Pantry Cooking: Invention in the Kitchen

Posted on by

1

What to make for dinner when you’ve already had fish twice- three times if you count the sushi- the soup from the souperspreader is gone and well, you just can’t face the supermarket?

There’s the pantry. Now, I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a natural cook although I’ve always liked to cook. But as a kid, I was constantly shooed out of the kitchen: I had no cooking mentor although one of my grandmothers was a fine cook.

My mother wanted no one in her way. She managed to put three hot meals a day on the table for years as my brothers and I grew up. That meant lunch, too, as we came home from elementary school every noon. And she probably hated doing most of it.

I attribute my cooking improvement and confidence to Shomrei. Putting kiddush on the Shabbat table every week  and cooking frequently for MESH, has  forced me to be more creative and inventive and, at the same time, conscious of time and ease of preparation.

So, back to the original question and its solution. I looked in the fridge where I found some tired looking broccoli and peeled garlic cloves ( you can never go wrong with garlic),.There’s always olive oil around. A little seasoning, some embellishments- and Voila!- dinner.

And maybe tomorrow, it’ll be a pantry inspired stir fry with tofu.

Pasta with Broccoli, Garlic, and Extras

Ingredients
3-4 large garlic cloves, smashed or more to taste
2 stalks of broccoli or more if you like, stems julienned and florets cut small
3-4 tablespoons olive oil
sprinkle of kosher salt
pepper to taste
2 cups or so uncooked pasta
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (optional)
olives-your favorite kind, rough chopped
can of flat anchovies, drained-save the oil
1 or 2 vegan sausages cut in small pieces

Directions

  1. Heat the oil on medium in a large pan.
  2. Crush the garlic by smashing it with the flat side of a chef’s knife and add to the oil. Cook in the oil until garlic begins to brown. Remove from pan but do not discard.
  3. Add broccoli, mixing so that all of it is covered with oil. Sauté for about 5 minutes. The broccoli should still be crisp.
  4. (Optional) Add balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper; raise heat to high and deglaze pan.
  5. Add pasta to pan and mix well.
  6. Remove to a bowl.
  7. Add a little oil to the pan- use some of the anchovy oil- and saute the sausage and anchovies, mushing the anchovies into a paste.
  8. Add olives and sausage mix with the oil to the pasta. Mix well.
  9. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if desired.

NOTE: You can easily leave out the olives, sausage and anchovies.  Serve with a simple salad and bread to sop up the tasty oil.

Inspired by the previous two successful dishes, I am trying to cook from the pantry all week.  New York Times recipes always look tempting but so often there are exotic ingredients that I don’t have in my spice drawer or in the pantry. This mushroom soup was a little challenging because I didn’t have all the ingredients,  but it ended up being hearty and tasty. It was  perfect for the turn the weather took this week and only needed about an hour to make, maybe even less.I’ve noted the substitutions or changes I made

Pressure Cooker Mushroom and Wild Rice Soup

Ingredients
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick) or use margarine
1 yellow or red onion, minced
2 pounds mixed mushrooms, tough stems removed, chopped into 1/2 to 1inch pieces
(after making the soup, I wold have preferred smaller pieces)
Kosher salt and black pepper
2 celery stalks, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
3 springs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup all purpose flour
5 cups vegetable or chicken stock (I used liquid from soaking dried mushrooms and added a couple of heaping teaspoons of parve chicken consommé)
1/2 cup dry white wine ( or add an extra quarter cup of liquid and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or white wine vinegar)
1 cup wild rice (substitute long grain brown rice or brown basmati rice)
1/2 cup sour cream (plain yogurt, creme fraiche or leave out)
Chopped scallions or chives and fresh dill for topping

Directions

  1. Turn on the sauce setting a 6-8 quart electric pressure cooker. Melt the butter, then add the onion and cook until translucent. This should take about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the mushrooms and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring occasionally until the mushrooms have shrunk a little and released some liquid. This should take about 8 minutes.
  3. Add celery, carrot, chopped garlic, thyme., garlic powder and black pepper to taste. Stir.
  4. Add flour and stir well until vegetables are evenly coated and no white spots remain.
  5. Pour in stock (and wine if you are using it). Scrape bottom of pot well to avoid a burn warning during cooking. Stir in rice.
  6. Cook on high pressure for 10-12 minutes. Turn off the heat and let pressure reduce naturally for another 10 minutes. Release pressure manually.
  7. Stir soup and check for doneness of rice. If the texture is too firm, reset the cooker for 2 minutes and rapidly release pressure after two minutes. If the soup is too thin,set the cooker to sauce and let it simmer. Turn off heat.
  8. Put sour cream in a small bowl and temper it with a few spoonfuls of warm soup. Then stir mixture into the soup.
  9. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed.
  10. Serve topped with chopped scallions or chives and dill. If using sour cream, reheat on low so the cream does not break.
  11. NOTE: I thought it came out a little thick and plan to add a little broth to thin the consistency. Consistency might depend on the type pf rice and the freshness of the mushrooms.  

Speaking of fish as mentioned previously. Sarita Eisenberg, a faithful MESH cook, made these from-scratch tuna burgers one night and served them with a delicious corn salad. Most of the ingredients will be right in your pantry ,fridge or freezer. They were in mine. 

photo: SEisenberg

Tuna Burgers (makes 4-6 patties)

Ingredients
2 cans (7-ounces each) water-packed tuna, drained
3 eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup bread crumbs or panko, plain or seasoned
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard or more to taste
2 teaspoon lemon juice
3-4 scallions, mince white & light green parts
Olive or vegetable oil

Directions

  1. In a bowl, flake tuna with a fork. Add eggs, bread crumbs, mustard, lemon juice, & scallions. Mix until well-blended.
  2. Form the tuna mixture into patties. Chill in the refrigerator for 15 minutes.
  3. Cook in a lightly oiled skillet on medium heat for 4 minutes per side, until golden brown or bake in a 375 degree oven for 10 minutes per side.
  4. Serve with a mixture of mayonnaise and mustard.

NOTE:  I served them with a marinated tomato salad and tartar sauce mixed with a spicy olive mixture. An easy,  quick, weeknight dinner.

NOTE: I prefer to bake the patties and use the extra cooking time for preparing the rest of dinner or use a grill pan for those authentic looking grill marks.

photo: SEisenberg

Corn Salad (makes 4-6 servings)

Sarita usually makes this with frozen corn, but you can also use cooked fresh corn kernels.

Ingredients
1½ pounds (4 cups) frozen corn kernels, thawed
½ pound zucchini, grated (1 cup)
1 small red or green pepper, finely chopped
½ cup chopped green olives
2-3 scallions, finely chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
Pepper

Directions

  1. Put the corn, zucchini, red pepper, olives & scallions in a bowl.
  2. Mix together the oil, vinegar, mustard, oregano, & thyme. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, starting with ⅓ of a cup and adding more if needed, and mix together. Add cumin & coriander and toss to mix thoroughly. Add pepper to taste.

With Purim coming up very soon, some people may appreciate this Purim hack. I’m a fan of shortcuts as long as they bring good results. And this, too, is basically a pantry recipe.

Cake Mix Hamantaschen

Ingredients
1 box Duncan Hines Yellow Cake mix
1 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 Tbsp water
illing of your choice (prune, poppy seed, canned cherry or blueberry pie filling, or preserves)

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F
  2. With an electric hand mixer, combine cake mix, flour, oil, eggs, and water until blended. Gather up the crumbly dough in your hands and form into a ball. Using a pastry cutter, cut the ball into four sections.
  3. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll one of the sections ⅛” thick. Cut into 2 ½-3” rounds using a cookie cutter or the rim of a glass. For fluted edges, usa biscuit cutter.
  4. In the center of each circle, place a scant 1 tsp filling. Cover the unfilled rounds with a damp dish towel to prevent the dough from drying out.
  5. To shape: Take the left side of the circle and fold to the right, covering approximately one-third of the circle. Repeat with the right side, folding to the left, making sure that the top of the right-side fold forms a tip roughly resembling a triangle on top. Take the bottom (which should still have a circular appearance) and bring it upward to produce the third side of a triangular shape.  When you bring the bottom up, fold the newly created flap on the lower left under the left side of the pastry dough, but leave the newly created right side flap to remain over the right side of the triangle. Each side of the triangle should now have one corner that is tucked under and one that is folded over. (Shaping the hamantaschen in this way will prevent any of the sides from opening while in the oven.) Pinch each corner to complete the shaping.. See the accompanying picture  of the completed folding.
  6. Place folded hamantaschen on a lightly greased or parchment-lined cookie sheet. Bake for 12 minutes or until lightly browned.

NOTE: If you are making a lot of hamantaschen or want to be super neat, use a pastry bag or plastic bag to fill the cookies.

 

Want to share YOUR favorite recipes? Contact me at email hidden; JavaScript is required People do read this column!

Latest posts by Aileen Grossberg (see all)

One thought on “Pantry Cooking: Invention in the Kitchen”

  1. Thanks again Aileen, for more mouthwatering recipes! Unlike you, I was helping in my mother’s kitchen from an early age. She was such a fabulous cook, and often cooked without a recipe, using her instinct. Nobody could ever top her pot roast (except maybe Angie Atkins!), and Ive never been able to duplicate it!😪
    She helped me get my Girl Scout cooking badge(I did the cooking, but after cutting up my first chicken, I swore I’d never eat it again!) Since the Pandemic started, I’ve been changing the way I shop, and now keep my freezer stocked with frozen veggies and fruits, fish(mostly salmon), cut-up chicken, and other healthy stuff. Ive been reading up on vegetables and their nutrition content, and working on changing what I eat. I have been doing just what you’ve done– taking whatever is in the pantry, freezer and fridge, and coming up with wonderful concoctions! About a year ago I took out my fleischig stock pot and pulled a bunch of stuff out, and ended up with what I call “Tuscan Stew”. Yum! I just made a pot, and froze most of it. I now have the fixings for Creole (kosher) Gumbo, and mushroom barley soup ( from the Moosehead Cookbook– it has a whole bottle of red wine in it!!🥰). Im trying to limit how much hametz I buy now, so by Pesach I will have a little extra to spend on other things. I’ve already looked at your broccoli recipe to see how I can adapt it– using quinoa instead of rice. I do have a couple of questions about one or other recipe: why are you using garlic powder if you are already using fresh garlic? Can I use frozen broccoli instead of fresh? It may end up too mushy, I get that. And I could use Farro instead of rice. I cant wait to make these, including Sarita’s tuna burgers! (Only with salmon)

What do you think?