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Tagged: Deborah Madison

BROADWAY BOOKS, COOKING, RECIPES

Thanksgiving Recipe: Roasted Onions on a Bed of Herbs by Deborah Madison

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 3 large yellow onions, halved and peeled
  • Salt and freshly milled pepper
  • 4 sage sprigs and several thyme sprigs
  • 1 cup dry white wine or water

From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

A spectacular-looking dish for minimal effort–perfect for the holidays. Look for onions with crisp, papery skins. They’re fine without the herbs, too.

Serves 6

Heat the butter and oil in a wide skillet, then add the onions, cut sides down. Cook over medium-high heat until well browned, about 15 minutes. Check their progress occasionally–those on the outside of the pan usually take longer to cook, so partway through switch them with those in the middle. When browned, turn them over and cook on the curved side for a few minutes. Season well with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 375° F. Line the bottom of a 10-inch earthenware dish such as a round Spanish casserole with the herbs. Place the onions, browned side up, on the herbs and pour in the wine. Cover with aluminum foil and bake until tender when pierced with a knife, 1 hour or slightly longer. Serve warm with or without the Quick Vinegar Sauce for Onions.

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BROADWAY BOOKS, COOKING, RECIPES

Thanksgiving Recipe: Lentil Minestrone Soup by Deborah Madison

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra virgin to finish
  • 2 cups finely chopped onion
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup chopped parsley
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 3 carrots, diced
  • 1 cup diced celery or celery root
  • Salt and freshly milled pepper
  • 1 cup dried green lentils, sorted and rinsed
  • Aromatics: 2 bay leaves, 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs
  • 9 cups water or stock
  • Mushroom soy sauce to taste
  • 1 bunch greens–mustard, broccoli rabe, chard, or spinach
  • 2 cups cooked small pasta–shells, orecchiette, or other favorite shape
  • Thin shavings of Parmesan, preferably Parmigiano-Reggiano

From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Savored over a large part of the world, lentil soups are one of the best-liked, easiest-to-cook, and most varied of soups. The earthy flavor of lentils is complemented by Indian spices, Western herbs, cream, tomato, greens, and anything slightly tart, such as sorrel or lemon.

German brown lentils are the ones we see most commonly, and they make good soups. But the tiny French slate-green Le Puy lentils, available at specialty stores and in bulk at many natural food stores, make the prettiest and most delicious soups. They’re entirely worth the slight extra cost, and in my kitchen they are the lentil of choice. Indian red split lentils turn yellow when cooked and fall into a puree, as do other split lentils, which makes them ideal for smooth lentil soups.

Lentils don’t need to be soaked, but they do need to be picked over for tiny stones. They cook in just 25 minutes, and salt should be added at the beginning. Like most bean soups, lentil soups taste better a day after they’re made.

This is one of my all-time favorite soups. It’s better when cooked ahead of time, but add the cooked pasta and greens just before serving so that they retain their color and texture.

Serves 4 to 6

Heat the oil in a wide soup pot with the onion. Sauté over high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, parsley, garlic, vegetables, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, aromatics, and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. If it needs more depth, add mushroom soy sauce to taste, starting with 1 tablespoon. (The soup may seem bland at this point, but the flavors will come together when the soup is finished.) Remove the aromatics.

Boil the greens in salted water until they’re tender and bright green, then chop them coarsely. Just before serving, add the greens and the pasta to the soup and heat through. Serve with extra virgin olive oil drizzled into each bowl, a generous grind of pepper, and the Parmesan, thin shards or grated.

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BROADWAY BOOKS, RECIPES

Thanksgiving Recipe: Warm Crostini with Blue Cheese and Walnuts by Deborah Madison

Ingredients:
    ­
  • 8 slices baguette or country bread
  • 4 ounces Roquefort, Maytag, or Danish blue
  • 3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon cognac
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
  • Freshly milled pepper
  • Finely chopped parsley

From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

I love to serve these with a glass of sherry, a bowl of pumpkin soup, or a salad of pears and endive. The butter melts into the crisp toast; the cheese stays on top. It’s heady and very aromatic.
Makes 8

Toast the bread under the broiler until nicely browned on one side, then a little less so on the second. Cream the cheese and butter until smooth, then work in the cognac and three-quarters of the walnuts and season with pepper. Spread on the paler side of the toasts, then broil until the cheese is bubbling. Remove, dust with the remaining nuts, and garnish with parsley. Serve warm.

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BROADWAY BOOKS, COOKING, RECIPES

June Platter Salad of Green Beans, Potatoes, and Tuna by Deborah Madison

Ingredients:
  • 1 sweet onion, thinly sliced into rounds
  • 1/4 cup aged red wine vinegar
  • 1 pound small potatoes, any waxy-fleshed variety (fingerlings are always choice)
  • sea salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 1-1/2 pounds green beans, one variety or several
  • 1 bunch little carrots
  • several handfuls salad greens or small head lettuces
  • a handful purslane sprigs or big sunflower sprouts
  • several herb sprigs, such as chervil, marjoram, lovage, chives
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 can anchovies, packed in olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 (6-ounce) cans tuna packed in oil, drained, or an 8-ounce chunk smoked albacore, thinly sliced
  • 3 tablespoons smallest capers, rinsed
  • 1 bunch radishes

From Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating from America’s Farmers’ Markets by Deborah Madison. It’s pre–tomato season in June, at least in Santa Fe, but the first green beans, tender little carrots, and French Breakfast radishes fit quite nicely with a few handfuls of lettuce, herbs, and fleshy purslane leaves. Tuna packed in oil or smoked fish—salmon, tuna, albacore, which can often be found at farmers’ markets—makes the salad into a meal.

  1. Heat a large pot of water for the vegetables. Toss the onion with 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and set in the refrigerator.

  2. Wash the potatoes, then put them in a small saucepan, cover with cold water, add 1 teaspoon salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes, then drain. Cut the stem ends off the beans, along with the tails if ­they’re tough. If the carrots are small and tender, you don’t need to peel them. Leave them whole or halve lengthwise with about an inch of the stems. Wash and dry the lettuces and herbs.

  3. Mash the garlic with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 anchovies in a mortar. Whisk in the mustard, the remaining 2 tablespoons vinegar, and the oil, making a thick, emulsified dressing. (more…)

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