup chocolate.

From: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pao-de-queijo-brazilian-cheese-bread-3303576

Cheese Ravioli with Lemon Basil Butter Sauce

 
Ingredients

• 22 ounces frozen cheese ravioli
• 1/4 cup Salted Butter
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1 tablespoon minced shallot
• 1/3 teaspoon lemon extract (or 1t lemon zest)
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons chopped basil
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• 1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese for garnish
• Extra basil for garnish optional

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil. Add a pinch of salt and cook ravioli according to package instructions. Drain and set aside.
2. While the ravioli is cooking, make the butter sauce. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the shallot and cook until tender, about two minutes. Stir in the lemon zest, lemon juice, and basil. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
3. Pour the ravioli in a serving bowl. Pour lemon basil butter sauce over the ravioli and stir gently to combine. Garnish with Parmesan cheese and extra basil, if desired. Serve immediately.

Based on: https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/cheese-ravioli-with-lemon-basil-butter-sauce/

Arrabbiata Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/3 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes more or less to taste
• 1 medium yellow onion minced
• 8 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes
• 2 teaspoon sugar (optional)
• salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Cook the aromatics. Add the olive oil and butter to a large, deep sauté set over medium heat. Add the crushed red pepper flakes and cook, stirring continuously, for approximately 2 minutes. Add the onions and mix well to combine. Cook for 4-6 minutes, or until soft and translucent, stirring often. Finally, add the minced garlic. Cook until fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
2. Add the tomato paste and tomatoes. Increase heat to medium-high. Mix in the tomato paste and cook, stirring continuously for approximately 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice and sugar and mix well to combine.
3. Simmer. Cook the sauce, mashing the tomatoes with a potato masher or wooden spoon. Allow the sauce to come to a low simmer before reducing heat to low. Allow the sauce to cook, uncovered, for approximately 25 minutes, mashing occasionally as needed.
4. Blend (optional). If you prefer a smoother sauce, transfer part, or all, of the sauce to a large blender and process until desired consistency is reached. For this recipe, I pulsed half of the sauce in the blender until smooth (but not soupy).
5. Season to taste. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and additional crushed red pepper flakes, if desired.

Notes

• This makes a generous batch of arrabbiata sauce - perfect for a nice and saucy pasta when tossed with a 1-pound box of cooked noodles. When mixing with cooked pasta, if you find that the sauce is too thick, easily thin it out with hot and starchy pasta water (preferred choice) or regular hot water (second choice).
• Add 1lb Italian sausage for meat

Based on: https://theforkedspoon.com/arrabbiata-sauce/

Taiwanese Beef Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pounds of similar shank meat
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 6 to 8 green onions, divided
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• A 4-inch long piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly
• 4 star anise pods (optional)
• 1 heaping teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional - try either just Sichuan Peppercorn or just ~3 dried chiles)
• 2 to 6 dried hot chiles, broken and seeded
• 1 cup Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup Chinese black bean sauce
• 1 tablespoon sorghum syrup or dark honey (optional)
• 2 pounds Chinese wheat noodles
• 4 baby bok choy
• 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
• 1 cup chopped pickled mustard greens (optional)

Instructions

1. Submerge the shanks in water in a large soup pot. Bring this to a boil and let it roll for a couple minutes. Remove the shanks and toss the water. This process removes some of the scum that floats to the surface, and will make a cleaner tasting, clearer broth.
2. While you are waiting for this to happen, chop all your vegetables. Separate the white parts from the green parts of the green onions. Leave the white parts in large pieces, but finely chop the green parts.
3. Wipe the pot out and heat up the lard or oil over medium high heat. Sauté the white parts of the green onions, the garlic and ginger for about 1 minute. Add the star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and chiles and stir to combine. Return the shanks to the pot.
4. Pour in the Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sorghum syrup (or honey) and bean sauce, then enough water to cover everything by about 1 inch (plus 2C chicken broth). Bring this to a simmer, cover the pot and cook gently until the shanks are tender -- about 2 hours.
5. When the shanks are tender, fish them out. While they are cooling, strain the broth. Pull the meat off the bones and cut it into largish chunks. Discard the bones and any weird, vein-y looking things. Wipe the pot again, then pour in the strained broth and add the shank meat to keep warm. Taste it for salt and add some if needed.
6. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt it, then add the bok choy. Boil the bok choy for about 2 minutes, then remove. Add the noodles.
7. To serve, when the noodles are done, put some in everyone's bowls. Top with broth and meat, then add some bok choy, the green parts of the chopped green onions, cilantro, and pickled mustard greens. Some people like a bit more heat, so if you have Chinese chile sauce handy, have that at the table.

From: https://honest-food.net/taiwanese-beef-noodle-soup-recipe/