Bellygasm

Summer Lentil Soup

Let go my Lentil! I'm so excited. As a soup lover, I will choose a cup of hot savory soup over, say, a bowl of ice cream any day. In honor of the summer and the bounty of fresh vegetables, I have an easy lentil soup recipe that is so good you'll start to stock up on lentil beans (red, beluga, yellow) on your next trip to the grocery.

Depending on the stock you prefer to use, it can be a simple vegetarian lentil soup. For this recipe, I think green lentil is best because I use more tomato than in a typical French lentil soup. I always like to have as many different color on the plate, in this case, bowl as possible. Another reason why I think it's the best lentils soup ever is because it's pretty low fat so I indulge myself to multiple servings.

P.S. It actually get's better the next day so make sure to save some for leftover.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup of purple onion, diced
1 cup of white onion, diced
1 1/2 cup of carrots, diced
1 1/2 cup of celery, diced
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
5 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes
5 cups of broth (chicken or vegetarian)
1 tablespoon of celery salt
1 tablespoon of dry thyme
4 bay leaves
1 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Celery leaves 4 garnish

Preparation

1. In a large pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add carrots and sauté for 2 minutes.
3. Add celery and sauté for another 2 minutes. (Tip: Sometimes I like to layer in the flavors one at a time to add complexity)
4. Add garlic sauté for 1 minute.
5. Add thyme, celery salt, and 1 1/4 cup of green lentils. Stir to blend evenly.
6. Add crushed tomatoes, stock and bay leaves. Stir and bring it to a boil.
7. Cover and lower heat to low-medium. Simmer for about 45 minutes.Finish with balsamic vinegar and celery leaves for garnish.

Easy, Creamy Potato Leek Soup

I'm a big fan of soup, especially in the winter but come to think of it, in the summer too. Potato leek soup is one of those recipes that is good all year round. I often get inspired by the fresh produce at my local farm stand. When I saw these beautiful, vibrant green leeks and big russet potatoes that looked like it just came out of the earth, I immediately wanted to rush home and make a bowl of creamy (yet light) potato leek soup for lunch. Mmm...

This is about as easy as it gets for potato leek soup recipes. If I may be so bold, it's close to being the best potato leek soup recipe that you can make it in less than 30 minutes. It's low fat and hearty at the same time. Say what? Use vegetable broth in lieu of chicken, and you'll have a delicious vegetarian potato and leek soup.

Serves: 4
Prep Time:  5 mins
Total Time: 25 mins

Ingredients

2 leeks, both green and white part, rinsed well & chopped
1 tablespoon of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 pound of potatoes (russet is preferred), peeled & cut to 1/2-inch cubes
4 cups of chicken or vegetable broth
Salt & pepper to taste

Preparation

1. In a large pot, melt butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add leeks and season with salt and pepper. Sauté leeks for 5 minutes or until tender and slightly brown.
2. Add potatoes and sauté for 2 minutes. Add warm broth and bring it to a boil before reducing to simmer for about 10-12 minutes. (Tip: Whenever I use broth, I always heat it up to maintain a consistent temperature with what I'm adding to as well as to speed up cooking time.)
3. Remove pot from heat. Using a hand blender, purée the soup. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Serving suggestion: Sometimes I like to add small cubes of croutons for texture. Other times, I may sprinkle a teaspoon of Parmesan cheese or spice it up with a dash of cayenne. If I'm having the potato leek soup as a meal, I may also toast some baguette slices with a nice layer of goat cheese or chèvre. Yum..... It's really delish.

Hail, Caesar Salad! Light & Classic, 1.0-3.0

Hail Caesar! Salad, that is. I love Ceasar salad. I love MAKING caesar salad dressing even more with my beloved mortar and pestle. You can make this recipe with a food processor, but the mortar & pestle is just perfecto for making cesar dressing. Let the truth be told: I haven't bought any salad dressings period (uh huh,thats right ) for 8 months, and I have yet to look back. This is the 1st of many salad dressing recipes to come.

This homemade caesar salad dressing recipe with no egg is so easy that you'll want to make it fresh everyday. It's also low calorie so you can enjoy it guilt free. I also have several variations (below) to tantalize your tastebuds and hopefully inspire your creativity.

Serves: 4-6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients

2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon of salt
2 tablespoon of anchovy paste or 3 anchovy fillets
2 teaspoon of pepper
2 tablespoon of lemon juice
1 cup coarsely grated Parmesan cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano is my fav)
1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
1 pound of Romaine hearts, chopped

Preparation

1.0 - Light & Classic

1. Crush and mash garlic with salt using a mortar & pestle or food processor.
2. Add anchovy paste or fillets and mash with garlic.
3. Add pepper, lemon juice, 3/4 of a cup of Parmesan and mix well.
4. Drizzle in olive oil and continue to whisk until emulsified. (Tip: If time permits, chill in refrigerator for 10-15 minutes or 5 minutes in freezer allows ingredients to intensify.)
5. Toss with chopped romaine hearts and remaining Parmigiano Reggiano.
6. Salt & pepper to taste.

2.0 - Creamy & Complex

    Add a teaspoon of Dijon mustard, Tobasco, & Worcestershire sauce before step 4.

3.0 - Pesto-esque

    Add 1/2 cup of basil before step 2 and mash.

Serving suggestion: Top with croutons or add grilled chicken, shrimp or salmon for a low-carb meal.

Quick & Easy Deviled Mashed Potatoes

 

Low-cal mashed potatoes? You say no way; I say YES way. Instead of cream or milk, I use broth for moisture without sacrificing any flavor. This is not only a low-calorie mashed potato recipe, but it can easily be vegetarian or vegan. You can also serve it as a side dish for everyday dinner. But let me tellya, it's a real crowd pleasure for any party. Serve it with a miniature burger patty underneath or better yet, with a grilled, meaty shitake mushroom like they do at the glorious Sakura House, my favorite yakitori joint in LA, and you've got yourself an instant hors d'oeuvre hit. Ooh, it's bellygasmic!

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds of golden potatoes, peeled & cut into 1 1/2-inch piece
1/4 teaspoon of salt
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
3/4 tablespoon of Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons of stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/4 teaspoon of celery salt
1 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon of white balsamic vinegar or rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon of ground cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon of paprika

Preparation

1. Place potatoes in a saucepan. Add water to cover by 1 inch. Add salt and garlic. Bring to boil. Cover and reduce heat to simmer for 15-20 minutes or until a fork can be inserted easily through them.
2. Drain water from potatoes and return to saucepan. Add warm stock, Dijon mustard, celery salt, ground pepper, vinegar, cayenne, and paprika. Mash potatoes with a potato masher until light and fluffy. Salt & pepper to taste. Serve immediately or cover to keep warm.

Szechuan Salmon

 

I'm a big fan of Alice Waters and a believer in eating what's in season. And lucky pour moi, Tis' the season for wild Copper River salmon. I bought 2 amazing fillets at the store today and was happy as a clam. This is the easiest baked salmon recipe in the world. Best of all, I have the perfect, quintessential east-meets-west recipe. It's similar to teriyaki salmon but BEAUCOUP better. Oui, vraiment.

Serves: 2
Prep Time: 4 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Tip: My general rule of thumb for how to bake salmon or any fish in the oven is 10 minutes per inch. Since my fillets are just shy of an inch tall, my target is approx. 8-9 minutes. I like my salmon medium rare.

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets with skin (approx. 1 pound)
3 tablespoons of San-J Szechuan Sauce (maybe a little extra depending on fillets' dimension)

Preparation

1. Rinse fillets and pat dry. Run fingertips on top of the fillets to find and remove bones, if any, with a tweezer.
2. Place fillet's skin side down on a pyrex baking pan. The skin will hold the fish together yet will be easy to remove after baking.
3. Spread a nice layer of Szechuan sauce on top of fillets but not submerging. The idea is to allow for crusting later. Let it marinade in the fridge for 10-15 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 400F. Bake for 5 minutes at 400F and increase to High boil for 3 minutes to create a nice crust.
5. Remove baking pan immediately from oven. Let it rest for a minute before removing salmon from pan by wedging a spatula between the skin and the meat. Et, voilà!

Simple, Savory Swiss Chard

 

Getting your veggies on has never tasted so good and so eeeeeeeasy. Although available all year round, June through August is the height of Swiss chard season. And, I've never seen it so gorgeous as I did today. Swiss chard is from the beet family with large leafy greens, much like mustard and collard green. Both leaves and ribs are edible. Chard with white ribs are commonly found in grocery stores, though red and rainbow chards appear more frequently these days than just in farmer's markets and at wholepaychex.

My recipe for Swiss chard is pretty much the same as my collard green and mustard green recipe.  The flavor profile is similar to spinach: slightly bitter yet sweet and buttery once cooked. To be honest, I spent more time washing the chards than cooking them. In just minutes, I'm swooning over my Swiss chard. Savory and pleasantly sweet, now that's what I call best of both worlds.

Serves: 4
Prep time: 8 minutes
Total time: 12 minutes

Ingredients

1 pound mustard greens, stems & large ribs removed
2 garlic cloves, crushed & minced
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of Cognac or good quality brandy
3 tablespoon of broth (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over low to medium heat. Add crushed garlic cloves to release flavor for 1 minute but be careful not to burn them.
2. Increase heat to medium and add onion to sauté for 7 to 8 minutes until translucent.
3. Add the mustard greens, salt, and Cognac (or brandy).  Toss until the greens start to wilt.
4. Add sesame oil and pepper. Toss quickly to combine and turn off heat.